by Celeste Raye
“Just know that we're waiting here for you. And if anything happens, call me, and I will be there before you know it.”
“I will do just that. I hope nothing happens.”
“I love you, Mona.”
Jack paused. That was not at all what he had expected to say, and now he was tortured with the decision to ignore it like he’d never said it or mention it to get it out of the way. What in the world had even thinking?
Before he could get an answer one way or another, Jack hung up the phone quickly. He hung up because he was unsure of what her reaction would be. Jack had never been known to be fearful, but it was hard not to be a little afraid when it came to Mona. He’d never felt like the stakes were so high.
He wanted to kick himself for being such an idiot. But there was nothing else to call what he had just done besides fear and cowardice. He should have waited to see if she said anything, but instead he had hung up like a fraidy cat.
The conversation did not leave a good taste in his mouth. There were a million things that he could have said, and he wanted to call her back, but he knew that he couldn’t. She was in a situation where if the wrong person heard the wrong thing, instead of it being a recon mission, it would become a rescue mission.
Sleep was not going to come easily, or possibly at all until Mona was back. Jack knew that no matter how much he wanted to believe that he had any say in the situation or control in his life, he didn't. Everything was out of his hands, and all he could do was wait.
Chapter Twenty-One
“Come here, Mona. You have been asking questions about how we do things, and I want to make sure that you know. We are doing important work here.”
Mona was talking to a fellow witch that called herself Madeline. If it weren’t for what she knew about Madeline, she would have liked her. The woman was kind and very helpful, but once she started talking about shifters, there was another side of the middle-aged witch that Mona didn’t like.
“Okay, sure.”
She wasn’t sure what she was going to see, but she wasn’t prepared. She tried to recover quickly, and it was a good thing because Madeline was watching her like a hawk.
“I know, it can be a bit much when you first see them like this, but all of the people that we find and catch come here, like this. The spell is a simple sleep spell, but you can do anything with them in this stage. They can be poked and prodded.”
Mona was looking at the dangling man. He had needle marks in several places, and there were several cuts that were all healing at once. They had tortured him and experimented on him by the looks of things. She felt anger flowing inside of her. Mona was thinking about the two boys and how they had been treated. Both of them had several marks on them and Mona was trying so hard not to imagine what it was like for them.
“Are you okay?”
Mona pretended like she was going to be sick.
“They smell. Don’t you think that they could wash them first?”
She was disgusted, and Mona wanted Madeline to believe that it was only because of the smell of the unwashed creature. It wasn’t because they were treating people like they were caged animals. She had to press forward, no matter how hard it was.
“Yes, I guess they could, but it would be a waste of energy. The Organization hates waste, so they figure if they are just going to be killed when we are through with them, there is no sense in wasting time and money on them. I guess I can see their point, but you’re right, it isn’t very pleasant.”
“Is that what they need witches for? The spell?”
Madeline smiled, and she had a conspiring look on her face.
“It’s not just that. Witches are the ones running the show. There are humans involved, but just because they are easily manipulated. Most of them are under a spell that wipes their memory after they leave the compound every day. It’s rather ingenious.”
“Yes, it is. This is really something here. How long does it take to put a place like this together?”
“Oh, honey, this is just one of many. Trust me; they’ve been around a lot longer than we have.”
Mona was thrilled that Madeline was so talkative all of a sudden. She liked to believe that it was because she was doing such a good job, but Madeline was just happy to think she had found someone that was just as hateful as her.
“There are more?”
“Yeah, they will go through all of that during the official orientation, but we’ve been working overtime lately, and nothing is going to plan.”
That worried Mona to her core. Not only were there more facilities like this, but it seemed official, and it seemed like something that made her believe that taking them down wasn’t going to be the easiest thing.
“I look forward to it. I would like to get in there and get my hands dirty. It seems like a great place to work. Everyone has been so nice.”
They’d walked out of the large area shifters were strung up. She couldn’t see that large scale sort of suffering and not do anything about it. She wanted to free them and run. But something held her back. She remembered the promise that she made to Jack that she wouldn’t do anything stupid. That was suddenly a lot harder to stick with than she would have liked.
“So, what do you guys do around here when there isn’t some beast to put to sleep?”
“Well, we do lots of things. Sometimes, we let them fight downstairs and bet on them. It’s not as bad as you would think. They can change into all sorts of things, so it’s all unexpected. You can come with me. I was thinking about going, and I could introduce you to some people.”
“That sounds good.”
The smile was plastered on her face, but it was getting harder and harder to leave it there. The witches were vile, and she couldn’t believe that anyone was capable of such behavior. Whatever she could glean tonight was going to have to be enough. Mona had every intention of getting out of there as soon as she could. Jack was right; it wasn’t safe. No one was safe around them, or with them even being in the same world as anyone else.
