The Elite - Chapter 2 - Part 1

Chapter 2

It had become somewhat of a routine. They would each head back to their rooms, and pick up a rucksack which would contain one spare change of clothes. Then they would head down to the weapons room and arm themselves. Lexi usually opted for knives, particularly throwing daggers. They had come in useful plenty of times in the past, and made much less noise than a gun, even one with a silencer. That said, she also tucked two pistols into a couple of holsters around her waist. Though she preferred blades, sometimes a gun was more effective.

She tucked a final knife into her boot and proceeded to make her way to the lift. During the first few missions she went on Lexi had often found herself a trembling ball of nerves. A sense of nostalgia rolled over her. Things were definitely different now.

On the lowest floor is where they all met. The space was bare, the lighting dim. Grey hued paint crumbled from the walls and the stone pillars that held up the ceiling. However, the contents of the room were at contrast, all black, new, and practically glistening. Cars. There were at least eighty on this floor alone. The two floors above also had a very similar layout. Enough for everyone in the base to use one if they needed.

At the back of the room were the regular sedans, perfect for blending in if the need arose. After them were the Jeeps, a reliable favourite for most missions, there were often occasions when an all-terrain vehicle was needed. But at the front of the room, the first thing that you saw when you got out of the lift were the cars that everyone desired. The sports cars, they were things of beauty as much as they were things of use. Lexi smiled to herself, there had only been a small amount of times when she had been able to drive one on a mission.

She paused for only a brief moment to admire them, there would be plenty of time for that later. Her attention was soon diverted anyway as Allie appeared at the edge of her vision, a set of keys dangling from her hand. Lexi altered her course slightly until they were walking side by side.

“You ready?” Allie asked, glancing over at her briefly.

Lexi answered with only a shrug. “I’d be in the wrong occupation if I weren’t.”

“True.” Allie said with a snort. Her auburn hair was pulled into a tight pony atop her head, her hazel eyes fierce with determination. Yet, her most notable feature was the smirk that almost permanently rested on her face. Lexi had seen her choke the life out of men four times the size of her, still with the same smirk fixed upon her.

They made their way over to the Jeep where the others would undoubtedly be waiting. When they got there however, only Markus and Rick were present to greet them. Immediately there was a tension in the air. They all stood silently in front of the car, glancing at each other for a few moments. Lexi didn’t know why they waited, they just always had. With each heartbeat the tension grew. The silence became the loudest thing that any of them could imagine. Until Allie yelled out that one fateful word.

“Shotgun!”

Rick, Lexi and Marcus all let out a simultaneous groan, but nodded their resignation. There was little point arguing it.

The three of them slowly climbed into the back seats of the car, while Allie smugly made her way to sit in the front seat. Oliver, unless otherwise specified, was always the driver on missions. It had something to do with him being the ‘leader’ of the group. Lexi had personally always hated it, she hadn’t even been given a say because it had been decided upon before she had been placed in the group. And since she was the only new member, her opinion on several matters was apparently equal to the thoughts of a rock.

Lexi found herself sat between Markus and Rick on the backseat of the car. The two of them were as close to siblings as you could get without actually being related. Actually, in terms of appearance they were about as opposite as you could get. Markus had dark skin, and eyes that were almost black. He was tall too, tall enough that Lexi had to crane her neck when she was talking to him.

And then there was Rick. He had eyes the colour of emeralds, and his hair was a fiery shade of tangerine. Though not as tall as Markus, he was definitely not small, he was also quite lanky. There was one thing that the two of them did have in common, they were both impossibly annoying. To the point that Lexi was filled with a complete sense dread at being caught in the middle of the two of them.

Allie grinned back at her between the seats. “You having fun back there?”

Lexi grimaced. But before she could answer Markus chuckled. “We’re having so much fun,” he said, bumping his shoulder into hers, jostling her against Rick.

Rick promptly shoved her back against Markus’ arm. “The most fun.”

Glaring at Allie, Lexi muttered accusingly, “see what you’ve started now.”

Allie only smirked as Lexi was shoved back and forth between Markus and Rick, each trying to shove her with more force than the other. “Don’t worry, Captain Killjoy will be here to save you soon enough,” she said.

Lexi rolled her eyes. “Kill me now.”

