New Age of Heroes 1: The League of Protectors - Dawn of a New Age (16 page)

“Kyle has
been linked to an ancient group of assassins whose services are
highly requested by shady individuals and organizations. He could
have easily been contracted by one of your many enemies sir. This
group of assassins have no allegiance.”

The President had a
feeling where Mr. Connors was going with this report. Mr. Connors was
certain that Kyle used his shape shifting and mimicking abilities to
infiltrate the prison.

Even with all the
information Mr. Connors provided, the Vice President was still
apprehensive. “How can you be certain of this?” he asked.

“I cannot be
certain, but my associate distinctly pointed out that she felt his
presence right before the prisoners escaped. What reason would he,
someone who hadn't been captured be doing at that prison? I suspect
that he was already there, breaking down the facility one piece at a
time.”

The President
nodded his head in understanding.

“I assume you
are speaking of Stephanie Morgan?” the President asked. “She’s
the one that helps you put the files on Post Humans together,
correct?”

“That is
correct Sir,” Mr. Connors replied.

Stephanie Morgan
was twenty three years of age. She was a Post Human from Oklahoma and
had been a member of the League of Protectors from the very
beginning.

The cute, innocent
looking woman with strawberry blonde hair had no offensive abilities.
She couldn’t lift cars, run fast, or project energy blasts, but
she was still very vital to the team. Stephanie’s abilities
allowed her to sense whenever a Post Human activated their abilities.
With plenty of concentration, Stephanie could focus in and locate the
exact location the surge of power came from.

She could also
sense just how powerful anyone’s abilities were. Her
understanding of each Post Human’s abilities helped Mr. Connors
create a ranking system. Mr. Connors kept track of the Post Humans
whose abilities posed a greater threat than the others. Her ability
was one of the main ways Mr. Connor’s team was able to track
Post Humans that abused their abilities. It was because of Stephanie
that the majority of the databases on Post Humans even existed.

As soon as these
individuals activated their abilities she was able to sense their
presence and pinpoint it on the map for The League. Without Stephanie
the files the League had on Post Humans would have been much thinner.

“Mr. Connors
what you’re saying makes no sense. This facility has been
operational for a while now. If this Kyle Stanton was there, we’d
know about it,” the Vice President said sternly.

Bianca shook her
head. She was visibly annoyed with the Vice President. It didn’t
matter what Mr. Connors said, the Vice President was determined to
contradict him.

“With all due
respect Mr. Vice President, no you wouldn’t. Kyle Stanton is an
assassin and a spy. This was a well thought out plan used to learn
about G.U.A.R.D and how they operate. Kyle’s job was to gain
intel on G.U.A.R.D's operations and Erik’s job was to free the
prisoners when the time came. It was a calculated and organized
plan.”

“Impossible,
we have the best agencies in the world. If this spy you speak of
existed we would have been on to him,” the Vice President said
confidently.

“In most
cases Mr. Vice President I would agree with you about the United
States having the best agencies around. However in regards to this, I
am afraid I must disagree. There is still so much we have to learn
about Post Humans. People as dedicated and trained as Kyle Stanton
can do an awful lot of damage.”

Mr. Connors
understood all too well how spies thought. They were patient if the
situation called for it. Sometimes it would be years before an
operative made his or her move. It was all a matter of accomplishing
the big goal. In this case intel was the main goal.

There was no
telling how long Kyle had infiltrated G.U.A.R.D's operations, but Mr.
Connors was sure that Kyle got a better understanding of how they
worked.

The President sat
in his chair quietly. Hours earlier, Agent Hardine sent in a report
on Erik Master’s capture. He expressed concern over the
relative ease they had in capturing him.

During
the middle of the day this guy comes out and starts burning his
neighborhood. There didn’t seem to be any motive behind his
actions. Agent Hardine mentioned how Erik had a sinister smile on his
face when his agents approached. It was as if he wanted to get
caught.

The President
thought about it some more. Kyle, a shape shifter, infiltrates
G.U.A.R.D and deletes key information from the system. He learns what
he needs to and then reports back to his boss. Given the green light,
Erik is sent in to free the prisoners. He purposely gets himself
captured by G.U.A.R.D agents so that he’s in position to shut
down the facility with his abilities. With the true files on Erik
deleted, no one would be aware that he could easily shut down the
power.

Then Seth Maddox,
who Jason suspected was the one capable of massive teleportation
teleports into the facility just at the right time to get everyone
out.

It made sense. It
was an organized plan which once all the pieces were put together
made perfect sense. The President was inclined to believe what Mr.
Connors was saying.

The room was
silent. No one said a word. Everyone seemed to be waiting for the
President to make a move.

Things were bad and
he was certain in the days to come things were going to get worse.
The President couldn't help but worry about the ramifications of this
elaborate plan. How vulnerable was their security he wondered. With
someone like Kyle Stanton targeting the government's number one
defense against Post Humans, the President worried nothing was
secure.

Then there was the
public. The public would certainly begin to panic when news broke of
the escape. They would demand swift action, action in which the
President wasn't ready to take. The President was fairly sure a civil
war of sorts was about to begin. He rubbed his face and sighed
heavily.

“Mr.
President?” one of the cabinet members said.

The President kept
his face in his hands contemplating his course of action. Finally he
stood up. He looked around the room. Everyone seemed to have the same
concerned look on their face.

Vice President
Martin eagerly awaited the President’s words. He assumed the
President would have no choice but to declare war on Post Humans. He
yearned for that decision.

“Mr. Connors,
get the rest of your team here now.” the President said.

