False Gods | The Prime Archives #3 ✓

twenty-seven

Chase and his exiles had been at Pearce's lakehouse for just over three days. He hadn't planned on extending their stay so long, especially with their window to save the others closing with every passing hour, but the plan still needed work.

He was still making tweaks and revisions, making sure everything was in order before they set off for The Acropolis. If they were going to do this, they were going to do it right. No mistakes. No half-assed strategies. They would get in, hit hard, rescue their friends, and get out.

Fighting would be kept to a minimum. Their main and only priority was extraction.

He made it a point to beat that into everyone's heads—specifically Victor and Emily. Out of everyone, they were the two who posed the biggest threat to the plan. Emily could be difficult to work with at times, but Chase knew she respected him enough to follow orders. As for Victor...

The jury was still out on that one.

It only took one split decision, one moment of madness, for the man to unravel. He might not have donned the Apex persona anymore, but it was still very much a part of him. Still, he had faith the man would fall in line.

Bella was depending on him. So were the others. He was crucial to their plan.

Everyone was crucial. They all would have to be on their A-game for everything to go according to the tightly woven script Chase and Pearce Shaw created.

That was why he was stood on the man's private dock staring out at the still lake ahead of him. It was a beautiful day in Thunder Bay. Few clouds dotted the blue sky above and a nice breeze had begun to roll through. The sharp, sweet smell of conifer trees tickled his nose as he ran his fingers along his dirty blond beard.

It had gotten a little longer than he would've liked. He left his shaving material back at The Haven.

His face fell.

They left almost everything back at The Haven.

He picked up a rock that had been sitting near the base of the dock. With a quiet grunt, he flicked his wrist and tossed the stone across the water. It skipped for what must've been half a mile before sinking. Sighing, his shoulders dropped.

All he wanted was a home and security.

With Atlas, he had that. His whole life had changed after the Battle of Adak Island. After Kane activated his machine and introduced Primes to the world. The Acropolis had been his home for three years. It had been where he learned to control his powers and lead his time.

It was where he fell in love with Stella.

Then President Crane ripped it out from underneath him. The PRA ruined everything and sent him running from those he used to call friends. They weren't his friends anymore. They were enemies who wouldn't stop until he was defeated—one way or another.

He just wanted a home. That's all he wanted.

"What's on your mind, Blondie?"

Turning his head, he spotted Emily and Andre joining him on the boardwalk. He faced the water again and shrugged.

"A lot. Where do I even start?"

Andre nodded. "We get it."

"Big day tomorrow," Emily said. A red-tipped arrow was poised between her fingers, one of her upgrades courtesies of Pearce Shaw. "You ready?"

"Not sure," he replied honestly. "But I'll have to be."

He didn't always feel the pressure of being a leader. However, it was starting to weigh down on him like a ton of bricks. Usually, that wouldn't have felt like anything to him. At the moment, it might as well have been the entire sky.