Mana Tapu

Chapter 7

Carefully careening through the woods Captain Arlo was desperate to find Callum. Two hours had passed since the intern had sounded the alarm. Those two hours had been an utter failure on the Guard's part. If they weren't careful the Hunt for Target Two would turn them into a laughing stock.

Captain Arlo slowed to a light jog as his hound's ears perked up. Twitching they slowly focused in the direction of a snapped twig. The jungle that surrounded them had been disturbingly quiet until that moment. The parrots screeching had stopped an hour ago along with the rustle of silent wings. Even the Bellbird had stopped its incessant chiming. It was as if the whole world was holding its breath to see what came next.

Hound and human crouched low as they neared a small clearing. Their muscles tense when they saw him. They had found Target Two. Cooling his nerves Captain Arlo blinked away a memory. Of every clearing in the jungle Target Two had unknowingly chosen this. How ironic.

Captain Arlo would never forget this clearing. Even though it had been nine long years since he had cornered One. Nine years ago Captain Davis tore through the jungle in search of the Target. Arlo was only five minutes behind him when the ambiance went silent. Parrots stilled and leaves ceased to wave. The thrum of eternity hung in the balance between chaos and serenity. BANG. A bullet's echo fell through the brush and sunk into the earth. James Arlo pushed past a fern; his eyes widening at the scene. Captain Davis was kneeling in front of Target One. Although slightly disadvantaged, Captain Davis trained his gun on Target One's forehead. James Arlo barely managed to hold his breath when he realized the gun was in his Captain's left hand. He wasn't a lefty. His right hand was clutching his chest in a futile attempt to stop the spreading stain. James Arlo listened to every whisper of a word that left his Captain's lips.

"I....will give you one... last... chance. Where?"

"Never! You will never know!" Target One screamed, aiming his own gun at Captain Davis.

BANG. BANG. Captain's gun was fastest as Target One's body jerked backwards before crumpling into the spongy, green moss. His life force drained into the bedding from a single bullet wound. Even with his left hand Captain Davis could take out an assassin with one shot. Elite Arlo leapt from the bushes and slid grass stains into his uniform. His acrobatics allowed him to catch his superior's head inches above a jagged rock. Target One was no longer a rumored assassin. The reddening chest wound was coupled with a sticky spot on the abdomen. In a matter of seconds the cotton fabric was soaked through. His mentor laid in his arms as he gasped for breath.

"You dog..." Captain was always one for formalities— even if he was struggling to breathe, "do... do not let... escape."

Arlo drew back in surprise. "Escape?"

Captain Davis didn't respond. "What do you mean escape!? Target One is dead!"

Elite Arlo shook his captain's shoulders. There was a grunt of pain coupled with another gurgled response. "Not the target...the jewel."

With that Captain Davis coughed and started convulsing. Each passing second seemed to steal away shades of color. After what seemed to be an eternity, he stilled. Arlo's jaw was set as he wrapped his fingers around his gun and toggled the safety. Pulling it from his holster he stood to face Target One's corpse. It was a few yards away and clearly incapable of moving. A left handed shot to the heart would do that to you. What James Arlo needed to do would prevent that corpse from getting up. He stepped towards the target and emptied a round. The resulting cacophony from birds and bullets snagged the attention of nearby Elites. They came running only to skid to a stop at the edge of the clearing. Smoke was lazily drifting up from the end of Arlo's gun. His gaze was fixed on a crumpled mess by his feet. The Captain of the Guard was laying on a bed of moss. There was no doubt in the their mind that Elite James Arlo had shot Target One.