Code Cronos
A Thrill Runners Story
Yup!
I was in another anthology. You can find the link to the book at the bottom of the post. Meanwhile, if you are in for a teen spy-thriller covert operation in Genoa. A dangerous underground organization, and a heist to recover an ancient artifact, then this story is for you.
Buckle up and enjoy the ride!
2:30.58Never let go.
Those words would forever haunt Jay Logan’s mind.
Frigid air whipped around Jay’s face, making his t-shirt plaster to his skin. He leaned forward, gripping the brim of his lucky baseball cap with one hand, and the metal door of the carrier plane with the other.
It didn’t take a normal person to leave a mark on the world. The only way to become someone was to go all in.
The countdown on his watch read two hours and thirty minutes left.
It was time to go.
Jay took a deep breath and jumped. Falling out of the plane into the open sky. Air engulfed him for a moment, tangled up in his limbs, then gravity pulled him down. Jay spread out his arms and let it take him.
10:00.00“Sir, this is Code Cronos.” Jay leaned forward, the cold glass table under his arms sending chills through his skin. “I’m the best thrill runner in Telos, and you know it. I can make this mission happen.”
“You may be the best thrill runner,” The tall, broad-shouldered man turned away from the screen and leaned over the table, locking his eyes with Jay’s brown ones. “But you are suspended from Telos. You caught the signal the Cronos gang sent out and have done your work, now go home.”
“Are you still mad about the car…?” Jay ventured.
“This has nothing to do with the car, and you know it.” The director’s eyes were soft.
Jay turned his head away, drumming his fingers on the table as his voice cracked. “I take full responsibility for what happened to Claire.”
“You don’t need to,” The director sighed, combing his fingers through his clean-cut salt and pepper hair. “The tragedy of your last mission was too much for you, and you need a break.” He started to turn away, then stopped. “Oh, and I want my keys back.” He held out a hand.
Jay dug out the keys, setting them on the table. “I wanted to take one more ride,” he sighed.
Claire would have admonished him for that little trick.
But she wasn’t here anymore.
“Thank you,” the director said darkly. “Your shady ghetto habits need to stop.”
Jay rolled his eyes, ignoring the familiar pang that came with mentioning his upbringing. “They kick in now and then, but I have them mostly under control.”
The director pocketed the keys.
Jay held his gaze. “There is something you are not telling me.” He whispered.
The director looked down. “No, Jay.”
“Please, sir, you know I can do this.”
“You are not getting this heist,” the director said, unwavering.
Jay stood, fingering his baseball cap. “I need to finish what I started, for Claire.” He took a deep breath. “And, because we are the only CRU unit trained enough in this Cronos gang to pull the job off.”
“What will happen if you fail?” the director demanded. “If you have to press the alert signal and blow our cover?”
“Not this time,” Jay said.
The director held his gaze, and Jay held his, his heart beating faster and faster as the clock ticked.
“I’m doing this because I want to see you make it, kid,” The director growled.
Jay put a hand over his heart. “Please.”
“One. Last. Chance,” the director breathed. “You have ten hours to complete this heist, starting now. Blow this mission, and you are out of Telos. Forever.”
Jay stuck out his hand across the table, a small smile spreading across his face as the director shook his hand. “I won’t disappoint you, sir.”
The director pulled his hand away. “I hope your team is ready.”
“They will be.”
2:23.60The air carrier bounced in a gust of wind, the cargo strapped down beside Jay rattling as he shifted his position on the metal bench, watching his team members prepare.
They were a bit ticked that he had planned a mission without their consent, but it would work out. It usually did.
Chloe, a slim girl dressed in army green, with long golden ringlets that floated around her like an angel’s halo, sat across from him. Pulling throwing knives out of her backpack, she began stuffing them into her pockets. “So. Cronos again, huh, Jay? Nice of you to ask our opinion on that mission.”
Jay rolled his eyes. “You guys will thank me later.”
“Really?” growled Noah, a thin boy with dark hair, a dark hoodie, and a package-deal dark expression. “We are going up against the king of the Italian underworld, who has mashed our missions to pieces every time we take them on, and you didn’t think to ask your two other team members what they felt?”
