“No, I do not. And like I said, she’s your female, that’s between the two of you.”
“Glad you agree,” Lethal said.
“When do we plan to head out?” Grudge asked.
“Two days. We think it would be best to arrive right in the middle of the day. You go in before dawn, they expect trouble to be at the door, and they’re on guard. You go in during the day, you could be anybody, even the postman or delivery driver, and they’re less on guard,” Roscoe said.
“Ballsy. I like it,” Savage said.
“Anything else?” Lethal asked.
“No, I’ve given you everything I have to date,” Roscoe answered. “You want to add anything, Grudge?”
“Yeah,” he stood facing not only his own squad but the other two squads in the room. “Ya’ll lived under these guards. What can you tell us about them?”
Lethal’s squad started picking apart the guards still showing on the presentation on the white board and voicing all they each knew about them. They each gave their own impressions of the personality of the men.
Once they were done, Lethal asked his own question. “None of us remembers the third man. He can’t have been a guard, and if he was, he wasn’t anywhere near us. Are you sure he’s listed as security?”
“That’s what his online payroll records show. Everything filed with the state indicates he was listed as security,” Roscoe explained.
“Nina, where do you think you may have seen him?” Lethal asked.
“I’m not sure. We had different guards than you did during the day, but he wasn’t one of them. But, I was called into Waller’s office one morning after Lethal decided I was his. I’m thinking I may have seen him there,” she said, but it sounded more like a question.
“Assuming he’s the man you remember, what was he doing in Waller’s office?” Valor asked.
“It wasn’t a regular office. It was a room with walls of television screens or monitors in them, and he sat at a desk and worked on a computer the entire time. The doctor told me that I’d be killed if I didn’t comply with Lethal’s wish to belong only to him, I’d be taken out and shot. He said that I’d be watched all the time, every moment of every day and he’d know if I didn’t submit to his every wish, and he indicated the walls of monitors. If this is the same man, he had him bring up different views on the monitors and show me that every inch of the building was being watched via closed circuit TV.”
Valor grinned. “If you’re right, this could be one of his IT guys. And if so, I’m betting in the interest of security, he’s the only one. He could be worth so much more than any of the guards.”
“How so?” Savage asked.
“No IT guy creates a system without a backup of it, and ways to get into the back door if they ever need it due to a crash or system failure. If Waller continues to use the same programming, it’s possible that this guy may know where he is. At the very least, he’d have access to information no one else did. Even if he doesn’t have it anymore, he did at one time. He’ll remember more information than any guard could offer from their experiences of only walking the halls and keeping us inside,” Valor explained.
“We’ll take that one,” Lethal announced.
Chapter 53
After the presentation and question and answer time, Roscoe watched as the members of the three squads all made their way out of his office, most of them deep in conversation and planning. Though they’d be hitting three separate locations at once, they all felt the need to go over anything that had occurred to them before they called the meeting successful. Lethal, Grudge, and Savage were standing and discussing the possibilities when Roscoe approached Nina who was standing beside the rest of Lethal's squad.
“Do you think you might have a minute sometime today to go over a few questions Shauna has?” Roscoe asked.
“Of course. I’ll go see if I can help her right now,” Nina answered. She walked toward her old office and made sure as she pulled the door open to go inside, that she made eye contact with Lethal. Once she was sure he was watching, she turned her attention to Shauna and entered the office.
“Hey. I hear you could use a few answers,” Nina said, smiling warmly at Shauna.
“Yes! Quarterlies, for payroll taxes. Can you look them over to be sure I completed them properly? I don’t want to get us a fine or penalty if I did them wrong,” Shauna explained.
“Sure,” Nina answered, taking a seat in the chair for visitors. “Show me what you've got.”
About ten minutes later, Nina turned at the sound of a tap on the glass wall behind her. She found Lethal with his knuckles prepared to tap on the wall again. He pointed toward the table at the end of the cafeteria where he and his squad always sat, letting her know he was heading over to it. Nina nodded. “I’ll be along in a little while,” she said.
Lethal nodded once and walked away.
“He’s hot, but he’s very freaking scary,” Shauna said. “But come to think of it, you’re very freaking scary, too. So, you know, great match!” she said, smiling brightly.
Nina looked at Shauna holding her smile longer than needed and burst into laughter. “I guess we could be considered scary, but I don’t see it anymore. I did once, but not anymore.”
“You look better than I’ve seen you look. You look relaxed, confident. I want that one day,” Shauna said.
“You want to be an assassin?” Nina asked.
Shauna shook her head. “Oh, no! I’d just like to feel safe again, comfortable in my own skin. I just want something simple — someone to love, and to love me in return.”
“No family to go back to?” Nina asked.
“Not really. My parents had me late in life and they’re gone now. I have cousins, but, they probably haven’t even noticed I’m missing, and I’m sure my job has replaced me. Besides, I’m not sure I could even relate to the average people out there anymore. Those that plan to stay here have lived the same things I have. I’d rather be where others understand where I’m coming from,” Shauna said.
