by Matt Ryan
“Are you kidding? His girlfriend is Samantha, and she hangs all over his nuts like a squirrel getting ready for winter. Makes me ill.” Gladius rolled her eyes.
“Samantha?” Hank asked.
“Yeah, they are like boyfriend-girlfriend.” She made a rude gesture with her fingers.
“Marcus rarely takes on a girlfriend; if he does, it’s only for another reason.”
“So now we are thinking this Zach guy is Marcus?” Hank asked.
“It doesn’t matter. Whoever he is, we need to stop him and warn the rest. Marcus is the type of person who will go to great lengths and spend a lot of time driving his point home to an opponent.”
“That should be easy, as the rest of the six are right outside,” Gladius said. “We just had an encounter with them. Joey freaking shot Zach. It was awesome.” She laughed.
“The rest are here?” Harris asked.
“Yeah, they should still be out there.”
“We need to get to them.”
“No offense, but you look terrible. Can you even walk?” Gladius said.
Harris took a step and closed his swollen eyes, before making his way toward the door. Favoring one leg, he stopped and stabbed his finger at the screen on the wall in frustration. After a minute of messing with the screen, he took a step back. “I can’t get through it.”
“I bet Julie can get down here.” Gladius pulled out what looked like a dice.
“You brought a ping?” Harris said and moved closer.
“Yes, if you know her Panavice ID, we can send her a text.”
“I do know it.” Harris took the dice in his hand and pressed his finger on it. It unfolded into a screen the size of a playing card.
Hank shook his head as he looked on. He was always amazed by the technology they used.
“Tell her about the door under the stairs. Tell her the password above is ‘I am the savior,’” Gladius said.
“What an arrogant. . . .” Harris mumbled the rest under his breath as he typed into the screen. “Okay, sent it. Maybe she will have better luck getting through this door.”
“Let’s hope she does it quickly. I have a feeling that dirt bag will be back soon. I bet he finishes up with Samantha in a hurry.”
JOEY WATCHED JULIE GLARE AT her screen with unblinking eyes. They’d formed a small circle around her at the bottom of the stairs inside the ZRB headquarters.
“Holy crap, Harris and Gladius are down there with him too. They gave me the password to the door.” Julie had gotten past all the other security protocols, but the password on the floor door had blocked her.
“Let’s bust this door down then,” Lucas said.
Julie slid her hand across the screen on the floor and said, “I am your savior.” The door opened, revealing a staircase.
Joey rushed down, wanting to get to Hank and Harris. Another steel door stood in their way.
Julie walked up and smiled. “This one’s easy.”
Soon, the door slid open and Hank rushed out. The big guy looked weary and his wrists were raw and red. Joey paused for a second when he saw Harris. The man looked like he’d been severely beaten with much of his face black from bruising; not to mention the swelling, which made him almost unrecognizable.
“Hank!” Lucas yelled and jumped into his arms.
“So good to see you guys.” Hank took turns hugging everyone.
It felt good to have the big guy back in the mix. It lessened the sting from Samantha a smidgen, but it still weighed on Joey’s mind more than anything else. He didn’t see a way to convince her anymore.
“Are those tears?” Lucas pointed to Hank’s face. “Are you crying?”
“No, there is just a lot of dust down here,” Hank said, wiping his eyes.
“Dude, there is no dust down here.” Lucas laughed. He wrapped his arms around him in a man hug and then moved to Harris. “Dear God, what the hell happened to you? Did you walk down a flight of stairs with your face?”
“Gladius,” Julie squealed and ran up to her. They hugged and Joey thought he saw Gladius tearing up as well. “Why in the world are you here?”
She looked at the floor and stuffed her hands in her pocket. “I just thought I could help you guys.”
“Ah, you are the sweetest thing,” Poly said. “Thank you so much for coming to help us.”
“Should we be talking in here?” Gladius asked, touching her face.
“I’ve scanned it. It’s clear. Who did that to your face?” Julie asked.
Gladius brushed back a strand of her hair, revealing a red mark. “That bastard, Zach. But I found the serum he made, he put something in it.”
“We know, your dad helped us find the nanobot,” Julie said.
“I bet he’s going to hold the whole world hostage with it,” Lucas said. “I’m so glad we took the clean cure from Vanar.” He stared at Harris again. “Dude, for real, what the hell happened to you? You look about as bad as Hank does on a good day.”
Harris’s swollen mouth crept back in a grin. “I was gang banged by a bunch of Arracks.”
Lucas’s mouth hung open for a second. “Wait, what does that mean on Vanar?”
“When a gang beats the crap out of you.”
Lucas sighed in relief. “My God, man. Don’t use that phrase here ever again. It means something much worse.”
Harris laughed and smirked. “Got you.”
“You sly bastard, you are not allowed to make jokes. You had me going for a second there.”
“But really, a bunch of Arracks beat the crap out of me,” Harris said.
“Yeah, they lined up like kids at an amusement park to get their hits in,” Hank explained.
“It’s for what you did to them, isn’t? For attempting genocide and killing their planet?” Julie asked.
“Yes.”
“Then you deserved it,” she shot the words at Harris.
“I do and so much more.”
