HEROES Chapter 3

As the Hummer approached a bend in the river, Tim stopped, backed the hummer up and turned it around. He then stopped again and climbed out, walked back to the back of the vehicle and removed on Claymore anti-personell mine and a laser triggering device. He placed the Claymore at the bend in the river and the laser triggering device opposite it. Tim then ran back to the vehicle climbed in, after shutting the back of the vehicle, activated the triggering device and drove back down the river in the direction from which they came. About a quarter mile back down the river, he stopped, backed the Hummer up a creek bed hidden under some trees and waited. Seeing the confused look on his companions faces he said "Lets play possum fur a bit. Ya'al get ready, case we gotta shoot ar way outa this."

The basement was pitch dark save for the meager glow of the monitors that sent an eerie light over Zoe's hardened features. For several hours it seemed she had hardly blinked let alone moved, keeping her profile low as she sifted through documents and records and listened in through the earpiece in Sean's ear. Something caught her eye however and she pulled up a sudden confidential alert that had traveled around the base: Escaped. Straightening, her heart pounded in spite of herself as she scanned the report with widened eyes until one name seemed to settle her down to her very soul.

Dominic Cassius.

Not only was Dominic alive, but he had escaped. Breathing softly, she let her whole being relax before connecting in to The Shadow.

"Shadow, tell Cowboy they've escaped. Dominic, Toril, and Yelena managed to escape from the base and they are being hunted. I have no idea if they're still in the building or what but you need to head that way and help them. I doubt they'll be able to hold off an entire base full of marines used to dealing with metas."

"Tim, Zoe says that your friends have escaped but are being hunted. Apparently they are being chased by a bunch of marines. She says we need to get there as soon as possible." He looks out into the forest then shifts to shadow. "Back in a bit." He starts moving towards the door.

As the morning sun approached it's nine 'o' clock position it's light beamed over the tree tops, illuminating the forest floor and dancing off of the fast flowing water of the shallow river. The watery reflections swam across the headliner of the hummer and across the faces of the two meta-humans in the front seat of the vehicle. Tim Rutherford's expression was cool as the light played off of his sunglasses, the occasional glint catching the eye of his less than calm passenger, who unlike the ex-cop was not accustomed to going head to head with RAID.

A waiting game had now begun, a stand off between the mutant cop and one who could only be perceived as his nemesis, the Supervising RAID Agent Birkshire. Neither man backing the other down an inch, and now caught in a stalemate, both awaited the other to make their move. Fortunately for RAID, time was on their side and for the heroes every minute that ticked by was time lost in rescuing, Yelena and Cassius. Tim didn't know anything about the other called Toril and so other than the guy being a meta-human they had no other connection. He did know, however, that three people being pursued by marines weren't going to last very long without back up so he had to weigh his options. One advantage the meta-humans had, was in their new found partner, the Shadow. RAID had no idea he existed, perhaps his presence could tip the odds in their favor, or maybe the enforcers were prepared to deal with his kind. The grey suited agents of RAID, were professional meta-human hunters, trained in dispatching various forms of mutants, many who had dared to defy them either ended up in prison or dead.



As Agent Birkshire's black Suburban approached the area where he had seen the first of the claymore's planted he found Frank Shepherd's red Audi partially blocking the road. The man had stopped only thirty yards short of being obliterated and was not where to be seen, but Birkshire noticing that he could see the cabin through the trees figured that's where Frank went.

Before he stepped out of the car, Agent Birkshire slipped on his wireless head set so that he could keep in contact with his men. "Units two and four, come in." Called Birkshire as he strolled up to Frank's car and casually popped the hood. After he received a response from the two units, Birkshire proceeded to explain to them how they should deal with the explosives. "We don't have time to disarm the devices. Use a sniper rifle to take them out." He ordered. Birkshire then reached into the engine, popped off the distributor cap and closed the hood. Strolling back to the SUV he tossed the cap to his surveillance officer who caught it and looked at him with a confused look. "We don't have time to round up Frank Shepherd right now, but he's not going to get very far without that." he explained.

Birkshire's driver and another agent who was part of Unit 1, took out of the back of their vehicles a black case within which were the components of a high powered sniper rifle, one of RAID's preferred methods for exterminating meta-humans. While they assembled their guns, Birkshire kept an eye on the clock and was surprised that Units three and five at the road block hadn't sent word of any encounter with 'Cowboy'. The should have seen him already, he figured, so he called in to check to see what was going on. "Units, three and five, do you have a visual?"

"Negative." Responded a female agent.

Birkshire was puzzled and anxiously checked the time left on the sat-comm black out. Three more minutes. He rubbed his chin in thought, his mind running over several scenarios. "Hold your position." he ordered. Then as the agents took aim with their rifles to detonate the claymores he alerted all units about the other meta-human in the area. "Frank Shepherd is in the vicinity. If you see him, do not approach. I repeat, do not approach him. His ability is mental domination, you know how deal with him. Shoot to stun on sight if possible."

