“Relax. Sams is with me,” Foster said as he gestured toward Sams. “Whatever you want to tell me, you can say in front of him, too.”
Haas grumbled. “Fine. But we need to go someplace less obvious.”
“Follow me,” Foster said. He retraced his steps back into the museum. He glanced back several times to make sure Sams and Haas were still following him. Neither one looked happy at all. They had gotten inside the building again when the red-caped Reaper spoke up.
“This is far enough,” Haas announced. “We should be out of sight of anyone who could see us.”
“What’s on your mind?” Foster asked.
The walkie-talkie came alive.
“Malcolm, the helicopter is two minutes out,” Amanda said. “Where are you?”
“Were you leaving? On the flying machine?” Haas asked. “You can’t leave. You still owe me.”
“Bullshit,” Sams argued. “He doesn’t owe you a thing.”
“There’s still something you need to do,” Haas answered. “Otherwise, nothing will change.”
“Are you serious?” Sams yelled. “You’re actually thinking about doing a favor for this overgrown freak?”
Haas growled in response. “You need to learn to keep your mouth shut, human.”
“His name is Haas,” Foster interrupted. “His goals align with ours.”
“And what exactly is that, huh?” Sams shouted. “Because all I’m hearing is this thing trying to boss both of us around.”
“If someone kills the head,” Foster answered, “the rest of the snake dies.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Sams asked.
“There is a one who rules all,” Haas growled. “I tried to reason with him and failed. None of us are strong enough to stop him. But you could be.”
“So, what, one guy against millions of Reapers?” Sams said. “That’s fucking stupid, man.”
“Not millions,” Foster said. “Recon mission. We find this one top dog and then call Abrahams. He sends in the cavalry. They come in and kill the bastard. Then all of the Reapers keel over dead at once.”
“And you’re okay with this?” Sams said in an accusatory tone. “You’ll die, too.”
“I never asked for this,” Haas said simply. “If I die, then I die.”
“Foster, the chopper is incoming,” Walker shouted over the comms. “We need Sams and you here now.”
“Stall. We need another couple of minutes,” Foster said. “It’s important.”
“Negative,” Black interrupted over the comms. “We’re landing now. Your ride ain’t waiting around forever. Shit or get off the pot, Malcolm.”
“Give me a minute, Black,” Foster said. He released the comms button and looked at Sams. “I’m staying. If I can find this King Reaper, then we can end this shitstorm forever. Otherwise, we’re looking at years of battle to try and take back every piece of ground lost.”
“Are you kidding me?” Sams said. “Do you have a fucking death wish?”
“Not at all,” Foster answered. “You need to go before your ride leaves.”
“And what? Leave you here?”
“Yes.”
“Your plan sucks.”
Foster said nothing.
“Oh, for chrissakes,” Sams muttered. “Fine. I’m in. But only because somebody needs to make sure you actually complete this fucking mission.”
Foster cued the comms. “Black, get the civilians out of there now. Sams and I are staying.”
“Come again?”
“You got civvies and wounded. Get them to safety. Derrick and I have intel on a high-value target. We’re going to recon and locate their position. Once we do, we’ll let you know so you can send the Rangers in.”
“Copy that. Watch your asses out there.”
“Thanks, Black. Foster out.”
The noise in the helicopter was ear-shattering. Black turned toward the pilot and made a gesture for the helicopter to take off.
Amanda crowded close enough to Black for him to hear. “What are you doing?” she yelled. “Foster and Sams are still out there.”
“I know,” Black said. “He told me to take off.”
Amanda did a double-take. “What?”
“Foster said something about going after a high-value target.”
“I don’t understand,” Amanda yelled. “What the hell does that mean?”
“It means Foster must’ve found something that might shift things in our favor,” Walker shouted. “Think about it. He wouldn’t just stay behind if he didn’t have a good reason.”
Amanda moved back to her seat. She felt the tears start forming in the corner of her eyes and fought to bring her emotions back into check. She glanced out the window, watching as Foster and Sams grew smaller and smaller on the ground below as the copter moved away.
“Damn you, Malcolm,” she said softly, “I thought we had a plan.” She felt a hand on her arm and looked toward its owner.
Charles gave her a reassuring pat and withdrew his hand. “I’m sorry, Amanda,” Charles said. “Sometimes plans change. Especially in the heat of battle.”
“What are we going to do now?”
“We’re going to Hope Island,” Charles answered. “We’ll give the military the edge they need to turn the tide against the Reapers.”
“I meant about Malcolm and Derrick.”
“We can pray,” Charles suggested. “Pray that they stay safe and make it out unharmed.”
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Haas knelt on one knee as the self-proclaimed leader of the Reapers required everyone else to perform. The throne room floor was uncomfortable as hell, but right now it was best to keep his complaints to himself. He listened passively as Horatio Beeks continued his emotional tirade.
“We’re supposed to be faster and stronger than humans,” Beeks growled. “We’re supposed to be better in every way. So how does one human continue to beat my warriors?”
