5:22 am
"I honestly thought I had gotten used to early mornings, I mean when we first got here I was up at 3 am because every sound I heard I was like 'ah it's the Yerks, take the children!'" Marco was saying, I needed some humor so I said
"What kids? You don't even have kids."
"Yeah but they don't know that." I laughed, we were waiting near the exit to the valley, most of my team, besides Jerry who was still asleep, was already waiting. So far only Marco had shown up from the other team. It was still dark last night it had rained a little so the air was even colder.
"What's taking the others so long," Amy asked. "And where's Jerry, didn't Erik specifically say 5:30, it's, well I don't have a watch but it's got to be time for them to show up…" Jerry came running up the side of the cliff, when he got to us he started panting.
"Sorry… overslept… didn't …mean to…"
"That's OK Jerry, hey Marco how long will we need to travel for?"
"Well," Marco said. "the station is in the nearby city, so I guess it will take bout an hour maybe two by air."
"Now are we going to stowaway on the train or do we have tickets?" Marco smiled.
"Chee got us first class baby, I'm gonna eat so much cheese…" A comotion interrupted our conversation. Jake, Cassie and Tobias (in hawk form) were walking towards us and Rachel was at their heels. It was obvious she and Jake were arguing and that they had been for a long time.
"Damn it Jake you are not going to keep me out of this one, I am not going to sit on my ass while you guys are fighting…"
"You could have gone on this mission if you hadn't gotten all pigheaded and left without my permission then you wouldn't be one of North Carolina's most wanted, but now your face is all over the TV and if you stick your nose out of this valley you'll get arrested and then infested…"
"I can take care of myself Jake, I handled myself well at the hotel, with only Erik and his sister, I think I can handle myself with 11 other members fighting next to me…"
"I do not care, it is too risky, you could endanger the whole mission because they know who you are, and if we are seen with you then we'll all be discovered and it's game over you are staying here." Jake said with a tone that said he was finished with this conversation.
"Oh and I suppose you're going to make me stay here?"
(Rachel,) Tobias said. (Please, we don't need…) he finished the rest in private, Rachel must have listened because she stopped fighting. She watched as we stepping beyond the hologram and into the real world. As we left the first few flakes of snow began to fall.
I focused on my buzzard morph. I shrank, again the pain of bone collapsing on itself my began to lengthen and I had trouble figuring out which hurt worse. My face fused together to form my beak my eyes became a bird's eyes, then the sense of smell kicked in and I could smell a nearby dead body. I fought the vultures brain and was able to avoid running at it.
We were traveling as vultures because they were more likely to travel in groups. We all flew into the air. Flying is one of the most exhilarating experiences man could ever feel the wind at your face , seeing the ground below you… well I couldn't see much because the clouds were blocking my view. I dove back below the clouds so I could see where I was going. The other Animorphs had gone into bird of prey morphs, they were attracting attention to themselves, I told Jake about this in private thought-speak and he responded in public thought-speak.
(Fuck off Bishop I'll take care of my team you take care of yours).
(very well then, dumbasssayswhat)
(What!?) Being so low made flying more difficult since there were few if any thermals around. We had to stop only once to recharge our time limits, then we reached the outskirts of the city. We morphed human and went into the town. I told Jake that I had to take care of something to no one would notice I had left the college and broke off from the group. While they continued to the station I went to an old warehouse.
I was fortunate to have planned ahead, the night that I met Rachel I had called Danny, he had set up a dead-drop in a warehouse, it was a ways away from the train station so I knew I had to hurry. I got to the warehouse and entered it. There was a rank stench of gasoline that made my eyes water.
I found what I was looking for quickly, it was a large green box hidden under a car it contained $500 One trench coat, a .9 mm pistol with holster, 22 clips with 15 rounds each, and a belt of flash-bang grenades. Each had a stretchable band so that I could carry them over from human to cougar, or any other battle morph, except for my snake morphs.
There were dead drops like this hidden all over North Carolina Danny was good at hiding them most every major city had a box like this and a sniper rifle for Amy hidden somewhere in it.
I put on the items and left. I caught a cab to the station and paid the driver. The others were already waiting for us.
"Whooo look there we've got Neo from the Matrix." Marco said. "Why are you wearing that?"
"I wear it to protect myself." My team members knew this meant that I was armed to the teeth. The intercom announced that our train was leaving. We went to the boarding platform and I saw a metal detector. When I walked through the alarm went off, I handed the guard the rest of the $500 I had left and I walked though without hindrance.
