Minacious

/məˈnāSHəs/

adjective

menacing; threatening

A day has passed since our raid of the Central Office where we found nothing of The Code or its location; although, that wasn't the main point of the raid. The main goal of the raid had been accomplished, which was to get the security down and be able to find out more about their security system so that the third raid would go as flawlessly as possible. Now we were all on our way to the hangar for a second time. Luke's hand was firmly clenching onto mine in nervousness as the time to break up into groups grew nearer and nearer.

"You know that you don't have to go inside, right? I could always just put someone else in charge and you could stay back," his anxious voice began babbling things about how dangerous this raid would be and such. My eyes rolled to the back of my head in annoyance; he had been saying this all morning in hopes that my answer might change.

"Luke, I am going on this raid. I don't care what you have to say about it, but I am going to help out and go on this raid." His eyes blazed with fury at my words, but if you looked close enough you could find amazement and protectiveness laced in with it.

"Then just....be careful?" he requested, worry protruding in his voice. His hand came up to cup my cheek, stroking it softly with his thumb. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you." The mumbled words that fell from his lips both shocked and electrified me. I stared up at his face and simply nodded while smiling largely at him.

"Aren't I always?" I earned a short laugh and shake of the head from Luke before he sighed and retreated back to his stone cold gaze. "I promise I'll come back to you and then we can have another date."

He slightly smiled at my suggestion and pulled me back into his warm embrace. "I'll see you soon, I promise," he whispered in my ear before letting me go and taking a step back. My mind was going a hundred miles per hour as I watched Luke make his way to his van, looking at me and giving me a slight wave.

The travel to the East Wing was mostly uneventful as I rode in the passenger seat next to Ashton as he drove. When we arrived, mine and Ashton's groups entered from the same side door after the security system had been disabled by the technical team. My whole body was shaking as we entered, my arms holding up the standard issue AR-15 assault rifle in front of my body, ready to aim at any opponent carrying a weapon.

Our black suits that we were to have on at all times were bullet proof at the top, where the chest cavity was, to prevent fatal blows; however, the bullet proof material was too thick to run along your legs and arms and still have full body movement. Also, equipped inside of the state of the art suits was a heart monitor, which was currently beeping inside my headset saying that it was irregular and I should sit and breath deeply. I rolled my eyes at this as I continued to silently walk into the building, talking through my headset every so often to my team to tell them that everything was clear for them to continue. The last portion of the suit that scared me the most was the distress call button, it was located in a chest pocket and was designed to only sound when human touch was pressing it, preventing it from going off when a person was simply in combat or fighting hand on hand.

Once we were settled on the first floor, already checking our surroundings, I radioed the rest of the leaders to inform them that we were safe and in position. The East Wing ground floor was immaculate, and since no one was inside, it felt awkward to be walking within its vaguely empty confines. My senses perked at the fact that nobody would be at their place of work on a weekday. The white granite flooring was spotless and was shining when the sun hit it directly. A gray sign was hanging on the body of the main desk, near the back of the room. Intriguingly, the entire front and sides of the building were glass windows, giving clients and employees a beautiful view of the treeline right off of the parking lot. An indoor waterfall streamed on the back wall behind the desk and where you didn't see greenery or a jungle rain forest scene, it was rock, designed to look uneven and even appearing to be climbable.

I made my way back to the front desk that held a telephone, a few computers behind a counter of the same material, directories that were to contact other people in the office. All of the men in my division were on high alert, searching corners and crevices for anyone that seemed to be a threat. My fingertips brushed against the directory and opened it to find sets of names and numbers with their floor right next to it. Coming across a page that didn't fit into the semblance of the rest, my eyes furrowed suddenly suspicious of what was happening.

I turned to the next page and find a message scrawled out in large letters, 'Got you.' My body whirled around to the troops screaming as loud as I possibly can at them, "Get down now!"

Scared troops fell to the floor as I spotted the familiar red hair in the parking lot holding what looked to be a rocket, aimed straight at me. A smirk covered his face as he aimed again and fired. It happened so fast: the commotion, the screams, me diving away from the explosion sight, and a mass amount of troops crouching beside me once the explosion was over. A motorcycle roaring could be heard in the distance as I assumed that the red haired twin had left, but my assumption was proven wrong when glass shattered from the other side of the room. Troops yelled profanities and grabbed their weapons to fight, but it was of no use as they realized that the army the coats had was much larger and stronger than ours. I attempted to stand, but failed every time as curses left my mouth and hisses escaped thanks to the outer side of my left thigh being scorched and burned by the rocket. Retreat orders flew out of my mouth as the troops began to crumbling, many lying on the ground dead or close to it.

Brothers in arms helped carry each other out as Michael's twin stalks toward the stairs in hopes to kill more of our men, keeping his trademark smirk plastered on his face as he looked towards my distressed body. I smirked back at him as I pressed the distress call and tried to stand in order to make my way out with the rest of my men. Sadly, I was not quick enough as my eyesight caught red hair before I felt the swift kick in my ribs. My body lurched forward from the impact as pain became the only emotion I could feel in my bones.

