by Matt King
“I was eighteen when I left home,” he went on. “Mom was too busy with her boyfriends and I wasn’t much for school, so I decided to go into the military. The thought of basic training didn’t exactly appeal to me, though. I already knew how to fight thanks to mom putting me in martial arts after-school training since I was old enough to walk. Then I did some digging on the Internet and found out about private military companies. Ever heard of those?”
Ray gave a brief shake of his head. “Sorry, no.”
“The name says it all. They’re military freelancers. Kind of like the Army, but with half the discipline and twice the crazy. Sounded perfect to me. The one I chose is based in North Carolina, actually.”
“That right?”
“Yep. In the middle of the coastal swamps. Ugly as hell and hotter than…hell. Anyway, once they heard about my training, I got called out to this place on the edge of the compound. Everybody in my squad acted like I'd been sentenced to death. The man who requested me had a bit of a, uh…reputation, I guess you’d say. So did the people who worked for him. He was a bounty hunter.”
Ray shifted in his chair, seemingly uncomfortable at the sound of the words.
“Once I came on board, the old man decided he was going to make me his project. I just thought it was cool to travel the world and get paid to hunt bad guys. He thought he’d found a second son and started imparting all his wisdom on me. Said he thought I had what it took to run the outfit one day. Truth was, I never wanted to do that, but I couldn’t tell him.”
“Couldn’t you have just said so?” Ray asked.
“Not if I wanted to stay living. You never leave the family. That was his favorite saying. Supposed to sound comforting, but to me it always sounded like a threat. Turns out I was right.”
“Oh?”
“One of the guys I started with at the company worked in surveillance. He started telling me one day about the targets we’d been sent to hunt. Turns out some of them weren’t the bad guys. Most of them weren’t, if you want the truth. That didn’t sit well with me and I told the old man what I thought. Then he told me what he thought. He said there was no good and evil in the world, just evil, and that some were better at hiding it than others. Then he made it clear that conscience had no place in his outfit. Loyalty was all that mattered.” August felt a wave of nerves rumble through his stomach, just like he’d felt that night in the subway. “A few weeks later, I met Meryn.”
“I meant to ask you how you two met.”
“She showed up when I was at my lowest. I wanted out. She didn’t waste any time showing me what she was capable of. I got the whole spiel about the war she was going to fight and a zillion other things, but once I got over the fact that there was a magical alien woman standing in front of me, I saw that she was offering me everything I wanted: to get out of my current life and to do something...worthy, I guess.”
“Good guy stuff,” Ray said.
August thought about it for a second. “Yeah,” he said. “Good guy stuff.”
Ray took in a loud breath from his nose and let it out slowly as he rocked. “Sounds like you struck out in the parental department.”
“You got that right.”
“You’re a good man, August Dillon. If the people in your life aren’t around to notice that, I’ll be proud for them. How’s that sound?”
“First time for everything.” August bent down to grab his swords. All of a sudden, he was tired and wanted to sleep for a week. Remembering had a way of doing that. “I think I’m going to head in.”
“August, hold on a second.”
He let Ray’s weak grip stop him.
“I just wanted to say that I told you Bear’s story earlier for a reason. I know we’ve only just gotten to know each other, but I get the sense that you’re the kind of person who’d rather take on these challenges by himself, that maybe you think you don’t need help.”
“Did I say that? I don’t remember saying that.”
“You didn’t have to. All the same, I wish you’d give Bear a chance. There’s not a single person on this planet more devoted to the ones he holds dear. He’ll protect you, no matter the cost.”
“Why do so many people think I need protecting?”
“You’re looking at it in a negative way. Maybe you’re just so special, they can’t afford to lose you.”
August nodded even though he didn’t fully believe it. Outside, the wind made waves in the grass. He yawned. “Okay, now I’m really going.”
“We’ll see you in the morning.”
“You want me to roll you inside or something?”
Ray gave a weak smile in response. “Not right now. I think maybe I’ll sit out here a while longer.”
August said goodnight and stepped carefully down the narrow front steps. He was halfway to his room when he saw a light switch on in the second floor window of the house. Bear’s silhouette appeared, darkening the shade.
From his vantage point, August could see both of the Lawson men. Ray sat on the porch with the blanket covering his legs as he stared at the sky. Bear was on his bed, leaning forward with his shoulders slumped and his hands covering his face.
Why does it feel like everything is starting to unravel? August wondered. It was a question he didn’t want to think through.
He looked away quickly and walked on.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“August, wake up.”
He felt a hand on his shoulder. The voice sounded like a woman’s, but that might’ve been part of a dream. Most women were these days. He lifted his head off the pillow and looked in the direction of the nightstand. It was hazy, but he thought the clock said it was just after six in the morning.
“Go away, Meryn.”
“We need to talk.”
“No, we need to sleep.”
“August!” She shook him.
“Settle down, I’m awake.” He propped himself up on an elbow to let his eyesight come into focus. Rain peppered the barn’s aluminum roof. Meryn stood above him with arms crossed. She was still wearing the same dress from the hospital. “You know, if you wanted to see me without my shirt on, all you had to do was ask.”
