07-02-2020, 12:50 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-02-2020, 02:47 AM by Jay Carpenter.
Edit Reason: added pic of yasmine
)
His heart flicked rapid, but the pace was locked into control of one accustomed to the tight regulation. In MARSOC training, it was said that adrenaline and all the effects on the heart made them better soldiers. It pumped the blood to muscles poised to act and had the ability to sharpen eyesight. Too much and the detriment overruled the benefits. Panicking in close quarters or losing way in the dark waters killed men as much as bullets and machetes.
With that close grip on himself, the curl of his bicep lifted Natalie a little more smoothly than it otherwise would fatigued. Once up, he picked a cobweb from her hair (along with an extra long-legged hitchhiker that he didn’t inform her about), and brushed the dirt from her clothes. The back and arms. A little extra generously around the bust. One last smack at the shoulder elicited a wince that he blinked with surprise. “Sorry,” he said, assuming it was from too heavy a hand. There wasn’t time to dress her wounds (if you catch the drift) as he turned to survey their new platform.
The pool was glowing blue in the dusky sky. Waterfalls and jets obscured the sounds they made. Hills lumped like shadows beyond the infinity edge, and he was right, the view was probably amazing. But once again, he was privy to only its nightscape. ”Nice. Maybe I should think about getting in the biz.” He smirked and waved her to follow.
He stayed low. His footfalls were swift and quiet. The power was raging by then, coursing his veins with heightened eyesight better than the best landwarriors. As they approached a wall of glass, the power was sending out ropes of fire and spirit, twisting them into a braid not unlike electrical wires. They delved into the frames of the glass, seeking that familiar spark of like-kind in order to burn out the security system.
After a moment’s work, he slid open the panel, which opened on silent tracking with not but a gentle push. This was the moment he lived for. The infiltration took the highest amount of skill, focus, and bravery. Not knowing what waited within, he peered around the edge, letting the power help him scan the interior.
The furniture was dark. None waited inside. His breath caught in his throat as he crossed the threshold, signaling to Natalie to wait where she was until he was certain the room was clear.
None showed themselves. He looked back at Natalie, question written all over his face. He was a little surprised to find the compound so.. easy to penetrate. Hadn’t the place been swarming with security? Where were the dogs? Guns? Shit, even motion light would have been better than nothing. He whispered. ”Maybe Amengual’s gone.”
Room by room, he moved as quietly and efficiently as the first entrance. He paused at each threshold, checked and cleared the next before waving Natalie to follow. With each undisturbed section, his worry grew. Not that he lost his mark, but that the mark knew exactly where they were.
Finally, he had an opportunity to check the front entrance. Peering ever so carefully through a window, confirmation did not ease his conscience. He whispered again, this time channeling the flows into a cone of sorts to keep the noise from drifting anywhere other than Natalie’s ears. ”The gate house is still lit. I see two men stationed near the drive. There are tie-outs for dogs, although I see none. Wait. There’s movement,” he blinked.
A man exited the gate house, strolled up the drive but turned to go in another entrance on the opposite side of the mansion. He was dark-haired, but older. Was that the Scion Marveet that Natalie described? He gestured that she look, quickly, before he disappeared.
A bad idea tickled the back of his neck, but they had to keep searching. There were two additional levels to the house: one up and one down. If Jay had a master bedroom there, he’d want as good a view as the pool deck. He turned to go toward the stairs when the lights flicked on.
He reacted almost instantly.
He pushed himself around Natalie, delving into a position in the room that offered a small measure of protective support while also not cornering them into a bad place. The power wove into action as he moved. At his right, a white-blue orb of light formed into existence, hovering like a grenade he was ready to toss. At his left, a silver spike about a foot in length was ready to skewer any who walked in.
Who entered was not who he expected.
It was a woman. Her hair was down, curling past her shoulders in silken sheets. She wore a gauzy robe of sorts that did nothing to obscure a revealing bikini. Her skin was cinnamon, her eyes sultry. Worse of all. Jay recognized her.
