by K. A Knight
I hear racing feet and Jago skids around the turn. He blinks when he sees them laughing and strolls towards us, a frown in place as he glances between us. “I leave you for two minutes and you are blowing people up?” He huffs. “What happened to being silent, sneaking by, Ninja Piper?” he teases.
“Goddamn it! If balls fly at your face, you hit them back, stop judging me!” I scream.
“Huh, so you going to do that to my balls? ‘Cause a warning would be good.” He laughs, setting the other two hyenas off again. Well, la-di-fucking-da, I’m glad I could help them bond at my expense.
“Men,” I mutter. “You blow up one person by mistake.”
“Eight people,” Evan corrects helpfully, interrupting my rant with a smirk.
Ignoring him, I carry on, “And then they act like they have seen the klutz of the century!” Looking down at the body of a soldier, I grab another grenade just to prove a point, tossing it between my hands dramatically as I glare at them. “See? Look! Not blowing up!”
Not watching my hands, I throw it slightly too hard and have to try and juggle to catch it, but it’s too late. It falls to the floor and rolls slightly to the bend, the pin falling out. Laughter dries up as we all share a look and start running in the other direction.
Just as we leap into the cafeteria, it explodes, sending us flying farther into the room. Groaning, I turn over to stare at the ceiling as the others cough near me. “Okay, okay. Note to self, don’t play with grenades, they aren’t like balls and they don’t like to be rolled in your hands like testicles, they tend to go boom…which now that I think about it is kinda like your testicles,” I muse, making them laugh again.
“I think it’s fair enough to say they know we are here,” Archel jokes after they finish laughing. “I say we go to plan B.”
“Which is?” I query, rolling to see him. He grins at me from his spot on the floor.
“Hunt them down, don’t play nice.” He winks.
“Hell yes, I’m down for that, let’s go, Piper’s Power Rangers!” I yell and jump to my feet.
“Piper’s Power Rangers?” Evan repeats and then shakes his head as he climbs to his feet. “Nope, if we are anything, it is Piper’s sidekicks.”
“Speak for yourself, Doc, I’m no sidekick.” Archel grins. “I’m not Prince Charming either, I’m the villain in the princess’s story, and she loves it.”
“Alright, Romeo, let’s get moving,” I order, as I follow after Jago when we start moving again. We want to surprise them before they get to us. We are all racing towards each other in an underground lair, after all.
It’s taken us hours to clear two levels with no sight of any other soldiers. Everything is dead and abandoned. Frowning, I start to let down my guard. “Maybe that was all of them?”
“Then where is the captain?” Jago snarls, and I shiver, turning away so he can’t see my reaction as we leave the gym and hesitate in the hallway.
“Let’s check the cameras like you suggested instead of hunting randomly, we could be looking for days,” I advise and he nods. “Lead the way. Archel, take the back, Evan, you are with me.”
“Why am I always in the middle?” he grumbles, and I wink at him.
“So I can protect you like a damsel in distress.”
He narrows his eyes on me and I grin at him until it melts away and he smiles. “After you then, Pip.”
We start moving towards the command center as Archel speaks up. “Why do you call her Pip?”
Evan laughs. “Like pipsqueak. She was this tiny little girl when we first met.”
“Awww, was she a little princess?” he asks.
“She was a terror, always getting into trouble and blaming me,” he scoffs, but winks over at me.
“What about Beast Man, you knew him growing up too?” Archel questions.
“No,” we both reply.
“Eh, dude probably wasn’t ever a child, just spawned into a full-grown, angry-looking man,” Archel teases, making me giggle.
“I bet he was a cute child,” I reply back, and Jago looks over at me to see me checking out his ass.
“Not as cute as you when you get all flustered, Brawler,” he teases.
I snap my mouth shut then as we concentrate on moving through the labyrinth. Jago is confident as he walks through the dark, obviously knowing where he is going. We hit a door down another random corridor and he nods.
