A man in a long brown trench coat, tightly belted, approached from her left and sat at the other end of the bench.  Despite the overcast skies, he wore mirrored sunglasses that hid his eyes.  When Julie glanced over at him, he nodded. “Nice sweats,” he said, referencing the baggy garments she wore.

Julie felt a bit uncomfortable by the remark.  Phaedrus arranged for his friend Jonathon Wilde to meet her last night after they had been to the police station.  Wilde had offered her a place to stay and even a pair of his gray sweats to wear until she got on her feet again.  After all, she couldn’t very likely tote along a full wardrobe if she wanted the heroes to believe her runaway story.  “Thanks,” she said nonchalantly.

The two sat quiet for a moment, taking in the environment around them.

“Not a lot of people in the park today,” he stated.

“I guess last night made up for it,” she said.

The man chuckled at that.  “I guess it did,” he said as he casually glanced down the way to insure there wasn’t anyone in ear-shot.  Satisfied, he continued to talk to the young woman more openly.  “You didn’t come back with the others last night.  Why?”

“I thought perhaps this time we’d do something a bit different,” Julie said as she took a sip of her coffee.  “These guys are new to the scene, relative unknowns.  I thought maybe it would be useful to get more information on them.  You know more data for there to be studied.”

A frown crossed the man’s face, making his long angular features appear even more so.  With a swift, fluid motion he reached across the bench and grabbed the young woman’s face firmly with his brown leather-gloved right hand.  “Your job is not to think,” he said sternly as he squeezed her cheeks together to make his point.  “Your job is to follow orders. Understood?”

Through her puckered frowning lips, Julie Cameron said, “yes.”

The man released his grip and leaned back on the bench casually.  “Good.”  He smiled.  “You need to remember your place, my dear.”

Julie continued to frown as she rubbed her slightly red cheek.  She stared into her coffee looking for some kind of comfort.  The excessive creamer swirled in it, making it a very light brown.  She took another sip.  It helped ease the sting a little.

They both sat quietly for another moment.

Julie then spoke up again.  “So, when will I be able to go back to the others?” she asked.

“Which others?  The group from last night?”

“No.  Not them.  You know, the group I started with.  The ones more my own age.”

The man understood.  “When your assignment is complete,” he said flatly.

“After this mission?”

The man just stared into the sky and smiled.  “My dear, you don’t fully grasp the honor you’ve been given.  You’ve been assigned a very important role in this particular project, the duration of which is currently open-ended and will remain so until I decide otherwise.”

“I miss my friends,” she said.  “I liked working with them.”

“Get over it,” the man said coldly.  “In our business, emotional ties can become a liability, not an asset.  Just do your job as you’re told to do it and that’s all the reward you’ll need.”

Julie frowned again.  If she ever had felt honored to be chosen for this assignment that was all long since forgotten now.  She missed the others like her, especially Annie Sue.  “How about a visit then?” she suggested.  “That would be okay, right?”

“No,” the man said without hesitation.  “And don’t even think about using your little mental abilities on me to make me see it your way.  You wouldn’t like the punishment that such actions would bring.”

The young woman slumped on the bench, her shoulders drooping deeply in rejection.  Even though she was legally a woman, she very much looked like a lost child at the moment.

The man continued to smile.  He enjoyed the power his position provided him.  “However, I do like your idea.”

She started to smile, and her body rose up as if someone had re-inflated her again.  “Really?  I can have a visit?”

“No, not that,” the man said.  “About doing additional analysis on these subjects.  The footage we got last night was good but more can certainly be better.  Think you can arrange to get that for us?”

“I can,” Julie nodded reluctantly.  “I think I can convince them to do some training exercises with me.”  That’s not what I had in mind when I asked them about it last night but oh well…

“Good,” the man said.  “The wide-angle cameras built into your belt will record and immediately transmit the information to our systems.  And then, if that goes well enough, the next step might be to have you bring them right to us.”

“Why?” she asked.  “Why wouldn’t I just slip away like you’ve had me do before?  Wouldn’t leading them back to the base expose the operations?”

The man shook his head.  “Well, as you said, these are new heroes on the scene.  They probably don’t have many connections.  If they were to suddenly disappear as quickly as they appeared, who would really miss them?”

Disappear? Julie thought.  The way he emphasized that word worried her.  “What do you mean?”

“Have them do some training with you and transmit the footage,” he explained.  “After that, give me a week to prepare for a fitting reception for them.  Then you can bring them directly to us.”

Fitting reception? Julie thought.  She didn’t like the sound of that either.  “I thought the goal of ‘the Viper Sting’ was to gather surveillance footage for study.”

“It is.  However, now that you’ve decided to improvise things a bit, I’ve decided that we might get something more out of these two.  You bring them in, unsuspecting, and I’ll have plenty of agents and other operative ready and waiting for them.  We’ll give them an option – join our organization willingly or contribute to the cause in a more extensive, and painful fashion.”  A wicked grin crossed the man’s face as he thought of the alternative.

Julie didn’t like that look.  It disturbed her a lot. 

The man then stood and gave her a little nod of his head.  “This has been a very beneficial discussion, my dear.  I’ll see you again soon enough.”  He then walked off casually without drawing any attention to himself.

