Domino's POV
I continued to help Jack and Amber taking out some of things that are crammed into his trunk. The look on his face continued to remain irate. When I told him about the coup, it seemed like he wanted to strangle someone. He didn't ask me any questions; all he did was study my face as if was trying to find some evidence to show that I'm lying. Amber sense his anger, but he hasn't told anyone about it yet. Jack remained eerily quiet; I'm worried that he might do something, but I don't know what exactly.
I reached into the back of his car and grabbed the AK that Jack took from the Dultras. I started to walk to the weapon room. I passed by Spyro and something seemed wrong about him. There are a few subtle, but noticeable differences about him. "Spyro, you okay?" I asked as I stopped next to him.
"Yeah I am, why do you ask?" he said in surprise. I could easily that tell that he was lying.
"You just seem different, that's all. Are you sure you're good?" I pushed on.
"I'm fine," he spat to try to get me moving on.
"Alright," I said. I continued to walk to the room. When I reached there I placed the gun on the wall with the rest of the weapons. I exited the room and made my way over to Jack and Amber who are by the car. "Well what do you want to do now?" asked Amber to Jack.
"I don't know, I need to meet face to face with him, but we still have everything here to deal with," he said.
"Well you have to do something. Things will only get worse the longer you put it off," she said.
"Yeah I know," he breathed.
"You know if you need any help, I'm with you."
"Thanks, but this is something I have to deal with on my own," he said as he slammed the trunk shut.
I walked next to them; it was clear what they were talking about. When I arrived back at the car neither Jack nor Amber said a word to me. "I'll take the cot to the storage place," said Amber. She began her voyage to the room that Jack took as his own when we first got here. I went toward the truck I pulled myself up onto the flatbed and sat down, letting my legs dangle off. Jack continued to lean his arms against his car.
"Domino who's siding with Dylan?" asked Jack breaking the uncomfortable silence we had between us.
"The only ones I know for sure are Dayton, Alex, and Ray," I said. When the words left my mouth, they struck a nerve in Jack. He made a fist and smashed on the trunk of his car. Dayton and Alex are the two of the original members of Eagle Force, the ones that had been with him since the beginning. Jack let out a sigh. "Anyone else I need to worry about?" he asked.
"Aaron, Kim, and Dakota were on the fence. I know that they were all the meeting that Dylan held," I answered. He let another sigh.
"Shit," he whispered. A disappointed look formed on his face. I know that Jack needed Dakota to crack the encryption on the Dultra's files.
"I remember Aaron and Kim being against it, but it sounded as if they could be swayed. I don't know about Dakota, I actually don't even remember her talking at all," I stated.
"Do you have a recording of the meeting?"
"No, but I wrote down some notes if you want to see them."
"Year sure, that'll be good. I'll check them out when get back to Los Angeles," said Jack.
I looked down the hanger and saw Amber coming back. "That's all we need to offload, do you want to bring anything back with us Jack?" asked Amber.
"No, we have enough weapons back at the mansion for all of us, although if you want you can grab some extra ammo for the M4s we have. We spent through a lot of it when we tried to get Gill Grunt the first time," he said.
"Mansion?" I asked with curiosity.
"Oh yeah, we're staying at my cousin's home. They have a pretty big place in Beverly Hills."
"Who's your cousin?"
"Rachael, you've met her a couple times back in Florida."
"Yeah I think I remember her. Do you think her parents will let me with stay there?"
"Hopefully."
"Well that's certainly reassuring."
"Yeah, well my aunt and uncle haven't exactly wanted to be our hosts, but hopefully Rachael will still have some pull over them if they flat out say no."
"Alright so are we ready to go? There's not much else we need to do here," asked Amber.
"Yeah I guess, Domino if you can get Spyro we can roll out of here in a few minutes," ordered Jack.
"Okay," I obeyed. I hopped off the truck and walked off to find the Skylander. I looked around and saw Spyro eating with Gill and Cynder at the mess area. I started to walk down over there. "Hey Spyro," I called out as I neared them.
