Not on Her Watch

by Nicole Zoltack

  "Why shouldn't they be? You are Venom's Vengeance, or at least, I thought you were."

  "The woman I brought…" Neil hesitated. The woman had been taken away by those two guards who were always hovering nearby. She had not regained consciousness during the entire trek here.

  "She is no longer your concern." The Colonel paced back and forth, rubbing his chin.

  "Sir, we need a way to lure out the Americans. Once they are gone, we can focus on converting the civilians to our cause and—"

  "Converting the civilians would be a waste of time. We need more military members for the Hidden Serpents. We have small sects in most major countries already. Every day, more rally to our cause. Just because the movement and the revolution were born here does not mean that everyone on this island will be saved. Not all will experience the coming dawn. That is not something you need to concern yourself with."

  "But—"

  "Do not think too much," Taer snapped. "You are meant to fight and fight alone. I suppose you are hungry. I will have a steak brought up to you shortly."

  "Actually, I was wondering if I could have some fish?"

  "Fish? You think you deserve to dictate things around here?" The Colonel lifted his hand as if to strike Neil but then lowered it. "I am cross with you, but you can make amends for this on the morrow."

  "What will be my assignment?" Neil asked.

  "Bring in as many Marines as you can. The same assignment. Do not fail me a second time."

  "No…"

  But Taer had left the room already.

  Neil shrugged. It wasn't surprising that the woman's hat had come off. Without it, the Colonel hadn't recognized her as a Green Beret.

  After Neil ate his steak, he went to sleep. The woman, Shauna, came to him, trying to talk badly about the Hidden Serpents. She called him a monster, a murderer, a thief. He grew so frustrated and angry that he slapped her. She burst into tears and disappeared in a fog of smoke.

  Neil woke with a start. His face was wet. He was crying. Why was he crying? What was going on with him? He didn't know this woman. She should have no hold over him.

  He must find her and some answers.

  In case the guards were outside his door, Neil silently removed the map. Several areas were marked off. Had the doctor enhanced his eyes too? Because Neil could see the faintest smears of fingerprints tracing lines across the map to the circled areas. And the place of origin was not circled.

  That was where the Americans were staying. Interestingly enough, as near as Neil could tell, the woman he had captured had been traveling along the path to the base. The others had wandered off in another direction. Had they purposely split up? Had the woman wished to be captured? Why hadn't he checked her for weapons? What if she had brought a bomb in here?

  Neil memorized the map and then tucked it away before racing to the door and knocking. "Open up!" he demanded.

  The door opened. One of the guards stood there but said nothing.

  "I must see the female soldier I brought in. I'm worried she—"

  Just then, a loud boom sounded. The ground shook. The guard stumbled, but Neil maintained his balance and then raced away, dodging rocks and pebbles that fell down from the ceiling. Several guards entered the hallway, but Neil plowed through them in his haste.

  Eventually, he found Colonel Kronston Taer near the entrance to the island. He turned and glowered at Neil. "You did this."

  "I did nothing," Neil protested.

  "You. Did. This." Taer jabbed his finger into Neil's chest with each word. "You said that the architect was on our side. Now, he goes and demolishes one of our buildings. He perished, sacrificing himself for his cause, but what if the others are inspired by his stupidity? How could you have let this happen?"

  Neil stared down at the Colonel. Saying this would not earn him any points, but it must be said. "You, sir, also spoke with him."

  Taer grabbed his gun and fired Neil. The bullet went straight through Neil's arm.

  Neil didn't flinch. He casually looked over and watched as bone, muscle, tissue, and skin reforged.

  The Colonel nodded begrudgingly. "You may have a point," he conceded.

  "You just shot me," Neil said.

  "I know that. I wanted to make another point. You are a super soldier, which means that I hold you to higher standards. I can see that my level of trust in you has been slightly overblown. I cannot take everything you say at face value any longer."

  Neil hesitated. "The female soldier I brought in, can I see her?"

  "You cannot. Besides, she's dead."

  "She was not forthcoming with information then?"

  Taer rolled his eyes. "Why we want the Americans is not your concern, but no. I did not kill her or have her killed. You did that."

