by T. C. Clark
A man with a thick mane of dark curly hair stood with his arms crossed in a Navy suit. His stance gave off the sense that he was bored. To his right, was a tall brown-skinned woman with a long braid hanging down her shoulder. She wore a dark green V-neck shirt and camouflage pants.
She stood up and her height matched the man in the suit. They were too far away for him to make out their faces clearly. But he still knew who they were. The Forecaster and the Hunter, the former husband and wife team.
“Gomen’nasai,” a Japanese accented voice sounded from the right. The man who’d attacked them, bowed deeply.
“It’s okay. I’m fine,” Lily replied back in perfect Japanese. She walked over to him, but before she could reach him, Sandy grabbed her and pulled her back.
“What the fuck was that, Surgeon?” Sandy snarled. Lily dusted her legs off and shrugged her shoulders.
“Excuse me, boys. I need to see a friend. Sandy, behave yourself Yuuto is a friend.” She disappeared down the path.
“I wasn’t sure who you were. That shot was a warning for me to stop. I had to be certain you weren’t here to hurt Rhea,” he said quietly. The Surgeon didn’t explain himself any further; he wasn’t the type of man who would. Sandy relaxed. If Yuuto was the father of the Mechanic’s baby, he could understand his reaction. They followed behind Lily.
“So, I assume they came for you too?” Sandy asked, after they’d walked for a while.
“They did. I was alone at my apartment when I realized what was happening,” the Surgeon said blandly.
“Shit, how many did they send?”
“Not enough.” Sandy smiled at Yuuto’s bored expression.
Lily finally reached the couple. Willow, the Hunter, embraced her. She looked so relieved to find another friend. It was good to meet up with other people like them. With this many assassins around, the odds of Lily getting hurt were decreasing by the second.
The Surgeon finally took off his mask and gave Sandy a charming smile. “Your woman packs a punch.” He ran his hand through his freshly cut hair. Sandy was stunned he’d cut it. The Japanese man had always had a thing about his hair. He stopped himself from asking him about it. He didn’t need to know. His number one concern was getting Lily away from here.
“You’re lucky Willow stopped us. I was seconds away from stabbing you in the back,” Sandy admitted.
The Surgeon watched him with a calculated expression. He looked at Lily and then back to Sandy and his charm slipped. “You need to tell me exactly why you two are here.”
“I could ask you the same question. Lily and Rhea are friends. Everybody knows that, and where Lily goes, I’m sure to follow. So the question is, what are you doing here? Lily told me you and Rhea broke up; and before you answer that, as long as Lily cares about the Mechanic, I will protect her.”
The Surgeon laughed. It was a harsh sound in the forest. Lily turned and looked at them with confusion on her face. No one had ever heard the Surgeon laugh before; and to be honest it was disturbing to hear.
“You think the Mechanic needs your protection? Have you even met her? I want you to tell her what you said when we get to the house and see how she takes it.” The Surgeon shook his head. He was clearly amused by his claim.
Sandy smiled. He understood what the Surgeon was talking about. Rhea was not a woman who required the protection of any man. She was similar to Lily. If they had a problem they liked to handle it themselves.
Yuuto and Sandy slipped into companionable silence until they caught up with the others. They were both here to protect their women. Sandy recognized the resolve on Yuuto’s face. He wondered how the Mechanic would handle his interference.
The Forecaster looked up when they arrived. His expression was mysterious. Sandy sighed. He’d never liked the Forecaster. His real name was Fabien Benard. He was an arrogant French asshole; who was born with a silver spoon firmly lodged up his ass. Sandy liked people who were easy to read and open about their intentions.
Willow gave Sandy a brief smile. She knew he was involved with Lily, and Sandy was surprised that she supported their relationship. She was a beautiful woman who could turn heads when she wanted to. She had the body of a supermodel and the confidence of a queen.
