Unwilling to Back Down (Survival of the Fittest Book 2)

by Shawn Keys

  “Our information is old, so their schedule could vary,” Kyle said, “But based on the timeframe we’ve seen in the emails, the new pack of them will start to arrive soon. That’s why we can’t delay. They only train two classes a year. But if we move now, we can be there a few days ahead of when they start to arrive. That’ll give us a chance to learn about them.”

  It was Dazz’s turn again. “I’ve bought a little spy gear, and we can add to that once we reach the city without too much trouble. Parabolic microphones. Some listening bugs. Pinhole cameras. We can lace the whole hotel with them after they get there.”

  “Why not before?” Lily asked.

  Jackie said, “They’ll sweep all the rooms they rent, plus any conference rooms they book to do these interviews. They might even sweep the hallways and elevators. They use this hotel all the time, so they must trust it. Maybe they even own it. But you can be sure they will sanitize everywhere they intend to use.”

  Kyle said, “Which is why we need to get there and get in position. Then, we wait for them to show up and do their thing. We use external listening devices as best we can. Once they feel safe, we sneak in when they aren’t looking and plant our bugs.” He shook his head. “I don’t think we’ll be able to get the conference rooms. If I were them, I’d sweep any room that I didn’t control all the time.”

  Jackie said, “Same with the instructors’ rooms. Even if they are not in them all the time, they won’t be careless. The students and their rooms are the weak points. Fortunately, they are also the targets. If anyone is going to have a pressure point we can push on, it will be a new member.”

  Dazz nodded. “We can slip in and plant some stuff in their rooms while they are out eating or sacrificing chickens or whatever else fucking eugenicists do for fun at night.”

  Breaking her thoughtful silence, Chloe quietly said, “Sounds like you’ll need to be on the maid staff. Or get copies of a master access key.”

  Kyle nodded. “Anything that gives us access, yes. All the more reason to be there a couple days ahead of time.” He looked around the room. “It’s risky, because there is no telling if we’re going to find anything. If they are all a bunch of faceless storm troopers without a soul, we won’t find any buttons we can push. They’ll get on whatever bus is going to take them up to the camp, they’ll vanish inside, and we’ll be back to square one.”

  “Or,” Jackie added, “Even if there is someone we can influence, we might run out of time. We’ll find their weakness, and then they’ll be gone before we can so-much as threaten them. It will be months before we see them again in the open. The bad guys will have all that time to brainwash the hell out of them, scare the life out of them… all of which will serve to make them that much harder to pressure into betraying them.”

  Kyle grimaced. “We’ll keep looking at the details we have for the camp. It would be nice to have a backup plan. Dazz, keep looking around and see if you can find someone… anyone!... who might have construction plans for that camp. They had to have hired some contractors to help build the site, right?” He knew that was a guess, a hope and a wish all rolled into one.

  He let out a deep exhale, signaling his relief that one burden was off their shoulders. “So, we’re going. And it has to be soon.” He smiled at the three on the couch. “I want a good chance at being back before the kids are born. That just leaves the question of who is going and who is staying.”

  Megan chuckled, stroking Yvette’s and Danielle’s shoulders. “Our roles in this are pretty much certain, I’m afraid.”

  Kyle nodded, feeling a small surge of protectiveness resonate inside. No way are they getting within a hundred miles of this beehive we’re about to kick over! Aloud, he said, “Doesn’t mean we can’t use your help.”

  Megan sighed, smiling at his effort to include them, but knowing it was futile. “It isn’t that easy, Kyle, and you know it. We can’t risk talking to you all the time. While half of us are gone, we’ll be even more exposed. We need to keep the communications coming out of this chalet to the bare minimum. Emergencies only. Every time we talk, it is one more chance for some localizing software or direction finder to pin down where the transmission is coming from.”

  Yvette said, “I should get online once a day and check a secure email service we can set up. You might need me to translate something.”

