At the end of the third song Autumn found herself back at her seat. Cage gave her a quick kiss before he left her once more. She watched him for as long as she could as he told jokes and shook hands, and then he was gone again, lost in the crowd. Some cake was brought to her and, as she ate it, she realized this party was work to Cage.
While she and the others were enjoying themselves and having a good time, Cage was juggling it all. He made a point to talk to certain people and smooth any disagreements over. As she had a second glass of wine she couldn’t help but wonder when he got to relax. When did he get to settle down and enjoy the moment?
Autumn listened to the music for another hour and watched people dance before she felt tired. She yawned a few times and one of her bodyguards suggested she retire. Autumn nodded and asked to see Cage first so she could say goodnight. The bodyguards talked into their radios before escorting Autumn through several rooms until they made their way to a balcony door.
Two bodyguards were standing watch in front of it. Autumn approached them and one of the men talked into his radio. When he got the order to let her through, they both stepped aside. Autumn walked out onto the balcony to see Cage taking a smoke break. She smiled at him and said, “You know, those things will kill you.”
Cage let out a little laugh, barely glancing at her as she moved to stand beside him. He said, “There are a lot of things that will kill me in this world, Autumn. I would be lucky if it were a cigarette.”
“Hmm.” said Autumn, as she looked out at the clouded night sky.
She turned to look at Cage as he let out his smoke in circles. It occurred to her that there were a lot of things she’d never done because she knew they were harmful and could possibly cause death. But so much had changed in the last two years. She wondered why she didn’t do more things like dancing and smoking, just living it up in general. She never took any risks. Maybe she should start.
After all, she knew the world she lived in now. She knew how easily it could end. So why not do all she could while she could? Without another thought Autumn reached out and grabbed Cage’s cigarette from his mouth. He’d pulled back from her at first, wondering what she was doing. But once she touched his cigarette he let it go, thinking she was just going to put it out. He was fine with that. He had plenty of others. He could just light up once she was gone.
Autumn surprised Cage by putting the cigarette in her own mouth. She took several puffs of it and immediately began to cough. Smoke flooded her lungs, coming out her nose and mouth. Her eyes teared up as she coughed. Cage couldn’t help but laugh as he took his cigarette back from her. He patted her on the back until she settled once more.
Cage took a puff of his cigarette before he said, “And what’s this, now? Do you have a death wish?”
“Who knows.” said Autumn, clearing her throat. “Maybe I do.”
Cage tapped his fingers on the balcony as he took one last puff of his cigarette before dropping it on the ground. He put it out with his boot and asked, “Is this your way of asking me to quit?”
“No.” said Autumn. “I just…maybe I haven’t lived enough. Or even at all.”
Cage looked at Autumn, studying her for a moment before he sighed. Turning his head from her he said, “It’s hard when you see someone you care about die. It really puts a pin in forever. You realize just how short your time here really is. It doesn’t mean you should try to do everything all at once. Just that you should do what’s most important to you while you can. You shouldn’t hold back and you shouldn’t hang on when there is something you really want and something you're really after. Sometimes you just have to let your passion consume you.”
Autumn looked at Cage and he turned to face her once more. Their eyes met, and his were intense. Autumn wondered if this was Cage’s logic for taking her. She stumbled back for a moment and he stepped forward. Without warning he grabbed her and pulled her into a kiss that was so deep, so passionate, it took her breath away. Her lips tingled and her chest fluttered. When Cage pulled away it took Autumn a moment to regain her balance. Suddenly Fredric stepped onto the balcony.
Once Cage was sure she was steady he let her go. He turned as Fredric approached. Fredric whispered something in Cage’s ear. Autumn attempted to listen, but Fredric was always so quiet. She couldn't hear a thing. When he was finished Cage rubbed his chin. “I see.”
Fredric nodded and stepped back. Cage turned to Autumn and smiled. She had a feeling it was false. Something about his eyes worried her as he said, “Some business has come up. I must go now. You should turn in for the night.”
