The Pack

by LM. Preston

  Hedi put her hand on her hip and walked close to Shamira. “Renu was just fourteen when he murdered those kids in their beds. He escaped and lived underground for about two years until he got caught robbing a bank. Cal Long, the good son, went on to become the successful prodigy he was groomed to be. His brother served his time for his crimes and appeared to be completely rehabilitated, which got his sentence greatly reduced. Since he was a juvenile when the crime was committed, he received mind reorganization and was released by his eighteenth birthday. Renu’s juvenile record was wiped clean, and both his and Cal’s records were sealed,” Hedi said with a smirk.

  “I’m impressed, Hedi. I’ve been trying to figure out how to get that information for weeks,” Shamira said with a look of deep respect when she smiled at Hedi.

  “What can I say? A girl’s got to have some mad hacking talents to stay alive these days. Bringing big men to their knees might be your forte, my BFF, but hacking into systems to obtain unsuspecting victim’s money is what Monev trained me to do,” she said and smiled back at Shamira.

  Shamira’s heart melted with the thought of Hedi calling her “BFF,” her “best friend forever.” Shamira pondered on it, remembering when she thought she would never have friends. Now she had so much more than friends. She had loyalty and friendship that would last a lifetime. It was a dream she had never let herself wish for, and now that it was here, she was too scared to trust it.

  “That still does not solve the mystery of how Renu got enhanced. The Security Force Elite didn’t receive enhancements until they went through their acceptance ceremonies. Also, none of them knew they were going to be enhanced. They were trained in all arts of war but with their enhanced strength only during the two years after their acceptance into the Security Force Elite. Now the mystery is - does Cal know his brother is the leader of Monev? Is he protecting his brother, working with him, or opposing him?” Shamira pondered while she bit her bottom lip in confusion.

  Valens added, “None of those options sound promising for Mars. I hope Cal is not privy to the fact that the leader of Monev is his brother. We have to get the facts before we attack a leader of the Security Force Elite. That would be considered treason, and we would be the ones placed in the executioner’s Waters on Earth for all of our hard work at bringing Monev down.”

  Mitch hit his fist to his opened palm. “Screw! Looks like either way, something fishy is going on. I don’t like it, but we can’t wait around to figure it out either. Ryan called and tipped us off that Renu is fully recovered and angry as hell. He knows who Shamira is and wants her dead. He has sent Strong’s crew to get her at any cost. Ryan said his and the others’ alliance with us has still gone undetected, but he doesn’t know for how long. Renu has increased surveillance. He said he got a tip from Vinny, a runner for Monev in the Outlands, that they are preparing to question the kids that were recently recruited. The vibe is that our days are numbered. Renu is evil enough to round up the remaining kids and terminate them simply for thinking about retaliating against Monev. We don’t have much time, and Ryan wants to know what he can do to help,” Mitch said solemnly.

  Shamira’s shoulders fell. “Okay. Let’s go question the scum. Everyone else get the beetles ready to attack. We attack tonight. Hedi, find someone capable of directing the younger kids where to release them and send them out to prepare to do damage. Then come and join us in the lab,” Shamira said before she turned and followed Valens to the lab.

  Chapter 22

  Upon arriving in the lab, Shamira watched while Valens activated the large wall screen that displayed their three captives in a vertical line down the left of the screen. The right side of the screen showed vitals for each captive.

  “I had Matt here take one of your truth ticks and manufacture a gas that I can release in the cylinders,” Valens said while he typed in the command. The gas released into the cylinder holding the angry and restrained prisoners. She glanced over at the curly haired teenager sticking his chest out beside Valens with a grin on his face and figured that must be Matt. Glancing around, she realized several other teenagers were standing around.

  “Thanks, Matt,” she said and smiled at him. His cheeks instantly turned pink with a flattered blush.

  “Okay, we’re on. They’re awake, angry, and drugged—just the way we want them,” Valens said while giving Shamira the direction to start questioning.

