"It'll be perfect! I can clear out the rest of the zombies and there would so much space for survivors! It's over where we sleep. How far do you think is Crane by now? Oh and hey, could you maybe… uh… teach me some kickboxing?"
"Yes I can. He'll be back soon, don't you worry. You're really excited about the museum, aren't you?" Jade chuckled, not commenting on Kyle without even thinking about it having taken the woman's hand with his arm pulling along as excitedly came up with ideas to make more safe zones in Harran ecstatic after their win and the two almost ran over Brecken coming into the door with Rahim's frown behind the man pulling into a smile as he stumbled back from the arrival.
"Wow, did I miss a party?" Brecken raised an eyebrow but glad to see Jade safe, Rahim relieved as well having gotten worried only to worry again noticing the bite on the leg.
"I got antizin." Jade assured noticing Brecken ready to leave. "Something I can help with after going to Camdem?"
"Well, there is always something to do… Where is Crane?" The yellow shirt clad man noticed the absence and Kyle's rather chipper demeanor despite not being near Crane holding Jade's hand like excited child did with their mother when wanting to show something.
"He's gone to get a broadcast through to the rest of the world. I'm bringing the research to Camdem and he hurt his arm." Jade explained.
"Every time, it's something…" Rahim groaned with a sigh.
"We'll figure out if you got anything soon!" Kyle sighed, Brecken and a grumpy Rahim noticing the rather visible swelling now paying attention to it.
"You sure you can get there alright? The place is still flooded." Rahim pointed out. "You know I could-"
"No" Jade refused.
"Well if Crane is on it with the broadcast, I'm sure he can pull it off. Then I'll help you get to Camden's lab." Brecken offered.
"But your injuries…"
"Getting better, we'll be alright with you, me and him. Does your injury get in the way a lot?"
"Not really but it stings pretty bad." Kyle replied.
"I want to come along!" Rahim tried again expecting to be refused and a respectful acceptance creeping in as Brecken turned around to him.
"Fine"
"Fine?" Jade blinked.
"Yes, fine but no rushing into a fight understand?" Brecken sighed worried that Rahim might just try something on his own again if he stayed cooped up too long. Jade accepted Brecken's decision even though she wasn't fond of it but at least it didn't involve something as dangerous as placing bombs in a volatile nest. The roofs would keep them relatively safe with just the parking lot and inside the building to worry about which would be hard enough however the confusion Kyle could cause would help a lot. On their way there, Kyle had flashed the blood shot eyes at a viral coming at Jade from behind with a glare at the monstrosity causing the once human to stumble back with a scared screech and off a roof's edge having been too close. Kyle led them to the research taking it out of hiding giving it to Jade slinging the satchel over her shoulders.
"Are you sure you don't want to try finding bandages here first?" Jade asked, already noticed on their run to the university the blood stains on the shirt from inside right where the edges of the burn were.
"Yeah, I'm sure we can find some at the hospital I'll just do it there."
"Doesn't it hurt though?" Rahim questioned.
"Not anymore, only after Crane accidentally squished it which ironically got the water out too after almost drowning. It's just gross and I guess the constant need for bandages is annoying since it won't heal." Kyle sighed with a shrug loosening the splint a little so it wouldn't push so hard against the swelling.
"How did you hurt your arm anyway? The position… it's so weird…"
"That's a long story… I'll tell you on the way, let's get going."
"Beautiful weather…" Crane sarcastically commented to himself as the weather was quite the opposite wondering to himself how Jade and Kyle were doing. "This must be the place." Taking a deep breath, Crane stepped further out the ledge and took the leap diving into the dark water below and walking along the slanted concrete pulling himself out of the water again. "Hey Savvy? You there?"
"Yeah, man! You and your kid okay?"
"I'm above ground and still in one piece. Kyle is with Jade."
"Oh, good. Now listen, you'll need the key card to the substation. Otherwise there'll be no power to the antenna."
"Okay. Where do I get this card?"
"You'll have to search the containers. It'll be in one of them."
"I'll have to SEARCH the place? You mean the card might not even be here?"
