Super Blogger

16. THE UNRAVELING

               JASON'S POV

It was one of those dreams where you knew you were dreaming but didn't want to wake up. No, instead you wanted to take the reins and crush the opposition you were facing. In my case, I was beating the crap out of Rogue—again. Anger swelling inside me, tears building in my eyes as I pounded away on his mechanical robot suit, denting the metal with every resounding punch, too eager to break through his oversized skull-shaped headpiece and bash the main thing. All the while I was screaming "How dare you!"

There were no cops this time—like there were when it happened in real life. No cops to warn me, to hold me back, to witness the death I was about to deliver to the man who blew up my parents in their own home. Alas, this was just one of the many ways I almost killed Rogue in my dreams. But like in reality, I never seemed to be able to land the final blow. Apparently the cops had nothing to do with my eventual restraint. No, it wasn't even Blitz. It was that accusing voice of my conscience telling me this was all my fault. Telling me that if I'd arrived sooner, if I'd taken the threat more seriously, mom, dad and all the others in that apartment building would still be alive to this day.
It was in times of regret like these that I remembered my true slogan "I've got to save these people."

"Jason, wake up." Blitz's voice roused my consciousness. "I have good news and bad news for you."

My eyes slowly fluttered open. The warmth of streaming tears on my cheeks was there again. I sniffed long and hard, shutting my eyes tight and escaping the scenario in my head with the reminder of the present and the thought of what more I could do to make up for that mistake.

"Oh, g'morning Blitz." I rubbed my eyes as I slowly sat up. " What do you got?"

"Like I said, good news and bad news."

"You could start with a good morning too." I mumbled.

"Alright, good news first."

"No!" I was finally wide awake. "I want the bad news first."

He hummed before responding. "That doesn't seem like a good idea. Since you left the studio last night, you've been rather gloomy. I think it's best to raise your mood first—"

"Before dipping it in more agony?" I snarled. "Bad first, please."

"If that's the way you want it. So, the billionaire philanthropist, Huan Gong, is missing."

"Who?"

"The co-founder of the conglomerate, S.P.E.R.E. The media presumes he's been abducted and they're pretty spot on. His disappearance was estimated to have taken place on his Bank's premises around the time of Kazar's strike."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. Just great. "Were you able to confirm it?"

Blitz popped my Tekeon helmet around my face and raised up little holographic displays in front of my eye space.

"Relatively, yes. Kazar wasn't working alone. See, all the security cameras were jammed immediately after Kazar's break-in, like a hack. All but the one which was in the private underground parking lot for the Bank's executives. It wasn't connected to the same network as the others, so it continued to function."

I furrowed my brows at the recording of the parking lot on display. A group of six men was speed walking in a circular formation—with someone in the middle of them. They were heading towards a black jeep.

"That's a fraction of Huan Gong's Security team getting him to his ride." Blitz clarified.

Suddenly, men in thick black clothes emerged from the shadowy corners of the place and opened fire with machine guns. My heart jolted for a second as I observed that.