He cocked his head, staring at me. “No,” he said after a pause so long, it was actually unnerving. “I don’t sparkle in the sunlight.”
A smirk crossed my lips though I couldn’t help it. “That’s not really a good barometer for vampirism.” I readied my knife in front of me, waiting for him to charge again when a thought occurred to me. “But then again, what do I know?”
“Not a lot, I’m guessing.” He shrugged and charged at me.
“Light’s on,” I screamed, shutting my eyes. My suit exploded into illumination like a flashbang grenade, filling the blackened cavern with the intensity of the sun for a split second. When I opened them, the guy was reeling back, his flesh steaming and charbroiled looking. I’d known the light was bright, but I hadn’t known it could do that. I’d expected it to give him one hell of a sunburn, not make his skin bubble and smoke.
Not wasting a single second, I leapt on him. We crashed to the ground as he howled, trying to gouge into my flesh with his burned fingers. I drove my knife through his chest, trying to stab him in the heart. His bulletproof vest must have saved him because instead of dying, an inhuman scream ripped from his throat as he thrashed violently with my blade inside him.
Before he could recover, I rolled off of him and grabbed his fallen axe. I reared back and swung the weapon at him. It came down on his neck with all the force I could muster, separating his head from his shoulders with a staccato crack that echoed inside the empty room.
“Well, that’s one way to get ahead. Ha. Ha. Ha.” A voice above my head spoke as I stood there, chest heaving from exertion. I turned, still gripping my axe and stared at the spot where I was sure the voice had come from. “Anyway, I just want you to know, your director is in another castle.”
A view screen appeared on the wall, showing the director being shoved into a helicopter on the roof of a building that looked exactly like the one I was currently inside. “Good luck.”
Then the screen winked out, and the sound of gas spewing into the room filled my ears.
20
Flash was staggering toward me when the elevator doors opened. Blood dripped down her left arm, but she didn’t seem to notice it. Her face was set in an angry mask, but it brightened when she saw me. She almost smiled, I swear. I don’t know why, but to think she was happy to see me made me, well, happy.
“Abby, you’re alive. Good. We must go. Director not here,” she said, spinning on her heel and making her way back down the hallway without so much as a backward glance.
“How did you know?” I asked, sprinting after her and catching her just as we breeched the doorway. She had what looked like a freaking rocket launcher in her hands, though I’m not sure why I hadn’t noticed it before. “And why are you in here? You’re supposed to be outside distracting people.”
She tossed a strange glance at me before shaking her head. “Bang saw director being evacuated. He is giving chase.” She paused, looking at me as though trying to figure out how to say what she wanted. “I came because we partners now. Same team. No leave person behind.” She stared at me for so long, I started to feel uncomfortable so I just nodded.
So Flash thought we were on the same side? Fat chance. I wasn’t quite sure who she worked for exactly, but whatever team she was on, I didn’t want to be a part of it. Still, she had come through the compound to get me, leaving her partner to go after the director. That counted for something, right? I wasn’t sure how much exactly, but it wasn’t nothing.
Flash nodded back and began walking forward, crossing the room with steady, deliberate strides, keeping her weapon locked in front of her. Still, something about her movements made me think she was ready for trouble but didn’t quite expect it. I smirked in spite of myself. Evidently, she was expecting the unexpected. Unfortunately, I was pretty sure the unexpected could include Godzilla, and sadly, I didn’t think even the great Gojira was a limiting factor.
We cleared the room without hassle as I gripped my axe, somewhat annoyed I was out of bullets. I was still on the lookout for a fallen weapon, but I didn’t see any weapons anywhere. Or bodies for that matter. Shouldn’t there have been bodies? I mean I’d shot people and this was still an active firefight. Where had the hostiles gone?
