by Maddie Wade
“Do you like it?” Rhea asked her. Celeste had no idea how to retort, so she just nodded. “Oh, good I wanted red as it symbolises redemption and re-birth which seemed fitting.’
“How come you always wear white?” Celeste asked, trying to get some understanding of the woman.
Rhea’s face flashed with pain before she hid it. “White is the symbol of purity. That is why virgins and new-born babies wear it.”
“But you are neither.” Celeste decided if she got a slap for her questions then it at least might give the team some insight. However, rather than the slap Celeste thought she’d get, Rhea answered.
“No, I am not. I wear it to honour my child.”
“You have a child?” Celeste asked carefully and tilted her head. Grief washed over her when Rhea touched her arm.
“I had a child. The most precious baby you ever saw. She was perfect in every way. So perfect that God saw fit to take her from me before I could give her her first feed.” Rhea paused. The grief and anger coming from her was so extreme, it made Celeste catch her breath. “I never told anyone that was not there about it. I don’t know why I am telling you now, except that perhaps it is because you won’t be here soon. It feels so good to talk about her.”
“What was her name?” Celeste wanted to give the team a name to search the records for, and also because she realised she wanted to know.
“Her name was Faith, and she was perfect. It was because of her that I found my calling and saw the way forward,” she finished quietly.
The room was silent as Rhea lost herself in memories, and Celeste processed her grief.
“Now enough about that,” Rhea said as she clapped her hands. “We have to get you dressed, and then leave for the final part of your journey. It’s nearly time to die. Aren’t you excited by the sacrifice you are about to make for everyone?”
“No, not really as it’s not choice,” Celeste said hotly as the other crazy Rhea Winslow came back.
“Well, aren’t you an ungrateful slut, and to think I was going to give you lavish food. No matter, either way, your purpose will be served. I’m sure Lizzie’s family are relieved it will be you and not her,” she finished coldly. “Now strip down, let’s get you changed.”
Celeste quickly changed into the dress and flat red ballet pumps that she was given. A brush was handed to her, and she swept it through her hair while Rhea watched her critically.
“I need to use the bathroom,” Celeste said, knowing that it may be her last chance to get a message to the team and deciding the risk was worth it.
“Hurry up,” Rhea said impatiently and ushered her into the bathroom.
Celeste closed the door and ran the tap to give her some cover then she spoke quietly. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but I had a vision. It involved a large stadium and lots people covered in blood. There was smoke and lots of debris as if there had been an explosion. Lots of chaos and the exits were all barricaded shut, and men with guns were herding people to the centre like sheep.
“That’s all I saw, and I really hope someone is listening. If you are, tell Zin I love him and Kanan that he is the best big brother I could have dreamed of. I hope I see you all soon.” She finished talking and quickly flushed the toilet. Then she opened the door to face her destiny whatever that may be.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Zin was about to go visit the cheap rundown hotel where Celeste was being kept again when Will came running out the door and flagged him down. They had done a full sweep of the area and found four guards who worked for The Watchers outside the hovel they called a hotel, in addition, there were the two with Rhea Winslow, making a total of six guards.
He and Zack had discussed it before they had left and decided to keep the element of surprise. That meant leaving the guards in place, and not smashing their ugly mugs into dust. The ‘hovel hotel’ as he had christened it in his head looked like it hadn’t been updated in over thirty years. It was on a street with a few dive bars, a local convenience shop, and some residential premises that looked to house some very undesirable people. Rhea Winslow must be hating it. She was always so pristine in her white suits and dresses. It must be sheer torture hanging with the lowlife’s.
The street was quiet with only one road in and out. For them, that was bad because they had no cover to get close. Luckily, Eidolon had been able to send in two of their people. A male and female operative with a dog on a lead that Jack had procured from somewhere.