Silence fell thick and heavy. Jay felt his jaw tighten as he searched for words. “This is not going to be like the last mission,” he said finally.
Chloe and Noah’s faces turned to his, mixed emotions swirling underneath their tense expressions. Noah opened his mouth, then snapped it shut.
“But what if it is?” Chloe whispered.
Jay stared at the metal floor of the carrier, trying to drown out the swirling pit of blackness inside him with plans. But the grief still bubbled beneath it all, pushing blackness and fear into everything he looked at.
What if he did fail?
“What are we stealing?” Chloe asked.
“The artifact has been put on the black market somewhere under the streets of Genoa,” Jay said quickly, knowing the facts of the mission by heart, as he had been reading them nonstop the whole flight. “It is an ancient bioweapon, developed by the Greeks to destroy their enemies silently and swiftly. It is now in an underground tunnel system.”
Noah ducked his head, running his fingers through his hair. “I don’t want to watch anyone die again, Jay.”
Jay swallowed the lump in his throat. “There was nothing we could do.”
“But she was part of our team, and she died!” Noah’s voice cracked as he looked up, desperation in his eyes. “You pushed on, past the safety of our position, and it cost a life!”
A chill ran over Jay’s skin. Do you think I don’t know that?
“You are our leader, Jay,” Chloe said softly. “Show us we can trust you.”
“Maybe if we actually meant more than just a completed mission,” Noah growled.
“I grew up on the streets,” Jay mumbled, jamming his hat harder onto his head. “I don’t know what trust is.”
The plane jerked from side to side as Jay stared at the floor, memories flooding his mind.
Claire’s blood-tinged fingers brushing his cheek and flicking the edge of his baseball cap. Her last words were drowned out by the sound of gunshots.
“Jay, don’t forget… Never give up…”
Claire had known his every thought, his every dream, better than he knew himself. She knew he was a leader, that he was destined to make a mark on the world.
Now she was gone, and it was his fault. But he was determined to never give up on who he was meant to be.
The best in Telos. Then the world.
“Here we are…” Chloe’s voice broke through his thoughts. Jay looked up to see her standing and sliding her arms into the straps of her parachute. Noah was struggling to get into his parachute as she turned to Jay, locking her blue eyes with his.
“I trust you,” She whispered. She reached down into her pocket and pressed one of her throwing knives into his hand, turning away. “I know you will do the right thing,” she said, smiling a sad smile.
Jay studied the knife, then stuffed it in his pocket, along with his doubts.
It was his last chance to become the person Claire wanted him to be.
He was completing this mission.
A door at the bottom of the plane opened, wind whipping in like a mini tornado. Jay paused at the door, glancing down at his watch.
The countdown on his watch read two hours and thirty minutes left.
It was time to go.
Jay stepped up to it, took a deep breath, and jumped through the opening, falling into the empty sky.
1:30.22Jay rolled up the last bit of the billowing white parachute and stuffed it into the nearest trash can. He checked the tracker on his watch. The walk into the small town on the outskirts of Genoa was about twenty minutes. They still had enough time.
He could do this.
Jay closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then reached up and touched his earpiece to activate it. “You guys ready to go?” He asked, walking out of the alley and into the quaint little street.
“Copy,” Noah’s voice came through.
“Copy,” Chloe said, materializing from the shadows. “The surroundings are clear for now.”
The trio walked down the empty street, afternoon sun streaming down between the peach and orange painted buildings, glancing off the bright red geraniums spilling from cracked green window sills.
Jay glanced down at his tracker, the dark screen on his watch illuminating a pale blue map of the city’s underground sewer system. He squinted at the shapes, then stopped, his boots scraping against a drain grating. “Here,” he whispered.
Noah pulled lasers from his jacket and got to work on the drain.
Jay glanced at Chloe. Her boot was tapping the cobblestones as her eyes roved around the streets. Jay bit his lip.
Why did he feel like it was going too easily?
His heists always started like this, simple, straightforward.
Then…
He shrugged off the feeling. He just needed to get the artifact and get out.
