by Sydney Addae
“Why? You don’t worship Her anymore?”
He shook his head.
She opened her mouth to ask why and realized it didn’t matter. Leaning back, she closed her eyes and allowed the music to soothe her. Minutes later, the truck stopped. He turned off the truck and got out. It didn’t take long to start sweating. Zoe looked around the strip mall. There were a couple of fast-food franchises she recognized from her trips abroad as she stepped out and headed inside the feed store. It was blessedly cool, and she remained near the door waiting.
“Is that who I think it is?” a feminine voice said somewhere behind her.
“Yeah, that’s her. Heard she had come this way.”
“Wonder why she came here? I would’ve stayed lost if I was her,” the voice said.
“Look how fancy she’s all dressed. Don’t change nothing.”
Zoe frowned and turned up the volume.
Lost in one of her favorite songs, she ignored the women’s chatter and focused on the beat of the music.
Someone tapped her on the shoulder.
Turning, Zoe looked up at a brawny, female full-blood with reddish brown hair and freckles reminding her of an Amazon come to life.
“Remember me?”
“No. No I don’t.” The look she gave her and the two others standing slightly behind said she didn’t want to know them either.
“You’re not on Hidalgo land,” the female said.
Unconcerned, Zoe looked around. “Okay.”
“Not in here,” someone yelled from the back.
The next moment Zoe was airborne and landed on the sidewalk. Her ear buds and phone flew in opposite directions. Dazed, she stood slowly, was hit mid-section and flew backward onto the asphalt parking lot.
Shaking her head to stop the ringing, she saw the two smaller stooges laughing as the Amazon strode toward her with an evil grin. Enough. Just as the Amazon reached for Zoe with grim determination, Zoe rolled back and kicked out with her feet, hitting her opponent in the mid-section, sending her stumbling backward a few feet. Red hot anger rolled through Zoe as she leaped high and kicked her challenger beneath the chin sending her staggering backward.
The two stooges stopped laughing and moved closer.
“Bitch,” the Amazon yelled and ran at Zoe.
Determined not to be touched again by this one, Zoe waited until she was close, leaped high and kicked her opponent in the back, sending her face first into the ground. Whirling, Zoe missed the punch aimed at her back and slammed her fist into the face of the first stooge and jump-kicked the second beneath the chin sending her flying backward. Unsatisfied, her she marched back to the Amazon, grabbed her by the shirt and lifted her to her feet and punched her several times in the stomach and then threw her down.
“I told you I don’t know you,” Zoe yelled and pointed at the bleeding, bruised female lying on the ground. “And you don’t know me.” Chest heaving, she searched for her phone, saw it lying nearby and picked it up.
“I’ll... I’ll get you,” the Amazon said standing slowly.
Zoe strode to her, grabbed her by the neck, squeezed lightly and growled low and deep in her face. “You don’t know me but believe this, the next time I’ll kill you. When you see me go the other way. Do you understand?” As she spoke, the female’s eyes widened. Fear leaked from her pores as she nodded.
“Yes, Kira,” she whispered as Zoe’s fingers tightened around her neck.
Disgusted by the unnecessary violence, Zoe released her and searched for her ear buds. The two stooges looked at her, turned their heads and crawled away.
“Looking for these?” her dad asked standing in front of the truck holding her buds.
Relieved, she nodded and then frowned. “Where were you when Godzilla and her crew attacked me?”
“Inside, watching.” He shook his head. “You really don’t remember them do you?”
Tired of explaining, she shook her head. “Should I?”
He snorted. “They bullied all the pups in school, especially you and Suri. You came home with bruises from Biloga all the time.”
“Who?”
“Biloga. Godzilla.” He chuckled. “Miriam said you’d had self-defense training. I wondered what it looked like.”
“You did this on purpose?” She couldn’t believe it.
“I knew this was the day they came to town.” He shrugged. “Lots of people will be glad to hear you took them down a few pegs.”
