Chapter 3 Mathew
Mathew
The moment Caleb, Vera and Miles switched their earpieces to a different frequency, one that only the three of them were on, I knew things were about to go in a really bad direction. They split away from Jorge, Luca and the teams who were supposed to protect them, and went off on their own.
On one of Timothy’s monitors, I watched their trackers move into a different alley, not the direction they were supposed to go, towards the route Xavier’s pack used to bring the kids to safety.
Then Jorge, Luca and the others started moving in a different direction too, as they were getting chased and shot at.
The Hearts managed to get people into our exit routes!
I have no idea if this was planned or if they just flooded the area with people in all directions and just hoped the net would catch us. Either way, getting everyone out of there safely will be much more complicated now.
“I don’t think it’s safe to stay here.” Riley stands up from where she was sitting in the open side door of Timothy’s van and looks me over. “And we’ve got to get you somewhere they can properly stitch you back up.”
I lost quite a bit of blood and letting my leg heal will be a bother, but the wound wasn’t very deep and the bullet is no longer in, so there’s not much to do about it.
It hurts like hell, but I’m not taking any painkillers, I need to keep my head clear. This is an involved raid, and we need everyone, especially those of us who know the most about the plans.
“I can get stitched up once everyone is back home. I’m not leaving.” Then I look at the vans with some of the other people who’ve gotten hurt. “Get them home immediately. No use for them to stay here, especially not if things are getting iffy.”
Riley opens the door on the driver’s side. “We can’t stay here either. If the Hearts are in the area, they might have already spotted us. It’s better if we move to a different location too.”
“If you drive, we’ll keep an eye on things here.” Timothy nods to one of the guys from his close team who’s taking care of all the tech stuff with him in the back of the van and the guy moves slightly further to the back so Timothy can get closer to the computers.
Timothy looks at the monitors and then to me. “We should move south-west. It’s the easiest way out. Sounds good?”
“Sounds good.” I grimace from the pain as I close the side door, and before I can open the door on the passenger side, Riley already pushes it open for me.
“Don’t force yourself too much. You might think you’re fine, but you still don’t need to hurt yourself more than you already are.”
I roll my eyes at her, I’ve been through worse, I can deal with a little pain.
As I climb into the front of the van, a bullet hits the side door, way too close to me for comfort.
Fuck.
“Move!” I pull myself up, already feeling the wound on my leg reopening, but grit through it. We can worry about that later, if we make it out of here alive. The other vans also start to drive as more bullets hit them.
This is really fucking bad.
I slam the door shut as Riley shoots off, trying to get away from here, trying to get out of the range of the bullets.
I’ve never been on a mission or raid that has turned out this bad. We’re going to have to seriously rethink a couple of things next time.
If we make it to a next time, that is.
“Timothy?!” I yell, though I’m not sure how easy he can hear me over the sounds of the engine revving and the bullets hitting the van.
“Keep going. Try to get out of here alive. I’m getting in touch with everyone in charge. Just get us out of here.” His voice over the earpiece is tense. Well, that is easier than yelling, yes.
“Read my mind.” Riley’s face is grim as she turns into a side street.
“Everyone better makes it out alive, or heads are going to roll.” Her dark rose pheromones are starting to flare around her.
Her pheromones are filled with bloodlust, and the deadly look in her eyes makes me shiver. She’s furious.
The masking products are starting to lose their efficiency, with how long we’ve been out here. Though, it’s just as likely that they’re not made for this much of a flare of pheromones.
There’s murmuring over the earpiece, and then Erika’s voice. “The kids are all fine. We got them out of there on time. The Hearts shouldn’t have seen who took them. I’ll send some people after them as soon as we can get them transport.”
If we need to wait for Erika’s people to find transportation, they might be too late to prevent anything.
“Team A? Are most of you still in the area?” They were the team who went ahead of us to scout things out and clear the paths for the kids.
“Anyone from team A who’s in the area and has access to a car or other transport option, get in touch with Erika.
Make sure the kids get to their next location safely.
If you get even a whiff of danger, stay close to them until Erika, Derrick, Timothy or I give the all-clear. ”
“Will do.” Petra, leader of team A, gives short orders to the people around her. “Mathew? Erika? We need two more teams to make sure everyone gets escorted to their destination.”
“We’ll take care of that. We’ve got five people here.
Can you send me the location of the kids?
” Erika seems to be in her element, even though things are very much not going according to plan.
“Nathan and the pack were outside the area when the Hearts came in. I think Xavier might have gotten caught by them, though.”
