HEROES Chapter 3

It was midnight when the transport made their unscheduled pick-up at MCB Oneida for Shawn Powell who was still sedated and restrained. The RAID enforcers wheeled him in the back of the armoured vehicle and took every precaution to ensure that the 'Demon' would not awake. They then locked him up tight and proceeded off base and north into upper New York.

The distinct black transport bound for Lake Placid wound there way through Adriondack Park Preserve, north bound on state route number 8. There were only two possible routes they could have taken while crossing the the vast forested region and against all odds they ended up passing through Lake Pleasant at the same time as Tim Rutherford.

During the day, on a busy road the transport might have just as well been mistaken for a common armoured car, but at 1:30 in the morning it was rather conspicuous. As both Tim and the RAID transport slowed to 30 mph they passed by one another in the middle of the small town. The two enforcers driving the vehicle took note of the hummer but thought nothing of it.

(Time: 1:30 am - North Bound on State Route 8 - Passing through Lake Pleasant, NY)

Yelena never realized how closely connected to the large Norwegian meta she really was until now. But to find out that someone actually followed her gymnast career struck a soft spot within her. During the time she spent training and becoming part of the gymnastics family was the closest thing she had to a real family since hers died. Toril wasn’t with her then, but to hear he had followed her career as closely as he had made her both homesick and feel not quite as lonely and isolated as she had in the past few years.

When Toril told her about his prospects as a hockey player, Yelena knew he would have been an excellent player since he put a lot of thought into everything he did. No matter how minute. And to say the least, she felt a kinship begin to take root between them. It was nice not being the only person from a different country and nice not being the only one to realize the added pressure of being away from your homeland.

As Toril drifted off to sleep, Yelena looked over at him. He was right, of course. Time caught up with them more than they realized and she couldn’t help but agree.

“Da….faster than we realize, Toril.”

Watching his handsome face relax as he fell into an exhausted sleep, Yelena reached out and gently touched his cheek.

“Priyatnyh snov, Toril.” (Sweet dreams, Toril)

With one final check around the small trailer, Yelena made sure her companions were resting then settled down herself to get some much needed rest. Like her two fellow escapees, she too fell into an exhausted sleep.

Listening in through the earpiece in The Shadow's ear, Zoe raised her eyebrows at Morgan's remark. Poking into Beacon's system again, she did a quick search through her past hacks. Cassius, Toril, and Yelena were still listed as missing, which sent a wave of half-relief through her. She then paused, the wheels in her head turning as she began scanning through scheduled transports. Finding nothing that caught her eye, she turned to the other computer and rifled through some of RAID's records. No scheduled pick-ups, all transports accounted for... except...

Furrowing her brow, Zoe leaned in closer to the monitor and looked over each record for several minutes. Having familiarized herself with Beacon's and RAID's format of keeping records, there was one that finally stood out to her. The one little line looked like a story from which the beginning had been ripped out. While there were no scheduled pick-ups anywhere for anytime remotely close to the present, there was one listed as "in transit." Pulling up the inmate records, she scanned quickly through the names, some of which had already become all-too-familiar from years of hacking into the system and filling her memory with forbidden knowledge. For several more minutes, the names flew by in a while column of text until Zoe stopped it abruptly, her eyes narrowed, staring at one name with a furrowed brow.

Shawn "Demon" Powell ................ Status: En route

Here was an end to a story, distanced from its middle and utterly ripped from its beginning.

"Shadow," came Zoe's voice through his earpiece, "relay this to Tim..." and she pieced together the broken pieces of the story she had just uncovered. "It would be a massive coincidence," she said when she had finished, "the chances of their just happening to pass you by... it's astronomical... but if you are both headed to the same place from roughly the same direction..." She trailed off, her brilliant mind whirling even as she spoke. "You guys make up your mind... but I would keep an eye on that transport. If you can some how track its position with your equipment, I can link into it and keep an eye on it myself. I don't want you to lose track of Dominic and Yelena because of a hunch... they're still listed as "missing," by the way. They've escaped and could be anywhere."

Tim had just taken a bite of the ham sandwich, when the armoured vehicle passed them, he looked at it and something in his mind stirred. He had just finished the sandwich and driven about a mile down the road, when he slammed on the brakes, turning the steering wheel. The Hummed skidded as it spun around, comming to a halt. Tim slammed his hands against the steering wheel, shifted into first and smashed the accelerator. "Son of a bitch!" he said as the Hummer sprang forward and he shifted up through the gears gathering speed. "Ya'all keep a sharp eye fur that damed armoured truck." ..... Tim reached for the microphone on the secure radio link to Zoe. "Zoe they gottem! ...... In pursuit of armoured RAID vehicle North bound NY route 8 .... get a fix. Ya need ta do yur voodoo Zoe, mess up thar radio an GPS." Tim said, his jaw tightened as he looked at Morgan and Sean "this har could get right excitin' ..... hang on ta yur asses."

