Hell & High Water (THIRDS 1)

“What the fuck is this?” Sloane got to his feet, coming to stand beside Dex.

A sick twisting feeling gripped Dex as a symbol with the head of a Grecian goddess flashed on the screen. He’d seen that somewhere before. When it faded, Dex stared at the THIRDS agent gagged and bound, kneeling on the floor next to the cloaked figure’s feet. “Who is that?” Dex asked Sloane, who shook his head, his expression as confused and stunned as Dex’s.

Their cell phones rang, and Dex gave a start. They each answered, hearing Tony’s voice coming over loud and clear from both phones.

“You two in the same room?”

“Yeah, Sloane came over to give me my Christmas present and catch up.”

“Okay, Dex, hang up. Sloane, put me on speaker.” They did as instructed.

Sloane was the first to ask. “What’s going on, Sarge? What is this?”

“We don’t know. What we do know, is it’s legit. That’s Agent Greg Morrelli. He was reported missing last night. He went home after work and disappeared. Intel has been trying to track the source of the video, but having a hell of a time pinpointing the location. It’s a nightmare. We’ve got teams all over the city trying to find Morrelli, but it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

The voice spoke up once more, and everything went quiet. “In order to cure our city of its disease, we must dispose of its carriers, starting with the organization that promotes the sickness. We will unleash Hell upon these sinners, starting with the THIRDS.” From his cloak, the figure removed a gun, aimed it at the pleading agent’s head and fired.

“Oh my God.” Dex’s body stiffened in shock. Had they just witnessed an execution? “How….” He shook his head, unable to believe it. A heavy silence fell over everything, as the figure faced forward. When he spoke, it felt as if he was addressing Dex.

“You had your chance. Now watch your world crumble around you. No Therian will be safe in this city, and your precious heroes will be too busy fighting for their lives to protect you. We are the embodiment of righteous anger, the antipathy roused by those who are sins against nature. We are all around you. Your neighbors, your children’s teachers, your doctors. We are inescapable.” He aimed the gun toward the screen. “And we will set the world to rights.” A shot rang out, and the screen went black.

“… and we will set the world to rights.”

Dex turned to Sloane, his partner’s startled expression confirming they were thinking the same thing. Sloane took hold of Dex’s arm and pulled him into his embrace, his voice almost a whisper.

“He’s alive, isn’t he?”

Dex nodded, his arms wrapping around Sloane, and his face buried against his chest. Isaac Pearce was alive, and he’d issued a declaration of war against them.