Justice Ascending

by Rebecca Zanetti

  Sami smiled. “He doesn’t mention that he kidnapped you, too, or the blackmail plot?”

  “No.” Maureen shook her head.

  “Asshole,” Raze breathed.

  Maureen cut him a look and focused back on the paper again.

  “We’ve gone through all the nurseries and greenhouses in the area, and things are dismal. The water and electricity cut off before we took over the area, so I’m afraid many of the specimens are lost forever. However, there are seeds, sprouts, and even bulbs that I have no clue what to do with. I’d like to ask for you to temporarily stay in Merc territory and go through this stuff. The world needs food. I will personally guarantee your safety.

  Yours, Grey.”

  She looked up.

  “No,” Raze said shortly.

  “Bulbs and seeds,” Maureen said thoughtfully. “We need those.”

  “Can you get the greenhouses going again?” Jax asked.

  She shook her head. “I don’t know, but I’m not sure that’s the wisest course, anyway. We should find fertile land with freshwater resources and start planting. It’ll be back to the basics for civilization for centuries, I think.”

  “You’re not going to Merc territory again,” Raze said.

  “He didn’t hurt me.” She pivoted to face her brother. “Not once did anybody even threaten me while I was in Merc territory.” Maureen rubbed her chin. “I wonder if that was the plan all along. To go through the greenhouses and then see what we could use.”

  “Do you want to go?” Jax asked.

  She eyed her brother and then nodded. “I do. If there’s a chance to salvage any bulbs or sprouts, then I definitely want the chance to do so.”

  Jax nodded. “All right. We’ll discuss it and get back to you.”

  Maureen’s eyebrows rose. “I wasn’t asking your permission, Jax.”

  Sami nodded. Attagirl.

  Raze leaned forward. “You don’t have mine, either, little sister.”

  Moe’s chin lowered. “You’re about to get punched in the face.”

  Jax sighed. “Family stuff later. Work now. Maureen, please go back to work inventorying the packets of seeds the scavengers found in that drugstore on the Westside.”

  “I’ll let you know when I’m ready to go.” Maureen quickly exited the room.

  “Get your family shit together, Shadow,” Jax said, turning back toward the map.

  Sami smiled at Raze. “You’re lucky, Shadow. So lucky to have your sister here.” The room went quiet for a moment, and Sami flashed to memories of her sweet sister and the good times they’d had together. Man, Sami had gotten Jackie drunk when she’d turned twenty-one.

  Jax cleared his throat, bringing her back to the present. “Where is Grey’s current headquarters?”

  Sami shook off the past, stood, and grabbed a marker off the table to circle the location of the current headquarters. “Here’s where he and Damon stay, and here’s the headquarters trauma area, and here’s where we found the supplies. There was a seven on the door.” She made notations.

  Jax took another marker and drew a rough square over acres. “We think this is the entire Merc territory. So if they have at least six depots like the one you found, where would they be?”

  “Probably spaced evenly, just in case,” Sami said, glancing around.

  “What?” Jax asked.

  “Pencil,” she said, just seeing markers.

  Jax reached in his back pocket and drew out a stubby, well-chewed pencil. “Here. I didn’t bite it.”

  She winced and carefully took the pencil to draw wider circles spaced evenly throughout the Merc territory. “Say there are ten, then here’s an even spacing of them.” Of course, she was just guessing. She retook her seat.

  Jax planted both hands on the table. “I’m figuring we’d need a full-out assault to get the provisions?”

  Tace nodded. “I think so. An infiltration would be another way, but those places are usually well guarded. The one nearest headquarters is the most open, but that’s because it’s the farthest from the borders, and the guards and scouts circle out.”

  “Give me a pro list for waging an attack,” Jax ordered.

  “They have a lot more medicine and water than we do,” Sami said slowly. “If every depot has the number of guns I saw in the headquarters depot, they have plenty of weapons and ammunition. And they have vitamin B. A lot of it.”

  Jax breathed out. “Cons?”

  “They’re trained and well prepared,” Tace said. “If we take fifty soldiers, we’d be man on man, but then we’d be leaving Vanguard vulnerable. And Jax, we’re gonna lose people in a fight. Greyson won’t fuck around.”

