Winter Smith (Book 2): The Secrets of France

by Strange, J. S.

  Maxwell jumped up and stumbled backwards, clutching a bleeding wound on his shoulder. He looked up at Ruby Minister, clutching a gun in her hands.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

  “You can’t kill them. That isn’t the orders.”

  “Ruby?” Winter gasped.

  “Where is she?”

  “She’s getting ready,” Ruby said. “It’s almost time.”

  Maxwell nodded. “Are they there?”

  “They’re there. So is your wife. You need to go immediately. Before the strike of midnight.”

  Maxwell nodded. He peered at his wound. “Did you have to shoot me?”

  “I panicked.”

  Maxwell curled his lip and stepped around David, who lay on the floor in his own blood.

  “You bitch!” Violet screamed. “You! It was you this whole time! You’ve been betraying us?”

  “Go, Maxwell,” Ruby said.

  Maxwell hurried out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

  “How dare you!” Violet screamed again.

  “Is he dead?” Ruby stared at David.

  Winter kept her eyes on Ruby as she fumbled to find David’s wrist. She checked his pulse. “He’s alive.”

  Ruby relaxed. “Thank god.”

  David groaned. “Ruby. What have you done?”

  Ruby let go of the gun, dropping it to the ground. “I’ve done something stupid.”

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  “Get down!”

  They did as Cedric said, falling to their knees as shards of glass rained over them. They crawled, as quickly as possible, feeling like overgrown babies. Missy cut her palms but kept going. The sounds of the dead moaning drifted to them.

  The bullets stopped, and the group stayed on the ground, listening. The dead hissed and gurgled, and footsteps crunched over glass.

  “Three…” Cedric mouthed. “Two…”

  But there was no more time. They bolted as the dead grabbed Connor. Heidi kicked and the dead man let go. Connor hurried forwards, a sheen of sweat glistening on his forehead.

  “They almost got me!” He shouted. “The dead almost got me!”

  “You’re immune, it doesn’t matter,” Cedric hissed.

  The Blitzers shouted at them, but their bullets were not directed their way. They shot at the dead, trying to eliminate them before the survivors. Missy turned in time to see three dead men pull a Blitzer to the ground. His gun flew across the ground and landed a few feet away from Missy.

  Dead were running towards her, but she ran forwards, her eyes locked on the gun.

  “Missy!” Cedric screamed. “What the fuck? Missy!”

  Bullets fired and glass exploded behind Missy, cutting her face. She screamed out but kept moving. The dead nearest her got hit, his head exploding, blood splattering all over Missy. She crouched down and grabbed the gun, lifting it up. She fired at the dead, some falling to the ground, others stumbling forwards. She fired at the Blitzers, bullets crashing through the helmet and lodging in the head of the person underneath.

  Missy turned and ran. She passed a dumbfounded Cedric and grabbed Heidi, urging her forwards. The Blitzers were gaining on them.

  As another office crumbled, loose pills spilled from shelves. The floor in front of them was covered. Cedric slipped, falling flat on his back. He quickly got to his feet, but not before taking samples of the red and blue pills and shoving them in his pockets.

  Missy felt the tablets crush underneath her shoes, but she kept going.

  The Blitzers grabbed Connor. He screamed. Missy turned, Cedric barging past her, heading towards an exit.

  “Connor!” She screamed.

  Connor was pushed backwards, into the hands of other Blitzers. The Blitzer that grabbed him pulled him forwards, turning away from the group, and running back the way they had come. Connor tried to fight, but he was too weak. He was taken away from his friends, into the flashing red lights.

  The dead had been eliminated. Now, all that were left were two Blitzers.

  “Where are you taking him?” Heidi asked.

  The Blitzers fired. Heidi ran after Cedric. Missy followed. Bullets showered around her, but they did not hit. They crashed through the door Cedric had exited through, and once through Cedric pushed a cabinet up against it, then locked it. The Blitzers collided into the other side, but the door did not budge.

  They turned away from the entrance, and looked into the eyes of Mona Lisa. They were in an exhibition hall, facing a standalone partition, back in civilisation.

