Enhance: Chapter 10

“You guys ready?” Feint asked from back home.

Shade, Phase, and Yumi were standing together refreshed and ready for their newest mission. After the events of the previous night Phase had not told everyone about the detour with the teleporter and the blind girl yet.

“Ready as we can be. I’m getting tired of seeing these guys though.” Yumi said already on the move with the boys behind her. “Royals are a pain in the ass.”

“Get used to them for at least now.” Darren said through their masks. “I’ve gone through 90% of the information that we got from the Royals during the last heist. I didn’t get the information we were looking for but I did get a way to find it. I found the location of one of the Bishops. Not just his work place but a home office. Not every Bishop deals in money. Some deal in raw information.

“Feint and I are already in their systems. When you arrive there’s going to be a black out on the block. Once things go dark you go in. Your masks are already marked with where to go.”

“And we’re almost there now.” Phase said as he dashed forward and jumped higher to get a good view around them. He spun around in the air quickly and landed. Stumbling forward he held his arm out as he narrowed his eyes. “Found the place.”

He was standing on top of a water tower and was looking at what he assumed was a mansion. This guy’s home was outside of the city though, at least etn minutes away for them. It had it’s own gate setting it side from the community, surrounded by trees on one half and other houses on the other. Probably the envy of the entire neighborhood.

“We’re in position.” Phase said as Shade and Yumi appeared at his sides. “On your mark guys.”

Feint nodded from the penthouse as she typed the program. “Black out commencing in. 3… 2… 1…”

Like someone had swiped their hand across their eyes everything was plunged into darkness. At least for a moment. Almost instantly the night vision of their mask kicked in. With their new sight they leaped forward ready to fight. They dropped from the skies and landed on the grassy field with Phase in the lead.

He saw the gate and jumped over it, Yumi and Shade following suit. The place reminded her of a golf park. It was definitely a prized lawn of many types. If only they could steal and sell that. They passed a few lampposts across the lawn meaning when the power kicked back in they were going to get exposed hardcore.

“Where’s our entrance?” Shade asked as he followed the path.

“Powers out so just break into a window.” Yumi said grinning.

Shade laughed and figured she was right this time time. As he went low he grabbed a few stones off the path. Staring at the two-floor mansion he aimed toward the second floor. Flinging his arm forward he broke a small part of the window. He then leaped forward and shattered it as he rolled onto tiled floor. Glancing around he realized that he was a in a bathroom.

With a dry laugh he turned around as he waited for Phase and Yumi to join him. Once the trio of them were there they slowed down. “Alright can we get a map of this place?”

“Not the best.” Darren said as he typed quickly across his keyboard. “With the power, down so are the cameras and home floor plans aren’t exactly easy to find but I can do some guess work. His office is on the second floor thankfully.”

“Good.” Phase said and switched his mask to thermal. He was going to take a step forward and then paused. He looked around on their floor and then checked on the ground and shook his head. “This doesn’t make any sense.”

“What is it?” Shade asked not liking the sound of that. Phase had been a decent enough lead for these situations and he trusted him when something was confusing.

“Switch your mask to thermal, any spectrum, and then tell me what you’ve seen.” Phase said as he continued to look.

Yumi and Shade did that and looked toward the ground and around them. “I don’t see anything.” Yumi said with a frown.

“Neither do I.” Shade added and then frowned slowly. “Shit.”

“Wait… this is the house of a Bishop. The Royals would give him some guards.” Yumi spread her arms. “Hell at least a couple. Probably more of them.”

With a shake of his head he hit the wall hard and opened the door. “One of two things is going on.”

He ran down the hallway as he kept one constant eye on the map in the corner of the meager mask. It had marked the location of the Bishops office, which was where they were going to go in the first place.

As they ran they continued to look for guards or anything that resembled a person but again there was nothing. Shaking his head again Phase slowed down in front of the door he frowned.

“This feels like a really bad idea.” Feint said over their comms and Yumi grunted her agreement.

