ROD - Chapter 108

Chapter One-Hundred-Eight – Allegiances – Part Two 

Pride becomes those who follow it. 

-Former UWO Senator Holland- 

The anticipation is high in the air as the front passenger door of the SUV opens slowly. Jennifer adjusts her skirt and pulls it down to just above her knees. There are soot stains and holes on her leggings. She must have been inside for the attack, which isn’t surprising, Vella said Starman and Jennifer rarely leave each other’s side.  

I remember that Starman was close when the attack happened. Why though? What was he doing up there? I can’t get a read on Vella, not a good one at least, she seems like the type that is still wearing a mask even when she takes it off. 

“Fancy seeing you out here, Haley,” Vella says with a business smile.  

Jennifer looks around for a second before realizing that she’s talking to her. She doesn’t correct her though as she says, “You look, well.” 

“Mmm, code for shitty?” 

“Your words, not mine.” 

There’s an uneasy tension between them. They don’t seem to like each other much.  

“Did… did you two used to like, hook up?” Tran asks. 

Jennifer blinks quickly and says, “No, what… what are you on about?” 

“No,” Vella smiles, “I like my women with more meat on their bones.” 

Jennifer glares at her and adjusts her top… did they used to hook up? Why doesn’t Vella know her real name then? You know what, I don’t even care. Doesn’t matter.  

“Where’s Starman?” Vella asks, changing the subject, she leans to the side to look around the vehicle, “Is he hiding like a little bitch boy?” 

Jennifer clears her throat, “He’s not here. But he sent me to speak in his stead.” 

“He’s not here…” Vella says, putting her hands on her hips, “Um, bullshit?” 

“You’re welcome to check,” Jennifer offers with a strangely polite smile.  

A bold bluff, I can feel his Soul Mark inside the SUV. I am one hundred percent certain he’s in there. But I don’t tell either of them that.  

“Very well,” Vella says, walking past her, she pulls open the passenger door and then tilts her head. The door closes and she moves to the back of the SUV.  

Clayton gives me a look then turns to Tran and Barlow, handing them a tire iron and a jack, “Swap the wheel.” 

They nod and get to work as Clayton and I walk over and open the passenger door. It’s… empty.  

Jennifer smirks, “Satisfied?” 

Vella walks by her with her eyes rolled, “By you, never.” 

Jennifer’s smirk disappears and is replaced with a scowl, “I do have a message from him.” 

“As if he couldn’t have just sent it to me directly,” Vella says, moving back toward the van.  

“The message isn’t for you.” 

Vella stops and turns, “Oh? And what did the message say?” 

“It’s for Tran, not you.” 

Starman must still think that Tran is the hero candidate.  

Vella strides toward her and grabs her by the hair, “The message?” 

Clayton looks at me and shakes his head.  

The suit with Jennifer rushes towards her to help, but Vella turns and flicks her wrist, ice spindles up his leg. He tries to reach for his gun and she splays her fingers outwards, the ice expands up his torso, his eyes grow wide.  

“I wouldn’t,” she warns, then looking back at Jennifer, “Ice can be very nasty.” She pushes the stray strands of hair from Jennifer’s eyes, “I have a suspicion that your little Starboy is a Marauder, so tell me what he said, or so help me, I will shatter his balls into a thousand pieces.” 

The suit whimpers as the ice grows thicker around his groin, “Tell her! Damnit tell her!” 

“Okay, okay, relax you crazy…” Jennifer pauses as Vella tilts her head again, “He said not to trust Vella, he thinks… he thinks…” 

“He thinks what?” 

“That… that you’re a Marauder.” 

Vella releases her hair and flicks the ice off the suits body with a wave.  

“Me? That’s rich. Considering I nearly died in the attack, where was he anyway? Hmm? That’s the real question. He was supposed to be in there, yet he wasn’t. If anyone’s a Marauder it’s definitely him.”  

Jennifer doesn’t say anything, she doesn’t even fix her hair, she’s… trembling.  

Vella looks at me, “Convenient don’t you think?” 

“It’s certainly something to look into,” I say, turning back to the vehicle, Starman is in here, he has to be. I look closer where I feel the pulse, there’s a slender tail… like a rat’s tail poking out from under the seat, and whiskers swaying back and forth.  

Wait… 

“Jimmy, what do you think we should do?” Vella asks.  

“Why are you asking him?” Jennifer asks, having regained some of her composure as she tightens her bun.  

“He’s the hero candidate, obviously, or did you really think that dumbass Leeroy Tran, perv extraordinaire was a hero?” 

Clayton gives me a look, a strange one. He’s probably wondering the same thing as me, if Vella thinks Starman is a Marauder, why would she tell his aide that I’m the hero candidate? So, what’s her real game?  

Fucking hell, is one of them a Marauder or is this a wild goose chase? Logically it wouldn’t make sense if she was, she was in the blast radius, though maybe they wagered she’d be fine. I wish I had a lie detecting skill.  

“I don’t think Leeroy’s a perv,” Jennifer says quietly, she looks down, “He’s sweet if anything.” 

