Chapter 25: Blackout

"Wait a minute Ran! Hear me out for just one second!"

"What is it now Ted?" the tall, tattooed man asked as he dragged his eyes away from the door to give him his undivided attention, failing to hide the sudden twinge of annoyance he felt after being stopped in his tracks . . .

". . . And just as he was just about to make his exit too." He thought, sneaking a glance Amanda's way to make sure she hadn't heard his thoughts. She didn't.

"I know your first instinct is to go out there, see what's wrong, and then act accordingly, but you don't have to do that. Well, not this time at least," said Ted as he put his tray down. "Instead of going out there, why not have Amanda telepathically scan the area instead? We would still be in a safe position, and it would save us some time if things really are going bad."

"But wouldn't having Amanda use her powers only aggravate her headache even further?" Cody quickly asked, being the realist that he usually was. "I don't think it's really a good idea to have a psychic use her powers mid-headache Ted."

"I appreciate the concern Cody, but I think I'll be fine," said the psychic in question as she zipped her bag. "It shouldn't be an issue for me, regardless of the ache in my skull."

"But what if whatever is going on out there can't be detected by your telepathy?" Kaitlyn asked, her tone unsure.

"Then this conversation becomes pointless," Randy mumbled as he turned his gaze back on the door. "If that's the case, then we would be better off having me go out there to investigate from the get-go . . . Look, Amanda using her telepathy to see what's going on does sound like a good idea, but with her headache on the way - and the possibility that whatever's out there can't be detected by psychic powers - we can't fully rely on her this time around. So, I'm going out there, and that's final."

"Fine, be that way," Amanda sighed, a little peeved that he would dismiss her powers so quickly, but before he had a chance to make his exit, she quickly added. "I'm still going to use my telepathy though, including the link. Someone must watch your back while you're gone . . . Who knows? Maybe whatever's out there is susceptible to my powers after all."

Randy didn't say a word as he nodded and left, but deep down inside, he felt a little twinge when he realized Amanda was being truthful about wanting to watch his back. He was honestly touched by the gesture, regardless of their newfound bond, but he couldn't reflect on that now, not when he still had a job to do.

When he entered the hallway, he looked both ways to make sure the coast was clear before stepping into the stairway. He made his way down the stairs, his eyes narrowing slightly when he saw that the lights on the ground floor were out completely.

It was a sight he never liked to see.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Randy called out to the receptionist on duty as he approached the desk. "Got any idea why the lights are out man?"

"Not in the slightest," the receptionist - a member of the Pittsburgh HQ - grumbled as he looked over his blank computer screens, his face a full-blown mask of aggravation. "And we're not the only ones that's going through this blackout."

"You mean the whole block lost power?"

"Not just the block, the whole entire neighborhood. . ." the receptionist trailed off as he shook his head. "I got a text from my HQ just before you came down here. A large portion of the city's power grid just went dark, the one we're currently in. It's a seven mile stretch in each direction. The power company has already sent someone to investigate at the local power station, but if you ask me, this wasn't a natural occurrence."

"It was deliberate," was all Randy mumbled as he walked toward one of the windows that faced the front. The blinds were already drawn, so he opened two of its panels to peek outside. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first, but once he saw movement on one of the roofs across the street, he cursed under his breath and moved away from the window so quickly some would think it may have burned him. "Shit! That's either a scout they sent ahead, or they're already here and just waiting for their moment to strike."

He turned to the receptionist, who was still at his desk checking the land line, but judging from the disgruntled look on his face, Randy figured that the phone was as dead as the lights. "Try contacting your HQ. Tell them to send reinforcements and make it quick! Whoever's already here, you better tell them to get ready for a battle, and a big one at that."

The other man nodded before taking out his phone, but Randy was gone before he could even dial a number. He was back in the stairway and back on his floor within five seconds. Cody opened the door before the Viper could slide his keycard through the lock.

"You don't need to explain anything. Amanda gave us the play-by-play while you were away," said the Georgia native as he moved out of the way. Randy walked in to see that everyone was ready to go, all of them ready to hear what's next. "So, what's the plan boss?"

"For starters, will we be able to make it to the cars without being spotted by the scout out on that other roof?" Kaitlyn asked as Cody closed the door.

"So, it was a scout?" Randy asked, bypassing Kaitlyn's question to stare at the taller woman.

"Yeah, but he's not much though. He's a werewolf, but definitely a low level, bottom of the totem pole, barely knows a thing about the main plan kind of guy," Amanda mumbled as she leaned against the wall. "Luckily, his mind wasn't shielded, so I was able to see his most recent memories perfectly."

