Jason ran down the hallway, panting hard, nearly stumbling as he raced down the hallway. He could heard the clomping feet of his pursuers behind him, sounding like they were getting closer. The whole world became a blur as Jason pushed himself to run harder, his arm burning, his heart pounding in his ears.
Then he saw a white door ahead. The medical ward! He flung himself at it but his feet slipped from under him. He tripped forward, letting out a yell. Both of his arms shot out reflexively and slammed against the floor, breaking his fall. But a spasm of pain went through his wounded arm and Jason screamed. His arms gave way like jelly and he collapsed.
Jason gasped hard, looking up. The doorway was mere inches away. He grabbed the edge of the carpeted floor, gasping, sputtering, dragging himself forward. He heard footsteps behind him. Jason growled and kicked out, pushing himself up. He half-ran, half-stumbled to the medical door and grabbed the doorknob. He ripped open the door and flung himself inside. Jason turned around and caught a brief glimpse of the soldiers rounding the end of the corridor before he slammed the door shut. He locked it for good measure.
He stumbled backward, breathing hard. Oh god. Oh fuck. Audrey. Audrey...he had just abandoned her. What if she was dead right now? Oh god. Oh dear lord. He rubbed one hand across his face, panting, feeling like he might choke. He should go back out there. But those men were there. And...and shit. They'd be coming in here. A locked door wasn't going to stop them. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Fuck!
He turned around, staggering forward. He stumbled into the waiting area of the medical ward. Multiple couches were placed around the room, a front desk at the other end. A door stood behind the desk, leading into the medical facilities themselves and treatment rooms. Jason was familiar with them. He'd been there many times.
He had to get help. The nurses, doctors, Robertson...they had to be here. He needed help. Had to hurry. They were coming. He moved forward, grabbing his wound, hissing as his fingers touched it. He moved toward the next door, walking past the desk. But as he did, a finger suddenly poped out from behind the desk.
Jason jumped back, raising a fist. He saw a security guard behind the desk, aiming a pistol at him. The guard blinked and lowered the gun. "Its you!" He flicked the safety on. "I'm so sorry. I didn't see who it was and I assumed-"
"Its alright, its alright!" Jason said quickly, interrupting the guy. Two other people rose from behind the desk, moving behind the guard. They were nurses and both looked absolutely terrified. "Listen-they're coming...I barely escaped them but they were right behind me and-"
There was a loud boom. The nurses screamed, ducking behind the desk. The guard aimed his gun past Jason and Jason looked over his shoulder, his ears ringing from the loud blast. A hole was blown through the top of the exit door of the medical ward. Jason heard another noise, muffled slightly behind the door. He recognized it. A shotgun. Oh shit. They were breaching the ward.
He turned around. Pointed at the door leading further into the wards. "Run!" He screamed. "I'll take care of them!" The guard nodded, not questioning him. He holstered his pistol, grabbed both of the nurses's arms, and dragged them to the door. It opened automatically and they vanished through, the doors closing behind them.
Another shotgun blast boomed. Jason flinched. He looked around, his eyes going to the ceiling. He tensed and leaped, spinning upside down in midair. His good hand stuck to the ceiling, while his injured arm dangled from his side. Jason raised his wounded limb, pressing his palm against the ceiling as well. But his fingers trembled from the pain of his wound and slipped off the ceiling. Great. Only one arm was keeping him up then. He gritted his teeth and looked down, his good arm starting to hurt from supporting his body alone.
The door was kicked door. It smashed against the floor, a cloud of dust flying across the waiting room. Jason tensed. He licked his lips. Okay. They were going to come in a second. Then he'd...jump down. Take them by surprise. Yeah. He'd leaped into groups of thugs with guns before. No problem. He could do this. Easy. Easy as pie. Yeah.
Jason knew he was lying to himself. He was scared shitless. But what was the alternative? Run away? Let the medical staff in here get massacred? No. No choice. He had to stand and fight.
But the soldiers didn't come bursting in through the doorway. Jason cocked his arms, his single arm holding him against the ceiling starting to tingle. Come on guys...come on! He was going to lose his grip if they didn't come in right away. What were they waiting for?
Then an object sailied through the doorway and landed in the center of the room. Jason looked down at it. He gasped. It was a tear gas grenade.
