by P. T. Hylton
Horace leaned forward and frowned. “I find it hard to believe that the people sitting next to you didn’t know exactly what they were doing. You may have been their commander, but they understood that they were going rogue. How could we trust any of you after this?”
Alex looked at CB. If they were in this together, she wouldn’t let CB speak alone. She opened her mouth, but someone else spoke before she could.
“You want to know how you can trust us?” Ed asked, his voice thick with emotion. “My brother’s seat is empty because he died bringing you the weapon that now sits in Brian McElroy’s lab. I know for a fact that he would do it all over again, even knowing the price he’d have to pay. I would, too. We complete the missions that the Council gives us, but it’s more than just following orders. Each of us knows that death is a likely possibility every time we leave the hangar. We give our lives to help secure the future of everyone on this ship. We pay that price, not because someone ordered us to, but because we will sacrifice anything and everything for this city and its people. Everyone at this table cares enough to give up our careers, our safety,” he held up his broken arm, “our very lives to protect this city. You can trust that!”
Alex felt a surge of pride, and she turned to address the Council. “You’re right. We all knew what we were doing. If you want to use the weapon we brought back and make the surface truly safe, then the people sitting next to me are your best hope to make that happen. I ask that you let us continue to fight for you.”
6
Alex furrowed her brow and raised her knife, holding it carefully. Then she brought it down, cutting into the broccoli. She worked slowly and methodically, chopping the vegetable into pieces of roughly the same size. But was it the right size? The recipe on her tablet called for bite-sized pieces. What the hell did that mean? An Ed-sized bite? Or a Jessica-sized bite? Because those were two very different things.
This cooking thing was turning out to be much more difficult than she’d ever imagined. Like so much in life, it appeared to be about timing. The water on her stove was boiling, and her sauce was almost ready, but she wasn’t even finished prepping the vegetables. Should she turn off the water? Let it boil and hope it didn’t all evaporate during the endless prepping process?
She was almost relieved when there was a knock on the door. Now, if dinner were ruined, she could pretend it was because of this interruption.
She opened the door to find CB standing there. He gave her a nod in greeting. “Mind if I come in?”
She led him to the kitchen as they talked. “What brings you by? Another disciplinary meeting to tell me about?”
“Not exactly. In fact, I was just talking to the Council, and…” His voice trailed off as he looked around the kitchen, an expression of surprise on his face. “Are you cooking, Captain Goddard?”
She frowned at him. “Is that so unbelievable?”
“No,” he answered, holding up his hands. “I just meant… I didn’t know you did that. Like, ever.”
She sighed. “Honestly, I don’t. But I guess this stuff with the Council has me thinking. All my hobbies involve killing Ferals or preparing to kill Ferals.”
“That’s not a hobby. It’s your job.”
“Yeah, that’s kinda my point. Work is sorta the whole deal for me. If they end up kicking me off the GMT, I need to do something with myself.”
He picked up a chopped piece of broccoli and inspected it as if it were a potentially dangerous weapon. “And you went with cooking?”
“Gotta start somewhere.” She paused. “You were going to say something about the Council?”
He set down the broccoli and leaned back against the counter. “Brian gave them a briefing on the virus. What we know. What he suspects. I wasn’t there, being as I’m technically suspended until they reach their decision, but he must have given a hell of a convincing talk.”
Alex raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? Why’s that?”
“Because they ended my suspension an hour later. Yours, too.”
Alex set down her knife, a grin spreading across her face. “You’re kidding me.”
“I’m not. Apparently, they’re pretty excited about the virus. I don’t think they’ve decided exactly how they want to use it yet, but there were a lot of ideas flying around. Let’s hope they land on a good one.”
Alex’s face darkened slightly. “CB, for the record, I think we did the right thing. We gave humanity the virus. Assuming it works like Brian thinks it does, we’ve given ourselves a fighting chance. But I’m not disobeying the Council’s orders again. Whatever they decide to do with the virus, I’m going to keep my head down and execute their plan to the best of my ability.”
