Rogue (Book 2) (The Omega Group)

by Andrea Domanski

  “Oh my God, that’s horrible. Funny, but horrible.” Kell took a sip of her water and pointed ahead. “We’re almost there. Good thing, too. That was the last of my water.”

  Carter nodded his head as he unconsciously picked up his pace. Kell matched his speed and they arrived at the village, panting and dehydrated, shortly thereafter.

  “I’ll get us more water. You find your father,” Kell said as she walked toward the café.

  Carter made his way to the office used by the council. If his father was smart, he’d already be removing Bill as his successor and, in doing so, ensuring his own safety. Of course, that wasn’t the case. The room was empty.

  “Carter, is everything all right?” Bidzil greeted him at the door on his way out.

  “No. Do you know where my father is?”

  Bidzil nodded. “When we arrived home he immediately went to his meditation cave. I believe he is trying to come to terms with a few things.”

  “Can I borrow a couple of your canteens? Ranger Christner and I just ran from the hilltop and I’m not sure she can make it to the falls without extra rations of water.” If he was to be honest, running in his human form had been difficult for him, too.

  “Of course,” Bidzil said. “Can you tell me what it is that has you so worried?”

  “I think Bill might come after him. He was definitely behind at least some of the recent attacks, and now that he knows we’re on to him, his only way to ensure he becomes chief is if my father is out of the picture.”

  Bidzil eyes widened. “Then you must hurry. Bill was just here, speaking with the council. He pleaded his innocence and begged them not to remove him as successor. He also made a very public plea to Tochapa.”

  Carter’s chest tightened. “What did he ask for?”

  “He wanted Tochapa to show the village that your father made the right choice by naming him his successor. He asked Tochapa to send a sign that would show the god’s support of his being chief.”

  Kell trotted up beside Carter and handed him a bottle of water. “Hi Bidzil. It’s good to see you again.”

  “And you, my dear,” Bidzil responded with a warm smile. When he put his hands around hers his smile grew. “I see your world has changed much since the last time we spoke.”

  “It most definitely has, and I’m not even going to ask how you knew that.” Kell gave him a wink.

  Carter could see he wasn’t the only one on the receiving end of Bidzil’s intuition. “Sorry to break this up, but we need to go.” He turned to the healer. “Thanks for the water, and if the rest of my team shows up, can you tell them where we’re headed?”

  “Of course. Be safe. Both of you.”

  Chapter 24

  The entrance to the chief’s not-so-secret cave looked undisturbed, which Carter took as a good sign. He held the branches back for Kell, then followed her inside. Just as before, the smell of flowers filled the dark space. His father was definitely there.

  “Chief,” Carter called out. “I’m here with Ranger Christner. We need to talk to you.”

  Kell’s brow furrowed when they were met with nothing but silence. She drew her sidearm and stepped in front of him. Carter grabbed her arm but received a stern look in response as she held up her 9mm pistol. With no weapon of his own, he had little choice but to let her take the lead.

  At the bend in the jagged rock wall, Kell paused, raised her pistol, and turned the corner. “Clear,” she said.

  A fragrant bowl of fresh flower petals sat in the middle of the cramped space, but the man it belonged to didn’t. There were no signs of struggle, which meant he’d left of his own accord. Whether he’d left alone or with Bill was the only question on Carter’s mind.

  “He must still be around here somewhere or we would have seen him on the trail. Any ideas?” Kell asked.

  Carter thought for a moment before answering. “If Bill has him and intends to kill him, he’ll have to make it look like either an accident or natural causes. That’s the only way he can portray it as a sign from Tochapa.”

  “But he could do either of those things anywhere,” Kell said.

  “No. He couldn’t. My father has always been a creature of habit. When he comes out here to meditate, he doesn’t go wandering off. If he isn’t in his cave, the only other place he’d be is…” Carter’s voice trailed off as he realized just how little time they had left. He grabbed Kell’s hand and dragged her to the cave’s entrance. “He’ll be up there.”

