What She Thought She Knew (Rachel Moore Mystery Book 1), стр. 77
Of course, as the rebel eighteen year old, I disregarded their worries and joined nonetheless.
To say that Seeker Basic was hard would have been an understatement; it was a living hell. The intense pressure caused many people to crack and quit, which left only a handful to ever make it through.
When I did graduate from Basic, I was surprised to find my parents in the audience.
They approached me and my mother hugged me tightly. My father looked at me with such pride, that I swore I saw tears in his eyes.
Their reactions overwhelmed me, and I was at a loss. For the first time, my parents realized that I was becoming a man, and that I had the power to choose my own life. They said that they were proud of me for doing something that I wanted to do.
For a time, life was good. I continued with my Seeker training, and I had John with me.
But all too soon, that brief happiness was taken away from me in the form of a serious car accident. My parents didn't survive, and I was left with the huge responsibility of taking care of my two younger sisters.
Despite my pain and my young age, I manned up and provided as best as I could for them.
John and his mother helped me a lot, but that too changed when John left Europe and his mother disappeared.
A small smile came to my face.
John and I were so different, yet so similar as well. He was like the brother I never had. The one person I knew I could always trust without a doubt.
For that reason, I made the promise to help him in his personal quest, even if it costs me my life.
I adjusted my armor once more, and then made my way out of the room.
I walked to the main command center where everyone else was.
I was assigned a recon mission where I had to scout out the areas of interests and evaluate the environment, the patrols, and any weaknesses that I could detect.
As if the universe was out to get me, Agent Claire was assigned as my partner as she was quick on her feet and could easily avoid detection.
As I was about to walk to the center, John came in and blocked my way.
His eyes bore in mine with such intensity that it nearly took me aback.
I stared back at him as I waited for him to make a move.
After a couple of minutes, John finally cracked. "You better take care of yourself Fear, I mean it." He said sharply, though I knew that there was genuine concern in his voice.
I nodded and held out my hand.
John seemed puzzled at first as he stared at it, then at my face.
I offered a smile to reassure him.
It did the trick, for John took my hand and shook it tightly.
"Try not to get lost without me." I winked.
John snorted. "Even when you're being sent on a high risk mission, you're still as cocky as ever." Nevertheless, he smiled.
I smirked. "Can't let you have all the fun now, can I?" I replied in a teasing manner.
Instead of retorting as he normally would, John took me in for a "man hug."
It took me by surprise as I awkwardly patted his back, before I let go of my embarrassment and returned the gesture fully.
He was the first one to let go and took a step back.
He coughed. "You should get to it." He said.
I nodded and pushed past him gently.
I made my way over to Pete, and stood directly behind.
The Head Warrior sensed my presence, and turned to face me. "Are you ready Agent Fear?" He asked.
I nodded. "Let's go." I replied confidently.
Chapter 37: The Plan
~ John's POV ~
I was well aware of Fear's constant observations of me. I knew that I couldn't fool him, no matter how much I avoided him or hid my true feelings.
As such, I made it my personal mission to keep myself as occupied as I could. It distracted me from any horrific thoughts of what may have happened to Rachel.
The one time Fear and I made eye contact, I knew that he believed that Rachel was already dead.
I absolutely refused to accept that, so I ignored him altogether.
It didn't change the fact that I couldn't sleep well since my dreams that were more like nightmares consisted of Rachel being taken away from me in several forms.
I ended up trying to avoid sleep as much by working on whatever I could.
Things have certainly changed since we arrived in New York. We set up a command center of sorts in an old mechanic shop in the southern part of the city. It didn't take a genius to figure that things were definitely not the same.
First off, there was a mandatory curfew at 9pm in effect, something that only the Phantoms would have done.
Second, there were Phantom agents patrolling the entire city every half hour which made it extremely difficult to move from one place to another without getting caught.
Lastly, the brief glance we had of the Seeker HQ building showed that it was almost unrecognizable. Several of the windows were either shattered or covered in a dark film.
The Phantoms had also set up a video screen on both sides of the building that continuously replayed a message listing out their new rules. It was like the entire damn city was under Marshall Law.
I wondered where in the hell was the military.
I was once again pacing back and forth as I literally had nothing