by R. D. Brady
Greg grabbed Luke around the waist, still staying over him. “We need to move.”
Maeve didn’t need to be told twice. She hauled Snap into her arms and grabbed Alvie. Alvie pulled away, sprinting toward Sammy.
“Alvie, no!”
Alvie leapt off the back of the couch, his foot slamming into the cheek of one of the Draco, who had his arm extended, ready to slash at Sammy’s back. The Draco wobbled, stumbling to the side as Alvie fell to the ground and rolled to his feet.
Alvie dove to the ground as Sammy whirled around, his wings coming within inches of Alvie’s head before the talons on the edge of his wings plunged into the Draco. With a vicious yank, Sammy yanked the talons out. Blood pooled on the floor as the Draco dropped to his knees before collapsing face first on the ground.
A group of six more Draco, Tatiana, and her bodyguard behind them rushed into the room. Each of the Draco held one of their Tasers. They each released the prongs. Two missed, but one came incredibly close to Alvie.
The other four sets slammed into Sammy. Electricity rolled over his skin as he arched his back with a scream.
The group of six aimed six additional sets of prongs into the now kneeling Sammy. He swiped out with his wings, but they were too far away. He struggled to get to his feet, but it was no use. He dropped to the ground.
Alvie! Come back. You can’t help him now.
Alvie looked at Maeve and then hurried toward Sammy, crawling in front of him and spreading his arms wide, as if to protect him.
Maeve shoved Snap into Greg’s arms. She sprinted across the room as the Draco approached. They had their Tasers out, aimed at Alvie. Maeve dove, wrapping Alvie in her arms and rolling him away. A Taser just missed her thigh.
She hugged him to her as he trembled. Or maybe she was the one trembling. She couldn’t really tell. Alvie struggled to get back to Sammy.
No, Alvie. Now’s not the time. We can’t fight like this. There’s too many of them. You’ll only get killed. We need to wait, Alvie. We need to wait.
Alvie looked up at her, hope dimming in his eyes. She kissed his forehead as the Draco approached Sammy, who was barely moving. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
Iggy slammed into one of the Draco that moved near him. His hit sent the Draco flying.
“Bring that thing down!” Tatiana ordered. The Draco reloaded, shooting at Iggy as he bounced along the floor, practically running up the wall before grabbing onto the rafters up ahead. Iggy flipped himself over so he was standing on the rafters, peering down at them.
Maeve looked at the Draco as they snarled up at Iggy. They were going to kill him. “Go, Iggy! Run!”
He took one last look as bolts of electricity jolted up toward him. Then he scrambled across the rafter and disappeared through the window. Maeve smiled, watching him go. At least one of them would be free.
The click of heels moved quickly toward her. Tatiana glared, her mouth a thin line. “You think you’re so brave, encouraging him to escape. But you’ll pay for that.” She backhanded Maeve across the face.
The force of the blow flung Maeve to the ground, the whole side of her face on fire.
“Maeve!” Greg struggled to get to her.
Tatiana pointed a long finger at him. “Don’t.”
She walked to Maeve, grabbed her by the back of her hair, and yanked her to her feet. Tears sprang to Maeve’s eyes. “Time to earn your keep, doctor.”
She shoved Maeve into the waiting arms of one of the guards. The guard looked down at her, showing its teeth in the facsimile of a smile. Saliva dripped onto Maeve’s face, and she turned her head, catching Greg’s gaze. The look of terror on his face said everything that needed to be said.
We’re dead.
Chapter Ninety-Nine
The talons from one of the guards that grabbed Maeve cut into her arms. She swallowed down the cry, not wanting to worry any of the others. But Greg looked at her in alarm. She shook her head, not wanting him to say anything.
The Draco hustled them out of the room and down the stairs. Tatiana led the way after ordering the six that had taken down Sammy to bind him before bringing him down to the tunnels.
