So sorry I'm soooo late. Been coming home late from work and I just hadn't had a chance to go over this. Hope it is alright. This chapter was challenging.

Guest: Here you go! I hope it meets your expectations.

TJ12398: Oh, there's even more to come than this my friend! Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Jdcocoagirl: Is that a good wow or a bad one? LOL!

Dotnetdemon: OMG! You made me crack up! Just so you know that I read your chapters as soon as they are posted. But I read them from my phone on the way to work or on my way home, so reviewing is a little hard at that time. But, just wanted to let you know that I am LOVING your fic! You better get Jonny and Jessie together! And no, I'm not PMSing! I'm just a romantic.

Geist1321: Thank you! I'm so glad you are enjoying it. It means a lot.

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The Art of War: Matias Puumala

Chapter 23

Bullets flew everywhere inside the cabin, shattering everything they hit. Jessie, on the floor, covered her head with her hand to stop the debris from hitting her, "What's happening?" she yelled.

Jonny, also on the floor, crawled to her, trying to avoid the debris and the bullets himself, "They found us! We need a way out of this place!"

"The master bedroom has a window that faces the forest," Jessie replied as Jonny reached her. "But, there could be others surrounding the house."

"I doubt it," he answered as he reached her and covered her with his body, "The shots are coming from only one part of the house. Come on, we need to move now!"

He let her go as they crawled toward the bedroom. Jessie, in front of Jonny, moved toward the Master bedroom carefully yelling a few times as the shots almost hit her. One came significantly close to her left leg.

"Are you okay?" Jonny asked worried about her.

"Fine," she replied as she reached the bedroom door. Once, they both crawled in, Jonny quickly slammed the door. "What now?"

"Stay down," he ordered as he attempted to rise. "I need to open the window." The bullets entering the bedroom were fewer than what they encountered in the living room, but he still had to be careful. It took three attempts to rise before he was able to quickly slide open the window. Jonny stayed down for a few seconds looking at Jessie who hadn't deterred her sight from him. He saw no shots fired after a few seconds. His eyes widened in knowledge, "He's either recharging or coming in. We need to move now!"

Both quickly got up and headed toward the window. Jonny helped Jessie out first, "Head straight out into the forest and don't look back," he told her from inside the house.

"What? You're not coming with me?" She looked at him frightened.

"I have a better chance of getting him here, right now, than if I run," he quickly replied. "Sooner or later, he is going to walk in here and check to see if we're dead. I can kill him then."

"No!" Jessie shook her head. "It's too dangerous. Let's just get out of here."

They heard the front door being kicked opened

"It's the best chance we have," Jonny continued hearing that their assassin already walk in the door.

"I don't care! It's not about killing him," Jessie lowered her voice, "It's about getting out of here alive and I intend to do that with you."

"I'm not carrying enough weapons," he fought, his eyes showing his urgency to act now.

"I'm carrying a piece," she said as she showed him the weapon she carried in her back. She had taken one from his bag while he showered, just in case she needed it.

Suddenly Jonny turned when the heard footsteps approaching, "Let's go!"

Knowing he would not win the fight against her and not wanting to put her in danger, Jonny reluctantly jumped out of the window and followed her toward the forest. Then, they ran.

A few seconds later, the bedroom door slammed opened. The doctor carefully walked in more or less thinking he'd encounter a halo of shots aimed at him. When he heard none, he cautiously walked in and immediately noticed the open window from across the room. Quickly running to it, he watched as his targets run toward the forest. He picked up his gun, aimed and fired twice. Neither bullet made an impact. "Damn it!" he yelled before he jumped out of the window to follow them.

XXXXXXXXXXX

The inside of the lighthouse had every type of gizmo imaginable and others that looked too bizarre from the ordinary eye. Alex was mesmerized by everything she saw. The excitement even made her whistle from awe, "Wow, and I thought I-1 had its perks."

"Why do you think I told you it'd be better to find our information from here?" Phil countered with a small smile.

Walking over to the console, Claire began turning on QuestWorld and typing in the codes to begin interface, "I'm assuming you'll be going in, Hadji?"

"I think we both should go in," Phil replied looking at the younger couple.

"Are you sure?" Hadji asked skeptically. "You have never been in there Agent Corvin. The program will manifest firewalls and viruses I-1 uses to stop intruders that look as real as this world. "

"What do you mean?" Alex asked interestedly.

"He means that any firewalls the agency uses to prevent infiltration into the program will materialize as an object that can attack either Hadji or Agent Corvin in that world," Claire answered Alex. Turning to the agent she stated, "If they attack and are successful, they will hurt you just as anything in this world would hurt you. That world is just as real as this one. At least your brain will think of it that way. If it kills you in that world, your mind will die in the real world."