"No, no, it's there, mate! It's just- the last guy who tried to do something like this made it to one of the containers before we, uh… lost contact with him…"
Rais felt watched, like he was merely being allowed to enter his own tower and he hated it. Whoever hit them, hit them hard as he came to see entering the building. But not in a way that would take down or completely cripple Rais but it didn't leave much room for the man to do anything other than ensure his gang kept strong and his tower back into order glancing to one of the gang members stumbling for a bathroom holding his stomach.
"Three levels are good to go now." Karim informed walking up to Tahir filling in Rais on what he had been told by Karim upon arrival with his men.
"Any antizin, weapons or money taken?" Rais asked.
"None." Tahir replied. It was odd with nothing taken, the attack like a spit in the face or a warning. Barely any men got shot to death as well, any fatal shot utterly precise and right now Rais could not afford to lose more men. His grand idea of having the research without making the kid his only card when it came to the GRE had to be put on hold right now.
"Check everything again, make sure nothing is missing. We need the tower back in order and every man back on his feet." 'This will take longer than a day…' "Could you identify any of the chemicals used?"
"No but it's what the attackers used the most, different mixtures it seems and it's all over the tower. None of it has color or smell so you won't find it until you already touched or ingested it. Different reactions too."
"Karim, what exactly did one of them say to you again when you asked who they were?"
"Gramps' puppet stringer and viper." Karim answered his boss. "Does it ring a bell?"
"No" As far as he knew the only other bigger factions beside him were the Tower and the Embers and he saw neither capable of this. He had to wonder if there was another rival gang hiding somewhere; after all he didn't know about the younger Kyle until Crane had picked him up. It changed the entire playing field with another group in the shadows with that much bite behind them. Rais needed to find out who and where. No matter how much Rais thought about it nothing came to mind forcing his thoughts a little away from it and back on the tower and safe zones. He'd have to make sure payments were done on time as well or he'd look weak making having his men well again the most important thing right now. 'I'll command the kid and have him right under my thumb; I'll let nothing stop me! And with the research as well, I'll command the GRE as well without risking the kid. With him obedient to me they stand no chance just in case they think of shooting me in the back, the damage I'll be able to do will be endless. He'll want to protect me like he does Crane. I'll be unstoppable; this is just a setback they have nowhere to go. Enjoy your brief few days of relative peace little Kyle. Because I'm coming for you very soon and your tricks are running out as you show them to me every time you want to protect someone.'
"It'll take him a few days to recover from it without interfering with his money flow. We won't be needed any more hanging around his tower although if you have anything else to say, you know where to find Gramps." Bozak said, the tone rather bored toying with a throwing knife in his hand.
"Good." The assassin smiled turning to his partner in crime. "Time to get set up."
"I can't wait for the pay! Too bad, we can't offer to the whole world or it'll be a bullet hail instead of bigger pay." The other assassin chuckled with a sigh.
"That is a shame."
Rahim, Brecken, Jade and Kyle found a pleasant surprise in the absence of any thugs or bandits, the four approaching the entrance being a doorway reduced to a crawl space with a partial barricade. "You go ahead, I'll keep them away." Kyle smiled at the three referring to zombies drawing close. Jade entered first taking down the two infected lingering in the lobby, Rahim going in second and Brecken third. Kyle eyes the space glancing to his left arm slowly crouching down to all fours and sticking through his hurt arm pulling it back out.
"Need help?" Jade asked eying the partial barricade.
"I got it." Kyle carefully ducked in.
"Hello everyone, the lady with you must be Jade Aldemir." Camden's voice came through the speakers. "I can see you through the building's cameras; it's good to see some friendly faces. Which one of you is Crane?"
"No one." Brecken replied. "I'm Harris Brecken, that's Rahim, Jade and Kyle. Crane is getting a message out to the world. We've come with the research and Kyle hurt his arm."
"Oh, you're the boy Zere has talked about right? Your looks make you famous."
"Yeah, that's me."
"Alright, I can't wait to meet you four it's been so long to have actual people contact here. Take the elevator." The quartet did as told, the doctor continued to talk. "I've heard from Zere that you saved him Kyle from a very close call, I wish to thank you for that. He and I were thrilled to get the chance to study the Harran virus and thanks to you and Crane he is still in the equation… Not to mention, the GRE paid us quite handsomely." Kyle's eyes widened, lips pulling into a snarl, a step taken backward despite it not leading anywhere as green eyes shifted to the satchel.
