Expired Hero

by Lisa Phillips

  “She certainly would have. She was a formidable woman, to say the least. I’m hoping you bring some of that same fire.” He touched his tie. “Though, I’m hoping you’ll refrain from spilling my blood. Especially when I can give you the world. So many women would jump at the chance to gain the opportunity you’re getting.”

  “So pick one of them.” She had no energy for fear. All Kaylee had was the cold, and her broken mind.

  Was this what Stuart felt? The way these people had treated him. Missions he’d been sent on. Things he’d been forced to do, and those things forced upon him for “training” purposes. She didn’t even want to know how awful it was.

  Or how awful it would become for her.

  Edmond seemed eager. That didn’t fill her with joy, but she doubted anything would right now. God, don’t leave me.

  The old man on the screen chuckled. “Your mother coddled you. She failed to communicate precisely what you were bred to become. That won’t happen with our children.”

  Edmond said, “Your training will be extensive. The idea of killing the man who is responsible for your survival won’t even enter your mind. You can rest assured of that.”

  “I know I will.” The old man laughed again, and she thought she heard a tiny murmur of nerves. “But for now, I have much work to do, and so do the two of you. Until next time, my dear. I look forward to seeing what you become.”

  Edmond tapped the screen and pocketed the phone.

  “He’s insane.” She sounded desperate but it couldn’t be helped, and she didn’t even care to try and change it. “You don’t have to do this.”

  “And yet I’ve never had a failure. All the times I’ve done this, I’ve never come up short. So don’t worry. In a few months, you’ll be living that ritzy life in Washington D.C., and I’ll be nothing but a memory.” He leaned toward her, a mockery of a bow. “Maybe a fond one. Depends on how you respond.”

  “Probably I’ll puke on your shoes, but that’s just a guess.”

  Edmond strode toward the door.

  “You’re all insane. This whole thing is. People like you shouldn’t exist. Manipulating the world according to how you want it to be, thinking others are expendable pawn pieces for you to move around wherever you want.”

  “Is there a point in there somewhere?”

  “It’s not right.”

  He shrugged. “Your friend Trina didn’t object. She jumped at the chance to...work with me.”

  “You’re insane.” Maybe it was redundant to repeat herself, but limited capacity for thoughts left her with not much to work with.

  “That’s what breeds success, I’m afraid. Genius with a dash of crazy. Only the strong and the powerful survive, and we all have our part to play in that world.” He grinned. “Just lay still and try to pretend you like it.” He waggled his brows. “Later, though.”

  He slammed the door shut, leaving her mercifully, blessedly alone. To be continued. Kaylee wanted to vomit, but there was nothing in her stomach. She wanted to scream and cry but was so dehydrated she didn’t think her body was capable of producing even an ounce of moisture.

  This had been the plan all along. Her brother had fulfilled his usefulness. It was her turn now, and Stuart was dead. She had plenty of friends; cops and people who knew federal agents. But they would never find her.

  Kaylee would have to live this life. Until a day came, sometime in the future, when she could make a break for it.

  Escape.

  It didn’t matter how long it took. A month from now. A year, or ten years. Eventually she would find a way to get away from whoever that older man was.

  For now, she would conserve her energy. Find a place in her mind where she could detach from whatever happened to her while keeping some of her sanity intact—even as they did everything they could to make her into someone else.

  But Kaylee would always know who she was.

  A Last Chance citizen. A church member and child of God. A bookaholic. A woman who had fallen for a broken man who deserved far better than life had ever given him.

  You were right, mom. Breaking free is always worth trying. No matter the cost.

  She knew that now, despite the fear that would inevitably creep back in. Even though it had destroyed them, it had been worth it to be happy. Even for a short time.

  No matter the cost.

  Thirty-five

  “I’ve got movement on two.”

  “Copy that,” Stuart said. He turned from his surveillance of the ridge overlooking the compound where Kaylee was being held, and instead trained his attention to the crowd of people gathered around him.

