Chapter Three: Rescue Duty

"Hailey," The voice whispered from a dark alcove. "Hailey!"

"What?"

"Is there any word yet?"

The seventeen year-old girl, forgetting it was pitch black, shook her head in response before going back to her lookout duties.

"Well?"

"No."

A sigh was barely perceivable before the silence came back like a thick blanket. It had been hours since either had moved, and impatience was setting in. Both were combat leaders, used to quick fights and decisions. The only reason either of them was one of their friends had been taken by the Nietzscheans and they needed to find him before it was too late.

"We're not doing any good here," Hailey growled while trying not to move in restlessness. "For all we know he could be giving away the Resistance's position. We wouldn't even be able to fight with them since we're stuck here…doing nothing."

The winter air's bite caused Brendan to shiver before he could answer, "Avery would never do anything to compromise our cause."

"Maybe not by choice, but…well, you've heard the stories."

Brendan shivered again but it wasn't from the cold this time. They'd been staking out the building they believed their friend, Avery, had been taken to. So far the only signs that anyone was even in the building were the lights and the shadows cast by them. No voices had been heard and there was no sign of outside movement, not even a guard.

"We could bust in right now and get him out," Hailey spoke softly. "See, no one's even patrolling."

"I think the cold's getting to your head," Brendan said sarcastically, then frowned. "You're right though. There isn't anyone in sight… In fact, there hasn't been this whole time."

Alarms started going off in Brendan's head. Why would they capture Avery and not even guard him? Why would they risk it unless…it was a trap? Yet no one had passed by or been seen during the time they'd been watching and they'd been watching for quite awhile.

"They're waiting for us…" The whispered words were out of his mouth before he realized he'd spoken them. "It would be suicide to go in there."

"We have to do something!"

"Shh, keep your voice down."

Hailey crawled to where Brendan was sitting and held his face with her hands. She leaned in close enough to stare into his eyes and search them.

Slowly enunciating each word as if talking to a toddler, Hailey said forcefully, "We can not leave him."

Brendan broke her gaze and glanced at the tall Nietzschean building. He knew that if they went in they'd be going directly into a trap, but Avery was their friend, companion, and loyal comrade. They would have to rescue him, regardless of the consequences.

"You're right," Brendan said, "but we're not going to fall for the ubers' trap. Right?"

Catching herself nodding in the dark again, she replied, "Of course."

"Alright, here's what we're going to do…"

Twenty minutes later, Brendan and Hailey were on the roof arguing over who would be the one to break in and crawl through the ventilation shafts in order to get to Avery and hopefully free him.

"I'm the leader here," said Brendan in a hushed tone.

"I'm smaller and more agile so I'd be able to maneuver better in the small amount of space."

"No, I'm not going to risk-"

Hailey tried to contain her exasperation, "I'm not going to sit on the sidelines just because I'm a girl! I'm going, end of discussion."

"Bu-"

"End of discussion," Hailey commanded. "Now give me that rope and lower me down."

Brendan rolled his eyes but did as she said, knowing it'd be useless to argue. He still didn't understand how he could be one of the toughest leaders but when it came to giving women orders they were the ones that ended up telling him what to do.

Still, he couldn't resist, "So the fact that this was my idea means nothing?"

"Actually," Hailey began as softly as possible while she was being lowered into the shaft, "it was your cousin's idea, not yours, so no."

Brendan rolled his eyes again.

"And don't roll your eyes at me," The voice echoed. "Just because I can't see you doesn't mean I don't know what you're doing."

The young leader sighed and shook his head. A few seconds later the rope tugged and that was the signal to pull the empty rope up and make for the back door where Hailey and Avery would be exiting, or more properly called, escaping.

The minutes Brendan sat waiting behind a bush seemed like forever. He was almost to the point of rushing in there himself when he heard gunfire erupt. Leaping behind the small amount of cover he had, he brandished his gun and prepared to give some cover fire. This was where the plan got sticky. Hailey and Avery, supposing he was healthy, were supposed to run for the nearby forest and lure as many as they could away where they would supposedly take cover again and start shooting until they finished off their adversaries. Brendan was supposed to take a couple of others into the forest and lose them and afterwards he was supposed to meet a supposedly healthy and alive Hailey and Avery at a rendezvous point on the outskirts of the city.

There's a lot of supposedly's in this plan, He thought to himself right as the door burst open and an energetic Hailey and haggard Avery came running out, five Nietzscheans right on their tail.

"Hey ubers! Over here! You stupid, genetically modified, inferior beings!" Brendan yelled before turning and running. Two Nietzcheans followed closely behind. That meant Hailey and Avery only had to deal with three. That would be easy enough for them.

