Silhouettes of America - Book 1 of The ARMOR Series [Completed]

17: Traitor | Avery

Current time: Friday, 15:45 EST
Current Location: Aspen, Colorado, USA - 39.1911*N, 106.8175*W

"My purse!" I screamed when a small boy stole the purse Luke gave me. I'm battling on whether to chase the boy or not for I'm trying hard to conceal my identity. An ARMOR disciple could be here in Colorado and it's risky to show my skills.

Luke, on the other hand, stayed in the car, listening to country music as he waited for me. He didn't want to wander in the grocery store for some people might recognize him. Never did he know of my current situation.

What the hell. I scratched my head, thinking of a way to get my purse back. Luke's credit card was there. I need to give it back to him or I'll end up in debt. Much to my surprise, a man wearing light green specs ran after the boy. He caught the boy and held his arms tight. I ran to them who were slowly getting unwanted public attention.

"What's your name, kid?" The man asked the boy.

"No money! Let go!" The poor boy who seemed to have a grammar problem pleaded, tears fell from his eyes.

The man turned to face me, handing my purse and the boy. "Here's your snatcher, miss."

The boy wriggled, trying to escape but I held his shirt tightly. "Where's your mom? Why did you steal my purse?"

The boy just cried in response. I took pity on him so I released my grip on his shirt. "Promise me you won't steal things from people again," I said. The boy nodded and ran away, disappearing in the crowd. After the short drama, the people left one by one and I'm glad no guard is involved.

What the hell. I sighed in relief. I'll be damned if I lost the credit card of a high-paid singer. I laughed internally thinking about his kiss when I heard someone cleared their throat behind. "You're welcome."

"Who are you?" I asked, turning to look at the man who helped me pursue the snatcher. He has slant, hazel eyes. He's so tall, like a model and his features are so masculine, like he's in his early 30's.

"What a rude way to talk to your hero," the man snickered. "I'm Nike. Your name, miss?"

"Lena," I lied.

"Well, nice to meet you, Lena," the man named Nike said emphasizing the word LENA and smirked as he walked away.

Is it just me, or did the man said those words with sarcasm for he knew I was lying about my name? I don't know how but I've got a bad feeling about him. I waved the mood off and proceeded to the escalator. No, it's a hassle. I got to the stairs and walked down fast.

"Hey, you seem to enjoy shopping," Luke said over the window as he saw me coming over. I placed the plastic bags on the back seat and hopped inside the car.

"I nearly lost your credit card. A young boy snatched my purse and ran so fast. Good thing, a man chased him and gave it back to me," I narrated.

Luke snickered. "What a reckless lass."

Luke turned the engine on and drove home. We passed by the park and saw children laughing gaily while playing. There are kids in skirts enjoying the slide. There are boys in jumpers giggling while hanging in the monkey bar. There are also kids taking pleasure in chasing each other. A little girl tripped on a stone and fell on the ground, hurting herself. A big guy who is probably her dad came up and helped her to stand.

I felt sad. Never did dad come to my rescue. Not even once. He only tortured me and trained me to hurt other people.

When the man let go of his daughter's hand, my eyes sparkled.

I really saw it.

An ARMOR tattoo on the man's arm.

"Stop the car," I ordered. Luke parked in a corner just as I had said. "What's wrong?"

I opened the door and hopped off. "Wait for me in the car. I'll be back in a few minutes."

I walked over to the man who sat alone on a cemented bench. He looked like Japanese. "Hello. My name is Lena. My car got stuck in there. Can you help me, mister?"

The man looked at his daughter who was playing seesaw with her playmates. Seeing her in a good state, he nodded. "Okay."

The man followed me to the back of the park where an abandoned building stood. "Where's your car?" he asked. He looked sideways and saw nothing. There are no other people nearby. We were in an isolated street, where only silence could be heard. He looked at me and was taken aback when his face collided with my shoe. I pinned him down as my legs locked his arms together. I held the collar of his polo in one hand as I pointed a sharp sabre in his throat with the other hand.

"Where is Jacob Collins?" I asked.

"Get off me before I knock you out!"

I tightened my grip on his collar. The man coughed, choking on it. "How did you know him? And who are you?"

"Tell me where he is or I'll kill your daughter!"

The man's eyes grew wide. He breathed deeply and said, "He's dead."

"What?" I was astounded. So the man I've been looking for all this time is already rotting on the ground? No way!

"Fool!" the Japanese man banged his head with mine. I was deceived. Blood oozed from my forehead and my vision splitted into two. The man pushed me off him and I rolled on the ground, dropping the sabre.

STAND UP! I heard his voice again.

I stood up and faced the man who held my sabre, getting ready to strike. "You looked like him. You act like him. And you're both traitors!" the man yelled.

Traitor?

I didn't get to ask a question for the man threw the sabre straight to my heart which I dodged. The sabre plunged into my left arm instead and I winced in pain when the blade tore my flesh.

"Your dad's a traitor, poor girl. ARMOR is after his head. He pretended to be ARMOR's disciple but in the end, he only joined the group to infiltrate our plans!"

I quickly picked the sabre from my flesh and threw it against him. The man shuddered when the sabre plunged deep into his chest. His eyes bulged and he slowly collapsed on the ground. "I only asked you where Jacob Collins is but you begged me to bring you to your death," I blurted out.

The man's breathing turned uneven. "A-Akira," he managed to choke out between coughs before his breathing finally stopped.

That must be the name of his daughter. A pang of guilt suddenly seized me. ARMOR disciples have family too and I killed the happiness to one person.

I gulped bitterly, looking at the man I just killed. I remembered the creed Jacob Collins taught me.

"The weak dies in the hands of the strong. My nemesis may die but I'll live. I'll live because I am strong."

I walked away from the man as fast as I could and gets back to where Luke was. I opened the car and hopped in.

"W-wait! Y-you're bleeding!" Luke exclaimed. He became anxious; shifting his gaze from my bleeding head to my arm. He pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and tied it on my arm. "How did you get this?"

"Run the car now, Luke. We need to get out of here fast," I demanded. My vision is nearly dimming and I felt like I might pass out.

Perplexed, Luke ran the car and sped off.

**

Oh, Avery killed a Jap.
I still love you Avery, don't worry.

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