Maeve couldn’t be sure, but she thought they were bringing them to a different part of the tunnels than where they had been before. The Draco yanked her forward as they reached the second level. Greg was being pulled unceremoniously behind her.
Alvie let out a little cry. Maeve struggled to look behind her. Alvie, Snap, and Luke were being led farther down the stairs to another level. “Where are you taking them?”
“That’s of no concern to you. In fact, they are of no concern to you. Not anymore.” Tatiana led them down the hall as Alvie’s voice faded.
I love you, Alvie. I love you, Snap. I’ll find you. I’ll find you.
Tatiana stopped halfway down the hall and turned into a room, flicking on lights as she entered. The Draco holding Maeve shoved her in. She crashed to the ground, her knees and palms hitting the rock floor painfully. Greg was tossed to the ground next to her.
The room looked like it had been hewn straight out of the rock face. The floor was relatively flat, but the walls still had sharp, uneven edges. Bright fluorescent lights had been stretched across the rectangular space. Lab equipment had been lined up on long steel tables.
Maeve looked in disbelief at the centrifuge and genetic sequencing equipment. It was such a contrast with the primitive nature of the room.
Tatiana twirled her arms out wide. “How do you like your new lab? This is where you will be conducting your research on that thing upstairs.”
Maeve got to her feet, wiping her palms on the side of her jeans. “I’m not doing anything until I know Alvie, Snap, and Luke are safe.”
“Oh, really?” Tatiana waved a hand toward her. One of the Draco stormed over to her. Maeve backed up, but there was nowhere to go as she crashed into one of the tables. The Draco picked her up by the throat. Her feet dangled in the air. The Draco began to squeeze her neck slowly.
“Let her go!” Greg yanked on the Draco’s arm but to no avail. A second one grabbed Greg, pushing him up against the wall with a thud that left him looking dazed. That Draco’s hand circled around his throat as well.
Maeve scrambled, her feet finding no purchase. She grabbed the Draco’s hand, trying to pull it from her neck, but it was as if the hand was made of iron. She couldn’t get it to budge, not even an inch. Spots began to appear before her eyes.
Tatiana walked in between the two of them. “You two seem to be under the mistaken impression that you have some sort of rights or power here. You do not. You will do what I say. You will do it when I say so. If you fail to, you are of no use to me. Your young ones will be safe so long as you follow my commands.” Tatiana took a step back. The Draco released Maeve and Greg.
Maeve fell to the floor, gasping for breath. Greg crumpled to the floor next to her. Blood dripped down the back of his head.
Tatiana smiled. “Now, I will give you some time to familiarize yourself with the lab. And then you can get to work.”
Chapter One Hundred
The warehouse district was quiet. Norah made the left turn, following Chris. She was amped up, her blood thrumming. She hadn’t felt like this since her military days, before going on a mission. She’d always feel that mixture of fear and excitement, both warring to take over.
But this wasn’t any other mission. The time the military had sent her on missions, she had focused on the job at hand. There was no personal stake involved beyond her own life and that of her fellow soldiers. But here the stakes couldn’t get more personal. Everyone going into this thing had a personal stake.
And if Agaren’s warning was right, the stakes were never higher. The whole world would pay the price if they did not succeed.
But no pressure.
Norah took a breath, trying to calm her racing heart. To her left was a large white truck pulled up to a loading dock. Two people in white overalls were pushing dollies loaded
with boxes into it. Apparently this really was a working business area and not just a front.
Norah knew they couldn’t warn these people without tipping off the Draco, but she worried what would happen when the time came to destroy the Draco’s location. Would R.I.S.E. actually warn the people in the surrounding area? Was there a way to do it without letting the Draco know?
Here they were, racing to save the people they loved, but someone loved these people, people who were just going about their everyday lives. Shouldn’t they warn them and give them a chance as well?
That was the one part of the military that Norah had hated, the calculation. How much collateral damage was too much? Was the life of two soldiers worth more than the life of three civilians? Was taking a particular location back worth the cost in blood and lives?