Joey stepped between the two. “We need to work together if we have any chance of stopping Marcus. He has Samantha wrapped up in some kind of brainwashing.”
“Love,” Gladius corrected.
Joey felt like she punched him. Love? The word didn’t fit. It had to mean something different on Vanar. “You’re wrong, she doesn’t love him. He must be slipping her drugs.” He grasped for any logical reason to explain the path she’d taken. Poly squirmed by his side.
Gladius chuckled and shook her head. “I know what it looks like. The way you look at Poly.” She pointed at Poly. “Samantha looks at Zach like that, but maybe with even more passion. I’m pretty sure they are back at his house right now. Your little show outside gave her every reason to fall completely on board with the scumbag.”
He wouldn’t let the thought sink in. Slamming his eyes shut, Joey thought of something he could control. “We are going to have to kill him.”
“He’s got his shield back up, I tried to kill him,” Gladius said. “Not before I stuck him with my wooden knife. My dad told me their shield might not block slow moving wood.”
“Good, there is a way to get past it then.” Joey felt some relief. “We just need to get to his house and stop him once and for all.”
“Don’t you get it?” Julie said. “We’ve been one step behind this whole time. Or even worse, we’re doing exactly what he wants while he laughs. I’m done following his crumb trail.”
“Here, here,” Lucas wrapped her up in a hug, but she pushed him away.
“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Harris said. “We can’t continue to chase anymore. I say we do something he won’t be expecting.”
“What, give up?” Gladius asked and rolled her eyes.
“Yes,” Poly said. Some of them protested but she shushed them. “We don’t give up on stopping Zach, but we give up on Samantha. He is expecting us to try and get her back at all costs, but I say we use her love for Zach against them. It would definitely be unexpected.”
“And let’s not forget about his digit
al freak of a mother.” Lucas crossed his arms and looked up. Somewhere above them rested Renee.
“Yes, I’ve been thinking on that since the moment she contacted us,” Julie said.
“Well, this plan might take care of both problems,” Poly said as she laid out a plan.
They laid out their plan, and while Joey didn’t like the danger it put Samantha in, he agreed, it was their best shot at ending it all. It involved making a trip to Vanar and splitting up the five people he cared for deeply. But if it worked, they’d have their planet back and hopefully, in time, they’d get Samantha to understand what they had to do.
SAMANTHA COULDN’T KEEP HER MOUTH off Zach for the whole ride to his house. She explored his body with unabashed excitement as he returned her affections with fervor.
Their first time had seemed rushed; almost reserved and uncomfortable. But that was then. Now, she threw away her inhibitions and let her man carry her from the helicopter pad with her legs wrapped tightly around his body.
Zach pushed their bedroom door open and slammed her against the bed. He took off his tie clip and slid it on the lamp shade, then had his shirt off in a second. She reeled from seeing only a red spot from where the bullet had hit his shoulder. Another red line crossed his stomach and she meant to ask him about it, but he crawled on the bed, hungry for her. She sat up and inspected his wound, even ran her finger over its smooth remnants.
He took her hand in his, noticing her curious expression. “I have the best doctor in the world.”
“I guess so. It’s truly amazing. I haven’t seen this kind of healing since. . . .” She trailed off. The man wouldn’t have a clue where or what Vanar was. How was she ever going to explain her past to him? She didn’t want to keep any secrets. She could tell him tomorrow or the next day.
Zach reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He slid his finger across the screen and the lights in the room went out. “Now you don’t have to look at it.”
“I don’t mind, I like seeing you.”
“You do,” he smiled. “You know, in time, when we’ve saved the world, there will be a time for us.”
“I know.” Samantha’s thoughts ran wild with having Zach to herself, no worldwide trips or endless meetings. “I love you.” It slipped out and she covered her mouth.
He stopped moving and she wondered if she had said it too soon, maybe he didn’t feel the same way. A feeling of inadequacy crashed over her.
Zach smiled and then whispered in her ear, “I’ve been waiting for you to say that.”
It wasn’t the response she wanted, but he started kissing her on the neck, shutting any thoughts from her mind.
SAMANTHA GLANCED BACK AT ZACH, getting his underwear back on. She resisted the urge to throw him on the bed and take him again. She wanted more.
Her phone dinged. She pulled it from her pants on the bathroom floor and looked at the blinking light. No one knew her number. It was a text message.
Unknown: This is Julie. I miss you so much, please just give me another chance. I only want you to be happy. I had no idea Joey was going to go all crazy like that. I think his slow-mo crap scrambled his brain.
Samantha grimaced at the message. She wanted to throw her phone in the toilet because she didn’t want to be pulled back into her old life. She never wanted to think about anything else but her and Zach and their future together. She hated thinking of Joey as damaged from what he’d done. He’d saved them all from the Arrack world. He’d saved her from the scene generator. Those were facts she couldn’t escape. As much as she wanted to hate him, she couldn’t get all the way there.
Samantha: I miss you too, but I have a new life now. I don’t want to deal with all the crap back home. Please, just leave me alone.
Unknown: I need something from you.
Samantha: ?
Unknown: We are going to the San Fran factory right now. Can you get us the entry code?