“I can absolutely understand that,” Nina said.
“So, the quarterlies are good?” Shauna asked, returning the conversation to her original questions.
“They are. You’ve done well.”
The door opened and Roscoe walked in. “Hey,” he said, smiling at both women. “You get your answers?” he asked Shauna.
“I did,” she answered happily.
“She had it all done the right way,” Nina said. “She’s an expert already.”
“Good,” Roscoe answered, before turning his undivided attention to Nina. “You know I’m not okay with you going out on this mission, right?” he asked.
Nina started to reply, but Roscoe rushed to interrupt the outburst he was sure would follow his comment. “It’s not that I don’t think you can perform properly. I have no doubt that you can, but when I look at you, I still see the scared female that Acker brought back to us. It’s hard to accept all that you’ve achieved, Nina. I’m proud of you, I am. I just still see the woman I first met. And I miss you. We were friends,” he said sincerely.
Nina deflated from the curses she was about to rain down on Roscoe. “I know. And we are friends. I just… I had to step away. I was so angry when I found out that you hid Lethal and his squad from me, while I actively discussed them with you, that I had to shut down for a while. Then when I lost Acker,” she said, shrugging and her entire demeanor changing, “I couldn’t allow myself to feel anything, or I’d have been beyond saving. I had literally given up. I’d have lain there and died if Lethal hadn’t offered to make me like him.”
“You wanted to be an assassin?” he asked.
“I wanted to be cold, unfeeling, uncaring and completely detached,” Nina said. “And I wanted to kill everyone that had caused me to be in this circumstance and caused Acker to have died trying to save as many as he could.”
“Well, that is a pretty accurate description of Lethal,” Roscoe agreed.
Nina smil
ed. “Only it’s not — at least not with me. He carries that persona around to keep the world at bay, but he’s not really that cold. He’s defensive. He’s angry. He refuses to play games of any type, but he’s not heartless. He was hurting, and I was a lot of his pain, but he still put me first because he thought I was happy. And I was to an extent. Acker helped me survive, he helped me rebuild myself to a certain point, but the rest of my survival depended on Lethal. And that’s the part you never understood. I think that’s the reason that I never fully opened up to Acker. I wasn’t ready to take that next step. But I’m really glad that I did now. I have some people who have karma coming their way, and I’m going to be the harbinger, just like Lethal said. A few missions with them to learn the ropes and make sure that Lethal believes I’m ready, and then I’ll be paying some unsuspecting individuals a personal visit. Just saying that I’m glad I’m free now, isn’t enough for me.”
“It’s no secret to you that I wanted things to be different, and I’ll probably always be protective over you, but I’m glad you found your place. And if Lethal is what you want, what you need, I’m glad you two found each other. I can’t say anything against him, he did step back when he saw you with Acker. Not many males of his caliber would have done the same, they’d have rushed in and taken what they saw as theirs.”
Nina nodded. “He’s a very good male. He just doesn’t want most people to see it.”
“You do though,” Roscoe said.
“I do. Most of me always did, but it took facing my own issues to realize I was blaming him for things that weren’t his fault.” Nina smiled to herself as though she was seeing something in her mind’s eye. “When we’re alone, he’s a very different person.”
“Then all that’s left is this one thing,” Roscoe said.
Nina looked at him expectantly.
“Am I forgiven? I was wrong for not being honest with you, but I was truly only trying to protect you. I felt protective over you then, and I still do now,” Roscoe said.
“You’re forgiven,” Nina said.
Roscoe smiled at Nina. “Be safe out there, huh?” he asked.
“Always,” Nina answered.
“There’s always a place for you if you tire of that life,” Roscoe ventured.
“It’s who I am now,” Nina said. “We each have to find a way to deal with the ocean of emotions and scars we carry inside. I’ve turned them into a drive for vengeance. It’s who I am. I’m proud to be who I am, proud to have achieved what I have, and proud to have my male beside me.”
“Good for you, Nina,” Roscoe said sincerely, before walking into his own office and taking a seat. He pretended he was working on his computer, but he was really just trying to compose himself. He still had a secret he’d held back from Nina. He didn’t want to hurt her any further, but he wanted to be completely honest. He glanced up at her, then got to his feet and walked back into Shauna’s office. “Can I talk to you for a minute?” he asked.
“What about?” Nina asked, knowing that though Lethal was still speaking with Grudge and Savage, he was no doubt watching her as well.
Roscoe’s eyes flicked toward the cafeteria then Nina again. “I want to be totally honest. But I was thinking you might rather it be in private.”
Nina smiled. “I’d like the total honesty, but, I’m the only living creature that has no reason to fear Lethal’s wrath when he’s angry. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you if I were to be with you privately. He already thinks you show way too much interest in me.”
“Fair enough,” he said. Roscoe looked down at his hands, then up at her again. “Acker wasn’t on a rescue mission the night he went down,” he said.
