by Angela White
That caught Kendle by surprise. “What’s wrong with being my friend? I’m good people.”
“If you were good people, you wouldn’t have been sent out here with me,” Tonya snorted lowly.
Kendle couldn’t argue that and didn’t try. She’d never felt less good in her life. She only expected more of the same. Hope was for people who hadn’t lived in the darkness. Once you spent time there, going back was impossible.
8
“Stop number four.”
Kyle said it tiredly, already exhausted from these emotional battles each time he let a female out into danger. It wasn’t what he’d been training for.
“That’s me.”
Kyle groaned silently as Cynthia moved up the drafty isle. Kevin would shit when he found out how far away from camp Cynthia was. Adrian might too.
Cynthia hesitated at the door. She had spent a lot of the ride deliberating this moment.
Kyle waited for her to speak, sure he wouldn’t like what she had to say.
“Tell them both the same thing.”
Kyle braced as the perfume-less van of females went silent.
“I don’t love either of them and this is what I wanted. I chose this part in her plan.” Cynthia regarded the remaining women with tenderness. “My sisters.”
“My sister,” they echoed sadly.
The feeling that they knew something about her role that he didn’t hit Kyle with enough force to make his stomach twist.
Kyle grabbed her hand, tugged her into his embrace for a quick hug that surprised all of them. “Try to come back!” he whispered violently. “They do need you!”
Cynthia returned the hug. “Remember me. I mattered.”
She climbed from the van, ignoring the cries and protests. They knew what choice she’d made.
As the van slowly left her in darkness, Cynthia disappeared into the brush with her kit over one shoulder and a recent meeting on her mind.
“If you were team leader, who would you give this duty to?”
None of the women in the tent answered and Angela insisted, “We’re not done here until we have that chore assigned.”
“You pick it,” Samantha said quietly. “We know it won’t be easy.”
Angela grimaced. “I can’t. I’ve tried. When I look, there’s only darkness.”
“Because I’m supposed to do it.”
Cynthia’s words drew gasps and denials from everyone except Angela. She stared at the reporter with sadness and resignation.
“It just cleared. You know what it means?”
Cynthia snorted. “You’ve gone over it enough. I’d better know.”
Her quip drew no smiles. Everyone in the tent knew that duty was a suicide run.
Cynthia hitched the kit further onto her shoulder and took a minute to reexamine her map. The small, reflective sticker glowing on it was just enough to read by and then she put it away. Moving through the darkness was something Angela had been drilling them on, but Cynthia still loathed it. Right now, however, she was too sad to be scared. She finally had her dreams. She was accepted by a great group of people who cared about right and wrong. She had the love of an Eagle, even if he didn’t want to admit it, and she had a child on the way, something else she’d never thought to have. And here she was, about to get herself killed.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way!” she swore furiously. “It’s worth all our lives to accomplish this.”
9
When Troy came to, he was bound, with a gag in his mouth.
Three shadows had snuck up on Troy quickly, ruthlessly. They had hit him with a dart and tied him up. Two minutes after the assault, he had been in the rear of a truck, rolling through the darkness.
Peggy looked down at him with a scolding frown. “Why did you break the boss’s rules?”
Troy saw two Eagles on the other side of the room. He appeared to be in a small shed, but it was hard to tell.
“I’m gonna take that gag out if you promise to be quiet.”
Troy huffed against the cloth. He wasn’t agreeing to anything.
Peggy shrugged. “Then we’ll leave it in and you don’t need to eat or drink or talk.”
Peggy blew out the candle and slipped under the carpet cover that was hiding the area.
The two Eagles stayed where they were, watching Troy and a few other bound shadows. He wasn’t the only one who’d broken the rules.
Peggy took a minute to smooth her hair down and calm herself. She had friends tied up behind the curtain, explosives under foot, and a big, angry bear of a man bellowing the embarrassment of his assignment to anyone who would listen. Calling this stressful was like some horrible joke. Angela had chosen the tourist-like caves that ran along and into the rear of Mt. Lookout. The camp was in the topmost set of caves, but Peggy knew there were miles more below them.
Peggy advanced into the first area, pleased to discover her list had been completed. As she examined through each stone room, she found the same, along with other important improvements that she hadn’t ordered. She knew Doug hadn’t done them. He was still too mad. She swept the tunnels and small caves for the workers responsible.
She spotted three men doing things she hadn’t asked for, part of Marc’s shadow warriors, and understood she didn’t know each part of the plan for this location. Angela had people in here with her.
Peggy stared hard to get the attention of the one closest to her. The Indian gave her a respectful, knowing nod and continued his work. Not being alone in her terrible knowledge was a relief to Peggy. She didn’t like what she had to do, but it wouldn’t stop her, and she deliberately ignored the padding workers were subtly placing to protect the currently eating people from explosions. She and Hilda had helped to plant this awful idea in Angela’s dangerous mind. It was too late for guilt now.
10
Kyle opened the van door and stepped from the seat with a series of grunts, groans, and pops. All he’d done was drive and supervise, but he felt like he had been hit by Marc a few times in the cage. And then run over.