Brendan ran as fast as his well-toned legs would carry him. It felt great to be on the run again, the adrenaline pumped through him as his protesting muscles carried him away from the threat. He entered the forest and started to zigzag here and there, jumping up to touch a few trees and running in circles around some others. He knew Nietzscheans had excellent eyesight even in the dark, but they'd be relying mostly on their sense of smell. Knowing several drops, twists and turns, he was able to lose them in less than ten minutes. He could tell because the cursing had taunting had stopped and there wasn't any sound of twigs or branches being broken or moved.

Smirking, Brendan continued to run, liking the feel of it in the crisp night air. He made it to the rendezvous in relatively short amount of time and was overjoyed to see both Avery and Hailey there alive and well.

"Yahoo! That was so great! We really showed them ubers huh Hailey?" Brendan yelled as he came up to the pair.

She nodded solemnly and it was then that Brendan noticed Avery was crying.

Brendan's mood immediately went from happy to concerned and he asked, "Are you hurt?"

Avery choked back a sob and managed to reply, "No."

Slightly confused, Brendan looked from Hailey to Avery, to Hailey again before he understood. The truth hit him like a lightning bolt and he stumbled backwards.

"What…" He had to force the words from his mouth like poison. "What did…did you tell them?"

Avery shook his head violently and collapsed to a heap on the ground, moaning, "I'm sorry Brendan. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry… I couldn't… They said, they said, they'd kill me if, if I didn't… If I didn't tell them…if I…if…"

The kid's voice broke as he curled into a ball and cried. Brendan just stared down at him. His normally messy clothes were in shreds, his long and normally neatly combed black hair was in knots, and from what he could see from the moonlight the boy's face was a mass of bruises. Brendan had a mind to add a few more for such betrayal but he knew Avery was very young, even for a freedom fighter. Instead of reprimanding him, he knelt down next to the fifteen year-old and soothingly rubbed his back.

"What did you tell them Avery?" Brendan's voice held no emotion, anger or otherwise.

"Nothing, nothing vital. I knew I shouldn'ta, shouldn't have told 'em anything b-but they wouldn't stop and their questions were s-so easy and I d-didn't think that it would really m-matter if I answered a few to keep myself a-alive."

Brendan repeated his question, "What did you tell them?"

Avery sniffed before answering, "Just the name of the sp-spacer was who came down and h-helped us and what I'd h-heard about his history here and s-stuff. Ya know, stuff that d-doesn't really matter any-anymore. They wanted to kn-know more of c-course but I didn't tell 'em Brendan. I didn't tell 'em anything th-that could've hurt us. I'd die first. You know that right?"

But Brendan wasn't listening. He was staring in the distance, his mind on a completely different track. Harper was in grave danger because of him, because he hadn't kept his mouth shut. Now his cousin's life was on the line and he had no idea what to do, how to reach him, or what could be done to save him.

"Brendan?" Hailey asked. "Are you okay? I know it's dark but you look really pale."

"I-I need to g-go," He said and started to walk towards the city.

"What? Wait a minute. Go where? Brendan, go where?!"

"Take care of them Hailey. I'm leaving you in charge."

The girl grabbed his arm, "What are you talking about? Where are you going?"

Brendan closed his eyes before continuing, "My cousin's life is in jeopardy. I have to…do something. Take Avery back and keep the Resistance running. Don't do anything stupid until I get back. In fact, don't do anything at all. Just have everyone stay put for awhile. Stand down or whatever."

"You're not making any sense. Tell me what's going on."

"I don't know!" He yelled and he heard Avery groan at the raised voice. "For all I know every Dragan in space is looking for Harper and he'll be easy to find. If they get a hold of him, if they even have an idea what he might know… I have to help him."

Hailey refused to let go even when Brendan tried to walk away.

"I'm coming with," She stated.

"No. Stay here and keep things in line, and don't even think about arguing. I'm not very happy right now."

Hailey's grip loosened and she whispered, "It's not his fault. He couldn't have known. You don't have to go. What good could you do anyway? You shouldn't go."

"I know it's not his fault," Brendan said and put his left hand on Hailey's shoulder. He smiled when he saw the little scar that shone in the barely lighted night. "I made a promise a long time ago to look out for someone I loved and I don't break promises, remember?"

Hailey smiled and pulled Brendan back for a kiss before shoving him away, "You better not hurt yourself, or get caught, or get dead…"

"I won't," Brendan said while walking backwards with a roguish smile on his face, "I promise."

"I'll hold you to it!" Hailey yelled out as Brendan turned and ran toward the lights.

"Good luck," she whispered before turning around herself to console Avery and bring him home.