Into the Fire

by Victoria Smith

  He nodded and walked away again.

  “You’re going to blow it,” Gloria said, turning angry eyes on Jillian.

  “And you’re not with your nervousness?” Jillian snapped. “We’re fine. He’s coming back.”

  “You’re clear.” He handed her the tour permit. “Keep your doors locked. There are reports of undesirables in this area, as I’m sure you’ve heard. If someone approaches your vehicle, do not stop. Go to the nearest checkpoint.”

  “Yes, sir.” She engaged the lock button to prove her complacency. “Thank you.”

  Jillian waited until he’d returned to his car before pulling out. She watched the rearview mirror until his vehicle faded from sight. Exhaling, she set the cruise control. If she got to the next checkpoint too soon, they’d bust her for speeding even though she hadn’t been caught on radar. It was hard maintaining the ridiculously low speed, only thirty-five miles per hour, on an empty highway. Occasionally, she saw a car on the other side, but the stations spaced out traffic for maximum safety.

  One more checkpoint, then they hit back roads. That was when the real danger started. Right now, the group in the back of the van slept thanks to keeping them up all night and a low dose of sedatives. Greg and Rachel slept as well, though Greg could come awake within seconds if they got into trouble. With the group so relaxed, Jillian had been able to cover them with a blanket of illusion, in addition to the distortion netting installed in the van. Their life signs should be hidden. She’d given herself extra time to get through all the checkpoints before they awakened, but there were no guarantees.

  Gloria dozed off, giving Jillian a much-needed break from her constant fretting and bitching. Jillian barely knew the woman. She’d extensively screened anyone asking for help in getting their loved ones to safety. But just because they were legit, that didn’t mean Jillian had to be their best friend.

  Bitter. Maybe. But she didn’t have the time or the energy to spend on feel-good relationship building. Letting her reputation speak for her had worked in keeping people at arm’s length.

  Except Matt.

  Her heart cracked a little. Leaving him had been hard. Harder than she’d thought. He’d never once asked her not to go or begged her to come back. It was better this way. Thoughts of him were messing with her head, and she couldn’t allow that. She had to focus.

  A kernel of anger started. How could she have let him get so far under her skin? She’d been a fool. She didn’t want to want him. Her only job was protecting Theo and keeping him safe.

  She stopped at the final checkpoint. Her passenger started that annoying shaking thing again, wringing her hands and almost hyperventilating. Jillian should have insisted Gloria and Rachel switch places, but having a different passenger was risky.

  “Knock it off.” Jillian glared at her. “We’re almost clear. Pretend to be asleep.”

  Gloria nodded, resting her head against the back of the seat and closing her eyes. Jillian grabbed her wrist, putting pressure on her pulse and slowing it along with her breathing. She didn’t have many skills of the healing sort, but she was good at completing illusions. Thankfully.

  Handing over the forged paperwork, Jillian waited, glancing in the rearview mirror to make sure the other officer stayed in the car while their credentials were being checked. This had been too easy so far.

  He handed her the forms, not releasing them when she tried to take them from his hand. “Did you see anyone suspicious on your journey?”

  “No, sir. An occasional car going the opposite way.” She would have met his eyes if she could have seen them. “Anything in particular I should have noticed?”

  “Just the usual. You seem like an upstanding citizen. I trust you would have told me anything you saw. I’m sure you know there’s a killer on the loose, since you’re required to listen to the news at the regulated hour. Be careful, and be sure to complete your paperwork when you arrive at your destination. For your personal safety.”

  Jillian nodded, giving him a flirtatious smile before tucking the paperwork back into the visor as required by law. Upstanding citizen. Ha. For your personal safety, her ass.

  “You have a nice visit now.” He reached as if he was going to touch her arm.

  Jillian moved her limb away without making it seem like she’d anticipated his touch. There was no telling what would happen if he had put his hand on her. Probably nothing, but the rumors said differently. It was not a risk she was willing to take right now.