"Kyle, what's wrong?" Jade turned to him Rahim and Brecken.
"We have to leave, don't give it to him! I think the GRE is dirty!" He looked pleadingly at the three, the blonde rushing forward to press the going up on the elevator stopped by Jade.
"Kyle, calm down and explain!"
"Don't make me fight you!"
"Kyle, hold on!" Camden tried to explain seeing the situation about to escalate. "I no longer work for them and you're right about them. They are not to be trusted. They won't get to know anything I learn from that research. You have my word."
"I don't have your face, that's how I know how to trust somebody or not." Kyle replied with narrowed eyes.
"But you trust me!" Jade firmly took his shoulders. And you trust Brecken and Rahim, right?" Kyle glanced away pausing with his movements. "And you trust Crane. And he trusts Camden with the research."
"I trust all four of you…" Kyle quietly agreed.
"Come, it's going to be okay." Brecken smiled at the boy, the elevator coming to a stop but not in a good way as the door only open a slit after the button push and Kyle sighed.
"Every damn time…"
"Every damn time?" Rahim raised an eyebrow, ready for action.
"Yeah, elevators don't work for Crane and me."
"By the way, we're on back-up power now, so we have minimal functionality ." Camden informed. Brecken and Jade moved to pry open the doors revealing yet another time for the group to duck under as the man continued to explain. "I needed extra power for my last experiment and the generators overheated and shut down. I hope you don't mind me reminiscing out loud like this. It's been quite the number of weeks since I've had the prospect of talking to an actual human, in person."
"I expected more zombies…" Rahim remarked, the areas rather zombie free as they moved on, Kyle agreeing with him while Camden gave further instructions in navigating the place. However further in came more crawl spaces and this time not just solve with ducked under like the previous ones as their eyes landed on the first vent causing trouble for Kyle. "Let's hope this is the only crawling bit."
"It probably won't be." Kyle sighed. "Can… uh…"
"Yeah, we'll help you up." Brecken smiled.
"I'll go first and take the front." Jade offered climbing in very carefully pulling in Kyle with Brecken giving a push and inside the vent, Kyle carefully maneuvered his left arm to rest on his back, the claws scratching the metal a little. Rahim came after Kyle with Brecken in the back.
"How bad is your injury Kyle? What type is it?" Camden inquired. "Also, any allergies or medication I need to know about?"
"It's partially shattered bone above the wrist. No meds… and antizin… would kill me but I don't think that will come into play."
"It won't, thank you for trusting me."
"I haven't decided that quite yet…" Kyle quietly growled. The infected waiting in the office to which the vent lead to got easily dispatched by Jade before the woman helped the kid down, key card easily found lying on a desk.
"All right, now go down the main corridor. The lab is on the left. When the outbreak happened, Zere and I stayed in the quarantine to work on the cure. You know who was supposed to protect us? Kadir Suleiman! Rais himself! THAT worked out just perfectly. Okay. The only way into the lab is through the decontamination room. The entrance is to the right. Everything went straight to hell after Rais's brother died, you know. Rais went from a guy with monstrous tendencies to a full-blown monster. You'll have to run the decontamination protocol to unlock the doors. It won't work without full power, though. That's where the generators come in. Head to the offices. Once you're there, I'll point you in the right direction."
"Kyle, will you wait here?" Jade asked hoping the blonde would agree but unfortunately given a different answer with shake of his head.
The planes peeled off just in time, Crane watching them leave talking on the radio. His face turned into a scowl as a certain voice came on. "Crane? Is that you? Do you copy?"
"What the hell do you want?"
"We're trying to give a chance here! I'll admit I lost my temper with the kid-"
"Lost your temper?! It was more than that!"
"I've calmed down and we're offering you a future here. Not just you, your kid as well. Just bring us the research and you're getting you both out of that horrible place."
"Oh yeah? And why would you do that? I never found your precious file. You don't even have to pay me the rest of my fee."
"Water under the bridge, Kyle! We're best off to just move past that. All you have to is bring Dr. Zere's research with you and we'll send a nice, safe helicopter to extract you with your kid."
"… You realize, I know what was in the file. I know you were going to exploit the virus. And now I know it for sure. And by the way, the kid doesn't trust you either and I take his gut instincts very seriously."
