by A and E Kirk
OPERATION:
When Honey is a Four-Letter Word
LOCATION:
M-terprises Warehouse Gate
As Matthias ran up to the disastrous situation at the gate, he breathed with relief to see Aurora no longer on the ground with a gun to her head. But unfortunately, the Ted guy had her in his grip. He and Bill had disarmed the guards and pointed weapons at them. They kept the truck they had been driving out of the facility at their back.
Matthias gritted his teeth. Maybe Ayden was right and he should have taken the pistol off the guard to level the playing field.
Amazing how much trouble Aurora always got in. It could be considered a gift, if it wasn’t such a curse for him and the Boys. But he’d promised Ayden he would take care of her, and he wasn’t one to go back on his word. No matter how annoying a certain someone could be.
“Hey,” Matthias said. He pushed through the outer ring of guards, glad he had the uniform and could hide behind the sunglasses. He pulled the cap low on his forehead. “I’m sure I can explain.” He wasn’t crazy about his next move, but it seemed the most logical way to end this. “She’s with me.”
He paused because the next word was difficult to get out. It was Aurora after all. Ayden so owed him.
Matthias cleared his throat. “Honey…” Wow, he actually said it. “You’re going to get me fired.”
“Actually, no,” Ted said. “She’s with me.”
There was a long beat of tense silence as Matthias, stunned, tried to figure out what this guy was playing at. He dragged the sunglasses down his nose and studied Ted with cold crystal grey eyes. “Excuse me?”
Ted made a pained face, then offered a sheepish smile. “I know I should’ve told you I was dating your sister.”
Matthias stared over the rim of the sunglasses. “My sister?”
Okay, so Ted had also thought the idea of playing off Aurora as his girlfriend. Trouble was he’d gotten to execute the plan before Matthias showed up. Matthias wished he’d known earlier. Then he wouldn’t have had to choke out the “honey” endearment.
The two guards looked at each other, their mouths open like they were watching a big scene in a dramatic soap opera.
“I didn’t see that coming,” one of the guards said to another guard who responded by shaking his head.
Matthias almost rolled his eyes.
“Yep,” Ted said. “But you know how awkward it is for your buddy to tell you something like that.”
“That’s true,” Bill added with a knowing nod. “But to her credit, the little woman wanted to tell the truth sooner. Am I right, Ted?”
“Right you are, Bill. Thanks for mentioning that. My adorable sweetheart hates secrets. Isn’t that right?” He gave Aurora a squeeze. “Sweetheart?” When Aurora remained silent, he squeezed again.
Aurora cringed.
For a moment Matthias was afraid she was going to lose it and bring them all down, but she managed a tight smile.
“Yes. Sweetheart.” She sounded as excited as he had spitting out the “honey” comment.
Now she just had to keep it together while Matthias figured out how to resolve this without the whole thing blowing up in their faces. He listened to Ted, hoping to get some idea as to where the guy intended to go with this charade.
Like if Ted intended to take Aurora with him. As tempting as it was to get rid of her, Matthias couldn’t let that happen. The Divinicus was his responsibility. And Ayden would freak, make all hell break loose, and the rest of the Boys would join him, putting them all in jeopardy.
“See,” Ted said. “I should’ve listened to the little woman.”
“But your intentions were good, Ted,” Bill said with sympathy.
“That is true, Bill,” Ted replied. “The last thing I wanted was to create a dangerous situation that might jeopardize us all, in a manner of speaking.” He looked Matthias in the eye. “You get that, don’t you, buddy?”
Oh, yes. These two morons just wanted to be left alone to go on their merry way with whatever was in their truck. Matthias and the Boys were in no real position to stop them without causing a whole lot of havoc, so Matthias would be willing to let them go.
Except for one thing.
Matthias’ narrow gaze flicked to Ted’s hand gripping Aurora’s shoulder, then flicked back to Ted. “I think I do. Because if anything happened to her, I’d have to kill you, in a manner of speaking.”
The Aussie offered his most ruthless smile, hoping it conveyed his complete level of commitment to the task, should it come to that.