Samantha: Absolutely NOT. Are you serious? Haven’t you done enough? Go away.
She pressed send and turned it off. Julie infuriated her. She couldn’t believe she actually asked for codes to a factory. Like she would ever let them sabotage her company. She stared at her phone’s blank screen, thinking of turning it back on and telling Julie off some more.
Oh God, she felt tears swelling in her eyes. She didn’t like to have these mean thoughts about Julie. Sliding her thumb to the power button, a hand rubbed against her shoulder. She jumped and yelped. “Jesus, you scared me.”
“I’m sorry, baby.” He pulled at her loose shirt, bringing her body firmly against his. “Who are you texting?”
“Oh, just Julie, she was trying to convince me to come home again.” She hated lying to him. The voice in her head screamed to tell him they were trying to break into a factory of theirs.
“She’s a good friend?”
“She was, they all were. By the way, I’m so sorry Joey shot you. Man, that sounds terrible. I mean, he shot you.”
“It’s okay. They are trying to protect you. They think I’m this Marcus guy. He must be all kinds of bad for you guys to hate him so much.”
“You have no idea.” Samantha sighed. She wanted to tell him their history, but not just yet. “I’ll make sure they never shoot you again.”
He laughed. “Anytime you want to visit with them, let me know and we can get you a ride straight there—alone of course.”
She wrapped her arms over his shoulders and moved close to his face. “I don’t want to be anywhere but here, with you.” She kissed him softly.
“You can stay, but we do have some business pending back at headquarters.”
“Oh no, already?”
“Yeah.”
“Can’t it wait?” She looked at the bed and wanted more of him.
Looking amused, he grabbed her hands and held them. “I want you to come with me. I have something I want to show you.”
“I’m invited on one of Zach Ryan Baker’s trips?” She looked more shocked than she felt.
“Oh come on, we’ll be spending plenty of time together. But I really want you to see something at headquarters. Something I’ve been planning on showing you for a long time.”
Her interest peaked and her imagination ran wild. “If you put it like that, how can I say no? Let me get dressed.”
“DON’T LET ME FALL.” SAMANTHA hated surprises, but she kept the blindfold. She hadn’t even known that headquarters had a basement.
“Last door’s up here.”
She reached the level surface of the floor and let him guide her. She instinctively held her hand out. Another door opened and a light breeze brushed past her. Zach dropped her arm and stomped away from her. “Zach?” She heard him in the distance, grunting in what she thought was frustration. “Everything okay?”
“Just take the damned blindfold off.”
She pulled it free from her face, thinking she might see a car, a plane, maybe even a ring; anything but the large warehouse in front of her. Only a few chains dangled from the ceiling in an otherwise empty warehouse. She didn’t get it and expressed her confusion to Zach.
“It’s gone.” He seemed mad, madder than she’d ever seen him.
“What’s gone?”
He stormed past her and back to the staircase. “Where was Julie when she texted you?”
“I don’t know. How did you even know she—”
Zach grabbed her arm and pulled her cell phone from her pocket.
“You’re hurting me.” She’d never seen this side of him and it was freaking her out. His face contorted with anger. Something very bad had happened.
He turned it on and scrolled through the screens. “The San Fran factory? Does this sound like ‘I don’t know’ to you?” He pressed the phone toward her face.
“They just wanted the codes and you can see right there I told them no way.”
“How did they even get this number? It’s completely off grid. The only way is if you gave them the number.” He threw the pho
ne against the floor. It shattered into many pieces and clattered across the concrete floor.
“I didn’t give them anything. She must have just hacked into the system. She’s very good at that sort of thing.”
“Really? Is she very good?” He mocked her. Pacing, he held his hand to his ear. “I know, I know.”
“Why are you acting like this?” She started sobbing.
Zach didn’t look up and kept pacing. “Fine.” He lowered his hand from his ear and adjusted his tie clip.
“You’re scaring me.”
Zach closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and looked at the ceiling. “I’m sorry. I thought I’d have a large part of my plan for you completed, but now it’s gone and I have to wait longer.” Some of the sweet came back into his voice and his face was all smiles as he edged closer to her. The speed in which he switched emotions was startling.
She wiped her nose and stared at him with caution. “Just don’t get all scary like that again, okay?”
“I’m so sorry. I just really wanted to give you this surprise, and someone must have stolen it from us.”
“What was it?”
“And spoil the surprise? I think not. But don’t worry, you’ll find out soon enough. Now, why don’t we take a trip to the factory, just to make sure your friends don’t get into trouble?”
The thought of finding her friends there terrified her. What if they wanted to kill Zach again? Or maybe he’d hurt them? The idea of anybody getting hurt over her made her ill. “Why don’t we just go back to the house? You can show me this present some other time.”
“Oh no, this can’t wait. Your friends may have stolen it and perhaps we can get it back.”
“I don’t want you hurting them.”
“I won’t touch them, you have my word.”
She nodded her head and he smiled. Holding out his arm, he escorted her from the vacant warehouse. She glanced back. What present could he have possibly been storing under headquarters?
“HOW MUCH LONGER?” SAMANTHA ASKED, more anxious than she wanted to.
