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Second Thoughts
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2021-01-04 11:13:21The brief meeting held before the hunt was an essential part of the task. If the directives were not given, if all of the members of the team weren’t clear, if the objective wasn’t stated accurately, the entire mission could be thrown off just from poor planning.
Aaron liked to arrive early if possible so he could prepare his materials before he presented them. He wasn’t always able to do that, particularly if the location was far away. But tonight’s location was just a few blocks from LIGHTS, in downtown Kansas City, so he had plenty of time to prepare.
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The Clandestine Saga First Hunt
They walked outside to an assortment of dark-colored vehicles. Shane was directing everyone into the proper rides for his or her location. He told Meagan and Cadence they would be riding with him, and in fact, they would be staying with him at all times.Cadence looked around for Aaron and saw him standing near his motorcycle talking to Sam. She noticed Sam seemed to be gesturing at her and Meagan, and she wondered what in the world he could possibly be talking about.
Last Updated : 2021-01-04The Clandestine Saga Chase
Shane and Meagan had recovered from the spray of glass, and as Henry took off running, he ran right by all three of them. “Aren’t you going to chase him?” Cadence asked Shane.“No, I told you, this isn’t my hunt. We are all three just observing.”“But, he’s getting away,” Cadence pleaded. This was a Vampire who had killed children. How co
Last Updated : 2021-01-04The Clandestine Saga In For the Kill
Even as her finger pulled the trigger, she began to dive across the room. Initially, her goal had been to catch the baby; she hoped to grab her before she fell out of the window to the sidewalk below. However, as she flew through the air, she realized Aaron had burst through the door and was diving for the child. Cadence shifted her focus midair and reached for Henry’s head instead. As Aaron dove under her, she forced her momentum upward, grabbing Henry’s skull and giving it one swift crank to the right. Not only did she break his neck, but just as had happened with Carter before, as she pulled, the Vampire’s head came off in her hands.
Last Updated : 2021-01-04The Clandestine Saga Debrief
Despite having such a small window of time to return for debrief, every single member of the team was punctual. No one dared be late when Aaron was this angry. The three Independent Hunters were noticeably missing, however. Cadence’s IAC was still tuned to the rest of the teams, and Elliott mentioned that the Independents were extremely angry at both Cadence and Aaron and had been mumbling about seeking vengeance. The Leader said nothing in response to that comment, and Cadence wondered if it was something she should be worried about.Right now, she had other concerns. Aaron stood at the
Last Updated : 2021-01-04The Clandestine Saga Slowing Things Down
Aaron watched his best friend walk out the door and continued to ponder his comments. Of course, Elliott had no idea that Cadence heard every word that he said. He likely assumed that she had turned her feed off, but the leader had purposely left her on. Despite his frustration, Aaron wanted her to know how the debrief went, what the others had to say, that he recognized the contributions she had made, and that he realized that others had made errors as well. The thought that his best friend might actually be right was more than a little unsettling.Once everyone was gone, Aaron walked back to
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The next morning, Cadence slept in. She couldn’t remember the last time she had actually dozed on past 9:00 or 10:00 o’clock. But this day, she actually slept until almost noon. And, when she finally rolled out of bed, she was slightly trapped in that feeling of impending doom she desperately hated, remembering only her interaction with Aaron at first. Then, the other memories slowly came back, and she couldn’t help but wonder if Christian would be upset with her for rejecting him the night before. Still, she knew she had made the right decision. Though she was attracted to him, she was not interested in a relationship with him, nor was she the kind of girl who fooled around just for fun.