"What?" he said as I he finished scarfing down a piece of food he was eating.
"Get ready, we're about to head out," I said. The differences in him I noticed in him earlier still remained.
"Oh, okay," he said. He got up and turned to address the other two Skylanders. "I guess this is a temporary goodbye," he said.
"Are you serious? I can't believe your just gonna leave us here. Why do you get to go?" complained Cynder. She looked as if she wanted to attack Spyro. Gill Grunt stayed quiet and didn't want to get into the argument.
"I don't know, probably because I know Jack better than any of the other Skylanders. Listen Cynder I promise that I'll be fine, you don't have to worry about me," combatted Spyro. Cynder's demeanor still remained mad.
"I'm not worried about you, I just don't want to sit around here and wait until we can actually go home. I want to be of actual use."
"You will be; we need people here to protect the portal."
"Yeah like anyone is coming to the middle of nowhere to take the portal."
"Well I don't want to take any risks; you have no idea how hard it was to get the portal."
"Ugh, you always liked doing things by yourself," she spat.
"I'm sorry Cynder, I have to get going," said Spyro ending the argument.
He turned around and began to walk to the car. I followed him back leaving a behind the angered and disgruntled dragon. "Is she gonna be okay," I asked Spyro. He turned his head toward mine. "Yeah she will be," he said. Something in his tone made him seem angrier than he appears.
We arrived back at the car seeing Amber add about 10 clips of ammo into the trunk. I saw Jack talking with Drobot. The two of them were going back and forth about something. Amber is trying her best to ignore the feud.
"Can you at least try getting it to work? If you can make everything here in a week, then I'm sure you can get a communications array set up," argued Jack.
"For the past couple of days I was stuck with you trying to get Gill Grunt," combatted Drobot.
"My bad, so you actually built everything here in less time."
"It's not as simple as it seems Jack, the communications systems here is decades old. The antennas have gone through years of decay and rust. The setup itself is demolished, it's completely passed salvageable. I'd have to make one from scratch, which isn't as easy as it sounds. Then I would have to find a way to power the thing itself. Basically I would have to make an entirely new communications array. Then I would have to make sure I can mask all the signals coming out of here so that no one else will figure out anyone is even using the airstrip as a base. Jack you don't know how much time and resources it'll take to build one," shouted Drobot.
"I don't care Drobot; we need to make sure we can stay in contact all the time. If you can make the thing that we used to scan the Dultra's building quickly, then I know you can make this. Do what you have to do because we can't be in the dark all the time. How long do you think it'll take," spat Jack. It was clear that his anger wasn't about the communications. I could almost see the anger and frustration from Dylan's betrayal steaming off him.
"Ugh, if I had the resources, which I already established I don't, it would take at least a week to get one operating."
"Well what would you need?" I asked. Everyone's eyes turned to me and Spyro in surprise, suddenly breaking up the argument.
"New wiring, something to hold the electricity, raw iron and nickel, a monitor, and a lot else," answered Drobot.
"Then take some of the stuff that and the stuff you can't steal we'll buy," I said.
"Not exactly moralistic," he said.
"Since when have we followed any morals? We've stolen all of the meteorites that we found and even were going to use threats and intimidation to get what we want," said Amber for the first time.
"She has a point," I said.
"Well thanks for your input Domino, but we need to get going. Just get it done Drobot, we'll send Spyro to see if you need anything," said Jack as he climbed into his car.
"I guess I'll see you in a couple of days Drobot," said Spyro. Amber opened up the door and pulled down the passenger's seat so Spyro and I can get in to the backseats. She fixed the seat back into the original position and sat down herself.
Jack started the car and exited to the airstrip. A few minutes later we got onto the main road and started to go back to Los Angeles. Jack's face still hanged with irate expressions. His mind is still hanging on Dylan, his best friend going behind his back. I'm not sure what he's going to do, but he needs to do something soon or Eagle Force will be on the brink of civil war. There's gonna be people that will side with Jack and people that will side with Dylan.
