The Guardian Chronicles 2: Dark Horizon

by Matthew Burkey

  Gabriel had no idea what part of that comment annoyed him. As a general rule, he tried to ignore a lot of what Ethan said but for some reason this comment sparked a level of annoyance with his teammate that he hadn’t yet encountered. Maybe it was because he was insulting Ryan and Tony, who had gone out of their way to train him and as far as he was concerned, were doing a damn fine job. He didn’t even hesitate when he opened his mouth to talk again.

  “Why don’t you give it a try then?” Gabriel asked, gesturing to the training area.

  "Oh now that's an amusing idea," Ethan smiled. "Me and you in the ring? Look, I won't deny that you have gotten better but do you really think that you could take me?”

  "Guess there is only one way to find out," Gabriel said, gesturing to the ring. "Unless of course you are afraid?"

  "You really think that you can goad me into it?" Ethan asked, with a raised eyebrow.

  Gabriel still wasn't sure why he had challenged Ethan to such a fight. He had seen Ethan practicing countless times and knew full well what he was capable of. Of course most of the time he spent watching Ethan practice was spent not admiring his moves but more his form; his body in motion.

  It was probably not something that was an entirely healthy habit, Gabriel knew that. He also knew that it was something that he really needed to stop doing before Ethan caught on. But still, even if he could even get a hit in on Ethan that might shut him up for a day or two. And on the off chance that he did manage to get a hit in or two, well that might get Ethan to rethink all the grief that he had been giving him.

  Of course, it was Ethan so it was just as likely that he would totally get his butt kicked and this would only serve to give Ethan even more ammo to use against him.

  "No," Gabriel shrugged. "I wouldn't dare to try a simple psychological trick on someone who is so strong willed as you."

  "Fine," Ethan smiled. "But I'm not going to go easy on you."

  "I didn't ask you too," Gabriel responded, handing Aequitas over to Ryan.

  "Are you sure about this?" Tony asked. "I mean Ethan is good; really, really, good."

  "And you guys have done a great job teaching me," Gabriel snapped. "Even if I can actually hit him that might get him to keep his trap shut for a while."

  "He's not as fast on his feet as you are," Ryan whispered to him. "Use that to you advantage, he's probably stronger than you but not as agile."

  “Noted,” Gabriel nodded.

  “And try and not get your ass completely kicked,” Tony tossed in.

  Gabriel nodded.

  “This is going to be over in about three minutes,” Ethan smiled. “You’re getting better Gabriel but I think that we both know this is only going to end one way.”

  “Shut up already,” Gabriel smiled.

  That prompted a smile from Ethan as well.

  “Alright but don’t say that I didn’t warn you.”

  And then Ethan struck out, moving so fast that Gabriel barely had time to register the incoming attack. He twisted away, taking only a glancing blow on his chin. Ethan let loose with a kick aimed toward Gabriel’s ribs. The blow connected and Gabriel went down hard on his back, a burning pain shooting up his side.

  “Told you,” Ethan smiled, offering his hand to help Gabriel up.

  Gabriel grabbed Ethan’s arm and yanked him down, rolling onto his back as he did so. He planted a foot on Ethan’s stomach and then launched Ethan over his head, rolling back to a standing position. Ethan had already gotten back to his feet as well.

  “Tony must have taught you that one,” Ethan smiled.

  “You didn’t think that I was going to make it that easy for you, did you?”

  “Did you teach him that?” Marissa asked, watching as Ethan and Gabriel started circling each other again.

  “Oh I taught him a lot of things,” Tony smiled.

  Ethan came at him again; unleashing a combo of jabs and kicks that had Gabriel working furiously to block each one. He knew that Ethan was holding back, although probably not as much as he did before. Clearly, his little display earlier did something to jolt Ethan out of his thinking that this was going to be an easy kill.

  Now, it was Gabriel’s turn to go on the offensive. He took a step forward and then tried to hit Ethan with a snap kick, Ethan deflected it easily enough. Next, Gabriel tried a series jabs and crosses that Ethan all parried without even looking like he was trying.

