Target In Sight

Chapter 5

The next morning we were all up for a peaceful jog around the neighborhood with Team Artemis. I stayed at the head of the pack with David right beside me, and in a few instances we picked up our paces to see who was faster.

Everyone else was taking a more leisurely approach to the exercise, as most of them lagged behind in order to talk. Even Yin and Yang were staying passive. Thomas and James finally had some time to be with each other, and I noticed that Delilah and Benjamin were chatting cordially. I even saw him making Delilah blush a bit. Aww, that's cute. "David, do you just want to chill? We got nothing better to do."   

  "... Yeah, I suppose you're right. I'll just have to show you up another time," he sneered. 

"Sure you will," I retorted back. He gave me a playful push before slowing down to allow the rest of his team to catch up. I remained ahead to test my stamina and ran twelve loops before needing to catch my breath. Pretty good, considering my bum heart. I wiped the sweat from my brow and checked my datapad. As soon as I unlocked the screen Harmon sent a message. "Good morning, Shelly. Today are will play the role of terrorists in a hostage situation. Team Artemis will be tasked with eliminating you using any strategy that they can concoct. You will be given ten minutes to plan your own strategy and secure the perimeter. Your hostage is located in the attic. Good luck." 

I called everyone over and we started forming our game plan. After a few minutes of debating we tasked Matt and Abbey with protecting the hostage. Harriet and James would be our sharpshooters since they had the best aim and would be settled in the second floor while Benjamin and I would patrol the ground floor and barricade any possible entry points. I then tasked Yin with sniping duty, mainly to counter Yang if possible. "Of course, captain."

She flicked her wrist and I expected on of her signature pistols to fall out. Instead a high caliber silenced sniper rifle expelled itself from her sleeve and rested in her hands. "How did you do that?" I asked. 

"My jacket possesses fourth-dimension properties, or Hammer-Space, if you'd rather refer to it as that." 

What other tricks do these two mutates possess? We still have close to a year to find out. Yin clambered the side of a building across the street as my teammates hurried to their positions. Benjy and I hastily shove furniture in front of the doors and guarded the windows warily.

Everything was calm when I heard a heavy thud upstairs. I told Benjy to stay on the ground floor as I checked out the disturbance. When I found Matt and Abbey they were standing in front some something. It was a young girl who was emitting a strange bright glow, huddled next to the bed. "Is that the hostage?"

"I guess," Matt answered. "I think she's stuck in this one spot, so we have to make sure no one on the other team gets anywhere near her."

I returned downstairs and finished securing the area. Our prep time ended two minutes ago and no shots have been fired thus far. David must be taking the stealthy approach. He'll still have to make noise if he wants to remove our barricades, so we have something to look out for.

I looked out the front window for any sign of Team Apollo. I saw something glint for a split second amidst the canopy of trees that ringed the neighborhood. Something silver soared through the air, heading straight for the second story, when it was blasted out of their air.

Shards of metal rained down on the road and I knew that Yin was somewhere amongst the brush, watching us like a hawk. He must've thrown the knife to gauge Yang's position. Still, there was no sign of movement. At least Yang is keeping a sharp eye. "Do you see anything?" Benjy whispered.

"No, Anything where you are?"

"Nothin'... Hey, I know this might be a weird time, but what do you think of Delilah?"