37
Dan felt as if he would pass out from the overload of nerves he had. After his visit with Hekiah, he had a renewed desire to provide. With finals, the School Rankings Tournament, and their vacation, he had taken a lengthy hiatus from working. He knew it would be time to return soon, but he never expected he would be requested personally.
Anaar had spoken of such requests, but he presumed only people with the status and experience of Phavian or the like enjoyed that luxury. Anaar mentioned the only times he had been specifically requested was by Ixnes. That made the invitation he received all the more unbelievable.
Per the documentation, he would be making more than half a million dollars for a single mission. Dan had become convinced it was all a joke, but he did not know anyone who would play such a joke on him. The only people he knew who had extensive experience in the area were Phavian and Anaar. He had heard Kintaque was beginning to make a name for himself, but they were barely acquaintances.
The woman sitting across from him bore the grizzled look of someone who had done many military tours. She was not unattractive, but she exuded an aura that reeked of danger and authority. Her mocha colored skin was quite exposed, showing lean musculature that put Pryshka to shame. Dan tried to focus, but his mind was doing everything it could to betray him.
“Not overwhelmingly difficult, but that is only contingent upon the right team. We requested you because we need someone who specializes in everything. If-”
Dan felt he finally had something he could latch on to, proving he was not just a hyperrealistic statue. “If I specialize in everything, don’t I specialize in nothin’?”
“That would technically be true, but in the real world, specialists are more so classified based on their potency in relation to others. As a general rule to the natural order, there are only so many resources available, meaning one or maybe two facets can be specialized, but the rest must be just above average at best.”
“I can understand that, but what you saying I specialize in?”
“Your abilities make you uniquely versatile. All the Kinetics have their strong suits, with Hydrokinetics, at least good ones, being considered the best. Obviously Water Affinities are in short supply, but that would not matter since your abilities are superior. You have greater defense, offense, and utility. There are very few abilities that can boast that alone. Typically someone would need to win the lottery and gain a dual manifestation and both happen to be amazing. As it stands, it is impossible since the best skills for this are in different attunements.”
“You want me to do this job, but you said I could work with my own people. Ain’t you afraid they going to do all the work?”
“If you have those kind of people around you, who am I to criticize a job well done. Just know I feel you could do this alone if you really needed. Assemble your team and let me know by tomorrow’s end. Though this is not exactly state secrets levels of information, I would like to review those involved.”
There were no questions about who he would ask, and he knew there were no chances of them turning him down. He had been extremely lucky to have been attracted to the strongest people in his class from the beginning. Years of friendship and teamwork had made them into an unstoppable unit with flawless synergy, without much work involved. The four of them sat in The Rack, the ambient noise masking anything that might be sensitive.
“So dat’s basically what it is. We can split the money pretty even. We all know Anaar gonna do the most of all us, so he can have the biggest share. Even split up it is more than double what I done made in all this time. I ain’t got all the details, but it ain’t no long mission or nothin’ it don’t seem, so it ain’t like y’all got to worry ‘bout missin’ much.”
Stefani smiles warmly at Dan, slapping him lightly on the arm. “Dan, get out of here! Do you really think any of us are worried about that?! We are family! We’d find a way to help you out no matter what it took!”
Dan gave a wide smile, jumping from the table as Maggie and Anaar both nodded in agreement. “Aww, shucks. Thanks, y’all. Well I’ma go tell ‘em I got my team and I need more info so we can get ready!”
Dan dashes off, disappearing into the bustle of The Rack. Stefani, Anaar and Maggie all smiled warmly as they watched him fade in the distance. Once they were all assured Dan was truly gone and well out of earshot, Stefani turned and looked between the two.
“We’re not actually splitting the money with him, are we?”
Anaar shook his head, “Oh no, definitely not. Not even a chance.”
“Do we just let him keep believing it, or tell him upfront?”
“I think he’ll perform better if he doesn’t know.”
“That sounds like Dan. What do you think Maggie?”