I dropped my head and began coughing what I believe is phylum until my eyes meet the crimson color. Eyes dilating in shock, I glanced up to find a looming man standing over me. His hair matching the color of my blood and his face clear of all forms of stubble, unlike Michael's, whose face was loaded with peach fuzz.

"Isn't it fancy meeting you here?" he asked cockily, delivering another swift kick to my ribs. This time they responded with a crunch as I howled in pain, knowing there was no way that they were not broken.

He continued circling me as if I was prey to him. A wicked smirk never left his features as I mentally debated calling Luke and Michael to rescue me. I shuddered at the thought of Ashton calling them and telling them that I was not back from heading inside.

"You know, I never would have thought that Luke would let you out of his sight," he spoke tauntingly.

Suddenly, I was pulled from the ground and stood up between two of the twin's soldiers. My whole body tensed at this, pain searing from every joint in my body and radiating from the crack in my ribs. I secretly attempted to roll my eyes at his observation, but was caught as a hard force hit my face, leaving a heat patch in its wake.

"Now I need to know where my twin is," he snarled at me. I held my chin up as he continued to ask me the same question of his location over and over again. "Would you rather I use you as bait to get him here?" An evil glint grew in his eye at this thought.

My body cringed at the thought of what he would do to me to get Michael back in the building. I had no choice but to keep my mouth closed as he continued to threaten my safety and the colony.

"Melissa?" The husky voice that only gave me happiness invaded my ears through my communication piece. My heart fluttered at the thought of him holding me again and kissing away all my fears that were currently taking over my brain. I stayed silent until Michael's twin finished his thought and then decide to speak, trying not to make it obvious that I have Luke on the line.

"Why don't you just do something instead of just talking about it?" I finally asked, hearing a gasp erupt in the ear piece. My eardrums nearing caved inwards as I couldn't take the curses and yelling Luke was saying as he admonished me on being so reckless. I had to keep myself from rolling my eyes at his over protectiveness as Michael's twin looked at me in bewilderment before his eyes lit up with the same playful glint that I had grown to know all too well.

"Because I have specific instructions not to hurt you in any way that can be avoided." He glanced thoughtful for a second as I heard Luke saying that he was on his way. "Which this can't, and since I won't be able to get information out of you.." his voice trailed off before he nodded at the guards, who instantaneously dropped my weight and let me fall to the floor as a whimper left my lips and darkness took over my vision.

Luke's POV

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My mind rushed with possibilities as I exited the black colored van for a second time, followed by a few of the most experienced soldiers in my division. I couldn't believe how stupid she would be to have not contacted me to tell me that she was in danger. It suddenly occurred to me as I stopped walking that she did try to tell me. She was the one that had signaled the distress call.

While my body quivered with fear, I entered the side entrance of the building with the men I had chosen following right behind me. We checked each white walled and tiled hallway on our way to the front area that I knew Melissa had been in charge of for the raid. It gave off the essence that this place was really used for the greater good and looked innocent. The cleanliness of the building was remarkable, all the floors shining from being freshly waxed.

I hid behind a wall, pressing my back against it and signalling for my men to do the same as I heard footsteps approach. They sounded oddly familiar as I remember what it sounded like for Michael to come bounding into a room back at the colony. A look of disgust covered my features as I realize whose voice had been taunting and scaring my girlfriend.

When they finally passed, I quickly made my way to the front desk area. My heart stopped in my chest as I saw a scarlet hue tainting the pure white flooring. My feet carried me faster than ever before to the source of the stain. Melissa.

Suddenly, the oxygen I had in my lungs was released in one gust. My body turned numb as my knees allowed me to come closer to her and touch her ashen cheek. The source of the blood was from her leg, one of the only areas not protected by bullet proof material. Arms numbly taking her body, I scooped her up and proceed out of the front doors to a van that had pulled around, obviously knowing that I had went in for Melissa.

"Hold on baby," I whispered gently into her ear when she was finally on a gurney in the back of the van. Her normally red colored lips were pale and lifeless. The only sense of life I could find was in her shallow breaths. Tears streamed down my face as I took her hand in mine, kissing it in hopes that it would heal and take all of her current pain away.

How stupid could I have been to let her talk me into letting her go? The shrapnel from the rocket the men had been speaking of appeared to be lodged only a few centimeters from a major artery in her leg. My hair fell in my face as I refused to look away from her beautiful, pale face. Her normally golden blonde hair had streaks of red in it from her blood.

Medics were crowding around her, taking her vitals and saying them repeatedly into the phone to the surgical staff at the colony who were already prepping for surgery upon our arrival. I couldn't stop the worst thoughts from entering my head as I stared down at her and remembered the last three months that had passed since she had came to the colony. From the long time period that she didn't know my name and probably thought I was nothing but trouble, to the long nights I had spent regretting not opening up to her.

I couldn't lose her now. Now that I had gotten her, I never wanted her to leave. My body chilled at the realization that this girl was changing me back into the person I was before my baby sister's death. She was making me into the Luke that I knew was hidden beneath scars and towers that were built up because of catastrophes.

"Please stay," I pleaded with her, whispering the very vulnerable words that I would never usually confess. "I can't live without you."

Edited : 14 January 2017