by Christa Lynn
“Well, that was intense.” Jo smiles, casting her eyes at her brother. Hank shrugs, not really knowing what it was all about, I’m sure. I can guarantee that if he hurts Emma, Abe will kill him. It won’t matter that he’s Jo’s brother.
“Okay, let’s meet the others in the arms room, it’s time to brainstorm. Once we have a plan, we’ll get the other groups in on it and then we move. Thirteen years is a long time to have the US in an uproar, and there won’t be a fourteenth year. It ends, now.
The follow me out and we cross the yard, Abe and Dale’s groups already gathering outside. I realize now how big our crew is and I decide to keep them all outside, as we won’t all fit inside. “Stay out here, guys,” I say as Dale calls some of his guys outside. I find an old crate and I stand on it, scanning the crowd. “Wow, I had no idea we had such a group of fighters here,” I say, realizing there has to be two hundred men, and two women in the crowd. “I see men here, and two women,” I say, my eyes on Jo and Emma who are standing in the back. “But when this is over, there will be more of both. It’s time, fellow Mercs, for us to change the direction of this war. Are you guys ready for change?”
“Yeah!” roars from the crowd, men smiling and looking at each other like they’re about to be served up a gourmet meal.
“I need an explosive expert; do we have one?” I ask, a few arms raising. “Stand over there please, I’m going to need you,” I say as they make their way out of the crowd.
“Where are my engineers?” A few more hands raise.
“Now, where are my medical people,” I ask and at least seven raise their hands. “All of you group together and meet me inside. The rest of you, hang tight,” I say as I step down off the crate. “You will all have a role in this, make no mistake. Just because you aren’t classified into one of these groups, does not mean I don’t need you. I need every man—” I look at Jo “—and woman for this raid. And yes, it will be a raid. I’m going to need every one of you rested and on your game, as this is not going to be easy. We’re going to lose some of you, but I’ll do what I can to limit our own casualties. The majority of the fallen will be Heretics. It’s time to end this.”
Applause roars from the crowd. I had no intentions of becoming their leader, and I don’t plan to do this alone. With Abe and Dale by my side, and especially Jo, we will succeed. We’ve battled our demons within, and we will win the war amongst ourselves. And if needed, I will die trying. This world has to change, and I’m the one to change it.
I walk into the arms room and see the group of about thirty men waiting, their faces determined and ready. “You guys ready to do this?” I ask.
“Yes, sir,” they say in unison.
“First of all, I’m Kane, not sir. I’m not your boss and I’m not your ruler, we’re in this together and together, we will take down the Heretics. I have no intentions of taking over this world as a leader, only taking down the bad guys. Once order has been restored, maybe then we can get some help from other countries and get back on track. This country was a great place once; we can get it back, but not until those assholes in OKC and Philly are eliminated. Abe and Dale will take their best men and head out tomorrow to meet with other groups of Mercs around the area and plan our routes, all groups meeting up somewhere between here and Brampton. Who's the explosives expert?”
“That would be me, sir.” A young man steps forward.
“Me too.” Another guy comes forward as well as two others.
“Four of you? Awesome, what are your names?”
“Craig.”
“Louis.”
“David.”
“Where’s the fourth? I heard four of you speak up,” I ask, panning the group.
“Um, Joel, sir.”
“Joel?” I ask, my eyebrows raising.
“Yeah, I know how to blow shit up, Kane,” he says with a smirk on his face.
“Well, why didn’t you say something? Where’d you learn explosives?” I ask.
He drops his gaze to the floor. “My father was a Heretic,” he says as silence falls over the group. Everyone is now suddenly suspicious and steps away from him, a few reaching for their weapons. Joel looks at the group and frowns. “I am not a Heretic, only my dad was, and—”
“And what Joel?” I ask, coming a little closer to the young man we found in the woods a few days ago.
“He taught me everything I know, never believing I’d turn on him.”
“Where is he now, Joel?”
