The Rise of Dark Flame

by Damien Benoit-Ledoux

  Blake knocked at the open door and paused when he saw two of Victor’s top henchmen—Gary and Samuel—sitting around a rectangular six-person conference table with black leather chairs. They nodded at him.

  “Come in, Blake. Have a seat.” Victor said. Seated at the head of the table, he gestured toward an empty chair next to Gary.

  Blake walked in and sat down. “What’s up?”

  “I have a mission for you.”

  “So I heard.” It’s about time.

  “A cargo ship named the Heart of Gold is in port at Schiller Station.”

  Blake raised his eyebrow and mentally calculated what and where Schiller station was. “The wood burning place on the river?”

  Victor nodded. “Yes, that very one. Tonight, the ship will transfer cargo that belongs to The Order to a set of moving trucks overseen by one of our tactical teams. I want you to accompany the tactical team Gary and Samuel will lead to make sure the cargo makes its way here without delay or interruption.”

  “Are you expecting trouble?”

  “No. I will be honest with you, Blake; this is a tag-a-long mission for you. I want you to see how a tactical team operates and conducts itself in the field so that you may understand, if something should go wrong, what that might look like. If something does go wrong, you’ll be the one to keep the team alive. Of course, I hope you experience a normal, successful, and eventless mission.”

  “I see,” Blake answered, remaining expressionless to hide his excitement.

  Victor regarded him for a moment. “You seem…disappointed?”

  Blake smiled politely. “On the contrary, I’m very excited. I’ve been waiting for something like this for weeks, and I finally get to go on my first mission.”

  Victor smiled. “Good, I’m glad. I know it’s not much, and I hope you understand the need for patience when introducing you to the field before I send you out on your own. I know you’re more than capable of taking care of yourself, but drawing attention to The Order should never be an option, no matter the cost. I want you to observe and learn how to conduct yourself in the shadows and remain unseen.”

  “What’s the cargo?” Blake asked.

  “Some of the critical electronics we need to restore the Rangeley facility, and a few pieces of equipment for this facility.”

  “Fresh from China?” Blake teased.

  “Fresh from the Citadel, actually. Wherever they source the materials from, I do not know.”

  “Oh.”

  Victor gestured toward his men. “Would you mind briefing Dark Flame on the mission parameters and your expectations for him?”

  Gary nodded. “Dark Flame, at twenty-two hundred hours, we’re going to drive to the pier were the cargo ship Heart of Glory is docked. When we arrive, we’ll secure our surroundings and make sure no one else is around. There will be two SUVs with six agents total, including you. When we verify the coast is clear, we’ll call the trucks in and then board the Heart of Glory. Clear so far?”

  “Very,” Blake answered.

  “Good. Next, we’ll board the ship and meet up with our agents; they’re mixed in with the crew and have safeguarded the transfer from the Citadel.”

  “So, the Citadel is a harbor city? Like Portsmouth?”

  “We didn’t say that,” Samuel answered.

  “Right, unknown sources,” Blake mumbled.

  Gary continued, ignoring Blake’s interruption. “Once the cargo is loaded onto the trucks, we debark the ship and return here to unload it. Seavey Island will be safe because it’s behind the naval guard points.”

  Blake listened as Victor, Gary, and Samuel ironed out a few more logistics. Several minutes later, the latter two left and Victor shut the door behind them. He turned his attention to Blake and smiled.

  “Those briefs will become more important as time goes on. The men are used to working together, but you’ll be introducing a more powerful and unknown element to the teams. They’ll be thinking of their safety more than ever now that you’ll start going out with them on missions.”

  He sighed and looked at Victor. “They know I can protect them, right?”

  Victor nodded and walked to the back of his office. “Of course, but they’re planning for collateral damage. They don’t want to be caught in your super-powered wake.”

  “Meaning?” Blake asked, tilting his head to the left slightly.