“He is a police officer,” Haas said carefully. “It’s possible he has previously received training that would make him far more dangerous than the rest of the sheep.”
Beeks paused and took a long drink from a metal cup. From the lingering smell, Haas guessed it was cow’s blood.
“Like what?” Beeks asked carefully.
“I’ve heard he killed one Alpha with a long-range weapon.”
“Pak,” Beeks murmured. “Yes, our brother. Gone far too soon.”
“I’m afraid I didn’t know him.”
“He was one of the scientists at Bergstrom. Somehow he got infected, too.”
“Interesting,” Haas rumbled. “You’re suggesting that not all of us were forced to become what we are.”
“And what’s wrong with being better than we were before?”
Freedom, Haas thought silently. Even inside prison, I was my own person. And now I bow to a power-hungry asshole.
Haas continued to speak as his master paced. “Achilles was one of us. But he failed when he crossed paths with Foster.”
“Achilles wasn’t one of us.”
“What?”
“Not an original. He was created after the fact.”
“Well, that explains it,” Haas answered. “Maybe he wasn’t strong enough for the task.”
“What are you talking about? I turned Achilles myself.”
Haas laughed bitterly. “You sent a puppy to handle a grown dog’s job,” he answered. “Then you had to send me to rescue him after he got himself in trouble.”
“You mock me.”
“I mock no one. I speak the truth. If you had sent me in the first place, like I suggested, then the outcome would have been completely different.”
“You lie.”
“Not at all. The idiot attacked an armed group of my Disciples. Humans that I had tasked to track down Foster for me. Achilles gave them no choice but to protect themselves.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”
“I didn’t want to trouble my Lord
with minor details,” Haas lied. “But the facts are undeniable. By the time you asked me to assist, there was no chance for anyone to save your beloved pet. It was only through his gross incompetence that Foster managed to get away.”
“Enough,” Beeks roared. “I’ve grown tired of your antics. Perhaps it’s time you retire to your quarters for the rest of the night.”
Haas jumped up to his feet. “As you wish, my Lord,” he said. He bowed quickly and headed for the exit.
Beeks growled softly. Haas had been far too quick to flee the throne room. But then it was his own fault. He had given the underling an out, and the soldier took it.
The guard motioned toward the open room. Angel stepped in, turned, and looked at him. She stared at him, and he failed to move. Angel let out a low growl and showed her teeth.
The guard raised both hands in front of him and stepped out of the room. He stopped just outside the doorway.
“Go away,” she said. “Leave me alone.”
“My Lord has commanded me to wait out here in the hallway.”
“In case I try to flee?”
“I’m not sure. My Lord has commanded me to wait here in the hallway until he says otherwise.”
“Stay out of my sight,” Angel snarled. “Or you’re going to have a problem you don’t want.”
The guard took moved sideways until he was no longer in view.
Angel shook her head in dismay. She really wanted the guard to leave for good, but the soldier wasn’t willing to disobey the boss. Maybe out of sight would be good enough for her needs.
Angel moved deeper into her room. Her head was killing her. The headaches were becoming nearly unbearable. She wanted the pain to stop, but a voice in her head told her it was important that she keep fighting the transformation. She had to keep holding onto the few remaining pieces of her former life.
She didn’t care what this Beeks creature told her. She was no monster, and this was not her family. The voice kept telling her that. She knew it, she just didn’t know how to change things, not yet, at least. The voice said she needed to be patient and keep fighting. There were pictures of her former life that kept popping up in her head. One where she was in some type of flying machine. But it didn’t make sense, because she didn’t think people could fly. Her so-called family definitely couldn’t, and all of them were capable of doing a lot of pretty amazing things like run for miles and heal wounds in a matter of seconds. Still, the memory seemed important to hold onto, so she kept trying to remember it.
Angel looked at the shirt she was wearing. It was the same clothing she’d worn for as long as she could remember. The lighting in the room wasn’t great, but she could make out that there was some type of word on the front of it. She focused her attention on it and tried to say it aloud again.
“Vas... Quez,” she said slowly. She wasn’t sure what it was, but maybe it was important. There looked like there had been a spot on the side of the arm where something had once been, but it was missing now. A voice said it was part of her uniform, but she didn’t understand what that meant. A shot of pain came across Angel’s mind that nearly buckled her knees. She put her hand against the wall to catch herself.
The pain. She always felt it when she tried too hard to remember her past. She needed to be more careful and not push so hard to remember things.
Angel felt the pain slowly begin to subside. She began to walk to the other side of her room. It was nearly pitch black in this part of the room, but the dark didn’t scare her. It was her secret place, one that none of her so-called family had discovered yet. And the little voice in her head told her if they did, it could mean the end of the life she kept trying to remember. She looked at the wall where she had used her claw to scratch out words as she remembered them. She looked at the wall once more. A voice told her to practice saying the words.