  Sami nodded. “Agreed. I’m not a profiler like the doc, but Greyson seems like a good guy to have on your side. Loyal. But cross him, and I think he’d slice your neck and not lose a minute’s sleep.”

  “Good point.” Jax turned and eyed the map. “Both of you meet with the doc today and give her your impressions. I want an actual profile from her.” He tapped the map at several places. “Raze? If we decided to go in and take resources, what’s the best infiltration point?”

  Raze studied the map. “They’re vulnerable from the north. I think they’ve protected the area south because of the university holdings. They only have so many guards to rotate, so they have to concentrate on the most valuable area. If we go in, we go in from the north and west.”

  “From the beach?” Sami asked. “Won’t they be expecting that since that’s how the president attacked?”

  “Yeah, but there’s a reason that’s how the president infiltrated,” Jax murmured. “So attack first from the north, draw the guards, and then a secondary hit from the beach.”

  Tace nodded. “Looks good to me.”

  Sami shook her head. “We’re not really considering attacking the Mercs, are we? I mean, we still have the president and his Elite guard on our butts, and if we’re allies with the Mercs, that gives us more fighting strength.”

  “Agreed.” Jax drew out a chair and sat. “But we’re running out of B, medicine, water, food, and ammo. All the allies in the world don’t help us if we can’t feed our people.”

  “What if we brokered a deal?” Tace asked slowly. “A trade of services, so to speak?”

  Raze lifted his head. “I hope you’re not saying what I think you are.”

  Tace blew out air. “If they have food resources, and your sister can get those or develop those or grow those or whatever the fuck a food production expert does, then why wouldn’t we do that? Especially if she wants to go and check out the holdings.”

  “No.” Raze crossed his arms.

  “Your call. Then how about medical expertise for hire?” Tace asked. “I’m fine going back periodically and helping out if they give us medicine and so on.”

  Jax studied him. “That’s not a bad idea.”

  Sami’s breath quickened. She didn’t like the calculating gleam in Tace’s eyes.

  Tace nodded. “At the very least, if we have this aboveboard exchange a few times, I might be able to discover the locations of the other storage depots so we know exactly where to hit them.”

  “Man, we’re assholes,” she muttered.

  “Survival, baby,” Tace said, turning that intense gaze on her.

  Jax stilled.

  Raze’s chin dropped. “Did you just call her baby? Sami?”

  Sami’s legs trembled, and pure panic swept through her. She opened her mouth but nothing came out.

  Tace blinked. “I have a Texas drawl. We call everybody ‘baby.’”

  Sami glared and regained her voice. “Fine. Call Raze and Jax that next time we’re in a skirmish.”

  “Gladly.” Tace tipped his head toward Jax. “Though he’s more of a sweetcakes.”

  Jax pressed his index fingers into the corners of his eyes. “Where did I lose control here? I mean, we’re planning death and destruction, and all of a sudden, I’m a pastry.”

  Raze narrowed his gaze and look
ed from Tace to Sami and back again. “If you guys are fuckin’, you can’t go on patrol together.”

  Sami gasped, and her entire face exploded in heat. “Raze!” Geez. He could’ve kept quiet. Jax had already moved on to another topic. Kind of.

  “Sorry,” Raze said, not looking apologetic in the slightest. “But if there’s personal shit going on, I don’t want either one of you covering my back with the other one there. It’s not smart, and it’s not safe.”

  Jax dropped his hands to the table. “Are you guys fuckin’?”

  “No,” Sami exploded. They’d agreed on two hours, and those two hours were long up. “I can’t believe you guys. Seriously. I have to stuff cotton in my ears on a nightly basis because of you two and your doctors banging beds against walls, but not once have I said a word. Not one word. And for the love of all that is holy, there is a g on the end of fucking. Fuckeeeeng. You two need grammar school.”

  Jax held up a hand. “Whoa. Let me make this perfectly clear. I’m fine if you two are going horizontal, but I need to know because it will change the rotation of our schedules. That’s all.”

