The Vigilante Book 1

Prologue

Part 1: Fire and Ice

Prologue:

I remember hot air moving over me. My eyes were closed and the room was in a hushed silence, broken only by the sound of warm wind outside.

"Will he wake up?" a woman's quiet voice asked calmly.

"We need him," a gruff man's voice stated, "The deal was we're with him on this and he got off. If he goes then it's all our hides,"

"I think we both know they can't take our hides, Braxton," the woman retorted.

"I know they can't. But if they tried then Richardson's career is over and our cover is blown. We can't risk being revealed to the government or to him,"

"I agree,"

There was a moment of silence.

"Reall-?" the gruff sounding man began.

"To a point," the woman interrupted, "The government has no need to know who we are, and Thame has no need to learn our secret yet. We don't even really know if we can trust him,"

"Then what don't you agree with?"

"What I don't agree with," she began, "Is that I think Richardson has been kept out of the loop long enough,"

"You what?" the man I assumed was Braxton asked loudly.

"Shh," the woman almost whispered as if they were being listened to.

"He's out cold. And Myral, that isn't your decision to make, the council-,"

"To hell with the council," she stated calmly, "They do not command me,"

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean? We all answer to them!"

"I follow them out of mutual ideals, but I do not serve them. Dale has proven himself to us and he needs to be told who we really are,"

"He would never forgive us,"

"Then how should he find out? From a stranger, or a computer file misplaced in an office? One of our own betrayed and tried to murder us when that happened to him,"

"That wasn't our fault,"

"You damn well know that it was our fault!" she said loudly, "If we had told him about the Legion then, none of this would have happened and we wouldn't be wasting our time hunting one of our own when he should have been told the truth! The same could very well happen to both Dale and Thame!"

My groggy senses were returning to me slowly as the two argued in the room. I briefly tried to listen but more so attempted to make sense of what was happening. Where was I? What had happened? I didn't know any of it. I didn't remember anything of what had happened. My mind was blank of any memory to how I could be in this situation.

"So what would you do? Go march in there and tell him right now? Don't forget that you speak for all of us if you do that, not just yourself!"

The air in the room seemed to completely change at that statement. The once warm wind was cold and hard. A static cling made me not want to move and freeze in place even though I was already laying still.

"I am the Voice of the Fallen," Myral stated calmly but her entire voice had changed, it now echoed with undertones that sounded like other voices, "I speak for the dead Braxton, not for you. If you wish to defy me for your council, then go ahead, but you will not survive," she ended with the icy threat and I heard the sound metal clinging like blades gently.

"Stop, Myral! Stop!" Braxton nearly yelled with the sound of him taking several footsteps back.

The door lock made a clicking noise.

The cold air instantly reverted back to normal as both people turned to see who had entered.

"How is he?" another man's voice asked.

"Still out like a brick, nothing to report," Braxton stated as if nothing had happened.

"Okay, we're flying out soon, let's get him loaded up with the medical equipment in the next couple of hours,"

I groaned audibly and tried to open my tired eyes.

"Did he speak?" Myral queried.

"Who are you?" I asked, nearly choking on my words.

"Wha-no," the gruff voice said quietly.

"I said who are you?" I restated loudly, attempting to sit up from the restraints that held me onto the table.

"Damn, what happened?" Braxton asked.

"He's amnesiac still. Put him out so he doesn't hurt anyone. With some luck he'll remember what happened," the man who had entered the room commanded.

I turned my head and saw him sitting near the door. His battle-worn face and ripped suit seemed familiar but I couldn't quite recall who he was.

"Are you sure?" the first person who had spoken asked.

"Yeah," the man in suit replied.

"No! Don't you dare!" I nearly yelled, struggling against the restraints.

"Thame! Calm down, we're trying to help you!" the man in suit said while approaching the table.

I felt the needle piece my arm with a small prick. My vision quickly went blurry and exhaustion came over me but I would not allow myself to go unconscious. I pulled my right arm out of its restraint with some effort and gritted my teeth in an attempt to stay awake.

"It isn't working! I need help with him!" the man in the suit called while trying to pin me down.

Pain suddenly racked the side of my face from a punch and my vision went black. I felt blood pool in my mouth before completely going under.

Unbeknownest to me, everyone had left aside from one. She stood nearby, glaring at me, suspicious of what I might have heard.

"Talk to me when you wake up," she whispered.