Crossfire (Book 1) (The Omega Group) (5 page)

A loud knock on the door woke her from a deep sleep. Taking
in her surroundings, her brain slowly got up to speed with where she was. She
climbed off the bed, still wearing her clothes from the previous night, and
opened her door.

“It’s time to go to work,” Greco said and then walked down
the hall toward the kitchen.

Well, good morning to you, too
, she thought. Rubbing
the sleep from her eyes, she changed into workout gear and padded over to the
bathroom to brush her teeth and splash some cold water on her face. Feeling
almost human, she went to the kitchen to meet Greco.

As soon as she walked in, she was greeted by the smell of
freshly brewed coffee. Finding the mugs in one of the cupboards, Mirissa
grabbed one and filled it to the brim with the hot, liquid heaven that she
desperately needed this morning. She drank it black because that was how real
coffee lovers drank it. Cream and sugar were for pretenders. Taking her first
sip, she may have actually groaned at how good it tasted. Even the Baxter’s coffee
was delicious.

Halfway through her cup, she heard the front door open and
close, and Greco came walking into the kitchen. Without saying a word, he
grabbed a mug and filled it with coffee, adding both cream and sugar.
Of
course
, she thought.

Watching him stir his coffee, Mirissa sipped hers, waiting
for him to speak. He was really going to have to work on his conversation
skills if she was going to be spending every day with him.

“We have two hours before breakfast, so let’s get going,”
Greco said as he walked out of the kitchen, then out of the house.

“Yes, sir.” Mirissa said to the now empty room and then
followed him outside.

The day started with a ten-mile run around the property. It
took her a couple of miles to find her groove, but once she did, Mirissa found
herself focusing on the landscape around her instead of the run. The woods were
thick, and even though the sun had already risen, the canopy created the look
of never-ending dusk. It was a really peaceful place, she thought as she wound
her way around the trees following Greco. They passed a good-sized pond that
lay a few hundred yards behind the barn, and later a vegetable garden that
Mirissa assumed Laura used for her cooking.

Nearing the one-hour mark of their run, Mirissa figured they
should be fairly close to done. Without knowing the route they had taken, she
had no way of knowing the distance they’d run, but she felt as though she had
stayed at about a six minute per mile pace—not terribly difficult but enough to
get her blood moving. When they followed the path out of the woods, her
thoughts were confirmed when the front of the barn came into view. Slowing to a
walking pace to let her heart rate come down to normal, and downing the last of
her water, Mirissa saw Mr. Baxter—he hadn’t told her to call him
Walter—chopping wood in the house’s back yard. He looked up and gave her a
smile and a wave, which she happily returned, as she walked over to Greco.

“What’s next, coach?” Mirissa asked with a cheeky grin,
trying to show Greco that she could handle more than just a long run.

“Let’s head inside and start the workout.”

Start
the workout? Maybe she shouldn’t have tried to
show off so soon. This was definitely going to be a long day, Mirissa thought
as they entered the barn.

Apparently Greco decided to test her abilities to ascertain
just how much work they had to do, so he had Mirissa sit on a large blue mat
near the center of the exercise area. First, he timed her for two minutes while
she did push-ups, to see if she could reach 100, which was considered optimal
for Special Forces recruits. She did 104. After resting for sixty seconds, she
did sit-ups for the same amount of time, beating the Special Forces’ standard
of 100 by six this time. Her last test was pull-ups. Do as many as you can,
before your body fails. Moving over to the pull-up bar that was suspended from
the ceiling, Mirissa completed twenty-three full pull-ups before she wasn’t
able to do any more.

Greco seemed almost pleased at her less than stellar
performance on the pull-up bar. Special Forces guys had an optimum goal of
twenty-five and she had just missed it.

“Not bad,” he said, “but we have some work to do.” He
clearly didn’t see any need to compliment her on her performance. “Go on into
the house and get ready for breakfast.”

