by Maddie Wade
“When? What is the timeline?”
“Rhea is planning the attack for the thirty-first of October. She likes the symbolism of it.”
“Because of the undead?”
“No, because it’s the day the Divine Watchers were formed.”
Smithy needed more information if they were going to stop this before it was too late
“What about an oil rig?”
“Yes, if she can get the drug air born and activate the soldiers, then her plan would work.”
Smithy stood and moved quickly to the door.
“What happens to me now?”
“Now you go to prison for a long time.” Smithy no longer felt any sympathy for the man. Yes, he’d been duped, but he’d also been blind to the evil he was unleashing at best, and at worst, caught up in the power his experiments gave him.
He turned as a flash of memory hit him of this man poking at Liz when she was injured to see if he could get a pain response, and the joy it gave him to see someone in pain and know he was the only person who could stop it. “I remember you now.”
Smithy smiled as he casually walked back to the man who looked up happily, thinking he was about to get out of there. Quicker than lightning, he struck, punching the man until he ended up on his back, screaming as blood poured down his pathetic face. Smithy knelt over him as he tried to stave off another attack. “Doesn’t feel so good to be at someone else’s mercy, does it?”
He stood then and walked away, knowing Liz would probably forgive him for his violent outburst this time. He wasn’t worth his time, not now anyway. They needed to figure out which oil rig Rhea was going to use before it was too late.
Zin stepped out into the hallway, and they exchanged a look. “I called Daniel and Zack. The team is going to be here shortly. Dane thinks he has a lock on the location of the rig she’s going to use.”
Chapter 22
Liz was fixing her son some lunch when Ty walked in the kitchen. She could tell immediately by his expression he was angry about something but fought back the desire to ask in front of Mateo.
“Hey, Smithy, I figured out your problem for you.”
Ty smoothed out his features and gave her a wink as he switched direction and walked over to her son. Pulling out the chair opposite, he sat down and patiently waited while Mateo explained even as she saw every muscle was tight from the control he was executing over himself.
Handing Mateo the sandwich, she placed a hand on Ty’s arm. “Can I have a word?” Ty nodded and followed her out, closing the door behind him. “What happened?”
“One of the scientists gave us some information, but it looks like we’re on a real short timeline now. The deadline is on the thirty-first of October.”
“What? That’s only three days away.”
“I know.” Ty said as he placed his hands on her hips and pulled her towards him. She laid her head on his chest as he kissed the top of her head. “I hate to ask after I brought him here, but can you get Lauren to pick Mateo up? We have loads to do, and it might get heated as we try and figure it all out.”
“Yes, of course, let me call her now.” Liz was glad he wasn’t asking her to leave because she would’ve put her foot down with that one.
Twenty minutes later, she was waving her son off with Lauren and the twins. Her son had been excited to go with his cousins, especially as Noah was going to be there too and the boys had a healthy competition for Xbox and Minecraft.
The rest of the team were assembled in the conference room, and she felt a bubble of laughter at the thought that perhaps they were the real avengers, then realised it was probably a little hysteria setting in.
She walked in, and Ty turned to her, pulling out a chair beside him with a smile. She made her way over and sat, waiting to see what the plan was.
“Smithy, would you like to tell us about your conversation with Dr Steiner.”
Zack looked tired, she thought, but as she looked around the room casting Meg a smile as she did, she realised they all looked exhausted.
“Steiner says the mind control is definitely in the implant and she will activate using microwaves at 450HMz and that will allow her to control them. It looks like the control is because they become submissive, almost zombie-like, and open to persuasion.”
“Does he know where the access point is or the mainframe?” Will was already typing on his laptop, his fingers flying faster than she could see.
“No, just that he believes she will keep it close.”
Zack looked grim. “What else?”
“The annihilation drug uses the proteins in the DNA of the person with abilities and binds to them. If the person has no abilities it treats them like a virus and overwhelms the immune response, killing them.”