“Great,” Zoe muttered. “Do I need to watch my back for them?”
“That goes without saying.” He pointed to the fast-food restaurant. “Want something?”
She looked at her clothes. Dirt smudged her top and there was a new rip in the jeans. “Something from the drive-thru.”
He nodded and returned to the car. People stopped, pointed and talked as they drove through town.
Zoe sighed and pushed up her sunglasses. It was getting old. Everywhere she went, she didn’t fit in, and was treated like a freak.
CHAPTER SIX
After Razor won the Alpha challenge, Thomas, and the others returned to Sterling, Italy. The situation in that small town was dire. Humans littered the streets like common trash. If a person didn’t know what to look for, they would think the citizens of Sterling were strung out on cocaine or heroin or some type of opiate, which wasn’t true. Whoever played God with these people used them as test subjects and turned them out onto the street to survive the best they could. Even the Liege kept the people from their failed research in the castle to keep the public from seeing what they were doing.
The team arrived shortly after midnight and re-entered the large, one and a half story house Alpha Barticus rented them for the duration of their stay. Having rested on the plane, they dropped off their luggage, grabbed some gear and drove off in three vehicles toward town to get more answers.
Mia and Noah strode to the head of a long line of people waiting to enter a popular night-club and hangout. Dressed in tees, jeans, ankle boots, and leather jackets, they didn’t look like any of the others waiting. Several people snickered at them and a few pointed.
Ignoring the groupies, Mia focused on the two large men at the front of the line. “You’ll let us in when we approach with no problems. Treat us like old friends.” She sent the thoughts to both men repeatedly so that by the time they reached the front, the men smiled down at her and slapped Noah on the back as if they had spent time together in Sunday School.
“Good to see you guys again. Go on in.”
“Thanks,” Noah said.
Mia turned, looked at the shocked expressions on the faces of several people waiting and winked. Inside, they moved through the crowds, searching for anything out of the ordinary. Noah pushed toward the bar. Mia stood in front of him watching the dance floor.
“What’s on tap?” Noah asked.
“Dark and light,” the husky voice said.
“She’s different,” Mia told Noah without turning. “Ask more questions.”
“Top shelf?” Noah asked.
“Every brand in this area and a few more. Is there something in particular you’d like?” she asked.
“Gin and tonic,” Mia said.
Noah ordered her drink. “Did you get anything from her?”
“Other than her doing a mental pat-down? She’s able to seek and gather answers from tangible sources like wallets, purses, stuff like that. Comes in handy for her line of work. She knows which customers are loaded and which are just big talkers.”
“Hmm,” Noah said as he paid for their drinks. “Liege or not?”
“I don’t know. She’s older than she looks, could be a holdover from that time. I’ll let Thomas know then we’ll walk around to make sure she’s the only one,” Mia said.
Noah nodded and remained standing behind her as she sipped her drink while reporting in.
“Thomas is questioning the local Magistrate and wants us to walk around, see if she does or says anything. If so, he wants to be patched in
.”
“Sounds good.” Noah placed his hand in the small of her back and moved through the crowd. There were people from all over, speaking in several dialects and languages. For the most part, everyone seemed to be having a good time.
“She’s watching us, trying to figure us out,” Mia told him.
“I’m not sensing anything or anyone,” Noah said as they reached the other side of the club and stood near the back wall.
“She’s been trying to break through our shields since you asked for a beer.”
Noah snorted. “I’ve been on lock-down since we arrived, no one’s getting in there.”
“Same here,” Mia said. “Wonder if she’ll say anything or just follow us.”
He looked down at her. “Really? You think she’ll take it that far?”
“I would, wouldn’t you? Think about it. If I sensed she’s different, chances are she’s picking up something similar about me. It’s lonely being the only different person in a crowd,” Mia said.
“Hadn’t thought about it like that. You may have a point. Be interesting to see what she does,” he said.
“Meet us back at the house when you’re done,” Thomas said.
