Love Struck Delusion

Chapter 114 – Guess a good thing can happen.

Zeta's POV.

I managed to find some food for the pup we had left in the kitchen. Raptor was asleep thankfully as I came in to see if she would eat with Raze.

"She should eat Zeta. Look at her." She urged me as we came up to the cot Raptor was in to see she was cuddled right next to his stomach in the duster.

"Hey baby." I whispered as her head turned to look at me.

"Braf!"

A small bark came from her that made my heart weak as I asked.

"You wana try to eat? Hmmm?"

Looking to the small plate, I had her nose follow it and gently she tried to get up from her spot. The poor girl was shaking still as she began to pick at the plate.

"Good." Said Raze as I looked to Raptor.

He was out cold. Those pills he took would keep him that way for a least a few hours. But it was getting late. It was about time I got to bed too. Gently petting the dog as she ate, I waited till she was done.

"Was that good?" I asked her as she licked my finger.

Smiling I watched as she then carefully walked back over to Raptor to retake her spot next to his stomach. I was jealous. How come he gets this?

"Guess he's got more then a friend now Zeta. You may have to fight to get your spot back." Stated Raze as I gently pushed her away to reply.

"He's lucky she's so cute. Otherwise I might have to."

Petting the girl as she went back to sleep, Raze urged.

"Come on. Leave them be."

Nodding my head, I stood up and began to follow her back out to the main room. Pierce was still up as I went back over to my vest to look at the seventh round he took tonight. Pierce was noticing my confusion and asked.

"What do you keep looking at?"

"Well he fucked up my vest first of all. But something isn't right. The round he took went through the armor. Bullets that go through don't deflect. He got hurt."

"I checked him Zeta. He was clean." Stated Raze as I let out a sigh.

"He probably got lucky. Just forget about it. We should be glad he didn't come back leaking." Stated Pierce as I nodded. They were right.

"You ever gonna sleep?" Asked Raze as Pierce nodded and replied.

"Someone has to watch the entrance just in case. Juper will be up soon to take my place. Then I'll sleep."

Raze accepted the answer as she got it, but I couldn't help but wonder. Was he really that lucky?

Gorgon's POV.

Linnen sat there just looking at me. Like this was my fault someone found out. Silence stayed among the room for near on two minutes as he thought about a way to fix this. After some time I said.

"This guy got Scrotus. He can't be alone. How did he even get to him without anyone knowing?"

Linnen looked at me in confusion to reply.

"Like I am to know? He came here and I gave him the briefing. Then he left. He had to have gotten jumped between here and there. Go find them." He ordered as I questioned.

"They shot him! If I go out there I will bring war to the streets! We can't have that when we already got a war to fight Drake!"

Looking right at me he replied.

"We can't have anyone knowing what we did Gorgon. I can't go out there. You need to handle this by yourself with your men. You are more then capable. Track down his truck then. Chances are you find that, you'll find him. Now go handle this."

"What if I die?" I then asked as he went silent.

"What will you do then?" I wanted to know his answer. Drake just stared at me now as I stood up to say.

"You're a bitch. You won't go handle this yourself if I drop. What's stopping whoever this is from saying something to Hecan after I die? What will you do then? He'll drop all support to you. You'll be fucked. Out for dead."

Drake had a look in his eyes that said he was understanding the gravity of it all. But despite it he replied.

"I'll make something happen. You just got try to stop this before it gets worse."

Char's POV.

Raptor was right. We did have men coming our way. Diz and I kept together as the rest of the team was out getting in position. Only a handful of men. I counted eight. But they were all armed and getting close to our borders. With Diz awaiting the command I readied my rifle.

"Now." I whispered to him as he fired.

"Toof!"

The round came so fast that the first man it hit managed to hit the sand before the others even knew what happened. But the second it did they dropped to the sand prone.

"Keep going." I ordered Diz as he began to hum to himself.

"Toof!"

All I had to do was watch as Diz was a marksmen. All I saw was a man's head pop as Diz bolted for another round.

"Hmmm...hmmmm mhhmmm."

