Power Play

Chapter 18: Lily

Chapter 18: Lily

    Lily traveled across the rooftops towards the building that had been chosen for her. Only a minute before she'd exited a car containing Evan, Alaine, Silver, and a freak who worked directly for Harken. That car was now continuing on towards the target those four had been assigned to. They had the easiest of the three targets, and to be honest Lily was kind of surprised they'd gotten that one. Vanning had seemed a little annoyed when he'd given it to them, too, so she had to guess the orders on who got this particular assignment had to have come from Harken herself.

    When they four of them had arrived at the meeting place a couple hours before, they'd found ten other freaks from their city waiting there as well, a full dozen if you included Vanning and Payne. It wasn't every strong freak who resided in the city, there were a few notable absences, but it was the majority of them. She'd even been surprised to see that Ryan Lydon, who'd been a freak less than a month, had been called in. She'd heard he was supposed to be fairly strong, and by now pretty much every freak in the city knew that he'd killed Blaze McCormick, but it was still a shock to see him there. He was new to his powers, and aside from Blaze he had no combat experience. It seemed like he'd be more liability than asset in a real battle. And the four of them, Evan, Alaine, Silver, and herself, had realized right away that that was what they had to be there for. Neil Bardings had predicted that before they'd be able to make their attempt to take down Vanning, that they'd have to fight in another battle first, so none of them had been surprised when, after Vanning had instructed them all to be quiet and wait, ten freaks who worked for Harken had shown up moments later. Strangely though, as she studied the expressions of the others, neither Ryan nor Simon Terroft seemed surprised either. She wondered where they'd gotten their information. After having a conversation with two of Harken's freaks off to the side where they couldn't be heard, Vanning finally strode back over to brief the rest of them.

    The freaks who hadn't been aware of what was going on had balked a little when they'd been told they were being conscripted into a fight to defend a city of Harken's they didn't even live in, that they were expected to risk their lives in a territorial dispute, but the presence of Vanning, Payne, and Harken's freaks all looking rather imposing had quickly quieted any complaints.

    Their biggest advantage, Vanning had said, was that the freaks Hugh Masters was sending to seize control of the city believed that they had the element of surprise on their side, and would have no idea they were walking into an ambush that would leave them outnumbered. However, they weren't to be underestimated. The freaks Masters was sending were likely to be part of the teams he'd used to seize cities before. And while they wouldn't be expecting the kind of resistance they would face, they weren't going to give up without a fight. There was a very good chance that not all the freaks who went to defend the city that night would come back. In return for their service given the risk, Vanning had told them that Harken had promised them all payment. A hundred thousand dollars each, just for fighting that night, plus a potential bonus. Since it was expected that some of the freaks serving Masters might bring larikins with them, any of them who killed a freak carrying such a larikin could claim the larikin for themselves after the battle. The person who delivered the killing blow was the only one who could lay the claim. While taking a larikin in such a way violated the laws of their kind, both Vanning and Harken's freaks assured them that apparently Harken had spoken to Lord Talen previously, and he'd agreed to make an exception in this case.

    There were three specific targets, and only three because Masters had chosen this night for a reason. There was a party to be held among the freaks of the city in question, in the mansion of one of its most respected freaks. The party was to begin at 9:00 P.M., but the leader wasn't expected to arrive until two hours later. Almost all the freaks of the city were expected to be there. The leader, as was usual with these parties, would remain at home with only his wife, who was also a freak, for that extra two hours. The freaks serving Masters were expected to strike at some point during those two hours. The major battle would be at the party, where they would attempt to eliminate the majority of the city in one fell swoop. However, the leader and his wife were both very strong, and rather than letting them complicate the larger battle, Masters was expected to send a second group to deal with them seperately. Then there was the third and final target, another freak with the vision, able to see things at a distance, through walls and whatever else, the way that Lily could. Although from what she was told, he didn't have the vision as strongly as she did. They used that freak as a spotter, the same way their team had with her so many times before, and the same role she would be occupying tonight. The spotter was supposed to be accompanied by only one other freak, since they didn't expect anyone to stumble upon him. The one guard was just a precautionary measure. She had no such precaution, because after all they were on home territory, and they already knew where the enemy would be headed.