"Is it that real?" Alex, looked at Corvin with concerned eyes. "Phil?"

Corvin looked at the doctor and nodded, "I am aware. Race had explained to me how QuestWorld works." Looking at Hadji, he said, "You may know how to navigate the program, but I know what to look for."

"You can tell me that from the outside," Hadji replied firmly. "I do not question your intelligence nor your ability Agent Corvin, but there is a way to…function inside QuestWorld. You have not been through the training simulations to even understand how it feels to work inside another body that is not yours."

"I'll know how to handle it," Corvin answered with equal firmness.

"Phil!" Alex interjected, "We don't have time for this."

"Going on a mission on your own is crazy. I know I can help Hadji," the agent ignored Alex's pleads. "I know how to take care of myself."

Shaking his head, Hadji sighed, "Fine. The doctor is right, we do not have much time. If you run into a problem that you cannot get out, Claire will pull you out immediately."

Phil nodded, "I understand."

"If I feel you are in any danger, I will order Claire to pull you out," Hadji continued. "And, I will have the authority to put you back in. Do you understand what I am telling you Agent Corvin?"

"I understand Hadji," he answered humbly. "You're leading this. I'll follow orders."

Pausing for a moment, Hadji then walked over to the QuestWorld chairs. Looking at the agent, he said, "Let us begin." As Corvin walked over, Hadji ordered, "Claire, begin sequence."

Turning around, Claire began punching in the sequence codes. In her short time, she had become familiar with the program. She wasn't perfect, but she hoped she could get by. Hadji and Corvin sat on their chairs and began putting on their gear. Alex sat next to her, "QuestWorld log on, subjects Hadji Singh and Phil Corvin."

Hadji whispered to himself the same phrase he, Jessie and Jonny had repeated as kids so many times before entering QuestWorld, "Going hot."

Within seconds after seeing a black and green funnel they both felt they physically traveled, the men were taken inside QuestWorld. The room around them looked like the inside of a castle made out of large stones. A huge chandelier hung on top. A mirror also hung by one of the walls. Phil Corvin walked toward it looked at himself in awe. He really did look like a 3-D image of himself. He felt weird…he looked weird. Hadji walked behind him, "How are you adjusting?"

"This is unreal," he answered, still looking at himself in the mirror.

"You need to start believing that the body you are looking at is as real as your own," Hadji answered. "If you don't, then you will not defend yourself like you need to in case we run into problems."

Corvin took a deep breath, "Okay, okay. I'm ready." Turning he looked around, "Where are we? What is this place?"

"This is one of the entries," Hadji replied. "Before we can access I-1 mainframes, we need to be able to adapt to surroundings. Claire, is outside checking our vitals and making sure our physical bodies are ready to take on what will happen inside."

"Explained perfectly," they heard Claire's voice from above.

Corvin looked up. "Claire?"

"Yep. It's the gatekeeper," she answered in a playful tone. "Doctor Perry is strapping you both in. I'm attempting to hack in I-1 mainframes. Give me a moment, Hadji. I'm reading over the instructions you left me."

"What should we expect once we are in?" Corvin turned to Hadji as they waited on Claire.

"I am not sure," Hadji answered as he shook his head. "It all depends on the security measures I-1 installed in their systems. We are just going to have to play this by ear."

"I'm in!" they suddenly heard Claire speak. "Give me a few seconds and I'll open the portal."

Turning to Corvin, Hadji said, "Get ready, this is about to get interesting."

Suddenly, a portal opened. Whirling winds overtook their surroundings. Corvin turned to Hadji, "What is this?" he yelled.

"It is our entrance to the I-1 mainframe," Hadji yelled back. Then, he shouted to Claire, "Activate hover boards."

Within seconds, two hover boards, one for each man, manifested under their feet, "Do you know how to work one of these things?"

"No," Corvin answered looking a little worried, "But don't worry, I'll make it happen. Let's go!"

With that the two men entered the portal, flying through a tunnel with the hover boards, "How are you doing Agent Corvin?" Hadji quickly looked back to see how the older man was doing.

"I'm good, keep going!"

It took only seconds before the tunnel ended and they ejected, hitting the floor with a loud thump.

Getting up, Corvin excitedly said, "That was one heck of a ride!"

Hadji, nursing his derriere, replied, "I am glad you thought so." He looked around their surroundings, "Claire, can you hear me?"

"Still loud and clear Hadji," she replied. "So far, we are doing fine."

