Renegade

Chapter twenty-seven

The excited muttering around Wake resumed and he thought he heard the agent beside him sigh. He was tall, bulky and clearly the leader of the group inside this particular SUV, as he had already ordered the other men to shut it three times before. The silence never lasted as they seemed to be too worked up about catching two of them to manage to keep quiet.

The CS had captured comrades of his on previous occasions, but it was separately and years apart and his people had busted them out both times. Today, they had killed Olivia, injured Blaise and apprehended him and Noelani, so he supposed it was something to write home about.

Wake shifted slightly, the motion silencing them faster than their captain's words had. Their eyes landed on him and they stiffened. It wasn't like he could go anywhere though, considering the number of restraints they had used on him.

He had the classical negation collar wrapped around his neck and they'd added cuffs that encased his whole hands. Those were chained to his shackles to limit his movements. As if that wasn't enough, a muzzle had been strapped to the lower half of his face. They had really gone all out.

He was seated in the back of one of the four remaining vehicles with an agent on each side, two in the back and two up front. Noelani was similarly set up in one of the other cars. Wake shifted again, the chains clanging softly. A rifle was jammed into his ribs.

"Keep still," the man on his left warned.

He sounded young. Wake turned his head slightly to look at the dark helmet.

"Or what?" his blue eyes silently asked.

His stare seemed to unnerve the man for he shifted uncomfortably beside him. Satisfied by his discomfort, the blond turned his gaze back to the road ahead.

Wake knew with certainty that these agents wouldn't kill them. The CS wanted nothing more than to discover their hideout so they could be rid of the Freakshow once and for all; which meant they needed prisoners in good enough shape to interrogate. That was why they had used stun rounds to capture them instead of gunning them down the way they had with Blaise and Olivia.

Anger surged through his veins at the thought of her and he involuntarily jerked against his chain. He felt six pair of wary eyes settle on him. Even with all the restraints, these men were still afraid of him. The mutterings around him had come to a definite halt.

Wake took a deep, calming breath. Now more than ever, he needed to remain levelheaded. They would come for them. His friends had gotten away and they would warn Brad who would immediately set up a rescue mission.

Howard would find them, Gale would disable their security, Diana would tunnel the rescue team over and Blaise... well, Blaise would wreak havoc.

This wasn't their first large-scale, high-stake retrieval mission and even without him and Noelani to aid, it would still be a success. He had absolute faith in his family.

Brad would never abandon them.

"Almost there;" the driver said.

Wake leaned discreetly forward, trying to get a look at their destination. A bag was pulled over his head, cutting him off from the rest of the world. He felt the prickle of a needle at the base of his neck. His vision blurred and sounds grew distant as the drug kicked in, slowly pulling him under.

* * * * *

It was late into the night by the time the trio came across civilization. Billie pulled up in front of a squat building with orange walls and small, dirty windows. Unbuckling her seat belt, she exited the car with a warning for them to keep out of sight.