“He’s clean,” Doc confirmed, flashing a look at Link before packing the remains of the first-aid kit away.
“Well I’d still like to ask him a few questions, my way,” Crimson said. A small but lethal dagger appeared in his hand as if by magic and he started to make it dance across his fingers.
“You don’t trust anyone,” Jesus said, grimacing as he put his jacket on over his wounded shoulder. “And to be perfectly honest, I doubt that any of us trust you, or maybe even each other,” he finished, looking around the room as they all started to look at each other.
“He’s right,” Jamie-Lyn concluded. “CJ is the only one who stayed with the unit. The rest of us left. We all went on with a different life, so who knows what that entailed? But right now, they are hunting us – all of us.”
“We still don’t know for sure who they are,” Link said, feeling like the outsider he so clearly was.
“Really? You didn’t happen to catch DJ Cynthia Bitch-Face spinning her greatest hits out there?” Crimson laughed bitterly.
“DJ?” Link asked with raised eyebrows.
“Okay, so I’m old,” Crimson fired back.
“You’re sure that was her?” Link asked the wider group.
“Oh yes.” Doc nodded. “No doubt about it, and those men sweeping the lower levels right now? They’re the police, the real ones. Somehow, Cynthia Arrow has been one step ahead of us this whole time. We were stupid and naive to think we’d ever be hunting her; she played us all.”
“You read her?” Jamie-Lyn asked.
“Enough of a glimmer,” Doc confirmed.
“So this is all her? She’s really back?” Crimson asked unnecessarily.
“I’d say so.” Doc nodded. “Or at least, this part is.”
“If she’s got the muscle and the clout to come at us like this, combined with the media war against us, then we really are up shit creek,” Crimson said with a heavy sigh.
“What about Marshall and Bull?” Jamie-Lyn pressed. “Was that her too?”
“I couldn’t tell,” Doc said, shaking her head slowly. “Marshall.” She sighed. “He was always the best of us. I just wish he was here now.”
“Me too,” Crimson added, and they all stared at him, remembering the constant conflict between the two men. “Hey, say what you want about the guy, but he was always the man with the plan. We could do with a little of that about now.”
“What about this… beast that’s still out there?” Link enquired.
“That’s true,” Jesus said thoughtfully. “I mean, why isn’t that thing here now? Why send a bunch of goons with guns if she has that monster to do her bidding?”
They all suddenly turned and stared hard at Doc, who felt the rush of familiarity at being the one they turned to for answers
“I said I got a glimmer, not her entire back story,” she told them tiredly as she closed her eyes for a moment to rest them.
For the first time, Jamie-Lyn realised that Doc was not looking so good. The woman’s face looked drawn and haggard, her skin seemed ashen, and there were large heavy bags under her eyes.
“You okay, Doc? You’re not looking so hot,” Jamie-Lyn noted with concern.
“I’m fine,” Doc replied unconvincingly.
“Bullshit,” Crimson added, suddenly taking a long look at the woman.
“I’m just a little out of practice, that’s all,” she replied, shaking her head.
“All the more reason for us to get gone,” Jesus said as he stood and moved towards the large break room window.
He eased the window open and carefully stared out into the night beyond.
“Seems clear,” he said quietly.
“Then I suggest that we get the hell out of here,” Link said nervously. “I mean, no offence to you guys, but I’m the newbie here. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that I’m expendable one.”
“Right,” Crimson said, nodding firmly. “We get the hell out of here and regroup. The answers we need can wait for a time when we’re not fighting for our lives.”
On the sofa, CJ started to sing under his breath. His words were mumbled, but it sounded like some kind of drunken sea shanty, and the language did not seem to be English.
“Is he singing?” Crimson asked incredulously.
“What language is that?” Jamie-Lyn mused aloud as she leaned in to hear better.
“Could be his own,” Link suggested.
“He sounds like that chef on the Muppets,” Crimson added.
“Are we going to have to carry him?” Link asked, worried.
“I got this,” Crimson announced confidently.
The others were edging towards the window to look outside in the hope that they could slip away unnoticed while Crimson looked around the break room before spotting something of use.
Jamie-Lyn looked back just in time to see Crimson acting seemingly without thinking.
“NO!” she cried out just too late.
Crimson flung a pot of water into CJ’s face, she guessed in an effort to rouse the alien. The water struck CJ, who opened his eyes for a moment and tried to sit up when the liquid struck him, before his head rolled around on his shoulders and he slumped back down again.
“What the hell’s wrong with you?” she demanded. Crimson looked confused by her anger before he looked down at the now empty pan in his hand.
“Oh…, right. The water makes him drunk,” he said, slowly understanding what he’d just done.
“You’re a moron,” Jamie-Lyn said, shaking her head in disbelief.
“Sorry,” Crimson said sheepishly.
“Great, so I guess now we are carrying him.” Link sighed.
With Jesus only having one good working arm, Doc needing to keep her mind clear, and Crimson needing to keep his hands free, it was up to Link and Jamie-Lyn to help CJ.
They raised him up slowly off the sofa and stood under his armpits supporting his weight, albeit a little shakily and already sweating under the effort.