As much as Mona did not want to go with Madeline, she knew that she was going to have to. Not only that, but she was going to have to watch and somehow not make any expression. That was going to be harder than she could imagine and Mona was already steeling herself for what she was going to see.
Mona only got a few minutes away from Madeline. It would appear that she was being watched, or at least that’s what Mona thought. She tried not to be paranoid about the situation, but it was rather hard not to be. Everything was moving full steam ahead like it was supposed to, but it scared the hell out of her.
She did as she needed to, though. Instead of running and hiding, honestly what Mona wanted to do, she went downstairs and met Madeline. The Franklin Organization had been nice enough to give her a small room to use when she wasn't working. Everything was all-inclusive and Mona knew that it was because they wanted to keep her on a short leash.
Madeline seemed a little surprised to see her.
“I was wondering if you were going to come. The way you reacted to that shifter earlier, I was not sure how you would take it.”
“I knew what I signed up for when I came here, Madeline. It is just a lot to see. I am sure that I will get used to it in time.”
“Well, if you think that's hard, wait until you see this.”
Mona would have thought that she was genuinely concerned. That's what her words alluded to, but there was a smile that was far too large on her face. Madeleine was getting excited for whatever it was they were about to see, and Mona hoped that she was able to show the same enthusiasm. She had never been one that could hide her emotions; her face had been described as an ‘open book’ far too many times.
Her head was in a funk when she followed Madeline down to where the fighting was happening. She could hear the roar of the crowd long before she got there. Mona held herself together. She would rather be stiff than lose herself.
Nothing could have prepared her for what she was going to see
though. They weren't just fighting—they were fighting to the death, and that was apparent within the first five minutes of her being there. The match that was taking place in front of her was rather bloody and there were people making bets all around her. It was disgusting, but she could tell that her companion, as well as pretty much everybody else in the room, was having a good old time.
Madeline looked over at her, her blonde hair all wild because she was moving around with excitement so much.
“So, what do you think of this?”
“It is certainly something to behold. I would have never imagined that you had all of these down here.”
“Trust me when I tell you that there is so much more than this to see.”
That made Mona a little nervous because she couldn't think of much worse than making people fight against each other to the death. It wasn't because they had some problem with each other or some kind of beef; it was because they had been at the wrong place at the wrong time.
But she stayed. Every fiber of her being wanted her to leave, but Mona made herself stay. She tried to appear like she was unaffected by what she was witnessing. Thankfully, Madeline did not give Mona much attention. She was far too worried about placing her bets and watching the shifters fight in front of her.
“I think I am going to get some sleep, Madeline. It's been a long night. How much money did you win?”
The smile got a little bit larger, and she told Mona that she had won almost one thousand dollars.
“I got most of it on that last match. I know that the woman looked small, but she had this look in her eyes, you know?”
Mona was thinking that the look was fear, but she certainly didn't say so. That was not something that would be appreciated at this moment. She needed to bide her time and hope that when she was ready to be leave, she would be able to find her way out.
When she got back to her room, and after Mona thought about it a little bit, she decided that there was no way that she could stay any longer. It was just too dangerous, and after what she had seen, she felt like she needed to warn people. It was so much bigger than they believed, and the only way they were going to make a difference was to take it all down.
Mona gathered her few things together and made her way outside of her room. She was still trying to orient herself with the place because it was so large, but it wasn't long before she was out the door and had every intention of escaping. She heard her name being called behind her and there was a cold feeling that came over her body. Mona was caught in the act of leaving, and she was going to have to think quickly to figure out a reason to tell Madeline.
Apparently, Madeline had been paying more attention than Mona would have thought. She wasn't the type of person to do anything of that nature, and now it showed.
Mona cursed underneath her breath and then turned around. She at least wanted to face the woman that was going to change her life forever.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The last time that Jack talked to Mona, she had promised to call him the next night at the same time. As much as he wanted to have faith in her and trust that she would do what was needed, there was a bigger part of him that was just worried about her safety.
Mona had a mind of her own, that much was clear and in no way, shape or form was she going to let anyone dictate what she wanted to do. This was something that she felt she could do to help take down bad people, but he was so afraid that instead, it was going to be the end of her. She wasn't like the other witches he met; she was innocent. While it was a good thing to be that way, it was not going to help her in the current situation, where she needed to be as ruthless as the people she was going after
He worried until morning came. The whole time he had waited for a call, his phone sat next to him in the bed, just to make sure that he didn’t miss her if he fell asleep, but nothing happened. Mona never called him, and he was left to wonder why.