“He’s dead.”
“You sure about that?”
“Positive, Kane. I’m the one that killed him.”
I stare at him, and the look in his eyes tells me he’s telling the truth.
“Good, then we have something in common. Now, can you make bombs, like Molotov cocktails or makeshift hand grenades?”
“You got scrap metal, bottles, and gun powder? If so, then yeah.”
“Good, see me after the meeting. Where are my medical professionals?” I ask; twelve people come forward. “Good, you guys will be just that, the doctors. Anyone gets injured, you’re in charge. Got it?” I ask, they all nod. “And yes, you will be provided with supplies, whatever we have and can get our hands on. While we travel, it will be up to you to gather anything we find along the way.”
“Now, where are my engineers?” Only two step forward. “You guys will work with Joel and the other explosive and arms experts to create a detonator, something that can be fired remotely. When we set up to blow Brampton, none of us will be anywhere close to that building. We’ll blow it from across town, if we can.
“Everyone good with their assigned roles?” I ask, they all nod. “Good, get busy working together. We leave in three days, or as soon as Abe and Dale get back. Work during the day, rest at night as we are all going to need plenty of rest. Meeting adjourned,” I say, though I know that sounds silly. They all look at me, and as I start laughing, so do they. “We can do this! We have good men here, and we will pick up more along the way. In three days, we march off to change the world. Are you ready for that? Are you ready to make history?”
They all talk amongst themselves and nod, looking back up at me in awe. “We will do what it takes and get our country back. The Unified Territories, which I always thought was an oxymoron, will be the United States, once again.” The group breaks out in applause again, smiles cresting their faces. “But be forewarned, the Heretics will not go down quietly. They have a bigger arsenal that we do, so what we use, we must use wisely.” Which means I need sharpshooters. “Get some rest, guys, tomorrow we start getting ready,” I say as I exit the arms room back to the crowd of men outside.
“Where are my sharp shooters?” I ask and a large group of men step forward and one woman, Jo. “Oh, hell no, Jo.”
“What? Scared a I’ll outshoot you? You forget, I was in Brampton. They trained us to be Heretics, and I grew up on a farm.”
“But you’re a …”
“A girl? You know better than to go there, Kane,” she growls, the crowd going silent. “Give me any weapon and any target. If I don’t hit it dead on four out of four shots, from any distance, then I’ll step away. But if I hit them all, you put me on. Deal?”
The crowd looks at Kane, their eyebrows raised and their bodies twitching, anxious to see me show her up. I walk back into the arms room and grab an AK, an UZI, and a basic semi-automatic handgun. I’ve seen her with a gun, so I know she can shoot, so I know she’ll choose the semi. Only she’s going to shoot the UZI. She’s going to fight me, but …
I walk out carrying the guns and hand her the semi. She looks at me and breaks out into hysterical laughter. “Give me that one,” she says, nodding her head at the UZI.
“You have no idea what you’re getting into, princess,” I whisper as I hand her the weapon. I can’t very well back down now, with all these people watching.
“Oh, I know exactly what I’m getting myself into, now step aside,” she says as she releases the safety and aims at a small black bird r
esting on a thick branch. She fingers the trigger and with a pop, the bird falls from the branch. She cocks it again and scans the tree line, taking out first a squirrel, then a rabbit running through the brush. She walks toward the river and watches, waiting. Then aims and manages to shoot a fucking fish going downstream.
“Any questions?” she asks, handing me the weapon. I’m rendered speechless for the moment and I think I just fell in love with her a little more than I already have. I knew she was a badass, but I had no idea she could do what she just did.
“Yeah, I have one. Was that you that destroyed the targets in the arms room?” She smiles, forming her hand into the shape of a gun and blows on the end before stepping toward me.
“Yeah, that was me. Now, do you have your sharpshooter?”
I nod slowly, in awe of this amazing woman.
“Plus, I’m pretty excited about taking out old Vic,” Jo snarks.
