x
Halfway up the flight of stairs, leg soreness started to kick in. Just a little more, she kept thinking. No more conspiracies, no more running, no more dragging my friends through this nightmare. Fatigue in tow, hopeful prospects accompanied her all the way to the top, where she found the other side.
On the roof, reacquainted with the night sky, she recoiled at the sight of Malvis standing in the middle, waiting. White coat under the stars, boots on the concrete, hands behind his back, he stared like a statue. Nothing made less sense than his composure.
"You are the final piece," he began, walking casually. "Your allies—fellow traitors, Sub Terra and the operatives in the city, are apprehended. And what remains shall follow."
Warily, Jessica hung off his every word. Out of a thousand absolutes, she grabbed ahold of one. She would not surrender.
"In simple terms, you have failed, Lynx."
During his oral spit, she heard the door open behind her. Asgard stomped through.
Suddenly, there was a whisper in the wind. Like the chill across her skin, the whisper intensified. Malvis turned, revealing his metallic right hand, and saw what Jessica saw. A fleet of Asgard airships loomed over the dark horizon, en route to the city. The guards grabbed Jessica and shoved her to the ground. Her teeth clamped, anger retaining the last body heat. Vengeance burned at the forefront of her thoughts as her cheek scraped concrete.
"Sooner than I expected," Malvis said, almost in admiration. The flying lights shined brighter with his every second basking. "But there is no Asgard without rapid deployment. Today, yet again, you attempted to sow chaos. Unfortunately for you, our militant foothold in the city is now sanctioned by law. Terrorism is convenient in the emergency power it affords." Malvis turned, to lay eyes on Jessica once more. "But you already know that."
Jessica's detainers yanked her off the ground, so she could finally see the alien up close. Pride was hatched across both sides of the agent's face, across burn scars and unblemished white, as if the burns had revealed a hidden layer beneath the perfect facade. The two-faced Azarean removed his glasses. Those red irises only unraveled her distaste, a distaste that very subtly mingled with satisfaction.
"Now I know what's missing," said Jess. "You need a mustache." On the roof, she could breathe in the city and its many features, a view beholden to its share of skyscrapers. The gigantic billboard lights: all that blue, red, and white; all that red, white, and blue. Behind her, Goliath. In front of her, Malvis and the Asgard fleet. They had arrived, the howl of their engines casing the atmosphere before she could smile and say, "We're ending this tonight."
A green flare burst in the air, illuminating the rooftop. Malvis turned and peered at the lone airship above his furrowed brow. It lowered to the edge and as its tail swerved, the cabin revealed Valerie, Raptor, and an entire Sub Terra crew.
"Cover your eyes!" Valerie shouted.
Jessica broke loose from her detainers, ducked, and covered her face with her elbows. The next moment broke with a bright, chaotic bang that dismantled her other senses. Nevertheless, she would muster the energy to rise again.
When her vision came to, Asgard and Malvis were writhing on the floor, hands over their faces. A fraction of their pain rung in her ears, but with no time to waste, she ran toward Valerie's embrace. Raptor yelled something inaudible from the cabin, and the entire crew hawkishly watched the roof.
To their dismay, Jessica tripped and fell. She peered back and noted Malvis' hand around her ankle. Now, unlike ever, the Azarean's red eyes inflamed from a very human rage. That's when the hearing came back.
"HOW?" he cried.
"You've been blindsided!"
One of the operatives fired his weapon at Malvis, but the energy bubble deflected. The move prompted Jessica to cover her ear, so Raptor pressed the weapon down.
Relentless, Malvis crawled with one hand and ejected his blade from the other. Jessica dragged her glove across the ground then slapped his neck. The transferred voltage shot him onto his back, which gave her the opportunity to crawl over his woeful eyes. She retrieved a rod from her vest, a little gift from Beelz, and placed it directly over his face. The jitter made it tricky, but a few rapid blinks signaled a successful scan. Request fulfilled.
Jessica stashed the rod and rose before the airship She leaped from the roof ledge, into the cabin, Valerie and Raptor grabbing hold.
"Are you ok?" Valerie exclaimed.
Jessica balanced herself on the deck, inspected Valerie's Sicario suit, then inhaled the interior. Red lights, armored bodies, loads of equipment, and conviction. It was a snapshot of battle preparation.
"Let's go!"
Raptor's finger twirl gave the signal. Ascending, the pilots lifted Jessica and the entire crew, to rejoin the fleet of stolen silhouettes across the skyline. Everyone and everything that could be hauled into more than a dozen airships set their course towards the tallest structure in the city: Goliath Headquarters.
"Do you hear that?" Jessica said.
"Huh? What's wrong?" said Valerie.
"Sshhh."
The confusion carried over to Raptor's toppled brow. His entire team was puzzled as the sight of allied airships appeared on their flank.
No one spoke.
"It's all over the city broadcast," said the pilot, and he twisted an overhead knob. The playback echoed from the city and rung in the cabin. Before long, Jessica lip-synced to the lyrics.
"Sweet dreams are made of this..."
She closed her eyes and imagined Beth and her friends dancing. Dani's there. She thought about the last time they were together, about the way moments pass and how, every now and again, people unify then part, unaware it will be the last time.
ns 15.158.61.23da2
