THE NEXT TWO DAYS

Part Four

    CHAPTER FOUR
       He could hear their conversations. They were excited that they were going to take him unawares. One of them wanted him to be the first person they would kill because he had something special to do with Cindy. That pissed him off, and he rarely got pissed because he was dangerous even to people near him. Everything became a mathematical puzzle, his body became highly sensitive to anything and he rarely became calm until he had solved the puzzle.  The only person that had ever calmed him was Cindy. These men were now his puzzle and the solution was their death. The thought of any of them surviving sent shock waves to his body making him shake. He could not lose control. He had been trained to be able to control his sensitivity to everything and had been able to overcome going through a phase for a long time but at the moment, he found himself struggling for control.
“Jason, calm down…” Cindy said placing her hands on his hand.
Just like other times, the shock waves stopped as Cindy held him. She had always intrigued him from birth. He had refused to go near her afraid of feeling that annoying tinkling sensation he normally felt when touched. He had heard Mum tell Dad she thought he was autistic, then later she changed to mild autism, then he did not understand what that meant. He only knew the light was too bright, people’s voices were too loud and he hated being touched or touching someone. When that happened, it felt like tiny spiders were moving all over his body and he had always screamed, then Mum had always placed a puzzle for him, the more difficult the puzzle, the better because by the time he had solved the puzzle, he felt better. Sometimes he preferred targeting anything flying. So when Mum had gone to the hospital with a big stomach and had come back with a tiny little girl, he had refused to touch the baby. But he actually held her tiny hands one day after his inquisitiveness overcame his fear of being touched. He had instantly felt peace. It was like the feeling someone get when all the neighbors are disturbing the area with music and there is a sudden power outage. That was the kind of peace he felt. He became intoxicated with holding her. Although he was not that sensitive to Mum and Dad’s touch, he still felt a bit uncomfortable. Holding Cindy brought peace and made him feel normal. It later became a habit that when he was triggered and the puzzles were not enough distraction, Cindy had been his drug. Although things changed when Cindy was sixteen. Now he was having that sensation that made him feel uncomfortable until the puzzle before him was solved and he had never failed to solve a puzzle. None of the men approaching his camp would survive this night. He was already calculating the distance he would allow them to get before he struck. Cindy was his physical peace and these men became a threat to his peace the moment they entered his camp.
There were a lot of options from his numerous weapons but the one he was sure was missing was a handcuff. His special team was trained to eradicate threats, there was no class on how to take in prisoners. Before they were sent out, their target had already been confirmed as a threat and their only instruction was 'eliminate.'
“Jason I don’t want to understand what you meant by you fighting. You said they, which means they are more than one. You can’t fight them. Let’s run” Cindy pleaded as he brought out his 9mm pistol.
He wished he could answer her, which was another thing he had to battle with. He hated talking, and it came with its own sensation. He could sense fear in her voice making him more upset. He brought out what The Circle called “Flight 40” A toy-like rabbit. He removed the tracking device from Cindy’s phone and attached it to Flight 40. He unzipped the shelter and with a button and a tap from his andriod watch, he sent the rabbit out into the night in the direction of angle 90, almost adjacent to his Circle.  He had created his circle around his shelter in his mind and part of the puzzle was to make sure none of the invaders would enter the circle.
“Jason, is like you are not listening to me. We need to start running now before they get to us” Cindy pleaded again. This time, she tried pulling the hand with his android watch avoiding the hand with the gun.
“Cindy, your fear pricks at me. They will not stop chasing us, this is the only way to stop them. I stopped them last time” he replied wishing he had the communication skills George had. Pain and anger laced through him at the thought of George.
“You were lucky last time, I don’t know how you did it but the best thing to do right now is to run” she said trying to pull him out of the tent.
He would have smiled if it were possible. He had never gotten the concept of luck. His brain could not assimilate the meaning. Luck to him was having the correct math and position, and killing those bastards was the easiest math he had ever solved. They were too stupid and too sure of their numbers against him. It was as if each felt if his bullet didn’t hit him the other’s bullet would and because of that, they were too slow and had zero in targeting. He could kill five people with his 9mm before one of them could fire. The only smart one among them was the one by Cindy’s bathroom door. He had called Cindy’s name knowing it would halt any attack on her if she had not already been captured. But the ones coming right now, sounded different, like they were better trained. He was counting on their being smart for his trap to succeed and it looked like it worked. They had halted their movement towards the camp and from the sounds Flight 10 was sending back, their leader saw the change of the direction of their tracker as a distraction.
“Two of you follow the former position of the device, and you follow me. I think he’s aware we are coming” one of the men said, should be their leader.
