Paragon

Chapter 16:

I ran into the parking lot, looking for a suitable car. A polished looking man was just about to get into a sports car.

"That a fast car?" I asked him.

"Hell yeah." He replied.

"Good, and I'm really, really sorry." I pushed him away from the door, grabbing his keys, and climbed inside. I slammed the door and he began yanking on the handle.

"I'll bring it back." I promised.

I pushed the accelerator to the floor, as I wove through traffic. Soon sirens heralded the arrival of two Prime Order cars. I drove between two of them and went even faster. The man was right about it being a fast car, as my pursuers were soon far behind.

It took me ten minutes to get out of the city and onto the highway. Once there I reached for my phone, but realized that I didn't have it. I had a vague memory of dropping it when I grabbed Falcom and cursed at my own negligence. There was no time to get a phone and contact the others, meaning I was on my own.

A roadblock appeared in front of me and I slammed on the breaks.

"Going a bit fast there, aren't you?" A Prime Order agent asked me as he walked up to my window.

"Sorry." I replied. "I need to get through. It's an emergency."

"That's not possible."

"Why?"

"We received a bomb threat up the road. We're checking it out."

I sighed. "Alright." I pressed the accelerator and shot forward, through the roadblock. The Prime Order didn't follow, which is strange, unless they really had been bought out by Master Kontrol.

Half a mile away from the house I saw something in the road. Before I could stop the car hit it and flipped, slamming into the pavement hard enough to shatter the windshield. I lay still for a moment, head spinning, before assessing my injuries. Luckily, I was mostly unhurt, save for a pain in my shoulder and a cut on my forehead. I slashed my seatbelt and fell onto the crumbled roof, turning so I can look out of the windshield. Two Capricorns were walking toward me, stepping over the remains of the tripwire which I'd hit.

I crawled out of the car as one of them pulled out a gun. I ran into the woods on the side of the road. I made my way along it, pain shooting through my shoulder at every step. I jogged up to the house, noticing the two Capricorns guarding the front door. I went around to the back of the house, knowing that Weska, who hated being in enclosed spaces, nearly always kept her window open.

Sure enough, it was open. I climbed onto the window sill of the first floor to climb to the second.

Suddenly someone grabbed me, pushing me through the glass. I hit the floor, glass cutting into my hands and face. The person who hit me pulled me to my feet, and I realize that he was a Capricorn.

"Listen, I'm sure we can talk this out-" I began.

He hit me with enough force to knock me into a bookshelf. He pulled me up again and dragged me out of the room and down the hall to the living room. He knocked on the door.

"Come in."

I recognized Xavier Cane's voice as we entered.

The living room was trashed. Several dead Capricorns lay in the corner. In the center of the room is Gamma, tied to a chair. He was covered with cuts and bruises and appears to be unconscious. Cane stood over him, a bloody scalpel in one hand.

"Ah, Katana." He turned to me. "You weren't the one I expected to show up."

"Surprise." I smiled at him, ready to attack as soon as the Capricorn looked away. "You're going to regret this, Cane."