Part Ten - He Ames to Please

ALEC

I looked at my buddies, taking in their frowns and general displeasure. They were upset at my decision to take my psycho brother along for the ride. For the first time I could remember, I didn't have a plan. I had no idea what I was actually going to do with Ben. But what was I supposed to do? I couldn't kill him, not after Max had beaten herself up about it for so long. She had to see him with her own eyes. What she decided to do with him afterwards would be her problem, not mine.

Who the fuck do you think you're kidding, Alec? She'll make it your fault somehow. I sighed. Glancing out the window I saw the "Welcome to Olympia " sign in all it's dishevelled glory. The sign was faded and dirty, much like the city that sprawled before us.

The sun was high and fiery in the sky. It was unbearably hot, and I wondered for a moment how Ben was faring in the boot. It must be stifling. The satisfaction I felt when I thought of Ben's discomfort wasn't enough. You're lucky Max cares about you, bro. I'd have killed you on the spot. I wished him a world of pain for all the misery he'd caused me. Your suffering now is a small price to pay for your life.

I came out of my reverie to see Jake making a turn into the port. We were hours late for our meet with Biggs and Max and I was worried.

We pulled into a small lot about a block from our rendezvous point. Better to scope the area and make sure we weren't followed. The last thing we needed was to bring more trouble to our already spooked friends.

Steve and Tanner tumbled out of the car as Jake and I followed. We left Ben behind. There was no need to bring him along to the initial meeting.

We split into teams of two and went in search of our friends. Jake was a few feet ahead of me when he stopped short and signalled for me to fall back and stay low. Less than a minute later, a small group of badly beaten people came out of the building nearest us. They were arguing quite loudly.

"Matthew's right. It shouldn't have gone down like that. We had her! If Ames hadn't been so sure of himself we would have gotten the girl. When I call Stephan tonight you can be sure I'll tell him how Ames screwed up, again." The tall blonde man with an obviously broken arm fumed as he limped toward one of the two vans parked outside.

His dark-haired companion nodded in agreement. "I agree, Nigel. We lost too many men tonight. Ames ' obsession with the girl has gone too far. We need her alive, not dead! What is he trying to do? It's like he has a hidden agenda no one knows about and his recklessness could cost us our ultimate goal. He has to be stopped."

He continued after a pause. "Who was the boy with her? He wasn't her usual sidekick. And the boy can fight! When Juhvilah closed in with the knife, he attacked like a maniac! And the way he threw Ames across the room? No one's ever done that before. Knocked him unconscious!"

Nigel looked around and pointed out. "Um, I think we left Ames in the warehouse."

The rest of the disgruntled group laughed at that. A small woman with a highly visible bruised neck spoke out. "Let the bastard find his own way back." There were murmurs of assent from the group as they piled into the vans and drove off.

I looked at Jake and in a low whisper I said "You go find Steve and Tanner. Tell them to stay out of sight and away from this building. Now that we know White's here, and what went down, Biggs and Max may be hurt. Meet me behind the Canning Factory at Pier 27, our rendezvous point. I'll be waiting."

Jake left without a word. We both knew how important it was to find the others and warn them of the danger. But moving in a large group would be too risky. Besides, having them keep watch made more sense.

I crept around the building coming up on the other side. I hadn't taken three steps before the voice I had hoped and prayed not to hear carried on the wind.

"494. You're late. Lose your invitation?" White snarled at me, an evil smile on his face.

"I wanted to make a fashionably late entrance. Why? Did ya miss me?" I sauced back.

"We can make this a private party, 494. I already took care of your fellow animals. It's your turn now." He said as he raised his gun and pointed it at me.

I ducked the bullet as it whizzed overhead and blurred around behind White, desperate to bring him down. I knew he was bullshitting me about Max and Biggs and it made me smile.

White struck out at me with a high kick. I dodged quickly, grabbing his leg and flipping him with the momentum. He twisted and annoyingly, landed on his feet. Thinking that White probably hoped I would be distracted by grief or anger, I calculated each move with deadly precision. Sure enough, he hadn't been expecting that.

With a series of kicks, punches and sweeps I managed to get White on his back a few times. But the bastard didn't know how to stay down. We danced around each other, striking blows as and where we could. I don't know how long we were at it, but my muscles were sore and I was tiring. Where the hell are you, Jake?

Right on cue, I saw Jake come up behind White. He raised his glock, cocked it and pulled the trigger. White went down in a mess of blood and brain matter. I had never seen a more beautiful sight. I sent Jake a smile of gratitude. He just nodded at me. No words were necessary. Straightforward procedure, this: see threat, eliminate threat. End of story.

BEN

Ok. So I wasn't just angry any more. I was beyond pissed. I knew that the first person I saw upon being let out of my burning prison would connect with my now free fist. I'd managed to get out of my constraints and tried opening the boot from the inside with no luck. I was fuming. Alec, you're so gonna pay for this little brother!

I banged on the metal but had only been able to dent it some. They'd left me here and gone off somewhere. My mission specifications came to me. Bring back 494 dead or alive. Dead was sounding better and better as the minutes passed.


ALEC

Jake and I blurred to the pier. The port was now empty of Familiars and White was finally dead. But we were still anxious to find Max and Biggs. Not knowing the state we would find them in, we moved quickly.

Finally, we reached our destination. Entering the factory, I took a moment to focus in the darkness. My eyes zoomed in on the far recesses of the room and I could just make out the tip of a shoe hiding behind a large counter. I called out in advance, alerting them to our presence.

"Biggs? We're coming in." There was no answer. What the fuck? I thought. Had White been serious before? Had he really killed them? I blurred to Biggs' side. What I saw scared me.

Max was lying on her back, pale as a ghost. There was a bullet wound in her upper left arm. Strips of material were tied tightly above the entry point and had stopped the flow of blood. She'd obviously sustained the injury a while before and the fact that she was out cold freaked me out. A small piece of plastic tubing stretched between her and Biggs' still form.

Biggs was next to her, his thigh exposed through the fabric of his pants. He'd had the presence of mind to slice through it with his pocket knife and had made a makeshift tourniquet of the same material he'd used for Max. I noticed that it matched his ripped t-shirt. His torso was covered in cuts and bruises.

That Biggs had drifted into a state of unconsciousness whilst transfusing Max was worrying. The two of them were in bad shape. I checked his pulse. It was weak but steady. I pulled out the tubing and quickly removed my jacket. I rolled it up and placed it under his head. I moved over to Max and checked her vitals as well. Her pulse was strong and as I caressed her cheek she stirred slightly.

Jake had gone to get Steve and Tanner as soon as we'd seen Max and Biggs. I heard the car pull up out front and the three of them entered the room and rushed to my side.

"We need to get them somewhere safe. And we need clean, sterile medical supplies. Dirty t-shirt probably isn't the best way to cover a wound." Steve had a point. In the time I'd been looking my friends over, I hadn't even paused to think about that.

"Okay. You guys take Biggs, he's heavy. I'll get Max." I bent down and lifted her gently in my arms, taking care not to make any sudden movements that would cause her any additional pain.

Steve got behind the wheel and Jake placed Biggs between the two of them, Biggs' head on Jake's shoulder. Tanner got in back and I lightly placed Max on the back seat, her legs over Tanners and her head on my lap.

We eased on to the highway and headed back towards a Motel we'd seen earlier. It was time to let Ben out, and we had to find somewhere to rest up. We were all tired but we'd made it this far. I closed my eyes and offered a silent thank you to whatever force was watching out for us all today. Just let us recuperate before throwing us any more punches, please.

TBC

Part Eleven

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