by Jack Parker
Olsen was struck down, and hit his head against a seat. His skull cracked open upon impact, and blood poured out from the wound. His eyes blinked absentmindedly.
Two Phantom agents walked over to him and to Elvira.
Predator's attacker rose, contentment was plastered on his dark face. "Leave them. We only have use for the live ones."
The agents nodded, and picked up the limp bodies of Agent Moore and Predator.
Soon, Agent Olsen was left alone with only the bodies of his fallen companions as company.
________________________________________
Olsen's face took on sober expression as he ended his tale.
We were entirely shocked at what had happened.
"That was around the same time Seeker HQ was attacked," Pete added.
My expression darkened as I curled my hands into tight fists.
Fortunately, I was able to keep my cool for the most part. "Do you know where they were taken?" I asked.
Surprisingly, the Scout nodded. "They're being held at HQ."
My eyes narrowed at the news, but inwardly I was relieved at the fact that Rachel was still alive.
Pete nodded his head in acceptance. "She's probably being held in one of the interrogation rooms." He said.
Agent Olsen gave a look of confirmation. "If that's the case, then she's probably of some use to the Phantoms, hence why they captured her instead of killing her on the spot."
I clenched my teeth at the mere thought of the implication. "What do they want with her?" I asked through my teeth.
The Scout gave me a sympathetic look. "I have no idea." He replied honestly.
I nodded my head as I didn't trust my barely contained rage from not revealing itself through my voice.
I looked at everyone in the room, and took in their various emotions. Agents Arrow's and Claire's faces were blank, Agent Cian was clearly agitated as he was pacing around restlessly. Pete and Olsen were relatively cool, while Fear looked at me with concern.
I briefly glanced back at him before I turned to face the front. "So what now?" I asked.
Everyone then looked at Pete who had his hand perched under his chin. "It's settled then; we'll head back to America. I take it we're the only surviving Seeker agents here, though, so we'll have to plan this carefully." He stated.
Deep down, I felt satisfied with the conclusion, and apparently so did everyone else if the lifted looks on their faces were any indication.
Pete smiled slightly, but it quickly fell as his phone beeped and caught his attention.
He took out the device and read the message. His brown eyes widened immediately.
"What it is?" I asked warily.
"Your mother, she's awake." Pete said astonished.
Chapter 34: Heart-to-Heart
For a couple of minutes, all I did was stare at Pete in shock.
I think even my jaw dropped. My mother was awake? Jesus, so many events had happened one after another that it was hard for my mind to wrap around them.
"Are you alright?" Pete asked.
I blinked severe times before I focused my attention on him.
The Head Warrior looked at me unsurely; his mouth opened, yet closed as if he wasn't comfortable with what he wanted to say.
When I glanced at Fear, he was still looking at me with concern.
That immediately snapped me out of my daze, and I looked at Pete with certainty. "I want to talk to her." I said firmly.
Gratefully the Head Warrior didn't question my earlier reaction, and merely gave me the access code that I assumed connected to my mom.
"Here you go." He said. "There's a room down there if you want some privacy." He then gestured behind him.
I nodded, and made my way to the room.
I walked inside, though I didn't bother closing the door. There was a lone table by the window with a small laptop on top. I sat down, and pressed the on button.
Once the laptop was on, I opened our specific contact browser, and uploaded the code. I turned on the option for video imaging, and took a deep breath.
Within a minute, the image of the woman who gave birth to me appeared. "Hello?" The familiar and welcoming voice of my mother came through.
I gasped quietly at how genuine her voice sounded, but I regained my focus. "Hey mom," I replied rather timidly.
"Oh honey, it's so good to hear from you!" She exclaimed happily.
I laughed briefly. "Same goes for you mom. It's been seven years since I've last seen you. I thought you were dead…" I trailed off.
My mother took on a grim expression as her brown eyes focused on me intently. "I know dear. Most of the time I was out of it, so even I don't know much of what was done to me. Never mind that; all that matters is that I'm back."
I looked away in shame at her positive outlook despite the ordeal that she must have been through.
"It's my fault mom; when we got separated, I should have gone back for you. You wouldn't have suffered so much."
My mother then leaned closed to the camera as her eyes zeroed in on me. "Now you listen to me young man; you did not abandon me. If you went after me, then you would have been captured as well, and there was no way in hell that I would have let you fall into the Phantoms' hands." Her eyes then softened as she took on a softer tone. "Honey, you know firsthand the pain that the Phantoms have put people through, starting with our family first of all. Your bastard of a father has put us through enough misery as it is. You and the other Seekers have to stop him and his organization once and for all!"
I nodded. "I know mom, but things got complicated. You see, I met a girl…"
That automatically caught my mother's attention as she leaned even closer to the screen if there were possible. "A girl, huh? What's her name? What's she like?"
A smile plastered itself on my face as I thought of that special person. "Her name is Rachel, and she looks somewhat like you; with the brownish/black hair and brown eyes. She's an extraordinarily strong willed woman and isn't afraid of kicking ass."
My mother chuckled. "I like her already. So where is she?"
