Little Phoenix (The Census Book 1)

by Willow Dean

  Pocketing the five circular objects, I listen to an embellished re-telling of his awesome adventures. He could at least try to make it sound a bit more badass.

  “We saw your signal and Rick ordered us to move. I split instead and they were apprehended a couple of seconds later.”

  “Tree?” He nods absently in reply, which only serves to make me chortle as I clap him on the shoulder. He doesn’t so much as raise an eyebrow at my amusement. “You hid in a tree…there were only three of them…three, like tree, only Irish? Get it? No?”

  Psht. My humor is utterly wasted around these people. A man just wants some appreciation sometimes.

  Well, he may not be amused by my antics, but I sure as hell am. Sayuri appreciates it too.

  Completely ignoring me, he carries on. “What’s the plan? Where’s Mila?”

  “Her distraction technique is working well so far. She’s getting the hostage while we speak. Our focus needs to be on freeing the guys so we can provide her with cover.”

  “I presume those are part of your plan?” He gestures to my pants pocket.

  “Yup. Follow my lead brother, let’s go have us some fun!” I grin.

  “So, the infamous Alpha Race. Captured all but one. Clearly Lachlan hasn’t trained you properly-”

  My fists clench at the sight of Larson’s deadbeat dad, Barney, looming over my brothers like they’re children. Each of them are on their knees with their wrists bound behind their backs as he circles them.

  I pull away from the glass pane in the door for a second when Linc signals to me.

  Thankfully, we devised our own specialised team code so that even if someone was trained to read hand signals, they wouldn’t be able to understand ours.

  I suppose it’s like our own little language, which becomes very handy during missions. Oh, and in classrooms and training sessions. Passing notes is so old school!

  It suddenly occurs to me that we haven’t taught Mila them yet. That’ll have to be our priority after these sims. It’ll make sure we have an edge on others and will give an extra level of protection to Mila, should anything happen during our missions.

  Plan? Linc signs.

  Distract. Ninety seconds. Lose tail. Meet front.

  I sign as quickly as I can, trying to keep it short and sweet. He nods in acknowledgement of my instructions and heads to the door.

  Falling straight through, he looks as though he’s made a schoolgirl error and been caught eavesdropping, stumbling slightly before he rights himself. Every head turns his way as the room goes silent.

  Barney turns to face Linc fully. A smug, victorious smirk stretching across his face. “Well, well, well. I would have thought you would at least be a little stealthier trying to rescue them. I guess Lachlan really does need to step up his game. Apprehend him,” he snarls.

  Linc bolts from the room and sprints down the corridor back the way we came. Four guys follow him in pursuit, leaving one in the room with Barney.

  Perfect numbers. Well fancy that!

  Of course, they make the classic mistake of not paying proper attention to their surroundings and completely miss me standing pressed up against the wall by the door they just left through. Typical.

  Although they have firearms, not one of them has so much as reached for one during the sim. It’s clear that they don’t think we amount to anything. Leading them to their second mistake. Never underestimate your opponents.

  Both Barney and the last guy in the room have their backs to the entrance into the room, so I quietly make my way through the door that the brutes left open as Barney begins his spiel again.

  To minimise noise, I wait until I’m up close to remove my firearm and pop them both in the back of the head. Out of all of us, I am the least likely to be unnecessarily violent, but that guy gets on my nerves. He also had the nerve to call out Lachlan who is like a father to us all.

  Not cool man, not cool.

  Knowing he will wake up with a killer headache tomorrow brings a smile to my face though.

  “What’s up lads?! You all lining up for me? How cute, but I don’t swing that way.” Throwing them a wink, I walk up and down in front of them, allowing the discs to take in their prone forms.

  Rick throws me an exasperated look as Aus and Jax just shake their heads at me.

  “What? You all need a bit of humor in your lives. Come on, join in with me!” I sing excitedly.

  None of them join in. They can be a hard audience sometimes.

  “Where’s M?” Rick questions as I busy myself untying them.

  “Getting the hostage. We need to get out and re-group before the ken dolls come back so we can cover Mila when she returns.”

  “What happened to the plan?!” He growls.

  I guess he didn’t have a crazy plan in mind after all. Before I can answer, Jax piques up as he and Aus stand rubbing their wrists.

  “Plans change, Rick. We can figure out the details later. For now, let’s just focus on the plan and put our trust in Mila.”

  Giving me a quick nod, I continue. “Hold them upright for a second,” I instruct, pointing at the two limp dicks on the floor.

  Oohh, that’s a good insult! Double entendre too.

  Jax and Aus throw me quizzical looks but do as I ask. Once the devices are done scanning, I place the discs in the far corner of the room opposite the door. When the holograms pop up, it just looks like the two men are talking quietly in the corner with their backs to the door.

  “Place them in the cupboard over there,” I direct as they proceed to pile the two guys in the cupboard. Throwing the remaining devices down where the guys were only seconds ago, three life-like figures spring into place, looking so real that I feel the need to reach out and touch them myself. Just to check.

  Of course, my hand goes straight through. Surprisingly though, the holograms are barely disturbed by the intrusion. Jax peers over my shoulders at the wonderful creations.

