by Eaton, Pam
An Army of One
The Extraordinary Series
Pam Eaton
Cooper Ave Press
Copyright © 2020 by Pam Eaton
Cooper Ave Press
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, businesses, events, or locales is completely coincidental.
Editor - Jana Miller
Cover Design - Molly Phipps with We Got You Covered Book Design
ISBN-13: 978-0-9996787-4-9
Created with Vellum
For Nick
Thank you for encouraging me to follow my dreams, and being the best cheerleader ever.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by Pam Eaton
One
“Don’t be careless.” Tiberius’s harsh whisper cuts through the balmy night air of Barcelona.
I drag my eyes away from the illuminated red warehouse door we’ve been watching for the last ten minutes, waiting for Lucy to rejoin our group that’s hiding in the darkness. He’s close enough that I can just make out the stern purse of his mouth.
I avert my eyes. “I’m never—”
“Yes. You are,” he says, inching nearer to where I’m crouched. I can feel him close to my shoulder. “You keep acting like you’ve got nothing to lose.” His voice lowers, trying to keep this conversation between us, which is virtually impossible since our small group is all pressed against another warehouse.
I focus back on the dark alley we’re waiting in on the outskirts of one of Spain’s biggest cities. The scent of saltwater mixes with a nearby dumpster, and it smells as disgusting as it sounds. But I do my best to ignore it, knowing full well I’ll need to shower the minute we get back to Brazil.
This isn’t the first time we’ve hidden in the dark, waiting to infiltrate a secret lab, but I don’t know why we’re talking about this now.
“I know this is the worst possible place to have this conversation.” He’s got that right. He couldn’t have waited until we were back in Fordlandia? “But after the last mission…” His voice drops even lower, somehow thickening his prominent Russian accent.
I honestly don’t think the last mission went that badly. I mean, it was only a bullet graze on my left arm. Barely a scratch, and hardly any blood. I did have to toss that shirt, but big deal. And when I lit the building on fire, we made sure that no one was stuck inside. All in all, I considered it a success. And I hope they know that when their labs burn, it’s because of me.
Tiberius gently places his hand on my arm. And the sudden, violent urge I have to rip it away startles me, but I fight it. Aside from Walter patching me up, no one has touched me recently. Almost like they knew they could lose a finger if they did. “I just found you.” His words are bordering on angry, but they’re filled with an urgency to get me to listen to him. “You’re the last part of my brother I have. I do not want to lose you too. Neither do Lucy, Walter, Bronia, Tony, or anyone else at Fordlandia. We’re family. Whether you like it or not.”
My stomach bottoms outs at the word family. My family is gone. Burnt to ashes in the one place I felt safe, and the only home I’ve ever known. Everything I loved—everyone I loved—was ripped from me in the cruelest way. When I close my eyes at night, I see the vacant look on my grandparents’ faces, I see the gun pointed at Gregory’s head, and I swear tendrils of smoke are trapped in my nose. All I have left now is vengeance. But if I tell him that, they’ll never let me come on these missions again.
Tiberius grips my shirt sleeve a little tighter. “I need you to be careful,” he says, begging me this at this point.
I know his words are meant to make me feel comforted about how he cares about me. But all I feel is guilt. Heavy, draining guilt. And some days I’m not sure how I walk with the weight of it. Because I burned that lab in Myanmar. I made dangerous decisions knowing my grandparents weren’t safe. And if I had worked harder at honing my powers, I could have prevented Gregory’s death. I could have transported us all out of Myanmar to the safety of headquarters.
The past couple months, all I’ve done is worked on using my enhancing power to boost my transporting. Now I can take a group anywhere in the world. And I can also hit the center of a bull’s eye with my Glock.
The sound of soft footfalls coming from the opposite direction brings me back to the matter at hand and puts me on alert. Dante and Adriana shift closer to us. Ever since we saved those two from that hell hole in São Paulo, they’ve stuck close to me. Haven’t decided if that’s out of loyalty or the knowledge that I can get us out of here in a hurry. Either way, they seem to have my back.
Lucy’s face is the first thing to come into view and everyone visibly relaxes. She crouch-runs over us.
“How many are inside?” Tiberius asks Lucy as she squats down next to our little group.
“Get close and let me show you,” she says, motioning us to huddle in.
We all lean towards her as she pushes a button on her watch and a small projection appears before our eyes. She manipulates the image with her finger, allowing us to see past these cinder block walls. Who needs x-ray vision when we have Lucy? “Looks like two guards, a doctor, and three Blessed in cages,” she tells us, her voice choking up a bit when she says Blessed, but she quickly clears her throat.