She seemed oblivious for a moment until realizing the glass panels to the pool that was obviously her destination were open. When she beheld intruders across the room, she did not startle or gasp. She merely blinked, looking them over.
![[Image: Yasmine-e1593657886143.jpg]](http://thefirstage.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Yasmine-e1593657886143.jpg)
To Jay’s utter disbelief, she tapped elaborately lacquered fingers to her throat, and basically undressed him with her eyes. “Mírate,” she said with daring mirth.
The flare of Jay’s nostrils told him he drank deeply on the power as much as the air, frantically trying to decide what to do about Amengual’s wife. Then, before he could act, she began to approach, looking him over like she studied a wild animal found on the side of the road. She was cautious, but curious. The purse of her lips was subtle, but as she spoke English, she made certain anyone who beheld her recognized her as the queen in her kingdom. “Zacarías said you would come. He did not say how handsome you are in person. What happened to your skin mi cebrita?”
Jay lifted a hand, halting her. “Stop where you are, Yasmine. I don’t want to hurt you. I’m only here for one person,” he said. Did she know that her daughter was dead because of him? His mouth was dry.
She blinked innocently as her approach halted. She wasn’t screaming for help. Maybe she wanted her husband dead as the rest of them? Surely nobody could love Zacarias?
“Who is your pretty friend?” she asked, head tilted. “Zacarías didn’t say you’d bring a girl.”
Jay swallowed, “I’m obviously not going to answer that. Let’s just talk about me and your husband. Where is he?”
Yasmine tipped her shoulder, shrugging.
As she brushed her hand through her hair, the flicker of a something in her hand caught his eye. Which was when he realized what Yasmine was doing down here at all.
She’s a distraction. Motion on the pool deck caught his eye. Black moved quick in the shadows. The lights of the room had blinded their vision but for the enhancement of the power. He had just a heartbeat to react.
Suddenly, guns popped rapid sprays. The power unraveled from the previous weapons, netting itself into a wall behind which he ducked, yanking Natalie with him. The wall grew and bubbled into a dome, but every pop of casing to hit the shield shook as though it gonged his very soul. The sound of it echoed explosions in their ears, but all his strength poured into the defense. None was left to soften the painful blows.
These things happened fast. In seconds the room was flooded with all the security that he anticipated the entire time. Yasmine was out of sight next he looked, but like hell was Jay going to cower with his arms over his head in fear. He was the goddamn fucking soldier of Dominion there. This was exactly what he wanted.
He stood to his feet, slowly uncurling, drawing in the power until he thought his skin would rip apart at the black seams.
Fire and light swirled around him, coming together to a pulsing orb, one above each hand. The gunmen realized the dome deflected their work and rushed, knives and bayonets at the ready, flashing in deadly, trained arcs. They wore body armor where Jay was bare-chested, but it would not save them. The dome dropped just as five of them hurled themselves forward, but the light imploded from his hands. Everyone was thrown to their backs and Jay unleashed a swarm of ropes, whipping and snapping to disarm each. There was nothing but the enemy to be cut down. A dance of death.
Five bodies lay at his feet when he was unleashed into the next room. He had to get to Amengual before he fled!
Such was his shock when Amengual suddenly appeared before them, and he wasn’t alone. A cowering figure huddled in front of him. A knife was poised at her throat. The trickle of blood ran down her wrinkled neck from the pressure. Another gunman held a gun to the head of his captive.
It took Jay a few seconds to realize what he saw. Then it all swirled into one sick understanding of context.
“Mom?” he felt like he was stabbed in the gut. Her chin quivered and she was practically shaking from fear. Her hair was matted and dirty. Her clothes disheveled. His dad was positioned alongside, a gun at his temple, in no better shape.
