Althena Book 2

70. The Handler Is Rising

Conner and I wake up late, like normal. The boys give us some food to eat in the helicopter as we run out the door.

The teacher says some words and I go to my cubicle with Akmae.

"You're not awake at all."

I stretch. "Maybe later."

"When are you leaving for the casino?"

"After lunch. I'm leaving with Conner again. Then coming back for the match."

"That's going to make for an interesting day." He pulls out a beaker.

"It really is."

"Let's figure out the clock reaction, and we can get out of here."

5 guards run in and 1 grabs my arm. "Silk secure."

"Shadow secure."

I look at the guards. "Did anyone bring coffee?"

"No, ma'am."

"Can you get out? This cubicle is not made for 7 people."

"No, ma'am."

"We'll be cozy then." Akmae turns back to the chemicals.

"Shade is rising."

Akmae looks at the guards radio. "What?"

"GET OUT OF MY f*****g WAY." Conner is yelling in the hallway. He runs into the cubicle too. "Problem at the dock, baby. Keep to the plan. Head to the casino after lunch. I'll meet you there. I love you." He kisses my head and runs out.

I nod. "I think I'm going to need some coffee."

"You and me both." Akmae weighs the beaker.

"The handler is rising."

I smile. "Oh, that's a good one for Conner."

The guards chuckle and nod.

"I'm going to get some coffee. I can't even move in here." I fight my way out and go to the cafeteria. The guards follow me like this is completely normal. We each get a cup of coffee. I get an extra for Akmae. Then I hand a guard a full pot and we walk back to the classroom.

The students are at their desks now and the teacher watches us walk in. I give Akmae his coffee and sit on my seat.

The teacher holds her coffee cup out and my guard fills it for her. "As I was saying. There has been a terrorist attack at the docks. This is breaking news. We are going to watch it."

My phone takes that minute to ring. Of course, it does. I check and it's Akley. "Oh what's this asshole wanting?" I answer. "Hello?"

"WHAT THE f**k IS GOING..."

"I AM THE f*****g QUEEN. YOU WILL SPEAK TO ME AS SUCH OR I WILL..." I hang up on him. "Hang up on your dumbass." I take a drink and cross my arms. "Sorry, continue, ma'am."

The phone rings and I glare at it. I grab it and step into the hallway. "Hello?"

"I'm trying again."

"Thank you. My day is going to s**t quickly."

"What happened?"

"All I know so far is a terrorist attack at the docks. Were any of your ships there?"

"No. I do have 1 en route. 8 hours away."

"It's your call on whether to turn it around or reroute. I do not know the extent of the damage."

"I'm going to keep it going and possibly reroute to the next dock. When you hear a time frame for when it will reopen let me know, please?"

"Of course." I hang up and go back in.

I drink my coffee and watch the dock burn. It's definitely on fire. Part of it looks blown apart.

"If you're just joining us, we are looking at the Southside dock, in the Docks District. Local police officers, in coordination with the Dark throne and city-wide intelligence offices, entered the docks at 8am this morning, after a tip came in of a smuggling ship entering the dock. There was then a very large explosion. We were told it could be seen from the Central District. It lit up the sky. As of right now, 10 officers have been confirmed dead along with countless civilians. We are setting up a press conference and I will keep you filled in with everything I know."

It goes to a commercial and my phone rings. "Damn it all." The guard refills my cup on my way into the hallway. It's Drogon.

"Hello, love."

"Hi, babygirl. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. We're watching it on the news."

"This is bad. A lot of officers lost their lives. It was a trap."

"I know. You can't focus on that. Talk about how brave they were. How courageous and strong. How much they worked to protect us and our peace. We have to keep going. We have to get justice for them."

"I just needed to hear your voice."

"I love you."

"I love you, babygirl."

"Be careful, love."

"Always." He hangs up, so I go back to class.

The lady on the tv says, "We are now live at the southside dock where we are awaiting a speech from King Winter."

Drogon steps up to the podium. "As of now, 15 officers have been confirmed dead. 15 officers from different agencies, but they all held the same values. Courage, bravery, honesty, sacrifice, and service. They lived their lives to make sure justice is served. They protected us, our children, our families, our way of life. They each took a vow to make our city and our lives safer. They were guardians of freedom. They died as they lived, protecting us, safeguarding peace, and preserving justice. Their deaths remind us that our freedom comes with a price. We must not take that for granted." He motions to one of his advisors.

He steps up to the podium and reads the names of the dead.

Drogon takes the podium again. "Our city has been attacked today and we have lost 15 good people. I cannot and will not let this go. You have my word. The search is underway for the terrorists behind this evil act. We are going to work together to bring them to justice. Now, we must move forward defending our freedom and peace."

My phone rings. Cyrus is calling. I step out into the hallway and answer it.

"Are you ok?"

"Yea. I just watched Drogon's speech. He did a good job."

"Yes he did. Do you want me to pull you out of school?"

"I would like to cheer tonight, but yes. All I'm doing is watching TV and answering my phone. Where are you?"

"Casino. Mike is up here too. We're watching everything play out while we straighten some stuff out. I'll call the school and see if I can get them to excuse you. Hang in there."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

I sit in my seat again. The guards radio makes a weird noise. "Alpha teams, stand down on Silk and Shadow." They go out in the hallway.

"They took my coffee."

Akmae runs out in the hallway and comes back with the pot. He fills both our cups and sits down.

Then my phone rings. "You've gotta be kidding me."

Half the class cracks up laughing.

I answer it. "Yea."

It's Drogon. "Stay put until I can get a hold of Penn. Cyrus can't pull you out of school." He hangs up.

I hang up and everyone is staring at me. I didn't even make it out of the room. "Sorry. Again. Drogon is very to the point sometimes." I sit back down.

Katen smiles. "What did he say?"

I take a big drink of coffee. "Stay put for now. They're trying to get a hold of the school."

Akmae flips around. "Let me ride with you."

"I don't think they can get you out of school."

He calls someone and runs into the hallway.

I focus on the tv again. "This is a live shot of the southside dock. You can see law enforcement from 10 different agencies here. They're all working together to sort this out. The Alpha of Darkburn is right there. You can see they're trying to pull something out of the rubble."

Penn pokes his head in the door. "Thena and Akmae are excused."

Akmae leaves the coffee pot with the teacher, and we get on my helicopter.

"Silk is rising."