by Amy Ruttan
Table of Contents
ARCTIC BLAZE
The Phoenix Agency
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Epilogue
About Amy Ruttan
Other Books by Amy Ruttan
Text copyright ©2018 by the Author.
This work was made possible by a special license through the Kindle Worlds publishing program and has not necessarily been reviewed by Desiree Holt. All characters, scenes, events, plots and related elements appearing in the original The Phoenix Agency remain the exclusive copyrighted and/or trademarked property of Desiree Holt, or their affiliates or licensors.
For more information on Kindle Worlds: http://www.amazon.com/kindleworlds
ARCTIC BLAZE
Phoenix Agency
By Amy Ruttan
[email protected]
www.amyruttan.com
Cover Design by Flirtation Designs
Editing: Anya Richards
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used factiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
The Phoenix Agency
They served their country in every branch of the military – Army Delta Force, SEALs, Air Force, Marines. We are pilots, snipers, medics – whatever the job calls for. And now as private citizens they serve in other capacities, as private contractors training security for defense contractors, as black ops eradicating drug dealers, as trained operatives ferreting out traitors. With the women in their lives who each have a unique psychic ability, they are a force to be reckoned with. Risen from the ashes of war, they continue to fight for those in need. They are Phoenix.
DEDICATION
For all those drawn to the North. This is for you.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARCTIC BLAZE
The Phoenix Agency
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Epilogue
About Amy Ruttan
Other Books by Amy Ruttan
Chapter One
The white noise was the worst.
It rang in his ears constantly and was painful. He didn’t understand how Lexie was able to drown it out and function. Mason didn’t think he’d ever get use to this.
Dammit.
He tossed his pen aside and picked up his baseball cap, jamming it on his head over his unruly ginger hair, before heading outside into the brilliant, never-ending sun of a Yellowknife summer. Although, the sun wouldn’t be so brilliant soon. Once they passed the equinox it would begin to set, then the darkness of winter wouldn’t be far behind.
Lexie was sitting on the edge of the dock, swinging her legs as she stared up at the sky. A smile quirked his lips.
He was happy for Bryant. Bryant had come north to look for Lexie. That was how much Bryant loved Lexie, and Mason was envious of that.
He’d loved someone once, but once she found out he was a member of the Phoenix Agency she left him. It had crushed him, but he respected her wishes.
He kept his distance, even though he didn’t want to. Every night he still thought of her. Her kisses, her hands on his body.
Get a hold of yourself.
Mason was well aware of what happened when he felt anything too deeply. And he’d resigned himself to being alone because there was no way he’d hurt anyone.
He headed down the dock towards Lexie, envying her calm and wondering what she was doing.
“I’m waiting for Bryant.” Only she didn’t say those words out loud. Her voice spoke in his mind, but at least when she was communicating with him he didn’t hear the background noise, like static.
He knew Bryant and her were headed to Great Bear Lake tonight. Though, why anyone wanted to spend a honeymoon on Great Bear Lake was beyond him. Since he was kidnapped by the GKA last year and given these powers, he was tired of the north.
Mason wished Nash would return from his mission, looking for their missing younger brother Parker. If Nash found Parker, everything could go back to normal. Then maybe Mason could take a break from the north and get away from what was bothering him. But that was only a pipe dream. The Phoenix Agency had messaged him days ago and told him to prepare himself, since there would be an assignment he’d have to help them with. And Mason was dreading that too, because something deep down told him it was about Parker.
He shook that thought from his head. Lexie didn’t need to hear those thoughts. He didn’t want Bryant and Lexie to know what was going on. They’d dealt with enough last year and they deserved to have a stress free honeymoon.
“Don’t you want to go somewhere tropical?” Mason teased, as he stood next to her.
“Why would I want to do that?”
“Change of scenery?” Mason asked. “I thought you were tired of the north?”
He was.
“Never. Besides I just spent a month down south with The Lotus Circle. I’m done with the south, it’s too hot. I’d rather have cool, clear nights and it’s late August. Less bugs, and the northern lights return.”
Mason frowned. “Bugs? There haven’t been bugs this year.”
Another thing that was a bit suspicious.
Lexie laughed. “You know, you need to go down south and work to hone your skills.”
He snorted. “Like I have time to do that with my business to run. When my brothers get back from their holidays, then maybe I can think about it.”
Only they weren’t on holidays, of course. He just told others that. Parker had been taken captive by the GKA over a year ago and brainwashed to join their cause. Mason and his older brother Nash had been looking frantically for Parker ever since.
Only, they hadn’t found Parker.
He had vanished, but no one needed to know that. It was just easier to say he was on vacation.
There was a distant hum and both he and Lexie looked back out over the lake.
