“Let’s move out,” Amanda hissed once the explosives were placed on either side of the door and they’d rolled out the cord leading to the detonator. “We wait in the main tunnel. Ezra and I will go back inside while the rest of you wait here, covering us. If Nash is in there, we’ll bring him out.”

  “We don’t know how big that bunker is or if it leads to another tunnel,” Mike answered.

  Amanda shook her head. “No, we don’t. We don’t know anything. This is all chance and luck. If you guys want to say a prayer right about now, I wouldn’t mind,” she muttered.

  It was a huge risk, and the more she let herself think about the million different things that could go wrong, the more worried she got. She had to push all of that to the side. In her mind, they were killing two birds with one stone. They were rescuing Nash and finding out what was on the other side of the door. She could already hear Austin lecturing her. She only hoped she lived long enough to hear the real thing.

  There was a shuffling of feet as they all moved out of the room, lining up against the smooth, damp walls of the mine entrance. Mike and Gretchen headed toward the entrance, prepared to be the surprise attack should NWO soldiers flood out through the exploded door. It would have made sense to have them deeper in the mine, hiding in the darkness, but for the possibility of a cave-in. In case that happened, they might be needed to dig the others out, if anything.

  Amanda’s heart raced as she held the tiny trigger in her hand. She wasn’t big on praying, but she did it anyway. Ezra’s rapid breathing on the other side of the opening told her he was just as nervous as she was.

  “One, two—” she whispered before turning her head, shielding her body with the heavy rock wall and flipping the trigger.

  The explosion was instantaneous. The sound echoed through her ears, vibrating her chest and shaking the mine around them, though the dreaded cave-in didn’t come. She blinked several times before turning to look towards the door. She could see nothing through the rock dust and dirt that had been stirred up.

  “Did it work?” Jordan asked.

  “I can’t see—where’s that glowstick?” Amanda hissed, holding out her hand.

  A second later, the area was flooded in a warm light. “Oh no,” Ezra muttered.

  The door was still in place.

  “No!” Amanda gasped, realizing they had failed. The door was much more durable than she’d thought.

  She didn’t have time to be disappointed, however. The door was thrown open and several men in black jumpsuits started pouring out, reminding her of ants fleeing a drowning anthill.

  “Now!” Ezra shouted, pushing Amanda out of the entrance.

  She dropped to one knee, pulling up her rifle and beginning to open fire. Anyone that came out of the tunnel was the target. She used the wall both as a shield and a support as she fired the AR15. Ezra was on the opposite side of the opening doing the same thing. Jordan’s knee was rubbing against the back of her head as he stood over her. They continued laying down fire until men stopped coming out of the tunnel. It had been a lot like shooting fish in a barrel.

  Jordan’s hand touched her shoulder. “Clear!” he shouted.

  The sound of gunfire still echoed in her ears. The fight had probably only lasted thirty seconds, but it had felt like hours to her poor, throbbing eardrums.

  “I’ll check,” Ezra said, stepping into the room and kicking weapons towards Amanda, who knelt on the floor, grabbing them and sliding them into the open tunnel to be packed up by the others.

  Mike and Gretchen appeared from where they’d been waiting in the dark.

  “What happened?” Mike asked.

  “The door’s open and there was some resistance. They’re all down,” Ezra replied.

  “We have to get Nash,” Amanda said, getting to her feet.

  “There could be more soldiers waiting beyond that door,” Mike pointed out.

  “Then we go in guns blazing,” she replied. “This is why we came, right?”

  Each of them checked their weapons, picking up the weapons and ammo taken off the soldiers lying dead in the room and, in a single file procession, heading through the door.

  “Do you feel that?” Jordan whispered.

  Amanda nodded. “Fans,” she replied.

  There were small lights along the floor of the tunnel, much like one would see on a runway. The hum and air swishing around them told her there was a ventilation system running. The documents on the drive had been right—this was an underground lair of sorts.

  They walked another fifty feet until the tunnel opened into a room with computer screens glowing on the far wall.

  “Don’t take another step,” a male voice growled from her left.

  She turned to find a gun aimed at her head. Another man all in black glared at her.

  “We’re here for our friend,” she replied, not letting her voice reveal her fear.

  “I don’t care why you’re here. Drop the gun,” he ordered.

  Amanda looked to her right, seeing Ezra beside her. She hoped Mike had hung back like she’d told him to. Her eyes scanned the room, noting that while there were a few men and women sitting at the computers, they were all looking at her with terror on their faces. She spotted only one other guard, his gun aimed at Ezra. Two guards, then. They could take them, if they could make the first move.

  “Where’s our friend?” she asked, not lowering her gun.

  “Drop the gun or I’ll drop it for you,” he growled.

  Amanda looked to Ezra, giving him a brief nod. Together, they lowered their guns to the floor, putting their hands in the air.

  “There. Now, where’s our friend?”

  “The other two,” he replied.

  Amanda let out a breath of frustration, turning to look behind her at Jordan and Gretchen. “Do it.”

  They complied, and the four of them stood with their hands in the air. Amanda’s attention was drawn to the computer screens. She could see what looked like a satellite network on one screen.

