Chaos

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter 24 

North Side Perimeter

I stared at what had to be the biggest person I have ever laid eyes on. His name was Bandit and he was one out of two of my partners for guard duty. You'd think after staring at him for three weeks, you'd get use to his size. But no, I still couldn't pull my eyes away from him.

I have been on guard duty with Bandit and Josh for three weeks and the Shifters' Den hasn't seen any action from the Agents. I couldn't decide if this period was the calm before the storm, or if we were just having a lucky break. If anyone asked me, which for some odd reason no has, I would agree with the former. The calm before the story. If I ever knew anyone, I knew Peter and he loved the dramatic flair, but he was always neurotic about detail. Everything just had to be right.

So I knew that Peter was sitting on some chair checking off every item on his list. Making sure nothing was amiss or could go wrong. It had me worrying. He was up to something, and for once, I didn't know something. Almost all of my Agents contacts were on radio silence and lock down. No one could slip any messages in or out. My eyes and ears on the streets have told me the same thing Joe did. Get your families and keep them hidden.

I was able to get a text out to Berto asking him what he thought, but so far he hasn't responded. I was basically alone. I needed answers, I needed leads, and I needed everything last week. To say the least, I was not a happy camper. And if you add the fact I was still being babysat, didn't help.

Bandit called my name and I turn to stare at the man. Jesus, but he made a grizzly bear look cuddly. "Yeah?"

"We have the inner perimeter duty tonight." He said. It wasn't anything out of the normal for guard duty. Bandit and Josh have been partners for eight years, since the beginning of Shifters' Den creation. They had the most experience and knew the terrain like the back of their hands. It must be boring for them to do inner perimeter duty. It was the last line of defense and we hardly ever saw any action.

"Okay." I answered, knowing Bandit wanted a response. Out of the two pairs, Bandit was the most vocal. Josh only ever spoke to affirm a request from Bandit, or if he was answering a question. I have not yet seen him start a conversation. I tried to be friendly and ask him a question, but he just answered in one word. It was quite frustrating, so I left him to his thoughts or whatever it was he did.

I had my own official gear as a guard. Black fatigues and a black bullet proof vest. Underneath the vest, I wore my own black racer back tank top. I deftly tied my hair in a high ponytail. I strapped the hunting knife Falkon gave me to my thigh. It was his present of congratulations for making the Guard. I also had the standard taser gun hooked around my waist and another in a shoulder strap.

Bandit thudded over to where I was sitting and crouched down, making his incredible height eyelevel with me. He spoke with considerate ease, as if he was talking to a handicap. "Josh told me he had a bad feeling about tonight. Now, I don't know about you, but I listen and respect Josh. I would like you to do the same. Keep your eyes peeled and you focus sharp, tonight. Okay?"

He didn't wait for me to respond just stood up and grabbed his gear. "Time to move out."

***

Two hours later.

"Sector Nine, all clear?" The voice came through the tiny ear phones hooked to our night vision glasses. So far, nothing out of the usually happened. The crickets were singing their songs and an owl hooted every once in a while.

Bandit clicked his mic. "All clear over here, command."

"Sector Eight hasn't checked in yet, but they could just be in the dead zone. So stay ready, I might send you over to have a look."