Now CB grinned. “Who’d have thought there’d be a day when Alex Goddard was trying to convince me to follow orders? I’m with you, though. The whole going-rogue thing was a one-time deal for me. Well, maybe two times, if you count Fleming. But I’m not making a habit of it. If we start thinking we know what’s best for humanity and disregard leadership, we’re no better than Jaden.”
Alex nodded. “Glad we’re on the same page.”
“Well, if you’re looking to follow orders, you won’t have to wait long to get started. They’re sending you down to the island for a recon mission tomorrow morning.”
“Oh, thank God,” Alex said, setting down her knife. “Because I really hate cooking.”
CB paused for a moment. “There is one more thing… the Council had one condition for our reinstatement.”
“So, you’re Councilman Horace’s nephew?” Ed asked as they flew down the next morning.
Felix Sanderson, his tall, lanky form folded into the seat next to Ed’s, frowned. His shock of red hair stuck up at odd angles, making him appear even taller than he really was. “I am. I’ve also been a captain with the badges for the past eight years.”
“Uh-huh,” Ed said. “I’m sure your experience with the badges was the reason we were forced to take you on, and it was nothing to do with your uncle.
Alex shifted in her seat, doing her best to hide her annoyance. Normally she would have defended any new team member, but Ed was right. Bringing Felix onto the team had been the Council’s condition. He was to serve as the Council’s liaison, reporting back to them after each mission. While Alex was glad that they were headed back to the surface, and she understood that they were getting off light, it still rankled her to have a Council babysitter assigned to the team. Though she’d been a badge the same time as Felix, she’d never really known him except by reputation. He was a by-the-book guy who had risen quickly through the ranks, presumably partly because of his political connections. Alex hoped they hadn’t just brought the male version of Helen onto the team.
“Just remember, I’m in charge here,” Alex told him. “Listen to orders, and you should be fine.”
“Yeah, and don’t get any of us killed,” Ed added. “We don’t have a lot of spare team members lying around these days.”
“I’ll do my best,” Felix said with a scowl.
Alex looked around the passenger hold, empty but for her, Felix, and Ed. The ship had been designed to carry up to a dozen of them, plus two pilots. Now it was a lonely place. Every empty seat served to remind her of someone that had been lost. This had once been a place of laughter and camaraderie, where crude humor cut the tension caused by the life-and-death stakes of each and every mission. Now, everything was different, including the person in the cockpit.
She touched her radio and spoke into her headset. “Chuck, how you doing up there?”
“Fine.” His voice was tense, and he spoke more quickly than usual. “Everything’s fine up here.”
Ed and Alex exchanged a worried glance. They both knew that Chuck was far from experienced when it came to flying the away ship, and he was a little nervous about his first mission in the role of pilot.
“Yo, Chuck, let’s do this right,” Ed said. “Drop some facts on us.”
“Um, that’s not really my thing
, man. I kinda need to concentrate. We’ll talk on the ground.”
Ed turned off his mic and looked at Alex. “Not exactly the most reassuring thing to hear from your pilot.”
Alex chuckled. “He’ll be fine. Cut him a little slack. He’s trying his best to get through this.”
Ed glanced over at the seat across from him. The one where Patrick had always sat. “Yeah. Aren’t we all.”
Chuck set the away ship down outside a half-torn down warehouse ten minutes later. Despite his worries, he did an admirable job of piloting the ship, and his landing was almost as soft as if Owl had been at the helm.
The four of them gathered outside the ship. The sun had crested over the horizon a little over an hour ago, and the brilliant, colorful remnants of sunrise still hung in the eastern sky. The city was quiet, and Alex could almost believe they were the only living beings on the island. Felix looked around nervously, his hands on his weapon.
Alex looked at him pointedly. “Relax. It’s daytime. We’re safe. And maintain some trigger discipline. In fact, don’t even get your finger close to that trigger without my say so.”
