Never Heroes: Act I

Chapter 18

Never Heroes

Act I

XVIII: Questions

Saeed mumbled something after Chip's surrender, yet only Walter heard anything. Even then no particular words were made out. All he could hear was the faint sound of his voice, nothing more. Still, it put Walter on edge, more than he already was. When the Marshals came to confiscate his weapon and armor, he nearly punched one in the face. His friends noticed the jumpy behavior, although they said nothing.

Everyone was loaded up into a van and taken away from the park, except for Tahere and Saeed, as both were ordered by Walter and Chip to slip away into hiding. Emily asked Chip and Walter why they didn't just fight the Marshals off. The power of Saeed and Tahere would be more than enough for them to escape. Both Walter and Chip made it clear they weren't interested in causing a scene in a park of all places. Too many children were present to take any chances.

The car ride wasn't as long as any of them had expected. Less than thirty minutes later and they were being escorted out of the van and shuffled into a rather boring looking building. Four stories high and made of concrete, it didn't look anything like they imagined a government building to look like. Once inside, they found rather typical office decor and furniture. After showing their badges to the receptionist and security guards, the Marshals escorted the group down toward the basement.

Expecting a dark room with minimal lighting, they were surprised to find themselves in a brightly lit room full of lively workers. One large display on the far wall was joined by a dozen smaller ones. Three rows of desks faced the display, at each station there were more screens, each showcasing something different. No one paid the newcomers any mind as they focused solely on their tasks.

While the others marveled at everything around them, Walter focused on specific details. Satellite imagery of their town was the focus on the large display, while smaller ones rotated between intersection cameras, security footage at stores, and even personal webcams. The person at the station closest to him was monitoring text messages, shuffling through them rapidly on the lookout for keywords and phrases.

A woman at the front of the room caught his eye. He watched her carefully for a few moments as she chatted with a coworker about suspicious activity near an outlet mall. Briefly she looked toward him and eye contact was made. Sure he recognized her, his body shifted involuntarily.

"Remember her?" a voice asked him. The man in the ball cap stood behind him, and had followed his line of sight to the woman. "I think she first introduced herself to you as Lisa. But she went by whatever name you wanted her to, didn't she? How much of an i***t do you feel like knowing your favorite rent-a-girl was actually a U.S. Marshal? I know that look, you want to say something about our ethics. Considering you offered her triple her yearly salary to play wife, I don't think you have room to talk."

Even if Walter wanted to respond, he never had the chance. Doug's attempt to hold in his snicker didn't work out very well and Emily's laughter was practically deafening. She managed to calm herself enough to ask, "W-wait... You mean you actually have escort girls? I thought that was a joke. But, hey, for six figures a year and full benefits, I'd have s*x with Walter."

"I'll give you full benefits," Doug joked, which only caused both of them to laugh even harder. Unable to prevent their eyes from tearing up and their guts from aching, neither noticed the subtle glare Walter sent their way.

"None of you have room to talk," the man in the ball cap said. It did little to deter Doug and Emily's amusement. "Compared to you two, Walter's ethics are practically angelic."

"How long have you been watching us, sir?" Walter asked, ready to change topics.

"First of all, don't call me 'sir.' That's irritating. I can't give you my name, but just call me Otto. As for how long you've been on surveillance, it's been since you were children. Long before I ever dreamed of this shithole job. Originally the feds had intended to keep their distance. If you morons hadn't gotten yourself into shitty situations, then we never would have gotten as close as we did," he explained.

"Shitty situations? Like being murdered?" Chip asked, his voice strangely even. It was clear that his mind was on what he'd seen of Sarah.

Otto didn't catch the hint. Instead, he said, "Like being a slut in New York, a drug dealer, and a lonely rich boy." Based on how Emily, Doug, and Walter all reacted to the accusations, Otto knew each one realized whom he meant when he described them. "That newest roommate you had in New York, Miss Shay? A deputy. The man that all of your drugs came from, Mister Yates? A deputy. And, well, we already covered Mister Ray's problem, didn't we?"

"What about Sarah?" Emily asked, finally taking everything seriously. The question was asked for Chip, but the nasty tone meant she personally needed to know. After all, Sarah was her best friend, even if they hadn't been in contact recently. However, unlike Chip and Walter, she wasn't fully convinced that what they saw was reality or illusion.

Otto sighed, the first sign of humanity from him. He said, "I don't know what happened there. The moment we heard about her we had sent one of our guys to more closely monitor Chip, but for some reason he tried to slice him in a half."

All eyes turned to Chip. Surprised by the accusation and the stares he received, Chip was quick to jump to his own defense. "For some reason? He killed Sarah! We saw it happen!" he shouted.

Otto showed no signs of emotion from the outburst. Seconds of silence passed before he said, "Maybe we need to talk alone." Much to Walter's dismay, he waved Lisa over toward them. Ever the professional, she never gave away a hint that she knew Walter. Otto ordered, "Take these three somewhere they can rest."