“Understood,” said Ted. “Nobody needs to get hurt.”
“That’s important in all matters of the heart,” one of the guards said to another, who responded by nodding in agreement.
Matthias stifled at groan. He almost hoped Bill and Ted tried something just so he had an excuse to punch them.
“Excellent,” Bill smiled. “I do believe we are now all on the same page.”
One of the guards said to Matthias, “You call your sister honey?”
Matthias scowled. “It’s, uh, her actual name.” He hoped they were stupid enough to buy it.
“Oh,” the guard nodded. “Your parents hippies or something?”
Apparently they were.
“Wait!” snapped the guard who Matthias recognized as the one who had dumped Aurora on the ground and put a gun to her head.
The man blinked a few times, like he’d just awakened from a trance. “What is happening? Who are you?” he asked Matthias. “You work here?”
Matthias struggled for calm. If the guy asked for credentials, they were in trouble. He glanced back at the window where he knew Ayden was watching and readied to release his shadow whips. It had all been going so well, but now this operation might be about to go south.
“Of course he works here,” said Ted. “I got him the job. It’s his first day. No hard feelings, though. Even with you rudely attacking my girlfriend.”
Bill shifted both guns toward the guard. “Very rudely.”
Matthias’ glanced at Bill and Ted’s truck with trepidation. Whatever was in there, the Aussie was sure Bill and Ted would kill for it if the guards didn’t let them out smoothly. And probably take out the redheaded moron who had thwarted their plan. It crossed Matthias’ mind to blow this whole thing wide open in order to see what Bill and Ted had in their truck that was so important. But the truth was that no matter what was in it, getting Aurora out safely took precedence. He and the Boys could track these guys down later. Matthias would look forward to it.
The guard made an annoyed gesture at Aurora. “Well, she was acting suspiciously. Said she had to pick up her ‘stuff.’ ”
Yep, that sounded like her. Brilliant.
“That would be me.” Ted rested his head against Aurora’s. “I’m her hot stuff. Good in some ways, if you know what I mean, but right now, embarrassing as hell.”
Matthias wanted to gag. And also to choke the life out of Ted for making him want to gag.
“I think it’s cute,” Bill said. “So we good here?” He’d released one automatic weapon and used his free hand to rub over the hood of the Suburban. “Nice truck. Very…sturdy.”
Matthias had an immediate jolt of fury that this moron was touching Tristan’s car. He wanted to yell for him to get his hands off it, but gritted his teeth and kept his mouth shut.
But Ted noticed Matthias’ reaction and asked him, “Are we? Good? I know you really don’t want any trouble here.”
Matthias swallowed hard. “As long as she’s safe.”
“Always.” Ted grinned at Matthias, then crooked his arm around Aurora’s neck, pulled her close, and kissed the side of her head.
Another jolt of fury seethed through Matthias. He imagined his shadow whips around Ted’s throat and wondered how cocky the bloody tosser would be then.
The main guard grumbled. “I don’t know. This is highly irregular.”
Behind the warehouse there was a loud crash. Water splashed up over the dock, slamming the boats into concrete and wood. Men shouted and ran.
A small smile tipped onto Matthias’ lips. He silently thanked Jayden and hoped the distraction also meant the genius had gotten what they needed from the computer, and that he and the rest of the Boys were on their way out.
The guard’s head swiveled back and forth from the commotion to their cozy group. Finally, he nodded. “Just get her the hell out of here.”
Matthias let out a breath and gave Aurora a nod, hoping to God she would remain quiet, leave and stay out of trouble until he and the Boys could meet up with her again. He didn’t think Ayden could take much more.
To his relief, when Ted let her go, Aurora jumped in the car without a word, threw it in reverse, and got the heck out of there.
Matthias glared at Bill and Ted as they jumped in the truck. Bill smiled. Ted had the bloody nerve to wink. The two tossed the weapons back to the guards and drove out the gate.
Making a quick exit seemed a priority, so as the group dissipated to their respective duties, Matthias moved quickly for the warehouse, planning to ditch out the back the way they had come in.