“How’d it go?”
Kyle jumped. “Damn it!”
Angela didn’t smile. She’d been waiting on his return, with only Marc’s anger to comfort her. She scanned their surroundings while she waited for him to regain his composure.
Angela’s den had been shrunk to a quarter mile and placed along the cliff line so that their backs were protected. To the north was open air. Anyone who wanted to come up that way had better be a determined climber. The rest of the space was filled with a command tent and other similar structures to protect the fighters here from the rain and sleet that was falling.
“It went fine,” Kyle finally answered, handing her a small stack of papers and envelopes. “All drops were made on schedule and Heather is with the roaming group. She’ll eventually be with our other POWs until you’re ready for her.”
Angela wrote down the time and the information she’d been given.
Kyle frowned. “When did you sleep last?”
Angela put her notebook away and lied, “Going there now.”
“Needed my update first?” Kyle guessed. “I’m opening my next envelope as soon as I grab a cup of coffee.”
Angela sighed. “Open it first. And I’m sorry.”
She moved away while he did as instructed.
Thud!
Kyle punching the van was followed by the sound of the doors opening and the engine starting. A few seconds later, new boots began to file into the vehicle.
Angela continued on her rounds. Guilt had given her a fresh wind. She checked her watch and headed for the open area to the north of camp. Their next group should be about to leave. Now that the camp members were gone, Safe Haven’s security cameras had come down and men relieved of their odious duty of spying on each other. Ray and Dale had hated it, but there had been little else to do for a few days and after the wounds Ray had suffered from Little Rock, Angela had wanted him to have a break. She’d gotten far enough ahead
of her plan that she was content she could at least start this war even off the line and not have to play catchup. It also allowed the camp a break, though Angela hadn’t bothered with a Labor Day celebration. She had known they weren’t going to get to enjoy it and she’d needed the manual labor used in other areas. Decorations and a feast meant nothing if they were a day late with her plan, except that it would be their last party ever. She had given most of the camp time off beforehand, telling them they needed to spend their last days doing what they wanted to. It hadn’t been encouraging to hear that, but they had enjoyed themselves at the shooting contest where Shawn had claimed the title.
They passed the evening with food and stories around the fires, and even the wounded had attended. Many of those were heroes in these tales and they weren’t about to miss the praise. Only a few people stayed to themselves during the festivities, mostly the Indians, who were now freely roaming in and out of their gates. Marc lived here. His Shadow Warriors weren’t going to be parted from him yet. She’d known that when she chose his roles in her plan and adjusted accordingly. She had no problem with such devoted men surrounding Marc at all times.
The Mexicans were fewer in number around Angela’s camp. Marc didn’t trust them after all the evil Caesar had caused, but they were still in the gates more than Angela’s personal guards liked. Marc wasn’t worried about having a problem in that area until Sebastian met Angela face to face. If he showed the tiniest sign of having the same issue his brother had, Marc planned to put a bullet in his brain. He’d do that sooner if it were needed.
As far as their spies at the base had noted, the soldiers were grouped in a disorganized cluster along the remaining walls and hills. They’d erected a sea of tents and foldout shelters, then stayed there without contacting Safe Haven. They had been waiting for a leader.
Angela shivered at a gust of wind, joining Ray as he stood sentry duty on the edge of the narrow field. “We on time?”
Ray motioned toward the foggy shadows moving toward them. “Couple minutes early. Dog says he’s got it timed better than we do.”
“Good.” Angela watched the large wolf lead his new pack toward the fence line, where Dale and a few others were holding open two edges of the wire. It was just big enough for Dog to slip through.
Angela was comforted by how the wolf gently nudged Dale’s hand as he went through. It did surprise her when several of the ants did the same to Ray’s mate. She hadn’t realized the ants were bonding with people. It was another sign of the evolution they were currently going through.
The line of ants was huge. More than a hundred of the always-hungry insects followed Dog out of the camp and Angela wished them swift travel. The ants weren’t very important to her plan, but they did matter. As for Dog, Angela could already feel Marc calling on Dog to protect Charlie. She had counted on it, but she’d made Dog swear to finish his part first. Marc hadn’t thought she would assign their son to something so terrible. She’d known he would send in Dog when he found out.
Am I getting smarter or becoming more devious? she wondered as the ants went through the fence.
There weren’t many camp members still here to witness the insect parade, but those who did, stopped and stared. It wasn’t something you saw every day, even in this new world.
“Neil and Jeremy reported in an hour ago,” Shawn stated, coming up to hand her a mug of tea. “Seth is late.”
Angela sighed. “He has choices to make, like the rest of us. Leave him alone.”
Shawn shrugged. He had enough to do anyway without worrying over Seth going rogue.
“Same here,” Angela lied. “He’ll come through when we need it. What else have you got for me?”
Shawn began rattling things off and Angela waited until he was gone to record it all in her notebook. Until she got some sleep, she wouldn’t count on remembering.
