Savior (The Savior Series Book 1) (13 page)

Jason revved the engine again as Howie approached him carrying a black backpack.

“You got my stuff?”
he asked Howie.

“It’s in the pack,” Howie said as he handed Jason a black backpack. Jason strapped on the pack and placed both hands on the bike handles.

“There’s a miniature aerial drone that I designed in there as well. Make sure you deploy it before advancing onto the compound,” Howie said.

“It’s go time, Boys. Good luck out there,”
Howie said while pressing a button on the side of his high-tech glasses, allowing Jason and I to hear his words inside of our masks. He and I locked gazes as he revved the engine of his bike. We both struck out simultaneously, leaving a smiling Howie in our dust.

The suit fit me perfectly. I was worried that it would restrict my movements once I started to run but to my surprise, I was able to move quite well in it. My long black trench coat fluttered in the wind behind me like a cape as Jason and I zoomed toward the unknown dangers that lay before us.

26. STEALTH

WE LEFT JASON’S BIKE A HALF MILE AWAY FROM THE FARM and approached the site on foot. Howie watched our approach on the main screen at 3D through a high definition video feed from the aerial drone that quietly buzzed around, fifty feet above us.

“How’s it looking, Echo?”
Jason asked as the seemly abandoned farm came into view twenty meters ahead of our current position. It was pitch black out, and there were no streetlights in this part of the nearly deserted rural town in which the outpost lay. Our masks were equipped with night vision so we easily navigated our way through the abandoned farm as we headed toward the main building.

“It looks like I was correct about the underground rooms. The good news is there aren’t many people inside. I only noticed four human sized heat signatures when I scanned the building with the drone’s thermal imaging lens. This is probably a communications outpost so I don’t expect a great deal of security.”

“10-4, Echo. I’ll take point. Reaper, you get my six,”
I heard Jason say through my earpiece.

“You lost the race! How do you get to take point?”
I whispered.

“He’s right, Reaper. This is a stealth mission, remember?”
Howie said.

“10-4,”
I mumbled, begrudgingly.

“Echo, any activity above ground in the building?”
Jason asked.

“Negative, Ace. All four heat signatures are below the first level.”

“10-4. Let’s move, Reaper.”

As we stealthily moved forward, I was kind of pissed, partially because Howie agreed that I shouldn’t take point and also because of the way that Jason was carrying himself. It was as though he considered himself to be our leader or something just because he paid for our suits and equipment.

His cat-like strides covered a surprising amount of ground as he glided across the distance that separated us from the warehouse. I followed closely with my head on a swivel looking for any surprises.

We paused after moving to the rear of the building. My heart was thumping so loudly that I thought Jason could hear it.

“Reaper, is everything alright?”
he asked.

“I’m fine. I’m just trying to slow my heart rate. It’s beating so fast that it might give away our position!”

We both chuckled for a bit before Howie interrupted.
“Eyes on the prize, boys.”

“10-4,”
Jason and I said in unison.

Jason gently tugged the handle of the rear door.

“Locked. I’ll tag it with graffiti and you rip it open, Reaper. We’ll make it look like a random gang broke in.”

Within a matter of seconds, we were inside the dilapidated building making our way through a damp musty room.

“What’ve we got, Echo?”
Jason asked.

“All clear. No movement downstairs. After you deploy the bugs and the hidden cameras I need you to make a sweep of the room. I’ll let you know when I see anything of interest,”
Howie said.

Jason stealthily worked his way around the room, planting bugs and miniature hidden cameras as I stood guard in the shadows near the entrance.

Back at 3D, Howie studied the footage that streamed from the cameras fitted onto the fronts of our masks.

“Hold your position, Ace,”
Howie suddenly said.

Back in the outpost, Jason stopped in his tracks.

“Is everything okay?”
I asked, ready to lash out at any danger that dared to show itself.

“All clear, Reaper. Ace, I need you to bug that equipment in front of you.”

“What is that?”
I asked as I stared at the strange machinery that lay near Jason.

“It’s a device that allows them to communicate electronically while simultaneously staying off the conventional grid. Bugging this will allow us to monitor all incoming and outgoing transmissions for this station.”

“Gotcha,”
I said, still not completely understanding the significance of the machine.

How’s the party downstairs?”
Jason asked.

“Still quiet. Open the control panel and I’ll walk you through the rest,”
Howie replied.

With Echo talking him through the installation Ace had the bugs planted in a matter of minutes. We were just about to make our exit when the sounds of dirt bikes approaching startled us.