“Looks like Bryant is back. Good, you guys can get your junk out of my terminal.” He turned to leave, but he heard it again. The static screech, louder than it had been before.
Lexie’s brow was furrowed, as if she heard it too.
“Did you…” he shook his head. “Never mind.”
He headed back into his office. He didn’t want Lexie to know he was hearing it, and it was loud and painful between his ears.
It was worse than any other migraine he’d had before. He ran his fingers under his hat, rubbing his temples, and his fingers touched the scars from the burn Lexie had left in his skin.
He almost wished she’d let him die. For the past year he’d been suffering, and he couldn’t take it anymore.
Suddenly there was a roar of a helicopter, and he craned his neck to look outside the office window.
It was a familiar helicopter one of the Phoenix Agency crafts, and it was heading to the Yellowknife airport.
This was it.
This was his long awaited assignment and something in his gut told him it was about Nash or Parker.
Bryant had landed the float plane and disembarked, and he and Lexie looked concerned as they watched the helicopter fly overhead. Mason straightened the cap on his head and left his office again.
“Don’t worry. It’s for me.”
Bryant frowned, worry etched into his face. “You? Are you okay?”
He nodded. “I’ll be fine. You both go.
”
“What about the business?” Lexie asked. “Your brothers are both still on holiday.”
“It’ll be fine,” Mason snapped, walking toward his truck. He was annoyed, because he could feel her probing his mind, as if trying to read it. That’s the last thing he needed. He didn’t want Bryant’s wife in his head. And his brothers had been on “holidays” for years.
He wasn’t sure they were ever coming back, and he was used to that. He may be the middle child, but he was the most responsible.
And he was damn tired of that.
He climbed into his truck then gripped the steering wheel, feeling extremely bad for snapping at Lexie. She was just looking out for him, as was Bryant.
They had saved his life after all.
He rolled down his window and leaned out of it. “Go, enjoy your honeymoon.”
Bryant nodded and Mason wound up his window and drove away from his small terminal in Old Town. He was headed north to the airport, where the Phoenix Agency helicopter would be waiting for him. It would be quite the sight for those at the airport to see the stealth military helicopter.
He wondered what Mike was thinking, sending the helicopter up to Yellowknife in the middle of the day. Sure, Yellowknife was smaller than other Canadian cities, but it was still the capital of the Northwest Territories and had a busy airport.
He saw the helicopter waiting at the small terminal building he’d just purchased for 62 Degrees North Bush Planes. His plan was to expand his bush pilot service into passenger service to the remote communities but, after last year things, were on hold.
Mason parked beside the building and climbed out of his truck. Mike D’Antoni was waiting for him.
“Mike,” Mason said, as he extended his hand in greeting to his commanding officer.
“Mason,” Mike responded.
“I’m surprised to see you in Yellowknife.” Feeling a tingle, sensing something, Mason looked over his shoulder, but whatever it was, was fleeting.
“I thought I would come personally to tell you this news.”
Mason’s stomach sank. “What happened?”
“Your brother Nash is missing now.”
Mason swallowed the lump in his throat. “Nash is on a mission to find Parker. The last I heard from him was that he was close to finding him.”
“He was,” Mike said. “His plane went down between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk. We can’t find him and you’ve gained powers from Lexie so we thought you might have better luck.”
The static noise filled Mason’s head and he touched the scars on the side of his head. Scars from where Lexie had touched him and scars from where General Knight’s men had beaten him, almost to death.
Touching the scars sometimes calmed the noise in his head.
“Yeah, I haven’t completely figured out the extent of my powers.”
“We’re hoping, if you fly up that way then maybe you could sense him? He is your brother.”
“Yeah, I’ll do it. I’ve already lost one brother. I can’t lose another.”
Mike nodded. “I’m really sorry I’m the one to be giving you this news. We’re still searching for Parker and the remaining members of the GKA. They’re regrouping under General Knight’s second in command, Commander Denham, and we’re trying to gain intelligence on their movements. Also, we do know they’re searching for people with telekinetic powers.”
A shiver ran down Mason’s spine as he thought of Lexie.
“Why?”
“We don’t know, unless it’s to break General Knight out, but they need to find someone who knows where he’s kept and has the abilities to break him out. Nash doesn’t know where General Knight is though. We think he’s being used as bait, to bring you into the GKA clutches because you know the location of the prison and…”
“And I can break General Knight out.” Mason scrubbed a hand over his face.
At least Lexie was safe. Her powers were dulled and she had no intel on where General Knight was.
“Find Nash before General Knight’s Army does,” Mike said. “I think you’re the only one who can. The Phoenix Agency will track the GKA’s movements. General Knight’s Army is currently scattered, but they’re still a dangerous group.”
Mason nodded.
“Keep me posted,” Mason said. “I’ll head out now and see if I can track down the plane. It was a Phoenix Agency plane?”