Noah grunted as he lifted the drain out of the street and gestured to thick, wet darkness below. “Are you sure about this place?” He asked Jay, checking his watch. “This looks like a bad point to breach.”
Jay glanced back at the empty streets, his spine tingling. “It cuts off an hour of crawling through pipes. It will be fine.”
Noah’s eyes narrowed, but Chloe nodded. “I’ll go in and check it out first, make sure it’s all clear.” She swung her legs over the edge of the drain and pulled a flashlight out of her pocket, shining it into the blackness, before ducking down and disappearing into the drain.
Noah hunched over the drain opening, staring into the black, watching the bobbing, pale flashlight till it faded. Jay stood, keeping his eyes on the streets, the same uneasiness twisting in the pit of his stomach.
Such an easy entrance should be more guarded.
Minutes ticked by.
Jay checked his watch, and the countdown timer was at 1:15:06. Memories flashed through Jay’s mind like a whirlwind. Gunshots, screams, blood.
Noah’s voice came through the com at the same time, breaking the silence in the thick, muggy air.
“Chloe?”
Static was the only response. Jay swallowed hard as Noah leaned over the hole and tried again.
Still no response.
Noah straightened and hissed under his breath. “Great, this is just great.”
Jay twisted his red hoodie in his hands, glancing at his watch, the blue graph lines showing the sewer system beneath their feet. A direct route to the artifact was mapped out. He had a tracker on Chloe. He could find her. But that would take too long. They could get the artifact first, then get her.
Jay reached out and grabbed Noah’s shoulder, pulling him away from the opening.
“Wait.”
Noah whirled around, his eyes blazing, and he pushed Jay’s hand off his shoulder. “Don’t say anything, Jay,”
“But it might be a trap,” Jay spluttered, hating how weak his voice sounded.
“Do you think I care?” Noah spat, snapping his lasers onto his magnetic wrist bands and standing over the drain. “This whole mission was your idea, and now Chloe is in trouble. You can stay back if you want to, but I’m not going to stand here and do nothing. This is not going to be like the last mission.”
Jay stared at him, angry words burning on his lips.
Noah’s jaw tightened. “You and your stupid pride are going to kill Chloe.”
Jay’s chest squeezed as his hands balled into fists. “Go,” he whispered under his breath. “I don’t care.”
Noah didn’t understand. How could he? Claire was just a girl to him, nothing more.
Noah’s stare burned into his head, “I know.” Then he turned away and lowered himself into the drain, a hollow clanking following his movements. Silence fell over the air.
Jay stared at the dark hole, anger and grief swirling in his heart like a fiery pit of destruction.
What was that kid’s problem? Had he ever experienced anything like Jay had experienced? Had he grown up on the streets, struggling to survive, fighting for a place?
Had he lost his one friend in the world?
No.
The only way to become someone was to go all in, and that was what Claire wanted, and that was what he was doing.
“Not Jay Logan again? I thought you gave up trying to rob us after that girl died.”
Jay froze in place, and an icy blade of fear slipped through his chest. He turned to see a tall man in black, arms crossed, standing five feet away from him. His dark glasses covered his eyes, and his mouth quirked in a dry smile.
Jay’s voice cracked, “You,” he hissed. His pulse fluttered as footsteps scuffed against the cobblestones. A glance behind him confirmed that the exits were blocked.
A trap.
The man laughed, taking a step forward. Jay’s heel hung over the edge of the drain as his pulse thundered in his ears. “I’m sorry, babino,” The man crooned, pulling a gun out of his coat and rubbing a gloved finger over the barrel. “But I am afraid we don’t allow trespassers.”
He leveled the gun at Jay’s head.
“Ciao.”
Jay jumped the second the man’s finger slipped forward. The gunshot rattled in the alleyway as he fell into the damp, murky dark. His knees hit the rough stone, and pain shot through his limbs. Jay groaned, staggering to his feet, tears pricking the backs of his eyes.
Angry voices bounced off the walls, amplified in the narrow corridor. Jay tucked himself into a shadowy alcove as men climbed into the sewers, flashing their lights over the moulding walls, shouting to each other.