  Sami swung her gaze to Tace.

  He was looking directly at Jax. “We are not going horizontal. We are not fucking . . . with a g or any other letter. We are soldiers, colleagues, and hopefully friends. That’s all.”

  Jax turned toward Sami. “If that changes, you have to let me know.”

  “It won’t change,” Tace said.

  Sami’s chest ached. She hadn’t figured Tace would be so glad to keep them just friends. Had she sucked in bed? Of course she hadn’t. She was there the whole time. But maybe he wanted more kinky stuff like he’d been getting with that inner-territory doctor. No way did Sami want to get whipped deep. Not a chance. Nor did she want a boyfriend. Man.

  “Sami?” Jax asked, scowling.

  “Okay, Jax.” She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t know you needed confirmation of the obvious.”

  “I guess I’m just slow.” Jax cut her a hard look.

  Barbara poked her head in while wearing combat gear. “Jax? We have a problem.”

  Oh yeah. Sami had forgotten all about Tace’s other lover. Heat flamed into her face.

  Jax stood. “Of course we do. What is it, Barb?”

  “Scouts found the yellow truck driven by that Merc guy at the western edge of our territory all shot up. There was blood on the front seat, but no body anywhere. They came back in to report,” Barbara said.

  Sami pushed away from the table, her heart thundering, her mind clicking into place. “The Mercs will blame us if Damon doesn’t make it back to them.” Then there would be a war whether they wanted one or not.

  “Copy that.” Jax turned for the weapons lockers. “The four of us will go. Dead or alive, we need to find that cop.”

  Chapter Twelve

  My study of this bacterium shows the window closing on humanity’s short time of overcoming illnesses with drugs. We are rapidly returning to an era where a minor scratch can kill a man.

  —Dr. Lynne Harmony, Notes on Scorpius

  Tace kept to the storefronts, his gun sweeping the area. Glass crunched under his boots, and he tried to step lightly, but combat and weeds were tearing up the concrete of the former sidewalks. Being out in bright sunlight was a seriously bad idea. Sami kept to his six, while Raze and Jax covered the other side of the now silent street. Not too long ago, the road would’ve been jam-packed with people honking and getting pissed during congested traffic.

  Traffic jams were a thing of the past.

  As was safely walking down a sidewalk in the middle of the day.

  He tapped the knife at his hip three times.

  At some point, the crazy Rippers would kill themselves off. But the ingenious ones would last a while. A yelp echoed across the street, and he dropped into a fighting crouch, half in front of Sami.

  An orange cat screeched and barreled past Raze, who flinched away.

  “Sorry,” Raze mouthed.

  Tace shook his head. “How can such a badass be afraid of cats?”

  Sami snorted. “Speaking of nicknames, you need to stop calling me ‘baby,’” she whispered, pointing her gun into a former jewelry store. Empty velvet boxes were scattered across the floor, and all of the glass display cases had been smashed. Nothing sparkly could be seen.

  “I know,” he said. What kind of jewelry did Sami like? Probably turquoise. She seemed like a turquoise girl. “We’re just colleagues, and I won’t call you ‘baby’ again.” He didn’t feel like a colleague. He felt like a guy who wanted to strip her nude and bend her over the nearest table. Wow. He actually felt something. Maybe his feelings were coming back. “Although I’m thinking we were shorted an entire hour last night, you know?”

  “I didn’t think you noticed,” she said.

  He frowned. Was she pouting? “I noticed.”

  “Humph.”

  He tried to focus and figure her out. Nope. He held up a hand to halt her at the corner, angled himself around, and surveyed an empty alley that stank like old death. Giving her hand signals, he hustled across the alley to the next sidewalk and pointed his gun into a defunct Laundromat. Vacant with dented washing machines. “Listen, Sami. You’re sending mixed signals, and my new and improved brain can’t read subtext. Do you want to fuck again or not?”

  “Not,” she snapped.

  “That’s what I thought.” Okay. She’d been clear as day. “Good, then.”

  “Yeah. Good, then.” Her voice lowered.

