by Willow Dean
You never know what’s going to happen at any given moment. You never know what’s around the corner. I know that all too well. Live life to the full and have no regrets. That’s my advice.
Just as we reach our bags and Rick puts me on my feet, a scream pierces the air.
Everyone immediately goes on high alert and I close my eyes to try and pinpoint the direction of the sound. “Four o’clock, behind the gym,” I shout back, already sprinting in that direction. My team falls in line quickly, only a step behind.
Turning the corner, there’s a girl only a couple of years younger than us, thrashing about in the arms of a much bigger man. Around five foot in height and no more than ninety-five pounds, she looks tiny against his six foot seven muscular frame.
Anger courses through my veins at the sight, but before I can act, Aus races past me and punches the guy square in the face. Immediately letting go of the girl to defend himself, I throw myself forward to catch her.
Both of us drop to our knees on the floor as she fights desperately to try and get out of my arms. “Shhh, it’s okay. It’s okay. We’re here to help you. He isn’t taking you anywhere, Hun. You’re safe with me. You’re safe. Look at me,” I urge soothingly.
She stops struggling to meet my eyes and immediately breaks down in uncontrollable sobs. Tears streaming down her pale cheeks. She looks so vulnerable and fragile. Her bright auburn hair is mussed in all different directions as her freckles dance across her pale complexion. Her beautiful green eyes, all puffy and red.
“It’s okay sweetheart, you’re okay now. We won’t leave you. Are you hurt anywhere?” She shakes her head before dropping it to my shoulder and clinging to me.
I wrap her in my arms and whisper reassurances to her, gently rocking us back and forth as I watch the guys try to rip Aus off the guy on the floor. It takes all of the guys to pull him back, but in doing so, they become distracted. The man rights himself and bolts off into the woods behind.
Too preoccupied with Aus, the guys don’t notice. I go to shout, but quickly realise that there’s no point. He’ll be long gone by the time they manage to detangle themselves from a distressed and enraged Aus.
Manic and with a crazed look in his eye he doesn’t seem to be calming. Aus is like the Hulk on steroids when he gets triggered.
Brutal. Unforgiving. Lethal.
He still hasn’t opened up to anyone apart from Jax about what happened to him or what his triggers are. However, I did notice that he reacted the same way now, as he did when he found me on the doorstep at their party.
Jax finally manages to get him to look him in the eye and starts saying something to him. Once he focuses on Jax and whatever he is saying, he seems to calm down enough for the guys -one by one- to drop their hands away from him.
Coming back to himself fully, he spins around frantically, only relaxing a little when he catches sight of us. Ignoring the other’s, his eyes are fixated on the girl who continues to sob in my arms.
He storms over, his walk slowing as he gets closer. The expression on his face softens almost painfully as he squats down beside us. Placing a hand on the girls back, she stiffens under his touch.
“It’s okay. He’s my friend. He won’t hurt you.” She relaxes a little and looks up to Aus’s as he smiles gently back at her. It’s a smile I haven’t seen before. One so tender and filled with such kindness it could soothe even the most turbulent of souls.
“Did he hurt you?” He asks gently. She shakes her head in the negative. Her breath hitching again. “Did he touch you?”
She freezes for a second until she finds her voice. “No. He…he didn’t. He wanted to but I…I told him no…and he got angry and said I was going with him whether I wanted to or not,” she admits, setting herself off into another round of caustic sobs.
Aus reaches over and lifts her into his arms, cradling her to his chest. She fists his shirt and buries her head. Disregarding everyone and everything but her, Aus stiffly walks back the way we came. Speaking quietly to her all the while.
“Did anyone recognize who that guy was?” I ask absently, watching Aus’s back retreat.
“Nobody from this college. I know the faces of everyone who attends here. He was not from here. Staff or student.”
Astonished, I look to Jax. He remembers every single face?! He cringes as I regard him, gaining a pretty rosy tint to his cheeks. Aww, our Sparks is embarrassed.
A few throats clear. “Photographic memory,” he mumbles.
Was that out loud again?!
Paying no heed to my obvious blabbermouth, I praise him. It’s honestly amazing that he can manage to memorize over five thousand faces. Photographic memory or not.
“Makes sense, I’m impressed.” His cheeks darken further and I snicker. It’s cute the effects that compliments have on him.
“I’ll inform Lachlan. It’s probably nothing more than a random guy trying to find his fun but, if students are being targeted, then the college needs to know. Collect our bags and meet me and Aus in the headmasters office,” Rick commands.
“Sure thing boss,” I tease, hoping to lighten the mood. One side of his lips tip up as he catches onto what I was trying to do. Packing up quickly, we grab the bags and head back inside.
So much for that everlasting peace, eh?!
28 Unknown
I watch from the tree line as the big Oaf attempts to have his way with the girl before taking her. It's a good job that I decided he should go solo. No point in getting anyone else caught up in Hugo's wrath.
Hobbling off into the brush, he makes his escape as they try and hold their friend back from killing him. To be honest, they would have done him justice by putting him out of his misery then and there. Me too, considering a failure on his part is a failure on mine.
