The Break (The Aesir Saga Book 1) (19 page)

              Gabriel woke up to pain. Breathing hurt, the pain burning on the right side of his chest. Rolling onto his left side to try and make some of the pain go away he finally noticed where he was. He was lying in a bed that wouldn't look out of place in a luxury suite. As he sat up to take a better look, the pain in his chest began its onslaught. Gabriel put his arm back to brace his body weight, but this only brought pain shooting from his shoulder. Rolling onto the edge of the bed he was finally able to see the whole room. 

              As he sat there, Gabriel realized he was wearing different clothes than he had on when fighting the mech. His jeans and sweatshirt were replaced by a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Trying to stand proved to be as difficult as sitting up. His right ankle had been taped, but trying to put any weight on it proved too painful. 

              Gabriel limped down the hallway, and as soon as he found the stairs he knew exactly where he was. 

He began slowly descending the red stairway he had seen at Ma'at's before. When he finally did reach the bottom he rounded the corner, headed for the solarium. The weird thing about the house was that there was no sound. Gabriel didn't know if he was the only person in the house, or if Ma'at was that quiet. When he reached the solarium, he headed right to the bar. Grabbing a glass he poured the first thing he got his hands on, and slamming the shot down his throat. It tasted terrible, but it took his mind off the pain in his body. He poured a larger amount, and moved to sit in the leather chair. 

              He was unsure of how long he had been sitting there. He just tilted his head back, taking a sip every once and awhile, and tried to breathe. He was staring up at the ceiling when the door opened. 

"Well, I'm glad you have decided to join me in a drink."

              Gabriel's head flopped down, the pain had faded to a comfortable ache. "Hope you don't mind." He said, raising the glass.

Ma'at was at the bar already, pouring himself a glass. "So," he said, moving to the chair opposite Gabriel, "What the hell happened?"

"Well, I found out where they were keeping Madison."

"Was this before or after you killed a government agent?" Ma'at asked, looking down as he swirled his drink.

"That was before."

"So where is your friend?" Ma'at asked, his head tilted as if he already knew.

Now it was Gabriel's turn to look down. "He was killed."

              The smashing of glass brought Gabriel back to the conversation. Ma'at had thrown his glass across the room. "He died because of you. Your desire to get back those that were taken from you cost you even more." Ma'at was standing, his anger clearly read on his face.

              Gabriel lifted himself, the pain in his ankle more manageable thanks to his self-medication. "I only had to get them back because you gave them away. Don't act like I’m the bad guy here. Brock knew what could happen, we talked about it when I drew up the plan."

              Ma'at sat back down, his eyes closed and fingers steepled on his nose. "I don't mind audacious plans if they are based in reality."

              Gabriel sat back down, taking a sip from his drink. "The plan worked didn't it? We killed a mech." 

"Yes, and that was impressive. What’s more impressive is that so far, it appears Agent Williams has not called for support from the capital."

"I made it personal, I killed two of his friends. I know how that anger feels, he wants me to himself." 

"It would appear that way." Ma'at was staring out into the gardens, nodding his head slowly to himself. "So what’s the next part of this amazing plan?"

"Now I just go to where they are keeping everyone and get them out."

"So back to the suicide missions then?"

Gabriel was taken aback by the question.

"How is that a suicide mission?"

              Ma'at just smiled, "Oh right, this major government containment building is staffed by no one, and you can just walk in and do what you want."

"I guess I didn't think about that."

“And that’s your problem Gabriel, you don't think. You just respond to stimuli, and hope everything works out."

              Gabriel gulped down the rest of his drink before putting the glass on the table, and slowly raising himself to his feet. "So we just get Williams to clear out the storage facility."

"Ha. You think he is just going to remove all the security and people there so you will show up?"

              Gabriel smiled, "Oh yeah, I know the kind of hate he is feeling right now. We tell him that I want to meet him at the facility, but just him and me, for a prisoner exchange."

Ma'at looked at Gabriel with disbelief, "You have one of their men as a prisoner?"

"No, we tell him I want to trade myself for Madison. I want only him so that I know she can be let go."

              Ma'at rubbed his face for a second before voicing his question. “So you plan to give yourself up?"

It was Gabriel's turn to laugh, "Hell no, but it gets him to clear out the building."

"Well then we still have the problem of Williams himself."

              Gabriel shrugged his shoulders, "I've already killed three people, what’s one more at this point?"

Ma'at pursed his lips, "Killing isn’t the answer to the equation."

"That’s your problem Ma'at, you think this is some long problem of solving for x." Gabriel started limping to the door. "It's simple subtraction. Me minus Williams equals saving everyone."

