The Forbidden Trilogy

by Kimberly Kinrade

  She hadn't killed Simmons—though she'd been tempted at times just because the woman pissed her off—and that meant the deal was broken. Whatever. Let Beleth do his worst. I have a job to do.

  Hunter came up and kissed her. They didn't speak, but they didn't have to. Earlier that day, they'd said all that needed saying, with words and touch.

  Without hesitation, she jumped, free-falling into the darkness, relishing the feeling as the seconds ticked by in her head. When the timing was right, she opened her parachute, her body jerking as the silk panel unfolded and cut into her descent.

  The guys opened their own parachutes above her.

  She hit the icy water and immediately flicked the quick-release on her chest strap, loosing the chute into the ocean so it wouldn't drag her down.

  A few moments later Luke and Hunter splashed down and did the same.

  They all slipped underwater and pulled out their breathing devices. Once Lucy had adjusted to breathing through the plastic nozzle strapped around her face, she turned her underwater light on and swam toward the fence that guarded the perimeter.

  It was a massive thing that reached all the way to the ocean floor, a barrier to both divers and submersibles. Lucy wondered if the kids ever got to swim in the ocean, taunted by a freedom they couldn't have, still locked in by wires.

  Coral grew around the fence, its beautiful texture and color mesmerizing. Her brother slipped through the metal using his para-power, while Hunter pulled out the torch and burned a hole in the fence wide enough for Lucy and him to swim through

  The black water surrounded them, Lucy's light giving only a few feet of visibility. She imagined something moving out there, a predator stalking them. "What if there are sharks out here?" she said through the comm system.

  Hunter swung a light in her direction. "Don't worry, we're almost there, and it wouldn't be able to get through the fence unless it has Luke's powers."

  Isn't there some rule that sharks are especially dangerous at night? She gripped her gun, knowing it would work underwater if needed, and followed Hunter through the fence.

  As they approached shallow water, they shut off their lights and surfaced, peeking out over the water to get a visual on the compound. A small building sat close to the beach, guarded by one patrolman. If they'd come by land they would have faced a large fence with a guard tower and who-knows-how-many guards, but by water they had immediate access. In the dark, the shadows of the buildings peppered the lush Hawaiian foliage. There'd be cameras everywhere, using thermal vision to spot any movement. The cool water, combined with their wetsuits, saved them from detection, but once on land, the effects would dissipate. They'd have to get to the building and take out the patrolman quickly.

  They waited for the guard to turn away, then slipped onto the shore. Lucy snuck up behind the man in black and knocked him out silently. She pulled him behind the building and sat him against the wall, as if he were resting. It wouldn't stand up against close scrutiny, but it would have to do for now.

  "It's clear," she whispered to the guys.

  They rounded the building and found the door, in a hurry to get in before the cameras picked them up.

  Lucy turned the knob, but it was locked. "Crap. Luke, you want to unlock it from the other side?"

  He dashed through the door. Time ticked by so much faster as they stood, vulnerable.

  "Shit. It's jammed." Luke's muffled voice came through the door.

  Hunter pulled out his sword. "Let me try. Move away."

  Lucy heard Luke step aside, and Hunter shoved his blade into the door knob, all the way through it. He pulled open the door and grinned. "Ladies first."

  "Impressive."

  Inside, one man slept on a bunk bed, murmuring as he turned on his side. Hunter pulled a cloth from his pack and covered the man's face for three seconds, then released. "That should knock him out for a few hours."

  Luke raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't I get one of those?"

  Hunter shrugged. "I don't think Simmons likes you."

  Well, no one can argue with that, Lucy thought.

  They shrugged out of their wetsuits, and Lucy set up her laptop on the small desk. She plugged into the local intranet and hacked into the facilities' programs.

  First, she looped the cameras. "Luke, go get that guy outside and bring him in here. Take Hunter to help carry him."

  As they left, she checked the main gate access. It would be tough, but she could open it from here if she had to. That would help Simmons's agents get in faster—or get out faster, if it came to that.

