by Summer Lane
“Are we that low on ammunition?” I ask, worried.
“We’re in a state of war,” O’Byrne replies. “And every little bit helps.”
What a great non-answer. He should be a politician.
O’Byrne halts the vehicle at the beginning of a walkway. The path leads to a pier, The Fisherman’s Wharf. It is a faded, rustic old tourist attraction. There are military vehicles gathered here, and lots of soldiers. Many of them are splattered with mud and blood, like myself. They look tired. Scared.
I can feel the tension in the air. It’s thick enough to cut with a knife.
I get out of the car.
“Cassidy!”
Chris is standing on the edge of the walkway, with Vera, Uriah, Andrew, Sophia, and Elle. I walk quickly, too tired to run, and throw my arms around his neck. He smells like seawater and gunpowder – an interesting combination, to say the least. He crushes me to his chest and pulls me into a long, lingering kiss. I am too relieved to be embarrassed or to care what anybody thinks.
“Chris,” I whisper. “We’re in trouble.”
“Thank God you’re alive,” he says. His eyes are red. It looks like he’s been…crying? No. Not Chris. Chris never cries. “You’ve been missing for two days, Cassidy. God, I can’t believe it.” He embraces me again, afraid to let me go. “Are you hurt? Is this your blood?”
“No,” I reply. “You have to listen to me, Chris.” I place my hand on the side of his cheek. “Harry Lydell is here. He’s planning a surprise attack from the north side of the city. The cruise missiles are a distraction. He wants to get inside Monterey.”
Chris’s face turns to stone.
“He’s here?” he asks.
“Yes. And he’s hell-bent on revenge and destruction.”
“Cassidy.” Uriah approaches from behind. I kiss Chris’s hand and embrace Uriah, happy to hug a familiar, friendly person. Uriah slightly shakes my shoulders. “We’re so glad you’re alive,” he says.
Judging by the flush in his cheeks, he’s almost as happy as Chris.
Andrew greets me. Vera does not smile. She doesn’t say a word. She merely squeezes my shoulder, and that is enough. Coming from her, that means something.
“Good to see you alive and well, Commander,” Elle grins, holding Bravo by the harness. “Thought you were a goner for sure.”
“Me too,” I smile.
I look at Sophia. Her expression is placid, cold. She nods, and I notice the tears in her eyes. “Sophia,” I begin, but she won’t look at me. I decide to drop it.
We are out of time.
There is a building near the wharf. It was previously a museum, used for housing relics of the past, like old lighthouse bulbs and sailcloth. The items are still inside the building, but they are covered in dust. It has been abandoned since the EMP, and we are meeting inside. We stand on the second floor. There are wide, open windows overlooking the bay. Omega’s warships are clearly visible on the horizon. Four tiny dots. Harbingers of destruction.
“We can’t stay on the shoreline,” I say. “They could send another cruise missile our way.”
“They could send a cruise missile anywhere,” Chris corrects. “And they’re close enough for guns, now.”
“So we have nowhere to escape to.”
“The Alliance has cruise missiles of its own.” Devin May climbs the stairs to the second story. I haven’t seen him since we met at the Aquarium. “We will retaliate if pushed too far.”
“It’s a distraction,” I say again. “Omega knows that most of our manpower and weaponry is hidden in the city, and they can’t get to that with a missile, because they don’t know where it is. The missiles are meant to draw us to the shoreline so that Harry can bring his troops in through the back door.”
Chris nods.
“Exactly,” he agrees. “I’ve notified every unit in the entire city, and they’re setting up a steel ring. The National Guard and the Army units here are rolling out every available man they have. Omega has ceased fire.”
“Why would they do that?” Vera demands.
“Because the Alliance is negotiating with Omega,” Devin responds. “They’re trying to avoid a slaughter.”
“I’m on the council,” I say. “I should be negotiating along with them.”
Besides. I thought we didn’t negotiate with Omega.
