Carved In Stone, page 15
“That is Bravo team, being dragged behind their cars!” Jack pointed out in a stunned voice. “See the jackets?”
“They killed Bravo team!”
As they watched, the group fired at the cameras and their view was gone.
“Line up!” an angry voice over a speaker ordered. “Kill them all!”
Around him, fighters and descendants raised their weapons eagerly, but Adrian slowly backed to the rear of the group. A few of his team did the same, following his lead, but most of them wanted the front lines of the battle. That wasn’t the best choice against their kind, and those too-eager men knew it, but the need for glory outweighed their caution.
Bamm!
The door to the hall exploded, thrust into the room and crushed the two men standing directly in front of it. Dust, screams, and bullets sprayed the front row of government fighters.
Adrian ducked, narrowing in on a shadow that he didn’t recognize and his shot went through the man’s ankle.
Adrian aimed again as the man fell, and found an unprotected kneecap. He fired, thinking an attack like this was insane. Why would...
Adrian spun for a hallway and ran toward the rear of the bunker, where there was an emergency exit for the VIPs. He hadn’t made it to that long hall before another explosion split the air, tossing him into the wall. Dust scattered over him and he coughed, looking up as a group of Canadian descendants came in through the now unprotected exit.
Adrian tried to hit the button on his radio, but the explosion had broken it, leaving only uselessly dangling parts. He concentrated, intending to send a mental warning, and arched as he was hit by a vicious bolt of electricity.
“Leave him!” a voice shouted. “The cells are down here.”
Bleeding from one ear, Adrian waited until the footsteps were gone and then struggled to his feet and followed. The heavy boots were easy to track through the dust and Adrian found the group in the cell where new descendants were held while being evaluated. Adrian hated it here, but dutifully followed, certain he wasn’t strong enough to call out mentally yet. That zap had drained him.
The cells were just that–metal cages set into the rear of a lab and the invaders quickly opened these cages to grab people.
Rescue party, not an invasion, Adrian realized. Then he remembered the battle going on at the front of the complex and wondered why these few captives were worth all the lives of those front-line people.
He hid behind the door, gun in hand, and watched the brief reunions. None of the captives looked that strong or unique, but one of them had to be.
The group reached the last cell, the one with three bodies of sentries on the bloody floor in front of it, and Adrian knew instantly this was who they’d really come for.
The young boy walked from the cell as if on a cloud, clearly drugged, and his thin, bare body was covered in needle marks and bruises from the tests that had been run on him. Adrian’s heart clenched. Who was he?
One of the females in the group scooped the boy into her arms while another covered him in a long robe. They all fled toward the rear exit, and Adrian shrank behind the door to avoid being detected. He didn’t know why the boy was here, but he suddenly wanted him gone and he didn’t care if his boss got upset. They had no business treating children that way.
“But you were raised that way,” the inside voice reminded Adrian. “You grew up in these same cells.”
“Yes, and I hated it,” Adrian responded, carefully following the fleeing group. “It was wrong.”
“Says you.”
“Yes, says me,” Adrian growled. Losing Shannon had made him angry, bitter, and uncaring about the wrath of the government.
As Adrian emerged into the smoky hall, Jack and Vlad came running from a different corridor, both firing at the group.
Adrian knew better than to interfere, but couldn’t stop himself from throwing out a leg to send them both sprawling.
Ahead of them, the group turned around, but didn’t attack as Jack spun around and punched Adrian in the mouth.
Adrian didn’t fight, trying to buy the boy’s people time to get him away, and Jack hit him again. Vlad gaped at them, not sure what had happened.
“Go!” Adrian shouted, ducking Jack’s swing.
Jack realized Adrian was helping a prisoner escape and did the one thing Adrian hadn’t considered. He drew his secondary gun and fired a single shot that caught the cringing child in the forehead.
“No!”
Jack opened fire on the rest of the group, and Vlad helped him.