  Shamira turned back to the screen. “Fisher, what do you know about Renu?” she asked clearly while she studied him for signs the truth tick gas was working.

  “Go to hell. I ain’t telling ya nothing. You don’t know who you’re dealing with, little girl,” he snarled.

  “Okay. He’s not ready.” Shamire looked away from Fisher. “Slasher, what do you know about Renu?” She noticed his eyes were dazed from the affects of the drug.

  Slasher looked dazed with saliva dripping from his slack mouth. “We met on the run. Been friends since the beginning. He followed the plan to a tee, and we became kings… kings of our own world,” Slasher forced out while fighting to keep his words within.

  “How did he bring down the Security Force Elite members?” she asked.

  Slasher’s head fought side to side like he was trying to regain control over his words. “Virus… it infects their suits, makes them weaken, but only for under a minute before their nanonytes regenerate and counteract the virus. We put pain modulators on their skulls to immobilize them. They’re drugged into constant pain to confuse the nanos into thinking the body is being attacked by multiple strains of the virus. Perfect… it was a perfect plan from the beginning.”

  “Are they still alive?” she asked, hoping for the best.

  Slasher grunted. “Not for long. We tried to get all the information from the ones we captured, but they all hold different parts of the passwords and codes that control the Security Force computer systems on Mars and Earth. We need information from just a few more Elite to have it all. They’re supposed to die, but we couldn’t cut through the suit. We have to cut them at the neck. It’s planned and has to happen soon. Got to get them all before Renu finds out the deed is not done. It was to happen tonight, after all the Sector leads were captured.” Then, he slumped forward as his mumblings slurred and he fell victim to the side effects of the gas.

  “Fisher, how did Renu plan Monev’s domination of Mars? How long? Why?” she demanded.

  “Don’t know. He never tells all. He gathered us and told us to be good if we wanted to be rich. I listened. He’s convincing, especially when he kills. He enjoys it so,” Fisher said groggily.

  “Where are they holding the kids they captured?” she asked, realizing her time for this little interrogation session was running out.

  “Olympus Mons,” he said while his eyes started to glaze and tear from the effects of the drug.

  “What about the Security Force members? Where are they? Where!” she said forcefully.

  “Outlands… deep in the underground chambers. Ugh,” he forced out as spittle came from his swollen lips.

  She knew she was running out of time before he succumbed to the effects of the drug. “Are all the kids alive that were captured from the Security Force Elite families?” she forced out, trying not to give in to the emotion of fear she felt contemplating his answer.

  “Maybe, or maybe not. All kids work the mines, and if they are strong, they survive. If they ain’t worth the fight, we kill them. We don’t care whose kids they are. Mining dream is our gold mine. They all work to stay alive,” he spat out, as his eyes closed and the drug took effect.

  “Thor! Where are the kids held in Olympus Mons? How can I get in undetected?” she yelled at the screen and watched as Thor’s head jerked up at her request.

  “Kids held underground tombs… they take the tunnels up into the mountain and around the top of the volcano. If they survive the day of work, they go back to the tombs where they’re locked into their cells. Maybe they get fed if they meet their quota. If not, they get beaten, may
be killed. Most get beaten. I like the beating part and the killing too. Sometimes I get to help with that,” he said with a sadistic grin on his face.

  “How can I get in undetected?” she demanded again, trying desperately to get him to answer before the drug knocked him out. She wanted to hurt him for the way he taunted her even while under the influence of the drug.

  “You figure it out,” he said before spittle trickled from his lips and the drug took him.

  Hedi stomped her feet. “Bastard! I hate that scum,” she yelled out from behind Shamira.

  “I agree, but we don’t need him. I know how to get in,” they heard clearly from the back of the room.

  Shamira turned around to see a smiling Kurt walking toward her. His posture was a little hunched, but without a look of grimace, he straightened and walked toward her like he felt no pain at all.