“You’re also a Commander,” Chris replies, “and you just survived a bombing and a hostage situation. You can’t be everywhere at once.”
I shake my head. This entire situation is beginning to get away from me.
I want my sniper team. I want my militia.
I want to get back in action right now.
“We can’t stand around and talk about this anymore,” I say. “I’m taking my team and going to the north side of the city. I’m going to help stop Harry’s forces from getting into the city. He’ll be bringing them in fast because by now, I can guarantee you he’s discovered that I’ve escaped, and he knows I’ll tell you everything I saw and heard.”
“My only question is,” Vera suddenly says, “how in hell did we miss five hundred troops hiding in the dunes twenty miles outside of the city limits? How is that even possible?”
My mind flashes to the heavy fog, and how our limited air support probably had trouble seeing through it. Even then, that’s no excuse.
“Who does the perimeter patrols?” I ask.
“Militias,” Devin replies.
“Which militias?”
Devin shrugs. “I don’t know,” he says. “The Coyotes, the Seahawks. This week the Freedom Fighters have actually been helping while they’re here.”
“Who’s been on those patrols?” I pursue. “It hasn’t been anyone on my team, has it?”
We brought about twenty of our own men and women from the Freedom Fighters into Monterey, but as far as I know, none of them have left the Naval Postgraduate School. Their purpose was to provide security for the Negotiations.
“Well, actually-” Devin begins, but he is cut off by Elle.
“Um, excuse me,” she says, pointing out the window. “But what’s that?”
I follow her line of sight. An Omega Humvee is pulling up in the parking lot. It is flanked by United States military vehicles and soldiers. I glance at Chris.
“Devin?” Chris asks.
“This leads me to my next bombshell,” Devin shrugs. “Omega sent a courier into the city. Apparently Harry’s got a message for us.”
My blood boils.
Screw Harry Lydell and his stupid games. I want to fight.
I turn away from the window and hurry down the stairs. Everyone is hot on my heels, Chris just behind my shoulder. We walk outside. O’Byrne, the guard from the checkpoint, is the first and only face I recognize among the group of soldiers.
“We’ve got an Omega scout,” he says. “He came here willingly, under a flag of truce. He says he’s got a message for all of us.”
“Let’s hear it,” I snap.
The soldiers open the door and an Omega trooper steps outside. He is tall and European, an aristocratic sneer on his lips. He reminds me of Harry, minus the devastating good looks and curly hair.
“Greetings, officers,” he says, his voice heavy with a German accent. “Commander Hart, Harry Lydell wanted to make sure that I congratulated you on your daring escape. He was most impressed.”
I’m sure he was. Impressed and enraged.
“Go on, soldier,” I say. “What’s your business here?”
“Harry Lydell, District Prefect and General, sent me here to give you a fair warning,” he continues. “Our forces surround your city. We have four warships in the bay, waiting to fire cruise missiles at a moment’s notice. You really have no chance of survival if you choose to engage in combat. A peaceful surrender will be met with gracious mercy. We will not kill…all of you.”
“Surrender is not an option,” Chris states. His voice is steely – his determination apparent for all to see. “Tell Harry Lydell that I w
hen I see him on the battlefield, I’ll kill him myself.”
Vera, Devin, Uriah, Andrew, Sophia and Elle say nothing.
I fold my arms across my chest, glaring.
“You’re wrong,” I say. “We have a chance. If we didn’t, Harry wouldn’t have bothered to send you over here to negotiate. He’s scared, and you know it.”
The messenger blinks, taken aback for a moment.
“I’m just here to relay General Lydell’s message,” he says. “Do you accept his offer or not?”
“Let’s take not,” I answer.
“You’re digging your own graves.”
“We’ll be the judge of that, thanks.”
“Harry will stop negotiating with the Alliance. This will mean war on Monterey.”
“We’re already at war,” Chris says, stopping him. “There’s nothing you can do to stop that now.”
The messenger nods weakly, turning his back on us.