“Crap, we’ve got incoming, guys!”
Howie shouted.

“How many?”
I demanded clinching my fists as my heart rate increased.

“Two small vehicles. I’m picking up three heat signatures. That makes it seven on two if you guys are discovered.”

“I like those odds!”
I said darkly.

“This is a re-con mission, Reaper! Remember the plan! Try to find somewhere to hide.”
The desperation in Howie’s voice let me know that he somehow knew how wound up I was.

My heart thumped wildly in my chest as Ace quickly darted across the room and stowed away in a supply closet. I was frozen in my tracks as I heard voices and footsteps approached the building.

“Ace to Echo, I’ve found cover. Reaper is still visible.”

“Stand down, Reaper! This is not an offensive! You’ll jeopardize everything if you take them on now!”
Howie’s voice rang in my earpiece.

I knew he was right, but the adrenaline that coursed through my veins compelled me to fight. What good was all my strength if I wasted it skulking in the shadows?

The shadows of the three figures nearing the building were cast across the entrance as they approached the door. Jason watched as I braced myself and clenched my teeth in anticipation of an impending battle.

“Reaper, snap out of it!”
he hissed. The sound of his harsh whisper in my earpiece brought me out of my trance in just enough time for me to zip over to the space next to the entrance.

As I pressed my body against the wall, the three dark figures entered the building without noticing me. The swinging door hid me from their view as they proceeded forward without bothering to look behind. Their black combat gear and expressionless white masks made it evident that they were Strangers. As they strolled across the room, I fought hard to suppress the urge to charge them.

I could snap their necks before they even knew what hit them,
the darker side of me thought.
But I could also risk ruining my chances of getting Suspect if one of them managed to escape
, the more rational side of me fired back.
Not yet,
I repeated to myself as I watched the three figures disappear into the level below.

Minutes later, Jason and I were zooming away into the darkness in silence.

Jason finally broke the silence as he revved the engine of his bike.
“What were you thinking?”
he barked.

“I wasn’t thinking. Just drop it, alright? We did the job didn’t we?”

“Yeah, but you almost compromised the mission!”

I knew he was right but he was still pissing me off.

“It’s the adrenaline. You don’t know what it’s like, man. At times, I feel like I can’t control it. I just can’t sit still when it starts flowing. It’s like I have to punch through a brick wall just to get some sense of equilibrium,”
I grumbled.

“It sounds like someone needs to blow off some serious steam,”
Howie offered.

“What did you have in mind, Echo?”
I asked, intrigued by Howie’s tone.

“If action is what you wanted, all you had to do was ask, Reaper!” Howie said jokingly. “I can access pretty much all police communications from 3D. If you guys are up for it, I say we dish out some good old fashioned vigilante justice.”

“Hell yeah!”
Jason and I chimed in unison.

“Good. Keep heading south for about thirty minutes. I know just the place.”
I couldn’t see Howie’s face but I was pretty sure that he was smiling as he said that.

27. REAL POWER

JASON AND I STOOD AMONGST THE WOULD-BE GANG RAPISTS with no fear. We had been working our way from town to town, taking down whatever scum Howie could find for us. We had been at it for nearly three hours by the time we found ourselves on the worst side of town in Knightsville, Florida. The woman that we had just saved from the savage pack of thugs watched in fear as the eight gang members tightened their circle around us. Her brain screamed at her to run, but she was so terrified that her legs wouldn't comply.

We were out gunned and outnumbered, but beneath our masks, Jason and I were both smiling. My adrenaline overdose had invigorated my senses and made me crave the danger that lay before us. It was exactly what Jason and I both wanted— exactly what I needed.

Our backs touched as the thugs tightened their circle even more. They all had guns but didn’t bother to draw them, no doubt fooled by the false sense of security presented by their seemingly overwhelming four to one ratio.

I kept my eyes on the guns as the first thug dove for Jason. I whipped around as I felt Jason quickly shift away from the thug’s outstretched hand, leaving him open for the devastating clothesline that I delivered to his chest.

He hit the ground with a solid thud as the other thugs simultaneously rushed us. To my surprise, most of them went for Jason but not one of them could lay a finger on him as he gracefully worked his way through the crowd of assailants dishing out a fierce flurry of polished yet brutal punches and kicks.

