Chapter Nine

CHAPTER NINE

Harris

Harris didn’t like this.

Surprisingly, Apollo had agreed to meet, and now here Harris stood, his senses open as he scanned the area of the abandoned junkyard. One wrong move, and he’d crush this Apollo dude under a pile of rusted-out and flattened vehicles. Mountains of rusted pieces and parts of old junkers filled the landscape like some macabre horror movie. Claws made of rusted sheet metal, and gaping eyes formed of broken glass stared out as silent sentinels ready to attack at the slightest provocation.

It might be weird to some that Harris felt right at home among the surrounding castoffs. The worn-out and deemed worthless seemed the perfect place for a group of Noah Project survivors to meet. When the project was originally shut down decades ago, they were thrown to the wind into orphanages, foster care, or abandoned on the streets. It’s funny how they’d suddenly become a hot commodity to those who shouldn’t still be in business. A fucked-up form of recycling of human assets.

The rest of the team was scattered throughout the darkened labyrinth of the yard, with only their gear and the moonlight to guide them. If Apollo expected them to show up without being prepared, he was na?ve. And Harris doubted that. He figured the guy expected it. How he would respond was still up for debate.

The thick gravel crunched under Brick’s boots and seemed to echo through the quiet. The team leader wasn’t hiding his location. If anything, he was announcing it by standing out in the middle of a path between two dismantled cube vans without an ounce of fear. The man had balls, no question, but the team was standing at the ready with conventional weapons and special abilities ready to be used at a moment's notice, and without hesitation. Apollo wouldn't get far if the guy tried to harm the boss.

Conor remained hidden until Apollo agreed to be read, his ever-protective sniper boyfriend high in the nearby metal stacks zeroed in on various targets, ensuring their continued safety. Woodley was on the far side of the junkyard covering Brick’s back while Fletcher, Shaw, and Stryker spread out to complete a ring around the area. Spencer and Jennifer remained at the rental and were on the comms waiting while Jason was stationed near their SUVs in case they had to make a quick getaway. Everything was set; their guest of honor was all that was needed now to get this show on the road.

Would he show? Would he be alone?

As the hours ticked by, Harris had to admit he was losing faith that the guy would show up until his bone mic crackled to life.

“ I have two approaching from the east,” Gunner’s voice came across clearly as if he were standing beside him.

“ Got them,” Fletcher said.

“ Drone is airborne,” Spencer added.

With silent eyes in the sky, they could follow all the heat signatures in the area to ensure no new parties randomly appeared to crash their party.

“ Confirmed only homing in on one individual,” Conor said. “Apollo is still a mystery and unreadable to me.”

No surprise there. What would truly be shocking was if he allowed Conor into his thoughts. In the meantime, Harris kept his full attention on Brick, ready to react and send things flying so the team leader could make his getaway. Lifting a wrecked car would take hardly any effort after all the training he and his sister had put in over the past several months. Brick had instructed him to let chaos reign if the plan went to shit, and that’s exactly what he planned to do.

“ In my sights,” Brick stated as Apollo and a second man came into view.

Harris got his first look at the new guy Apollo had brought along. He was shorter than Apollo—hell, most people were—and he had short black hair, a full beard, and his neck and arms covered in tattoos. He appeared to be in his forties and walked with a slight limp on the right side.

“ Reading the secondary target now,” Conor announced. “He’s angry at being here. Doesn’t trust us and is prepared for an ambush. He feels this is a waste of time, that they don’t need our help for something. I’m not sure what that something is; I’m trying to dig deeper.”

Both men stopped and scanned the area as the duo came within five feet of Brick. A knowing look passed between the two.

“ How many men you got out there?” Apollo asked.

“ Enough to keep you honest,” Brick responded with his usual grin. “Did you expect any less?”

“ We’re not the ones who requested this meeting,” the second man said.

“ And who the hell are you?” Brick asked. “I sure as shit didn’t invite you.”

“ That’s none of your business,” the stranger growled.

Brick shook his head and said, “Good luck, asshole.” He began walking away as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

“ Wait,” Apollo said. “This is Griffin, my second-in-command.”

Game, set, match.

Brick turned slowly.

“ Second in command infers a military operation. Is that what you are, military?”

“ Some of us,” Apollo answered. “Others are simply survivors looking for safety and peace.”

“ Speaking of safety, before we go any further, I require something from you,” Brick said.

“ What do you want?” Apollo asked as his eyes narrowed.

“ Our man can’t get a read on you for some reason. We assume it has to do with your mutations.”

“ A read?” he asked.

“ Yes. He can look inside your thoughts and see what you’re hiding. Check to make sure you’re on the up-and-up.”

“ One of their group is missing,” Conor said over the comms. “I’m picking up on thoughts from Griffin. They believe the Noah division at the bar has them.”

“ For example, he knows you’re missing one of your group members,” Brick said. “And those goons at the dive bar might have something to do with it. Your second is readable.”

Griffin’s eyes widened. “What the fuck?” He scanned the area as if searching for the others.

“ And if I refuse?” Apollo asked.

“ That’s your choice. I won’t force you,” Brick made it clear. “We’ll leave and chalk this up to another dead end. However, I’d advise you not to get in our way if we ever cross paths again.”

Apollo searched Brick’s face, probably looking for any sign that he was bluffing. He wasn’t.

“ We’ve got nothing to hide,” Griffin said.

“ If so, prove it,” Brick stated. “We’re not looking to uncover that you were a thumb sucker or some shit, just that you’re trustworthy.”

Apollo thought it over for a moment before saying, “Fine.”

“ Send in Conor,” Brick ordered.