The grenade exploded and tear gas engulfed the room. Jason raised his bad arm in front of his gas, trying to protect his face. But it didn't work. The gas wafted over him like a wave.
Jason immediately felt his eyes explode in pain. He screamed, as his eyes burned. They felt like they on fire! The world around him became murky, disjointed, blurred. His throat began to burn too. He screamed again and his voice came out as a choked rasp. He couldn't breathe. He was choking. His single arm slipped off the ceiling and he plummeted like a stone.
Jason tumbled through the air before slamming hard against the floor. He let out another choked scream that sounded more like a raspy gurgle. The world around him was out of focus. He could vaguely make out a shape looming over him. Jason thought it might be the front desk.
He gasped, trying to force air into his lungs. His eyes continue to burn, the effect worsening. Jason gurgled, feeling nauseous and dizzy. The world twisted in and out of focus. He heard noises coming closer. Footsteps. A lot of footsteps.
The soldiers...the soldiers were coming to kill him.
He groped at the air. Fumbling for the desk. He missed. He gasped for air. The footsteps felt like they were right on top of him. He tried to stand. His legs felt like jelly.
A figure stepped over him, looking like a murky black outline. Even so, Jason could tell it was one of the enemy soldiers. The man pointed an assault rifle down at Jason, taking careful aim-
A shot rang out. Jason screeched, raising his hand. His ears rang. His throat burned. But...but there was no pain. No nothing. He hadn't been shot. Then he heard a muffled yell and a thump. He lowered his arm and saw the soldier lying next to him, clutching an arm, clearly in pain. Jason tried to look around, squinting through his watery, burning eyes.
He heard a yell. "Run!" It sounded like the security guard. It was coming from the door that led further into the medical ward. More gunfire roared through the air, flashes of bullets tearing through the top of the desk. Chunks of debris rained down on Jason.
He pushed himself hard with his good arm, managing to rise to his feet. The world around him spun like he was on a rollercoaster. He felt sick. Like he was going to faint or throw up. Or both. But then he heard yells behind him. The click of guns.
That motivated him. Jason thrust himself forward. He saw an outline of a man standing against the wall, before the open doors. Jason darted past him, his features becoming clearer up close. It was the security guard. The guard pointed forward and yelled, "Go, go! I'll-"
Another shot rang out. The security guard's head jerked back and he slammed against the wall, sliding to the floor. Something wet hit Jason's face. Oh god. It was blood. It had to be. The guard had been shot dead. Jason ducked low and charged through the open doors. He heard them hiss automatically shut behind him.
He found himself in a hallway, dancing with odd colors, sliding in and out of focus. His eyes were still affected by the gas. But he thought he could see the dim outline of beds lining the walls. He knew where he was. The main portion of the ward, where patients without serious injuries were treated. That meant...Jason ran to the left and sure enough, ran smack tad a door. He kicked it open and charged inside, coughing.
He found himself in a bathroom. There was two toliets inside. Wait, since when had it had two toliets? No...wait. Jason shook his head and rubbed his burning eyes. He was just seeing double.
He felt something grip his stomach. Jason stumbled over to the toliet, his head swimming and doubled over. He vomited into the toliet, throwing up his dinner. He gurgled, trickles of half-digested room running down his mouth. But he felt somewhat better.
Jason stood. Yep, that had helped. He didn't feel as dizzy. He blinked through his blurred vision and spied the nearby sink. He quickly ran to it, turned on the faucet, and chucked water into his eyes. Jason looked up. His vision was slightly clearer. His eyes still hurt like hell but at least he could somewhat see.
The bathroom door was suddenly kicked open. Jason turned. A soldier burst in, raising his gun. Jason hit the floor, a burst of gunfire roaring over him. He grabbed the nearest object: the edge of the toliet bowl. Jason tore it free, smashing it into the side of the soldier's head. The man staggered, smashing against the sink.
Jason dropped the bowl and ripped the assault rifle from the soldier's hands. The soldier shook his head, looking up, and went for his holstered pistol. Jason grabbed the man's wrist and twisted it. Crunch. It snapped.
The soldier screamed. Jason pulled back his fist but then saw three other soldiers run in front of the open bathroom. They raised their guns. Jason quickly spun the man around, using him as a human shield. The soldiers hesitated.