They all made their way to the window before Doc stood still and raised two fingers to her temple.
Jamie-Lyn didn’t like the way that the woman’s pallor seemed to grow more yellow as she made yet another withdrawal on her ability account. The effort was now looking like it might do her some serious damage if she kept on using it, but they had no choice.
“Doc?” Jesus asked when the woman didn’t say anything for what seemed like an age.
“Okay,” Doc finally gasped as she swayed on her feet for a moment. “I think we’re clear.”
“You think?” Crimson hissed as he looked out into the darkness. “I’m not really a big fan of think, Doc.”
“Sorry, can’t do better than think right now,” Doc replied in a hoarse whisper as she sagged against the wall.
“Then we go with think,” Jesus agreed as he stepped out of the window and onto the flat roof beyond.
The others followed. Crimson crept to the roof edge and peered down. There were thick bushes below and he hoped that they’d absorb some of the fall.
An old and engrained part of his mind told him that this would be the perfect moment to take his leave, to slip away while the others weren’t looking. He even got as far as leaning forwards and preparing himself for the drop, but that was as far as he got.
Doc was undoubtedly in no shape right now to be putting thoughts into his head; there was nothing stopping him from disappearing into the night, but something did all the same.
He looked back at the others as they struggled out through the window. Jamie-Lyn and Link suddenly dropped CJ, who landed with a thud on the flat roof, and he couldn’t help but smile a little at that.
His years on his own – building a drug empire, creating an army that he’d trained and who had followed him out of fear – had always left him alone, no matter how many people he surrounded himself with. For better or worse, and he felt the latter, this was the only family he’d ever known or ever would.
A smile played on his lips at
the comical sight of the others trying to get CJ back to his feet, and it was that momentary drop in his concentration that cost them a life.
The break room doors suddenly burst open behind them, and two armed men rushed in. They may have been the official police tactical unit, but there were no warning shouts before they opened fire into the room and through the window.
He tried to shout a warning but he could already tell that it was going to be too late.
Doc felt the breach coming, but her senses were so worn that she was unable to prevent it or protect the team from it.
She couldn’t ever remember feeling this drained and empty before. Her body felt like it weighed a tonne and simply thinking was now becoming painful.
The men that had burst into the room were scared. She could feel that coming off them in waves, and the one that opened fire did so with a jerking motion born out of that fear.
Dimly, she felt a waft of wind pass by her face from the other side as she heard Crimson roar a warning. In spite of her exhaustion, time moved slower for her than the others, and in those precious few moments, she was able to process what the others couldn’t.
She could tell two things in that elongated moment. The first was that Crimson’s throwing daggers would find their mark. She didn’t need her ability to know that; after all, the man never missed. The second thing she could see was that it would be a fraction too late to affect the shooter’s aim.
Link’s words became prophetic as the newcomer to the group was in the direct line of fire and he would be struck by multiple bullets fired by a deadly weapon in the hands of a scared but accurate officer.
For all of her abilities, she was too drained to use them. She couldn’t affect the shooter or his aim, and she hadn’t been able to warn Link in advance. With her power being moot, she did the only thing that she could in the situation: she stepped in front of the bullets and took the hit.
The two things happened almost simultaneously. Crimson’s daggers struck the two men in their unprotected throats despite their heavy combat gear, dropping them to the ground, clutching their necks as blood spurted.
The other thing that happened at the same time was Doc stepping in front of Link. Her blood spattered out of several chest wounds as she dropped down onto the flat roof.
“NO!” Crimson roared, the only person capable of reacting anywhere near close enough to Doc to process what had happened.
He rushed to her side as the others all took a moment to realise what had just happened.
“DOC!” Jamie-Lyn cried out as she dropped to her own knees at the woman’s side.
Jesus and Link merely looked around in shock, still trying to figure out what had happened.
Crimson reached Jamie-Lyn’s side as they both knelt down in wet puddles. Doc’s torso was peppered with bloody holes and she coughed violently for a few moments, spewing a little more blood out from where it was supposed to stay put.
Jamie-Lyn took her hand as Doc’s eyes tried to focus.
“Stay with me,” Crimson said as he ripped open Doc’s shirt to check the wounds. “Stay with me, Doc!”
His eyes viewed the damage and grew wider with the knowledge that she was already as good as dead.
“Shit, shit, shit,” he breathed over and over again. “Okay, we need to get pressure on these,” he barked as he placed his hands down on the now seeping holes.
“Why?” Link whispered as he knelt down also. “Why the hell did you do it?”
Doc coughed a little more, jerking her body up off the ground before she settled back down.
“This… thing,” she gasped towards him with a softness to her eyes, her words sounding wet as her lungs filled with blood. “It was never… what we did… It was always who… who we are,” she finished, struggling to breathe.
“Don’t talk, Doc,” Jamie-Lyn said through tears. “Don’t talk, okay? We’ll… we’ll get you out of here and fixed up, okay? You hear me?”
“We need something to lower her down,” Crimson said, looking around frantically. “Jesus? For Christ’s sake, man, don’t just stand there!”
