"Still can't believe that all this happened in the span of two weeks," Kato said to me as we sat on the back porch of Yasmine's house.
After my visit to Braxton, Yasmine had invited me over because she wanted to hangout but in truth she just wanted a reason not to be around her dad. She had been particularly miffed since he was staying home and I guess she needed someone to complain to besides her friends. I could faintly hear her and her dad bickering about something but decided to tune it out and focus on what Kato was telling me.
"So what now?" Kato asked.
I shrugged. "Hopefully things will be fine now. Braxton's in rehab and things at school are pretty normal."
"I meant about the offer Yasmine's dad gave you," Kato clarified.
I sighed through my nose. I had one week to figure out if I wanted the offer but I wasn't quite sure. The missions that the Sentinels went out on were dangerous and put them up against powerful people with even more powerful abilities. They had put away some of the most dangerous individuals in the world and were considered invincible due to no one ever being able to go toe to toe with a Sentinel. But I was different. I hadn't fought anyone remotely on the level of the Sentinels and I was quite sure that I was leagues below them in terms of power. But this could also be an opportunity for me to level up a bit since her dad would be personally overseeing my training. I could improve both my ability and my martial arts with training from the Sentinels.
"I'm still thinking on it for the time being," I said finally, surprised a bit by the seriousness in my voice. "The cons kinda outweigh the pros if I'm being honest, though."
Kato nodded. "You'd be a bit in over your head but it's worth it if you really think about it. The Sentinels are one of the most elite forces in the world next to the Eight Daiymos of Japan and the Queen's Guard of Britain so the experience would be invaluable."
"He could also wind up dead or injured beyond recovery," A sharp voice said, causing both of us to flinch.
I turned around to see the glaring face of my girlfriend standing behind me with her hands on her hips and her eyes narrowed sharply. Kato visibly shrank so that Yasmine wouldn't notice him but her glare only seemed to be directed at me for some reason. I gave her a sheepish smile but she didn't budge. She was really pissed.
Uh oh, I thought.
"We need to talk," she said, turning around and heading into the house.
Kato shot me a clueless glance and shrugged. Sighing, I followed her into the house, keeping some space between us just in case she spun around and decided to swing on me. Yasmine led me into her living room where Mr and Mrs Knight were both sitting on the couch with two very different expressions. Yasmine's mom seemed somewhat amused and tired while Mr Knight looked exasperated and like he needed a drink. Yasmine motioned for me to sit down on in the easy chair that was positioned across from the couch. I sat down nervously, the tension in the room being enough to make the hair on my neck stand up at attention. Yasmine sat on the arm of the easy chair at first but then decided to sit directly in my lap with her arm around me, shooting her dad a look.
"Is something wrong?" I asked.
"That depends, Josiah," Mrs Knight said, her voice low. "There's something I'd like to ask you."
I gulped. Had I done something wrong?
"Okay," I said nervously. "What's up?"
Mrs Knight smiled at me and chuckled. "Have you and Yasmine slept together?"
My eyes widened, causing my powers to spontaneously activate and send a small shockwave through the room that blew the curtains aside and knocked Mr Knight's glasses askew. Calming myself, I let out a shaky breath.
"I'm so sorry!" I said. "That tends to happen when my emotions spike."
But Mrs Knight was laughing with tears in her eyes while Yasmine looked like she was both embarrassed and wanted to laugh as well. Mr Knight cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses, a small smile playing on his lips.
"Guess that answers that question, honey," he said, sharing a look with his wife.
I felt myself blush and looked down between my feet to avoid eye contact. That had only happened to me once in my life when I had gotten a bit too excited the first time a girl hugged me and the specialist at the ability testing site had explained it as a spontaneous burst that could be controlled so long as my emotions didn't overwhelm me.
"Josiah, we called you in here to discuss the offer I gave you at the hospital," Mr Knight said, snapping me back to my senses.
I glanced up at Yasmine, her face tight with barely contained annoyance. I bit my lip nervously but came up with an idea. I needed to get the full story before giving my answer. Was that what was making me so hesitant to agree? It was a possibility. He hasn't exactly gone into detail about what exactly I'd be doing during my time with the Sentinels.
"May I ask what exactly the extent of your offer is, Mr Knight?"
Mr Knight nodded then reached under the coffee table to pull out a briefcase with several Manila folders inside. He opened them and laid the folders on the coffee table that was in front of the couch. Inside each folder was a picture of people that I didn't recognize as well as detailed notes about each person. Mr Knight also handed me a tablet that had several different locations in the city marked on a map.
"To be as clear as possible, you'd be assisting us in tracking down three individuals. The first we'll be looking for is a man named Jasper Rice. He's an alpha with the power to create tendrils of energy that act as an extension of his arms. He's well versed in several forms of martial arts as well but I believe you'd be able to handle him in that department," Mr Knight said, pointing to the picture in the first folder.
The person in the folder was a guy who looked a few years older than me with dark blonde hair in a faux hawk hairstyle and a face with a scar over the bridge of his nose. The notes inside had his ability listed as appendage generation and that the tendrils could regenerate even if they were destroyed. He seemed like a long range fighter and I could bet that his power afforded a lot of maneuverability in urban areas.
"Why are we going after him first?" I asked.
"We need him in order to get to person of interest number two," Mr Knight said, moving his finger to the picture in the second folder.
"His brother?" I guessed.
The man in the second picture was exactly identical to Jasper except he didn't have a scar and his hair was pulled into a ponytail and he had a helix piercing and an industrial piercing in his left ear.