“Ew,” Vella says taking a step back, “Just ew.”  

Barlow stands, shaking his head and wiping his forehead, “Guys, we have a small problem.” 

“More like a medium problem,” Tran says.  

“What?” Clayton asks.  

“The spare tire, uh, it’s also flat.” 

“Are you fucking…” Clayton begins, moving toward them, he’s cursing as he kicks the wheel, then he leans down and inspects the tire and his expression changes.  

“Shame, I rather liked the shag wagon,” Vella says, looking at her nails.  

Coincidence? Probably not, that’s fine though.  

“Alright,” I begin, looking inside the SUV again, the rat has shifted further under the seats, “Jennifer, can we all ride with you?” 

Clayton grabs my arm lightly, and whispers, “I don’t think we should go with them, it’s not safe… we should wait for backup.” 

He’s not wrong, Vella is a wild card, and she just showed that she can use magic without incantations. Whether that’s a skill or an item, I don’t know much about her capabilities. What I do know is that we need someone with a lie detecting skill to sort all this bullshit out, and we need to also somehow convince both Starman and Vella to come with us. If they aren’t Marauders, then they’re in danger, and the WHA probably isn’t in any shape to actually help. So, it falls to us, and the UWO to help them.  

“I have a proposal,” I say, turning from the SUV, “Come with us, the WHA is in ruins, and the UWO can probably help you. That doesn’t mean you owe them allegiance, but I’m sure they wouldn’t want you or Starman to die. You’re Earth’s aces, I’m sure they know that.” 

Vella muses it for a few moments then shrugs, “Why not, might be fun.” 

Clayton gives me a wary eye, but he doesn’t object more than that.  

“Well, we should probably pick up Starman then,” Vella says with a feigned yawn, she points to the suit, “And we don’t need him anymore, limited seating after all.” 

This SUV only has five seats. Not all of us can go, which is fine, I… I don’t want Tran and Barlow to be in anymore danger.  

“I call front seat!” Tran says rushing over.  

“You’re not coming,” I say.  

He blinks at me, Barlow comes up next and looks at me before asking, “What do you mean, Jimmy?” 

“Space is tight, wait for Greymore to come pick you both up.” 

Clayton looks down before saying, “He’s right.” 

Tran winces at my words, looking back and forth between me and Clayton, “I can help,” he points his thumb at Barlow, “We can help.” 

“I know, but I need you to get with the team and find Fisban, no one has heard from her since we got back.”  

“Don’t put me on the fucking bench,” Tran protests, “Bro, come on.” 

“I’m sorry, but I need you to help the team with other stuff.” 

I’m not going to be the reason they die. Right now, they aren’t a high enough level to even help against Vella if she decides to turn on us. They’d just end up as collateral damage… it fucking sucks, but that’s just the way it is. And… and after earlier, seeing Barlow choking up blood, I… I don’t want to lose them. I’d rather hurt their pride than watch them die again.   

“You heard him,” Clayton says, swiping through his interface, “Greymore said he’ll have a squad pick you up in twenty, maybe thirty minutes.” 

Barlow nods solemnly, his face is skewed, he’s not pissed though, he’s… sad.  

“Bro, Jimmy…” Tran begins, but Barlow grabs him and drags him back.  

“They don’t need us,” Barlow says quietly, “Come on, don’t make it worse.” 

“Is there always so much drama with your team?” Vella asks with an eyebrow raised.  

I ignore her and get in the back seat. Vella sits in front with Clayton, I’m not sure if it’s to piss off Jennifer by taking her seat, or because she wants to be close enough to take the wheel if she needs to. Either way, I don’t trust her.  

The rat with the Soul Mark I placed on Starman is directly under my seat. I’m guessing he has some kind of druidic class that lets him shapeshift. They are stupid rare, but I saw a woman turn into a massive spider once. It was… weird.  

The car hums on and I give Tran and Barlow a nod before we pass them. I feel really bad, but I know I’m doing the right thing. They need to get stronger before they can come with me again, at least as strong as Clayton.  

I can’t protect them, I need to get strong… fast. There’s no more time to do things that Cortez would call the ‘right’ way. As soon as we figure this out, I need to find Mira and begin the process. Everything is changing, without the WHA… I’m not even sure how we will complete the higher tier gates this year. They usually did the lion’s share of the upper ones.  

Now… Earth for the first time in ten years might actually be fucked. My stomach ties into a knot as Vella switches on the radio. The broadcaster’s voice is pressured and worried.  

“Breaking news, we have an update from our sources on the scene, preliminary investigations have shown that several other branches of the WHA around the world have also been hit. It seems like a highly coordinated attack, we… we can only pray that the WHA and the Heroes will prevail.” 

Vella swallows, turning up the radio, “They’re hitting us everywhere…” She turns to look at me, there’s worry on her face. 

“Sources tell us that the UWO has still denied to comment or respond with troops to combat the ongoing terror attacks around the globe. Please, contact your regional senate office and beg them to intervene, we need the WHA, people, we beg you, please make your voice heard. Make the UWO intervene.”