Ma'at rolled his head around from one shoulder to the other. "And you think he is just going to agree to meet you?"

Gabriel stopped and turned back to face Ma'at, a smile spread across his face. "Oh yeah. He'll agree to it quick. It’s his fastest path to me, and the hate he is feeling right now, he'll do it."

              Ma'at stood from his chair, turning to look Gabriel in the face. "What makes you think I know how to contact him?" 

"Come on Ma'at, you're supposed to know everything. I know you can call him. Just let me know when I'm supposed to be there."

Ma'at watched as Gabriel limped to the door. He gave his final attempt to change the path Gabriel had put before himself. "You know you're in no condition for a fight."

Gabriel stood in the doorway, one hand on the frame to steady himself. "Oh I know that. But the anger and hate inside me doesn’t know what pain is." 

FORTY FIVE

              Williams stood outside the black sedan as the crane lifted the Maiden. He had jumped on the first flight back once he heard the voice mail from Marcus. Kyle's death hit him pretty hard. Kyle was the one person he could talk with and not feel like it was a competition of the mind. There was also the feeling eating away at him that this wouldn't have happened if he had packed up the team and headed back to the capitol. 

              The Maiden was lowered onto the flatbed truck, and then crews began constructing the cover over it. There would be no news or images of an Agency COSMOS system being killed in combat. Williams turned away, going back to sit inside the car. They hadn't been able to get Marcus out of the chassis, thanks to the impaled barrels.

Williams leaned his head back against the car seat, his eyes staring up at the beige interior. When he landed he had immediately tried to radio Marcus. After a twenty minutes of no response, he activated the suits homing beacon, and tracked him down, only to find him in the field. Before any of the recovery crew arrived Williams had downloaded the black box from the suit. He had used the video display in the sedan to watch the events unfold. 

              Williams knew how the rest of this would unfold. He would be ordered back to the capital, and begin the investigation of his leadership. While that happened, other teams from around the country would converge here and hunt down Gabriel. By the time he was cleared of any wrong doing, the kid would be dead along with his team, and they would expect him to just move on. But Williams didn't want to move on, he wanted to get this kid. He wanted to be the one that gunned him down. To stand over his body as the light went out of his eyes. Only then would he feel that he could move on. 

******

              Williams was sitting in one of the empty offices of Dr. Memon's facility. Having nowhere else to go with his storage facility and safe house burned down, Dr. Memon had been nice enough to give Williams access to it. It was here, as he sat contemplating everything he had done with his life that his phone began to ring. He knew this was the call to bring him back to the capital, and answered it without even looking at the called id. 

"Agent Williams." He answered, closing his eyes and leaning back in the office chair. 

"Well hello Agent Williams, I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time."

              The voice of Nathanial Thoth sent Williams over the edge. "A bad time? My best friend is dead. Our unbeatable Maiden has been destroyed. My team is dead, and you "hope" this isn't a bad time? Fuck you Thoth, you know what happened, and you called me knowing all that."

"This is true, and you have my deepest condolences, but I do come bearing a gift. A little bird has told me where your target is going next. And I was hoping to arrange a meeting for you, so you may express your anger to him personally."

A calmness came over Williams when Thoth said he knew where Gabriel was going. "And where is he going to be?"

"Well, this birdie told me that he wants to meet you at the storage facility were you killed and captured his friends. But the catch is, he wants it to just be you and him, no one else in the facility. He is worried about collateral lives being lost."

Holy shit, Williams thought, the kid is coming right to me. "And what if I don't empty the place?"

"Well I would assume he wouldn't meet you. Listen, I'm not some messenger for the kid, I'm just trying to do my civil duty to ensure the safety of the people."

Somehow I doubt that is true, Williams thought to himself. "Alright, tell your little bird to have the kid meet me here tonight. I’ll get everyone out before he gets here. The start of curfew." Williams hung up and put the phone in his pocket. This was the chance he had hoped for. He would get to avenge Kyle and Marcus, and end the case. 

              Leaving the office, Williams began looking for Dr. Memon. He found him in the lab, working with another scientist Williams had not met yet.  "Dr. Memon, I have urgent news." Williams said as he walked quickly to the doctor's side. 

"Hello Agent Williams, I was just finishing up here with Dr. O'Brian. We have just finished synthesized the power of the Aesir your COSMOS killed." Dr.

Memon motioned to a small cooler that Dr. O'Brian was placing a rack of syringes into.

"That’s great Doctor, but there is a situation. I just got news from the capital that the Aesir that killed my team is on his way here. I need you and your scientists to evacuate the building. I have Agency support coming now."