Now that was something she was actually looking forward to.

After an amazing breakfast with the Baxters of pancakes,
eggs, and sausage, of which Mirissa ate more than her fair share, it was off to
the barn for some target practice.

The firing range had three lanes measuring twenty-five yards
long. At the front of each lane was a waist high counter for laying your weapon
and ammunition down. Mirissa followed Greco to a small room in front of the
range and waited for him to enter a code into the electronic lock on the door.
When the lock disengaged, she went inside to choose her weapon.

Mirissa grabbed her favored FN 5.7 pistol. It was expensive
and, yes, the ammunition was expensive and harder to find, but it was a
beautiful weapon. First, it was unbelievably light, weighing less than a pound
and a half unloaded. Second, it had almost no recoil, so it was incredibly
accurate and allowed for much quicker shooting. Third, it was the only pistol
that shot rifle bullets that could pierce a Kevlar vest. Fourth, it had a
twenty round magazine and, obviously, more bullets are just better, period.
That was why it was the weapon that Secret Service agents carried.

Greco was waiting for her at the middle lane and, after they
both donned ear protection, Mirissa fired off eight rounds at the target
suspended twenty-five yards away. When Greco pushed the button to bring the
target to where they stood, he couldn’t hide his satisfaction. The black
silhouette had five holes dead center in the chest and three in the head. Her
dad deserved more credit than Greco had given him, and Mirissa enjoyed proving
that.

The rest of the morning they spent firing, dismantling, and
cleaning each of the pistols in the lock-up. Although she enjoyed the rush she
felt when firing a weapon, Mirissa was relieved when Laura called them in for
lunch. It was her brain, more so than her body that needed a break.

Lunch was, as she had come to expect, delicious. The table
was covered with platters full of breads, lunchmeats, cheeses, and a variety of
garnishes. Mirissa made a mile-high sandwich and scarfed it down in record
time, thanking the Baxters, again, for their hospitality.

When she’d had enough to eat, they were out in the barn
again, this time in the gym. The treadmill held no interest for Mirissa after
their long run this morning, so she opted for strength training, heading
straight for the racks of free weights and starting her routine.

Once she felt she had given her muscles a good workout, she
did her stretching to ensure flexibility and flush out some of the lactic acid
build-up that happens during training. Grabbing another bottle of water from
the fridge, Mirissa sat and waited for Greco to finish his workout. She figured
she’d done pretty well for her first day and was ready for it to be over.

“One more run and you can call it a day.”

“Fantastic, just what I was going to suggest.”

After only five miles this time, Greco officially called an
end to their first day of training and Mirissa couldn’t have been happier—until
the next day when he put her through even more, adding in swimming laps in the
pond, and classwork about Kakodaemons and Amazons.

Every day for the next three months, Mirissa pushed herself,
both physically and mentally, further than even she thought she could. Every
week Greco would test her abilities to ensure that she was improving. If she
didn’t improve enough for his liking, he would push her harder.

Her only reprieve was the amazing meals Laura cooked three
times each day, and her nightly telephone calls with her father. Without those
things, Mirissa was sure she would have lost it within the first two weeks.

She did have to admit, though, that she was in better
condition now than she had ever been—stronger, leaner, faster, and sporting
rock hard abs—and was actually quite proud of herself. Of course, she wouldn’t
tell Greco any of that.

Now, according to him, it was time for her to join the real
fight and go to work kicking Kako ass.

After a tearful goodbye with the Baxters, who had been like
grandparents to her for the last three months, Mirissa got in the car with
Greco for the ride back home. Back to her father and, presumably, the
Kakodaemons.

When Greco made the turn into Mirissa’s driveway, her father
burst through the front door, running to meet them. Stepping out of the car
almost before it stopped, Mirissa jumped into her dad’s arms for a long hug
that she hadn’t realized how much she needed. Although the Baxters had made her
feel very welcome in their home, it just wasn’t the same as being with her dad.