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It really wasn’t unusual for Aaron to be up all night. In fact, it was to the point now where he rarely slept at all. The only reason he ever did so was because he truly enjoyed dreaming, especially when those dreams included visions of loved ones long gone. But last night, he had been up for several different reasons, none of them good ones.First of all, he had to attempt to locate Sam, Finn, and Camille and let them know that, if they continued to disobey his directives, they would no longer be eligible for Guardian support of any kind. They had all left without permission last night,
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There was enough room on the edge of the bed for her to sit down so she did so, clearing a space on the floor with her foot so that she could place her bag on something other than garbage. “Jack,” she said quietly, rubbing his back. He twitched at her touch but didn’t open his eyes. “Jack? It’s me, Cadence. I came, just like you asked.”After a moment or so of patting his back, he finally began to rouse a bit. He rubbed at his eyes and rolled onto his side. “Cadence?” he said, as if he wasn’t sure exactly where she was.
Last Updated : 2021-01-04
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Hannah took Jo to give her a bath, and Ona helped Cadence get Cadon latched while Jamie left to go check on his own one-month-old baby. Cadence’s son was a pro almost immediately, latching on the first try to resting peacefully while he nursed. Cadence couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have even one sweet baby, let alone the blessings of two. He wore a tiny little cap to keep him warm, and she couldn’t help but stroke his head while he made soft baby noises in her arms.Hannah brought Jo back before Cadon was finished. It took her daughter much longer to latch. She kept turning her feisty little face away, growling her discontentment as Cadence tried to get her on and not disturb Cadon at the same time. With Aaron’s help, their daughter finally latched, but he had to have his hand on her back or else she’d pull off again. “She is definitely a Daddy’s girl,” Cadence declared, shaking her head at her strong-spirited daughter.
The Clandestine Saga One More
“For the record, there really is no comparison between us naming our son after a famous jazz pianist and you naming your daughter after a murderous dictator,” the Healer pointed out before getting back to the task at hand. “I think in two or three more pushes, we’ll have a baby.” He was looking at Cadence now, smiling at her above the draped sheet that made her feel a little more secure even if it didn’t really hide anything at all from the doctor.“Okay,” she said again, ready to get it over with. Jamie told her to push, and she did, as hard as she could, hoping for two and not three as the lucky number.“Keep pushing,” Jamie said, even though Aaron had reached ten. “She’s almost there.”Cadence strained even harder, giving it every bit of energy she had left, and a few seconds later, she felt her daughter slip into the world. Listening to her cries made Cadence’s heart melt all
The Clandestine Saga Family
“One more push, Cadence,” Jamie insisted, his normally friendly-tone replaced by his not-quite-as-friendly medical professional tone. “One more time, and we’ll have a baby.”Cadence could feel the sweat dripping off of her forehead and wondered how normal human women did this, especially the ones who refused any sort of pain medication. Even with her superhuman strength and resilience, she was tired. Jamie had gloves on so he wasn’t using any of his healing powers to help her, but she had opted for the epidural, which minimized her pain but did nothing for the exhaustion.“You ready?” Aaron asked, standing next to her, holding one leg while Ona, a Healer who was acting as Jamie’s nurse, held the other.“I’m ready,” she nodded. Her husband’s smile hadn’t dimmed since her water broke three hours earlier. It might not have diminished since they’d left Prague eight months ago,
The Clandestine Saga So Much Love
Jamie gently wrapped his arms around her. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” He kissed her cheek. “Love you, Cadence.”“I love you, too,” she said, returning the kiss. He took a step back and smiled at her before heading off toward the mountain.Cassidy hugged her sister a little more tightly than the doctor had. “Don’t you ever die on me again.”“I won’t. You neither. I love you, little sister.”“I know.” Cassidy giggled at her own smart remark. “I love you, too.” Cadence kissed the top of her sister’s head, and Cassidy let her go, stepping back to wait for Brandon.“Good job getting the monster.” Brandon’s hug was more like a pat on the back, and Cadence almost laughed, wondering if he just didn’t want to break her or was embarrassed.“Thanks, Brandon. Take care of my sis.”“I will try,