  Alright, you want a challenge, let’s see how you do against moves that you haven’t seen before, Gabriel thought. He knew that the fighting style he was currently using was one that all Guardians were taught. No doubt Ethan had been defending himself against such moves for the better part of his time as a Guardian. It was time to switch things up a little bit and see if he could shake the unshakable Ethan Blackburn.

  Ethan didn’t appear all that concerned and came at him again, this time with a series of roundhouse kicks, Gabriel didn’t try and deflect them, he knew that Ethan was putting a lot of power behind them and could probably knock him flat on his butt if he even tried. Instead he fell back to a lesson that Ryan had taught him.

  Be like water in a fight, Gabriel could remember Ryan saying. You have to not only be able to deflect attacks but flow around them as well…like water flowing down a stream.

  Now, Gabriel wasn't holding back. If Ethan wanted a challenge, well that was exactly what he was going to give him. Gabriel exploded into motion, launching a series of sweeping kicks and strikes that actually had Ethan backing up, deflecting or nearly avoiding each blow. He caught Ethan with a snap kick to the stomach and then dropped down and hooked his foot behind Ethan's ankle, sweeping him off his feet.

  Of course Ethan didn't stay that way for long; he was back in his feet milliseconds after he hit the mat.

  “You’ve really been practicing,” Ethan smiled.

  “I warned you,” Gabriel shrugged. “What’s the matter, you starting to get winded or something?”

  “Go to hell.”

  “That's what I thought” Gabriel smirked.

  Ethan was no longer holding back in any sense of the word. His blows were almost overpowering but Gabriel forced himself to relax and think. He didn’t relay on desperation, Ryan and Tony had trained him for situations like this. He had to slow his thinking down, he had been drilled for the past three months on how to make sure that he kept his cool long enough to form a plan and execute that plan. He took a blow to the face but avoided the next strike. Another came toward the outside of his knee, intending to take him down. Gabriel shifted his weight, moving away from the incoming attack and then speared his elbow forward, catching Ethan in the chin.

  Ethan slammed a snap kick into his stomach, sucking all the air from his lungs. Gabriel stumbled, momentarily stunned by the attack before Ethan caught him across the face with a roundhouse kick that sent him almost spinning to the mat. He hit the ground hard, grunting and cursing at the same time. He swung his legs around, leaping back up into a standing position just in time for a fresh assault by Ethan.

  Gabriel deflected several blows; most of them sending sting jolts of pain up and down his arms and legs. Ethan fainted left and then came from the right; a right cross, left hook, and an open palmed blow to his chest sent Gabriel reeling, the world tilting crazily around him. He hit the ground hard again, pain erupting inside his skull. Ethan slammed into him, sending them both rolling along the ground.

  They finally came to a stop with Ethan resting on Gabriel’s pelvis and pinning his arms above his head to the ground. Gabriel could feel the tight cords of muscle in Ethan’s thighs; the rough callouses of his hands on his bicep and the heat radiating from his athletic frame.

  “Well, this is awkward,” Ethan smiled.

  “Get off me,” Gabriel huffed.

  “Me thinks he doth protest too much…”

  Gabriel bucked his hips hard, sending Ethan tumbling sideways.

  “That’s enough for today,” Ryan said, offering his hand to help Gabriel back to his fe
et.

  “Not as bad as you thought he would be was he,” Tony smirked.

  Ethan just shrugged.

  “Come on,” Marissa said, from the edge of the training area. “Jonathan wants us in the conference room. I suggest you shower first though, you all stink.”

  “I don’t stink,” Ethan huffed. “I smell manly.”

  After grabbing their gear they headed to the locker-room. Luckily the locker-room came equipped with a few separate shower/dressing areas, something that Gabriel was immensely grateful for numerous reasons.

  “You don’t have to be embarrassed you know,” Ryan said, as they entered the locker-room.

  “You mean about Ethan kicking my butt.”

