Author's Note: This chapter (Chapter 141) of Forsaken picks up almost two weeks after Chapter 140. The events in between these two chapters are covered by another one of my stories: Hit Girl Hits Britain and you are advised to read this story before starting this chapter.
Sunday morning
United States of America
Chicago
West Ridge
We were glad to be back in our own country – this applied to all of us, except of course for Joshua!
"That was fun while it lasted!" Josh commented, sadly, as we got out of the cab at home.
"What could be better than the United States of America?" I commented.
"Where do you want me to start?" Josh replied sardonically.
"Hey! It's the UK's most wanted!" Marcus said, as he opened the door.
"Funny!" I growled and gave Marcus a big hug.
"Missed you, kid!" Marcus whispered into my ear.
"I missed you, too!" I whispered back and I meant it.
Next, I turned my attention to Curtis and Megan. Their faces had an interesting collection of bruises!
"Whoa! What doors did you two walk into?"
"The bitch has had us training and sparring, dawn till dusk for two fucking weeks!" Megan growled.
'The Bitch' came forward.
"Hi, Kim! How've they been?" I asked.
"We've worked them both very hard. Two hours, twice a week at D-JAK and then four hours each day at the weekend, including the range," Kim explained happily. "It was fun!"
"She's cruel!" Curtis moaned.
"I asked her to keep you two training, while I was gone," I admitted.
"You fucking bitch!" Megan exploded. "You mean it's your fault that Curtis has been smacking me about?"
"You seem to have got in a few good hits, too!" I commented, as Curtis showed me the bruises on his body.
"That's not the fucking point!"
"So, they any good now?" I asked Kim.
"Not bad, not bad at all!"
"You want to know the best bit?" Cathy interjected.
"They've been so tired after all the training that they've been falling asleep almost immediately, each night! It gave me and Marcus more quality time together!" Paige finished with a sly grin.
"No, no, no!" I groaned, hiding my face with my hands. "Nasty images... I do not want them in my mind!"
"Well, dear girl – we did have to suffer through your performance, didn't we!" Marcus said with a grin.
I felt myself blushing enormously.
"Assholes!"
The following evening
Monday
Today had been our first day back at school after spring vacation, so we had arranged to go see a movie that evening.
We had just stepped out of the cinema, when something started to feel wrong.
"Megan, we're in trouble... Something's happening..."
"What are you talking about? I don't... Oh I see what you mean – this is not good!" Megan replied, catching on.
"What are you guy's talking about?" Cameron 'Cam' Fellowes asked.
"Something very bad is about to kick off, Cam," Megan replied with caution in her voice.
"You sure?" Brad Murphy asked dubiously.
"I am!" I replied seriously and looked at Brad and Cam. "Whatever you do, both of you, stay behind Megan and me – stay close to us."
Cam and Brad looked at us both a little strangely.
"I mean it guys – I'm not fucking about!"
Just then, the people that I had seen on the other side of the parking lot started heading towards us, and as they passed under the light poles, I could see that the people were masked and had weapons – baseball bats, machetes, knives.
We needed help!
"Megan, I'm hitting the panic button!"
Safehouse F
I was on my third magazine of the evening when a red light started flashing in the range.
The red light meant that an alarm had been triggered. I cleared the weapon, left it on the stand and ran out towards the Command Centre and I could hear an alarm sounding throughout the Safehouse. I entered the Command Centre and immediately saw that a panic alarm had been triggered from a Fusion cell phone. I silenced the alarm and punched some keys on the main computer terminal. Seconds later, a blue dot appeared on the screen, several miles south of me, along with some writing that told me whose cell it was. My heart sank as I saw the name beside the dot: Trojan.
I ran back to the armoury to grab my gear. Curtis would only hit the panic button if his life or anybody else near him were in danger. It was not possible to trigger the alarm by accident. I called Curtis' cell – there was no answer. I tried Megan's – knowing that she was with him that evening – but again, no answer.