  She flipped through the live camera feeds and found the main ventilation system, a centralized plant located in the main building. For such a small compound, they had a big system. She shuddered when she realized it probably helped control certain experiments, which made her think of Mr. K and what they'd done to him here.

  They'd hit all their objectives, but Lucy couldn't help but feel that she'd missed something obvious. She looked at her computer, examined all the feeds, and everything looked fine.

  The guys returned with the guard and laid him on one of the beds. Hunter shrugged off his extra-large pack and dropped it beside the desk. He must have used his para-strength to swim with that thing. He strapped his sword to his back and a pistol to his hip, and slung his rifle over his shoulder.

  "Packing enough heat?"

  "Can never be too prepared." He winked.

  She grinned like an idiot, then focused back on the computer.

  Luke stood over her. "Did you find the ventilation system?"

  "Yep. I'll guide you using the cameras. Just do as I say."

  Luke rolled his eyes. "This isn't exactly my first rodeo, Sis. I think I know what I'm doing by now."

  Before they walked out the door, Hunter kissed her again. "You going to be okay?"

  "I can handle myself. Don't worry. Now go! And be careful."

  The boys left and made their way to the main building.

  A buzzing filled Lucy's head, and she felt another presence settle in. 'Sam?'

  "Hey, Luce. Status report?"

  'We're in. Won't be long before the guys set off the sleeping gas in the vents. As soon as they do, I'll open the gate so you guys can drive straight in, okay?"

  "Thanks. I'll be in touch."

  As Sam shut the connection, Luke's voice came through the headset. "We're in the main building."

  She checked the cameras. "Go right... keep going... now stop. There are two guards down the next corridor."

  "Got it covered, Sis." Lucy watched the screen as Luke walked through a few walls and popped up behind the two guards, then knocked them out with chops to their necks. He grabbed their IDs and started undressing them.

  "Hunter, Luke needs help."

  Hunter rounded the corner, and together they secured themselves two uniforms and IDs. Hunter looked good in the form-fitting black clothes.

  "I like these. We need some at IPI," he said.

  Lucy chuckled. "Fashion later, boys. Keep going down the hall. You're getting close. Shortcut through the hangar to your left."

  The guys entered the hangar, and Luke pointed to something. "Wow. Did you see this, Luce?"

  She saw what looked like a cross between a tank and a helicopter.

  "It's an AH-64 Apache," said Hunter.

  Luke whistled under his breath. "Seriously badass."

  Lucy noticed rocket pods and cannons hanging from what looked like a pair of stubby wings. That thing looked dangerous. "I hope we never have to go up against it. If they'd sent that in to rescue Beleth, we'd be mincemeat right now."

  She scanned the rest of the hangar, which held a much bigger plane, probably the one they used for Beleth, and another helicopter with less armor, but still big.

  Hunter showed off more of his knowledge. "The other chopper's a Boeing CH-47 Chinook. It's used for transport."

  Luke looked up. "Hey, that's a pretty fancy roof. Looks like it might open."

  Lucy's fingers
flew over her keyboard until she found what she was looking for. "Okay, looks like I can open the roof if we need, or even keep it closed, depending."

  Again, something tugged at her memory, as though she'd forgotten or overlooked something, but she couldn't put her finger on it. "All right, guys, time to move on. When you get out of the hangar, head west."

  They followed her command and found themselves face-to-face with two guards just outside the door.

  "Oh crap, guys. I'm sorry. Just stay calm and act like you belong."

  They straightened their backs, and Luke saluted as they passed. Neither guard paid much attention to them.

  Once they'd cleared the guards, Luke looked into one of the cameras. "What the hell happened, Sis? You nearly got our asses fried."

  "Sorry. The helicopters distracted me. Won't happen again."

  Fewer cameras inside prevented her from getting a full read on the building, but everything looked good from what she could see. "Go on in, but keep your wits. There are a lot of dead zones I can't get eyes on."