She grabbed her duffel bag from the back seat, and the two
started toward the house, chatting non-stop about everything that had gone on
since Mirissa had left three months ago. They were both so engrossed in each
other that they momentarily forgot about Greco, until he not so subtly cleared
his throat behind them.

“Can you give me a second, Dad?”

With a nod, Steve went inside the house, leaving Mirissa and
Greco alone on the front porch.

 “Take the rest of the day with your father,” Greco
said. “Then tomorrow we’ll go on patrol. I’ll pick you up an hour before
sunset.”

With that, he turned around and started back to the car.

“Hey!” Mirissa yelled at his back. When he turned, she wrapped
her arms around him and gave him a hug, whispering, “Thank you” in his ear.

His arms still hanging limply by his sides, Greco answered,
“Uh, you’re welcome.” Visibly uncomfortable with the show of affection, he
twisted himself out of the embrace and clumsily made his way back to the car,
tripping on his own feet twice along the way. His cheeks reddened with
embarrassment when Mirissa giggled behind him.

When she figured that she’d tortured him long enough, she
waved goodbye and went to join her dad. It occurred to her that she had
actually grown fond of Greco over the last few months, unexpected as that was,
and would miss their time together.

Once inside the house, her first stop was Henry’s habitat.
She pressed her face to the glass to watch him swim and waited for him to do
the same. This had been their routine for eleven years and returning to it
after her three month absence warmed her heart.

Over the next three hours, Mirissa and her father sat in
their living room, where this whole ordeal had begun, and brought each other up
to date on the happenings in their lives. Mirissa told him everything about her
training, the farm, and Walter and Laura Baxter. Her dad showed her the changes
he’d made in the house since her departure: new paint on the walls, refinished
kitchen cabinets, and a beautiful new deck off the back of the house.
Apparently, he’d needed something to keep himself busy while she was gone. She
shouldn’t have been surprised, though. After her mother left he’d chosen not to
start a new job, having more than enough retirement income, and spent all of
his time being a dad. She should have realized how difficult these last months
without her would have been for him.

When it came time for dinner, Steve ordered pizza and
laughed when Mirissa scowled. She was definitely going to miss Laura’s cooking.

“So, what’s next in your new super hero life?” Steve asked.

“I’m not really sure. Greco’s coming by late tomorrow to
take me out on patrol, so I guess I’m going to get to go up against my first Kako.”

She was having mixed feelings about that, if she was to be
honest with herself. On the one hand, she was excited to put all of her
training to use and see, once and for all, what fighting a Kakodaemon would be
like. But, on the other hand, she was nervous. What if she wasn’t good enough,
strong enough, fast enough? It wouldn’t be like it was at the farm, where Greco
would pick her up off the mat, tell her what she’d done wrong, and have her try
again. Out in the real world, if she fell short, someone could die—
she could
die
.

Reading her mind, as he’d done since she was a little kid,
her dad moved to the couch and put his arm around Mirissa’s shoulders. “Don’t
worry,” he said. “You’re going to be great. And I’m going to be right beside
you the whole time to make sure of it.”

“What?” Mirissa whipped her head around to look at her
father. Was he crazy? He couldn’t go with her! What if he got hurt? What if he
got killed?
No way
, she thought. “Dad, no. It’s too dangerous.”

“Navy SEAL, here. Remember? I wasn’t always Mr. Mom. Not to
mention that I’ve actually fought Kakos before.”

She couldn’t argue with him there. His SEAL training would
have prepared him for almost anything, and he did have more experience with
Kakos than she did, but she was still worried about him.

“It’s not up for discussion, sweetheart. I’m going with you.
All you need to do is figure out how to break the news to Greco,” he said with
a smile.
Oh, crap
, she thought.
That’s not going to be pretty
.

And she was right. Greco was none too pleased when he came
to pick her up the next day and her dad informed him of his plan to join them.
After a few moments of wasted argument, Greco relented and gruffly agreed to
let him come along.