  "She was breathing when I brought her here," Neil protested.

  "The force of the blow to her head was enough to put her in a coma. We ended her life to appease her suffering."

  Neil nodded. Suddenly, he felt that much better about having killed that American soldier.

  See? Shauna and her fellow Green Beret are wrong about the Hidden Serpents.

  But the Colonel did not care about the civilians on the island. He made that fact very plain. He wouldn’t go so far as to kill them for their lack of vision, would he? Surely even civilians deserved to take part in the lasting peace that was to come.

  "Go back to bed," Taer said dismissively. "Others will clean up the mess you made."

  "But I can—"

  "You can listen," the Colonel snapped. "Now go. Do not make me tell you a second time."

  Neil nodded. "I will sleep if you insist, but I would rather go and get started on my mission already."

  Taer eyed him. "You weren't able to find Americans during the day. Dawn is two hours away yet. How can you expect to find them now?"

  "I wish to make up for my failings."

  The Colonel finally grinned. "Very well. Eat breakfast first and then you may go."

  As with his other meals, Neil had no say in what he would eat. He was given a steak-and-cheese omelet. He ate it heartily, and it wasn't until he left that he realized he hadn't seen the doctor. He would have liked to examine my arm after it healed from that bullet. Surely he is busy.

  Colonel Kronston Taer had shot him. That was wrong. It wasn't peaceful. If it had been in the room with Doctor Despair when they had tested the knife, that would have been one thing. If something had gone wrong, the doctor may have been able to help. No. Say what Taer wished, the point of the exercise had been that he was upset with Neil and wanted to hurt him.

  But the Colonel and the doctor changed Neil. They morphed him into the Venom's Vengeance. He no longer felt pain. He could not be hurt.

  Not physically. Emotionally? Perhaps.

  They claimed that they took my memories because I had suffered abuse and trauma. What if that had been a lie? Or not the complete truth?

  Without his backpack, without any weapons at all, Neil left the Hidden Serpents behind. He rushed away to find Americans and maybe also the truth.

  Chapter 22

  Her heart thrummed so loudly in her ears that Shauna couldn't concentrate to think.

  "She must have continued onto the base. Why didn't I tell her to come with?" Shauna moaned quietly, still mindful that someone might be watching them.

  If she was right about that, if they had been tailed, then Trinity had been all alone. If the killer got to her… If that Venom's Vengeance sank its claws into her…

  It would all be on me.

  "She should've noticed," Alejandro pointed out.

  Lela glanced around. "We can't keep lugging these bodies with us. Let's put them down here by this boulder. We can come back for them once we've found her."

  "If we can," Shauna said guiltily.

  They hid the bodies by the boulder, backtracked, and went along the path toward the base. Every chirp, every rustling of the underbrush had Shauna on edge. She was ready to end whoever would jump out a
t them.

  But no one did.

  Suddenly, Alejandro halted. "She was here, but I don't think she's around any longer."

  He held up Trinity's hat.

  Shauna didn't care if someone was still watching. She grabbed her flashlight and scanned the ground and then all around them. "Long gone. And our footprints mucked up any chance of finding hers and whoever nabbed her."

  "Do you think it was the killer? Venom's Vengeance?" Lela whispered. She didn't sound frightened.

  Shauna wasn't frightened either, at least not for herself. Mostly, anger and self-loathing filled her.

  "We can't try to find her tonight," Alejandro reasoned.

  "Where should we go?" Lela asked.

  "We have to get the bodies. They're a lot closer to… so we'll go there," Shauna said. She wasn't about to assume no one was around just because she couldn't see anything suspicious.

  With a heavy heart, Shauna rushed back to the bodies. Together, they moved them into the cave. Lela used the comms to notify the others what was going on. As it turned out, the others had tried to make contact for hours now. They'd been too busy scouting and then watching the killer and carrying the bodies to realize until now.

  "So we're to stay here for the night and report back on the double as soon as it's dawn." Alejandro leaned back, arms crossed behind his head. "Boring."

  "I'll take the first watch," Shauna offered.