Phase didn’t say anything. Instead he pushed open the door of their target. It was a carpeted office combined with a study, with bookcases on both sides of the wall. On the far wall there was a painting of a man who assumed to be in a regal pose. However, all he really did was come off as arrogant and old.

They walked forward into the room and it, like the rest of the manse, was empty which didn’t make sense. “Maybe after the attack on their office he’s gone to a safe house.” Yumi suggested.

Phase ran his hand over the desk in the office. The computer was plugged in and still in place. “If he’d left I’d know about it,” Darren said.

Yumi sat down in a chair and leaned her head back with an annoyed groan. “What now?”

Darren tapped at the computer for a long moment before speaking. “For the time being just get into the computer. Try and get as much information as you can from it.”

Phase nodded as he leaned on the desk. Getting his cord and phone out he hooked them both into the computer. He watched the connection get established and then wirelessly hooked up his mask to the phone.

Over the left eye the display for the computer first popped up. It switched over to code running as he ran the program through the computer system. He’d gone through this procedure dozens of times at this point with Feint to get it right.

So when he heard the alarm bells sounding in front of him he almost jumped. Looking up suddenly he looked through the mask and stared at the screen. His eyes went wide as the screen began to tear. It was as if the data was getting corrupted as he watched.

“Shit. Darren what’s going on here?”

“I don’t know! It’s hitting me too.”

“What’s going on?” Yumi asked as she sat up and looked at him.

Phase was shaking his head jerking his phone out of the computer and unsynced it from his mask. As he looked at the phone he tapped his mask and scowled. It wasn’t showing the map or their comms. He could barely hear everyone else through the alarms.

“Guys we need to get out of here.” Phase said and he realized that the mic wasn’t working for his mask either. “Shit.” He swore to himself and then got from behind the desk and glanced at his partners. The lights turned on suddenly and they were blinded for a moment.

When their eyes stopped finally adjusted they quickly figured out they weren’t alone. Phase followed his light of sight and watched as a man entered the study. He was flanked by at least a dozen maybe, a dozen personal guards.

“Well played. I didn’t think you’d be able to break into our offices. However I also didn’t think you would be foolish enough to come to my place of residence. Very bold. Or foolish.”

“Yeah well, we like a challenge.” Yumi said with a grin but was backing toward Shade and Phase.

Shade was looking at each of the men that had come in. Now he was looking for an exit strategy. Their backs were to the wall and there wasn’t a lot of cover here. The windows were only on one side of the room and they were on the wrong angle to get to them.

“Children please. Stop these antics. We are impressed with the progress that you’ve made. Coming into contact with your friend wasn’t something we predicted. He will be dealt with in due time. But you’ve exceeded our expectations in many ways. Well done.” He clapped. “But this is the end.”

“What are you talking about old man?” Yumi asked. “You act like you’ve been watching us.”

“We have.” He said simply and he didn’t smile. His face never changed from that same blank almost disappointment.

Yumi stilled and Phase narrowed his odds. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The man stared straight at him then. “I believe I do, 52.”

That chilled him to the core. He stared at the man before him his mouth agape for a moment. How did he know that number? His fingers twitched as he tried not to look at Yumi but he knew she was in the same position.

“Yes, we’ve been looking after you 52 and you as well 365. I’m assuming that 247 can hear us as well. Both promising experiments. Mainly you 52. We were very close with you. So much potential. Your escape has proved to be the perfect way to field test you.”

“Wow you must be seriously nuts, old man.” Yumi said waving her hand. She was pretending to be calm right now because she was shaking on the inside. She thought they had finally gotten away from that place but here it was trying to drag them back.

With a sigh the man shook his head slowly. “Free spirited. Something we worked hard to beat out of you all. It makes me wonder if 247 behaves in a similar fashion. No matter, she’ll be eliminated soon along with you. You were meant to be terminated initially. Pawns finish the job.”

Snapping his fingers, the suits jumped into action. They each one by one began to pull out guns and aim them at the trio. Their eyes widened at the display and they backed up as much as they could.

“Shit.” Yumi said slowly as she looked at each of them.

“One blackout… coming up.” Feint said though her voice sounded strained. Suddenly the lights were shut down once more and they were plunged into darkness.