  Dazz said quickly, “I have a site that my hacker friends use. It is as secure as secure gets.” There was just a small rush in her voice as if a little eager to impress Yvette with what she could do. She might be training to be a dominant sort of sexual partner, but sometimes she couldn’t help the self-conscious need to prove herself worthy to the woman who had once been a teacher, even if that teacher would now willingly service her on command.

  Yvette smiled, honestly impressed as always with Dazz’s capability. “Wonderful! That’s perfect. If you have any issues with some of the language you find, I can help. Though, we’ll only be able to send and receive once a day.”

  Jackie nodded pragmatically. “She’s right. If the whole power of the NSA, FBI and the rest of them was at the disposal of this hidden group, they would have probably already found you. But that should be enough to keep you all safe.”

  Chloe once again spoke up, “Which means I have to go.”

  Kyle groaned, “Nathan would kill me if I said you could go!”

  She smirked. “Well, it’s a good thing he isn’t here, then, isn’t it?” Her lips softened into a wry smile. “I knew what was coming, Kyle. Why do you think I’ve tried to learn so much? Yvette can’t be there, but I have learned enough Aeolic to give us a chance at deciphering anything we need immediately in the field. Anything harder, we can send it back to Yvette.” She shrugged. “Not to mention the rest of what I can do. We can’t risk Claire out there. She’s the only one who has made any headway on Persterim.”

  Claire scowled. “I wish I could go. I really do. They tried to kill me too, remember? Dazz might have the most reason for revenge, right up there with Kyle, but I’m not far behind.” She sighed. “But I know I would only get in the way.”

  Kyle said, trying to be kind, “You’re also our best eyewitness to their corruption. You are respected in the FDPC. Someone will listen to you.”

  Chloe nodded. “I know enough about the science behind all this to know when we’ve found something important out there. Anything I don’t understand, we can send it over the same email for Claire to see.” She paused, then glanced over at Laura. “Not to mention… when you insist on Laura staying here, you’ll need me since I’m the best shooter in this place, other than you, Kyle.”

  Laura jerked upward a little. “Wait, wait, wait. What do you mean I’m going to stay? I’m not staying!”

  With a sigh, Kyle shot a look at Chloe that said, ‘Thanks for letting the cat out of the bag’. Then, he shifted over to Laura, “She’s right. I was going to ask you to stay at the chalet.”

  “Well, forget it!”

  Megan let out a soft, throaty laugh. “Nervous about being left alone with me without Kyle’s protection? I have been a little remiss in your training the last week or so, haven’t I?” She put a wicked little twist on her words, turning them into an undeniable, sexual threat of the best kind for her newest submissive.

  Laura immediately trembled, as always struck by a combination of lustful need and an uncertainty about being in over her head when it came to Megan Clarke’s claim over her.

  Deciding to save her a little, Kyle got up and walked over to her chair, settling on the edge with his hip pressed against Laura’s. His arms fell lightly over her in a gentle embrace. “Who is going to look after Danielle? She’s your best friend.”

  “That’s playing dirty, Kyle.” She scowled.

  He chuckled. “I know. But seriously, we need a crew to stay back who can look after the chalet and our wonderfully pregnant trio over there. Lily will look after them medically.” He glanced at Lily, who was nodding her affirmation. He went on, “Claire can
look after the logistics and handle buying whatever needs buying. But if things go bad and we need to run, that’s going to depend on you. You can defend this place. You can ride better than anyone.” He knew he was starting to give her a run for her money on the ATVs, but only Laura had any experience on snowmobiles. “Which means they all need you.”

  Laura’s head slumped back against the arm-rest, surrendering under all the praise and expectations. “You all suck.”

  Kyle leaned down and kissed her sweetly, letting it linger a little until it became just shy of awkward. The sweet became tender. Then hot.

  Jackie sounded out, “Ahem!”

  They broke apart. Laura giggled up at him, and Kyle returned a grin. Then, he straightened and looked across at Jackie. “You’re coming?”