"This looks like the George Peabody Library in Maryland," Corvin commented as he looked around the U shaped structure with six floors and wide white columns.

"QuestWorld built this scene based on the information that we inputted earlier," Hadji answered. "We entered the mainframe looking for the archives. So, the program determined that the best scenario would be a library."

"So what are we supposed to do? Walk around this place to find what we are looking for?"

Hadji laughed, "No, we will not have to walk. That's why we have the hover boards and this…activate search engine!"

At that moment a holographic image of a computer screen and a keyboard appeared in front of Hadji. He began typing in the air, "It will be easier to access the records from inside the mainframe. Once we find what we are looking for ‒"

"Hadji, I'm detecting a breach in the system," Claire suddenly chimed in, "You've been detected."

"Quicker than expected," Corvin immediately said.

It didn't take long when from the second and third floor of the library three goblin type creatures flew out from the stacks.

"What the hell are those?" Corvin shouted in shock.

"The firewalls," Hadji answered. "Come on, we have to take them out!"

XXXXXXXXXX

To Jessie, the forest seemed like a never ending maze. She ran between the trees, the morning light hitting her face as much as the dark shadows the trees emitted. The sun shined between the thick branches over her. Thick logs sometimes obstructed her way. She didn't have her bearings. She couldn't find a way out. Under normal circumstances, she knew she'd be fine in the inner settings of the park, but these weren't normal circumstances. Someone wasn't out to get her, or kidnap her. Someone was downright trying to kill her.

Jonny was a few steps behind her. She had no doubt he could match her speed or surpass it, but she figured he stayed behind to keep a watch on his surroundings, "Who's after us?" Jessie asked as they continued running.

"I'm not sure," he answered. "All this time I thought I only had one agent on my tail. I'm not sure where this one came from."

They continued running until they found a small cave like structure where they would be able to hide for a time and plan out their next move. Jessie had ran so fast, she had run out of breath. Once she could speak, she turned to Jonny, who kept vigil, "Are you sure it isn't this Master of yours?"

"No," he shook his head, "He thinks you are dead."

"Are you sure?"

Jonny thought for a moment. He really didn't think that Master would do this, but then again, who was to say that Master was truthful with him at all times? No, he thought to himself. If there was one thing he knew was that Master never lied to him, he had always been truthful to him. If Master didn't believe him, he would have said so immediately. "I'm positive. This is someone else."

"Who?"

"I'm not sure," Jonny replied. "But, I'll find out after I get you out of here."

"We need to get to the main highway," Jessie raked her hair back with her hand. "We can hitch a ride hopefully with someone."

XXXXXXXXXX

The doctor wasn't the type of killer his subjects were. He didn't mind killing, but his methods were vastly different, slow, and methodical. In essence, he wasn't cut out for this type of killing. Nevertheless, as he ran after his prey, he couldn't help feel giddy. After all, years of taking care of every operative in the agency, being there during their trainings, watching how they performed…the shadowing proved useful, especially now.

He followed the trail that they were on. He had no reason to believe otherwise. If he knew better, they'd try to hit the highway. He'd have to kill them before they reached their endpoint.

They didn't have a car, they probably didn't have weapons, although he'd still have to be careful. DR128 was a perfect shooter, if he had a gun, he wouldn't miss. The doctor knew this. He'd have to plan well before he reached them.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jonny kept watching, "He's going to be following the trail. If I wait for him here, I might be able to stop him."

"You mean kill him," she corrected him.

Turning to her for a moment, Jonny answered sternly, "Do you have another idea?"

"No," she shook her head regrettably, "I just don't like see you kill anyone. I'm not used to it."

Softening up a bit, he gently caressed her cheek, "I'm sorry. But there isn't another way, Jessica. It's either kill or be killed."

"I understand," Jessie sighed, "I just hate it."

He kissed her forehead, "Just stay down and don't watch." Turning, he went back to watching the area in front of him.

After a moment of silence, Jessie asked, "What did he say?"

"Who?"

"The Master," she replied. "What did he tell you when you were outside talking to him?"

"He told me about my upcoming assignment," Jonny said as he continued his vigil. "The assignment is for a year."

"A year?" Jessie asked curiously, "That long? Do you often do them?"

"Just once, but it wasn't for a full year," he answered. "It's not wise to be seen in one place for too long, but it's necessary at times."

Jessie sighed, "Amsterdam for a year."

"No," he muttered absentmindedly, "Italy."

"What?" she looked surprised, "But I thought‒"

"So did I, but apparently Master is sending me to Italy…and…"

"And what else?"

