Chapter 122 - Assault

Blake finished the last of his breakfast, threw away the packaging the sausage links and cheese were wrapped in, and stood to search for Jennifer. The camp was a mess of activity, as workers feverishly assembled the quarry, metal workshop, and wood workshop. 

The faction hall was completed in the middle of the night, and they had immediately begun construction on the structures required to upgrade their faction hall to level two. According to Austin, their new constructor, they would be finished with all prerequisites within just a few hours. 

Unfortunately, they did not have enough laborers to work around the clock in shifts. Once their current projects were completed, construction would halt until everyone was rested. 

There she is.

The brunette influencer leaned over before the oversized side-mirror of a diesel truck as she touched up her makeup. Blake strode up to her and said, “We’ll head out soon. Are you sure you want to come? You’ll probably get shot at.”

Jennifer stood and turned to address him. “And miss you rescuing those poor people for the camera? Not a chance. Besides,” she grinned. “I really want to try out Kinetic Shield.”

He shrugged. “I’m going to let the others know we’re headed out. I assume you want Bobby with us?”

She nodded and then yawned. Blake was about to turn to leave when Jennifer opened her mouth. “I was thinking about Read Thoughts last night when I was trying to sleep.”

“What about it?”

“It only lasts thirty seconds, and I can only use it on one person. You mentioned that once I mastered it, I could evolve the spell. Could I change it so it works on multiple people?”

“I don’t see why not,” he replied.

“Then I’m going to need to use the spell constantly. It says I’m only at one percent mastery, despite using it like ten times already.”

“That’s because you didn’t use it in combat,” Blake explained. “And that much use is gonna make you feel like crap.”

Jennifer frowned. “Do I really have to go out there and fight monsters if I want to upgrade my spell? Do monsters even have thoughts?”

“Yes, monsters have thoughts. According to Jeff, some only have simple thoughts, like ‘die’ or ‘food’, but others are just as smart as us. I’ve been using the term monster to mean anything the Architect throws at us, but sometimes ‘alien’ is more accurate.”

Jennifer’s brows raised. “Wait, he took Read Thoughts as well?”

Blake shook his head. “That was in the other timeline. I think he has Mind Blast and Regeneration right now.”

“Oh,” she seemed to deflate. “I was hoping he’d have some advice for me. Oh, well. Maybe I’ll use it a few more times on our prisoners.”
 From the look of disgust on her face, he could tell that the prospect did not appeal to her at all.

“Or, you could use it on Jeremy and Jimmy,” he suggested.

Jennifer frowned. “I thought you said it was an invasion of privacy and rude.”

Blake snorted. “Spying is rude, too, so I’d say they’re fair game. Besides, I’d really like to know if they’re planning anything bad for us. They may not be able to hurt me personally, but they could easily sabotage our operations.”

Jennifer shook her head. “I still can’t believe you just let known spies run loose.”

“They weren’t loose,” he corrected her. “I never let them anywhere near my family. Besides, your dad agreed with my decision.”

She rolled her eyes. “Let’s just go wake them up. Last I saw, they were still sleeping.”

Blake followed dutifully behind Jennifer as she stalked toward the restroom. On the way, he saw Bobby enter the camp from the woods, roll of toilet paper in hand. He nodded at the bodyguard, who quickly trotted over to them.

The ex-cameraman’s face was full of concern as he asked, “Blake, what do we do when we run out of toilet paper? I know we have a bunch now, but isn’t everything supposed to corrode or whatever in a few months?”

Blake struggled to keep a straight face as he answered evenly, “That’s when you start using your hand.”

Bobby’s nose wrinkled in disgust, while Jennifer whirled around. When he saw the look on her face, he could not help but laugh. 

Ah, that was hilarious!

For some reason, Jennifer did not find the situation humorous. Instead, her look of horror turned to anger. “Seriously, Blake. Answer the damn question.”

Blake shook his head as he finished his chuckles. “Well, in the other timeline, people had all kinds of solutions. In the end, the most popular one was three enchanted seashells.” He raised his hand to forestall her obvious question. “Don’t ask me why they used seashells. It referenced some kind of old movie or something.”

Bobby burst out into laughter, while Jennifer rolled her eyes. She then turned and stalked away.

Seriously? Why is that funny?

“Can you explain what’s so funny?” Blake pressed. 

Bobby shook his head. “I’ll tell you later. It’s not actually that funny, just kind of… unexpected.”

“Whatever,” Blake muttered and hurried after Jennifer.

