"I see. It is a troubling issue," Mr Knight said as he sat down across from me.
We were at a local cafe a few blocks away from headquarters and he had ordered me a caramel frappe and a cookie. Mr Knight himself was drinking a hot coffee with a breakfast sandwich since it was still fairly early in the morning. He was dressed rather casual in a crew neck sweater, jeans and a pair of Oxford shoes. I had explained to him everything Abina had told me as well as my earlier conversation with Kyoko during training.
"I don't know what to do," I said quietly. "Is killing her really the only choice I have?"
Mr Knight chuckled. "There's always more than one way to solve a problem. Just because someone tells you it's the only way doesn't necessarily mean that it is, Josiah. Abina is morally ambiguous while Kyoko will take a life if necessary. You, on the other hand, are neither."
I nodded slowly. "Well….what would you do? Would you kill Alexis or find another way?"
Mr Knight sipped his coffee and pondered. It was startling how much he looked exactly like Yasmine when he made that expression. A very small part of me wondered if he knew that my relationship with his daughter was on the verge of becoming nonexistent and had brought me her to talk about that as well or just to clear my mind of the issue.
"Truthfully," Mr Knight said finally. "I've been in your shoes. I had a second in command who, at the time, was my best friend but he strayed from the ideals of the Sentinels and I was tasked with stopping him. He was powerful and I was faced with the choice of either redeeming him or putting him down."
I frowned. "What ended up happening?"
Mr Knight sighed tiredly. "I made the choice to put him down….and it's haunted me to this day that I wasn't strong enough to save him from himself."
I contemplated that. Our experiences were definitely similar and I felt somewhat relieved that he was able to relate to what I was going through right now but it still didn't answer my question. Taking a life wasn't as easy as snapping your fingers and then going about your day, it was something that would stick with me for the rest of my life. Even though I didn't want to, a very small part of me knew that I didn't really have much of a choice but to take her out permanently. She wasn't like Braxton who was simply on a power trip; Alexis had planned out everything she was doing. She had been methodical and direct with her objective and she posed a very real threat to the security of the city as well as the fragile power structure of the world itself.
"By the way," Mr Knight said, breaking my thoughts. "How're things with Yasmine? You haven't said much about her since you got here."
I shrugged unsurely. "I honestly couldn't begin to tell you. She gave me the cold shoulder the day that I left and hasn't made an attempt to talk to me since. So I don't know if we're okay or if we're on the verge of being strangers again."
Mr Knight sighed knowingly. "I've been getting the same treatment so you're not alone in that respect. She's a lot like her mother, you know. Janelle didn't approve of me being a Sentinel because of the danger it put me in. On my very first mission I fought someone who could spawn blades from their body and I showed up at her doorstep bloody and all cut up. Should've seen how she yelled at me while threatening to douse me with peroxide if I got hurt again."
I laughed. "Yeah that definitely sounds like Mrs Knight."
Mr Knight smiled fondly. "It took awhile but she accepted the dangers of my profession. Our jobs pits us against people who'd love nothing more than to see the world in chaos. I suppose my daughter blames me for dragging you into this but I can promise you this."
He reached out and clasped my forearm, locking eyes with me.
"I'll do everything in my power to keep you safe and alive. Even if it puts my life on the line," He said, gripping my arm to show that he was serious.
I nodded. "Same here."
He gave me a fatherly smile then sat back. He let out a tired sigh and I had the feeling that particular thought had been weighing on him heavily but I felt more at ease knowing that he would have my back throughout this entire ordeal.
"Give her time and space," he said. "She'll reach out when she's ready. In the meantime, let's discuss how you're training is progressing."
We spent the remainder of the day talking about my lessons with the other Sentinels and new things that I was learning under their tutelage. My capabilities with my powers has definitely become better and I was now able to use around twenty five percent of my full power without any physical backlash due to Derek having me constantly have my powers active during our sparring sessions to increase my stamina and my endurance. I had learned Tang So Doo and Kenpo under Kyoko's instruction and Ayleanna was teaching me espionage tactics such as how to keep my face expressions neutral and how to ask certain questions to get the information I needed. I had also picked up new information about the syndicate Alexis was running. They were calling themselves Specter which was fitting considering that the Sentinels had been unable to capture any of the members as they always managed to evade the authorities. Their symbol was a painted ghost skull and they tended to leave it in places that people frequented in order to let the public know they existed. Alexis was now going by the name of Phantom and was apparently planning something in a few days based on the intel we had managed to gather and my job was to find out what that something was and possibly put a stop to it. It was going to be at Hofstadter Plaza downtown and it was going to be "big".
"We managed to find one of their forums and sent them a message acting a potential recruit into Specter," Mr Knight said. "We're going to give you a smartwatch that acts as both a communicator and listening device so we'll be able to everything that you do. You'll be meeting with one of her subordinates who will take you to their main meeting place tomorrow afternoon. You ready?"
I clenched my fist. After four years I'd be coming face to face with the one person who had flipped my life on its head and I would have to keep my cool in order not go blow my cover. Would she even recognize me? Looking up at Mr Knight, I steeled myself.
"I'm ready," I said, narrowing my eyes.
I'm coming for you, Alexis, I thought to myself. Hope you're ready.