  Hunter made a thumbs-up sign. "Roger that, Babe."

  Babe? Seriously? We need to talk about nicknames.

  In the heart of the building, she had only one camera with which to watch them. "Guys, I can't see much. Again, please be careful."

  This made her nervous, but they were so close. If they could get the sleep grenades into the main shafts, they'd be almost home free. After that, Simmons's strike team would barrel in with reinforcements, they'd save the kids and the baby, and all go home.

  Sucks to be stuck at a desk. Lucy pulled the laptop onto her lap as she tilted back and forth on her chair, her nervous energy making this part of the job difficult. She wanted to be out there with them, but they needed the tech support.

  She gripped the bottom of the computer and felt a tiny bump underneath. Her heart thudded as she turned her computer over to examine it.

  "Oh shit. Guys, it's a—"

  Too late. A large figure emerged from the shadows, blocking Hunter and Luke's exit.

  Beleth.

  He looked at her through the camera. "I'm sorry."

  Hunter drew his rifle and fired, but Beleth jumped forward, and a black-as-oil shield grew around him, surrounding him in a ball. The bullets bounced off, impotent against whatever protected him. Beleth crashed against a wall and the shield exploded, erupting into giant spider legs that sprouted from his back.

  One leg shot forward, yanked the rifle from Hunter's hands and broke it in half.

  Luke pulled his own pistol out and fired, but Beleth's arm transformed into a black shield and blocked the bullets.

  Lucy choked on her fear, and debated whether she should go help them. Would it just make matters worse? What could she do against this beast? The two men she cared for most in the world were powerless against him.

  She should have known. The small oval stuck to her computer was a tracker. Beleth must have planted it the night he stood over Luke. She'd led him right to them.

  A black streak lashed from Beleth's back and caught Luke by the leg, tripping him. Lucy put her hand over her mouth to keep from screaming. Beleth used his spider legs to jump high into the air. A blade grew from his hand as he flew, heading straight for Luke's throat.

  Just before it beheaded her brother, Hunter jumped forward, his sword extended, and blocked Beleth's attack.

  Lucy reached out in desperation.

  'Sam! Help! We're in big trouble!'

  Chapter 110 – Sam

  "We're coming."

  Lucy's fear and panic filled our connection. 'Hurry! Luke and Hunter are stuck in a room with this guy. Sam, I've never seen anything like him.'

  I jumped up and went in search of Simmons, who sat behind a desk in her office. I explained to her the situation. "They're in trouble. We need to move now."

  Simmons touched a button on her headphones. "Lucy, what's your status?"

  I pulled them off her head. "I told you what their status is. We need to hurry."

  She stood and stared me down with venom in her eyes. "If they haven't placed the sleeping gas, we can't move."

  "They won't be able to place the damn sleeping gas without our help. They're trapped. We have to move now."

  "No." Simmons flicked her finger and the soldiers around her clutched their weapons. "We can't jeopardize everyone's safety to save them now. If they get captured, we'll negotiate a release."

  I walked out of her office and toward her tent, which Simmons didn't expect by the look on her face as she scurried after me. I pocketed the needle she'd threatened me with and grabbed a pistol. "We're going in after them."

  'Over my dead body... this little bitch is not taking over my mission... I'm going to get my revenge on that asshole if it's the last thing I do.'

  Before she could speak, I interrupted her thoughts. "I'll kill my father. Then you'll have your revenge."

  She didn't back off, but she didn't interfere either. "I won't be responsible if you fail. No one will come to rescue your team."

  My team had followed me over to the tent and crowded in around us. "Then stay out of our way." I turned my back on her to address my friends. "Arm yourselves. We're going in."

  Drake and Darren took rifles. Gary found a grenade launcher and stocked up on ammo, while Robyn and Mary chose pistols. Toby reached for a machine gun, but Drake swatted his hand away.

