Jack's POV
The call I was making lead to voicemail. "Domino, it's me Jack. There's been a change in plans, I need you to get a ticket and fly back to Los Angeles. Call me back," I said as we drove towards Diamond Bar. I pressed end call on my phone. I noticed the 20 missed call notifications from Dylan when the phone went back to the home screen. I placed the phone down in the cup holder. I know he's been trying to contact me recently, but I'm not going to give him any info on what we're doing. "No answer?" asked Amber.
"Yeah, must be doing something. It doesn't matter, is the camera ready?"
"It's ready," she said. Everyone is back in my Mustang. Spyro's in the back next to a couple of fully-loaded shotguns and assault rifles. We brought them just in case we need to fight our way out. We're about five minutes away from Rapine Boulevard. Rachael let Amber borrow my uncle's camera; we don't want to risk the Dultra's spotting us. We're gonna do a few passes down the boulevard, not enough to raise suspicion. Spyro's injuries are surprisingly healing quickly. When he took off the bandages he showed remarkable signs of improvement, his old lacerations made way with new skin. He's still sore in many parts of his body, but not nearly as bad as yesterday, where he could barely move. Now he can at least walk around without being in total agony.
"Alright everyone keep a lookout for anything suspicious. I checked out this street online and it has a ton of buildings that could house a landing pad. Assuming they have lookouts, we can only do a few passes before they catch on," I said as we turned down onto the street. Everyone nodded their head. The size of this street is large; it stretches on for about seven miles. It seems like a pretty good spot for them to place their headquarters: right outside a major city, easy to blend in, and no one will ask questions.
I looked around the area, searching for a possible building that the Dultras are using. Spyro and I kept looking on the left side of the street while Amber is paying attention to the right side. She rapidly kept taking pictures on the businesses and the pedestrians on her side. We went past the location that Sean Hewed was arrested at. Spyro and I kept our eyes peeled out for any possible clue. It was hard concentrating on the road and sidewalk at the same time. I couldn't point out anything of interest, neither could Spyro. We kept driving down the boulevard, nothing popped out. When we reached the end, I pulled into a parking lot. I saw Amber looking down at the camera, scanning through the dozens of photos that she had taken.
"Anything?" I asked.
"Maybe, take a look this," she said. Spyro and I looked down at the screen on the camera and saw a man sitting outside a café reading a newspaper.
"I don't see anything, Amber," I said.
"Same here," said Spyro.
"Look closer," she said. She zoomed in on the picture and Spyro and I squinted our eyes. I looked at the man and noticed something bulging from his jacket. "The guy's concealing something. Do you think it's a gun?" I said with optimism.
"I can't say for sure, we'll have to do a couple of more passes to say for sure. It's pretty much just a hunch, it could just be a cell phone or wallet," she said.
"Where did you take this?" asked Spyro.
"Not that far from the place where that Dultra was arrested at," she said. I let a few more minutes pass to confirm that no one saw anything else of use and Amber to skim through the photos she has. When we confirmed that nothing else was there, I started to drive out of the parking lot and went back down the opposite way. This time taking as long as we could going down the street without raising too much suspicion. We soon passed back over the café; Spyro scrutinized the man's jacket. "He's definitely hiding something, I can't tell what, but it's definitely not a cell phone or a wallet," he said.
Amber spotted a couple of more people about a block away from the café, all of them looking very skeptical. One of them leaning against the side of a building and another sitting in car parked on the side of the road. All of them seem perfectly normal, but they gave off a certain aura that felt wrong. They keep giving people quick glances, and checking their surroundings. We soon reached the end of the street, and I parked on the side of the road. We began the same routine we did earlier, Amber checking through her photos and we discussed what we saw for a few minutes.
"So what do you think? I think we're all in agreement that their base has to be somewhere near there," I said.
"Yeah, but there's not a whole lot to go on except assumptions, which is never something you want to do," said Amber.
"I agree with you Amber, but what else do we have. It's not exactly we have the time to keep searching for Gill Grunt," said Spyro.