              Dr. Memon looked at Agent Williams as if he was confused. "Agent Williams, we have some of the best security here, I doubt the boy will be a problem."

"With all due respect doctor, this boy killed an Agency COSMOS. He also has the power of fire, so if he set fire to the top of the building, it could trap everyone here for an unknown amount of time." Williams was bluffing about it all, but he hoped Dr. Memon wouldn't be able to tell. 

              Dr. Memon thought for a second. "As you wish Agent Williams, I will evacuate the facility. Dr. O'Brian, please go to your section and gather your people, I will be making an announcement soon. How much time do we have Agent Williams?"

"That I don't know, so the sooner the better." 

"Of course. Well then, I leave the facility in your hand Agent Williams." Dr. Memon walked off back to his office. Dr. O'Brian had also already left, and Williams was about to begin his plans for Gabriel's arrival when an idea popped into his head. Reaching into the cooler on the desk, Williams retrieved a syringe. Looking at the contents, he played with the idea of injecting himself. Dr. Memon had said the effects were temporary, and he could use this to his advantage against Gabriel. The kid had already destroyed the Maiden, Williams didn't want to be the next victim. 

              Popping the clear top off the needle, Williams unbuttoned his shirt and exposed his shoulder. Sliding the needle into his arm, he depressed the plunger, feeling the slight burn from the injection. Once the entire solution was given, Williams re-buttoned his shirt, disposing of the syringe in a nearby trash can, as he made his way back to his temporary office. 

              Gabriel arrived at the processing facility at two in the afternoon. He knew Williams wanted to meet him there at curfew, but Gabriel needed to see if he really was clearing everyone out. Sitting at a coffee house across the street, Gabriel saw several people come from the warehouse, getting into their cars, and leaving the facility. He killed more time by paying for some time on one of the shop's computers, cruising the internet for any sort of distraction. His whole body hurt, the pain in his ribs was by far the worst. An hour before curfew Gabriel left the coffee shop, taking to the streets. 

              He walked around a little, the ankle limiting his movement. He had spent the whole day worried someone would notice him, but after a search on the internet, all his actions had gone unreported. There was no news of a COSMOS being destroyed, or a fire in the industrial district. He was just another face in the crowd.

A few minutes before curfew took effect, Gabriel limped his way across the street and into the parking lot of the storage facility. As he crossed the lit blacktop, he thought back to the last time he was here. That was the day that had sent him on this path. Meeting Ma'at, losing Stephen, Kevin, and Brock. Gabriel got to the door that stood on the left of the large garage bay doors. Turning the handle Gabriel found that it was unlocked. He took a peek inside before opening it all the way. The inside was empty, and he finished opening the door and walked in. The warehouse was almost entirely empty, except for the elevators standing in the corner. Gabriel quickly crossed the warehouse floor, his footsteps echoing into the emptiness. He pressed the elevator call button, and stood waiting for its arrival. 

                With a ding, the arrow above the elevator lit up green, and the doors opened. Gabriel was face to face with one of the facilities security. The man's face took on a look of surprise when he made eye contact with Gabriel.

"Hey!" The man said, unslinging the weapon he had on his right shoulder.

              Without even thinking Gabriel snapped a fireball, letting it go into the man’s face. His left hand sent a stream of flame at the guard’s hands, forcing him to let go of the weapon.  Gabriel’s second attack proved to be unnecessary, as the fireball to the face had killed the man when it impacted. The body slumped to the floor of the elevator. The doors of the elevator tried to close, but the rifle was in the way, forcing them to reopen. Gabriel stood there for a minute, the doors repeatedly trying to open and close, sounding an annoyed ding at every interval. He didn't know what to do. If this guy was one of many more down stairs, did he really want to try and do this? 

              After what felt like forever, Gabriel walked into the elevator, picking up the rifle. He looked it over, and flipped the safety off then back on again. Having never fired a gun in his life, he didn't know exactly how to use it, but he figured it was better than nothing and slung it across his back. 

There were only two buttons inside the elevator, so guessing was easy, Gabriel pressed the option that was the lowest. The ride down was uncomfortable, one because of his nerves, but two because of the dead body that was still slumped on the floor. When the doors opened at the bottom, Gabriel has a fireball in each hand, ready for whatever was there. But there was nothing. Gabriel poked his head around the corner, seeing if there was anyone hiding there. 

Still nothing.

              He stepped out of the elevator into the bright white light of a laboratory. Gabriel moved through the lab, looking at all the different stations, unsure of what he was looking at. On the far wall he saw a sign that might point him in the right direction.