I look over to Talia. She silently trudges forward with an absent stare, not speaking a word to anyone. She was rocked by Kerad’s words, and remains lost in her own mind. Though I knew she would have to eventually face the truth that her father was not oblivious to these events, there was no way to know how she would ultimately react to it. I know she is strong enough to overcome this, but seeing her plunged this deep into distress magnifies my own emotions.
Attempting to break from the confusion, I instead focus on our next step. I am sure the Leadership Guards figured out where our tunnel is, leaving us without a safe point of reentry. I have no ideas on how we can all make it back inside Securus without being captured immediately. If we do not find a way, all of this will have been for nothing. Then no one will ever know the truth.
“So, how are we supposed to get back in Securus? The Guards have to be watching our tunnel in the Deep Vents,” Hadwin asks.
We all know Securus was designed as an impenetrable fortress. There are no other entrances. I am left with only a single option. “There’s only one way. We don’t all need to go back in. I can go and give up my hostage,” I say, motioning to Talia. “They’ll finally have their target, and Talia will be free to set things right while they’re distracted with me.”
“I don’t like that idea at all. They’ve already tried to kill you so many times. What would keep them from finishing the job before Talia could stop them?” Sayda asks.
“Well, anyone else have a better idea?” I ask. Both Hadwin and Sayda are silent. They know there is no other way but do not wanting to accept it.
“I do,” Talia says to our surprise, momentarily breaking through her mental anguish. “I figured we might have this problem. So I came prepared.”
I wrap my arm around Talia and pull her close to me. Despite her words, she remains distracted by her thoughts, and barely seems to see us as she speaks. I want to help her, but what can I do? Her own father is in control of this whole sordid mess. Nothing I do will change that. I place a gentle hand on her cheek and turn her to look in my eyes.
“Talia, I’m sorry how this turned out. I want you to know, no matter what, I’m here for you,” I say gently.
She rests her head on my shoulder and embraces me. Tears pour out as she finally embraces the truth. We all sit, silently sharing in the devastation of these events. After a few minutes, she lifts her head and looks back into my eyes. I see a small glimmer of her strength returning to her. She kisses my cheek and steps back, pulling something from her pocket.
“Your little brother is relentless. He came to see me, and wouldn’t stop pestering until I agreed to give him a communicator in case we needed help when we went into The Caves. It’s a good thing he didn’t wait until the detail was over. Let’s find out who’s waiting for us,” she says, tossing me the communicator.
I activate the device and call out to my brother, “Arluin, are you there?”
“Yeah, I’m here. You guys are in serious trouble. Mr. Vaden did a special announcement saying you abducted Talia. Everyone’s looking for you,” he says.
“That doesn’t matter. I need you to find out how many Guards are in the Deep Vents. Have Varian check, if they see you there, they’ll get suspicious. We’re ready to come back in, but they saw us leave. We’re working on coming up with a new plan,” I tell him.
“Okay, I’ll let you know as soon as I can,” he says.
With nothing else we can do, we wait for Arluin to tell us what we face. Talia and I sit together with her leaning against me. I rest my cheek against her head while working on an alternative plan. Hadwin stares at the ground, moving small pebbles mindlessly while he is consumed by his internal thoughts. Sayda keeps looking back toward him as if she wants to say something but hesitates. If we survive this, I need to talk to Hadwin. He is often surprisingly insightful, except right now he seems to be missing something really important. I am the last one who should be giving advice about these things, but one thing I have learned through this mess is we need to take advantage of whatever time we have with loved ones before it is too late.
“Kagen, are you there?” Arluin’s voice finally calls back through the communicator.
“Yeah, how does it look in there?” I ask.
“Not good, the place is crawling with Guards. There’s no way you can make it through there,” he says.
“Have you heard anything about Nyree or Eldin?” I ask.
“Nothing for sure, but Mr. Vaden did say something about a conspirator being detained,” he answers.