I was about to ask as we made our way through the cafeteria when Doctor Debra Hassad leapt from behind a steel table and tackled Flash to the ground. The two women struggled on the floor as Debra reared back and slugged the mercenary across the face. Flash’s head whipped back and her fingers loosened on her big gun, not that it mattered. The good doctor had so much leverage, she’d actually pinned Flash beneath the weapon.
“Get off,” I screamed, hefting my axe into the air. “I don’t want to split you like a cassava melon, but I will.”
Debra threw me a murderous glare, and I realized she had a bloody knife in one hand. Had she already stabbed Flash?
“Do you know how many of my friends this woman has killed?” Debra cried, the anguish in her voice unnerving.
“I won’t repeat myself,” I replied slowly. I resisted the urge to be sick as I stared at her, forcing everything inside me away as best I could. Something on my face must have changed because the doctor’s face changed from righteous fury to dejected resignation.
“I had hoped you were better,” she said, dropping her knife. It clattered to the ground with a sort of empty thunk that made me feel bad in a way I hadn’t quite expected. What did she mean, she expected better?
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, but before the doctor could respond, a gunshot rendered my hearing a moot point. Debra slumped forward toward Flash, her eyes going blank and empty as she hit the ground with a sound like a sack of wet laundry. Blood pooled out of her though I didn’t see the wound as Flash shoved the woman away.
“Thanks, Abby. Next time, swing the axe,” Flash said, voice stilted and somewhat annoyed as she got to her feet.
“Gee, with gratitude like that, who needs admonishment?” I muttered as Flash shot me a look that said she had no idea what I’d said. Instead of repeating myself, I shrugged. “So what’s the plan?”
“We steal helicopter. Go after Bang and director.” She shot me a ‘duh’ look. “What you think, they have one helicopter? Only?”
“I hadn’t thought about it,” I replied as we exited the room, though Flash seemed even more relaxed despite the fact she had just been ambushed. That was weird, right? Shouldn’t she be even more alert? I knew I was. My heart was still pounding and adrenaline was still rushing through my veins.
Then again, maybe she was used to being ambushed. She probably had years of experience on me. “So how long have you been doing this?” I asked as we came to a room with a staircase painted on the wall beside the entrance. With the barrel of her weapon, she pushed open the door leading within, revealing a stainless steel staircase ascending toward the sky.
“Three years,” she said, not even looking at me as she spoke.
“That doesn’t seem very long.”
“I was recruited when I was twenty from a Russian prison.” She shrugged. “You think I am old?”
“No, I didn’t mean it that way,” I replied, my cheeks heating up as I followed her up the stairs. “You just seem so badass, I assumed you had been active for a long time.”
“With job like this, you not live long if you not tough.” She glanced at me and smirked. “Besides, I am Russian. If we have vodka and cigarettes, we can do anything.” She gestured around us. “Too bad no vodka here. Will fix later. Will have much vodka.” She followed with a raucous laugh that didn’t quite fit her.
“Okay,” I replied, shaking my head. “Next you’ll be telling me you would be smoking right now, but cigarette smoke would give away our position.”
Instead of responding, she stepped off the stairway and onto a landing. She flashed her own badge at the card reader and the door lock snapped open. She pushed it open, and as she did so, gunfire obliterated the silence as lead death pelted into the walls and d
oor on the other side. Flash gritted her teeth and looked like she was counting in her head as she dropped down into a crouch with her big gun pointed at the still mostly closed door.
The sound of bullets hitting metal faded, and as soon as it did, she kicked the door open and fired. It was unlike anything I expected because instead of a bang or a whap or, even a flash and bang, nothing seemed to happen for a moment. I watched in amazement as green smoke poured from her weapon, filling the entire football field sized room in a heartbeat and everyone inside dropped to the floor unconscious.
She tossed a grin at me before getting to her feet and striding inside, reloading her weapon. I guess she wasn’t worried about people with gas masks. I mean, I wasn’t worried, my suit had already saved me from whatever doom gas the Israelis had used on the prisoners, which was good, but still. Bullets would hurt her. Or maybe they wouldn’t. Who knew?