“Feint you okay?” Yumi asked quickly. She didn’t get a response and looked toward Phase. “Leader somethings wrong.”

“I know,” he glared hating being cornered but everyone else before him. “We need to get out of here.”

“The windows,” Shade shouted.

“On it.” Yumi said and dashed toward the windows. Covering her face as she moved she shattered the glass. Shade and Phase followed suit as they jumped behind her and landed on the yard. Not even bothering to get their bearings they started running. The uneven hills of the place made it hard to run but they made lemonade.

They were coming over a final hill when suddenly the lights turned on. Blinded again they stumbled, Yumi tripping and stumbling across the ground. “Yumi’s down!” Phase shouted but she glared at him.

“Go! I’m alright.” She shouted getting to her wobbly feet. She started running and caught up to him, jumping over the gate. They kept running and climbed until they were on the roofs and putting as much distance between them and the house as possible.

Phase looked over his shoulder at the mansion as the power turned on and the guards started to fan out and search for them. They got baited hard on this one.

“Hey Wiz Kid you there?” Yumi asked and instead of a response she got nothing but static. “Wiz Kid? Come in Darren.” She said and glanced back at them. “Nothing.”

“What about Feint?” Phase asked and hit his mask hard. It still was going in and out with no hint that it would start to function again.

Yumi went to her frequency. “Feint, come on Feint please tell me you’re still there.” She said and the sounds of her worry were heard even though the filter. “She’s not answering.”

Phase shook his head slowly. “We need to go back home. Now.”

“I’ll come with you.” Shade said and Phase shook his head.

“This is our problem. Don’t wanna get you involved too.”

Shade snorted. “Trust me. I’m already involved in this. Now lead the way.”

Phase looked at him but wasn’t really turning down an extra pair of hands right now. “Alright.”

Turning he jumped forward and then started running. While they moved he noticed that Shade wasn’t really on their level. He didn’t jump as high or run as fast. He wondered if that’s what happened when you took Enhance as opposed to being created with it. Small variables that Feint would want to know about. Just the thought of her being her made him grind his teeth together.

They’d been running for the better part of half an hour and they were close. From his position he could see their penthouse and things looked normal. That was good. Maybe it was just a computer failure and Feint was just rebooting everything. That was what he was hoping for and nothing more.

They chained their path climbing building after building and he felt tired. He hadn’t been tired in a long time but his movements weren’t clean. He looked back at Shade and Yumi and saw them lagging behind too. He jumped to their apartment and grabbed a balcony and started hopping and climbing until he got to their own. Hopping over and forcing open the window he looked at the apartment.

The first thing he saw was the front door had been broken off entirely, lying crooked on the ground. Flinging off his mask he ran into the living room, “Feint! Where are you!”

Someone had been here. Someone had broken in. Most of the house had been ransacked, their things thrown about the ground and the furniture over turned. He didn’t see Feint out here and went toward the bedrooms going to hers first. She wasn’t there though and he doubled back going to Yumi’s and finally his own.

Feint was sitting on the ground in his room, her back against the bed. She was bleeding from her hip where both her hands were pressing down. She was bruised and beat up to hell. Phase rushed forward, crouching down.

“Shit.. Feint. Feint talk to me. Come on talk to me Feint.”  Phase stared at her and then at the wound his hands shaking. The blood was still wet and flowing. He lowered his ear to her mouth and free hand to her throat. Her pulse was there and she was breathing. She was just asleep, like a coma.

 “Oh my God Feint!” Yumi shouted and slid forward, but stopped afraid to touch her. “What the hell happened?”

“I don’t know.” Phase said and looked around.

Shade stood in the doorway and then glanced at her. He had taken his mask off and it was the first time they’d gotten a look at his face. He was Hispanic, they could tell that now. His eyes were a dark brown and he looked like he needed a decent shave. His features were softer than Yumi had imagined. His hair was loose though tied back into a ponytail now.

“Yumi get the first aid kit. Hurry!” he shouted and she ran stumbling along. “Shade look around. Make sure we’re actually alone here.”