He waved to Jeff and Montgomery, who guarded the prisoners, and followed her into their makeshift camp in the women’s restroom. Sleeping bags and backpacks covered the floor. Blankets and dirty clothes were piled against the wall, while only a single path to the door was clear. 

We need more room. I should bring a few campers back here. A bed sounds nice right about now.

Jennifer leaned over and nudged Jeremy awake with her hand. The spy startled upright before he realized where he was. After that, he woke up Jimmy, wiped the sleep from his eyes, and yawned.

“Is it time to go?”

 “Yep,” Blake confirmed.

“Give me five minutes, and we’ll be ready.”

He shook his head. “I need you two to stay here to guard this town.”

Jeremy scowled. “Montgomery and Jeff are more than capable of that.”

“Yeah, they’re actually pretty competent,” Jimmy agreed.

Blake sighed and rubbed his tired eyes. “I’m going to assume the faction leader is aware of what I did to his men, and who I am. I see three possible scenarios here, two dumb and one smart. One, they stupidly stage an ambush with guns, in which case you get riddled with bullets and die before I kill them all. Two, the smart play, they abandon their base and flee. Or, three, they send out the rest of their men to attack our base while I’m gone.”

He saw Jimmy nod and continued. “No matter which option they choose, I need you here.”

“But…” Jeremy objected.

I don’t have time for this.

Blake raised his hand. “This is not a discussion. Are you capable of following orders, or not?”

“Yes… sir…” the spy spat out a frustrated response.

Blake nodded and turned to Jimmy. “What about you?”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jennifer wince and rub her temples.

There goes her second use of Read Thoughts.

The Asian man shrugged. “I’m good. I could always use some more shut-eye.”

Blake clapped his hands together. “Great. While I’m gone, Jeff is in charge. Message me if you need anything.”

After that, he exited the building, informed his two old friends of his plans, and then entered the prisoner’s cell. A wave of stench assaulted him, and he coughed in disgust.

It smells like someone died in here.

At the noise, the criminals began to stir. Before they were fully awake, Blake quickly found his target and tugged on John’s wrist. The combat team co-leader let out a short shriek when he unexpectedly found himself on his feet, but only put up minimal resistance. He dragged the man outside the fetid room and quickly closed the door behind him.

Blake took a deep breath. “Oh my God, it stinks in there.”

John scowled. “The toilets don’t flush, and Ross couldn’t hold it.”

“What the hell did he eat?” Blake shook his head. “Never mind, it’s not important. You’re going to be our navigator and point out where your base is.”

“I told you where it was last night,” John complained.

“I don’t care,” Blake replied, then turned to Bobby. “Hey, can you get him in the truck, I need to talk to Jennifer for a moment.

“Sure,” the bodyguard nodded. He then turned to the prisoner. “Come with me.”

After both were gone, Blake turned to Jennifer. “So?”

“They’re definitely spies, although they don’t work for Warner. At least not directly,” she corrected herself. “Jeremy was worried about someone named Scott being disappointed. Evidently, he was supposed to get some footage of combat so they could edit it and use it against you.”

 “Their big bad plan was propaganda?” Blake sneered. “At least they aren’t planning any actual sabotage.”

“Don’t dismiss it,” Jennifer warned. “That’s actually their smartest play. They can’t attack you directly, but they can ruin your image.”

Blake yawned. “Whatever. I was hoping they’d switch sides when they saw I wasn’t working for the Architect, but if they’re still trying to bring me down, they might be a lost cause. At this point, it might be better to just cut them loose.”

“I don’t know about that,” she disagreed. “Jeremy seemed conflicted, and Jimmy is already on your side.”

“Really?”

Jennifer nodded. “He was actually half relieved that he wouldn’t have to go through with it. Jeremy found the job distasteful, and didn’t even tell Jimmy about it. He’s worried his old subordinate will side with you.”

“Would he?”

 Jennifer shrugged. “Who knows? I can only hear their surface thoughts. If you really want to find out, you can ask him directly. It’d be hard for him to hide it then.”

Blake shook his head. “No, we’ll leave them be for now. But, when we get back, can you try and find out more?”

“Sure, I could use the mastery training.”

They quickly rejoined Bobby and John. While she climbed into the passenger seat, he popped the hood, cranked the old diesel truck until it started, slammed it shut, and then hopped inside. A quick check of the gauges confirmed he had plenty of fuel for the trip, so he put the truck in drive and pulled away.

When he reached the main road, he stealthily sent Jennifer a message.

