Family Ties

Part 65

"Eric!" Raymond barked through the communication device in his mask, as he sped through the city. "Eric, you'd better be there, or so help me!"

"Ray, is Skye okay?"

"Yes, Dad has them and they're on their way home now, so you can stop worrying about Skye and concentrate on me for a while."

"Sorry, what did you need?"

"How long can this suit hold out for and if I keep getting hit, I can still use that energy blast thing, right?" He had to know to what extent he could push this suit if he was to go into Alexis' house and weed him out himself.

"It could technically keep going, as long as the central control isn't damaged." There was a short silence, "You'd also need to refill on darts and grenades, but the guys can meet you halfway to make the drop, to save time.

"Okay, refill, got it. Where is the central control hidden?" He asked, half knowing the answer already.

"It's sitting above your heart. As soon as the suit receives a blow, that section is automatically hardened to avoid damage."

"And I'm not Iron Man, right..." He sarcastically said.

"Piss off Ray. We've got work to do. I've sent the drones out to scout the place and drop some surprises along the way. We've already hacked the house electronics and the guys are making a few changes to your suit, according to the data we got." He went on to start explaining the intricacies of their system upgrade, but Raymond quickly stopped him.

"You can explain it all later. All I need to know is that we can make this suit do what you say it does." Slowing down, he brought the car to a stop next to a construction area on the side of the road. "I'm getting the refills now."

"Ian is going to clip something to your back to recalibrate your suit. Just hold still for a while."

"Holy, goddamn hell! What the fuck man?!" Raymond yelled as he felt the suit constrict around him, before the temperature dropped to what felt like freezing, before it slowly returned to its usual inert state, when not in battle.

"Sorry, it's still new, so we haven't made everything for comfort yet." He chuckled over the phone.

"I'm good to go. Did you put the special gas in?"

"Yeah. Press your thumb and middle finger to break the seal and snap your fingers to distribute the gas. Ray?" He waited for a response but got none. "Ray, Skye is safe, so don't do anything that you're going to regret, okay? We're all here for you buddy."

Raymond ignored Eric, maintaining radio silence. He was pissed beyond belief at the stupidity of Alexis' plan and the fact that Skye got caught in the middle of it and will probably need therapy for the rest of his life. He'd thought that scaring Alexis would get him some results, as none of the other guild members wanted to work with him, but it seemed like he was a tick that had to be physically removed.

Grimly stepping on the accelerator, he sped toward his target. Driving up the steep driveway, he held his head down as bullets started raining, making him speed to get to the top and out of the car.

As he brought the car to a stop and rolled out of the door after checking that everything was clear, he considered his options but it looked like he was going to have to blow his way through the front door. Before he could decide the best way to tackle the situation, a loud pop made him look up at the bright light explosions that seemed to go off in regular intervals outside the house.

At some point, Raymond had to shield his eyes with his arm, since the light had become so bright and intense. When some of the light died down, the filters in his mask made it easier to see all the men writhing on the ground in pain, holding their eyes. Eric worried about him doing something dangerous and out of character, but looking at the men in front of him, it seemed that Eric had carefully planned this to get some sort of revenge.