Dan

  The trio crossed another few intersections before regrouping with Adam’s team. Or what was left of it.

  Dan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Li was still alive and kicking. The silver-clad stealth specialist still stood with a straight and confident posture. He kept both his arms at his sides, one of his fists curled while his other hand held a Ravager pistol. Li’s armor was still in the same condition as it was before the start of this hunt.

  The same couldn’t be said for the rest of the second Kodak team. Like Kate’s team, none of the non-enhanced conscripts had survived the journey through the streets. Adam’s armor was dented and caved along his torso and numerous spikes his right upper arm and should had been broken off. Small streams of blood dripped down from his other arm, most likely from shoulder charging cultists and Church agents up close.

  A Bloodknight he recognized as Natalia Bane was still around, her armor still as pristine and it was when they began the mission. Like Ada, she must have been ordered by Judith to take a less heavy-handed approach and just let everyone else do the dirty work. Only an additional two Kodak agents still remained.

  Right now, their force had dwindled significantly and they were only in their first two hours of hunting down this cult master.

  Adam piped up and punched Li in the arm. The stealth specialist jerked his head in the skull-faced agent’s direction. “You know Kate, my pest over here is proving more trouble than he’s worth. He’s shot me several times in the back and then “accidentally” had a friendly fire incident and killed one of my agents.”

  Dan blinked at Li and couldn’t suppress the prideful and mischievous grin beneath his mask. “Is that true Li?”

  Li crossed his arms. “Not entirely my fault. I told that brute to keep his head down because he was in my way. I was lining up a shot at some fanatic shooting lightning from his hands. This particular Church agent had already zapped and fried numerous conscripts and a Kodak agent who didn’t take cover in time. That being said, I do not fell any pity for that Kodak trash.”

  “Good shit Li.” The words left Dan’s mouth without thinking. From how the rest of the team was staring at him, he knew he might regret those words.

  “You better watch your mouth, damned brat,” Adam said pointing his bloodied finger at him. “Are these two seriously worth keeping around?”

  “They are,” Natalia interjected. “Judith’s orders.”

  Kate scoffed. “I guess you have it just as bad as I do. I got into a fist fight with this little shit and he went off on his own to save some civilian.”

  “First of all, I had Ada’s blessing for that,” Dan said, extending his index finger. The he extended his middle finger at Kate. “And second, that civilian gave us something to check out. Our enemies are creating portals in the subway tunnels and getting around that way.”

  Dan still kept smiling as his middle finger was used to emphasize his second point and doubled as an arcane gesture towards the blond traitor.

  “Didn’t try shocking him?” Adam asked.

  “I threw some sand into her face and got away,” Dan said while baring his teeth at the agents. “Gave her the classic playground special. Couldn’t believe that a tier two like her could fall for it.”

  Li snorted, clearly enjoying Dan’s own methods of annoying his captors.

  Dan turned and faced Kate directly. “You know, you should be thanking me. I got your bitch ass a lead to investigate. Otherwise, we would have still been wandering aimlessly based one whatever impartial intel you’ve been relying on. As a tier two, I thought you would have been able to see and seize these opportunities when they arise. I guess you somehow got dumber since you defected from the Alpha Corp. How sad.”

  Kate looked at him with her face twisted even more than he had ever seen. She growled but nothing came out of her mouth. She knew Dan was right.

  Adam walked past her and stared down at him. “That’s enough. Not another word from you.”

  Dan stared back into the reflective helmet visor and the skull paint job. “Or what? Judith’s orders remember? You’re obligated to keeping me alive. So go ahead. Make your threats. As long as I’m still here, I’ll enjoy being a pain in your ass.”

  Dan couldn’t get a read on Adam’s expression through the helmet. But he could see the trembling fist that still dripped with blood. Dan wasn’t intimidated. Even if Adam was prevented from killing him, it didn’t mean that the agent couldn’t still throw a punch his way.