  “Where’s Connor?” Cedric demanded to know.

  Missy shook her head. “They took him.”

  “Shit.” Cedric stamped his foot. “Shit! This is not good. This is not good.”

  “We can get him back. Surely, we can get him back.”

  Heidi looked up the gallery, towards the sounds of drifting voices over music. “We’re close to the party.”

  “We need to find everyone else before we leave,” Cedric said.

  “What about Connor?” Heidi asked.

  Cedric ran a hand over his face. “We’ll have to leave him.”

  “No!” Missy and Heidi shouted.

  “We have to. He’s gone. They got him.”

  “We can’t give up on him,” Missy said.

  “Why does V have an obsession with him?” Heidi questioned. “She wanted us shot dead, but they came for Connor. They took him.”

  “They’ve taken him twice.”

  “He’s important to her.” Cedric sighed. “But I don’t know why.”

  “Because he’s immune?”

  “Maybe.”

  Missy looked at the gun in her hands. “How loaded do you think this thing is?”

  Cedric checked. “It’s halfway.”

  “Keep your bullets until they’re necessary,” Heidi said.

  “I can’t walk out to that party carrying this.”

  “You’re going to have to.”

  The knocking on the locked door had stopped. The Blitzers had finally given up. Missy looked at the Mona Lisa painting. “I’d be miserable, too, if I had to wear that.”

  “Hm?” Cedric asked, not listening.

  “Doesn’t matter.”

  “Come on. Let’s get to the clock and meet the others.”

  They left the gallery. They headed back down a long corridor, paintings on either side of them. They finally found their way down a flight of stone steps and stood outside closed doors. Last guests had been let in. Everyone was heading in to another room, where the music blasted from, where the main attraction seemed to be. Only a few guests waited outside in the hall, talking, waiting for New Year’s to arrive. Cedric looked at the clock. It was twenty past eleven.

  “Where are the others?” He asked.

  “I don’t know.” Heidi replied. “You don’t think V has got them, do you? You don’t think the Blitzers took them, too?”

  “I fucking hope not.” Cedric snapped.

  “Maybe they’re in there.” Heidi pointed at the room where the music came from, where people gathered at the door as the room burst with capacity.

  “Let’s have a look.”

  They walked away from the clock, which was ticking closer and closer to midnight, and pushed their way into the ballroom. Marble balconies curved above them, people gathered at the balustrades of Greek statues looking down at a lit but empty, stage. A clock above it told people the time.

  People sipped champagne, kissed their partners and talked with other people, treating the event as something elitist. People barely glanced at Missy and Heidi, but their eyes lingered a little longer on Cedric.

  “They’re staring at you.” Missy pointed out.

  “I doubt it’s my good looks this time.” Cedric grimly muttered.

  They walked further into the room, towards a flight of red-carpeted stairs. Missy placed her hand on the marble banister as they walked upwards, until they had a good enough view of the stage. Behind the stage were flo
or to ceiling glass doors, a stone balcony stretching away from them, decorated with red and gold fairy lights.

  “Can you see them?” Heidi asked, peering over manicured heads.

  “Not yet.” Cedric said, looking up the stairs. “Keep your eye on the entrance, in case they walk through.”

  “Cedric French.”

  “Nickel,” Cedric spoke. “Juliette.”

  Nickel looked bored, his hair slicked back. His red, velvet coat sported a thick, fur helm.

  “How, bizarre, to see you…here.” Juliette commented, her arm linked with Nickel.

  “Where’s your husband, Juliette?” Cedric fired, eyeing Nickel.

  “He’s about.” Juliette waved her hand, dismissing her husband from the conversation. “We are working, which is why I am with Nickel.”

  “Working, of course.”

  Nickel looked around the room, at the red curtains that fell from the ceiling, at the set up stage, and at the beautiful people gathered around them, wearing designer clothes and oozing money they didn’t have. “I bet you wished you stayed with us, don’t you? I bet you wished you were still part of this.”