I move to the side, watching our backs as Archel and him clear it. They come out a minute later and nod, so we all slip inside and shut the door before Jago presses something and the lights come on.
Archel stuffs a discarded jacket at the bottom of the sliding door to block the light leaking out into the hallway, giving away our position. Smart move. Looking around, I let out a whistle at what I see. Now this is a command center.
Screens cover the whole back wall. They are darkened now, but I bet they used to cover all of Paradise and the grounds outside. Four desks are curved before it with matching chairs. On the desk is what I could only describe as a control board with buttons and keyboards and big red buttons. The only other thing in the room is a cage in the back corner where they obviously used to store their guns. It’s empty now and the gate is left open as if they rushed away in a hurry.
“Okay,” I call, rubbing my hands together as I let my bow drop to my back with the strap. “Anyone know how to get them working?”
We all look at each other and then at the computers and camera, which might as well be from a different universe. “We could try just pressing buttons,” I joke, and Jago snorts as he kicks one of the chairs out of the way and stares down at the boards, seeming to think, so I lean back against the wall and leave him to it.
“I think if we restart the system, I should be able to get the cameras back on, but not the lights if I hit the right sector. I’m not sure if it controls the door as well…but I think I can do it,” he grumbles, typing away on one of the computers.
Who knew? Muscles and brains, what a hot combination. I say so and Evan looks at me in disgust. “Do you think I’m a girl? We might be besties, Pip, but I don’t need to know how he gets your motor running.”
I wink at him and he grins as we both turn back to see Jago muttering to himself and smacking away Archel, who keeps trying to press buttons. “There,” he grunts, and we all look up in time to see the screens turn back on, fading to a black and white view of Paradise.
Some cycle through other rooms while others stay stationary. Moving forward, I lean in next to Jago and search the screens for signs of life. “There.” I point to the very bottom right screen where I spot two soldiers outside a door, guarding it.
“What’s that lead to?” I ask with a frown. It doesn’t seem familiar, so I clock the number painted on the wall. “That’s down below, where most of the rooms are abandoned.” I look at Evan for confirmation then and he nods.
“We went down there a lot as kids to explore, there’s nothing down there, well, not in the rooms we checked,” he adds.
“Something is there, something worth killing and dying over,” Archel states grimly.
“But what?” I muse.
Jago leans back, grabs his sword and gun, and looks at us. “Let’s go find out.”
Twelve
Revenge is a Bitch, so am I
We move quickly and quietly down Paradise’s hallways. I remember the way from when we were kids, so I take point, as Archel calls it. I spent a lot of time down here. It was somewhere to explore, somewhere free of adults where Evan and I could pretend for one minute that everything was okay.
There are rooms that were long since abandoned or locked. I’m guessing this used to be one of the locked ones. But what does it hide and why are the soldiers and the captain so bothered about getting to it now? So bothered they are willing to leave their people to die just to get their hands on it.
We reach the level, and in the stairway I press my fingers to my lips. I figured from the number on the door that it’s right down
at the bottom, but that doesn’t mean they can’t hear us. They all nod as I crack open the door and slip out into the corridor. This one is harder, they have the lights on down here.
It’s slow going, sliding across the floor quietly as we sneak towards them. We are just turning our second corner when I hear a noise. I hold my hand up to halt them and tilt my head to listen before turning with a panicked look and pointing at another door. Jago and Archel rush to the left, but Evan and I don’t have time because they are on us. Looking around in panic, Evan yanks open the door closest and shoves me in, following after me.
The door shuts, the room submerged in darkness. We are so close we are touching, breathing each other’s air, our panting overly loud in the quiet. Feeling along the wall behind me, I realise we are in a cupboard, probably a cleaning one. It’s small and compact, pushing us together.
I hear them again, the guards, coming closer, their boots drawing near. Evan pulls me tighter against him as I stare at the closed door, wondering if they are going to find us and what will happen if they do.