Felix nodded in response, but his eyes still scanned the surrounding buildings, as if he believed they’d be ambushed at any moment.
Ed looked at Felix, then down at his cast, and shook his head. “This is pathetic. We really need to recruit some more soldiers, Captain.”
Alex didn’t disagree with the sentiment, but it still brought a sour expression to her face. Replacing Owl and Patrick was the last thing she wanted to think about right now. “To that point, we need to be extra cautious on this mission. This is recon only. We see if anybody’s inside, and then we get out. Don’t engage unless we absolutely have to.”
“No arguments here,” Ed said with a growl.
Alex looked at her friend for a long moment but didn’t say anything. Though it had only been two days since Patrick died, she’d noticed a change in him already. His lust for battle seemed to have faded. Whether that was a permanent change or a temporary one remained to be seen.
She turned to Chuck. “We got him?”
Chuck tapped on his tablet. “We’ve got the tracker, anyway. It’s inside the building. Looks like a subterranean level.”
“Of course it is,” Ed said.
“The tracker’s not moving,” Chuck pointed out.
Alex didn’t reply to that. Either Firefly was sleeping or he was dead. She couldn’t see any reason Firefly dying horribly from the virus she’d released would stop the tracker from working.
While their mission was to assess the situation on the island and whether the virus had worked, Alex had initially been against trying to find Firefly as a first step. If the virus had worked as planned, she was about to find her friend’s dead body. She didn’t know how it would look, but based on what she’d seen of the vampires dying in the morgue, it wouldn’t be pretty. And she had the dead faces of enough friends already burned into her mind.
On the other hand, she didn’t know what the alternative was. Sure, they could go poking around in random buildings for Ferals, but that was incredibly dangerous with their four-person team. And if they didn’t find any Ferals, it wouldn’t be proof of anything. It could mean that the virus had worked, or it could be they’d just been unlucky in finding any sleepers.
No, it had to be Firefly. And very soon, they would know.
Alex led the way into the silent, dusty warehouse. It didn’t take them long to find the stairs to the basement. She led the way down, her pistol in her hand.
When she reached the bottom, she paused and licked her dry lips. Her voice sounded weaker than usual when she spoke. “Firefly? Are you here?”
There was no reply.
She crept forward, making her way deeper into the basement, and spoke louder. “Firefly. It’s Alex!”
Again, there was no response. She glanced at Chuck. He nodded deeper into the basement. The tracker signal was coming from somewhere in the darkness ahead.
She turned on her headlamp and marched forward. This time, she shouted his name. “Firefly!”
“I’m here, Alex.” Firefly stumbled groggily into the beam of her headlamp.
Alex couldn’t help herself. She was so overcome with emotion at seeing her friend alive that she ran forward and threw her arms around him. “Thank God! I thought maybe the virus got you.”
He grinned weakly. “Not yet, it hasn’t.”
She took a step back and looked him in the eyes. “Your troops?”
“They’re okay.” He cocked his thumb at the darkness behind him. “Sleeping. They could sure use some blood, though.”
“Shit. Sorry, we didn’t even think of that. We can probably bring you some in a few days.”
“That’s fine.” He drew a deep breath and glanced at Felix. “Who’s the new guy?
“I’m Felix,” he answered, frowning at Firefly.
Firefly turned back to Alex. “I’m so sorry. You told me to contain Jaden. I couldn’t do it. Owl. Patrick. It’s my fault.”
Alex shook her head. “It’s not. You risked everything to help us. That’s what matters.” She paused. “Hang on. How do you know about Owl and Patrick? How do you even know we released the virus?”
He tilted his head, confused. “Jaden told me.”
7
Alex’s complexion paled, almost matching that of Firefly’s bloodless face. Ed’s mouth fell open, and Chuck looked back and forth between Alex and Firefly.
“Hang on,” Felix said turning to Alex. “You told the Council that Jaden died.”
