Hidden Enemies | The Prime Archives #2 ✓

one

The salty wind whipped at Chase's face as he crouched atop the roof of a warehouse overlooking a dimly lit marina. Exhaling, he ran a gloved hand over his recently shaved head. The short, blond hairs stabbed at his exposed fingers, keeping him grounded in reality.

If the mission was going to go as planned, then he—and his team—would need to stay focused. Any slip-up would spell catastrophe for them.

He scanned the docks again.

All the boats had been brought in for the night, their ropes tied around wooden posts at the end of the boardwalks. Blinking lights from the city across the choppy water shone in the distance, the bright skyline glowing throughout the night.

Chase squinted at the boardwalks themselves in search of his targets. His eyes lit up after he spotted them.

Normally, the docks would've been empty at that time of night. But the worst crimes always occurred during the dark.

"Hostiles spotted towards the south end," Chase whispered. "Glitch, do a headcount for me." The virtually invisible earpiece in his ear crackled with sound as Glitch—also known as Archibald Hamilton—readied a response.

The now fourteen-year-old and a half boy—emphasis on the half—was stationed in a nondescript, white van parked a block away from the marina. Their usual surveillance team member called in sick, so Archie volunteered to step in. After all, he designed the drones and other equipment they used during missions. Who better than him to back the squadron of teenaged Primes up during their mission?

"Give me a second, Sentinel," Archie replied. Chase heard the boy type something before continuing. "I'm seeing twelve mercenaries. The cargo is in the trucks. Another convoy is on its way to their position. It'll be there in...two minutes."

Chase nodded and thanked the boy. He then averted his eyes towards the roof of another warehouse. Through the haze, he spotted the silhouette of their ranged weapons specialist standing on the ledge. "Reverb, we're going to need a distraction."

"Red or green?" Emily Yumiko, codename Reverb, asked.

She was referring to the different colored arrows she had in her quiver. The red ones caused a small explosion while the green released a thick, non-lethal gas.

Chase stroked his chin as he thought of which one to go with. If they chose red, it would alert the mercenaries of their presence immediately. Though, it would knock a few of them off the board. But if they opted for green, they'd be able to maintain their element of surprise. As an attack, though, it wouldn't be very effective.

"We should go wit' the red, Chase," another voice, tinged with a southern accent, suggested. "That way, we'll have less peoples to fight, ya' know?"

It was one of the newbies, Angus Tucker—codename Slugger. The boy hid behind a brick wall near the arm's deal below. His orange hair stood out against his all-black uniform.

Chase rolled his eyes at the sixteen-year-old's suggestion. "Bad idea," he replied. "Agent Strong specifically told us to get the collateral damage to a minimum."

"But—"

"We're going with green," Chase said. "Decision final."

"I was just givin' a suggestion," Angus grumbled.

A soft voice chimed in after him. "Can we focus, boys? The mercenaries are going to get away if we keep arguing about which arrow to use." Her voice was slightly muffled as if she were underwater.

Chase nodded. "Pisces is right. We need to focus on the mission." He shifted his gaze back to the docks below. The convoy Archie mentioned earlier pulled up to the scene. A few men, dressed in all-black, hopped out the back with AK-47s in hand.