"What did you find out?"

"For starters: he was there in Cleveland, but not for long. Punk sent him to track us down a little after he reached the HQ there. Apparently, he's also a former member of your organization, but he didn't last long."

"Do you happen to know why?" Ted asked.

"He played a prank on your boss, and he didn't take it too well. He got fired on the spot . . ." Amanda trailed off, sounding so unsure about it that she had a hard time believing it herself. "Please tell me you know something about this. It just sounds so weird to me that I'm not too sure it even happened, and I looked in this guy's head for crying out loud!"

"Oh, it's true alright! You're probably talking about Paul London," said Ted, chuckling as he looked back on old memories. "He was only with us for a short while, but boy did he make a lasting impact."

"He was trying to play a prank on another person. It was a simple one - just some water in a bucket perched on top of a slightly open door. It was supposed to be a bit of mindless fun." Cody added as he shook his head. "Unfortunately for Paul, Vince didn't see it that way."

"He walked through the door, didn't he?" asked Kelly as she crossed her arms.

"Hook, line, and sinker . . ." said Cody, nodding his head. "He was drenched from head to toe, his poor Italian suit was ruined, and he was livid and ready to take his anger out on anybody that dared cross his path. Unfortunately for Paul, instead of staying completely still in his hiding place and waiting for Vince to leave, he jumped out like a fool and revealed himself to the boss. Apparently, Vince was so silent in his fury that London had no idea it was him until it was too late. He was never seen again."

"Until today," Randy mumbled as he walked over to his bag. "He must have become one of Mr. S' goons to get revenge, or to just be spiteful."

"Then again, if Vince knew how to take a joke, London wouldn't have turned to the dark side in the first place." Ted mumbled as he shook his head. "Anyway, what else did you find out?"

"He's already contacted Punk and the rest of his goons. They're on their way and judging how pleased Punk seemed to be on the phone, he knows we're here." Amanda added as she shook her head. "We need to leave, now."

"You don't have to tell me twice." Randy mumbled as he slipped his favorite dagger into his boot and picked up his bag. "Let's move people!"

Ted took point position, leading the group out of the room and into the stairwell. Kelly was right behind him, followed by Amanda and Kaitlyn, with Cody and Randy taking the rear. When they reached the lobby, the sight they were greeted with almost overwhelmed the three women, their eyes widening in shock as they took in their drastically different looking surroundings.

"Ok, is this a motel or a battle station?" Kaitlyn asked as she, Kelly, and Amanda looked slightly dazed at what was going on around them. Surrounding them were men and women - dressed in dark colors ranging from dark red to all black - prepping for a fight. Some were looking through weapons caches positioned behind the receptionist desk while others were standing by the windows and the door, occasionally peeking out to see if there was anything amiss outside.

"Ladies, welcome to our world!" Ted sarcastically said as he turned around and gestured to the room around them. "Enjoying what you're seeing?"

"All these people were staying here?" Amanda mumbled as her wandering eyes came to a stop on Randy.

"I did say this place served as a mercenary checkpoint, didn't I?" the Viper asked in return. "And hopefully this isn't the end of it."

"We're getting reinforcements from the Pittsburgh HQ?" Cody asked.

"Hopefully," Randy mumbled as he saw the receptionist walking up to him. "How long before the cavalry shows up!?"

"They're not. Land line's dead and the cell signal is jammed. What you see in this room is all we have." he told him before a woman with a machete strapped to her back caught his attention.

"Well that was nice to hear . . ." Kelly mumbled as she crossed her arms. "Now what?"

"Guys, we got INCOMING!"

The woman's voice grew louder as she - and those closest to her - backed away from the window, weapons at the ready to defend themselves for whatever was coming. With no hesitation, Cody, Randy, and Ted all pushed the girls behind them, managing to move themselves back a couple feet before a mysterious object crashed through the clear barrier. The impact was so great that it obliterated the entire window pane, leaving it a gaping hole to the outside world.

"What just got thrown in here?!" Kelly quietly screeched as a couple of mercenaries started to slowly approach the object.

"I don't know, but whoever threw it in here definitely can pack a punch," Kaitlyn mumbled as her eyes remained on the window. "Whoever it was knocked out the entire window like it was nothing!"

"Amanda, can you hear anything?" Randy asked the psychic, his voice calm, yet serious. When he didn't get an answer, he turned his head to see that she had a blank look on her face, her eyes vacant and void of any emotion. "Amanda?"