"Crane-"
"Oh my GOD. You need the cure now for SPIN, don't you? You want the research? Then just wait for my fucking signal. That might only come if Kyle trusts you."
"Crane, this is just a job to you! You don't belong there! Why do you fucking care about these people?! We're even offering for you to have your kid be taken along!"
"It's not just a job anymore!"
The voice calmed down again heavily restrained. "Are you really going to let your boy dictate a cure? Crane, he's still just a kid! You're the grown up! Besides, do you really want him to stay in that horrible place?! Think of what you're throwing away for him as well here! Do you want him to stay there and grow up in that shit hole?!"
"Are you seriously fucking trying right now to useKyle to guilt me?!" Crane snapped. "And he's not just any kid; he's alive because of his gut instincts! So yeah, I won't just brush off what he has to say. I'm done talking." The radio didn't flare up with the GRE again. Crane's eyes shifted downward to leave, wanting to get back to Kyle and the others wondering how they were doing.
"Kyle!" Rahim worriedly glanced to the blonde trying to see past him as Jade had leapt onto shelf pulling the blonde having his hand to his nose, green wafts on the floor. Kyle almost stumbled off the shelf trying to move forward.
"I-it's not too bad I think…"
"We have to move past this room fast." Brecken said helping Jade in moving the boy along faster while Rahim made sure to keep an eye out for zombies so his two companions could focus more on Kyle dragging him along, all of them careful not to walk into the centralized green wafts.
"Is his injury worsening?" Camden asked.
"It's not that, the chemicals are a little much." Brecken replied, Jade switching with Rahim to fend off the zombies and have her brother support Kyle, the next path to keep going turning out to be crawl space again as if dragging a weakened Kyle through the room barely scrambling along wasn't bad enough. At least there weren't many zombies being quite a saving grace and with every step away from the wafts, Kyle regained his strength. All four of them having come greatly helped out as well though Rahim was rather kept out of confrontations by Jade and Brecken.
"Got a goon to deal with." Jade announced with sigh in the next room on a shelf past the pipes.
"Let me." Kyle coughed.
"Not alone anyway." Brecken sighed, Jade's head turning to him. "We could use his help. As far as I can see there is just that goon." Jade didn't fight the decision distracting the goon while Brecken quickly helped Kyle down, Rahim slashing at the goon with Jade both dodging more than hitting for now. With steady footing, Kyle darted up to the goon and yanked the rebar piece with concrete out of its hand leaving the zombie stumbling a few steps and rather frozen no longer holding an object to smash with which was now in Kyle's right hand. The blonde noticed a gas tank by crates slamming the heavy piece down the zombie crushing it, dropping it afterwards panting while Brecken joined Rahim and Jade now easily overpowering the zombie with quick blows and retreats, the multiple angles causing the infected to turn more than anything as it kept shifting the focus on target. With the room cleared finding another gas tank on the floor in a corner, the quartet moved on to the next crawling under a forklift's fork pushing the button to raise it.
"Amazing! That must be your raised strength!" Camden remarked.
"Uh, we have problem…" Rahim announced, the demolisher peeking over the suited zombies staggering up to them.
"I'll deal with the demolisher." Kyle growled.
"You're exhausted." Brecken protested.
"Well, there is not time to rest!" Kyle countered quickly weaving past the suites, the trio stuck with dealing with them with Jade dealing the most blows. "Alright buddy, time to play. As if confused, the demolisher seemed to sort of notice Kyle but not really, the boy brushing the blood from under his nose away from the room with room with the chemical spill. One metal claw carefully slit over his room with a little cut enough big enough to make the demolisher move lower for charge and Kyle smirked. The enormous infected rushed forward, unable to do more than two steps, Kyle yelling for his three companion's to stick to the wall and his leg rushed out swiftly with all his might coming down ins sliding motion back onto the ground to keep his footing tripping the demolisher falling forward landing roughly on the floor flailing to get up. Kyle pulled out his machete, the trio rushing up to the panting boy bringing down the blade on the monstrosities' thick neck unable decapitate but partially slash through as it bellowed joined by the other three staggering back as the demolisher tried to lash out. Kyle stumbled back with a wheeze but staggered forward again to go around to the other side.