Julie took a swallow of her coffee and thought.  She had a lot to mull over.

***

The next night, Trance was dressed in her gray costume with red boots, gloves, mask and belt.  She arrived at the yard of a factory under renovation at 9pm just as had been arranged.  From the shadows she could see a figure completely dressed in gray and another in blue, camouflage sort of armor; Phaedrus and Silent Knight were there waiting for her. 

“Hey, guys,” she said casually.

The Knight nodded. 

Phaedrus asked, “So, are you ready for a little training exercise?”

Trance put on a faked smile.  “As ready as I’ll ever be,” she said.  Her fingers crossed her belt buckle where she activated the recording device.  I need to get the footage so no one will suspect anything is wrong, she thought to herself.  “So, how do we do this?”

“We thought we’d test your skills a bit with a little game of hide and evade,” Phaedrus explained.  “Basically, you do whatever you need to do to keep us from tagging you.  Don’t worry about taking it easy on us.”

“Fair enough,” Trance nodded. “How long do I have to evade you to win?”

Phaedrus turned to the other male hero.  “What do you think?”

The Knight moved his gloved hands and signed.

Phaedrus nodded.  “Fifteen minutes sounds good.”  He turned back the costumed brunette.  “Let’s see if you can evade us for fifteen minutes.”

“Do I get a head start?” Trance asked.

The Knight signed a response.  Your enemies won’t give you a head start.

Phaedrus said, “Well, he is right.”

“Please,” Trance said, her lower lip extended and her eyelashes fluttering.

Phaedrus reconsidered.  “Okay,” he said.  “You get five minutes head start, but that doesn’t count towards your time.  So, if we catch you within twenty minutes we win.”

“And if you don’t, I win,” Trance smiled and ran off towards the building.  She didn’t look back, though she knew the Knight was probably signing some kind of protest.  She had to get busy.  Got to make this look good to avoid any suspicions.

She was on the second floor of the factory when her head start expired.  She had made a direct line for the main stairwell and was counting on her pursuers to do the same.  In the shadows she waited, concentrating.

There was suddenly a loud crashing sound near the stairs as wood snapped and clamored down the metal stairs.  She also heard the sound of Phaedrus laughing and then apologizing to the Knight.  Trance smiled as she moved from her spot.  They didn’t expect a booby trap of two-by-fours, she thought to herself.  Of course, using her mental abilities, she was able to keep it hidden from view until one of them crashed head long into it.  Things aren’t always as they seem.

Phaedrus appeared at the top of the stairwell, glancing about the second floor.  “Nice trap, Trance,” he called out.  “But you only slowed one of us down.”  He sniffed the air and turned right.  He was following directly on the girl’s heels.

One side of the building was open where the main wall had been damaged and was being replaced.  Trance stood on the edge of the building, and she could feel the evening breeze blowing directly behind her.  She kept her eyes focused as Phaedrus moved out of the cover of the second floor structure.

The hero in gray stepped slowly, very much like a wolf from which he took his name.  His moves were cautious and controlled as if stalking his prey.  His full face mask hid any expression on his face; Trance knew this was a training exercise but also knew he probably took this very seriously.  He wasn’t worried about me going easy on them because he knew they couldn’t go too easy on me.

As he took steps, she carefully took sidesteps along the roof edge to keep her position changing and the distance between them more or less the same.  At the same time, she focused her mind.

Behind you!

Phaedrus suddenly turned his head, looking back towards the open third floor above.  He acted as if he saw a shadow or something.  More likely he ‘heard’ the young woman’s mental thoughts in his head, trying to make him do what she wanted.

Trance was prepared to run while he was distracted, but he turned back quickly.

“You did well, Trance,” Phaedrus said as he moved closer, “but not good enough.  It’s time to end the exercise.”  He lunged forward towards her.

Trance dodged to the left, placing her hands out and shoving him forward as he was nearly upon her.

Phaedrus wasn’t expecting the sudden move and began to tumble forward over the edge of the roof.  His hands quickly reached out, his right catching the edge of the roof as he moved past.  As he flipped himself around, his body hit the side of the building.  It was not enough to hurt anything except maybe his pride.  “Nice move,” he complimented her as he threw his left hand up to the edge and then pulled himself up with two hands.  “I wasn’t expecting…”

Trance was already running back into the shadows of the building; she wasn’t about to wait for him to fully recover.  From behind her, she heard him shout loudly.  “Heads up, Knight!  She’s coming your way!”

In the darkened corridors, she could hear the Knight approaching from the far end.  Trance slipped carefully into a darkened room and found a place to hide near the back behind some large wooden crates.  It won’t take them long to find me, she thought to herself.  From her hiding point, she could see the doorway and the center of the room.  The floorboards looked cracked and worn.

She decided that taunting them might work in her favor.  Trance focused her mind and sent out a broadcast mental message: times half up already, slow pokes!  She knew the range of her abilities and that only those in the building would be able to hear her message.  In either case, she was pretty certain neither one of them had any way to track that.  It was better than shouting out loud which she was certain Phaedrus would be able to pinpoint with his hearing.