That’s good and bad news. I’ve not heard from Xavier’s pack yet, but Vera, Caleb and Miles are supposed to be with them, so I hope that’s a good sign.
I quickly grab onto the handle of the door as Riley turns another corner at a speed that’s very unsafe and only possible because there are no other cars around.
“Xav and his pack are safe.” My heart nearly forgets to beat when I hear Vera’s voice. She sounds exhausted, but it’s good to know she’s alive. With the pheromones coming off Riley, she clearly feels the same.
“Where are you?”
“Ehh... We’re being held up for a moment.” Then I hear the sounds of gunshots on her side. “I’ll get back in touch when we know more, but everyone is... alive.” Her voice cuts off and I can’t suppress the growl building in my chest.
Riley’s pheromones flare more, the danger and protectiveness rising. Her hands on the wheel are tight.
“We’re not turning around.” I reach out, nearly touching her, but not daring when she’s in this state. “We need to make sure we’re safe before we rescue anyone else. If she was in a lot of danger, she would have let us know.”
“You know she wouldn’t. She’s too headstrong,” Riley grinds out.
“And she’s with Caleb and Miles,” I counter. “Either of them would have stepped in if the risk got too much. Either of them would have called for backup. She’s not out there on her own.”
It’s not that I don’t understand Riley’s impulse to turn around and go over there ourselves, to get them out of there immediately, but we have to trust that the others can take care of themselves right now.
“There’s a car following us.” Timothy’s voice is tense, breaking through my thoughts.
Right. We’ve got to make sure that we get out of here first, before we start thinking of rescuing anyone else. And, right now, that means getting away from the people following us.
I glance in the mirror. It’s the same car I’ve seen a few times since we started driving. The plates aren’t one of ours, so it must be from the Hearts, or someone doing their dirty jobs.
We’ve got to get rid of them.
I grimace at the pain in my leg as I turn to look behind the seat, check what weapons we’ve got there. I need something to either get rid of them immediately, or to slow them down for long enough that we can get away.
I spot a couple of smoke and flash grenades. While that wouldn’t take them out, it would help us get away from them, or at least disorient them enough that it will be harder for them to follow us.
“Don’t look behind us or in any of the mirrors.” I grab a few of the smoke grenades and the next time we’re on a stretch of straight road, I drop them one by one to create the most effective screen.
While the driver will be trying their best to peer through the smoke, the flash grenade should be an extra surprise.
“Don’t startle from the flash or the bang.”
I drop the flash grenade and, moments later, there’s a loud flash and bang behind us. Even though I closed my eyes, I can still see the brightness of the flash.
Then I hear screeching tires and a loud crash.
Sorry to anyone living or working around here. I hope that didn’t scare you too much.
The next couple of seconds are tense as we wait for the smoke to clear and we’re putting as much distance between us and the people from the Hearts as possible.
Until Timothy speaks up, “I don’t think they’re following us anymore.”
Riley nods, her body still tight, and she turns into the next street, before turning again and continuing in the direction we were going, just one street over.
Every few moments, I check the mirrors, but no car shows up. We’re no longer being followed.
What I do hear are sirens in the distance, coming closer and closer.
That was to be expected. I’m curious what took them so long.
Though, since the Hearts control this area, they probably kept the police and such away for as long as possible.
Timothy is checking in with some of the teams. It seems that Derrick is with Luca and Jorge, hauled up somewhere, but they’re safe. They just don’t want to move until they know they’re not getting ambushed again and know where they’re supposed to go. Vera doesn’t seem to have many updates either.
The other teams are either on their way to support others or regrouping and getting people back home as quickly as possible.
“Mathew?” Riley’s hand feels heavy on my arm. “You good?”
I blink, touching her hand, which feels very warm. “Keep going. We’ve got to get out of the area.”
I’m tired. It’s been a long day and I think the adrenaline has started to leave my system. I’ll close my eyes for a few moments, just until Riley has gotten us to safety.
“Mathew!” Riley’s voice takes on an edge, and then I smell Timothy’s cinnamon pheromones nearby.
“Keep driving.” He touches my cheek and then my neck. “Do we have anyone with first aid still around?”
What is he getting worked up over? He’s got more important things to do than fuss over me.
But I can’t be bothered to push his hand away, too much of an effort.
Just a few minutes of closing my eyes should be fine. Hopefully it will restore some of my energy so I can get right back to work once we get everyone back home.
Because tonight is not done, not by far.