The Talon Family The Spy of London Part 7

Gabriel walked beside her friend Virgil following her father’s robot, who was to their endless luck, lighting the way in the dark tunnel. He didn’t need to see where he was going but the others still moved by their normal sight. She didn’t pay much heed to the enemy of Paladin walking beside her, an enemy who was now turning sides for a reason her nor the team knew of, but her mission wasn’t to know why it was to get her home alive. Something which might end up being harder than she realized, but so was the case with most of her missions. They seem to never go as planned.

                Something kept sneaking up behind her like a black cat in the night, and she kept glancing back trying to see the green eyes, but they were not there. The eyes of the cat were locked on her like she was a mouse about to meet her end. The cat moved closer, and she kept trying to find the black shadow.

                “You alright?” Virgil asked.

                “Yeah, I’m good,” she said with the cat biting down and grabbing her with its claws. The teeth pushed her mind back down into the pit where it lies long before she was on the mission. The black waters from the elevator from hours before came rushing over her face drowning her in the inky liquid. Everything came crashing down around her, and this mission, her life, all seem worthless at the moment.

                “Hey,” Virgil said placing his cold hand on her shoulder and a big smile on her face. He winked a little at her, “It will be fine.”

                “I know,” she said, and then he reached into the mind of her pit grabbing her by the hand and pulling her out of the water. She stepped away from him with a risen eyebrow. “What did just do to me?” She asked.

                “I’m sorry,” he said, “I can stop.”

                “Just tell me what you did?”

                “Ah, well, you are a woman,” he said with a shrug, “and my powers allow me to influence your emotion a bit. I can also sense what you feel. I’m sorry. I should have told you before doing it.”

                “Yes, you should have,” Gabriel said, “but thanks. You are like the best antidepressant.”

                “So, I have been told,” he told her with a smile.

                The smile made her heart jump a little, and her cheek burns red, but the darkness of the tunnel hides the act. She couldn’t tell if the sudden longing to make him smile even more came from his powers of over her, which she liked the idea of, or if it was a real feeling been creating in her heart. She wasn’t sure why now because it wasn’t time, but she did enjoy it. It at least the feeling was keeping the cat at bay.

                “We are getting close,” Alexander said stopping and turning to face Crystal. The other stops as well not sure what was going on.

                Crystal crossed her arms knowing this question was about to be asked. “I’m only talking to Cain.”

                “Then I hope you can get to him alone,” Alexander said in a robotic tone.

                “So, you want to know why I’m going to your side then?” She asked.

                “We were wondering,” Virgil said, “but the gunfire kind of made it hard to ask.”

                “I got tired,” she said, “of being used as a meat doll.”

                Gabriel rose an eyebrow. “I thought you were high up in the ranks?”

                “I am,” she nodded and said, “but it doesn’t stop me from having to make my bosses happy in whatever they wished.”

                “And you are coming to Paladin for what revenge?” Alexander asked.

                “Yeah,” she said. “One of those b******s made me kill my child.”

                “Like an abortion?” Gabriel asked.

                “I did want it,” Crystal said. “But he couldn’t have a child with me when he had a wife.”

                “Man, you hang out with the best kind of people,” Virgil said.

                “So, you are not willing to risk your life for forced abortion and give Paladin everything they need to stop your bosses?” Alexander asked. “Is that right?”

                “I’m still human,” she growled at him. “I wanted a family one day.” Tears were starting to build up in her eyes. “And those monsters took that from me. They killed my child and made sure I can never have children again. So, yes, I want to bring down the whole thing, won’t you?” She pointed at Gabriel not noticing she was yelling at this point. “If Paladin or anyone killed one of your children? Won’t you burn their whole world?”

                Gabriel locked her jaw looking back and forth at her father and the crying assassin. A woman she knew had ordered the deaths of countless families. A person whose hand were far from clean with the deaths of people she killed herself and here she was crying over the death of her own child. For a moment, Gabriel saw the human behind all the death and pain she brought into the world. She was a mother suffering for the death of a child. It had to be the moment she saw the light and realized what she had done in life. All those mothers and families who were suffering because of her and her organization now.

It was a real eye-opener.

The tunnel went silent with Crystal staring at the tall silver robot with tears running down her face. “Well?” She asked.

“I would,” Alexander said turning on his heels heading for the platform to get out of the tunnel. Crystal cleaned her face not looking over at the other two and followed Alexander. Virgil glanced over and said, “Well, that was unexpected.”

“You can say that again,” Gabriel said. “Maybe you should use some of your powers on her.”

“I’m not sure it would work,” he told her following Crystal up the steps to the stations where they could get street side and head for the airport to get Crystal out of this city.