"We got it!" Jade assured, the demolisher angrily thrashing being beaten but starting to get up. Kyle's eyes shifted to the gas tanks, many of the few still bearing the tanks and the blonde quickly cut them out. "Back away! I have a plan!" Their eyes landed on the gas tanks quickly catching, Jade the first to damage one scrambling with the others throwing it at the demolisher almost up knocked down again with a bellow as it exploded pelted by three more and with Kyle having his breath back, he rushed forward before it could get up, machete pushed through the half of the neck in inhuman strength finishing the demolisher off.
"That was awesome! Take that motherfucker!" Rahim cheered, a glance from Brecken taking his thunder a little but the man smiled to himself with Kyle smiling to the three continuing forward. Rahim though wasn't the only one wondering if he would become like Kyle with the kid's blood now cursing through his veins seeing to prevent turning so far. Brecken didn't want to think about it but he found himself wondering so often what it would've been like without Kyle having acted so recklessly and in general without Kyle. Would he still have Rahim and Jade by his side? Jade has let him know what went down with Rais and it had only worked because Kyle had managed to read the man's moves and Crane had the kid's blood now as well. The generators were quickly reached, their way made back to Camden with no other zombie problems, the decontamination process killing the zombies in the tiny area before they stepped through once it was done entering the room where Camden joyfully greeted them taking the given satchel as Kyle watched him closely. The blonde dropped the guarded stance quickly, Camden quick to talk again placing tissue sample in some machine.
"Hey doc, before you get deep into that, Kyle needs surgery." Brecken interrupted an ecstatic man wanting to get to work.
"Oh yes, of course! I'm so sorry, I'm just so excited! Getting to talk to actual people again and the research, it's just wonderful!" His eyes shifted to Kyle. "I need to see your arm. If I have your trust now."
"Yeah, you do." Kyle shrugged stepping closer and holding it out.
"Ouch, that looks like it hurts. Sit down. So, Zere has said you can't turn."
"Anything we can do?" Jade asked.
"I'm sure I can't. If you want I can show you some stuff later although I'm sure Zere has it in those packages. Hey, ow-"
"Sorry-"
"What do you know about the GRE? I kind of told them in a way to fuck off on a whim and a mystery warning."
"GRE? Oh, yes help, one moment." Camden shortly turned to the other three. "We'll need towels, water, surgery equipment, clean tools, see what you can find. I can't exactly do an x-ray now or anything so I'll just have to go in." The man turned back to the boy. "Your judgment was correct, you watch yourself around them. Actually, considering your condition you need to stay the hell away from them. Their public image is a lie of epic proportions. Those are all heartless, lying bastards. Have you noticed any healing attributes since your change?" Camden asked while looking around for stuff and anesthetics.
"Not sure, I might recover faster in general. It's probably sped up a bit at night where I'm stronger at everything." 'Except my senses. Thinking about it, I can't use or switch them off like my strength and other stuff….'
"Have you ever had surgery before?"
"No." Kyle leaned a little forward to look past the mobile sheet walls as Camden moved about with the others scavenging outside the room as well, everything collected on a tray on wheels placed beside the bed Kyle sat on, every tool made sure by Camden to be clean.
"I usually wouldn't have asked this since you gave Zere already a blood sample and I'm sure it will be incredibly insightful but since you unfortunately did hurt your am requiring surgery could I have a small tissue sample? It would be just a tiny speck. You'll have to remove your metal claws."
"Sure." Kyle agreed to the sample but his hand paused at removing the gauntlet. What if he tried lashing out with his flesh claws without thinking about it? His hunch back then was right that it would help, the urge to use the things he hated to his defend his life quelled when it came down to it.
"We aren't going anywhere, we'll be right here." Jade assured with a smile.
"Can you just ice it doc?" Brecken asked.
"That's perfect Brecken!" Kyle smiled. "I don't mind the blood."
"Well, let me see. I can see that getting an entire set for surgery together not going too well. Maybe here… I really hope so… Ah! Yes! We can! And you're sure, you don't mind seeing this?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine."
"What about the possible fragments?" Jade inquired.
