turned to his last opponent and, as the man struck out at him, Liam grabbed the man’s hand, torqued it and raised it high, then kicked his feet out from under him. The fighter landed hard on the mat as Liam continued through with feigned blows to the man’s face.
And just like that it was over. He had taken out three men in less than thirty seconds.
“Liam!” The office manager stuck his head out into the studio, holding up a phone. “You got a call.”
Liam helped the men to their feet, patted them on the back, and went to the office where the phone was lying on top of the desk. “This is Liam.”
“Hey.”
Liam recognized the voice as Tanner’s. “What’s up?”
The OUTCAST leader spoke in terse, all-business bursts. “We’re active. The team’s assembling. I need you here now. No questions on this line. I’ll brief you when you get here. But I will say this: It’s top priority coming from the highest level.”
“I’ll be there in twenty.”
“See you then.”
Liam hung up the phone and left the facility still in his martial arts attire.
#
Stephen Shah had almost finished tying a fishing fly to a line with a complex knot he'd been trying to master when he got the call. He was wearing a pocket vest, a boonie cap with fly-fishing lures attached, and hip waders.
Trying to keep his knot from coming unraveled with one hand while he flipped open the phone with the other, he said, “Yeah.”
“Steve?”
“Speaking.” He grimaced as he felt the knot loosening under the control of only one hand. He held the phone away from his ear long enough to switch it to speaker mode and then lay it on the table, freeing both hands to work on the lure.
“It’s Tanner.”
“Hey, man, what’s up?” He patiently threaded his line.
“Listen. I need your presence here right away. We’re active. And so that you know, this is top-level.”
“How top?”
“The highest priority.”
“On my way.”
Stephen dropped his lure, the incomplete knot coming undone. Still dressed in his fishing gear, he got into his SUV and drove rapidly to The Facility.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
OUTCAST Facility,
Bethesda, Maryland.
Within thirty minutes everyone had met up at The Facility. A nondescript building of gray cinderblock walls, there were no posted signs or outward indications of any kind as to the structure's purpose. The only hint that it was even occupied were the few cars sitting in its parking lot.
Inside was a different matter altogether. The carpets were lush and immaculate. The furniture and electronics were all top-of-the-line. Even the palms and rubber trees were alive and thriving.
In the meeting room, which was the largest space inside The Facility, the Outcast operators were seated in chairs made of the finest leather.
Nay and Chance looked clean and beautiful, always trying to look their best for the sake of each other, Tanner supposed. Liam was dressed in his martial arts uniform--no real surprise there-- his black belt in contrast with the white of his attire. And Danielle, who always dressed in colors and hues that were intensely bright and nuclear, like some kind of post-modern hippy, stared through Lennon-like glasses that gave her eyes a slightly magnified look to them. Most bizarre in appearance was Dante Alvarez, who sported a five-o’clock shadow early in the day and looked very raw. Apparently he was unaware of the fact that he had his polo shirt on backwards, the V-neck revealing his hairy back. For a moment Tanner thought that he was standing on the set of Let’s Make a Deal, especially after laying eyes on Stephen Shah, who looked ready to step into a mountain stream.
But in the end it came down to one thing: he measured all these people by the content of their character. And as far as he was concerned, these individuals, no matter their outward appearance, were the absolute best at what they did.
There were none better.
For the next forty-five minutes, Tanner went into detail about the
And just like that it was over. He had taken out three men in less than thirty seconds.
“Liam!” The office manager stuck his head out into the studio, holding up a phone. “You got a call.”
Liam helped the men to their feet, patted them on the back, and went to the office where the phone was lying on top of the desk. “This is Liam.”
“Hey.”
Liam recognized the voice as Tanner’s. “What’s up?”
The OUTCAST leader spoke in terse, all-business bursts. “We’re active. The team’s assembling. I need you here now. No questions on this line. I’ll brief you when you get here. But I will say this: It’s top priority coming from the highest level.”
“I’ll be there in twenty.”
“See you then.”
Liam hung up the phone and left the facility still in his martial arts attire.
#
Stephen Shah had almost finished tying a fishing fly to a line with a complex knot he'd been trying to master when he got the call. He was wearing a pocket vest, a boonie cap with fly-fishing lures attached, and hip waders.
Trying to keep his knot from coming unraveled with one hand while he flipped open the phone with the other, he said, “Yeah.”
“Steve?”
“Speaking.” He grimaced as he felt the knot loosening under the control of only one hand. He held the phone away from his ear long enough to switch it to speaker mode and then lay it on the table, freeing both hands to work on the lure.
“It’s Tanner.”
“Hey, man, what’s up?” He patiently threaded his line.
“Listen. I need your presence here right away. We’re active. And so that you know, this is top-level.”
“How top?”
“The highest priority.”
“On my way.”
Stephen dropped his lure, the incomplete knot coming undone. Still dressed in his fishing gear, he got into his SUV and drove rapidly to The Facility.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
OUTCAST Facility,
Bethesda, Maryland.
Within thirty minutes everyone had met up at The Facility. A nondescript building of gray cinderblock walls, there were no posted signs or outward indications of any kind as to the structure's purpose. The only hint that it was even occupied were the few cars sitting in its parking lot.
Inside was a different matter altogether. The carpets were lush and immaculate. The furniture and electronics were all top-of-the-line. Even the palms and rubber trees were alive and thriving.
In the meeting room, which was the largest space inside The Facility, the Outcast operators were seated in chairs made of the finest leather.
Nay and Chance looked clean and beautiful, always trying to look their best for the sake of each other, Tanner supposed. Liam was dressed in his martial arts uniform--no real surprise there-- his black belt in contrast with the white of his attire. And Danielle, who always dressed in colors and hues that were intensely bright and nuclear, like some kind of post-modern hippy, stared through Lennon-like glasses that gave her eyes a slightly magnified look to them. Most bizarre in appearance was Dante Alvarez, who sported a five-o’clock shadow early in the day and looked very raw. Apparently he was unaware of the fact that he had his polo shirt on backwards, the V-neck revealing his hairy back. For a moment Tanner thought that he was standing on the set of Let’s Make a Deal, especially after laying eyes on Stephen Shah, who looked ready to step into a mountain stream.
But in the end it came down to one thing: he measured all these people by the content of their character. And as far as he was concerned, these individuals, no matter their outward appearance, were the absolute best at what they did.
There were none better.
For the next forty-five minutes, Tanner went into detail about the
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