Breaking Through

by King, D. Nichole

  “We should get to the gate,” she says.

  Just like that, I’m back to focusing on the team instead of only Nautia.

  “Ivan, keep your eye on the east tower. Nautia, on the west. I have the two guards at one o’clock.” I indicate the directions before I steal forward, leaving Nautia and Ivan in the shadows of the building. If all goes according to plan, Ackley will join them shortly. So far, I’ve heard nothing in my earpiece to indicate otherwise.

  A hundred yards from the gate, I squat behind a bush, roll on the silencer, and wait for the signals.

  A minute later, Nautia’s voice rings into my ear, “West tower down.” Ivan follows with, “East down now too.”

  “Head in,” I reply and aim. With two quick shots, the guards in front of the gate drop to the ground. Seconds later, Gibson has them levitated inches over the blacktop and lowers them behind a cluster of bushes.

  “We’re a go,” Kray radios in.

  “Copy that,” I say.

  “There’s a truck heading your way from the north. Looks like less than two minutes.”

  I signal to Haskal. “Get us in. Now.”

  “My pleasure,” he says, and with one quick swipe of his palm, the metal locks break and he pushes the gate open. “Was it as good for you as it was for me?” he asks Nautia as she jogs past him.

  “I’ve had better,” she replies, glancing at me.

  I grin back.

  We’re so close. The side entrance is less than a hundred feet away.

  Leading my team, I sprint for the warehouse door. Gibson has the tail end, but he’s in the shadow of the eaves before headlights round the corner.

  “Shit, man. We’ve got company,” Kray coms. “And so do you.”

  “Copy that. Ackley still with you?”

  “No, sir.”

  Fuck.

  “Communication line is down,” Kray clarifies. “Heart monitor is flat. She’s gone.”

  “Give ’em hell,” I say.

  “Yes, sir.”

  The line goes dead, and I turn to Haskal. “Get us in,” I demand.

  A sweep of his hand on the hinges, and the door comes loose. Gibson quietly levitates the steel. Small floodlights illuminate the open room and, with weapons ready, Ivan and I lead the team into the semi-darkness.

  “This is the right place,” Nautia gasps out.

  I hesitate, swallowing, ’cause I don’t want to say what I have to. “Lead the way.”

  I stay close, touching a hand on her waist and scanning the area. Voices from outside put me on high alert, and I signal to Rogers and Gibson to hang back. They break away, ducking behind long metal tubes lining the south wall.

  “All clear, sir.” There’s a strange silence before Kray continues. Then: “Britta is dead.”

  Nautia turns and stares at me. There’s disbelief and worry darkening her irises. I can’t spare anyone to back up Kray, and we need a lookout. Deterring now might kill us all.

  “Copy that,” I answer. “Stick to the plan.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Nautia’s gaze hangs on me for a moment before she moves forward. A crash by the entrance followed by yells and gunshots speeds her up. She runs down the center of the room, Haskal, Ivan, and me at her heels.

  Ahead, a dozen North Korean soldiers rush in on us. I act on instinct—pull out my gun and shoot. From the corner of my eye, I catch Nautia dive headfirst into a work station to her left. I drop to the floor and roll in that direction to cover her.

  “Heads up!” Haskal shouts and thrusts his hand into the air. Metal shells of macrometallium suspended above us crash to the floor. With a push, he sends half of them toward the remaining soldiers. The rest he sends in the opposite direction.

  “Gibson’s flatlined, sir,” Kray says into my earpiece.

  “Copy,” I reply. Then I yell, “Ivan, south entrance. Go.”

  She darts down the walkway. One look at Haskal, and I determine he’s fine. There’s only two Korean soldiers left. Haskal has them on their knees, their own weapons floating in midair and trained at their foreheads. Two seconds later, the guns fire.

  I jump to my feet and join Nautia at the computer. She has it on, and her fingers are flying over the keyboard.

  “Kray, I could really use a password here,” she says.

  “Good thing I’ve got one then, huh?” he replies. “Y66gsk90#1.”