Jay’s hatred could delve no hotter than in that moment, but recognition took him too long. A gunman came from behind and a flare of heat and searing pain exploded in his side. He stumbled to a knee, the scream of pain genuine. Steel flashed in the strike of an arm. His mother screamed in horror. His hands came away bloodied as it poured from his side. Despite the moment of panic, the part of his mind trained on survival realized the stab was opposite the liver and too gutsy to hit the spleen. He wasn’t going to die in the next few minutes, so long as he kept his guts on the inside where they belonged.
![[Image: zac-2.jpg]](http://thefirstage.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/zac-2.jpg)
Amengual stepped forward, smiling triumphantly. He stood over Jay just out of reach. Something dangled from his hand. Like a cord. “That’s right,” he whispered loud enough for Jay to hear. “Cocky son of a bitch. I am going to rip out your heart and feed it to her.”
Jay was shaking with a different kind of adrenaline as he clawed his mind toward the power. Before he could so much as channel a gust of wind, Amengual snatched one of the heavy guns from his men, lifted it in one hand and fired on a turn. The punch of it shoved Jay’s dad from his knees. He was dead before he hit the floor.
Amengual stepped carefully over the body, avoiding the mess from touching his slippers. “Goddamn! Finally. He was fucking pissing me off. Now, it’s your turn mamacita,” he pat Jay’s mom on the top of her head then wiped his fingers on his shirt in disdain.
Zacarías summoned a new combatant to the arena with the call of one name. Despite the fact he’d been stabbed. His dad was dead. His mother was probably going to die in the next few minutes. And Natalie was only here because of him. It was a name that sent a chill through Jay’s heart.
Placaso entered. Even the gunmen watched him warily. But it wasn’t to Jay he approached, although when his gaze flickered toward the marine, Jay scrambled backward despite the fact he may faint with the motion. Placaso laughed and pulled up the sleeve of his arm, showing his mother the spot where matching on Jay was only mangled flesh. Numerous other tattoos filled his skin, but it was one in particular that he tapped. Amengual laughed defiantly. Jay couldn’t watch. He had to get away. Run. Bad idea. This was a bad idea.
When Placaso grabbed Jay’s mother by the elbow and dragged her away, he was powerless to stop it. All he heard were the cries of his own name. Pleading for help. He couldn't listen.
Where was Natalie? He had to find her. He had to get away. They had to leave. Now.
With that close grip on himself, the curl of his bicep lifted Natalie a little more smoothly than it otherwise would fatigued. Once up, he picked a cobweb from her hair (along with an extra long-legged hitchhiker that he didn’t inform her about), and brushed the dirt from her clothes. The back and arms. A little extra generously around the bust. One last smack at the shoulder elicited a wince that he blinked with surprise. “Sorry,” he said, assuming it was from too heavy a hand. There wasn’t time to dress her wounds (if you catch the drift) as he turned to survey their new platform.
The pool was glowing blue in the dusky sky. Waterfalls and jets obscured the sounds they made. Hills lumped like shadows beyond the infinity edge, and he was right, the view was probably amazing. But once again, he was privy to only its nightscape. ”Nice. Maybe I should think about getting in the biz.” He smirked and waved her to follow.
He stayed low. His footfalls were swift and quiet. The power was raging by then, coursing his veins with heightened eyesight better than the best landwarriors. As they approached a wall of glass, the power was sending out ropes of fire and spirit, twisting them into a braid not unlike electrical wires. They delved into the frames of the glass, seeking that familiar spark of like-kind in order to burn out the security system.
After a moment’s work, he slid open the panel, which opened on silent tracking with not but a gentle push. This was the moment he lived for. The infiltration took the highest amount of skill, focus, and bravery. Not knowing what waited within, he peered around the edge, letting the power help him scan the interior.
The furniture was dark. None waited inside. His breath caught in his throat as he crossed the threshold, signaling to Natalie to wait where she was until he was certain the room was clear.
