Prodigy Eternal (book 2)

Chapter Forty

An overall sense of uncertainty pushed to the forefront of everyone’s minds. Given The Fox’s sly demeanour, there was a high probability they were heading into a trap. There had been some discussion about a game plan, but the consensus was, no matter their approach, The Fox would know they were coming.

The three vans pulled up to an average-looking building, which didn’t stand out any more than the rest. It too had succumbed to the powerful effects of nature over time. The van doors opened and the gang stepped into the vacant street. Even though they expected it to be quiet, the absence of sound was still unnerving.

“Yeah, this is definitely a trap,” Aris said, looking around for snipers on the tops of buildings.

While their lack of covertness was to their detriment, their strength was in their numbers. The posse had over two dozen motivated soldiers, many of whom had experience in extraction missions. Breaking up into smaller groups, the posse took different positions. Two groups headed across the street, while another two groups circled the building from opposite sides.

The group Alex was in consisted of Milo, Aris, Curik, Glitch, and Dalia. The six entered the building from a side entrance, unsure of what to expect. The building was pitch black and had a strange odour. Broken windows and a leaky roof allowed moisture to seep in and cause mould to build up. Two inches of water on the floor concealed any potential hazards.

“Watch your footing guys,” Curik whispered as he sloshed through the murky water.

Curik was the strongest as well as the most experienced in these types of situations, so he led the way. His bulging biceps flexed as he carried a large, ultramodern rifle, equipped with laser scope, motion-tracking sensors, and an LED light mounted on top.

Milo followed closely behind him with a GPS app on his wrist, displaying the distance from Mara on both horizontal and vertical axes.

“Says she’s a hundred feet away,” Milo said. “On the top floor.”

“Any chance the elevators work?” Milo asked.

“We don’t want to use the elevators,” Curik said in his gravelly voice. “This guy is tricky. We have to assume the entire building is booby-trapped.”

On some of the walls were large cracks running down from the ceiling, most likely a result of an earthquake or the war. Whenever Curik shone his light on them, critters would scurry into the cracks.

The group didn’t have to search long before locating one of the stairwells. Alex and the others who were not carrying weapons had their arms extended, using their access pods in various ways. Alex used the density scanner app to scan the surroundings to see if there were any hidden doors or hazards beneath the floorboards that were undetectable to the human eye.

The two groups slowly ascended on opposite sides of the ten-storey building. With each floor, they would stop, listen, and have a quick look down the hallways. Aside from dripping water and heavy breathing, there were no other sounds coming from the building. They kept moving up, level by level, maintaining caution the entire time.

Glitch was the last one in the pack and therefore was the farthest away from the light source. He was in shape, but his body wasn’t designed for climbing stairs. He was built like a rhinoceros, opting for power over endurance. On top of that, he was carrying a large rifle. Dalia was in front of him, acting as his guide. As long as he could see her, he didn’t require that much light. Glitch trudged on in the dark, sweating profusely. His clothes had become soaked, which restricted his movement. With each laboured step, his bulky muscles fatigued even more. Just when the group was about to reach the eighth floor, he tripped on a step, stumbled backward, and crashed down the stairs. The loud ruckus startled the rest of the group.

Thinking they were under attack, Curik quickly whipped around and shone his light in Glitch’s direction. His heart pounded violently as he prepared for the worst. Although there was no actual threat, Glitch’s gun had come loose from his grip and accidentally discharged a round, shooting a pulse of blue electricity out into the group and nearly hitting Milo. While not fatal, the charge would have shocked his nervous system, incapacitated him, and caused extreme pain. They were fortunate no one was seriously injured. At the bottom of the stairs, however, Glitch winced in pain.

“Oh my gosh, honey, are you okay?” Dalia asked, rushing down to Glitch.

“Sorry everyone,” Glitch said, pushing himself back to his feet. “Is everyone okay?”

“We’re fine, Glitch,” Curik said, “but we need to be extra cautious more so now than ever. We’ve almost reached Mara, and if for some reason we’ve been able to avoid The Fox’s detection, he’s sure to know we’re here now.”