"Hey! Now is not the time to freeze up!" Kaitlyn loudly admonished as she waved a hand in front of her friend's face. "Come back! We need you out here . . . I will shock you if I must, and I won't regret it!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!"

Randy almost let out a loud snarl at the sound of the familiar voice, everyone's heads snapping up in attention as they found the source of it standing just in front of the curb outside. Punk, looking no worse for wear, smiled at the gathered ensemble with his arms crossed over his chest. He was the only one out there, but everyone knew that he didn't come alone, not by a long shot.

"Mr. S wants the psychic perfectly intact when I bring her to him, so I suggest you hold back the sparkle fingers missy," Punk ordered as he pointed at the Texan. "If you can't, I'll be more than happy to take that hand off you if you want."

Cody couldn't help the growl threatening to break free from the back of his throat, his inner beast wanting to smack the smug grin off the Chicago native's face for threatening his mate in his presence. Randy and Ted were quick to notice how tense their partner had gotten at Punk's words, and so was Kaitlyn. She placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping that the simple gesture was enough to calm him down a bit.

It ended up doing the trick, Cody's body slightly relaxing as he felt Kaitlyn's presence behind him, her scent wafting through his nose helping to calm him down even further. The exchange didn't go unnoticed by Punk though, who only smiled even more.

"Aw, looks like someone found their soulmate," said Punk as he cocked his head to the side. "At least you won't die single huh Cody?"

"Well isn't he charming . . ." Kelly sarcastically mumbled as some of the other mercenaries in the front discreetly crept forward. "What should we do? He may appear alone, but we all know he got lackeys hiding around somewhere out there."

"Or they could already be sneaking in," Randy mumbled as he felt the dread start to pool in his stomach, his thoughts going back to what just happened in Cleveland and his conversation with Hunter. He turned his glare to the receptionist, who was standing a mere ten feet away with a long-serrated dagger in his hands. "Are the underground passageways covered?"

"They are well guarded, with a squad at each one," he told them, just as a loud BOOM could be heard from somewhere below them. "Oh, damn it!"

"So much for that huh?" Punk asked as he outstretched his arms. "It won't be long before my men have the underground hallways secured and have you all surrounded. You all will die, but I will make it a lot less painful if you hand the psychic over. Do we have a deal?"

"Well doesn't he just drive a hard bargain?" Ted grumbled as he glanced around, his ears tuned in to the sounds of the fighting below them. "But he's right on one thing. If the guys downstairs don't hold out, we're going to get swarmed!"

"Do we have any other options in getting out of here? Any at all?" Kelly quickly whispered as she looked in vain for a second exit. When she couldn't find one, her eyes landed on Amanda, who was still looking on with a blank expression on her face. "And how long do you think she'll stay stuck like that?"

"I don't know, but I don't plan on waiting long to find out." Randy mumbled as he turned around, facing the unmovable psychic's blank gaze head on.

"And what do you plan to do Randy?!" Punk snidely asked as he started walking forward, making the mercenaries before him tense instantly. Knowing his deadly pedigree, the group were playing it very cautious, watching his every movement to make sure they didn't miss anything. They were poised and ready to strike as soon as he made the first move, but Punk, knowingly, wasn't going to give them what they wanted.

"What can you honestly do?" he egged on. "I have the upper hand! I've got you and your ragtag group surrounded, and I haven't released my full bag of tricks yet! What can you really do to stop the inevitable?"

"How about this?"

Before Punk could say anything further, he was launched, hurtling backwards until he crashed into a pickup truck across the street, hitting it so severely that the truck turned on its side before falling completely onto its top, carrying the Chicago native for the entire ride. Everyone looked at the scene in absolute shock, trying to comprehend what they just witnessed.

However, five certain individuals knew better. With a familiar cold chill running down his back, Randy - who had turned to face Punk as soon as he had been called out - turned around to come face-to-face with the psychic. A sinister smile dotted her face as her normally blue eyes shined scarlet red.

"Amanda, you okay?" Kaitlyn asked, her nervous tone attracting the attention of some of the closer mercenaries in the room.

"Never felt better," she quietly murmured, her tone sounding like a snake's hiss than her usual voice. Her eyes were disturbingly still on Punk, as if she was watching for the first sign of movement to attack again. "I really want to kill him."