Angela’s mind switched to Neil and Jeremy, her communications men for this ring of the battle. Those two and their team would relay messages, provide lookouts for working teams, and kill any soldiers they came across. Angela had several groups already out doing that very thing, and even if Seth took off, his team wouldn’t. They were the adult killers for the area where Becky and Charlie were, though Seth wasn’t supposed to find out where Becky was until she sent an update. She assumed Becky and Seth would stay together after that, had included it in their envelopes, but Angela needed time to get Becky so far into the mission that when Seth told her to go hide in camp, she would refuse. From the mental update Charlie had sent, it seemed like Becky was doing okay so far.
Angela was pleased. Not that her kids were now out there killing, but that Becky was finally understanding anyone could hold the power if they had the right tools and training. She didn’t have to be terrified when she was alone or keep a man close for protection. In time, Becky would be dangerous, with a limitless supply of rage to fuel it. Then, she would have to be guided the opposite way and taught to respect life again. It was an ongoing process with any army. Learn to kill, remember to live. It made it hard for a soldier to come home when they didn’t have those two lines drawn clearly enough. The teenagers would be no different. After they’d become killers, they would have to be taught to be kids again. One usually smothered the other, but Angela would try to keep that from happening. It was no good to win if your people didn’t have any light left amid all the darkness.
Chapter Nine
One Lie or Fifty?
1
“Move out!”
The call echoed down the thousand-man convoy, sending nearby birds into the air in surprise. The rolling wheels and eager shouts also sent foxes and raccoons fleeing down the opposite paths.
The soldiers took up a lot of room as they traveled, carelessly letting themselves get spaced out. Men shot at windows of cabins as they passed, angry to be on foot in the cold.
Donner let them vent. Their anger needed a target. He had one for them, but until the battles began, they required loose reins.
Donner stood with Philips, surveying the battalion of soldiers now marching for the new area that he’d chosen as his base. Those bringing up the rear were headed to other locations, but they would all travel together for half the day. Their recon men had gone out this morning to secure the route and their destinations.
“It’s all ready, sir,” Philips stated, marking things off the list on his clipboard. He wisely didn’t mention their three missing teams. No one had returned from the ammo missions yet.
“Tell them to push in one hundred miles every week, starting right now. That’s it.”
“Yes, sir.”
He rushed off to deliver the orders as Donner headed for the waiting jeep that was surrounded by a full squad of protection. His driver had the engine running, a man was there to open his door. Donner slid inside the warm interior with a slight grimace. “Kill that heat.”
“Yes, sir,” his driver answered, obeying.
“Sorry, I was cold,” a voice stated from the back seat.
Donner twisted to look at the two people behind him. One was Louis, a Special Forces man with tattoos running the length of both brawny arms. He had joined their camp this morning and was holding a handgun. The other passenger was the first hostage they’d captured.
Donner didn’t speak right away. He liked to size up the person before the interrogation. What he saw was a pretty whore about to lie her ass off. He wasn’t picking up anything mentally, though the brick wall flashing in his mind was a bad sign of things to come. The coming lies were in the fidgeting, the averted eyes, and the white knuckles on her handgun.
“If you fire by accident, we’ll kill you,” Donner finally said, watching for the correct reaction.
“Not if I kill you first,” Jennifer stated shakily. “I’m pretty good with this thing.”
Both of Donner’s men snorted. The trembling hands kept the barrel of her 9mm jumping all over the place. She obviously had no idea how to kill someone with a gun, not like they did.
/> Donner held out a hand. “Give it here. Keep the two in your belt and the knife in your other hand.”
Jennifer swore furiously, bringing laughter from all three of the men. She clumsily gave Donner the gun and slid back against the door. “I told her I couldn’t do this.”
Aware of the game beginning, Donner motioned for his driver to get them rolling as he stashed the 9mm in the kit at his feet. He would examine it later for clues.
Jennifer didn’t try to hide her fear at being surrounded by these evil men, knowing it would help with her mission. She and Conner had ridden the waiting dirt bike all night to get here.
“Who sent you to spy on us?”
“You know who. I’m supposed to kill you or bring you in.” Jennifer slammed her hand against the seat. “I hate being a decoy.”
Donner already wasn’t sure which part was a lie and which was truth. He didn’t rise to the bait. He watched her frown in the mirror, but she didn’t say it again or try a different line, and Donner was impressed. He had no doubt she was working from a script. He would let her go through it all before rewriting the lines.
“Where are we going?”
“For a drive,” Donner responded. “You were found on the edge of this campsite with a gun. You’ve said you were sent here to kill me. You’re a prisoner of war.”
Jennifer shuddered. “I’ve been that since it happened.”
Donner heard the truth there and immediately understood how he was being played. She wouldn’t have been sent in alone.
“Pull over.”
The driver brought them to a fast halt.
Donner got out. He jerked open Jennifer’s door and grabbed her by the arm, ignoring her attempts to get to one of her other weapons.
Louis slammed his hands across her arms, bringing a satisfying cry, and they hauled her roughly to the side of the road.
Donner shoved her to her knees, then again, onto her back. His man put a boot on her neck to keep her there, grinding enough to get her attention.
