Forsaken 337 BC

by Sharon Leslie

"Troy?" to which the person nodded. Toni heard the letting out of a breath Troy had been holding, Toni released the gag.

  "We, they ambushed us when we picked up the body, they took Royce and Mitch, and I don’t know what they did to them."

  "Slow down, you’re OK, it’ll be all right. Your buddies, someone bound them and they are in the back, unconscious but alive. The cargo is dead though, so we need another replacement," Toni said.

  Fair Exchange

  Taking a shuddering but calming breath, Troy spoke again.

  "We took out six or seven, but they had guns, we weren’t expecting guns. John contacted us and said not to come armed, there would be no need. To be honest with bringing Royce and Mitch, we should have been OK.

  "It is hard to fight once they brought out their guns. The two who got out of the cab, I know them both, they are gangland killers. I heard them talking with some bloke on their coms device. A person called Jay, told them to find the woman in the other POD and kill her and whoever was carrying her.

  "He told them he knew something was up as a vid-feed he was watching stopped. So, from their talk I gathered this Jay, he contacted them to find a lorry, go to the airfield and stop the people who took the person in his POD.

  "They bitched after the communication stopped. From the way they spoke about knowing Jay, who in their circles is a tool a dangerous, deadly tool. They, well this Jay person set this woman up, and she should have died in prison. That was Jay's plan, but their people on the inside didn’t do it right.

  "From what they said, Jay was holding them two personally responsible for something which happened six years ago. This Jay was angry with the two killers, I could hear it in his voice. This was a rushed job, not planned like ours," Troy said.

  :I wish I could let Cain know, he’s in danger from those two.:

  [I let Enoch know, he’ll let Cain know. Do you want to walk back to the lorry and take out the man on the left, the taller of the two, Cain asked through Enoch?] Rahab told Toni.

  Pleased that Cain was asking her to take positive action, Toni climbed out to the lorry's cab. Pushing the door closed without locking it, Toni walked to the rear of the lorries, swinging out into the dark.

  She had already checked and cocked her suppressed Glock in the cab, making Troy's working eye widen in surprise as she winked at him. Toni walked up, silent as a cat hunting a bird, an unseen killer, she waited for Cain to make his move as she pointed her Glock at the man.

  {I have seen Toni, she’s in position. Remember we want this other one wounded but not dead,} Enoch told Cain.

  OK, let Toni know to kill the other man when I slam my hand down real hard on the POD.

  "So, you’re Tray then? The man who Jayne said would meet me here?" Cain asked the men. One of them replied.

  "Yes, we told you twice now, I’m Tray and Jay sent us here to get the POD with the brain dead woman in it."

  "You mean this POD?" Cain said as he banged his hand down hard on the POD's lid. Before either man could react, Toni squeezed the trigger. Her Glock made a noticeable 'Ta' sound, covered by Cain's hit on the POD. Her shot hit the taller of the two men in the back of his head, the low velocity bullet bounced around in the man’s skull.

  [Fatal hit, thug dead,] Rahab said. [Excellent shot, right between his eyes, if you'd have been at the front that is,]

  As the shot punched into the skull it destroyed the brain as it bounced inside the cranium. The man's legs collapsed beneath him, like his bones had been jelly all along.

  Turning more at the collapse of his colleague, than the sound Toni's Glock made. The shorter of the two men went for his gun, hidden in his coat pocket. As his hand grasped for the gun’s handle, his head was sweeping around looking for who shot his friend. Seeing movement in his peripheral vision, he swung his body to face where Toni stood.

  He froze at the sight, a beautiful woman in a perfect shooting pose. A suppressed handgun pointing unerring at his own head. His fingers let go of the hand grip, then he slowly raised his hands in the air before speaking.

  "You're fucked! Do you know who you’re messing with? No, let me tell you. You are messing with the EC’s special protectorate’s office. I work for the prime minister, Jasper De Vries. This is a task for them. Here let me show you some ID," the man said.

  Neither Toni nor Cain spoke. The man focused on Toni and her gun, he reached into his inner coat pocket with his left hand. Toni could see the slight tremor, even from four yards away.

