They Called Her the Devil

Chapter 32, Xander

Nora hadn't checked in last night. That meant she was either dead or captured. Either way, she probably wasn't coming back. Nora was one of the best spies we had but she was barely average when it came to fighting.

Why hadn't I escaped earlier? I could have gone instead of her and probably would have survived. And now Daniel was alone and little Alex didn't have a mother.

At least she'd reported that the virus was destroyed before she'd died.

I was sitting on my air mattress trying to go over the supply lists. I missed sleeping in a real bed, but our base didn't have bedrooms, and tents with air mattresses were all we could afford.

I jotted down a few more numbers but I'd lost interest an hour ago. I just couldn't focus on our dwindling budget. And with Izzie gone it would be almost impossible to transfer more money from the Legion without getting caught.

As if answering my silent prayer I heard a crash outside my tent. I picked up my gun and went to investigate. As soon as I saw the man outside I dropped my gun and blocked a knife strike.

The man was dressed head to toe in orange marking him as the Challenger. Challenger was a game we played in the Order. It was basically tag except you had to "kill" the person with a plastic knife dipped in red paint for them to be the next Challenger.

Some people had been Challenger for months while others would go for only seconds. I'd never been tagged and I intended to keep it that way.

I dodged three more strikes before going on the offensive. But this Challenger was good. Luckily I was also good.

I just had to get his knife and stab him with it to win the game. We hadn't had a winner in months.

I went back on the defensive for a minute; I needed to find his weakness. As I blocked his next few strikes I noticed he was slightly off balance. This was my opening.

I dodged another strike but as he lunged towards me I dropped and kicked his legs out from under him. He fell, dropping the plastic knife and it slid a few feet across the concrete floor.

I couldn't win without the knife so I went for it. But as I turned back to him, knife in hand, he was already running away.

Coward.

I took off after him, enjoying the freeness of a full-on sprint. I wove in between tents, trying to avoid the people going about their day.

Many of them cheered me on as they recognized the game we were playing. This Challenger was fast but I was gaining on him.

Then he was gone. It shouldn't have been hard to spot a man dressed head to toe in don't-kill-me-I'm-attacking-you-for-the-game-orange but he'd disappeared.

We'd reached the far corner of our warehouse base, no one was around and there were only a few huge supply tents. He had to be in one of those.

I silently crept into the nearest one, trying to sneak up on him. But as I walked further into the tent I began to hear voices arguing.

I snuck closer and saw Leo, Daniel, Kristin, and a few Order members I didn't recognize through a gap in a shelf. They sat around a table with an x-com projecting a file.

"25 million people! I thought it would just be Death and his family not millions of innocents!" Leo was shouting.

"We need to tell Xander. My wife died for this, we went too far," Daniel was calmer but still clearly angry.

"We decided Xander wasn't going to be a part of this. And so what if there are some civilian casualties as long as Death is dead. It's for the greater good." Kristin spoke the words as a command.

I'd never liked Kristen. Ever since Death had killed her sister she hadn't cared about anything except killing Death. No matter what got in her way.

"I say we tell him, we need to stop this and fix our mistake," Leo spoke.

I fought the urge to reveal myself then and there. My best friend had betrayed me. He'd gone behind my back and betrayed me.

"He came up with the kidnapping plan. He actually thought we agreed to that because it would work and not because it would get him out of the way. We can't tell him about this." Kristen said. She was trying to regain control.

The room broke out into a mess of shouting. I just couldn't believe that it had all been a lie. They'd only agreed to the plan to get rid of me long enough to betray me.

I couldn't take it anymore. I stepped out from behind the shelf and the room got so quiet you could hear a pin drop. All eyes were on me.

Then Leo's words came back to me we need to stop this and fix our mistake. They hadn't fixed their mistake. My anger was instantly replaced by dread.

"Please tell me the virus is destroyed," I asked my betrayers.

A moment of silence passed before a woman whose name I didn't know spoke.

"A Legion girl destroyed the virus maker's lab but he has backups."

"And we have no way to call this off?" I asked.

"Not without Richard Gold's agreement, and I don't see him agreeing." The same woman said.

"Then what can we do?" I asked. I was getting desperate now.

"Nothing. We're outnumbered, outmatched, and we don't know where the virus is anymore." It was Leo who spoke this time.

I refused to take that as an answer. I wouldn't let 25 million people die because I couldn't keep track of my own people.

"We don't have to do anything Xander. It'll stop Death from killing any more innocents, isn't it worth it?" Kristin said; she was still trying to control the situation.

"We are not letting 25 million innocents die because you couldn't think of a better way to betray me." I snapped. Then I had an idea. "Leo hand me that x-com."

He handed it to me and I typed in the code to get to the server Izzie had set up before being kidnapped. I typed in Kate's x-com link and began to type a message.

Devil,

The virus wasn't destroyed; the virus maker has a second location. I can't stop it on my own. The lives of the 25 million people who'll die if we fail is more important than out fight.

I want to team up to stop Gold. If you agree I'll surrender myself to the Legion. Meet me at 9:00 pm tomorrow at a location of your choice and we can talk.

-Xander Silver

"You can't possibly want to surrender to the Legion over this!" Kristin snapped.

"I don't plan on surrendering, Ka-The Devil wouldn't fall for it anyway. I just need to get her to meet me."

Why wasn't I calling her by her real name?

"And why would she agree with you. Or even better why wouldn't she just kill you when you show up?" Kristen was still trying to poke holes in my story.

A message popped up on the hologram:

Xander,

Meet me at the Hideout Bar in Manhattan, tell the man at the door you like his hat even if he isn't wearing one. Come alone, I will too.

-The Devil

"Because we have contacts at the Gold order who still think we're on their side. Now you're either with me or against me, I won't tolerate any more traitors."

There was a chorus of agreement from everyone except Kristen. I messaged a few guards on my x-com to come get her and put her in a cell.

I didn't want her anywhere near this plan.

***

Hello readers! Do you want to play Challenger as much as I do? Will Xander forgive his friends for betraying him? What will happen when Kate and Xander meet? Please vote and comment, I want to know what you think!

-Jade