New Age of Heroes 1: The League of Protectors - Dawn of a New Age (17 page)

The President
smiled warmly.

“I do it,
because I truly believe it’s the right thing to do, and so far,
you guys haven’t let me down. It is idiotic to think that all
of you have intentions on causing us harm. It's idiotic to think that
there is a big global conspiracy your race is developing. With the
bad there is always good and with the good there is always bad.
That's life.” The President's words resonated with the group.
He did understand them, he did believe in them and that brought some
comfort to the team.

“Mr.
President I just wanted to let you know, I had absolutely nothing to
do with the breakout earlier,” Garrett stated. He had been
exonerated of all potential charges but he wanted to let the
President know himself. It wasn't everyday one got to speak to the
President. Garrett seemed ready to defend himself more but the
President stopped him.

“I do not
believe you had anything to do with the prison escape.” He then
turned his attention to the rest of the group. “Or any of you
for that matter.”

He got up, walked
back over to his desk and grabbed the three manilla folders. He
handed two of the folders to Jason and the other one to Garrett.

Garrett looked
surprised to receive one of the folders. He understood why Jason was
handed the folders, but himself? He was unsure of.

“Well this is
a bit awkward,” Jackson said. Jackson had a way of saying
whatever came to his mind. He certainly had a filter; he just
neglected to ever use it. Jackson was the type of guy that said the
things others wouldn’t say. He was the guy that said things
that others couldn’t say.

“Well Mr.
Prescott, I only had three folders to give out. The folders pertain
to all of you though.”

Jackson looked over
in Garrett's direction.

“You know
he’s not second in command right?”

“Neither are
you.” Shayne said doing his best to shut his best friend up.
Shayne was often frustrated with Jackson’s unwillingness to not
say whatever came to his mind. This was a perfect example.

“My apologies
Mr. Prescott if I offended you.” The President looked out to
the rest of the group. “Or any of you for that matter, that was
not my attention.”Jason threw up his hands to get the
President’s attention.

“Mr.
President there is no need to apologize. Jackson here sometimes just
doesn’t know when to be quiet.”

Jason gave Jackson
a hard stare. If one was to interpret the stare, it was likely that
Jason was warning Jackson not to say another word. Jackson got the
point. He sat back on the couch and waited for the file to pass his
way. Inside the folder were files on Kyle Stanton, Erik Masters and
Seth Maddox. Jason was quick to spot the mistakes on the files.

“Mr.
President, these files are incorrect.”

The President
nodded and confirmed Jason’s observation. “I am very
intrigued on how so many files could've been deleted without any
trace. Mr. Connors has concocted a theory in how all three of these
individuals worked together to free the prisoners. A theory in which
makes sense. What I am interested in is how the system breach was
able to go completely undetected.”

The President
looked directly at Garrett, “I want you to figure this out. I
want you to do whatever you have to do to get me the person
responsible for this crime. If this Kyle Stanton is the one
responsible for this breach, I want you to find him. I want you to
figure out exactly what he did and I want you to make sure this NEVER
happens again!”

Garrett looked over
to Jason who nodded back to him. “Yes Mr. President I will do
my best.”

The President
nodded in appreciation. “Just make sure your best is better
than his best.”

“Or hers!”
Bianca added. Everyone looked over towards the small Latina.

“You know
something we don't know?” Jackson asked teasingly.

“I’m
just saying; don’t rule out the possibility that whoever did
this was a woman. Who's to say that whoever was doing the shape
shifting didn't shape shift as Kyle Stanton to throw anyone off their
real identity.” The room was quiet as they tried to process
what Bianca had just said.

“That
literally just hurt my head Bianca,” Jackson said ending the
silence..

“You make a
good point Ms. Ramirez. Mr. Blake, be sure not to rule out anyone!”
The President said.

The telephone
inside the office began to ring. The President excused himself and
went to answer it. The group sat there silently as the President took
an unscheduled call.

“These files
were hacked bad. I mean seriously, they're missing like half the
stuff sent to them,” Jackson said looking directly at Garrett.

Garrett couldn’t
wait to get back to his office and figure out exactly how the hacking
was done. To hack was easy but to do so without leaving a trace, that
took skill.

“I will
figure this out. That’s a guarantee.”

The conversation
the President was having ended quickly. No sooner than he got on the
phone he ended the call. He looked at the group and smiled politely.
The group smiled back, unsure of what the nature of the call was.

“Man I wish
we had someone in the group with super hearing. Jason, you sure you
don't have that ability? You seem to hit the jackpot with all the
other cool stuff!” Jackson said. Jason and the rest of the
group ignored him. The President kept the phone in his hand and
dialed his secretary.

“Cindy,
please have everyone meet me in the situation room immediately. Thank
you.”

The President hung
up the phone and returned back to the League of Protectors. He took
the folders back into his possession.

“There is a
briefing I need to apprise my staff on.”

Jason stood and
understood that meant it was time for them to leave. “We thank
you for taking the time to meet with us and for believing in us sir.”
He extended his hand but the President did not shake it. The refusal
caused a quick moment of awkwardness between the individuals inside
the room.

“You
misunderstand, this meeting that I must apprise my staff on includes
all of you as well. Your presence for this meeting is required.”

The President
walked past the League of Protectors and headed for the door. The
group looked towards Jason to see what he would do. They were all
wondering why their presence would be needed at a Presidential
briefing. Jason gave the group a reassuring smile and then followed
behind the President. The President opened his door and immediately
armed guards were standing tall. The guards handed the League of
Protectors five bags.

“Again?”
Jackson asked in an annoyed voice.