  Kell followed his gaze to the top level of the falls, then, without another word, they both charged through the brush, back the way they’d come. Despite their brief rests at the village and in the cave, their arduous run to the village was taking its toll. Carter lost his footing several times as he climbed alongside the falls. Behind him, if her occasional cries were anything to go by, Kell was having the same trouble.

  Once again at the top of the falls, Carter searched for any sign of his father. He and Kell had passed through here only a few minutes before but he hadn’t paid much attention. He’d only been thinking about getting to the cave. If they were too late, it would be his fault. Had he been thinking, he would have realized that this was the perfect location for Bill to cause an accident. “Do you see anything?”

  Kell shook her head and opened her mouth to say something. When no words came, Carter turned in the direction she was looking. At first, he saw nothing but the small copse of trees and brush that hugged the canyon wall. He glanced back at Kell and she pointed to the ground under the lush green canopy.

  This time he saw it. The shadows were wrong. A slight breeze caused the leaves to gently sway, creating a slow, rhythmic pattern of shade against the ground to the east. That rhythm was broken by what Carter first thought was a branch, except it was moving against the pattern.

  Carter put his index finger to his lips and signaled for Kell to follow him. The location of the sun behind him made following the shadow to its origin easy. They were less than fifteen feet away. “Maybe I was wrong,” he said for Bill’s benefit. “Bill’s probably halfway to Vegas by now. Sorry for wasting your time, Ranger.”

  “No problem,” Kell played along. “It’s all part of the job.”

  Stepping carefully to avoid making any noise, they approached the only tree with a trunk large enough to conceal two men. The key was to stay directly behind the tree until the last possible moment, so their shadows wouldn’t give them away, too.

  When they were as close as they could get, Carter stepped to the left while Kell stepped to the right. He rounded the tree just in time to see Bill, with a large, jagged rock in hand, swing it at the ranger’s head. She dropped to the ground, making a short, guttural noise as she fell.

  Bill held the chief in a chokehold. When Carter reached out, his father’s eyes bulged as the pressure on his windpipe increased. “It’s over, Bill,” he said. “Let the chief go.”

  “It’s not over until I say it is, friend.” Bill spoke that last word as though there was acid on his tongue. “This is all your fault, you know. The chief chose me, not you. We were happy. Then you showed up and threatened everything I’ve spent years working for. Why did you have to come back?”

  Carter watched as his one-time friend turned crazed. His eyes darted back and forth as he used the rock in his hand to punctuate a conversation only he could hear. Talking him down was going to be difficult. “Bill, we were friends for a very long time…”

  “Is that what you call it? Friends?” The cackle that escaped Bill’s mouth seemed to unhinge him even more. “I was your charity case. The community service you did to make yourself look good. Sheila told me everything.”

  “What are you talking about?” Carter didn’t bother trying to hide his confusion. “You were my best friend until you shunned me along with the rest of the tribe. You betrayed me. Not the other way around.”

  Pure evil oozed from Bill’s twisted grin. “Oh, you have no idea.”

  Although Carter wanted nothing more than to e
xplore that last statement, he pushed the thought aside. There would be time for that later. “Just let my father go, and we can work all of this out.” He took a step forward with his hands raised, palms out. His non-threatening posture didn’t have the effect he’d been hoping for.

  Bill tightened his grip on the chief’s throat and raised his other hand, still holding the rock, above his head. “You’re making this way too easy, Carter. Now I can kill two birds with one stone. Pun most definitely intended.” He took a few slow steps toward the falls, dragging the chief with him.

  Carter made eye contact with his father and saw an unexpected strength there. He was nowhere near as weak as he was pretending to be. Bill passed the tree line before coming to a stop, the unmistakable sound of a distant helicopter causing them all to look skyward. Finally. “The cavalry’s coming, Bill. You just ran out of time.”

