“Until we get crushed by the military,” Kira said under her breath.
“Not if you do your job,” I said shortly. I needed Kira to perform well or we were sunk. I wouldn’t put it past her to fail on purpose just to sink me. “Not if we all do our jobs. Let’s get things underway.”
I quickly took stock of our inventory, resources, and money and got to work. Frankie started seeding and watering. Kira went off to the first neighboring country, and Hala started building and crafting items. I signed up conscripts and went to the villages, listening to what the people wanted.
Not surprisingly, food was foremost on their minds.
“How much longer until that first crop is ready?” I asked Frankie.
“Another ten minutes, maybe. Don’t worry, it will give me time to plant three more crops and maybe hear a confession or two.”
I grinned. “Good girl.”
Hala secured two apprentices to help her. One set up weapons, staffs, swords, while the other worked as a blacksmith. Frankie corralled people to work in the field to harvest the crops faster. I kept the army growing slowly but surely and held numerous town meetings, giving people a voice and boosting their confidence and our points.
Hours passed. Frankie pulled me aside. “Angel, I’ve been offered a box by one of my parishioners. At this point, I can’t open it or see what’s inside. It’s supposedly programmed to open after a certain amount of time. The offerer won’t tell me what’s inside and whether it’s good or bad. If I want it, I have to pay for it. Not a lot, but my resources are stretched pretty thin right now. I’d have to borrow a little money from the kingdom coffer to accept it.”
“What do you think it is?”
“I have no idea.”
“Have you gotten other items from the parishioners?”
“Yeah. Food, livestock, and clothes. But I think this one is different, especially since I don’t know what it is. It could be something good or something bad. However, having said that, I think I should buy it anyway.”
I blew out a breath. My head was filled with the dozen of things I needed to spend money on. “I don’t know, Frankie. We’re in short supply of money. Besides, it could be bomb or a plot by Wally to infiltrate the kingdom somehow.” My irritation rose. “I don’t like the timing on this.”
“Please Angel. I really want it.”
I sighed, unable to refuse her anything. “Fine. Hope it turns out to be something worthwhile.”
“It will. If it doesn’t, I’ll take full responsibility.”
Kira returned from her diplomatic assignment abroad and reported on her alliance efforts. “There is a kingdom to the west called Draycott,” she said. “They want swords and food in exchange for military support.”
“I can spare two hundred swords, six of them gold,” Hala reported. “I can throw in a dozen cannonballs and one cannon.”
“Do it,” I told Hala.
“They also want a piece of land here.” Kira pointed to a spot right in the heartland of our farming area.
“No. That’s our most fertile land,” Frankie protested. “That’s not a good idea.”
“Angel said everything is on the table,” Kira said. “That’s their price.”
I studied the land. “Tell Draycott they can have the piece of land they want if they raise their conscript numbers by a hundred.”
Kira’s eyebrow lifted. “You want me to barter?”
“Exactly. Do what you need to. Promise what you must, but we need that army to win. Get everything you can.”
“Okay. I’ll head to Illragorn after that.”
I found Illragorn on the map I’d sketched out. “Good thinking, Kira. One army from the east and one from the west. Give the Illragons what they want, too, but Frankie is right. We have to be careful. We can’t give away all our resources, or we can’t keep our own citizens happy.”
“Understood.”
For the next few hours we worked furiously, building our kingdom, fortifying our land, keeping our inhabitants happy, and building alliances. Less than four and half hours later, Wally’s armies attacked.
I watched the large screen in shock. “He’s attacking already? What the heck?”
Hala came to stand beside me. “Element of surprise, I suppose. It’s just like you said it would be, Angel. The guys have a massive army.”
For a moment, I could only stare at the enormous rows of conscripts marching our way.
Holy crap. They were going to crush us.
“Angel?” Frankie asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. “What are we going to do?”
I blinked until the big picture came into focus. “I’m going to mobilize our forces. We have enough to hold off the initial surge. Kira, I’m going to need those neighboring armies right now.”
“I’m on it,” she said.
I scrambled around the kingdom organizing the conscripts while Frankie fed them and Hala fit them with weapons and magic potions. At some point, Frankie pulled me aside to talk to me privately.
“You’ve got this, Angel. So, they came early. Nothing changes in terms of our strategy, right?”
I took a deep breath. “Right.” The accelerated timeline was freaking me out, but I could handle this. “Thanks, Frankie.”
She smiled and patted my arm. “Now, let’s go beat them. I’m one hundred percent certain this win is ours.”
I appreciated her optimism, even if I thought it misguided, as I returned to my post. After a complete review of what was happening and where, I called out to Kira. “Where are my armies?”
“Coming soon.”
“Soon better be now,” I said.
“They’re on the move.” She typed madly on the keyboard. “Stand by.”
Hala called out to me. “Angel, the first group of soldiers is almost at our border. Do we fire on them?”
“Not yet,” I said, maneuvering more forces into place. “We don’t have unlimited ammunition, and I need to get a division of archers to the eastern flank first. Wait for my order.”
“Okay. I’ll wait.”