Most of my combat suit was on and I had just turned on my comms, when I heard a voice.
"This is Battle Guy, Fusion check in!"
"Battle Guy, Hit Girl is on comms and gearing up at Safehouse F," I responded.
"I have you Hit Girl. It looks like Trojan is in trouble."
"I know; I can't get him or Wildcat to answer their cells."
"Hold on – I'll turn on the microphone for Trojan's cell."
I heard a click in my ear and then my heart sank even further. I could hear screaming, I could hear fighting and the occasional gunshot. Then my heart rose quite a bit.
"This is crap!" Trojan announced.
"Over to your left!" Wildcat called.
"I've got him!" Trojan again. "Cam stay behind me!"
I heard a scuffle and then a crashing noise. I could not listen to anymore.
"Battle Guy – keep listening, I'm taking Beast – send the route to the satnav." I said, as I pulled on my mask and ran for the armoured Range Rover.
With a squeal of tyres, I shot out of the Safehouse and up the ramp. I had a really bad feeling about all this. All sorts of nasty images flashed through my mind as I drove through darkened Chicago.
Would I get there in time?
This was out of control.
There were dozens of masked people about and they were attacking people, cars, and property, anything seemingly without any sort of purpose. They just seemed to be out to cause trouble and as much damage as possible. There was a lot of screaming. I was scared and I could tell that Megan was too. Nevertheless, we had a job to do and that was to protect Cam and Brad, as well as we could until help arrived.
Cam had already been hit by a flying bottle, but he was okay and staying surprisingly calm. Brad was a year older than the rest of us and was doing his best to help. So far Megan and I had put down a couple of the attackers, while Brad and Cam had tried to use their limited Taekwondo knowledge to keep themselves safe.
I arrived at the cinema parking lot after a frantic fifteen-minute drive.
There was a fucking riot underway. I could see fighting everywhere, including bodies on the ground being trampled. The screams were deafening. Police had arrived at the site, but they were pounced on almost immediately by masked hooligans. I left Beast and drew both of my Katana blades.
I immediately came under attack, by masked men with baseball bats and machetes. I fought back, severing limbs and driving my blades into chests. I was searching, looking for Curtis and Megan. I pushed towards the cinema, through the maelstrom of fighting. Dave and the others were heading for the Safehouse now; I just hoped that I would be returning with the living and not the dead.
"There!" Cam called excitedly, pointing into the crowd.
I followed Cam's gaze and was overjoyed to see flashes of purple.
"Megan – she's here!" I called and pointed.
"Of course, she's here – what did you expect?" Megan retorted.
To Megan, Hit Girl was a true Superhero and invincible, but I knew otherwise.
Suddenly a man, armed with a machete, lunged towards us and Megan screamed. However, the man froze as a sharp blade appeared out of his upper chest. The blade was pulled back and the man fell to the ground, revealing Hit Girl, a blood-soaked sword in each hand. She was smiling and the smile grew when she saw Megan and me. I grinned back.
Three men had seen Hit Girl and now lunged towards her and us. As Hit Girl turned to face the approaching attackers, another man came and threw himself at Hit Girl's back. Hit Girl was shoved to the ground, but before she could get up a gun was pointed at us all – it was an Ingram MAC-10 compact machine pistol and when fired, it would kill us all. I seized one of Hit Girl's Glock 19 pistols from its holster and fired three rapid shots into the man's face, which exploded and almost immediately I felt the wetness of the man's brains hit my face and slide down my front.
..._...
Hit Girl sprang up and drove the blade of one Katana into an attacker's chest, simultaneously flipping into the air and driving her other blade into the next attacker, from above and down into his heart. As she landed, she drew her Tanto and thrust the blade into the third attacker. Another man came at her and received a throwing knife in his forehead. Hit Girl then calmly retrieved her weapons, cleaned her Tanto and stowed it back into its sheath.
"Time to go home!" She growled and hauled the dead man off me and I handed back her pistol.
