Resurrection: The Clandestine Saga Book 2

by ID Johnson

  Cadence was shocked. She was certainly not expecting that information. "Wow," she said crossing her arms and shaking her head.

  "So, does that change your mind about leaving?" he asked still standing in the doorway.

  She thought for only a moment. "No," she replied. "If anything, it confirms to me that I need to go."

  He seemed confused but only nodded. "All right, kid. Let me know if you need anything."

  ***

  The weather was unseasonably warm on Tuesday and had been for the last several days. Cadence had parked a few blocks away from the place where she was supposed to meet Jack so she could walk up and do some observing. Most of the team had been in or near their assigned positions for hours so that they could keep a look-out. When Cadence was about a block away, she got confirmation from Elliott that Jack had arrived on foot from the west. He was lingering in the shadows near the pharmacy building.

  Cadence could see him from a distance. He looked like Jack, at least from there. Already, she was having a hard time convincing herself that he was a monster. She had gone back and forth several times over the last few days, especially, trying to figure out what would happen if she just brought him in instead of destroying him. Obviously, she knew Aaron would be mad. But he couldn't make her pull the trigger.

  She stopped about ten yards away from him, making him step out from the shadows. Immediately, she was reminded that he was, in fact, a Vampire by the irritating lurching motion in her stomach. There was a hand rail at hip level that somewhat separated her from the fifteen foot drop to the concrete area below, next to the front part of the pharmacy building. She knew Jamie was down there somewhere, which made her feel better, though she wasn't worried about herself getting hurt in the least.

  "Hi," Jack said smiling as he stepped forward. "You look amazing!" he said.

  Cadence smiled. She was wearing a long black knit dress and thick black tights with knee high boots, but he couldn't see much of that through the trench coat she wore that hit just above her knees. She was also wearing a Glock on her hip holster, which was also concealed. "You look pretty good yourself, " she remarked. He looked as if he had put quite some effort in his outfit and wore khakis, a nice sweater, and a brown leather jacket.

  "Thanks," he said. "It's so nice to see you, Cadence," he added.

  He was fidgeting with something in his jacket pocket, but it didn't seem large enough to be a gun. She felt fairly safe. There was no sign whatsoever of Giovani, and her team was assuring her of this over the IAC. "It's nice to see you, too," she remarked, not sure how in the world she was going to bridge the gap between it's nice to see you and bang, bang you're dead. Thoughts of all the things he had been accused of recently invaded her thoughts, but she pushed them away. Looking at him now, she thought they couldn't possibly be accurate. She returned her attention to the conversation. "The weather's nice," she continued, nodding her head nervously.

  "Yeah," he said glancing around. "So, where did you want to go?"

  She hesitated. "Uhm, well, I'm not really sure," she began, leaning on the railing. "I think we should go somewhere sort of private, you know, so we can talk."

  Jack looked around again. There had been no cars pass by on the street next to them the entire time they had been talking, no pedestrians, nothing. "You're right," he admitted. "I guess we do have a lot of things to talk about. Well, this is a pretty good place," he said gesturing with his elbows, his hands still in his pockets.

  "Yeah, I guess," she smirked, realizing how isolated they seemed to be. "Jack, I just think..." she was about to say "you should come back to LIGHTS with me," when he interrupted.

  "Oh, I brought you something," he said, as if he wanted to sneak it in before she could ruin the moment by bringing up the un-pleasantries of reporting.

  She watched as he pulled the tiny object out of his pocket. "What is it?" she asked, confused.

  "It's a ring," he smiled. Cadence's eyes widened. "Oh, no, it's not... I mean, I'm not asking you to marry me. I mean, not yet. It's just, like... a promise ring, I guess," he said stepping forward and waiting for her to produce her hand.

  "Oh," she said. Curiosity got the better of her, and she stuck out her left hand, waiting for him to slip the ring on. It was an opal ring with a gold band. An odd choice for a promise ring, she thought, but a kind gesture, nevertheless. "Thanks, Jack. You didn't have to do that," she remarked.

  "I love you, Cadence," he said simply. "I want to be with you... always. I don't care what you are. I love you no matter what."