"He's joining me," Jonny answered with confusion.

Suddenly, they both heard a rouse coming from one of the trees across from them, "Stay down and be quiet," Jonny whispered, "I think he's here."

XXXXXXXXX

"Shields!" Hadji yelled. Almost immediately, a circular shield appeared in front of both him and Agent Corvin's hand just as the creatures descended down on them.

"How do we fight these things?" Corvin yelled as held the goblin at bay with the shield that had materialized in front of him a few seconds before.

"I'm working on it," Claire answered. "I'm looking for weak areas in their systems."

"Weak areas?"

"Any area in their bodies that will affect the system in the real world," Hadji answered. Holding his shield tightly, he shouted out, "We may need this answer sooner than later my dear Claire."

"Hold on Hadj," Claire answered a little defensively, "This isn't exactly my area of expertise. Jessie's the guru remember?"

"I know you are trying very hard," Hadji remained as calm as he could despite their current predicament.

"Apology accepted," she answered.

"Hey, you two lovebirds want to get back to our current situation?" Corvin interjected.

"I'm sending you weapons to help you fight them while I find their weak point," Claire entered some codes and magically both men received a sword.

"Thank you!" Phil suddenly seemed happy. "Let's get some goblins now!"

Xxxxxxxxxx

Monitoring their life signs, Alex eyes never blinked once as she watched the image of a 3D representation of Phil Corvin fighting a goblin.

"How are they doing, doctor?" Claire asked, not once turning away from her own screen which was linked to the I-1 mainframe.

"Vitals are good for both of them," she answered. "Phil seems to be having fun going after that monster." Alex watched as Phil used his sword to fight off the goblin that was attacking him.

Claire smiled a little, "It is to be expected," she replied. "I was just as excited the first time I was in. Although, it didn't feel anywhere near as stressful as what I'm going through now."

Walking closer to her Alex asked, "How's it going on your end?"

"Slow. Like I said, I'm not Jessie or Hadji, they are the best when it comes to hacking into systems. What I'm doing now, I've learned from very informal teachings from both of them. It's really a good thing that Hadji wrote some of these things down. There's no way, I could do this without them."

"Will they be alright in there? You know, just in case…"

"If I see that the risk increases, I'll pull them out of QuestWorld," Claire answered. "The only problem is that we will also run the risk of being found. Right now, I-1 recognizes us as a level one threat. That means that it thinks that we are the run of the mill hacker or virus and that's why it is sending these "goblins", if you will, to neutralize the threat. I need to find a way to destroy them without alerting I-1 systems that they have been neutralized."

"But what if you can't?"

Claire shook her head. With a concerned tone, she answered, "I pull them out. The only bad thing is that we will be traceable. I-1 will be able to figure out that QuestWorld hacked in their system."

"That would not be good,' Alex sighed.

"Not at all."

XXXXXXXXXX

Jonny couldn't believe what he was seeing. This was the last person he expected to see, yet he was there in the flesh…the doctor.

He wasn't wearing his usual thousand dollar suit. On the contrary, he looked like a hiker you would encounter as you drive by a main road. Normally shaved and well groomed, he was sporting something that somewhat looked like a beard.

Jonny wanted to know why the man was there (other than to kill him), but this was no time to ask questions. About to pull the trigger, he suddenly heard the doctor shout.

"DR128!"

Jonny's eyes widened.

"DR128, I know you are here," the doctor stated loudly.

Hidden away from view, Jessie heard the man's voice call to Jonny. DR128? Is that his name to them?

Looking up, she watched as Jonny stared at the man with an emotion she couldn't decipher.

As if sensing that he was being watched from below, Jonny turned to her, "I need to you run and get out of here. Stay on the trail. There's a small bridge about a quarter of a mile away. Go past it. Stay close. I will come for you."

"No," she whispered back and shook her head, "I'm not leaving without you."

"You will go!" he said harshly. "I don't want you anywhere near here. Jessica, you don't want to see this."

That's when she understood why she was being sent away. Jessie sighed and go up, "You better be there soon!"

Nodding, Jonny turned to the doctor, pointing his gun at him, "Put down your weapons and hands up. I'm pointing my gun at you and I won't hesitate to shoot you if I have to."

Doing what was asked, the doctor replied with a snide smile, "I know you have the upper hand at the moment. I won't try a thing."

After he knew all was secured, Jonny turned to Jessie, "Go. Now."

Jessie followed orders, ran towards the trail as fast as she could.

"I see you are making sure that the Bannon girl is safe," the doctor laughed sarcastically. "Wouldn't expect anything less. Come, DR128. Let's have a chat."

