Chapter 76: The Show Must Go On

 Loki was fuming at this point. He couldn't believe the incompetence of the mayor and the commander of Sin City. They stood in front of him silent as if they were waiting for a firing squad. He had high hopes that today was going to go so well but this wasn't how he had planned it.

"If this thing blows up, it's all on you guys. I won't be dragged down by you clumsy mistakes" he said before exiting the room after taking in a short breath. The last thing that he'd want is the media finding out that he was in any way related to Hunters.

He was later followed by the mayor while the commander stayed behind and try to get to the bottom of the matter at hand.

As the saying goes, the show must go on

They all had to put on their game masks to go and witness one of the biggest cases to ever be presided over on Panem soil.

Jason on the other hand tried his best to stay on the low leaving the spotlight to Alpha and his team. He could see people flock around the Krovaçic brothers once they were in sight heading to the court chambers. He knew that before the case was heard, there would be a small briefing behind locked doors for the five judge bench, a jury of ten civilians, the Krovaçic brothers, Magraff and the attorney general of Panem who would be the state's attorney, Maurice Jones.

They all headed into the closes doors briefing just to be reminded how big the case was and what was expected of them by the judges and jury.

As this was going on, the broad daylight hijacking was at full throttle. Peter brought the car to an immediate stop while Bennet was prepping the emp that Jason had given him.

The guard at the back of the truck was just about to radio in the emergency but was a second too late when Bennet activated the emp killing all electronic devices in the vicinity including the radios and also the car's engine. They jumped out of the car with the guns in their hands ready to reciprocate the type of reaction that the guard would give them the moment he opened the door.

While at the back, Hunters could see the panick in the guards eyes amidst the smoke when he realized that the radio was not working and the back of the van was getting more and more uncomfortable with every passing second. The guard was determined not to open the doors but he wasn't sure how long he would last back there. And just to make matters worse, Bennet seemed to be impatient and quickly went to the front of the van, got in, opened the hatch door and quickly dropped another smoke bomb without uttering a word before closing the door and waiting for it take it's course.

Despite his valiant effort of not wanting to give in, the guard could no longer take it as he and Hunters were now engulfed in a cloud of smoke without any vent letting in any fresh air. He knew that it would only be a matter of time when they would possibly pass out and even die as a result of the smoke. 

This was a risk he wasn't willing to make. Using his hands to find the door, he unlocked it from the inside and fell out of the back trying to get some fresh air as he awaited his fate that lied in the hands of the unknown men who had ambushed them. He was greeted with a gas mask to which he grabbed and started to take quick short breaths like his life depended on it.

But before he could look and see what was happening around him, he blacked out from a sharp pain from the back of his head

What guard didn't know was that when he got out he was given the gas mask and almost immediately hit on the back of his head by Peter using the back of his gun, knocking him out cold. Bennet had gotten into the back of the van and was unlocking the cuffs that were on a now almost unconscious Hunters who was getting overwhelmed by the smoke. Bennet dragged him out and gave him some water to drink and wash his eyes to try and minimize the effects of the smoke bombs. He then gave him a gas mask to aid in his breathing as Peter was busy dragging the unconscious guard who now had a gas mask to the back of the van and locking it from the outside. 

"Who.... who, are... you?" Hunters tried to ask despite his hard coughs that were as a result of inhaling too much smoke

"We don't have time for formalities, but if you want to live it's best that you follow us" Bennet said as he and Peter made sure that they had everything and were about to leave

"I am not going to follow you just because you broke me out" Hunters protested

" Look man, the prison is over by that side, not so far from here" Peter said as he pointed him to the direction of the prison," but if you want to see Leo again and have a proper conversation, you can come with us" he added as they started walking away following the highway in the direction of an almost unpopulated neighborhood.

"For the same people who went through a lot of trouble to break me out, you don't look like you give a fuck whether I follow you or not" Hunters said contemplating whether to follow them or not

"We were instructed to break you out, not drag your ass back to where he is" Bennet told him without even looking back at him

After weighing his chances, Hunters knew that he definitely stood a better chance of surviving out in the streets, now that he was just about to become a fugitive, with the help of the two men who had just given him that freedom. 

And with so much being focused at the courthouse, the streets were nearly empty such that they didn't have to worry much about someone calling it in. The trio walked fast till they got to another car that was parked around two hundred metres away from where the van was. They got in and Peter started driving off

Knowing that Jason would be listening, Tyler checked in on the team on his behalf

"Peter. Bennet. Status update" he enquired via the earpieces

" We have Hunters and so far no one is on our tail. We're heading back after we do a couple of rounds to make sure no one's following us" Peter said as he looked at Bennet

" Have they mentioned the second attack? " Bennet asked

" No, but it's only a matter of time before they realize that the van's tracker is offline and declare it an emergency. Good work you guys, see you soon" Tyler responded

All this while, Jason as listening in and was quite amused at how the breakout had gone. He remembered pitching it to Tyler at a moment where he didn't even think that it could be possible and here they were telling him that it was a success. How he wished that he could thank all of the but he had to attend to far much bigger matters at hand.

He could see the commander of Sin City pacing around like a mad man and knew it was a matter of time before he got quite the dreadful call from his subordinates.

And just like clockwork, he saw the commander pull out his phone from his pocket and receive a call. After a few seconds on the line, he saw the commander start to lose his cool and it was evident that he wasn't happy at all. He was fuming and Jason could clearly tell that it was only a matter of time before he lost his cool.

And if by any chance this court case would be ruled in favour of the defendant, Magraff, it would be the boiling point for all the three, the president, the mayor, and the commander of Sin City.

He watched in silence as the commander tugged the mayor to the side where there were no reporters or any people and watched him whisper the news breaking it to him that their plan to silence Hunters had just been shattered into smithereens by unknown assailants in broad daylight.

He watched them look at each other in disbelief and a state of confusion wondering how the president would take such news. Jason knew that the president was already occupied enough with Magraff such that news of Hunters being successfully broken out would be like trying to piss of a woman who was on her periods. An impeding disaster. He could see them ponder the predicament that was before them and couldn't help but let out a small chuckle as he witnessed small parts of his master plan starting to fall into place

But now wasn't the time to gloat. He had to wait for the case to be heard so that the Alpha and the Krovaçic brothers could do their parts. They desperately needed to see if his skills were still as great as they were months back. 

The cards were all laid out on the table and it was now showtime.