Chapter 49
The explosion seared my skin. I had barely enough time to cover my face as I was blown backwards into the wall. The world was spinning as I clutched at my recovering head that felt like it was on fire. How? I wanted to vomit, and everything hurt. I knew it, damn it. I knew it. Why did we keep going? Tears filled my eyes as I tried to wipe away the debris. My ears rang, and the alarm sounded like a distant echo.
In front of me was a massive hole and the remains of Wolf and Checkers, their bodies charred beyond recognition. Two more deaths on me. Why? Who sold us out?
I closed my eyes and groaned; people were yelling, but I couldn’t hear any of it through my ringing ears. Let me go. A few shots went off, followed by more shouting and someone shaking me. I looked up to see Razor’s sharp green eyes looking down at me. “You’ve gotta get up, Coyote. We’re almost there.”
Coughing, I took his arm and struggled to my feet. I was definitely feeling the blast, and a rib was either broken or at least badly bruised, but I was alive. Lucky me. Poseidon, Delaware, Falcon, and Snapback had cleared the control room while I followed. Razor took the rear.
Screens were everywhere: peoples’ homes, streets, computer screens, everything was on them. Rage filled me. These bastards had killed six of my friends in the last fifteen minutes and oppressed millions of people for a century. We were making the sacrifice for the greater good, or at least, I hoped we were. It has to be for something.
I stepped through the rubble from the bomb and approached the central terminal, passing Delaware’s eager eyes and leaning my rifle against a nearby desk. Everything felt like shit, but we had done it. We were about to take down all the cameras and spying infrastructure in Minneapolis. Blind them. I radioed to the others. “Delta squad has arrived. The door was rigged to blow. We’ve lost six. You guys there?”
Husky came in, wheezing. “Only four of us made it out, but we got the flash drive in. Whoever ratted us out is going to get a bullet to the head.”
Silence followed. I called in. “Caesar, you there? Caesar?” Nothing. Shit. All of us did it, but whoever the rat was will pay. “It’s just the two of us, Husky. I’ll let you know when we’re out.”
Husky was solemn. “Roger, Coyote.”
Time slowed as I pulled the flash drive from my pocket and stepped up to the terminal. So much power in such a little thing. As I pressed it into the slot, the world exploded in gunfire as people screamed. Hitting the floor, I dropped the flash drive and failed to grab my pistol as it slid away. I scanned the room trying to figure out what was happening, but I couldn’t see the attacker through my blurred vision. Delaware and Snapback were hidden behind a nearby desk, both bleeding. Poseidon’s body was sprawled in the middle of the floor, unmoving. No! Why?
I scrambled for my gun, but it was kicked away at the last second. I looked up at Razor’s cold green stare, his rifle aimed at my head. Anger boiled inside of me. Traitor! I glared at him. “Why’d you do it?”
He spat at me. “Isaac sends his regards, Ivan.”
My mind was on fire, scattered between the deaths and Razor’s betrayal. Why would he do this? Unless… the eyes. “You’re a fucking Preus?”
“Otto Preus.” I knew Razor had been adopted, but never knew why. He was a spy, and the first we hadn’t caught.
I looked up at the barrel of the gun. I’m sorry, Julia. I know I promised. “You’re just as much of a snake as your bastard brother. You went through all of this work just to kill me? Do it.”
“This wasn’t about you, it was about all of this. Killing El Capitan, stopping Operation Blackout. That’s why I passed the information to the UPF. They’re raiding all the safehouses right now. After what you did to Isaac, though, killing you just became a beautiful side goal.” The safehouses… the UPF will kill everyone…
“So what? You kill me, stop the operation, and destroy the Militia. What does your family get out of this?”
He laughed, a young but menacing one. “My brother and parents are seeing to that right now. You see, Ivan, when the Hughes family made their deal with the People’s Front, they knocked us to an inferior position. Ever since, we’ve been a joke to them. All they worry about is the Bilgrams while we have plotted their demise in the shadows. This little deal with the UPF will earn us their good faith as we seize the throne; they won’t protect the King or his family… and neither will you.”