"Alright, but we still don't know exactly where it is. Listen, near the address is an apartment complex; let's get one of the units and watch over the boulevard. We'll have a better vantage point and we won't have to worry about getting spotted," said Amber.
"Sounds like a plan, let's just be careful. The Dultras might have tabs on the building," I said. I looked around the entire street; it feels weird knowing that we narrowed down the search radius from an entire city to a few blocks. We're going through a lot to find just one Skylander and we still have many more to go.
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Marcus King's POV
I checked the time on my watch and it's nearing 3:00, my shift for today is almost over. I've been doing my usual work in my own personal office, planning out more deals and potential heists, anything to make a profit on. It sometimes hard knowing that I'm undercover; when you have no connection to your life and substitute for one that you want no part of. You're told that the ends justify the means, but it always feels like the end will never come. The next meeting with my handler won't come for another couple of months and I don't think I'll be any closer to getting out of this job.
I began to finalize the last of the paper work I had to do, it's weird that a criminal syndicate likes to keep documentation. I heard knock on my door. "Come in," I shouted. The door opened up to Nikko and he had more files in his hand, just more of what I need. "I got reports from our spotters. They said you'd want to see it," he said as he handed the photos over to me. They're pictures from security cameras of a coffee shop out front. The image is focused on a blue Ford Mustang with two people driving down the boulevard, something else is in the back of the car, but I couldn't make out what it is because of the tinted windows. "It was spotted coming down the street twice, one of them noticed the girl taking pictures. We're pretty sure it wasn't a coincidence," he said. I immediately knew who these people were, Nikko didn't bother telling men. Ashburn hasn't given up on his quest for these meteorites; I thought he would've backed off after surviving our gunfight.
"Does Octavio know about this?" I asked as I scanned the photos.
"Not yet, I was directed to bring it to you first. You're one of the only people to come back alive after facing him. May I ask sir, what was like facing him? It seems odd that a couple of teenagers could take many of us out," he asked. The question caught me off guard; it took a few seconds to sum up an answer.
"What might seem like their worst liability is actually one of their best assets. Many of his foes underestimate him because of his young age. I had to get the mentality that he's more than just some kid. Also more than the majority of the deaths were unexplainable; I had eyes maintained on the two of them the whole time, so he can't take credit for all the kills, but they're still very deadly. To be honest, surviving wasn't easy," I said. I looked back at the photos; one of them has perfect view of Ashburn's license plate. I'm not sure if I should use this information to help the Dultras or help Ashburn. I have the authority within the Dultras to withhold the information, and make no use of it. But my job isn't to help him; it's to infiltrate the Dultras, which means I have to support them. Plus Nikko and the other spotters would've seen the pictures, and get suspicious if I don't submit this information.
"Nikko put this out on the black market, it should help the bounty hunters find Ashburn easier, and put the base on alert, we could have a possible breach," I said as I handed the one photo back over to him.
"Do you think the two of them have any possibility of passing our defenses?"
"Don't assume anything when it comes to them. Plus I know there is a third member they have, he could possibly come back to help him. I'll tell Octavio as soon I'm ready to leave," I warned. I felt sick to my stomach knowing my decision will probably get Jack killed, but I don't have much of a choice. Unfortunately, I can't get into my contacts with the CIA or marshals to get them to warn Ashburn. Any direct contact with him will only jeopardize the mission. Nikko nodded his head and exited the room. I looked back down at the photos; one of them had a better view of Jack's head. "I'm sorry kid, hope you're careful," I said under my breath.
I got up from my desk and exited the room out to the hallway. I passed few other Dultras on the way to the elevators. Octavio's office is a few floors up from mine. I reached them and pressed the button to go up. A few seconds later the elevator opened up and I entered into it. I pressed the button that would take me up to the 22nd floor. The doors closed and it began to take me to one of the upper floors. When the elevator reached the floor, it opened up again and I walked out of it to Octavio's office. I passed by a few more Dultras having a conversation, one of them nodded as I passed by him.