“Right,” he put his mask back on and started searching the house.

Yumi came back with the kit and together they were able to clean and bandage the wound. It was a nasty cut like someone had hit her with a machete or something. Old knowledge from the facility started kicking in as he worked and it was the first time he was grateful for it.

Once they finished Phase stood slowly and picked up Feint, carrying her in his. “Yumi grab Feint’s laptop, her phone and her mask. We need to get out of here.”

“But where?” Yumi asked and shook her head slowly. “We don’t have anywhere else to stay right now.”

“With me.” Shade said as he looked at them. “I have enough space for you guys. Not a lot of space but enough.”

“We can’t do that.” Phase said with a shake of his head. “Come on, we have money. We can take care of ourselves.”

With a frown he thought about it for a moment. “Do you still have my share from the bank job?” Shade finally asked. Phase was going to argue but Shade shook his head. ”Give me that and we’ll call it even.”

“Why?” Phase asked narrowing his eyes.

Shade looked at him and nodded. It was a fair question, “Because I know what it’s like to be fucked over with no place to go. Just paying it forward.”

Phase glanced at Yumi for a moment and she was barely keeping it together. “Okay. I’ll wire it once we’re stationary. Lead the way Shade.”

They ran out the broken window hopping out and Yumi paused looking back. It would probably be the last time that they were able to use it. It hadn’t been long since they settled down here and now they were already leaving. It was something that made her feel sad but she turned and jumped after them landing behind the two of them.

“Is she going to need a hospital?” Shade asked as they ran.

“No,” Yumi said working between breaths. “We heal fast. She just needs a place to be stationary for a while.”

Phase winced as he took a bad jump but managed to land safely. Doing this while carrying someone was already hard enough but trying to make sure that Feint didn’t get jostled or hurt worse made it that much more stressful. He looked at her and she was still asleep her face not peaceful but not pained either.

Yumi dashed beside them hovering around the pair of them and stealing glances their way while trying to navigate her own path. She couldn’t take her eyes off Feint and her worry showed every time Phase’s eyes met her own.

Shade kept track of them behind him but watched as their area changed. Getting away from the upscale cityscape and moving closer toward a neighborhood. It was domestic and they could hear teens running and being loud. They were probably sneaking around after leaving the house. Shade slowed down as he got there. It was another apartment complex but smaller. A lot smaller. It was hard to even call it an apartment.

Walking across the streets Shade pointed at a second floor balcony in the distance. “That’s my home.” He said and went to the front door. Opening the door and then going up the stairs slowly. At this hour no one was awake and that was the best part of this. They were glad that no one could see them carrying a bleeding woman up the stairs into the apartment.

Shade’s apartment was smaller and not that cluttered. From the door directly to the right was a couch and small table. A stand where a TV would go was just occupied by a stereo system. There were bags of clothes in the corner and a few empty food cartons on the table itself. The kitchen was connected to this room and around the corner Phase imagined was Shade’s room.

Phase walked Feint to the couch and set her down. Raising her head up onto the arm he brushed her hair from her face and checked her again. Her breathing was still even but she wasn’t awake and he doubed she would be soon.

“So what are you guys?” Shade asked as he watched the three of them

Phase and Yumi looked toward him caution blanking their and couldn’t really think of where to start. At the same time they couldn’t think of how much they wanted to tell him. He was giving them a place to lay low so they trusted him but they needed time to process.

“We’ll tell you in the morning Shade.” Phase said finally. “We need some sleep for the time being.”

 Yumi sank to the floor like a sack of potatoes nodding. She watched her fellow experiments and then glanced at Shade. “Thanks Shade.” She said and closed her eyes slowly.

Phase stared at him and nodded. “Yeah. Seriously.”

Shade nodded, “I’m going to bed now. We’ll figure out the next move in the morning then.”

“Right.”

Shade walked out of the room towards the back and he heard a door close. Phase watched him go before closing his eyes and sighing heavily. Leaning his head forward he shut his eyes. He didn’t sleep right away, full intending to keep a watch but his body had other plans.