Proditor : Book 5 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  “Yeah, I guess that’s true,” Emily said, and glanced back out the window.

  Cody stopped the car at a rundown restaurant called La French Cuisine and ran around to open the door for her. She stepped out of the Pontiac and almost fell when her heels hit ice, but Cody caught her and kissed her again. His lips made her skin crawl, so she used the cold as an excuse to hurry inside. He hadn’t provided her with a coat and it was freezing.

  Emily’s eyes grew wide when she stepped into the little restaurant. Exavior was sitting at one of the side tables, and glanced at her quickly, then back down to his drink. She hoped he wasn’t dumb enough to break her cover, and moved past him as Cody ushered her to the table. She sat down, making sure she could see him, and smiled as Cody sat in the booth next to her.

  Emily grabbed the menu, glancing at Exavior often as he started on his dinner.

  “So, what if there are vampires here?” Emily asked, and saw Exavior smile slightly.

  Cody scanned the room, “There aren’t any. I can smell them from a mile away. Not to mention, everyone here is eating… it’s ok, you’re safe. I’ll protect you from them.”

  Emily turned back to her menu when she saw Exavior start laughing.

  “I’ll have the quiche and a Sprite, please,” Emily said, and handed the menu to the waitress.

  She started to get uncomfortable when Cody began to kiss her shoulder, and moved the strap of her dress down to give him a clear line to her neck. She saw Exavior glance back a few times, and she could tell he was getting mad. When Cody began to move his hand up from her knee, Emily stood up slowly and excused herself to the ladies room.

  She stood in front of the mirror and calmed her nerves. If Exavior did something stupid, he could ruin two months worth of work. She spun quickly when she saw a blur behind her and Exavior appeared and locked the door.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” Emily whispered angrily.

  “I could ask you the same,” Exavior whispered. “Who’s the new boyfriend?”

  “Do not break my cover,” Emily whispered, glaring at him.

  “I don’t think your undercover operation included sleeping with the mortals.”

  Emily slapped him, “Go away.”

  Exavior nodded, “Tell me first if there are Valle in there.”

  “I’m not going to tell you anything and have you come storming in and break my cover,” Emily whispered. “I’ve spent 2 months getting to where I am, and I’m not going to let you screw things up.”

  “I swear I won’t come in, but tell me if there are Valle,” Exavior said.

  Emily scowled, “All three factions are in there… now go away.”

  As soon as Exavior blurred out of the restaurant, Emily composed herself and went back out to Cody. She scooted into the booth and he immediately laid a hand on her knee as the waitress brought their food.

  ***

  Silas interrupted the trial and handed a printed paper to Quinn. Chevalier was off with Allen, feeding, and Silas knew this needed dealt with immediately.

  Silas,

  The horse is beautiful! My Ex had a horse named Vior just like him, but I told him to get lost. I wish I had a stable to come and buy him from you.

  Maddie

  “Damnit,” Quinn scowled. “Get the prisoner out of here.”

  Guards arrived and pulled the prisoner out of the trial area.

  Quinn handed the note to Kyle, and he read it quickly and crumpled it up, “Get Sotomar on the phone, now.”

  “Do you have news?” Sotomar asked from the speakerphone.

  “Yes, get Exavior the hell away from that compound before he breaks Emily’s cover,” Quinn yelled.

  “What? What makes you think Exavior was by the compound?” Sotomar asked, irritated.

  “We got a cryptic note from Emily, and it’s obvious that she saw Exavior.”

  “Did you go?” Sotomar asked.

  “Yes,” Exavior told him.

  “Damnit… without permission? What are you trying to do?” Sotomar asked him angrily.

  “I wanted to check on her. She seems to be doing well… even has a new kissy boyfriend.”

  Kyle growled, “If Emily has a new boyfriend then it’s part of her cover. You better not have exposed her.”

  “I didn’t… loverboy didn’t even know I was there,” Exavior said. “She did mention all three factions are prisoners though.”