The gala. They’re going to kill the royal family. Julia. How did I miss this? My mind scrambled for a way out of the situation. I had to get back to Julia before they killed her. Nothing else mattered, but that meant I needed to live. The thing about Razor was that he was a clumsy fighter. If I could get the gun out of his hands, I was home free. I looked over to Delaware and Snapback, who were struggling but still alive.
Razor followed my gaze and I took the chance, grabbing the barrel of the gun and throwing him off balance. I jumped to my feet, still holding the gun, now vertical between us. “Your mistake was going after her, you bastard.”
He glared at me and struggled for the gun. “That’s prince bastard to you.”
I swept his leg, and he fell roughly onto the floor as the gun slid away. Stepping over him, I bent down, grabbed his fake black tag, and ripped it out of his ear before holding it in front of his face as he screamed in pain. “You don’t deserve this.” My anger took over as I reached for my pistol and held it to his head, my voice and hands shaking with emotion. “You killed Poseidon, El Capitan, Zeus, Blitzkrieg… you killed all of them, you piece of shit!”
His cold stare was unwavering. “It was worth it.”
My hand shook. I took a breath as the two voices in my head screamed at me: Coyote told me to do it, and Ivan told me to bring him into custody so he could be used against Isaac.
Razor laughed mechanically. “Do it. Or are you too scared of what Julia will think?”
I took a deep breath and tightened my finger around the trigger, a million thoughts of rage filling my head. He deserves it. At the last second, I reactivated the safety, tossed the gun aside, and wailed on him in rage until he was knocked out. I turned to Delaware and Snapback, helping them both up. “You guys alright?”
Delaware looked up at me and groaned. “We’ll live, but you need to get to the palace, now!”
I gripped the sides of my head in a panic. “What about the safehouses? They’re going to kill everyone.”
She shook her head. “There’s nothing we can do. You need to save Julia! We’ll watch the snake and figure out a way out of here. Don’t worry about us.”
I shook my head and reluctantly agreed. “Fine.” I reached down and grabbed my flash drive off the floor. “But first things first.” The screens flickered as I inserted the drive into the mainframe, and one by one, they made a pop noise and went blank. It’s done.
I tried to call Julia, but it went to voicemail. Damn it. I don’t have time.
“Coyote to HQ. Is anyone there?” No answer. “HQ?” No, no, no. “Husky, you there?”
“What’s going on, Coyote? I’m not hearing anything from headquarters.”
“One of ours, Razor, was the snake. He took out most of us, but the job is done, and he is unconscious, but he gave up the locations of our safehouses.”
“No…”
“Razor let it slip when he thought he had me that he is a Preus, and they are attempting a coup of the royal family. I need to save them. I don’t know if we can save any of the safehouses, but relay the message to whoever you can.”
“Holy shit. Go. I’ll do what I can.”
“Thank you. Coyote out.” I turned to Delaware. “You two going to be okay getting out of here?”
She looked at me in a panic. “Go Coyote. Save her. We’ll get out of here alright.”
I nodded to them and walked over to Poseidon’s body for a second. He died, shot in the back by a traitor. He deserved better, but he died a hero. I shut his eyes and just knelt there by his side for a moment. Poseidon was the closest thing I
had to a father, and now he was gone. My mind was a mix of panic, sorrow, and rage; I didn’t know which emotion to pick.
I stood and surveyed the room before looking back down at him. My voice shook as I whispered to him, “Bye, dad. I’m sorry.” Taking a deep breath, I grabbed my guns and ran back to the van. Please be alive.
Chapter 50
The golden palace gates were already open. The guardsmen were slumped over the booth, a bullet hole in both of their heads. Shit. My heart was racing, and my hands shook violently as I drove, skidding into the driveway. If he kills her…
I flung open the main doors and my heart sunk. Bodies were everywhere: blue uniformed royal guardsmen and black-clad Preus mercenaries either dead or dying. I sighed, and searched quickly through the halls, looking for Jonah. Please be alive. As I was about to give up my search, I heard a gun cock behind me. “Don’t move.”
Slowly, I turned around to see him and smiled, not that he could see it through the bandana. “Jonah! Just the guard I was looking for!”