As the men in the trap were down right scared I watched as the others hopped at the chance to finish it early. It was over so fast. Roz and the others laid in to them so hard they had no chance to react. All that hiking here to just get shot.

Roz waved to us as Diz said.

"All clear Lieutenant."

Standing up I replied.

"Let's regroup."

"Yes sir." He replied as he grabbed his rifle.

It only took a minute to get to them. By the time we got there Saff stated.

"Guess the commander was right. They came just like he said."

"Now what?" Asked Cooper as I looked to Roz to order.

"Take anything useful and lets get back to post. We still have a job to do."

"Yes sir." He replied as I looked to Diz to smile.

Things were going well. For a first contact situation that went smooth. Wonder what tomorrow will be like.

Raptor's POV. The next morning.

Opening my eyes I looked around the room to see everyone gone. Everyone but my new friend. Cuddled up next to my stomach still from last night, I reached down to pet her. Her eyes gently opened as I saw a few feet away was a plate. She must have eaten.

"Hey." I whispered as she tried to get up.

Gently letting out a yawn she came right up to my face to sit back down. I kept on petting as I leaned over to see Zeta asleep next to me. She must have been tired, if I was up before her.

Looking back to the pup, I asked.

"You eat?"

She just kept cuddled as I looked back to Zeta.

"Hold on." I whispered as I tried to get out of bed as quietly as possible. Instantly the pup reached out for me. Smiling I picked her up, and saw she was reaching for my shoulder. Letting her grab on she latched onto my side as I got my duster back from the bed. After tossing it on she went right back into the hood. I couldn't shake this girl.

Letting her do her, I reached over to touch Zeta on her head.

She didn't even react as I just smiled.

Soon heading out to the main room, I looked around to see no one around ether. Pierce must have taken his men out for some reason. Hopefully he's okay.

Taking a chance to sit down, I pulled up my shirt to look at the bruises I had from the bullets yesterday. They were fresh and stung but I had a feeling I had the energy to do this now.

Placing my hand on them, I shut my eyes to focus. In seconds I could feel the warmth again. This time however it wasn't nearly as straining.

"That's because it's not as bad this time around."

Looking to my side I turned to see Marcus sitting next to me.

"What do you mean?" I then asked as he calmly replied.

"It's just bruises. Less energy is required to heal those. It's like a scale. The worst the injury the more of a mental toll it will take from you. Bullet wounds like the one yesterday isn't easy. As you clearly recall."

Nodding my head I then said.

"Thank you for yesterday. If it weren't for you I might as well be dead."

Smiling he replied.

"Forget about it. It was my fault that had to happen. But helping you required a great toll of my focus."

"I could tell. I figured however that a guy like you might be use to it."

"I don't normally waste my time with the physical realm as much as you may think Raptor. I'm a mental warfare player. It's the game I prefer to play. It's easy and requires much less to do. Transferring power like I did to a mortal is very dangerous. I'm still shocked you didn't die from the trauma."

As the words left his mouth the little pup in my hood popped out to look at him.

"Braf!" She barked as I smiled and said.

"And thank you for her."

Marcus just smiled back and replied.

"You need to know something Raptor."

Growing confused I questioned.

"What is it?"

"Offering you power like mine hasn't happened for hundreds of years. It could throw everything off balance. Or at the very least kill you."

"Seems like that's always the trade off I'm offered these days." I replied as he just smiled and nodded.

"I'm serious. Do too much with what I have given you and it will kill you." Stated Marcus back as I then asked.

"What if someone finds out I can do this?"

Marcus just now looked at me as I went on to question.

"What I can do now isn't normal. What happens if someone finds out?"

"Like I said. It hasn't happened in years. Its war time Raptor. I'll just shoot this at you and you answer. What happens if Raze gets shot? Or Zeta? Or this new guy Pierce? You gonna sit there and watch them die? Knowing you could have saved them? I don't think your that cold yet. Sooner or later you will try to save someone. It's human nature to want to help. Regardless of who it is you don't have a single excuse in the world to cover it up. You ether have to ignore it or kill them later. But think about it this way. If someone says you can save people with just a touch of your hands, who's going to believe that? Might be best to keep it a secret if it does get out to someone. It's a hard road to travel. You'll just have to cross that bridge when you come to it."

