The Vindico

by King, Wesley

  The Shadow abruptly dropped, and Sam clutched the bottom of the bench in terror. Just when he was sure he was about to vomit, the ship slowed, and gravity settled in again. They felt a thump as the bottom fins hit the grass, and then the Shadow powered down.

  “Game time,” the Torturer announced, grabbing two plasma rifles off the rack. He gave one each to Lana and Hayden.

  Avaria and Sliver took rifles as well, and each had another smaller gun strapped to their right thighs. Avaria also had a black cylinder strapped to her left leg, and she wore Rono’s visor. Leni came out last, bearing no weapon. He wasn’t wearing a cape for the first time since Sam had seen him, and his hair was tied back in a ponytail.

  “Let’s move,” Leni ordered. “James, Sam, to the cockpit.”

  Avaria triggered the ramp, and it descended into the long grass. The night was dark and starless, and a cold breeze swept up into the hold as soon as the door opened. Sam shivered.

  “See you soon,” the Torturer said to James before bounding down the ramp, the other three Vindico members hurrying after him.

  Hayden and Lana exchanged a quick glance and then turned to James and Sam.

  “Be careful,” Sam said.

  “Don’t worry, I’m on this mission,” Hayden replied. “What could go wrong?” He started down the ramp. “We better go. I think we’re being abandoned.”

  Lana hesitated for just a moment and then took off after him.

  James quickly withdrew the ramp, shutting out the bitter wind. They hurried to the cockpit and peered out the window.

  Six shadows were moving swiftly along the edge of the clearing. The lead shadow made a hand signal, and the group turned and plunged into the woods.

  They raced through the underbrush like hunting cats, whipping in and around the trees. Branches were grasping at them from all sides, hidden in the darkness, but they brushed harmlessly off their padded outfits.

  Lana was in the rear, easily keeping up with Hayden. Before her transformation, she probably would have stumbled into a tree or tripped on the uneven surface, but now her feet danced over the ground, and she made her way through the forest with ease.

  As much as Lana hated the idea of kidnapping anyone, she had to admit this secret entry through the woods was kind of exciting. The crunch of their boots on the fallen leaves, the rustling branches, the wind howling over the canopy; it felt good to just be outside. After almost a month confined to the mansion, even the frigid air on her cheeks was refreshing.

  The group soon came to a halt, and Leni’s hushed voice sounded from the front of the line. “The forest ends just ahead, so we’ll stop at the tree line and scan the house. Hopefully we can spot our targets before we move in.”

  At the edge of the woods, they all fanned out and studied the estate in silence.

  “What do you pick up?” Leni whispered.

  “Almost twenty people,” Sliver replied, “but I think most of them are servants. I only pick up the traces of four guarded minds. It’s tough to catch the voices, but I’m pretty sure one of them is Thunderbolt.”

  “Avaria, what does the infrared show?” Leni asked.

  “A large group of heat signatures in the left wing of the house. Probably the servants’ quarters. A smaller group nearby: maybe two or three people. A few roamers. And in one room upstairs in the right wing, two signatures.”

  “Sliver?” Leni said.

  “Those are definitely guarded minds. I haven’t encountered them before.”

  “Can you break through?” the Torturer asked.

  “No,” Sliver replied. “Not without alerting them to our presence.”

  “Very well,” Leni said. “We go for those two. If it’s not them, we head for the smaller group. Let’s move.”

  He took off across the enormous lawn. Manicured gardens were visible as dim silhouettes in the moonlight, which had finally broken through the clouds. The estate looked like an almost perfect replica of the Baron’s.

  Following their mentors’ leads, Lana hunched as she ran, and they made it within forty feet of the wall before ducking behind a large hedge.

  Leni began speaking just as Lana reached the group. “All right, there’s a door straight ahead. I’ll open it, just keep running. Lana, Hayden, you’ll stay at the doorway to keep watch. One facing out, one in. Go!”

  Leni rounded the hedge, and as soon as he approached the door, it flew open. Without slowing, he ran right through the opening, the other three Vindico members close behind him. Hayden and Lana stopped at the entrance.

