by Kyle Noe
“Don’t do it, mom!”
Quinn flinched and looked up to see a small figure moving through the crowd of resistance fighters, parting them like Moses with the Red Sea. She felt the air leave her lungs as if she’d been sucker punched she was so taken with the sight of her little girl. Of Samantha!
She barely even felt the rifle slip from her hands, she was too busy running to her daughter. Samantha rushed forward and Quinn took her up in her arms and held her so tightly she was scared she might break one of Samantha’s ribs. Quinn’s eyes were closed and she was taking in the familiar scent of her daughter. That smell that only children have, the “fragrance of innocence,” as Quinn’s mother had once put it. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she pulled back and looked at Samantha, whose eyes were red and misty.
“I never gave up hope,” Quinn said. “Not once.”
“Neither did I,” Samantha replied. “I always knew you’d find a way back.”
Quinn clutched tightly as Samantha whispered into her ear. “Tell me, you stole it, right?”
“What?”
“You stole one of the alien’s ships.”
Quinn nodded.
“Um, don’t you think they’re gonna want it back?”
A grim smile pulled at the corners of Quinn’s mouth. “I’m counting on it.”
She lowered Samantha to the ground and pivoted to see Giovanni.
“So this is really happening?” Giovanni asked after a few seconds of silence.
Quinn’s gaze ratcheted to the other Marines who nodded. She turned back to Giovanni. “Get your people together,” she said with a curt nod. “It’s time to make plans for war.”
BACK ON THE Syndicate Command Ship, Potentate Benno stared at the Viewer Screen, examining two different streams of footage. One showed the aftermath of the explosion in the Command Ship, the devastation wrought by the bomb that Xan had planted. The other stream of footage showed shots of the glider with Quinn and the others evading the Syndicate assault ship before landing at Shiloh. The Potentate’s contemplation was interrupted when General Aames and Marin entered the situation room.
At first, no one spoke. Ostensibly, they’d suffered a great loss today, and no one wanted to be the first to suffer the Potentate’s wrath.
“Be not afraid,” Potentate Benno said. “Everything that happened today was by design.”
Marin ranged forward, looking to get closer and hear the next part of the Potentate’s plan. General Aames, however, was taken aback.
“By design?” the General asked. “How can you say this was by design when we’ve suffered losses and allowed our prisoners to escape?”
“The escape was planned.”
General Aames muttered under his breath. “No offense, sir, but we could do our jobs better if we knew exactly what that plan was.”
“But that’s not something either of you need to know,” the Potentate said. “You are here to serve the cause and do as I say. Have you forgotten that?”
“Too many secrets,” Aames griped, shaking his head.
“Trust in the plan,” Marin said, ignoring Aames. “We have faith in your vision, sir.”
“And what vision would that be?” General Aames said, staring up at the Potentate. “What’s the end game, sir?”
“Is it time I told you, General?”
“Told me what, sir?”
The Potentate glided toward Aames, whose towering height was overshadowed by The Potentate’s. “You’ve seen the beasts we use inside the Reapers and Mechs, have you not?” the Potentate asked.
“Of course,” Aames said. “Not exactly easy on the eyes.”
“Not easy to defeat either, but defeat them we did. All in the name of order and safety. And if we don’t subdue the resistance, and now the Marines, hordes of other sentient beasts from countless planets and far more dangerous creatures will threaten your precious Earth with no mercy or quarter as we’ve offered. These things are very real. I’ve seen them and I swear to you that nothing will be left alive down on your planet.”
“I don’t understand, sir,” General Aames said.
“There’s a storm coming, General. A force, a presence that dwarfs anything you’ve ever seen before. They are preparing to do to us, what we have done to others.”
“Who are they?” the General asked.
“They are the ones who were always here,” the Potentate said. “They will swallow us whole unless we find a way to fight back. And the only way to fight back is to build an army of soldiers capable of standing with us to turn the coming tide.”
“You mean … the Marines, sir?” General Aames replied, flabbergasted.
The Potentate turned from General Aames and peered out a window.
“We will know the answer to that question very shortly,” the Potentate said. “I am sending an emissary down to Earth to evaluate things.”
“And in the meantime?” Marin asked.