There was of course a very real chance that she had just gotten caught up in what was going on there. From the sound of things, it seemed like a busy place, and she had to keep her cover. He kept trying to give himself reasons that she didn't call. All of those reasons didn't make him feel much better though, because whether the reasons mattered or not, at the end of the day, it meant that she was out of reach.
Although he promised Mona that he would not call, in case she was around certain people, it was tough not to. Jack knew that he was going to have to trust her and let it play out. It was one of the hardest decisions that he’d ever made, and it was one that he went back and forth on several times the next day. It had been three days since she went undercover with the Franklin Organization and the fact that she was missing didn’t bode well for the collaboration.
He got ahold of Chris to find out if he had heard anything. Chris was usually a wealth of information, but of course, this time he knew nothing. Jack was getting a bitter taste in his mouth, and he was convinced that it had something to do with Mona. Somehow, they were connected, and the feeling that he had, was because she was in trouble. As much as he wanted to trust her and hope that everything would turn out the way it was supposed to, it was something that he just couldn't do. He couldn't wait any longer. He hadn’t been able to wait with his kids, and he couldn’t with Mona either.
Since Jack knew where Mona was and where the compound was, he made his way over there. He was hoping that he would get there and everything would be fine, then he would realize that he had worried for nothing and she would be happy to see him.
He made the trip, which was quite a long one, and the whole time he had to pretend like everything was okay. He had always enjoyed flying, as it gave him a large amount of time to think, but right now, thinking was the last thing that he needed to do. All he could do was worry, even though he wanted to embrace the freedom that flight gave him, although this time there was no relief. This time, it just gave him an abundant amount of time to worry about everything.
As the third day was coming to an end, he was sitting outside of the compound, and he could already see several uniformed people outside. It was clear their job was to keep everyone out, especially people like Jack.
He had talked to Chris, who had promised to call in other shifters for back-up. Although Jack did not have all the information that he wanted, he did know that Mona was inside. It did not matter how many other people there were, with how many weapons or what was going to happen when they charged. All that mattered was getting to Mona. Something had gone wrong; he just knew it.
The weight of it all, was becoming something that he was accustomed to. It wasn't pleasant, but it was familiar, and he held on to it. It reminded him that he was still alive and he had to keep moving. Worry and stress were becoming the only emotions he’d picked up lately.
He heard something behind him and turned to look, relieved that it was Chris.
“I was wondering when you guys were going to get here.”
“It didn't take any convincing; it just takes some time to get everyone together. I got fifty of us. Do you think that'll be enough?”
Jack looked behind him at all of the faces that he did not recognize. The fact that they were all there boosted Jack. If they were there against the Franklin Organization, then they were there for him. All Jack needed was a little bit of muscle to get in. To get Mona out, as well as anyone else that was trapped in there. He knew that the faces that surrounded him were people that had missing loved ones, all hoping to be reunited.
“Are you sure that you don't want to at least try to call her first?”
Chris was talking about Mona, and Jack knew that immediately. He wanted to call her, but if she wasn't in trouble, it might get her hurt. Not to mention, there were too many people there to call it off now. If she answered and said that everything was fine, how was he going to explain that to the fifty people that were there for justice?
“No, we have to go in. I don't want to alert anyone if they're listening. They could have her phone, and if I try to call, they�
��re going to know that we're coming. I think the best thing to do is just to go in blind.
Chris needed to mull it over for a moment, and then he finally agreed. “I don't think that we really have much of a choice. As soon as we hit the clearing, the cameras are going to pick us up, and they're going to know that they're being attacked.”
Jack agreed with the assessment. “So, it is best to go hard and go fast.”
Chris nodded his head. “I think so.”
They waited a few more minutes for the last stragglers to arrive. If they were going to go in hot and heavy, the best thing was to do it quickly. There were a few moments where the information was related to the masses and then the moment that everyone had been waiting for. The moment they would finally get the revenge they deemed they deserved.
Jack was not worried about revenge at the moment. All he was worried about was Mona’s safety. After that, nothing was going to stop him from ripping to shreds anyone that had anything to do with it.
The signal was given, and the security guards that they came in contact with first must have been rather surprised. It wasn't a bunch of men that were coming towards them, but a bunch of wild animals that looked like they were genetically altered to be bigger and stronger and more terrifying than they should have been.
When they came around the corner, they saw the first sight of security guards. The guards were so shocked at what they were seeing, they didn't even have a chance to get their guns out before they were dropped.
An alarm sounded overhead, paired with flashing red lights. They had lost any element of surprise that they had gained in their momentary run. Now they had to focus on getting in while the gates in front of them were coming to a close.
Jack ran as hard as he could towards the large gate that was going down. He wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to get inside. He had no idea what the Franklin Organization was capable of, but what he did know was that if they got stuck outside, getting Mona out could be impossible.