Even though it was going on quarter to two in the morning, the enforcer maintained a slow speed through the Lake Pleasant area. This was the part of the drive he enjoyed and the older man settled back and looked over the dark shimmering water to their right.

"Hey Stan, you ever come out here?" Asked his partner, "Y'know to golf or water ski."

Stan shifted his eyes over at the young man and furrowed his bushy brows. "Water ski? What the hell ever gave you the idea I water ski, Pete?" He laughed, "Now, you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned golf, maybe we should come up here sometime and play few rounds. What do say, kid?"

"Sounds good."

The armoured van was just coming up to the junction where they turned north onto State Route 30, when Pete noticed a car flying up the road behind them. "Hey, that's guy's comin' up pretty fast." He commented, "Wonder why he's in such a bloody rush?"

Stan looked in his side mirror. "Some people just don't appreciate nature anymore. They'd rather blow by it at a hundred. Well, he'll just have to wait until I get my big ass round this turn." He said to Pete with a wink.

The RAID transport stopped at the intersection, where Route 30 was called Indian Lake Road and deliberately took a long pause before turning just to piss the speeder off.

(Time - 1:45 am. North East Bound on Route 30 past Lake Pleasant)

[size=18]Morgan quickly did another check on all weapons, making sure clips were full and the shotgun was loaded. She then grabbed one of the handguns and locked a clip in place, making sure the safety was still on so there wouldn't be any accidents.

"Tell me what you want me to do, Tim. Don't hesitate, because I won't."

Morgan had been thinking long and hard about what Tim had said when they were on their way to the cabin, about Frank using her fear and how she needed to be stronger than him. She was tired of being scared and at some point and time had made a decision to work on it and use her own fear to fuel her strength and resolve. She wasn't sure how well she'd be able to do this, but by God, she was going to be stronger than her father. Even if he did catch her, she'd still be on the winning end, somehow.

She kept an eye out for the armored van, when she remembered the pair of hawks that had stayed with them. Merging her mind with the female's, she used the female hawk's eyes to scan the surrounding area.

"They've stopped at an intersection. They're just sitting there for some reason." Using the hawk's binocular vision, she zeroed in on the sign at the intersection. "It looks like Route 30, also called Indian Lake Road. They still haven't moved."

She released the hawk from the merge and waited for Tim to tell her what the plan was, gripping the pistol in her right hand./size]

As Tim pulled the Hummer up behind the Armoured vehicle he rolled, the windows down on his and Morgan's window, flashed the lights on the Hummer from low to high beam sveral times and honked the horn, as they sat behind the stoped vehicle. He then began pulled up along side of the vehicle and yelled
"Waut tha hell ya think this har is thar pardners? A damned parade on Red Squire in Rusha?" He glanced at Morgan and gave her a quick nob and a wick, as he flipped the driver of the aroured vehicle off. Morgan slid out of the window and sat on the ledge holding onto the cargo rack rail of the Hummer with one hand. "Ya hol' on tight now Morgan." he said softly to her ....... Tim , then quickly asked Sean
"Ya think ya could do yur Shadow thang an drift inta that thar vehicle an purswade the driver ta get out, ifin' it was ta be stopped long enough?"

RAID

The driver of the RAID transport looked over at the irate speeder and just shook his head when the man flipped him off. He looked over as his partner, "Can you believe this guy?"

"It takes all kinds." Pete laughed, then Stan started to nudge his the big truck forward urging the hummer to move so that he could make his turn.

When the the driver of the hummer proved to be stubborn, Pete started to get a little edgy. RAID protocol was explicit on these matters and in accordance with the rules of conduct, he unsnapped his holster and made his side arm (a conventional 9mm hand gun) ready.

Stan looked over, and though he thought this bozo was just being an ass he knew his young partner was just following procedure. He laid on the horn once and waved angrily for the man to move on.

(Time - 2:00 am. North East Bound on Route 30 past Lake Pleasant)

"Sure can. You get that thing to stop long enough and I can get in." Sean shifted to shadow form then waited for Tim to get the armored vehicle to stop. "Try to give me about thirty seconds."

Tim said "Ok pardner. we'll give ya all tha time we kin, hang on ta yur asses whilst I get us ahead a tad an git ta whar them bastards gotta stop."