  As she exited the highway, Gloria opened her eyes. “Did we make it?”

  “Yes.” No thanks to you. “We’re almost there. How are our passengers?”

  Gloria slid her seatbelt off and scooted through the center aisle. Jillian heard shuffling from the back of the van.

  “Still out. We can only hope they’ll sleep for a little while longer. Long enough for us to get onto the back roads.” She buckled her seatbelt and stared out the window as Jillian hit the gas.

  According to their travel documents, Gloria’s daughter lived at the edge of the state forest. They’d actually meet their contact farther into the mountains. Jillian had kept their final destination to herself. Once there, they’d pick up a four-wheel drive and head east for a few hours before turning south. With any luck, they’d be across the border by midnight.

  Theo yelled as she turned into the driveway earlier than expected. Greg shushed him before Gloria could, his soothing voice easing her anxiety. Gloria was really getting on Jillian’s nerves. She not only acted like everyone’s mother, she complained about every detail—Jillian’s lack of regard for the posted speed limit, the temperature outside, the trip ahead, her small bladder—Jillian was ready to stop the van and shove her out.

  Now that they’d arrived, she’d get a short break from her constant company. Jillian stopped the van in a lean-to with three of the four sides already camouflaged. The SUV was beside the van so they could move supplies without being seen. They’d do that in a few minutes. First, they all had to stretch their legs and answer the call of nature.

  She herded the group to the house via a walkway covered with the same material that was over the parking lean-to. Theo bounced as he walked beside her. It was the most active he’d been since they’d watched Olivia burn her family. Jillian wasn’t sure his newfound energy was a good thing. Something simmered under his surface, something darker than Jillian had ever dealt with before. She was afraid to delve into it, but would have to before she left him.

  He stopped, grabbed her hand, and turned into her for a clumsy hug. Maybe she was wrong about the dark simmering thing. She hugged him back, blinking tears away at the thought of leaving him behind. Theo had been her constant companion since the night the patrols had come for her.

  She’d been stupid to go home. It was her fault. If she had gone someplace else, done things differently, their mother would still be alive. Her screams haunted Jillian in the quiet of the night. She’d never forget the sound of her cracking bones and pleas for mercy. Their mom had died, and Jillian and Theo had been taken to an awful place. Theo had never said a word about what happened to him in the short time before Jillian had broken them both out. If the scars on his back were any indication, it hadn’t been good.

  They’d questioned him about her, she knew that much. Hell, they’d asked her so many bizarre questions, she’d started making up stories to delay the pain that came with each new query. None of the things they’d asked her had anything to do with the reason she’d been hiding out at her parents’ home in the first place. Maybe they’d just been trying to break her spirit, but it still didn’t make sense.

  When she’d quit her job as a weapons consultant, meaning she designed and distributed firearms to the patrols after making sure they were deadly accurate and sent the proper message to the public, she’d expected them to “cleanse her mind.” Hell, she’d at least expected them to be highly pissed about the prototypes she’d taken with her and the designs and manufacturing specs she’d destroyed.
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  They’d certainly tortured her like that was the purpose, even if they hadn’t asked her a single question about the weapons. It was like she’d never worked in sector government. And that was one of the things she figured they’d be all over her ass about.

  Hopefully that wouldn’t happen until after she’d taken Theo and the rest of the group to their new home and excellent care they would receive with her aunt. She was going to miss her brother more than she could say. She hoped she’d see him again, but honestly doubted she’d live through the revenge she’d planned for Jenner. Wasn’t Theo being happy enough? Did she even have to extract her pound of flesh? Theo grabbed her hand and tugged her with him toward the house. Jillian didn’t resist, even though being dragged wasn’t high on her list of favorite activities.

  Miller greeted them at the door, smiling as he shook each hand. When Jillian stopped, his smile fled.

  “There’s a lot of shit going down,” he said, motioning for her to follow him to the side of the house.

  “Like what?” Jillian asked once they were out of earshot.