“No you don’t, Jo, that’s my job,” Emma says, pushing her way through the crowd. “You’ve already started teaching me to shoot, I want you to teach me to shoot like that. I want the honors when it comes to Vic.” She smirks. “Only I don’t want to be fifty feet away, Jo. I want to be face to face with that asshole, and I want his blood and brains on my clothing when I blow his fucking head off,” she growls, the crowd of men going wild, and Hank, off to the side, is smiling.
“You’ve got a deal.” Jo tells her as she hugs Emma. “I’ll help you take that monster out, once and for all.” They walk off arm in arm, and I’m suddenly left alone, and harder than steel.
Jo
“Fucker thought I couldn't shoot.” I laugh as Emma and I walk back toward the house, passing Hank as we cut through the woods. Hank drops in behind us and follows us inside.
“When did you learn to shoot like that?” Hank asks as we walk into the living area and Emma stays in the kitchen to start dinner.
“We grew up on a farm, didn’t we?” I smart off to my big brother, and it feels good after all these years.
“Well yeah, but …”
“And the Heretics trained some women in Brampton, I was one of the lucky ones. Only they decided they didn’t need me anymore, so I took what I learned, and now I’ll use it against them.”
“Why did they let you go?’ Hank whispers low enough for Emma not to hear.
“I played their game,” I say. “When I could no longer have kids, I became ‘one of them’ and became the scathing bitch that I am now. I talked them into training me and a few others, with them believing we would fight for them, to help lead more women into the clinic for their savage purposes.”
“Fuck,” he growls.
“I was released when they thought I was ready, only I turned on them and then managed to kill one of the higher ups—only I didn’t know who it was at the time. Kane found me after that and took me in, only now they’re looking for me.”
“Then you aren’t going,” Hank says quietly.
“The hell I’m not. You can’t show up here and start telling me what to do.”
“Look, Josie, I just found you after thirteen years; I’m not about to let you march back into that Hell and lose you for good,” he says as he touches my cheek, a crystal-clear tear filling the corner of his eye.
“I need them to know that they can’t do this anymore, that I’m not scared of them. I can take out people from a distance and clear that place out. You can’t stop me from going,” I tell him, turning my back on him just as Emma walks in.
“What’s going on?”
“Hank here is trying to tell me I’m not going with them to Brampton. He’s wrong.” I smirk.
“Well, I’m going too,” Emma says, though she’s shaking. She took a big step outside earlier, and I’m so proud of her, but deep inside I’m not sure she’s ready to take Vic on.
“Emma, are you sure you’re ready for this?”
She nods, but I can see inside that she’s scared to death. “Look, it’s okay if you want to stay back. I can stay here with you,” Hank says.
“No, they need you on the front lines, Hank; Kane needs all men that can fight.”
“And all women,” Emma says. “I need to do this, Hank, or I’ll never get past it. What Vic did to me …” she tapers off.
“What did he do to you?” he asks, lifting her chin to look into her eyes. She shakes her head and turns around to walk back into the kitchen, but she stops mid-step. I see her fists clenching and she turns back around.
“It’s what he did to every woman in there; me, Jo, and all the others.”
“I know, I was there,” Hank says to her, sternly and calmly. “But I want to know what that bastard did to you personally.”
“I can’t, not yet.” She trembles. I walk up beside her and press my hand against her shoulder, looking at Hank.
“She’ll tell you when she’s ready,” I say and then leave them alone.
“Do you know, Josie?” he asks my back as I walk back into the kitchen. “Josie?”
Freezing in my steps, I take a deep breath. I know it’s not my place to tell him what happened to her, and I won’t, but he won’t stop until he gets it out of one of us. “Yes, I know. But it’s not my place to say. When Emma is ready to tell you, she will. Hell, she hasn’t even told Kane yet,” I say as I walk back toward him. “And if you force her, I’ll knock you out. Let it go, Hank.”