  “No!” Bill swung the rock at the same time the chief bent at the waist and pulled forward. The momentum caused him to topple over his captive and crash to the hard ground. Before he could regroup, the chief grabbed his shoulders, pulled him up, and then slammed him back to the rock. The crunching sound made when the back of Bill’s head hit the hard surface was more satisfying than Carter wanted to admit. Bill’s eyes closed and his body stilled.

  “Nice job, Chief Mockta. I guess you didn’t need my help after all.” Carter wanted to reach out to his father but knew there was no point. “Can you check on Ranger Christner for me, while I deal with him?”

  The chief stood straight with an outstretched hand. “Thank you, Carter.”

  Stunned, Carter accepted his father’s hand and shook. He stood in silence while the chief held his gaze, then walked toward Kell’s prone form. Will wonders never cease?

  Carter had written off any chance of having a relationship with his dad a long time ago, but now it almost seemed possible. His heart warmed at the thought of once again having family in his life. The corners of his mouth curved upward in a small smile as he turned to the man that had inadvertently helped bridge the gap between father and son.

  The smile quickly disappeared when he found himself face-to-face with an enraged Bill. The rock that had fallen to the ground when the chief flipped him was again in his hand. He swung it more quickly than someone with a head injury should have been able to, and Carter’s attempt to block the blow missed the mark.

  Pain exploded above his left ear, dizziness causing him to drop to one knee. Carter looked up in time to see the grin on Bill’s face blossom as he raised the simple weapon for one final strike. Raising his arms in an effort to shield his head, Carter didn’t register the movement to his right until it was too late.

  The chief screamed as he threw himself between the two men. The blow that was intended for Carter, instead connected with his father’s shoulder, knocking him to the side. Bill smiled as he dropped the rock and grabbed the old man’s shirt, throwing him over the falls.

  “No!” Carter yelled, clawing his way to the edge. Bill kicked him, hard, in the ribs, and the air in Carter’s lungs expelled in a whoosh. Rage tore through him as he struggled to take in oxygen.

  Ignoring his own pain—both physical and emotional—Carter threw himself at Bill. His shoulder plowed into him, lifting him off his feet and planting him on the ground. Bill shrieked when Carter straddled him, pummeling him with one punch after another.

  All of Carter’s training was lost in a haze of fury. Fury over his former friend’s betrayal. Fury over his father’s selfless act to protect him. Fury over his own inability to stop it. Even the deep thud of the nearing helicopter rotors faded away until he was no longer part of this world, and only revenge was left.

  When he emerged from his fugue, Carter saw the damage he’d done. Bill was almost unrecognizable. Both eyes were swollen shut, his nose had an unnatural ninety-degree bend, and his lower jaw jutted painfully to the side. His bloodied and bruised, tear-streaked face should have made Carter feel… something. It didn’t.

  He pushed himself to a standing position and, with one last look at what was left of Bill, ran to the edge of the falls.

  Nothing.

  His father was nowhere to be seen. The water cascaded down to the next level, and the next, as though nothing gruesome had happened. A moan to his right grabbed his attention and, despite his overwhelming desire to at least find his father’s body, he went to Kell.

  She grabbed the side of her head as she sat up. “Damn, that hurt. Please tell me you got the son of a bitch.”

  Carter just stared at her, unable to speak the words. She reached for his hand, then pulled back when she saw his raw, bleeding knuckles. “What happened?”

  Swallowing the lump in his throat, he tested his voice. “My father… He saved me… He was hit and went over.”

  Kell placed her hands on both sides of his face, forcing him to look her in the eye. “I’m so sorry, Carter.”

  The sincerity in her voice pulled the last string that was holding him together and he collapsed into her arms, sobbing. She wrapped her arms around him like he was a child and squeezed him tight to her chest. He didn’t know how long they stayed like that, but it felt like hours passed before the spell was broken.

  “Carter!” Kell screamed.

  Before he could turn around, a thunderous gunshot sounded behind him and echoed off the canyon walls. Birds took to the sky, squawking. Over his shoulder, Carter saw Bill’s body lying only a few feet away and a man in military fatigues sliding a pistol into its holster.