  She found it ironic that he was speaking to her like she was the one with the horrific confliction. "Well, Jack, if we are going to be together, you're going to have to come in and get tagged," she replied matter-of-factly.

  He exhaled sharply. "That again, Cadence? I thought you were here because you didn't care about that anymore."

  "Jack, it's my job. How can I be with you if you're not willing to follow the rules?" she implored.

  "Cadence, can't we talk about this later?" he begged her. "Can't we just go to dinner, and have a good time and then sort this all out?"

  "Do not let him take you to a second location," Elliott ordered.

  Simultaneously, Christian reported, "We've got movement in the parking lot across from the park."

  Just then, a shot rang out, filling the night sky with a reverberating repercussion. By the time Cadence realized what was happening, Jack was pushing her over the railing, and she was tumbling to the ground below, a sharp stinging sensation in her leg, and several more gunshots resounding.

  As she fell, she could see the ground growing closer, almost in slow motion. She hit hard on her right side, and it knocked the wind out of her. Jack leapt over the railing and crouched next to her. She knew he was yelling her name, but she couldn't make out anything else. She also heard chatter on the IAC, something about a car, Zabrina, and "on the ground," but she really had no idea what anyone was saying. Instinctively, she reached for the Glock she had in a holster near her left hip, the side she had not landed on.

  She began to regain her clear-headedness just as another thud echoed against the pavement, and she realized they were no longer alone. Drawing her gun, she began to bring it up to aim at Giovani. She heard Jack yell, "Giovani, no! What are you doing?"

  Cadence could see that Giovani had a revolver pointed at her, a ruthless grin plastered on his face. It would be a dual to see who could fire more quickly. Just as she pulled the trigger, Jack jumped in front of his brother, attempting to push the gun away so that he could not fire at Cadence. His quick movement left him directly in the path of the bullet as it was leaving her Glock.

  She watched in disbelief as the bullet entered the side of his chest and he fell to the ground. He hit Giovani hard enough to knock his shot off target, and the bullet went flying near Cadence, not hitting her. Giovani stumbled against the concrete wall as Jack hit the ground.

  "Oh my God!" Cadence screamed, forgetting the pain in her leg where evidently Giovani's first shot had made contact, and displacing her weapon as she ran to him. "Jack! Can you hear me?" she yelled, grabbing his face in her hands. "I am so sorry, Jack! I didn't mean to..."

  "It's okay, Cadence," he said quietly. "I know... I know. Are you okay?"

  She nodded as the tears began to spill down her face. "Jack, please stay with me. You can't go, not like this."

  "Cadence, it's fine. I'm not... I'm not who I used to be. It's better this way," he replied as his eyes began to glaze over.

  "Jack, no!" she screamed unable to control her tears now. She was subconsciously aware that Giovani had crossed behind her and picked up her own gun. It was now pointed at her head. Her weapon was more deadly than his own because it contained silver bullets. And yet, she didn't care, not now.

  "Cadence, tell me you love me," Jack implored.

  "I love you, Jack," she said without hesitation.

  He smiled at her, and his face seemed to take on a calm expression like none she had ev
er seen before. "I love you, too," he whispered before gasping his last and fading away.

  Cadence still had her eyes locked on his face when she felt a firm grasp on her hair, and she was suddenly hauled to her feet. The pain in her head and from the wound in her leg was starting to catch up with her, but it still paled compared to the ache in her heart. At this point, she almost didn't care if Giovani shot her.

  However, the sound of her teammates shouting orders brought her around. She wondered where Jamie was, and though she couldn't turn her head just yet with Giovani's grip on her hair, she could see through his own IAC that he had stepped out of the shadows now and had a gun drawn on Giovani. She could only imagine that he had come out before when she was still with Jack, but she didn't know for sure. She could also see Laura coming down the stairs across the way now, gun drawn, with Laney and Hannah behind her.

  "Cadence, focus. I know you're injured, but I need you to help me get you out of this situation, okay?" Elliott implored.

  The sound of his voice brought her around and she realized, if Giovani shot her in the head, there would be little to nothing Jamie could do about it.

