by Mikayla Lane
Cin put his hands on Lanie’s small shoulders and shook his head. “You need to calm down. Jason will never find you here.”
Lanie was at a loss over what to do. Every bit of experience she had with Jason told her that she needed to run like hell from this place before he could get her again. But all of her instincts were screaming to trust this odd man, stop running, and make a stand.
“I don’t know what to do,” Lanie’s shoulders sagged in near defeat.
After a decade on the run and living in fear of being found by Jason, Lanie was exhausted. Emotionally, physically, and psychologically drained, and she wasn’t sure how much longer she could go on.
Cin was surprised when he put his arms around her and held Lanie close. “I know what to do to free you of this man and his family. Let me help you get your life back.”
Lanie tried not to think about how tightly she was holding onto Cin or how safe and right it felt to be in his arms. Instead, she nodded her head, willing to try anything to get away from Jason and live again.
Cin’s chest expanded so much he felt like it would explode. He had no idea how much it would mean to him that Lanie would trust him to help her. For the first time in his life, Cin felt like the good guy and not the brutal soldier he was forced to be in another lifetime.
Nor was he the cold-blooded killer out for vengeance against the animals calling themselves elite who destroy Earth’s future. This time Cin was just a guy helping a scared woman who’d been terrorized for a decade by a violent psychopath. The fact that the bastard and his family were targets for being minions of the elite was a bonus for him.
Cin reluctantly pulled her away from him and smiled. “Let’s get started.”
Leading the way into the living room, Cin sat in the chair beside the couch and studied the tracking data for Jason’s SUV.
“OK, the problem I see is this idiot’s aunt. Senator Patrosi,” Cin admitted. “We cut off Jason’s money temporarily. Now we need to cull him from his support system.”
“How? The whole family is close, and they stick together no matter what happens. With their money and connections, they can do anything they want.” Lanie slid into the corner of the couch nearest Cin and watched the information flashing on the TV screen.
Cin already knew what he was going to do, but the TV and information scrolling on it were visual aids for Lanie to keep her calm. Cin didn’t think that telling her he was a nanite and AI-enhanced human from the future would help with that.
“First thing we’re going to do is to make Jason disappear,” Cin stated without emotion. “Then, when the family tries to find him, we’ll take them out too.”
The nonchalant way that Cin spoke of it left no doubt in Lanie’s mind that he was going to kill one or all of them. She wondered for a moment why she didn’t feel any fear over the thought of the strange man-killing Jason and his family, only a deep sense of relief.
“What can I do to help?” Lanie had never been this determined to stay alive and tried not to think too deeply about what she agreed to do.
After more than a decade of feeling scared to death every single day, Lanie just wanted an end to it all. No matter if it meant her death or Jason and his family. Before Cin had rescued her from Jason, she’d been beaten down enough that Lanie hadn’t cared if Jason killed her if it meant finally ending her decade-long torment.
Now, Lanie had hope that maybe this strange man could pull off the impossible and free her from the hell that had been her life until this point.
Cin pointed at the satellite tracking on the TV. “Jason is searching the forest areas near where I found you. He’s probably thinking he’ll find my house or you, walking along the side of the road.”
Cin stood and smiled down at Lanie. “You’re going to wait here and give me his location so I can go pick him up.”
Lanie looked terrified. “You’re bringing him here?”
“Hell no!” Cin laughed. “I know of a hunting cabin near where Jason is heading. He’s going to get up close and personal with our local wildlife.”
“OK.” Lanie was thrilled Jason wouldn’t be brought to the cabin.
She felt safe here, and after so many years of being afraid, Lanie didn’t want to ruin it.
Cin went into the kitchen, grabbed the keys to his car, and met Lanie at the front door. “Stay here, and don’t open up for anyone.”
Manifesting a phone in his palm using his nanites, Cin pressed it into Lanie’s hand. “My car is the blue dot on the satellite. Jason is red. Keep me up to date on his location.”