XXXXXXXXXX

Benton walked out of the airport terminal cool and collected. Inside however, he wanted to push the other passengers ahead of him out of the way.

As he made his way out, Ethan fell a few feet behind, "Benton, we are here. Slow down."

Turning around, he saw his friend walking as calmly as he could behind an elderly woman who was having difficulty holding her heavy purse, "I'm sorry Ethan, I'm just anxious to get home."

Ethan finally made it to where Benton was, "I know. I can only imagine. Have you heard from your other son?"

"No," he shook his head, "I tried calling as soon as we landed, but he hasn't answered. I also tried my new Research Assistant and she didn't answer either."

"I wonder if they have found anything new," Ethan said seriously.

"I have a feeling," Benton nodded. "If they have not answered, I'm sure they are working on something and I want to know what it is."

"I cannot say I'm not curious either," Ethan admitted.

"We should grab a cab, Race and Zach are about an hour and a half away from getting here," Benton said as they kept walking, "No use waiting for them."

As the men made it out of the airport, Ethan's phone rang. Immediately, he picked it up, "This is Grant." He paused to listen, then his face changed, "What? Are you sure?" Another pause, "Alright, I'll be right there."

"What's going on?" Benton asked.

"Intelligence has found that Crawford is here in Maine."

Benton's eyes widened, "Are you sure?"

"Came in under a pseudo name, but video from airport security obtained by I-1 agents identified him," Ethan answered. "He could very well be‒"

"The man who is after Jonny and Jessie," Benton finished.

"I need to get to headquarters," Ethan said as they walked out of the airport doors, heading to the cabs parked a few feet ahead, "You go back home. I'll meet up with you later."

"Agreed," Benton nodded heading to a cab where the driver stood reading a paper, "Call when if you find anything new."

Turning to the cab driver, Benton didn't have to ask when the cab driver folded his newspaper and asked "Where to boss?"

"I'm grabbing the next cab," Ethan jumped in before walking away.

As both Dr. Quest and the cab driver entered the cab, the doctor answered, "44 Lighthouse Point."

XXXXXXXXX

From the corner of his eye, Jonny watched as Jessie ran off following the trail to safety. Through it all, he didn't once divert his attention, or the pointed gun, away from the Doctor. Once he thought Jessie gained enough distance, Jonny slowly made his way toward the Doctor, his gun still aimed at his menace as he walked. He carefully picked up the weapons that the doctor placed on ground.

The Doctor continued to greet him with a smile, "How nice to see you up close and personal DR128! It's been a while."

"The backpack that you're carrying, take it off and throw it as far away as you can," Jonny ordered without putting down his weapon.

Again, the doctor did as told without a word. Once that was done, he stared at his enemy with frigid eyes.

"Why?" was all that Jonny had asked.

The Doctor snorted sarcastically, "Where should I begin? You've been the bane of my existence since they wheeled you into my medical facility five years ago. Your Master certainly made sure that you were taken care of with great care. Little did the bastard know how much of a nuisance you are!"

"If you have hated me all this time, why didn't you dispose me? You had plenty of chances," Jonny replied, unfazed by what he had heard. His voice was cold, calculated, and unemotional.

"Ah," the Doctor laughed, "Finally, you are asking questions. I knew you had it in you! I knew you always controlled that. Normally, you wouldn't have asked, but since you now have, allow me to answer. Your Master, your great protector…that's the reason you've been alive this long! I tried endlessly to terminate this…favoritism, these unhealthy feelings he has for you. Unfortunately, it has brought me more problems than if I hadn't done anything at all. But, I'll fix that soon enough."

Jonny wasn't surprised, but the Doctor confirmed his feeling that Master favored him to some degree. Now, the next question was why.

"I wonder if he will still favor you once he realizes that you haven't followed orders, though," the Doctor continued. "But then again, maybe you won't have to. Maybe he won't realize it at all."

A large explosion made Jonny turn for a moment to the area that Jessie minutes earlier ran toward, "Jessica!"

"I suggest you go find her," the Doctor smirked, "I'm sure that Ms. Bannon made it to the bridge by now. I'd go after her. If the first blast didn't kill her, the second one surely will."

"You son of a‒"

Jonny was about to lunge at the older man, when he lifted his hand and showed him a small device, "It's a detonator. I can blow that bridge off completely if I want to right now, but I love challenges. You better go save Miss Bannon…if she is still with us."

He wanted to shoot the man dead at that moment, but he wouldn't risk it if there was a possibility that Jessie was still alive. But if she wasn't?

Without a word, Jonny ran toward the explosion.