(Time - 2:01 am. North East Bound on Route 30 past Lake Pleasant)

Tim shifted the Hummer into low and smashed the accelerator as he sped away from the amoured vehicle. He then concemtrated as time began to slow down and he sped down the highway about ten miles. There he broke brought time back up to speed, pulled the Hummer side ways blocking the road. "Morgan, git out and lie down in tha road like ya fell outa the Hummer." he said as he reached into the coller and took out a bottle of water and a bottle of ketchup. Mixing the ketchup and water, he poured around on the ground next to Morgan's head. He then reached in and turned on thge emergency flashers. "Ya gots yur gun thar Morgan? Ya wait till one of those bastards get out a the truck ta help. Then when he leans down ya just point it at him. I'll be right over yonder and I'll mozey up behind him. Sean ya get in the truck an persuade the driver not ta do nuthin' stupid. Then we'll git em out an tie ta that thar tree yonder. .... Morgan can ya get sum of yur critter friends ta keep an eye on em whilts we take the truck an get tha hell outa har?" Tim said as he moved off into the darkness.

(Time - 2:01 am. North East Bound on Route 30 past Lake Pleasant)

When the two enforcers saw the girl hanging onto the luggage rack and shouting profanities at them, they exchanged worried looks. This was highly unusual behaviour for this area at two in the moring, but they figured that maybe there was a party going on in one of the cottages that had got a little out of hand. Either way, they had to take precautions and Stan calmly reached over and pressed a code into a key pad on the dash. This put the transport in lock down, so that once the doors were open the engine would quit and require a code to restart it. He didn't think it was necessary but he'd have to file a report on the incident and his commanding officer would be able to check the computer log and learn whether or not he followed procedure to the letter or not.

Just as he completed punching in the code the Hummer starting burning rubber and pulled away, disappearing into the darkness of the unlit highway.

"What the hell does the guy have under the hood? A super-charger?" Exclaimed Stan as he made his right on to Route 30 and couldn't even see the tail lights of the hummer in the distance.

"Maybe he turned off?" Figured Pete.

"Yeah, maybe." Replied Stan, who started to get an eerie feeling about the whole situation. In his twelve years of hauling meta-freaks around, he'd seen his fair share of weird shit and this one was starting to raise the hairs on the back of his neck.

It wasn't five minutes later when the high beams illuminated something larger than your typical porcupine in the middle of the road. "Holy shit!" Shouted Stan as he slammed on his breaks, stopping a good twenty meters before the body of the girl that had earlier been screaming obscenities at them. The hummer was also off to the side of the road with it's hazard lights on and the driver could not be seen from their current position.

"It's that girl!" Exclaimed Pete. "She looks hurt. What do you want to do?"

Stan, took a moment and surveyed the area, trying to see the driver. Then he looked at the girl once more and saw the blood around her. "She must have fallen off the hummer. Stupid, girl!" Commented his partner, but Stan wasn't entirely convinced that what they saw was real. Of course he couldn't take that chance and made a call in to the RAID dispatch to relay their position and have them send an ambulance.

"We should go and see if she needs help." Said Pete.

"No we shouldn't. We are only allowed to leave the vehicle at specified stop areas, designated by dispatch." Stan reminded his partner, "What the hell's the matter with you? Jesus Christ, some tight piece of ass is laid out on the highway and you're ready to throw on your white armour and run out of the truck like an idiot!"

"What the hell are you saying? You think this is an ambush or something?" Laughed Pete.

Stan tried once more to establish a connection with dispatch but all he got was static. "Our communications are down. What does that tell you?"

"That you're being paranoid." Argued Pete who was getting anxious, "That girl looks like she's in pretty bad shape." He said as he grabbed the handle on the door.

"Don't open that door! That's an order!" Roared Stan, and his younger partner quickly released the handle and raised his hands submissively and thrust his partner an angry glare.

"Look, Pete. Let's follow procedure." Stan compromised, "We've lost communication and an unforeseen event is impeding our progress. Protocol says that we are to remain in the van and initiate our emergency beacon."

"The girl could be dead before back up arrives, Stan." The younger man stated.

Stan nodded, obviously uneasy with the decision. "This is the job, Pete. No matter what we cannot allow our prisoner to escape. That is our first and foremost responsibility, it supersedes everything else."

"So, you're saying that if I was lying out there, dying you'd just leave me?" Said Pete trying to make sense of the logic.

"Yes." Answered Stan coldly and without hesitation.

Pete couldn't believe his partner's response. He had read the RAID procedures but he never believed he would be forced to choose between a girl's life and his loyalty to the company. Still, Stan had always been an understanding guy, and this was first time he had ever taken an unreasonable stand. That had to count for something? "Well, that's some cold shit, Stan, but we'll do it your way. I just pray that girl doesn't die for that piece shit we've got in back."