Mia told him her thoughts about the bartender.
“You’re probably right. We’ll deal with her when the time comes. Planning session in an hour,” Thomas said and disconnected.
Noah and Mia placed their glasses on a nearby table and made their way through the throng to the exit. She felt the bartender’s gaze lock onto her the entire time. Outside, they moved with purpose toward their vehicle and had just reached the door when Noah turned and stood in front of Mia.
The bartender moved to stand near them. “Who are you?” she asked, her gaze flicked to Mia and then Noah.
“What?” Mia asked as she moved to stand next to Noah.
The bartender looked over her shoulder toward the club before meeting Mia’s gaze. “You heard me and you know what I’m talking about. Do I know you? You look familiar.”
“I’m Mia.” She extended her hand.
“Serenity. No handshakes.” She stepped backward. “Who are you?”
“I just told you,” Mia said. “Contact Thomas, tell him what’s going on.”
“Already did,” Noah said. “He’s listening.”
“You scanned me,” Serenity said in a low voice. “I felt you in my head, reading my thoughts before I threw up a shield. No one’s been able to do that since... since a long, long time ago.” She closed her eyes. “This is not happening. Not again.”
“What do you mean?” Mia asked.
Serenity opened her eyes, and they flashed fire. “Why are you looking for me?”
“We aren’t,” Mia said.
No one spoke for a few moments.
Serenity took another step backward. “Leave me alone.”
Mia and Noah watched as the woman took another step backward.
“I’ll never go back, never.” She spun around and ran in the opposite direction of the club.
“Didn’t see that coming,” Mia said as she entered the vehicle. “Something bad happened to her. She’s terrified.”
“Of you?” Thomas asked.
“No. Of someone who did what I did earlier. I’d bet she spent time at the castle, escaped, and is hiding here,” Mia said.
“Were her blocks strong?” Thomas asked.
Noah pulled onto the road and headed toward the house.
“Not really. I could’ve broken through. Just didn’t seem right to violate her that way for no reason,” Mia said.
“It’s possible we’ll run into people who escaped the Liege before we finish our mission. We’ll help who we can,” Thomas said.
“Wouldn’t it be great if Damali and Pearl and Lizzie met someone special while we're here?” Mia asked Noah after disconnecting from Thomas.
Noah raised his brow. “What about Tip and Max? Or Thomas? A woman might be what he needs to learn to chill more.”
Mia laughed. “I hadn’t thought about that but you’re right. Can you see Thomas and Serenity? Together?”
Noah shook his head. “I can’t. She ran. The woman who captures Thomas’ heart will never run from anything.”
Mia grinned. “You’re probably right.”
They turned off the highway and drove through the illusion of a large neighborhood with lots of homes that Alpha Barticus created to hide the lone house a mile from the highway. Noah used the flat of his palm to enter the gate at the house. He parked next to the other vehicles in the underground garage.
After passing through a few security measures, they headed toward the basement to meet the others.
Thomas glanced up from a monitor at them. “You brought home a visitor.”
“Did we?” Mia and Noah moved closer to see. Serenity stood in the shadows watching the corner house in the neighborhood. She moved closer, looked up and then returned to the shadows.
“At least we know the illusion works, she’s down there and not here,” Lizzie said.
“True,” Thomas said.
“Hmm, she’s fast, can run long distances,” Noah said moving to sit down. “I drove 50 to high 70’s all the way here.”
“Did you see her?” Thomas asked.
“No. But I didn’t look either.” Noah glanced at his woman. “We were talking.”
Thomas turned away from the monitor and started the planning session. “In a few hours, we’ll head out to Northern Italy to check out the last name on Angus’ list, Matteo Barresi. We found very little information on him. Widower. Father of two older sons. Faithful Catholic. Works in a family-owned hotel in... Lokoro, Northern Italy. I’ve booked five rooms for us.” He looked at them. “Might as well take advantage of the weekend while things are slow, do some sightseeing, and check this guy out. By the time we return, we’ll start shutting down the lab.”