  “They’ve identified you. Your name and description are all over the public stations, though they don’t yet have a photograph of you. They’re saying you’re an accomplice to Olivia Sanders. The highway patrol positively identified you. The only thing you’ve got going is that you lied on the travel documents. They’ll figure it out soon though. You don’t have a lot of time.”

  Jillian nodded. “I’m not surprised.”

  “Do you know Olivia Sanders?” Miller asked.

  “I’ve heard of her, thanks to the news. I thought she died when her house caught fire. Faulty furnace or something?” It wasn’t necessary to give out information.

  “That’s what they thought. Now they say she went nuts after finding out her parents were killed in a car accident.”

  Jillian schooled her expression. How would the authorities have found out about Olivia’s parents dying? Her mother and brother had been alive when she rescued them from Jenner. Her father died on Luke’s property. Could it be a coincidental lie?

  “How much of it do you think is true?” She shrugged.

  “Well, I can tell you there was no car accident. If anyone torched her house, it was the authorities. I’ve never met anyone capable of starting a fire like that. I’m not sure there’s a person who can. You know they’ll say anything. I just don’t know how your name got brought into it.” He studied her. She knew he was waiting for her to spill her guts. Like that was going to happen.

  “I have no idea. Maybe because I wasn’t where I was supposed to be when I was supposed to be there. They’ve been after me for a long time. I ignored the summons to report back to work.” It was a good lie. People had been accused of far more for far less.

  He seemed to accept that since he opened the door and held it for her to enter the house. Theo sat at a huge wooden table with the rest of the group, happily eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She ignored the rush of anxiety at the possibility of him ingesting poison. These people could be trusted, and if not, she had two cases of antidote and an equal number of clean needles in the van.

  She held up her hands to get their attention. “We’re not going to have as much time here as we thought.”

  No one asked why. They all simply nodded and went back to their food. Okay then. She took the plate Gloria handed to her and sat at the table by Theo. After she’d eaten half her sandwich, she realized Gloria was watching her with something similar to expectancy on her face.

  Shit.

  They’d been set up.

  Chapter 12

  Matt kicked the door to Jenner’s compound open, smashing the heel of his hand into the startled guard’s face before he could bring up his arm to ward off the attack. As the guy crumbled to the floor, Matt went to the control panel and typed in the code he’d paid far too much for to loop the camera feed. Luke passed through, stopping against the edge of the building and glancing over. Matt nodded.

  He jammed the communications frequency to repeat a recording of the guards’ chatter over the past several hours and padlocked the door on his way out. Luke pointed to the window on the other side of the door, motioning to go. Matt kept his head low as he made his way across the dirt courtyard. He glanced in the window as a guard passed. Damn. Rookie mistake. Luckily, the guard was so focused, he didn’t see Matt.

  The rest of their volunteers filed to the other side of the building. They were paired into four groups of two, each with a specific mission. Two teams would get the living out and to safety. The other team would document the torture devices, the body pit at the back of the property, and any corpses they found. Hopefully they could smuggle that information to the Midland Sector. Maybe it would finally encourage them to come to aid them. Matt and Luke would try to locate Jenner.

  Shaking his head, Matt ducked and went to the next window. A group of guards were gathered at the intersecting corridors. Though they were standing as if they were casually talking, none of them spoke and their facial expressions were passive. Matt moved on, not willing to take on eight super soldiers by himself. There was no one in the next corridor. He cut the wires to the alarm on the window and motioned for Luke as he slid the bottom pane up.

  His boots hit the floor, the plush carpet muffling the sound. Luke smacked Matt’s back to get him out of the way. He moved to the side, the ornate doors capturing his attention. He’d seen those symbols carved into the wood somewhere before. They were evil symbols of an archaic religion, but he couldn’t remember what they meant.

  Luke went to the doors, running his hand around the edges. He stopped twice to disarm alarms before opening the door. Matt followed him into the empty room. Luke shook his head and looked around as if confused. Matt resisted the urge to telepathically ask him what was wrong. Not only had Luke effectively blocked his attempts since Olivia left, but his abilities had felt dampened since they got here.