  “Are we going to tie them up?” the other soldier asked, his voice full of hesitation.

  Amanda looked from one guard to the other, then the slack-jawed computer geeks. She had a feeling their timing couldn’t have been better. They were dealing with the C-squad.

  “Look, we just want our friend and then we’ll leave,” she said, her tone soft.

  “They’ve seen the systems!” one of the computer geeks worried out loud.

  “I don’t know anything about computers,” Amanda said, shaking her head.

  “Should I hit the button?” the geek asked.

  Amanda raised her eyebrows, turning to look at Ezra. That sounded ominous.

  “You don’t need to alert anyone else. We don’t want anything except Nash,” she said.

  “Alert,” one of the geeks scoffed, as if the word alert was ridiculous.

  “Not yet. If you hit that thing, we’re all dead,” the guard retorted.

  Amanda’s eyes jerked back to the man at the computer. It had to be some kind of self-destruct button they were talking about.

  “We’ll leave,” Amanda said, knowing it was a long shot, but she had to try.

  The first guard scowled. “Sure, you will.”

  She noticed Ezra out of the corner of her eye. He’d subtly moved his hand. When she met his eyes, he glanced behind her. She made no move, afraid to alert the guards to Mike’s presence. Her heart was pounding so hard against her chest that she was convinced the guards would see it and know something was up.

  “Down!” she heard Mike shout from behind her.

  She didn’t think twice, dropping flat on her stomach and reaching for the gun she had surrendered at the same time. Ezra did the same. More gunfire echoed around the room. She was pulling the trigger immediately, not particularly aiming at any one person, but hoping to take out any others who may have been lurking in the shadows.

  “Clear!” Mike shouted from above her.

  Her heart was in her throat as she looked around at the mayhem. The two guards were down, as well as two of the geek squad. A third man was hiding under the desk, sitting in a puddle of what she assumed was his own pee.

  “Grab him,” she said to Ezra, getting to her feet.

  “Is everyone okay?” Gretchen asked, coming to stand beside Amanda.

  Amanda looked over at the redhead, her hands holding a gun that was literally vibrating in her hands.

  “I’m good. Jordan?”

  “Good,” he called out as he stepped into the room, his gun leading the way with his finger hovering over the trigger.

  One of the screens remained intact. Amanda slowly walked towards it, staring at the blip. “What is that?” she asked the man Ezra had just pulled up from under the desk.

  The guy swallowed, his thick, black-rimmed glasses sitting askew on his face. Amanda guessed him to be in his early twenties. He was scrawny, pale, and looked like the epitome of a computer nerd.

  “It’s a satellite,” he replied in a shaky voice.

  “Why are you watching a satellite?” she asked him.

  “We have to get out of here,” his voice squeaked, ignoring her question.

  “Why?” Ezra snapped, yanking the young man’s arms up higher behind his back.

  Amanda watched his gaze move to a small red button attached to a panel. Her heart sank. “You didn’t!”

  The kid shook his head. “I didn’t, but he did,” he said, nodding towards the dead nerd lying on the ground.

  “What is that?” Ezra asked.

  “Over here!” Mike shouted before the kid could answer Ezra’s question.

  “What is it?” Amanda called out.

  “I’ve got Nash. He’s in bad shape,” Mike replied, fear sounding out in his voice.

  “The button, what is it?” Ezra asked again.

  “It’s the self-destruct sequence. This whole place is going to go. No one can access this information,” the kid replied, putting his chin up defiantly.

  Amanda stared at him, and debated taking him hostage and questioning him further, but she was sure it would be pointless. Everyone in this room had died trying to protect whatever was happening in that bunker. He wouldn’t talk. He’d be too afraid of the people behind the madness.

  “Let’s go,” Amanda said. “Tie him up to his chair and let him have a front row seat to his actions,” she ordered Ezra, rushing to where Mike had picked up Nash from what seemed to be the next room over.

  She gasped, looking at Nash’s bloodied face; his eye was swollen closed. He’d been beaten. He looked at her through his one eye, glazed and bloodshot. She wasn’t even sure he was really looking at her.

  “We’ve got you,” she said softly, reaching her hand out to push aside a clump of his shaggy blonde hair, which was crusted with blood.

  His cracked lips moved, and there was moaning, but no words. Her heart ached seeing him suffer. Mike apologized before tossing the man over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold and heading towards the tunnel.

  “Go!” Ezra shouted.

  Amanda glanced back and noticed a red digital clock in the corner of the working screen. They had less than a minute. Without another word, they rushed back down the tunnel and out of the mine; they were in the parking lot when they heard a rumble below their feet. The earth moved, the cars abandoned in the makeshift lot vibrating.

  “Go!” Amanda shouted as they ran as fast as they could away from the mine’s opening.

  The mine exploded behind them into a huge plume of dust, rock, and smoke. The group didn’t stop running. Mike’s brute strength combined with adrenaline kept him going under Nash’s weight as they raced into the trees. Amanda checked to make sure they weren’t being followed as they ran, but anyone in that mine had been killed. That was something.

