Live Like A Warrior (Book 3 of the Real World Chronicles)

Ch. 2: Don't Say I Wasn't There For You

The van holding Knuckles captive carried him for hours miles out further into the Rockies. The van did not stop until they parked out in front of a swanky ski resort lodge closed for the season. They both got out and headed towards the back of the van. Mason stopped to look at the lodge, rather exhausted after driving for so far and having to come all this way to their rendezvous.

"This is it. IceCap Ski Resort. This is where the Buyer wants to make the exchange?"

"He makes the rules, not us," replied Willoughby, as she unlocked the back of the van. "Right, help me unload the echidna."

The two agents opened the doors and pulled the particle cell cube holding Knuckles inside out and carried him over to the entrance, where they cut through clearance with a special keycard.

Not a moment too soon after the door closed behind them, Wade and Willow had arrived after hours of driving and switching lanes to blend in with traffic to make sure the agents didn't know that they were being followed. Willow was lucky enough to have brought her pair of mini binoculars along since leaving her home in Leavenworth to keep track of the agents' trail while Wade drove.

Quest For Reno: Day 1, Thursday. (con.), Willow wrote in her journal as they drove. Wade and I have accidentally let Knuckles get captured by GUN. Last time I remembered, Tom, Maddie and I made it very clear to Comm. Walters that me and my Mobian friends were not a hostile threat to Earth.

Last time I checked, one of the two goons that we're chasing right now said that they were going to sell Knuckles's powers off to someone else for a ton of money. So, now, my hunch is that although they still work under GUN, they're clearly working for someone OUTSIDE the law. Whatever the case is, Wade and I are not about to let that happen.

Just then, she noticed the GUN van and pointed it out to Wade in the parking lot; Wade swung wide into the lot and parked next to the entrance van hidden away from prying eyes.

"They must've brought him inside," Willow observed through her binoculars, judging by the faint glow inside the lodge she could see emitting from the lobby doors.

"Aright, little buddy," he inhaled. "We're coming for ya." He sighed, nervously tapping on his wheel, jogging his memory. "Come on Wade, you can do this. You may not be a warrior yet, but you are a deputy. In fact, you are one of the greatest deputies in the history of law enforcement. And normally, in a situation like this, you'd call for backup. But this is Montana, so... you are the backup."

Willow hummed, feeling nervous, herself, even after he made his voice tingle at the end.

Wade sighed again, "Rely on your instincts. Think back to your police training. You are prepared for this."

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A few years before he became a deputy, Wade was in the middle of studying for police academy on the couch while watching Bad Boys on TV. At that moment when he looked up from his studies, he saw Will Smith save Martin Lawrence from getting run over by the taxi that was hijacked by the man who kidnapped the lady they were trying to save. Even though their bad guy got away with the hostage, Will still looked Martin dead in the eye and said those iconic words,

"Don't ever say I wasn't there for you."

Wade nodded, inspired, and jotted it down on his notepad. "Cool line."

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"I am extremely unprepared for this," Wade shortly realized after the flashback.