Chapter 53 (new writing)

It had been absurdly simple infiltrating the Senator’s house. The more powerful people were, the more they thought they were invincible. Within seconds, they had bypassed his security.

There were three of them for the job. Abernathy had handpicked all of them for each target. For weeks they had been following the Senator, albeit casually. They knew about the former Intelligence Special Ops Agent who had been keeping an eye on him.

After seeing the agent depart, he had made their move. Now, there was no one left who could stop them from killing the Senator. All over the planet, and others, the exact same thing was happening. Senators were being killed, with the few who supporting The Cause being left alive.

They crept down the hall towards the Senator.


###

Seeing the rubble of the Senate building on the news was unnerving. Sighing, Rollins fell heavily into a seat. So, he told himself, they were making their move. Whatever this ‘hummingbird’ was, it would surely be following this.

What will I do? He asked himself. As much as I tried to stay close, Cathy and Stevie aren’t here at the one time they needed to!

Running his hands through his hair, he felt the tension building. His nerves joined the tightness of his muscles. They would be coming for him soon, he told himself; that much was a certainty. Hopefully Brindle was ready to help him.

He pulled his com unit out of his pocket. Switching it on, he set the scrambler. For several seconds it tried to connect, but failed. Brindle wasn’t answering damn it, he told himself. Just when the **** hit the fan, he wasn’t answering his com unit. Typical!

A creak reached his ears, and he sat up in his chair. Craning his head to look, he didn’t see anything. Something had to make that noise, he told himself. His house was too new for it to be making settling noises; no, someone was definitely inside.

A shadow moved in the hallway. His eyes grew wide with fear as it registered. His gun, he told himself, was on the table by the door! There was no way he could reach it without being seen. Damn it, that was a dumb move he had made!

A set of steely hands clamped down on his shoulders. Without a word, a black dressed man stood before him. A smile, if it could be called that, crossed his lips.

“Hello, Senator,”

###

He looked into the Senator’s eyes. It always amazed him, he mused, how the powerful were even more fearful then most when they had no power. Sometimes, when he took time to contemplate it, he thought it was because of their power.

They wield the power of life or death over others, he thought, but when someone holds it over them, they can’t handle it.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his pistol. A silenced .22, it would kill the Senator while still leaving his body identifiable. Upon seeing the weapon, the Senator started to squirm in the grasp of his team members.

“Now, now, Senator,” he said. “You don’t want to move too much. You might throw off my aim…”

###

Rollins knew he was dead. Seeing the silenced pistol in the man’s hand, he knew he was out of options. They must’ve killed brindle, he told himself, or he would’ve answered the com call.

I knew I should’ve gotten us off-planet sooner, he told himself, shutting his eyes.

The window behind the gunman shattered. A shape came barreling through, pistol in hand. Rollins opened his eyes, seeing Brindle landing on his feet. The shards of shattered glass crunched under his boots.

The sound of an pistol was deafening. The first two shots sent one of his assailants backwards, minus his head. Brindle fired on the second. Catching him in the chest, the blood spray hit Rollins in the face.

Turning to face Brindle, the gunman was in shock. One second he was winning. The next, his team was dead. What the hell was happening?

Brindle pulled the trigger. The bullet took the gunman in the head. Blasting him backwards, his head exploded. Hitting the arm of Rollins’ sofa, his lifeless body hit the ground.

“I’m sorry I was late, Senator,” Brindle said. “I needed to make sure they were all with you.”

“Cut it damned close didn’t you?” Rollins said, cleaning blood off his face. “Are any outside?”

“They’re dead,” Brindle said, changing clips. “But we need to go, now!”

“What about Cathy and Stevie?” he asked.

“They’re on the ship, sir,” Brindle said. “Along with Senator Trisholm and her family.”

“She was in on this?”

“Sir,” Brindle said, ending discussion. “We need to leave. Get your coat and gun.”

Grabbing his coat and gun, Rollins found himself shaking. He followed the young Agent who saved his life out his front door. Down the steps they went and into the streets beyond. He looked back, knowing he would never return.