  “In or out?” Hayden whispered.

  “In.” Lana wanted to get out of the eerie moonlit yard.

  She walked into what looked like an unused guest bedroom. Leni already had the hallway door open, flooding the room with light, and he was looking in both directions.

  “Clear,” she heard him whisper, and then they disappeared around the corner.

  Despite herself, Lana was actually a little concerned for Avaria. They were far from friends, but now that they possessed the same abilities, there was a connection between them that Lana couldn’t share with anyone else.

  “Now we chill,” Hayden whispered from the doorway. “Want to play I spy?”

  “Shut up and keep watch,” she told him.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said, spinning back to the yard. “No squirrel or rabbit is going to get the drop on me.”

  Lana shook her head. She was going to have to keep half an eye on the outside entrance as well.

  The Vindico members tiptoed briskly down the hallway, and Avaria continually scanned the mansion for heat signatures with her visor. So far, no one had moved.

  While the layout was the same as the Baron’s mansion, the decor was vastly different. The floor was polished hardwood, and the walls were painted navy blue, the same color as the League’s uniforms. The only similarity was the gold trim along the ceiling, which was matched by the gold-framed paintings lining the walls. Many of them were portraits of former and current League members, and they watched the intruders as they crept by.

  Leni led them to a winding staircase and cautiously began to climb the steps. Lifting her rifle, Avaria followed, her every sense on high alert. Distance readouts scrolled across the bottom of her vision, counting down as they approached the two glowing bodies.

  “How much farther?” Leni asked softly as they reached the top of the stairs.

  “They’re at the far end of this hallway,” Avaria replied. “On the right side.”

  They slunk down the corridor, quickly reaching the last door.

  “Sliver, attack their minds and keep them quiet,” Leni said. “I’ll make sure they don’t move. Avaria, Torturer, knock them out and take them. Ready?”

  They all nodded. At a sharp wave of Leni’s hand, the door flew open.

  Two kids who looked no older than Sam were sitting on the edges of their respective beds. They were illuminated only by the moonlight streaming in through the windows. One was a dark-skinned girl with curly black hair and a round face, and she had her hands calmly folded across her lap. The other was undoubtedly her brother, with the same round face and hair.

  “Hello,” the girl said. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

  “She sensed you when you first landed your ship,” the boy added. “She followed you all the way here.”

  She nodded. “We were warned you might try to kidnap us once the Sparrow was taken. I was told you had a powerful telepath among you, and I felt you probing, Sliver.”

  “That’s enough,” Leni snarled. “Take her.”

  The girl closed her eyes, and Sliver immediately stiffened. Using the distraction, Avaria stepped around him and charged. She didn’t make it very far. A blast of invisible energy erupted from the boy, and the Vindico members all went flying backward. The drywall smashed under the impact, sending up clouds of dust and debris, and the Torturer sailed right through into the hallway.

  Leni scrambled back to his feet, half-blinded by the dust, and
launched a blast of energy back at the kids. The young boy stood up with outstretched arms and met the assault head-on. The entire room began to shake.

  Avaria aimed her rifle at the boy’s chest and fired. Pulsating red energy burst from the nozzle, but it seemed to warp and distort as it crossed the distance between them and fizzled out before it got there. The boy smiled confidently.

  Growling, the Torturer charged across the hallway. But as soon as he entered the room, he went spinning away again, deflected by the unseen forces battling each other.

  “They are strong indeed,” Leni managed. “But not as experienced. Get ready, Sliver.”

  Sliver said nothing, locked in mental combat with the girl.

  The walls began flaking, and the debris started to close in on the children. For the first time, the boy’s confident expression faltered. An expanding crack split the ground beneath him.

  “Call the others!” he yelled to his sister as he barely managed to avoid falling through the floor.

  “Stop her!” Leni shouted.

  “Too late,” Sliver said. “Avaria, Torturer, go and meet them!”

