by Penny Knight
I must be quick and precise. There’s only one shot to get this right. I hope I can pull it off before anyone starts shooting.
The footsteps stop. Men hovering at the office door.
I hold my breath.
Time feels like it has stopped.
I visualize them nodding about breaching the door. Counting down their attack.
I count with them.
One.
I swallow the lump forming.
Two.
Be quick Elita.
Three.
It takes a split second when I hear the door across the hall burst open, the sound of the handle turning penetrates me first. I leap out from behind the door, not breaking movements. I was right, there are only two. Their backs are to me, one with a gun drawn, the other possibly holding a phone or a device.
It happens within a few seconds, and at the same time. I put the fork-like device in the door’s hole lock. I pull it closed.
The man with the device turns just as the door is about to close, his mouth opening is the last thing I see.
The door slams shut, and in the same moment it does, the device locks into place, securing the door. I did it.
Jumping to the side I get out of the way, thinking bullets will start sounding out.
Nothing. Only yelling and pulling at the door when they realise their predicament.
Then it hits me. I should be running and not waiting.
“Stop!” I hear a growl.
I freeze.
At the top of the staircase the third man. I knew about him, yet I still let this happen. Damn. Leo is gonna flip if I die. What the hell? When did he become the first person I think of when my life is in the balance?
I hear thumping and cursing sounds behind the closed door.
I look at the man.
Yep, this one, of course, has a gun. Why couldn’t he be the one to have the phone?
“Don’t fucking move,” he says.
“FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!” I hear a desperate, wretched scream from behind the door, causing even the man yielding the gun with angry eyes to look at the door. “FUCK, SHIT! Kaiser, I pressed the button!” he yells.
Pressed what button?
The gunman must know what that means because his face loses all colour, his eyes wide.
The door sounds like it’s getting pummelled. Petrified screams come from behind. It brings the gunman out of a haze and he drops the gun.
“THE BOMB!” he cries.
Did he say…?
But my thought stops dead. My brain explodes as the man who was pointing a gun at me convulses. Body contorting, and right before my eyes he transforms into a cheetah. A real life, roaring cheetah. With a large growl the animal turns and leaps down the stairs.
That can’t be real. My minds playing tricks on me. There’s a bomb about to go off after all. I must be in shock.
The bomb.
Shit.
I turn and sprint to the fire exit.
“The attack has not been claimed by any human terrorist or other organisations,” the Secretary of State of the United States says, speaking from the large monitor. “We don’t even know if it was an attack or an accident yet.” His chin cocks up and his shoulders square.
“Agreed.” The president chimes in. “And this incident is not required to be briefed to you, so I’m unsure why we had to schedule a middle of the night meeting. How many deaths were recorded?” This time he asks the Secretary of Defence.
“Two,” he says, looking down at his notes.
“Only two? Really, this early in the morning, you woke me up for this? It’s three-forty-five am. We are in the middle of an election year for Christ’s sake.” The president’s disregard for the lost lives of two innocent civilians tells me all I need to know. If this is his attitude, hopefully the voting humans right their wrongs.
“Is this you?” The Secretary of State blatantly accuses me. What’s his name again?
I turn to Broderick who I know is listening behind the computer and nod to him. He replies by mouthing Richards.
I nod.
“Richards, be careful who you accuse.” My voice is measured.
“No, no, no,” he backtracks. “Of course, I didn’t mean you. I meant more like you.”
I can see the fear from the rest of the men’s faces on the video conference call. They can’t see mine. I’m the only black box in this meeting. And that is for a very important reason.
For Immortalies, we need to avoid cameras and any other photographic evidence as best we can. Hence why I have no video output on all my online communications. There’s no problem with face-to-face meetings, but as technology has advanced. Business and the way this monarch is run is ever evolving. The other leaders might not like it, but we’re more than welcome to hop on a red eye last night and fly their asses to me. So, they really shouldn’t complain about a phone call whenever the fuck I want to make one.
“We have reason to be interested in the institute, and the fact it was involved in an explosion concern us.”
“Why are you interested in the Versiti Institute?” The Secretary of Defence asks.
“At the moment, we just need the report of the inquiry as soon as possible. Friday would be acceptable.” This meeting has grated my nerves long enough.
I understand and support the need for all the sanctions we have in place to separate the political and policing of the two different worlds. Humans have the authority to control their own environment, good or bad. And believe me, throughout the years I have had to sit back and watch some atrocious behaviour, until the Emergency Order was invoked, and we needed to intervene. But why I need information on the institute is above their pay grade. And frankly this reign in presidency has not been a great one, so I would like to not involve them as much as possible.
“Once I read the report, if you need more information or if there is a public safety issue, of course I will inform you. As of now, I need the investigation done as a matter of urgency.”
“We can’t just-” I cut the Secretary of State off.
“We will fund it. Throw as many people you need on it.” I sigh.
It is at that moment my phone rings. My brows furrow and Broderick peps up with intent. We both know I have set my status in a level one meeting. The World Leaders deserve the respect. However, level one means only a handful of calls make it through.