"Fire in the hole!" Warned Birkshire's driver, relaying the message to all units. He then fired and the claymore by the cabin went off, showering the Audi and Suburban with dirt. A minute later, there was another explosion as one of the claymores in the river went off, then the second one was detonated. Down the river, Tim, Morgan and Sean could hear the explosions but were unable to see what had set them off. They could only assume that a RAID vehicle had driven into one for little did they know that Birkshire had seen Tim plant the explosives prior to his doubling back. They were only ignorant of the last claymore he had set at the bend in the river, during their visual imaging black out.

"Sir, we sat-comm is back online." Announced the surveillance officer as they drove past the cabin and down toward the river to rendezvous with Units two and four. Birkshire quickly scanned over the river searching for the hummer and couldn't see it anywhere. He did, however see five possible locations that would offer ample cover to hide the vehicle.

"Units two and four are up ahead, sir." Informed the driver.

Birkshire looked up, curious why they had not continued to close in and as they neared the two other 'Suburbans' the answer became clear. While the hummer could traverse the deep spots of the river, their vehicles couldn't.

"We'll block the river off here then." Birkshire conceded and then informed all of his enforcers to hold their positions until further notice.

The Supervising Agent, used a light pen to highlight all the possible areas that, Cowboy could be hiding and the images appeared on the computers in all of the other vehicles showing everyone the locations. He then ordered everyone to suit up into their body armour and prepare more sniper rifles for a possible reconnaissance mission.

Birkshire then waited. He had Cowboy right where he wanted him, it was now his move. The supervising agent, put on his vest, poured himself a coffee from a thermos and leaned back in his seat as he watched his monitor for any signs of movement along the river. On either side of him were the other two Suburbans, each with three enforcers in them, armed with plasma and conventional weapons.

Yelena told Toril to lead them to the area around Kibby Lake since it was much closer. She also deducted the cool water from the lake would help ease the swelling in Cassius’ eye and let them all get a good drink of water. Helping Cassius keep up with herself and Toril as best she could, she kept giving the young man quiet words of encouragement to help him along. The young man was a trooper and stayed with them under his own strength without stumbling too much but as they kept moving at the pace Toril set (which was not complained about in the least) Cassius began to slow down. Yelena, knowing he was beginning to weaken, compensated for his slowness by taking up the slack and all but carrying the young man along with her.

Overhead they could hear the familiar whump whump sound of chopper blades as the Marines took to the sky. Shouts in the distance were heard as orders were given to the Marines on foot to apprehend the culprits responsible for the murder of one of their fellow Marines.

The woods were not overgrown, which was a good thing, and the trio had pretty clear paths to travel, but so too could the Marines pursuing them. It was just a matter of time before the before the Marines were on them. They needed some pace to hide but where the hell were they going to hide from a bunch of pissed off Marines around here?

It was too good to be true. They came upon a small clearing that had an old, run down cottage on it. The cottage had not been used in quite some time, even from the distance the trio stood at. Stopping and being very cautious, Yelena looked around then looked to Toril.

“Are you strong enough to move like wind to see if cottage is deserted and not trap set for us?”

Toril nodded and clenched his jaw. He wasn’t as strong as he liked to be right now and it would take some extra energy for him to keep his air like form long enough to reach the cabin, but he knew Yelena was playing it safe. In the blink of an eye, Wraith disappeared form view and nothing but rustling leaves could be heard in his wake.

Yelena sat Cassius down and let him lean back against a tree as Wraith went to check on the cottage and surrounding area. Looking down at the exhausted young man, she spoke softly to him.

“We will get out of this, Cassius. I promise.”

Cassius just nodded his head.

“I know, dudette. I know. I just wish this f*&%$! Headache would go away. My head is like seriously pounding here.”

Yelena frowned knowing the young man most likely had a concussion.

“We rest soon. Stay with me until then.”

Wraith suddenly appeared with a gust of wind.

“Nothing. But I did find an alternative to the cottage. It will take a little doing, but I think it’s better than nothing.”

Yelena looked both relieved and concerned at the same time.

“What is it?”

Toril pointed towards the cottage.

“There’s well on the other side of the cottage. Pretty deep too. I almost stepped in the hole. Anyway. We can hide sown in there until they clear the area. I’ll cover our tracks so they won’t see which way we went.”

Yelena nodded.

“Show us way.”

Yelena hauled Cassius up to his feet and half dragged, half carried the young man to the place behind the house Toril spoke of. Sure enough, in the back of the cottage was a hole, about 4 foot round, partially uncovered by an old piece of half dry rotted ply wood.

“I check it out”



Toril moved the wood Yelena quickly transformed into her true form and shimmied down into the darkness to investigate. Her metallic eyes took on an eerie, gold glow as she looked around as she descended. The hole was pretty deep, about 150 feet from the surface, and when she got the bottom, the hole opened up into a natural aquifer below the earths surface. The water was cold and when she dropped into it, it took her breath away.

Thankfully the water wasn’t deep, coming up to just about rib height on her. Unfortunately, the cold meant they could suffer from hypothermia and suffer permanent damage from it. The saving grace to that was she found a small ledge a few feet from the opening that was just big enough to hold all three of them to get them up out of the water. Even considering Toril’s large size. But there were ways of combating the hypothermia once they got to that ledge so they might be able to make this work in their favor after all. Using her clawed like hands and feet to climb back up the well, she popped her head out and reported what she found.

“Well leads to natural aquifer. Water is cold but not deep. We stick together to stay warm, we should be ok until Marines clear.”