  [Don’t trust him, his heart rate increased by twenty beats,]

  "Slowly, try nothing stupid now. You don’t want to join your dead friend here on the damp ground, do you?" Toni asked. She noticed Cain as he slipped over the tailgate of the hover lorry.

  Toni heard the gulp the man made as he swallowed. She watched his left hand pull back from inside his coat. He was hoping the misdirection would allow him to pull his own gun out with his hidden right hand. Toni could tell when the man was ready to pull his gun, but he froze for a second time.

  The man struggled to keep still, this time he wasn’t facing a shooter six feet away. No, he was feeling the cold suppressor of a gun, pressed into the nape of his neck. The ideal killing shot, he had used several times himself. He knew these people were professionals, like him.

  "Kneel," Cain said as he kicked the man behind his right knee. The man put both hands in the air as his leg bent forward, forcing him reluctantly to kneel in front of the man behind him.

  Forcing the man first to kneel, then onto his front, Cain knelt over him. Pressing his right knee down in the man’s lower back. Keeping his Glock pressed up against the nape of the man's neck.

  "You will stay still, do not move or you will suffer the consequences. Do you understand?" Cain asked. The man wanted to nod but replied, saying he did.

  "The men coming to meet with us are OK. Two are in the lorry’s back, while they left Troy tied up in the cab. Their cargo is dead, so we need a replacement for the plan to work. My friend says gender does not matter," Toni told Cain.

  "Oh and guess who was watching Mila and Suza. My ex, Jay. Who would have known he’s into watching two beautiful women getting it on together?"

  {Cain, did you know modern PODs can help people recover from critical burns on their bodies? The POD can put people into induced comas, for an indefinite length of time. Jason has taken from you and yours, you take something from him. Fair exchange is no robbery. If you tell that thug, he has a choice going to sleep for a short time but coming out of it alive not dead. It can be his choice,} Enoch said.

  Cain spoke to the man who worked for the EC’s special protectorate’s office, his ID card said he was Kevin Bacon. As Toni went through Kevin's jacket and finding a hidden wallet, she found three credit cards. One saying he was Kevin, another saying he was Clint Malpas the third, he was Wayne Johns.

  In another hidden pocket, Toni found an EC protectorates ID card with Kevin's name. Asking Kevin what he would like, to die here and now or live. Kevin said it was a trick as there was no way they would let him live. Cain slapped him for being stupid, then asked again.

  "Live damn you. I want to live," Kevin said then cried like a little girl. Kevin knew he was beaten he also knew Jasper De Vries wouldn't care less, if he lived or died.

  Pulling back his Glock, Cain spun it holding it by the barrel before hitting Kevin hard on the temple. Knocking him straight out. Together they dragged Kevin over to the other lorry, dumping him near the tailgate.

  Next they unfastened the cover to the cargo bay, once unfastened Cain jumped up into the back of the lorry. :He made that look easy,: thought Toni as Cain went to free the two men who were awake and struggling. Toni went back into the cab where Troy was now fast asleep.

  Troy jumped when Toni cut away the bindings, blood rushed into his limbs. Toni would tell Cain later that he let out a little scream when he woke, she didn't want to embarrass him in front of the other two. Troy shook his arms feeling the circulation returning, trying to stand
he fell over onto the passenger seat hitting his bruised face again he cursed in Dutch. Which Toni did not understand until Rahab kindly informed her.

  With respect, Cain took the old woman who died out of the POD and placed Daphne inside. Cain then lifted and placed the groggy thug, Kevin, in Daphne's place. Although Kevin didn’t have a neural link to interface with the POD. From what Enoch told him, Cain knew it would not interfere with what he was going to do. Each POD has a manual connector probe, only to used when the person's head was secure on the seat. Only then would the POD insert the probe.

  Kevin knew he only had a slim chance at living, but a slim chance was better than none. Cain secured Kevin in the POD and fastened his head to the seat. As he stood watching Kevin fall asleep Cain waited until the POD automatically inserted the probe in the nape of Kevin's neck.

