by Sydney Addae
She updated both Lizzy and Thomas what was happening.
Once the man had Noah how he wanted him, he headed toward the door.
Mia grabbed his mind and gave him last minute instructions. He halted for a few seconds and then left the room.
Minutes later, Mosely and the others walked into the room. He read a scripture from a huge Bible as he entered, performing what she assumed was a ritual before the stoning.
“Mosely and the others are in the room,” Mia told Noah and the others.
“Take him out,” Thomas said.
Mia didn’t see the mist leave Noah, she didn’t have to. Mosely stopped reading, dropped the Bible as his hand flew to his neck. Gradually his face turned red, his eyes widened in watery shock as he struggled to breathe. The tightening mist held him securely as he fell to the floor, trying to inhale.
Initially, those around him didn’t move, not until his face turned colors. Then they huddled around him, searching for the cause of his problem. One guy tried CPR before Mosely but stopped when they yelled the Priest was still alive.
“Call 4-1-1,” a female yelled.
The others looked at her, then at Noah stretched out on the floor. “Move him so we can help the Priest,” she yelled as Mosely stopped moving.
It was as if they couldn’t believe he was dead that fast. One person ran out of the room.
A brave soul pressed against his fingertips against Mosely’s throat and looked at the others. He shook his head.
For several moments, no one spoke. “What do we do now?” someone whispered.
“Jennings was second in command and he just ran out of here like a bitch on fire.” This unflattering remark from someone else.
“What about the guy on the floor?”
Mia prepared to take out anyone who attacked Noah. The man who laid him on the floor spoke. “Leave him. He’ll wake and go home believing he’s been blessed.”
She waited to see if the others accepted the instructions she’d given him just before he left the room earlier.
“I’ll put him back in the chair, take him out.”
The others nodded. “What about the Priest, do we call the paramedics? We have to call them otherwise it looks like we’re hiding something.”
Two guys picked Noah up and returned him to his wheelchair. “Once we get him out of here, we’ll call them.” Someone else rolled up the tarp.
“What about the bricks?”
“Leave’em. I don’t know how they got in here, do you?” the guy said.
“No. No, I don’t.”
“We don’t touch anything other than remove the guy and the tarp. The rest of you go on, I’ll call it in,” he said on a low sigh. “I’ll call it in.”
The others filed out of the room after giving the Priest one long look. The guy pushed Noah out of the room toward the security checkpoint.
“They’re heading back to the front,” Mia told Thomas and Lizzy after reporting mission accomplished.
“I’m waiting to receive him,” Lizzy said. “Are you leaving now?”
“Yes. In just another moment.” She left her hiding spot and stared at the face of the man who killed hundreds of innocent people. Granted he wasn’t alone, but he was the head. She’d given each of the others something to think about if they ever decided to restart the stonings. She sidled out of the room, avoiding going in the same direction Noah had been walked and went an alternate route that wasn’t handicapped accessible.
She reached Thomas in the van before the others. Nervous, she didn’t say anything until she saw Lizzy and Noah approach the van and released a pent-up breath. When everyone was in the van, Thomas pulled out of the near-empty parking area and hit the highway on the way to the jet-port.
“How’re you feeling?” she asked Noah who left the wheelchair as soon as they were on the highway to sit next to her on the back seat.
“Good. It went well. Be interesting to hear the spin on his death,” Noah said pulling her closer.
She rested her head against his shoulder and inhaled his unique scent while listening to the steady beat of his heart. “He’ll be glorified in some way, not that it matters. For right now, no one else will be stoned to death. I planted seeds in the minds of the people in that room to stop them from ever doing anything like that again.”
Noah looked down at her with a slight smile. “Did you now?”
“Might never be right with what they did, now that they know Yahweh was angry over the innocent deaths and destroyed their leader because of it,” she said.
Noah, Thomas, and Lizzy laughed.
“That’s perfect,” Lizzy said. “You’re scary with those new skills.”
Noah brushed a kiss against her forehead. “Well done, babe.”