When I reached Octavio's office I knocked on the door, a few seconds later he allowed me permission to enter. "Hexner, do you have something for me?" he asked as I sat down into a chair in front of his desk. The two meteorites on his desk faced towards me, their eyes are still piercing at me, as if they're watching my every move. "Umm, yes sir. We might have a problem," I said as I shook my head back to reality. I handed the photos over to him, but he didn't seem worried at all. "I see no problem at all," he said as he looked over the photos.
"Sir, these are photos of Jack Ashburn's vehicle. He was seen crossing down the street twice while the girl, Amber Miller if my memory serves me right, was taking pictures. They might be searching for our building," I said in a confused tone.
"And what can they do Hexner? Even if they know where our base is, we have dozens of people on each floor and guards outside the building at all times of the day. Even if they managed to sneak in to the building, they won't survive for long," he said. He did have a point, our defenses would be nearly impossible to penetrate, but he still should be worried.
"Octavio, these are the same people who managed to kill many of us. I think they should be considered more than a nuisance."
"Let me worry about our defenses. Besides shouldn't your shift be over? Go home and be ready to come into work tomorrow. I'll tell our security to keep a watch over him if that'll make you better," he said in pity because he wants me to stop worrying.
"Alright," I nodded. I got up out of the chair and exited the room. I feel like I'm sinking ever so deeper into my cover, like I'm forgetting who I am or who I was. Part of this job requires you to forget your morals and focus on the bigger picture, but the bigger picture never said anything about sending a kid to his death. I regret my decision, but it's a decision that had to be made.
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Jack's POV
I'm standing in the elevator with Domino going up to the vacant apartment that Amber and I found. I just picked him up from the airport, something seemed off about him. He looks conflicted, I thought it was just tiredness since it's early morning, but it seems like something more than that.
"You okay?" I asked.
"Oh, yeah," he said as if he was caught off guard. He fastened his grip on the bags he had in his hands. In addition to a duffel bag with a few weapons, we had to stop by a hardware store to get supplies for Drobot. We need to get a layout of the Dultras building, which wasn't too hard to find when we first entered into the apartment. When Amber, Spyro, and I walked out onto the balcony, we had clear visual of two helicopters on top of a building; one of them is the helicopter the Dultras used to escape in from the shootout.
We can't risk trying to go to the city and getting the blueprints, and Spyro said that Drobot might be able to help us. After pointing him in the right direction to the airstrip, he flew and was able to get him to the apartment. Unfortunately Bash couldn't come due to him being wingless he had to stay back and watch over the portal.
The elevator stopped and opened up to the 27th floor, we walked out into the hallway. We turned to the right and quickly found the door to the apartment. I knocked on the door, after a few seconds it opened up to Amber. She had a handgun gripped her right hand. "Hurry," she said. We paced inside through the door, and she quickly slammed it shut. The apartment feels completely abandoned with no furniture, no appliances, bland paint on the walls, and the cold hard tiles.
"Hey Amber," said Domino as he walked over to the table we brought up here.
"Hey, I heard about the assassination attempt back at the home front, how did it go?" she asked.
"I'm here aren't I?"
"True, come on set your stuff on the table. Jack, Drobot is the back bedroom planning out what he's doing, go see him if you want."
"Alright," I said.
I went over to the white fold-out table and placed the bags I had in my hands on it. I began to walk over to the bedroom, the door is slightly closed. I pushed it open and found Drobot and Spyro sitting around a large square piece of paper that covered up most of the floor. It had a layout of the top of the Dultra's building with x's marked on the corners of the building. "Thanks for knocking," spat Drobot. It's good to see that Drobot's attitude towards me still hasn't changed. When he heard that I lost Gill Grunt, his distrust towards me only rose. "Good to see you too Drobot. I got the stuff you wanted," I said as I entered and closed the door. I looked down at the piece of paper. Drobot kept making adjustments with a converted sharpie so that he could write with his paws.
"So what are you planning?" I asked.
"I'm hoping to be able to send pulses from the top of the building using infrared rays, and get a three dimensional prospective from it," he said.