I snatch it up. While they discuss how hard, it’ll be to organise. The kid’s name flashes on my screen.
I stand immediately.
“What’s happened?” I answer.
The car screeches in the underground carpark when it stops, right in front of me. Nadav jumps out of the front seat, with Broderick right in place to jump in.
The team I assembled here is of top calibre. Warrick is one of our human soldiers, so he knows he is needed and opens the back door, hopping in.
“No, the front,” I order.
There is a moment he processes the deviation from our normal positioning. Even so, he doesn’t break stride following my instructions. Like a well-rehearsed dance, our car doors slam in unison just as Broderick takes off.
Being mid-day, the only way to travel is in our UV resistant custom cars. Advanced technology has made transportation so much easier than the thousands of years before it. It hasn’t been as bad as Elita would think. I may not have been able to bathe in the sunlight, but my property portfolio has definitely changed.
My phone rings again.
Again, it’s the kid.
“Where are you now?” I bark into the phone.
“There are people everywhere, all down the street. Cops. I can’t see her,” his panic carves a hole in my heart.
That explosion over the phone sounded bad, but I refuse to think about the amount of loss that outcome could have. I need to find her. I need to see her. I need, her.
“Where are you?” This time I yell.
“Near work, wait.” The sounds are muffled. “Move, move,” I hear.
/>
I look to Broderick who’s waiting for more information, as we head to Elita’s office.
“He’s near the building. Be prepared for law enforcement. And it sounds like a crowd is gathering,” I say to Broderick.
I keep one ear glued to the phone as the kid still struggles to break through the crowd.
“I can see her,” he yells. “Wait, wait, I know her. Wait!” he calls out.
This is killing me. “What’s happening?”
Nothing but muffled sounds come back, but I can see the commotion up ahead. Soon I should be able to see for myself.
“... with her. Elita, Elita wake up, is she ok?” I can hear the kid talking to someone.
That’s when the car stops, and I see the boy plead with the paramedics to let him in the waiting ambulance. Her arm drops, lifeless. Instinctively. I open the door to go to her. Broderick’s arms pull me back violently.
“Where the fuck are you going?” he points out to the sky. Shit, he’s right. What was I thinking? “Look, the kid’s in.”
I look back and sure enough his made it in the back of the ambulance. They wouldn’t do that if she was unresponsive.
“Let’s go,” I nod. “Royal Adelaide Hospital, underground carpark.”
“Where is he?” I’m pacing at the elevator, waiting for the sun to set. I check the time. Three-forty-five pm, still hours before sunset. “We should have invested in the infrastructure when we first came back,” I shake my head.
“Probably, but the odds of her actually existing were getting pretty thin,” Broderick reminds me.
It was becoming a long running joke that the Oracle of Delphi put a curse on me instead of prophesying the new heir of the Immortal Kingdom.
How can, after all these years, I finally have her under my roof and I fuck it up? I just want to know if she’s ok. Where the hell is the kid?
The lift opens and as soon as my eyes land on him, my fingers have already gripped his shirt, ripped him out of the lift and backed up against a brick pillar.
“Talk. Now.” His face is pale and disorientated. Another stupid move. I hate that I’m this reckless, but it’s like a drug, it’s impossible now to stop the craving.
“I don’t know, it’s so fucked. She’s ok. She hit her head. But she is ok. They have done scans but can’t find any reason for her being like that.” He’s talking nonsense as tears well up in his eyes.
“Like what?”
He shakes his head, “It’s her eyes, they are glazed over. Unresponsive to anything. Her vitals are all crashing, and they are doing what they can, but she isn’t coming out of it.”
“Does she have her amulet on?” I say.
He looks up, confused. “Her amulet? I... I don’t know. I didn’t even check. It was fucked. Brian is up there. She’s going to be so mad his there. And he is asking so many questions.”
“Who the fuck is Brian?” The concrete walls echo my yell causing a couple walking into the lift to scurry.
His face freezes, eyes wide. “Oh shit.” It’s like a light bulb has gone off. I have a feeling I’m not going to like this one bit.
“He’s her ex. Like the only boyfriend she’s ever had. Was super serious. Then he dumped her over text when...” He stops and looks down remembering something.
I knew I wasn’t going to like it. I already want to do physical harm to this Brian character.
“Anyway, he’s a cop. A detective now. He is working the case. He won’t leave her side at all. He’s guarding that door and is grilling me.”
“Don’t worry, I will take care of it.” I stand tall.
“You can’t kill him!” he yells.
I take a quick look around to make sure no one heard. “Shh. Don’t be ridiculous, I’m not going to kill him.” I whistle for the boys to come. I know our next move.
Kill him? Who does he think I am? Hang on. I turn back to the boy.
“Did he lay a hand on her?” I ask, serious as a heart attack.
“No. No way. Of course not,” he says. “He really did love her. He was always good to her.”