“So, where are we headed?” Mirissa asked once they were on
the road.

“We’re going to Jacksonville Landing. The Kakos tend to hunt
in places with lots of people and lots of places to hide.”

Mirissa couldn’t believe it. She spent a lot of time with
her friends at Jacksonville Landing. It was a huge place on the St. John’s
River. Tourists and locals alike flooded there to enjoy the restaurants and
bars that populated the area and she had a hard time imagining it as a killing
ground for ancient demons.

“If Kakos look just like us, how will we know one when we
see one?”

Greco let a rare smile cross his face and simply said, “Oh,
you’ll know.”

Cryptic much?

For the rest of the ride, Mirissa sat quietly, contemplating
what she would do when she finally went up against a real Kakodaemon. She had
spent the last three months training for just that, but she couldn’t shake the
nerves that were creeping in. What if she wasn’t ready? What if someone got
hurt or worse because she failed?

As they pulled into a parking space, her father put a hand
on her shoulder, giving it a quick squeeze, and said, “Don’t worry, sweetheart.
You are going to be fine and we’ll be right beside you the whole time.”

With a small smile that was mostly faked, Mirissa nodded,
took a deep breath, and exited the car with her dad and Greco at her side.

For the first half hour of their patrol everything was
quiet. People were everywhere, coming and going from whatever social gathering
they were attending, and Mirissa watched every one of them as closely as she
could, trying to find some sign of the evil she knew had to be there.

A particularly large group of people turned the corner just
ahead of them and caught her attention. They all looked to be in their
twenties, the age range that Greco had taught her Kakos appeared to be, and
they stayed in a tight formation, just as Greco said the Kakos would. She
watched as they laughed and talked, pushing each other around and getting
louder as they walked.

Mirissa found herself walking faster, closing the distance
between them and the carousers ahead. Patting the small of her back to check
that her blade was still safely in its sheath, she readied herself mentally for
the fight that was to come.

Now only a few feet away, Mirissa looked to Greco for any
last minute instructions he might have, but he said nothing, apparently waiting
for her to do her job. Stepping forward to get in front of the group, she was
suddenly overcome with a powerful sensation. She couldn’t quite pinpoint it,
other than to say that she felt inexorably pulled to her left. Trying to stay
focused on her targets, Mirissa shook her head and stepped again in front of
the oncoming enemies. This time, along with the powerful need to go left, her
right ring finger started to tingle—just the tiniest of vibrations.

As the large group of carousers passed by them, Mirissa
looked to Greco for an explanation.

“It’s your ring, Mirissa. It will tell you when a Kakodaemon
is nearby. Just focus your mind and you’ll know where you need to go.”

Taking a deep breath, Mirissa closed her eyes and centered
herself. Once she felt in control, she opened her eyes, turned to her left, and
walked toward where she was absolutely sure she needed to be. Crossing the
street, with her father and Greco right behind her, she came to a narrow path
that ran between two buildings. Winding their way around the garbage cans and
upturned crates that littered both sides of the darkened alleyway, Mirissa
began to wonder if she was leading them on a wild goose chase. She couldn’t
hear anything—no footsteps aside from their own, no voices, not even the
scurrying sounds of rats. Mirissa turned around to ask Greco if she could
possibly be misinterpreting her ring’s instructions, but before she opened her
mouth, a slight shadowy movement about fifteen feet ahead caught her eye.
Moving silently forward, she followed the shadow as it slid behind an overfull
dumpster.

Mirissa paused at the far end of the dumpster, readying
herself. With one last deep breath, she burst around its corner and found
herself face-to-face with her first Kakodaemon.

Her ring’s earlier tingle became a full-blown vibration
running up her arm, momentarily distracting her. The Kako took full advantage
of her lack of focus and landed a lightning fast right cross to her exposed
chin, causing her to stumble backwards into the open alleyway. As she regained
her balance, she saw Greco holding her father back, stopping him from coming to
her rescue.