  “We knew that, you moron,” Sotomar hissed, and turned off the phone.

  Quinn sighed, “Don’t write her back. Give her time to settle back in. I don’t want to risk her life if he exposed her in any way.”

  ***

  Emily read through the technical manual on the cameras installed throughout the prison. It helped pass the long, boring hours that she spent watching the prison’s cameras. She needed to find a way to loop them, so she could get the heku out without being seen.

  She was communicating somewhat with the heku shackled to the wall, the one whose cell led to the experimentation room. She was comfortable asking yes or no questions, and he would nod or shake his head slightly in response. He was able to get messages to the other heku without risking exposure. They knew she was trying desperately to figure out how to get them out.

  Emily had a plan formulated in her head. All she needed for her plan to work was a handful of baggies, and a way to loop the cameras. The heku were waiting for her signal to fall entirely motionless. They wouldn’t even breathe for the two minutes she needed to get a stable copy of video to loop.

  Emily adjusted the settings on the cameras and took a deep breath before giving the signal. She saw the slight nod from the heku and watched carefully for any movement that might give them away. At the two minute mark, she gave the clear signal and set about extracting the two minutes of footage.

  Emily turned back to the horse sales. She hadn’t heard from Silas since she’d told him about Exavior four weeks prior, and had been afraid to say anything to him. Now she felt it was necessary. With shaking hands, she typed out a message.

  Silas,

  Hoping to have a place for a stable as soon as tomorrow. Cross your fingers,

  Madison

  She shut her eyes and pressed the send button, hoping that Silas was still checking even though he hadn’t sent her any messages. If her plan worked, tomorrow she would free the heku and would have only spent 3 months on the compound.

  ***

  Silas knocked on the door to Chevalier’s office. He knew all of the Elders were in a meeting in there.

  “Enter,” Chevalier said.

  Silas came in and handed him the message. Chevalier read it a few times and then handed it to Zohn.

  “How many heku are in the woods around that compound?” Chevalier asked.

  “Last count was 56 Equites, 24 Encala and 83 Valle,” Silas replied.

  “I want the entire Cavalry out there immediately. Call in Thukil and more from Powan, and get them out there too. I don’t want Emily’s safety left to the Encala or the Valle,” Chevalier told him.

  “Yes, Sir,” Silas said, and blurred from the room. Within hours, helicopters from Powan and Thukil arrived and their armies were headed out to the V.E.S. compound.

  ***

  “Marry me,” Cody said, dropping down to one knee.

  Emily’s eyes grew wide. She wasn’t sure what to do, so she nodded slightly, and then froze when he gently slipped her essence ring off of her finger, and suddenly, Emily found it hard to breathe. She took the ring from him and looked at it as he slipped another ring on her finger. She couldn’t believe the ring had come off, and her heart skipped a beat when she realized that Chevalier must have died.

  Emily felt the world start to swirl around her, and shadows invaded her vision. Arms wrapped around her as she succumbed to the darkness.

  “Maddie?” Cody asked softly, and touched her face.

  Emily opened her eyes, unsure if the removal of her ring was a dream. She felt the new ring on her finger an
d knew it hadn’t been.

  “Stay down,” Cody said as he put a cold washcloth on her forehead.

  “The ring…” she whispered, fighting to keep her eyes open.

  “I didn’t take it. I know it means a lot to you,” Cody said. “It’s in your pocket.”

  Emily nodded and tried to sit up. She had to be well enough to go to the prison today. She was going to put her plan into motion, and it had to be today while the leaders were gone.

  Cody helped her to sit up, “You ok?”

  “Yes,” Emily said, and stood up despite the dizzy headache she had.

  “Why don’t you take the day off?” Cody said, taking her arm. “You can come with Larry and I. We’re going to check on a new compound that’s being built in Arkansas.”

  “No, I’m ok to work,” Emily told him.

  Cody smiled, “So dedicated to the cause.”

  Emily smiled slightly, “Always.”

