The Time I Was Reborn A God Of War - 17 From Agent to Coyote

After diner, Joshua invited Henry to stay in their spare room until his transport came back for him. Henry tried refusing, but Joshua insisted. Very strongly. After a few back and forths, Henry gave up and accepted. He only had two days left to wait anyway, might as well indulge in the hospitality offered to him.

Over the two days he stayed there, he learned a little more about the background of Joshua. As he had expected, the man was a retired special ops agent, just like him. Hence the ease at which he had to sneak up on him at their first encounter. They talked very little about the deployments he had in the past, non-disclosure applying, and also not wanting to re-live some nasty memories. Henry didn’t push either.

The days past quickly and soon enough, Henry received a coded transmission from his pilot Jackson. The man was in orbit, in stealth mode, waiting for Henry to send pick-up coordinates. Henry sent him coordinates for just outside the cave and gave a heads up to Joshua. The father sighed, before walking into his house. Time for goodbyes had come.

Joshua disappeared for a few minutes into his office, coming back out with a small box. Henry recognized the format of the box and smiled. The family and Henry walked out of town together, Joshua holding his little box tightly. After walking to the coordinates for extraction, Joshua knelt in front of his son. He put his hand on his son’s shoulder, squeezing it a little and smiling.

” The contents of this box will keep you safe on your endeavor. They will also keep you sane, for the difficulties to come. Always remember where you are from. You will always have a place to go back to, have you ever the need to leave that life behind. ” Joshua told his son, tearing up a little.

Henry watched from the side, smiling. He wished he had the time to send off his son like that too. Unfortunately, fate had decided otherwise. For a short moment, his thoughts drifted towards space, hoping his son was still alive and well.

Jhonny was crying now, realizing he wouldn’t see his family for a long time. He hugged his mother and father, nothing all over them.

” I’ll come back to see you. I promise! ” He said, between to tears and a snort.

“We will be waiting. ” His mother calmly responded, a tear rolling down her cheek.

What a strong woman, Henry thought.

” I’ll keep him safe, Ma’am, Sir. I’ll make sure he comes back home alive before you die of old age. ” Henry said, half-jokingly.

It alleviated the heavy atmosphere a little, making Joshua chuckle between two silent tears.

As he finished saying that, the sound of engines roaring started to be heard coming from over-head. The ship had arrived. It was time to leave.

Jhonny jammed the gift from his father into his bag and threw it over his shoulder. As the pilot landed the ship on the small opening, Henry and Jhonny walked over towards it. The ramp slowly lowered for them to get on. They boarded the ship and Jhonny turned as the ramp was closing to give his final goodbye. The ramp shut and the ship slowly lifted off. This was the last he would see of his planet and family for a long time.

Henry pulled on Jhonny a little and sat him in a crash seat. He buckled up the kid before liftoff and sat himself down, repeating the process on his seat. The ship than shook and rocked for a few minutes before finally becoming calm again. When the ship calmed down, Henry unstrapped himself and Jhonny and stretched.

” So this is it? We are off planet Earth? ” Jhonny asked.

” Yep. That’s it. We are already in space, so if you want to see Earth from high up, come with me to the cockpit. ” Henry waved at him, walking towards the front of the ship.

They both walked up to the cockpit, Henry saluting Jackson and sitting down in the co-pilot seat. Jackson frowned at the sight of another passenger and questioned Henry with his eyes.

” I know, he’s not supposed to be there. If you get questioned, just say I forced you to keep quiet. I’ll take responsibility for him. ” Henry waved at him.

” Your funeral, boss. ” Jackson simply said, looking back in front and minding his own business.

They talked leisurely while they flew towards the hidden space gate. Jhonny stared outside the window, gawking at every planet they passed. This was all new to him and he was letting all the scenery sink in. But it got even worst when they traversed the stargate. The kid went bonkers. All those new stars, all those weird colored planets.

Jhonny was gushing like a teenage girl in front of her favorite pop-star. It made Henry laugh. When they finally reached close orbit to Tera Nova, Henry asked Jackson to drop them at his place, instead of camp. He didn’t want people to see the kid getting out of the ship. Jackson nodded, knowing this wasn’t his call to make. It wasn’t like it was rare for agents to ask for a specific point drop off, so he didn’t care.

They flew over the camp and over the woods that led to Henry’s little cabin. Jackson made a low hover over the road and Jhonny and Henryjumped down from the ship. The drop wasn’t very high so they never hesitated. Henry walked towards the cabin and Jhonny followed suit. Once inside, Henry finally relaxed.

” Ahh, home sweet home. ” He said, sniffing the stale air from his house.

” You live here? ” Jhonny asked, hesitantly.

” Yes, and so do you now. ” Henry answered.

He directed the kid to a spare room and left him to unpack. He went into his room and did the same. After unpacking, he went to Jhonny’s room and asked him to follow him. Henry brought Jhonny downstairs to the secret room. He knew Landon would be waiting for him there, and there was no use delaying the meet-up.

After walking down the winding staircase, he entered the brightly lit underground and ended up face to fist with Landon. The man had heard two sets of footsteps and been waiting in ambush. The hit was so sudden, Henry never had time to react. He flew across the room, hitting the wall and then the ground.