  Giovani shifted his grasp so that his arm was around her waist. He was still using her as a human shield. He began to back towards the stairs, constantly glancing up at the street as if he was looking for something, or perhaps keeping an eye out for the rest of her team. She knew no one was coming from that direction, however. Elliott had told them to figure out how Giovani had gotten by them and to see if they could get a visual on Zabrina. Clearly, there had to be more to this equation.

  "Giovani, it's over," Laura said as she approached the volatile situation. "I suggest you let go of Cadence, and step forward with your hands in the air."

  Giovani laughed his maniacal laugh. "Don't be ridiculous," he replied. "You know that's not happening."

  "I'll shoot you anyway," she warned.

  Cadence could see that she seemed to be considering any angle that would allow her to hit her target. She was well aware that Giovani wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger at the same time that Laura did, which would end it for her.

  "Laura do not, I repeat do not fire. Stand down. I've got this," Elliott ordered. Then to Cadence, he said, "If you can lean forward on three about one inch, I'll have the shot, kid. You copy?"

  Cadence took a deep breath. It seemed to take every ounce of energy she had to reply, "Copy."

  "You wouldn't do that," Giovani was yelling back at Laura, still laughing. They continued their back and forth as the pain in Cadence's leg continued to grow. She had to focus on the sound of Elliott's voice. It was the only thing that was helping her keep it together.

  "All right, here we go," he said calmly. "One, two..." but before he could say three Cadence slumped forward. "What the hell?" he asked aloud. He realized that Giovani had let go of Cadence's now limp body. Torn between running to assist her and taking the shot, he attempted to fire at the fleeing Vampire but missed, his emotions getting the better of him. A car had stopped on the street at the top of the stairs. He heard several other gunshots ring out as the Corvette screeched away.

  Cadence felt herself dying. She had no idea what had just happened, but the pain in her chest was unbearable. Once Giovani had dropped her onto the pavement, she almost lost consciousness. If it hadn't been for Jamie's eyes locked on hers, she would have faded away.

  "Cadence, stay with me! You're okay!" he was shouting at her.

  "What the hell happened?" she asked aloud. "Did Elliott shoot me?"

  But the sound of arguing at the other end of the parking lot confirmed that it wasn't Elliott who had shot her.

  "What were you thinking?" Laney screamed at her sister.

  "I needed her out of the way," Laura replied, flying towards the stairs. "I was trying to shoot him through her! I've got to catch up to him!"

  "You're not going anywhere," Hannah replied, pulling her back down the stairs.

  "The hell I'm not!" she shrieked, kicking the Guardian who stumbled backward, nearly falling from the blow. "He's not getting away this time!"

  "He's already gone!" Laney yelled after her as she sprinted up the stairs towards the LIGHTS-owned Enclave they had driven earlier to get into position.

  "Laura! LAURA!" Laney yelled. She pounded her fist against the railing on the side of the stairs. "God dammit!" she stated before turning to look at Hannah. Taking a deep breath, she said, "Are you okay?"

  "I'm fine," Hannah replied. "But I don't think Cadence is."

  "What?" Laney asked, suddenly aware of the situation at the other end of the lot. "It should have bounced." She took off running towards the fallen Hunter. "A Hunter can't kill another Hunter."

  Hannah was on her heels. "Something isn't right."

  When the two arrived, the rest of the team was already there. Elliott had made it down from his perch in record time and was overseeing Jamie's work. "What's the story, Doc?" he was asking.

  "The bullet's lodged in her shoulder," Jamie replied. By then, Cadence had lost consciousness. "I don't know what's happening, why it didn't bounce, but it's in there. We need to get out of here anyway, too much gunfire. Someone's going to call the cops." Even as he spoke there was a wail of sirens in the distance. "I need to get her to a hospital. I can't do anything here until I get that bullet out, and if I touch her too much, she should start to heal, which won't be good if it's still in there. We need to control the bleeding until I can get it out."