“Hey, you,” the main guard said. When Matthias didn’t stop, the guard yelled. “Hey, new guy! Stop.”
Matthias sighed, then stopped and turned.
“Glad to have you on board,” the guard said. “But I’d appreciate if you could keep your sister away from here.”
“Yes sir.”
“So if her name’s Honey, what’s yours? Milk? Lemon?” The guard laughed. “Bee?”
“Very funny, sir.” Idiot.
Matthias tried to leave again, but the guard wasn’t done.
“Sorry, just messing with you,” he said. “But seriously, what’s your name?”
Matthias sighed hard, then came up with, “It’s Whip, okay?”
“Wow, that doesn’t sound very hippy-like. I was expecting something more like Marmalade, or—”
“Sir,” Matthias cut it. “I was initially coming to tell you that one of our guys is unconscious. I think a box fell on him.”
The man became immediately concerned and ran forward. “You should have said something sooner, Whip. Show me!”
Matthias shook his head and led them to the guard he and Ayden had knocked out, happy to see the man’s weapon in his holster. He had been afraid Ayden might take it after all.
Matthias took advantage of the fact that everyone’s attention was focused on the fallen guard, and quietly dumped the jacket and sunglasses nearby before taking off out the back. The office had been empty and there was no sign of any Hex Boys, so he had to assume they had escaped without incident.
He hoped Jayden had gotten them a lead. At least the Aurora crisis had been dealt with and they didn’t have to worry about her anymore.
He found the guys behind some trees. “Seems we’re clear. You are not going to believe what happened with Bill and Ted and the nitwi—” He glanced at Ayden. “And Aurora.” As he started to tell the tale, he looked around. “Where’s Logan?”
OPERATION:
I Should Have Brought Chocolate
LOCATION:
Outside M-Terprises Warehouse
After Aurora drove away unharmed, Logan watched Ayden’s shoulders visibly relax, color return to his face, and his lungs fill with a much-needed deep breath. Logan smiled, glad his friend was easing back from the brink. A gun? Seriously?
Which is why, when Aurora compliantly reversed away from the warehouse, Logan didn’t announce a sneaking suspicion.
While the rest of the Hex Boys escaped the warehouse the way they’d come, Logan veered off. With an extra burst of air, he hopped a fence. Bill and Ted’s truck rolled past as he landed. He noted the license plate number, but doubted they’d get much use from it. He got the sense that these guys were a little more sophisticated than your average crooks.
Logan watched the direction they headed, and checked the cars which followed them. Unfortunately, Tristan’s SUV was one of them. So focused on the road ahead, Aurora didn’t notice Logan’s frantic wave. He’d worried she had left too easily at the gate. Giving up wasn’t part of her nature. Stubborn to a fault.
“Ugh,” he groaned, then after a quick glance around, sprinted to a sedan parked on the road.
A blast of compressed air broke the driver’s window. He jumped in, and without looking, reached down and hot-wired the car in less than a minute. Then he gunned the engine and squealed out onto the street.
He called Blake.
“She’s what?” Blake said when Logan explained. “On her own? Without backup? That’s a big no-no.”
“I know. And I haven’t even given her the vehicular training yet! I have got to update our schedule. But I’m her backup now. Tell Ayden not to worry. You guys can meet us. I just passed Seventh. I’ll catch up with her and flag her down before there’s any troub— Uh-oh.”
“Uh-oh? Dude, what’s the uh-oh, because I’m feeling a big uh-oh because of your uh-oh and— Ayden, stop. I don’t know yet. No you can’t have the phone. He called me, not you and I think we all know why. Ow. Stop it, don’t— Logan what’s happening?”
“Bill and Ted just headed toward a deserted area, then pulled into an alley. And Aurora followed them.”
“Uh-oh,” Blake said. “Babe and alleys are a bad combo.”
“More like a lethal one.” Logan was about to hang up when he heard the gunshots. “Ah, crap!”
“Now it’s ah, crap? Dude, what’s happening?”