Behind them, Adrian slunk away.
That’s it. I quit.
“What a bastard,” Kendle commented, bringing them both to the present.
Adrian nodded, strapping on his guns. “He should be. I taught him everything he knew back then. Should have advanced some on his own by now.”
“Another one like you.” Kendle teased. “The boss’ll love that.”
“Yeah, my kind’s hard to resist.”
Kendle laughed and Adrian stopped by her for a moment where all he did was stare.
Kendle felt her body respond and she blushed. His presence was attention getting, to say the least.
Adrian grinned and ducked out of the tent. Kendle needed time to adjust and he would give it to her, but for someone who hadn’t gone without sex for more than a week or two at a time, it was almost a real rush for Adrian. He missed physical contact–a lot.
“I’m out for an hour,” Adrian told David, who was on duty over their small site. “Whistle if I’m needed.”
Conner glanced up from the fire only briefly, and then resumed nursing his sore hands and arms. They’d spent a hard day gathering supplies and the teenager was too tired to ask where his dad was going or if he needed help with anything.
Adrian was glad. He didn’t want to explain to his son that yet another mistake was coming back to haunt them. He shouldn’t have quit that day. He should have put a bullet through Jack’s forehead.
7
“You’re kidding, right?” Kendle fumed. “Is she insane?”
Kendle had just made it back, and had been met by Daryl and Marc. Above them, Shawn and a few of the other Eagles were strengthening their gate and creating platforms–as per Angela’s instructions.
Daryl wasn’t about to say yes, but he did agree. Putting him and Kendle on security together in the evenings sounded insane. She was an untrained rookie and they hated each other.
“Angie said you would work it out and I believe her.” Marc handed Daryl the clipboard. “So work it out. You two, start now. Zack’s running a double right now, but he’ll need the break by then.”
Marc left them there to examine the packet and complain about how rough their lives were. He was amused. Angie was forever causing bitter enemies to become allies and then friends. Those two would be no different and at some point, Kendle might even come to care about the dreams and goals here.
Marc motioned to Charlie, who was escorting Tracy to her evening post and the too-quiet couple joined him. Marc knew the problem without using his gift. “She has a job to do. Still. Like the rest of us.”
Charlie glowered, but managed to control himself. He placed a kiss on Tracy’s cheek and spun into the shadows. Charlie had a post with the snipers right now, and Marc had already told them to keep the boy occupied and make sure he understood that his job wasn’t just to protect his girlfriend.
Tracy waited nervously for Marc to direct her to her next assignment. Her stomach was upset and her throat was dry. She was scared.
“You’re not alone this time,” Marc stated, hating her pain. “I’ve got you.”
Those words did make her feel better and Tracy drew in a deep breath, pushed herself up straighter. “Where do you want me?”
In your tent, recovering, Marc thought, but said, “You have duty over Tara and Missy in the evenings. It should be easy, boring.”
Tracy nodded. “I think I could use some boring right now.”
“We all could,” Marc agreed. “Come on. I’m your escort.”
They made the walk to the tent area in silence, each deep in thoughts that had nothing to do with each other except for the need to respect her privacy and not ask if she was okay. If she weren’t, it would soon become clear.
The tent area was mostly empty. Angela had her entire camp laboring again and Marc approved of the alert Eagles in the center of the tents.
Marc led them to a canvas near that guard station and tapped on the flap. “Got a minute, ladies?”
Fresh from the QZ, Tara and Missy had only been in their new tent for a few minutes and Marc caught a quick peek of a tent floor strewn with their goods and the child’s new toys. It appeared normal.
But I know it’s not, Marc thought. Or Kendle and Cynthia wouldn’t have been monitoring them for their first days here. They’re trouble.
“This is Tracy. She’ll be your settling partner at night.”
“Hi! Happy to have you here,” Tracy gushed, trying very hard to remember that person who had been happy and confident. “Welcome to Safe Haven.”