For the next hour and a half we sat in complete silence. The animosity that Jack has seemed to build more and more up as time went on. I was on my cell phone most of the time, trying to come up with some of what we're gonna do next. Spyro fell asleep, and Amber did the same. Time passed by quickly. It wasn't long until I saw the giant buildings and beaches of the city. Jack drove up to a large white gate in Beverly Hills. He rolled down his window and entered digits into the keypad and the gate slowly started to swing open. "Which house is it?" I asked Jack.
"The one on top of the hill," he answered. I looked around and awed when my eyes first lied upon the mansion.
"Why don't I ever see this side of your family?" I said sarcastically.
"Because most of my family hates me," said Jack in a dark tone.
We remained in uncomfortable silence for the next few minutes. The large house quickly came into view. I noticed a few people packing luggage bags into an SUV. "What's going on?" I asked.
"I don't know."
We pulled up into the driveway and Jack woke Amber up. She immediately saw them and was suspicious as I was. Jack parked the car and we all got out. I noticed a teenage girl coming out of the house with suitcase.
"Hey Rachael, what's going on?" called out Jack to her. She dropped the suitcase and ran up and hugged Jack.
"Damn it, I thought you were dead Jack," she said.
"Not yet at least. So where are you going?" asked Jack as they released each other from their grasps. Rachael had a quizzical look appear on her face.
"My family and I are going to Spain, remember? I told you this when you first came here."
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I thought it was because of something we've done."
"No, but what have you've been doing for these past few days?"
"It's best if you don't know. Let's just say it nearly got us killed."
"Doesn't everything you do nearly get you killed," she joked.
"Ehh, you have a point," he said.
Rachael nodded to Amber and then she looked to me. "And who's this?" she directed to me.
"My name's Domino," I answered.
"He's helping us out with our job," said Jack.
The mother and father of Rachael exited their house and noticed everyone here. "Hello Jack, I'm surprised to see you back here. Everyone here was hoping for the best," said Jack's uncle. I noticed the lack of sincerity in his voice.
"It's nice to see you Uncle Vincent. I hope you and family have a wonderful time on vacation," said Jack in an equally insincere tone. Vincent's expression changed to one of anger, but he didn't show it. I'm worried that Jack might get us kicked out of our shelter if he continues tempting his uncle.
"I see you brought another one of your friends to our home," said the mother.
"Yes, he's been assisting me and Amber for the past few weeks with our mission and now I need him to stay in close contact. Would you mind letting us add another house guest," said Jack. His aunt and uncle let another sigh.
"Fine, just don't destroy the house," said Vincent. Jack's Aunt looked down at her watch. "We need to get going if we want to make it to the airport in time," she warned.
Jack and Rachael hugged each other one last time. "Message me sometime, okay?" he asked.
"I will, don't worry."
"How long are you gonna be gone?"
"For a couple of months."
"Wow, well I hope you have a good vacation," he said as they released each other from their grasps.
"I will, make sure you do the same. You look pretty stressed out. You're living in mansion in Beverly Hills, make sure you take advantage of it," she advised.
"Alright, I'll do that. Stay safe."
"You as well," she said as she got into the back of her father's SUV.
She walked over and picked up her suitcase and pack it into the SUV. We all watched the car drive out of the driveway and down the street. The car went down the street and made a left turn and vanished from our sight. Jack looked a little discouraged at the fact that his cousin's gone. I know the two were close, probably the last of his family that still trusts him, but it's probably for the best that they aren't here. With everything going on between us and the Dultras it's not going to be safe for them to be here, I'm not even sure if it's going to be for us. Jack took a deep breath and let out a long sigh.
