by Riker Kane
“Agent Castleberry. What brings you to the Fancy Diner?”
“I came here to see you.”
“You came here to see me? How did you know I was here?”
He didn’t respond. His eyes shifted toward Jade, who was sitting quietly with her arms at her side. She stared at him so hard it was clear she didn’t care what he was thinking.
“Agent Castleberry,” he said to her. “And you are?”
“…Jade.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Jade. You don’t mind if I speak to Enzo for a moment, do you? It’s important business involving the Legion Omega Defense. You’re familiar with the LOD, aren’t you?”
Jade swallowed and nodded. “He’s all yours.”
I headed out of the diner, listening to Castleberry’s loafers click right behind me.
The streets of Newmire were bustling with all kinds of traffic. People were out in the middle of the day to get their errands done. Some kids played at the park across from me, grateful they were out of school for the day.
I stuck my hands in my pockets and stared at the ground. From the corner of my eye, I saw Castleberry move right next to me.
“Newmire. It’s a nice town.”
“I’ve lived here my whole life,” I replied. “You don’t have to patronize me. It won’t hurt my feelings if you call it the shithole it is.”
“No, it’s true. People think of Los Angeles and they imagine the bright lights of Hollywood. Here in Newmire though… The people are real. Honest. Hard-working.”
“Stop by at night. You’ll see some thugs working hard, too.”
“There are punks and thieves in every city. Newmire is special. Nobody here thinks they’re better than anybody else.” Castleberry’s tone never changed. It was like every word was hitting the same note. He could’ve been saying the friendliest thing in the world but it sounded like he was giving me bad news.
“That incident with the Omegas you had. You’ll be happy to know those gentlemen are heading back to their District to resume their duties. They’ll be reprimanded appropriately. Incidents with civilians are highly frowned upon.”
I chuckled at the thought of those three assholes getting punished. “Good to hear the Legion runs a tight ship.”
“But what’s even worse than attacking a civilian is for a civilian to act like an Omega themselves. Venturing into Pandora. Upsetting the balance. Going through uncharted territory. It could draw unknown threats that could put the whole planet at risk. Billions of lives…”
“Hmph… It’s funny. Omegas have been going at it for what now? Forty years? And still people are being recruited. People are retiring. And there’s still a threat. I wonder if there’s even a threat at all.”
“The threat exists. The Legion has been fighting since the beginning. They’re the only reason this planet hasn’t been overrun and nobody’s died since the First Event.”
“Somebody died. Most people don’t know about it though.”
I slowly turned and looked at him. Castleberry stared back, no smile, just a cold hard gaze.
“The LOD will do everything in its power to safeguard the lives of every civilian on Earth. That includes you.”
“Stop telling me about what the Legion does and doesn’t do. I’ve got nothing to do with it—”
“You’ve got one chance, Enzo.” He cut me off suddenly and raised his index finger. “Whoever’s a part of the unauthorized Pandora activity will be punished severely. I’d advise you to tell anybody you happen to know who’s involved to stop immediately.”
I wasn’t about to budge. Not even with some big-nosed bastard trying to intimidate me. Not after I’d already come this far.
“I got no idea what you’re talking about. You do what you have to do, Agent Castleberry. Protect the families living here on Earth. I’m just an ordinary civilian living a peaceful life with his family… Well, I would if I had one.”
Castleberry took a step back and lowered his finger. “One chance.” He kept backing away before turning around and getting into a nearby car.
I watched it move through the traffic until eventually turning around the corner.
A sigh escaped me, making me realize how tense I was this entire time.
Castleberry was gunning for me this whole time. He was close. None of that mattered though. Once I got to dad, I’d accept whatever consequences came after.
40: Calm Before The Storm
“Raspberry coconut swirl…” Alisa stuck her tongue out and licked her spoon before delicately eating the rest of her bite. Her eyes were lost. There were no other people around her. No buildings. No park. Not even me. Just her and her sorbet.
People walking by probably thought she was crazy. Some young blond in some shorts and a halter top eating sorbet like a serial killer.
I didn’t really care too much. For one thing, I’d gotten a good handle on what kinda girl she was. More importantly, I’d seen enough crazy shit at this point that I wouldn’t have blamed her for going insane. Even over just some sugar.
I ate a spoonful of pineapple sorbet and looked out to the park where some kids were playing soccer. “I remember what that was like. Just running around without a care in the world. Back when everything was normal. As normal as normal could be, anyway.”
“I hear you.” Alisa let out a sigh, her smile not just from her sorbet. “Even without mom and dad around, Aunt Agnes made sure I had everything I needed. Crazy to think I had such a normal childhood even though it… wasn’t.”
“You. Me. Jade. None of us were normal. Maybe that’s why all this has been working so far.”
“Maybe… How come Jade didn’t wanna come out for sorbet?”
“She’s taking a break at the apartment. We just finished a rough Junction.”
“Tell me about it. I’m not too fond of spiders. I would’ve run in the opposite direction if I saw a giant one staring at me face to face.”
“This spider was a little different. It wasn’t hairy and creepy and crawly like a regular one—”
“Please don’t ruin my sorbet.”