  “I’m headed to the van.” Mia, the police lieutenant engaged to Conroy, lifted a hand and waved.

  “I’ll go with you,” Officer Donaldson followed.

  None of them were in uniform. They’d tracked Kaylee to a remote facility in Utah that was smaller than any of the ones Stuart had even known about. The scope of the organization he’d once worked for astounded him. And yet, why was he so surprised?

  Tate pulled up in a car with Savannah and another man. They strode over. “Sorry we’re late. This is Phil.”

  About as tall as Tate, Phil wore cargo pants, boots, and a T-shirt. He’d strapped on a bulletproof vest over his shirt and donned a ball cap. The only reason Stuart didn’t kick him out was the ease with which he moved. This guy knew what he was doing.

  Still, Stuart didn’t like the idea of working with an unknown who didn’t have a badge.

  “I thought you were bringing the FBI as backup.”

  “Eric is working on the official side of this takedown.”

  “But he didn’t send anyone to help?”

  “Like I said.” Tate motioned to his companion. “This is Phil.”

  Even Savannah eyed Phil like she didn’t quite understand how he fit with everything going on here.

  The local sheriff, two state police officers, and a dog with the K9 unit were here with them providing support. They were as interested as Stuart in what was going on at the bottom of this hill, but only Stuart understood the full scope of it. He would take them down, all the way to the man at the top—who currently occupied the seat of Director of the CIA.

  Whoever Zander employed to provide intelligence had uncovered a link between the Director and Kaylee’s mother, along with an email that outlined precisely what the Director wanted with Kaylee. Stuart had smashed a laptop and punched a hole through drywall when he’d learned about that.

  “Easy.” Zander touched his shoulder.

  “She’s down there,” Stuart said. “So let’s get to this.”

  Zander had a map of the facility, a blueprint. He unrolled it on the hood of the closest car and everyone gathered around. No one questioned why he was taking the lead.

  As he outlined positions, the plan, and how this would go down, Stuart pretended he wasn’t dying to get in there.

  “Okay, let’s go.” Zander slapped Stuart’s back. “You’re with me.”

  It was good he’d said that, considering Stuart hadn’t heard a word of the briefing. They approached from the south, with Zander reiterating to him what was going to happen. Another team would hit the front gate, big and loud. A diversion that should draw most of the personnel inside out to engage them. Group three came from the rear, while four came from the far side. Four points of a compass, each led by a man of Zander’s team.

  Each group had cops, local and from Last Chance, and any civilians—like Stuart—were spread out among them with instructions to do as they were told.

  Stuart shot him a side glance.

  Zander shrugged. “I figured it was worth a try, at least. Kind of like how I told them all to try and not get killed.”

  “What’s the size of the opposing force?”

  “We have no idea.”

  Stuart frowned. They approached the east fence at a crawl, spread out in the long grass, and used downed trees and rocks as cover to keep from being spotted by anyone on surveilla
nce from inside.

  Zander looked at his watch. “Three. Two. One.”

  An explosion split through the sky, rolling up a fireball as though thrown into the air. Trying to reach as high as possible, it turned over and over before falling back down. Smoke darkened the stars.

  “Go.”

  Two men cut through the fence, and they slipped inside.

  Zander went first, and Stuart wasn’t far behind him. The structure contained multiple buildings, kind of like a hospital campus but much smaller. It could probably house less than a hundred people. Work-out rooms, communal living. Re-education classrooms. Treatment rooms, dorm rooms, prison cells. There was also an entire medical facility—though not extensive, it could provide some surgical services and dental procedures.

  Zander placed a small charge of plastic explosives around the handle and breached the side door. As the smoke cleared, Stuart recognized the hallway. The smell. The layout. The feel of it seeped into his bones as memories rushed back, and he staggered back against the wall.

  It was like falling into a whirlpool of the past.

  Pain sparked across his face. “Wrong answer.”

  He was tied down, dressed only in his underwear. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

  The hand swept toward him again, determined to slap him another time.

