Chapter 5

Zella Mills - Phoenix

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Zella, Khloe, Joe, and their driver sat in the electric rental car. Zella looked around the dimly lit car park nested underneath the large NGR Research building. The lunchtime traffic had died down, and many of the employees had already returned their vehicles to the car park. There were only a few empty parking spaces littered around the area.

Joe shifted his body towards Khloe. They were sitting at the back of the rental together. “Still no update?” Joe asked.

Khloe scrolled through her phone. “They’re supposed to ping me when she’s on her way. But nothing yet.”

Zella twitched her foot frantically. Something didn’t sit right with her. “So Elaine Rowe set all of this up for us?” Zella asked.

Khloe huffed. “That’s right.” It had been the third time she’d asked.

“And this NGR contact, she said she had to go through unethical means to secure this data, right? That’s why there’s all the secrecy?”

“Correct,” Khloe sharply replied. “A few of the workers here are on board with our cause. They know what the immortals are capable of and believe they are a threat to society.”

“And tell me again why they couldn’t just pass on these documents electronically?”

“Z, do you absorb anything I’ve told you?” Khloe snapped. “Organizations these days have powerful security tools. Not only can they scan files sent through emails and detect any confidential data, but they also force employees to consent to phone scans when entering and leaving the building. These scans look through files, messages, and emails on the devices, and even dive deep into the phone’s cache to detect any confidential data. This is 2044. Security has evolved.”

“So they can only hand off the documents on paper?”

“Yes.”

“And Elaine put us in direct contact with this person, right?”

“Yes.”

“And you told them we’re here already.”

“Because of the NGR security protocols, they asked that we send a message to a third-party in another building. That friend will then call their direct office extension. They will disguise the call as a general work inquiry, but it will really be to let her know we are here waiting. I already sent a message to the third-party to let them know we’re here.”

“And there’s still no reply from the third-party?”

Khloe’s thumb swiped her phone. “No response, but they’ve read the message.”

The few lights keeping the car park illuminated flickered. Zella glanced at Khloe for a moment. “Driver, get us out of here. Now!”

“Z, what the hell?” Khloe snapped. “Stop being so paranoid.”

“It’s an ambush.” Zella snapped. “Start the car.” The confused driver followed Zella’s instruction, his finger pumping the ignition.

“What the fuck is that?” Joe Halili yelled from the back seat. He pointed at the entrance and exit ramp, which was the only way for a car to get in and out of the car park. Two figures were walking down the ramp wearing sleek combat suits and visors. “Holy shit. Z is right.”

“The elevator,” Zella snapped. “Drive to the elevator.”

Their car shot forward out of their parking slot. The driver whipped the wheel full-lock to the right, pulling them into a swing. The elevator doors were in view on their left. Zella released the safety on her pistol. “Pull up to the elevator and hit the button. Let’s stay in here till the doors open.” The driver stopped beside the elevator, brought his window down, and tapped the button. Zella’s head was on a swivel, glancing through each window. The figures walking down the exit ramp had disappeared.

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Lights went out, leaving them in total darkness. Khloe gasped as the elevator lights faded away. The only light source was the sunlight flooding down the ramp, giving them just enough to make out shapes and outlines. That little trace of light was now the path to their salvation.

The driver hit the ignition several times. “It won’t start,” he cried.

“The car is electronic,” Zella said. “One of them is basically a walking EMP. We should get out of here. Stick close by me.”

“The elevator is out,” Joe said. “That means the only way out is up that ramp. And that’s where they’re going to be waiting.”

“What’s our plan?” Khloe whispered.

Zella tapped her own leg. “I have a smoke grenade. Let’s group together and keep low. We’ll circle around to the front, making our way to the ramp. When we get around the corner, I’ll drop the smoke so they can’t see us. And then, we run for our lives.”

“Hope this works,” Joe said, flicking the safety switch on his own pistol.

“I have a son,” the driver said, looking Zella in the eyes. “Help me make it home.”

Zella nodded. “Keep low. Use the other cars for cover and stay below window height.” She popped her door open and stepped out, the others following behind her. Together they crept forwards, squatting like football players. Zella could feel someone’s hands on her lower back, desperate not to lose her in the low light. She kept her eyes forward, locked on the tall pillar at the corner of a row of cars. They needed to make it past that pillar to be closer to the exit.