  “Kurt! Look at you! You recovered. Welcome back, and thank you for saving my life,” Shamira said. She looked over a healthy-looking Kurt who sauntered in the room as if he hadn’t been near death just over an hour ago.

  “Saving you was my pleasure, and thanks to Valens, I’m alive and well. I want in. I may have family in those mines, and I want to be a part of bringing it down,” Kurt said and came up to Shamira. He placed a hand on her shoulder. She welcomed it, knowing how much it meant to Kurt that she accepted him.

  “Welcome back, man. Glad to have you back,” Valens said while he looked Kurt over with the practiced eye of a scientist.

  Anthony slapped hands with Kurt. “I knew a trained Monev assassin wouldn’t miss the chance to recover and beat up some more Monev scum. Welcome back, my man.”

  “Well, I can’t say I’m 100 percent, but I’m damn close. Definitely could be better, but I’m still in,” Kurt laughed.

  “We’re attacking shortly. Everyone of age, gear up. We need someone to be our eyes and ears here at the command center,” Shamira suggested.

  Hedi grinned at her in return. “Of course! I’m good at multitasking and delegating. Oh, by the way, the younger kids are gone, releasing the beetles. I also took the liberty of contacting Ryan and the other kids at all the Monev holdings. A lot of places already have some explosives attainable by staff members, so the kids at those locations are starting to set up for sabotage. Say the word, Shamira, and it will be done.”

  “Well, I’ve one more call to make. Valens, transmit to my parents on your screen. According to my earlink, they’re at the Security Elite Headquarters in my father’s office,” she said while looking at the screen waiting for her parents’ faces to appear.

  Her father was seated at his desk with her mom on the edge facing the video wall. They looked like they’d somehow been expecting her call. “Hello, Shamira. We were starting to get worried. No signal is coming in from your earlink, and things are only getting worse here,” her father said, a look of relief passed over his face upon seeing Shamira.

  Shamira took a deep breath and prepared to share her news with her parents. “Dad, Mom, I don’t have much time to talk. I want to send you a video feed of a meeting from Monev, the crime organization bringing Mars to its knees. We need to attack tonight. I’m depending on you to lead the Security Force attack on their holdings in the Outlands. That’s the holding that will have the captured or murdered Security Force captives. I’m sending the feed over now.” Shamira gave Valens a nod to send the video feed of the meeting they observed.

  Her parents watched intently, and their faces turned from observation to anger as they watched Broc and then Renu come on the screen. Her father stood and walked closer to inspect Renu’s face, and Shamira watched while his look turned from anger to dead calm. The feed finished, and Shamira’s parents stood, quietly waiting for her to come forward with more information.

  “I’ve been tracking them with friends that were recruited from the inside. They have information and long-term relationships within Monev. Renu, the head of the organization, is the twin brother of Cal, and we believe he has infiltrated the Security Force and recruited support team members and Security Force members. Not just here on Mars, but possibly on Earth as well. I’ve three of his men in captivity and have questioned them about Monev and Renu’s recruiting tactics,” Shamira said, hoping her parents wouldn’t interrupt with anger and reprimands for her actions.

  Her mom stood and smiled. “Well, I’m impressed. We have trained you well. I was worried initially when your father said we should allow you to continue your independent investigation. He said you will be a future leader in the Security Force, and I wasn’t ready to let my little girl go, but now I see you’re no longer a little girl. You’re a force to be reckoned with. We never knew the extent of your abilities. You, Shamira, are an anomaly.”

  Eyes tearing up with guilt, her mother continued, “When you died, the Security Force scientists were forced to inject you with the nanos only intended for Security Force Elite members when they were inducted during their final ceremony at eighteen, a time at which the body has matured in order to counteract the toxins used in the enhancements. The side effects of your death and the unexpected large amount of the enhancements needed in order to jolt you back to life caused you to become blind. Security Force Elite members’ children are the only people who have the genetic markers to bind to the enhancements. All of you who are children of Security Force Elite members were genetically selected to be the continuing Force to govern Mars.”