“Hadn’t thought to take it that far, but that’s brilliant Mia,” Thomas said winking at her in the rear view mirror.
CHAPTER 32
ZEUS LOOKED AROUND slowly as the bonds holding him disappeared. He was on the floor in the stairwell. How long had he been here? He sensed the sun had set and muttered a curse. He stood stretching the kinks from his body and patted his pocket for the keys.
Relieved Hermes had given him the keys earlier, he walked down the stairs, his thoughts in disarray. As soon as he reached the car he would contact Schmidt to find out about Hermes and to report what happened.
He frowned, uncertain as to what exactly happened. The door to the room with Sloan wouldn’t open, he couldn’t break it down or any of the walls. There was a force preventing him from getting to Sloan. He didn’t know if it was the cripple or the woman. Schmidt said Sloan wasn’t a cripple, the wheelchair was fake.
It made no sense. There was little activity in the lobby. The agents behind the desk stared up at him as he strode out the door. As soon as the cool night air hit him he pulled out his phone to contact Schmidt.
The phone was dead. It took a few moments to realize the dark screen wasn’t returning to life before he shoved it into his pocket, pulled out the keys and hit the open button.
Nothing happened. No beeps. No sounds. He hit the panic button. Still nothing. Moving quickly, he noticed the disabled van was missing and so was the SUV they arrived in.
“Damn it,” he said looking around. Anger bubbled beneath his skin as he stormed back inside to ask about his truck and was told it had been towed. The clerk gave him a card with the towing company information.
Zeus stared at the card for several seconds wanting to rip it into tiny pieces before stuffing it into his pocket. “Call me a cab,” he growled.
The clerk placed the call and stepped away from the counter. Zeus took several deep breaths to calm his anger and walked outside to wait. Waiting allowed him to review the disastrous day.
For the first time since joining the Olympus Project, he failed an assignment. He still wasn’t sure how it happened. Hermes lost it, was now in a hospital somewhere and Sloan was still breathing. He looked up to the sky, clasped his hands behind his back and rocked on his feet. From the moment Sloan arrived in Denver, his actions had been off. He didn’t act like one of them, there was no proof he had received the same injection. Despite the wheelchair, Sloan hadn’t been helpless or afraid.
Zeus stopped to buy a charging cable before checking into a hotel and ordering food service. Once the phone was connected to the charger he saw several missed calls and text messages.
He called Schmidt and was told to return to base. No explanations. No discussion.
Curiosity got the best of Zeus. Instead of returning to home base, he directed the jet to Littleton, Texas. He needed more information on Noah Sloan.
<<<>>>
IT WAS CLOSE TO MIDNIGHT when Zeus arrived at Sloan’s home. The lights were on and he heard music and singing. Not professional singing, more like someone was drowning their sorrows off-key. The bio on Sloan stated his cousin lived in the house now that he left to be with the woman. He parked on the road and walked up the long drive until he reached the wide porch
.
Lights blazed from several windows. The singing stopped and the front door opened. Zeus waited a heartbeat and coughed.
The cousin’s head jerked up and he peered into the darkness. “Who’s there?”
Zeus strode forward with his hands up. “You don’t know me but I have a few questions about Noah.”
“You are?”
“Zeus.”
“Seriously?” he said as Zeus walked forward and he looked up. “Guess so,” he muttered. “Lots of people have been asking about Noah. You military too?”
Zeus hadn’t realized others had been here before him. “Yes.” He rattled off his name, rank and serial number out of habit, before realizing none of it applied anymore. He and the others were a part of a new, elite task force Schmidt and the brass was setting up. But they didn’t know there were others with similar powers who weren’t on their team. If they knew, they never shared that information with him or any of the others. Hermes paid for that ignorance. Zeus refused to follow in Hermes footsteps and no longer trusted Schmidt, to be honest with him.
“Want a beer? I’ve had a few already,” Liam said.
“No. Noah left with his new girlfriend?” Zeus asked.
