The sun had set but the Hidden Service agents kept the scene at the train station secure.
Dasher was a block over where he was having a drink at the bar. A large mirror sat behind the counter. He could see through the mirror and out the window. He watched as the agents made their rounds. He saw a man walk past the others, leaving the scene.
He finished off his glass that was still full. The beer dribbled down his chin and splashed on his coat. He set down a few coins and stumbled out of the bar.
He weaved back and forth across the street in a drunk man's path as he followed the lead agent. The agent turned down an alley, heading towards the same short-stay that Dasher was bunked at.
When the man stuck his key into the lock, Dasher stumbled into him.
"Watch where you're going." The man said while shoving him away.
"My bad, may bad, no troubles." Dasher said while slurring his words.
"Get it together man." The agent said when he saw Dasher's badge on his coat. "You reek, the last thing you need is your superiors to ride on you for being shit faced when everyone is on high alert."
"Oh thanks." Dasher said as he turned back to the man while pulling out his own keys.
When the agent opened his door, he nodded to Dasher.
When the man's head bent down, Dasher's fist flashed.
*Bam*
The man was struck on the side of the head and went out cold. Dasher stood up straight and threw the man on his horse. His arms hung on one side while his legs on the other. He threw a blanket over the agent and led the horse to the south side of town.
***
"Wake up." Was the first thing the agent heard after water was splashed over his face.
"Who-. Ah you?" The agent said with wide eyes when he saw Dasher.
The agent quickly looked around but found himself in a dark stone room. Two lamps were lit on either side of him. The man tried to move his arms, but they were bound to the chair he was tied to.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?" The agent asked.
"We will get to that in a moment." Dasher said as he began to lay out items on a table one by one.
The agent saw all his gear laying in a corner. He then turned to watch Dasher pull out a large dagger from a sheath and set it on the table. He then set two revolvers next to it. He finished out a couple of bullets from his pockets and set them next to the guns. He then reached into a box on the side and set several loops of ropes.
"Speak, what do you want?"
"Shh, shh, shh. I am still getting ready." Dasher said.
He reached into the box again and pulled out a spool of piano wire. He then reached into the box again.
"Ah, ha, ha, one of my favorites." Dasher said as he pulled out a stick of dynamite and set it on the table. Then lastly, he put out a pair of pliers. He then turned and faced the agent.
Dasher stared at him while slowly tilting his head back and forth. He stared for several minutes until the agent broke the silence.
"What… What do you want?" The agent asked while trying to remain calm.
"I thought you would never ask." Dasher replied.
He then turned to the table and put his back to the agent. He extended a hand and held it over the objects. He slowly moved his hand from one side of the table to the other, passing over each one slowly while deciding which one to pick up. Dasher then turned to look over his shoulder at the agent and wagged a finger at the man while a smile spread across his face. "I know what will work for you."
He grabbed a revolver from the table and turned around. He dragged a chair from the corner and set it directly in front of the agent and sat down.
Dasher leisurely crossed his legs and flicked the bullet cylinder of the revolver open. He dumped the six bullets into his palm. He pocketed five and showed the last to the agent. He then pushed it back into the revolver and slapped the cylinder shut, locking it back in place.
He then spun the cylinder so that the bullet could be anywhere.
*Click*
The hammer was pulled back and Dasher pointed the barrel towards the agent.
"I am sure you are a bit overworked with what happened today. The explosion and all. But I must tell you, I got a slaver driver of a boss as well. In his eyes, our mission is a hundred times more important than yours. He gave me an important task and I have yet to complete it. Every second that tics by makes me more and more anxious."
"We all have tough bosses. Let me go and maybe I could help you out with your mission."
"That is the right attitude to have, because you of all people are best suited to help me with my mission. But… I don't feel any sincerity in your voice." Dasher said while shaking his head and waving his gun around. "I just can't risk it. My boss… is a scary man. If I told you some of the things I have seen him do, I bet you would shit your pants. I kid you not. But that is only if I could convince you that I am telling the truth."
"You obviously know who I am, so you know who my boss is. The leader of the free world. What kind of shit haven't I stepped in along the way?" The agent said, trying to form a bond with his captor.
"Ha, ha, ha. That's funny. The president may be the face, but he isn't the brain. He isn't one of the few who remain in the dark, taking on the weight of the decisions that decided the fate of the world. Ha, ha, ha, no… that would be my boss. I am not saying that you haven't been in the thick of it. But you have only gazed upon puddles while I was swimming in oceans."
Dasher then turned his revolver on himself and pulled the trigger.
*Click*
The hammer fell but no bullet was fired. The agent flinched but was shocked when Dasher turned the gun on himself.
