Alive Again: Awakening (Book 1)

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Brandon raised both his arms toward the power lines on either side of the street. He inhaled, letting the electricity pulse alongside the blood in his veins. He measured the currents streaming through the wiring above, one line after another, until he reached his targets. When his mind connected with the currents above him, he clenched his fists and the power lines snapped, swinging down to the street. The snapped lines met and sparked before him, and Brandon leapt, sailing down atop their connection. His inner electric current repelled the one below and he shot up into the air.

Soundlessly, he landed on a nearby rooftop adjacent to West River Road. Crouching down, he evaluated the street below. He pulled a portable data capsule out of his bag, one he'd had to steal from the mission tech lab. Brandon was confident getting past the security in there was far more dangerous than anything he'd encounter on the job. Though, he had to admit the added level of difficulty was exciting. Going rogue was kind of fun, if you could pull it off as well as he had. 

Hopefully, G wouldn't be too angry. After all, there were worse things than going off script for a good cause. The truth was Brandon couldn't  take the waiting any longer. He'd promised himself that he'd save everyone he could from Maxwell Everest, no matter what it cost him.

One life lost or ruined was one life too many.

G was willing to chance contemplation, even if it meant the difference between someone's life and death. Brandon wasn't. The girl he had secretly (and ill-advisedly) journeyed here to save could've been kidnapped (or worse) by the time G made up his mind about whether Brandon and his team could've handled this mission, and by then, it might've been too late.

Brandon trusted himself, but realized, of course, that his methods weren't exactly amazing. There was no way he would have convinced his team to defy their benevolent leader as he had. And that was fine. If this mission was extraordinarily dangerous, as G suspected it would be, then maybe it was better he'd left everyone out of the loop. Someone's life was at stake. That was more important to him than playing it safe.

His gaze fastened on the capsule's digital screen. The display lit with a picture of the target girl. Brandon scrolled through the information about her, pausing over the School of Enrollment field. He looked across the street at the ornate marquee hung above a large school building. He was in the right place. The girl he was looking for should be here.

He zapped the PDC with his finger, destroying the hard drive of the device. He crushed it in his hand, dropping the remains at his feet. Brandon reached into his pocket once more. He pulled out a tiny shard of sapphire. It was a gift from someone he loved in memento of someone he loved, a reminder of two people he'd lost too soon.

He closed his eyes briefly and flexed his muscles. He was ready.