When Tiberius first told me that he called those hiding in Fordlandia the Blessed Many, I fought a cringe. And I still do. There are so many times when this power I’ve inherited doesn’t feel like a blessing at all.
“It’ll be easy for Becca to transport in unnoticed.” Lucy touches something on the screen and the building’s blueprints overlap the images on the hologram. “The guards are in this front room,” she says, and we watch one of them sitting at a desk, while the other leans against a wall.
She touches her watch and the scene shifts to the doctor, who’s standing at a computer. “I’ve got the security cameras on a loop right now, and all cell phone signals are jammed.” And this is why we bring Lucy with us.
Ever since she was captured as a teenager and they merged the DNA of someone with powers with her own, she’s been a master with tech
nology. These missions wouldn’t go as smoothly if it weren’t for her.
“Becca, do you have the syringes?” Tiberius asks.
I pat my pockets; all four are still in there. I only need three: one to knock out each guard, and one for the doctor. I nod and reach into my pocket, pulling out two syringes. “Good to go,” I tell him.
Thank goodness Walter and Bronia came to Fordlandia. Seeing them there was one of the biggest surprises, but I know it’s the safest place for them. Especially since Bronia has her mom, Ania’s, strength. A ten-year-old walking around with the strength of a hundred men is terrifying, but Walter being a doctor has really helped. We wouldn’t have these syringes if it weren’t for him. And these people are a lot easier to deal with when they’re unconscious.
“This supply closet’s door is ajar.” Lucy points to a closet near the doctor on the screen. “This is your best bet to get in there unnoticed.”
I study the room for a moment longer and look closely at the closet Lucy wants me to transport into. There’s a better idea she hasn’t thought of.
“See you guys in a few minutes,” I say and transport into the room right behind the doctor.
In a blink, I stab the syringe into his neck, pushing down on the plunger as quickly as I can, which totally disregards Lucy’s suggestion of sneaking in. I swear I can hear Tiberius curse through the thick cinder block walls for my going rogue.
That doctor’s hand reaches up for his neck. He staggers to the side, eyes wide and afraid. “Wha—” He doesn’t even finish the word before he starts staggering to the side. I reach out to catch him in my arms as he loses consciousness. Last thing I need is him crashing to the floor and alerting the guards. But seriously, whatever Walter has in this stuff is super powerful.
The rustle of fabric against metal has me spinning and raising the other syringe like a knife. But a pair of widened bright blue eyes, peering out at me behind metal bars, stays my hand. A little girl with white-blonde hair cut super short inches her way to the back of her cage. They put her in there like she’s an animal. If there was any guilt about injecting that doctor, seeing this little girl in a freaking cage has completely erased it.
I put a finger to my lips. “Shh.”
Her eyes drift to the doctor sprawled on the floor and then back to me. She nods.
I walk softly across the tile floor, scanning the room. Tanks for embryos line the wall to my left, causing me to pause. My hands clench, but I force myself to focus and keep going. If I stop now, we’ll be discovered. And I still have two more people to take out. The door ahead stands slightly ajar. I sidle up next to it and look through the gap in the opening. Two armed guards stand against the metal-clad wall, chatting. Damn it. I rub at my forehead, trying to think. The first time I stumbled upon one of these labs I was in Myanmar, and we didn’t subdue anyone that time. I still set the place on fire, but I just assumed everyone got out. Ever since then we’ve had to subdue everyone, because I won’t take lives like they so easily will.
I study the guards some more. These are big guys. One of them has arms the size of my head, and the other looks like he could crush me easily. I could transport in between them, but as soon as I appeared, I’d have to stab them both with a syringe at the same time. What if I miss? What if I’m not fast enough? What are even the odds that I could pull that off? Probably super low.
I could try drawing one of them in here. I look back at the little girl, her blue eyes watching me carefully. Or I could have her call out? But they’re expecting the doctor to be in here. And what if they both come in? Think, Becca.
I bite on my bottom lip, having no clue what to do. I look through the gap again. And soon the decision is made for me as one of the guards takes a cigarette pack out and heads for the door, while the other sits down at the desk.
I hold my breath and watch as he walks out, leaving the other guard sitting at the lone desk in the room. He’s a big guy, a lot larger than the doctor. But don’t they say big guys go down hard?
Here goes nothing.