The Clandestine Saga Mama
“The baby, Cadence,” Aaron said in her head. “You’re carrying our baby.”Cadence sucked in air all over again, like she had when she’d first fought to open her eyes. The baby! Jamie had told her she was pregnant before the hunt. How it had slipped her mind was beyond her, but yes, she was going to have a baby.Or was she? Her eyes flew to Jamie’s face, all of her questions bottled up in her eyes as she raised both brows, hoping he could alleviate her worry.Jamie smiled and gave a small nod only she could see. All of the air rushed out of Cadence’s lungs again as her hand flew to her abdomen, sighing in relief.“What is it?” Cassidy asked. “What was the other thing you couldn’t remember before?”Part of her wanted to keep their little secret just that, and she was disappointed that she hadn’t been the one to tell Aaron. She looked to him to see if
The Clandestine Saga Remembering
Cassidy smiled, but didn’t say anything, and Cadence could tell by her expression, she didn’t know what to make of Cadence’s revelation. It was no matter—she moved on.“Jack was pitching, Elliott. And the batter was a guy who looked so much like you. I couldn’t remember you at the time—sorry—but I asked, and my grandparents said the batter’s name was Jimmy.”“Jimmy?” Elliott echoed. “I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned that name to you.”“I don’t think you have either, but that’s your brother’s name, isn’t it.”Elliott’s head rocked back and forth slowly. “Wow. If that don’t beat all.... It’s like the freakin’ Wizard of Oz. ‘And you were there, and you were there....’ Hmmm.”“Well, it gets Wizardier because your mom was there, too. Arlene. And she wa
The Clandestine Saga More To Do
A growl from Elliott let her know he disagreed, but he didn’t say anything more, and Christian only nodded before he faded out of view. It was just as well. Cadence was exhausted. She didn’t really want to talk to anyone else, just let her husband pick her up in his strong arms and carry her back to the SUV so she could take a shower and fall asleep for a few years.“I hate to interrupt,” Scarlet said, taking a step closer to where they were sitting. “Cadence, it is wonderful you’re okay. But Jamie, what about that serum you made? Do you think we should try it? If we can get the Hybrids back up there, we might be able to save some of those people who are still trapped in the holes.”“Oh, right.” Jamie scratched his head, like he’d forgotten about the serum. “Yeah, why don’t you and Cale start working on that. The serum is in my backpack, which is in the trees near where we first encountered the bla
The Clandestine Saga Breathe
Lungs burning, body aching with the pain of soldering itself back together, eyes blinded by brilliant white, Cadence opened her mouth and sucked in air for the first time in as long as she could remember. Her legs still felt like they were on fire, like she’d been running for hours, but as she tipped her head back and began to cough the memories of what had happened to her, how she’d killed Daunator and then found herself in the air with no ground beneath her boots, flooded her mind, and every trace of memory about why she felt like she’d been running fled her mind.“Cadence? Cadence!”Aaron was there. She could feel his hands on her, even though she couldn’t open her eyes to look at him yet. Her throat burned as she continued to sputter, coughing and choking on the air she so desperately wanted in her lungs. How long had she gone without taking a breath? Why did her heart feel like a jackhammer, her chest muscles sore from the exert
The Clandestine Saga Glimpse Into the Beyond
Jamie was at twenty-two, and Aaron was trying to focus, but the voices to his left were prominent in his mind. He could still hear Elliott’s murmurs, Cass’s sobs, sighs and gasps from others. Christian was pacing back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, behind almost everyone. Aurora, free of her handcuffs now that she was no longer a threat, was doubled over on the ground, her hands linked around her knees, her wails having lost their voice minutes ago so that she was no longer making a noise as her body shook and spasmed. Eliza had her arm around the much taller Hunter, trying to be comforting, but Aaron was aware that, of everyone here, Eliza Wrath was the only one who really didn’t care if Cadence ever opened her eyes again. He could feel it rolling off of her in waves of ugliness like the sea during the type of storm that leaves debris littered all over the beach, breaks boats in its wake, and sends sailors to the bottom of the ocean.There were