He lowered his gun and raised his eyebrow. “Ivan?”
“Yeah, I’ll explain the whole disguise thing later. We have to get to the ballroom.”
He grabbed my arm as I turned. “There’s no way we can get in there. The halls are patrolled, there’s a couple mercenaries at the ballroom door, and Isaac and Wilhelm have more in the room with them.”
“Then what do you think we should do?”
He looked down. “I don’t know. That’s why I was hiding and hoping some of the other guards were alive, too. The only reason I’m alive is that they didn’t come for the servants’ wing, where I was stationed.”
“You’re a genius.” He looked confused. “The servants. There are tons of guns laying around here. Arm anyone alive and willing, and then wait for me outside the ballroom. When you hear me yell, ‘I am not alone,’ storm the place.”
“I don’t know…”
“Got a better idea? No? Okay, just get them ready.”
He nodded, and I turned, sprinting through the halls towards the ballroom, each step echoing like a chorus in the empty marble halls. The wounded guards still alive were shocked when they saw Coyote running by, not that they were in any state to stop me. I had no time to change, and my identity was the least of my concerns at the moment. There were too many bodies for my stomach to handle. I’d seen enough death already today.
As I neared the ballroom, I slid to the corner and looked around it. Two Preus mercenaries were stationed in front of the ballroom door, though not very attentively. I took a deep breath, stay alive, and turned the corner, taking out the first guard with two shots and the second with one to the head before either had the time to draw their weapon. The shots echoed through the halls. So much for stealth.
Slowly, I approached the ballroom doors. Taking a deep breath, I readied my gun and pushed open the door with my foot, entering the quiet ballroom. Whites stood huddled along the sides of the room, pressing themselves like pancakes against the windows and walls in fear as five mercenaries on each side waved guns at them, keeping them in place. The floor was covered in chandelier pieces, broken wine glasses, bullet shells, and more bodies. They didn’t come in peace. This has to end.
At the head of the ballroom stood Isaac and his father, Wilhelm Preus. The royal family knelt in a line facing me, and my eyes met Julia’s as she shook in fear. I tried to give her a reassuring look, but it was hard, given the gravity of the situation. Stay strong.
Isaac’s sharp green eyes stared at me across the room, realizing what my presence meant. A purple tag had been added to his ear following his expulsion from the royalty. What a downgrade. He waved his pistol and spoke, his voice raspy and cold, “Look who it is everyone! The terrorist that just returned from killing my brother. How’d you do it, Coyote?”
Stepping towards him slowly as if on thin ice, I raised my rifle, pointing at his head. “Your brother betrayed my trust and killed my friends. He held a gun to my head. You know what? I let him live anyway. Not all of us are snakes like you.”
His brow furrowed, and he pointed the gun wildly. “Liar! You killed him.”
I pulled out my radio, still holding the gun in my other hand and inching closer. “You want to hear him? He is alive, Isaac. If he stays that way is up to you.”
He spat with disgust. “You’re not exactly in a position to negotiate.”
“I pull this trigger, you die. You kill me, he dies. Your father becomes an heirless and hated king. Sounds like I have plenty to negotiate on.”
All I wanted to do was check on Julia again, but I feared taking my gun away from his head for a moment would mean my death. I wondered what the rest of her family thought, seeing a renowned terrorist in the ballroom trying to protect them. Oh, the irony.
Isaac laughed manically and grabbed Julia, standing her up next to him. He put an arm around her waist, holding her and pointing the gun to her head. “Alright, Coyote. But how about you show everyone who you really are?”
Rage filled me, and I shook, my voice sharp as my knives. She will not die, but he will. “I will kill you.”
Isaac shoved the gun into the side of her head as she winced. He was stern. “Take off the mask.”
Time seemed to slow, and my heart stopped. Coyote or Ivan. Only one can live. The dream. Damn it. Tears filled me eyes as I aimed. There’s no Coyote without Ivan. Is there Ivan without Coyote? One shot… Fear flooded Julia’s face, and I knew I didn’t have a choice. If I killed him, the mercenaries would kill all the royals anyway before I could do anything. “Don’t you dare!”