  "No. Sleep." Lela gestured for her to lie down. She sounded anxious and worried. "I'm going to try calling my mom again."

  Shauna hesitated. "Is that a good idea?"

  "Sure it is. Mack fiddled around with my phone so it's untraceable now."

  Shauna sat down, but she couldn't bring herself to lie down let alone sleep. She was feeling too guilty to rest.

  "Hey. It's not your fault," Alejandro said reassuringly.

  "I was acting like I was the WO. I was acting like I was in charge. How did this happen?"

  "It's called an accident."

  "An accident that could get Trinity captured or killed!"

  "Hush now. Don't lose it on me, Shauna."

  She rubbed her forehead and slumped her shoulders.

  "The major objective of our mission is CSAR, right? So we need to rescue one more. We will. Keep your chin up and your head on straight."

  "Clear, good advice from the likes of one Alejandro Fernandez. Who knew?" she said, almost pulling off a teasing tone.

  "I am good for more than just my stunning looks." He turned his head this way and that as if he were a fashion model.

  She cracked a smile.

  Alejandro leaned toward her. "Either we keep talking, or else I'm going to eavesdrop on her conversation, and I doubt Lela would like that."

  "Or you can respect her and not listen."

  "Do you hear how loud she's talking? I'm trying to give her respect, but my ears don't have an off button."

  Shauna laughed. Lela was talking a little louder than Shauna would've expected.

  "Fine," she conceded. "What do you want to talk about?"

  "You never did tell me how you and Nathaniel met."

  "Actually, I did, but you didn't listen."

  "That doesn't sound like me," Alejandro protested.

  Shauna rolled her eyes and shoved his shoulder. "You do suffer from that syndrome."

  "What syndrome?"

  "Of only listening when you want to. A lot of males suffer from it."

  "Not me," he claimed. "Well, maybe a little. Fine. Don't tell me how you met. Tell me why you two hadn't hitched already. You've been engaged for what? Four years now?"

  "We got complacent and lazy. He was always away on a mission, or I was. We never had the time to plan for one. We should've just eloped. I mentioned that to him once, but he figured that all little girls dreamed of a perfect wedding. I hadn't. I used to put war paint on my Barbies."

  Alejandro cracked up. "No, you didn't."

  "I did. Barbies in a wedding dress? Nope. Barbies in a jeep that I pretended was a tank? Yes, please."

  "A lot of military couples get together really fast."

  "Eloped in a week," she murmured. Regret and worry seized her. "A month isn't even that long. But we, I guess we overcompensated. Neither of us ever wants to get a divorce, so we wanted to make sure, you know?"

  "Believe me. No one ever wants to get a divorce," Alejandro said, all hints of amusement now gone.

  "True."

  A slightly uncomfortable silence descended since Lela had gotten off the phone. Considering that she stood near the entrance to the cave and made no point of walking over, Shauna figured she wanted some space.

  I'll talk to her in the morning.

  For now, Shauna laid down. She'd rest even if she didn't sleep. She must've fallen asleep though because when she next opened her eyes, faint streams of light shone into the cave opening. Lela was sleeping not far from here. Alejandro must be on watch.

  She walked toward the cave entrance. "Why didn't you wake…"

  Alejandro wasn't there. He wasn't in the cave or anywhere nearby.

  Shauna woke up Lela.

  "Call the others," she said, her words racing together. "Alejandro's gone."

  "What…" Lela asked, clearly disoriented.

  "Where's Alejandro?" Shauna asked.

  Lela readied to make the call while Shauna checked the cave and nearby. Her partner was nowhere to be seen.

  This cannot be happening. This cannot be real.

  Chapter 23

  Neil did not immediately head to the base. Instead, he went straight to the pond and nabbed himself some fish. He was getting tired of eating steak. Although the fish were slippery, he was able to nab three of them. He used some rocks and twigs and started up a fire. The first fish burned, but he made the others perfectly.

  Feeling much better now, Neil returned to the spot where the woman had veered away from the others. This time, he followed the footprints from the trio. The sky was just beginning to lighten when he spied a shadow coming from a cave.