I chuckled as she focused her attention back on her giant cup.
We sat on the bench in the park, just a few steps from the sorbet shop. It was getting later with the sun just beginning to go down. As the sky darkened and the traffic died down in the streets, the city around us started to get quiet.
“He talked to me,” she said suddenly. “Castleberry…”
She didn’t have to say his name for me to know who.
“Nothing new. Same amount of money to get details on you. At this point, it’s pretty obvious he knows something’s up.”
“I wouldn’t doubt it if he’s following us right now.” I looked around the park. Some cars parked along the curb had tinted windows, so it could’ve been any number of them. The Legion had enough resources to do it.
“I’ve been thinking.” Alisa paused, her eyes focused on the ground as she let out a soft sigh. “Aunt Agnes doesn’t have much time left. It’s weird. I visit her at the hospital every day. That’s my routine even though it’s so miserable to see her like that. But I’d rather do that than not see her at all.”
“You gotta appreciate whatever time you have left with her.”
“That’s just it. Whatever time I have left. What happens after that? When someone who’s been there your entire life is just… gone… What do you do?”
I shook my head. “When I found out dad was gone, I cried for weeks. Didn’t even wanna get out of bed. Just stayed in my room and hoped it was all some bad dream. My grandma was there for me. Cooked for me. Washed me. Eventually, I just… got up. The world didn’t stop for me. So I had to go along with it. Having my grandma there with me helped. By the time I lost her, I was ready for it. Just old enough to accept it and move on.”
Alisa swallowed a spoonful and clicked her tongue. “I guess that’s it. Just gotta hunker down and get over it.”
“I’m not saying it’s easy. But you st
ill have a choice. Give up or keep going. When you really think about it, it’s an easy choice to make.”
“Hmmm…” She smiled in relief. “I bet you hear that all the time in the gym. Pep talks for guys fighting and winning and losing and getting ready for more fights.”
“Ha! I’ve heard every cliché in the book. But that doesn’t make any of them less true.”
“What’s the best cliché for right now?”
“Good question…”
I thought about it for a second. All of the motivational pep talks and speeches I’d heard. Trainers. Coaches. Managers. Sparring and training partners. There was no end to the list of things I’d heard to get me up and keep me there.
“Hmm… How about ‘you gotta roll with the punches’?”
Alisa stared off into the distance and watched the kids play over in front of us. “Roll with the punches. Heard that before. What’s that mean exactly?”
“A punch is coming at you. All that velocity and momentum and acceleration and speed. It’s gonna hit you. You can’t stop it. But you can go with it. Don’t go into it. As long as you’re moving in the same direction, it won’t hurt as much.”
“Roll with the punches… I like that.”
Her smile grew even wider. Alisa might’ve had an enthusiastic facade full of energy, but I knew she was just a regular person inside. At least, she was trying to be.
“Can I tell you something, Enzo? I… I know you’re not too happy with me about asking for some extra cash.”
“I understand why you’re doing it.”
“That doesn’t make it right. Taking something you earned. I mean, let’s be honest. You’re the one doing most of the work out in the field.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. You do your part.”
“I’d like to think that. Fighting with you and Jade… It’s special. I feel like…” She burst into a laugh that made me raise my eyebrows. “…I feel like I’m actually a part of something.” She stopped laughing and turned to me. She wasn’t smiling her mischievous smirk. She wasn’t trying to deceive me. She just looked at me like she meant it.
“I’m with you ‘til the end, Champ. We’re almost there.”
“Yeah… Thanks.”
“No. Thank you. For giving me this chance.”
Alisa looked back out to the park and began spooning her sorbet like nothing had happened. She was eating so fast she finished before me even though her cup was twice as big.
My communicator vibrated just enough for me to take a glance.
SYNERGY with ENZO DRAKE
Jade Conrad - Level 5: 20% power increase to all abilities
Alisa Bosworth - Level 5: 20% speed increase to all basic attacks
“I’m gonna go see my aunt now,” she said.
“I’m not up to anything. I could walk you there.”
Downtown Newmire was anything but glamorous. Just a city with a bunch of old buildings that were better off demolished. Homeless folks lived in the alleyways while pushers tried to make it less obvious what they were doing. Every now and then a police cruiser would roll by but they never did anything unless they saw something blatant.
With the sun down and the streetlights up, most of the residents had gone into their apartment buildings.
Alisa and I walked through the emptying streets toward the hospital just in the distance. She didn’t say a word. Neither did I. I was just fine getting a chance to relax and forget about all of the bullshit for a second.
“There he is! That motherfucker!”
Peace and quiet never lasted too long in the streets if you waited long enough.
I spun around to see some familiar-looking thugs coming toward us. Greasy hair. Dirty faces. Teeth chipped and yellowed from obvious abuse. The same two punks who tried to mess with Alisa were flanked by a couple more guys. The four of them marched toward us like they were on a mission.
“That’s the one!” One of them pointed right at me. “This guy walking around, thinking he’s so tough. Let’s see how tough you are now that the odds are even?”
I looked at Alisa and she was just as confused as I was. “Uh… How is it even with two more guys?” I asked.
