“It doesn’t matter now,” Nolan insisted. He could see his brother struggling to speak, the way his eyelids grew heavier with each labored breath. “Tell me why you sent Lina to find me!”
“Project Icarus,” Jared said, visibly fighting to think clearly. “I heard him mention your Silverguard call sign, Cerberus, when he was talking about their ‘asset in New Avalon.’ I knew it had to be you—the last time we’d talked, you mentioned something about settling there. He said you were giving them problems. That it was time to find a way to get you under control before he had to take more drastic action.”
Nolan did some quick mental calculations. “How long before you were arrested did this happen?”
Furrows appeared in Jared’s brow. “Two, three weeks, maybe.”
Nolan’s jaw muscles clamped tight. That fit with the timeline of his intention to sever ties with the Protection Bureau. Agent Styver—and whoever the hell this “Bennett” was within the organization—had responded by framing Jared for murder, drug-running, and treason. All to ensure Nolan’s compliance and to give them access to Jared’s biology for Project Icarus testing.
“Lina!” Jared gasped, and for a moment, Nolan thought his brother was once again growing confused and asking about his fiancée. But there was no bewilderment in Jared’s eyes. “Lina…” he said again. “She…was Mil-Int. Before I was arrested…she was trying to find you. To deliver…the message. To warn you…about Project Icarus. To try and help you…get out of whatever…mess you were in!”
Nolan’s eyebrows rose. He’d never met Lina—he hadn’t bothered contacting his brother for over a year before Jared’s arrest and incarceration—but the idea that she’d been on her way to help him only added to his burden of guilt.
Yet if she had been military intelligence, that could have explained how she’d managed to evade the Protection Bureau for nearly a year and a half after Jared was framed. Had she spent all that time trying to track him down? If so, Nolan had a pretty good idea why she hadn’t been able to find him. Taia kept a close eye on everything pertaining to his identity and any digital searches for him, even those on the darker underbelly of the holo-net. It wouldn’t have been difficult for her to block all of Lina’s attempts to locate him, even manipulating Imperial databases, as per her orders from both him and the Protection Bureau.
Worse, if the Protection Bureau had seen her as a threat—and the fact that they’d hired Shadowspear to track her down and execute her made that clear—they could have simply instructed Taia to keep Lina away from him. He would have never known unless she found him in person.
More than that, if Lina knew about Project Icarus, that might have explained why she was at Biovere Innovation. She could have been hunting Doctor Sladek as well as attempting to contact him. She’d simply been unfortunate enough to be at the laboratory at the same time Shadowspear had abducted the doctor—who the Protection Bureau had given the codename “Frankenstein.”
Before Nolan could ask any more questions, Jared’s eyes fluttered closed and his body began to tremble. It started as little more than a tremor, but quickly turned into a violent spasming and shaking that Nolan recognized as a seizure.
“Shit!” He grabbed Jared’s arms and held tight. “Jadis, grab his legs! We’ve got to turn him onto his side.”
With Jadis’ help, he managed to restrain Jared’s seizing body, though it proved a struggle to hang on to those writhing limbs. Horror surged in Nolan’s throat as he fought to keep his brother from hurting himself. “Taia, tell me you’ve got something to help him!”
“I had anti-epilepsy medications in the cabin, but that’s clearly not an option anymore!” Taia answered.
“There’s got to be—“ Nolan swallowed his words as Jared’s spasming slowed and his muscles relaxed, the seizure passing. Yet he had no time for relief; Jared had fallen unconscious, and, to Nolan’s horror, a stream of blood trickled from his mouth and nose. “Taia, what the fuck is happening to him? Tell me you’re done going over those test results!”
“I have,” Taia said. “Based on my scans, blood analyses, and rapid DNA sequencing data, the excessive cellular proliferation triggered by his MCH is leading to internal DNA damage to the point that his internal organs are being damaged. This seizure, along with his extreme weakness and difficulty remaining conscious for extended periods of time, are simply the manifestations of his body’s inability to adapt to the extreme telomere degeneration.”
“Don’t talk science to me!” Nolan shouted. “Tell me what’s happening to him, how I can help him!”
The horror swelled as Taia remained silent for long seconds. She only did that when she had really bad news that she didn’t want to tell him.
“Spit it out, Taia!” He clung to his brother, fighting to remain in control despite the fear threatening to overwhelm his mind. “I need to know!”
“I’m sorry, Nolan,” Taia said. “I wish I had better news, but the tests are conclusive. At this accelerated rate of breakdown, your brother has just forty-seven hours and nine minutes left to live.”
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Thank you for reading Rampant Destruction, book ten in Cerberus.
We hope you enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you. We just wanted to take a moment to encourage you to review the book on Amazon and Goodreads. Every review helps further the author’s reach and, ultimately, helps them continue writing fantastic books for us all to enjoy.
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ALSO IN THE SERIES
ASSASSINATION PROTOCOL
TERMINAL SECRETS
CYBER STRIKE
PARAGON SLAYER
VICIOUS JUSTICE
GHOST NEMESIS
SHADOW KILLER
REBEL HUNTER
LETHAL EXTRACTION
RAMPANT DESTRUCTION
COVERT INCURSION
Fantasy Books by Andy Peloquin:
Hero of Darkness (Dark Fantasy):
Book 1: Darkblade Assassin
Book 2: Darkblade Outcast
Book 3: Darkblade Protector
Book 4: Darkblade Seeker
Book 5: Darkblade Slayer
Book 6: Darkblade Savior
Book 7: Darkblade Justice
Queen of Thieves (Grimdark):
Book 1: Child of the Night Guild
Book 2: Thief of the Night Guild
Book 3: Queen of the Night Guild
The Silent Champions (Military Fantasy):
Book 1: Shields in Shadow
Book 2: Battle for Peace
Book 3: Steel and Valor
Book 4: Courage to Sacrifice
Book 5: Ragged Heroes -- (companion novel)
Book 6: The Last March -- (companion novel)
Heirs of Destiny (Action/Adventure):
Trial of Stone (Book 1)
Crucible of Fortune (Book 2)
Secrets of Blood (Book 3)
Storm of Chaos (Book 4)
Ascension of Death (Book 5)
The Renegade Apprentice (Book 6)
About the Author
I am, first and foremost, a storyteller and an artist—words are my palette. Fantasy and science fiction are my genres of choice, and I love to explore the darker side of human nature through the filter of fictional heroes, villains, and everything in between. I'm also a freelance writer, a book lover, and a guy who just loves to meet new people and spend hours talking about my fascination for the worlds I encounter in the pages of speculative fiction novels.
Fantasy and science fiction provide us with an escape, a way to forget about our mundane problems and step into worlds where anything is possible. It transcends age, gender, religion, race, or lifestyle--it is our way of believing what cannot be, delving into the unknowable, and discoverin
g hidden truths about ourselves and our world in a brand new way. Fiction at its very best!
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Download the FREE prequel to see where Nolan's journey as Cerberus truly began!
Rampant Destruction (CERBERUS Book 10) Page 29