Maggie looks down at her milkshake innocently. “I mean, I don’t think Dan would mind me taking my share…”
“Maggie!”
“Stef… Come on… Weapons are expensive! I still have to pay my dad back for my fan! If it wasn’t for Anaar hand-”
Anaar coughs loudly, rubbing his throat as if he had something caught in it.
“-Picking… Handpicking and gifting me my new hammer, I would be looking into one of those too!”
“Maggie…”
Giving in to the disappointment in Stefani’s voice, “Fine. I really thought I was well off. How is it I put in extra work to fulfill the fantasy of the broke college student?!”
The next day, Dan met with his contact to fill her in on the members of his team. He had sent her a message the night before, but received no response. He had become worried when he heard nothing, the thought of it being a prank feeling more like a reality, but then she requested to meet again which caught him by surprise. After making his way to one of the conference rooms designated for such exchanges, he immediately began rattling off information.
“There only gone be four of us, but I can promise we gone be enough. It’s gone be me, a Waveweaver, a Singularity user, and a True Fire Quintessence.”
The woman had remained stonefaced, primarily because she had no clue what the first two were, but when she heard the last, her eyes grew wide. “Damn, you collected a team that fast, and one is a True Quintessence? I have no clue what the other two are, but if they are rare enough I don’t know about them, they are probably good.”
Dan scratches the back of his head and chuckles nervously. “I kinda already had ‘em before I left. Singularity is a power that boost pretty much anything. It don’t sound like much, but it is real amazing. That is my girlfriend. My best friend is the True Fire Quintessence. Honestly if it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be where I’m at. And the Waveweaver is like a sister to me. Waveweavers… Hell I ain’t so good with this stuff, you’d have to ask Anaar, but basically she play music and all kind of stuff happen, like giving us powers we ain’t even got.”
“He is a True Fire Quintessence?! I had heard of him being a Demolitionist of nearly exalted repute, but this is new information!”
“Oh shit! Don’t tell nobody dat then please! He gone kill me if I’m spreadin’ his business and I ain’t supposed to!” Dan covers his mouth in shock, his face turning red. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get so unprofessional…”
The woman smiles and shakes her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about that. Be yourself. It will be easier to work with you that way.”
“Work with me?”
“Yes, that is why I’m here. Things took a huge turn. The timetable has been pushed up. We need to do this by tonight. There is no way I could entrust this to a team of amateurs on such short notice, though given that lineup, I would pay money just to have a front row seat to the show. Instead, I am offering for you to directly assist my team. If you agree, we will leave now to prepare.”
Before he could stop himself, the words had fallen from his mouth. “Am I still gonna get paid the same amount of money?”
The woman looks at him for a long moment before responding. “No promises, but I w
ill see what I can do. Who knows what will happen if you impress me.”
Dan knew he was going to be splitting the money anyway, so he decided to take the offer. He did not know what was in store for him, but he hoped there would be a Transporter. He had become spoiled being so close to Anaar, often persuading him to send him on his missions to avoid the transit time. Dan was shocked to find the woman he had been communicating with was their ride.
He found she was a Teleporter, rather than a portal user. If it had not been for his participation in the School Rankings Tournament, and then Shonte’s relationship with Hunter, Dan would have had no experience to draw from. They arrived in a compound that appeared spartan, but well-outfitted. The woman led him along through rooms until they had collected three others.
“Jess, I thought you were joking! You really plan on taking this kid with us?!” The hulking man, scruffy and bursting with sinew eyed Dan with disdain. “I bet you get no pussy!”
Dan looks at the man confused, his heart still pounding. “You… you mean like, different people, or do the same person count? Cause I got a girlfriend…”
A fit, woman covered in freckles with heavily tanned skin reached up to the tall man, grabbing him by the ear, dragging him away. “I can’t believe you said that to someone you just met!” She then looks over to Dan. “And I can’t believe you actually answered seriously to his bullshit! Jess, this is already looking bad.”