Four minutes later, Wally’s forces hit. “Fire!” I shouted.
The battle raged hard. I kept up with Wally’s initial attack, but it was clear that it was only a matter of time before we would be overrun.
“We’re getting killed to the east,” Hala yelled.
“Kira, where is my Illragorn army?” I said.
“Almost there,” Kira called out.
“They aren’t going to make it in time,” Hala said. “Collapse on the eastern side is imminent.”
She was right. I was busy holding off Wally on the northern and western borders. I would never get enough conscripts there in time—not that I had them anyway.
“Collapse isn’t imminent,” Frankie said in a quiet voice. “We have a secret weapon.”
We all whirled around to face her. “We do?” I said.
“Herman.”
I looked at her, completely lost. “Herman? Who’s Herman?”
“Herman the dragon.”
My mouth fell open. “We have a dragon?”
She pointed to the large green dragon now positioned behind the church. “The box. There was a really pretty egg inside and it hatched. What do you want Herman to do? I think he’ll only respond to me.”
I didn’t have the luxury of being surprised or grateful. “Attack Wally’s east flank immediately. Tell Herman to rain fire and destruction or something like that.”
“I’m on it.”
Moments later, a giant green dragon swooped over Wally’s eastern flank, breathing fire and taking out a fourth of his force with one pass. The rest of his force scattered just as Illragorn’s army arrived, finishing off the rest of them.
We cheered. Kira and Hala exchanged a high five with Frankie, while I directed Draycott’s army, which had just arrived, to reinforce us in the west. Slowly but surely, we began pushing the boys back into a defensive position. Herman flew over the opposing forces, breathing fire and c
ausing them to flee periodically. However, he required a lot of food in between missions, so Frankie had her hands full.
I imagined Wally was cursing me at this very moment.
The armies fought hard, the battles were bloody and tough, but we eventually beat them into submission. Exactly seven hours and four minutes from the moment the game started, we won.
Exhausted, but exhilarated, we shouted wildly and hugged each other.
Mr. Donovan walked in, bringing the boys with him. We all shook hands and showed good sportsmanship before Wally gave me a clap on the shoulder. “Dang, girl, I wouldn’t have figured you for the diplomatic solution. You took a huge risk with that, but it paid off. The dragon thing was sheer genius.”
I pointed over my shoulder. “The dragon was all Frankie.”
“Frankie?” Wally looked at me in astonishment. “She’s never played a role-playing game in her life.”
“I know, right? But she totally kicked it.”
Frankie walked over and gave Wally a hug. “You guys played a good game. What did you think of Herman?”
“Herman?” Wally threw a baffled glance at me. “Who’s Herman?”
Frankie put her hands on her hips, looking at him like he was completely dense. “My dragon, Herman.”
“Your dragon has a name?” Wally asked.
“Of course Herman has a name. Why wouldn’t he?”
“Ah, I don’t know. We were building a potion to destroy him, but we didn’t finish in time,” Wally admitted.
Frankie’s mouth opened in outrage. “What? Poison Herman? How could you?”
Wally held up his hands as if protecting himself. “Fake dragon, fake potion.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Wally Harris, don’t you ever call any of my creations fake again.” Turning on her heel, she stormed off.
I burst out laughing at his stunned expression. “I think we’ve created a gaming monster.”
He puffed up his chest with pride, grinning. “Dang, Angel, I think you’re right.”
Chapter Thirty-One
ANGEL SINCLAIR
Saturday morning, we were dropped off in town, and everyone went their separate ways. I told Frankie and Wally I needed to talk to my mom and I’d meet them later at the bookstore café. They went off to do some shopping, and I returned to the same park bench in the town square I had sat on before when I’d talked to my mom. Except this time, I didn’t call my mom.
I pulled up the number I’d found and took a deep breath. The phone rang four times before anyone picked up.
“Hello?” a female voice said.
“Hello, is this Mrs. Maria Lando?”
There was silence for a long time and then a soft chuckle. “Oh my. I haven’t been called that for a long time.”
“I’m sorry to bother you. My name is Angel Sinclair. I think my dad and your husband were friends or coworkers a long time ago.”
“Sinclair? Ethan Sinclair?”
“Yes. That’s my dad.”
“He had two daughters, right?”
“Yes, I’m the youngest. Gwen is my older sister. He…left us when I was just eighteen months old.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know he had passed away.”
“He didn’t. I mean, I don’t think so. He disappeared, and I’m trying to find out why. Is it okay if I ask you a couple of questions about my dad?”
“Of course.”
“Your husband worked at King’s Security like my dad, right?”
“Right. J. P. and Ethan were friends as well as coworkers.”
“J. P.? I thought his name was Joseph.”
“It was. Joseph Patrick. But his family and friends called him J. P. for short.”
“Oh, okay. Anyway, I saw a newspaper photograph of my father at your husband’s funeral. That’s how I found out about you and looked you up. Do you mind if I ask how your husband died?”
“He died in a freak boating accident. It was the craziest thing, because J. P. was afraid of the water. He couldn’t swim. I’ll never understood what possessed him to take the Ahab out on the water that day alone.”