  “Meaning, if you accidentally throw something with your telekinesis or blast someone with fire, they don’t want to be injured in the crossfire.” He picked up a brown cardboard box and returned to the table. He sat down, setting the box on his lap. “You can’t blame them for taking extra precautions, right? As awesome as you are, until they’re comfortable with you, they’re going to be wary of you.”

  “Oh.”

  “It’s nothing personal, Blake. It’s to be expected. I hope you can understand that and support them.”

  Blake took a deep breath and exhaled, looking around the room for a moment. I never thought anyone would consider me a liability. I assumed they’d let me bring the muscle and be my backup. Clearly, I had that wrong. That’s gonna change when I take over…but for now I’ll go along with it. He nodded. “Okay.”

  Victor waved his hand dismissively. “Good. I have something more exciting for you.” He handed the box to Blake. “Open it.”

  Blake leaned forward and received the box, placing it on his lap. He opened the flaps and stared at something dark purple in color.

  “It looks like…purple running tights?”

  Victor clapped his hands and laughed. “They said you’d say that. They’re like running tights, but way cooler. Pull them out.”

  Blake pulled out the tights and held them up. There was more fabric in the box. “What are they supposed to be?”

  “These, Dark Flame, are your new, standard issue flame-resistant superhero tights.”

  Blake winced and looked at Victor over the waistband. “You went with tights?”

  “Did you think blue jeans or a business suit would be better?”

  Blake shrugged. “But I’ll just burn these off when I turn on my flame power.”

  Victor shook his head. “Nope. R&D has assured me they will not combust unless you ignite yourself to three-thousand degrees.”

  The number stuck out in Blake’s head. Where the hell have I heard that temperature before…oh!

  “Did you make me titanium pants?” Blake asked.

  Victor grinned. “Yes.”

  Blake flexed and stretched the material. “But…”

  “I know, right? Don’t ask me the science behind it. They figured out how to take heat-resistance fabric and bond interwoven titanium fibers throughout the material, creating a super-strong, mostly bulletproof, flexible, breathable, and most importantly, flameproof fabric you can wash at home.”

  “You’re kidding?”

  “Nope. Want to try them on?”

  “Sure.”

  “I’ll give you some privacy. I’m pretty sure you won’t be able to wear underwear under that, so they’ll be like long underwear.” Victor stood and walked to the tinted window, turning his back to Blake.

  “Okay,” Blake said, kicking off his shoes and pulling off his pants and boxers. Then, he squeezed into the dark purple tights as Victor spoke.

  “If these work, R&D has plans to make you footwear, gloves, a mask if you want, anything you need so you can use your powers without fear of mooning the enemy or scrambling for clothes if you end up naked.

  “How thoughtful,” Blake said, setting the waistband against the skin at his hips. He pulled off his tunic and grabbed the shirt from the box and unfolded it. He held up the small, compression-fit shirt. “Um, Victor?”

  Victor turned around and snorted as he laughed. “Oh, so that’s not going to fit.”

  Blake tugged at the small shirt and stretched it a bit. “I was gonna say, even though it’s stretchy, I’ll never get it over my shoulders.

  “I see that. Someone obviou
sly screwed up on your measurements. You’d think the smart scientists that work for me would have noticed the size discrepancy. Okay, well, the tights seem to fit fine, right?”

  Blake tossed the shirt back into the box and alternated raising his knees to waist level. Then, he squatted, tentatively at first, nervous the material would pinch or rip at his crotch. When it didn’t, he squatted faster and the material flexed and moved with him. “Yeah, they’re great.”

  “Good. Keep the tights, go test them out, and let me know if there’s a problem. In the meantime, I’ll have R&D rework the shirt so it fits.”

  “Will do.”

  ❖

  Right on schedule, the two-SUV convoy carrying Blake and the small special ops team pulled into the docking area where the Heart of Glory was moored in the calmer, nighttime waters of the Piscataqua River.