  “You think you’re a big man, huh? Maybe take this collar off and we can throw down right now. No holding back. I’ll smash through that shitty paint job of yours and give you a concussion to remember.”

  Adam tilted his helmet down at him. “You just don’t know when to shut up, do you?”

  “Since we’re still talking, I can sympathize with you. My digs at Kate were the truth. I helped gather some intel about our enemies and might have shaved some time in finding htis cult master and getting this job over with. I know I’m pulling my weight.” He jammed his finger into one of the dented sections of Adam’s torso. “As for you, you’re a brown-nosing shithead blindly defending Kate when you know she’s nothing impressive. You can’t even hold her accountable for her shortcomings because you’re too busy sleeping with her.”

  “That’s it,” Adam snapped smacking Dan’s hand away. “I’m not gonna stand around and listen to this garbage. You want a fight kid? I’ll give it to you.”

  With his collar still restricting his access to corrosia, he couldn’t tap into his berserk and glare. Without it, he didn’t stand a chance against Adam. But in the moment, he didn’t give a shit. He had enough of being pushed around as Kodak’s prisoner.

  Li raised his pistol at the back of Adam’s helmet.

  “You have me to contend with as well,” Li said.

  Adam growled at the insolence. Dan would be beaming with pride for his teammate if it weren’t for the rest of the Kodak team raising their guns at him and Li.

  A few seconds ticked by and they were all still locked in the intense stand off. Kate had the barrel of her CMA rifle squarely aimed at Dan’s face while Ada had her hand on his shoulder, though the edge of her katana pressed up against his collar made her intentions clear.

  Natalia drew her katana and rested the edge of her blade onto Li’s shoulder and the other two Kodak agents aimed their nail guns at both Dan and the stealth specialist.

  Something flashed in the corner of Dan’s vision and he noticed the immediate shift in both Kate and Adam’s body language. The excessive cackling and clapping that filled the air was all too familiar to Dan. The same unhinged laughter he heard from the gladiator-style matches he fought for the entertainment for a particular woman.

  Judith Blight slowly walked over to them while still clapping.

  “Wow, what a amazing show you’re all putting on for me,” she said. Her face beamed with a smile while baring all of her teeth. “This reminds me so much of the classic over the top soap operas.”

  She walked up to the group and cut in the space between Adam and Dan. The skull-faced agent backed off while Dan still stood his ground, staring up at Judith in defiance.

  “Love the standoff. Just dripping with male ego and testosterone,” she said with a devilish grin. “But Dan does have a point. I still need him and his teammate alive. I have plans for these two, as you’ve heard from the offer I gave to Dan in the throne room.”

  Both Ada and Natalia relaxed and backed off. Ada took her blade away from Dan’s neck and let go of his shoulder. Kate and Adam’s reaction brought a smile to Dan’s face. Adam had backed away a few steps, still clenching his bloody fist while Kate’s jaw was tense while she held her tongue against her superior.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Well, now that the drama is over, I need you to get back to your mission of hunting down our cult master,” Judith said.

  “Can you order your two Bloodknights to be more hands on?” Kate demanded. “Our force has dwindled significantly and your two favorite prisoners are becoming restless.”

  “Yes, yes. I can see how incompetent you and the other regular Kodak agents are in dealing with this threat. Ada and Natalia will definitely step up. I need them to step in to make sure that these Church goers don’t embarrass you any further. Plus, Dan and Li need to be alive for my plans. Does that satisfy you, Kate?”

  Ignoring Judith dressing down Kate in front of everyone, Dan stood there looking up at the Kodak brunette wondering what could possibly be going through her mind. They were in the middle of a warzone with death all around them and fanatics who can use magic running around. And yet, Judith’s attitude wasn’t what he pictured from a commanding officer. She certainly didn’t have Jane’s level of seriousness and no nonsense approach.

  “Continue your mission. Take Dan’s suggestion and take a trip down into the subways,” Judith ordered. She glanced down at Dan and padded him on the shoulder. “As for you, don't piss off Kate too much. You’re already putting premature crow’s feet around her eyes.”

