"Good work men, now load them up" came a voice up ahead.
Talia stopped and darted instinctively into the shadows of a nearby waste bin.
From her hiding place she peered out to see the commotion.
About 50 metres up ahead 3 men appeared to be loading two bodies into a large white can. A fourth man was on a cell phone.
Cautiously, Talia urged forward to hear what they were saying.
"Yeah Boss, we got them" said the man on the phone.
"The boys are loading them up now"
"Oh they're out all right…"
"Yes sir, both breathing…"
A pause.
"I see sir…" Another pause
"Will do sir" he hung up and turned to the men.
"Ok listen up, looks like we'll have to do a thorough sweep of the street, the boss believes there may be some sort of nest around which may contain…" He trailed off.
"May contain what captain Otto?" one-man asked
The man called Otto took a breath and a look of disgust crept over his face.
"Agent White believes it may contain eggs"
Agent White. Talia gasped
* * *
Agent White?
Those men work for Agent White?
The revelation left Talia utterly stunned and she wondered if fate had steered her course and caused her to end up here.
"Whites not the type of guy you can just go find and kill…He usually finds us"
Max's words drifted through Talia's mind.
If what Max said was true then this is my chance, I can get to White, but first I'll have to go through them…
From the looks of things three of the men were armed, though only with tasers.
The fourth however, the man named Otto, had a gun attached to a holster around his waist.
Further study revealed he also had one at his ankle and possibly carried a knife.
A cautious one Talia thought as she continued to eye him.
Considering the precautions he took in well arming himself Talia decided that here was a man with experience in working with transgenics, the other men were just lackeys but this one probably knew White personally.
He would be the man she would go after.
* * *
"Found 'em Boss" One of the men called out as he hauled a plastic crate over to the van.
Otto peered into the crate. What he saw brought the stale taste of his dinner back into his throat. His suit sleeved arm shot involuntarily toward his face shielding his mouth and nose.
"Disgusting" he uttered as he stared down at the eggs.
He stepped back to a distance he felt was safe of the stench and removed his
Sleeve.
"Load it up, we're done here men" he did his best to compose himself.
Otto rose into the passenger seat at the front of the van and buckled in.
The two comatose transgenics were safely secured in the back and guarded one man each.
The eggs had been replaced into an icebox and were also secured safely by straps.
Everything according to plan Thought Otto
Agent White should be pleased.
He suppressed a smile at the thought of the praise he would receive from his boss for this assignment. The fourth guard took up his place as driver and the van began to make its way out of the alley.
Now Talia thought and leaped onto the back of the vehicle. She knew she would have only seconds to take over the van, if they made it out onto the road things would get awfully difficult.
Exerting all her strength she tore the back doors open and jumped inside.
She was instantly met by the nearest of the guards.
He was poorly skilled and she took him down with ease.
The second was both larger and faster. Yet still a poor and unworthy opponent.
Using her speed she avoided every blow he managed to throw at her before tossing him outside and onto the road.
He landed with a sickening thud began rolling head over ankles down the street.
Now for the hard part she thought as she landed a powerful kick to the crate that separated the front passengers from the back. It bent but held. She landed another kick and another. The third kick tore it from its bolts and it crashed into the heads of the driver and Otto.
The van swerved dangerously to the side of the road. Talia leapt into the front and threw the driver out onto the street. She took over the wheel.
Otto was bleeding but not badly hurt. He grabbed his gun and raised it to the hijacker.
Talia grabbed his arm as he fired and the bullet shattered the front window.
She slammed his hand into the steering wheel till he dropped the gun. Then she punched him hard in the face. Otto's world went black.
* * *
Talia swore under her breath as she pulled the van over and jumped out carrying Otto. Things hadn't turned out the way she had expected them to. The van was busted to shit and the gunshots would surely bring an audience.
Knowing that only mere seconds separated her from capture she ran to the nearest unoccupied car and smashed her fist through the window. She'd need a new vehicle if she was going to make it outta this alive. She tossed Otto in the back seat and headed back for the transgenics.
She found them in much the same condition as when she had left them. The only difference was that now, the transgenic she presumed to be male showed the slightest signs of life. The webbed fingers of his left hand were twitching.
Talia hauled him over her shoulder and stumbled back to the car. Once he was safely inside she went back for his mate.
With the car now fully loaded and a small crowd of no more than three, crowding around the crashed van -mostly street urchins; Talia started up the stolen car and headed for Terminal City.
She'd been driving for no more than 5 minutes when she heard a sound come from the back where the still unconscious Otto lay sleeping. A muffled but distinct beeping appeared to be coming from Otto's jacket. It was Otto's cell phone, and there was an incoming call.
Talia, fearing that she'd be caught, had opted for the long drive home, taking only the backest of back roads. While this plan had so far worked like a charm, it now put them in the position of still being a good drive off from the safe haven of Terminal City.
Wrestling with the decision of whether or not to answer the call Talia veered off the road and killed the engine; the headlights she had not used.
'Do I answer it?'
'Can I answer it?'
'What if it's White? If Otto doesn't answer the call he may become suspicious and send a search party'
'They'll find me in no time'
A few short rings later Talia had made her decision. She eased her body between the front seats and rolled Otto gently to the car floor. His throat emitted a soft groan as the air was knocked out of him. Wasting no more time, Talia's hand dived into his jacket and snatched up the phone.
She received the call.
"What took you so long…" a voice began on the other end.
It was safe to say the speaker was not at all impressed.
Even though she had never before met the man or heard him speak, Talia instinctively knew the caller to be none other than the man himself.
Ames White.
She placed the phone quickly to the car speaker located above to her right and turned on the radio.
Static flooded the mouthpiece. She let it continue for several seconds before ending the call.