Jason shoved the soldier forward. He went barreling into the three others, knocking one man to the floor and knocking the other two off balance. Jason sprang forward, landing in the midst of them. He punched one soldier into one of the beds, knocking it over. The other fired at him but Jason twisted his body backwards, the burst missing him. He kicked one foot up, clobbering the attacker in the chin and knocking him into the exit doors. The doors hissed open automatically for the flying soldier, sending him rolling back into the waiting room.
Jason looked down. The last soldier was pushing the other one off himself. He drew his sidearm. Jason leaped, flipping over the guy and landing behind him, the shot missing. The soldier twisted himself but Jason's fist slammed into his jaw and the man crumpled to the floor.
Jason pulled himself up, gasping arm. The pain is his arm wasn't so bad anymore, just kind of a dull numb pain now. Might be the adrenaline letting him ignore it though. He looked at the unconscious soldiers. One...two...three...four...there had been five. Where was the other guy?
Jason instantly whirled around. He darted to the wall and peeked through the open doorway into the waiting area. The tear gas had mostly cleared, only wisps of it lingering. His stomach churned as he spotted the dead security guard. The poor guy was slumped against the wall, a chunk of his head missing. I'm sorry...you saved my life. And I didn't save yours. Cold rage gripped Jason as he clenched his fist, continuing to the scan the room.
Then he saw him. One of the enemy soldiers, crouched behind a portion of the wall at the far end of the room. Only the side of his head was visible as the man peeked out, but he was there. Jason glared at him. He broke cover, preparing to lunge-
The soldier broke cover at the same time and fired a blast. A section of the wall exploded next to Jason. Jason immediately leaped back into cover, flattening himself against the walls. His ears rung from the blast. Nevertheless, he heard the distinctive pump of a shotgun. Alright. So that asshole had a shotgun.
Jason took a breath. He closed his eyes. They stung badly when he did that and he quickly reopened them. Okay...okay...so...his eyes looked at the ground. He spotted one of the dropped soldier's assault rifles. Jason rubbed his chin. That could work...
He stretched forward, pressing one finger against the rifle's stock. His finger stuck to it and he dragged it back. Jason held the rifle up and listened. No sounds. The soldier likely didn't see his action then and thus, didn't know what he was up to. Jason mimed a practice throw...two practice throws...and then hurled the rifle through the doorway.
The shotgun blast roared through the open space. Jason instantly leaped through the open doorway and charged across the room. He saw the soldier taking cover one again, grasping the shotgun in his hands. The soldier spotted him and reloaded the shotgun. He took aim.
Jason leaped and swung a kick. It struck the soldier's shotgun and it sailed from his hands. Jason landed on the floor but was off balance again and fell on his side. The soldier moved back, drawing his pistol. Jason rolled, the soldier's shots blowing holes in the floor where he had just been.
Jason rolled to his feet. The soldier was trying to reload. But he dropped the pistol upon seeing Jason get and drew a big knife. Jason narrowed his eyes. He stood facing the soldier, unmoving, waiting for his strike. Th soldier stared back at him, his eyes cold. Fearless. Holding the knife in a combat stance.
Jason faked a lunge. The soldier's knife stabbed at the air as he moved back. The soldier's eyes narrowed into slits. He gripped his knife tighter. Jason's hand curled into a fist. And then...
He faked another lunge. He let loose a fake scream and fell to his knees. He grabbed his wounded shoulder, crying out: "FUCK!" The soldier instantly shot forward, stabbing his knife down at Jason's neck.
Jason's hand caught the soldier's arm. The knife stopping inches before its intended target. Jason grinned at the soldier. The man's eyes widened in shock.
"Oldest trick in the book," Jason hissed. "And you fell for it, asshole."
He then broke the soldier's arm. The man howled as the snap of breaking bone echoed out. Jason threw him to the floor. The solider grabbed his broken arm, howling loudly. Jason shut him up with a kick to the head.
Jason panted. He looked across the room. Staring at the two crumpled soldiers, the dead security guard, and the open doorway to the inner ward. Shit. Holy shit. He had won. Barely. But holy shit he had won. Although...Jason sucked in his breath through his nose as he looked at the dead security guard. Although no without cost.
He wanted to flop into a bed and just pass out. His eyes were just itchy now, not watery and burning. Same with his throat. But...but...he couldn't. He needed to find Robertson. Jason turned around and began staggering toward the doorway.