The smile was automatically wiped off of my face as dark thoughts invaded my mind. "The Phantoms have her, mom. They took control of Seeker HQ, and they're holding several hostages over there, including Rachel."
My mother gave me a sympathetic look. "I'm so sorry, John." She said.
My body shook with a barely controlled rage, and my hands formed into fists. "I hate this god damn war. If it weren't for him, then none of this would have happened. We might have been a normal family."
My mother pressed a hand against the screen as if visualizing that it was my face. "I know honey. I wish that could have been the case, but unfortunately it was not. You have to be strong, John. Your father may be a monster, but you're still half me. Luckily for you, my half is the dominant one." She chuckled.
I found myself laughing at her attempt of humor. "Well, it's no wonder that I'm such a badass." I joked.
My mother laughed briefly. "Yes indeed. But really sweetie, you'll be faced with many obstacles, however, don't let them stop you from achieving your goal. You will win, son. And you've also got that girl to fight for. From how you've described Rachel, it seems that she means a whole lot to you."
"More than my own life." I said quietly.
"Then use it to fuel your will to stop your father and the Phantoms. As Anais Nin once said: 'Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.' The question is whether or not you're willing to go as far as you can in order to save Rachel."
Without hesitation, I answered. "I'd do everything within my power just to make sure that she's safe."
My mother looked at me with such love that it nearly overwhelmed me. "I'm so proud of you, son. So very proud"
"Thanks mom…" I said as I slightly blushed. "Are you in a safe place?"
She smiled. "Yes. The Seeker medical team transferred me to some location in England. I'm afraid I can't tell you where exactly because even I d
on't know."
Inwardly, I let out a sigh of relief. "Glad to hear."
"I have to go now." She said regretfully.
"I know." I replied.
"Say hello to Fear for me. I still hate calling him that, however, he has always refused to have me call him by his real name."
I smiled genuinely. "Will do, mom. Take care."
She smiled back. "You too, dear." And with that, the connection was cut.
The chat with my mom left me filled with more hope than before.
As short as the conversation was, it was still good to hear her voice again. She was the only stable rock I had after my father went full-on evil.
I got up from the chair, and stretched my slightly sore back. It was then that I realized that Fear was standing at the doorway. "John." He said.
I raised an eyebrow in question. "What's up?" I asked.
He shrugged as he stepped inside, and then leaned against the wall. "Just wanted to check up on how you're doing. How's your mom?"
I turned to face him. "She's doing well. She says hi by the way. Oh, and she also mentioned that she still hates calling you 'Fear'."
The Assassin's lips curled slightly at the edges. "I'm still going to force everyone to call me that."
"Even your girlfriend?" I said as I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively.
Fear rolled his eyes. "Ha ha, she's not my girlfriend."
I rested a hand on my hip. "Is that so? Then I suppose that you two holding hands on the drive here meant nothing?"
That automatically made his eyes widened as I assumed that he didn't expect me to have known that. "She grabbed my hand. I just sat there."
"But you didn't slap her hand away." I said. "You like her." I then grinned.
Fear held his ground. "We're in a war; there's no time for petty things like love. Besides, if I get myself involved in a relationship, then that'd just be one visible weakness that the Phantoms would easily exploit. I wouldn't put Alannah in danger purposely."
I raised an eyebrow. "So it's Alannah now, huh? You're calling her by her real name, yet you refuse to tell her yours?"
The Assassin glared at me. "Shut up!" He replied rather childishly. "I don't go around teasing you about Rachel."
The mention of her name washed off my humorous mood. Fear noticed the abrupt change in my attitude, and struggled for words. "Shit, I…"
"Forget it." I replied. "It's not like I can avoid any mention of her, not when our mission is partially revolved around her." I then walked over to the window, and stared at the illuminated city. "I made a promise that I'd do everything I possibly could to save her, even if it meant sacrificing my own life. I won't let her go through the same torture that has marked me for life."
Fear walked to my side. "We'll get her, John. And when we do, we'll make the Phantom bastards pay for everything that they've done."
I smirked slightly. "Damn right we will."
Fear then regarded me with an intense, yet soft look. "You really do love her." He said quietly.
I turned my face towards his and nodded. "Very much." I replied.
Fear continued to look at me for a few minutes. "In that case, I've got your back to the end."
I smiled softly. "Thanks… Ricardo."
Instead of the usual annoyance at the use of his real name, Fear merely smiled. "Any time, John." He replied.
I smiled back. "So, how are your sisters?" I randomly asked.
At the mention of them, Fear's smile went larger. "They're good. I talked to them before we left Rome. It's funny, Catarina wants to join the Seekers when she's of age. I don't want her to though."
I chuckled. "She's sixteen Fear; she's at that age where you can't actually tell her what to do and expect her to listen."
Fear shook his head. "She's still young; she's got her whole life ahead of her. I don't want her to go off joining our war; not if I can help it."
My eyes softened. "She just wants to follow in her big brother's footsteps." I replied.
Fear sighed, and smiled softly. "Yeah, she does. She always was that way."