A cold look passed between the Hunter and the Forecaster, the kind of look that was reserved for two people who were no longer married. Willow shook her head and grabbed her bag. She turned away from the group to head back through the forest. Lily smiled at Sandy apologetically and ran to catch up with her.
“Okay, that was weird,” Sandy said as the men followed.
“It’s always weird between us. I assume you two are here to check up on the Mechanic? I was sure this was where most of the surviving members would gather,” the Forecaster explained.
“Is that why you’re here?” the Surgeon asked.
“Yes and no. I did want to check on Rhea, but I also wanted to explain what NICON is and what they intend to do. I had a feeling Willow was coming here, and I knew the Surgeon was. This takeover wouldn’t have been successful without the help from someone on the inside. I’ve mapped out the most logical line of events that led to this and I know what their next step is. I’m here to convince all of you to help me stop them.”
“Why should we help you?” the Surgeon asked sharply as he scrolled through his phone.
“You saw what they did to the Benefactor. Cutting off someone’s head is personal; you really think they are going to let us walk away?”
“Okay, to be fair, that’s not the first time one of us has been decapitated,” Sandy said dryly.
“No, but we all know what the Magician did to Lily. These men are bad at the core. If we let them take over here, things are going to get much worse.”
Sandy reached out and grabbed Fabian’s arm. He shook his head and stepped up to him chest to chest. He wouldn’t mind kicking his ass. “You don’t get to talk about that.”
The Forecaster yanked his arm away and straightened out his messy sleeve. “You weren’t there. I was married to Willow at the time. I saw first-hand what she went through. If you think Lily is going to walk away from a chance to get revenge, you are sadly mistaken.”
When Sandy’s expression didn’t change the Forecaster continued. “Although, knowing you, you’re going to try to keep her from getting involved. Let me tell you that would be a mistake.”
“I’m not taking advice from a man who cheated on his wife.”
The Forecaster tensed and for a second Sandy thought he would punch him. He welcomed an excuse to fuck him up.
“We don’t have time for this. Stop arguing and start walking.” The Surgeon snapped angrily. He pushed through them and continued on. The move broke the tension, and they both went quiet.
Sandy flexed his fingers and forced his body to relax. Whatever he may feel for the Forecaster didn’t matter. He needed to know what he knew. Information was the key to a successful mission. He had to take his time with this. It was too important to screw up.
“Everyone stop moving!” Lily shouted. Every one of them paused and waited. Lily was the voice most of them heard on missions. If she told them to stop moving, she meant it. She was crouched down examining some suspicious looking stump when the Mechanic’s voice floated through the air.
“For a bunch of assassins, you guys sure were easy to find.” Rhea, the Mechanic, walked out. She had dark brown skin and she was wearing fitted green jeans and black tank top. Her thick black curly hair was pinned back into a bun.
Sandy instantly noticed how her eyes avoided the Surgeon’s. Whatever happened between them was still there. He wondered if Yuuto knew she was pregnant. From the way his gaze rested on her still flat belly, he was sure he did.
“We needed to be sure you were okay,” Lily said standing up.
“I’ve disabled all of the traps here. I took care of NICON’S team yesterday. I came out here to make sure there was no one else lurking around.”
“You were attacked yesterday
?” the Hunter asked. Her gaze was sharp. She turned and surveyed the land around them, searching for anything out of place. Sandy knew she was itching to use her gun on something.
“Yep, and I got the bodies to prove it. I assume you are here because of the message that played after?” Rhea directed her question to the Forecaster.
He nodded. Fabian turned to say something to Willow, but stopped when she looked away. He shook his head and turned back to address Rhea.
“I went to help Willow first. It looks like everyone was attacked at different times this week. After the message I looked into their organization and I know why they are here.”
Willow’s eyes flashed as he spoke. “My name is the Hunter, and I didn’t need your help.”
“Your name is Willow and you weren’t saying that two days ago.”