“Ahab?” I asked puzzled.
She chuckled, the memory obviously a good one for her. “Yes, that’s what we called our boat—after the captain in the novel Moby Dick. I was an English literature major and also the mariner in the family. So why J. P. decided to go out on the Ahab without me that day, I’ll never know.”
It did seem unusual that a man who couldn’t swim would take a boat out on the water alone. “He didn’t have a life jacket on?”
“No, he didn’t. Apparently, the boat capsized and he drowned.”
“I’m so sorry,” I said, sadness filling me. “The police didn’t suspect any foul play? Your husband didn’t have any enemies?”
“Oh, Lord, no. J. P. was the most soft-spoken, sweetest man I’ve ever known. He never raised his voice to anyone, not even me.”
I shifted on the bench, wrapping my coat tighter around me. “The article I saw online from the newspaper said a man named Isaac Remington gave a eulogy at the funeral. Do you know who he was?”
“He was my husband’s and your father’s supervisor at King’s Security. It was kind of him to give the eulogy. I appreciated it.”
I wondered how to word my next question, wondering if she’d even answer it. “Mrs. Lando, do you know if your husband ever worked for the NSA?”
“The NSA?” Her voice sounded surprised. “No, he never worked for the government. I suppose it’s possible they worked on a project for the NSA. J. P. did have a top-secret security clearance, but he rarely spoke about his work, and he never said anything about working for the NSA.”
“Do you happen to know what project he was working on when he died?” I asked.
“I believe it was some kind of top-secret encryption project.”
“He was a mathematician, like my dad, right?”
“Yes. Computers, coding, cryptology—those were J. P.’s first loves.” She sighed, and her voice sounded sad. “He was such a good man. I miss him.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.” I, better than most, understood the pain she felt. She’d lost her husband, and I’d lost my dad. So many lives hurt and altered irretrievably.
Why? Were J. P.’s death and my father’s disappearance connected?
I thanked her for her time and hung up. I felt like I was making progress on finding out what had happened to my dad, but I had no idea where the trail was leading. What had happened to cause my father to so suddenly abandon his family and promising career and vanish off the face of the earth? What did the NSA have to do with it?
I didn’t have the answers. Yet.
But I felt closer than ever.
Chapter Thirty-Two
ISAAC REMINGTON
“Give me some good news.”
Isaac and Glen Sampson stood at the edge of a lake in a secluded park about thirty miles from the NSA. It was a Sunday afternoon, but the forest around the lake was surprisingly devoid of people. They’d both taken significant steps to ensure they weren’t followed and their meeting would be protected from prying eyes and ears. Isaac hadn’t seen anyone at all during his hike to the spot. The air was cool, so Isaac flipped up the collar of his trench coat and adjusted his scarf to ward off a chill on his throat.
“I don’t have any,” Sampson said. “The girl hasn’t washed out of UTOP, at least not yet. No one has.”
“That’s surprising. Do you think they’re watering down UTOP?”
“Who knows? Don’t worry. This coming week will be the toughest. The third week always loses the most students.”
He studied the dark ripples on the water, his shoe just a few inches away from the edge. “How are we monitoring her?”
“Obviously, we can’t monitor her while she’s in UTOP. But I doubt she’s doing any serious hacking there. She’s not stupid. She knows everything electronic will be filtered. But there has been an interesting development.”
; “Which is?”
“She contacted Maria Lando.”
Isaac turned toward Sampson. “What?”
“She made a call yesterday while they were in town on their Saturday break. We weren’t able to tap the call, but when we traced the number from her cell phone, that’s where it went. Her name is Maria Gonzalez now. She’s remarried.”
“How in the world did the girl put that together?”
“I have no idea. She’s smart. Or maybe her father is feeding her info inside UTOP.”
“No. That would be way too risky. He’d never put her in harm’s way like that. Somehow, she’s putting it together herself.”
“Perhaps. But the trail will lead to us.”
Isaac reached down and picked up a flat pebble. He ran his thumb over the cool, smooth surface. “So what? She’s a child. What would she do with it?” But there was one potentially troubling aspect. “Do you know if she’s had any contact with her mentor, Lexi Carmichael?”
“Carmichael? Why does that name sounds familiar?”
“She’s the significant other of the director of IAD. Slash has been sniffing around, and I don’t want him involved in this, even peripherally.”
“No contact with either, as far as we know.”
“Good. Hopefully she’ll wash out and we can put our plan into motion. And if she doesn’t, I have something else in mind to get the Avenger’s attention.”
“Such as?”
“Snatch her. All of the UTOP candidates go into town on Saturday, correct?”
“Correct. We’ve been closely observing her on Saturdays, as requested. She usually calls her mom or sister as soon as she gets into town, but yesterday she called Lando’s wife instead. After talking on the phone, she typically goes to a local bookstore café and works on her laptop. Just so you know, we tried spoofing her to log on to our fake wireless hot spot from the café, but she’s been careful and avoided them. She’s avoiding any hacking, and when she uses the internet, she tunnels out using a secure and encrypted VPN. We haven’t been able to crack it yet.”
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