  I'd stayed in Lucy's thoughts, to keep tabs on their situation as I handled Simmons. Lucy still had the cameras looped, so if they could get in quietly, no one would know, not even this Beleth, who, for whatever reason, hadn't raised the alarms himself.

  As we started to head out, I stopped and spun to face Simmons. With my finger on her chest I hissed at her. "If you do anything to jeopardize our mission, I will expose your plans. I will expose who you are. Then... I will kill you."

  Chapter 111 – Man in Black

  Tyler Miller sat in his small command station, overseeing the gate. He scanned the screens in front of him and clicked through the different cameras. Everything looked fine.

  Ned patrolled below, looking out for people sneaking around near the walls. It barely ever happened, but every now and then some stupid kid, or a few teenagers, would get curious and see if they could climb the gate or hop over it from a tree. Never worked, but couldn't let the little bastards get away with trying it, either.

  He propped his legs up on his desk and noisily slurped his large cup of coffee, glad that at work, his wife couldn't bitch at him for being too loud. A man should be able to drink a damn cup of coffee however he wanted. How else was he supposed to cool it down?

  His favorite part of the job was the time it gave him to write his novel. All the other guards hated the boring night shift, but like most writers, he was a night owl. He also liked that it gave him a reason to sleep all day and avoid his wife.

  The blank page of his notebook stared at him like a living thing. Oooo, that's good. I should write that shit down. He grabbed his pen and made notes, then returned to his novel. Sal, his main character, had to get past a large wall. He tried climbing a tree but fell and busted his head. Tyler described the head wound in exquisite detail, sure that his readers would love that. He sure knew how to paint a picture. He used up three whole pages of tiny writing on that one bit, proving that the jerks in his community college class didn't know shit about quality writing.

  Footsteps outside his door alerted him to his boss, Mac, a big guy who walked like the weight of the world rested on his shoulders. Oooo, I need to remember that too.

  Mac pushed open the door. "How are things?"

  "Good." Tyler scanned the screens again, left to right, clicking through the cameras. Same pattern each night.

  Mac sipped his own coffee, but somehow made less noise than Tyler. "Okay, don't screw up tonight. Tomorrow's going to be big."

  Hell, yeah, big. Tyler was up for promotion and would finally be able to buy that sweet laptop he'd seen at Walmart. No more pen and paper for him—thou
gh he did secretly crave the sound of a typewriter as he pounded out the greatest novel ever. But no one used typewriters anymore. He heard he could buy an app for his computer that would simulate the sound of one, which could be cool. He'd have to look into it.

  Mac walked out, grunting about something or other, and Tyler relaxed and looked up at the sky. Being in the mini tower gave him a nice view of the stars. He loved the quiet of the night and feel of the breeze. He pulled out his notebook to describe the night, an exercise one of his teacher's had taught him.

  Ned, the night patrolman, called out from below, ruining Tyler's mojo.

  Damn! He usually had more peace.

  "Hey, I got something here."

  Shit. Tyler hoped that something wasn't trouble. He looked down and saw a girl standing by Ned. "Hold on, I'm coming down."

  He descended a cramped set of stairs and opened the door. Ned and the girl looked up at him. She had brown hair and blue eyes. Something in his lower regions tightened as he thought about how pretty she was, but fraternizing with the patients here would get his ass booted for sure, so he kept it in his pants. Mostly. He might make another exception for her.

  She shook as if scared, and stared at him.

  Ned grabbed her arm and pushed her forward. "I found her wandering around." He paused, as if expecting a response. "I should bring her in."

  Tyler looked her up and down and licked his lips. "She try to get over the wall?"

  "Yes." Ned nodded. "She... um... was climbing a tree."

  Tyler shook his head. "Teenagers. All right, wait a moment." He climbed back up to his tower, typed his password into the controls, and the gate opened.

  "Thanks," Ned shouted as they walked in.

  Tyler sat back down again, repositioned his legs on the table, and grabbed up his notebook. He wrote a few descriptive paragraphs about the blue-eyed girl, stuff he could never let his wife see.