  Was she pissed? He shook his head. None of this was making any sense. They reached Luke’s Bar on the corner, and he peered in to see an old jukebox against the far wall. It had probably been too heavy for early looters to take. They reached the end of the corner, and he spotted the yellow truck in the alley. A quick whistle from him had Jax and Raze crossing the street.

  Jax signaled, and Tace nodded, taking the right side with Sami. Jax and Raze took the left side.

  They reached the vehicle and saw the scouts had gotten it right. Bullet holes along the passenger side and blood on the driver’s seat. Not a lot. “He could be okay,” Tace said, his focus narrowing.

  Jax bent down to study the ground. “Blood trail.”

  Tace hustled to the front. “Yep.” He followed the dots of blood deeper into the alley, which the building cast in shadow. The coolness felt good, but a chill swept down his back.

  Steps led down to a basement entrance outside what used to be a flower shop. Something rustled. Garbage cans clashed.

  Jax motioned, and Tace and Raze moved in unison, covering the steps.

  “Damon?” Jax called out.

  Silence.

  Then a shriek, and a man ran up the stairs, fur in his mouth. White and black fur. Was that a skunk?

  “Whoa, buddy,” Tace said, trying to see his eyes. “You okay?”

  The guy wore a black suit jacket with bell bottom jeans. Sparkles decorated down one side. His hair might have been brown at one time but was now a dirty black. Dirt and blood covered his face. He spit out the fur and screamed.

  “Shit,” Raze said. “Shut him up before every Ripper in the vicinity comes running.”

  Tace swallowed. “Buddy, be quiet. Okay?”

  The guy shrieked louder. He was definitely insane and definitely a Ripper.

  “Shut up,” Jax snapped. “I don’t want to just blow away an unarmed guy, so stop screaming.”

  The guy quieted. Then he sucked in air and wailed. Tace squeezed the trigger. The bullet impacted the Ripper between the eyes. He stilled and then fell backward down the stairs.

  Jax turned to look at Tace.

  Tace shrugged, his heart rate remaining calm and steady. Okay. That was a bad sign—shouldn’t he feel slightly bad about killing the guy? “He was going to get us killed.”

  “Probably did the bastard a favor,” Raze said, moving forward to look down the stairwell, his steps sure and graceful. “He was alone.”

  Jax motioned them forwar
d, and Raze fell into line next to him.

  Tace turned to see Sami staring at him, her face white. “What?” he asked.

  “Only a month ago, you would’ve been the last one to shoot that guy,” she said. Standing in the dirty alley with her hair in twin braids and freckles across her nose, she looked more out of place than the sparkles had.

  “You don’t belong in darkness,” Tace said. Then he shook his head. Focus, Justice. “I mean, you’re right. I wouldn’t have taken the shot.” Yet he wasn’t the same guy, was he? “Sorry.”

  She blinked. “Why are you apologizing?”

  Because he wasn’t the guy she probably could’ve liked. The darkness in him was too strong and apparently getting stronger. He motioned her forward, where he could cover her back.

  She ducked her head, hurrying behind Jax and Raze, her steps making no sound on the cracked concrete.

  He followed her, trying not to notice how nicely her ass fit in those worn jeans. They were so old the fabric on the bottom of her butt was white instead of blue. Man, her butt was tight.

  His body hardened at the thought of the night before. He really wanted another night with her, but after spending hours zoned out drawing her face over and over again, he had to keep away from her. What if he went really dark and lost any sense of humanity? Would he actually hurt her? How could he think about her, about sex, three seconds after he’d taken a life? Yeah, he was fucked up.

  Gunfire pattered ahead, and all four of them froze.

  Jax half turned and gave hand signals for them to take each side.

  Tace nodded and kept to the right, following Sami to the back of what had been a bank. Another shot echoed from inside.

  Tace glanced down to see the blood trail end at the back door to the bank. The door was green and metal . . . and slightly open. He hustled up to the side. “Plan?”

  Jax eyed the overhead sun. “Raze and I will go in the front. Wait until the count of twenty, and you two go in the back.”

  “Copy that,” Sami said.

  Jax and Raze ran along the building and past two more stores before turning at the corner and disappearing from sight.