Cassius by Stevens, Madison (chromebook ebook reader txt) 📕

sprang up and charged the first guard. He smashed a fist into the man’s face and sent him flying to the ground. He hurried over to the groaning second guard and knocked him out with two quick punches.

“Let’s get out of here before their friends arrive,” Julius said.

CJ kicked the unfired Taser away from the guard and into the dark shadow of the slide. With that, he ran for the fence.

* * *

After ditching their masks, the two hybrids strolled back to their motel as if they hadn’t confirmed an evil murderous conspiracy’s involvement with the event. They didn’t want to take the chance of getting some random driver involved in their business, but no one followed them. By the time they got back to their room, it almost felt like they’d been on a relaxing evening walk.

CJ was the first speak once they were inside. “What the hell was that? A trap? Did they know we were coming beyond just guessing? Do they know where we are now?”

Julius shook his head. “This all seems too complicated for that. If they knew we were at this place, they had plenty of opportunities to try and take us down here. Surprise would be their best bet.”

“True.” CJ dropped into a chair, now more worried about Kendra than ever. “But it sounded like they were at least expecting us to show up.”

“Yeah.” Julius nodded. “It’s definitely Ouroboros. I doubt they’re running this whole thing, but they have more than those two guys. That probably explains the security situation. Too high-end a system might have alerted suspicious people in the government.”

“We need to contact Maximus and figure out what to do,” CJ said. “We didn’t kill those guys. They might be ready for us or try to tell the cops.”

Julius shook his head. “Whatever it is they’re up to, they’re not going to call the cops in. We lost our element of surprise, but they don’t know how many of us are here. That’s still a big advantage. They’ll probably assume we’ve got all of Alpha Squad, which means they’re going to want to dig in and be careful to avoid taking on twelve hybrids at once. But you’re right. Let’s call Maximus and continue to monitor the situation.”

* * *

The next morning, CJ muted the TV. A local news channel was running a story on the race with zero mention of any guards getting hurt or intruders at night. Maximus was putting men on standby, but he wasn’t ready to deploy further men without more information. He wanted them to continue their recon and withdraw if overwhelmed.

“We still have no idea what that device was,” CJ said with a frown. “And we don’t know if they were all over the place.”

“Then we’ve only got one option.” Julius nodded toward the closet. “Now that it’s event day, there will be security screenings. We’re not going to be able to sneak guns in. They obviously get they can’t shoot at will, so we’ll go in there and check things out. We need to figure out if there’s anything in the main building and what those devices are.” He cracked his knuckles. “We had our masks on, so they can’t ID us, and there will be a lot more people, including big guys, to hide among.”

“I should warn Kendra off,” CJ said.

Julius shook his head. “If they know she’s a Vestal, they might be more aggressive now that they know hybrids are there. For now, the safest place for her is in that crowd.”

CJ growled. “Anyone who hurts her is going to get a lot more than a punch to the face.”

He could understand Julius’s logic, but the situation had changed. Before, they suspected the enemy was there, but now they knew not only was Ouroboros there, the organization was willing to kill non-hybrids if necessary. Betting on the safety of his Vestal wasn’t acceptable.

CJ needed to come up with a better plan and fast.

Chapter Sixteen

Kendra smiled at Graham and his camera. She flashed a V sign. “And that’s why I’ll conquer the race today. It’s time for me to become a champion again. Thanks for all your support. I couldn’t have come as far as I have without all you loyal viewers. Remember to smash those like and subscribe buttons! Until next time, this is your Roving Champion.”

“And we’re out,” Graham said. He narrowed his eyes. “I wonder if we should have had you do that out of the tracksuit, especially since you’re wearing sponsor gear. They might get annoyed if we don’t show it enough.”

“They’ll see plenty of it later.” Kendra shrugged. “It’s not like they’re specifying a certain number of shots per minute.”

She didn’t dislike her sponsors and never agreed to promote a product she didn’t believe in, but the constant weight of commercial concerns could drain all the fun out of a competition.

It should have been her against the course without any other worries. All those other concerns had piled up with success, though sometimes she wondered if things were better when she was less popular and focused only on the athletic side of things.

“It’s good you’re wearing it, and you’re right, it’s not just about a certain number of times, but we’ll need more close-ups.” Graham lowered the camera and looked her up and down. “They’re always bitching about not getting enough close-ups and logo focus. You announcing things at the beginning and end of the videos isn’t enough. They’ve complained about it in the past. Not just that company, but others.”

“We can do plenty of close-up takes whenever you feel like it.” Kendra smiled.

Even if sponsorships were a pain, she wanted to focus on how blessed she was to be able to do what she did for a living. Besides, she couldn’t feel down or anxious.

Yesterday had been wonderful, and while she was sorer than she anticipated, she didn’t think it was a bad trade-off. The wonderful sex had left her a lot more