Autumn wanted to asked him what it was. What had happened. But she knew better than that. Instead, she put on a false smile of her own and asked, “Will you be back? I could wait for you.”
“You shouldn’t. I probably won’t be back tonight. At least not at a reasonable time. Get some sleep. We’ll return to the city tomorrow and you’ll want to be rested so you can be ready for our date. Trust me, you’ll want to be wide awake for the opera.”
“Of course.” said Autumn. With the party, she’d nearly forgotten.
Cage leaned in and kissed her softly. Autumn almost didn’t want him to pull away. She took hold of his hand and held onto it as he pulled from her. Autumn felt like she should say something, but she couldn’t really think of anything. A moment later Cage pulled from her grasp, and a few seconds after that he was gone from her sight.
Autumn stood alone on the balcony for a moment, looking at the stars and the moon. She brushed some loose hair behind her ear as a rocket shot up into the air, followed by another and another. Autumn’s jaw dropped. She’d forgotten about the fireworks show.
Pretty colors grazed across the horizon. Autumn watched them fill the dark sky with light, time and time again. She could hear people as they ohh'd and ahhh'd. She stood and watched the display until the finale almost made it seem like day. When it was over she turned, wanting to tell someone how amazing it was and share this moment with them.
Autumn remembered Cage had gone and bit her lower lip. She suddenly felt chilled. Autumn's bodyguards stepped up to her then, and she allowed them to take her back to her room. She was slow getting ready for bed as she thought over this last week. Especially the party and the talk she'd had with Cage. She brushed her fingers over her lips, still feeling his kiss. It danced across her mind as she got under the covers and slowly drifted off to sleep.
**********
Cage nodded to Fredric as they strode down the hallway towards the elevator. “Tell me.”
Fredric cleared his throat and began to speak. “As you know, sir, our first two retaliatory strikes met with great success. The enemy had indeed expected us to target their weakest point first, and so they didn't properly arm and warn their arms traffickers or drug mills. Those successful attacks will dramatically hinder their capabilities until they can be replaced. We estimate two or three years, at least.”
Cage nodded. He glanced at Fredric as they entered the elevator. It was clear Fredric was stalling. This was something he never did. Surely this meant there was going to be bad news. He reached out and punched the number for the garage, then pressed his thumb against the print scanner. Briefly he thought of Autumn, sleeping in her bed, warm and safe. How he wished he could be with her now.
Cage sighed and Fredric went on.“However, it seems like they anticipated our third strike. They were prepared with heavy weaponry, and strategically placed explosives. Not the kind you'd set up and leave around indefinitely. They knew that we were coming, and they knew exactly when.” Fredric turned and met Cage's eyes. “Either they've hacked into our communications, or we have a mole. Regardless, the attack failed and we suffered a seventy percent mortality rate. The thirty percent that survived all took injuries of one kind or another. They knew our staging area, and all the points of attack. We were lucky to have so many survive.”
Cage grimaced. “Have the systems specialists review everything from the bottom up. If they tapped
in I want to know how, and I want to know if someone fucked up. Have them issue new passwords for everything. Cancel all the old ones. And I want detailed suggestions for methods to increase security. This takes priority for everyone but our finances group. They can work it in around their existing responsibilities. Now, do you have any leads among the survivors as to a leak?”
The elevator stopped at the garage, and the pair stepped out into a concrete subterranean parking level filled with cars. Fredric grabbed a set of keys from a row hanging off a board on the wall.
“I do. Six possible leads, in fact. I've had them detained for further questioning. I thought we might start there tonight. They're at Echo location.”
“Very well. I wanted to watch the videos of the attack myself anyhow.”
**********
As Fredric drove them through the city streets, Cage watched the footage of the attack. It was blatantly obvious that the enemy had possessed complete access to their combat strategy. There was a kind of ruthless efficiency about the whole thing that Cage appreciated. If he had to crush someone, it was more interesting when they made it a challenge. But crush them he would. Cage had no doubt about that. In fact, he had an idea ab-
A flash of light exploded around the vehicle, followed by a muffled thump. The front of their town car flew up into the air. No… the whole car was airborne. The front was just moving faster. Cage quickly fastened his seatbelt as the town car flipped upside down. He let out a deep breath and tried to relax himself as the roof of the car impacted with the ground.
