Dimensional Travels: World at War-Chapter 79: Trust, but verify

Mia turned to the glass window. "Eric, can you bring me his bag?"

Eric walked into the room a few moments later, and Ryan studied the man. Rumors around the Empire had been circulating about a man who single handedly destroyed the Brios. He was known to many as "The Rogue Knight", because he seemed to be everywhere at once. Nearly every time 6-8 had won an encounter, it was rumored Eric was a part of it.

After handing Mia the bag, Eric studied Ryan for a moment. He noticed the wedding ring the man kept fiddling with, and walked out without saying a word.

Ryan stopped messing with his ring as he watched the man leave. A sliver of sweat trickled down his neck as he turned to Mia.

"Why did he look at me like that?"

As his mind began to wander, the ruffling of papers interrupted his thoughts. The contents of his bag were unceremoniously dumped out.

Mia found his phone. "Password?"

Ryan sighed. "Password."

Mia’s eyebrows raised, but she said nothing as she opened the phone. Her hand trembled slightly as she saw the last message from Eleny. She quickly collected herself, scanning through the texts.

"Your next check up is supposed to be in two hours." She remarked. "What will Mickey do if you are not there?"

Ryan sighed. "He is supposed to retreat and head back to Giag. But knowing that guy? I don’t think he will do that."

Mia nodded as she turned back to the glass. "Squad 1, get with V.E.T.S. see if any sighting of Mickey can be found. Squad 2, get Ryan a hotel room at Freedom town. Two guards are to accompany him at all times until further notice."

She paused, turning to Ryan.

"If we find Mickey, you will have unsupervised family time."

Ryan nodded as he was escorted out.

Mickey walked the streets of Austin. Music blasted into the air at full volume. He held his hand over his ears. Screams on the battlefield echoed over the music as he tumbled into a bench. He looked around, nauseated by the crowds. His breath caugh in his throat as he looked around. Each street was packed with people. Dead bodies flashed over the pavement. Then the street turned to normal.

"No." He growled. "Not yet."

He bit his lip, drawing blood. The street returned to normal. He looked up, craning his neck to see the top of each skyscraper. The sun shone off the glass, nearly blinding him. After almost one year in Brishan, the tall metal buildings seemed alien.

"She would have loved coming here." He said gently, touching the memorial of a long forgotten Texas president.

Her eyes glowed happily as she ran up to a statue, posing next to it. "Mickey! Look. It is George Washington!" She smiled. "Thank you so much for bringing me here!"

"Come on mickey! We have to go to the gift shop. I hear there are British soldier plushies." His eyes softened as she grabbed his arm and led him inside. He would do anything to see that smile forever.

A passerby bumped into him, shaking him from his thoughts. "Oh, my bad man." The passerby said. Mickey didn’t respond, and the passerby shook his head.

"Fucking crackheads." The man said as he walked away.

Mickey clenched his fists. His hand reaching for a knife. The man looked so fragile. So weak. "It would be so easy." He mumbled, but he shook his head. "No. Not here." He reminded himself as he looked at his phone.

One hour left until check in.

He kept walking. He approached Riverside. More memories flowed through his mind, the echoes of his past overlapping with the present.

They were kayaking down the river, her eyes wide with wonder and excitement as fish swam around them. Birds flew overhead. The forest seemed to sing them their own song of nature and happiness. She turned her Kayak around, grunting as she spun in a circle before finally facing Mickey.

"Thank you for bringing me out here, love." She said while looking around. "The air here feels so peaceful and surreal."

Mickey smiled in response, blowing her a kiss. "I hope to bring the baby here after he is old enough."

Her hands reached down to her stomach, rubbing it.

"I am sure if the little monster is anything like you, he will absolutely love it."

A squirrel ran in front of him, its chirping as it skittered through the grass waking him up. He looked out across the lake, the cityscape reflecting on the water surface.

"Why me? Why her?"