  The screen lights up with chemical formulas for not only what we came for, but also other in-the-works weaponry too.

  “Holy shit,” I murmur. “They’ve got a goddamn arsenal.”

  Nautia digs into the inside of her vest and pulls out a flash drive. Haskal joins us as she begins to upload the information.

  “Those dudes are heavy,” he says. “This place is the shit. Check out the tanks.”

  “Yeah, and they’re not empty,” Nautia says. “Here.” She pulls out two glass vials and hands one to each of us. “You want a piece of the hydroplexasma? It’s in that tank.”

  “You see it?” I ask.

  “Yep. It’s not invisible to me.”

  Haskal submerges his knife into the water. He fumbles before withdrawing a pink glob. “This the stuff?”

  “That’s it.” Nautia grabs the flash drive. “And I’ve got the formulas. Let’s get out of here.”

  “Ivan? Rogers? You copy?” I say into the radio channel.

  “Yes, sir,” Rogers answers. “We’re almost to you.”

  “We clear?”

  “We’re good here, sir.”

  “Kray? What’s it look like?”

  “You’ve got some vehicles approaching from the north and the south. East door’s your best bet. Have Haskal tear down the fence,” Kray responds.

  “Copy that. Meet you at the shore.”

  “You got it.”

  Nautia’s gaze probes me. I take her hand and squeeze. “He’ll be okay. They’ll follow us.”

  She offers an unsure nod, then tells Kray, “Be careful.”

  “Always,” he says. “Get out of there now.”

  With Nautia in tow, I take off. By the time we reach the east entrance, tires crunch over gravel and shouts filter through the door.

  “The fence, Haskal,” I shout.

  “It’ll be gone when we get there,” he replies. Metal creaks and scratches. Then, in one swoop, the fence from ground to post rolls up.

  “Incoming!” Rogers yells as a group of soldiers rounds the corner and starts to shoot.

  Nautia stumbles but keeps running. Rogers and Ivan spin and fire off a few rounds. Haskal stops, focusing on the fence posts until they skyrocket. The fence hovers over the Korean soldiers before Haskal drops it on top of them, impaling them.

  “Let’s go!” I yell.

  “Building’s clear,” Kray says into my earpiece.

  “Copy.” I run after Nautia. Behind me, shots rip through the air. I spin and point my gun at the sound. A sniper has us in his sights, so I duck behind a tree. I peer around the trunk, take aim, and shoot. But I’m not fast enough; Ivan falls to the ground a few feet from me.

  “Haskal! Cover Nautia!”

  He passes me, and I toss him the vial of hydroplexasma. More shots, but then we’re clear for now. Rogers joins me. We run like hell through the stand of trees. Soon, we catch up with Haskal and Nautia. She’s on the ground, clutching her side, and the pain in my chest makes me come to a dead halt. It’s like I’m the one who’s been shot.

  I walk to her and drop to my knees.

  “Captain, we need to keep moving,” Rogers says, his gun pointed behind us.

  “How bad?” I ask, trying to remain calm.

  “Bad,” Haskal says.

  “Hold still.”

  It seems Haskal has already removed Nautia’s Kevlar vest. It didn’t do shit. I
lift up her blood-soaked shirt. She’s on her side, keeping the wound off the ground. I shine my flashlight over her, my hand shaking.

  There’s a bullet hole in her back. From the position, it barely cleared the hem of her vest and slid into her at the perfect angle. Ivan, our medic, is gone. God knows when I can get her help.

  My brain tells me the decision should be easy: Nautia won’t survive, and the success of the mission is of utmost importance. This—right here—is why I’d never gotten involved with another soldier. Why I should have kept Nautia the fuck away from my heart.

  “I’m sorry,” Nautia rasps out, her blue-green irises breaking me. She coughs. Blood stains the corner of her mouth. “Here.”

  She places the flash drive in my hand and closes my fingers around it. “Finish this.”

  “Ah, shit.” I shut my eyes for a moment before answering. “I promise.”

