FUTURITY

BOOM

In another moment, Cops and FBI surrounded Jason and Leon, raising tasers and guns. Jason swallowed and balled his hands into fists.

"Get your hands in the air!" A cop ordered.

Jason obeyed. But Leon looked at the officers and didn't move.

"Get your hands up, sir!" another cop said, this one holding a taser gun. Leon stepped forward.

TZZZZ!

The taser hit Leon square in the chest. Electricity hummed, but Leon didn't react. He stared back at the cop and smirked. The officer cursed and pulled out his gun.

Jason lurched forward. "Stop!" 

Another officer aimed a taser at Jason.

TZZZZ!

A jolt of electricity rocketed through Jason's body. He screamed, fell, and convulsed. The world around him grew gray.

A now-familiar click ticked in his brain. Jason felt the cops and FBI agents with his mind. Hundreds of sensations crowded out the reason.

The men around him flew in every direction.

He heard their screams. The vehicles rose into the air. A burst of light blinded him. A car had exploded.

 The taser stopped. Jason blinked away the fog from his mind and looked around. He lay on his side in the middle of prostrate cops and agents. The groans of men and women came from everywhere. Shakily, Jason wiped his brow. He suddenly felt exhausted and sick. Strong arms lifted his shaking body. 

"Kid, it's okay," Leon's muffled voice said. "I'll get you out of here. I'll keep you safe."

Jason's world began to spin like a top, twirling in a vortex of colors and images. "What is happening to me?"

Leon didn't answer but only held him tighter and began to run.

After what felt like an eternity, Leon set him on the ground. The spinning stopped, but not before his nausea came to a peak. He vomited. When he finished, he sat up and let his cramped abdomen expand. Slowly, nausea passed, and he took a deep breath.

"I'm in Colorado Springs. Pick us up! Now!"

Jason tensed. Leon stood a few yards away, talking on his smartphone. Leon absently wiped his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand.

Jason tried to stand up. It didn't work. He tried again and came out victorious. He swayed a little and walked to Leon.

"Leon."

Leon raised a finger. "I'll send you a picture so you can see it. Will that work? Okay, okay, see you." He hung up the phone. "Yeah, kid?" "Who was that?"

"A friend," Leon said, then raised his phone. The smartphone flashed.

"Why are you taking pictures?"

"You'll figure it out," Leon said.

Jason shook his head and paused before he asked his next question. "Leon, how did they find us?"

"How would I know?"

"How do you know, Agent Fischer?" Jason asked.

Leon shrugged, his eyes darker for a moment. "He's an old friend I used to work with. He, he betrayed his nation and me."

"Who were you talking to on the phone?"

"A friend who hasn't betrayed me."

"Really."

"You can trust me, kid," Leon said as if trying to infuse confidence with every word.

Then Jason gasped. He heard a police siren in the distance. It was close. Too close. Red and blue lights flashed at the end of an alley with a burst of sound.

Leon pulled Jason with him. "Run, kid!"