Moments later, Conor came walking out from behind a burnt-out Kenworth and up to stand beside Brick.

“ I’m Conor, a fellow survivor. After the Noah Group was dismantled, I was dumped off in an orphanage.”

The blue streaks in Apollo’s eyes shone even brighter as he stared at Conor. Instinctively, Harris hovered a nearby Buick into the air as a clear warning.

Griffin crouched low, and his hands began to glow, preparing for the attack. Apollo’s eyes returned to normal—well, relatively normal.

“ Don’t even think about trying anything,” Brick growled as he stood protectively in front of Conor.

“ I wasn’t trying to hurt him,” Apollo stated.

“ You were scanning my abilities to confirm what I can do,” Conor said. “Not quite like my mutation, but you can pick up on my differences. That’s one of your mutations.”

“ That’s how you knew about Harris,” Brick said. “You could tell he was different.”

“ Yes. I scanned him back in the hotel bar when I was tailing that Noah associate you also happened to be following. I can pick out any mutation.”

“ And hide your own. Well, other than the eyes,” Brick said.

“ Dark glasses or contacts help with that,” Apollo answered.

“ We’re after the same people,” Brick stated.

“ Yes. It appears we are.”

“ It’s okay, Harris. You can put the car down,” Brick ordered.

Harris slowly lowered the wreck back onto the ground, happy his warning was clear. Mess with my friends, and I’ll flatten you.

“ Okay, I’ll allow you to read me,” Apollo said before closing his eyes.

Conor moved closer to the large man with Brick staying by his side, and likely Gunner zeroed in on Apollo through his scope.

“ Thank you,” Conor said. “I won’t cause you any harm either.”

“ Thank you.”

Conor was quiet momentarily before saying, “You want revenge.”

“ Who doesn’t,” Apollo replied with a grin that reminded Harris of Brick.

“ True enough,” Conor agreed. “You knew about a group working to shut down the new Noah offshoot groups, but you didn’t know it was us here in New Orleans. Not until the night you thought you were saving Harris and met Brick face-to-face.”

“ Yes. My sister mentioned him and his team at L. H. Investigations, the men who saved her. I had investigated him and came across a picture, but it wasn’t until he came out of the hotel that night along with the rest of the team that I put it all together,” Apollo explained.

“ After you escaped the group, you began tracking down other survivors,” Conor continued to read Apollo.

“ Someone had to,” Apollo answered.

“ Until we showed up,” Brick said.

“ True. That’s when I knew I wasn’t alone in my quest to free as many as possible from this division,” Apollo said.

“ Are you Ellen Hammon’s brother who reportedly died at birth?” Brick asked.

“ Yes.”

“ Truth,” Conor confirmed.

“ Why were you listed as dead?” Brick asked.

“ They were too afraid to allow me to go home with dear mom and dad,” Apollo said calmly. “Might blow the whole hidden agenda thing if I was let out into the normal world.”

“ Truth.”

“ Why didn’t you reach out to us?” Brick asked.

“ It was too risky. You’ve attracted some attention from the Group. We can’t risk being found.”

“ Truth.”

“ Why bother now? I understand thinking Harris was a free agent in trouble, but you agreed to this meeting even after knowing who we are?” Brick asked.

“ You need our help,” Conor said before Apollo had a chance.

“ We don’t need your help,” Griffin hissed. Shit, this guy has an anger problem.

Apollo laid his hand on Griffin’s shoulder.

“ Yes, we do. One of our people has gone missing.”

“ Truth,” Conor said.

Brick looked Apollo straight on and asked.” Do you plan on harming any person on my team or associated with me?”

Without missing a beat, Apollo responded, “No.”

“ Truth,” Conor confirmed.

“ Then I believe we can assist you, but let’s continue this conversation in a more secure location. I’ll forward the address to you later this evening,” Brick said. “We’ll arrange a time.”

Apollo reached out and shook Brick’s and then Conor’s hand. “Thank you.”

“ We’ll be in touch,” Brick stated.

***

Woodley

The team loaded back into the two SUVs and headed toward the rental. There was no more undercover work tonight, so the vehicle wasn’t needed. Woodley sat in the middle row directly behind Brick in the first vehicle's front passenger seat. They were crossing through Pines Village around three in the morning when a jacked-up and smoked-out Lincoln pulled alongside them, and years of police work had bells ringing for Woodley as the back window rolled down.

“ To the right,” Gunner said.

Everything happened so quickly after that, and Woodley lunged forward just before the first flash, placing himself between Brick and the exploding glass of the passenger window. The bullet impacted his back and sent Woodley forward and partially onto Brick before his body slid back between the middle seat and the floor.

Tires squealed, and the SUV veered as more shots rang out, but Woodley was quickly losing consciousness; he couldn’t keep track of the action. The burning pain was familiar; after all, he’d been shot before, but that time, it’d been his arm. Now, it was his chest. His mutation gave him a direct line to the functions in his body, and now he could feel his right lung filling with fluid as it got progressively harder for him to breathe.

His tissues rushed to heal the damage, but he’d never tried to heal this type of extensive damage before. Would it work? Hell, the boss wouldn’t have survived if it’d been him. That would have meant irreparable harm to their fight against the Noah Group, and preventing that from happening was worth his life.

“ Fuck, talk to me,” Harris ordered as he pulled him back into the seat and began applying pressure to the hole in Woodley’s back.

“ No hospitals,” he groaned. They didn’t need the attention with his healing abilities and the Noah Group in town.

It was all he could think to say before the darkness took over and nothing remained. The last thing he saw was Harris’s concerned face fading away, and for the first time in Woodley’s life, instead of wishing his mutation never existed, he wished he’d heal even faster.