He pulled out his phone, looking at the time. "Thirty minutes? Fuck that."

He turned off his phone, looking back at the water surface.

Jessica and Liam led a squad into the city. The link up point for Mickey and Ryan was at a bar on MLK. Each soldier was in plain clothes. Liam and Jessica sat down at a table, while each of the soldiers sat down in opposite corners.

"Do not engage unless target is hostile." Jessica said into her earpiece. "Mages, protect the civilians. There will likely be collateral if he doesn’t come peacefully, so it is up to us to protect everyone while detaining the rogue hero."

As everyone settled into position, a waitress came up to take their orders. "What can I get started for ya’ll?"

After ordering, Jessica looked at Liam. "So, my Dad has been wondering if you were going to pop the question."

Liam froze. His body creaked as he turned from looking at the exit to looking at her. "We are on a mission right now, babe." He muttered under his breath. His hair stood on end as he imagined Eric standing there with a shotgun right behind him.

Jessica chuckled and held his hand. "I know, but we have half an hour left. Why don’t we treat this like a real date?"

Liam sighed.

"You just want your Dad to kill me, don’t you? Are you still mad about that pie?"

As Jessica turned to answer, the building shook. Her water glass shook on the table. Liam looked at her glass of water. "Did your glass just..."

He paused, doubting his eyes.

"Move?"

"Does Texas even get earthquakes?" She responded.

The atmosphere around the bar stilled as conversation ceased. Patrons looked around in confusion as another ripple shook the building. The windows at the front shook as Jessica looked towards the middle of the city.

"That isn’t an earthquake."

She stood up. "Lets go. Its coming from somewhere in downtown."

As they hopped into their trucks and began speeding downtown, the ripples were getting stronger. The air was pushing back against the truck. "Jeez. It feels like I am driving in a hurricane!" Jessica yelled.

"Alert! Alert, any station on net!" The radio came to life. "Unknown energy frequency fluctuating near Lady Bird Lake at Riverside."

Jessica groaned, looking up at the street sign. "We are four miles away!"

The closer they got, the heavier the air felt. Jessica strained her muscles and ground her teeth as she held onto the steering wheel. Civilians out in the street were collapsing as the pressure waves were becoming tangible. Trees bent back and forth as if they were rocking in the wind.

They turned the corner of Lamar and Riverside, and saw him at the edge of the lake.

Mickey was standing there next to a bench. The ground around him scoured in clumps, the dirt peeling off from the grass. Memories of his wife and their time together echoed in his mind, overlapping with the screams of those he took the life of. He turned around when he saw the vehicles pull up. He met eyes with a woman he knew well. The youngest of the heroes. Blood ran down his face, his veins popping as he looked at Jessica.

"Don’t become me." Mickey said, the blood tears falling as his skin seemed to decay in front of them.

"Mages! Form a barrier around him!" Jessica yelled, realizing they had seconds to react. Mana circled around her as she walked close to Mickey. "Mickey! It isn’t too late. Stop this! She wouldn’t want this!"

Mickey shook his head at the teen. "My son would have been two years old by now." He whispered.

"I don’t want to kill anyone anymore."

He stopped speaking as he groaned, his eyes closing as more mana erupted from him. The wave sent her flying against the truck. "Mages! Now." She groaned, standing up and spitting out blood.

A barrier of blue mana condensed around Mickey. His eyes met hers as he closed them for the final time. "Its done."

An explosion roared in the barrier. "Open the front! Direct it towards me!" Jessica yelled as she noticed cracks forming along the edges.

The mages hesitated.

"Now!" Her eyes glowed in a red hue as mana circulated around her. She took a deep breath, drawing mana from the air as the mages opened the barrier.

A torrent of mana rushed towards her, and she held her ground, deflecting it skyward. Mickey collapsed as the mana stream ended. Jessica held her ground, deflecting the last of it before standing there, gasping for air.

"Its over."