It made him think of Samson. Zin wished the beast was here with them. He knew that the dog would give his life for Celeste, but that was also the problem. If Samson died saving her, she would be heartbroken, and he wouldn’t allow that. According to his teammates, Celeste would be utterly devastated if something happened to him. This was a concept Zin couldn’t quite grasp fully.
“What’s up?” he asked as Will stopped beside him. His pulse picked up a beat at the look on Will’s face.
“You need to hear this.” Will spun on a heel and walked swiftly back to the house as Zin followed him.
When he entered the kitchen Zack, Alex, and Jack were standing around the monitor. He approached behind Will and watched as he hit the play button. Celeste’s voice filled the room and his gut clenched at what he heard.
“I don’t know if you can hear me, but I had a vision. It involved a large stadium and lots people covered in blood. There was smoke and lots of debris as if there had been an explosion. Lots of chaos and the exits were all barricaded shut, and men with guns were herding people to the centre like sheep.
“That’s all I saw, and I really hope someone is listening. If you are, tell Zin I love him and Kanan that he is the best big brother I could have dreamed of. I hope I see you all soon.” He heard the toilet flush then and struggled to control his emotions at her words.
Was she giving up? That sounded like she was throwing in the towel and saying goodbye.
“She’s on the move!” Zack said as he pointed to the moving dot that represented his whole world.
“What do you want to do? Shall we wait and see where they go or head out?” Jack asked deferring to Zack.
“Let’s wait until we get some idea where they are going. It shouldn’t take long.”
Zin needed to walk off some of the panic that was building in his abdomen. Going outside he started for the outbuilding where they were staying. It had been fitted out with bunks like a dorm and was actually very impressive. Reaching it, he slipped inside and went to his bunk, which was on the far side of the room, and away from the door. The accommodations were good, better than a lot of places he had stayed, but he hadn’t had a wink of sleep. He’d spent the whole night listening to Celeste breathe.
Grabbing his extra weapons and his bag with his knives and throwing stars in, he turned to leave and came face to face with Zack, who must have slipped in behind him silently. He stood near the door, his hands on his hips like he was about to take on the world and Zin had no doubt who would win.
“You good?”
Zin couldn’t help but think what a stupid question that was. Was he good? Fuck no, he was not good, but he knew what Zack meant so he answered accordingly. “Yep.”
“It looks like they are moving towards the Olympic village, you ready to head out?”
“Yep.”
“Zin, I will fucking bench you if you don’t give me more than yep.” Zin gave him a sidelong look filled with anger, which Zack returned.
Zin threw his bag on the floor and slumped down onto his bunk for a minute to settle his equilibrium, putting his head in his hands he took some deep lungful of air. “She’s giving up!” he stated brokenly as he looked sideways at Zack who had sat beside him. Zack remained silent for a minute, and Zin thought he wasn’t going to comment.
“Do you remember when you found me in that Iraqi cave, half dead and nearly defeated?”
Zin snorted at that. “You were half dead, but you were not anywhere near close to defeated.”
“Maybe
not, but I was feeling lost and hopeless. I’d been there months, and nobody seemed to be looking for me. The mind games they played were intense, and the torture was beyond what we could have ever expected. I used to wake at night in cold sweats because of the things they did.”
Zin nodded. He knew what they had done, and he also knew Zack was not speaking of the things done to him. It was what they had done to others to try and force him to talk that plagued Zack. He knew because he fought some of the same demons. “It’s bad.”
“Yes, but I haven’t had those dreams since Ava came into my life. I would bet you haven’t since Celeste came into yours either.”
Zin thought about it and realised Zack was right. Celeste had taken his demons and slayed them. He didn’t understand what Zack meant by this though, how did this equate to Celeste giving up? “What’s your point?”
“My point is, I don’t think that was a message that she was giving up. That was a message that she loved you and she wanted you to fight. She is worried about you and Kanan and wants you to be careful. She trusts you to find her, but she isn’t so sure you won’t sacrifice yourself for her.”
“But I will in a heartbeat.”