"Are you fucking crazy?" He barked.
"Ha, ha, ha, far from it. In fact, I think life would be easier if I was insane." Dasher then spun the cylinder again and pulled back the hammer. He then sighed. "I am perfectly sane. That is what makes my job so hard. In your own role I am sure you have heard things. You must be familiar with the all so common party line, 'for the greater good'. In my job, I must often make decision that are for the greater good, even if it requires me to say… harm a Hidden Service agent to save the rest of the country's people."
The agent's eyes narrowed as the gun barrel appeared before the man's head again.
Dasher then looked between the man and the gun several times. "Oh, my bad, are you nervous about the gun. Don't worry, I will not shoot you. I am only using this to impress upon you that in my line of work I might die at any moment. Even if I do everything correctly and make the best decision, it still may not be enough. I have long accepted this. Maybe it would all be easier if I died. Ha, ha, at least it would be less stressful." Dasher said as he leaned in close to the man's face and pressed the barrel of the gun to his own temple.
*Click*
"Looks like it's not my time yet. Unfortunately for you, that means I have to find out what my boss wants to know. And if you don't tell me or if I don't believe you…" Dasher turned back towards the table behind him and looked at the objects that were laid out. "Well, let's get started." Dasher said while standing up and pushing away the chair.
"What do you want to know?" The agent said while trying to hide his trembling legs. He was afraid of a man who didn't even value his own life.
Dasher looked over his shoulder and back to the agent. "I need to know one thing, and only one thing."
"What is it? I will tell you what you want to know." The agent said while Dasher was fiddling with the pliers.
"It's rather simple. I only need to know who survived the explosion today."
"That's it?"
"Yupp, that's it." Dasher said.
"Then why did you abduct me? The Hidden Service will inform the Marshals once the scene has been processed."
"That's not good enough. Answer the question."
"The president. Only the president survived. His detail all perished, and we swapped in our second rotation. But if you want to know his travel plan, then even I can't help you with that. I don't know."
"Nah, that doesn't matter to me."
Dasher reached for his radio and then turned to a specific channel.
"Boss, it's me."
"I'm listening."
"The president has been compromised."
Dasher only heard a sigh on the other side of the line. Then the radio went silent.
"Compromised? What are you talking about? The president survived and escaped without harm."
Dasher turned back to the agent and shook is head. "If you have made it to head agent of an investigation surely you have been briefed about the technology of the Cult. What they are capable of."
"I have heard a little."
"Back during the war, do you know what the A.I.'s end game plan was."
"You mean the enslavement of the human race?"
"And in the attack today, the president accidently survives the Cult attack." Dasher shook his head. "Yeah right, that was no accident. I bet your men saw he was alive and breathing and rushed him away before even taking a closer look."
"We…"
"Come on, I have seen plenty of explosions before. No one should have survived that fire. The only way he made it out was because that was planned from the beginning."
"But…"
*Bang* *Boom* *Rattle*
Hectic sounds rang out from above.
"Looks like things are moving faster than I thought." Dasher said.
"What-, What is happening?" The agent asked.
"Isn't it obvious? The Cult is cleaning up."
*Kaboom*
The cellar shook from the explosion. Dasher reloaded his guns and holstered them before climbing the ladder out of the stone room. Before he pulled himself back up into the cold storage room, he turned and threw his knife towards the agent.
*Slice*
The large dagger stuck into the armrest, only a hair away from the agent's arm. But it cut the rope that was binding his right hand. He was able to grab the knife and free himself. When the ropes had been cut, the agent looked and saw that the Marshal had already gone.
The agent grabbed his guns, pulled on his boots and threw on his coat before climbing up the ladder. He ran out of the cold storage and out the front of the two-story white house.
He was shocked by what he saw. Multiple fires raged in the distance and the surrounding houses. Eight-foot-tall metal men walked down the streets. When one passed a house, it turned its arm and flames shoot out in a fifteen-foot line. A liquid fire was splashed on the house which quickly caught on fire.
*Bang* *Bang*
A pair of shotgun blasts took off the robot's head. The metal man next to it, leapt forward at the figure who lowered his shotgun. The man rolled out of the way and drew his revolver.
His left hand fanned the hammer repeatedly while a flurry of shoot was fired.
*Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang*
The first three shots ricocheted off the strong metal chest plate but the last snuck into the joint at the neck. It sent the robot tumbling to the ground. Dasher whipped open the bullet cylinder and exchanged the spent shells before slapping it into place.
He then looked towards the agent who had just run out of the house.
"What are you waiting for? Don't miss out on all the action." He said as he holstered the revolver and pulled a sawed-off shotgun from his hip and leapt towards another metal man who just rounded the corner.