Little Missy liked the words and hugged Tracy’s leg.
“Aww. Aren’t you sweet?” Tracy crooned. “Bet we can find you a stuffed animal that sings or glows or something. Wanna go with me to the trucks and search?”
Missy nodded, still hugging Tracy, and Marc caught Tara’s frown. Assuming she was ready to have her tent settled down for the night, he commented, “Maybe that should wait for morning?”
Tracy realized it was late. “My bad. I can go find her one real quick.”
Marc sighed, realizing Angela had put Tracy here to help her, not to guard. Angie knew being around a child would be distracting.
“I’ll keep Tara company until you two are finished. Go on.”
Tara was scowling now, but Marc and Tracy ignored her displeasure. Tracy held a hand out to Missy. “Are you coming?”
Missy didn’t extend her hand, but jumped into Tracy’s arms like a kangaroo.
Tracy, not ready, fell over and burst into laughter.
“Well, that didn’t go the way I planned,” she said, giggling.
Missy snuggled into her arms, smiling happily, and Marc pulled them both up gently, glad their snipers hadn’t mistaken the action for aggression. He knew the senior men wouldn’t, but the three teenagers on duty with them right now would be eager to fire their first defensive rounds and the guards with them needed to keep them on a short leash.
Marc turned around to discover Tara staring at her tent with longing.
“You can go on if you want,” Marc offered. “I get the feeling you don’t want to talk.”
Tara flushed crimson, but quickly ducked into the canvas and Marc spent the next ten minutes trying to dig into her mind and failing.
Chapter Eight
1
Sixty miles from Safe Haven, a long, dusty train chugged through the ash and debris on the tracks, moving steadily south. It had come from Pennsylvania and though most of the cars were empty, what cargo it did carry was lethal.
“We’re almost at the station,” Vlad informed his boss eagerly as they lounged in the refitted engine car. “Once we offload the horses, we’ll only be a couple hours from the mountain base.”
“Good,” Jack praised. “We’ve waited a long time for a shot at Mitchel.”
“I thought he would show,” Kranten complained, referring to their last mission. “Canada finally got what was coming to them and he wasn’t there!”
“It looks like Mitchel did some gathering of his own and stayed with them,” Stephens told the others. “These files are all on descendants.”
“Not the last few,” Jack corrected. “They have trained military men in there and one of them is Kenn Harrison. Another is Marcus Brady. Don’t underestimate those two.”
“I’ve heard of them!” Kranten exclaimed, coming over to snatch the paper from Stephens. “They took out that drug lord in South America before the war, right?”
“Among others,” Jack replied. “We also have reports of someone called the Ghost.”
The group of men frowned in unison. Ghost was a commonly used title for one of their kind who had turned against the government.
“Is Mitchel the Ghost?” Kranten asked as he skimmed the paper.
Jack shrugged, not concerned over the fight that was about to happen between Kranten and Stephens, who was slowly pulling his knife. “We’ll find out. For now, check your gear while I go over the plan again. Our boss expects this run to end with nearly four hundred bodies. Let’s not disappoint her.”
2
Angela froze as menace rushed over her. She felt as if giant hands were squeezing her brain, and she concentrated, forcing them away. Someone had reached their area and they were strong.
“Jeremy wants a word with you,” Greg stated, joining her at the rear gate.
“Send him to me,” she answered. “Quietly.”
Greg left and Angela swept her toiling people. Marc was sleeping–all the night shift people were–and Angela hoped the banging that was about to happen wouldn’t wake them up, but it had to be done. If things went wrong, they would need that wall. She already had rookies gathering more supplies from the dumpsites to bring up here. A storm was coming, in more ways than one.
Jeremy, who obviously hadn’t been far away, appeared at her side with his laptop in a bag over his shoulder.
“They pulled in to the station with a light crew,” she stated before he could pull it out or comment. “I need to know when the train comes back.”