  “Stuart.” Zander shook his shoulders and then glanced behind him. “You guys continue. We’ll catch up.” His friend crouched and Stuart, looking around, realized he’d slumped to the floor.

  Sweat dampened his shirt.

  “You wanna go get her, or you wanna fall apart?”

  He could barely speak. “Get her.”

  “Good.” Zander bobbed his head down and to the right to lock eyes with him. Stuart didn’t look away this time. “That means this thing you’ve got going on in your head doesn’t factor right now. Later you can have whatever mental breakdown you want. After you find Kaylee and get her to safety. Copy?”

  Stuart nodded. “Copy.”

  Zander held out a hand. They clasped wrists, and he hauled Stuart up.

  Gunshots rang out down the hall. Zander took cover on the opposite side. Stuart opened a door and used it for cover. He waited, then took his shot.

  The firing stopped.

  They preceded down the hall, guns ready. At the end, Stuart peered around the corner. “Control room is down there.”

  Already a gunfight was in progress; several men he recognized as part of their group battled plainclothes men he didn’t recognize. A state police officer subdued a man, shoved him against the wall, and cuffed him. “Clear.”

  Two more men emerged from the room, and they gathered all together in the hallway. The state police officer said, “They barricaded themselves in there.” He pointed to a door at the end of the hall.

  “This place is a maze.” Zander sighed. “Blow the door?”

  Stuart nodded.

  Zander set charges, and the second the door blew open, they barreled inside. Bullets flew around him. Stuart heard one buzz past his ear, entirely too close for comfort. He found a man, half alive. Mostly covered in blood. Stuart kicked a gun from the man’s hand and crouched beside him, while the others took out the rest of the occupants of the room.

  “Where is Kaylee?”

  The man’s gaze flickered around but never settled on Stuart. He gasped for breath.

  Stuart knelt on the man’s fingers. “Tell me where she is.”

  “It’s too late. The self-destruct protocol…already…” The light in his eyes flickered and then went out.

  Stuart sat back on his heels.

  “What did he say?” Zander moved close.

  “Self-destruct. I was worried about that.” He moved to look at the closest computer screen. “Everything on the hard drives will copy to a cloud-based server and then delete itself.”

  “Charges?”

  “Probably. They’ll get out, but the buildings will be reduced to nothing but rubble.”

  “Then we’d better pick up our pace.”

  Stuart headed for the door. “They’ll start from the lowest floors, kill any assets they can’t take with them when they flee, and the destruction will go up and out.” Like the ripples in a pond; toss a rock in and watch them dissipate out. Only this would involve a whole lot more fire and blood.

  “We’re good.” Zander was right behind him, moving at the same speed. “We knew this would happen.”

  He didn’t need to convince Stuart, considering he was the one who’d told them all this information. And it had been corroborated by Mia’s interrogation of Brad. Which was all fine, but it didn’t tell him where they were holding Kaylee. He was going to have to search room by room.

  Stuart found a stairwell and descended to the lowest floor he could access.

  Beyond the door were shouts. Fighting. Stuart kicked it open and went gun first. A man raced past him, bloody but determined. He didn’t even see Stuart right there as he raced for the door, whimpering and muttering to himself.

  “Hold your fire,” Zander yelled.

  The man screamed, sprinting for the stairwell.

  “I’ll go left.” Zander moved around Stuart.

  He already knew where he was going to go. “Right.”

  Four cells—two to the left and two to the right. At the end were communal bathrooms. Behind him now, at the end and to the left, was a huge training room. Stuart’s body shuddered as adrenaline continued to pump through him. Sweat rolled down his temples.

  The door at the end opened, and Edmond strolled out.

  Stuart fired.

  The bullet caught Edmond in the shoulder. He dropped his gun but recovered fast. Too fast. He barreled toward Stuart, and they clashed in the middle of the hall.

  Stuart’s gun clattered to the ground.

  He slammed Edmond against the wall, punched him twice in the stomach, and then when he bent forward, elbowed the back of Stuart’s shoulder. Edmond didn’t go down. He grabbed Stuart around the waist and tackled him.