He started counting. “Three…two…”
“Stop… stop! I’ll do it.” I reached with my off hand, ripping off my bandana and throwing it to the floor before quickly returning the hand to my gun. “My name is Ivan 181375, and I am the Coyote.”
A slight gasp came over the crowd, and the King raged. “You bloody terrorist!”
I responded, not taking my aim away from Isaac as I inched forward, “I’m trying to save your life right now, your highness.” How long do I stall for? I didn’t really plan this out.
Isaac didn’t remove the gun from her head. “Well done, Ivan. You’ve killed half of yourself trying to save the woman you love…” Another gasp came from the royals, followed by murmuring and incoherent yelling from the King and Queen. Isaac fired the pistol into the ceiling and marble dust rained down upon us. “Shut up! Shut up! All of you!” He pointed it at me, scowling and still holding onto Julia. “Stop moving closer.”
I stopped moving. “Wilhelm, is this how you raised your son to behave, how you want to take the throne?”
He stepped forward, a pistol of his own in his hand, and pointed it at the King’s head, flicking off the safety with a sharp click. His eyes and voice were sharp like his son’s. “You have much to learn about the game that is royalty, my boy.”
Now I was stuck. If I shot Wilhelm, Isaac would shoot me, and Isaac would live on to kill the rest of the Hughes family, not caring about his brother for an heir. If I shot Isaac, Wilhelm would kill the King and take the crown by force. Do I have to choose the King or Julia? “Shoot the King and both of your sons die. I don’t like killing normally, but this will bring me great joy after everything your family has done.”
He waved his hand. “Seize his weapon.”
A mercenary approached me from behind. Give in? Nope. I spun around, pulling my sleeve’s knife and stabbing his neck before he could raise the gun. Taking a deep breath and spinning back towards the front, I looked at Julia. “Remember what I taught you?”
She stuttered, failing to respond, but nodded.
Wilhelm raised his voice. “Drop the gun, or I shoot.”
This better work. Please be ready, Jonah. Slowly, I lowered my rifle to the ground, and as I set it down, I looked up at Julia. “Now! I am not alone!”
Thankfully, she understood what I meant, and everything seemed to move in slow motion as she drove her heel into Isaac’s inst
ep, knocking him off balance before smoothly punching him and pulling his gun from his hands. With the distraction, I quickly pulled my pistol and took a deep breath before firing three times at Wilhelm. The shots sounded like a cannon in the marble room. His body whipped backwards onto the floor as one bullet struck him in the chest and another hit him in the side as the third whizzed by his head. Thank God.
Behind me, the doors burst open as Jonah led the armed servants into the ballroom, firing at the mercenaries, who turned just in time to see the bullets flying towards them. The room filled with gunfire as I turned back towards Julia, who shakily held Isaac at gunpoint, his eyes full of shock. She looked at me, lost. She’s never held a gun before. I raised my gun. “It’s over, Isa…”
BANG! A sharp shot to my right interrupted me and I turned to see where it came from. No… Wilhelm struggled to his feet, bleeding but alive, standing over the King’s crumpled body. The Queen wailed and scrambled to hold his lifeless corpse in her arms as the daughters could only watch in horror. Wilhelm lifted his gun towards me, his arm shaking as his body fought against the two bullets within, his snake-ring finger wrapped around the trigger as his mercenaries slowly fell before his eyes. He spoke weakly, “Don’t you get it, Ivan? You’re helping the corrupt family that tagged your ancestors and threw mine to the gutter. You can’t destroy the Prism by saving those who helped create it.”
No. No. Damn it. Julia had been shaking, but this broke her courage, and the gun slipped from her hand. I watched, distraught, as the gun hovered between her hand and the ground. This ends now… Isaac or Wilhelm? I yelled, rage flowing through my body as I raised my pistol towards Isaac and pulled the trigger again and again until his body was slumped on the ground. He took their father, so I took his son. Julia screamed in shock, her hands covering her mouth, as his body fell in front of her. I’m sorry.
The Fractured Prism (The Prism Files Book 1) Page 23