Behind them the sounds of the chopper was getting closer and they could see the brightness of the spotlight shining through the trees looking for them. Knowing they had now run out of time, they had no other choice to make.

Yelena looked to Cassius then.

“I take you down with me. Toril….brush tracks away and put board back over hole. Even if they find hole and look down, they not see us. Let’s go.”

Cassius slithered down into the hole and Yelena instructed him to hold tight around her neck. Using her enhanced strength, Yelena shimmied as quickly but as safely as she could down the hole. A few times she slipped when her grip wasn’t that well and Cassius would grunt. When they finally reached the bottom she informed Cassius they were going to drop about a foot. With a small splash they landed in the cold water. Cassius sucked in his breath immediately.

“H-holy sh-shit, dudette….y-you weren’t k-kidding. This water is m-making my b-boys play hide and s-seek.”

Yelena would have chuckled if not for the serious of the situation. Guiding Cassius over to the ledge and helping him climb onto it, she pulled him close to her and started rubbing his arms and legs. Again the young man had something to say.

“You know….I th-think I like the k-kiss in the elevator…b-better. N-not that I m-mind you all u-up in my k-kool aid and s-stuff….”

Just then another soft splash was heard and Wraith once more appeared. Like Cassius, he too sucked in his breath.

“You weren’t kidding… this is a bit chilly.”

Yelena quietly called out to him knowing he wasn’t able to see as good as she could right now. Helping pull him up onto the ledge, Yelena drew him into the body hugging huddle she was having with Cassius making sure she was between them. Yelena transformed into her usual illusion to remove the rough texture of her skin when they touched her. The trio huddled under the ground like that and took turn rubbing each others limbs to stay warm and keep the blood flowing.



The Marine commander, a Major Jackson, barked orders out from his mobile command post as they moved through the forest the three perpetrators had last been seen near.

“I want a grid sweep of the area covering a full mile. We need to find them. If the Colonel is right, then the Russian was trying to infiltrate our hangers to plant IED’s around our equipment. When we find her, don’t use diplomatic interrogation standards on her. She’s to be considered a hostile from a foreign government and therefore she falls under the Anti Terrorist Act passed a few years ago and is a threat to National Security.”

“Yes, sir.”

The helicopters buzzed overhead and reported back what they found.

“We’ve found an old cottage or something about a quarter mile from your location, squad leader. Head north west and you’ll find it.”

The air born personnel could see the Marines on the ground change direction as the pilot instructed and surround the property. Using a sweeping, tactical maneuver the Marines rushed the cottage and barged into the run down structure.

The Marines, weapons drawn and ready to fire, swept the cottage and determined the fugitives were not in there. As they exited they began to search the perimeter and surrounding areas to see which way they had gone. After a few moments the ply wood covering the hole was discovered and thrown aside. Weapons with spotlights on the barrels were pointed down the hole and the trio hiding below could hear the shouts from above.

Yelena, Cassius and Toril held their breath as they saw the beams of light barely make it down far enough to illuminate the small area to their right. A few seconds later a more powerful light was shone down in the hole and all was quiet overhead. Finally they heard a voice.

“Negative, sir. If they went down in that hole they were swept away by the water. It’s a natural aquifer that is fed by Kibby Lake. If the current didn’t get them, the water temp is so cold they would die from hypothermia within an hour or so.”

They heard muffled words and the sound of vehicles moving about and the helicopter circled over head. Once more they heard a voice, shouting this time.

“Over hear! We’ve picked up the trail again!”

The Captain quickly gave orders once more.

“Alright. Move out, Marines. Let’s find these terrorists and give them some good ole’ United States Marine justice!”

Yelena, Cassius and Toril remained below ground for almost an hour after they heard the Marines move on. All three of them were now freezing cold, exhausted and beginning to wonder if they had made the right choice. When Yelena moved once more, she transformed into her true self then slowly eased down into the water and felt her body protest the cold liquid. Shivering, she moved to the opening of the well and looked up. Nothing but a starry sky greeted her. Looking over to Cassius and Toril, she spoke softly.

“I think is safe now.”

Toril moved his limbs as well and, once more with some concentration turned into his air form and drifted out the well to look for himself. Sure enough the area was deserted now. Evidence the Marines had been there was scattered all over the place with the vehicle tracks and boot prints all over the place. Looking down the well, he yelled to Yelena and Cassius.

“It’s OK. Come on up.”

Yelena looked over at Cassius who sat shivering with his eyes closed, and called softly to him.

“Cassius…it’s…”

“Cassius cut her off before she could finish.

“I know, I know, dudette. I have to get my ass wet again. I’ll let you can explain to Zoe why I don’t have any balls when I catch up with her again.”

Easing his way into the water, he let a soft curse ease off his lips.

“Son of a bitch….”

When he reached the opening of the well, he grabbed a hold of Yelena’s neck and hung on again. The trip up was far more difficult to do that the trip down but eventually Yelena got them both up out of the well. When they cleared the hole she collapsed onto the ground still in her true form and took a moment to catch her breath.

“Which…way….now….Toril?”