“There has to be another way,” Sayda says, throwing a small rock against the wall in frustration.
“Maybe there is,” I say, remembering something from the last time I had to sneak back in.
“Give us a minute, Arluin,” I say into the communicator.
“What do you have in mind?” Talia asks.
“Do you think Cyrina could get to the Guards in the main entrance?” I ask.
“Sure, but what then?” she replies.
“She tells them you managed to escape from me and need them to open the main entry for you. But she needs to convince them to keep this quiet. Maybe she could say I have a mole in the Leadership Guard somewhere. I don’t think any of those guys would pass on the chance to be the one who saves you,” I say, remembering how they all looked at her.
“That might work, but as soon as they see you guys it would be over. Unless…” she says, pausing in mid-sentence with her eyes opening wide.
“I like that look,” Hadwin says.
“If there are that many Guards waiting for us in the Deep Vents, they would’ve had to pull them from the entrance post. They probably left only a single man there since it’s closed anyway. Even so, we need a way to neutralize him when I get in,” she says.
“We have access to a couple of strong and eager young men,” I say with a coy smile.
“That sounds a lot better than your suicide mission,” Sayda says.
“Arluin, it looks like it’s time you got your wish. I need your help, and it’s not going to be easy,” I say, imagining his excitement at finally being able to do something.
I spell out the plan. As expected, he is more than willing to help. I do not like having my little brother engage a man with a gun, but with Talia’s distraction and the help of his friends, the risk will be substantially decreased. With renewed hope for our chances, we wait for the pieces to fall into place. Arluin checks in when they are ready before turning the communicator over to Cyrina. Not long after that, she calls to Talia.
“Talia, I’m here with Branek, are you still alone?” she asks.
“Yeah, they haven’t found me yet. Is he going to save me?” Talia asks, trying to sound like a helpless victim.
“As soon as you get close, he’ll open the door. Be careful, we don’t want anyone to catch you,” Cyrina instructs.
Talia bravely walks into the open alone. She heads toward Securus while the rest of us hide behind one of the massive stalagmites near the edge of the cavern. This is as close as we can safely get without being seen. I am not overly worried for Talia’s safety since the Guards would never harm her, but Arluin has no such luxury. Sayda gives me a reassuring look before turning her attention to listen for the door to Securus to open.
The creaking of the mechanical control breaks the silence in the Cavern as the door opens. So far, the first part is going well, strengthening our hope for the plan to work. We quietly wait in place for Talia’s signal. Soon, our vigil is interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps. Just in case the person coming is not who we expect, Hadwin and I position ourselves to fight. Arluin rounds the corner. Out of joy, I pounce on him. By reflex Hadwin follows and we form a pile, nearly crushing him.
“This is the thanks I get for saving you guys,” Arluin complains as we get up and help him to his feet.
“Hey, you never can be too careful,” Hadwin says with a wicked smile.
“Is it safe?” I ask.
“Was there ever any doubt?” Arluin boasts. “Maybe next time you’ll remember how useful I can be.”
“I would prefer there not to be a next time like this,” I say as we walk toward Securus.
Inside the main door, we find the tied up Guard. Varian and his brother, Reed, hover over him, preventing an escape. Cyrina sits in the lounge with Talia, calmly waiting for us.
“Thanks guys,” I tell them as we enter the lounge. To be honest, with everything that has happened, I was never really sure we would even make it to this point.
“So, how are we going to end this?” Hadwin asks.
“I think it’s best if we go straight to Mr. Vaden. He has a lot of answering to do,” I say while putting on the armored helmet.
“You look scary in that, Kagen. The armor alone might get you past the Guards,” Arluin says.
“That’s the whole point, hopefully it works,” I say through the mask and see the disconcerted look on Arluin’s face when he hears the mechanical manipulation of my voice.
Before we move on, Branek interrupts us. “You’re not going anywhere. You will all surrender now or face the consequences.”