Fredric had been driving at a fairly good speed, so they skidded some distance before the town car stopped moving. All of Cage's cars were heavily reinforced to protect against assassination attempts so there wasn't much risk of the kind of damage that would be dangerous. However, Cage knew that hadn't been the point of the explosion. The point had been to disable the car so it could not escape.
As the car settled, Cage assessed his current situation. He was upside down while Fredric was sprawled over the roof of the front seat. From the looks of it, it would seem Fredric had not been able to buckle his seat belt in time. His head was bleeding, and he hadn't made any sounds yet. He might be dead, but Cage couldn‘t be certain.
Either way, Cage knew he had take action. He had to get out of the car and into the streets. His attackers would no doubt be approaching his position. Cage unfastened his seatbelt. He reached into the front seat and pulled Fredric's primary gun from his jacket holster. He drew his own and turned off the safeties for both. Then he turned towards the back passenger door and softly exhaled. He felt the world slow down around him. He felt the adrenaline surge through his body. He was death itself. He was at peace.
Cage smashed the emergency panel with his foot, and the door exploded outwards. He plunged out of the vehicle after it, rolling to the right. As he came to his feet he scanned the scene for targets. Two men were already dying, crushed by the armored door as it sailed through the night. There were seven more on this side. That meant a likely total of twenty had been sent after him.
Even as he calculated totals, his dual pistols belched smoke and death as he pulled their triggers. His feet were already carrying him past the edge of the car. He was exposed here, but with purpose. From this spot most of his enemies couldn't fire on him without risking hitting each other. He could see the arc of the circle of attackers. Beyond them, buildings loomed nearby. If he could break through and make it to the buildings, then he could turn the tables on them.
Still, bullets sailed past him through the night. Some bullets kicked up debris at his feet that scratched and tore at his clothes and skin. A cloud of death sailed through the air at Cage, and he danced within it. His weapons barked again, each shot ending another life. He couldn't afford to waste bullets. He couldn't afford to miss.
He was still moving, head swiveling, tracking the aim of those firing at him. Abruptly, he changed direction and dashed towards the four-man hole he'd made in the enclosing net. Firing again, he opened the net by two more bodies. Still, bullets flew towards him. As he fired again, a bullet ripped through his thigh, throwing his aim off. He stumbled, but kept on running. Two shots wasted. And blood was beginning to trickle into his shoe.
Abruptly Cage stopped in place and spun around. He could see his attackers already correcting their aim. He exhaled again. The world slowed. He began firing again. Both guns released a cloud of smoke, as though calling up the demons of hell to accept his sacrifices. In rapid succession his trigger fingers twitched four times. Eight more bodies fell to the ground. He spun again before the smoke even began to clear, and dashed through the line to the relative safety of the buildings. He had two bullets left, one per gun.
As he crossed into the darkness of an alleyway, one of the shadows moved. Like smooth velvet, it was upon him. From the darkness a silver blade lashed out, once, twice, three times in fast succession. The silver blade cut across Cage’s arm before he managed to get his pistols up to block. Then he fired, both shots aiming for the heart of his attacker. Somehow, the face in the shadow twisted out of the way.
The silver edged blade flicked out again, fast as a snakebite. Cage blocked it, then felt a thud in his chest as a knife pierced into in. There had been a second, unseen knife, painted black. He resisted the urge to scream as it sliced through muscle and scraped along bone. A lethal strike? Cage's mind flashed with rage. Instantly he dropped the pistols. His right hand lashed out, even faster than that silvery blade. His fingers bit into a throat. The eyes of his attacker widened.