The moon was high in the night sky and the trio of meta-humans assumed it to be around 11:00 or so as they traveled eastward away from Kiddy Lake. Now that the Marines had bypassed them there was no doubt in Toril's mind that they would have already cordoned off Nicholsville so there best chance for survival was make their way past Johnson Road and stay to the woods. The only problem with their present course was Cassius. The young man was strong willed but his body was succumbing to his injuries, and after a few falls he relented to allow the big meta-human to carry him on his back. For Toril, the young man was no different than a fifty pound back pack on an average person, so they were able to maintain their pace although the constant jarring motion made Cassius' head pound all the more.

They made their way across Johnson Road with no incident and the proceeded southeast toward Oneida Lake. Hopefully the drastic change in their direction would afford them more time but neither Yelena nor Toril believed for a second that the Marines would be thrown off their trail so easily. In fact, Toril was curious what trail they had picked up on after they left the abandoned well.



Toril and Yelena both stopped in their tracks when they saw something very peculiar ahead of them. Behind a large fir, tree no more than twenty paces away there had been a golden flash of light, bright enough to illuminate a few nearby trees. Cassius had expressed himself in his own profane way at the sight as he slid off of Toril's back and drew his side arm. Wraith looked back to make sure that the kid's piece was silenced since one shot would bring the entire base down on them. Yelena then gave them a look that said she was going to check out what may be lurking around the tree, but was then halted by the figure of white clad man stepping out from the behind the giant fir.



The man was dressed in traditional Japanese garments of white silk and wore a mask around his face. In his belt were two beautiful katana, and he approached them, slowly and confidently with his hands at his sides. As he neared them, they all prepared to defend themselves, but the stranger raised a staying hand in a gesture of peace.

"Not yet." He told them in english with a heavy Japanese accent. He then stopped at a distance of five paces away, humbly bowed before them and introduced himself, "My name is, Shinigami."

Toril literally gasped when he heard the name. "The assassin." He stated, not knowing whether or not his two companions were aware of his trade. "I thought you were dead?"

A broad smile could be see forming behind the mask of Shinigami. "Perhaps we both are Wraith, and this is only a dream —"

"Or a nightmare." Cassius had interjected, which prompted laughter from the assassin.

"Yes." Agreed Shinigami, then he became very serious and formally placed his hands behind his back. "I have been hired to kill all of you." he announced and even as all three of his would be opponents tensed in preparation for battle he continued, "But, now is not the time. I had hoped to fight Wraith when he was at it is strongest, but look at you. Right now, a gust of wind could push you over. Cassius is reduced to one eye, and the shape-shifter is near exhaustion." He shook his head, "No, we will not fight this night." Shinnigami, then turned and began to walk away, "Continue, to the lake. If they pursue you, I will lead them away."

"That was you that lead them away from us at the well wasn't it?" Figured Toril, "Why help us? Why not just let the Marines get us?"

Shinnigami turned around. "And where would be the sport in that?" He answered coldly but then his dark eyes softened as he looked into the faces of each of his targets, "Besides, none of you deserve to die at their hands." His body was then enshrouded by golden light and as it quickly faded he was gone.

The trio then proceeded onward, southeast toward the shore of Oneida Lake in the direction of a place called Bernhards Bay.

Birkshire poured himself another cup of coffee and glanced over at the clock on the dashboard. A half hour had elapsed. He took a sip then gave the surveillance officer behind him a nod. "It's time." He said, then the technician proceeded to focus a cell phone signal on the general vicinity they believed the hummer to be in.

Any and all cell phones in the hummer began to ring, and when Tim checked the call display on his the number read, 'R.A.I.D.'. Tim had heard of the technology being used before, basically a signal was beamed down from a satellite and relayed to all cellphone devices in a general area, allowing communication to occur via satellite transmission. From what he understood, there was no way it could be used as trace, at least it wouldn't give up a specific location and RAID obviously had an idea of where he was.

When he answered the phone a voice on the other end asked for him specifically. "Cowboy?" Tim was silent. "If this is, Cowboy you are speaking with Supervising Agent Birkshire of R.A.I.D. You've been on quite a tear, 'partner' but I'm afraid it's the end of the trail for you. I want you to know that we have you surrounded and at my command I can have one of several snipers take you out." Birkshire was bluffing of course. He hadn't bothered to set up any of his snipers yet, although he could at anytime. He was more concerned at the moment with containment.

"Cowboy." Birkshire continued. "You can talk to me. I assure you that we cannot trace this call. I would like you to at least release Morgan Shepherd, there's no need for her to die if you decide to take a stand, and I assure you that's what will happen to you Cowboy if you do not surrender." Again Birkshire awaited a response. "When you feel like talking, just redial the number on your phone and I'll be here." The Agent ended the conversation and awaited Cowboy to contact him. He had all the time in the world right now.

Tim listened as Agent Birkshire spoke, then hung up. Tim slipped the cell phone back in his pocket, he looked over at Morganand gavea sly smile. "Ya best be bucklin' up sweetheart, this har ride is liable ta be a bit bumpy, so make shur yur winda up, an keep it up. No matter what happens, keep yur winda up." Tim then reached up on the dash and activated the magnetic shield, that John's nephew had installed on the hummer to protect all the elctroic equipment from any pulse attack. Tim keyed the mike on the secure radio link to Zoe and told her he was about to run the gaunlet and to do her computer magic to block R.A.I.D.'d satalite feed. He then triggered the claymores he had placed at the bend in the river. They exploded sending a shower of metal fragments, mud, dirt and river rocks into the air and across the river bed. Tim tightened his saftey harness and started the hummer. He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Frank crouch behind a large boulder.