  Toni connected the EI recording of Daphne to the institute's POD's interface. Cain and Toni relaxed a little, they were part-way finished. They had a body for the institutes POD with an EI producing Daphne's readings. The PODs had changed vehicles, now they could take Daphne back to their safe house.

  "Troy," Cain asked. "You married at all?" Troy told them he was married to a beautiful woman who worked at the prison as a nurse, her name is Suza. Cain realised he needed to tell Troy what they found at the institute and took him to the side.

  "Troy, when we arrived at the institute we came across two women making love, one of them was Suza. Her male co-worker had drugged her and Mila with a Rohypnol type drug and was watching their love making. We cleared all the recording he made and I reprogrammed Suza and Mila so once the drug wears off they will be fine.

  "We set up two new bank accounts for them so they have no need to return to work. You do realise you will have to be more attentive with Suza and possibly Mila. The job you are doing isn't for married men, you know that.

  "Now if your wife was sharing your work then that would be awesome, but leaving her out of the picture will lead to difficulties. If you decide to work with Suza I will support you and her once the mission we are on is finished," said Cain.

  Saying goodbye to Royce and Mitch Cain told them he would likely need them again. They each knew they needed to disappear for a while. The person who was using the EC’s protectorate’s goons, may come after them. Toni asked for their bank details, then had Rahab transfer ten million to both of them.

  "Better to not have the need than caught short in case you need little extras," Toni said.

  Troy said he would take care of the dead woman, so they placed her back in their vehicle. Cain and Troy shared a brotherly hug and Troy whispered he would take Cain's advice. They moved the dead protectorate goon into the plane before they left.

  "The goon will go deep sea diving," said Cain after he wrapped him in a towing chain, from one of the lorries. Cain told them he would drop him off as they flew over the North Sea. As the plane’s ramp closed, Cain spoke to Toni saying it was her instincts kicking in which saving them from a disaster.

  "I felt nothing out of the ordinary. If it wasn't for you those two protectorate goons would have got a jump on us and we could have been hurt, even killed. We make a good team in the game. Now we are making the beginnings of a good team in reality," Cain told Toni.

  Even though Cain asked the pilot to make a slight, hundred-mile detour further out over the North Sea, for them to drop the dead goon off. It felt like they were soon on an approach path, to touchdown back at the deserted city airport in East London.

  Chapter 5

  Maglev Ride

  {Cain, you need to let Toni drive. I’ve intercepted a message on the special protectorate’s communications network. There are two SUVs, full of protectorate goons heading for the old city airfield. I have let the pilot know via her coms unit, she will do a fast turnaround, which means Toni will need to drive off the plane while it is moving.

  {You on the other hand need to be in the back of the lorry with your XM8b, protecting Daphne. Rahab will give Toni directions while you stop the SUVs from getting alongside the lorry,} Enoch informed Cain.

  Looking across at Toni, Cain could tell Rahab was talking to her so he equipped his XM8b. He placed a fresh magazine in his weapon and four spare magazines in his jacket pockets. Toni looked up, smiled and walked over to him, getting her MP5 loaded and ready.

  "For luck," Toni said after she kissed him. Cain returned the kiss and gave her a large hug.

  "We make our own luck. Drive fast and safe while I protect Daphne," Cain said. A message came over the plane’s intercom, saying "You have a maximum of one minute to get your lorry out on the ground, while I turn the plane around to take-off again."

  "Rahab said the best way to lose the goons, is for me to drive out onto the dock or the Thames. I need to drive off the end of the runway, they can’t follow us there. We’ll come up out of the water opposite the runway, from there I’ll get onto the Manor Way road. We'll be able to lose them in Beckton, then take a sedate drive to the depot on Cuckold Island," Toni said.

  Giving each other another kiss, they took up their positions. Cain fastened himself tight and secure in the back, while Toni had a crash course in driving, from Rahab.

  Toni felt her stomach hit the roof of her mouth as the plane dropped like a brick, the plane violently changed its course. Cain heard the pilot's controlled yet panicked shout,

  "Missile, missile, brace, brace," then they threw the plane hard to the right. In the cargo hold the hover lorry slid to the side, coming close to hitting the ribs of the plane's hold. The plane's floor anchor stopped the lorry from moving backward.