Jeremy would have protested and Angela glared at him. “You can help me or get in my way. Pick wisely.”
Jeremy, getting used to Samantha’s moods, asked, “Have you eaten yet?”
Angela was surprised into a snicker. The men here were getting smarter again. When that happened to the women, they would become unstoppable. “No, but I will. Can you track that station and the others around it?”
“Yes, and I will. What else can I do?”
“Watch the north,” she intoned gravely. “If something moves there, I need to know about it.”
“You will,” he promised. “You should go...hey!”
Angela spotted the line of ants and climbed down from the rear wall platform to meet them.
Jeremy observed in fascination. Since Dog left, only Jennifer and Angela were left to communicate with the insects and Jeremy wanted to learn how.
“I use pictures,” Angela said, kneeling down in front of the line. “I send them images and they understand. Jennifer is different. She actually gets how they communicate and can replicate some of it.”
“How do you understand them?” he asked, admiring the way she didn’t flinch from pinchers moving near her hands or beady eyes glaring into her own.
“They send images back to me.”
“Oh,” he choked out, wondering if the end of the world for him had already come. Maybe this was the afterlife, where anything could happen.
“Close,” Angela confirmed. “But you’ll want to sleep later, so we won’t discuss that.”
Jeremy shuddered and left before he could insist on hearing it anyway. There were some things he didn’t need to know.
3
Marc staggered to the flap of the tent, drawn by the non-stop sound of hammering. If it were in the caves, it wouldn’t be as loud, and it had pulled him from slumber by never stopping. Angie had a new project going and Marc needed to know what it was.
He swiped the flap open and found Greg waiting for him.
“She said get a few more hours. You’ll need it.”
Marc grunted unhappily and stumbled out far enough to get a view of the work being done.
Crushingly loud to his tired ears, Marc saw the lines of men passing supplies at both the front and rear of camp and understood she was reinforcing their gates. He approved of the assembly lines and the dozen workers on each site, but he admired the fact that Angie once again had the entire herd toiling. Even the kids were being useful, carting drinks and small pails of nails.
“She has it covered,” Greg pointed out. “She said you’ll need the sleep.”
Marc didn’t respond except to go back to bed, but he didn’t fall into the deep sleep he’d been in. There was trouble coming and it would be here soon, or Angie wouldn’t have them all laboring like dying bees. The pace was almost frantic, despite the mood being calm, and he would stay alert enough to respond if the threat arrived sooner than she had anticipated.
Across the camp, Angela sighed in relief and indicated for the workers to keep going. Storm clouds were gathering and the wind was shoving in, meaning they wouldn’t be able to keep going for much longer. She wanted this finished before the rain forced them under cover.
She scanned the cliffs around them, but couldn’t feel the heat of Adrian’s gaze. She knew he was there, waiting for her to signal him, waiting to carry out any chore she assigned. It was impossible not to miss him. He’d done more for her, for these people, than he ever got credit for. He’d known it would go this way, had planned to sacrifice himself to force his herd off this continent so they would be safe. He didn’t deserve this fate.
“Yes, Angie, he does.”
Angela turned around to discover Jennifer standing behind her.
“I know you love him, and from your view, I guess I can even understand why. What I don’t understand, is how you can be so strong and so smart, and still not recognize him for what he is.”
Angela glanced back toward the cliffs, letting her XO feel her pain for a brief moment. “He was taken from his mother, trained to kill, taught to betray our kind, and yet he still created all of this. Evil can’t build things, Jenny. It never creates. You know that.”
“Half evil, then,” Jennifer conceded. “He would have given us all up, if not for you. You know that.”
Angela nodded. “Yes.”
“Then you do see him for what he is!”
“Yes,” Angela admitted evenly. “I always have.”
“And you followed him anyway, let him train you to...” Jennifer fell silent as she realized Angela had taken power, not been gifted with it, as they’d thought all along.