“Fabian, I have very little patience for you right now. I came here to check on Rhea and now I know she is fine. Say what you need to say so I can go,” Willow said icily.
“Can we talk inside?” Lily said rubbing her arms. The wind was picking up fast. The strong gusts were making the trees sway. She rubbed her arms as a powerful wind hit them.
Sandy shook his head and took off his coat. He’d told her to wear a jacket when they left the car. He walked over to her and wrapped it around her slim shoulders.
Lily looked up at him and smiled. No matter the situation, she always looked so beautiful to him. Her jet black pixie cut hair framed her face perfectly.
“Sure,” Rhea said rubbing her belly.
“Rhea…” the Surgeon said, moving closer. His hawk-like eyes greedily took her in. Sandy had worked with him for a long time and for the first time ever, Yuuto looked unsure of himself.
Rhea raised a hand to stop him. “No, Yuuto, we aren’t doing this right now. You guys follow me.” She didn’t wait for a response from the group. She turned away from them and started walking.
Everyone stayed quiet as they followed Rhea back to her log cabin home. It was beautiful. Sandy could see why she’d settled here. He saw at least three places where traps were set off. There was some dried blood on the side of one of the large oak trees.
When they got inside, they settled down at a large flower-painted table in the kitchen. Everyone turned to the Forecaster and waited for him to explain the situation.
“Okay, from the video we all know that NICON is run by the Magician, the Linguist, and the Chemist. Once I realized who they were, it was easy to backtrack and see what jobs they’d done since they’ve been gone. Their patterns are unmistakable.”
“How are they still alive? The Benefactor ordered their deaths. I made the bombs, they were legit, and the doctor identified their bodies,” Rhea said her face a mask of confusion.
“I agree. At the time, Dr. Morey was in charge and he died two days after he identified them. Clearly there is a connection. I looked into NICON. It’s been operational for three years. They work closely with most governments. They’ve built an international army under our nose. Now, first I want to be clear- they meant what they said. I checked this morning. Everyone here is listed as killed in action. No one, at least from our collective governments, is looking for us. That means we are free to leave. But I think that would be a mistake.”
“And why should we go after them if they are letting us go?” the Surgeon asked, clearly confused by conversation.
“They are working on a deal that will give their company everything they need to take over the security market. Once they have it, there will be nothing we can do to stop them.”
“You still haven’t given us a reason to get involved. In our world there is always a company running things. What’s the big deal about them taking over? Yes, they killed the Benefactor and of course we need to get his daughter back, but we could probably negotiate something to make that happen. Why is it imperative that we take them out all together?” the Surgeon asked again. He knew if the team agreed to go after them, then Rhea would want to help as well.
“It’s not their control of the market that concerns me. It’s what they are selling to do so. This is serious guys. If they pull this upcoming auction off everyone is going to be in danger. That includes Rhea,” the Forecaster said seriously.
“They are targeting something extreme, aren’t they?” Lily didn’t like the bleak look on the Forecaster’s face. He was never nervous. If he was worried, then they should be as well.
“They have a deal going through in the next few weeks. From what I can tell, they’ve had a team create a bio engineered weapon of mass destruction. The rumors are that with this weapon a person can target people who have certain DNA markers in their genetic code. Once it’s activated, it can kill millions of people in as little as a week. So them letting us go means nothing if we are the people they target,” he explained.
Rhea cursed, and her hand went protectively to her belly. Yuuto’s eyes followed the action and his face tightened. All of the people at the table were starting to understand the gravity of the situation. This wasn’t something they could just walk away from.
“They can enact genocide in one go.” Lily shook her head and closed her eyes.
Sandy wasn’t like Lily; he used his fists to solve problems. He wasn’t the kind of agent that used their brain to analyze and break down a problem. But even he knew that whatever this weapon was couldn’t be sold. How had they pulled this off in the first place?