“This is no time for jokes,” she answered. “We’re waiting for you in the house.”
She left him braced against the cold rush of air that slipped inside as the storm door bounced on its hinges. He dressed himself in his last clean shirt and jeans from his bag. The rain was gentle enough to be blocked by the limbs of the oak that stood in between the barn and the house, but he wore his jacket anyway. Ray’s wind-powered air conditioning would be on full blast. As he approached the porch, he could see the lower half of Bear’s torso in the kitchen window. It was a spot he was used to seeing Ray occupy in the mornings.
“Morning,” Ray said as August walked inside. “You’re up early. Thought you’d still be asleep.”
“It’s not for lack of trying.”
Ray pulled over a plate and slid it in front of an empty chair. “Have some biscuits and molasses. Bear made them—under my direction, of course.”
Meryn sat on the other side of the table with her back to the window. With the rain falling behind her and the sullen look on her face, she looked like the perfect spokesmodel for doom and gloom.
“What’s the good news?” August asked. “Did our boy get shanked in prison?”
“The situation is more complicated,” she said. “Gemini has killed again.”
August and Bear exchanged a glance. He didn't need to read minds to understand the look that passed across Bear's face. August had the same thought. We should have been there to stop him. We should have left last night.
Bear joined them at the table after piling another layer of biscuits onto the plate. “How did he kill someone if he’s locked up?”
“I wish I knew. I saw a flash of energy to the east. When I followed it, he was there, still in his cell. Everyone around him was dead. Those above, the men below…all killed.”
“You saw him?”
August asked.
Meryn nodded.
“What’s he like?”
“He is afraid.”
Afraid? That didn’t make sense. A guy like that shouldn’t have much to be scared of. Not yet, anyway. August thought about what Meryn had seen while he waited impatiently for the molasses to drip out of the container. A blast of energy with Gemini at the center, surrounded by a building full of dead bodies. “Sounds like a bomb to me,” he mused as he watched the molasses pour. It looked like the stuff left over after an oil change.
“How do you mean?” Bear asked. “You think he’s got bombs?”
“I think he is a bomb.”
“My God…” Ray brushed his hand across his brow. “Is he on the loose?”
“He has not moved, even though the bars no longer hold him. The guards are all either dead or gone.”
“He’s not gonna be there for long,” said Bear. “Something like that happens, the Feds won’t be far behind.”
“Bear’s right,” Ray said with a nod. “They’ll be after him in no time.” He had the morning newspaper folded in his lap. He tapped the front page as though it were the Rules of Engagement for Government Interference.
August tried to answer, but had to dislodge the hunk of biscuit from the roof of his mouth first. “The National Guard’ll be there before anyone else,” he said. “The way I see it, we have two options: First, we beat up a few guardsmen, take their uniforms, and then find Gemini once we get inside.”
Ray shook his head. “They’ll never let you in.”
“Which is why option two is we fight our way inside, kill Gemini, and then figure out option three.”
“Whatever you choose, you will need to be careful,” Meryn said. She seemed even more nervous and pessimistic than usual. “I could sense the power in him. If he knows you are coming…”
“Can he hurt them?” Ray asked.
“Yes, he can.”
“Okay,” August said. “So all we have to do is force our way through a line of soldiers without making a racket. Sounds pretty cut and dry.”
“I don’t like it,” Ray said. “There’s no way to guarantee their safety, let alone their success.”
“It is the only way,” Meryn replied. “I wish there was an easier path, Mr. Lawson, but the longer Gemini stays alive, the more powerful he becomes. He will endanger every living soul within his reach.”
Ray fell silent.
“See?” August said. “I told you she was a downer.”
“We should go,” Bear said, standing up. “The ride’ll take a few hours and I know a spot we can camp at if it gets too late. I gassed up the truck already.”
“Truck? Nobody said anything about a truck.”
“I don’t think there’s time to hitch a ride on a train, do you?”
He had a point. “All right, fine, but you’re driving. And no speeding. I don’t want to see any cops until we get to the prison.”
“And you’ll stay with Daddy?” Bear asked, turning to speak to Meryn.
“Yes,” she replied. “I will not leave his side.”
Ray backed his chair away from the table. “If this is goodbye, I want to do it standing up. Bear, if you will…”
Bear eased him out of the chair. As soon as he could stand, Ray had Bear bend down so that he could get his arm around him in a hug.
“Daddy, I’m coming back as soon as this is over.”
“I know you will, Bear. I have no doubt.” Ray stepped away. His eyes were wet with tears. “I cry too easily these days,” he said to no one in particular. He cleared his throat before turning to August. “Best of luck to you, Mr. Dillon. You boys come home safe.”
“Thanks. I’ll make sure he eats his vegetables.”
“And gets in bed by nine.”
With his blades already in their sheath, August had everything he needed for the trip. How he got past the parking lot of the prison wearing swords on his back was another matter, but that was stuff they could figure out later. Planning was best left to the last minute, after all.
“You ready?” he said to Bear.