"Yur luck ain't worth shit pardner." Tim muttered as he floored the accellerator on the Hummer and all four tires spun gravel, water and mud up over the boulder Frank was hiding behind. THe Hummer bit and shot forward, Tim turning the wheel the right heading back towards the cabin. Water slayed out from either side of the Hummer as it sped down the riverbed. Tim shifted, gripped the steering wheel tightly as they approached the river crossing. He deactivated the laser triggering devices on claymores he had placed near the river crossing. As he passed their loctation he reactivated them and continued down the river bed back towards West Lincoln, Vermont.

Just before they reach the hamlet of West Lincoln, Tim steered the hummer up a river crossing and onto a logging road. They followed it as it turned from gravel to asphalt, into West Lincoln, Vermont. They then drove thru West Lincoln driving west and onto Vermont 17 and into Bristol, Vermont. As they entered Bristol, Tim keyed the secure link to The Shadow and told him to make his way to Addison, Vermont along Vermont 17, explaining what had happened. He then switched frequencies to Zoe's secure link and repeated what he had told The Shadow.

Listening to Tim's report, Zoe lit a cigarette and leaned back in her chair, the monitor in front of her idly scrolling past windows.

"That doesn't surprise me," she said finally, then turned to the other computer slightly to the side and sent it flashing rapidly through text and screens. "There, I caused another series of errors in their satellite links. You have about an hour, maybe two depending on how stupid their tech people are, to get a head start." Another moment passed in which Zoe went sifting through Beacon files again. "They're still missing," she reported, her tone icy and empty as though she was, herself, a computer. Inside, however, her head was reeling. As much as she and Cassius had always expected to die young, it wasn't supposed to happen now. It was too early and-- she mentally kicked herself once more as she struggled to digest and accept the thought-- she wasn't so sure she could accept losing him.

While Agent Birkshire awaited Cowboy to call back, he was startled by explosions up river from their position. His men had detonated the claymores at the cabin and the river, but satellite imaging revealed that he must have planted some more at the river bend during the black out. He watched as the hummer sped out of it's hiding place and alerted his units that the 'fox was on the run', confident that he had cordoned off the entire area. The Supervising agent had positioned his road blocks on both sides of the river that had blocked off all other possible routes and either way Cowboy was going through a blockade. It was shortly after he saw the hummer speed away that there systems went on the fritz again, but there was no need to watch Cowboy anymore since there was no where else he could possibly go.

Birkshire stepped out of his vehicle and charged up is plasma gun awaiting to see the speeding hummer coming down the river. He told the enforcers to take out the tires first, then he positioned himself behind the hood of his SUV and took aim, but the hummer never came. Confused, Birkshire looked back into the cab and studied the imagery on the laptop mounted on the console. Nothing. Somehow, Cowboy had found another road and all this time he had been sure there were no other exits along the river. Angrily he drove his fist into the hood of the vehicle, an outburst rarely displayed by the cool, collected man. He took a few deep breaths and calmly announced to his units, "Let's pack it up."

The Supervising Agent tossed his vest into the back of the vehicle beside the surveillance officer and powered down his weapon. "Are... we not going to pursue?" Asked the technician nervously as Birkshire took his seat.

Birkshire did not reply. He intently studied the saved satellite images of the area once more searching for the hole his mouse had found. He still couldn't see it, and wondered if Cowboy had somehow used his ability to escape, but even if he had the hummer would have still had to pass through them to escape the river bed. He just couldn't figure it out.



Frank had been walking north for a few hours, staying under the cover of the forest while keeping a road called Ripton in sight. He was getting tired and thirsty and he had no idea how much longer it was going to be until he got out of the National Forest. All he knew was that Morgan was traveling north and that's where he would find her sooner or later.

The noise of an approaching vehicle made Frank stop and take cover. He didn't know if it would be a State Trooper, Ranger or RAID so he stayed hidden until the SUV passed by. The vehicle had looked like one of the black Suburbans back at the cabin, but he couldn't sure. Anyway, it had passed by and he continued on his way, but as his feet crunched against the forest floor he detected the sound of foot steps behind him. Reeling about, he through a haymaker at the grey image out of the corner of his eye but the enforcer expertly dodged and Frank buckled over as a heavy boot caught him in the gut. The big man fell to his knees and before he could rise was surrounded by five enforcers with conventional guns pointed at him.

Frank couldn't believe his luck and was sure that the Devil himself was plotting against him. His hands were bound and the raging man was taken to the road where a fleet of black SUV's drove up. Struggling and screaming that the angels had sent him to rid the world of his daughter and all of her kind, the enforcers forced him into the back of lead vehicle and the vehicles proceeded northward.



The tall black man in the passenger seat looked back at Frank, who was sitting in a single seat next to another enforcer who was sitting with his back to him and monitoring an array of computer consoles and other devices. "Mr. Shepherd. I am Supervising Agent Birkshire." He greeted, "Please calm down, I have a proposition for you."