  They took off down the hall and were halfway to the staircase when someone rounded the corner. There was a brilliant blue flash, and a blast of electricity streaked toward them.

  Avaria threw herself against the wall, dodging the attack. She heard a loud thump as the Torturer did the same.

  Thunderbolt stepped into the middle of the hallway, and Avaria saw him wrap his hands into a ball. Thrumming blue energy collected around them.

  “I don’t think so,” Avaria whispered, and opened fire.

  Thunderbolt managed to leap through a doorway just before the deadly lasers struck him, and they exploded at the end of the long corridor.

  Another man rolled out of a doorway farther down the hall, and he lifted his gun and fired in one smooth motion. Avaria dove under the scarlet bolt and returned fire, forcing the man to retreat back the way he had come.

  Smiling, Avaria slid the stun pole off her leg. She pressed a button on its side, and the cylinder extended into a four-foot staff. If she was correct, the man who had just fired at them was Septer, the League’s weapons specialist. The last time they’d fought was four years ago during a raid on a secondary League base in Melbourne, but their battle had been cut short by the arrival of Phoenix. Septer wouldn’t be so lucky this time.

  Avaria sprinted down the hall, laying down covering fire at the doorway Thunderbolt had leapt into.

  “Take him!” she shouted behind her.

  “Gladly!” the Torturer called back, and then crashed right through the wall, ignoring the door.

  Avaria stopped about ten feet from where Septer had retreated and backed against the wall, her rifle trained on the doorway. “Is that you, Septer?”

  “Hello, Avaria,” he replied. “It’s been a while. Since Melbourne, right?”

  “That’s right,” Avaria said, slowly walking toward the doorway. “You won’t get away this time.”

  “We’ll see. We knew you would come for them.”

  “You should have prepared better,” Avaria replied, her finger tightening on the trigger.

  “Perhaps we’re more prepared than you think. You better kill me fast.”

  “You’re sure someone’s coming?” James asked, anxiously scanning the night sky.

  “Yeah,” Sam said. “There’s a ship on the way with League members, I’m sure of it. Sliver taught me how their guarded minds would feel, and even through that, I can tell they’re excited.”

  James grabbed the controls, trying to think back to when Emily flew the Shadow. He’d been so scared that he hadn’t really been paying much attention, but he had a general idea how to fly it. “We have to do something.”

  “What can we do?” Sam whimpered.

  “I don’t know! Blow up the ship, blow up the base, something! Lana and Hayden are going to get hurt down there!”

  Sam nodded, looking queasy. “You think you can blow up their ship?”

  “I don’t know,” James replied. “I know how to shoot missiles, so I guess so. Let’s wait until they land. I’ll get them on the ground.”

  Sam closed his eyes. “I hope Hayden and Lana are okay,” he murmured. “I can feel that they’re scared. What do you think they’ll do?”

  “I don’t know. Nothing, hopefully. They should let the Vindico do the fighting.”

  Sam was quiet for a moment. “Somehow, I doubt that Hayden is just going to stand there.”

  James sighed. “Yeah, me too.”

  “But they told us to watch the door!” Lana shouted, running down the hallway after Hayden.

  Hayden spotted a staircase and bounded up the steps, projecting an invisible shield in front of him. Lana quickly caught up, and they ran into the upstairs corridor. The air felt alive with electricity.

  To the left, Hayden spotted Leni and Sliver standing in the hallway, facing a blown-out wall. Neither was moving. To the right, Avaria was locked in combat with Septer, she wielding a staff and he a gleaming blade. They were attacking and defending with incredible speed.

  “Help Leni and Sliver!” Lana told Hayden, turning toward Avaria.

  Hayden ran left but had only gone a few steps when a huge blast of electricity exploded out of the wall in front of him. The Torturer flew out with it, crashing to the floor. He lifted his dust-caked head. “Is that the best you got, old man?” he shouted.

  “Looks pretty good to me,” Hayden commented. “Need some assistance?”

  The Torturer nodded. “Couldn’t hurt. He’s dangerous, though, watch it.”