But as he did, several figures suddenly stepped out. There were four nurses, two of them the same ones Jason had seen flee into the inner ward. They were all in various states of distress, muttering quickly, and looking around the carnage. Behind them was Robertson. Unlike the nurses, he regarded the downed soldiers with his usual stoic, stone faced look. But Jason noticed his mouth twitched as he saw the dead security guard.
"Robertson!" Jason croaked, his voice sounding like he had swallowed a frog. Robertson looked at him. He adjusted his glasses and strode across the room.
"Mr. MacQuil," Robertson said. He looked Jason over. He raised an eyebrow. "I'm glad to see you're alive. But I see you're hurt."
"Yeah," Jason forced a grin. He put a hand over his wound. "I, uh, got shot by one of these assholes." He nudged the unconscious soldier. "Seems we're under attack." He chuckled nervously. More forced laughter. His voice turned more serious. "Its...fucking...crazy out there. I don't know what the fuck...and..." He rubbed his hair, swallowing. "Akihiro. He's here. I think he's leading these guys...I dunno...there's another metahuman here too. An...an elephant man. He attacked Audrey. He beat her. I...I had to run and...and..." He gritted his teeth. "We have to save her! We have to get out and find her before he kills her!" He waved a hand wildly at the exit.
"I see," Robertson paused a moment. He then shook his head. "But first, we need to take care of that wound." He pointed at the wound in question.
Jason shook his head. "No no no! That'll take time and-"
"No buts," Robertson said sternly. "Charging into battle against some meta is suicide in your current condition. I'm fixing you up first. Then we can discuss what's next. Besides...I think I can offer you some details of what's happening."
"W-what?" Jason's eyes widened. Robertson knew what was going on? "You know who these fuckers are?"
"I do. It's a guess, mind you, but I think it's the correct one. Akihiro's presence, as well of those of other possible metas, is troubling but they aren't the masterminds behind this."
"Then who is?" Jason blurted out.
Robertson pointed at the inner ward. "Inside. Let's get you fixed up. Then I'll tell you."
Jason looked at the door. He grinded his teeth. Shit, shit, shit! He didn't like this. He wanted to go out and...save Audrey. But...damnit. Robertson was right. He needed to get patched up or he might get killed. Either by being not as effective as he usually was or bleeding to death.
Sighing, Jason nodded and moved toward the inner ward, the nurses moving aside. Robertson followed him inside.
*****************************************************************************************
Jason hissed as Robertson pressed a wet towel against his wound. He almost shrank away but Robertson firmly grabbed him and held him in place. "Try not to move too much," Robertson said firmly. He rubbed the wounded area with the towel before pulling it away. The towel was soaked in blood. Robertson laid in down on a metal tray next to the bed Jason was sitting on and reached for a fresh one.
He was currently cleaning Jason's wound. Jason had wanted to complain, as it was taking too long, but Robertson would just order him to shut up or something. So he did. He gritted his teeth again as the second towel pressed against the wound, Robertson rubbing it firmly across the graze.
"You were lucky," Robertson remarked. He pulled the towel away, less blood on it this time. He placed it on top of the other in the travel. "Very lucky. As far as I can tell..." Robertson raised a small flashlight and waved it over the wound. "...there's no sharpnel in your flesh. It seems the blood tore clean through your skin but didn't penetrate. A lucky break."
"Heh," Jason smirked. "Guess I'm just a lucky guy."
Robertson didn't laugh. Not that he ever did. He instead raised a glove hand and waved one finger. One of the nurses standing against the wall approached him and handed him several bandages. Two of them Robertson had stationed in the inner ward in case he needed their assistance, while the other two were currently watching the front door and would scream if any more soldiers showed up.
Robertson took the bandages and began applying them to Jason's wound. Jason grimaced again as they touched his mangled flesh. But he endured it. He watched as Robertson did his work and then asked, "So. Can you tell me who these guys are now?"
"Mmm," Robertson muttered. He finished applying the bandages. He moved back and said on the stool he had placed next to the bed. He looked into Jason's eyes and said, "This is confidential information. Under any other circumstances, I would not divulge it. But this is an emergency situation."
"Yeah, no kidding," Jason remarked sarcastically. He straighted up, flexing his wounded arm. The bandages felt slightly itchy wrapped around the bullet graze. Robertson ignored him.