“Look, we don’t have much time, and since I was going to let him handle this on his own anyway, there should be nothing that can go wrong since he will be with us.”
The large man frowns, throwing up his arms angrily. “This is unacceptable! We can’t have another dude! This is my sacred harem!”
Both Jess and the freckled woman shout simultaneously, “Shut the fuck up Lester!”
Jess clears her throat, then turns to Dan. “Like I told you before, just be yourself. There is no way this mission could be a failure with us handling it. We all have at least ten years experience doing this.”
Dan’s eyes grow big. “Ten years?! Damn y’all is old! Ten years ago I ain’t even hit my growth spurt!”
“Maybe you don’t need to be that comfortable with us…”
Dan drops his head in shame. “My bad… I ain’t mean nothin’ by it.”
“It is true, we are all in our thirties, but you kids don’t realize thirty is when you truly reach your stride. We are professionals. This won’t be like some exercise with your friends. I suppose I should introduce you to the team then.”
Dan looks around at the four faces standing by. “Alright.”
“First up is me. Jess Slasktri, codename Shadowshot. I’m the leader of this unit-”
Dan absently mumbles to himself, “Slasktri? Don’t look like no Slasktri…”
Jess’ eyes narrow. “I’m married… As I was saying, I am the leader of this group. As you have seen, I am a Transporter, and also a Visual, Audial, and Olfactory Synestate. I handle most of the team’s strategy and recon. I also call the shots in the field, while serving as the team’s sniper. My ability to be anywhere makes finding vantage points a sinch.”
“Dang, you be doin’ a lot…”
“That is only to be expected as the leader of the unit. Next up is the giant Egyptian buffoon over there. Lester Shamac, codename Outburst. As you can see, looks are not deceiving, all muscle, no brain. He literally exists to hit things hard. He’s a top tier Juggernaut even without all the strength training, and he is also an Artillerite.”
Lester tips his cap to Dan. “By the way, I’m only 31, I’m not like… that old…” He does a slight point to the freckled woman, which causes her to kick his chair.
“Up next is Macy Teller, codename Palisade. She keeps us safe and also soaks up the damage when we are in a pinch. We’ve survived for 3 days in the rubble of a building that was destroyed on top of us thanks to her barriers.”
Dan looks at the woman impressed, then realizes something. “If you a Transporter, why you ain’t just… transport out?”
“I wasn’t with the rest of the team unfortunately, and there was not enough space for me to get in there and rescue everyone. That is why we had to wait until we could dig them out.”
Dan looks to Macy with a slightly haughty expression. “You ain’t just make the shield bigger to make more room?”
There was always an inherent rivalry between Defenders, and Macy did not like Dan’s insinuation. “That was a six fucking story building! I was in the hospital for a month recovering after that. It was amazing I was able to hold out for so long under all of that shit!”
Jess outstretches her arms between Dan and Macy. “This is no time for a pissing match. Saving the best for last is Qinxu Cao, codename Spectre.”
Dan had practically ignored the small woman’s existence. He was not certain her exact height, but he was positive she could not be above 5’ tall. Based on her size, he suspected Hekiah weighed more than her.
“The most experienced, the most capable, and the deadliest. You probably felt bad for not noticing her, but don’t. That is what makes her special. Thanks to her ability to dampen her presence, along with her Invisibility and being an Audial, and Tactile Synestate, you won’t find a better assassin nor infiltrator. Don’t think her size is a hinderance. She mixes her own poisons, and you’d be dead long before you had time to worry if it would be a fair fight.”
Dan noticed the woman was silently watching his every move. He had not heard her speak, but even without Jess’ warnings, he knew his life would be over in an instant if he was to ever become her enemy. Since Jess had gone through everyone else, he figured it was only fair he introduced himself.