  The sound of rustling leaves has Haskal pulling out his Glock and joining Rogers at the front line. We need to get out of here, or we’ll all die.

  I can’t leave her.

  “Go,” Nautia says, reading my mind. “I have enough energy to hold them off. I’ll give you a head start.”

  She sends me a weak smile before she closes her eyes. Her palms turn upward as she gathers water molecules from the air. Above her, a globe of water forms.

  I glance at Haskal and Rogers, who are poised and ready for a new showdown. I’ve already taken too much time. And yet I make my decision.

  “Haskal. Rogers,” I say. “Get ready to run on my command.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “You’re coming with us, Nautia,” I murmur so low to not break her concentration. “Let the water go when I tell you.”

  Her eyelids flutter, her arms weakening under the weight she’s holding.

  Ji-jin’s soldiers draw closer, their footfalls growing louder.

  “And…” I wait.

  Wait—

  “NOW!”

  Everything happens at once. Nautia blasts the water missile at the Koreans. Haskal and Rogers dive out of the way and take off running. And I scoop Nautia up and sprint after them.

  I don’t stop until we get to the rendezvous point at the shore. Kray is already in the boat we hid, and when he sees me carrying Nautia, he jumps out.

  “Is she—” he starts.

  “No.”

  Rogers and Haskal cover us as we lay her down onto the floor of the fishing boat. Her skin is cooling. She doesn’t even wince. I look at Kray.

  “She’s not,” I insist.

  I gather her into my arms. Hold her against me and kiss her. Because there’s nothing else I can do.

  The lights of the simulation room blink back on, and the scene around us disappears. Britta, Sickles, Ackley, Gibson, and the others sit outside the red line on the floor.

  “Mission successful,” the computer announces.

  Nautia’s eyes flutter open and land on me. “That was a simulation? It felt so real.”

  “Yeah,” I answer, holding her with my eyes. My mind is still separating reality from fiction while my heart pounds with relief.

  She’s alive!

  Nautia unstraps her vest and hikes up her shirt. There’s a small dot where the bullet entered in the simulation. I hate the mark and the memory associated with it.

  “Hell yes! We did it!” Kray does a touchdown dance, ending in a backflip. “Whoo!”

  “Don’t get too excited,” I say. “We lost over half our men, and we only have a week until the real deal. Everyone, take thirty. Then we’re going back in.”

  I knew I couldn’t avoid this conversation forever. Arriving to the simulation room late this morning helped—sort of—but even so, I felt Kray digging around in my head as soon as I entered within mindshot. I’d worked hard to recite the doubles multiplication table at rock concert decibels so he wouldn’t hear what I was thinking.

  “Oh my God. You had sex!” Kray exclaims, letting himself into my room before dinner.

  “What? No.”

  “Yes you did, princess. I don’t even have to bungee jump into your brain to see you did.”

  “No. I—”

  Why am I trying to lie to him?

  He dives into my head, eyes widening when he locates the jackpot. “Holy fuck, girl! Four times?”

  I pull the damp towel off my hair and evaporate the water. “Explain to me how this is different from you being in the room and watching us? Privacy is a thing, Kray. People like theirs.”

  Kray fakes an offended look. “It’s completely different. One is in real time, the other is simply a second-hand memory. Fuzzy in places, and it’s only one-sided, so I miss out on all the good parts.” He frowns.

  I toss the towel at Kray. “And the privacy part? You know, the part that is, by definition, private?”

  Kray’s brows furrow. “I don’t understand the question.”

  I sweep a hand around my head. “Clearly.”

  “Built-in hairdryer. You should see if you can sell that to Britta. I bet she’d buy two.”

  “Ha. Ha.”

  “So, are you in love with him?” Kray asks.

  His question catches me off guard, and I choke on my own saliva. “Love? God, how am I supposed to know?”

  “Do you think about him more than you don’t? Fantasize about him even when he’s next to you? Crave every ounce of his attention, plus some? When you think about the future, is he there? Would you give up anything for him? Your very life?”