  Dan snorted while Judith spun on her heel and walked away from the group.

  “Ma’am, are you not joining us?” Ada asked.

  “I have my own orders from Overlord to carry out,” she responded. “Let’s just say that without my efforts, you guys would be facing two if not three times the opposition.”

  He watched as Judith briefly gathered dark energy in her palm before disappearing.

  Ada and Natalia walked off while the rest of the team still stared blankly at where Judith was a moment earlier. Dan assumed that it wasn’t everyday you saw an agent teleport away.

  “We have our orders,” Ada stated. “We need to find that cult master.”

  Dan shrugged his shoulders. “Fine, it beats standing around here.” He deliberately brushed his shoulder against Adam’s arm, knowing that the skull-faced agent couldn’t do shit to him.

  It didn’t take too long to reach an entrance to the underground subway tunnels. Dan held his breath as he walked past numerous dead bodies. Some were charred and even melted by energy blasts. Dan never thought his eyes would ever be subjected to what melted flesh looked like. A young man’s arm was reduced to red goop spilled onto the pavement. Others had smoking holes through their torsos, most likely from the radioactive rods of their enemies.

  The Alpha Corp certainly had every right to fear the Church of Nanotology.

  He followed closely behind Li as the two were sandwiched between the two Bloodknights leading the way down the stairs and the Kodak forces behind them. When they reached underground, Dan wasn’t surprised to see that the lights were barely doing their job, given how dim everything was.

  “Do you feel that?” Ada asked.

  Natalia nodded. “I do. There’s definitely something here. I can feel the corrosia through my armor.”

  “Feel what exactly?” Dan asked.

  Ada looked at him over her shoulder. “When advanced magic techniques are used, especially ones that require vast amounts of corrosia, it leaves behind a residue you can feel in the air.”

  “So… it’s kind of like taking a massive dump and the smell lingers even after you flush the toilet?”

  The two Bloodknights stared blankly at him. Even Li tilted his helmet in his direction.

  “That is… surprisingly accurate,” Ada admitted. Even in the shitty lighting conditions, Dan could see the faint smile on Ada’s lips.

  Dan attempted to sense this same feeling as the Bloodknights and found he could feel some otherworldly presence in the area. It was different from simply hearing the sounds of battle or smelling spent shell casings, smoke and other elements involved after a fight.

  His violet corrosia bar briefly flickered into existence in the middle of his vision before disappearing as his collar worked to continuously suppress his corrosia.

  “Might be easier to sense this shit without this collar,” Dan muttered.

  “Don’t worry too much about it, brat,” Natalia said harshly. “Just follow us like the good prisoner you are.”

  “If you’re trying to piss me off like Kate and Adam have, you’ll have to do better than that,” Dan shot back.

  The group resumed their journey through the subway tunnels. Dan could see well enough even in the dim lighting thanks to his enhanced eyesight. But even he didn’t feel comfortable simply relying on just following the leader.

  He tapped Li in the arm with his elbow. “Can you see anything?”

  “No enemies in sight, not even through the walls,” Li said. “But there’s some strange distortion in that direction over there. Looking at it directly causes this black hole effect.”

  “Then we’re heading in the right direction,” Natalia stated.

  The group turned and walked down a long narrow corridor before stopping at a locked door and a small station to the side. The station’s door was flung open with a dead worker lying on the ground. His entire head was disintegrated and a blackened residue remained on the floor where his head should have been.

  “Poor bastard,” Dan muttered.

  Ada kicked down the metal bars blocking entry to the main door. She walked toward the door but stopped a few steps short.

  “I feel the corrosia strongly over here,” she said. Ada raised her katana and poked the the door using the tip of her blade.

