Maximus

“You know, I’m starting to wonder just how thoroughly you think through your plans.”

They were sitting in her car, in an elevated parking garage with a surprisingly good view of the Institute facility. He glanced over at her, shaking his head.

“I’ll have you know this is a moderately thought through and refined version of my earliest idea,” he said.

“That doesn’t make it any better,” she replied.

He opened his mouth to make a joke, but his eyes noticed the way she was gripping the steering wheel so tight her knuckles were losing all color.

“It’ll be okay,” he said reassuringly instead. “I have my family with me. All of my brothers. Plus Madison and Mila, both of whom are good shots. They’ll keep anybody off our backs while we level the place.”

Maximus desperately hoped that she didn’t ask about anyone who might be inside of the facility. He wasn’t going to let up this time. They hadn’t been able to locate Reashallow despite their best efforts. He was holed up better than a bear in winter. So instead, they were going to try and draw him out.

Which is why he was looking down the street at the place where it had all begun. The Institute facility where he and his brothers had been held until Pierce rescued them. He didn’t want to go back inside. After all, they’d escaped from it once before. Why tempt fate, right? It had made a good amount of sense, however. It was an Institute stronghold. If they could bring this down, it would certainly bring Reashallow out to play.

At least, that was the plan. He could see all the same holes in it Haley could, but he was going to ignore them. They would adjust on the fly, making it work. His team was good at that. But they wouldn’t be going in looking to drug the occupants. They would kill anyone in their way. The goal was to smash the place, destroy it, and rend it utterly unusable without a major effort by the Institute.

He smiled. This was just the first place on their list.

“I’ll be back. Keep your radio on in case Mila needs to call you for backup.”

Haley nodded, tapping the black box sitting on the dash. Lena had rigged them up for the three vehicles, and a portable version for both Mila and Madison. That way all the parties could talk amongst themselves.

He imagined that the same scene was currently being played out in the other cars, as his brothers all reassured their mates that everything would be okay. He was thankful that it was just him and Haley in her car.

“Haley,” he said softly, reaching up to turn her chin to face him.

“Yes?” she looked at him, her eyes almost desperate, searching.

His mouth opened, and he tried to say the words he wanted to, that she deserved to hear. He had every intention of returning from the mission, but just in case something happened, he wanted her to go on living, knowing how he had truly felt.

Come on. Say it. Just tell her how you feel. It’s three little words. You can do this.

But they wouldn’t come. He tried, thinking them in his head, yet they died on his tongue every time he tried to say them aloud.

“I’ll be thinking of you,” he said lamely at last.

The disappointment in her eyes was painful for him to watch. She wanted him to say it. To reveal the truth behind his feelings for her. It was there, in front of him. He could see it! So why was he getting hung up now?

You know how you feel. But maybe the time just isn’t right?

Maximus would never admit it to Haley, but he was slightly scared he would never get another chance to say it. If things went badly inside the Institute facility…

No. You can’t think that way. You have to come back to her. You can’t leave her alone.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” she pleaded, her eyes boring into him as if she could read his mind.

“I won’t. I have a very good reason to ensure I come out of this alive and in one piece,” he said solemnly, his eyes never wavering from hers as he admired the green-gray mix of them.

Haley blushed. “I wish I could be of more help.”

He frowned. “I know this isn’t a glamorous job. But if you think it’s not a necessary one, then you’re wildly misinformed, my dear. We’re relying on you to be ready at a moment’s notice to come bail us out. You have to get through traffic to there,” he pointed down the street at the Institute building, “in as little time as possible, without causing an accident and not attracting police attention. But you have to do it fast enough that we don’t get caught. Without you, we don’t accomplish this mission.”

Maximus hoped he was instilling confidence, not fear or stress within her, but it was too late now. He needed to ensure she was on point. None of his words had been false. Haley, along with Lena and Rosie, Gavin and Kassian’s mates, were the keys to their escape. The three of them had vehicles parked in different directions from the facility, to help pick up the brothers as they evacuated after completing their mission.

“I’ll be ready,” she said, her voice firm and strong once more. “You can count on me.”

He leaned in and kissed her one last time, holding nothing back with his body language. Even if he couldn’t tell her how he felt, he would do his best to show her.

His radio buzzed. “What’s the hangup?”

Maximus pulled back just a fraction of an inch, resting his forehead against hers as he sighed. “I need to go.”

“I know. Go do it.” She moved her head up to press her lips to his forehead, then sat back in her seat.

He nodded rapidly over and over again as he sat up straight, rolling his shoulders. Then he reached forward and grabbed the radio.

“All right boys and girls. This is it. Say what you need to say, and let’s get on with it. Today, we strike back. Today we stop reacting to the Institute, and start taking the fight to them. Today we drive home the point that they won’t take us without a fight, that we won’t go quietly into the night! Today we fight not only for our freedom, but for our right to exist. Today,” he said, his voice dropping to a whisper, “today we show them that they should never have messed with the Blackjack Bears.”

He clicked the radio off, listening to his brothers roar their affirmatives. They were only five, but the Institute was about to learn that when he and his brothers came to play, that was five too many.

“Go kick some ass,” Haley said, leaning in and giving him one last kiss before pushing him out of the car.

He nodded, his bear rushing forth to utter a growl that filled the concrete parking garage, echoing wildly off the walls. He moved to the edge of the garage, peering the four stories down.

With one last look at Haley he hopped over the edge and dropped to the ground. His knees flexed and he landed on one knee to absorb the impact, rising swiftly as he strode forward. All around him people stopped and stared, the crowd parting. His steps came faster and faster as he moved closer to the whitewashed facility.

Eventually he broke out into a full-out run. On the other side of the street Kean emerged from a parked car and started to run with him. From other directions he knew the rest of his brothers would be doing the same thing.

They all converged on the entrance to the underground parking for the Institute facility at the same time. The single guard on duty didn’t stand a chance, going down under a wave of angry shifters. Then they flowed down the ramp like a tidal wave of destruction, unstoppable now that they were united once more.

Maximus grinned as the double doors to the facility approached. Reaching inside his mind, he unlocked the gate that kept his bear in check. The time for restraint was past. Now was where they would unleash hell.

His brothers followed suit, and ten thousand pounds of angry bear shifters burst through the doors like they were made of paper, rampaging through the facility. Nobody stood a chance. They were like a cavalry charge that had caught their foe out in the open. The bears stampeded over their enemies, crushing what they couldn’t rip open and never stopping as they bulled their way through the entire facility. Equipment was ravaged, walls simply obliterated by their passage.

It was destruction of an unparalleled degree. Alarms began to ring, but it was too late. The brothers burst into the ready room of the Institute guards without slowing down. It took thirty seconds.

No one survived.