“We can’t let that drug get out into the world, millions could die,” Meg stated worriedly.
Liz smiled sadly as Daniel took her hand. They all had family members without known abilities. Many of the kids hadn’t shown signs of any yet, which alone meant nothing, as a lot would manifest later in life, but as parents it wasn’t a risk they would tolerate.
“No, which is why we have to stop her. She’s going after the oil wells, so I checked all the ones that supply the UK. The main supply chain is from Norway and the North Sea, but we checked those and found not a hint that she might be heading there.” Dane crushed his hand through his hair, making it stand up all over the shop. “That got me thinking. She has a lot of Russian contacts and the second biggest supplier of crude oil is Russia. My money is on the fact she’ll go after the Russian pipeline and put the drug in there. When the fuel converts into a gas as exhaust fumes, it’s airborne.”
“Why go after the second-biggest supplier of oil? It makes no sense.” Jace was seated next to Lucy who had Harlow strapped to her chest. He looked terrified at the prospect of anything happening to his girls.
She felt a hand on her thigh and turned to look at Ty, who left his hand palm up. She wasn’t sure if he was offering comfort or seeking it, and she didn’t care, she linked their fingers and instantly felt more settled.
“She’ll blow the Norwegian pipelines and force the Russian demand higher. Will, see if there’s a connection between Rhea and Dominic Moore, or at least someone in his team.”
“The Minister for State?” Liz asked with a frown.
“Yes, he’ll be in charge of sourcing an alternate crude oil supply, so it makes sense for her to have him in her pocket and we always thought she had someone in government.”
“Okay. Dominic Moore looks pretty clean on the face of it, but oh lookie here, someone has secrets. He has a mistress and a secret love child, and guess who the mistress is linked too?”
“The Divine Watchers!”
“Yes, let me check something.” Will typed furiously as everyone seemed to hold their collective breath. “Yes, here it is, footage of him meeting with the Queen Bitch herself.”
Nate quirked an eyebrow. “Wow, that was quick.”
“Not really, the image is amongst her files. She would’ve been holding it over him.”
“That’s the one thing I can’t figure out. Why would she leave all that stuff for us to find?”
“I think she got cocky. Those files were protected with layers and layers of encryption, and she probably doesn’t realise what a god I am in this arena, among others.” Will waggled his eyebrows at Aubrey who rolled her eyes. The joke lightened the tension in the room perfectly, causing a few groans and some laughter. It was what they needed to keep perspective.
“So, boss, what’s the plan?” Kanan looked to Zack, who in turn looked at Smithy.
“How sure are you that this is her plan because we don’t have time for second chances here?”
It was so much pressure on Ty, and Lizzie worried he’d feel the strain of it on his shoulders and buckle, but he seemed to grow in confidence. Maybe that was what he’d needed all along, someone to treat him as if he wasn’t broken, rather than tiptoeing around him.
“I’m confident that it’s her play. She’ll send her people to Norway, and she’ll head to Russia and put the plan in motion herself.”
“What makes you so sure?” Zack was really pushing him now, and Liz felt the words on the tip of her tongue to tell Zack to back off.
“Because it’s what I’d do.”
“I agree with Smithy. This is her play,” Meg said, causing everyone to look her way.
Zack looked between them and then nodded. “Good enough for me. We need to split the team. Some will go to Norway and a small team will head to Russia. Roz, can your girls guard the families or would you prefer Norway?”
“I’d prefer Russia since I speak the language and all.” Liz saw Kanan place a hand on her leg before they exchanged a look. “But seeing as my husbutt is going all alpha protective, we’ll stay here and protect the families.”
K leaned in close and whispered something in her ear, and she said something back in Russian, which Zin obviously heard by the smirk on his face.
“Fine, perfect. Zin, are you up for a trip to the homeland?”
Zin inclined his head. “If I must.”