I smiled in agreement, and turned to face the window.
We spent a good while after that just looking out the window in a comfortable silence. Various memories reintroduced themselves in my head, and for once, I welcomed them with open arms.
For the first time since this damned war started, I felt at peace and had a sense that things would work out for the best. Someday, this would all be just a distant memory…
Chapter 35: And He Went Out with a Bang!
Fear and I made our way back to the main area. The others will still there.
I assumed that they went over a briefing of sorts as they were huddled over a blue print of what must have been Seeker HQ.
Pete was the first one to acknowledge our return. "Welcome back agents. Is your mother alright?" Pete asked as he looked at me.
I nodded. "She's doing fine." I replied.
Out of respect, Pete didn't inquire further about the conversation with my mother.
Instead, he turned his attention back to the blue print. "Now that you're both here, we can continue with the planning."
Fear and I walked over to the group, and observed the blue print. The others were focused on the schematics that divided into the sewage system, the main level, and the rooftop.
I looked up at Pete for some clarification.
He got the hint, and spoke. "While you were gone, we've been discussing the best strategy for our operation. As you can see, we've focused our attention on three main areas; our plan is to split into three teams to divert the Phantoms' attention to various locations, keeping them off balance. The infiltration team will go through the sewage system, and get into the interrogation rooms. If we're lucky, that's where they'll be keeping Agent Moore and any other survivors."
I swallowed hard as I took in the information.
Pete then looked at me. "You, along with agents Claire, Fear, and Arrow will make up the infiltration team; Agent Arrow will be in charge."
Said person nodded in understanding.
"The next team will be in charge of setting up explosives; they'll be coming in from the roof and will make their way to the rooftops, and set up explosives along the way. We'll have to find more volunteers for that. As for the last team, it'll be for distraction on the main level. The team will consist of me, Agent Cian, and any other capable Seeker agents we find. Are there any questions?"
Agent Claire spoke out. "Sir, if the Phantoms have taken control of HQ, then wouldn't that mean that they have full access to our security measures and will easily detect us?"
A hint of a smile tugged on the Head Warrior's face. "That is a good reason for concern, however, the Phantoms don't know all of our secrets. Agent Gizmo left us a schematic of all of the accessible circuit breakers in the building that will temporarily disable the measures that the Seeker systems have in place. There is a time limit though; we'll only have an hour before the back-up generator goes out, and the Phantoms realize that something is up."
Silence filled the room as each of us was absorbed in our own thoughts.
Abruptly, an alert pinged from Olsen's phone, and he took it out.
His eyes widened in disbelief. "Pete, I'm getting an incoming transmission from surviving Seeker agents. They'll holding out in an abandoned storage warehouse, however, it seems like they're being attacked by Phantom forces. I'm sending all of you the coordinates."
Pete automatically turned to me, Fear, and Agent Cian. "You three, go over and assist them. We need as many survivors as we can get. The rest of you, secure this location. I don't want us getting ambushed by the Phantoms."
All of us nodded our heads. Fear, Agent Cian and I then ran out of the room. We got into the van from earlier, and sped away.
According to the coordinates, the surviving Seeker agents were just south of the Linmat River that spread through the city.
Agent Cian was a mean driver as he scared the other drivers with
his insane skills. What normally would have been a half hour drive took just over ten minutes.
We arrived at the abandoned warehouse, however it was suspiciously quiet. There was no sound at all; no evidence to suggest that there was a struggle.
Suddenly, a lone figure came running out of the warehouse and as soon as he saw our small group, he booked it towards us. "Get down!" He yelled.
Just as he finished speaking, the whole warehouse exploded as glass shards and other materials flew everywhere.
The man got caught in the explosion, and was thrown several feet forward. As he landed, a nasty sounding crunch resonated from his spot and he went absolutely still.
Fear, Agent Cian and I took cover behind the van as some of the materials flew past us.
Once the rumbling passed, I exposed myself from the safety of the van, and ran towards the still body.
I ran to his body, and flipped him on his back. Blood dripped down his forehead, and his eyes stared blankly at the sky.
To be certain, I pressed a finger on his neck and counted up to ten seconds. When no heartbeat made itself present, I dropped my hand to the side and sighed heavily. Dammit, I thought.
My other partners ran over to my position. I glanced up at them, and shook my head. They looked back at me, and nodded their understanding.
Agent Cian went towards the debris, while Fear stayed behind with me.
The rough and distinguishable voice of Agent Cian then broke through the thick smoke. "I found a survivor!" He yelled.
Both Fear and I ran over to where he was, and surely enough, there was a body half buried underneath some rubble.
All three of us worked quickly to remove the debris, and pulled the Seeker agent out. I checked his neck, and was relieved to find a faint pulse.
I looked over the dirt stained face; he was unconscious, but alive.
"Fear, get the van ready. Agent Cian, grab him and let's move!" I ordered.
Both men did as they were told, and I sped walked back to the van.
I opened the door wide enough for Agent Cian to place the limp body of the Seeker agent into the back seat.