Bear took the keys from the counter. “Let’s go.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
It seemed like too much work to wheel himself away from the picture window, so Ray stayed in place and watched the tops of the oak trees sway in the wind. He’d lost count of how many years those worn-down trees had braved the autumn storms. He wondered if they ever got tired of the fight.
“Mr. Lawson, are you well?”
“Hmm? Oh yes, I’m fine. I’m just thinking about old times.” And older people.
Outside, the light rain turned into sheets. He thought of Bear and August out in the mountains and wondered if they took shelter for the night. Appalachian rains could be unforgiving. In truth, it wasn't the rains he was worried about. Meryn's talk that morning had spooked him. The thought of the two of them trying to take on a killer like that was enough to send his stomach into fits.
“You are worried that you won’t see him again,” Meryn said.
“It shows, does it? As a parent, I think you always worry about a child going off on their own, no matter how old they are.”
“Are you angry?”
Ray held onto his answer.
“You have every right to be,” she said. “It must appear that I have chosen John only to send him into harm’s way.”
“It does appear that way, yes,” Ray replied.
“And you wonder if I have his best interests at heart.”
“You can read my thoughts,” said Ray. “August told me you might.”
Meryn rose and walked to his side. “In this case, I do not need to. I find your mannerisms easier to understand than August’s.”
“He’s unique, but I like that. There’s too much sameness in people these days. And you don’t need to worry. I don’t blame you for choosing Bear. I wish you’d given him a choice, but if this war that you’re talking about does come to pass, I’m grateful that he’ll have a gift to help him survive.”
The clock in the living room chimed.
“What was that?” she asked.
“It rings every hour. Must be seven o’clock. Time to take one of my pills.”
“I can help. Where are they?”
“Over on the counter.”
Meryn walked into the kitchen to grab the pill box left by Bear. While she was gone, Ray unfolded the paper in his lap. He wasn't too surprised to see the lead story. “Looks like somebody was crazy enough to tell a reporter about the incident in church,” he said.
She set his medicine down on the table. Her eyes scanned the headline. “The person writing this believes the account to be a hoax.”
“Any sane man would.” Ray flipped the paper over to see the bottom half. “Now would you look at that...”
Inset into the second half of the article was a picture of August taken by one of the security cameras at the Stop-N-Gas. You could see him clearly standing at the counter. The back of Burt Sommers’s head was just visible at the bottom.
“I'd know the back of that head anywhere. Been staring at it in church since the 70s. That’s Burt Sommers. And there's our boy August.”
Meryn took the page from him. Her eyes poured over the image. “Will others see this?” she asked.
“Well, yes. Something the matter?”
“August must know of this news.”
“News?” Ray looked at the picture again. “There’s nothing incriminating here.”
“You do not understand,” she said. “He warned me that this day would come.”
Ray looked at her, helpless. “What day?”
“This picture will act as a beacon. There are men looking for him, Mr. Lawson. Dangerous men from his past, and this will tell them exactly where they need to go.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The trek to Building Z took the better part of ten minutes for Specialist Hicks, even using the four-wheeler to get there.
He wove through the line
of recruits doing drills around the base with the printouts from Research wedged beneath his legs to keep it from scattering to the wind. All he had to do was deliver the folder and get out. The less time spent in Building Z, the better.
Just past the barracks, the path changed abruptly from asphalt to sandy dirt. He slowed the ATV to keep from toppling over as he drove through the potholes left behind by the rain. A black metal fence topped with razor wire bordered the road on the left. It made the place look like a prison. Farther down the path, trees heavy with Spanish moss formed a canopy that muted the evening sunlight coming through. A pretty scene for some, but not for him. He believed in ghosts and things that went bump in the night. The dark swamps surrounding Building Z were like a breeding ground for his nightmares.
The road ended in a wall of overgrown bushes and weeds. Nailed to a post was a weathered green sign with a snarling wolf in the middle. Pocks of rust dotted the animal’s teeth, making it look like blood dripping from its fangs. Hicks looked away quickly.
He grabbed the folder and stuck it beneath his jacket as he walked through the brush, soaking his pant legs in the process. Building Z stood at the end of the trail. Moss and rust dominated the domed exterior of the Quonset hut. Two square windows stared back at him on either side of the entrance, their glass filmed in dirt. Was a light on inside? He couldn't tell for sure. The bikes were gone; that much he knew. Maybe he could slip the folder beneath the door and get back to his post without having to talk to anyone. Wouldn’t that be like winning the lotto on your last day of child support?
His boots made a sucking sound as he approached through the mud. When he got to the door, he pressed the red button on the speaker hanging from the wall.
“Good morning, Specialist.”
His stomach tensed. So much for easy exits. “Good morning, sir,” he said. “I have something from Research. It’s a…um…”
“A fulfillment of my request?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Bring it inside.”
There was a clicking sound as the front door unlocked. Hicks pushed the door open and stepped through. The hut was empty except for a desk at the back of the room. Diagonal shafts of sunlight from the side windows illuminated his path. Each step came with an echo. At the end of the room was Coburn, towering in his familiar tan duster. He stood behind a simple oak desk, sipping on a cup of coffee.