Trance thought to herself, now for some bait.  She focused her mind and waited for about a minute.

Then Silent Knight leapt into the room.  He hesitated for a second and then performed a flying tackle towards the center of the room.  The brunette woman watched with some satisfaction from around the corner of the large box as the Knight crashed into the floor and then barreled straight through the weakened floor boards.

She stepped over to the edge of the large hole and glanced downward.  The Knight was down on the first floor, amidst the broken pieces of wood and plaster, moving very slowly after his great fall.  “I see you fell for my illusion,” Trance called downward.  “Sorry about that, but you can’t expect your enemies to be standing out in the open like that.”

The Knight glanced upward and made a rude gesture with one hand.

Trance laughed, bolted from the room and started towards the stairs at the far end of the hall.

“Going somewhere?” a voice from behind her called out.

She knew it was Phaedrus; there was no need for her to turn around and confirm it.  Trance ran faster but she could hear his footfalls behind her as he closed the gap.  She saw the rail before her and the stairs descending downward.  She grabbed for the rail, made sure her grasp was tight, and then spun herself around to hit him with a flying kick.

Phaedrus was ready for her this time, ducking under her foot and wrapping his arms about her waist.  His momentum and strength was enough to pull her off the rail, sending them both falling down the stairwell.

Surprised, Trance let out a scream.

The gray clad male spun their bodies about in mid-air and positioned himself to the bottom as they crashed into the floor.  Phaedrus’ body cushioned the blow for her.

Trance grunted as she wriggled free from his hold.  She started to rise to her feet, but Phaedrus swept his legs out between hers and sent her to the ground.

He rose to his feet, extending his battle razors for dramatic effect, and said, “You’re tagged.”

Trance smiled.  “Not yet I’m not.”  She tried to roll out from under him.

Phaedrus lunged forward.  His battle razors sank into the floor an inch and a half above her shoulders.  His knuckles pinned her shoulders down.  “Yes, you are,” he said.  She could hear from his voice that he was now more relaxed.  “Seven and a half minutes.  Not too shabby, kiddo.”

He pulled his battle razors from the floor, stood and retracted them.  He then offered his gray gloved hand to help her up.

Trance accepted the offer.  “I’m sure I could do better,” she said.

Phaedrus nodded.  “I’m sure you could too,” he said.  “Let’s go see if we can find the Knight.”

“He should be still downstairs on this level,” Trance said.  “He sort of had a hard lesson with deception and gravity.”  She started to giggle.

Under his mask, Phaedrus raised an eyebrow.  “Oh, really?  I’m sure he’s going to be in a great mood then.”  He had to chuckle to himself too.

They soon found Silent Knight, a little banged up but ready for another round.  He signed: this time, no head start!

Trance shook her head.  “I’ve got a better idea,” she said.  “Maybe the two of you could do some sparing out in the open grounds.  From watching you two, I think I could learn some moves on how to better handle myself in a fight.”

“That’s a good idea,” Phaedrus said.  “What do you say, Knight?  Up for a little mock battle?”

Silent Knight signed: okay.

And so the two men began to spar, moving about the yard and attempting to lay punches, kicks and such upon one another.  Periodically Phaedrus would offer up some guidance and commentary for Trance.  She would smile and nod, all the while the camera in her belt buckle was recording all their actions.  After another half hour or so, she deactivated the device and approached the heroes.

“Thanks a lot,” she said.  “I really got a lot out of this evening.”

“Good,” Phaedrus said.  “We’re glad.  Right, Knight?”

The Silent Knight signed a response that indicated he agreed.

Trance felt a slight twinge of guilt.  They are so nice to me, she thought.  It feels wrong to set them up and have them walk into a trap next week.  Still, she knew she was between a rock and a hard place.  If she didn’t lead them to the base, she would be in serious trouble with some serious repercussions.  And, these two new friends would wonder why she was reluctant to do what she agreed to do.

Phaedrus noticed she had gotten quiet and lost in her thoughts.  “Hey, kiddo, what’s wrong?” he asked.  He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“I was just thinking,” Trance said.

“About?”

“About the ‘Viper’ crew,” she said.

“They won’t come back for you,” Phaedrus said in a reassuring manner.  “And if they did, we can protect you.”

Silent Knight nodded in agreement, and he punched his right hand into his left fist for emphasis.

“But they will come back for me,” she said with genuine sadness.  “Not unless they’re stopped.”

“You said you could lead us their nest, right?” Phaedrus said.  “If so, we can put them out  of business for good.”

“True,” Trance said.  “But when…?”

“If we wait another week…” Phaedrus started to say.

“No,” Trance shook her head.  “I think we need to do it sooner.  Like Saturday.”

“Saturday?” Phaedrus said.  “As in two days from now?”

“Yes,” Trance said firmly.  They won’t be expecting that. “If we do it right away, I’m sure we’ll catch them off guard.”  And maybe I’ll be free of all that.

Phaedrus turned to his mute friend.  “What do you think, Knight?  Are you up for some snake hunting on Saturday?”

Silent Knight signed: most definitely!

Trance hoped she was doing the right thing.