I transport to the spot right behind him and plunge the syringe into his neck. His left hand reaches across his body and grabs my arm in a punishing grip. “Qué demonios!” he roars.
I punch at his arm with my free hand, but his impossible grip tightens even more, wrenching me forward and throwing me across the desk. My hip slams into the top of the wood and I flip over, slamming to the ground below. I scramble to my feet, the empty syringe still in my hand, poised like a knife to stab. Why isn’t he down? The doctor passed out super fast.
The guard stumbles to his feet and screams out something in Spanish. He sways to the side, his other hand still covering his neck. The door behind me bursts open, banging against the wall. Time freezes as the other guard watches his friend collapse to the floor. He swings his gaze toward me, and then time suddenly picks back up and he rushes me. I reach down to grab one of the syringes out of my pocket, but as soon as I pull it out, he tackles me to the floor. My head bounces off the tile. And my vision starts to blur. His arm rears back and I quickly transport out from under him and a few feet to the left. His fist cracks the tile as he punches the floor. How strong is this guy?
I take a running jump and leap onto his back, but as soon as I stab the needle into his shoulder, he’s flinging his body, and me, backwards. The needle skids across the room as my body flies back. I transport to the syringe, but the needle is broken and most of the drug is still in it. I’ve only got one more.
I grab the other one out of my pocket as he grabs for the firearm on his hip. No time. No. Time. He raises the gun, finger pulling the trigger.
I transport behind him again and plunge the syringe in as the gun goes off, hitting the wall where my head just was. I hang on as he tries to reach any part of my body clinging to his back. He yells and slams us back against the wall. My head hits again and I fall off, hitting the ground.
The door explodes off its hinges, and the rest of the team storms into the room as the guard falls to his knees and then slumps to the floor.
I collapse against the wall behind me. The movement causes Tiberius to turn and look at me. “Apparently,” I say, taking in a huge lungful of air, “I need to work on transporting and fighting at the same time,” I tell him as I wipe the blood from my lip.
Lucy rushes over to me, first aid kit at the ready. Tiberius and Dante move to clear the rest of the lab, while Adriana stays stationed at the door. “Anything broken?” Lucy asks.
“No, but my body is going to be covered in bruises tomorrow.”
“Clear!” Tiberius yells.
She goes to open the kit, but I wave her off. “Go, they’ve got a little girl and two others in cages.”
She runs into the other room. And I bend forward, resting my hands on my knees. The back of my head pulses with pain. Gonna need Walter to check for a concussion.
I take a deep breath. My back protests at the movement, but I slowly climb to my feet. I need to head back into the exam room to finally take a look at the horrors in there. You would think since this is the fifth lab we’ve found, I would get used to what we find. But it’s still like a punch to the gut every time. How many more places are there? How many more kids? When will it stop?
Adriana walks over and sets a can of gasoline next to me, holds out a lighter.
“I’ll start pouring the gas if you guys can drag these guys out of here,” I say.
She nods once and I slowly climb to my feet. Got another building to burn.
Two
“Well, robaczku, you don’t have a concussion, but you’ve got quite the bump back here,” Walter says in his thick Polish accent. He prods at the back of my head and I wince, even though he’s trying to be soft.
“How did this one happen?” he asks while he places something cool on my scalp.
I reach up and hold the cold pack to my head. “Haven’t learned how to fight and transport at the same time. It’s hard going up against two guys whose thighs are the size of
my waist.”
He turns and starts putting things away. “You can’t rely on just your powers. There may come a time when you can’t use them. Why do you think Ania was so trained in fighting techniques when she had such immense strength?”
How does he say her name without pain in his voice? How can he talk about her with such ease?
We’re lucky he escaped here with Bronia after I visited them. I still hate that the first time I met him was because Ania died, but I’m grateful he’s in my life. It may be because he reminds me so much of Grandpa, and that thought makes a huge lump form in my throat. I shake my head. I can’t let my thoughts go there. The pain is still too raw.
“Good to go?” I ask him as I hop off the exam table.
He reaches out and lightly touches my arm. “Becca—”
“I’ve got to find Tony,” I say without looking at him. I head out the door, but not before I hear his deep sigh. I know he wants me to talk about what’s happened the past few months, but I’m fine.
I head out of Walter’s home-slash-clinic, and out onto the dirt lane.
Dante pushes off against the side of the house. “Do you know where Tony is?” I ask him.
He points to the old rusted-out water tower. “Lá em cima. He’s been there since we got back.”
I follow his finger and can just make out Tony’s profile. “Thank you,” I tell him. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