Cricking my neck, preparing for the pain I am sure is too follow, I remove my phone from my pocket and call it in.
"What?" A gravelly voice growls down the line.
"The last removal was a failure. The girl was close by and she came in with backup." His answering roar echoes down the phone.
Good. It's good if he's loud. The louder and more out of control he is, the less pain he inflicts. It's when he gets quiet that you should be worried. That's probably when you should start praying too. Religious or not, you'll need the help.
"Come here and bring that incompetent piece of shit with you." As always, the phone clicks off before I even have the chance to respond. Unwavering obedience. It's never demanded. Yet, always expected.
Pulling up the Oaf's contact, he hesitates to answer, which is never a good sign. Usually when they know they've fucked up, they try to run. It never works out well for them in the end. He should know that.
Realizing he can't outrun the inevitable, he picks up on the fifth ring. "Boss, I- I'm sorry! I-"
"I would save your breath if I were you. It's not me you'll be answering too," I say cooly, watching as they take the girl back inside after scouring their surroundings."He called for you."
His fear is that palpable, I can practically taste it down the phone. The audible gulp conveying his terror all too well.
"Don't keep him waiting."
Screams echo down the corridor, drowning out the sharp clips of my shoes.
Despite being a fully grown man, I can hear the Oaf behind me whimpering as we head towards what could very well be his death.
Even before we stepped over the threshold into the main office to find no sign of Hugo, it's obvious that he's down in one of the keeping rooms. The cacophony of agony filled shrieks of terror are a dead giveaway.
"Where is he?"
"He's about five spaces from his happy place."
I wince as I feel the Oaf behind me tense, ready to flee.
"I wouldn't if I were you. You'll only make it worse on yourself." Spinning around and pinning him with a murderous glare, I step forward into his personal space.
He cowers, shaking and trembling with sweat practically dripping off his brow on
to his red and black face. One eye is swollen shut, the other is red and bulging. His split lip quivers and his nose sits a little crooked.
"You know what the consequences are if you fail your mission. You had your chance and you blew it. Let's just hope he's in a forgivable mood-“
The blood curdling scream that interrupts me makes up both jump in surprise.
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath. I may not have been unsuccessful in extracting the girl myself, but I picked the Oaf for the job and he failed. So by extension, it's my failure too.
It doesn't help that I have dumb, dumb and dumber to chose from. Whoever's working in recruitment needs to be shot with a twelve gauge shotgun at point blank range and doused in acid.
Steeling myself, I maintain an emotionless facade as I gesture for him to follow me down the corridor. With each step we take, the tension in the air gets thicker. The cloying scent of blood and acid becomes almost too much to bear.
Coming to a stop outside of the room, I wait until it's quiet to rap on the door. Footsteps sound out behind the thick metal before it's yanked open. The goon steps back, allowing us to see a blood covered Hugo with a manic grin on his face, towering over a barely recognisable body.
With a circular saw in one hand, he inspects something else in the other. I manage to suppress my gag reflex when I realise what it is. Oaf behind me, isn't so lucky.
Retreating out of sight, the disgusting wet sounds of his vomit hitting the floor echo around the room, causing Hugo to turn his head to look in his direction. Horror movie style.
The movement itself erects goosebumps on my arms and sends shivers down my spine. The circular saw in his hand that’s dripping with blood doesn't help either.
"Get him set up in the next room over. I'll be there shortly." I struggle to withhold a grimace as he places the amputated finger in his mouth and starts chewing on the bone like it's some kind of candy.
He isn't a cannibal I know that much. Although, with Hugo, nothing is out of the realm of possibility. You are best staying as far away from him as you can.
"Come on," I grouse, gripping Oaf by his collar and dragging him next door, kicking and screaming.
"No! No, please! Please, let me go!"
Throwing him into the centre of the empty concrete room, he crashes to the floor before desperately righting himself and trying for the exit. Grabbing him by the throat, I walk him further into the room as one of the goons shuts the door from outside.
I slam him against the wall, gritting my teeth and snarling in his face. "You were the one who fucked the whole operation up. All you had to do was grab the girl and leave. Incapacitate her. Drug her. What-the-fuck-ever." Our noses brush. "You had one job. One. But you fucked it up. Now, we are both going to have to pay the price."
His eyes widen in panic. The whites of his eyes stark against the pitch blackness of his dilated pupils.
"If it weren't for the beating I know I'll get, I would dismember you myself." His throat bobs and flexes under my hand as he swallows thickly. "You will take his punishment and hope that he lets you see it through to the other side. Maybe this will teach you next time, not to play with your prey."
Lifting him away from the wall, only to slam him back against it, I watch as he slumps to the ground when I let go. Pathetic.
The door behind us creaks open on squeaky hinges. I don't need to look to see who has just entered the room. The pile of piss surrounding the Oaf at my feet is evidence enough.
A large, wet and sticky hand lands hard on my shoulder. The strength in his grasp causes me to wince. "Why don't we talk whilst I deal with this rat?" He poses it as a question, yet it’s anything but.
