Regona City: Tempest (BK3)

A Forced Hand

The warehouse looked as though a mini tornado had ripped through it. The couches were pushed into awkward positions, gadgets lay scattered across the floor – some were crushed – and the mattresses were tossed to the side.

Arden leaned against the counter, swatting off his younger twin that hovered, trying to dab the blood away. Even Mo was crouched under the couch, hair on end as the cat watched everyone with suspicion in his eyes.

Sahara's gaze darted to where Alegra stood. The bags of groceries she had gotten lay scattered on the ground where she had dropped them. Her face was pale and her hands were shaking as she leaned against the wall for support. The girl hadn't uttered a word in the last few minutes, eyes changing from fury to something Sahara couldn't quite place.

Sahara and Reagan had arrived back just as Alegra had. It had taken but one look for the other girl to catch on. With all attention on him, Arden told of how armed LCS had come from the roof and through the doors and windows. They hadn't spoken a word to him and went straight for Naomi. He'd tried to fight them off only to be knocked out. The whole time he was talking, Arden didn't once meet anyone's eyes.

"I should have tried harder," he murmured after a moment of silence.

Sahara shook her head. "None of us would have been able to stop them in your situation..." she trailed off, worried eyes darting to Alegra. The girl's face was still white, her lips moved, yet no words came out.

"Reagan!" Arden pushed his brother off as he tried to dab the wounds. "I'm fine."

Reagan stood to the side, wringing his hands. His eyes darted to the blood that still crusted his brother's forehead.

"So..." Arden finally lifted his eyes to meet Sahara's. She felt a stab in her chest at how lost he looked. "What do we do now?" he whispered the last part.

Sahara's heart sank. That's a good question... her eyes darted around the room. She had sent Terrell and Orion an IHM telling them it was an emergency. Neither was here. Both of them would know what to... She felt panic build up as three pairs of pleading eyes turned to her expectantly. They waited for an answer and Sahara swallowed. I don't know... she thought. Why don't I know? Panic was joined by frustration. I'm a leader...aren't I? So why can't I lead? She opened her mouth. "I..."

The doors burst open. "I'm here!" a familiar breathless voice called.

Sahara's heart jumped. She whirled. Yet, upon seeing who is was her hope fell. "Noah?"

Noah stood on his board. His hair seemed to have taken on a greyish tinge since the last time Sahara had seen him.

"Why do I hear disappointment?" he asked as he jumped to the floor. A quick swipe of his bracelet made his board drop. He caught it before it could hit the ground. His eyes did a quick sweep of the room. "That bad, huh?" He shook his head. "We didn't expect them to move this fast...or to find out..."

That was a question that had been nagging Sahara since she had come to the warehouse. Just how did they find out?

"Looks like they really have eyes and ears everywhere," Noah added.

Sahara took a step forward. "Where's Terrell?"

"He sent me."

"I can see that..." Sahara's eyes darted to the door. "When is he coming?"

Noah avoided her eyes. "Not today..."

"What?"

"Sahara..." Noah's eyes darted to the others in the room. "Things are pretty busy..."