  Cody pulled her into a tight embrace and pressed his lips against hers. She felt the weight of the foreign ring on her finger, and began to tear up at the thought that Chevalier was dead.

  Cody pulled her tightly against his chest, “Don’t cry, I’ll be back soon.”

  Emily forced a smile, “Hurry back.”

  “I will. We’ll get married as soon as I get back,” he said, and kissed her again before leaving.

  Emily felt her overall pockets to check again for the plastic baggies, and then headed down to the prison. She made sure and wore the painter’s overalls with lots of pockets, and couldn’t wait to get back into clothes that fit. She was still wearing the large overalls that had to be rolled up numerous times, and threatened to slip off of her shoulders and slide to the floor when she moved.

  She sat down at the console, and was shaking so badly, it was hard to type as she transferred the worm onto the main computer. A virus that would wipe out every computer on the network, resetting even the master boot record. She glanced up at the heku in the shackles, and his face softened when he saw the terror in her eyes. If this went badly, she had no doubt she would be killed.

  “Is everyone ready?” Emily asked, looking down at the monitor. She glanced up briefly and saw the slight nod from the heku.

  Emily reached over and executed the security footage loop program and nodded for the heku to move. He shifted in his cell, but the cameras showed him sitting still. She quickly unlocked all of the cells and turned off voltage to the restraints, then watched the heku break his shackles as every other heku turned to ash.

  “Hurry, give me the bags,” he said, and ran out to her. She handed him a few of the bags, and he ran into the experimentation room to begin scooping ashes into the bags, while Emily started on the heku in the main cell block.

  Emily looked up as the heku returned, and he handed her the six bags as she wiped the blood that trickled down her lip. She shoved them into her large pockets and stood up, “Done… make this good. I need to bleed a lot, but don’t knock me out if you can help it.”

  The heku nodded and placed his hand on her forehead. He swiftly smashed the back of her head into the stone wall and caught her before she fell. A steady stream of blood began to pour from the back of her head as she got unsteadily to her feet.

  “Sorry,” he said, just before turning to ash.

  Emily scooped his ashes up quickly and relocked all of the cell doors, then executed the worm program as she laid down on the ground. She felt the warm blood pool around her head and waited for help to arrive.

  Alarms sounded throughout the compound and Emily kept perfectly still as the prison flooded with armed guards.

  “Get Madison, she’s hurt,” a man yelled.

  Emily was lifted and carried out of the prison. She groaned softly, hoping someone would stop the bleeding from her head before she passed out for real. The man laid her down on her bed as Vicki came in and put pressure on the bleeding.

  “What happened?” Vicki asked frantically.

  “We don’t know yet. The prisoners all escaped, and the computers have gone down,” he told her, and ran out of the room.

  Emily wanted to look up and see who else was in the room, but she desperately needed them to call an ambulance or take her to the hospital, anywhere off of the compound.

  “Henry!” Vicki called out.

  “What?” he asked angrily.

  “We need to get her to a hospital. She lost a lot of blood.”

  “No,” he barked. “No one leaves the compound.”

  “Are you going to tell Cody when she bleeds to death?” Vicki yelled.

  “No one leaves,” he yelled, and slammed the door shut.

  Emily thought quickly, trying hard to decide what to do. She either had to find a way to get out of the compound, or she needed to get word to the Equites that all of the evidence had been erased. She came up with an idea that could backfire easily, but it was the only thing she could think of.

  “Vicki,” Emily mumbled.

  “I’m here, Maddie,” Vicki said, and touched her arm softly.

  “The… baby…” Emily whispered, and clutched her lower stomach, groaning softly.

  Vicki gasped, “Henry!”

  “What now?” he growled when he opened the door.

  “Did you know Maddie’s pregnant? Something’s wrong with the baby,” Vicki said frantically.

  “Damnit Cody, couldn’t keep it in his pants. Get her an ambulance, but no one else leaves this compound,” he yelled, and then slammed the door.