  She nodded. “Of course. That’s why I’m here. I’m not about to sit here and wait for you to bring back more hearsay evidence.”

  Kyle nodded, expecting no different. He shifted to Dazz. “That leaves you.” He got right to the point. She hated pleasantries and trying to spare feelings. “You’re going, aren’t you?”

  Still grouchy, Dazz rumbled from deep in her still-raspy throat, “I’m going. You knew before you asked. My parents, remember?” A dark promise for revenge lurked behind her eyes.

  Kyle didn’t smile, reminded that there were real deaths that needed to be avenged, especially since those deaths were pinned on Kyle and Dazz until they got the record straight. “Yeah, I did.”

  Dazz said, “I also need to be there in case we need any modifications on the implants. I’ve cooked up a set of three or four IDs we can load into the implants. I’ve also created some holding straps so we can have them on the side of our arms. No more needles to switch them on and off. There is a sensor on them that connects them to our pulse. That way, they can look like they are transmitting our biometrics like normal implants.”

  Lily asked, “What if they get dislodged? Arm bands don’t always hold.”

  “Yeah, I thought of that,” Dazz said. “If they lose connection, they will default to a pre-recorded stream of bio-signals. Someone might figure it out, but at least there won’t be a loss of signal.”

  Kyle smiled, glad to have the innovative woman on their side.

  After a somber minute of respectful quiet, Lily sighed, and said, “I’m staying. I have to. But I’ve already dug a bullet out of your stepfather as part of this. I hate the idea of sending you all off alone.”

  Kyle shrugged, “What are our options?” He grinned. “In the spy movies, they cut out their own bullets and staple themselves shut.”

  “Think you have that in you, tough guy?” Lily laughed at the idea.

  Kyle shuddered. “Gives me the shakes just to think about it.”

  “That’s what I thought.”

  Chloe piped up, “You’ve taught me stitches and how to clean out infections.”

  “Which is great, but that sort of advanced first aid might not be enough.” Lily chewed at her lip. “I have a friend. I think she could help. If I can’t be there, maybe she could be.”

  Kyle tilted his head. “Who? Why would she help us?”

  “I don’t know for sure if she will. But she lost her medical license for helping people without insurance. While she spent two years in prison, she earned herself another year for practicing on the prisoners who weren’t given proper care.”

  Kyle huffed in humor. “She sounds like our kind of people. Where is she living?”

  “Olympia.”

  “What is she doing?”

  “Last I heard, she was helping at a homeless shelter downtown. Otherwise, I’m not sure. But I should be able to give you enough to find her.”

  Kyle nodded, satisfied with that. “Alright. We’ll get to Tacoma and see what needs to be set up at the hotel. Once we get ourselves established, a couple of us can run down and visit her. See if she is interested in shaking things up. Whatever she has done in the past, this is a whole different thing. And for her, it will be a third strike. The system doesn’t like that sort of thing, no matter how good the intentions.”

  He frowned thoughtfully, then looked over to Megan, Yvette and Danielle. He took them all in as a group, along with the vulnerable and defenseless children inside of them. “Which brings us to the other unhappy subject matter.”

  Danielle had lived her early life watching her father make preparations like this. Back then, she didn’t understand why he had secret basements chiseled out in their homes or secret cars purchased and concealed all around the area. She understood now. “Being ready for us to run.” It wasn’t a question. She groaned a little, shifting to settle the pain from her tummy as she leaned a little wrong. Half the pain was from the idea of needing to move that quickly while she was that huge and awkward. She had taken to pregnancy just fine and hadn’t even had morning sickness. But she was an athlete. She found it a little frustrating to have her normally fluid movements confined like this.

  Kyle nodded. “Yeah. Afraid so. We can’t keep the tank any closer to the chalet or else it might be discovered if someone comes for us.” The ‘tank’ was a nickname for their last-ditch escape vehicle. They had bought an 18-wheeler big-rig and trailer combination with money left over after selling Megan and Yvette’s homes in Lionsgate and after the cash gifts from both Laura’s and Danielle’s fathers to help them through this mess. They were renting the chalet, which had left them with a lot of liquid cash to buy a few things.