“It’s even now because you won’t be able to sucker punch me. Let’s see how you try dealing with all four of us—Ahhh!” The greasy-haired punk swung at me. Wide and sloppy as expected. I moved out of the way and cracked him in the stomach to knock the wind out of him. I pulled back a little bit because I knew the Red Mana wouldn’t make it a fair fight. It was still enough to make him crumple on the ground and whimper like a newborn.
“Get him!”
The other three all converged on me at once. The problem wasn’t being hurt by them. My increased durability meant I could probably take a hundred of their weak punches before I bruised. No, the problem was trying not to kill them by headhunting.
So I disabled them the best I could. Another hard punch to one’s stomach made him stumble and fall onto his back. The next thug was too slow as he took the same punch and ended up on top of his buddy.
The last one managed to get to me. He stood with his hands up, anxiously waiting for an opportunity. The way he fidgeted… I’d seen it before. It was more fear than anything else.
“You’re right,” I said. “Maybe four on one doesn’t even the odds. Why don’t you do yourself a favor and get four more of your friends?”
“Or you could just walk away?” Alisa gave him a shrug.
The last man looked at his friend still struggling to get up to their feet.
“What are you gonna do?” I said. “I can punch a lot harder than that…”
He let out a frustrated grunt before turning around and bolting back down the street. The other guys eventually got back up and ran away without me having to do anything.
I turned back to Alisa. “You just gonna stand there and watch?”
“You seemed to have everything under control. You know…” Alisa bit the tip of her index finger as she grinned. She inched toward me with a look in her eyes. I’d seen it before but never from her. “That was pretty hot.”
“Hmmm… Who would’ve thought beating up bums would turn a girl on?”
“Don’t tell me you haven’t had a few girls looking your way back when you used to fight.”
“I had my moments.”
She reached her hand out and grabbed two of my fingers. I didn’t resist when she tugged on me. “C’mon.”
She skipped into a nearby alley with me trailing behind her. Her girlish giggles echoed against the brick walls. The sounds of the city behind us slowly started to disappear. We ran by all of the dumpsters and trash and stray cats looking for scraps. We moved deeper between the buildings until the streetlights barely lit the path.
My curiosity finally got the best of me. “Where are we—”
Alisa moved close, pouncing on me with a kiss. Her lips were soft but forceful. She tugged on mine, desperate to have me closer. Her breaths were whispers on my tongue.
I reached up and cupped her face to hold her close before gently pulling her off. I looked into her blue eyes. There was someone young and devious. But innocent, too. Vulnerable. If I saw her walking the streets, she would’ve just been some cute blond. Enough to get my attention. Now she was something more.
“You okay?” I said with a smirk.
“I’m fine. I just… I wanna forget about everything. Our troubles. Our losses. Our hopes and failures. I just wanna… feel something else. For a moment. Just right now. Do it for me, Enzo… Please…”
That stare of hers had me focused. My mind was clear. I didn’t give in to my instincts for a second. But just a second. She wanted it more than I did. So I gave it to her.
I wrapped my arms around her small waist and pushed her up against the side of the building. She moaned into my mouth as she began frantically working the top of my jeans. I was straining hard against my boxers and she freed me quickly, grabbing my shaft and pumping me with rapid strokes.
My
hands unzipped her jean shorts and tugged them down. A pair of cotton panties blocked the rest of the way. Couldn’t tell what color they were in the darkness of the alley. Didn’t really matter because they were already down to her ankles with her shorts.
I cradled one of her legs in mine and stepped between her. Our eyes locked on each other as I searched for her warmth. My shaft was twitching in anticipation.
“Give it to me—Ahh…” A strong exhale followed by a whimper escaped her as I plunged into her. I buried into her completely, enjoying the tight wetness.
My hips had a mind of their own. I thumped my body against hers like I was trying to pound her into the wall.
Alisa wrapped her hands around my neck and held on. Balancing on one leg with her other wrapped around my back, the blond groaned with every forceful thrust I gave her.
Never did it in an alley before. Never did it anywhere outside, in fact. Somebody could’ve walked by at any moment. Couldn’t imagine there was any excuse for having a girl pinned up against the wall with one leg in the air. Didn’t care though. The freedom I had with her now was like nothing else.
“That’s it… Just like that… I want it… I wanna…”
Her eyelids started to flicker. I could barely make out half of her face from the streetlight shining into the alley. She was there in front of me though. The taste of her lips as she licked mine. Soft breaths as she tried to stay quiet. The gyrating of her hips as she met my thrusts. Even the way her small frame heaved. Didn’t matter she was still wearing her top because I could see her breasts moving to my rhythm.
“Enzo…”
She tightened around me, making me twitch in response.
No point in holding it much longer. The pleasure was too much.
Her nails dug into the back of my neck as her jaw dropped. Her moan caught in her throat before finally forcing its way out. The small, fit body shivered underneath me with an orgasm.
I fell over with her. Thick pulses emptied into her slit, wetting her insides even more than they already were. Alisa had a more petite frame compared to Jade but the way she held me was just as strong. One hand holding her leg up, my other hand pressed against the wall behind her to brace myself.