“I need to go, so I’m close to the computer she’s using,” Will said as worry crossed Aubrey’s face.
“I’ll go. The chances are she’ll have guards, and I stand a better chance of getting past them.”
“What? No.” Liz turned to him as the cold hand of doom she’d been feeling for weeks squeezed all the oxygen from her body, making her light-headed.
He turned to face her, trapping her legs with his as he looked at her with so much love in his eyes she almost gave in and wept. “Liz, I have to go.”
“You promised no more sacrificing yourself for guilt.”
“I know and that isn’t what this is about. Dane, Daniel, Nate, Jace, Zack, K, they all have young kids who need them. How can I let them go and risk leaving their kids? Liz, I love you more than life, but I know what it is to grow up without a father. I wouldn’t wish it on any of those kids.”
“But Zin is going to be a father.” The tears were sliding down her cheeks now, and she knew it looked ridiculous, but she had the most awful feeling of foreboding in the pit of her belly.
He swiped a tear from her face with the pad of his thumb. “I know, baby, and I’m going to do my damndest to make sure the three of us come home.”
Liz hiccupped as she realised he was right. This wasn’t about him being a martyr, it was about him being a good man, the best and the man she fell in love with. She didn’t love him because he was easy or had a nine to five office job, she loved him because of who he was and what he was willing to do for those he cared about.
He wrapped her in his arms as she nodded, unable to get the words out to give her approval of this mission vocally, not that he needed it.
“That’s settled then. Zin, Will, Smithy, and I will go to Russia.”
Her eyes moved to Zack as he included himself.
“Zack, no,” Smithy objected, but Ava just bit her lip and sat stalwart beside him.
“My team, my call. I’m not letting you go without me, so get used to it. The rest of you will go to Norway with Eidolon now they have their situation handled.”
“I’ll have the plane ready.” Will stood, and he and Aubrey left the room.
Liz knew things would move quickly now as they had so very little time to stop Rhea’s plan.
“Roz, can you reach out to Rykov and see if he knows anything that might be helpful to us?”
“I can, but he’s a slippery fucker. He may help, but as head of the Bratva, he’ll want something in exchange.”
“Offer him one favour from Fortis as long as it doesn’t involve killing innocents.”
Zack and his team would do anything to protect the world from the threat they had no idea existed, even exchange favours with criminals.
The next three hours were spent planning the missions. Lucy and Jace left, but Meg stayed, in part for her but also because she had good insights into to how Rhea Winslow’s mind worked. It emphasised again what her sister had been through, and guilt weighed heavy when Lizzie remembered watching who she now knew was John, walk out with her baby sister and hadn’t spoken up.
Before she was ready, it was time for Ty to leave, and every cell in her body wanted to beg him not to go as the feeling that she might never see him again overwhelmed her.
He pulled her into his arms and held her tight as they stood alone in the kitchen at Fortis, lost in their private thoughts. Her body almost shook with the fear building inside her.
Ty pulled away, cupping her face with his hands, and staring into her soul as he had since the first moment they’d met. A connection that spanned years, heartbreak, pain, and so much hope, and one that had endured and gotten stronger even as he fought it. “I’m coming back to you, Lizzie, I promise.”
“I know.” Her voice broke, and he covered her lips with his own, taking her pain into himself and pouring every ounce of emotion he felt for her into his kiss, the salt of her tears mixing with the taste that was uniquely him.
“I’ll call you as soon as I can, okay.”
“Okay.”
He held her against him, neither of them wanting to let go until finally, he pulled away. “I love you, Liz, so much, and I’ll see you soon.”
“I love you, too.”
“I know you do, babe. Your love is the one constant in my life. I was too stupid to hold on to you before, but now I have you, I’m not ever letting go.”
He kissed her one more time, threw his bag over his shoulder, and walked to the car where Zack, Will, and Zin were waiting to go to the airfield.