“That’s because he did,” Alex snapped. “I saw the blood leaking out of his eyes. I saw him die. I saw them all die.”
Firefly shook his head slowly. “I spoke to him, Alex. He is very much alive. He said Owl survived, too, but the rest of his team is dead.” He paused, thinking. “I’m not sure why he bothered to radio me. He said it was a courtesy warning for me and my troops. He warned us that the virus had been released, and then he cut off communications.”
“I need to see for myself.” The color was coming back into Alex’s face as she spoke. She couldn’t believe Jaden had survived. But Owl? She couldn’t let herself even consider the possibility that her friend might still be alive. Finding out it wasn’t true would be far too painful. “Where is he?”
“He contacted me on my radio. I’m not sure if he used a portable, or if he transmitted from his ship. He could be anywhere.”
“I know exactly where he parked his goddamn ship.” There was rage in Ed’s eyes as he spoke. “I say we go blow the thing to pieces.”
“Let’s not blow anything to pieces just yet,” Chuck said. “Owl may be with him. But the ship is a good place to start.”
Felix held up a hand. “Whoa, let’s take a step back. If Jaden’s alive, we need to inform the Council before we do—”
Alex put a hand against his chest, shoving him against the wall. “Remember our discussion on the ship? Your job is to observe and report. I’m in charge down here.” She turned to Firefly. “We’ll go see if the ship’s still there. If it is, I’ll send you the coordinates. I’ll need you and your troops to guard it tonight. If Jaden is on this island, I don’t want him leaving.”
Firefly nodded. “We can handle that. Just one thing. The morale is pretty low with the troops right now. If you could bring some blood tomorrow, I think it would help a lot.”
Felix scowled, but said nothing.
“Consider it done. We’ll see you tomorrow.” Alex turned and started back down the hall. “Let’s head out. If Jaden is still alive, I need to see it for myself.”
A light rain was falling when the team stepped outside. The cool drops of rain felt good in the heat, but the dark sky to the north suggested that more serious weather was on its way.
“That doesn’t look promising,” Chuck muttered.
“The ship has flown in the rain plenty of times. You’ll be fine,” Alex said, as she patted him on the shoulder.
&n
bsp; The away ship landed next to the hospital thirty minutes later. The light rain had become a downpour. Sheets of water fell on the ship, and it was hard to see farther than a hundred yards. However, they could tell that Jaden’s ship hadn’t moved since he’d crashed the thing. The remaining members of the GMT stood at the open cargo doors of the away ship, rain splattering in on them as they stared out at the hospital, and Jaden’s ship rammed three-quarters of the way into its lobby.
“Should we be going in there?” Chuck asked. “If Jaden is still alive, we don’t have a great chance against him, especially if Owl is under his control.”
“I hear you,” Alex said. “Odds are good they didn’t stick around in there, since the building is loaded with silver. Still, we need to check the morgue. If their bodies aren’t there, we’ll know for sure. Have your daylights at the ready and keep an open line for retreat. If we do spot Jaden or any Ferals, we head straight back to daylight.”
“Copy that.” Ed replied.
Alex glanced at Felix. “You okay? If you want to wait on the ship, we won’t judge.”
“Yeah,” Ed said. “In fact, maybe just stay on New Haven next time.”
Felix’s eyes were wide with fear, but he set his jaw. “I’m coming. I’ll be fine.”
The four of them readied their weapons and strode from the away ship to the lobby of the hospital. By the time they reached the entrance, they were soaked. They stopped when they reached Jaden’s ship.
Ed nodded at the closed doors of the ship. “Those cargo doors were open when we left, weren’t they?” He had to raise his voice to be heard over the sounds of the beating rain.
Chuck nodded. “Jaden and his crew rushed out as soon as they crashed. They didn’t have a chance to close the doors, since they were trying not to burst into flame.”
Alex eyed the cargo doors. Jaden and his team would have had to race through the weak afternoon shadows to get from the cargo doors to the lobby.