I followed her as she stepped up to a black helicopter I can’t really describe except it sort of reminded me of an angry bird of prey. It was sleek and all black except for the front of the cockpit where it was painted to look like some kind of falcon. If it had been far away I wouldn’t have been able to tell since it was all done in dark colors, but close up, well, it was hard not to notice the paintjob.
Flash slid inside the machine like she stole helicopters all the time and gestured for me to follow. I did, but I felt a little bad about it. I wasn’t sure why, exactly. I mean these people had shot at us, and it wasn’t like I hadn’t stolen a helicopter before. I’d done it, twice. But that had been from the agency, not for the agency. I wasn’t sure why, but something about helping the agency was a little irksome. I knew deep down, I was doing this to save my father, Roberto, but still. Still.
Maybe I was making the wrong choice?
The cockpit slammed down around us with a pop that made me jump. Flash smirked, tossing a sidelong glance at me as the rotors overhead started to whip through the air. “Don’t worry, Abby. This is not, how do you say? My first rodeo?”
“That’s not what I’m afraid of,” I replied.
“Oh?” she asked, quirking one bleached blonde eyebrow at me. “What makes you afraid?”
“I’m afraid I’m going to be you when I grow up.” The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them. Once they were out there, a heavy silence settled over us as Flash examined me like I was a strange bug.
She turned back toward the controls, her hands flying across the controls. We were in the air when she finally spoke, turning to look at me as we zoomed through the sky even though she probably should have been watching the, uh, road?
“Abby,” she said very softly, and I’d have wondered if she’d spoken at all if I hadn’t seen her lips move. “You are already like me.”
It was silent after that even though I wished it wasn’t. I tried to think of something to say to that, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t even deny it because, whatever Flash was, I was worried she was right. There was a smoking compound in the distance that could attest to one simple fact. I was an agent of the agency and a damn good one at that. The realization made me want to throw up.
21
“Wake up, Abby,” Flash said, shaking me gently. My eyes fluttered open to see her leaning toward me, a friendly smile plastered across her face.
“Hi,” I replied, blinking the sleep from my eyes. I wasn’t quite sure how long I’d been asleep, but it was night outside. I could tell because there was a moon in the distance. “How long was I out?”
“A few hours,” she replied, not taking her chocolate eyes off me. “You looked so comfortable, I almost joined you, but someone had to pilot.” My cheeks must have flushed because she laughed and hit me lightly on the shoulder. “I kid.”
With that, she stood up and climbed out of the cockpit. I took another moment to orient myself to the situation before sighing. I was lucky she hadn’t gutted me in my sleep. It was sort of a sad thought in retrospect because all I’d done was doze off. I guess I lived in that kind of world now. You know, the one where your allies might gut you because you fell asleep around them.
I shook off the feeling as best I could and climbed out of the cockpit and hopped down to the ground. The grass was spongy beneath my feet, and as I looked out at the surroundings, I realized we were at the top of a high mountain staring down at a town that looked like it’d actually been carved from the rock itself.
“The director is here?” I asked, walking over to Flash who had her head inclined toward what looked like a billion olive trees.
“No,” Flash replied, still staring at the olive trees. “We’re in Delphi. You know, where Apollo’s oracle used to be.”
“Any particular reason?” I asked, resisting the urge to throttle her for taking me on some kind of wild goose chase. Surely, she had a good reason to bring me here. I just hoped it wasn’t so I could stare at thousand year old marble statues of long dead Olympians. “Are we getting our fortune told?”
“There is a man in that large house.” She pointed past me toward a squat structure with a ginormous red roof near the center of town. “You need to convince him to come with us.”
“Um, why would I do that?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest and giving her my best ‘you’re out of your damn mind’ look.
“He is valuable asset. They may trade the director for him,” Flash replied like that settled everything. “It is best plan. Bang agrees.”
