Hidden Enemies | The Prime Archives #2 ✓

thirty-four

Chase glared at the crutches standing in the corner of his room. Not only did he hate using them, but the mere sight of them brought back memories he wished to ignore.

The battle at the Pentagon had been two weeks ago. By Atlas' standards, the mission had been a success. No casualties had been reported and only a few civilians and government workers sustained minor injuries. Mr. Lwando and Senator Crane had also survived the attempt on their lives.

But the team didn't feel like they won.

After they had returned to The Acropolis after their fight, no one felt like celebrating. In fact, no one had really spoken to each other much since then. They may have defeated and arrested the rogue Primes, those who survived anyways, but their futures were still hanging in the balance.

Chase had hoped saving Mr. Lwando's life had been enough. The man had been their last hope of combatting the PRA.

Then a few days after the battle, the news report came in. Footage from an emergency United Nations summit in Geneva played across every news channel in the nation. They had met to cast their second vote on the PRA.

It was accepted with a unanimous vote.

Atlas had been thrown into the lurch ever since. It was only a matter of time until the United Nations officially stepped in and seized the company from Director Shaw. Could Chase even call the man 'director' anymore? He wasn't sure, but he was sure he would find out soon.

To make matters worse, Senator Crane was head and shoulders above his opposition in the presidential race. No one was catching him. If he was elected as the next commander and chief of the United States of America in the coming weeks, no one would have been surprised.

Things had quickly gone from bad to worse.

Next to him, his cellphone vibrated as he received a text message. He glanced at the screen and saw it was from Emily. She had called a meeting in the common room and wanted him there in five minutes.

He wasn't in the mood for a meeting, but he figured it was important. With a grunt, he rose from his bed and limped over to his crutches. He then opened his door, entered the hallway, and made his way to the common room.

#

"We need a plan," Emily said with her arms folded across her chest.

"A plan?" Chase said as he stretched out on the couch. "For what?"

"We can't stay here," she told him. "I know I can't. There's no way I'm working for...what's the name of that prick they're putting in charge?"

Chase rolled his eyes. "General North." He glanced around the room as she went on a tirade about how corrupt their government was. While he knew she was right, he wasn't in the mood to entertain her conspiracies.

He had a lot on his mind as it was.

Emily had only called upon himself, Kai, Andre, Danai, and Archie for the meeting. They were the only ones from their group who had previously expressed their doubts in Senator Crane. Oscar would have been there too had they known where he was.

Chase frowned at his hands as he peered at the dented portion of one of the common room walls. He could still see the fear in Oscar's eyes after he had tossed him into it.

He wished he had done things differently when the boy revealed he had been the mole within their ranks. While he hadn't totally forgiven him, he understood why he did it. He was just trying to protect his family.

Had Chase been in the same position, he probably would have done the same.

He wished he had been there for him when he found out his family died. No matter what, they would always be family. Oscar wouldn't know that, though.