Someone was running towards them. Khloe gasped at the sound. Together, they paused. Zella raised her pistol, turning in every direction to find her target.

“I’m making a run for it,” said the driver. As he rose, a bright beam of light ripped through the air, striking him in the chest. He fell to the ground, screaming, his body twitching frantically.

Someone grabbed Joe Halili from behind. “Zella,” he cried.

Zella hissed. They were supposed to stick with calling each other by their first initials in situations like these. There was no time to be annoyed. She had to act. She aimed her pistol at the dark figure but couldn’t get a shot in for fear of hitting Halili. Khloe lashed out and hit the woman holding Joe. The figure disappeared behind their abandoned car. “Let’s keep going. We have to make it out. We can’t fight them,” Zella said.

“I’m blind,” Halili cried out. “It’s happening again. It was them, Zella.”

Zella shushed him. Not wanting her name to be heard. “Hold on to me,” she whispered.

“He’s dead. The driver is gone,” Khloe said, her palm on the driver’s chest. “We’ll have to leave him.”

Zella urged them to keep moving with her. Drawing closer and closer to the corner. It was only a matter of time before they came for them again. She had to be ready.

Two figures closed in without warning. Zella fired a shot to ward off one of them. She used her combat training to fight off the other as they tried to grab Khloe. It was a male’s body, but he was no match for her hand-to-hand. She tossed him to the ground and heard something in his body crack.

The man cursed. “Just wait till I’m recharged.”

The person Zella had shot at was on her now, reaching for her arm. She was sure that it was the one who had blinded Halili. That meant she had to avoid letting this woman touch her. Zella nailed her with a backhand slap across the face, catching her off guard. She couldn’t see her expression, but she could feel the anger in her movements. Zella nailed her with a succession of kicks to her gut and watched her fall back onto the ground.

A gun fired from behind Zella. She turned in shock to see Halili aiming at the man she had knocked down. “I can see now,” Joe Halili said. He aimed the gun at the man’s head, but a green barrier appeared, shielding him. Jade was here. And that meant Quinn couldn’t be too far away.

Zella pulled the pin on the smoke grenade and rolled it to the side. “Come,” she said. Zella grabbed hold of Halili’s wrist and tugged at him, glancing back to make sure Khloe followed. Khloe peppered shots in the man’s direction to suppress him. The ambushers broke out into fits of coughing. Zella knew they could recover much faster than the ordinary human. If they could just make it back on street level, the immortals could no longer engage them without it making the news. She was certain they wanted to avoid that.

The ramp was in sight. Beams of light flowed down in front of them, stretching over the front row of cars to their right. Zella picked up the pace and was happy to feel Joe keeping up with her.

As they reached the corner of the exit ramp, two figures strolled out from a row of cars and faced them. Hubert Quinn scrutinized Zella with his eyes. Jade was at his side, her stone gaze switching between the three of them. Quinn wore an abnormal helmet that hid his golden quiff. The chrome helmet seemed tightly fit around his head, with detailed engravings that made it look like a brain. He was protecting his assets. His brain was far more developed than anyone on Earth.

Quinn said something to Zella. Through all the noise and commotion, Zella didn’t quite hear the words, but she understood what he had said. I will find you.

Zella thought back to the day of her father’s murder. Seeing the younger versions of the immortals in her head. In a moment of pure emotion, she shot directly at Quinn. Jade’s barrier appeared in a flash to save him. The sneer on Quinn’s face was something Zella would never forget. And she didn’t want to forget it. She wanted to remember it for as long as it took her to wipe it off his face. She led her team up the ramp, keeping her gun aimed down at Quinn and Jade. Quinn was letting them go. He had enough information about them to pull whatever strings he needed to.

Her determination to take them down was stronger than ever.

-Mere Immortal is written by Gary Swift. If you see this on another website under another name, then someone has plagiarized it. Visit mereimmortal.com for official chapters. Subscribe to the Substack paid tier to read further ahead in the story.

-This version of Mere Immortal is written in US English.