Hit Girl took the pistol and gave me a grave and saddened look, but then she smiled and started hacking her way through the dwindling fight to safety, pulling us with her.
..._...
By the time we reached Beast, we were all covered in blood and had many cuts and bruises. Once in the safety of the armoured Range Rover, Hit Girl stayed for the remaining minutes of the fight, before the majority of the masked men had gone, or been killed by the masses of Police that had descended on the area.
Finally, Hit Girl climbed into Beast and looked at the four of us.
"You guys okay?" She growled.
"Just cuts and bruises!" Megan announced.
"Let's get the fuck outta here!" I growled, floored the accelerator and headed back towards the Safehouse. "Battle Guy! I am en-route to the Safehouse with Trojan, Wildcat and the two boys."
"Trojan?" Cam asked, looking at Curtis.
"Wildcat?" Brad enquired, looking at Megan.
"Answers later – can you two be trusted?" I demanded.
"Definitely, Hit Girl!" Both boys answered eagerly.
Safehouse F
When I pulled into the Safehouse, I saw Dave, Chloe, Cathy and Paige waiting on the other side of the armoured glass.
The drive back had not been fun. My mind had been reeling with the evening's happenings. First, the masked fanatics, then Curtis killing for the first time and face to face. I also had two Cops kids that had now been exposed to Fusion. Well, their Dad's knew who we were and I trusted the two boys – they had both been running around at D-JAK for a while now.
I climbed out of Beast, along with the kids and ushered them through the gate. Both Cam and Brad were gazing around the place, amazed. You wouldn't think that less than half an hour ago they were within inches of being killed!
"Cool huh!" Megan commented.
"Way cool!" Brad admitted.
"This answers a few questions!" Cam commented, looking at Dave.
"Hi Cam!" he said.
"Kick-Ass, right?" Cam enquired.
"You're a smart kid, Cam!" I said, pulling off my mask.
"Mindy!" Brad exclaimed. "I knew it!"
"Q & A comes later – let's get you four checked out," Cathy said. Then she and Paige grabbed the four kids and took them upstairs.
..._...
"What the fuck was that, all over Curtis!" Chloe asked.
I looked at Dave, who in return looked concerned – he read me like a book!
"Curtis was forced to shoot a guy three times, in the face," I explained unhappily. "Curtis was covered in the man's brains."
"Oh fuck!" Chloe said simply.
Forty minutes later, the four kids had been cleaned up and had their cuts and bruises treated.
None of the kids' cuts was even remotely serious and they were now sitting down and having something to eat in the galley. I had explained to Cathy what had happened and she had taken it in her stride, as she did with everything.
"It had to happen one day, "Cathy said matter-of-factly. "We went through it with Chloe, so we do it again with Curtis."
"I know; but Chloe was thirteen, not ten," I replied.
"I believe that you'll get him through it – just like you did with Chloe," Cathy said with a comforting smile.
I had also called Fellowes and Murphy to let them know that their kids were safe. They were very grateful – they had known that their kids had been at the scene of the riot, but they had been caught up in the chaos.
I promised to look after them and suggested that they call when they got off shift.
..._...
I went up to the galley to see how the kids were. Dave was in the Command Centre talking with Marty, who had arrived a few minutes ago. They were going to try to piece together this disaster. Paige and Chloe were with the kids.
"Hi, guys!"
"Hi Mindy," Curtis said, smiling broadly.
"This place is awesome, Mindy!" Brad exclaimed.
"That it is. Your Dad's know that you are here and yes, they both know who we are," I replied.
Cam looked put out by that comment.
"My Dad knows all about Fusion?" Cam asked.
"He worked out who we were a while ago and so did your Dad, Brad. For two doughnut munching Cops, they're quite clever!" I teased. "But they've never seen any of our Safehouses!"
"Cool!" Cam said. "Will they be coming to get us?"
"When they get off shift, yes – then we can have a little fun," I smirked.