Kaitlyn and Kelly looked at their roommate with wide eyes, having never heard their friend sound so gleeful, yet bloodthirsty at the same time. Ted and Cody both watched her with wary eyes, the two unsure on how to approach her, a sentiment shared with most of the room.

As for Randy, he too was wary of her, but not in the way the others were. He could easily guess that Amanda was a bit unstable in the current state she was in, and he probably figured that most in the room were thinking the same way, but he knew there was more behind it. He didn't know how, but he could feel that she was holding herself back. Randy knew she was capable of immeasurable power and was likely on the verge of doing something major, likely with some collateral damage involved. He felt her control was declining and it wouldn't be long before she acted again.

So, he had to act himself.

"Amanda," he said, his tone so soft that Ted and Cody snapped their heads up to look at him in shock. They hadn't heard his voice sound like that in years, not since his fiancée was still alive. "I know the urge to kill Punk is strong, but you need to hold yourself back and calm down."

"Why?" She asked as she set her eyes on him. "If I kill him now, that's one major problem out of the way, one less thing to worry about."

"That's true, but do you have the control needed to make it happen?" he asked, choosing his words carefully as to not offend her. "Think about it, you're not really in the best state of mind to fully use your powers without hurting someone else unintentionally."

"Not in the best state of mind?!" she growled out, everything that was not bolted to the ground shaking slightly as her hands curled up into fists.

"Really Randy?" Ted asked in disbelief as he stared at his friend. "I thought you were trying to calm her down, not offend her!"

"I'm trying to. Now zip it and let me work!" the Viper was quick to lash out with, not moving his gaze from the psychic's darkening eyes. "Look, I do not mean to offend you Amanda, but think about it. Say you do kill Punk, but your powers went haywire in the process. How would you be able to live with yourself if either Kelly or Kaitlyn got hurt in the onslaught?"

He knew his words struck a chord with her when her eyes widened for a split second. She moved her gaze to Punk, who was obscured by the overturned car. Some of the mercenaries were taking the initiative and moving to surround him. A quick read of his thoughts told her that he was just starting to get his bearings back together. She let out another growl before facing forward, almost taking a step back when she saw the Viper was a little closer to her than before.

"Amanda, please. You know there are some truth to my words. I understand that you want to act, but we need to be smart about this." he told her, and in that moment, he wanted to reach for her hand, to reach for the sane part of her that he knew was fighting to regain control. However, the stubborn side of him, the side that still refused to accept the truth of her being his mate, held him back. "Please, let it go. We will stop Punk. We will stop Mr. S, but you need to calm down and clear your head."

Amanda remained silent, her eyes darkening even further the only indication that his words had any effect on her. Her gaze slowly moved to where Punk was once again, and she found herself moving towards him. Randy, sensing the move, grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her into his chest, holding her there with an iron grip to make sure she didn't thrash against him. Ignoring the feeling of her warm body against his - as well as how good it felt to be so close to her, scent and all - he brought his lips down to her ear.

"Please Amanda," he whispered, his voice pleading. The sound of his husky voice - usually so strong, and so commanding - was so vulnerable that it shocked Amanda out of her bloodlust. She turned her head, the two of them locking eyes once more as if they were in their own little world. Relief flooded Randy's face when he saw her eyes finally returning to their natural shade of blue, but it grew to concern when she started looking faint in his arms. "Hey, you ok?"

"I'll be fine . . ." she mumbled as she rested her forehead against his shoulder. "I'm just feeling a little out of it right now . . ."

Randy would have said something on that, but held his tongue, simply relieved that he finally got her out of her bloodthirsty haze. He felt that more of her weight was leaning on him, so he continued to hold her up as he turned his head to see what was going on with Punk. He saw that he was being surrounded by mercenaries as he slowly got to his feet, but his eyes were trained on Amanda the entire time, a large smile dominating his face.

It wasn't a smile that Randy liked in the slightest, and he reflexively held Amanda a little closer to his body, a move that didn't go unnoticed by Punk, or Cody and Ted for that matter.

"Huh, when I found out that I had to bring the psychic in, I thought it was going to be a simple mission. When I found out you were protecting her Randy, that's when I started to get invested in it," Punk explained as he stretched out his limbs, the sounds of his bones popping easily heard by those who had sensitive hearing. "And now that I got a feel of her powers for myself, I see why Mr. S wants her so much."

"You can't have her." said Randy, the line simple, yet delivered with such cold-hearted malice that it sent shivers down most of the room's spines.

"Hmm, suit yourself," said Punk as he looked around at his opponents. "Now then, it's time we finally got this show on the road."

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