Nina sat calmly and smiled sadly at Roscoe. “I know.”
“You do?” Roscoe asked.
“I do. Lethal told me everything. It hurt at first, but I’ll take care of the last mission he left unfinished. I love that he tried to handle it for me, but I’m happy that I get to deliver that justice myself.”
“That’s the only thing I had left to come clean on,” Roscoe said.
“So, fresh start?” Nina asked, getting to her feet and walking toward him.
“I’d like that,” he answered, surprised that her walking toward him made him a bit nervous, realizing that he saw her as dangerous now.
Nina hugged him quickly, then retook her seat across from Shauna.
“I won’t keep ya’ll any longer. I’ll see you soon, Nina,” Roscoe said.
Roscoe walked back into his office and sat down at his computer to actually start working this time. He glanced up at the sound of Nina’s laughter as she spoke with Shauna. He smiled watching her, she was truly happy now, he could see the difference in her smile. There was no hesitance in her or her mannerisms. She was sure of herself and her place in her world. He smiled to himself again and turned on his computer, finding the fact that she was truly happy enough for him.
<<<<<<<>>>>>>>
It was 2:00 P.M. when Nina strolled up the walkway to the front door of the house they’d been watching for hours. Lethal, Nina and all their team had been lying in wait for the man who lived inside to exit the house so they could take him into custody without incident. But it didn’t seem like he was coming out, so Nina volunteered to approach the house and knock on the door.
Lethal and Scorn moved silently into place at both corners of the front of the house so they could assist her quickly if needed. She watched them from the corner of her eye as she approached the door, not wanting to give away the fact that someone was there with her if she was being watched.
Nina knocked on the door, then turned her back to the door so if by chance the man inside recognized her, he wouldn’t do so before he’d already opened the door to her. Nina heard kids inside and a man’s voice call out. “I’ll get it.”
Nina waited until she could hear the locks on the front door being unlocked and the sound of the front door being opended before she slowly turned around to face the man at the same time she reached inside her jacket and pulled her Bursa 380 from its holster.
“Can I help you?” he asked before she was fully turned around.
Nina held the gun at her hip, pointed at him discreetly, while she raised her face to look him in the eye. “You can close the door and come quietly with me, so that no one else in the house gets injured.”
The man wore a confused expression before she knew a flicker of recognition passed through his brain. Once he realized where he knew her from, his eyes widened, then became panicked when he noticed the gun.
Lethal and Scorn stepped into position beside her and she thought for a moment he was going to pee on himself. Then his kids came charging up the hallway behind him. “Daddy! Who is it, Daddy?!” they chanted as they came right up behind him, barefoot and smiling.
The man took a step backwards, and his hand tensed on the door.
Nina raised her gun and pointed it at his head. “Please give me a reason. Please,” she begged.
The man took his hand off the door and took a step to put himself back where he’d been.
“Make them go back inside. We’re only here for you, unless you make it about them, too,” Nina ordered.
The man’s face had gone sheet white and he was clearly terrified as his eyes bounced from Nina, to Lethal and Scorn. He didn’t look away from the people standing at his front door. “Go back inside with Mommy,” he said to the kids.
“Who is it, Daddy?” the little girl asked. She couldn’t have been more than five years old and was the older of the two children.
“Just go inside. Now!” he yelled. The children ran back toward the rest of the house and the younger child was tuning up to cry.
“David?” a woman’s voice called out in response to him yelling at the kids.
“Just go back in the kitchen!” he shouted, stepping out onto the porch and closing the door behind himself. He looked from Lethal to Nina and Scorn once more before taking a deep breath. “Just don’t hurt them, please.
They know nothing about what I did.”
“Get in the SUV,” Lethal ordered, waving David toward the waiting vehicle with the barrel of his weapon. As quickly as he could, David hurried toward the vehicle with his visitors on his heels. Feral, who was waiting beside the vehicle, opened the door, and David got inside without hesitation, moving to the middle of the seat where Steel sat on the other end waiting for him. Feral slid in beside him, Nina got in the front seat beside Valor who was driving, and Lethal and Scorn got in the back. All in all it was an uneventful mission.
As they drove away, Nina glanced back at David and watched as his eyes reflected his fear. She saw David’s wife run out into the street to try to figure out what was happening.
“Want to turn around and get one last look? It’s more than any of us ever got,” Nina snapped.
David met her gaze and just barely shook his head.
Chapter 54
That Thursday was a busy day at Alliance. All three teams sent out to take their targets into custody were successful. They all returned within a couple of hours of each other. The news had spread through Alliance that morning about who the three teams had gone after as Brutal’s security forces prepared to house the incoming prisoners in the new jail.
As each helicopter landed with the SOT team and their prisoner, many of the Variant males lined the path the team would take to walk their prisoner under armed guard to the jail where they’d be imprisoned. The sight of so many obviously Variant males caused the SOT team to smirk, and the former guards they’d taken into custody to just about cross the line into hysterics — one of them quite literally.
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