“So I am supposed to go in there and convince some guy to let us trade him to the Israelis for the director? No one will go for that,” I snapped. Was she crazy?
“Then take him by force.” She shrugged at me.
“What if that doesn’t work?” I asked, wondering why I had to be the one to go get the asset.
“Then shoot him in face and we do plan B.” She grinned at me and patted her sidearm. “You will like plan B. Lots of bang. Your style.”
I rubbed my face with my hands as I thought about what she said. Sadly, I was pretty sure I had to try it this way because I was pretty sure plan B was going to have me charging inside and shooting people. I wasn’t quite sure how many people I had to kill before I was officially a horrible person, but I was sure it wasn’t very many.
“Fine,” I grumbled and began walking down the hill toward the house. “Anything I should know?” I asked over my shoulder as I weaved through the olive trees.
“Try not to shoot him,” Flash said, coming up beside me. “The other target we can try is very far away.”
“I’ll do my best,” I muttered as we came to the street leading toward the house.
“Good,” she said, shoving a silenced pistol into my hands. “Try not to make big bang. It will be easier.”
“And while I’m in there shooting people with this.” I held up the weapon. “You will be doing what?”
“Waiting for your return.” She smiled at me and without warning, leaned forward and kissed me on the top of the head. “Good luck.”
She turned away and melted into the shadows as I stood there staring after her. That was certainly weird. It made me wonder if perhaps Flash had younger sisters or something. I had been raised as an only child because, well, I had no siblings. Maybe that was how older sisters acted? It didn’t matter, I guess.
I walked up to the house, and as I approached, the porch light came on, illuminating me. Thankfully my suit had already melded into a yellow summer dress so I didn’t look like a crazy commando, which was a plus. Without thinking, I knocked on the door. There was a rustle inside and the door cracked open, only I didn’t see anyone.
“Hello?” a mousey voice asked, and I looked down to see a blond girl no more than five years old staring at me with piercing, strangely familiar blue eyes. She was wearing a Mickey Mouse t-shirt so long it fell to below her knees. My throat closed up. Oh no. I was going to kidnap this kid’s dad? What kind of person did that make me?
“Julie? What are you doing?” called a woman from inside before I heard footsteps rushing t
oward the door. A moment later, the girl was replaced by an older woman who, judging by their similar hair color and blue eyes, was the girl’s mother. “You know you don’t answer the door for strangers,” the woman admonished, not even looking at me as my heart fell into my toes.
“Hi, I must be here to see your husband,” I said when she turned back to me. A friend of mine gave me his name.” I replied, annoyed I didn’t know his name. That sure would have made things easier. Then again, for all I knew I was supposed to kidnap the mom. I was just assuming it was a he because Flash had said he… God, I hoped not.
“And what do you want to see my husband about?” she asked, one golden eyebrow arching up her face as her lips tightened into a half-annoyed grimace.
“I’m a reporter for the high school newspaper. My professor said your husband could give me an interview.” I blushed. “Sorry, this is kind of embarrassing… I just really need the extra credit.”
She stared at me for a long time and I got the distinct impression she didn’t believe me, which was fair since I was lying through my damned teeth. I had gotten pretty good at it, though. Why? The agency actually had classes in the subject. The key was to just go for it, evidently.
“If you’re busy, I guess I can come back…” I added when the woman huffed at me. “But then I’ll lose a whole letter grade…”
“Fine, you can come in, but lock the door behind you,” she said, throwing her hands up and gesturing for me to come inside. Toys were scattered across the brown carpet of their living room, seeming to overflow out of the corner where one of those red plastic toy boxes stood.
The girl rushed over to me as I stepped into the room. She held up what looked like a frayed blue Care Bear. “This is bear,” she said, thrusting the toy at me. “He’s my favorite.”
Meet Abby Banks VOLUMES: 1-3 Page 46