She felt Meg’s arms around her, then Ava’s hand in hers on the other side, and saw Aubrey with her arm around a tearful Celeste.
“Will they be okay?” she asked the woman who could see the future with her touch.
“I don’t know, all I see is a murky cloud.”
Celeste’s words almost took her to her knees, but as she had many times before, she stiffened her spine. “Then now is the time for us to believe in the power of good over evil.”
Chapter 23
“Rykov came through for us. I’m meeting him in twenty minutes at the entrance to Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood.”
Smithy cocked a brow. “He has a sense of humour, then.”
“Yeah, he’s a real comedian.”
Zin wasn’t finding any amusement in this and Smithy understood it. He had a baby on the way now, and that changed everything. He hoped one day he’d get that chance, but if he didn’t, he’d still consider himself blessed to have Lizzie in his life.
“I’ll come with you.”
Zin didn’t object, and neither did Zack, who was working on locating John or Nazareli, who was radio silent. He had a horrible feeling she was going to end up a casualty of this if she wasn’t careful.
He pulled his hat down low for warmth and to offer himself some cover as he and Zin made their way towards the Russian Orthodox church. The church had been erected on the site where Emperor Alexander II was assassinated in March 1881 by the Romanov family.
It was hard not to admire the beauty of the place with the arches and domes in pink marble. Inside he glanced around, clocking the exits and the number of people in the building, and noted four visitors and two guards that looked suspiciously like Bratva. Up ahead in one of the pews, a man sat alone, his dark head bent, the custom suit he wore probably costing more than Smithy earned in a month.
Zin nodded to the man, and they walked in that direction before two men with pistols stepped in front of them. Zin said something in sneering Russian, the words sharp and angry even to his untrained ears. The two men paled and turned at the sound of their boss chuckling.
“You still are a legend even in these parts, my friend.” Rykov stood and waved his men away, who willingly moved back from him and Zin.
“How is the family, Rykov?” Zin asked in English.
Rykov replied in fla
wless English. “They are well. I hear you’re settled now and are to be married?”
“Yes, that is true, and you? No wife yet, Rykov?”
“Alas, I have not found a woman who will put up with me.”
“More like you have not found one willing to settle for your wandering eye.”
Rykov laughed. “Perhaps.”
He reached into his jacket pocket and Smithy tensed, his hand going to his own gun. Rykov met his eyes with a cold stare that showed exactly how he ran the Bratva here and controlled the older generals who thought he was too young to rule.
Pulling out a slip of paper, he handed it to Zin as he dismissed Smithy. “Here is the location of one Nazareli Holt. My men are guarding her location. I believe she will know where to find this Winslow woman.”
“Thank you, Rykov. I owe you.”
Rykov clasped Zin on the shoulder. “No, you do not. I’m protecting my family. You kill this woman, and we’re square once again.”
“She’ll die, don’t worry.” Smithy bit out calling Rykov’s attention.
“You have a score to settle.”
“Yes.”
“Then I believe you had better settle it.”
They left with a last goodbye, Zin at his absolute max for small talk and friendliness. He checked the slip of paper as Zin drove the short distance to a poorer part of town made up of small, derelict properties.
They walked past Rykov’s men as they ascended the three flights of stairs past broken panes of glass, old fast-food wrappers in the hallway, and flickering light bulbs to the door at the far end.
He knocked and called out her name. “Nazareli, it’s me Smithy.”
Silence met their ears and the hair on the back of his neck prickled at the unnatural silence. Sliding his gun from his holster, he nodded at Zin who had done the same and counted back. On one, Zin kicked the door in, the wood splintering as they moved in, scanning the room and finding blood on the floor. They cleared the main room and the bedroom but found Nazareli on the bathroom floor, covered in blood.
He dropped to his knees, looking for a pulse and finding a weak and thready one in her neck. She had a stab wound to her abdomen that was bleeding steadily, the cold the only thing that had kept her from bleeding out already.
