The people of the island, those from the surrounding houses watched me in silence, fear or something that I didn’t care to try and recognise, on their faces. Two of my minions, having run to join the fight had fallen to their knees, hands pressed to their breasts and heads bowed.
I puzzled over their behaviour for just a moment before turning to my friend, who was staring at me, open-mouthed.
“Bloody hell, mate.”
“What?”
“That was… wow.”
His words were barely heard as I struggled against the pulsing surge of joy that filled me. I had fought the monsters once more, I had dealt death to my enemies and I had been supreme. It was a feeling unlike anything else and I wanted more.
I shuddered at that thought and closed my eyes, reining it in as best I could. That way lay madness for there would be no stopping me until the world itself was empty of life if I gave in to that urge.
“We should go.” My voice was hoarse, as I struggled to keep it even. “There may be more in need of help.”
“Sure thing, mate,” Gregg said softly, using the same tone he used when Jinx snapped at him. “Whatever you say.”
I sheathed my blades and turned away without another word, heading further into the town, towards the rising smoke. They had attacked my home and for that, there would be a reckoning.
Chapter 15
A large room with only one door to allow entrance or exit, and no windows, had been turned into a temporary holding area for the prisoner. He had been handcuffed to a bolt that protruded from the table before him, and he stared balefully at the officers questioning him.
I rubbed wearily at my eyes and stifled a yawn as I watched from the doorway. It had been a long couple of days with little to show for it and almost no sleep. I had only seen my babies for short periods in between emergency meetings and it wasn’t going to end any time soon.
Two mercenaries were still at large, hidden somewhere in the town. I was sure of that since we had almost continuous coverage of the surrounding area and with the snow, no one could travel far without our seeing them.
Every member of the CDF and Navy were working all hours to try and find those men, while Samuel had the Dead patrolling constantly.
The last explosion had been twenty-six hours previous and had resulted in the messy death of seven civilians, two CDF soldiers and one mercenary infiltrator. He was the second of the group to die, the first had made the mistake of running straight into Ryan.
I rubbed at my eyes once more and leant against the door frame. The two black-garbed acolytes standing just inside the room edged a little closer as they eyed the prisoner. It was almost nice to see how concerned they were and if I wasn’t waiting to deal with representatives of the various island factions, I would have been a lot more appreciative.
“Anything?” Admiral Stuart asked as he came up beside me.
Without turning my head to look at him, I said, “Not yet.”
The mercenary we had captured had been refusing to talk for days. It was almost frustrating enough for me to consider allowing a harsher method of questioning. While I was wanting to create a better future for us all, I couldn’t do that if Genpact won.
Did it then, justify the use of extreme measures?
We were already planning on attacking their base and there would be lives lost in doing so. More than that, there were a number of bases and they were held by people with an ideology totally at odds with our own.
I wasn’t even sure that we would be able to come to peace with them. It would be all or nothing, which meant them or us. One group would have to be wiped out and that was a hard thought to bear since I was damned sure it wouldn’t be my group.
Which made it seem crazy not to indulge in a little torture to get the answers I needed. We were fighting for our lives after all.
“Perhaps-“ I cut off as the sound of running feet hitting the linoleum sounded, coming closer with each step.
“Sir!” the young soldier skidded to a stop and performed a quick and sloppy salute. “Ma’am.”
The Admiral glared at him, lifting his chin and looking down his nose at the quivering soldier, who paused, taking a moment to tug on the bottom of his jacket to straighten it, before he stood to attention and performed a much smarter salute.
“Out with it!”
I hid my smile at the way the young man’s cheeks heated to a colour that almost matched his short-cut hair. His eyes flicked nervously between me and the Admiral and it was clear he wasn’t sure who he should be looking at.
“Just speak,” I told him, gently with a soft smile of encouragement. “It’s okay.”
“Y-yes, ma’am.” He swallowed and looked directly at me. “Another of the mercs has been killed.”
That was three down, one to go. My smile widened at that and even the dour Admiral looked a little pleased.
“Tell us what happened,” I encouraged.
“Some of those cultists….” His eyes moved to my own bodyguards and he swallowed nervously. “Ah, some of the Dead, they found him trying to get close to the command centre.”
My eyebrows rose at that. It seemed to be such a foolish thing to attempt as that command centre was incredibly well guarded. Dozens of soldiers patrolled the perimeter and stood guard at the entrance.
I looked up at the Admiral with some alarm as I realised why that made them such a good target. He shook his head slightly as he met my gaze and I almost sighed in relief. He understood my alarm and he had likely already considered it and made appropriate plans.
“That leaves one remaining.” Admiral Stuart rubbed at his chin with one hand, eyes distant. “At this moment we have to consider he could be anywhere.”
“Most people are familiar with their neighbours. He won’t just be able to blend in and hide.”
“True, ma’am, but even so…”
I glanced down at my watch and closed my eyes wearily as the admiral dismissed the young soldier. It would not be long before dawn was upon us and people would leave their houses, heading out for their daily tasks.