“I know, and so does she. That’s why she is giving you a reason to live and not be reckless. She wanted you to know she loves you so that you want to live too.”
“Do you think so?” Zin was unsure that was really the case.
“Yes, I am. You think she saved you, and she did, but you are giving her something she never thought she would have; a family, a future, safety.”
Zin watched Zack stand and walk to the door and thought about what he’d said. Zin stood then and followed Zack. Maybe Zack was right, but even if he wasn’t, and Celeste was giving up, he wouldn’t allow it. She’d never let him give up, and he wouldn’t let her. He wanted a future with this woman, and he was going to fucking have one!
Crossing to the farmhouse, he met the others coming out.
“They are at the Olympic Village,” Will said as they headed for to vehicles up ahead.
“Do Zenobi and the others know?” Zin asked.
“Jack just updated Roz. They will be on the look-out for them. They reported that our findings are accurate, and the soldiers from the lists we have are working for Donatus. The good news is that they will probably keep Celeste close to Lizzie and Smithy so as not to split the guards up too much.”
“Yes, but they may also split them, so it’s harder for us. Rhea isn’t stupid enough to think that we won’t find her or try a rescue attempt. Maybe we should deliberately have a team botch something, so they lower their guard?” Zin said as they climbed into the vehicle.
“No, I disagree. I think our resources would be better used by looking for the bomb that would cause the kind of desolation Celeste saw,” Jack said as he looked at Zin in the rear-view mirror.
“Not to be horrible, and please don’t punch me, Zin, but isn’t Celeste the bomb?” Will asked.
“No,” injected Alex. “The bomb the size of the one in the chip would only hurt Celeste. What she described is more like C4 explosives. Jack is right. We need to find that, and also look for the exits and make sure they are not boarded up as she suggested.”
Zin listened and weighed the options. “Maybe,” he said with a nod. “How sure are we about Lizzie and Smithy being there?”
“Very sure., We used facial recognition software. It was a match for Lizzie. The man is a little more unsure as it’s in profile, but we are seventy percent sure it’s him.”
“Okay, let’s go with your plan if Zack agrees.”
“I do,” he said as they neared the street behind the Olympic village. To park closer was too much of a risk. They exited and gathered their stuff. They were all in ‘civvies’ consisting of jeans and tourist t-shirts which looked completely ridiculous as far as Zin was concerned.
Zenobi had procured some uniforms from the Olympic stewards to help them get inside the village. From there they had a room to stash their gear and plan. It was a half mile away from where they now believed Lizzie, Smithy, and his Pixie were being held. It felt more like an ocean.
He needed to get his head in the game and stop thinking about it so personally. He should treat it like any other op. Zin had done hundreds of ops like this one, both on his own and as part of a group, but this one was different. Despite that, he needed to stop thinking about how different it was, and follow Zack’s lead. The man would not lead him wrong.
With that thought in mind, he kept his head averted from the cameras as they split up and headed for the village in two’s. He was with Will, as Zack felt it better to split him and Jack up, and he didn’t want Will on his own. He was vital to the mission but an operative he was not.
Silently, they walked towards the security check, and handed over the identification they had decided would work. All the operatives had three or four fake aliases they used, and it had taken Will less than ten minutes to hack the system and add them to the steward’s roster.
Security on the main entrance was being handled by Triple S, so luckily, they had no confrontation there and walked straight through. Making their way towards staff headquarters, he breathed a sigh of relief as they saw the accommodation up ahead. They had nearly reached the door when somebody shouted behind them.
“Hey, stop!”
Zin saw Will visibly shudder. “Keep cool, Will.” Zin turned and looked at the man walking swiftly towards him.
“You need to wear your lanyards when you are on site.” The man frowned at the two of them in disdain.
Zin let his face go impassive and kept his body language open, so he was, not threatening in any way. “Oh, yeah. Sorry,” he said and slipped his lanyard on as Will did the same.