  “He didn’t kick your butt,” Ryan frowned. “You held your ground, give yourself a few more months and I bet that you could have Ethan on that mat.”

  If only, Gabriel thought. He quickly shook his head, banishing that image from his mind before he went to his locker and grabbed his stuff and then headed to one of the cubicles while Tony and Ryan utilized the main changing area.

  “How much longer do you think that he’s going to do that?” Tony asked. “I mean does he think that we’re going to freak out or something?”

  Ryan shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. I don’t think his entirely comfortable with changing in front of other guys for numerous reasons; he probably thinks that we think he’d be constantly looking to sneak a peek.”

  Tony only shrugged.

  Gabriel could overhear their conversation and winced slightly, though they were partly right. He still wasn’t entirely comfortable changing around his teammates; it wasn’t that he found any of them attractive. The closer that he grew to Ryan, Tony, Cody, and Everett the more they started to feel like old friends and less like someone that he wanted to be involved with physically.

  Except Ethan, it always came down to him. Again, Gabriel was pretty sure that he was developing a very unhealthy crush on his teammate. No matter how many times he tried to get him out of his head, he couldn’t and his little sparring session with him earlier didn’t really help matters. Gabriel punched the shower wall, breaking a train of thought that would get him nowhere fast. He finished showering and got dressed again, meeting Tony and Ryan outside the locker-room.

  “Any idea what Jonathan wants?” Gabriel asked, following his two trainers down the hall.

  “Maybe they finally got word on where Sainte-Pierre is holed up,” Tony offered.

  Gabriel knew that the search for the arms dealer that was partially to blame for him becoming a Guardian had not been going well. Actually, he really didn’t blame Sainte-Pierre at all, as much as one would think that you would. His life since joining the Guardians had changed dramatically for sure but it was for the better. He left like he was doing something worthwhile, even if he had yet to go on an actual mission.

  Even Sean and Tim had remarked on what a changed man he was and his parents noticed it too. Of course all three of them attributed it to the fact that he had actual friends now and his very strict workout regime. He was happy that his parents weren’t worrying about him so much anymore; they practically lit up every time that Tony or Ryan stopped by. Getting out of the house without them talking his new friend’s ears off was another matter entirely.

  Of course, it would have been nice if an actual eligible guy noticed him. So far, he was still the only out one at his school.

  “Probably another lecture about something,” Ryan shrugged. “He hasn’t gotten on his soapbox for a while.”

  “Last time he got on his soapbox about anything was all that property damage we caused chasing down that nest demonic scorpions,” Tony commented.

  “As I recall you blew up almost an entire city block,” Gabriel tossed in.

  “Alright Mr. Know It All,” Tony grumbled. “At least it was a completely vacant city block.”

  “I still find it hard to believe that you guys haven’t been caught doing some of this stuff,” Gabriel said, as they entered the conference room. “What about the time that you nearly took out a historic landmark.”

  “It wasn’t our fault the harpies were using the Washington Monument as a nest,” Ryan shrugged, taking his seat. “And we paid for all the damages.”

  “After you nearly toppled the thing,” Jonathan pointed out.

  No one appeared to refute that point. When everyone was seated, Jonathan pulled out his tablet and typed in a few commands. Seconds later the large monitors at both ends of the conference room came to life, showing the face of Jean Sainte-Pierre. For someone that was hundreds of years old, he didn’t look much like a day past forty. He had some slight silver creeping into the otherwise black hair around his temples, red eyes, and a build that suggested that he took good care of himself.

  “As most of you know this is Jean Saint-Pierre,” Jonathan stated. “Or at least that’s what he’s calling himself his century. As you know we’ve been trying to ascertain where he has been for the better part of three months.”

  “And why New Aryan Nation was having a conversation with him,” Marissa grunted, typing a few commands into her own tablet. “They’ve been a little easier to track. So far they appear to be keeping a low profile and are just sticking to their normal stuff. You know, trespassing, vandalism, petty theft, that sort of thing.”

  A picture of the leadership of the New Aryan Nation had appeared on one of the screens and on everyone’s tablets.