“They kidnapped and killed a number of scientists and engineers in order to create it. They have only one bio-engineer left and he is the main brains behind it. The Magician is in charge of keeping him safe. From what I can tell, they need three parts in order to make this plan work. The bio-engineer, the mechanical designs for the release mechanisms, and the drive that contains exactly how to put it together. They specifically developed this weapon in parts so that every element is needed in order to make this work. I believe they did this because they couldn’t trust each other, so all three of them wanted to have some control over it. They’ve each traveled to different parts of the world with their parts of the weapon to wait out the auction.”
“Wait, so the bioengineer is part of the sale? Did he agree to that?” Sandy asked. He was surprised anyone would consent to be a part of an auction like this.
“They have his family, so yes, he agreed.”
“I know you have an idea of how we should handle this, so please just spit it out,” Willow interrupted. The Forecaster ignored her frosty tone and explained his version of the plan.
“Sandy and Lily go after the Magician, Rhea and Yuuto go after the Linguist, and me and Willow go after the Chemist. I’ve developed detailed action plans and placed them on these drives.” He reached into his suit pocket and pulled out three usb’s.
“Rhea is pregnant. She doesn’t need to be involved,” Yuuto said firmly. He ignored the flash of anger on her face. Sandy winced. Damn, the man was stupid. Saying that was just going to make her dig her heels in even more.
“Don’t ever speak for me, Yuuto,” Rhea said with a scowl. “Why do I have to go with Yuuto? Why can’t I team up with Willow or Lily?”
“I created these plans with our skills in mind. All of us are going to have to put our differences aside for this one. I’m serious; this is the most important mission any of us will ever do. If we fail…that’s it. No baby for Rhea, no future for us.” The Forecaster spoke to the room but his eyes were trained on Willow. No one argued after that statement; the Forecaster could be a douche, but he was never wrong.
“How much time do we have?” Lily asked as she took their usb. She looked… afraid. Sandy didn’t like that.
“Two weeks max. The auction will go live in Eastern Europe by the fifteenth of this month. I have everything laid out on the drives.”
“Okay, we will handle the Magician. But I want to go after the Benefactor’s daughter first. That should only take us a couple of days. If they have to prepare for this auction they must have dropped her off at a safe house, if she�
�s still alive that is,” Lily said quietly.
“If you get caught, they will know that we are after them,” Fabian said with a frown. Willow started to say something cutting, but he raised his hand to silence her. “I’m not saying we shouldn’t go after her. I just need time to think.”
“I won’t get caught. I’ll wipe the area clean. I’m not leaving her with them. She’s only ten. There’s no telling what has already happened to her. We all know something is off with the Chemist and we owe the Benefactor that much.” Willow and Rhea nodded in agreement. Wiping the area clean meant she would kill whoever she came in contact with and leave no evidence of their interference.
The Forecaster opened his mouth to argue against it, but Sandy interrupted him.
“Save it. Lily wasn’t asking for permission. She was letting you know what was up. We are going there first and then we will complete your plan. Let’s move this conversation along. We all have a lot to do,” Sandy snapped. They didn’t have time for arguments, and he would do anything he could to erase the sadness on Lily’s face. She wanted to rescue the girl— then they would fucking rescue the girl.
Everyone nodded and began to talk amongst themselves. They needed a secure way for them to communicate when they set off on their missions. Lily told them about Dmitri and his willingness to help from a secure location. It took them a few hours to iron out the details. Lily, Rhea, and Willow hugged before they separated.
Surprisingly, the Surgeon handed Lily a cloth bag with special made knives inside. He also gave her a note with directions on how to use it. What ever happened next would no doubt be dangerous and he made it clear that he wanted her to stay safe. Yuuto knew how much Rhea loved her.
Sandy stood off to the side and stayed quiet. He knew Lily was going to be angry whenever he called in his friend to collect her. It was one of the reasons why he wanted to take care of the girl first. His actions would most likely end their relationship. Lily was not a woman who would tolerate betrayal. But she would be alive and well. He would have to be okay with that.