  Stuart’s head bounced off the opposite wall. He grunted and hit out at the man who hadn’t let go. He kicked Edmond’s legs and was finally forced to slam a fist against the gunshot wound Edmond didn’t seem to even feel.

  Edmond’s legs gave out. He collapsed to the floor, and Stuart kicked him until his head lolled, unconscious.

  Stuart bent forward with his hands on his thighs and sucked in a handful of big breaths.

  Movement caught his attention. He snatched up his gun in time to see Trina disappear into a room. He followed her, but the door locked before he could get to it.

  Inside, a woman screamed.

  “Kaylee!” She was here. He’d found her.

  Stuart tried the lock. He kicked the door. Kaylee screamed again, and he heard a thud.

  A man’s deep laughter had him spinning back around. The sound hit him in a place he didn’t like, a deep well where he’d stuffed his true feelings for Kaylee.

  Edmond was awake again, his menacing gaze now trained on Stuart while his reach inched across the floor toward the gun he’d dropped. Stuart kicked the weapon farther away, down the hall. Still, Edmond tried to inch closer. Stuart couldn’t even begin to image the medication they must have Edmond on that gave him this much adrenaline—enough he didn’t seem to feel the wounds he’d gotten from Stuart, not to mention the fact he had already regained consciousness.

  Stuart strode over. He put his heel on Edmond’s wound and held his gun steadily pointed at his face. “Keys to that room. Now.”

  Edmond grinned a mouthful of teeth stained with blood. He coughed and more blood bubbled up. “Too late.”

  A deep boom shook the building, followed by a rumble. Dust rained down from the ceiling.

  Edmond’s body shook and laughter emerged from his mouth.

  “I can shoot you, or I can haul you out of here,” Stuart said. “Now give me the keys.”

  The laughter grew louder.

  Inside the room, he hea
rd a scream. Kaylee. If he couldn’t do this, he didn’t deserve her. He would fail to protect her, and she would die here. Stuart stuck the gun in the back of his waistband and patted Edmond down. He found keys in Edmond’s front pocket. Just as Edmond rolled close enough to Stuart’s leg to open his mouth and take a bite, he backed up.

  Stuart kicked him again, then turned to the locked door.

  An explosion tore apart the training room, splintering the door. Flames rushed down the hall. Stuart dove for Edmond’s body and rolled the man onto him, using his body to shield him from the rush of scorching air.

  Thirty-six

  The room shuddered around them. Kaylee lifted her hand and wiped the blood from her mouth with her thumb.

  Trina stood across the room, a knife in one hand. She’d hit Kaylee across the face with the hilt of it. “This needs to be done right.”

  Kaylee just stared at her. The head cold that had been her constant companion since she had left Last Chance crystalized, lighting pain all through her muscles. She took a step back. Trina stood between her and the door, which was locked anyway. She still wanted to shove her former friend back and try the handle anyway.

  “What do you want?” Kaylee refused to cower. Never mind that she had no training and no clue, Kaylee wasn’t going to back down. Not when this woman, supposedly her friend, had so clearly betrayed her.

  Trina wore workout clothes, her hair pulled back in a ponytail except for fly-aways around her face. A bruise darkened her cheekbone. “This doesn’t need to take long and probably shouldn’t.”

  The room shuddered around them again and dust drifted down. Maybe this whole place would collapse and Kaylee wouldn’t have to deal with the overwhelming terror she didn’t even seem to be able to feel anymore.

  “Come here. I’ll make it quick and painless…mostly. When they come for us, I’ll tell them you killed yourself.”

  “Why?” They would probably die soon anyway. What was the purpose of Trina killing her before then? She shook her head, genuinely not understanding why Trina needed to do this. What was the point? Satisfaction, or something far more sinister? An agenda of some kind.

  Seemed like everyone had one, and Kaylee floundered in the middle. Tossed around in a boat on the sea while others decided where she should go and what she should be doing.