None showed themselves. He looked back at Natalie, question written all over his face. He was a little surprised to find the compound so.. easy to penetrate. Hadn’t the place been swarming with security? Where were the dogs? Guns? Shit, even motion light would have been better than nothing. He whispered. ”Maybe Amengual’s gone.”
Room by room, he moved as quietly and efficiently as the first entrance. He paused at each threshold, checked and cleared the next before waving Natalie to follow. With each undisturbed section, his worry grew. Not that he lost his mark, but that the mark knew exactly where they were.
Finally, he had an opportunity to check the front entrance. Peering ever so carefully through a window, confirmation did not ease his conscience. He whispered again, this time channeling the flows into a cone of sorts to keep the noise from drifting anywhere other than Natalie’s ears. ”The gate house is still lit. I see two men stationed near the drive. There are tie-outs for dogs, although I see none. Wait. There’s movement,” he blinked.
A man exited the gate house, strolled up the drive but turned to go in another entrance on the opposite side of the mansion. He was dark-haired, but older. Was that the Scion Marveet that Natalie described? He gestured that she look, quickly, before he disappeared.
A bad idea tickled the back of his neck, but they had to keep searching. There were two additional levels to the house: one up and one down. If Jay had a master bedroom there, he’d want as good a view as the pool deck. He turned to go toward the stairs when the lights flicked on.
He reacted almost instantly.
He pushed himself around Natalie, delving into a position in the room that offered a small measure of protective support while also not cornering them into a bad place. The power wove into action as he moved. At his right, a white-blue orb of light formed into existence, hovering like a grenade he was ready to toss. At his left, a silver spike about a foot in length was ready to skewer any who walked in.
Who entered was not who he expected.
It was a woman. Her hair was down, curling past her shoulders in silken sheets. She wore a gauzy robe of sorts that did nothing to obscure a revealing bikini. Her skin was cinnamon, her eyes sultry. Worse of all. Jay recognized her.
She seemed oblivious for a moment until realizing the glass panels to the pool that was obviously her destination were open. When she beheld intruders across the room, she did not startle or gasp. She merely blinked, looking them over.
To Jay’s utter disbelief, she tapped elaborately lacquered fingers to her throat, and basically undressed him with her eyes. “Mírate,” she said with daring mirth.
The flare of Jay’s nostrils told him he drank deeply on the power as much as the air, frantically trying to decide what to do about Amengual’s wife. Then, before he could act, she began to approach, looking him over like she studied a wild animal found on the side of the road. She was cautious, but curious. The purse of her lips was subtle, but as she spoke English, she made certain anyone who beheld her recognized her as the queen in her kingdom. “Zacarías said you would come. He did not say how handsome you are in person. What happened to your skin mi cebrita?”
Jay lifted a hand, halting her. “Stop where you are, Yasmine. I don’t want to hurt you. I’m only here for one person,” he said. Did she know that her daughter was dead because of him? His mouth was dry.
She blinked innocently as her approach halted. She wasn’t screaming for help. Maybe she wanted her husband dead as the rest of them? Surely nobody could love Zacarias?
“Who is your pretty friend?” she asked, head tilted. “Zacarías didn’t say you’d bring a girl.”
Jay swallowed, “I’m obviously not going to answer that. Let’s just talk about me and your husband. Where is he?”
Yasmine tipped her shoulder, shrugging.
As she brushed her hand through her hair, the flicker of a something in her hand caught his eye. Which was when he realized what Yasmine was doing down here at all.
She’s a distraction. Motion on the pool deck caught his eye. Black moved quick in the shadows. The lights of the room had blinded their vision but for the enhancement of the power. He had just a heartbeat to react.
Suddenly, guns popped rapid sprays. The power unraveled from the previous weapons, netting itself into a wall behind which he ducked, yanking Natalie with him. The wall grew and bubbled into a dome, but every pop of casing to hit the shield shook as though it gonged his very soul. The sound of it echoed explosions in their ears, but all his strength poured into the defense. None was left to soften the painful blows.