” Oww! You crazy bastard! Why are you hitting me!? ” Henry cried out, getting back up.

” You imbecile! You brought a kid back with you! What is wrong in your head!? Do you not realize the danger you just put that child into!? I should kill both you and him on the spot! ” Joseph yelled, his eyes almost popping out of his head.

” Can’t let you do that, sir. I promised his parents to keep him safe. ” Henry said, putting himself between his pissed Commander and Jhonny.

” You did WHAT!? ” Joseph exploded. ” Do you hear yourself?! You promised people you barely know, that you would keep a child safe, in a war camp! How stupid are you!? ” He added. ” No! Don’t answer that. ” He then backtracked.

” Listen, sir. The kid is no threat. He will keep his mouth shut and he won’t be seen by others. I’m not about to jeopardize my position here for nothing. He will be kept away from unwanted eyes and I will train him into an operative myself. ” Henry said. ” Think about all the ops we could do with a child operative, instead of a grown man. This is a golden opportunity! ” Henry added, trying to convince the Commander to calm down.

Joseph sat down in a chair and began massaging his temples. His brain was working overtime, trying to figure out a way to keep the child from being caught in this camp. That would send both Henry and the kid straight to death row. He couldn’t have that.

” Uggh. You’re causing me trouble again, Henry. I hate you for that. ” Joseph said. ” Fine. Do what you want. But if you or the kid get caught, I’m washing my hands clean of this. ” He said, taking a deep breath.

” Message received, sir. ” Henry responded.

Meanwhile, Jhonny was still hiding behind the stairwell, terrorized at the giant that had just sent henry flying away with one punch. Henry managed to pull him out of hiding and forced him to introduce himself.

” My name is Jhonny Spitfire. Son of Joshua Spitfire and Madelaine Spitfire. I was born and raised on Earth. ” Jhonny said slowly while looking at his feet.

Henry gave him a small slap behind the head.

” Stand straight, Jhonny. ” He whispered.

Jhonny looked at him angrily, before straightening up and starting over.

My name is Jhonny Spitfire. Son of Joshua Spitfire and Madelaine Spitfire. I’m proud to have been born and raised on planet Earth. ” He said again, with pride and a touch of defiance.

Joseph just looked at him, sizing him up with an expert eye. He then huffed and looked back at Henry.

” You better make sure that kid becomes the best agent there ever was Henry, or I will make sure both of your heads roll. You are putting us at great risk here. Does the kid even know your secret? ” Joseph asked.

” He didn’t. But now I have to tell him. Thanks for that boss. ” Henry said, rolling his eyes.

” What secret? ” Jhonny asked, turning to face Henry.

” Well. ” Started Henry. ” How do I say this without terrorizing you. ” He added, hesitantly.

Jhonny was looking at him weirdly, his mind going through scenarios of what Henry could be hiding. Seeing that Henry was trying to stretch it out, Joseph decided to end this masquerade.

” He has to kill people to keep on living. ” He dropped, giving Jhonny’s mind a shock. ” He’s on a clock and to add some time, he needs fresh blood. ” He added, not intending to spare the kid at all.

” Really, Joseph? You are going to simply drop it on him like that? Shame on you. ” Henry said, looking at Joseph with a disapproving look.

” You weren’t going anywhere with your explanation and my time is precious. ” Joseph blandly replied.

Meanwhile, Jhonny was still standing there, in shock, unable to do anything other than breath. His mind went blank as soon as he heard that Henry needed fresh blood to survive. His imagination flared up, going back to old books he had read. Books about creatures of the night that drank blood and were evil by nature. Vampires.

His heart started beating wildly, thinking he had just entered the hideout of such terrifying creatures. He slowly backed up to the stairs while the two men were arguing. Soon enough, his foot banged on the first step, and both men looked straight at him. His imagination was playing tricks on him, his fear making him see things. The looks he saw on Henry and Joseph’s face were scary to him. He thought they were looking at him like predators to prey.

Jhonny quickly spun around and tried going up the stairwell, only to feel a sharp pain in the back of his head and lose conscience.

” That’s it. This is where I die. I’m sorry mom. I’m sorry dad. I won’t be coming back. ” Jhonny thought, his eyes closing as he fell forward.

Joseph picked the kid up by his jacket and shot him to Henry. Henry fought him mid-flight and just looked at him with a slight grin.

” What kind of stupid things were you imagining, kiddo. ” He laughed while he lugged him onto his shoulder.

” What a hassle. ” Joseph said, sighing. ” Take care of him, Henry. Make sure he doesn’t run off, lest he gets shot by patrolling soldiers. Also, make sure no one ever finds out he’s here. That would spell trouble for you and for me. ” He added, walking towards the secret path in the underground.

” Will do, sir. If he becomes what I say he can, will you let him come with me on assignments? ” Henry asked.

” I will try my best to make him into a legit soldier on paper. But make no mistake, this stays a huge risk. Don’t disappoint me, Henry. ” Joseph stated, disappearing into the darkness of the hidden tunnel.

Henry waited for the tunnel o close back up, before going back upstairs and putting Jhonny into a bed.

” Sleep tight, kid. You have a tough journey ahead of you. ” Henry said, closing the door to the room.