He has managed to get free and holds Reed as a hostage. While we were dressing, Varian wandered over to us to get a look at the armor. That left Branek alone with Reed, and he was able to get loose. Next to me, Varian has a horrified look on his face, seeing his younger brother with a gun pointed at his head. Making things even worse, above us a light flashes from the alarm Branek activated. More Guards will be here soon.
We have no way to get out of this without Reed getting hurt. The only option we have is to give up and hope Talia can fix this. As I lower my weapon, Varian lunges at Branek. Hadwin reaches out to stop him, but is too late. Branek aims his pistol and fires. Reed sinks his teeth into the Guard’s arm, causing his hold to release. Now that Branek is exposed, Hadwin fires his weapon. The Guard crumbles to the ground next to Varian.
I rush to help Varian, but when I turn him over, no life is left in him. The shot was lethal. Varian has already passed. Reed sobs while clutching his dead brother.
We are all stunned by what happened. By the time I regain focus, two more Guards burst into the room. They look confused and frightened by our group, especially with us wearing the soldiers’ armor. We need to move fast, so I fire a warning shot above their heads. Realizing they are outgunned, the Guards immediately retreat back into the stairway, shooting wildly as they run.
“Is everyone else okay?” I ask, checking the group.
“Not really,” Sayda says. Her hand is covered in blood pulsating from a wound in her arm.
I run over to help her. The sickening guilt of what happened to Varian and now Sayda nearly overwhelms me. I force my mind to concentrate on her wound. She was grazed by a bullet but it nicked an artery and blood pools all around her. The wound needs to be fixed fast or it will turn fatal. The only place with the necessary tools is the infirmary. I need to slow the bleeding to buy enough time to get her there. I rip Sayda’s sleeve and use the shredded pieces as a tourniquet. Tying the fabric in place only slows the pulsatile flow of blood, but does not stop it.
“Sayda, Listen to me. Take your right thumb, put it here, and hold down hard,” I tell her, trying to get the best point pressure we can on the wound to prevent exsanguination. The warm liquid already soaks through her hands to mine. “We can fix this, but only if we get her to the infirmary before she loses too much blood.”
Hadwin helps Sayda to her feet while I keep her arm still and help put pressure on the wound. As we get her upright, her eyes roll back. She nearly passes out from the blood loss. After a moment, her eyes come forward and she looks right at me. Her already fair skin has tuned pale and clammy. She looks a lot like the patients who were poisoned by Trent with his new virus before they died. While we move Sayda, I hear Talia instruct Cyrina and Arluin to help Reed with his fallen brother.
“Can Rana fix this?” Hadwin asks as we enter the stairway.
“Yes, but I’ve already seen the wound. I’ll get it done faster,” I tell him. Rana is more than capable of helping Sayda but I do not want to leave her side. We cannot have any delays, or she will die. I cannot lose anyone else because of my actions.
“No, if we all go, we’ll get caught, and you know that. I’ll take care of Sayda. You and Talia need to finish this. We can’t stop now, not after everything that’s happened,” he demands.
I do not like it, but Hadwin is right. Rana can handle the injury and we cannot let the deaths of our friends be meaningless. We need to get to Mr. Vaden before it is too late. We have no time for goodbyes, so after I show Hadwin where to hold pressure on Sayda’s arm, we part ways unceremoniously.
Not long after we split up, a loud alarm echoes through the stairwell. The pulsatile grunt of the alarm indicates that Leadership has ordered a lockdown of the facility. I have seen practice drills before, but there has never been an official lockdown during my lifetime. Leadership wants to keep our people inside their quarters and away from the truth.
Talia and I continue to climb the stairs. After a few flights, my weary body is barely able to continue, but I cannot stop when we are so close to the truth. We encounter many hurried workers trying to get back to their quarters. When they see my armor and weapon, their reactions are as expected. Confusion and fear strikes while they run back the way they came. The stairs begin to vibrate. I look up. A large contingent marches down toward us. The group must be the Leadership Guard. I expected this, but hopefully we can avoid them. We exit the stairs and head through the halls, wanting to switch to a different stairway.