Wordlessly, Lisa began to herd Walter, Doug, and Emily out of that busy room. They were brought to an adjacent room through a heavy security door. There, revealed to them as a breakroom type setup, with a couple of water coolers, a fridge, a TV that wasn't on, and about half a dozen tables. Only two people aside from them occupied the room, and they only gave the newcomers a fleeting glance. A couch against the wall looked rather inviting to Emily. Ungracefully she fell on to and threw her head back, happy to be seated.

"Is there anything I can get you three?" Lisa asked.

Emily wasted no time. "Yeah, I'll take a scotch and a blow job for my good friend, Walter," she said. Doug broke into another fit of laughter.

For the first time in a long time, Emily saw Walter's face turn a shade of red that couldn't be rivaled. Embarrassed, he turned to Lisa and said, "I'm sorry. Ignore them. And, you know, you could've been honest with me."

For the first time, she showed expression. Her brows raised in amusement and her lips threatened to smile at the sound of his anger. "I'm not sure that's how being undercover works, Mister Ray," she said. Then, without another word or glance his way, she left the breakroom and went back to work.

The tone changed with the slamming of the door. Walter's eyes dashed between his friends and the silent strangers in the room. It took not even a full second of blistering eye contact before the strangers got the hint and started to pack up their lunches. Walter didn't wait for them to leave before he spoke.

"I'm really worried about Chip," he admitted.

This seemed to confuse Doug, as he said, "Of course you are. Everyone is. We're all concerned about each other." There was a whiny, childish tone to his voice. It was clear that he wasn't comfortable and he wasn't happy.

Walter decided to explain. "That's not it, Doug. Have you guys thought about what it means if Saeed is as powerful as he claims? He could be messing with Chip's memories. He could be messing with our memories. We don't even know if where we're standing right now actually exists or not."

Emily raised a brow, "Pretty sure it exists. If I exist within it, it's real enough for me. Problem is we're stuck in this shithole." The sound of stuff being dumped in a garbage can had them all shift their attention. The two strangers were finally cleaning up and getting ready to leave. Without another word, the first of two hurried out the door. The other stopped by the water cooler to grab a drink. He paid the trio no mind.

"I just don't trust him," he said. There was a bite to his words that was used to mask the fear that threatened to pour through. A small growl slipped through before he said, "I think his motivates are clear at this point. He wants power that isn't being given to him. Why would we suddenly be called back, at this point? It's all political. I don't like seeing Chip caught in the middle of it. I don't like seeing him being manipulated."

"Well, what can we do about it?" Doug questioned. He was quieted for a moment when the remaining stranger in the room almost walked into him as he tried to shuffle toward the door. "Come on, man, have you seen what Saeed can do? We'd be blown up before we could even think to move!"

"s**t, he's god-like, how do we know he can't hear us right now?" Emily asked.

Walter shook his head. "No, I think he's powerful but not omnipotent."

The sound of his even voice was punctuated by a sudden, painful intake of air. A knife was shoved through his torso, the attacker behind him. Calmly, he went to the source of pain, where his pale, quaking hands carefully gripped the weapon. Shocked by the sight of the bloodied blade protruding through her best friend's chest, all Emily could do was scream, "Oh my god! Walter!"

"You bastard!" Doug yelled as he went to defend his injured friend. The attacker was the silent employee that had taken his sweet time exiting the breakroom. Something about a complete stranger stabbing Walter irritated Doug beyond words and brought forth a wrath he hadn't felt since his youth. Something inside of him snapped. He knew full well that he wasn't strong enough to take the man out with his fists, so he opted to grapple him instead.

The enemy noticed Doug's approach and hurriedly removed the blade from Walter's body. Doug tackled him; on the ground he struggled to wrestle the weapon away as the attacker slashed at his neck. He barely dodged, but the blade did hit him and the cut was deep enough that he almost instantly felt weak. Still, with blood cascading down his tattered neck and staining the enemy's face, Doug continued to fight.

Emily was useless. Walter had collapsed and she went to aid him. Hysteria had taken hold of her movements. Unsteady hands did everything they could to contain the blood that was pouring through Walter's wound. Panic hit harder than she expected when she saw his eyes threaten to roll back into his head. Mumbling incoherent words to her, Walter's mind was beyond the present but clinging desperately to life.

A light flashed; Tahere appeared wordlessly. A solid hit with her staff on the attacker's throat ended his struggle. Doug lost consciousness at that moment and slumped onto the man's body. Walter, upon seeing this, somehow brought himself to order, "Tahere... please... save him."

"I will save all of you," she declared confidently.

White light overtook them as Tahere whisked them away from that small government compound. Emily's eyes were forced shut as it was too bright for her to witness. The feeling of Walter's body faded, but the wetness of his blood remained on her hands and clothes. Hesitantly, she opened her eyes and peered down at where Walter once laid. A pool of blood remained yet he was gone; where Doug had been there was the same. Surrounded by a warm, comforting aura, she closed her eyes again, and allowed herself to be taken away by Tahere's powers.