Lanie nodded mutely and squeezed the phone in her hands. Cin smiled to ease the fear that was so strong he could feel it thumping through her veins from the few nanites he’d left in her body.
Cin shut the door behind him and engaged the electronic locks on the doors. While he walked to the garage, Cin located Bob and told him what was going on. The cat wasn’t too happy that Lanie was still at the cabin but agreed to stay around the house and guard her.
Cin slid behind the steering wheel and located Jason with his mind before pulling out of the long driveway and onto the county road. He smiled when his phone rang and answered it. He pretended to follow Lanie’s directions until Cin pulled up behind Jason’s parked SUV only three miles from his cabin.
Cin promised to call Lanie when he was on his way back home and smiled when she told him to be careful. He disconnected the call and manifested half a dozen weapons. Cin placed them around his body then got out of the car.
He looked around the wooded area for Jason, and it didn’t take long for Cin’s enhanced hearing to locate the idiot stomping through the forest to the west.
Following the string of curses and threats of violence against Lanie when he found her, Cin was soon facing Jason McMaster, nephew of an enemy of the human race, and Lanie Fulbright.
“You’re that asshole from earlier.” Jason pulled his gun and stomped toward Cindrac. “Where the fuck is my bitch?”
Cin smiled when his nanites discovered the tracking chip embedded in Jason. He read in a journal that he found years ago that the elite tracked their minions with alien technology to keep them in line. Cin couldn’t be more thrilled that Jason had one.
“Lanie sends you her best ‘fuck you’ and hopes you enjoy hell,” Cin said with a chuckle and intentionally looked away from Jason.
Like the coward he knew Jason was, the idiot took a swing when Cin looked away from him. Cin turned, caught Jason’s fist in his own, and grinned down at the smaller man.
“I was expecting you to act like the piece of shit I know you are.” Cin ignored the man’s screams as he crushed Jason’s fist in his powerful grip.
Cin finally let go, grabbed Jason by the wrist, and started dragging him towards the road.
“Where are you taking me? Do you know who I am? My aunt is going to have you killed, you fucking bastard!” Jason screamed, trying to pull his wrist from Cin’s punishing grip.
When they reached Cin’s car, he manifested a pair of handcuffs, put them on Jason, and threw him in the trunk. Ignoring the screaming and banging coming from the back, Cin started the car and headed back down the road towards his home.
Not dumb enough to take the idiot too close to his property, Cin drove Jason to the trailhead of an old trapper’s cabin in the national forest. Parking his car on the roadside, Cin placed his hand on the dashboard, leaving hundreds of nanites behind.
He issued commands to the nanites, then got out of the car and headed to the trunk. Jason was still screaming and pounding on the inside when Cin opened the lid. Grabbing him by the collar, Cin yanked Jason out of the car and onto the ground as the nanites multiplied and camouflaged the vehicle.
“What the fuck, man?” Jason scrambled around on the ground, trying to get away from the spot where the car was quickly disappearing. “Who the hell are you?”
Cin pulled Jason to his feet by the handcuffs and dragged him into the woods with Jason screaming threats the whole way.
They walked nearly half an hour before Jason’s attempt to bully Cin had turned into tears, pleading, and offers of money to let him go home.
Cin wasn’t even paying attention to the idiot. Instead, he was texting Lanie that all was well, and the plan was working perfectly. Cin didn’t even notice they were at the cabin until Jason dug his heels in and tried to fight against him.
“No! I’ve heard of that hillbilly movie! You’ll have to kill me first, you pervert!” Jason screamed while Cin dragged him inside the dilapidated one-room cabin.
Cin had no idea what the man was talking about and didn’t care. He pushed Jason to the floor and dissolved the nanite handcuffs. Cin had barely stepped back before Jason took a swing at him with his non-broken hand.
Cin easily dodged the blow and used the opportunity to break Jason’s other hand before kicking him back to the ground. While Jason screamed in pain, cradling both broken appendages against his chest, Cin knelt in front of him.