That was all the motivation Mirissa needed. After the last
three months of training, she just couldn’t fail. Not on her first night of
patrol and not with Greco and her father watching.

Gathering herself, she took in the whole scene and sized up
her opponent. He was about two inches taller than her and well-muscled. Not
huge, but definitely athletic. His reach was longer than hers, so she decided
on a plan of attack that would take that advantage away from him. Letting him
come in close for another right hook, Mirissa lowered her hips, leaned in and
drove forward with her own fist aimed at his throat. His momentum pushed him
into her strike as she used her legs to power her punch. Those two opposing
forces would allow her to crush his larynx, effectively incapacitating him
within seconds.

Except the Kakodaemon wasn’t following her playbook.

Reading her intentions as easily as she had read his, he
swiveled on his front foot, turning his body and head to the left, as her fist
sailed past without making contact. With her body fully exposed and open to
attack, the Kako unleashed a barrage of punches, landing blows on her abdomen,
chest, and chin.

“Focus!” Greco yelled, still holding Steve back.

OK,
Mirissa thought,
pull yourself together and
take this guy out.

When the Kako threw his next punch, a left jab, Mirissa used
her right hand to block it to the side, grabbing his wrist and pulling him down
and in close. Reaching her left hand around his head, she pulled his face down
as she drove her left knee into his nose. The crunch of cartilage spurred her
on. Releasing his wrist and head, Mirissa planted her feet, bent her knees, and
powered up into a 360-degree
roundhouse kick that landed squarely above
his left ear. Pressing her advantage, she shuffled forward and struck out with
a sidekick that succeeded in firmly planting the stumbling Kako on his butt,
followed by a straight kick to his chin that knocked him unconscious.

Breathing deeply from the exertion, Mirissa turned to see
her father fist pumping the air in celebration and Greco smiling proudly as his
student passed her first test. She couldn’t help but laugh at the two of them
acting like she’d just won a spelling bee instead of a fight with a demon.

Pulling her blade from its sheath, she looked to Greco. He
simply nodded his head and waited. All of the joy drained out of Mirissa at the
thought of cutting the Kakodaemon’s head off. She knew, intellectually, that he
was a demon and the only way to kill him was to remove his head, but that still
didn’t make it easy for her. He looked, and felt, human.

She knelt beside his prone form and held the blade across his
neck, working up the courage to push it down. Her father came to her side and
placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, silently lending his love and
support. She looked up into his eyes, trying to feed off his strength, but
couldn’t make herself drive the knife through the Kako’s neck.

Just then, the demon opened his eyes, saw the knife, and
grabbed Mirissa’s arm, pushing the knife to the side and pulling her down next
to him. Opening his mouth wide enough to flash his elongated canine teeth, he
lunged for her neck with an animalistic growl.

Steve pushed forward to put himself between his daughter and
the demon determined to kill her, but just as he reached the pavement, the Kako
let out a short scream and exploded into ash, leaving Mirissa holding her knife
where his neck used to be. She’d beheaded her first Kako.

“Are you all right sweetheart?”

Mirissa looked at her father sprawled on the pavement,
knowing he’d been seconds away from sacrificing himself to save her. “I’m
sorry, Dad. I shouldn’t have hesitated like that.”

“Are you kidding?” Steve said with a huge smile plastered on
his face. “You did great! I’m so proud of you.” Then he wrapped his arms around
her in a bear hug.

“Thanks, Dad,” Mirissa whispered as she reveled in the
safety of her father’s arms.

Exiting the alley onto the busy street a few moments later,
Mirissa was struck by the complete lack of fear in the crowds of people
wandering around her. They had absolutely no idea what just transpired only a
few yards away and were gleefully ignorant of the dangers that surrounded them
every night. It occurred to her that she had been just as ignorant only a few
months prior.