"Sounds complicated."
"Don't try to understand it Jack, even I barely do," said Spyro.
"Then why are you here?"
"Because I need him to help me set it up. Do you have a computer with you?" Drobot interjected.
"Yeah, Amber brought hers along with her," I said.
"Good, go get the stuff you got for me," said Drobot. I rolled my eyes at the fact of him demanding me to do something. I exited the room and walked back into the main room where everyone else is. Domino, for some reason, is sitting in the corner setting up his sniper rifle. I walked over to the table and grabbed the bags that the dragon needed. "Jack," Amber called out. I turned my head and saw her walking up to me. "Yeah?" I asked as she approached me. I sat the bags back down a table seeing this might take a while.
"What's our plan for when we infiltrate the base?" she asked. The question took me by surprise. I thought that Amber might have something in mind.
"I don't know, I haven't really thought far ahead."
"Well suppose if the meteorite isn't there. How're we gonna any new intel?" she asked. I leaned on the table for a few seconds so I can a think.
"The Dultras probably have a server room that stores most of their information. We could probably try to get access to it, it'll be a lot quicker than looking around for files or maps," I said. Amber looked discouraged.
"And how do you propose we hack into their servers? If Dakota was here we might have a chance, but last I checked you and I have no expertise in that area," she argued.
"Well what do you propose Amber? If we can't hack into the server room, then we'll have to hope that they just have the locations laying somewhere out in the open," I combatted.
"It's not like I don't think the idea is good, it's just that I want something in the realm of possibility," she said. I looked at her with agitation, but I know she's right. If we could only get access to the room and get the data off of it, we could have much better odds in trying to find the Skylander. I noticed the green dragon walking into the room. "What's taking you so long?" he spat.
"It has only been a couple of minutes Drobot."
"Yeah and it should've only taken you half of one to get the stuff. Will you hurry up?" he impatiently shouted. I sighed and picked back up the bags, I nodded to Amber. Drobot and I walked back to the room that he's using. I set the stuff on the ground when an idea came into my mind.
Drobot began to go through the stuff that I got for him. He brought out the items into their each own pile. "What?" he asked when he noticed me staring at him.
"Drobot do you think you could make something that could help us hack into their servers?" I asked.
"Umm, yeah I probably can. I pretty much can make anything as long as I have the resources. Why do you need to hack them?" he said caught off guard.
"Assuming we don't find Gill Grunt―"
"You will find him though?"
"I said assuming we don't, we'll need to get more information on possible locations, and that place is a gold mine. And if he is there, then it'll just be a bonus for all the shit we had to go through," I said. Drobot let out a small grunt as I added on to the pile of work he has to do. If only he realized the amount of work Amber and I had to go through to get to where we are. Although, I am the one who lost the statuette during the attack. "Just do it Drobot," said Spyro who's sitting in the corner of the room, I almost forgot he was here.
"Alright, do you have any portable memory storage devices that I can use?"
"Do you mean a flash drive?"
"Yeah, sure. Give me a few of them and I'll see what I can do, but right now I need to get back to work on building this scanning device," he sighed. He turned his attention back to the amount of supplies he has to work with.
I nodded my head to Spyro and left the room. I walked back over to Amber, she had her camera out and kept taking pictures of the Dultra's building from the balcony. "Good news, Drobot said he might be able to make something that can help us hack their servers," I said as I approached her.
"Alright, we might have a chance at this after all," she said as she continued snapping pictures.
"We've done crazier things."
"Yeah we have, come on let's get back inside and see if we can make plan," she said as she lowered her camera from her eyes. I followed her back in; I could tell that she has a lot of stress on her. The constant pressure that she has to bear must be a lot. Parts of me still wished that she didn't come with me on this mission, but I've come to the realization that I need her with me. Without her I would be dead right now, and if she's wasn't here, we would have no possibility of accomplishing this mission.
Thanks for reading the chapter; it was fun writing with Drobot again. If you liked the chapter or have any criticisms please leave a review.