During the night, with freshly fallen snow, it was easy to find tracks. Which made me wonder why one of them was out near the command centre in the first place. Since their arrival, there had been several small attacks at seeming random locations and I couldn’t shake the feeling that they were rushing.
“Ma’am,” Admiral Stuart said warningly and my eyes snapped open.
I followed his gaze and turned my head to see my beloved marching down the corridor towards us, Gregg and Isaac in tow.
Their clothing was wet from being out in the snow, their skin paler than usual and noses red. They’d all been out too long and, not surprisingly, Ryan’s coat sleeves were stained with the blood of the zombies he had killed.
He didn’t smile, not even when he met my eyes and I shivered a little as I realised there was too much of the killer there and not enough of the man. I’d heard tales of what he’d been doing, running from one fight to another.
People were talking and the legend surrounding him was growing. I had overheard two of my own bodyguards speaking in hushed tones, full of awe. More and more, they were looking to him as though he were a true deity and it was beginning to scare me.
“I’d like to speak with the prisoner,” Ryan said without preamble as he reached us.
“No.”
The Admiral’s voice was firm and his hand hung down at his side, near the holstered sidearm. Ryan didn’t indicate he had noticed but I was sure he had. As he’d likely noticed the nervous CDF soldiers sharing glances as they too had heard the growing tales of my beloved.
“Why?” I asked, holding up one hand to forestall any complaints from the Admiral. “I’ll not allow torture and I can’t see you doing any better than the people already questioning him.”
In response, Ryan pulled out a flattened, round, metal device. I looked at it curiously as the Admiral swore softly and almost took a step back.
“I disa
rmed it,” Isaac said. “Safe for now, but no idea how many more there might be.”
“What is it?” I asked, a feeling of dread growing in my stomach.
“Landmine.”
Just one word and it was enough to drain all the colour from my face. A landmine of all things! I had grown up hearing horror stories of war torn countries and the poor people who stepped on them. Of the decade's long attempts to locate and disarm those left behind after wars.
And Ryan was carrying one in his hand. His eyes met mine and I licked dry lips.
“Where did you find it?”
“Buried under the snow near one of the food distribution centres.”
His voice was so nonchalant that it took me a moment to register his words. When I did, I slumped back against the wall, legs going weak. One of the bodyguards steadied me and I looked helplessly at the mine in Ryan’s hand.
It had been buried in a place where hundreds of people would gather to collect their day's food. A place where just one person would need to step on it and dozens would be killed in a blast that would have zombies in a crowded place.
“Go,” I said. “Do what you must.”
There was no argument from the Admiral who merely stood to one side, turning his face away from the room. He too understood that there were things that might be unpalatable but necessary in order to save lives.
Ryan casually tossed the mine over his shoulder where a wide-eyed Isaac caught it before cursing loudly.
“You two, get out.”
The officers questioning the prisoner looked first at Ryan, then back at the Admiral who nodded. Their faces dark, they rose to their feet and marched past the man I loved, the man who I suspected was about to do something horrendous, something I had allowed.
I swallowed back my nausea and turned to watch. I wouldn’t allow myself to look away, to pretend I wasn’t complicit.
“Name?” Ryan asked.
The prisoner, a man almost as tall and well built as the over-muscled Isaac, just smirked and shook his head. Ryan nodded slowly and smiled in a way that I had seen make grown men cower in fear.
“Do you know me?”
A blank look was all the response and again, Ryan nodded.
“Ryan Sawyer,” my beloved said, quite casually, and then smiled as he noted a reaction. “Yes, my beard is new, and I didn’t have it in the photo that Smythe had in his file.”
He pulled a piece of paper out of one pocket. It had been folded several times and was quite grubby and wrinkled as though it had been screwed up and thrown away at one point. He carefully unfolded it and all the while, the prisoner stared at him like one would a viper.
“I’m not surprised that you know my name. Smythe was a little upset with me when last we parted ways. I had just killed everyone in his bunker.”
The prisoner couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of Ryan and his adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed nervously. Any cockiness had vanished from him.
“Smythe, if I were to guess, would have ensured that anyone coming to this island would know my name and my face so that they could kill me. Am I right?”
The prisoner didn’t respond but Ryan nodded anyway.
“He would have told you just enough so that you wouldn’t underestimate how dangerous I was. He would have even told you of my history, of all the information he was so pleased to show me.”
Still, no response from the prisoner but, once again, Ryan nodded his head. He reached down and tapped one finger on the piece of paper and the prisoner’s eyes seemed to be drawn there, to where he pointed. They widened and snapped back up to Ryan’s face.
“You know who I am. You know what I have done and what I am capable of. You now know that I am aware of the location of your bunker, the one where your family are being held to ensure your compliance with Genpact.”
“I am not going to torture you today. I will not use my knife to flay your skin, nor gouge out your eyes. I will not harm you. But know this.”
