《The Syndicate》Chapter 14 - Ronnie
Advertisement
Ronnie woke the next morning hours before his alarm went off. Sleep had been impossible. He spent the night tossing and turning, mind racing with the possibilities of tomorrow. “What are we going to do first?” he wondered. “When do I get a code name? Or a costume?” Everything was just too exciting to think about, like the first day of school, Christmas, and a vacation all rolled into one.
Giving up on sleep, he leapt out of bed and got ready for the day. Ronnie was surprised to see that the bruise under his eye was already healing up, less purple, and more of a sickly green. The welts across the rest of his body were starting to fade, while the pain under his ribs had changed from a sharp jolt to a heavy throb. Ronnie hoped that the memories of that night would fade away as well. He had a new life to look forward to now.
Ronnie sat in the dark kitchen and ate a bowl of cereal before leaving a note on the table for Greg. His father was still asleep, and it seemed to be one of the first good night’s rest he had gotten in weeks. Heading out, not sure when I’ll be home. -R
The air outside was damp and humid. Dew still shimmered on the lawn, and a few birds were singing in the trees that lined the street. The dingy old neighborhood was very peaceful at this time of day. Soon everyone would be waking up, and more traffic would head down the road, but for now, Ronnie was enjoying the quiet.
He started on his way towards the bus stop when something on the street caught his eye. The black town car that Taran used the night before was still sitting at the curb. Ronnie thought this was odd, as he had assumed the car would have automatically driven back to the Syndicate headquarters after Silver Cyclone few off on his emergency. But there it was, glossy black paint job shining bright in the early morning glow. Ronnie approached the car and studied it. “I wonder…” he thought.
Advertisement
“Hello?” Ronnie said out loud to the vehicle.
“IDENTITY REQUIRED,” a metallic voice responded.
“Ronnie Nolan.”
“IDENTITY NOT RECOGNIZED”
“Well, shit.”
An idea sparked. Ronnie reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. Inside was the red keycard that Maya had given him when he arrived at the Syndicate. He had forgotten to give it to Taran when he left to go back home. Ronnie held the card out and tapped it on the silver door handle. There was a metallic ring, and the door popped open.
“ACCESS ENABLED. HELLO, SYNDICATE GUEST”
“Yes!” Ronnie got into the back seat of the car. “Syndicate Headquarters, please.” The car chimed, and the navigation route lit up on the screen in front of him. The car pulled away from the curb and zipped down the street. The storefronts he passed were still dark, and Ronnie thought about what he’d typically be doing on a day like this. Probably just getting ready to fall asleep after a long diner shift.
The diner. Ronnie called out to the computer. “I need to make a stop first. Take me to Rita’s Diner.” He felt the engine shift as the car seamlessly detoured down a side street and started heading away from the city center.
The sign above the diner glowed red and orange in the murky light as Ronnie rolled up. He could see through the windows that the place was mostly empty. It was too late for the barflies, but still too early for anyone coming in for breakfast. The bell above the door jingled as he pushed his way inside, and a head popped up in the kitchen window.
“Ronnie! What are you doing here?”
“Hi Mari, you got a second to chat?”
“Sure thing, be right out!”
Ronnie found a seat in the corner booth and waited. The smell of strong coffee and bacon grease permeated everything, and he took a moment to soak up the silence of the restaurant. Everything seemed so bright with fluorescent lights glinting off of the chrome-accented counter and bright red and blue vinyl furniture. After a while, Mari came over with two cups of coffee and slid into the booth.
Advertisement
“Shit, what happened to your face?”
“Long story. Got held up the other night on the walk home.”
“Damn. Sorry man. You doing ok?”
He nodded and took a sip of coffee. “Mari, some stuff has happened, and I won’t be able to come to work anymore. At least not for a while.”
She looked concerned and leaned in closer to him. “Are you in trouble?
“No, it’s nothing like that.” Ronnie looked around to confirm that they were alone. No one else had come into the diner since he had arrived. “I’m, um… I’m going to be starting a Syndicate internship. I’m told it’s the same one that you did?” He let the question hang in the air.
Mari raised her eyebrows in surprise as she took a drink of coffee. “I see. Well, that’s certainly something. It’s a little late for you to be starting, isn’t it?”
“Apparently. I’m still trying to figure things out.”
“Pretty scary, isn’t it?”
Ronnie nodded.
“Who’d they have you training with?”
“Not sure yet. Silver Cyclone got me signed up.
“No shit? Weather Boy’s doing orientations now? When I was there he was still early in his training,” she chuckled softly, “That kid took everything way too seriously,”
Ronnie smiled. That sounded like Taran. “I was told that you decided to not stay with the Syndicate. Why is that?”
Mari sighed and took another drink. “The Syndicate and I didn’t quite see eye to eye on some things. They do alright on global level events, but a lot of the smaller neighborhood stuff falls through the cracks. Sure they’re always there to stop a big bank from being robbed, but what about that?” She pointed to Ronnie’s bruised eye. “They don’t stop you from doing things on your own, but you can forget about any kind of official support. Besides, my family needs me more right now than the Syndicate does. I still try to do a neighborhood patrol when I can. Sorry I wasn’t able to keep you from getting beat up.”
“It’s ok. If you stopped it, I might not have manifested any powers. Or done it during a time that would have been more dangerous.”
“I suppose that’s true. What can you do anyway?”