  34

  Austin had grown tired of listening to the good doctor and her litany of complaints. The day had been long. They’d stopped only a few times to give the water they’d taken from Bastani’s house to the horses. The horses were doing the heavy lifting and needed the water more than the riders. Malachi had chosen to walk part of the way, doing what he could to get away from the cranky doctor. Austin had walked for brief intervals, as well, just to give the horses a break from carrying three people.

  He’d actually considered knocking Bastani out to make the ride a little quieter, but was worried his tactics would be too effective. He needed her awake and ready to get started with the process of opening the files as soon as they made it back to the house. They were making good time, though, which was about the only highlight of the annoying day.

  “How did you know where I was?” she asked again from her place in front of Malachi.

  Her hands were bound, and Austin had made it very clear he’d shoot her if she tried to run. He would, too. He was getting that tired of her.

  “I told you. Callum. He had a Google pinpoint with your house’s location,” Austin said, his jaw clenched.

  “This is not good. How many other people did he tell? There could be people crawling all over this area, and my place,” she said.

  “Which is why we need to get back to the house, where it’s safe,” said.

  “Nowhere is safe. Don’t you understand that?” she hissed.

  He rolled his eyes. “Safe enough. It’s safe enough for you to get to work on those files.”

  “Why? What’s the point?” she spat out.

  “The point is to try and fight them,” he retorted.

  She angrily shook her head. “These people are ruthless. They’ve killed and will continue to kill. We don’t have what it takes to stop this.”

  “We have to try,” he replied.

  She scoffed. “You and a single computer are not going to be enough.”

  “We have you, and you can access those files. You can tell us how to combat them,” Austin said, trying his best to keep his temper in check. “Callum wrote in his letter that the secret to defeating them is in the files. It’s why he safeguarded them. He didn’t want the wrong people to find the loophole and fix it.”

  “You don’t understand. This thing has been building for years. They have underground dens, computers, satellites, and more weapons than the military,” she said.

  “What’s that?” Malachi asked, pointing to the east.

  Austin stared at the trail of smoke rising into the air. It was too close to be in the city. “I don’t know. It could be a forest fire. It could be the NWO trying to burn people out.”

  He kicked Charlie, spurring him on, anxious to get back to the house. He guessed they were still at least three to five miles away.

  “They’re evil,” Dr. Bastani whispered.

  He nodded. “Yes, they are.”

  As they got closer to what he considered their safe haven, though, he heard the echo of gunfire. His mind raced with possibilities about what was happening. He wanted to believe it was only an echo, and that the gunfire was happening somewhere far away from the house, but he couldn’t.

  “Is that gunfire?” Malachi asked.

  Austin nodded. “Yes.”

  “Could they be target shooting?”

  “No,” Austin replied, knowing Ennis wouldn’t waste that much ammunition on training. This was the real thing.

  They kept up their pace, knowing it was risky to the horses to move this fast now that they were on rocky slopes again, but a sense of urgency drove him on. When they got within a mile of the house, it became clear the shooting definitely came from around the house.

  “We need to go in slow,” he said, slightly out of breath as he slowed Charlie.

  “Is this what you call safe?” the doctor demanded.

  “Shut up!” Austin snapped, fear for his daughter at the forefront of his mind.

  The tap, tap, tap of repeated gunfire was becoming clearer as they rode closer. He glanced over at the doctor and realized he couldn’t take her any closer, however. He couldn’t risk her being killed, and he also wasn’t about to arm the woman with the guns they’d taken from her place.

  “Austin?” Malachi asked, looking at the back of the doctor’s head.

  “Over there,” he said, nodding towards a stand of trees with several large rocks around the area. It would provide good cover for her while they went on.

  “What are you doing?” Dr. Bastani asked frantically.

  “We’re leaving you here,” he snapped, sliding off Charlie and walking the horse into the trees. “With the horses. We’ll come back for you.”

  He reached up and pulled the doctor from the back of Raven, pulling her behind one of the rocks and using the cord in his bag to tie her to a tree.

  “You can’t leave me here!” she shrieked.

  “Trust me, it’s safer for you here than where the fighting is,” he growled.

  “Take me with you! I can help!” she cried out.

  “Let’s go,” he said, ignoring her and walking the horses over to some trees, winding their reins around a branch.

  “We leave the horses,” he said, cutting off Malachi’s protest. “They’re too loud and too big. We need stealth.”

  Malachi caught up with him as he began moving toward the house at a cautious jog. “Are we really leaving her?” he asked.

  “Yes, we need to reach one of the caches and arm ourselves with better weapons. The house is under attack,” he said, looking at the landmarks and remembering where they had stashed some of the guns.

  He was already moving toward a tree with a faint red X on it. Malachi sprang into action from beside him, his young, nimble body going up the tree and quickly pulling the guns from where they’d been stored inside several black plastic garbage bags.

  They quickly loaded the weapons, Austin taking the AR they had taken from the NWO while Malachi took the twenty-two. Austin also checked the handgun that had been stashed in his holster, taken from Bastani’s place.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81