  It was a good job the clamp worked as the pilot threw the plane hard to the left making the lorry slide to the opposite side, the clamp still holding. Cain felt the plane drop again, looking out of a side window he watched decoy chaff flash and light up the undersides of the dark night clouds. The pilot spoke over the intercom again, "You have your chance to reverse out in ten seconds, 9… 8… 7...," the loading ramp lowered. "6… 5… 4… 3," the plane made a loud bang from the rear as it bounced up from the runway. "… 2… 1… GO! Drive now!" shouted the pilot.

  Toni let the clutch out as the floor anchor came free, allowing the hover lorry to lurch back toward the lowered ramp. The lorry's momentum increased as the plane increased its speed to take-off not land. The plane's undercarriage made contact for less than five seconds on the ground, it was not landing but carried out a military-style rapid drop and take-off.

  The hover lorry spun twice after the ride cushion contacted the runway coming to a stop. Toni rammed the old gearbox into first, then floored the accelerator, making the hover lorry bounce on its rubberised fabric skirt.

  :If this thing had tyres the first four seconds, would have been wheel-spin and tyre smoke not bouncy-castle time.: Cain spoke to Enoch, asking him to tell Rahab to say to Toni. :After she cleared the runway and dropped onto the water, for her to drive out into the dock basin rather then head for the road Manor Way.:

  {Message sent. I don’t know why you two don’t talk to each other in your minds. You’ve been able to do it for like a day now, well since midnight,} Enoch told Cain.

  :You're serious aren’t you? Gee, thanks Enoch,: Cain said.

  ^C^ Hey sexy, how’s your driving going. It's a bit bumpy back here, I think we lost our wheels. Love you. ^

  :Rahab, stop messing as I concentrate. How’s Cain doing?:

  ^C^ I’m doing fine, you can talk direct to me honey. ^

  ^T^ How, can this be? Cain you stupid fool, stop messing with me, or is it you Rahab? I'm worried about your sense of humour, and poor timing. ^

  [This is me, Enoch pointed out to Cain you two have been able to talk direct to each other. For the last day, well ever since you came out of the game, at midnight,] Rahab said.

  ^T^ Cain, is that true? We can now talk to each other. ^

  ^C^ Yes, but we shouldn't only use it when we are in danger and fleeing for our lives. Let's get out of here as quick as you can, here they co
me. Bye the way, I love you, ^

  :Excellent, this will give us a huge advantage when we want to speak in private. It’s like party messaging in the game, but better, private, direct to each other. I'll have to see if I can make Toni blush at inappropriate times. Enoch, are there any other things we will do in the real world like we can in the game?:

  {Unknown at the moment, I would though offer this hypothesis. Once you sleep with the other women, you will gain boosts here in the real world. Before you say no to sleeping with your other game partners, you cannot be correct. Rahab has broached the idea with Toni, as she knew Toni was turned on watching those two women making love.

  {Seeing the large vibrator sliding in and out of the woman’s vagina, made her stop and pause for a few moments. According to Rahab, Toni imagined you doing that to her. She thought you would like doing that with her, maybe joining in with Mila and Suza too. The two of you making love then seeing how things played out,} Enoch told Cain.

  Cain cut the straps holding the POD in place. He had already taken Daphne out of the POD before they landed. From the POD's control panel he knew she was strong enough to survive, for a short while anyway.

  With Daphne strapped securely into and covered in the cargo space trunk. Hidden behind a large metal box which all type one hover lorries had. Cain watched as the two SUVs raced closer to their position.

  :They are under a hundred yards distance now, about the range for the first shots if I'm not mistaken. There you go, two idiots wasting their shots, with all the bouncing of their vehicles they have little to no chance of hitting the lorry let alone Toni, Daphne or me,: thought Cain.

  ^T^ Fifty yards to the end of the runway and we’ll be flying. Welcome to the C and T hover lorry’s airways first inaugural flight. Remember to keep your arms inside your seat area, secure all baggage and should the oxygen mask deploy and fall from the ceiling, you are in a very bad dream. ^