Baron Blake Summers, Scion of Humanity, Ambassador to the Architect: Can you use Read Thoughts on our prisoner? I want to see what he knows.

Jennifer Taylor: Sure. I think it’s been long enough since I last used it.

Blake cleared his throat and looked into the rearview mirror. “So, John, what did your boss have to say about you and your buddies getting captured? I know you’ve been in contact, so don’t bother denying it.”

John scowled and remained silent.

When he didn’t immediately answer, Blake said, “Just because there’s not a fire here doesn’t mean you can’t feel pain. Bobby’s strong enough to break every single bone in your body. Are you sure you want to stay silent?”

The bodyguard glanced at Blake and frowned.

Don’t worry, you won’t have to do anything.

As he predicted, after the threat, John began to talk. “Jacob was pissed.”

Blake nodded. “I would be, too. Did he happen to tell you his plans? Are we heading into an ambush?”

John shook his head almost violently. “No, he wouldn’t dare. Jacob knows you’re bulletproof. We all saw the footage online before the AI took over.”

Then he probably ran.

Blake could not decide if that was a good thing or not. On the one hand, it would spare him from killing more humans. While he would end all their lives without hesitation if required, he would not enjoy the task. It would make Jennifer’s job more difficult as well. 

On the other hand, if Jacob fled, he could cause issues in the future. The man may be afraid of him now, but that did not mean he would always be so. 

In his past life, Blake had seen leniency toward an enemy come back to bite people multiple times. That was why combat classes were almost always eliminated, not banished. Those thoughts brought him to his prisoners, and how he would likely need to dispose of them when this was over. He knew most people would be upset when they found out, and was not eager to breach the subject.

That’s a problem for future Blake.

Baron Blake Summers, Scion of Humanity, Ambassador to the Architect: Is he telling the truth?

Jennifer Taylor: Yes. Evidently the other team leader, Ross, could hear the interrogation and warned the faction leader. After you were done questioning John, he got an earful from Jacob for talking. After the screaming was over, he was told they were all on their own, and John hasn’t heard back from him since. He doesn’t know anything else, but he thinks his faction leader abandoned their base.

That’s what I figured.

They soon reached the city, and Blake began to use his Oblate Mind Sense to scout for hidden monsters. He sensed a few within the surrounding buildings, but ignored their presence. It would take too long for him to flush them out, and he wanted to reach the Black Diamond’s base quickly. The interrogation last night revealed the held captives. Blake suspected they left them behind, and without guards, they would be vulnerable to monsters.

Surprisingly, Blake and company were not attacked during their trip, and it only took another ten minutes for them to arrive at their destination. Blake pulled up to the barricaded glass doors of the large chain grocery store and put the truck in park. A quick Mind Sense revealed over twenty people inside, all bunched together.

Those are probably the prisoners.

“Okay, everyone out. It looks clear, but stay alert, just in case.”

Blake followed his own orders and stepped outside the truck. He left the door open and the vehicle idle, in case they needed to escape quickly, but he doubted that would be required. If this were a trap, his spell would have revealed snipers positioned at multiple angles, and would have detected a lookout. Instead, the place looked to be abandoned.

Rather than warily approach the building, he strode up to the front doors, unafraid. Even if it were an ambush, they could do nothing to hurt him. As Blake stepped inside the large business, he heard Bobby prod their prisoner forward. Blake ignored the bodyguard as he visually searched for his objective.

There it is.

In the center of the store, two aisles of shelving had been moved to make room for their faction hall. The level one building looked strange contained within the grocery store, but the placement made sense. The entire store likely fell within the faction boundary, so no monsters could spawn within.

As he approached the primitive looking hut, Blake saw a half-dug quarry nearby. Piles of lumber, tools, and rocks littered each side, but he saw no other buildings. He ignored the mess and entered the open door of the faction hall. 

As expected, the faction orb rested atop the wooden table. He noticed deep gouges on the table underneath it and chuckled. It was impossible to remove the orb. They had likely spent an hour on the attempt before they abandoned it along with the rest of their base.

Blake placed his hand on the basketball sized object and focused. An instant later, a notification appeared before his eyes.

You have laid a claim of ownership over the Black Diamond faction. Either eliminate the faction leader or retain control of the orb for twenty-four hours to complete the transfer.

That was easy enough. Now the hard part.

Blake exited the faction hall and motioned for Jennifer to follow him. According to his Mind Sense, there were people locked within the break room who needed to be released. When he saw the panicked expression on John’s face, he knew he would not like what he found.

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