That was exactly what he wanted. He was right. They wouldn't send rookies like before to him. Last time was because they were just to capture Cindy.  This time, they had sent pros, and it was game on.
“Cindy do I need to explain to you that I’m a trained soldier and this is what I do” he said hoping his words will register but from Cindy’s vibrating body he just knew what he said didn’t penetrate.
He needed another tactic to calm her before she started hyperventilating.
“Cindy its night and we are in an unknown bush. I can protect us from them but I can’t guarantee protection from snakes and you hate snakes” he said, hoping this would work because they were getting close.
He had to move fast on those coming towards them before going for those chasing Flight 40.
“We can take our chances. Please I don’t want anything to happen to you” she replied this time throwing herself on him.
He held her closer. He wished he knew what to say to keep her calm. She was not afraid for herself but for him, and how would he convince her that he was more afraid of something biting her than the people approaching. He was running out of time and there was no way he could leave her in her flight mood. When he moved for the kill, she must be at the center of his circle which was the shelter.
“What if we run now, then you can call George to join us later in the morning. I will be more comfortable if it’s two of you. Please Jason.”
That strange painful feeling on his chest came again at the mention of George’s name. He had had that once when Mum and Dad died. He never wanted her to find out about George but if telling her could convince her that the people they were facing would not stop chasing them, he was willing to take whatever came with it.
“George is dead Cindy. This people are not going to stop except I stop them” he said as the pain squeezed his chest forcing him to take a deep breathe.
Even before she reacted he knew he had just made a big mistake. He felt like cursing himself. He never made mistakes when it came to battle but had lots of them when it came to communication. She pulled away from him, her mouth was opened with an expression of shock written all over her face. If she was not hyperventilating before, she was now, all because he said the wrong thing.
“Cindy, Cindy, calm down, look at me” he said trying to pull her back to him.
George had been attacked just after they returned to their camp, after collecting the evidence they needed. He had intentionally lost the bet on who to get food because George had been losing all the time. Just when he had procured the food and was about to drive back to their camp, he got an email from George. Followed by a message. The text was short. ‘under attack. download fast’ He understood what the text meant. He had clicked on download as he drove straight to camp. He knew they would not go, but would wait for him. They were pros and the only way to win was to take the battle home, home meaning up. They had set their camp knowing they might need to defend themselves. It was an abandoned three storey building close to their camp. It took him less than three minutes to get to the top. He had picked out three of the men outside the camp before they knew they were being attacked. They had withdrawn immediately into the Hilux they came with. He allowed them to drive away from the camp before shooting at the driver. The car crashed into a big tree after the bullet penetrated the hand on the wheel, exactly where he wanted the bullet to enter. He had waited for those who survived the crash to come out, then without hesitating he shot each of them. He had found George’s body very close to the shelter they had set up with Black, his Desert Eagle pistol still on his hand.  Apart from the three people he shot, eight dead bodies were also lying at different locations. Those were George’s doing.  Before dealing with George’ body, he had collected the original file and the hardcopy from where they had hidden it, a little distance from their camp.
“You don’t lie Jason, you are not trying to trick me, you won’t do that, so let me just hope this night is a nightmare. I need to wake up” she said bringing him back from that painful memory.
“I’m sorry you have to know this way. We don’t have much time. I need you to stay here. Please don’t do anything. No harm will come to you if you stay here. I will be back soon” he said carrying his weapon bag with him. In it was George’s Black. He bent down to crawl out but someone held him from behind.
“Don’t go, don’t leave me, Mum and Dad are no more, George is no more, not you too, I won’t survive without you” she said crying, her head was resting on his back, her body was shaking and her tears were tearing at his heart.
He turned to face her, wishing he knew what to say to make her believe in him. He raised her face to meet his, confused on what to do. She opened her mouth to say something. He did not give her the chance as he covered her mouth with his. An unfamiliar fire like hot liquid overwhelmed him immediately their lips connected. He felt hot all over. A hunger he had not known existed took over his body. A part of his brain was screaming for him to stop, that he was breaking his promise to Mum, but he was too far gone to listen. Maybe he would have stopped if she had resisted. He was already lost but he was hoping she would be the sane one. She did not stop him, she did not resist him, instead she pushed her body closer increasing the fire burning in his body.
It was only the sound of people approaching and whispering on his ear that brought back his sanity. He gently pulled her away from him.
“Cindy, we have a lot to discuss. I just broke my promise to Mum. We will talk but before that, I need to take care of those threats. When I come back, I will answer all the questions you have for me. Promise me you will be here when I come back.”
She did not say anything but nodded.
“No matter what you hear don’t leave this place Cindy” he said leaving the shelter without waiting for her response.
The enemies were almost crossing the area he wanted to meet them. Without wasting time he moved stealthily towards his first battle.