Path to Secrecy

A Protector of Famila

I stood beside the payphone with a variety of curses on the tip of my tongue. Discretely leaning against it, I braced an arm to hide my face as the call rung through. I tracked the stray on goers who were moderately homeless or straight up useless. I watched as the Commander stepped out of the idling vehicle, rubbing his hands together from the sudden change of weather. His lips were blossoming to a shade of blistering pink while his hands were an odd pale. There were stacks of weaponry in the slots of the trunk and appreciative spare gears consisting of extra service coats and helmets. Although Rahul's personal treasure box would've been the handiest aspect of this moment, the minimum kit was still helpful. 

"Come on, pick up!" I grovelled, stressing out with an urgency in my chest.

The call rung with lagging attempts and I almost tore the machine apart as the prehistoric sound of the voicemail operator spoke up. Instead I pulled at the tab on the machine to hang up, before tossing in a few more coins I scabbed from the vehicles coffee slots. I jabbed at the numbers without mercy before puffing out my cheeks and hopping on the spot, keeping my blood flow. It rang through and I almost fell into a chorus of hallelujahs. "I'm hoping this is you Valerie."

"Spencer!" I instantly sighed, staring up at the Commander who switched to keep discrete watch around us as he warmed his palms.

"Uh, Valerie are you alright?" He questioned, puzzled.

"Well I'm alive, so I'm going to have to say yes." I answered with a thorough characteristic of sarcasm.

"What is going on?" He abruptly questioned and I could hear the sound of a door swinging on its creaky hinges. There was rattle on the line and I heard curious grunts from the other men I had met briefly before my arrival to Camp. There were a series of clicks and footsteps against the linoleum, papers rustling before the phone in Spencer's palm beeped and crackled against something solid. "Okay tell us what's going on."

I stuttered, licking my lips before turning to the Commander. "Look I don't know exactly how it happened, but long story short, DeCicco found me and had his workers attack me. We actually ended up abducting one." I added with slight enthusiasm.

I could hear the men at work on the other side of the line and I nodded my head, reminding myself that I was going to be safe. I was going to get out of this mess. "Right, we're tracking Oliver and seeing where he is. It's easier to calculate the distance between DeCicco and yourself that way. Do you have any idea where you are?"

I bit down hard on my lip and regarded the isolated town that looked to be locked down for more than a century. I searched for a single street name, suburb or traffic light but came back empty handed. Slapping a hand against my thigh, I shook my head. "I can't say because I have absolutely no idea." I stressed, exhaustion hitting me like a wave.

"Okay, okay." I could hear him think and murmur from the other end.

"Is there a railway anywhere close to you?" Dayton questioned abruptly and I shook my head.

"No. It's like a ghost-town here." I answered, looking both my sides before listening to the sigh on the other end.

"Are you alone?" Spencer interrupted and I could hear the clicks against keyboards stop before pin silence sounded on the other end of the line.

"No, I have Commander Bernard and two of my cadet roommates. I need you to have someone cover their families because they've been seen by DeCicco's men that had been tracking my movements around Camp. I have his man -"

I paused then gasped almost out loud and instantly my eyes fell on the guy rooted to a spot on the seat with his hands limply sitting in his lap. There a rag drawn around his mouth and instantly I held the phone tightly. The blood splats over his face were dried and the bleeding from his nose came a halt. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Rahul was close to breaking it.