As he gets back into the car, I lock gazes with him. I can see the fear in his eyes, ill-concealed under a façade of bluster and dramatics. He knows that we mean business, and so does Harry.
As the escort leaves, I turn to Chris and Devin.
“Tell the Alliance we’ve engaged,” I say. “Omega’s already made the first move by bombing the coastline. We need to hit back, fast.”
“But we don’t have the numbers or the manpower to stand up to-” Sophia begins, but I cut her off.
“Fight or die,” I say, looking toward the horizon. “Choose your side.”
Chapter Fourteen
This is where I belong, I think.
I am dressed in black. The wind is whipping loose pieces of my red hair into circles as I stand on the crest of a hill just outside of the city. A rifle is slung across my back. Two handguns are strapped to my belt, one to my thigh. I’ve got a couple of knives, a few grenades, and an armor-plated vest.
I am back in my element.
I am in charge again.
We are waiting in a wooded area on the north side of Monterey. The terrain is strangely stepped, veering up and down at jagged angles. Roots of trees twist in different directions. The smell of saltwater and fog and coastal pines is heavy in the air. And all is silent.
We are waiting.
Watching.
I settle into a comfortable position behind a tree, checking my ammunition and weapons. My thin black gloves keep my hands warm but allow movement – potentially quick movement, when the situation calls for it.
Uriah, Andrew, Sophia and Vera are each Lieutenants, each in charge of an individual team of militiamen and women. They are spread out among the woods with their soldiers. I am in the center, the Commander that oversees each Lieutenant and their team. Chris is here with me. He is the top dog when it comes down to it, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
“Manny will be here soon,” Chris whispers.
“So will Omega,” I say.
He nods.
Our militias have spread out around Monterey, surrounding the city limits like a protective barrier, planning to stop the advance of Omega troops. The Alliance should take care of the warships, and this battle should be over quickly.
I hope.
I am comfortable being out in the woods again, back on the field. I’ve had so many worries and thoughts running through my head this past week, it’s been difficult to focus my efforts on one thing: winning.
“Your father would be proud of you, Cassidy,” Chris says, touching my shoulder.
“You say that like you think he’s dead,” I reply.
“I didn’t say that,” Chris answers. “I’m saying that if he knew what you’ve done with the Alliance, and surviving the Coast Guard cutter…” he breaks off. “He’d be proud. As proud as I am. You’re a strong woman, Cassidy. You’ve grown up. You don’t need anyone’s help anymore. You can stand on your own two feet.”
I look at him, smiling softly.
“Nobody can stand on their own two feet forever,” I say. “We all need friends.”
“True.” Chris kisses my forehead. “Like I said. You’ve grown up.”
I look at him. The eerie silence of the woods is unsettling.
And then I say,
“How come you’ve never told me you love me?”
There it is. The words that I have been too afraid to say for months are out in the open. I can see them sinking into his skin, registering in his brain. His expression becomes taut, his eyes troubled.
“What makes you think I don’t?” he asks, and his voice is low, defensive.
“Because you’ve never said you do,” I reply.
“I think my actions speak for themselves.”
“Sometimes words need to be said,” I say. “Sometimes people die and you never get the chance to tell them what you should have.” I frown. “Chris. Do you love me? I think you do. I mean, we’ve been through everything together. We’ve given each other everything. If you don’t love me by now, you’re never going to.”
Saying those words out loud is terrifying to me.
If Chris denies loving me, our relationship will be over. I have known that for months, but I have never dared myself to even let my mind wander in that direction. Yet it is true. If Chris doesn’t love me now, I can’t force him to later.
Love is not made. Love just happens.
But I will always love him, no matter what.
“When they told me that you were dead,” Chris says, choosing his words with care, “I didn’t know what I would do if they were right. The Golden Shark was completely capsized. Everyone was dead. Captain Adams, the entire crew. We recovered their bodies, but you weren’t there.” I see darkness in his face, and I realize how difficult that must have been for him. “I had to know. I took a diving team into the bay and we searched for your…” Here he stops to clear his throat. “We searched for your body. Didn’t find it. But I couldn’t believe you were dead. I didn’t let myself.” He presses the tip of his finger to my cheek. “I’m glad I didn’t.”