Doc reached out with her free hand and took Crimson’s. His own was wet and slippery with her blood, but she held on and pulled him close before whispering something into his ear that only he could hear.
“Okay,” he said hoarsely as he pulled back and gripped her hand tightly with both of his.
The others looked at him but no one had a chance to ask him what she’d said as the unmistakable sound of heavy combat boots came thundering towards them.
“They’re coming,” Link announced unnecessarily as he took his semiautomatic pistol out of the back of his waistband.
“We have to go,” Jesus said, pained.
“We’re not leaving her,” Jamie-Lyn fired back angrily, still kneeling at Doc’s side and holding her hand tightly.
“We don’t have a choice!” Jesus hissed. “She’s as good as gone and you all know it. If we don’t go now, then we all join her!”
“It’s already too late,” Crimson said heavily as he turned his head towards the edge of the roof. “We’re surrounded.”
As if to confirm his words, the break room doorway was suddenly filled with several heavily armed men, and the sound was echoed from below as boots crunched on gravel.
Link turned and aimed his weapon. Jamie-Lyn followed suit without letting go of Doc, and Jesus hoisted his assault rifle to his shoulder. Crimson dropped daggers into his hands and tensed himself for what he instinctively knew would be a last stand.
The officers in the doorway hesitated as they saw that their targets had their own weapons, and a momentary standoff ensued.
The world stopped in that moment. Time stood still as the room froze and no one dared to so much as breathe.
“WAIT!” a woman’s voice called out from outside the room, and they all knew just whom it belonged to.
Cynthia Arrow made her way into the room but made sure that she was covered by several of her men’s bodies so that no one could get a clean shot, not even Crimson.
“I want to see this,” Cynthia purred.
“Come on in, get a better look,” Crimson snarled.
“Oh, I think I’m just fine where I stand, thank you.” She smiled back pleasantly.
“You won’t get away with this,” Jamie-Lyn called out, her hand shaking from holding the pistol in her slippery grip.
“Oh, won’t I, now? This little team of yours is now outside the law, little girl. People are dead, murdered by your own hands. I have taken away your authority, and soon the people of this great country will know the truth about just who you all really are.”
“They won’t believe you,” Link fired back.
“Ah, the new boy. I do think that you greatly overestimate the public’s attention and intelligence, my dear child. People are not interested in nuance. They care little for the facts. I mean, really, who has the time to form their own opinions anymore? Learning? Understanding? Checking? This is the modern age, my boy. The people want to be told what to think and how to think it. Soundbites are the way to go: easy to understand and easier to digest. They want to know why their lives are a disappointment and, more importantly, who they can blame.”
“I think that you underestimate people,” Link replied confidently.
“Such a disappointment.” Cynthia sighed, shaking her head. “Speaking of which, hello, Jesus. You dared to take a blasphemous name, and you have truly paid the price. Your father would be ashamed of what you have done with his legacy.”
“Lady, you really are nuts. I guess Havencrest did little to cure you of that.” Jesus laughed bitterly.
“On the contrary.” Cynthia smiled back enigmatically. “You know, I thought that I would enjoy this a little more. Perhaps pride is my truest sin. And yet this brings me no pleasure. I was hoping for more of a… challenge.”
“Yeah, I’ve got your challenge right here!” Crimson growled.
“Defiant to the end; it seems f
itting,” Cynthia replied gently. “But you are all ants in the presence of God, even your leader there,” she said, pointing towards the downed CJ who still hadn’t moved. “You see now what true power looks like, what HIS light can do,” she said, pointing upwards. “And oh, my brothers and sisters, it shines through me like a beacon of hope for the world, bright enough to extinguish even your master’s darkness.”
“Are we going to do this or not?” Crimson asked. “Because, lady, and listen up because I mean this most sincerely, you are really starting to bore the shit out of me.”
chapter 24
WHITE FLAGS ALL ROUND
Simon Clermont sat in his private office wondering what the hell was going on and just what his own part in it was.
The sun would be up soon, and he didn’t know just what the new day was bringing him. Would it bring a sense of balancing the scales or would he only feel a sense of shame?
When Cynthia Arrow had stood in front of him making her case, it all seemed so rational. He could take revenge on the man that had killed his father, and at the same time, secure his own position as leader of the country. But now, sitting alone in the dark, that sense of righteousness was starting to fade.
The revelations about his predecessor’s underhand dealings would undoubtedly sink his own government by association. It didn’t matter how many years had passed since Rosemary Williams had helped to create a conflict to unite the nation behind her own government and secure power; they were the same party, and her actions would surely sink him now.
He wasn’t ashamed to admit that he had ambition, that he had worked all of his life to ascend to the very highest office in the land. Far too often, in his opinion, the British mentality hid away from success. He didn’t hide; he had never hidden. He had sought the position and he desperately wanted to cling onto it.
“You seem troubled, sir.”
The voice from behind both surprised him and didn’t at the same time. Dennison had been at his side for years now, a man who served without question and with absolute loyalty.
“These are troubling times, Dennison,” Clermont replied.
“How so, sir?”
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