"This really should be done under proper circumstances but this all we have. Glue as ridiculous as it seems. Special one, I'm just glad we have some here and stilts for alignment and a brace." Camden started to explained giving Kyle a look asking if he was ready, tools ready, the metal claws off and given to Rahim to hold as the blonde laid down giving a nod but the syringe paused for moment as Crane's voice called out to them causing to smile, Camden swiftly giving the prick with the kid distracted. As the drug set in, Camdem checked up on the samples.
"I did it, the bombing is off! How is Kyle, Jade?"
"Tough as ever. Brecken and Rahim are with us too. We're at the clinic."
"Did you run into any problems on your way?"
"No, did you?"
"Nah, it just had to rain when I climbed the antenna because the elevator cable snapped. But I'm fine. Just glad I got up just in time, the bombers peeled off just after talking they were already going in."
"Bloody elevators…" Kyle grumbled.
"I'm glad to hear you're okay." Jade smiled. "Camden is starting right now; he's going to be okay." Jade replied giving her hand to Kyle to hold if he wanted to as the scalpel carefully cut in.
"I'm on my way!"
"That's definitely a mess you have there…" Camden sighed, careful with every move but swift as well having Brecken help him with the wound, Rahim in charge of keeping the spot well lit with a flash light, Kyle doing his best to keep calm and not squirm.
"Hey, that was Camdem wasn't it? How bad is it?!"
"One of the two bones is shattered like Kyle said it felt like. But it doesn't seem to be far up the arm…" Jade tried to explain, Camden giving a nod.
"The Radius is shattered past the wrist and the ulna cracked but it still allowed him to use his hand. It's about three centimeters in past his wrist evenly on each on both bones." Camden shortly helped out, Jade quickly relaying the message in case Crane hadn't heard it clearly.
"This note got found, shot with an arrow." Tahir handed his boss the paper unfolding it.
'If you want to have a chance against your competition, better focus on your finances. They can pay high too. You wouldn't want to miss the upcoming event, it'll be announced in Harran. I'm sure you'll be very interested in buying.' Rais' eye narrowed on the note offering a reason for the attack but far too cryptic to be a certain link. Something he would want to buy… and others wanted it to… Despite not knowing the reason now, Rais was still busy getting things back in order and for now he decided to heed the note as he wondered who those other competitors would be.
Crane moved as fast as he could, happy to see no thugs hanging around the building avoiding the zombies with use of the grappling hook and quickly sliding under the opening "Hey Jade, I'm here what's the best way in?"
"Oh, isn't the elevator still stuck?" Rahim remarked.
"Try calling up the elevator." Jade suggested.
"Great elevators…" Like those worked out for him but the man tried anyway eager to get to the others.
Gerritsen sighed, completely bored. 'I hope Kyle and Jade get back soon…' With those two off out there saving the world, or at least Harran from imminent destruction, the girl started feeling lonely at the tower despite the people there. It didn't help that Kyle had just woken up from getting hurt when he had run off and her leg effectively grounded her from many things. Her eyes shifted to two guys walking by, their tone hushes going past her but she still picked up on the topic and it left her sour. Kyle's blood given to Rahim had stirred the place up and the mixed emotions that came didn't make the girl happy at all with the antizin soon to be in need again. She hadn't been there long but she had noticed the changed looks after Kyle had faked his death, it would never be the same for the blonde even with it getting better. But she couldn't blame them either; because she might even be acting the same unsure way if she didn't see Kyle the way she did from knowing him. But another topic had the Tower in its woes as well; Rais's tower had been hit and the man stranded in hot water however the payment didn't seem to have slowed based on what the runners said passing by the safe zones.
"Crane!" Kyle smiled, his arm stitched up again and the cast just placed on, the kid hopping off the bed to the tired looking man coming giving him a careful hug. "What pissed you off? It was like a shimmer there behind that smile."
"Nothing to worry about, they're sitting ducks now…" Crane smiled ruffling his hair but Kyle kept looking at him refusing to accept it as an answer the whole crew hanging around in the room. "The GRE tried to beg for the research again and tried to use you to guilt me into agreeing because this place isn't great." Kyle's eyes narrowed but didn't stay angry as they widened in a realization, the kid going over to his backpack shortly struggling with it told not to unnecessary use his other arm, the habit of having both hands available strong.