“I.. I don’t really know how to explain it. Force fields, I guess?” he motioned with his hands “Like, big green energy domes.”
“That’s pretty rad.”
“What about you?”
Mari shrugged. “I lift a lot of heavy stuff, and I throw it at people.”
“That’s awesome!”
“Yeah. It’s also nice for when people park in front of the dumpster out back.”
Ronnie thought for a moment and watched the steam rise from his coffee cup. “Mari, how do you keep it from your family?”
“It’s tough. But it’s better than putting them in danger. Mom had enough worries with me taking over the night shift until I proved to her I could handle it. Can you imagine if she knew I was Syndicate? Keeping your family out of the loop is just part of the job.”
That wasn’t exactly what Ronnie was hoping to hear. He wanted to be told that it was possible to be a hero and not keep it a secret from the people he was closest to. But maybe she had a point. If something happened to his father, he would never forgive himself.
Ronnie and Mari talked for a while longer until a group of people came in looking for breakfast. Mari stood up to take their orders but turned back to Ronnie.
“Good luck, Ronnie. Stay safe. And say hi to Taran for me.”
“Thanks, Mari, I will. Tell Rita I’m sorry I couldn’t see her before I had to leave.” He finished his coffee and headed for the door. Ronnie had hoped that talking with Mari would have given him some clarity, as they were coming from similar backgrounds. Instead, he just left with the same uncertainty as before.
Advertisement
Purple Dawn Till Dusk : Dearest Through The Time
Cancel your engagement with my stepsister and marry me Senja said brazenly.
8 332Fade
The story follows the life of John Grimshaw. From tragic beginnings to hopeful ends, John embarks on a quest for meaning. When visiting the cemetery he meets a girl named Jennifer Stone, a youthful teenager who quickly becomes a safety raft for John in turbulent times. But nothing could have prepared John for when he met the man in the pinstripe suit. The man with bright eyes, dark skin, and gleaming white teeth. The man claiming to the impossible and break the thin ice below John's feet entirely. (ADDITIONAL DISCLAIMER) This story starts off relatively dark. Those who dislike subject material surrounding loss, depression, grief, should probably not read. With that said, the story evolves into a supernatural thriller past the initial chapters. It’s a comparably low fantasy for a website like this but hope some of you still enjoy it.
8 125Fantasy World
Spencer Underwood has little realistic hope of escaping his paraplegic, bullied, and friendless high school existence. At least until he and three classmates are unrealistically transported to Nibiru, a legendary fantasy world ruled by mythological gods and inhabited by strange races and nightmarish monsters. Spence can walk again, which is good considering he will have to use his online fantasy role-playing game experience to lead the dysfunctional party on the gods’ quest and summon the courage to finally stand up to Trey, his worst bully from school. Success means survival and earning respect and acceptance, especially from Morgan, his attractive but snarky Goth classmate. But Spence discovers Nibiru is more a world of science fiction than fantasy, and they are just unwitting pawns in a deadly scheme of the gods. If completing the quest doesn’t result in their return to Earth, the party may have to do the unthinkable and challenge the gods themselves. (The novel is complete at 56 chapters, so feel free to jump in without fear of it fizzling out in a premature demise.)
8 121BTS Purge Night
READ TO FIND OUT!!! ☺
8 149Mana World - Convergence
The story is complete it was a prototype and it is BAD.I do not recommend reading it, I will not edit it in any form, it is still here as a personal remained of how bad I was at the start. Mages are soo cool but without mana you can't become a mage. Well let's see how we can get mana to this world. I'm sure it would be a perfectly safe and excellent idea. First try at writing something like this. Dunno if I will update constantly or not, dunno what will happen with the story and the characters. Recipe: 3 cubic meters of science, 5 shit tons of pseudo science, 2 dantians of mistycism,1/2 cup of stupid references, 1 package of sarcasm, 1/400 tolkien epicness, 1 tea spoon of stupid commentaries, a pinch of craziness and dressed with randomness, uppps, too much randomness. Accepting all kinds of constructive criticism. Well prologue is finished.
8 94Rebirth Junior High School: The Excelling Top Student Goddess
**NOT MY ORIGINAL TRANSLATION OR STORY, for offline reading purpose only. Credits to original author and translator. Read original through novelupdates.com**DescriptionHer best friend turned into her younger sister, destroyed her appearance, broke her legs, snatched her powerful fiancé, and designed to kill her mother. Unsatisfied, she locked her up in a mental asylum to be tortured until death!Yun Hua returned to 13 years of age with hatred. This time, the debt of blood would be paid in blood.Oppress the poisonous sister, beat up the scumbag fiancé, become the top student, become a scholarly expert, become a manhua artist. In the end, she became the chief anchorwoman on the largest global broadcast...With one careless mistake, she accidentally took the gold medal during the Olympic swimming competition. The entire country cheered for the champion without knowing that she had no such intentions...But all along the way, that unapproachable man protected her from nearby.He spoke: For you, I would block deities. For you, I would fight gods. For you, I would kill Buddha!He spoke again: If you don't leave me, I won't give you up either. I would rather turn my back on the world than slight my darling.Associated Names薄先生,情不由己重生初中:學霸女神,超給力Language ChineseAuthor(s) Qīng Hú Zui, 青湖醉Artist(s) N/AYear N/AStatus in COO 2225 Chapters + 7 epilogues (Completed)Original Publisher Yunqi
8 173