“Yeah, well, make sure you wear them at all times. Security needs to be aware of exactly who is inside the venue,” he said somewhat grumpily.
“Sure thing,” Zin said.
The man puffed his chest at his own self-importance. “It’s a tough job handling security of this scale. We don’t need dim-wits making it harder.” At that, he turned and walked away.
Zin fought the urge to pull the man back by the scruff of his neck and mop the floor with his face. He squelched the idea though, and with a slight push to get Will moving, pushed him the direction of the rooms.
He and Will were sharing room 239, and he’d heard from Roz that they were in room 314. They dumped their gear and changed into the bright turquoise polo shirts and khaki trousers worn by the stewards then walked to Roz’s room where they had set up communications. Will had the laptop that would save his Pixie in a bag on his shoulder.
Zin knocked, and the door swung open to reveal Angel. “Hey Zin,” she said and smiled sweetly before she pulled the door open further for them to enter.
“Hi Angel,” he returned before walking through.
Will quickly set up the laptop on the side table, and Zin felt relief surge through him when he saw the dot blink. They were within half a mile of her now.
“We’re just waiting for the others, and then we can get started,” Roz said as she came to him and squeezed his hand. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” he replied and nodded.
“Okay, we’re clear,” said Will. The mobile cone of silence Will used was priceless in this situation. The last thing they needed was someone picking up on what they were saying, and the chances of the rooms being bugged was a huge possibility with the Divine Watchers involved.
Within a few minutes they had sound back on, and he could hear Celeste breathing again. The sound comforted him and calmed him, allowing him to focus on what came next.
The others arrived, and they went over the plan again and again, until everyone had their job down pat. Zack took point, and everyone else listened.
“Jack, you and Eidolon will focus on finding the explosives and clearing the exits. Zenobi along with Sly and Lucy will handle the guards in and around the area where Smithy and Lizzie are being held and extract
them. Zin, Kanan, and I will be going after Rhea and the two guards closest to her. We now know that she has a remote detonator set up on Celeste that will let her know if the bomb in the chip is deactivated.
“When Will deactivates the chip, we need to be ready to extract Celeste immediately. Will, don’t do anything until you get my say so.” Will nodded his agreement. “This will all happen simultaneously with Lizzie and Smithy’s extraction so as not to alert Rhea Winslow. Now, despite all this, we need to keep things as discrete as possible. We don’t know how many of the Donatus group are drugged, and how many are just getting paid well. They could still turn on us after Rhea is out of commission.
“Please be aware that they may have gifts too, so if something seems off, we need to know immediately. Zin will be the one to grab Celeste, and Kanan and I will apprehend Rhea Winslow. Our aim is to take her alive,” he said looking at Kanan. “Does everyone understand and agree?”
“What’s the plan for getting us out of the stadium without getting caught? I can’t imagine Winslow will go quietly,” Will asked.
“Eidolon have that handled, they have vehicles outside the North and East exits which are the ones closest to the rooms and the main stadium. From there we have a 20-minute, ride to an aircraft which will be ready to take us home.”
“Can we go over the timings again?” Zin asked. He wanted everything perfect on this op. There was no room for failure.
“Sure, so the ceremony starts at seven tonight. We understand that the highest viewing figures will be at around eight-thirty, so that is when they will want to strike. So, from six-thirty, Zenobi will be watching for them to leave the room with Celeste. When they do, we will wait for them to make it to the stadium entrance. When that happens, I will give them the go-ahead to extract Lizzie and Smithy. Then it will be Will’s turn, and then ours. Our time frame is about six minutes from when we give Zenobi the nod, to when we arrest Winslow. “Okay, we set?” Zack asked a final time. There were nods all around. “Good. Let’s do a comms and weapons check, and then get some rest. We will take turns watching the tracker and listening to Celeste. We have a five am start for Eidolon to go looking for the explosives and clear the exits.”