“An... Gel. Angel,” she said carefully. She moved to the next line. It seemed to be missing a word, and then the word came to her. Using her claw, she carefully scratched the last three letters. She took a step back and looked at the phrase, at the words, and said carefully, “Aim high.”
A small wave of dizziness came over her, and she slammed her hand against the wall to steady herself.
The small voice in her head came forward once more. It was the only voice she completely trusted.
“I don’t understand,” Angel whispered. “Help me.”
The voice in her head gave her an answer.
“Air Force,” she said softly. “Right. I can’t forget.”
Angel wasn’t sure what it meant. It had to be important, but her only trusted friend had told her she couldn’t forget it.
Angel took a slow, deep breath, let it out slowly, and read the entire motto once. “Aim high. Fly. Fight. Win.”
She couldn’t remember why it was important. But she had an overwhelming feeling that she couldn’t ever forget it. As long as she could draw breath into her lungs, Angel would keep fighting to remember her old life. And once she remembered everything, she’d make whoever had stolen her memories pay for their actions.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Lieutenant Tom Abrahams walked carefully through the door. The civilians that had been evacuated were put in the quarantine area where they would stay for the next forty-eight hours. It was standard procedure for any new arrivals at Hope Island. He had every intention of leaving them there because he already had more shit on his to-do list than he could possibly handle in the near future. But all of that changed when he received an urgent call from one of the guards. Under normal circumstances, Abrahams wouldn’t have bothered to be at some civilian’s beck and call like this.
But still, his curiosity was getting the better of him. Especially when it came to why the hell Foster hadn’t been on the helicopter, which landed a few hours ago. So he was breaking from his already busy schedule. Because maybe someone could give him some answers about where the hell the man was.
He walked up to the intercom system and pressed the button. “Name’s Abrahams. Who am I speaking to?”
A man with a visible cast on his ankle hobbled over and pressed the intercom button. “Nick Walker, sir.”
“Are you military, Walker?”
“Retired.”
“I see.”
“With all due respect, how soon are we getting out of this quarantine?”
“Forty-eight hours. We have to make sure none of you are infected,” Abrahams said. “Wasn’t that explained to you by one of my men?”
“Yeah, but I was hoping you were here to fast track us out of here.”
“I can’t do that. Base security protocol.”
“You’re wasting time,” Walker said. “People turn a hell of a lot faster than two days.”
“Well, if you are infected and do turn, then we’ll now have our answer sooner than two days, won’t we?”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Walker said. “Do you have any clue what’s going on out there?”
“More than you might think, Mr. Walker,” Abrahams answered. He paused for dramatic effect before continuing. “Care to tell me where Malcolm Foster is?”
“I’m not sure. One of the other members of the group said he was pursuing a new lead. Something that could end the Reaper threat once and for all. He took another one of our group with him to chase down the lead.”
“Do you mean a wild goose chase?”
“Negative, sir. That’s not how Foster operates. Every step of the way, he’s had these people’s safety in mind.”
“Okay, let’s say you’re right and he’s pursuing a lead. He’s just one man. Hell, even if he’s got somebody else with him who’s former military like you, he’s seriously outnumbered. Sorry, it must have slipped my memory. Which branch of the military did you say you were in?”
“I didn’t,” Walker replied simply.
“Right. Need to know, right?”
Walker said nothing.
“At some point, I fully expect you’l
l share those details with me. You hear me, Walker?”
“Loud and clear, sir.”
“Thing is, all of your admission into this island was conditional. It was all based on information Foster was supposed to bring to me. Except he’s not here now. Can you see my dilemma?”
“Sure. That’s why he sent me. I have the information.”
“Where is it?”
“Right here,” Walker said as he tapped the side of his head. “I know how to kill these bastards faster and easier than ever.”
“You mean in theory?”
“Nope, we proved it more than once. And it’s not just shooting these things in the head. These things are deathly allergic to silver.”
Abrahams did a double-take. “Silver?”
“Yep. And I know exactly how to deliver the payload that kills them every time,” Walker said. “So the way I see it, you’ve got two choices, sir.”
“I think you’re forgetting who’s in charge here.”
“It’s pretty clear-cut, sir. Option one, you let me sit here in this fucking room with everybody else for two more days. You can continue to shuffle paperwork while more people get killed. Or option two, you can let me the hell out. Then I can start showing you what kind of weapons you need to use to kill these things, pronto.”
“What if you’re infected? You could wind up killing somebody else in this island. Hell, you could wind up killing everybody here.”
“Sometimes you need to take a risk in order to secure the win,” Walker said. “I’ve got a busted ankle. It’s not like I’m moving very fast.”
“If you turn into one of those things, a broken bone isn’t going to slow you down at all.”
“Do you want to chain me to a desk someplace while I show you how to make these weapons? That’s fine with me,” Walker said. “The way I see it, we’re getting our ass kicked out there. This is a way to level the playing field.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You don’t have everyone’s lives here to worry about.”
The Wretched Series | Book 4 | Wretched Aftermath Page 26