"It's good to finally shake hands with you, Crane." Camden greeted joyfully.
"Likewise doc."
"Well it looks like you already don't trust the GRE as well and that's a good thing but what you just said concerns me. They're heartless lying bastards and you can't let them near Kyle." Camden warned.
"Oh, they won't." Crane assured. All eyes moved back to Kyle pulling something of his backpack walking back up to Crane with smile but the smile dropped as he took a good look at the object himself being a tattered book of sort, rippled form being soaked and dried.
"Dang it, I forgot to keep it dry…" Kyle sighed. "I found this back in the school and thought of you. It's got to do with music and since you have a guitar I thought of you."
"That's sweet, maybe we can still get something out of it I'll hold on to it. I'm surprised the guitar survived the first few days of you especially after the violin…" Crane chuckled.
"Well, Jade threatened me…" Kyle grumbled. "And then I didn't want to make you hate me anymore… although… would you if I had smashed your guitar?" Kyle mischievously smirked.
"That sounds like a past." Camdem remarked.
"Oh yeah, it is. He wasn't always friendly. And no Kyle, I would've moved past the loss." Crane answered with playful smirk of his own. "Hey when is your birthday anyway?"
"Why? You want to throw a party in Harran? It's in two days."
"What's the number?" Brecken asked, Jade and Rahim curious as well.
"Fourteen." Kyle answered, Crane seeming visibly distressed for a moment.
"Bad memory?" Rahim raised an eyebrow.
"Maybe he's thinking about the teenage years to come." Jade chuckled.
"We should get going and help those people with the bombing called off." Kyle suggested with a smile.
"Oh yeah, it's a long list isn't it?" Crane said.
"Just a few days worth probably."
"Your arm still needs rest even with all the bones back in place." Camden spoke up.
"Trust me doc, keeping this kid off the streets is futile. But I'll make sure he takes it easy." Crane assured. "Do you think Rais will attack the clinic Brecken?"
"I've been wondering that myself but it would be good to have a few people with guns here. I already talked to Troy; they'll keep the place under watch."
"I'll stay close by." Jade offered. "With us not having a clue what Rais is up to next, I'll head over to the Tower first and check in there."
"I noticed that there were none of his men in the street or even any bandits, is something going on?" Crane asked despite his loss at the museum it seemed weird that none of his men roamed the streets.
"I checked in with Lena, from what runners have said Rais's seems to be sticking to his tower. It looks like he has trouble, might even have been attacked, one of them heard gunshots over but stayed clear of it when it happened."
"I don't know if you noticed Crane, but somebody has been following us around and watched our backs. When I took out Rais's men during Sammy's rescue, I got help from someone sniping at them. And…"
"And what Kyle?" Jade encouraged.
"There was a note… it's a soggy mess…" Kyle pulled out said mess holding it out. "Somebody shot this to a door back when we talked to the GRE and it said not to trust them. And I wasn't supposed to tell you about this note either. It said to burn it afterwards… I first thought Jade was shooting at them but the note didn't fit her…"
"I definitely didn't write that and I never shot at them." Jade confirmed what the blonde said.
"So you have someone that is protecting you but won't show their face…" Rahim pointed out.
"But why stay a secret? That part others me." Brecken said.
"I also suspected Shakkur but I don't think it's his either with this note seeming connected." Kyle sighed. "I guess all we can do is just use their protection for our own again until something happens…" 'Wish I knew who it was though…'
"Maybe they'll show themselves soon." Crane said, the quartet bidding Camden goodbye for now, Crane and the kid going their own way outside of the clinic as the group parted way on the roof. "So, what do you want to be our first stop? We should try picking something that doesn't leave us stranded at night, it's coming quick."
"Definitely not the fountain job… How about the distress signal in the fan zone? It should offer a safe place to sleep as we're helping out. Jade helped me with bandaging my chest, she did it just after the surgery and then you came. I have some cans still on me and filled up the two water bottles by Camden."
"Sounds good, you sure you can run with that?" Crane agreed, eyes glancing over the arm again put in a sling as well until the freeze would wear off so it wouldn't dangle with the small section numb.
"Yeah, now stop worrying or I'm leaving you behind." Kyle smirked.
"Contacts story again?"
"You bet"