Without even a second look, I back track to the opposite side of the room and lean with one leg propped up against the wall, arms crossed over my chest.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" He jeers as he half circles the now blubbering mess on the floor. Crouching down in front of him, he pulls a dagger seemingly out of thin air and places it under the Oaf's chin, raising his head. "Get up."
Oaf tries, but his legs fail him. Scrambling around, he finally manages to make it to his feet just as he's struck down by the slash of Hugo's dagger across his chest.
I wiggle my finger in my ear to try and lessen the burden his screams have on my ear drums. I've watched enough of these now to know that my ears will be ringing for hours after.
Grabbing him by his hair, Hugo has him kneeling before him and strikes a conversation with me like everything that is happening is perfectly normal.
"How many do we have?"
"We are nearly full on the quota. Only ten to twelve more and we shall be adequately set."
"Good," he remarks, whilst carving into the Oaf's face. Dismemberment and disfigurement are his expertise. "Where are we up to in retrieving her?"
"She has been too well guarded up until now to even get close. Especially since the team we lost failed to retrieve her. They were beginning to allow her more freedom, now though, she's monitored more carefully than ever."
I pause for a second, coughing to cover up the sound of my gag as the telltale pop of a bone breaking ricochets off the wall and back to me. Oaf is dangling from Hugo's grasp at this point, barely even conscious. The only response he gives to the action of the break is a deep, groaning grunt.
"The re-generation?" Dropping the dead weight to the floor, Hugo walks past me to the door where someone is waiting expectantly with a jar of clear liquid.
"Nothing as of yet. There was some evidence of potentially increased recovery time, but nothing concrete. I have set a few more things up, although I don't know whether they will make it to her." His murderous glare turns in my direction. Lifting my hands up, I try to placate him. "She's locked down far too tightly. If I get in any closer, I risk blowing my cover."
Hugo grunts in response before opening up the jar and dipping his hand inside. The loud crackling hiss and smell of burnt skin fills the room. Removing his hand and shaking it off, he licks his fingers.
"There are a few more incidents in place, but I'm unsure on how they will fair. She doesn't miss a thing. It's very difficult to work around that and the other security measures they have in place."
"See to it that it's done. I don't have time to be going after her myself. The shipment needs to be delivered first. Once that is done, I’ll re-join the hunt. Don't let it get to that though," he gives me a look that promises death. "Or else the outcomes will not be pleasant."
Swallowing thickly, I nod. With his back to me, he places the jar in the corner before returning to Oaf's now unconscious body on the floor and kicking him in the stomach with his lead toed shoes. Coughing and groaning, Oaf tries to crawl away, but doesn't get very far.
"We are already using that centre as bait and they are still unaware. We've known their movements inside and out since they were assigned to it. Their promotion will not change that. Those techies and muscles are new and expendable. They won't be much of a loss. Use them. We may not be able to take her, but we can at least deal some damage and get some information on the code at the same time. Send someone to shoot to maim, or kill, whichever. Just make sure you monitor her afterwards. It will give us the answers we need."
Barely even grunting as he lifts Oaf off the floor, he hits a hidden button in the corner that has a hook descending from the ceiling. Cleverly disguised as thick concrete panelling, the squares slide back to reveal the mechanisms underneath.
"Is it really wise to tempt fate with a shoot to kill order?" I ask hesitantly.
Heaving Oaf up, he lifts him above the hook and then drops him. The deadly sharpness sliding straight through his shoulder with slick efficiency. A scream tears from his throat. His voice cracking with the intensity.
"She would be dead already if she did not possess the code. I made sure of that." A toothy grin stretches his face unpleasantly. His tongue darting out to lick his lips, along with the splash of blood that taints them.
"Send on
e and one only. Chances are they will shoot to kill in return, but that works in our favour. We don't want to risk anyone else getting into their hands. The techies and muscles know nothing more than face value so they aren't an issue. Whoever you send in though has to be capable enough and must have the tooth chip. Tell him to focus on her, no one else. Play it whatever way you like to get him in there, offer him anything he needs. He won't be making it out," he says factually, his voice devoid of any emotion.
Getting distracted by the rivulet of blood trailing down Oaf's chest, he seems mesmerised by it's path. Sliding his finger up and against the flow, he brings it to his mouth. I look away as he tips his head back and savours the taste.
"Leave us. I shall find you for your punishment later." Effectively dismissing me, he strides over to the jar and picks it up smoothly, before returning to his hooked prey.
Time for me to leave.
No one wants to see someone get acid thrown in their face whilst suspended on a hook in the ceiling after being beaten and sliced. It takes a special kind of special to want to see that.
29 Mila
Thoughts of the girl run through my mind as I get changed and ready for training.
Aus took her straight to the nurse’s office whilst we met with Lachlan in the headmaster’s office and briefed him. A few agents turned up a short while later to begin investigating and secure the site.
Thankfully, the girl was fine physically, just in shock. Still, Aus refused to leave her side until her family came to collect her. Throughout the whole ordeal, he made eye contact with no-one, avoiding all conversations and remaining eerily quiet even after the girl was safe with her family.
As it turns out, Census has infiltrated into various businesses and political roles far more extensively than I ever thought was possible. Including college. At Lachlan’s order, we headed straight to base after we debriefed.