Jay glanced down at his watch. The timer displayed just enough time. He could snatch the artifact, climb out of the drain, and send in a Telos crew to retrieve Chloe and Noah. He could have his place in Telos.
Memories spilled over the thoughts like a waterfall. The raspy sound of Claire’s breathing, her cracked, pain-filled voice.
“Never give up.”
What was it that she wanted him to do? Was it really to become the best in Telos?
Or was that what he wanted?
Jay closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the walls, his breath shuddering as it left his lips, racked with silent, unshed tears.
What if Chloe and Noah were already dead or dying?
That last mission had shattered everything in them. Perhaps, it had shattered him, too, and he hadn’t noticed.
He had let two more friends slip through his fingers in his quest to quench his grief.
Jay slipped his hand into his pocket, and the cool blade of Chloe’s knife pressed against his skin. “I trust you.” She had whispered. “I know you will do the right thing.”
Jay reached down and switched his watch to the alert signal. As soon as it went out, he would have contacted Telos, and his mission was over.
But that was not what mattered.
“Hang in there, guys,” he whispered, ducking into the hall, jamming his baseball cap tighter on his head.
“I’m coming.”
1:01.39Italian swear words rattled down the halls as Jay skidded and took a sharp left turn, gasping for air as dark stone blurred past him. He glanced down at his watch for half a second. He was getting closer.
Jay barely registered the sound of rushing water as his watch beeped and his marker collided with the red tracker dots on the screen. He looked up, and his hands met an iron door.
It was a vault door of some sort. He needed something to break it open.
The voices got closer. Jay clicked off his light, pressing himself up against the slick walls, feeling icy water drip down his collar. Flashlights lit up the tunnel, and loud voices echoed off the walls. Then the light faded, and Jay was back at the door, pulling out Chloe’s knife and examining the keyhole.
Shady ghetto habits, huh?
Jay breathed a sigh of desperate relief as the lock clicked open and the door swung outward.
A black hole confronted him. Jay glanced over his shoulder and dug out his penlight from his pocket, shining it into the darkness. “Chloe? Noah?” The last name turned to a question as he felt water swelling over his sneakers. Jay looked down in confusion, turning his light to the water up to his ankles.
Something splashed, and two hands smashed into his ribs, accompanied by a wild yell. Jay gasped, pain cracking through his stomach as he dropped the light and fell to his knees, water splashing around him, soaking through his clothes like an icy bucket dumped over his skin.
A hesitant silence followed as Jay groaned, blinking in the dark, as he groped under the rushing water for his light.
“Jay?” The soft voice was hoarse and strained.
“YES,” Jay growled, cradling his ribs as he splashed to standing, shivering as goosebumps spread up his arms.
“Jay!” Chloe whispered, “I’m so, so sorry, I thought you were someone else.”
“Yeah, it’s ok,” Jay coughed, his watch illuminating with a soft, white glow. He paused as he caught a glimpse of Chloe.
“Oh wow…” He whispered, wincing, “What did they do to you?”
Chloe’s pale face was crusted with half-dried blood, and one of her eyes was swollen shut. “Just cut these ropes off me and Noah, and let’s get out of here.”
“Right,” Jay said, using her knife to cut through the ropes. As soon as her hands were free, she splashed into the shadows and dragged forward a grey, huddled lump, lifting Noah’s limp hands to Jay so he could untie him. Jay sawed through the ropes, beginning to notice the heavy sound of falling water.
“Where is that coming from?” He whispered, hooking his arms under Noah’s and dragging him to the door.
“This is some sort of aqueduct room,” Chloe said, her voice soft. “They were flooding it, planning on throwing you in here, too.” Noah’s wet head slumped against Jay’s arm, and Jay’s stomach twisted again.
Noah had been right. It was his fault.
This was a repeat of the last mission.
“I am so sorry,” he whispered. “I should have never pushed for this heist in the first place.”
Chloe didn’t respond. Jay looked up slowly. He probably deserved her silence, after everything he had done-
A faint blue light pulsed in the hands of a man in black, reflecting in his shiny sunglasses, which he wore, even in the pitch dark.
“Well, hello, going somewhere?” The man asked softly. He clicked his tongue as five more men materialized out of the shadows behind him. “That really is too much.”
