Taken Over: Sapphire of Hope

Hiding in Plain Sight

Crowded areas can be very unpleasant, especially when you're looking for someone. For Adam, crowded areas were easy targets. You could quickly walk by someone, inject them with something, and walk away without them knowing it was you. By the time they hit the ground completely lifeless, you could be on the other side of the crowd and keep walking, completely getting away with it. Not today though. Today Adam was walking around a crowded area filled with rebels who were panicking because they didn't know what to do now that the president was unable to provide them with the orders they were waiting for to take back the nation.

Finally after searching, Adam saw who he was looking for. Before he could say anything, the man spoke.

"How's your hand?"

Adam looked at his wrapped hand that had been burned and answered.

"I'll live. I'm just glad I'm ambidextrous. If I wasn't, you would've lost your best fighter."

Zachariah turned to look at his brother, a light smile upon his face.

"Well if I would've lost you as a fighter, you would've made another mistake and all these people would have to stare at the monster you would've become after you made that mistake, and I can't have a crowd of people pissing blood at the sight of you can I? After all, these people are important to us."

Adam shook his head looking around at the panicking crowd.

"I don't see how. They don't know what to do without a leader."

Zachariah nodded.

"Indeed."

Adam looked at his brother.

"You have leadership experience. Why don't you calm them and start taking out Death Trap?"

Zachariah smiled again.

"Because T.C. members are not allowed to lead. That's rule number one of being one of us remember?"

Adam nodded and continued to look at the panicking people.

"That and I don't think the people would be too happy with a leader having the head of his enemy in his front yard."

Adam chuckled at this.

"You know brother, this is the first time I've seen you in quite some time out in the open. And without a cigar."

Zachariah looked at his younger brother.

"Ah Adam. Sometimes a good leader needs to come out and be among the people he has kept in the dark. And as far as the cigar, these people are going on rations because the rest of the nation isn't able to provide them with the proper recourses. It would be rude to gloat and rub my wealth in their face."

Adam chuckled again.

"Now, what news do you have?"

Adam answered Zachariah while looking at the crowd.

"Tyler Taftner will be here tomorrow. He wanted to stop by his mother's house to pay her a visit."

Zachariah looked at Adam.

"Any news on the girl Death Trap has been so eager to find and pursue?"

Adam shook his head.

"No. Rumor has it she made it to Pennsylvania, but that hasn't been confirmed. All our men are waiting in our underground facilities until you give the order to attack. Death Trap has made it very difficult for them."

Zachariah nodded.

"All the more reason to destroy them. What about their leader? This Skullfire, where is he?"

Adam paused before answering.

"None of our men have seen him. He's appeared once and that was in Oregon."

Zachariah began walking through the crowd with Adam close behind.

"This Skullfire is a very cunning man."

Adam looked at his brother.

"He's a coward that's what he is."

Zachariah stopped and looked at his brother.

"How so?"

Adam looked at back at him afraid he said something wrong.

"He hides behind a mask and he's only made one appearance in the war he's started. Sounds cowardly to me."

Zachariah smiled.

"Yes I guess when you see that simply, he does seem to be a coward."

Zachariah began walking through the crowd again.

"I on the other hand don't see it that way. He hides behind a mask yes, but no one knows him, even his own men. That takes a certain kind of skill any known warrior wishes to posses. He could be among us right now and we wouldn't know it."

Adam looked at his brother with slight disgust.

"It sounds like you envy this man."

Zachariah smiled.

"In a way yes. Look at it this way. He's taken the senators correct?"

Adam nodded.

"Yes."

He said trying to avoid the crowd as much as possible.

"Then he has made a very good move."

Adam looked at his brother who had stopped at the shore and was looking at the ocean.

"How so?"

Zachariah answered continuing to stare at the ocean.

"Because somehow he has known everything about us except for a couple details such as our underground headquarters location, and who I am. With the senators, he now has the ability to learn about the things we've done. This could lead him to finding out who I am."

Adam looked at his brother with slight fear.

"Then why are you standing out here with a crowd of witnesses?"

Zachariah chuckled.

"Please, by the morning they will have seen hundreds of faces. Besides, Death Trap stopped at the Pennsylvania border for a reason."

Adam looked at Zachariah with interest.

"What reason?"

Zachariah smiled.

"To push T.C. here. What they don't know is we can cross that border at anytime without them detecting us thanks to our underground tunnels."

Adam chuckled at this.

"I have a mission for you Adam. I want you to use all your resources and find the girl. Perhaps we can use her in this war."

Adam nodded and began to leave, but stopped when Zachariah began to speak again.

"Adam, do not harm her in anyway. I simply want you to find her and keep an eye on her. Until we find out what she means to Death Trap she is useless. I want to know what her part is to play in this war and then use that against Skullfire. Perhaps with her help we can lure the corpse from its grave."