"I hope she's going to be okay too, Pete." Agreed Stan as he entered another code and hit the panic button on the dash alerting the RAID dispatch to send back-up and medics to their present position. Then they waited, for the calvary to show up, but little did they know that even their GPS had been jammed and their distress signal was just bouncing around in space.

"How long before they show up?" Asked Pete.

"They'll send a chopper from the nearest station, so I am thinking about half an hour or so." Surmised Stan.

Of course the backup would never come and the two unaware enforcers waited and watched the bleeding girl hoping that in the interim somebody might drive by to lend a hand, but at two in the morning they knew it was unlikely.

When the Tim stops to let Morgan out Sean also slips out. He waits until Morgan is settled then merges with her shadow. The young man will then wait until the armored transport comes to a stop before getting inside.

"What the hell are you doing!" Shouted Stan as Pete stepped out of the RAID transport. "At least wait until the back-up comes."

"Sorry, Stan but they could be dead before they get here." Pete said as he took out a medical kit from behind his seat.

The van's engine had automatically shut off and the truck went into to lock down mode and would not be able to be restarted for ten minutes regardless of how many times someone entered the code. Stan closed the door behind his partner and locked it. He reached into the glove compartment and took out a plasma weapon, charged it up and waited while he watched Pete run over to the girl.

The enforcer, wearing only his standard grey uniform with no body armour ran over to the side of the injured woman. He leaned down and lightly touched her neck checking for a pulse.

"Miss! Miss, can you hear my voice!" Pete shouted, testing to see if she was semi-conscious.

Stan just shook his head as he watched the hero from inside the van. He had a bad feeling about the whole situation but he couldn't be completely sure if his instincts were correct or he WAS just being paranoid. If there was trouble he'd at least be ready, but Pete had gone out there with just his side arm and the guy wasn't even a good shot.

This was what Sean was waiting for. When the guard leaned down to check Morgan he slipped into his shadow and then underneath the armored vehicle. From there he slipped in through the smallest of openings, the crack in the door. He pooled at the bottom of the passenger seat before rising up in a sitting position. Stan would now have a new guest in the vehicle with him. The Shadow.

Tim, stumbled out from the blind side of the Hummer and staggered to block the driver of the armouered vehicles view as Mogan shoved the gun into Pete's face. Tim staggered holding what appeared to be a blood stained hand to what appeared to be his blood plattered face. Then dropping his hands to his stomach, fel fell to his knees. He dropped his eyes yet watched the truck intentle through slits in his partially closed eyes.

The RAID enforcer, Pete scowled at Morgan as she thrust the gun under his chin. He couldn't believe that Stan was right! Following the instructions of the girl, he continued to to working away on her fake injuries but as he did he whispered angrily to her, "My partner's already on to you and we have already sent for back up, they'll bee here in a few more minutes. Give up now and you might live through this."

Stan watches from the cab as his partner worked away on the girl then the bloodied driver of the vehicle came staggering out. He clenched his stomach and fell to his knees obscuring his view of his partner. 'Holy shit!', Stan thought to himself. What the Hell was he going to do now? He thought of lending a hand, but then something occurred to him. Why didn't Pete jump up and help the injured man? He didn't even react. The whole situation just wasn't sitting right with the experienced enforcer and he quickly through on an armoured vest in preparation for what he feared was to follow.

As Tim Rutherford watched the remaining enforcer through half-closed eyes he observed, Stan as he quickly punched a code into a keypad on the wall at the back of the cab and a heavy iron door slid open granting passage into the back of the van. He then engaged the van's loud speaker and tested his theory. "Pete! If you're okay return to the truck, alone. Now!" He requested, his voice echoing through the forest around them.

If Pete made his way back to the transport with no incident, Stan would be able to put his mind at rest and lend a hand. If not, he'd follow protocol and seal himself into the back of the van with the prisoner. According to RAID procedure, they were never to negotiate with meta-humans and no prisoners were to leave their custody while still alive. It was a situation that Stan had never imagined he would be in, if the worst came true he'd have to kill their prisoner, an unconscious kid to ensure that he never rejoined the resistance.

Sean rises up in the passenger seat slowly. The shadow is takes on a humanoid shape with an arm sliding behind Stan. The other hand moves over his weapon. He then solidifies, looking at the guard. "Do not make a move or a sound. I wouldn't want to have to hurt you." Now in a solid form Sean can easily block access to the man's weapon or just smack his head on the steering wheel.