The cousin snorted and extended his hand. “Liam.”
Zeus looked at it for a second before accepting it. When was the last time he did something so... human? He couldn’t recall.
“New girlfriend? That’s accurate I guess. They hit it off, he fell hard. About time, since he hasn’t really dated since he became a civilian,” Liam said.
“Since being discharged?” Zeus said standing on the opposite side of the porch.
“Yeah, it’s been rough. But all of those who served had it rough, at least he survived. A lot of good men and women didn’t,” Liam said.
Neither spoke for a few seconds.
“What happened to put him in a wheelchair?”
Liam frowned. “Wheelchair? What’re you talking about?”
“The reason I’m here is that I saw him in a wheelchair in Denver and when I tried to get to him, I couldn’t. What happened to him?” Zeus glared at Liam as if the failure to destroy Sloan was his fault.
“Noah’s not in a wheelchair. Only time I ever saw him in one was when he left the hospital after his surgeries. He’s been driving for months, I don’t know who you thought you saw, but it wasn’t Noah,” Liam said.
“Why was he in a wheelchair? What kind of game is he playing? Has he been changed from the shot?” Zeus asked moving closer to Liam.
Liam frowned and stared up at Zeus. “He’s not playing any games, asshole. He’s not in a wheelchair, you’ve got the wrong guy. What shot are you talking about?”
“Where did he meet the girl?” Zeus asked.
“In town someplace. She worked for the Feds. Was here on a case,”
“Has he been acting differently lately?”
Liam stilled. “Differently? What do you mean?”
“Different, better than before. Stronger, faster, that kind of thing,” Zeus said.
“Faster? Stronger?” Liam frowned, thinking back. “He didn’t run or go for walks, so I can’t say if he’s faster or not. Stronger?” He rubbed his neck. “I have no idea. Last time I spent any time with him, he had found the body of the dead guy and I knew it spooked him.”
“PTSD?”
Liam nodded. “Bad dreams about the war, then seeing it home, I knew it’d bother him and stayed the night. We had a few beers, talked shit and watched TV. If he was stronger than before I didn’t see it.”
“These bad dreams, did he have them before taking the hit to the brain?” Zeus asked recalling Sloan’s file.
Liam’s brow furrowed. “If he did, they were nothing like this. Nothing like this. They make him sick the next day if, they’re really bad a couple days. Ever happened to you?”
“No.”
“Did you serve time with him?” Liam asked.
“No.”
“How do you know him?” Liam asked, confused.
“I was sent to kill him and he escaped.”
“What the fuck?”
Zeus’ arm shot out, grabbed Liam by the throat and lifted him. “Where is Sloan? If you don’t tell me what I need to know, you won’t see the sunrise.
Liam struggled to break the hold but the man’s arm was like granite. “I won’t see it anyway,” Liam said taking small gasps of air as his feet dangled in the air. What the hell had Noah gotten into to have this mammoth come after him, Liam wondered desperately.
“Problems, Liam?”
Standing near the porch were Ryder and Ryan, Noah’s friends. Liam wanted to weep in relief but couldn’t take in enough air to do that.
Zeus stared at the two men, inhaled deeply and opened his hands. Liam hit the porch and winced. Between his bruised throat and knees he wasn’t sure which hurt most.
“What are you?” Zeus demanded turning to look at the two.
“Neighbors. Friends of Noah. And you are?” Ryder asked.
“Zeus.”
The twins looked at each other. Ryder smiled. “Of course you are.”
Ryan walked up the steps and went to Liam. “You alright?”
Liam nodded but kept Zeus in his sight. That big motherfucker was crazy as a bedbug but strong as fuck. He walked down the step with Ryan and stood behind the two brothers. It looked as if Zeus had grown taller or something. Liam didn’t trust him not to come after all three of them, he prepared to fight like his life depended on it. Because it did.
“I will not ask again, what are you?” Zeus demanded as he changed position to stand with his arms loose at his side and feet apart.