  Dan stared at the door as it glowed with dark purple energy and Ada’s katana began emitting smoke from the direct contact. He felt a wave of something invisible hit him. The invisible forces coming from the glowing door caused him and Li to flinch while the other Kodak agents staggered back more dramatically. Ada and Natalia were left unaffected.

  “Who knew a door could be offended by you poking it,” Dan said.

  “We’re not getting through this door with brute force,” Ada said. “Normally, agents of our caliber will just yank this door clean off its hinges. But our foes at the Church are a devious bunch.”

  Ada walked to the side and ran her finger along the wall beside the glowing door. She removed a brick out of the wall and it revealed some control panel.

  “Looks like we have our answer,” Ada said.

  Natalia huffed. “One problem, we were trained to be warriors, not hackers.”

  Ada gave her fellow Bloodknight a blank stare before she turned her gaze on Dan. She walked over to him while keeping her eyes forward.

  “Dan, go inside that station and see if you can find out how to get the passcode for that door.”

  “Sure, but isn’t it strange that agents like you don’t have executive access to locked off areas in emergency situations like this?”

  “When you say it like that, you are correct,” she admitted. “But we have no time to debate how Kodak-Cresh could stop screwing up.”

  After such an underwhelming answer, Dan stepped over the corpse of the worker and walked inside the station. He walked to the end of the station and found what appeared to be security feeds, including access to the camera facing the door ahead.

  Dan was interested in seeing who had been down here before them and what measures they used to lock this door.

  But Dan was restricted from viewing previous footage. His HUD came to life and offered him an alternative to getting what he needed. He had to hack it.

  “Well, here goes,” he whispered to himself.

  Dan selected the option to hack the computer and get the access needed to view the past recorded footage. The front section of his vision became obstructed with a black box, then a simple maze-like puzzle popped up.

  He sighed. “This shit again? Really?”

  Dan remembered it. Back in Amethyst, he needed to hack the lock of a Kodak jeep to escape from his pursuers. It was a simple maze-like puzzle just like this one. He doubted hacking through a security system was that simple and just assumed his HUD did some work behind the scenes to make the process more user-friendly for an agent. Even so, he wasn’t a fan of doing such a stupid puzzle while standing around defenseless and at risk of getting shot in the back.

  The first maze was simple enough with only a few angular pathways for him to navigate a simple white circle through. It was the third maze that proved to be more of a challenge as the layout wasn’t just simple straight lines anymore. Now the sections were twisting and winding into more elegant yet complicated pathways.

  “This is some bullshit, I swear,” he muttered.

  The maze minigame wasn’t anything too taxing on his brain, but it didn’t stop him from being annoyed. After completing the third maze, a fourth one popped up in his vision, this time he was on a time limit of only fifteen seconds and now he had two white circles that needed to be guided to specified areas.

  Dan moved one white circle through the winding paths that actively moved to block off pathways. He got the circle to the area in the bottom left corner then took immediate control of the second circle with only six seconds left.

  He narrowly pushed the white circle through between two lines that closed behind it, getting the second circle to the specific spot with only a second to spare.

  Hacking process complete.

  Dan was glad that nonsense was over. The computer in front of him allowed access to review the security footage within the past twenty-four hours and ever further back. A set of footsteps entered from behind in the station and he whipped his head back and spotted Kate.

  “How’s the hacking coming along?” she asked. Kate didn’t look at him. Instead, her gaze we kept awkwardly at the wall beside her.

  Dan just stared at her before replying. “Just got it done. I’m going to look back and see the past footage. Maybe I’ll see how these Church agents cursed this door and how to bypass it.”

  He didn’t say any more than he needed. It took a lot to suppress the anger that flared up just looking at her. He pulled up the chair and sat down to skim through the footage and to see what kind of shitshow had been going on all the while he was being kept prisoner.

  One nagging thought that pressed within his mind was the intel he could get from his former teammate turned traitor. As Dan dragged his finger across the monitor along the timeline of the footage, he looked over his shoulder and took a breath to calm himself.

  “There’s something I gotta ask,” he said.

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