"The Director..." Robertson's mouth twitched. He slowly began to peel off his gloves. "Well, you don't know much about her. But she has a life outside of this job. She has her own interests, hobbies, and...family."
Jason nodded. He waited for Robertson to go on.
"The Director has a sister. A sister who..." Robertson rubbed his chin. "To put it mildly, she was psychotic. She developed an irrational hatred of the Director at a very young age. Why? Well, I don't know the full details. The Director, even confiding in me, only told me so much. But the Director's sister, although clinically insane, was also brilliant. I'm told she was an engineering prodigy. Everyone tried to help her, recognizing what a brilliant young woman she could be. But their efforts failed. The Director's sister left the United States and for a long time, she disappeared."
Jason blinked. The Director had a sister? That was bizarre. It was hard to imagine Director Prescott as a girl, with family, being normal. He tried to picture it and he couldn't. But he then frowned.
"You think her sister, whoever that is, is attacking us?" Jason questioned, pointing a finger up.
"Yes. For you see, the Director, after working her way through the intelligence comitte of the government, discovered a new mercenary group active in the Middle East. Their name was Skeleton Crew. They hired anyone. Guerilla fighters, criminals, former bodyguards, soldiers. Anyone they could get their hands on. No job was too dirty to them. Their hands have been involved in dozens of activities since their inception. Human trafficking, hired militia, drug smuggling, assassinations...anything that payed, they would do it. And who should be in charge of this group?"
Jason narrowed his eyes. No way. "The Director's sister?"
Robertson nodded, finishing peeling his gloves off. He tossed them into the tray. "Yes. The Director found her long lost sister was the founder of a potential terrorist organization. She's kept tabs on them but they've kept their hands off American business. So the United States government ignored her warnings and now look where's it got us."
"But..." Jason said. He shook his head. "I mean, it makes sense, in a weird but how do you know its her? I mean...this sounds like speculation."
"It is," Robertson said. "But I've learned to trust my instincts. The logic is sound as well. These enemy soldiers wear uniforms consistent with the apparel the Skeleton Crow forces don. Not to mention, this morning, I was talking to the Director. She told me she knew her sister was coming. She knew her sister was the one behind the attack on the Cage."
Jason blinked. "She did?"
"Yes."
Jason breathed out. He laid his chin in his hands. Wincing as a tingle of pain shot through his bad arm. He sat back up, rubbing his bandages. "Um...jesus. When she was going to tell us?"
"I don't know. She confided in me. She would've told you when the time was right."
Jason snorted. He waved at the hallway. "Maybe now is that time! When fucking...fucking soldiers are swarming in this place and killing people!" He shouted loudly and stood up. "Christ! Maybe we could've avoided this if she told us that her crazy sister was coming to kill us!"
Robertson stared back up at him. "Perhaps." His tone didn't even changed. That frustrated Jason. Would it kill to show a little emotion? Christ, they were under attack! Would it kill him to act scared? Say they were in some bad shit?
Robertson rose as Jason angrily thought. "In any case, we must move. I need to get to the Director. And you need to find the others."
"Audrey..."
"Audrey, no," Robertson said firmly. He pointed at the ceiling. "The rest of the team. Together, you can truly fight back. Alone, if you go after her, you'll get killed. And trust me, that hurts much worse than any bullet wound." Jason raised an eyebrow. Was that a joke? No, not possible.
He sighed. He shook his head. "I don't like it."
"Like it or not, it's the only viable strategy. I'm not sure how the Director's sister recruited metahumans but they're here. The presence of Akihiro is especially troubling. But those are questions for later. Now, we need to get to our stations and do our jobs."
Jason nodded. He looked at the nurses. "Hey. You guys. Get to the bunker. You know where that is?" They nodded. "Then move. And hurry."
The nurses exited the room as quickly as they could. Robertson watched them leave then followed after. Jason looked at the medical ward, rubbed his arm a final time, then moved after Robertson.
The two exited the ward. Jason watched the nurses flee around the corridor. He glanced in the other direction. No sign of the soldiers. He turned to Robertson and whispered, "Should we run for the stairs?"
"The stairs are quite a ways off," Robertson muttered. "The elevator is closer. And will be faster. Now follow me." Robertson immediately strode forward with a strange aura of confidence. Jason opened his mouth to argue and quickly shut it. No point, He darted after the doctor.