Repeater

TWO

"Round two, here we go," Three says.

"Must everything be a battle with you?" Four responds.

"Yes. Everything we do is a fight, Four."

"Not everything."

"Shut it," Two interjects. The quiet authority in his voice commands respect. He may not be our commander, but he's definitely a leader. Whether or not he wants to be. Then again, his telepathy sure helps. Knowing what other people are thinking helps you understand how to control them, as bad as that sounds.

Two looks directly at me, as if he's reading my thoughts right now. I narrow my eyes and he scratches his face sheepishly before glancing away. He definitely was reading my mind. I can't blame him, though. He knows my ability is hard on me. So he montiers my thoughts to make sure I'm okay. It's his way of caring for me. He may not seem kind, but he really is. In a way, we all are inside. Just some of us display it outwardly as well. If we didn't care, we wouldn't be in this organization.

The trip isn't long, but it seems like it with certain people we have with us. Who of which I won't name, since Two is probably still listening to me and he's in charge since One isn't coming with us. Hopefully, this will be the time that we win. Frankly, I hate looping the day more than once. Just the one time is too much for me anyway. But too many times and my brain goes to mush. And I don't want to make any mistakes that get people killed.

"Don't forget the plan," Two reminds in our heads. It's how we communicate in enemy territory. Two can make a link between us all, so we don't give anything away by talking out loud. But holding it for too long can really drain him. So he only connects us when he needs to.

We failed this mission the last time, because we didn't expect our target to have friends. The information we'd gathered about him showed he was a loner. But this time, we're prepared. And hopefully, it won't end like last time. Two is staying back like before, gathering information and warning us, should he need to. Before, he didn't expect there to be other people outside the house. So he wasn't listening for them. It's different now.

And Three is staying back this time. He always wants to rush in and attack. I don't think he knows what stealth means. He's one of the reasons we always end up dying. He never thinks before he does anything. If it wasn't for his amazing offensive ability, I doubt he would've lasted long here. His lack of concern for doing things the smart way would've gotten him kicked out otherwise.

"I've got two in the front yard. One in the house. Two in the forest in the back." Two' s voice floats through my head.

"Four and Seven, take out the ones in the forest. Six and I will take out the ones in the front. Then move in to the house," I say.

"Do you want my job?" Two wonders. I mumble an apology, but he seems more amused than anything. Luckily, we don't need to use Six's ability to take out our targets. They were half asleep on the front lawn by the campfire. We confirm our takedown with Two, who says the ones in back are also incapacitated. We move up to the house, silently opening the door and creeping in.

"He is in the bedroom on the far right. Last door." In my peripheral, I see Four and Seven rejoin us. To be honest, I'm not sure how any of our stealth missions ever go right. Not with Six and his bright ass hair, Seven with her head never being in the right place, and Three with his booming voice and tendency to shoot first. Luckily, nothing goes wrong and our true target is cuffed. Two rejoins us and begins going through the guy's computer.

He freezes suddenly and I know something is wrong. The others are off hauling the criminals into the van and I'm left to watch Two's back.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"This computer...his emails..."

"Two, spit it out."

"He's been in contact with this organization called Hearts of Gold. It doesn't tell me much. But it's not good."

"What do you mean?" I lean over his shoulder to read the screen. "Oh great. The villains are organizing. Just what we need."

"I think this is our fault. Since we organized, now they are too."

I sigh and stand up straight. "I fucking hate criminals."

He makes a sound, which resembles a laugh he covers with a cough. "That's for sure."

"One is going to be SO pissed. This is going to make it so much harder on us." Two shakes his head. "It doesn't say who the leader is, does it?"

"No. No name. Just the Hearts of Gold with a gold heart emoji."

"Of course not. How fucking ironic. The evilesr people using hearts of gold as their name."

"Hm."

"You don't copying it all?"

"Yeah. All done now." He pulls a USB stick from the computer.

"Then let's go. One will want to hear about this ASAP." We pile into the van and head back to HQ. We don't tell the others what we found yet. No point in it, since we have to tell One anyway. Might as well save our breath for one briefing. And I was right before: One is FURIOUS.

"Goddamn it! As if we didn't have a hard enough time dealing with them. Now they'll be even harder to get to. Especially the leader. If I found out who they are...!" He trails off. One doesn't have a short temper. But if you piss him off, all hell breaks loose.

"We can handle this," I reply.

"'Handle it'? How many loops have you been through since you joined, Eight?" I stay silent. "How many times have you watched us all die? How many times have you felt your own death?" I stare at my feet. "Exactly."

"Whether we like it or not, it's happening. And we have to deal with it," Two says.

One sighs heavily. "You're right. Of course you are." He turns to me. "I'm sorry, Eight. You didn't deserve that reminder."

"It's fine." I say that, but in reality, I'm not. The reminder has torn open wounds I'd rather forget. Visions I wish would go away forever. I feel eyes on me and find Two looking. I glance away quickly and put up a barrier in my mind. I've trained myself how to do it. Although it usually takes a lot of concentration and doesn't last long before I'm wiped out. I don't want him to know what I'm thinking right now. My mind is a dark place.