I just nodded my head.

"Zeta is already on to you anyway. She knows you got shot. She just doesn't know how to explain the fact you have not a single hole in you."

I knew he was right about that. Zeta was questioning me last night about it.

"Not much to be done about it. Just do whatever you think is best." He then urged as I refocused on my wounds.

"Company." Stated Marcus as I widened my eyes and looked up to see him gone and the door to the room opening. Pierce came in with a smile alongside a few of his men. Looking to me he said.

"Just the guy I needed to talk to. You busy?" He asked as I took my hand off my chest to reply.

"Not at the moment. What's up?"

Looking to his men he replied.

"Been busy. Got a lot done. Wanted to run something by you and Zeta."

"She's asleep but it won't be much of a problem. I'm sure she'll be up soon."

"Regardless I still need to ask you something."

Taking a seat across from me Pierce said.

"My men managed to locate and track down some pretty powerful stuff Linnen had tucked away."

"What kind of stuff?" I wondered as he quickly replied.

"Explosives. Namely C4. Lots of C4. Not to mention a few crates of anti-tank mines and grenades. Like I said powerful stuff."

"And Linnen just has it hidden away?" I questioned as he nodded.

"He was saving it for an attack on the borders here. Hecan had the stuff brought in yesterday along with all the other toys Linnen got from the states. But the reason doesn't matter. What matters is that fact that we got a location. Juper should be calling in when he and the others get them."

"Wait." I replied as he went silent.

"Tell me what the hell your planning to do first. What happened to Gorgon?"

Nodding Pierce replied.

"Gorgon is out looking for the truck Scrotus was driving. Also the same place I had Juper place the body. But he can't find it cause I shut down the tracker. Plan was to lure him with the truck to someplace we could try to get a clean shot on him."

"I don't want him dead Pierce." I then stated as he nodded.

"I know. But this would give me the chance to at least try to get one of his boys. The big guy Blitz is nothing more then a grunt with a lot of muscle. But the other guy, Tusk? He's the important one. Raze told me everything I missed when I left. I know what Scrotus told you about the capital. Chances are Tusk can help us. He just needs convincing."

"Scrotus also said he wouldn't break. He'd kill himself before being captured."

"We won't let him get the chance." Replied Pierce as I looked at him in confusion.

"Zeta isn't much different from Tusk. She's a world class bomb maker. We both know this."

"So what are you suggesting?" I then asked bluntly as he leaned up to reply.

"I want to use the truck to lure Gorgon and the others out of town for a bit. Juper will be coming in with the explosives in a matter of an hour or so. I want to use Zeta and her talent to rig the truck. Have it blow and from there Juper would take over retrieving Tusk."

"He will die." I stated as Pierce shook his head.

"He'll shoot up with venom if the blast fucks him up. Regardless Raptor Juper will get him. Throw in some gas and maybe some bullets and Gorgon will run. He won't stick around to die. And if he believes in what Scrotus said he'll ether think Tusk died from the blast or killed himself before we could stop him."

Pierce was a thinker that much was clear to me by now.

"What about Gorgon then? What happens after he runs? When would be the next chance to get him? What's stopping him from hiding at that point with Drake?" I asked in all seriousness as Pierce looked over to the door to see Juper walk in with the others.

"That was fast." He stated as Juper calmly replied.

"Pretty easy when the guards shift changes. We're bringing it in."

Pierce smiled as they soon could be seen walking through with crate after crate. I kept my eyes on Pierce as he soon looked back to me to reply.

"Linnen doesn't know what we know. He only knows that we are after Gorgon. Not him. I got a plan. But I'm not saying anything till Zeta is here."

In almost an instant we heard from our sides.

"Well I'm here now. What's going on?"

Looking to see the wolf still half asleep, I looked back to Pierce who knew he now had to come up with something to say.

"We need to talk." He then stated as Zeta approached the table where Juper and the others were stacking crates.

Zeta kept silent now as she looked to me in confusion. Taking over I ordered the captain.

"Spit it out Pierce. What are you thinking?"

Pierce let out a sigh, but in time he replied.