Mr Knight nodded, a bit impressed. "Excellent observation. His twin brother, Brayden. Same ability but he creates tendrils from his back. As far as we know, he can only generate a maximum of four tendrils at once but we've gotten reports of it now being six so there's a possibility that he's been using an amplifier. He's also an alpha."
"Is it common for twins to share the same level as well as the same power?" I asked.
Mrs Knight shook her head. "Not necessarily. There have been cases where one twin is born stronger than the other or they have completely different abilities. It's rare but it does happen."
"Correct," Mr Knight said. "Now for the last person, we-"
"No way…," I said, grabbing the picture from the last folder and holding it up to my face.
The person in the picture was a young girl around my exact age but that wasn't what was unsettling about the picture. I knew this girl, I knew her very well. There was no way that I could ever forget those calculating green eyes and that raven black hair or the cold smile on her lips that she had in the picture. The same exact smile that had ruined my life all those years ago.
"I know her," I said, my voice terse. "I know this girl."
Mr Knight leaned forward. "Who is she? We've been unable to obtain virtually any information on her."
I clenched my fist. "Her name….is Alexis Jackson. We went to school together four years ago before I moved here."
"Do you know anything about her ability?" Mr Knight asked.
I shook my head. "She never used her ability in front of me so I have no clue exactly how powerful she is but she must be strong if she's the ringleader of the black market selling amplifiers."
"Based on your tone," Mrs Knight inquired. "You two have history?"
"She's the reason I'm here in Charter. She's the one who exposed my ability and forced me and my family to relocate," I explained. "Before all that, though, we were best friends. But it was all a ploy to get closer to me."
I felt my blood boiling at the thought of it. So she was here in Charter as a criminal and it wouldn't be too much of a reach to conclude that either she or her lackeys had been the one to give Braxton the amplifier in the first place. But why was she doing all this? What was her aim? I highly doubted that she was doing this to get to me but…she had specifically targeted my best friend, someone who was close to me and in my inner circle. Did she know that I was here in Charter?
You're still wreaking havoc four years later, huh, Alexis? I thought to myself.
"I'm in," I said, placing the photo back on the table and looking Mr Knight directly in his eyes.
"Josiah!" Yasmine said incredulously. "You can't be serious?"
"I am," I said quietly. "Because this just became personal. What're the blips on the tablet map?"
Mr Knight cleared his throat. "They show the hotspots that Alexis and the twins are distributing the amplifier drug. All the areas have a high concentration of alpha and beta level citizens who would be more than happy to jump at a chance to make themselves more powerful. The most recent activity was in Chicago so that's where we'll be headed next."
I nodded. "So what's the plan at the moment?"
Mr Knight sat back on the couch with a heavy sigh and took of his glasses, placing them on the table. He stared at the ceiling as he spoke.
"We need someone who can infiltrate the black market. We have reason to believe that she may be leading a large organization with powerful individuals and we need someone who can get on the inside and act as a double agent for us and relay information," he explained. "Think you'd be up for it?"
I pondered for a moment. It'd definitely be dangerous, especially if my cover were to be blown but I needed to see things for myself to see exactly what Alexis had been up to for the past four years. I could handle a few alphas and betas but the one unknown variable that was bugging me was that I didn't know about her ability. I'd essentially being going in blind but it was a risk that I would have to take.
"Can you give me a moment to talk to Yasmine in private?" I asked.
Mr and Mrs Knight nodded and left the living room, heading outside to where Kato was practicing his energy blasts on a tree. I faintly heard Mrs Knight scolding him before I turned my attention to Yasmine who had gotten up from my lap and was pacing back and forth in front of me, her face screwed up in frustration and disbelief.
"Yas," I said.
"Don't you 'Yas' me, Josiah," she said scathingly.
I sighed. "What's your deal?"
"My deal? My deal?" She said incredulously, turning to face me. "My 'deal' is the fact that you think I'm okay with you agreeing to this. Are you insane or just stupid?"
I felt my eye twitch at that. "Neither actually."
"Don't get sarcastic with me," She hissed, jabbing her finger into my chest. "Do you even understand what you're getting into?"
"Yes, I do-" I began, but she cut me off.
"Do you, Josiah?! Because I don't think you do. This isn't like with Braxton, these are hardened criminals who are powerful and you're just a high school student!" She retorted, almost yelling.
"Don't you think I know that , Yasmine?!" I said back, taking a step towards her. "But this could be a chance to stop what happened with Braxton from happening to anyone else. Amplifiers are dangerous and if I can bring down the people selling them then I can save a lot of lives."
"You are NOT a hero, Josiah," Yasmine said tersely, narrowing her eyes at me. "You wanna risk your life then be my guest. But don't expect me to patch you up when you get hurt. Or worse, you'll wind up dead because you're in over your head."
I was about to rebuttal but something stopped me. I looked into Yasmine's eyes and saw tears pooling and I felt my frustration ebb away as I took a step back to evaluate her words. She wasn't upset about me going, she was worried. With her Dad being a Sentinel, she had probably seen him come home battered, beaten and bruised on numerous occasions and was beyond adamant about going through that with her own boyfriend. Her words weren't coming from a place of anger or animosity, but genuine worry and concern.
"Promise me," Yasmine said, the tears now running down her face. "Promise me, Josiah. I need you to promise me that you won't get yourself killed….because I don't think I'd be able to take it."
I cupped her face, wiped at her tears and pulled her into me, wrapping my arms around her. I felt her arms entwine around my waist as she buried her face into my chest, her fingers gripping the back of my shirt. I placed a kiss on top of her head and felt her nuzzle further into me.
"I promise," I said. "I promise that I'll come back alive each time until the mission's over."
But little did I know, that promise would be the hardest one for me to keep in my life with the turn of events that followed.