As a soldier, she’d let other people make those decisions. She’d been required to let other people make those decisions. This mission was the second time in her life she’d gone against orders. First had been when she’d refused to kill Iggy. She’d let him go free. And while that had opened a Pandora’s box of problems, she did not regret it. Meeting Iggy was bar none the greatest moment of her life.
Now, R.I.S.E. had ordered all of them to stand down, to essentially wait. And R.I.S.E. currently controlled all aspects of the military. They were the authority. But Norah along with everyone else was ignoring their orders. They were going to get their people out or die trying.
Norah just hoped it wasn’t the latter.
Sandra sat quietly in the back of the SUV, her gaze shifting from window to window as she took in all the activity around them, or lack thereof. Norah wondered what she was thinking. None of this was easy for Norah, but for Sandra, she’d been thrown in the deep end. The existence of aliens had been thrown in her face at the same time as she was on a desperate journey to save her son. And now that son was in jeopardy from a whole new group of aliens more frightening than any Norah had ever seen. Sandra was made of incredibly tough stuff to still be moving forward.
Or maybe it was just an example of how much a mother would do to save her child.
“What’s that?” Jasper leaned forward from the passenger seat, peering up through the windshield.
Norah followed his gaze. “What?”
Jasper frowned, still scanning the rooftops. “I could’ve sworn I saw something up there, along the roof.” He grabbed the radio and clicked on the mic. “Guys, you need to keep an eye out. I think there might be something or someone up on the rooftop.”
“Where?” Mike asked over the radio.
“East side. I can’t be sure, but I could have sworn I saw movement up there. Just stay vigilant.”
“Roger.”
Norah shifted her gaze from the street in front of her to the rooftop above. Jasper didn’t seem the type to spook easily. Although Norah supposed it could be something as simple as a pigeon.
The car was tense as all three occupants shifted their gaze, trying to figure out what it was that Jasper saw. No one spoke for a few minutes, and finally Jasper sat back. “Maybe I was wrong. But I could’ve sworn—”
A thump sounded from the roof of the SUV. Norah slammed on the brakes. Something rolled toward the front. Each of them had their weapon in their hand a second before a small green face peeked over the windshield.
Norah scrambled out of the car, practically falling in her haste. Iggy leapt from the roof and into her arms, his whole body shaking. Norah held him tight, crooning to him and feeling relief crashed through her. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”
Chapter One Hundred One
Everyone was happy to see Iggy. And not just for Iggy’s sake. The fact that he was here meant that Penny’s information was correct. The rest of the group had to be nearby.
Of course, Iggy couldn’t actually tell them anything about where they were being held.
“Ig, ig, ig.” Iggy leaned forward on the hood of Norah’s SUV, as if trying to convey something. But Chris would be damned if any of them could figure out what it was.
Norah explained to Iggy the plan, showing him on the map where they were going. Iggy nodded his head quickly multiple times, jumping up and down on the roof. “Ig! Ig!”
Chris looked at the strange little guy and couldn’t believe he was about to question him. “Is Maeve there?”
Iggy nodded. Chris ran through everyone else who they believed the Draco had taken. Iggy nodded for each of the names. Sandra gave a little small gasp when he nodded at Luke’s name, her hand flying to her mouth.
She took a step back and then walked to the back of the SUV, taking a seat on the bumper. Chris looked at each person in the group. “Okay. That’s as good a confirmation as we’re going to get. So everyone be prepared and keep an eye out. Let’s get going.”
“Ig!” Iggy thumped on the hood of the car.
Chris stopped, tilting his head at him.
“Ig, ig, ig, ig, ig.”
Chris shook his head. “I’m sorry, Iggy. I don’t understand.”
Iggy stood straight and held out his arms and then swayed from side to side, like he was flying. Sandra, who’d returned to the group, looked shocked. “Sammy? Is Sammy there?”
Iggy nodded, a smile on his face.
“Is he helping the Draco?” Jasper asked.