“When?” Max asked.
“Before the end of the week this lab will be out of operation,” Thomas said looking at them and leaning back in the chair with a slight smile. “In and out, they won’t know what hit them.”
The others stared eagerly at him. “Are we going to blow it up?” Tip asked.
“It’s too close to businesses, someone could get wounded,” Lizzie said. “We have to be careful that we aren’t seen, or innocents are hurt.”
“True. We won’t blow it up but it’ll never be used as a lab again,” Thomas said. He looked at his watch. “We’ll get on the road to Lokoro in five hours, which will give us a late afternoon arrival. We’ll do it in stages. I’ll arrive first. After I check in, Noah and Mia will be next.” He looked at the couple. “Scan as many people as you can. Angus isn’t expecting to learn anything new or useful but you never know. The sooner we eliminate this guy from the list, the sooner we can relax and enjoy the weekend.”
Noah and Mia nodded.
“Tip, you and Max arrive next. Same drill, be observant, don’t talk much. I don’t want them to know we’re Americans.” Thomas snapped his fingers. “Use your new credit cards with the altered identities at check-in.”
“Will do,” Tip said.
“That leaves two rooms and three ladies.” He looked at Pearl. “When you check-in, speak the language, blend in. You and Damali come together, share a room. Lizzie, you check in just before them. I want Pearl to be the last. In fact, Lizzie, check in after Noah and Mia, before the guys.” Thomas nodded slowly thinking it through. “That’ll be best. We’ll follow each other until we get within five miles and then split up, come in from different directions. Once you arrive, all conversations are through links, even personal ones unless it’s for staging or window-dressing purposes, like Pearl at the front desk.”
They nodded.
Thomas looked at the security monitor again. “Once we finish with Barresi, I’ll let Angus know and that ends our job for La Patron.”
“Taking out the lab is on us,” Tip said, extending his fist to Max who bumped it.
“Sho you right,�
� Max said.
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE WEATHER WAS GOOD with few clouds and a nice, gentle breeze as they caravanned to Northern Italy for the weekend. Thomas drove a late model, two-seater silver Mercedes convertible that would cement his role as a high-level businessman from Spain. His Italian was rusty but he could speak, read and write Spanish well. He looked in his rear-view mirror at the other four vehicles behind him. Lizzie drove a white, late model Porsche and took the second position. Damali and Pearl were third in a red Audi. Tip and Max drove a two-door, black Jaguar, while Noah and Mia brought up the rear in a pale gray Mercedes Sedan. Barticus had a serious stable of late model vehicles and allowed them free access to these beauties.
“Coming up on the five-mile marker. Everyone knows the direction they’ll head in?” Thomas asked.
“Yes,” Lizzie said sounding excited.
“Got it,” Pearl said. She and Damali had switched driving.
“Yes,” Max and Noah said.
Thomas went over everything in his mind again. All the notes, comments, background, and photos of their target. If Barresi was the same in person, it wouldn’t take long to cross his name off the list.
Thomas turned off the highway onto the road leading to the hotel while the others continued or broke off in other directions. Pleased, he drove toward his destination. Minutes later he pulled in front of the four-storied building with a large colorful sign, Barresi, on the overhang. He parked, removed his lone suitcase and walked inside.
Once the front-desk clerk realized he spoke Spanish and not English or Italian, she called someone over to assist. Thomas inhaled, taking in scents. He wasn’t surprised by the few half-breeds walking through the lobby and ignored them when they looked at him.
“Watch out, the front desk clerks are crooks. The male, Pietro, just wrote down my credit card and driver’s license information on a slip of paper after running it through the machine. I don’t want the hassle and will deal with it so you guys won’t have to,” Thomas told them.
He reached over the counter, grabbed Pietro by the shirt and pulled him close to his face. “What do you plan to do with my information?”