like they take shipments of fish from all over the world and sell them to hotels and restaurants. Could be that their latest shipment was not exactly fish.”
The program Hank had run the scan through made the most out of the image, more than Jax would have seen. Along the back wall of the lobby sat three office rooms. Then inside the garage bays was open space. The program identified two hyena Animalis inside the offices, based off of a foot and an elbow that had been caught in the scan. It was a strange breed to find in Australia, but other than that, the scan looked normal.
Jax felt anxious, he wanted to be doing something more than wait for the second unit to arrive, which was still twenty-five minutes away. The back of the building had to be checked for security, didn’t it? He closed the scan.
“While you go through this information, I’m going to loop around the back of the building to see what’s back there.”
Hank nodded, appearing to be consumed by the computer scans.
Jax jogged along the side of the buildings to the alley. Deadly scenarios started to creep into his imagination. There could be a group of guards ready to shoot trespassers in the alley, or a sniper on the adjacent building. The sniper’s laser would create a clean hole through his head, every blood vessel cauterized. Would it hurt? Or were the nerves numbed, either sending half his body into quiet paralysis or killing him? Hank probably wouldn’t even hear the sound of his body crumpling to the ground when it happened.
He tried to prepare himself for each scenario. If it was a sniper, where would it be? With a quick glance, he scanned the edges of the rooftops and pinpointed what seemed to be a position of optimal visibility, where he would be if he was a sniper.
Jax decided to play ignorant and explain that he was lost, if anyone actually was in the alley, but there wasn’t. Nothing was behind the building. The back alley was filled with boxes and trash and pigeons, but there weren’t any Animalis. Jax came out into the alley to see if there was anything useful about this trip to the back.
There were two big glass windows on the back of the building. Jax crept up to the bottom of the nearest one and peeked in.
Inside, there was a small room. Boxes were stacked in the corner; there were a few chairs, a desk, but nothing that gave very much information. The glass could be cut into with Jax’s laser tool. Maybe this would be the best way into the building? The door to the room was cracked open a little. He was about to check the other window when a message appeared in his retina monitor:
Someone’s coming—
But the message ended abruptly.
Coming for Jax? It was too vague. It wasn’t like Hank to leave something so vague.
He sent a message back:
What’s the situation? Hostile?
He crept to the edge of the building and peeked around it. There wasn’t anyone coming for him. Hank should have responded immediately, so Jax messaged the captain:
Hank’s gone silent. His last message was “Someone’s coming.” Can you get through to him?
As Jax crept back down the alley to where Hank had been, the captain’s reply appeared:
No response to me, either. If you can’t find him, he was taken. He’ll only have a few minutes before they kill him, if they haven’t already. We need Hank. Can you get into the warehouse?
Jax sent back:
Confirming that Hank is gone. There is a way in through the back. Checking the front before going in after him.
Jax came back out onto the sidewalk in front of the building, scanning left and right. Something was wrong. Jax could feel a panic rising up within. Hank must have felt in danger when he sent the message “Someone’s coming.” Could he not see them? Did someone come at him from behind? If Hank couldn’t use his retina monitor, he was either unconscious, or the internet connection was being blocked by some kind of signal disrupter.
Jax’s
The program Hank had run the scan through made the most out of the image, more than Jax would have seen. Along the back wall of the lobby sat three office rooms. Then inside the garage bays was open space. The program identified two hyena Animalis inside the offices, based off of a foot and an elbow that had been caught in the scan. It was a strange breed to find in Australia, but other than that, the scan looked normal.
Jax felt anxious, he wanted to be doing something more than wait for the second unit to arrive, which was still twenty-five minutes away. The back of the building had to be checked for security, didn’t it? He closed the scan.
“While you go through this information, I’m going to loop around the back of the building to see what’s back there.”
Hank nodded, appearing to be consumed by the computer scans.
Jax jogged along the side of the buildings to the alley. Deadly scenarios started to creep into his imagination. There could be a group of guards ready to shoot trespassers in the alley, or a sniper on the adjacent building. The sniper’s laser would create a clean hole through his head, every blood vessel cauterized. Would it hurt? Or were the nerves numbed, either sending half his body into quiet paralysis or killing him? Hank probably wouldn’t even hear the sound of his body crumpling to the ground when it happened.
He tried to prepare himself for each scenario. If it was a sniper, where would it be? With a quick glance, he scanned the edges of the rooftops and pinpointed what seemed to be a position of optimal visibility, where he would be if he was a sniper.
Jax decided to play ignorant and explain that he was lost, if anyone actually was in the alley, but there wasn’t. Nothing was behind the building. The back alley was filled with boxes and trash and pigeons, but there weren’t any Animalis. Jax came out into the alley to see if there was anything useful about this trip to the back.
There were two big glass windows on the back of the building. Jax crept up to the bottom of the nearest one and peeked in.
Inside, there was a small room. Boxes were stacked in the corner; there were a few chairs, a desk, but nothing that gave very much information. The glass could be cut into with Jax’s laser tool. Maybe this would be the best way into the building? The door to the room was cracked open a little. He was about to check the other window when a message appeared in his retina monitor:
Someone’s coming—
But the message ended abruptly.
Coming for Jax? It was too vague. It wasn’t like Hank to leave something so vague.
He sent a message back:
What’s the situation? Hostile?
He crept to the edge of the building and peeked around it. There wasn’t anyone coming for him. Hank should have responded immediately, so Jax messaged the captain:
Hank’s gone silent. His last message was “Someone’s coming.” Can you get through to him?
As Jax crept back down the alley to where Hank had been, the captain’s reply appeared:
No response to me, either. If you can’t find him, he was taken. He’ll only have a few minutes before they kill him, if they haven’t already. We need Hank. Can you get into the warehouse?
Jax sent back:
Confirming that Hank is gone. There is a way in through the back. Checking the front before going in after him.
Jax came back out onto the sidewalk in front of the building, scanning left and right. Something was wrong. Jax could feel a panic rising up within. Hank must have felt in danger when he sent the message “Someone’s coming.” Could he not see them? Did someone come at him from behind? If Hank couldn’t use his retina monitor, he was either unconscious, or the internet connection was being blocked by some kind of signal disrupter.
Jax’s
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