Iggy let out a snarl.
Jasper put his hands up. “Okay, I guess he’s not helping the Draco. Is he helping our people?”
Iggy hesitated. “Ig?”
Chris looked around the group. No one seemed to understand what that meant.
Norah leaned forward. “Did he try to help?”
Iggy nodded, and then Iggy’s face drooped.
“Is he hurt?” Norah asked.
Iggy nodded.
Norah looked at Chris. “Looks like there might be one extra hostage.”
Chapter One Hundred Two
Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama
The hangar was a buzz of activity. R.I.S.E. had taken over one of the hangars to use as their base of operations and command center. Tilda nodded at the attaché from the National Security Agency as she made her way to the office at the back of the hangar, leaning heavily on the cane Pearl had found for her. But she made sure to keep her shoulders straight and her eyes wide.
And she made sure not to act as if pain was roaring through her body, even though it was. The doctors had offered her heavy painkillers, but she couldn’t take them. If she did, her thinking would be muddled, and she could not risk that. Ibuprofen was as strong a painkiller as she was on, and she was downing them by the handfuls.
The bombing raids were set to go in twenty minutes. She needed to get to the office and get some quiet for just a minute. The gravity of the situation wasn’t lost on her. There were scientists up in Antarctica who would most likely lose their lives, not to mention the wildlife. They were going to try to keep the casualties to a minimum. The bombs were bunker busters, so they should be able to go underground and set off there. But casualties were unavoidable.
The bigger problem was going to be the bomb in Edmonds. She had people on standby to empty out the warehouses nearby, but they couldn’t do it until the very last second. Luckily it was toward the end of the day, and hopefully most people would already have headed home. At night, the warehouse district was quiet. But once again, she couldn’t guarantee that there wouldn’t be casualties.
Pearl was sitting behind the desk and quickly got up as Tilda stepped into the room. She walked past Tilda and closed the door. With a quick glance outside, Pearl closed the Venetian blinds. Tilda all but fell onto the couch by the windows. “God, I feel awful.”
Pearl sat down carefully next to her. “Can I do anything? Can I get you anything?”
Tilda shook her head and then gritted her teeth against the motion. Her head felt like it had been cleaved in two. She didn’t really remember much about getting injured. Her security detail had met her at the apartment. She’d been on the phone with her top aides arranging for
emergency evacuations.
They’d only been in the apartment for a few minutes, but by the time they had left the building, all hell had already broken loose. The Draco had overrun the base. Even for Tilda, the sight of them had been a shock. She had read reports on them over the years and seen grainy pictures, but seeing them in the flesh was a whole new ballgame.
Her security detail had fallen in around her, hustling her through the streets. Tilda had ordered them to stop when three of her soldiers had been attacked by Draco. Two had peeled off to go to the aid of the soldiers while the others insisted on getting Tilda to the safe zone.
But then a Draco had appeared on top of a jeep, letting out a roar. Her security detail had opened fire, but the bullets had done nothing to stop the creature. He leapt at them. His first swipe had all but decapitated the leader of her security. His next move flung the other security guards around like they were toys.
Then the jeep the creature had been standing on had exploded. Tilda had been thrown clear and knocked unconscious. All she remembered was looking up and seeing parts of the Draco before everything went black.
But the building near her had been demolished in the upcoming fight and had crumbled around her.
She’d been told that Adam had found her. She wasn’t surprised by that at all. She knew he would always find her.
“Is the room clean?” Tilda asked quietly, partly to avoid any recording devices and partly because any louder made her head ache.
Pearl nodded. “I had the room swept. There were two recording devices, both CIA issue.”
Martin, you bastard. “Have you heard from Adam?”
“No. But they should have arrived by now.”
Tilda knew that giving Adam the okay for the mission was dangerous. Dangerous for Adam and all the people that were with him if they failed. And dangerous for Tilda if anyone ever learned that she had okayed it. Which was why she’d had to make it appear that she was against it.