  Cedric traced his finger up the marble bannister, and wiped imaginary dust from his fingers. “Not really. I’m here for information. Nothing more.”

  “But surely, you would not have come if you were not intrigued?” Juliette questioned.

  Cedric smirked. “You really think I wanted to come? I was invited. I saw this as an…opportunity.”

  “An opportunity?” Nickel repeated. “Of course.”

  “Do you have anything of interest to say, or can you stop wasting our time?” Heidi asked. “We’re waiting for somebody.”

  Nickel eyed her, his lips curling into a pained smile. “And you are?”

  “I’m Heidi. That’s all you need to know.”

  Nickel exchanged a laugh with Juliette. “Silly girl.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Cedric, I must warn you that coming here was a mistake,” Juliette said. “You’re a wanted man. You really think they’ll just let you walk out of here when you so willingly walked in?”

  Cedric crossed his arms. “I’ve made it this far without being caught by your leader.”

  “Maybe she led you here on purpose.” Juliette swayed where she stood. “Maybe that was her plan.”

  Nickel clapped his hands, making Missy jump. “We must be going. We need to get a good place to see the announcement. Make sure you stay. You’ll be witnessing history.”

  Nickel breezed past Cedric, Juliette on his arm. They watched them disappear into the crowds.

  “Who are they?” Missy asked Cedric.

  “Nickel manages the Blitzers.” Cedric said, looking towards the door, hoping to see the others walk in. “Juliette assists, I believe, but there were rumours she was having an affair with Nickel.” Cedric stood on tiptoes. “She’s married to the wealthiest man in the world.”

  “Seems like that’s not a relationship to rush out of.” Missy commented.

  “Money can’t buy happiness.” Heidi smirked.

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Ruby sat on her knees, looking at the ground. Winter held a gun to her head, ignoring her tears.

  “What have you done?”

  Ruby shook her head, her hair bouncing around her. “Something stupid.”

  “You’ve said.” Winter adjusted her grip on the gun. “Tell us, why have you betrayed us?”

  “I…” Ruby began. She glanced at Violet and Zach, she avoided David’s gaze, and she barely managed to hold eye contact with Winter. “I had to do it.”

  “Why?”

  “It was the right thing to do.”

  Winter’s anger flared. “Right thing to do?”

  Ruby’s head snapped up. “Don’t you understand? You’re in league with a traitor. A criminal! You’re in league with somebody who is driven by power, and just wants power. He wants to throw our leader off her feet. He wants to gain control that he will never have.”

  Her beautiful face had flushed, and her eyes were wild. Ruby Minister was angry.

  “Who are you talking about?” Violet asked.

  “Who do you think?” Ruby snapped. “I’m talking about Cedric French. The man who has made my life a living hell.”

  “He saved you from the apocalypse!” David boomed. He was hunched against the side of the nearest cubicle, blood pouring from his wound. “He kept you alive! He housed you!”

  “No, V saved me,” Ruby said, leaning up. Winter pointed the gun at her, her finger on the trigger. Ruby held up her hands, breathing deeply. “Please, don’t shoot me.”

  “I’m not going to until we’ve got answers.”

  Ruby nodded, her eyes flickering left and right. “V saved me. V helped me.”

  “How?”

  Ruby began to cry, her blue eyes twinkling with sorrow. Nobody felt pity for her. “She saw potential in me. She told me the right side to be on.”

  “You think joining her cult is the right side to be on?” David asked.

  Ruby said nothing.

  “Ruby,” Winter hissed. “If you want to live, we need you to talk.”

  “I can’t.”

  “You have to.”

  “Let’s start simple,” Zach said. “How did you get recruited?”

  “V had a plan,” Ruby said nervously. “She wanted a decoy. Nobody had seen her, which was very clever. Nobody that mattered at least, anyway. So she came up with a plan. When survivors arrived, she would remain an anonymous leader, seen only in shawls from head to toe. It was an act she decided to keep up, even to those that had seen her face and knew who she was. So she hired me as a decoy.”

  “You’re saying the V we’ve been seeing, hearing about recently…that was you?” Zach gasped.