For a moment, I found myself watching in awe as Jason evaded every wild punch thrown at him and returned fire with an endless barrage of effortless, yet devastating, counterattacks. It was poetry in motion. The guy that I was fighting at the time must have hit me square in the face about five times before I came back to my senses. I didn’t feel any his attacks but they were getting sort of annoying. I finally caught his fist and hoisted him into the air by his neck just as one of the thugs darted away.

“Hey, Ace! Catch!”
I shouted as I tossed the thug that I was holding toward Jason.

Jason’s roundhouse kick connected with the thug’s face as I leapt thirty feet into the air after the thug that was attempting to flee.

The tail of my coat flapped in the cool night air as I soared after the fleeing scum. Two seconds later, he was sprawled on the pavement with my foot on his throat. I was basking in the radiance of my own glory when I saw it.

The glimmer of metal in my peripheral vision sent a tremor down my spine. I quickly kicked the brute at my feet in the head, knocking him unconscious, then turned to face the last sight that I wanted to see.

Most of the thugs were incapacitated, but the last one left standing had a pistol brandished before him with the barrel aimed at Jason’s chest. Jason stood completely still less than two meters in front of the armed thug.

“Don’t move dammit! Don’t move!” he shouted as he glared at Jason.

They both were fifteen meters away from me. I could cover that distance in a single bound but I wasn’t sure if I could outrun the bullet.

“Drop the pistol or lose the hand,”
Jason ordered. His hands gripped the handle of the sword sheathed at his waist as he glared at the gunman.

“Yeah, fat chance, ninja boy!” the gunman shouted.

“The only person that will die if you pull that trigger is you. I suggest you drop it!”
I growled.

“Not gonna happen, pal. If I pull this trigger— when I pull this trigger, your friend here is toast!” He kept his eyes on Jason as he shouted at me.

“I’ll snap your neck before the casing hits the ground!”
I roared.

“Geez, Reaper, could you back off a bit?!”
Jason yelled.

“Back off? For what? I can totally take this guy!”
I was confused. I wasn’t sure if Jason was angry at me for butting in or if he was afraid that my interference would lead to him getting shot.

“Yeah, and so can I! You’re stealing my thunder, man. Why can’t you just let me handle this?”

“Handle it?! I’m trying to save your life!”
I fired back.

“Are you kidding me? Are you two really arguing over who’s gonna take me out like I’m not the one with the gun?!” the gunman exclaimed as he glared angrily at me.

“You mean that gun?”
Jason asked firmly.

By the time the thug and I focused our eyes back on Jason, half the thug’s right arm was lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood still clutching the pistol. His eyes widened with horror as he raised the bloody stump that remained to his face. Jason's long headband fluttered in the wind as he stood motionless with his blood-splattered sword held before him. He had drawn the sword and severed the guy’s arm in less time than it took the thug to glance at me.

Impressive,
I thought as I watched the thug fall to the ground. I remember wondering who would win a one-on-one fight if Jason and I were ever pitted against each other. Sure I was stronger but there was no doubting that Jason was deadlier.

My thoughts were interrupted by the blood-curling scream of the disfigured thug as he came out of shock. Within seconds, Jason was on his bike revving the engine. We both sped away as police sirens rang out in the distance.

Minutes later, we were miles away speeding into the darkness and leaving the corruption of Knightsville behind us.

“I’m sorry I lost my temper back there, bro,”
Jason said, as I dashed alongside his bike.

A wave of confusion washed over me as I continued to sprint. Until that moment, I thought our “argument” had been merely a diversion. Did Jason truly think that I was stepping on his toes by coming to his defense against an armed enemy?

“It’s fine, Ace. No big deal,”
I replied, nonchalantly. But it was a big deal. In the past, Jason had come to my rescue so many times that I had lost count. For the first time in our lives, the shoe was on the other foot and he had the audacity to feel offended.

If he considered getting help in a fight an insult, why did he help me so many times? Was he insulting me every time he chose to come to my aid? Was I so weak that he just had to step in and save the day? Or perhaps he was so accustomed to that weaker version of me that he felt insulted that I would dare offer my assistance with a situation that he thought he had a handle on.

Sooner or later he was going to have to accept that things had changed. I was the one in the newsreels and viral Internet videos around the globe. I was the one with the real power. He needed to recognize those facts and act accordingly— act as a sidekick should.

Maybe I’m blowing this out of proportion,
I thought as we raced onward. I ultimately decided to drop the issue as long as it didn’t happen again. Jason and I maintained radio silence as we both accelerated to over 100 miles per hour.