On the train I made sure to sit next to the members of my group, so I could discuss the mission with them. Jake and the others were nearby but were out of ear shot.
"Okay guys," I said . "I'm the only one armed here so I want the rest of you in morph all the time no exceptions, you run low on time you demorph then demorph immediately, I don't care what Erek said, I'm not morphing in a Yerk stronghold, I plan morph in an alley or something, we then rush in after the Animorphs start.
"Jerry you stick with me and Fred, we'll clear a path for you, Amy do have any sniper rifles hidden near the area?"
"I don't have any near where we're going to, but I do have one nearby the station…"
"No time then you stay with the others in wrecking the place, attack everyone, I want this to look like we're trying to sabotage it not like a recon mission so…"
"When were you planning n discussing this strategy with me?" Jake asked, he had moved to a seat right behind mine without me noticing.
"Um, never." I said.
"I thought as much, listen buddy, if you think you're going in there and shooting the place up with your fancy pistol that you're wearing under that coat then you're dead wrong we need to fight our way there and fight our way back, nothing else, I don't even think it would be good for you bring your entire team, just bring 4 including Jerry and I don't want any collateral damage no human casualties."
"Ah ha, I don't' take orders from you," I said. "We're all going in, we're doing it my way and whoever gets in my way on a mission dies, it's a reality of war."
"I don't think so, as long as you live with me you obey my rules, I'm doing this the way I always do it."
"Fat lot of good it did you…" Jerry muttered.
"Was I talking to you?" Jake said.
"That's enough!" Becky said. "come on you two if we keep on fight each other we can't fight the Yerks, can't you two just save the fighting for after we get out of mortal danger?" Becky made a good point and accentuated it with her trademark smile that pretty much dissolved any feelings I had of ripping Jake's voice box out.
"Fine," I said. "I'll do it your way, but if my team is in danger they're getting out in any way they need to, I'm not losing one of my men to your pacifism." The train went through a tunnel. When we emerged Jake had moved back to his other seat, we passed the rest of the short ride in silence. We stepped off the train and left the station.
We decided to walk towards the office since it wasn't far. I thought that was a good idea, 4 cabs pulling into the same spot would attract unwanted attention. The office was brick on the outside with two large paneled windows that let you see into the office. Engraved on the glass were the words Hareanet Quick and Cheap Wins the Race. Looking in I saw that there was a large reception desk and a few potted plants, nothing much else. Jake, Cassie and Marco went into the office, Tobias stayed outside in hawk form.
(If I see backup coming I'll warn you, if I say bolt then bolt because you don't want to know what it feels like to face a SWAT team believe me.) I went into the alley between that office and a Café. I deiced Fred, Jerry, Becky, and I would be the ones to go in.
"The rest of you hang around if the cops show up…" I took off my belt and gave them the flash bangs and the pistol. "Give em hell, Amy, go get your sniper rifle from the dead drop, and get a good spot, but don't shoot any cops unless you have too, I think we all have enough deaths on our souls as it is. The Jerry Fred Becky, lets go."
Fred morphed first, he got skinny, very skinny, and he began to grow until he was about 15 feet long, his head extended (I saw tiny tears in his eyes from the pain) in a snakes head, his eyes shrunk and lost their lids. Fangs grew in his mouth, scales broke out all across his body, he was soon fully a spitting cobra.
Becky began to morph her face pushed out first, she literally screamed but by then it was the roar of the salt water crocodile. She began to grow, and get scaly, her legs shrank and teeth grew in her knew gator mouth. Her tail grew out of her and her middle expanded, soon I was caught between two of the most dangerous reptiles in the world.
"Since we have a reptile theme today…" Jerry said. He turned gray, and grew scales, his mouth widened and grew sharp teeth the skin on the bottom of his neck grew out. He grew a tail. Soon he had entered his Komodo Dragoon morph.
"Not much for reptiles myself." I said. I began to grow, then my legs turned inward I caught myself again but broke my wrist while doing it. Fortunately my paws came in and repaired the wound. My tail appeared and my fangs grew in. My ears migrated upward, fur began to sprout all over my body. My ears became a cougar's ears my claws came in me nose changed and my eyes became a cougars eyes.
(All right,) I said. (Everybody ready?)
(Ready) Jerry, Becky and Fred said.
(Then lets go kick some Yerk ass)