Chapter 5

The Mission

Abe didn't feel like getting up. It had been late before they had finally gotten to sleep. That didn't matter because today was more important than the concert was. This was the day they would attack an Origin facility and free anyone imprisoned inside. He got up and dressed, headed next door, and knocked. Gloria answered, ready to go. Clearly, she had just been waiting for him to come and get her. Their breakfast would be magnificent. At least it would prepare them for the hard day ahead of them. Gloria thought her day would be rough, but she was lucky and didn't know it. It was true she was pushing the boundaries of what she was used to doing, but at least she wasn't going on a trip that might end her life or cause her to have to kill someone.

As much as he hated Origin, he didn't want to kill any of the people that worked for them. There were some he hated, and he couldn't deny it. He still didn't want to kill any of them, even if he did think some of them needed to be punished for some of the evil they had caused. Breakfast went as it had yesterday, and while he was thrilled to spend time with Gloria, the mission was heavy on his mind. He saw the others all eating a good meal and preparing to face death to free their brothers. The look on his face was probably much like theirs. Gloria kept watching him but refused to ask what he couldn't answer.

"It's time for me to leave you. I hope you have a great day, and everything works out well." He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek even though he wanted to take her in his arms and give her a kiss she'd never forget.

"I hope things go well for you too." Gloria looked worried. If she knew more, she would probably look even more worried.

As Lu had instructed, they all met in the parking lot at the back of the hotel, where they would have a little privacy. It was early, and few guests would be out at this time. There were three large helicopters. There was more room than required, and they spread out among the three. Poseidon joined him with a brief hug.

"I've missed you, man," Abe admitted.

"I have missed you as well. Hopefully, everything will go well, and my presence will be helpful."

"Is that the real reason that you came?"

"It was part of it. Two sets of names were drawn from those qualified to run these missions. I was pleased I was able to watch your concert. Your group is good," Poseidon admitted.

"We best get our earphones on. Lu is trying to make a call. I think he wants to go over the mission with us."

"Zeus does that too. Usually more than once on the flight over."

They sat back in companionable silence for the rest of the trip. Abe hopped out of the helicopter when they arrived, and a smoky, bitter scent hit his nose. He looked at the helicopter Lu and Win jumped out of and saw black smoke. It was not the best way to start a mission. As soon as everyone was off the helicopter, it took off. He hoped the pilot had no trouble landing it because it needed serious repair. Several more helicopters landed, and that was their assistants. These were some friends of Sierra's, and they had been invaluable over the years in assisting in missions like these.

Those guys would find anything of value, and they would split the money. Abe didn't know how they got money from some of the things they considered valuable, but they did. They were a mercenary team, and their leader was a close friend of Zeus' mate, Sierra. Pedro Garcia ran this bunch. Zeus nicknamed him the land pirate. That name fit, but no one addressed him that way because they didn't know if he would like it. There were some other land pirates that they worked with, but they were in other countries away from here. Each one was given their area, and if anything came up there, that's the one that was called. Pedro was in Mexico and North America or anything near it was his.

He'd done good with them over the years and been good to them. Having his team in on this would make things easier for them. It was even more important now since one of the helicopters was out of use. It was about a mile and a half to the facility, a good march for the humans assisting them. They recovered well when they got in close range. Now, their scout team would move out and prepare for the attack. It was a surprise when a guard headed their way. They were hiding in some bushes that should not have been allowed to grow at the facility's perimeter. This would be a hard lesson for Origin and one that they should have learned long ago.

Abe moved around the side so he could take out the guard. He could hear liquid spraying on the bushes and waited until the guy was done. That's when he moved behind him, caught him in a sleeper hold, and waited until he was unconscious. It was time to restrain him, and Pedro's guys took him and ran him to their helicopter. In the old days, they would have gotten a ransom from the company, but now the family usually had to pay. It was a waiting game until the scouts signaled it was time to move in.

Now, their group moved towards the facility, still unsure of what would be waiting for them. They arrived at one of the doors, where Win awaited them. With his Native American ancestry, it was no surprise that he was an excellent scout, one that they often used on these missions.

"I've not entered yet because I can sense several people, and I knew I would need backup," Win explained.

"We're here, so let's go," Abe observed.

Win, in his usual way, led the charge. They immediately ran into guards. There were several of them, which was unusual in an Origin facility since they had lost a lot of their money. They quickly took out the four guards and restrained them while Pedro's guys took them away. They moved in deeper as a group, finding the kitchen first and then the medical area. There were rooms that the guards probably stayed in, and after three empty ones, the fourth contained a guard that they quickly restrained. It was clear to Abe that the prisoners were held on a lower level, and they would find none of them here.