The President
walked to the door and left without giving any further details or
orders to the cabinet. Mr. Connors looked around the room unsure of
what the President's intentions were. Slowly he pulled out his cell
and contacted his team. With tensions as high as they were and
politics playing a major role in anything the president did, Mr.
Connors just didn't know what to expect next.

16

Level
of Cooperation

“Mr.
President, the League of Protectors are here to see you sir.”

“Thanks
Cindy, go ahead and send them in.”

The President hung
up the phone in his oval office and waited for his visitors to come
in. He sat up straight in his big red swivel chair. On his desk were
several manilla folders marked confidential. He grabbed three of the
folders and looked over them carefully. There was a polite rap at his
door. The person on the other side waited for permission to enter.

“Come in,”
the President said in tranquil voice.

Jason Shaw, Jackson
Prescott, Shayne Tucker, Garrett Blake and Bianca Ramirez all entered
the room.

There was
definitely a bit of confusion and concern written on their faces. It
wasn’t everyday someone gets summoned by the President of the
United States. Numerous thoughts floated around inside their heads as
they nervously entered the room. The President stood up and watched
as members of the League walked in.

“Thank you
for arriving in such a timely fashion. I’m sure as you can
imagine, time is of the essence.”

The President
walked over and grabbed a seat; he motioned for The League of
Protectors to sit as well.

“Where are
Ms. Prescott, Ms. Morgan and Mr. Winters?”

The President knew
that there were eight members in the League as opposed to the five
that were in the room.

“Ms. Prescott
is currently helping with the hurricane recovery effort, Ms. Morgan
is at base monitoring Post Human activity and Mr. Winters'
whereabouts are currently unknown,” Jason replied speaking on
behalf of the group.

“I see,”
the President replied.

The President
didn't read too much into Noah's absence. It was well documented Noah
wasn't much of a team player. It was also pretty well known that some
only considered him a part time member anyway. He showed up when he
was needed and then left once the situation was resolved. Nothing
more, nothing less. As far as he was concerned once the battle was
over, so too was his involvement. Not even an invitation from the
President could persuade Noah to make an appearance.

“Well, the
next time you see Mr. Winters please inform him that when the
President of the United States requests an audience, it's in his best
interest to show up.”

The President's
remarks were said with a chuckle, but Jason understood that
underneath the calm reply, the President took offense to Noah not
showing up. Furthermore, Jason knew that Noah's decision not to show
up looked bad on the League. It looked as if they did not know how to
properly “handle” their members.

In some ways, they
didn't. No one knew how to “handle” Noah Winters, nor did
anyone want to make the sort of effort required to “handle”
him.

The President
looked at each League member that was in attendance. He was always
taught that if you really want to know a person, you needed to look
that person in the eye. Although it wasn’t a very scientific
lesson or anything, it was a message that the President took to
heart.

“First off
let me say that you all have represented your kind very well.”

Shayne bit his lip.
He didn’t like the phrase “your kind” to him; the
word put too much emphasis on being different. He was fairly certain
the President didn’t mean it in a bad way, but still, it rubbed
him wrong.

The President threw
his hands up signaling that he himself didn't like the way he worded
things. “Let me start again. You have represented this nation
quite well. Every time your name has been called, you answered. You
risk your lives and are willing and able to do whatever is needed. I
appreciate that and your country appreciates that. Even though it
seems that you have a whole nation against you, that isn't true. I
believe in you.”

Shayne nodded. That
sounded much better.

“The League
of Protectors has done nothing but positive things and yet you are
scrutinized by the public every day. You guys are in a position that
I happen to understand a little bit about.”

Jackson’s
eyes got big. It made sense to him now. He now understood why the
President was a supporter of the League. He understood why the
President had so much business sent to Shaw Enterprises. He now
understood why the President called them in today. Jackson was
certain that the President of the United States was a Post Human as
well!

“Unbelievable,
this has got to be the coolest news ever!” Jackson blurted out.
All attention was directed Jackson’s way. Everyone in the room
had a perplexed look on their faces.

“Be quiet,”
Shayne hissed softly.

Jason and Bianca
had a disapproving look on their faces while Garrett raised his
eyebrow anticipating Jackson's typical off the wall remarks.

“I beg your
pardon?” the President asked. He didn’t know if he should
feel confused or disrespected by Jackson’s sudden outburst.

“I get it
now! At first, I had a hard time trying to figure out why you seemed
to support us as much as you have. Even the majority of your cabinet
is against us. It makes so much sense now!” The President and
the rest of the League members looked at Jackson curiously.

“You’re
one of us, you're a Post Human!” Jackson stood up and walked
over towards the President to shake his hand. The President sat
still, completely baffled and slightly amused by Jackson’s
behavior.

“Jackson,
have a seat… Now!” Jason demanded in a tone Jackson
didn't hear too often from him.

Jackson looked
around and saw the upset faces of his fellow teammates. Embarrassed
by his actions and their reactions, Jackson sat back down.

“I assure
you, I am not a Post Human,” The President replied adamantly.
“If I was, I’d figure out a way to get better numbers in
the polls. That’s for sure.”

The League members
laughed uncomfortably. They were still a bit taken by Jackson’s
actions.

“You just
said you understood the position we’re in,” Jackson said,
trying to explain the reasons for his assumption.

The President
laughed.

“Yes, I
understand the position you guys are in because I fight a battle
every day.” The League waited to see where the President was
going with this.

“No matter
what I do, no matter what decision I make, there are always people
out there criticizing me. There are always people out there who
question my judgment. There are always people who think I have an
ulterior motive. Every day that I support you guys there are people
concocting conspiracy theories. So yes, I understand what you all are
going through.”

“Mr.
President, if we are such a risk to your political career, then why
do you support us?” Bianca asked meekly.