"Proposition?" Asked Frank. "What kinda proposition?"

"We have been tracing your movements, and it appears that you are able to somehow track your daughter. We call this—"

"It's the angels." Interrupted Frank.

"The angels?" Repeated Birkshire curiously.

"Yeah, they sing to me. You're a demon hunter aren't ya. You should know this shit, man." Frank informed the agent.

Birkshire was silent for a moment considering how to use the man's mania to his advantage. "Yes, we're demon hunters too, Frank, but the angels don't sing to us like they do to you. That's why we need your help."

Frank was suspicious but he was interested in what the agent had to say, "I'm listening."

"How would you like to work for us? You see, Morgan is with another demon that we want to capture. You know him as the Wrangler, but we call him Cowboy. All you have to do is lead us to your daughter and we'll do the rest."

Frank nodded his head a few times in contemplation. "I got a couple of conditions."

"What's that Mr. Shepherd?" Asked Birkshire like a dealing devil.

"Morgan's mine, and after this I want my life back."

"Deal, Mr. Shepherd." Said Birkshire and told his driver to stop at the filling station that was just up on their right.

Frank was set free, given one of the RAID, Suburbans and a cell phone to communicate with the Supervising Agent. "You call me anytime Frank, and we'll be right there to back you up." Promised Birkshire, then he handed Frank a credit card. "Don't go buying any bridges with it, okay. It's for traveling expenses." he advised then the agent returned to his own vehicle and awaited Frank to lead the way. Birkshire had provided him with everything he needed to find his daughter and consequently, Cowboy, everything except a weapon. The RAID agent could not out rightly give a wanted man a weapon, but when Frank got into his new vehicle and checked the glove compartment he found a nickel plated 9mm with four clips. Frank was thankful for the deliberate negligence, and nodded to the Supervisor through his rolled down window as he put the SUV in gear and proceeded in the direction of his daughter.

Like Toril, Yelena gasped when she heard the name Shinigami. While she never had any direct dealings with the assassin she heard many stories of his work. For the longest time she swore he was nothing but a figure made up to somehow strike fear into the hearts of meta’s all over the world, and it had worked for a good many. But now, as the mysterious legend stood before them letting them know he was contacted to kill them, Yelena felt her heart sink. There was no way they could defend themselves against this meta. It was impossible given their current physical and mental states.

But then he announced he wasn’t going to engage them now and in fact was going to help them. If nothing else, Yelena was confused more than she ever was. What sort of person plays these sort of cat and mouse games. However, when Yelena heard the reasons WHY the Japanese assassin wasn’t going to do anything now, she blinked.

The stories she heard about the assassin came back to her then. He was an assassin, yes, but he was an assassin with a code. He never attacked an opponent who was not able to defend themselves. While Shinigami always considered it a fair fight, Yelena didn’t see anything fair about it but she did respect his principals. And now that he stood before her and saw the look in his eyes as he spoke to them, she knew he was a man of honor and would do no harm to them now.

Heaven help them when they were back to 100%. There would be no stopping the assassin then. He would come for them. All of them. Either when they were together or alone. It didn’t matter. He had a job to do and he would do it. All Yelena could pray for now was that she could somehow win the fight and if she couldn’t, he would end her life painlessly.

But now wasn’t the time to think such things. Now was the time to get going again. As Shinigami disappeared again the trio took a second or two to regain their bearings and headed out once more, this time turning in the opposite direction the Marines had headed in. According to the map Toril lifted from the Marines, they were headed towards Oneida Lake now, in particular Bernhards Bay.

After a few more hours of traveling in the woods, they reached Bernhards Bay area and found a quaint lakeshore community. A convenience store, closed of course, a small diner and a local drug store. The homes were older but well maintained. The yards well groomed and a boat in almost every driveway. They decided to stay as concealed as they could and kept the edge of the woods near the main road that ran through the village. When the properties began to spread out more and soon became further and further away from the main populace of the town, they took a dirt road that was simply called “Shore Drive”.

It was a winding little road that, as they traveled down, found it was taking them closer and closer to the lake. When the trees began to thin out, they found themselves in an RV community that was deserted with about 6 rigs. Travel trailers and small mobile homes dotted the shoreline and to their relief, they found not a one of them was occupied. They tried one after the other and finally found one that had a hide a key under the planter near the door. Yelena quickly opened the door and helped Toril get Cassius inside. Taking the young man to the bed near the rear of the trailer, she helped lay him down then walked back out to the main living area and collapsed on the couch.

“I not able to go another step…”

Yelena was so exhausted that she was unable to maintain the illusion of a a normal look for her and had no choice but to remain in her true form. Much to her dismay.

The distant flutter of helicopter blades circled high over the sleepy lake community, but such sounds were not entirely uncommon for the people of Bernhards Bay to hear in the wee hours of the morning. Even though the military base, north west of them was not openly advertised, everyone knew about it and rumours of what actually went on there were part of local urban legend. This night, however, was different. Military vehicles drove down the darkened streets and soldiers darted amongst the shadows, obviously searching for something although they were not inclined to say, even when questioned by a local deputy on a routine patrol.