Logan tossed the phone on the seat and slammed his foot down on the accelerator, wishing he had his own set of wheels. This vehicle proved ridiculously sluggish and if he was too late…
He barreled into the intersection and yanked the wheel, skidding the car into the alley. The wimpy car fishtailed. Tires squealed. And at what he saw, Logan almost squealed too.
Bill and Ted had Aurora pinned down inside the car, shooting at her relentlessly with some big, nasty firearms. The Suburban suffered the brunt of the assault, a ravaged mess courtesy of the double spray from their automatics. If the car hadn’t been bulletproof, Aurora would be dead.
Very, very dead.
The thought almost paralyzed him.
So Logan shut down that line of thinking and got a handle on his fury and fear, because the homicidal maniacs had reloaded and were about to take another crack at her.
Suddenly, Ayden with a gun wasn’t quite as crazy as it had seemed such a short time ago. But while Logan didn’t have a pistol, he had another weapon at his disposal.
As soon as the car righted from its fishtail Logan made instantaneous calculations, floored the accelerator again, and rammed the nearest dumpster at full speed.
Metal crashed and groaned. The airbag exploded with a loud bang! and slammed Logan back into the seat. He smelled the explosive. Powder filled the car. He’d forgotten about that safety feature, too focused on saving Aurora and annihilating Bill and Ted. He punched away the bag and coughed on the powder floating in the air as he waved it away, trying to get a visual on his enemies.
The dumpster raced at high speed on squeaky, grimy wheels toward Bill and Ted. Logan hoped it would flatten them, but the jerks shared a frightened look, then dove out of the way in opposite directions, rolled to their feet, and ran to the truck cab. They drove off with a screech of tires.
Logan scrambled out of his car with its smashed front end and steam rising from the crumpled hood. The smell of oil and mechanical fluids soured the air. He put a hand to his chest. It already hurt from being slammed by the airbag. However, something else burned inside him. Anger and a deep disappointment that he hadn’t been able to bring down the bloodthirsty goons.
But going after them was out of the question. The Boys weren’t here. He had no backup. And his priority remained keeping Aurora safe.
Which he had done. Right?
A chill
of fear iced down his spine. Aurora hadn’t gotten out of the SUV, and Logan didn’t see any movement inside. He ran for the Suburban. Of course she was all right. His dad was a wiz with cars. The bulletproofing must have held up. Protected her. It had to. It just…had to.
He came up beside the Suburban and saw Aurora in the front seat. She sat with eyes wide, staring straight ahead, her mouth open slightly. But she wasn’t moving. After a brief hesitation, he knocked on the driver’s window.
She yelped and turned to him with a look of blatant fear, panic, and confusion. White light flickered from her hands.
Oh no.
Her power had sparked to life. Good move on her part, but in her terrorized state, it could blast him to smithereens before she even realized what she was doing.
Logan quickly jumped back, palms raised. “It’s me!”
Aurora blinked. Then blinked again. Her mouth moved for a few seconds before she stuttered, “L-Logan?”
“Yeah,” he smiled. “You’re safe. The guys should be here soon. I’ll call them.”
As he turned to head back to the car where he had left the phone, Aurora burst out of the car and flung herself into his arms.
“Whoa,” he said, getting crushed by her fierce embrace.
Wow, she was strong. Ouch. His chest was definitely hurting. He hoped he hadn’t cracked a rib.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Uh, yeah.” He patted her back with one hand, but when he felt her body shake in violent spurts, he wrapped his arms tight and held her close.
“They, they tried to shoot me,” she almost shouted, her lips pressed against his shoulder as she spoke. “With machine guns!”
Technically they were assault rifles, not submachine guns, but Logan didn’t think it the right time to point out that detail. However; he did make a mental note to have her study-up on firearms.
“You didn’t get hit, did you?” he said, his voice muffled by her mass of red curls.
“No.”
He tried to discretely blow her hair off his face, but that didn’t work. At least it smelled nice. He recognized Jayden’s shampoo. He’d always liked it. Maybe he should give it a try.