"That truck we stole Zeta? I want you to rig it to blow. Can you do it?"

Nodding she replied.

"Yeah like boiling water. Why?"

"We need to get our hands on Tusk. The bomb expert Gorgon has with him. You don't need to worry about combat. Juper will guide you to the truck and you just take your time and rig it. My men will handle everything else."

Zeta who was now in the conversation replied.

"Okay. Easy."

Pierce smiled at her easy convincing, but looking back to me he knew I was still waiting for an answer to my last question.

"Linnen will sell Gorgon out when we place pressure on him Raptor. Losing Tusk will leave him with just Blitz if he even survives the attack." Stated Pierce as I listened.

"After Gorgon is done handling the truck business I'm going to call Linnen. Offer him a deal. He hands over Gorgon to me and my men. I promise not to mention his involvement with killing Lore. He won't find out we're working together so I can make it sound like we're just a PMC out on a contract. Once we get him we'll leave the country without further involvement in his war. He won't pass up the chance to get rid of two problems in his life. Gorgon and some side group causing problems so close to home."

"You said pressure. Linnen may feel he could just use this as a way to lure you all out and just deal with you then and there. What's your plan to avoid that?" I then wondered as he looked back to Zeta.

Zeta saw his interest and asked.

"You want me to blow something else up right?"

Pierce nodded and then looked back to me.

"Linnen needs to feel scared. Feel like a boot is on his neck if he doesn't obey me. I only know one way to do that Raptor. But I won't commit to it if you disagree with what I'm going to tell you." Stated Pierce as I felt this was getting dark.

"We have enough here to level half the city...and that's what I want to do."

Zeta widened her eyes as everyone looked to me.

"Linnen will have almost all his forces out today in the first attack. Alongside Tusk being gone one way or the other he won't have anyone on sight to disarm anything Zeta can set. We set the first batch of our power at a spot where Linnen himself can feel the blast. Maybe level some buildings. Prove we hold a boot on him. A good place would be the city's power plant. We blow it up Linnen can have a chance."

"A chance at what?" I asked as he quickly replied.

"The power plant gets leveled regardless of what he says to my deal. But he will say yes. If he plays nice he can tell the public it was an overload of one of the main fusion reactors. No need to scare the city into thinking there are terrorists already inside."

"Blowing that up Pierce will kill people." Stated Zeta as he nodded.

"Small price to pay for peace. We all agreed that sacrifices will need to be made for this to work. Innocents will die ether way. It's war." He then stated as I nodded back.

"What about the other half?" I then asked as he looked to Juper who replied.

"After the first one goes off Linnen will be scared. We rig the other half of the explosives somewhere heavily populated. Maybe a mall or a hospital. Doesn't matter. We use our leverage and tell Linnen if he doesn't hand Gorgon over we'll kill hundreds."

"We might not even have to rig something else to be honest Raptor. Blowing up the plant should be more then enough for Linnen to do this. We can bluff ether way we decide to go." Added Pierce.

Pierce now had his eyes on me completely as I was silent to all this now. Zeta on the other hand came into the picture to say.

"I'll rig a truck. That's fine. But rigging a hospital isn't something I'm going to do by choice. I'll only agree to this if Raptor says so."

"Zeta?" Said Juper in a sad tone as she quickly shouted.

"I already killed thousands!"

The room went silent as everyone looked to the wolf.

"When I die I'm going to hell. I already came to terms with that. But while I am still alive I will not choose to kill more innocents on my own. Someone else needs to bear that responsibility."

Looking back to me Zeta came close to say.

"I won't do this if you can think of another way to get this over with. But if you can't, just say so and I'll bite my tongue and do this for you. We all lost something in this life Raptor. How much more do we have left?" She asked me as I thought to myself.

"It will end everything commander." Stated Pierce as I looked to feel Zeta place her hand on my arm. Looking over to her eyes I asked.

"Can you do this?"

"I...?" Stopping her I asked.

"Can you stand by me if I let this happen?"

Our eyes locked as Raze walked into the room to widened hers and ask.

"What's going on?"

The fox had her tail between her legs as Zeta tightened her grip.

mT Shadow.