Toril stretched his back out with a groan as he rummaged through the kitchen of the trailer. He wasn't as young as he pretended to be and over the last few miles, Cassius' weight had seemed to increase exponentially with every step he took. As he opened up the cupboards, it was apparent that this was a someone's summer home and since it was spring they probably wouldn't be up for at least another month. He found a good supply of dry goods and though the fridge wasn't on, someone had left a behind a case bottled water for which he was extremely thankful. Toril brought the case out and dispersed among them and immediately downed one bottle in one gulp. He then took another and poured in a package of beef bouillon, shook it up and sucked that one back as quick as he could, the chased it down with another bottle of water. When, Yelena gave him a disgusted look and asked how he could drink down such a concoction, Toril explained that he had to replenish his electrolytes. "When meta-human's use their abilities to significantly manipulate their own body or the environment around them, it significantly drain their electrolytes, which is why we have far more than normal Human. It's why we naturally have stronger constitutions. I'd rather have a Gatorade right now, but salty bouillon and water will do in a pinch. Do you want one?" He earnestly offered, "It will help with any cramping."

Toril walked to the back of the trailer to check on the kid, who was obviously disappointed in performance thus far. "Hey, don't beat yourself up anymore, Cassius." The big meta-human told him, "Those assholes worked you over pretty good. I know you can't stand people blowing sunshine up your ass, I hate it too, but believe me when I say that you've outlasted more than a few meta's I used to work with."

Toril walked past, Yelena and took a quick peek through the curtains at the front of the trailer, careful not to move them too much and draw any attention, just in case. The front of the trailer overlooked the lake, and across from it was a secondary harbor which was vacant at the moment, the docks slightly swaying and bobbing on the dark water. Heading back into the kitchen, he an unbroken bag of taco chips and another water before flopping back down on the couch at the front of the trailer. "You take the hide-a-bed." Toril said as he opened the bag, assuming that the sofa she was sitting on folded out. He leaned back, stretching out his long legs, "I'm fine right here." he said as he popped a chip into his mouth, then with his eyes still looking up at the ceiling thrust the bag toward the shape-shifter as if they were two college room-mates nursing a hangover. Her true form, obviously had little effect on him, and Toril had hardly given her a curious look the entire time.

"So were you ever a gymnast or something?" He asked Yelena. "The way you move, I kind of assumed." He crunched down another hand full of chips pondering that were she a gymnast, what year did she compete?

Agent Birkshire was just finishing up a his meal at a truck stop when Frank Shepherd had called and told him he was heading for Addison, Vermont. "Thank you very much for the direction, Frank. Keep up the good work." he told him, then sat back and finished up his coffee. He then called his surveillance officer and told him to dispatch to all units that the 'Hunter' is on the move and that they would mobilize and head for Addison in ten minutes.

The agent picked up a coffee to go then proceeded into the parking lot, and just before he reached his vehicle his blackberry went off and he recognized the number was Agent Simon Henkel's. "Supervising Agent Birkshire."

"Yeah... it's Special Agent Simon Henkel, how's it going?" Greeted the FBI Agent.

"Oh, it's going well." Replied Birkshire.

"Great. Say, have you had any further contact with Frank Shepherd." Henkel asked sheepishly.

"Sorry, Simon. None whatsoever, but I will let you know as soon as I do." Lied Birkshire.

"Thanks."

Birkshire tucked his PDA away, climbed into the Suburban pulled out of the truck stop, driving in the direction Frank had told him after it was verified by the technician.

Sean did not answer Tim right away. To do so would put him in danger of detection. He jumped from shadow to shadow, slipping past the agents until he found a secluded spot to solidify again. "Message recieved, Tim. I hope you two found a way out. This place is crawling with agents. I'm gonna try to make it to the road undetected. Shadow out." He melted into shadows again, heading for the main road.

There were basic necessities one took care of without even thinking. Eating. Drinking. Resting. Moving. So when Toril moved the open bag of chips towards Yelena, she reached in and grabbed a handful and started to eat them slowly as they relaxed on the sofa. The past 24 to 48 hours had been nothing short of harrowing for them all. Their minds and bodies were taxed to the limit and they couldn’t move right now if they had to. When Toril asked about her about being a gymnast, Yelena actually smiled as she munched on the chips.

“You are very astute. Da. I was gymnast for Soviet Union in seventies. I placed third over all in 1976 summer Olympics behind Nadia Comaneci and Nellie Kim. I was known as Ludmilla Tourischeva then. We were all trained by Vladislav Rastorotsky. He was good coach. Very patient. He worked us all very hard, but he would take time to teach us more than just gymnastics. He taught us about life. I learned much from my team mates and my coach. Even though things were tense in homeland, we all gave 150% to earn respect of world for country. We never competed for selves. It was always for country. And Vladislov. He was like father to me.”

Yelena turned her head to look at Toril then with a small smile on her face.

“When we returned from Olympics as champions, we were celebrities. Parades, state dinners and formals balls were given and we were all guests of honor. It was magical time for all of us. We were treated like princesses and men’s team were treated like princes. It was when I met Alexander. Alexander Dityatin. He and I would slip away from others and find quiet place to talk. Sometimes we talk for hours. He was very good to me.”

Yelena looked away and her face lost the smile she was wearing. After a moment or two, she shrugged her shoulders slightly then took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“But we were not meant to be. Last time I saw him, he was Lieutenant Colonel in Russian Border Service. And still looked as handsome as day I first saw him.”