“Neighbors,” Ryder said but this time there was no teasing in his voice. In fact, it was as deadly as the big guy’s on the porch.
Liam wasn’t sure what was going on but knew the twins were friends of his cousin. They’d stopped by yesterday to check on things. “He’s looking for Noah to kill him.”
“Is he?” Ryder said, his voice dropped an octave and sounded cold as ice.
“Do you know where the coward is hiding?” Zeus asked.
“Why would we tell you anything?” Liam asked, anger rising.
“To save your lives. You’re simply prolonging his death by hiding his whereabouts,” Zeus said and moved so fast across the porch railing, Liam hadn’t seen it. He fell backward and rolled several feet away until a large tree stopped him. Unbearable pain shot through his back and side. He almost blacked out.
Liam shook his head and tried to get his bearings. He must be dizzy delusional because the twins were moving as fast as Zeus and kicking his big, blond ass. The world spun. Liam closed his eyes until he could see straight again. He heard a thump and groan.
One of the twins lay a few feet from him. That was not good. He watched as Zeus picked up the other one and tossed him into the side of the barn. The sound of flesh splintering wood made Liam flinch. He needed to help and tried to move. His leg refused to oblige as blood rolled from his forehead into his eye. Leaning forward he dragged himself toward the nearby twin to check on him. This wasn’t their fight. As much as he needed and appreciated their help, he didn’t want them to die or get seriously hurt because of him.
The next moment something slammed so hard into Zeus he flew backward, hit the porch railing and pole causing that entire side to collapse on him.”
“What the fuck?” Liam said trying desperately to see but his vision wavered in and out. “I’m dreaming this shit. Got to be dreaming it.”
Shaking his head, Zeus stared up into the eyes of a giant who grabbed him by the throat, shook him like a rag doll and punched him in the face several times.
<<<>>>
The moment Tyrone sensed the twins were in trouble, he left Rose and the girls at a run with instructions to lock down the house. He sensed their location and ran the 10 plus miles through several fields and copse of trees.
Something snapped when he saw Ryan thrown into the barn and felt Ryder�
��s pain. He morphed into his two-legged form without turning into a wolf and moving like a speeding bullet slammed into the tall, blond guy who never saw him coming. The posts on the porch snapped in half like twigs, and that entire side of the roof crashed down on the guy. If it hadn’t been for the concrete porch breaking the asshole’s fall, he may have skidded through the exterior wall into the house.
Rolling to the side, Zeus tried to stand. Tyrone grabbed his shirt, pulled him up and punched him in the face again.
Zeus tried to push Tyrone off him.
A low, warning growl rumbled from Tyrone’s throat just before Zeus punched him in the belly hard enough for him to stumble backward a couple steps. Tyrone ducked the next blow, and came up with a punch to his adversary’s stomach, knocking the wind from him. Followed by an uppercut beneath his chin, which lifted him off the ground and sent him flying backward into a large oak tree which shuddered on impact.
Zeus didn’t move.
Tyrone rolled his jaw and checked on his sons. Ryder groaned and was coming around. Tyrone was concerned about Ryan who hadn’t moved. “Check on your brother,” he instructed as he morphed to his regular size.
“What’s going on?” La Patron asked.
“Stranger on Sloan’s property. I think he’s one of the military experiments,” Tyrone said. “Strong, big dude goes by the name Zeus. At least that’s what he told the twins before he attacked them.”
“What?” Silas roared. “He attacked? When? Why?”
“A few minutes ago. They stopped him from attacking Noah’s cousin, he didn’t like that. He kept asking what they were,” Tyrone said standing over Zeus. He wasn’t surprised when his father merged with him to see the guy.
“Are the twins alright?” La Patron asked.
“He knocked them both on their asses. Ryder’s helping Ryan now. I plan to send them to shift, finish healing. Liam, the cousin is passed out, needs to get to a human hospital,” Tyrone said glancing over his shoulder at his sons. They stood looking at the guy at his feet wanting to kill him. Their anger vibrated through the air.