The Potentate held out a hand and Marin took it.“We will hold our position. After all, Marin, we have time. We have all the time in the world.”
EPILOGUE
The figure sat slumped on a metal chair in a room bathed in the sweet blackness of outer space. Some referred to the figure as an Archon or the Magi or Hadrian (which the figure preferred), but it, and the third-person pronoun “it” was the only proper way to refer to it (since it possessed no sex, no proper gender), had pallid, elongated arms that seemed to pour from the gray cloak that wrapped its body. Arms and the barest hint of a face were all that could be seen, the figure, Hadrian, bald as an egg, its skin disfigured, scarified, almost as if the flesh had been set afire, allowed to heal, and then burned once more.
Surrounding Hadrian at a distance of no more than twenty feet were a cluster of objects on long, metal benches, some mundane, others exotic, all of them inanimate. There were a handful of pieces of fruit and a few metal gizmos and a circular ball of crystalline gel that contained a small measure of blue water.
Hadrian had been sent here, ordered by the Potentate, told to get ready for the great things that were to come.
Hadrian’s chest rose and fell and there was a stilling of the air, not unlike the moments before a first snow. Then steam began to rise from Hadrian’s arms, rings of smoke that curled around its body like snakes. Hadrian pressed itself upright and began twirling its wand-like fingers as if conjuring up a spell.
It could feel the immense, trapped explosive energy in each of the objects, something that was just waiting to be released, to be triggered. The objects on the benches began to pulse, beating, throbbing like a human heart and then—
BAM!
They exploded, one at a time, controlled blasts that flung shrapnel in every direction—
WHACK! WHACK!
Into the translucent, nearly invisible, sheet of material that shielded Hadrian from the objects. Hadrian whirled its hands and the blasts continued, obliterating the metal benches, nearly shattering the shield that protected it.
In seconds, Hadrian was wrapped in a cloud of what looked like steam or fog and its arms were moving so quickly they no longer seemed attached to its body. And then, when the explosions had ceased, Hadrian slumped in its chair. There were a few seconds of silence and then came the sound of hands clapping.
Hadrian looked back to see the Potentate staring, having witnessed everything.
“It pleases me to see that you’ve been practicing, Hadrian,” the Potentate said.
Hadrian nodded wearily. “DNA is not destiny,” the thing whispered in a guttural voice. “The gift must be honed, like the edge on a blade.”
The Potentate peered at the detritus of the explosions.
“Our guests have escaped us,” the Potentate said. “The ones that were once lost and then found, have been lost again.”
Hadrian nodded.
“You know how long I have tried to make this work,” the Potentate said. “I have endeavored to use a closed fist on certain occasions and an open palm on others, and none of it has worked.”
“So many loops,” Hadrian whispered.
“So many dead ends,” the Potentate added.
“And so what then?” asked Hadrian.
“Now it is time to send you to finish what I have started. You will target the one that means the most to us and find a way to bring her over.”
“And if she refuses?” Hadrian asked.
“I have faith in you,” the Potenate replied.
Hadrian nodded again, this time very slowly. “I will find them, your worship, I will find her and all of the ones that have turned against us, and close the end on this loop, once and for all.”
The Potentate stared down at Hadrian and then shot a quick look through a faraway window. Earth was visible. The Potentate thought about Quinn and the others and whether they had any idea what he had in store for them. If only they knew, he thought to himself. If only they knew what was coming for them.
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
KYLE NOE
Kyle spent five years at the FBI working in counterintelligence, espionage, arms trafficking, CyberWarfare, CT, human trafficking, a stint building the Director's Briefing, a stint working with the National Security Council on an international case, a stint on Presidential Transition Briefs. Five years in Marine Intelligence, specifically Light Armored Recon Intel. Mostly building profiles, targeting portfolios on individuals, and targeting portfolios on groups and specific military units and off-the-radar non-gov militarized teams owned by corporations or governments. And left the intel world behind to pursue his passion for storytelling and has since co-created a TV show for Sony Studios and Barry Josephson.