  With the confidence only a seasoned soldier possessed, the man sauntered to their side. “Captain Will Hancock, at your service.”

  Carter slowly got to his feet, bringing himself to the soldier’s eye level. “Care to explain what just happened? Where’s my team?”

  “I expect they’ll be here momentarily, unless they’re deaf. I dropped them off farther down the falls. They said you’d be at some cave down there. I was taking the chopper to find somewhere to set down when I saw you giving that guy a beating. It didn’t look like you needed much help in that department, but, after I set down, I thought it best to check.” He glanced at the body. “Glad I did.”

  Kell stood and smiled. “We’re glad you did, too. Thank you for the assist.”

  “Just following orders, Ma’am.”

  A familiar voice, thick with his Scottish accent, boomed from behind them. “Oh, bloody hell. You two are more trouble than you’re worth, do you know that? My people don’t do deserts—ever. Oh, and we ran across something that belongs to you, I think.” Myrick stepped aside to allow Carter’s father through. He was sopping wet and a little beat up from the fall, but he was alive.

  Relief washed over Carter as he strode to his father. He spread his arms open for an embrace, thought better of it, and instead offered his hand. Baby steps. The chief smiled, then pulled him in for the first hug they’d shared in over five years. The emotions he’d kept locked away for so many years flooded through Carter. Anger, pain, loneliness, regret. “I’m sorry, Dad.”

  Pulling back, the chief said, “You don’t need to apologize, son. It is I who am sorry. I’ve been an arrogant fool for far too long.” He glanced at the ground where Bill’s body lay. “I trusted him. He was like a son to me.” He cringed when he said that and looked at Carter.

  “It’s okay, Dad. I understand.”

  “I don’t mean to interrupt, but we need to get out of here before someone sees us,” Kell said.

  Captain Hancock bent down, hauled Bill’s body over one shoulder as though it were a small sack of potatoes, and said, “If you’ll all follow me back to the chopper, I’ll take you wherever you need to go.” In response to the raised eyebrows of the group, he added, “Yeah, I’m pretty strong.”

  Chapter 25

  The helicopter flight back to Supai Village was short. Bill’s body was wrapped in plastic sheeting and secured at the rear, while the breathing passengers put as much space between them and the corpse as was possible.

 
“So, where were you guys, anyway?” Carter asked Myrine.

  “Sorry about that,” Myrine replied. “General Persaud sent Captain Hancock to pick us up on his way back to base. The planned pit stop to refuel there took longer than we expected. I tried to call you, but the hangar’s underground like the rest of the facility and the sat phones were out of commission.”

  The captain interrupted. “The delay was my fault. There was a small hydraulic leak I needed to repair and, well, it became a bigger job than I thought.”

  “And that non-disclosure agreement they made us all sign just for being there wasn’t a treat either.” Myrick grumbled.

  Carter nodded, then resumed staring out the window. He was still having trouble wrapping his head around everything that had just transpired. His childhood friend, someone he’d once trusted with his life, had become a murderer. He’d turned against the people closest to him, and Carter would never have the opportunity to ask him why. If only Hancock hadn’t killed him. But he had, to save Carter and Kell’s lives. Now they’d never know Bill’s reasoning, never know what he’d done with the other people he’d kidnapped, and never know what he meant earlier when he intimated that he’d done far worse to Carter than just out his relationship with Gina to the tribe.

  When they touched down, Bidzil was waiting for them. His look of worry when the wrapped body was carried out of the chopper was replaced by relief when the chief and Carter exited.

  Carter told Myrine he would meet them back at the hotel in the morning. For the first time in far too long, he actually wanted to stay in the village. With a quick salute, Captain Hancock lifted off with Ranger Christner and the rest of the Omega Group team to conclude his taxi service for the day.

  “Is that William?” Bidzil looked at the corpse and then back to the chief.

  “Yes. Carter was right about him. If I’m not mistaken, Bidzil, you were, too.” The chief raised his eyebrows, waiting for the healer to respond.