  They scanned the walls with eyes and hands, meeting in the center of the wall opposite the doors without finding any panel releases or even an old nail hole. Luke shrugged, turning back toward the fancy double doors.

  Only the doors weren’t there.

  “Fucking funhouse,” Matt said under his breath.

  Luke grinned.

  The dozens of hidden panels they’d failed to find on each wall opened. Guards poured out. All were similarly built, with identical haircuts and similar features. Matt felt like he was in the middle of a commercial to encourage young men to enlist in the sector’s armed forces. He had always been sure they used actors for aesthetic purposes.

  Jenner appeared in the center of the room, a smug smile on his pale face. “Welcome to my home.”

  “This is some welcome,” Matt said.

  “It’s the best I could do on short notice. I didn’t know you were coming.” He gave a half bow.

  “We tried to call. Your line was busy.” Luke shrugged.

  “Always the smartass, aren’t you, Luke? I was content to let you believe you were doing the good work, but you’re bringing hardship to the peace of the sector. I am so close to seeing the people happy and prosperous, but that won’t happen if you continue to feed the public your lies and propaganda. Doesn’t matter anymore, though, because here you are, right in the palm of my hand. How convenient.”

  “Don’t worry. We won’t stay long.” Matt glanced to the side, assessing the weaponry of the guards closest to them.

  “Before you leave, I’d like to ask you a few questions. If you don’t mind.” Jenner took a step closer.

  “Sure. Ask away.” Luke straightened, his hand resting at the small of his back where his pistol was tucked.

  “Where’s Olivia?”

  “I don’t know.” Luke stared him down.

  “You’re lying. Where is she? It is imperative that I find her. The poor girl is ill with what killed her parents. I am the only one who can heal her.” His voice broke.

  “I don’t know. I wouldn’t tell y
ou if I did.”

  “What about the other girl? Jillian and her reject of a brother?” He glared at Matt. “She’s been on the most wanted list for a very long time.”

  “Couldn’t tell you. Don’t know her. What’s she to you anyway?” Matt fingered the knife in his pocket, his hand on the button to release the blade.

  “Now that’s none of your business. Don’t you know better than to ask questions by now? Obviously not, or you wouldn’t have come. I’m a little disappointed in you both. According to your reputations, you’re larger than life. What a lie.”

  Matt and Luke shrugged at the same time.

  “Well, thank you for stopping by. I’m sorry you couldn’t stay. Maybe next time.” He waved his hand as if dismissing them. “Do your work.”

  Matt thought Jenner disappeared into the floor, but he didn’t have time to figure it out since the guards advanced. Whipping the knife out of his pocket, Matt stabbed one of them in the neck, striking a major artery judging by the arc of blood. Ducking, he dropped onto his back and kicked the knees of another guard before driving his blade into his heart. Two down.

  He only hoped the other teams had been able to do their assignments. They could call this a success if they saved even a few of Jenner’s prisoners. Matt pointed when the doors reappeared at the other end of the room. Luke nodded, and they began fighting their way toward them. Who knew what would be waiting on the other side, but it was the only way out.

  Luke dodged a blow and rammed his blade into the guard’s chest, causing the guard to punch one of his own and knock him to the ground. All of this happened just as another guard approached and stepped on the fallen guard’s face. None of the guards seemed to notice or care that they were destroying themselves. Matt and Luke used to their advantage, grabbing random men and using them for shields. Less than half the guards remained when they finally reached the doors. Matt could barely see out of his left eye, and his right wrist had to be broken.

  Matt kicked open the door, closing it tight when Luke stepped through. He jammed the mechanism, hoping it held long enough for them to get into the woods. They stopped at the same window they’d entered through. No one was outside, but that didn’t mean anything. Luke went through first with Matt following quickly behind. They were feet away from the gate when more guards appeared.