  “Who’s there?” said a deep voice.

  Hayden crept to the corner of the freshly blown-out hole and saw a white-haired man leaning against the back wall, clutching his side.

  “Hayden Lockwood,” Thunderbolt said, straightening up. “I was wondering when I’d see you again.”

  Hayden stepped into the room, frowning. He had his rifle aimed right at Thunderbolt’s chest. “How do you know my name?”

  Thunderbolt looked past him to where the Torturer was slowly pushing himself up again. “How do you think they found you? They stole your file from our network, yours and Sam’s. We knew it was no coincidence that you two were among the missing children.” He shook his head. “You were both League candidates.”

  “Candidates?” Hayden replied in disbelief. “Why didn’t you contact us, then?” He kept a close eye on Thunderbolt’s hands; Hayden knew he could shoot electricity with a flick of his finger.

  “Sam is too young. When he was twelve, we were going to come for him.” Thunderbolt hesitated. “And you were a candidate, but I decided not to train you.”

  Hayden lowered the rifle slightly. “Why not?”

  Thunderbolt glanced at the Torturer again, who was back on his feet. “Because you reminded me of Leni,” he said quietly, meeting Hayden’s eyes. “You had just as much potential, and just as much reason to be angry. We couldn’t risk another rogue member.”

  “You didn’t even give me a chance,” Hayden said. “How is that fair?”

  “I did what I thought was best,” Thunderbolt replied. “It was the safest decision for everyone.”

  “There’s always an excuse,” the Torturer growled, and then he charged again.

  Thunderbolt sent another burst of electricity at him, which the Torturer mostly absorbed, but it slowed the big man just enough that Thunderbolt was able to leap out of his way. He was still in midair when Hayden stretched out his hand, and Thunderbolt went flying backward with startling speed. He hit the wall and crumpled to the floor.

  “Nice work,” the Torturer said, walking over to the unconscious body.

  “Did I kill him?” Hayden asked tentatively.

  “Nah, just knocked him out.” The Torturer scooped Thunderbolt up by his collar. “You better go help the other two; those kids are strong.”

  Hayden took a last look at the old man dangling from the Torturer’s fingers and then
ran down the hallway toward Leni and Sliver.

  Reaching them, he saw a boy and girl standing in the middle of a swirling ring of debris, expressions of determination on their faces.

  “Hayden,” Leni managed, sounding strained. “Attack!”

  Hayden stuck out his hand again, channeling his thoughts toward the kids. He could feel Leni’s mental energy closing in around them, but the boy was responding with incredible power of his own, and Leni couldn’t break through. Hayden forced his energy into a single spear and plunged it into the fray. The boy was not ready for another attack.

  The spear broke through his defenses and hit them full-on. The two kids flew into the wall and collapsed against each other.

  Lana twisted to the side, narrowly avoiding a silver knife that embedded itself into the wall behind her. It had missed her arm by less than an inch.

  Avaria swung at Septer’s outstretched arm, but he blocked the attack with the sword in his other hand and pushed her back. There was another vicious exchange of blows and counterblows. They were perfectly matched, and Lana knew it was up to her to end the fight.

  She hoisted her rifle. “Get down!” she screamed to Avaria.

  Her mentor instantly dropped onto her stomach. Septer tried to dive out of the way, but he was a second too slow. Lana pulled the trigger.

  The red blast caught him in the chest. She saw his eyes widen in shock, and then he fell backward, lifeless. Smoke rose from the wound.

  Avaria climbed back to her feet, smiling. “Well done,” she said. “Your first kill.”

  Lana lowered the rifle. She suddenly felt cold.

  “Let’s move,” Avaria said. “Septer hinted that this was a trap.”

  She grabbed Lana’s arm and literally pulled her down the hallway. The others were already running toward the staircase from the other end of the mansion, and she saw that Thunderbolt was draped over the Torturer’s shoulder. Two unconscious children were floating behind them as well.

  “Where’s Septer?” the Torturer called.

  “Dead,” Avaria told him, the satisfaction evident in her voice.