  Ruby grinned, nodding. Her eyes were wide. Winter thought she was deranged. “Yes! That was me! I’ve been the decoy this whole time and none of you had any idea!”

  “Cedric realised,” David answered. Ruby blanched. “He began to suspect you.”

  “W-When?”

  “When you learnt that we had been in and saved Connor.”

  “How dare you do that!” Ruby screamed, making Winter flinch. “How dare you sneak in and jeopardise my life!”

  “Ruby, we’ve been keeping you alive, you traitorous bitch!” Violet shouted back.

  “You’re wrong! V has kept me alive! Our new leader has kept me alive!”

  “Who is the real V?”

  Ruby shook her head again, wiping her eyes.

  “Tell us,” David ordered.

  “I can’t. I’m not telling you who the real V is. You’ll find that out tonight. It’s why you’re here. You were meant to be here.”

  “You’ve known about this the whole time,” Winter said. “How can you live with yourself?”

  “Because you’re the enemies. I’m working for the greater good. For a better lifestyle and a better world. A world that you don’t belong in. You think V invited you here? Of course she didn’t. I did. Because those who are here tonight will not be getting out alive.” Ruby checked a small silver watch on her wrist. “It’s almost midnight.”

  “What’s going to happen, Ruby?” David asked. “You should have the decency to tell us.”

  “I’m not telling you anything, but just know, you will not survive.”

  “V recruited you,” Zach interrupted David. “The real V. She recruited you. How did she find you?”

  “You think she didn’t know where Cedric was?” Ruby laughed. “He ran away with her money, of course she was going to keep an eye on him. Cedric is not as clever as he thinks. He is not a safe man to be with. He’s dangerous. He scares me. V knew where he was this whole time. She’s let him live. She placed me with him.”

  “Placed you with him?” Violet asked.

  “Cedric needed an assistant. A pretty assistant. Enter Ruby Minister, the dumb blonde with long legs and big breasts.” Ruby hissed
, her eyes dark and hooded. “All along he was letting me in on valuable information: Winter being immune, Connor being immune, the plans he had in mind for an anti-newspaper run by David Herald. He would tell me these plans and I would feed them back to the real V at every opportunity I got. When I wasn’t with Cedric, I was here, in the Louvre. Cedric didn’t question where I was going. I don’t think he noticed. That’s the good thing of working for a self-absorbed man who is driven by nothing but power.”

  “You’re wrong.”

  “I’m not wrong!” Ruby screamed. “I am not wrong! Okay, Cedric found out I was betraying him when I panicked about Connor’s disappearance. But that was my fault. I slipped up. Pressure was getting to me. But I let him find out. Though he didn’t know for definite, did he?”

  “He knew enough,” David said. “You’re wrong about Cedric.”

  “You’ll learn,” Ruby said seriously. It frightened Winter to see her this way. “I’ve seen Cedric alone. I’ve seen him. He’s obsessed with the apocalypse. He’s always learning what V is doing, how V runs her establishment, how he can imitate it. Cedric is dark. He is driven by power. He wants to be in control. He wants to dethrone V so he can get in power instead. He is not on your side.”

  “You’re lying,” Violet said. “Winter, kill her.”

  “No, please!” Ruby shouted, her eyes wide with fear. “Please, Winter. I’m not your enemy. You could be great to us. You belong with V. You belong in the new world order.”

  “That’s why V is trying to kill her,” David said. “Because she belongs?”

  “Winter is dangerous to the apocalypse because she is on the wrong side.” Ruby pleaded. “If she would just join us…”

  “I will not be joining you,” Winter said.

  “Then you’re going to learn the hard way that being against V means you will never live a life you deserve. If you are all, truly, against V, then you will not be needed in the new world order. You will be disposed of.”

  “We won’t let it happen,” Violet simply said.

  “You’re fools.”

  “You’re the fool, Ruby,” David spoke. “You’ve sold yourself out. You think your dumb bimbo image was a fake thing? You’re wrong. You know little. You’ve sold yourself out and been brain washed, because you believed someone could help you. You’re driven by fear.”