  “Are these the new holograms that Diego is working on?”

  “Sure are. Pretty cool, eh?” Jax goes into full on geek mode. The only acknowledgement that I get from him is the nod of his head as he studies the technology and mutters away to himself.

  The holograms move every ten seconds or so giving the impression that they are indeed breathing and moving. They’re pretty nifty.

  Giving the room a last once over, I turn on the radio in the corner to give some background noise for when the team comes back.

  Clapping, everyone’s attention immediately snaps to me. “Alright my little lost boys, let’s get moving. Only thirty seconds before Linc loses his tail. We need to go and secure the front for Mila, A-S-A-P.”

  Nobody argues.

  Timing it almost perfectly, we make it out to the front of the complex just in time for the team who were pursuing Linc to pass by in the corridor behind us, muttering into their comms that they lost him.

  It’s astounding that none of the team even realize that the cameras or security systems are compromised yet. Experienced agents my ass.

  Fortunately, all the canine units remain on the outside of the perimeters, so they won’t be a problem for us just yet.

  Seeing as it’s not really ethical for us to be shooting live animals during training, the dogs are simple robots that can track. If the power of the handlers suit is lost -when death or unconsciousness is simulated- the robots shut down.

  It’s obvious that if this was a real-life situation that we would take out those units first, dogs and all, however we can’t just go around shooting innocent animals for the sake of a sim. That would be barbaric!

  Not that anyone should ever hurt pooches anyway, but life and death is life and death. You do what you need to, to survive.

  We secure the area just as Linc slinks back out through the front door. Rick and Aus take out the guys in the front towers with ease and commandeer the towers to keep up appearances for the foot patrols.

  Meanwhile Jax, Linc and I blend into the shadows by the doors. Al
l of us, silently and with complete faith, wait for Mila’s return.

  34 Mila

  Micah utterly sucks at being the bad guy, that was such a dreadful attempt at trying to make his voice sound menacing. It doesn’t help that I can’t tell if he was warning me or just messing about either.

  Whether the guys are surrounded or not, I’m not giving up the hostage. No matter what I feel for the team, the hostage is the priority as they are most likely vulnerable and can’t fight for themselves. I have to believe my team can get themselves out of whatever situation they landed themselves in. If they can’t, I will. Just after the hostage is safe.

  Spinning around with a dagger in hand, I launch it at the other security camera. Although I know Micah will have disabled the cameras and eliminated the threat, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

  Retrieving the dagger to complete my set of four, I look into the room that the hostage was meant to be in through the glass panel, only to find it empty. Depressing the handle, it’s locked. An old fashioned key lock with no electronic access. Clever.

  Stepping back, I chamber my knee and kick the door in, managing to jump back just before being sprayed by the trap that was tripped when the door opened.

  Placing my forearm over my mouth, I try not to breathe in whatever is now dispersed in the air. The firm is known for bio-warfare and although it’s a sim, I would rather not find out the consequences of that.

  No, thank you.

  It stops after a minute and I’m suffering no ill effects. Yet. That coupled with the fact that there were people in the room previously suggests it is contact based not airborne. The guards obviously have a kill switch too, otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to get in and out unscathed.

  Turning to survey the other two rooms, I kick those doors down too. Thankfully, I didn’t kick hard enough for either to rebound back off the walls and create too much noise.

  The one opposite the hostage room releases another trap, whilst the last door does nothing. Taking a peek inside, I can barely see anything. It looks to be a dark grey concrete corridor that carries on for a fair distance with no changes in color or texture.

  Well, I’m well and truly on my own down here. I suppose I’ll just have to find out where it goes!

  There’s one last thing I need to do before that though. Retrieving the real dagger I snuck in, you know…just in case, I move into the first room.

  Before y’all say anything...there wasn’t anything about it in the rules, so I figured why not?!

  As the saying goes, always be prepared. Especially if your name is Mila Jackson and you have some whack job following your every move.

  Shuddering, I slice my hand open and let the blood well up in my palm as I move over the threshold, spotting the floor with my blood.

  Moving further into the room, I continue the trail around a cabinet to the back of the room and have it end under the vent system. Leaving the grill partially open, I staunch the bleeding and leave the room, propping the door slightly ajar behind me.

  I do the same with the opposite room, making sure that the door is as close to closed as you can get, before moving back through the last door and into the corridor beyond.

  With any hope, if anyone comes looking, they’ll follow the trail thinking I moved through there and found refuge whilst I waited out the effects of whatever surprise they had left for me. Hopefully, that’ll give me a bit more time to get the hostage out and formulate a plan of escape.

  I cautiously move through the corridor which is just wide enough to fit two people. It kinda reminds me of the doomsday bunkers everyone has now.

  Coming to a halt, I hear voices towards the end of the corridor where it curves round to the right.

  “Why did we get roped into doing this again? None of the teams are even going to make it this far, they are far too young and inexperienced. No-one has even made it into the complex undetected yet. It’s futile,” one of them grumbles as the other grunts in agreement.

  Aww, poor man baby sounds bored. I’ll give you some entertainment.