“Obviously not that great since he let her go. The guy is an idiot, and I will take care of it. I need you to go up to the room and see if she has her amulet. That could get her out of her trance.”
“Ok, I’ll go now.”
Broderick and Lucas walk up. “Get the day team on patrol at the site. If you need credentials. Go to stage three. We are looking for a crystal amulet.” I pull out my phone. “I’ll send you a picture. I need it yesterday, do you understand?”
Lucas nods, as I scroll through my contacts to the Police Commissioner. Modern medicine will not help her. She needs the witch doctor. That means I need clearance to get her out of the hospital.
The problem with existing in secrecy and operating above the law, is we can only let the heads of state and selected few know who we are. Once they are out of office, or restricted from intelligence briefings, they are deprogrammed and the information wiped from their memory. Not entirely erased. If they really wanted to, they could hack into their subconscious and remember the truth. But, they have been subjected to a systematic global scale implanting of information, which makes it almost impossible for anyone to believe. And still be considered sane in the human realm. Over countless years we’ve operated successfully. United under the OMNI, apart from the handful that want to fuck it all up.
That means, I have to wait to hear from the Federal Police Commissioner. Who’s organising her transfer into my care.
Here I am, leaning on the car waiting, like a douche. Twiddling my thumbs. If it were the old days, I’d already have been up and gotten what’s mine. If anyone try to stop me, they’d meet my pike. Understandably, that’s not the most productive way to live life. And nowadays less socially unacceptable. Blending in is how we operate. A hand slaps my back.
“It’s one hour until sunset. Then we can go up,” Broderick says.
I nod.
Every minute has been crucial. We know someone’s trying to kill her. There were three men that raided the office. They blew it up wanting her dead. Will they be back?
Making me more furious is the cop guarding the door. The kid’s by her side and been feeding me information.
Their bond is special and unique. They’re family, not friends. I see my mistakes now. If anything would have happened to him, I’d have lost her forever. Now, he sits by her bedside because I failed.
A car screeches coming down the ramp, too fast for where we are. I recognise the black strips of the mustang and it stops aggressively in front of me. Two doors open.
“I got it.” Lucas jogs to us. Holding up her amulet. My muscles relax for the first time since I heard the bomb.
“Get it up there, now. Room 231.” I’m already making the call to the kid.
This has to work.
My phone rings. It’s been forty-five minutes since the amulet was put back on her. She hasn’t improved. Times almost up. Five minutes and there is nothing stopping me from entering the building.
“You got to play it smart, Leo.” Broderick checks his phone. “We don’t have the clearance yet.”
“There’s a time for smart. And a time to do what’s necessary. I will decide once I see if their protection is enough.”
“We have our men up there, too,” he says.
“Hutchins has the witch doctors at the hotel waiting. And they need her to make an assessment.”
“Doesn’t seem like the necklace worked. Topher says she’s still out of it.”
“Yes. But her vitals have improved, slightly. It’s just not enough. Something else is wrong.”
Our watches beep in unison.
Sunset.
My finger pushes the button to the elevator in an instant. The door opens and Broderick is already by my side. The human team still running, not fast enough to keep up. They will have to take the next one.
“Not gonna lie, I’m looking forward to seeing this cop,” Broderick says. I can hear the s
mirk on his face through his voice.
“Hmph.” Somehow, I have a feeling this might not go smoothly. As always, a girl turns men into stumbling idiots and archaic barbarians. Or maybe that’s just me because I was born in 540 B.C.
Once the elevator stops on our floor, we walk through the passageway to her ward, at a human’s pace. I spot my men stationed at the entrance and positioned through the hall. I know her room straight away, and who Brian is. The one with his arms crossed in a black fitted t-shirt and jeans looking like a bouncer, not law enforcement. The only thing giving him away is the detective ID badge hanging around his neck. I don’t like him one bit, and I don’t have to make up a justifiable reason. He walked away from her. So to me he has zero intelligence.
His eyes look up when the kid moves past him, coming out from her room, trying to get to me first.
He sees me and uncrosses his arms. Standing staunch in front of the door.
I don’t break stride.
“Move,” I say as I approach.
“Yep, this is gonna end well,” Broderick mumbles behind me.
“Who the fuck are you?” His hand pushes on my chest, stopping my entrance.
“None of your business. Now move.” I look him straight in the eye.
“I don’t know who you think you are, hotshot. But.” He lifts his ID badge higher. “I asked you a question. Who are you?”
I hear him, what he said and his tone. But my eyes are searching over his shoulder until they finally land on her. My heart aches, her body still lifeless. What’s happening to her? Her vitals all look good, all in the healthy range, but she’s still unconscious.
“Did you hear me?” the cop says.
I look back to him.
“I’m a friend,” I say, answering his dumb question.
“Bullshit. She’s only got one friend, and he’s right there,” he nods to the kid.
“It’s true.” He shrugs. “But it’s true what he says, too,” he says to Brian. “We’re staying with him; he’s her friend.” Giving away too much information. His not as polished and trained as her. I can see where the two need each other to balance off.