  The New Aryan Nation was among the more interesting groups that Gabriel had encountered in his new role as a Guardian. The file on the hate group was complete and did a very good job of highlighting the fact that they were less than stellar human beings. As far as the Guardians could figure out they funded their message of hate in the most despicable of ways; prostitution, drug dealing, and even contracted murder. Gabriel still had a problem wrapping his head around how they could do all that and then turn around and condemn someone else.

  Of course if he tried to start figuring out the logic of hate groups he was bound to give himself one serious headache.

  “As far as we can tell, they haven’t contacted each other again,” Jonathan went on. “And there has been no sign of Sainte-Pierre, not a single one of his known safe houses or his other associates have had any contact with him. We appear to have really spooked him this time.”

  “Couldn’t we offer him leniency?” Gabriel asked. “I mean you did say that’s why you keep him around, the fact that he’s useful for getting information. Why not exploit that?”

  “Don’t think that hasn’t crossed our mind,” Jonathan huffed. “But considering the seriousness of his crime and the implications that it have on the world as a whole, they are reluctant to simply overlook this matter.”

  “Which explains why he went to ground,” Tony nodded.

  “What about talking to these boneheads,” Gabriel asked, gesturing toward the New Aryan Nation picture that was on one of the screens. “I mean they could at least tell us what they were doing contacting him and what he promised them. That’s more information then we have now.”

  “I think it’s pretty clear what they were doing,” Jonathan frowned.

  “Still, he has a point,” Ethan nodded, stretching his arms behind his head.

  That surprised Gabriel, he assumed that Ethan was going to shoot down every idea that he brought up during the course of the meeting.

  “You’re suggesting that they will talk to us,” Jonathan stated.

  “Aye, I think we can break them,” Cody responded, rolling his eyes. “How smart can those wankers be, there in a hate group that still actually believes in the idea of eugenics and racial purity.”

  “They’re heavily armed,” Jonathan countered.

  “And we aren’t?” Tony asked, rising an eyebrow. “Or did you completely forget about that massive room full of guns, knives, swords, and grenades at the end of the hall?”

  “We don’t know exactly where their leadership is…”

  “A
re you going to keep making excuses for everything?” Ethan asked, leaning forward. “It’s a good plan and it’s worth a shot and it beats sitting around doing nothing.”

  “I’m pretty sure that we can track down these guys,” Marissa added. “After all, as they pointed out it’s not like they are the brightest crayons in the box.”

  “I can start back tracing their money right now,” Everett said, quickly typing away on his tablet. “I bet we can have a location in a few hours.”

  “Why are you all working under the assumption that I approved this operation?” Jonathan snapped.

  “Because you’d be stupid not too,” Ethan shrugged.

  “He's right about that,” Ryan agreed. “Besides, what else are we doing…”

  “Training a new Guardian,” Jonathan grumbled. “It might serve us better too…”

  “To set around and do nothing?” Ryan interrupted, leaning forward in his chair. “Not likely, Gabriel’s more than ready to take on punks like the New Aryan Nation.”

  “We could take a look at their computers as well,” Marissa suggested.

  “I appreciate all the enthusiasm here but…”

  “Let’s cut to the chase,” Ethan said, standing. “We all know that eventually you are going to cave for several reasons, near the top of that list is that this is a good plan with low risk, even if we bring along Gabriel.”

  The way that Ethan said it, Gabriel wasn’t sure if he should consider it a compliment or an insult.

  “So, just go call the council and let them know what we are planning,” Ethan continued. “Marissa, get working on where our friends might be hiding.”

  “Already on it,” Marissa said, standing. “Everett, do you feel like giving me a hand?”

  “Sure,” Everett nodding, standing as well.

  Jonathan looked around the room. As far as Gabriel could tell, this wasn’t all that unusual for a briefing. Jonathan sighed heavily, looking more than a little defeated. He didn’t appear to be happy about the plan but they all knew that Gabriel had a point.

  “Why’s he so eager to stay on the council’s good side?” Gabriel asked