  Removing a small mirror from my pocket, I angle it so I can see around the bend in the corridor. Reflected back is a simple square room with a man tied to the chair, slap bang in the center. I can’t help but grin evilly as I see who is role playing as the prisoner.

  Two men sit at a table to the left of the room, drinking water and playing cards. Their radios placed on the table in front of them, with an array of weapons propped up against the wall behind them.

  I sigh at the apparent ease of this whole sim. Aside from the beefed up security on the outside of course. That was just insane!

  If they were truly going to do this properly, they need to live up to the purpose of the compound. A biomedical firm dealing with pioneering technology would use far more advanced tech, they wouldn’t use something so primal as a walkie-talkie. Either that, or they’re using them as distraction.

  Bingo! Catching a glimpse of the com buds in their ears, I plan my next move.

  “At least this group lasted longer than the last. Maybe they might put on a bit more of a performance for us. Make this whole piece of crap worthwhile.”

  “Oh, don’t worry. I’ll provide a worthy performance. It’s just a shame you won’t be able to see it,” I taunt, stepping into the room.

  They don’t even have a chance to respond before my daggers are sailing across the room towards their heads. Striking simultaneously, they both collapse forward onto the table as their sim suits overload their systems.

  Before you ask…yes, I made sure to throw the rubber ones. If they were real daggers, they would be dead right now with their brains skewered like a rotisserie chicken.

  Taking my sweet ass time, I strut over and remove one of their comms, wiping it off on my suit before placing it in my ear. I confirm that the walkie-talkies are duds and double check that the talk button on the earpieces aren’t depressed before addressing our lovely hostage.

  “Well, well, well. Fancy meeting you here, sir!”

  Deac shakes his head, chuckling. “Can you not take anything seriously, little spitfire?”

  “Oh, how you wound me!” My hand goes to my chest, feigning an arrow to the heart. “I am taking this seriously,” I pout.

  Pushing one of the guards unceremoniously out of his chair and onto the floor, I drag his now vacant chair across the floor, making a horrible screeching noise. Turning it backwards, I straddle the chair directly in front of him.

  Placing my head atop my clasped hands on the back of the chair, I stare at him curiously. “Now, do I want to rescue you or not?” My head tilts in thought. “I kinda like having you at my mercy. What was your nickname for me again…oh yeah, Squirt!” I grin salaciously.

  His smile drops and his face blanches. “Mila. You can’t. You are in-”

  “Oh, I am fully aware of where I am, sir. I am also aware there are no cameras in here and yes, I know they can watch us from above. So…I won’t do anything right now.” Leaning forward so that I’m right in his face, I cock my head to the side. My grin widens, nearly splitting my face in half it's that big. “But, you can bet on it that I will get you back. When you are least expecting it, of course.” I beam menacingly.

  He gulps and I just can’t hold back my laughter any longer. Realizing I’m teasing and nothing bad will come of it, his shoulders slump forward in relief.

  “Come on, let’s get you out of here. Need a princess carry?” I jest, giving him a mock bow.

  He clears his throat before answering. “No, thanks. I’m all good, cadet.”

  “Good, because I’m really not in the mood. Follow my lead and do as I say,” I command, my mood sobering. He nods in confirmation as I remove his bindings and we head back down the corridor.

  My com crackles and I hold a hand up. Deac comes to a standstill beside me as I concentrate intently on what’s being said.

  “The only door open is the original door. Blood trail leads inside. Investigating now.”r />
  Phew. Good job I closed those other doors.

  I signal for Deac to stay whilst I move towards the door. Cracking it open, I peer out into the hallway and watch the last of the goons move into the original room.

  When I fail to detect the sound of another further approach of footsteps, I open the door fully and wave Deac forward. Just as we make it around the corner and onto the main stretch of corridor, another voice crackles over the line.

  “She isn’t in here. Looks like she escaped into the vents.”

  You think? Why don’t you just go ahead and do me a favor by getting that fat ass of yours stuck in there trying to find me?!

  Just after the thought flits through my head Deac doubles over clasping his mouth as if he is going to be sick. I go to ask him if everything’s okay when I realise how hard he’s trying not to laugh. Damn it, I must have spoken aloud again. He nods in response to the statement I thought I’d contained in my head...again!

  Fuck!

  Shaking my head, I silently berate myself. I need to figure out some way of stopping this speaking out loud schtick or else it’s going to land me in trouble one day!

  “Hostage door is secured, no sign of a breach.”

  You clearly didn’t look close enough to see the busted lock, did you?!

  No wonder we are losing agents all over the place. If this is the standard skill level of our task force, it’s a wonder some of them even come back alive. Silently tutting at their piss poor decisions, I continue to guide us through the corridors.

  You would have thought that seasoned agents would actually check for breaches properly and perform professional sweeps, but no. Either no one is taking this seriously, or they really are just that bad.

  Regardless, they need to be whipped into shape. This simulation doesn’t offer a real representation of what situations the cadets will face in real life. Ergo, it also does not offer adequate preparation for cadets who are on the verge of entering the field.

  I continue to take out all of the cameras as we move through the corridors in case they somehow re-route their systems.