  The tank’s trailer was outfitted with bolted-down furniture, a storage bay filled with food, and an inserted plank that formed a narrow loft with enough sleeping space for all of them. Kyle had spent time welding thick metal onto all the interior surfaces, turning it into the next best thing to an armored vehicle. The metal plates wouldn’t measure up to the sort of weapons a real tank could withstand, but it was durable and likely enough to get through a bad scrape without all of them dying. If they could get to where they had it concealed and roll it out onto the open road without being seen, they could lose themselves in highway traffic with a hundred other trucks just like it. They could disappear onto the open road for a while.

  He chuckled. Besides, an RV just isn’t our style. He asked, “When was the last check-up?”

  “I drove out to it yesterday,” Laura said. “The camouflage was good. Gas tank full. Engine turned over just fine. Not even a squirrel had crapped on it since the last time I had seen it. Good as we’re going to get.”

  “Alright, then. The snow isn’t blowing quite yet, but I’ll help run up the snowmobiles before we go and make sure they can be driven out of the shed easily. What else can we do?”

  Claire said, “One last grocery run. If I can get a couple bodies and three cargo beds full of supplies up here, we probably won’t have to leave again before you’re back.”

  Kyle nodded. “Sounds great. I know it sucks for us to be leaving you all alone. But the faster we go, the faster we’re back.”

  Megan smiled at him. “I know you’ll worry whatever we say. But trust us. We’ll get through this. And we’ll hold out. These babies aren’t going to be born without you, trust me.”

  Danielle groaned, shifting again with a pained laugh. “Speak for yourself!” She flashed a smile toward Kyle, not wanting to talk him out of anything. She could see his sudden plunge into concern. “I’m just joking, love. I’m just looking forward to cuddling with the little girl and getting her off my bladder.”

  “You mean ‘he’, don’t you?” Chloe had the male slot in the pool for Danielle’s baby.

  “Nice try, Chlo.” Danielle grinned, then said to Kyle, “Go. You need to do this. For all our sakes, you need to make this work. We’ll be fine. Once you start making noise out there in the world, you’re the ones who they’ll be after. We’re the ones who should be scared that the sat phone will never ring. We’ll flick on the TV to see a story about a long-lost fugitive being taken down during some explosive last stand at a hotel.” She glared at him. “Don’t put us through that,
alright?”

  Kyle did all he could to look confident. “I won’t. We’ll figure this out.” He glanced at Chloe and Dazz. “With these two along, how could I possibly get it wrong?”

  Jackie stood. “Say your goodbyes, then. We’ll do the supply run first. We’ll head out of here in the afternoon so you can bring the ATVs back to the chalet before last light. We can be in Tacoma by tomorrow if we drive through the night and into the morning.” She walked out, leaving the intimate group to their last farewells.

  Laura clutched at him from below. “Got time for a few proper goodbyes?”

  Kyle said, “There isn’t enough time in the world for that. But we’ll see what we can do to tide us over for a couple weeks. I’m going to miss you. All of you.” He knew it sounded pathetically unimpressive next to his real emotions. Leaving any of them behind would cut a hole in his life a mile wide.

  With some effort, Danielle braced herself and rose awkwardly to her feet. Once she was on her feet, she regained a little of her normal, athletic grace as she walked over to him. She leaned into his back, letting him feel the swells and contours of her beautiful and very pregnant body against his. Even as she did, he swore he could feel the shift and kick of the baby inside her. “Just remember what you have to come home to.”

  Lily slipped out of her chair and flowed over to nuzzle up against his other side. Her barely concealed nakedness spiked his lust again. “All sorts of lovely reasons to come home. Reasons that are really looking forward to having you back, get it?”

  Kyle grinned, and said with total sincerity, “Well, when you put it that way… I don’t think I could ever, ever forget.”