Rick promptly flashed his teeth in a wide grin, thrusting her out and at Markus once more. “That can be arranged princess.”

Lexi rolled her eyes, waiting for Markus to shove her back at him. The instant she was close enough she raised her elbow slightly, and sent it straight into Ricks gut. Markus let out a burst of laughter as Rick buckled over, a low groan of pain escaping his lips. Lexi only sat back in her seat, a satisfied smile resting upon her face.

Markus snorted. “Who’s Captain Killjoy now?”

Turning to look at him, Lexi very slowly arched an eyebrow. “You really want to end up like him? Is that wise Mark? Do you really want that?” She asked with a teasing smirk.

He instantly held up his hands in surrender. “Don’t hurt me little lady, please, take the rest of them. Just please, please don’t hurt me.” He said with mock panic, a grin lighting up his face.

“What’s it worth to you?”

At that he hesitated for a few moments, pondering. “I’ll bring you a donut to training in the morning.”

Lexi laughed. “Done.”

At that moment the car door opened, Allie lazily held out her hand, the set of keys resting squarely in the centre of her palm. Oliver took them with a murmured thanks. “What’s done?” he asked.

“Just trying to get a decent price for all the drugs Markus is selling me,” Lexi said with a smirk. Oliver turned and glared at her. “Joking, joking. Jheeze. Chill would you?”

“Unless you hadn’t noticed, we’re about to go and work a job. A job that needs to be taken seriously. I really don’t see why anyone would… chill, as you so eloquently put it. If we’re not careful somebody could come out of this a corpse. This isn’t a joke.” Oliver said, starting up the car.

Lexi glowered. “I know what jobs are like. Funnily enough I have been on one before. I’ve actually been on quite a few. So, if you’d like to get down off your high horse and join the rest of us down here on earth that would be nice.”

They drove up and off the floor, it was somewhat like an underground multi-storey carpark. Soon daylight came in through the windows. Though Lexi was forced to narrow her eyes so that they could adjust, Oliver somehow resisted the urge as he sneered at her through the rear-view mirror. “Next mission you’re staying behind. You can find some paperwork or something to do,” he said bluntly.

“You can’t do that!” Lexi objected.

“I can,” he stated. “Maybe I can’t get you off this one, no matter how much I would love to, I can sure as hell get you off the next one. Last time I checked I was appointed as the leader of this group, which means if I don’t feel like you’re going to help the team, you don’t have to be here.”

“You were appointed leader before I even got here. And you seem to be more of a dictator than a leader right now.”

“Maybe they should just send you back to whatever hole they found you in then.” Oliver muttered.

Lexi fingered one of the daggers strapped to her thigh. Oh how easy it would be to just cut his throat right now. Instead she scowled. “Perhaps that just says something about your oh so great leadership skills, that they had to bring in someone else because you weren’t doing a good enough job.”

“We’d be just fine without you.”

“I beg to differ. Otherwise they wouldn’t have brought me here in the first place, would they? You’d have been dead several times over if it wasn’t for me. Remember that.”

Oliver scoffed. “You’d have been dead too if it wasn’t for me!”

At that moment Rick let out a loud sigh. “Would the two of you just shut up? Fucking hell. My stomach is hurting, and you’re making my head hurt too! So, can someone put the damned radio on and can we just drive in silence.”

Almost the same second that he had said it Allies hand lurched forward, clicking the radio on. Lexi hadn’t quite noticed how uncomfortable their bickering had made everyone else in the car. They were all stiff with tension. She offered an apologetic smile. “Sorry,” she murmured. Apparently Oliver seemed to notice it too and refrained from making any further comments.

She turned her attention out of the window, focussing instead on the passing scenery. The sun was blazing across the sky, and soon the barren landscape that surrounded the base was replaced with rolling fields of grass. It was amazing how it changed so fast. Lexi had always loved almost desolate places like the ones they were passing, they seemed so untouched and vast. But it wasn’t long before they were passing other cars, and the illusion of being alone in the world was shattered.

On occasion they would pass the odd field of animals, see an eagle flying high above them. Yet, no matter how peaceful their surroundings, it did nothing to quell the fiery pit of rage inside her. No, when they reached the farmhouse it would be a relief. A real distraction.

It would give her someone to kill who wasn’t Oliver. Although at the moment Lexi wasn’t sure if that made her feel any better.