They continued until they got to an elevator. Now the question was, did they feel safe enough to go down to the next floor in it? It was decided that they should do it and go quickly. None of them had any idea how many floors were in this facility. Once they stepped in the elevator, it was marked for three other floors besides the top floor. They went to the bottom floor first, and half of them got off. Abe was one of them. It was dark and dingy, and the smell was horrible. It was rotting flesh, a smell he knew all too well. He and Poseidon headed in different directions, went to the end of each hall, and started there.

When he opened the first door, he was horrified. The intensity of the smell had increased 100%. The person lying in the bed looked half-starved and had sores all over their body. He wasn't sure if they could even be saved. But he intended to try. Abe slid a blanket under them and used it to lift them up. He hurried to the elevator and got up to the top floor quickly. Hoping all the enemies had been removed, he called for the helicopter. This person needed to get to Risa immediately. As the helicopter landed with Risa on it, no one came out to challenge them. As soon as he laid his precious bundle on the floor of the helicopter and pulled back the blankets, Risa's eyes filled with tears.

She wasted no time on her emotions and immediately started administering the medication. Abe hoped some of it would control the person's pain. He couldn't identify whether they were human, god, or demon. Since he had dropped the patients off with Risa, he needed to go back and see who else needed assistance or to be restrained. Now that he wasn't carrying a load, it only took seconds to get back down and start in the next room. It was empty, so he moved to the next one. He'd have preferred it was empty, but it wasn't. This patient was equally bad, and he didn't know how they had survived in the condition they were in. He used a blanket to carry them out the same way, putting them on the helicopter on the other side of Risa. Too many patients would be a problem. There was only one doctor. Some of them were trained as medics, but the aid that they could provide would not help somebody in this kind of condition.

He hurried back, but he was surprised that Poseidon had not found anyone in this kind of condition. Maybe the serious patients had been left on his side of the hall. When he walked off the elevator and looked down to the other side of the hall, he saw prisoners gathered. Finally free, it was clear they had no idea what to do. That was all right because they would help them to find a much better life. Abe cleared two more rooms, relieved he had not found anyone else in such terrible shape. His relief was too quick, and the next room had someone else needing a doctor. All he could say was that at least this person wasn't in as serious a condition as the other two. Maybe a medic could give them what they needed until they arrived home. The problem was, he wasn't through all the rooms on his half of the hall yet.

Poseidon came over to speak to him. "I saw you carrying someone outside."

"I had two in bad shape. This one also needs help, but I'm hoping they can wait. I still have four rooms and fear what I may find."

"I'll help you with those rooms. Those waiting at the end of the hall may also get the opportunity to help. One of them can carry this patient outside."

"Come over here. I need you to carry this patient outside to the chopper."

Poseidon had picked one of the largest guys in the group. He leaned down, picked up the patient, and hurried outside. Abe went to the next room and saw Poseidon going to the one next to it. They both brought patients who required assistance. Neither of these was as bad as the first two, and he was grateful. Poseidon called for two others standing at the end of the hallway who looked in good shape and strong and had them carry these two out. He hesitated in the last two rooms of the hallway and saw that Poseidon did the same. Afraid? Damn right, he was afraid of what he might find in there.

There was really no choice. Pedro's men were already picking items to load. Soon, there wouldn't be anything left of any value. That probably included the beds that they were clearing of people. It was hard to believe that used hospital beds would be worth the cost of moving them halfway across the country or even more, depending on where the buyers would be. It was time to suck in a deep breath, enter the room, and see the condition of the person in it.

Maybe it wouldn't be too bad? He opened the door, and the smell was overwhelming. Abe thought it was too late to save this one as he stood by the bed, looking at an almost unrecognizable body. He started to turn away when a hand reached out and grabbed him, and he almost jumped out of his skin. Dear Father Cronos!

"Help me," a voice croaked.

He only hoped they could. Anyone surviving everything he saw deserved the right to be healed and have a better life. The blankets worked so well with the others that he used them again. He worried that any unusual movement might break or even break something off. This was the worst that he had seen anyone who was still alive. Abe could only imagine the unbelievable will to live they had to survive. Hurrying as fast as he could without causing undue jostling, he got to the elevator and straight up to the top. From the front door, he could see the helicopter, and he saw that Risa had gotten one of the critical patients fixed up and moved away from the helicopter door.

"I wish I could help you because this patient needs everything you have and a lot of prayer," Abe explained.

As the doctor got a good look at the patient, she couldn't fight the tears that streamed down her face. While she cried, she also worked and did everything she could with her supplies. There was nothing Abe could do. He went back to see if there was any work he could do there. Another helicopter was coming. He assumed they had rented one. With so many critical patients, they would need it. Pedro's guys were dismantling the facility. Some were working hard on every level. That's what they did the best. They came in and got everything out fast. Then sold it for top dollar. In Abe's opinion, unless there was information that would help them find more facilities or a system identifying people who had been killed, there was nothing in here that would be worth moving across the continent.

Anything they got out of the sale of the items here, or possibly the sale of the facility if Origin owned it, would be worthwhile and help them help those they had just freed.