“You’re a good man, Chris,” I say. “But do you love me or not? I have to know. Do you understand? I have to. No more games. No more avoiding the question.”
Chris takes a deep breath, closing his eyes.
“Of course I do, Cassie,” he whispers. “I love you more than anything else in this world. You’re the light of my life. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
When he says this, my eyes fill with tears.
How long have I waited for him to say those words?
An eternity. I’m sure of it.
“Why didn’t you just tell me sooner?” I say, trembling.
“Because…” Chris sighs. “Because of Jane.”
I check my left and right, slide my hands down my rifle, swinging it into place in my arms. “Jane was your wife,” I say.
Chris nods.
“What happened to her?” I ask.
Chris runs a hand over his face, so handsome, so weary.
“I met her in San Diego,” he tells me. “I was in SEAL training on Coronado Island at the time. She worked as a concierge at the Del Coronado Hotel, right on the beach. Famous place, big draw for celebrities and rich people.” He laughs beside himself. “She was…a lot like you. Spunky, strong-willed. Nobody was going tell her how to live her life. I fell in love with her. We got married after a couple of years, and she moved around the country with me every time I was deployed.”
He pauses, gathers emotional energy, and continues.
“My missions overseas at the time were…high risk,” he says. “Higher than usual. I was on a hit lit. Terrorists put a price on my head. A lot of SEALs on my team did a pretty good job of keeping their identities and their home addresses a secret, but every once a while…information would leak.” He looks at the sky. “I was on an assignment in Baghdad, Iraq. Assassination mission. I got a call.” He stops. His voice quivers, and for the first time I see a flash of a heartbroken man, a scared man. “Jane had been killed. My pa
rents found her dead in our living room. It looked like the house had been torn apart. She’d been shot four times.” He makes a fist and lays it against the trunk of the tree, above my head. “Terrorists. They killed my wife to get to me. But, being the spineless cowards that they are, did it while I was overseas. Killed an unarmed, innocent woman, because they knew I wasn’t home to protect her.”
“My God, Chris,” I breathe. “I’m so sorry.”
“I just couldn’t do it anymore,” he says. “The missions, the fighting. Why? My wife was dead, killed by the very people I’d dedicated my life to taking out. My job was to remove threats to the American people, and I couldn’t even keep my own wife alive.” He leans closer. “That’s when I left the military. I’d given about a decade of my life to my country. It was time to move on. I moved to Santee, California. My parents wanted me to come back home to the farm….but I wasn’t ready for that.” He swallows. “I was an idiot. I was destroyed, heartbroken. Broken by war. I’d see too much, way too much.” He looks into my eyes. “And then came the invasion, the EMP…and you.”
“I had no idea,” I tell him. “I just…I never knew.”
“How could you? I’m good at keeping secrets. I was trained to be a weapon.” He has a profound look of regret on his face. “When you came along, I fell in love all over again. But this time, we were both in a warzone. My chances of protecting you from Omega…from everything the world had become, were so much slimmer. I couldn’t stand the thought of losing you, Cassie. I was afraid that if I said I loved you, I’d jinx it all. Ruin everything. It had happened before…and because you’re a soldier, well…it could happen again. Chances are, it would happen. Soldiers die. Every day.”
I place my hands on his cheeks.
“But I’m not dead yet,” I say.
“No, you’re not.” A single tear sparkles in the corner of his eye, slipping down the side of his face. “I’m sorry, Cassie. I should have told you long ago. I’m an imperfect man with an imperfect past. But as long as you’re alive, I’ll do my best to keep you safe.”
I shake my head.
“No,” I say. “We’ll keep each other safe.”
I slowly kiss him. It is a short kiss, but a meaningful one. Full of promise and love and new hope. “We will survive this,” I say. “Together.”