“Put it on.
You all do not have the proper clearance to walk around certain areas
of the White House.” one of the secret servicemen replied with
a sharp tone. Begrudgingly Jackson placed the bag over his head. The
rest of the League placed the bags over their heads as well and
waited to be directed out.

“X ray vision
would be nice right about now,” Jackson said as the servicemen
led the group to the situation room.

The League of
Protectors arrived at the designated room and the servicemen removed
the bags from their heads. The servicemen stood there as still as
stone. It was clear they weren’t interested in making friends
or being cordial. There job was to protect the President and it was a
job they did not take lightly.

“Thank you
gentlemen, I’ll take it from here,” The President said
quietly as he exited a separate elevator on the opposite side of
where the League was.

“Follow me,”
he said politely.

The President led
the way inside the room. The League stood inside the doorway in awe.
Even Bianca, who had already been inside the room still found it
fascinating. Jason thought of all the life changing decisions that
took place inside the room. He thought of how many wars and invasions
were planned out where he stood. He was speechless. At that moment he
felt so proud to be who he was.

With the
President’s arrival, everyone immediately jumped to their feet.
He acknowledged their respect and then had everyone take a seat.

“Ladies and
gentlemen the past twenty four hours have been very active to say the
least. We’ve seen the escape of over two hundred criminals.
We’ve seen a weakness in the defense of the white house, and
our operating bases. We’ve even learned that there are far more
Post Humans than we ever could have imagine.”

Everyone inside the
room listened intently as the President spoke. There was a lot of
cause for concern. For the first time in a very long time people
feared there was a war coming that the United States could not win.

With all that had
transpired, many agreed with the Vice President that war was
inevitable. For a country that so forcefully flexed its power, for
once, there was a feeling of vulnerability. There was a feeling of
weakness.

“These are
troubling times. These are times that I don’t take lightly.
Even though our enemy is strong, I fully believe that we are
stronger. I will not go as far as to say that a war is coming, but if
one is to occur, we will be ready.”

The President
scanned the room gauging the people’s reactions.

“There are
criminals roaming around somewhere. A lot of them, and its very
likely they have a plan to weaken this great nation. Their actions
have proven that they are not to be underestimated. They have proven
to be patient and calculating. We must be ready. We must have a plan
to counter whatever it is they have intended for us.”

There were a lot of
people in the room that were nodding their heads in agreement with
the President. Vice President Martin was not one of them. The
presence of the League of Protectors rubbed him the wrong way and
that's all he could focus on. His pure hatred for them, for all of
them was hindering his ability to do his job.

“I’ve
spoken with Mr. Connors and Commander Sullivan to formulate a
workable plan of attack. After much deliberation I have decided that
the best course of action is cooperation. I am ordering G.U.A.R.D and
the League of Protectors to work together to recapture these
criminals.”

Vice President
Martin’s face turned red. He had a feeling the President would
make that announcement. The idea of the League having even more
access made him sick. For all he knew, this was their plan all along.
Put the government’s back to the wall where they have no choice
but to reach out.

Vice President
Martin stood up in protest.

“Mr.
President I…”

The President gave
him the hardest of looks. The Vice President immediately closed his
mouth and sat back down. He gritted his teeth as the President
continued talking. “After a long conversation with Commander
Sullivan and Mr. Connors, we all agree that cooperation and pulling
our resources together is the best option. We feel this will give us
the best chance of recapturing these criminals in a timely fashion.”

Several people were
surprised to hear that Commander Sullivan was in agreement with the
President's directive. On many occasions he voiced his displeasure of
working closely with a group of Post Humans. To hear that he was
agreeing to work even closer with them now highlighted just how
serious this threat was.

Commander Sullivan
is highly respected by both the military and the government for his
accomplishments in combat. He always used superior tactics to defeat
the enemy.

The man had a
distinguished look about him. He was tall with broad shoulders and
softball size biceps. His hair was short and buzzed with strips of
Gray running through. Commander Sullivan had defined sideburns and
bushy brows. He had the kind of intimidating look that immediately
garnered him respect regardless of who he was in the presence of.

“Do you see
the size of that guy? I think he’s even bigger than you!”
Jackson whispered to Jason. Jackson couldn't keep his eye off the
Commander who he was looking at via teleconference. Jason warned
Jackson to be quiet.

“That’s
what you’ll look like in thirty years, minus the bushy brows,
mustache and sideburns,” Jackson said.

The President
looked over towards Jason and Jackson's direction and then returned
his focus towards the center of the room.

“Whoops,”
Jackson whispered.

“Not another
word!” Jason whispered back sternly.

“Mr. Connors'
team has demonstrated in the past a successful ability in protecting
the people from harmful threats. I think the collaboration of
G.U.A.R.D and The League is exactly what is needed to combat this
threat.”

The reaction to the
President’s decision was mixed. There was no denying the League
of Protectors could help combat this threat. However, the idea of how
closely the President wanted them to work with G.U.A.R.D concerned a
lot of the President's cabinet.

The President stood
there soaking in the looks and the questions. He knew his decision
wouldn’t be popular, but he would stand by his decision anyway.
He believed it to be the right play under the circumstances.

“With the
guidance of Commander Sullivan, his agents and the heroics of the
League of Protectors, I am confident they will recapture these
criminals quickly.”

The Vice President
was fuming. He was completely against the idea and wanted to give the
President a piece of his mind.

The President
turned his attention to the League of Protectors. “I expect you
all to continue representing this country as you have in the past.”

Jason Shaw took a
step forward and saluted the President. “You can count on us
sir.”

The President
walked over to Jason and extended his hand. Jason extended his as
well and the two men shook hands.

“Now, if you
all will excuse me, I have many things to attend to,” the
President said.