Jay’s hand met the wall as he slipped Noah’s dead weight into Chloe’s arms. “Jay,” Chloe whispered, “Don’t…”
Jay stepped forward. “Leave my friends alone.”
The man looked down at him, then leaned forward, holding the glowing vial under Jay’s nose. “Do you know what this is, my little thieves?” His Italian accent purred as his cold fingers gripped Jay’s arm. “This is the little deadly artifact that you were after.” He smiled. “I say were because I just sold it.”
Jay yanked his arm away. “I don’t care,” He whispered. “Just let my friends go.”
“Jay,” Chloe repeated, her voice had changed. It was no longer a warning, but a desperate plea. “We can work out another way,” She begged, “I am sure.”
No. He was going to help his friends.
Jay’s jaw tightened as he looked over at Chloe and shook his head. Backup was coming soon. He just had to buy some time.
The man in black sighed, tucking the glowing vial into his black coat. “I am afraid I don’t have time to bargain with teenagers.”
Jay reached into his pocket and pulled out the knife, the cool metal heavy in his hand. He dug his soaked sneakers into the gravelly muck at the bottom of the tunnel. “Then we are in the same gondola.”
The men in black looked uncertainly at their leader, who smirked and crossed his arms. “Uccidili.”
A shiver ran through Jay’s spine.
Kill them.
Gunshots split the air as voices and lights filled the narrow tunnel. “DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!!”
Jay’s hand shot out, and he grabbed Chloe’s arm, dragging her forward in the confusion. He caught a glimpse of her pale face as realization dawned. Jay grinned as he slipped past the leader, sliding his knife into his slightly heavier pocket, and dragged Chloe and Noah past the armored fighters filing into the tunnels and the half-light of the main drain.
A ladder was hanging from the drain opening. Jay climbed up after Chloe went through, helping drag the still unconscious Noah up the rungs.
Chloe collapsed on the sunwarmed cobblestones, gasping.
Jay dragged himself up after her, pulling off his cap and running his fingers through his damp hair, feeling bruises surfacing.
Chloe sat on the edge of the drain, watching Telos agents swarm the tunnels. “You called Telos?”
Jay ducked his head, watching the water drip off his hat and pool on the cobblestones. “Yeah. I did.”
“But what about your mission?” Chloe asked, her damp face glinting in the sun.
Jay took a deep breath. “The tragedy of the last mission shattered me.” He scraped his fingers over the muck on his clothes. “I was so caught up in my childhood wounds and blinded by grief… I didn’t realize I was repeating my mistakes.” Jay scraped up the last ounce of his courage and looked up at Chloe. “I am so sorry,” he said, his voice a whisper.
“Thank you.”
Jay looked over as Noah opened one eye and squinted in the bright sun, holding Jay’s gaze.
Jay laughed dryly. “You were right, as always.”
Chloe laughed, giving Jay a significant look. “What?” Jay asked.
She threw her arms around Jay. “I forgive you, Jay,” She whispered. Jay relaxed, sinking into the hug as Noah chuckled behind them. “I knew I could trust you,” she whispered.
A warmth stole into Jay’s chest, flooding his mind. He sniffed back tears and coughed.
Chloe pulled away from the hug and smirked in the direction of his bulging pocket. “Those old shady ghetto habits coming back to you?”
Jay’s hand drifted to his pocket to finger the vial as he grinned. “You could say that.”
He smiled as he handed the vial to Chloe, but deep down inside, he was planning his future. Who knows, maybe the world needs an extra-special, super-secret three-person team to tackle the bigger problems and watch each other’s backs.
They’d need a mascot, and he knew a good one. He even had a motto.
Never give up.
Excited for more? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!
The above photo is copyrighted by Legend Fiction. To view their website, click the link. Legend Fiction (They also have a really amazing writing community, be sure to check it out!)
Do you like what you see here? Click the button below to start a new adventure! Have any thoughts on the post? Please share them below!
Oh my word, congratulations on another anthology! And I can totally see why this made it in, it's so awesome!!
Awesome job! This is more in my wheelhouse💕