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I pick his head up and slam it on the concrete. He grunts in pain but stops laughing.
He groans as his body convulses. I flip him over and dig around in his mouth, but I’m too late. He’s already bit down on the poison capsule.
“Incoming!” Raven screeches in my ear. I have just enough time to stand before three men appear behind me. I sprint for the sidewalk out front but stop when two women in street clothes block my path, weapons at their sides. They sneer and I jump up and grab the railing, pulling myself onto the stairs. I could use my abilities to get away, but then they’ll know I’m an agent and won’t stop until they find me.
I sprint up the stairs to the roof a few floors up as bullets zip past me. The door opens with ease, and I slam it shut behind me. I drag a barrel in front of it, but it won’t hold for long. The faint scrape of a nearby boot is my only warning. I duck and chips fly off the brick behind me.I stay low and scramble behind the row of barrels. “You’re already dead. Just give it up,” a man’s voice calls.
“Raven…”
“I’m almost there. Northwest corner in… forty seconds.”
The pulse of the shooter's fast heartbeat is the only sound my enhanced hearing picks up. He's alone. I pull out the Visual Actuator device that creates an optical illusion. The triangular metal disk whirs to life, and I set it on the ground. I maneuver around the barrels until I have a clear shot. He keeps his weapon trained on what he thinks is me still crouched behind the barrels.
Fifteen seconds left. “Hey asshole, I sai--” I fire my weapon and he drops mid-sentence. I sprint towards the northwest corner, holding out my hand to catch the VA device as it flies into the magnet in my hand. It settles into its holder with a click.
Five seconds. The door flings open as I leap off the roof. Bullets fly and gravity takes over as I drop five stories. I land in a smooth crouch and reset the VA before moving out of sight.
I engage my heat vision and find them through the building as they look over the edge. They’ll see me lying dead on the pavement and chew their own nuts off when they come down to find I’ve disappeared. Raven pulls up a second later. The men disappear and I recall the VA. It sails towards my hand, and I sprint to the waiting car. Raven takes off the second my ass hits the seat.
It doesn’t take a genius to know he’s pissed. He doesn’t speak until we get back to our makeshift headquarters. He slams the door shut and activates the silencer that seals our voices from eavesdroppers, human or digital.
“You’re too reckless.”
“We could have found something.”
“You didn’t. All you did was kick the hornet’s nest. If you can’t follow orders, I’m pulling you from the field.”
I glare at him. “You can’t kick me off the team.”
“The fuck I can’t.” He glares right back.
I sigh and sink into the chair. “You’re right. It was stupid. It won’t happen again.”
He runs a hand over his gray beard and sighs. “Liv’s in the hospital.”
I jump to my feet. “What?”
“She jumped in front of the shot aimed at Luke. The sniper wasn’t fast enough.”
No, I wasn’t fast enough. I step towards the door, but Raven grabs my arm.
“We don’t know the extent of her healing abilities. She might need my blood,” I say.
“We have John’s from last time. Doc has it. She’s on her way.”
I sigh in relief, and he drops his hand.He pulls up the video feed and rewinds to the gym footage, and I watch the events unfold. We can add enhanced speed to the list of Liv’s abilities. It was subtle, but obvious to us.
“Amber must have been working for them, but she went rogue. They need Luke alive. That’s why they took her out. The good news is, surviving a bullet wound doesn’t automatically make you a super soldier. Doc will do her thing to cover up Liv's healing abilities.”
“And if they don’t buy it?” I ask.
“Then we bring her in.”
“What about John?”
“We’ll need to reassess.”
I meet his eyes. “Luke needs to know. Things are escalating. This was too close.”
He nods, resignation filling his eyes. “I’ll take care of it.”
Liv will pull through, but my heart breaks for her. She saved Luke’s life. She didn’t even hesitate. Staring death in the eyes is the fastest way to figure out what’s important to you. I shake my head and try to focus. It’s not my problem. We got lucky today, but our problems are only going to get worse from here.