They are right outside the door now, and my heart slams against my chest at the thought of being found even as I slip my hand down and grip my sword closer, ready to fight our way out of here if we need to, but Evan’s hand comes up and grasps mine. Turning my head, my lips brush his chin and he sucks in a breath.
Time seems to stand still as I see him tilt his head down to mine, maybe to talk, maybe not…we will never know, because his lips brush against mine and we both gasp quietly.
Why does the dark always make things more exciting? A brush of a hand, a touch of lips? All my other senses are on high alert, very aware of him. Even though we are in danger, all I can think of is him.
“I love you, Pip,” he whispers almost silently against my lips.
Tears fill my eyes, it’s all I ever wanted to hear, and I’m done being angry or upset with him. We agreed on a new start, but that doesn’t mean I still don’t have all the feelings and love for him that I had before.
“I love you too, Evvie,” I reply, and then his lips are on mine.
Moving hungrily, teasingly as he nibbles on my lips before I open for him, he tangles his tongue with mine.
I try to stay quiet, conscious they are right outside, but when his hand grips my hair and yanks me closer, a groan escapes. He swallows it down as he presses nearer, letting me feel the hardness in his pants. I want to make a joke about being happy to see me, but he is still kissing me.
He’s hard and domineering, until I’m gripping his shirt to hold him close, weak in the legs from this dominant side of him. Fuck, I knew it would be hot as hell with him.
The door is wrenched open and we both turn, me with my sword and him with a knife, to see a grinning Archel and Jago there. “Doc and Princess, sitting in a tree,” Archel whispers, and I roll my eyes as I put my sword away and take his hand so he can pull me out.
“Come on, love birds, they moved on, there’s no one on the door. It’s now or never,” Jago tells us, and I let the fog of Evan’s kiss fade as I grip my crossbow and aim it at the floor.
“Let’s go find out what they are doing,” I agree, and I trail after him, Archel and Evan behind us as we head to the once protected door.
Like Jago said, it’s no longer protected, so all we have to do is hit the release button and it slides open. We are all ready, our weapons pointed, but we come up disappointed when nothing happens. Jago goes in first and I follow, noticing we are on what looks like a catwalk above a massive room. Peering over the steel rail, I spot the captain and a few soldiers below. I’m betting he doesn’t have many left, but what catches my eye is what they are protecting…
“Are those bombs?” I hiss, and we all crouch, peering through the railing as the captain shouts orders to his men.
“They look like it,” Evan confirms.
“I would say that one in the back corner near the silo is a nuclear warhead, I’m not sure if the others are.” Archel frowns.
“What the fuck are they doing?” Jago mutters, and I look at him.
“Did you know we had bombs down here?”
He shakes his head as I look down again. “Me neither, feels like that’s something they should mention at orientation.” I snort. “Please don’t venture outside or into the patrol areas and, oh, we are hiding bombs below our feet,” I mock.
“What now?” Evan inquires.
“Now, we go down there and ask them what they are for,” I reply. “They can’t get out, and we can’t leave them down here with that. There are only six soldiers and the captain, I think we can take them.”
“Only six, what will the rest of you do?” Archel teases.
Jago nods. “She’s right, okay, Piper, you’re up here with the bow. Evan, watch her back and the door, the others will come back when they hear firing. Assassin, you’re with me, we are going to sneak down there and kill them all but the captain. Piper, wait for my signal to start picking them off from up here.” He turns then, probably sensing I’m about to argue. “We need you to watch our backs, Brawler.”
“Got it.” I nod and he leans forward, kissing me hard.
“Aim true,” he whispers, before he starts to crouch walk away, keeping close to the floor.
Archel steals his spot in front of me and winks at me. “Don’t worry, I won’t let him die, watch my ass, won’t you?”
“You got it, I do like that ass after all.” I grin and he leans forward.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, Princess,” he whispers, before kissing me softly.
“That’s not a lot,” I hiss back, as he follows after Jago, both of them disappearing.