"Amber go wake up Spyro, Domino get your stuff from my trunk. We're gonna be here for a long while," said Jack.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Jack's POV
Hours passed by, almost finally putting an end to this long end day. The sunset glazed over the area. Domino found a room on the second floor and began to try settling in. For a while Amber and I sat on a couch in the living room on third floor. Spyro fell asleep on a chair to the right of us. He's been acting strange, but he was the last thing on my mind.
Amber was on her computer and was watching something on TV while I looked over the notes Domino made while he was in Pensacola. Reading that Dylan said I was unfit to be the commander of Eagle Force made me want to bash him in the face. Our friendship has deteriorated over the years, but I would've never thought that he would do something this. More frustration and anger came over my mind.
I got up from the couch and walked back to my room. I closed the door when I entered. I decided to follow Rachael's advice and take advantage of what we have here. I changed into my bathing suit and walked out to the balcony. I took off my shirt and threw it to the side. I plugged headphones into my cell phone and put each strand into an ear. I turned the music on and turned the volume up, not caring what songs are following to my ears. I walked over to the wall and turned the timer on. Bubbles began to rush into the hot tub. I carefully stepped into the Jacuzzi. I placed my phone on the side of the hot tub as I began to sit down. I outstretched my arms along the edge of the hot tub and leaned my head back against the rim as I closed my eyes.
At the moment, I just want to escape from all of the things that are plaguing my mind. Everything that I've learned today is starting to eat at me. I know that I'm going to have to do something, but I don't know what to do. Learning that Marcus is in with the Dultras, learning of Dylan's coup attempt, and the added burden of finding another Skylander is killing me. Time passed by as quickly as it wanted to, I didn't care. It could've been an hour or a minute and I couldn't have told. The jets of water pounded at my back. I let my mind wander to where it wanted to.
Beyond the sound of the music I heard the sliding glass door open. I opened my eyes and looked to my left and saw Amber standing outside the threshold. I took the headphones out of my ears and laid them on the edge of the hot tub.
"What do you want Amber?" I asked.
"I'm just wondering why you're out here?"
"It's summer vacation Amber. After everything we've been through today, I think I deserve five minutes of peace."
"Yeah, we all do. I just think that we probably should decide what we're gonna be doing now. I mean just look at what's on our plate of shit we have to deal with: the undercover agent within the Dultras, Dylan's coup plans, we still have the bounty on our heads from the Dultras, and to top it all off we have to find more of those meteorites," she said.
"Thanks for reminding me Amber, but we probably should lay low for a while. We just survived the raid on the Dultra's building. We don't want to draw more attention to ourselves. The Dultras knew we were there, they'll want blood. And also we have to worry about the police figuring out we were there. They'll discover the bodies and it won't take much to figure out that we were involved."
"Jack I looked into that. The fire in the building spread to every floor. They're still trying to put out the fire, there's no way that Spyro and Drobot could've done it."
"So you think the Dultras burnt their own base. It would make sense; they would've been discovered anyway. They wanted to erase every trace of evidence of them being there, but what about the security cameras along the boulevard?"
"From what I could gather in the last few hours most of the businesses there were either controlled or bribed by the Dultras. They had control over all of the cameras, so they probably destroyed or are going to destroy all the footage. And the traffic cams in the area were never working? So when the Dultras were covering their tracks―"
"They unknowingly covered ours."
"So we should be good for now, and the Dultras are probably going to lay off us for a while since they need a new place to set up."
"There are other Dultras bases; all that might've been was their base close to Los Angeles. So even if we do have a grace period, it's not gonna be long."
"Still, it's better than none."
"This is all just speculation Amber."
"Well we shouldn't be afraid of doing our job."
"I'm not afraid; it's just not going to be easy going forward."
"It never is."
"Good point."
"Besides, I'm thinking of a plan; none of which I like."
"What?"
"You, Domino, and Spyro will start looking for another Skylander," I stated. Amber's expression became confused.
"And what are you gonna be doing?"
"I'm going home. I need to face that bastard Dylan in person."
Thanks for reading; I hope you thought the chapter was great. Please leave a review if you like. I'll really appreciate it.