“I’d feel bad about this if you weren’t such a piece of shit. Because of what you’ve done to Lanie, I’m going to enjoy this.” Cin smiled before using his enhanced strength to break Jason’s right femur.
Before McMaster could begin to comprehend what happened to his leg, Cin broke the other one leaving the man writhing on the floor in agony.
“Why does that bitch matter to you?” Jason screamed, then struggled to calm down. “Please, I’m begging you to get me help. I’ll pay you anything you want! My family will pay you anything! Just name a price.”
Cin laughed. “How much do you think eleven years is worth? What price can you pay to give Lanie back the years you took from her and the life she wanted to have? Do you honestly think you can throw some money at what you put her through and just walk away?”
“Yes! What fucking rock do you live under that you don’t know the kind of power my family has?” Jason spat.
He was unable to control his narcissism and contempt, the byproduct of a life lived with no repercussions or accountability for his actions. It was a condition Cin found was widespread among the elite, minions, and their spawn.
“I know everything there is to know about your family and all the other pawns like them. Haven’t you heard about the accidents happening to your elite and minion friends over the last decade?” Cin laughed when the blood drained from Jason’s face. “You had the misfortune of walking right up to my door, begging to be next.”
“No! No, it can’t be you doing that! They were all accidents!” Jason screamed when Cin stood. “Please, I’ll do anything you want. I’ll make sure you can become one of us! I swear it!”
Cin laughed. “I’m here specifically to destroy you, your family, and your elite overlords. I’m going to ensure the human race remains free.”
Jason snorted then chuckled nervously. “You don’t stand a chance. You have no idea what they have on their side. Besides, if you don’t join them, join us, then they will find you and kill you. I can help you stay alive and be one of us!”
Cin sat on the floor in front of Jason, giving him the illusion that Cin listened to his bullshit.
“What do you think they have on their side that could defeat me? I’ve been killing the elite and minions like you for more than a decade now, and even you wouldn’t have found me if you hadn’t come to my back yard. None of you even know I exist and believe my work to be the accidents I make them appear to be.” Cin tried to hide his smile.
Figuring he had Cin’s attention, Jason shifted and carefully leaned towards Cin. “Dude, they have aliens and their technology on their side. They make people like you disappear every day! I can make sure that doesn’t happen to you. You’re the kind of guy we’re looking for to help us.”
“To enslave mankind?” Cin asked bluntly. “I mean, that’s the goal, right?”
“Well, yeah, but it’s for their own good,” Jason argued, believing he could convince Cin. “Think about it. The majority of the population are little more than animals. They kill one another randomly, have low intelligence, and spend their lives just trying to feed and house themselves. They suck so badly at that we’re doing them a favor. For most, we’re ending their horrible existence. For the rest, we’re giving them purpose and the basics they desperately desire!”
Even though Cin expected such an argument from Jason, it still surprised and angered him to hear it out loud.
“You mean the low intelligence brought on by destroying school standards and the entirety of the education systems around the world?” Cin tried to keep his anger under control to learn as much as he could from the idiot. “Or are you referring to the genocide orchestrated through the medicating and poisoning of the drinking water or the genetically modified food? Or the propaganda you’ve made legal?”
Jason chuckled nervously. “We’re just accelerating a demise that was already happening. Our planet can’t handle all the low-quality moochers. We’re just making sure that only the ones worth wasting resources on will survive. You can be one of those people. I can make you my personal guard, and you can rule with me!”
Cin stood, his expression betraying none of his emotions, and walked to the door. “The thing of it is, most of the population would do more than just survive if they weren’t indoctrinated in schools rather than educated. If they weren’t medicated and poisoned into brain cell death, they would be the inventors and innovators they were in the past.”
“You can’t stop it alone!” Jason became desperate when he realized that Cin’s mind was already made up. “Maybe, I could help you instead? I mean, I know them all. I’m one of them! I can tell you everything you need to know to destroy them and stop what they’re doing!”