That silvery blade lashed towards him again. Cage's left hand came up, pinning his attacker's arms against his chest. Cage stepped forward, slamming the shadow into a wall. His muscles convulsed. The shadow's eyes flickered open and closed. Cage's fingers clamped down like vices and his arm jerked violently. There was a quiet snap as he broke bone.
Cage held his attacker there for a moment, staring into his eyes until they grew glassy. Then he dropped the body. Pulling off his suit jacket, he pressed it against the cut across his chest and staggered into the night. He still had to evade his attackers, and find a landline he could use to call for backup. He thought of Fredric for a moment, hoping he'd managed to escape. Then he thought of his attackers, the Fayngin. No matter what else happened, there would be hell to pay.
Chapter Ten
Autumn woke up at seven the next day to Poppi licking her. She petted and scratched him before she slowly stretched and yawned. Breakfast was brought to her room a few minutes later. As Autumn ate it she wondered if Cage was back yet. She figured he probably was, but was too tired to have breakfast with her after yesterday's business.
When she was finished with breakfast she took a long hot shower before she got dressed. She thought she might wander around a bit. She knew they were leaving today but she wasn’t sure when. She figured it would be okay. However, as soon as she was dressed, Lane knocked briskly at the door before coming in. She told Autumn to get herself packed and ready to go along with the dog. They would be leaving within twenty minutes.
Autumn packed up her bags and got Poppi on his leash, much to his displeasure. He ran around the room barking, thinking they were going on a walk. When the bodyguards knocked on her door a few minutes later, Autumn let them in. They gathered her bags and she followed them to an elevator. They rode it down to a garage. Lane was waiting in a limo along with several other bodyguards.
The car was packed with Autumn’s things. Poppi bounced around inside the limo. As Autumn buckled herself in, Poppi sniffed Lane. She simply pushed the dog away without looking up from her cell phone. Autumn was surprised when the car pulled away from the estate without Cage. As they exited the garage Autumn asked, “What about Cage?”
“He’ll be meeting up with us later.” said Lane. “He…had some business come up.”
“Oh.” said Autumn. She'd assumed she’d see him. She'd also assumed they would be flying back. Autumn wondered how long the drive would take, and if Cage was
already back in the city. Poppi ran back and forth all over the limo, sniffing everything as they made their way away from the country mansion. Lane asked Autumn if she could quiet him and Autumn called him over to her.
Autumn played a few games with him until he settled down. Then she watched some movies on the car's monitor. They didn’t arrive back in the city until well after lunch. About an hour before they arrived, Lane ordered them some lunch so it was ready when they got there.
Autumn’s lunch was waiting for her in her garden. Poppi was excited to get home and quickly ran through the grass, looking for the other animals. The birds quickly flew up high and the bunnies hid. Autumn watched two squirrels as they sat in a tree. They almost looked like they were talking as Poppi barked at them. Autumn could imagine them saying “Great, the dog is back.”
Autumn called Poppi over to her and filled his bowl with food. He ate it happily as Autumn looked over her lunch. It was sushi, and rather good sushi at that. She popped a few in her mouth. She noticed that there was only one place setting. Before Autumn ate any more, she thought she might stop by Cage’s office and ask if he’d like to join her. Even if he was busy, she thought it would be nice to say hello.
When she got to his office the door was shut. She knocked on it but there was no answer. She turned the handle and found it was locked. Autumn knew his office was only locked when he was very busy or away. She didn’t hear any sounds, so she assumed he was still out.
She went back to the garden to eat her lunch. When she was done one of the bodyguards told her that her piano teacher had arrived and was waiting for her in the classroom. Autumn quickly went to her bedroom. She looked on her tablet and saw she had scheduled her piano time for when she had gotten back. She’d made it for the whole afternoon, not sure when she would be returning. She had left her teacher a note saying her lesson might be canceled if she arrived home late.
Autumn considered canceling her lesson since she’d forgotten about it, but it had been such a long time since she’d learned anything new. She didn’t want to get too rusty, so she went. For nearly two hours she warmed up and played the few songs she knew. Her teacher made a few adjustments to her form before teaching her something new.
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