Reaching back in the bag, she withdrew a few more chips and nibbled on them again as she grew quiet once again.

Toril made himself more comfortable on the couch that spanned the width of the trailer while he listened Yelena.

"You are Ludmilla Tourischeva?" He asked in surprise, not believing that he was actually speaking with a Soviet gymnastic legend. "I saw you at the 1972 Olympics in Munich when I was eighteen, you got the all-around gold." Toril then noticed the curious look in Yelena's eyes that someone like him would follow gymnastics. "Hey, I always loved acrobatics." He admitted, "I practiced everyday, it's how I learned that I had the ability to float and fly. An ability that allowed me duplicate those intense maneuvers usually reserved for people with smaller frames. There was no way, I could obviously try and compete, however, I'd a been pegged as meta right away." He then leaned up on his elbow and shot Yelena a questioning glare, "So, honestly. You were holding back weren't you? I mean, that's what meta's with enhanced physical attributes have to do to fit in, especially if they want to compete in the athletic world. I recall that you had a back injury at the Montreal Olympics... I think it was either '75 or '76, I can't really recall, but I distinctly remember it because you really didn't seem as injured as you were making out. Even the commentators mentioned it. It all makes sense now. Wow, I can't believe you were in the Olympics, I would loved to have been able to compete in them. I envy you for that."

Toril paused for a moment and munched on some more chips. "Y'know I could have made it to the NHL." He revealed, "The winter after you got the gold in '72 I was being scouted, and things looked promising until this big dumb bastard named Davidson, kept chipping away at me. My father had allowed to me to play, so long as I controlled my strength, which I thought wouldn't be a problem since I was no Battalion, able to throw a tank like a baseball. Well the guy wouldn't lay off, I even tried to reason with the asshole, but he just kept on hacking away at me. So finally he pushed me to the limit and I went after him in the corner and I hit him haaaaard. Too hard." He crunched down angrily on a chip, "The guy went through the boards and ended up in the hospital with broken ribs and a concussion. My father's an engineer and he managed to cook up some bullshit story that the boards were ready to go and it was ruled as an unfortunate accident. Still, that was the end of my career, since it proved that I couldn't control my strength or my other abilities in times of stress." Toril laid flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling and sighed, "Ah, it was probably for the best. There's always a 'Davidson' lurking out there, threatening to expose us for what we are, better I found out sooner rather than later. It forced me concentrate on my education and in my spare time I put on my costume and joined all the other masked avengers trying to make a difference. That's one of the reasons I never saw you in 1979, that was the year they killed Battalion."

Toril was silent for a while, his eyelids were heavy and he was starting to find it difficult to stay awake. "A Lieutenant Colonel, eh?" He commented with a big yawn, "Take it from me, Yelena, even though we live longer than most, time still catches us up." Toril yawned again and closed his eyes, slowly starting to drift off to sleep, but trying to remain focused on the conversation.

The fatigue and stress of the last few days were beginning to take their toll on Tim. He experience had taught him if he did not measure his response to Morgan's obvius growing anger that he would say something he would latter regret. Slowly he said ....." Morgan I ain't tryin' ta keep ya in the dark har. Jus' kinda runnin' on a hunch har.' he said flatly as he watched the road and the rear view mirrors, listening to the chatter on the police radio.

"First we needs ta find Sean, The Shadow guy. So keep yur eye peeled fur him. Then were headed up towards that thar Military Base north of Lake Aunida an try an find Yellena, Cassius an whoever this har Toril guy is. Afta that we need ta get Shawn, the blind kid outta tha hooscow. All while were tryin ta shake that damned Bekrshire, the FBI an' FRank offin' ar asses. Once we git all that done then we need ta scaddale back across New York State an get back ta Troy and Zoe." ......... Tim took a deep breath, as they passed through Bristol, Vermont. "Ya might take a look see that all the clips fur my forty are loaded an fix me a sanich if ya would. Make shur the shot gun's loaded and a box a shells is handy. Ifin' yur friends can hep keep an eye out ita hep."


As the passed through Bristol and travled down Vt17 about two miles, Tim saw a lone figure leaning against a tree next to the highway. As they drew closer Tim could tell it was The Shadow, he pulled the Hummer over, rolled down Morgan's window and asked "Need a lift pardner?" Sean slipped in the back seat and they sped down Vt17and into Addison, Vermont.

They headed southwest on Nortontown Rd toward Grandey Rd. Turned right at Jersey St S,turned left at Country Club Rd. Then turned left at VT-17/VT Route 17 W. made a slight right to stay on VT-17/VT Route 17 W and continued on VT-17 and crossed over into New York. Turned right at NY-22/NY-9N/NYS Route 9N they continued to follow NY-22/NY-9N turned left at Broad St. Tim, Morgan and Sean, continue on County Rte-4/Dugway Rd
and followed County Rte-4, turning right at Caza Turn Rd/County Rte-4C. Turned left at US-9/US Route 9 made a sharp right at NY-8/State Route 8, continued to follow NY-8, then turned right at NY-30/NY-8/State Route 30, turned left at Lake Pleasant Rd/NY-8/State Route 8.