  I open my mouth to answer, but snap it closed at the dreamy glint in my best friend’s eyes. “Wait, you’ve been in love?”

  “Don’t sound so surprised. I’m a mind reader; I’m not heartless.”

  “How have I never known this?”

  He grins. “Because you, princess, are not a mind reader. See how lucky I am?”

  “Want to talk about it?” I offer, even though I already know the answer.

  “Hell no. This is about you, and about you this will stay.”

  “Can I tell you how unsurprised by that statement I am?”

  “As long as it’s about you, tell me whatever you want.” Kray puts an arm around my shoulders and squeezes me to his side. “It’s okay to love someone, you know.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “It’s not okay to not tell them, though.”

  I look up at him. “Is that what happened to you?”

  “That’s none of your business.”

  “I’m sorry. That must have sucked for you.”

  When he doesn’t respond, I add, “I promise, when I know, I’ll tell him.”

  My best friend kisses my temple, then lets go of me. “Good.”

  After my mission.

  “All right. You ready? Military dining at its finest awaits our presence.” I start toward the door, but Kray holds a hand out to stop me.

  “Not yet.” He closes his eyes and slips back into my mind. His eyes pop open. I assume he’ll mention the lack of a wall in here, but instead, he chooses the other thing. “So when did you plan on telling him about that minefield? Fuck that. When the hell were you going to tell me?”

  “Ah shit,” I mutter, knowing exactly what he’s found. Stupid thoughts.

  “You can’t take on Cara by yourself, Nautia,” he says, staring at me.

  “Look, as long as North Korea has this program and Cara is working for them, more and more students will die. This won’t be over until she’s dead, Kray. Not for me. Not for any of the students back at Brighton. I can’t let that happen.”

  “This is about Nate, isn’t it?”

  “Of course it’s about Nate! Cara took everything away from me. She orchestrated the whole damn thing.” I lower my voice. “Did you know? About Nate, I mean?”

  “When did you figure it out?”
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  “As soon as the wall came down.”

  Kray sighs and plops down onto my bed. “I suspected, but I didn’t know.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because it was crazy, Nautia. Completely asinine. Would you have believed me?”

  I sit beside him and sigh. “Probably not.”

  Kray stares forward. “I’m not going to convince you to change your mind. But I’m not letting you do this by yourself.”

  “She can block you out, Kray. Then she’ll destroy you.”

  “I don’t care. We’re doing this together.”

  “This is my fight, not yours. I won’t let you risk your life for this.”

  His attention snaps to me. “I already am. Why do you think I agreed to come on this mission?” He grabs ahold of my hand. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, and I’m not going to lose you. Besides, you love me.”

  “I’ve never told you that.”

  Kray winks. “You don’t have to.”

  “Do you realize how unfair it is that you know everything about me, but I only know a fraction of what there is to know about you?”

  “I like it that way.”

  “I’ll bet you do.”

  “So, together?”

  “Doesn’t look like you’re giving me a choice. And if I change my mind, you’ll be the first to know and you’ll tag along anyway.”

  Kray tugs me up with him. “Your logic is sound, princess.”

  Nautia nestles her head against my chest and sighs in her sleep. A week of successful simulations has passed, and with them, dreamless sleep keeps her rested. Unfortunately, she hasn’t spent all of those nights in my bed. But tonight, the one that counts, I have her.

  I run my fingertips down her spine. She shivers under my touch, but she doesn’t wake up. I made sure she’d sleep well, pleasing her over and over until she couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer. I caught Gibson and Kray popping sleeping pills. Haskal followed Ivan into her cabin. Tonight, everyone is dealing differently with tomorrow’s deployment.

  The eve of the mission is always the hardest. Until now, I haven’t found anything that works a hundred percent for me, but with Nautia beside me, it’s the best I’ve ever been. Her dark hair fans out over the pillow, and I inhale the fruity scent of her shampoo. She must use the same thing on her body, because her sweet skin is just as delectable.