“Fine, I’ll let it go for now. But, Emma, you need to know that not all men are like Vic.”
“Well, that’s what people keep telling me.”
“Has anyone at this compound threatened you, or forced you to do something against your will?” he asks, his face getting red with anger.
Emma shakes her head and looks to her feet before glancing back up to me, her face flushed and glowing. Hank looks back and forth between us, and I can see the gears ticking in his head. He shakes his head and walks back up to Emma, cupping her face in both of his hands. “Emma, you’re a beautiful woman. If I find out anyone has taken advantage of that, they’re as good as dead.”
“Hank, stop,” I say. “I told you to let it go, now let it go.”
“All right, for now. And I’ll help Josie teach you to shoot, because I want to be there when Vic’s guts go flying.” He chuckles. “Hell, I’ll even save you a piece.” She smiles but pulls from him and follows me into the kitchen.
“Is your brother always like that?” she asks.
“Yeah, though I think it’s gotten worse over the years.” I chuckle. “But he’s a good guy, Emma. And he seems to like you, he won’t hurt you,” I whisper.
“When can we start practicing?” she asks.
“Tomorrow. Abe and Dale are headed off to the other compounds to get everything set in motion. But I have to ask, are you sure you want to do this?”
“I have to, Jo. I need to. It’s the only way for me to move on. I won’t be able to live until Vic is dead.”
“Very well then, tomorrow we start our own plot to kill that motherfucker.” I grin. “You got a taste of what it feels like to kill the other day, but now this one will be different. Not only will you be protecting yourself, but you’ll be protecting the thousands of other women that have been his victim. Once you’ve accomplished your feat, life will be beginning for you and all the others,” I say as I press a sweet kiss on her lips.
“Ahem,” I hear Hank clearing his throat, a curious look on his face. I wink at him, but I don’t say a word. He doesn’t need to know about Emma and myself, and Kane. Not yet, anyway.
The door flies open and Kane stalks in and he looks angry. “What happened?” I ask.
His eyes soften when he sees us all standing in the kitchen, but then he walks to me and kisses me, hard and heavy. “That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” he growls against my mouth.
“What?” I ask, playing stupid and batting my eyelashes.
“You, with that UZI. Fucking amazingly hot, so hot I want to fuck you right here, right now,” he moans against my ear.
&n
bsp; “Umm, we aren’t alone,” I say, and he steps back, seeing Emma and Hank right there, staring at us.
“Upstairs, now,” he says as he picks me up and throws me over his shoulder, marching through the house and up the stairs. Emma and Hank don’t say a word, but I can feel the anger roaring off of Hank. He just saw me kiss Emma and now Kane is hauling me away.
I bounce on the bed and scoot back as he crawls over me, predatory. “Kane, stop,” I whisper.
“Not on your life, Jo. This may be our last night before all Hell breaks loose, and you’re mine. I won’t take no for answer.”
“Yes, you will,” I say as I crawl off of the bed, his eyes all over my body heating me.
He gets up and walks to me, but I walk backward until I hit the closet door behind me. He places one hand over each shoulder and leans in, his lips taking mine. “Once we leave the compound, things are going to change, Jo. We’ll be sleeping in the wild, walking and fighting. And there’s no guarantee either of us will make it back alive, you understand that, right?”
“I do, and I’m willing to die,” I whisper, though the thought of that scares me to death.
“Well, I’m not going to let that happen. Tonight is about us, you and me and the promise that we’re going to make, right here and right now.”
“I can’t promise you anything, Kane.”
“Well, I can promise you this,” he says as he kisses me once again. “I promise to protect you to the best of my ability. But tonight, I need to feel you one last time. I want your body wrapped around mine, I need you to feel me. It may be the last time.”
“What do you mean, the last time?” I ask.
“Like I said, there’s no guarantee either of us will make it out alive. Once they know we’re there, it’s going to get ugly. People will die, both their men as well as ours. We’re about to start World War Five, or six, I forget.”