  Her mom’s eyes glanced at all of them, and she cleared her throat, and then added, “The preliminary enhancements you received when you were nine years old were only the beginning of your journey. The Security Force Elite, in desperation to win this war against Monev, were forced to allow you into action much earlier than we ever would have anticipated. Monev also realized your worth to us and sought to kill, manipulate, and enslave you until the dormant nanos in your systems made you too physically strong for a normal adult to control. It would allow them control of the future. Prior to that turning point in your development, they would terminate the selected few of you that were enhanced specifically for the purpose of becoming members of the Security Force Elite.”

  She looked directly at Sharmira then said, “But you, Shamira, were hand selected by the Earth board of officials as the Security Force Elite Head. You were being groomed for Cal’s position, which was why your trip to Earth was so important and security was heightened. After you were secured with eyesight, Earth was free to close off its airspace to Mars and allow the Mars Force to handle the Monev problem before it further infected Earth. We always knew that the Security Force had been infiltrated, but I have to tell you we never expected to find that Renu was behind it. Neither would we’ve thought Broc would be disloyal. After viewing this, we believe Renu has been posing as Cal for quite some time now.” A look of appreciation reflected in her mother’s face. Shamira found it addictive.

  With her mother’s words, Shamira reflected on her brief encounter with Cal and how different it seemed from her past interactions with him. She had expected him to recognize her initially, and she had thought his actions odd.

  “Are you saying they purposely chose which kids to enslave and which kids to kidnap? They killed many kids before the age of seventeen simply because they didn’t know who was to be a Security Force Elite and who wasn’t? I don’t know what to say. You trusted me to do this? I’m honored, and I won’t let you down,” Shamira said as her eyes watered softly.

  Valens cleared his throat. “You mean all of us are special? Born to be Security Force Elite?” Valens questioned.

  Shamira’s father looked fondly on Valens. “Yes, Valens. We went to school with your father, one of the creators of the enhancements we received. He was a brilliant inventor since he was a kid. He was just an understudy who helped out with the experiments during training when he discovered a way to keep the powerful enhancements from being misused by others not genetically groomed to be Elite.”

  “Hedi, Kurt, and Anthony, I knew your parents also. I’m so gla
d you have come back to us,” her mother said.

  Her father’s expression turned serious. “Now, back to the problem at hand.” He spoke as if they were his Security Force Elite colleagues.

  “What about the tattoo on Renu’s neck that would have been a noticeable difference between him and Cal?” Shamira asked, remembering how Ryan had pointed that defect out to her when she first had the idea that Renu was Cal.

  “That’s something that can be easily covered, and since he has the same genetic markings as Cal, he could have easily come inside the Security Force undetected,” her father stated.

  “Is Cal or Renu at the Force Headquarters today?” Shamira asked.

  Her dad lifted an eyebrow. “No. He’s been on an extended mission to seek out and terminate the leader of Monev. Funny how we fell for that one, and Broc being a part of his infiltration team just sickens me. Send us the coordinates to the Outlands, and we’ll go there with our team to bring it down.”

  “Valens is sending them over. It’s important we attack tonight. Renu is on to me, and I believe he recognized me. I’m hoping he doesn’t put two and two together and figure out that David is already in his possession,” she said, nervously raking her hand through her hair at the thought of the consequences.

  “Don’t worry about it. We’ve got the Outlands covered. I trust you have the destruction of the other areas of Monev under control. Did you find out where David is?” her father asked with a hidden look of concern in his eyes.

  “Yes. He’s in Olympus Mons, where I plan to lead the attack. He’ll be my first priority. He’s the reason I must go there. It was my responsibility to train him, and I failed. I will not fail in getting him back. I can tell by the look in your eyes that you really want to go after him, but I need to do this, Dad. I really need to do this, so please don’t interfere,” Shamira pleaded as a lone tear slipped from her eyes.