  Emily heard Vicki dial 9-1-1 and had an ambulance on the way. A man came in and carried Emily out to the front gate when it arrived. She was soon in the back of an ambulance, and the doors were shut while the paramedics prepared to leave. She was strapped onto the gurney, and opened her eyes when she felt the ambulance moving.

  “Hi,” the paramedic said, smiling warmly. “Where do you hurt?”

  “Nowhere,” Emily said, and untied the straps.

  “Wait! You can’t get up,” the paramedic said, his eyes were wide. Emily sized him up. He was just a young boy, probably fresh out of paramedic school. She shrugged and then punched him as hard as she could in the nose. She felt the bones in her hand crush again, but ignored the pain and opened the back door, then looked out into the trees and hoped someone would be there.

  Counting silently to three, Emily jumped from the back of the ambulance and tried to roll when she landed. She felt her elbow and shoulder slam into the road as she rolled, then waited for the movement to stop, but soon realized she was being blurred deeper into the woods. The ambulance had stopped and she could barely see it backing up before distance took the sight away.

  Emily glanced down and saw the green shirt of the Thukil Cavalry and smiled. She wrapped her arms around him and whispered, “Thank you.”

  The heku didn’t stop until they appeared in a clearing full of uniformed heku. They all turned toward her as the Thukil Lieutenant set her down onto her feet. Emily ran to Kyle and threw her arms around him and started to cry.

  “How did he die?” Emily asked through the sobs.

  Kyle pulled away from her slightly and looked into her eyes, “How did who die?”

  “Chev,” Emily asked, her eyes full of pain.

  Kyle shook his head, “Chevalier’s not dead.”

  Emily nodded, “Yes, he is.”

  “I just talked to him a few minutes ago, Em, he’s fine.”

  Emily frowned and looked around, confused. She sat down against a tree and watched. She’d never before seen Equites, Encala, and Valle all working together.

  A General in the Valle Army knelt down beside her, “Tell us everything you can.”

  “Give her a second to rest. Can’t you tell she has a head injury?” Kyle growled.

  “It’s ok,” Emily said. “I have all of the heku with me, and I destroyed all of the computers. They didn’t back up any of their records. It’s all gone.”

  “What about the guards?” the General asked.

  “The
re are armed guards and electrical fences along the top of the cement fence. The guards pass by every 30 seconds. Everything in there is protected by electricity,” Emily explained.

  Kyle pulled his green cape off and wrapped it around Emily’s shoulders, “I say let’s storm it. Get rid of them, so they can’t do this again.”

  The General nodded, “I agree.”

  “Wait,” Emily said. “You’re going to just kill all of them?”

  “No, we won’t kill all of them, but we need to kill their leaders,” the General told her.

  “The two main leaders, Larry and Cody, are in Arkansas until morning,” Emily explained.

  Kyle nodded, “Silas, Mark, and I will take Emily to the airport. She can show us who they are.”

  Kralen knelt down by Emily, “I’ll lead the Equites.”

  The Valle General nodded, “We’ll coordinate into three faction based groups.”

  “Please,” Emily said, and touched the General’s hand. “Don’t kill them if you don’t have to. There are some nice people in there.”

  An Encala General joined them, “Heard we’re going in.”

  Kralen smiled, “Don’t worry, Emily. We won’t kill them if they aren’t leaders or security.”

  Kyle helped Emily to her feet, and she wrapped his cape around her, covering her arm as best as she could to hide the fact that it was injured. She would deal with that later. Mark came over and picked her up, then blurred suddenly, and she saw Kyle and Silas running alongside him. She leaned her head against his shoulder to try to stop the pounding from hitting her head on the wall.

  Within thirty minutes, they emerged onto a dirt road where two of the red Lamborghini Reventon’s were parked alongside a dozen black Suburbans. Emily got into the car with Kyle, and buckled herself in, careful not to bump her arm.

  Kyle slid into the driver’s seat and started up the car, cranking the heater, and then turned to her, “Why did you think Chevalier was dead?”