  Gary and Samuel, sitting in the front seats of the SUV Blake rode in, surveyed the dimly lit area and then gave the order to exit the vehicle. Each agent, including Blake, had inserted a small two-way earpiece for audio communication. They were all dressed in bespoke bulletproof black business suits with matching black ties on white dress shirts. Blake searched the area with his super vision, but he found nothing unusual—not that he would have necessarily known what to look for. Another sign I need to be more patient.

  Blake thought they would wear something more tactical and cool looking, but he enjoyed feeling like he was in a Kingsmen movie. On top of that, Victor convinced him a snappy suit would lend him additional credibility both inside The Order and with the general public—even if he wanted to wear his new tights under his dress pants.

  Blake watched everyone walk carefully and observe their surroundings as they approached the main gangway to the cargo ship.

  “Over here, Blake,” Gary said softly, gesturing for Blake to follow him. Blake obeyed.

  “Even with your super powers, sometimes the best approach is stealth. There’s no need to announce your presence to anyone by walking in the open. Understand?”

  “Even though they’re expecting us?” Blake asked, becoming invisible.

  Gary blinked with surprise and stared at the spot once occupied by Blake. “Hot damn, kid, now that’s a neat trick.”

  “Cut the useless chatter, Gary,” Kit said, approaching Gary’s position. She was an all-business personality with little time for distraction or revelry.

  Blake re-appeared next to them, following their lead and walking in the shadows rather than the lit areas of the dock.

  Samuel chuckled. “Be careful with that trick. One day you’re going to scare one of us and get shot.”

  “I’m bulletproof, so I’m not worried about that,” Blake answered.

  Gary shook his head. “Think about the team, Blake. We don’t need accidental gunfire going off. It could compromise the team and get one of us unnecessarily hurt.”

  “Oh,” Blake answered. I’m not really sure if I care about you all or not. You’re simply the means to an end.

  “It’s okay, that’s why you’re here; to learn.”

  Blake took a deep breath and nodded. He repeated his earlier question: “If they’re expecting us, why are we hiding?”

  “It’s a lesson in team stealth approach, that’s all,” Gary answered.

  “Even though we drove up here with two SUVs?” You guys aren’t doing a good job of making sense with these training moments.

  Samuel chuckled and Gary ignored him. “Timoor, make the call.”

  Timoor pulled a radio from his pocket and spoke into it. “Echo one, Alpha team is in position.”

  In the silence that followed, Blake could hear his heartbeat in his chest. He could also hear the heartbeats of everyone around him increase.

  Timoor checked the radio and repeated his message.

  “I don’t suppose you can see the infrared spectrum, huh?” Gary asked Blake. “It would help to see what’s going on up there.”

  Blake shook his head and looked up at the massive cargo ship. “Sorry, but I do have super vision. I can’t see through the hull, but I can see people walking the main deck there, there, and there.” He pointed toward the bow, midsection, and aft areas of the massive ship. “They’re watching us and know where we are.”

  “How do you know that?” Sven asked. He didn’t speak much; only when it mattered. Apparently, this was one of those times.

  “I can see their eyes. Trust me, they’re looking right at us.”

  “Go on,” Gary said.

  “There are also six people watching from the main deck of the bridge castle. They’re all armed with some kind of semi-automatic machine gun looking thing. Looks pretty James Bond villain-esque, if you ask me.”

  “The bridge castle, huh? Glad you were paying attention during the briefing.” Samuel smiled.

  “Echo one, Alpha team is in position,” Timoor repeated.

  “Either the radios aren’t working or something’s wrong.”

  “I’m going to go with a busted radio,” Samuel volunteered.

  Gary glanced at him, then looked at the ship. Then, he looked at Blake. “What do you think?”

  You’re asking me?

  “These are our people, right? Don’t you have some sort of secret handshake you can show them?”

  “But if they weren’t our people, how would you get aboard the ship? You said they’re already watching us.”

  “First of all, I wouldn’t have driven up to the ship. I would have run up to it completely invisible with super speed and then I would have started doing whatever needed to be done, like taking out the guards. I can still do that.”