His voice dropped, a coldness entering it that I had heard before and I shivered as I knew that the prisoner was staring into the eyes of a killer, someone with no guilt, no remorse, no humanity.
“I will be going to this base, I will make my way inside and I will kill each and every person there. I will ensure that your family receives particular attention. Every dark and terrible thing you were thinking that I was about to do to you, I shall do to your family. And, I will record it.”
“When I am done, I shall return to you and if you are still alive, I will make sure that it is the only thing you will see for the rest of your miserable existence.” He paused and stared down at the prisoner. “Do you believe me?”
“Yes.”
“Then answer every question truthfully and instead of doing that, I shall bring your family here, to you.”
The prisoner licked his lips before tearing his eyes from Ryan and looking over at me. No, not to me, I realised, but to Isaac. The burly mercenary nodded, a slight movement of his head, but enough apparently.
“What do you want to know?”
Chapter 16
The urge to kill him was almost overwhelming, as he sat there, spewing every little bit of information that he thought I wanted to hear. I didn’t respond at all, just stood there and stared down at him as I fought the murderous impulse.
Someone was barking orders from near the door and I tuned out his voice, focusing on not reaching for my knife from where it hung, sheathed, on my belt.
With each minute that passed, the prisoner grew a little paler, and began to speak just that bit faster, as though afraid that he wouldn’t tell me what I had wanted quickly enough. I could practically smell his fear and it was intoxicating.
I turned abruptly and stalked from the room, leaving the fool calling out behind me, asking if I had heard enough, if his family were safe. I ignored him and brushed past the guards out in the corridor, stopping only when a gentle hand was placed against my arm.
“Ryan.”
Just my name, and nothing more, but enough to draw a little of my focus as I turned to her, to the woman I loved. Her eyes were full of warmth and concern, something I had learnt to recognise from her having seen it all too many times.
“A threat isn’t torture,” I said, perhaps a little defensively. “I did as you wanted.”
“I know.” She chewed on her lip, not releasing her hold on me and then jerked her head to one side. “Follow me.”
With little real choice as she refused to release her hold, I trailed after her, along the corridor to a plain brown door that led into a small supply closet. She practically dragged me inside and closed the door behind us, before reaching for the light switch.
It was cramped and smelt of the chemicals in the cleaning products that still lined the shelves fixed to three of the surrounding walls. She wrinkled her nose at the odour but stared up at me, eyes serious.
“What do you need?”
That question took me by surprise, and I blinked, taken aback, not quite knowing how to answer.
“Ryan, please. I need you to come back to me. What do you need to do that?”
“I don’t understand what you mean?”
My voice was cold, so very cold and unemotional and a small part of my brain, the part that had been growing for a mere two years, since I had met her, began to respond. Something must have changed as her lips drew up at the corners and her eyes shone brightly as she watched me.
She pulled me into an embrace and I stood there awkwardly for a long, drawn-out moment before patting her back gently with one hand. She seemed happy enough with that at least, though I was no less confused as she pulled back, all beaming smile and shining eyes.
“Thank you for making him talk… without hurting him.”
“Welcome.”
“Admiral Stuart is sending people out to keep a watch over those places that are likely targets.”
“I’ll go too.”
“No.” There was a hint of sorrow in h
er voice, but her face showed nothing. “I want you to do something else.”
“What?”
She bit her lip and turned her head away, why, I wasn’t sure. So, I waited as patiently as I could for her to speak.
“Head to the mainland.”
Now, that took me by surprise. “Really?”
“Yah, I think it would be a good thing for you to burn off some energy. He’s just given us the location of where they are launching them from. You can take a small force and stop them.”
“You’re sure?”
“No, but I know you need this. You’ve been stuck here for too long and you need to be able to do… what you do.”
To kill people. She understood my need, but still, it was unsettling to see her reference it in such a manner. She was essentially saying that she was sending me out to kill people because I needed it. Which I so very badly did.
As soon as she had said it, I was itching to be away, to rush out there and kill a great many people. I almost shivered at the very thought of it. In some, small, part of my mind, I was aware that it was potentially becoming a problem. That need to kill.
I wouldn’t always have enemies I could face down. Somehow, I would need to find a way to deal with it before I found myself losing control. I couldn’t allow that to happen, not when around Lily or my children.
“Why haven’t the twins got names, yet?” I asked, thinking back to Gregg’s question.
She smiled wryly at the sudden change of subject. I didn’t have her adeptness when it came to conversation, so my segue was a little more obvious than hers would have been.
“That’s the first time you’ve asked, you know that, right?”
“It is?”
“Yes, and I’m not going to name them for you. We will do it together, when you are ready. But, until you were interested enough to ask, I wasn’t going to push. I wanted you to want to help choose names.”
It had never occurred to me. Just another way that I was different, I supposed. When the twins had been born, I had found myself able to love them in a way that differed from how I felt for Lily. It was yet another new and concerning emotion for me.
Killing the Dead Season 3 Box Set | Books 13-18 Page 77