GEORGE MAHAFFEY
George S. Mahaffey Jr. is a practicing lawyer, author, and screenwriter. As an author he’s written AMITYVILLE: ORIGINS, AMITYVILLE: REVENANTS, RAZORBACKS I, RAZORBACKS II, RAZORBACKS III, THE PACT, FAMILIARS (Book 1), THE DEVIL’S ARK, and VERTICAL CITY: A ZOMBIE THRILLER (Parts 1 through 4). In addition, his script HEATSEEKERS was bought by Paramount with Michael Bay producing and Timur Bekmambetov directing. He’s also sold or written scripts for Arnold Kopelson, Blumhouse, Benderspink, Thousand Words, directors Louis Leterrier and Paul McGuigan, has co-created a TV show for Sony and Barry Josephson, and is the creator of IN THE DUST, a kick-ass action-horror graphic novel in the vein of 30 DAYS OF NIGHT to be published by Top Cow with art by Christian Duce.
JUSTIN SLOAN
Justin Sloan is the bestselling author of the epic fantasy series FALLS OF REDEMPTION, the urban fantasy werewolf series CURSED NIGHT, the tough-guy urban fantasy series MODERN NECROMANCY, and coauthor of the vampire post-apocalyptic series RECLAIMING HONOR (A Kurtherian Gambit series) with Michael Anderle.
He also writes video games such as Game of Thrones and Walking Dead, and has sold/optioned several screenplays/teleplays. Because of his five years in the U.S. Marines, you just might find some of his Devil Dog attitude coming to play in his novels. Justin's books are available in audio and print editions, and he has sold Turkish and French rights to several of his series.
AUTHOR NOTES
KYLE NOE
TBD
GEORGE MAHAFFEY
TBD
JUSTIN SLOAN
TBD
Syndicate Wars (this book and all the books in the series) is a work of fiction.
All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.
Complete Book is Copyright (c) 2017 by Kyle Noe, George S. Mahaffey Jr., and Justin Sloan
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of above names.
THE TEAM
Beta Editor / Readers:
Tbd
If I missed anyone, please let me know!
Editor
Candy Crum
OTHER BOOKS BY GEORGE
AMITYVILLE: ORIGINS (Book 1 of 2)
AMITYVILLE: REVENANTS (Book 2 of 2)
FAMILIARS
RAZORBACKS I
RAZORBACKS II
RAZORBACKS III
THE DEVIL’S ARK
THE PACT
VERTICAL CITY: A ZOMBIE THRILLER (Books 1-4)
OTHER BOOKS BY JUSTIN
The Hidden Magic Chronicles
Shades of Light
Shades of Dark (2017)
FALLS OF REDEMPTION (Epic Fantasy Series)
Land of Gods
Retribution Calls
Tears of Devotion
Tribulations End (2017)
RECLAIMING HONOR (A Kurtherian Gambit Series - vampires and werewolves)
Justice is Calling
Claimed by Honor
Judgment has Fallen
Angel of Reckoning
MODERN NECROMANCY (Urban Fantasy Trilogy)
Death Marked
Death Bound
Death Crowned
ALLIE STROM (Urban Fantasy Trilogy)
Allie Strom and the Ring of Solomon
Allie Strom and the Sword of the Spirit
Allie Strom and the Tenth Worthy
CURSED NIGHT (Supernatural Thriller/ Urban Fantasy)
Hounds of God
Hounds of Light
If you enjoyed this book, you can grab book 3 on Amazon (preorder for $0.99)! Stay up to date by following us at www.Facebook.com/SyndicateWars.
You can also grab a FREE Syndicate Wars short story (following Quinn’s daughter!) on Instafreebie, by signing up for the newsletter.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Prologue: Samantha and the Spider Mech
1. The Lie
2. Safe House
3. The Cycle
4. Wanted
5. A Single Shot
6. Death Suits Her
7. Alive
8. A Second Family
9. An Unexpected Victory
10. Friends Become Enemies
11. Toy Soldiers
12. Surviving
13. Loose Lips Sink Ships
14. A Motley Crew
15. The Hunted
16. Quinn’s Death
17. A Failure to Communicate
18. The Revolt
19. Coyotes
20. The Escape
21. Reunited
Epilogue
About The Authors
Author Notes
Untitled
The Team
Other Books By George
Other Books by Justin
Untitled