  Elliott picked her up while mentally sending Christian to get the Ford Escape and bring it around. As he carried her up the stairs he applied pressure to the wound with one hand. Christian met them not too far down the street and helped load her into the vehicle as Jamie and Meaghan climbed in as well. The rest of the team would stay behind to clean up the scene, and Hannah would run interference if necessary. She wasn't as good as Elliott, but she could handle it. There was a telling bloodstain on the concrete from where Cadence fell, but the true remains of Jack Cook were now blowing away in the wind much like the false ashes his parents had so lovingly sprinkled on the pitcher's mound weeks before.

  Pulling up to the emergency room entrance of St. Luke's Hospital, Elliott jumped out and pulled his CDC identification out of his pocket. He was met at the door by four orderlies with a gurney. "I'm Dr. Elliott Sanderson of the CDC," he explained. "You will give my associate, Dr. Jamie Joplin access to one of your emergency room triage centers and any other supplies he may require. One of our officers has been injured in the line of duty, as often happens with members of he CDC. You will do everything you can to help Dr. Joplin."

  All four of the orderlies nodded in agreement, as did the nurse who was coming out of the door just as Elliott finished his speech. The team loaded Cadence onto the gurney and wheeled her inside, Elliott repeating his speech to whomever he needed to as they went.

  Once inside the private room, Jamie went to work. With the proper utensils, he was able to sedate Cadence and began to dig the bullet out of her shoulder. "How's it looking, Doc?" Elliott asked, acting as nurse and handing Jamie whatever he needed.

  "It's deep," he replied. He had her on her side so he could see both front and back of the wound. Her clothes had been cut away just enough so that he could see what he was working on. "All right, I think I can get it out. I'm just going to need to go in through here..."

  "How is she?" Aaron questioned. He had witnessed the whole event through Elliott's IAC but had just reached the hospital. "What's going on?"

  "Hey, boss. We're working on it. Can't really talk now."

  "Well, I need in there, and I don't think they're just going to let me walk on in."

  "I'll be there as soon as I can," Elliott replied. "I'm helping Jamie."

  "Can someone else do that?" The consternation in his voice was apparent.

  "Uh..." as much as Elliott realized Aaron wanted to be there, just in case Jamie wasn't successful, he didn't want to step away either. "Shit," he muttered before adding, "Meaghan, get
over here and help the doc out while I go let Aaron in, okay?"

  Meaghan was a wreck and could barely stop crying long enough to respond, so Christian stepped over instead, and Elliott made his way out of the room.

  It only took Elliott a few seconds to convince the head nurse to let Aaron join them in Cadence's room. When they returned, Jamie was almost done.

  "I got it," he exclaimed triumphantly, holding up the mangled remains of the bullet. "Hmm," he remarked studying it. "It looks... different somehow." Dropping it on the tray with the utensils, he turned back to Cadence and began to close. Now that the bullet was out, his healing powers began to work, and he was able to close the wound and the incision in her back where he had extracted the bullet without a single stitch. He was also able to take care of the bullet wound in her leg. That shot had gone clean through her lower thigh, just above her knee.

  "How did this happen?" Aaron asked quietly from where he stood next to Elliott at the foot of the bed.

  Letting out a sigh, Elliott replied. "It was my fault, man. I messed up. If you'd been there..."

  "No," Aaron disagreed. "It's not your fault. Even if I had been there, I never would have guessed in a million years that Laura would have done this. I still can't figure out how she was able to shoot another Hunter, though."

  "The bullet's different," Christian replied. "I don't know what it is, but it's not a normal bullet, and it's not silver. Mind if I take this back to the lab and see what the hell it is?"

  "Go for it," Aaron replied. Then, looking at Elliott he said, "Wait, was he talking to me or you?"

  "All right, smartass," Elliott replied giving him a shove. "I don't want your job. You can have it. Not only did we not get Giovani, Cadence got shot--twice. I'm done!"

  "Well, she'll be fine," Jamie said obviously exhausted. "As for me, however, I'm not going to be able to stay awake much longer."

  "Okay. Christian, can you take Jamie back to headquarters, and we'll get Hannah over here, just in case." Looking at Meaghan, who was still crying, though not as violently as she was before, he added, "Take Meaghan, too." She looked up at him and he explained, "She's fine, Meaghan. Just go get some rest."