We navigate through the turns in the hallway until the next stairway lies directly in front of us. Before we reach the entrance, the door opens. Five Guards emerge with their guns already in hand. They form a line to stop us from continuing. We are completely exposed in this hallway. There is nothing to shield us from their aim. Behind us, the footsteps of the other Guards grow louder.
“Stop right where you are,” the center Guard demands, with a pronounced fear in his voice.
“Sorry, I can’t do that. Get out of the way or I will shoot,” I say with a deeper than normal voice, taking advantage of the eerie manipulation and its frightening effect.
Despite their obvious fear, they hold their ground. We must get past them. I know what needs to be done, though I wish there was another option. I really hope this armor isn’t just for show, I think to myself.
“Stay behind me, Talia,” I tell her while raising my weapon.
The Guards do not know how to react. One drops his gun and seeks shelter in the stairway. A second Guard panics. He steps back and forth, not knowing where to go or what to do. The other three keep their guns aimed at me until one of them fires. The shot misses and careens harmlessly down the hallway, but the sound of the gun firing triggers the others to shoot as well. I feel a bullet crash into my chest with tremendous force. Another strikes my abdomen. I nearly drop to the floor from the pain, but when remembering Talia stands behind me, force myself to stay upright.
I cannot take the pain much longer, so I fire back. The flash of light explodes down the hall and hits the door behind the men, leaving a gaping hole in it. My aim is off, but the sight of me still standing combined with the display of my weapon’s power is more than enough to make them all flee for their lives. I hold on until they disappear into the stairwell, then fall to the floor.
“Kagen, are you okay?” Talia shouts as she comes to my aid.
“I don’t know. It hurts so bad I can’t tell if the bullets went through or not,” I tell her, temporarily immobilized by the pain.
“I don’t see any holes, only some dents in the armor,” she says while frantically searching for wounds.
“Then help me up, we have to move,” I tell her.
Talia drags me up to my feet and I stumble into the staircase. I have to continue on. We cannot stop now that we are so close to the end. I look upward, searching for more Guards
, but none appear. My foolish gamble has worked. We are getting close to the upper level. There is only a short distance left to go.
Chapter 30
Surprisingly, we make it the rest of the way to the upper level without encountering another Guard. I stop to listen at the door before opening it. No sounds come from the other side. While Talia waits for me to clear the area, I step into the hallway, expecting an ambush. The corridor is not empty, but no ambush awaits us. Instead, Mr. Vaden stands alone in the corridor. He appears calm and confident, like nothing unexpected has occurred at all.
I take off my helmet to look him in the eye. He does not flinch or show any hint of surprise at the sight of my armor or weapon. He pulls his hand from behind his back. Suddenly, a pistol is pointed at my forehead. The appearance of his gun catches me completely off guard. With his relaxed demeanor, I did not expect him to be holding a weapon.
“Where’s my daughter?” he demands. A fleeting look of concern shows with his words. He does not know if Talia has been unharmed.
“Talia,” I call out, signaling for her to come out of the stairwell.
“What are you doing?” Talia yells as soon as she sees the gun pointed at me.
Before answering, Mr. Vaden briefly checks Talia to make sure she is not injured. “I’m doing what’s necessary to protect you and our people.”
Talia jumps in front of me. “If you want Kagen dead, you’re going to have to shoot me first.”
For the first time, Mr. Vaden’s rigid exterior is broken. When he sees the way his daughter looks at him, it is as if he were stabbed in the heart. Mr. Vaden’s eyes are full of remorse and uncertainty. I was right about him. He truly loves his daughter.
“Let’s go to my office where we can talk,” he tells me while lowering his gun.
The Death Detail (The Securus Trilogy Book 1) Page 28