“Well shit,” I mutter, as I pull my crossbow around and perch it on a low rod of the rail, ready to shoot. “Evan, use my sword if you need to.”
I’m trusting him to protect my back. I feel him press close to it, no doubt staring down at the door. Blowing out a calming breath, I resist the urge to search for my guys, keeping my aim on one of the soldiers closest to the captain.
A whistle comes and I let the arrow fly, reloading and moving on, knowing it’s already embedded in his neck as I pick my next target and fire. Two down.
Jago emerges behind one and engages a man with his sword. As I’m about to fire at a third, Archel drops from the ceiling right on my target and cuts his throat. I don’t fire again, not wanting to hit my guys, but I’m still protecting their backs.
The captain is standing behind the remainders with a gun in his hand. Jago kills two men quickly, and together they kill the other. They are turning to the captain when I see him lift his gun and aim at Jago.
I don’t fucking think so.
I let loose another bolt, and it hits him right in the hand. He screams as he falls, the gun skating across the floor. I turn just as I hear the door opening behind me, but Evan is on it. He throws his knife at the first, and with a yell, he tackles the second and rains punch after punch down on him.
I leave Jago and Archel to restrain the captain, trusting them as I step up beside Evan to see the man’s face is just mush at this point and covered in blood. “He’s dead, Evvie, come on.”
I tap his shoulder and he looks up, fists freezing mid-air. His eyes are wild, his lips curled in a snarl, and blood is splattered on his face. It might make me fucked up, but it turns me the hell on.
He nods and climbs to his feet, spitting down at the soldier. “Try to hurt my girl, I dare you,” he snaps, before pulling his knife from the other corpse and turning to face me. “Come on then, Pip, let’s see what that captain is doing.”
“Then I get to have my fun with him.” I grin, no doubt evilly, and he snorts.
“You do have a mean streak, babe.”
“Too fucking right,” I reply, as we head down the catwalk to a metal staircase. He helps me down the last step, his hands on my hips lifting me effortlessly before setting me down on the concrete floor.
Turning, I spot the captain now tied up to one of the bomb
s, and I can’t help the laugh that escapes. Archel is leaning next to him, sharpening his blades without looking. The captain throws him nervous glances as Jago paces before him, his muscles bulging.
I know they both hate him, want to hurt him for what he did to me…but that’s not their revenge to get.
Plus, it’s bigger than me now, and we need to find out what he is doing with these bombs…then revenge.
As I step up in front of him, his eyes swing to me and he smirks at me viciously. “You,” he spits.
“Me.” I nod.
“Thought you were dead.” He leans back in the restraints like we are at the dinner table.
“Sorry to disappoint, turns out I’m not that easy to kill. Kinda like a cat,” I say conversationally.
“Or a rodent,” he concludes, and Jago snaps. He marches towards him and smashes his fist into his face. I watch in amusement as his head snaps back, his nose breaking with an audible crack.
“We need him alive, Beast,” I tease, and Jago shakes his hand as he comes to stand next to me again.
We all watch as the captain groans, lifts his head, and looks at us, blood trickling from his busted nose, his lips pursed in pain, and his eyes pinched. “You work for me, boy, or did you forget?” he snaps at Jago, his voice thick.
“I work for her,” Jago replies, jerking his head at me.
“Figures, another dick following a cunt,” he sneers, and I wince for him as Jago smashes his fist into his face again.
Rolling my eyes, I step forward again. “As fun as it is watching him beat the shit out of you like the little bitch you are, we need to know what you are doing down here.”
“Why would I tell you that?” He laughs.
“Well, him for one.” I nod my head at Jago, who cracks his knuckles. “Him for two.” I point at Archel, who grins and flashes him a blade. “Him for three.” I jerk my head at Evan, who waves, making me grin.
The captain looks at him. “Those two I get, but him?”
“I can patch you up time and time again, keep you alive as they torture you. Problem?” Evan asks, and even I blink at the hate in his voice…okay then.