“Hey, everybody. I’m Dan. Bedacholli. I ain’t got no fancy codename or nothin’. I guess I am the most basic one here, I only got one power. I’m a Papermaster so I uh… make stuff with paper. Sorry bout y’all being old-” After the immediate death glares, he quickly course corrects. “I meant, y’all ain’t really old, I just ain’t been no where in a while where I ain’t the old one in the group. It really do seem like y’all would be right fine without me, so I ‘preciate ya letting a amateur like me tag along. I promise to do my best not to be draggin’ ya down. I’m used to being the worst one of my group…”
Dan’s goofy and bashful demeanor won over the hearts of the crew, most of them taking into account he was just barely old enough to legally drink. Jess was not sure if he was being modest, but based on his records, he was extremely capable, if inexperienced. He did not seem one for baseless lying, which made her even more curious about the team he had planned to do the job.
While everyone else drew closer to Dan, attempting to learn more about him, Qinxu disappeared, the stoic expression never leaving her face. Lester noticed Dan’s reaction to her departure and slapped him on the back playfully, with enough force to knock the wind from Dan’s lungs.
“Don’t worry about Chu. She’s like that all the time. It’s nothing personal, it is just her thing. I wonder if she picked it up from a book or something. The cold, heartless killer that doesn’t let anyone close, but will protect what she loves to her dying breath… Lady Chu, demon ninja. Coming to theaters near you…”
“She would probably kill you if she heard you calling her a ninja.”
Jess looked at Macy and laughed. “Trust me, she heard him. Her hearing is like twenty times better than mine. I’d be careful what I eat for the next few days Lester.”
Lester laughed, but he could not hide the unease in his face. The banter continued back and forth between them, which led Dan to ask a question he had been wondering about.
“So why y’all got codenames? Is it to make you sound real cool?”
Everyone in the room looked at him to see if he was serious, but when his expression did not change, Macy was the first to answer.
“You may not be used to working as a unit, but communication is key. Comms are hot from the moment the mission starts. Even though every precaution is t
aken, there are still many opportunities for interception. In this world, the less people know about you, the greater chance the people you have waiting at home won’t be targeted. The more established you are, the more important something like that becomes.”
Jess nods her head and continues the explanation. “We have been working together for a long time, and we practically know what the other is thinking by this point, but I wouldn’t deny it would be awesome if we had a competent Telepath on the team. Though most aren’t good enough to operate like comms, the connection is far more secure, and has better range with less restrictions.”
Dan’s eyes twinkled with fascination as he listened. He had encountered some things on the missions he had participated in, but more often than not, he was by himself. He never considered how important proper communication was, or how easily it could be intercepted. The more he heard, the pressure to perform mounted.
Because the situation was rushed, Dan did not have proper gear for the mission. They attempted to use Lester’s, but his sheer bulk made the gear incompatible. To Dan’s embarrassment, Jess’ gear fit perfectly, likely due to her being the same height as Dan. He found placement of his holsters to be a bit more difficult in the outfit, but eventually made do. When he was brought to pick out a sidearm and possibly another primary weapon, he awkwardly declined.
“I ain’t the worst shot, but I don’t really use guns like that…”
Lester stares at Dan in disbelief. “What are you using on your assignments then?”
“My paper. You shoot energy beams don’tcha? Why you need a gun?”
Lester groans heavily. “Rookies! Sure most people you encounter won’t be powered up, which gives you this false security that you can handle anything. I’m sure that fancy school of yours has you thinking Quintessences rule the world, and go wherever the fuck they want. You haven’t lived long enough kid. There are so many measures in place to counteract us, especially those of us with more common powers. Plus, when you are out there, you don’t just show your hand right away. We go through many of our missions as if we didn’t have powers at all. Well, Jess and Chu are always on alert, but even shitty Air Affinities are Synestates to some degree so that isn’t surprising. Remember that if you plan on being in this business long, you will gain a reputation, even if they don’t know your full identity. If you go in waving a sign who you are, people will be prepared for you.”
Revelations (Song of Sophangence Book 4) Page 65