  The man. He was clearly on lookout duty.

  And he was good at it too because although Neil was hidden behind a rock, the man was staring that rock down.

  The man knew Shauna. He knew this Nathaniel person. If he thinks I am Nathaniel, maybe I can lure him away without waking the others. I'd rather talk to her, but maybe he can give me some answers.

  Neil slowly stood. The man lifted his gun. Neil bent down, removed his boot, took off his white sock, put his boot back on, and waved the sock as a flag.

  The man did not lower his gun, nor did he walk over.

  Neil continued to wave it, baiting the man to walk over.

  Finally, he did, gun training at Neil's chest. "Who are you and what…" He gaped, shocked. He turned his head back toward the cave.

  Neil shoved the sock into the man's mouth and yanked him away. The man put up a struggle, but Neil easily overpowered him. Once they were far enough away that those in the cave wouldn’t overhear the man's yelling, Neil released him and removed the gag.

  "I'm sorry about that," he said.

  "Nathaniel! You're alive! You escaped! Shauna's back there. Don't you want to go see her? Talk to her? I don't… You put on a ton of muscle since we last saw each other." The man hesitated, blinking.

  "I…" Neil hesitated himself. He wanted to lie and tell the man that he was working undercover, but that would be a lie. He wasn't an American. He was a Hidden Serpent and not just any Hidden Serpent. He was the Venom's Vengeance.

  Neil walked past some rocks to another small pond. He bent down and examined himself. His face was dirty, so he washed off the muck and grime. Underneath, his skin was tan yet, but he knew, deep down, that he was an American. Or had been when he'd been Nathaniel Strongarm.

  How did Nathaniel Strongarm die? How had he become Neil Soto?

  "What is going on?" the man asked.

  Neil stiffened at the pressure of the gun at the back of his head. Surely a blow there would kill
him. No matter what the experiments had been, he couldn't be completely invincible. No one was.

  "I asked a question." The force of the gun against Neil increased.

  Neil didn't flinch. "I don't know," he said honestly. "I woke up. They told me things. I don't know what to think, what to believe. I…"

  He closed his eyes. A gun to the back of his head wasn't peaceful. It was the antithesis of peace.

  Peace is our objective.

  Neil shook his head. Why did that expression keep coming to him? It didn't feel right, but it did.

  "What do you want most in the world?" Neil asked.

  "A secure job, a loving wife, maybe kids, happiness…"

  "What one thing do you want?" Neil asked. He stood, his back to the man still.

  "Happiness."

  Neil turned around. "Anything else?"

  The man surprised Neil by smiling. He kept the gun trained on Neil. "Freedom."

  Neil wanted to scowl. He wanted to degrade him for praising freedom, but why? Why did he want to react that way? What was so wrong with freedom?

  "With freedom," Neil said slowly, "men think they know what is best. They take liberties. They fight. They lay claim to what isn't theirs. Freedom is the enemy of peace."

  "Are you crazy, man? Freedom and peace go hand in hand. When people have freedom, they can make choices. They—"

  "They make the wrong choices again and again," Neil said firmly. "Again and again. History has shown this."

  "Man, I don't know what they did to you, but this isn't right. Next, you'll be telling me you're the Venom's Vengeance." The man shook his head.

  Neil said nothing.

  The man twitched and now aimed the gun at Neil's forehead. "It was you? You killed that man?"

  "It was—"

  "Admit it! You killed him!"

  "I did."

  "That was sick, what you did. Why did you write your name in his blood on the sand like that? Did you know we were there? Were you trying to mess with us?"

  Neil blinked, confused. "I didn't—"

  "So someone else did?" the man scoffed. "Get real."

  "I…"

  Neil tried to think back. His mind was growing fuzzy. He couldn't remember. Had he done that? Why would he? He knew why he killed the man. The victim of the war had wished for peace. Neil had granted him that small kindness. After that, he couldn't remember anything until he had started to trail behind the quartet. Hadn't he had to wait for a little while? Why couldn't he remember? Why was the fog returning to his mind? The doctor was supposed to have fixed that!