Later that night
"I trust her, I do – but there are times when I feel she would just love to fuck us about!" Murphy moaned.
The two Cops were negotiating a steel staircase that vanished into the earth. I had given them both instructions on how to find the second pedestrian entrance to Safehouse F, which was a short distance away and started in the basement of a small commercial unit. We were monitoring their every move and I was enjoying both their caution and their anxiety. Cam and Brad were watching their fathers' progress and thought it great fun.
"It could be worse, I suppose," Fellowes added.
"How?"
"With that crazy bitch, anything's possible!"
..._...
"Be nice or the 'crazy bitch' may lead you into oblivion!" I called over a speaker mounted in the staircase.
"Oh great!" Fellowes moaned. "Told you she's winding us up!"
"Get a move on Dad!" Cam called into the microphone.
"Cam?"
"Could this get any worse?" Murphy groaned as they approached the bottom of the staircase.
"Go through that door and follow the passageway!" Brad directed.
"Great, my own son is sending me to oblivion!"
Murphy and Fellowes finally made in into the Safehouse.
"Bloody hell!" Murphy exclaimed.
"She's got her own damn bunker!" Fellowes added.
"Dad!" Both boys ran out to hug their fathers.
After a few minutes, I went to say hello.
"Boys, can I speak with your fathers for a few minutes – in private?"
Cam and Brad let go of their fathers and ran upstairs to find Megan and Curtis, who were in the briefing room.
..._...
I took Murphy and Fellowes up to the galley, so we could get a coffee. It was late – after ten, but we needed the caffeine.
"You both have brave boys there, guys!" I commented.
"Thanks, Mindy," Murphy replied.
"But, they both went through hell this evening. That mob of masked men that attacked that parking lot, they were just your average hooligans. I'm just thankful that Curtis and Megan were able to identify the threat early on and had the sense to call for help. I was here, so I was able to gear up and get there fast. It was nasty and I hate to say it, but your boys are gonna have nightmares."
"During the fighting, after I got there, I was attacked by four men and Curtis was forced to grab one of my pistols and he shot a man, in the face and blew his head apart. I have to deal with him making his first kill – at ten years-old. All four of them ended up with brains on them, but Curtis got most of the brains, plus the body on him!"
Fellowes and Murphy looked at each other.
"We've both been there and we don't envy the kid – we both made our first fatal shootings when we were rookies; it fucking sucked!" Murphy stated, looking grim.
"But thanks for telling us; we can keep an eye on the boys just in case. I'm just glad that Curtis and Megan were on the ball and were able to call you. You trained them well, Mindy. Dave and Marty saved our families lives, last year – now Curtis, Megan and you have saved our son's lives this evening. We owe Fusion a hell of a lot and we're damn glad that you're here in Chicago," Fellowes stated.
I felt myself blushing.
"Thanks, guys... I – I'm just glad I could help," I replied.
Fellowes and Murphy then thanked Cathy and Paige for looking after their sons, before taking them off home.
We all decided to spend the night here at the Safehouse, rather than driving all the way home, at this time of night. Cathy and Paige took one room, while Chloe, Megan and Curtis took the other one. Marty went to sleep in the room downstairs on Level Zero. Dave and I went to our own room, but I had trouble sleeping.
..._...
"You're worried about Curtis, aren't you?" Dave asked me.
"Hell yeah! He is much too damn young for this – it's gonna be hell for him and for Megan. Curtis fired the shot, but Megan saw the man's head explode too – mind you so did the boys!"
"We'll see how they both get through tonight."
I awoke to a scream.
Megan was sat bolt upright in bed and screaming. I jumped up to calm her down, just as Paige ran in.
"It begins!" I said and Paige nodded with a pained expression on her face.
Surprisingly Curtis had slept through Megan's screaming, but that did not last long. I was awoken about an hour later by a warm body wriggling in beside me.
It was Curtis and he was crying his heart out.