Mike nodded. “It was. You know to destroy what remains of it. This is top secret.”
A smile tugged on Mike’s lips, as he looked at the helicopter behind Mike. “Right, top secret.”
Mike chuckled. “The plane was a prototype.”
“Don’t worry, Mike. I have the north covered.” Mason shook Mike’s hand.
“Be careful.” Mike turned and headed back to the helicopter.
Mason backed away and watched as the helicopter blades whirred back to life and the aircraft took off from the terminal, zipping across the Yellowknife skyline, bearing south over Great Slave Lake. When it was out of sight he turned around and headed back to his truck.
As he was walking, the world fell silent around him.
It sent a chill down his spine. It was like the world was muted.
“Turn around.”
He spun around and then tried not to scream when he saw a large white polar bear sitting three feet from him. Yet, no one else seemed to notice the bear.
And the big white bear, which was completely out of place in Yellowknife, just sat there and stared at him. He respected polar bears, but they terrified him. He knew the damage they could do. He’d seen men mauled, and a bear had been haunting his dreams lately. Always hunting him.
“Why can’t anyone else see this?”
“This is just a projection. You need to go to Trader Bart’s Tavern. Now.”
Mason was highly confused. “Why?”
“I have information about your brother Nash. His life is in danger.”
“Who has this information?”
The bear didn’t respond. It just dissipated, like mist off the lake.
What the Hell is going on?
Part of him wondered if it was a trap. He’d been trapped before, beaten and almost died. He was trying to rely on his instincts, but right now there were no warning signals. It was just the logical part of his brain telling him to go into this meeting more prepared than he was.
In the back of his truck he stashed a few of the guns he kept in the hangar, one of them being a Sig Sauer compact pistol that he could easily conceal in the bar. He didn’t know who was trying to contact him but, whoever it was, the Phoenix Agency obviously wasn’t aware of their presence. It was up to him to find out who this person was and what they knew about Nash.
Mason climbed into his truck and drove out of Yellowknife. There wasn’t much outside the city heading out onto Highway 3, but just off the highway was a gravel road that eventually turned into a winter use road. And at the end of that gravel road, before it turned into muskeg and river, was Trader Bart’s Tavern, which was frequented by roughnecks and other, more unsavory, people.
Mason parked his truck in a place where it would be unnoticed and where he could get out quickly if he needed to. He unlocked the compartment in the back and pulled out his Sig Sauer, loading it and putting the safety on before strapping it under his shirt. Even though it was August and hot, he slipped on one of his flannel shirts to hide the weapon.
He jammed on one of his worn camo baseball caps. One that was beat up. He just wanted to blend in at this point.
Static noise filled his head and it made him stop and close his eyes, trying to drown out the sounds that no one else could hear.
Get a grip on it.
It passed and he held his head up high and entered the small, dark tavern at the edge of the world.
Smoke hung heavy in the air and only a few people turned and looked his way as Mason made his way through to the counter. He kept his eyes trained on an empty stool and those curious onlookers went back to their
own business, because, to them, he was just a trucker coming in off the highway.
“What’ll you have?” the bartender asked.
“Beer, dealer’s choice.”
The barkeep nodded and went to get a bottle.
Mason kept his eyes fixated on the grimy counter, which was scratched and littered with peanut shells and ash.
His senses pricked when someone took the empty seat beside him.
It was the same energy that had been given off when the vision of the bear appeared before him. And something told him he should know this particular vibe but, then again, he was new to all this extrasensory stuff.
“Three bucks,” the bartender said as he set down a bottle of beer.
Mason tossed him five dollars. “Keep the change.”
The bartender grunted and walked away and, when he was gone, Mason turned and slowly looked to his left. He was taken aback to realize it was a woman sitting there. All he could see was just a side view of her body, he couldn’t really see her face.
“Don’t look at me,” she whispered.
“I wasn’t,” Mason responded.
“I can talk to you this way,” she whispered in his mind. “I know that you can hear me or else you wouldn’t be here.”
You were the one who sent the bear?
“Yes.”
What about my brother?
“He’s safe. He’s been taken south of here. Near Churchill. You know of York Factory?”
No.
“It’s only accessible by taking the Nelson River. He’s safe there with my sister. She’s a healer.”
His plane disappeared between Inuvik and Tuk.
“That’s what he wanted everyone to think. He was on a mission to find your brother, but he was attacked by General Knight’s second in command. Or, I guess I should say, the de facto leader of General Knight’s army now. My sister and I found him.”
So you’ve reached out to the Phoenix Agency?
“No. We’ve reached out to you.”
Mason looked at her briefly. She was leaning with her back against the bar, looking out over the tavern, but she still kept her face turned away. Her long brown hair was hiding her face and he couldn’t make out her features.