  “Don’t, they’re our people. Timoor, do it for real this time.”

  “You mean this was a test?” Blake asked.

  “Yeah, Victor wanted something to go slightly wrong, so, we improvised a problem.”

  Timoor chuckled. “The radio wasn’t even on.” He clicked it on.

  Blake shook his head. “Ha ha, very funny.”

  “Echo one, Alpha team is in position.”

  “About time you stop jerking off down there. Come get your shit,” a female voice said.

  “Four more gunmen at top of the gangway,” Blake said softly. “Do you always have this much…”

  “Security?” Samuel said, finishing his sentence.

  “Absolutely. The Order has enemies and we can’t afford to be sloppy.”

  The team of six crossed the docking area and made their way up the gangway to the main deck of the cargo ship.

  “Welcome aboard,” a woman said. It was the same woman who spoke through the radio. “I’m Julia, the cargo handler. What you’re looking for is right over here.” She turned and walked toward a set of pallets that contained shrink-wrapped crates and other containers. The group followed her.

  “Timoor, radio for the trucks,” Gary said.

  “I’m on it.”

  It’s funny they use radios instead of cell phones. It’s like I’ve stepped backward into…

  Something sharp struck Blake’s forehead, rocking it back two inches.

  “Ouch.”

  The strange metal-striking-flesh sound made everyone turn and stare at Blake, who rubbed his forehead. “What the fuck was that?” Blake hissed.

  “Quit fooling around, kid,” Kit hissed.

  “I’m not!” Blake protested, glaring at Kit.

  “Kid? Who the fuck is this kid?” Julia asked.

  Another sharp sting bit him square in the chest over his heart. This time, Blake was ready. His hand shot up and caught the small object that fell from his chest. He opened his fingers and examined it.

  “Aw shit, it’s a bullet. Someone is shooting at us.” Protect the team.

  “Take cover!” Gary whispered loudly, running onto the ship to hide behind some metal barriers. “Where are they shooting from?”

  Everyone ran to different areas and took cover as best they could, unsure of where the bullets were coming from.

  “The front of the ship, I
think.” Blake didn’t take cover. Instead, he looked around for the shooter. Whoever it was, Blake knew enough to understand the gunman used some kind of silencer. If he was lucky, his super hearing would allow him to hear and locate their next shot.

  “Get down, Dark Flame. Do not reveal your abilities yet,” Samuel ordered.

  “Um, no. They shot at me twice and I’m not down. I think they have a sense of my abilities.”

  The gunman fired again and Blake caught the sound with his super hearing and the bullet with his mind; it hovered in midair inches away from Gary’s face. That shouldn’t have been possible…sound travels slower than bullets…I think…

  “Holy shit,” Gary exclaimed loudly, the magnitude of nearly being shot in the head descending on him. He scrambled back for new cover.

  “You sure you don’t want me to reveal my abilities yet?” Blake asked, chuckling.

  “Belay that order,” Gary said, momentarily shaken at his near-death experience.

  Blake pointed upward. “The gunman is on top of that first crane thing, but not for long,” He opened his hand and stretched out with his mind, struggling to connect with the man. He had never grabbed anything that far away—not to mention that high up—and he didn’t know if he would succeed.

  “Whatever you do, don’t kill him.” Gary said. “We’ll want to bring him in for questioning.”

  “This is a mixed crew of Agents and civilians aboard” Julia said. “He’s probably a mercenary traitor working for someone else.”

  “Got him,” Blake said, jerking his hand upward and ripping the man away from the massive crane tower. He pulled the man toward him, and his surprised scream grew louder as the gunman fell toward him.

  “Who the fuck is this kid?” Julia shouted again, staring at Blake, her hand on her own weapon.

  When Blake abruptly stopped the gunman several feet above them, the silenced sniper rifle fell and clattered on the metal decking.

  “Never mind him, Julia.” Gary responded. “Do you know this man?”

  Blake brought him a little closer.