Cin paused in the doorway and turned to Jason. “It’s you and your kind who are the true parasites of this world. You hold no purpose other than to use your control over ill-gotten money to ruin those who are smarter and better souls than you. Without you, Earth would already be a part of the universal community of sentient life. Humans would be traveling the stars and learning how to live with our planet instead of watching you destroy it with your chemicals and genetically modified poisons.”
Using his mind to text Lanie and tell her all was well, and he was on his way back, Cin ignored Jason’s terrified screams as he walked back down the trail. The sun was setting on the horizon when Cin got into his car and activated the nanites he’d left on the doorframe of the trapper's cabin.
As he’d expected, Jason had tears streaming down his face while he tried to crawl across the floor of the cabin. The nanites, recording Jason’s vital signs, noted the rapid shock overtaking Jason due to his injuries.
Cin knew it would be a better death than the one Jason had planned for Lanie, and there was no changing it if he wanted it to look like Jason died from injuries sustained while hiking.
He had just pulled into the driveway when Cin’s nanites recorded a mountain lion entering the cabin, drawn by the scent of blood and Jason’s screams. Jason drew his last breath with the cat's sharp teeth wrapped around his neck, and Cin ordered his nanites to remain until the sheriff found the body.
Walking to the front door, Cin was preparing to open the locks when it flew open, and Lanie came running out to meet him. Her eyes were wide and fearful, and it caused a strange protective urge to run through Cin.
Walking right up to her, Cin pulled Lanie gently into his arms. “It’s over. Jason was mauled to death by a mountain lion.”
Lanie sucked in a sharp breath and pulled away to look at Cin. “How is that possible? Where did you find a mountain lion to do that?”
Cin gestured to the vast expanse of mountains surrounding them. “The old trapper’s cabin is near a cave where I saw a female mountain lion making her home a year ago. Instinct and Jason’s screams took her to the cabin.”
“Oh, God.” The realization of what happened had Lanie covering her mouth with her hand and struggling not to throw up.
Without a word, Cin led Lanie inside the cabin and sat her at the k
itchen bar. He walked to the sink and got Lanie a glass of water, sliding it across the counter to her.
“Take deep breaths,” Cin advised while Lanie’s face went from green-tinged to pale.
“It’s – so brutal.” Lanie gulped down some water and tried to get the image of Jason getting mauled out of her mind.
“It was a poetic justice that served my purpose.” Cin wasn’t sure what he expected from Lanie but felt a little hurt that she wasn’t happier about being freed from Jason’s abuse.
Lanie looked up at him with a nervous gaze. “What do you mean by that?”
“Jason spent a mere hour getting hunted the way he did you for a decade. It ended with Jason feeling half a dozen fleeting moments of the terror he so easily inflicted upon you and others for so long. I think it was too quick.” Cin shrugged his shoulders and turned to make a pot of coffee. He was stunned to see a fresh pot already made.
“Thank you.” Cin gestured to the coffee pot before striding over to get a cup. No one had ever done anything for him before, and he wasn’t sure how to act.
“You’re welcome. And thank you, Cin,” Lanie said the last on a broken sob that had Cin leaving his cup on the counter and moving to Lanie.
Before Cin knew what was happening, Lanie had thrown herself into his arms and was sobbing hysterically. Not knowing what to do, he scoured the web for information and finally just held her close.
“It’s OK,” Cin whispered. “You’re safe now. Jason can never hurt you again.”
The words only made Lanie cry harder, and Cin frantically scoured the alien databases hoping someone in the universe had the answer to making her stop crying. Every tear Lanie shed seemed to crack something within him, and Cin was beginning to feel as if he was sharing Lanie’s pain, and it was killing him.
Lanie struggled to pull herself together and finally moved away from Cin, looking up at him while she wiped the tears from her face.
“I don’t even know how to feel free,” Lanie admitted and fought back fresh tears. “It’s been so long since I didn’t have to watch my back. I think it’s going to take a little while to get used to this.”