These things happened fast. In seconds the room was flooded with all the security that he anticipated the entire time. Yasmine was out of sight next he looked, but like hell was Jay going to cower with his arms over his head in fear. He was the goddamn fucking soldier of Dominion there. This was exactly what he wanted.
He stood to his feet, slowly uncurling, drawing in the power until he thought his skin would rip apart at the black seams.
Fire and light swirled around him, coming together to a pulsing orb, one above each hand. The gunmen realized the dome deflected their work and rushed, knives and bayonets at the ready, flashing in deadly, trained arcs. They wore body armor where Jay was bare-chested, but it would not save them. The dome dropped just as five of them hurled themselves forward, but the light imploded from his hands. Everyone was thrown to their backs and Jay unleashed a swarm of ropes, whipping and snapping to disarm each. There was nothing but the enemy to be cut down. A dance of death.
Five bodies lay at his feet when he was unleashed into the next room. He had to get to Amengual before he fled!
Such was his shock when Amengual suddenly appeared before them, and he wasn’t alone. A cowering figure huddled in front of him. A knife was poised at her throat. The trickle of blood ran down her wrinkled neck from the pressure. Another gunman held a gun to the head of his captive.
It took Jay a few seconds to realize what he saw. Then it all swirled into one sick understanding of context.
“Mom?” he felt like he was stabbed in the gut. Her chin quivered and she was practically shaking from fear. Her hair was matted and dirty. Her clothes disheveled. His dad was positioned alongside, a gun at his temple, in no better shape.
Jay’s hatred could delve no hotter than in that moment, but recognition took him too long. A gunman came from behind and a flare of heat and searing pain exploded in his side. He stumbled to a knee, the scream of pain genuine. Steel flashed in the strike of an arm. His mother screamed in horror. His hands came away bloodied as it poured from his side. Despite the moment of panic, the part of his mind trained on survival realized the stab was opposite the liver and too gutsy to hit the spleen. He wasn’t going to die in the next few minutes, so long as he kept his guts on the inside where they belonged.
Amengual stepped forward, smiling triumphantly. He stood over Jay just out of reach. Something dangled from his hand. Like a cord. “That’s right,” he whispered loud enough for Jay to hear. “Cocky son of a bitch. I am going to rip out your heart and feed it to her.”
Jay was shaking with a different kind of adrenaline as he clawed his mind toward the power. Before he could so much as channel a gust of wind, Amengual snatched one of the heavy guns from his men, lifted it in one hand and fired on a turn. The punch of it shoved Jay’s dad from his knees. He was dead before he hit the floor.
Amengual stepped carefully over the body, avoiding the mess from touching his slippers. “Goddamn! Finally. He was fucking pissing me off. Now, it’s your turn mamacita,” he pat Jay’s mom on the top of her head then wiped his fingers on his shirt in disdain.
Zacarías summoned a new combatant to the arena with the call of one name. Despite the fact he’d been stabbed. His dad was dead. His mother was probably going to die in the next few minutes. And Natalie was only here because of him. It was a name that sent a chill through Jay’s heart.
Placaso entered. Even the gunmen watched him warily. But it wasn’t to Jay he approached, although when his gaze flickered toward the marine, Jay scrambled backward despite the fact he may faint with the motion. Placaso laughed and pulled up the sleeve of his arm, showing his mother the spot where matching on Jay was only mangled flesh. Numerous other tattoos filled his skin, but it was one in particular that he tapped. Amengual laughed defiantly. Jay couldn’t watch. He had to get away. Run. Bad idea. This was a bad idea.
When Placaso grabbed Jay’s mother by the elbow and dragged her away, he was powerless to stop it. All he heard were the cries of his own name. Pleading for help. He couldn't listen.
Where was Natalie? He had to find her. He had to get away. They had to leave. Now.
Only darkness shows you the light.