by Michael Todd
Calvin stopped, and Timothy nearly ran into him. Calvin stared at him a moment. “Is there something else?”
Timothy wrinkled his nose. “Actually, yeah. Do you have a minute?”
“Sure. What’s going on?”
Timothy had already sat downstairs for over an hour, trying to decide whether to tell Calvin about what he’d heard. He felt like a spy in the midst of his own people. It wasn’t a good feeling. However, after giving it a lot of thought, he realized Calvin would be pissed if he weren’t told what Katie may or may not be up to.
“Well, I was doing some system tests and running a few different search programs, and I came across some chatter.”
Calvin raised an eyebrow. “Is chatter a euphemism for shit you aren’t supposed to know?”
“If you haven’t noticed, while you’re up here punching and hammering and being a big manly man, I’m down there keeping my little ears to the ground. If it comes through my system, then I’m supposed to know it. Just like I told you with the radio thing, if you don’t want people to know, you better not be broadcasting that shit on open channels.”
“And this chatter was on an open channel?”
Timothy grinned sheepishly. “Well, not exactly. I mean, it wasn’t hard to get to, if that’s what you’re asking. Anyone with a smidgen of talent would have been able to tap right into the chatter. They weren’t going by their little military book protocol, so it’s not my fault that I heard it.”
Calvin pinched the bridge of his nose. “Can we move through this and get to what you heard? I’ve got about six more shelves to hang, furniture to move in, and then we need to have a comfortable place to sleep.”
Timothy put up his hands. “Right. Right, sorry. So there’s a rumor that a strike team is going down into hell. And by rumor, I mean the military personnel at the staging area were talking about it on a very lightly secured channel.”
Calvin turned quickly to Timothy. “Katie?”
Timothy pursed his lips. “Please, like they’re admitting that. They may have been dumb with their security measures, but they aren’t that ridiculous. However, if you really think about what’s about to go down, can you think of anyone else who might be involved? Storming the gates of hell does not sound like something anyone of sound mind would do. Which leaves Katie and her wild child demon queen.”
“I don’t think…” Calvin pointed his finger at Timothy but didn’t finish his sentence. Instead, he dropped his hand and pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I’ll make a call.”
Timothy gave him a sassy look and tapped him on the shoulder. “You do that.”
Calvin tapped the phone against his lips. He knew full well that this had to be one of Katie’s plans. She was the only one on Earth who could open a portal and get through to hell. Things must be as bad as he’d feared, or worse. He knew she wouldn’t attempt something this dangerous unless there were no other way. Things must have gone beyond some breaking point.
He sat down on the foldout chair in the middle of the floor. He chose his words carefully, figuring out exactly what it was he wanted to say to her. If invading hell was in the cards, he was damn sure going to be a part of it. He had fought too hard and too long to back down now. He was going to kick some demon ass right there on the steps of hell.
If this was the only way he could get the revenge he sought for the lives of the friends and family he had lost, then so be it.
Brock and the team buckled their seat belts as the large military plane began to make its descent to the base in Colorado. The cargo area didn’t have any windows and it damn sure didn’t have luxury seating. They had no idea what they were flying into. Brock looked around at his team. “You guys ready for this?”
“Hell, yeah,” several of them screamed out.
Turner laughed, tilting his head against the seat and shutting his eyes. “Send me to hell, but fuck, don’t make me ride in one of these tin cans again.”
The turbulence hit them, rattling their teeth. Everyone laughed as they gripped the bottoms of their seats and tried to settle themselves. The landing gear folded down, and the plane hit the runway, bouncing for a second before slowing down to a stop. The guys unbuckled their harnesses and began gathering their stuff as the back hatch opened.
“All right, let’s unload, and then we’ll go from there. Just don’t get too comfortable,” Brock shouted as they headed off the plane.
They unloaded onto the runway and stopped as a group, looking around them at the old base. Turner lifted his eyebrows. “Uh. Don’t think I could get too comfortable here even if I tried.”
One of the other guys chuckled. “This shit is mothballed as fuck.”
Brock pointed a finger at him. “Hey, we’re only here for a little while. Make the best of it. I’m sure they’re putting all of this together at the last minute. If it’s good enough for Katie, it’s good enough for us. Now, put your rucks down, and let’s unload. Weapons and ammo check.”
The guys piled their sacks against a wall and started carrying crates off the plane. One of the guys lifted a huge crate of weapons, his muscles bulging under a dense network of tattoos. He side-glanced at the other soldiers walking around without shirts. He set the crate of weapons down and elbowed Turner. “So shirts are optional in this military?”
Turner’s head flew up. “Does that mean for the women too? I’m all about that rule if that’s what that means.”
Brock slammed a crate down in front of him. “I’m sure you’ll have time to figure out that you’re completely ridiculous, but for now, can you stay focused? The plane has a schedule to keep, and we need to get these crates off.”
Turner wrinkled his nose. “Sure, act like it didn’t cross your mind.”
The tattooed soldier laughed and walked back toward the plane. Brock was about to follow him when a hand landed on his shoulder. He stopped and turned. A staff sergeant stood in front of him. “Yes, staff sergeant?”
“I’ve come to take you and your men to your quarters.”
Brock nodded. “We have these last five boxes, then we’ll grab our rucksacks. Are we meeting with anyone tonight?”
The staff sergeant stood perfectly tall and straight, and Brock held back a smile, realizing he was new to the unit. “No. Your orientation is at eighteen hundred. You and your men are to come in desert BDUs, and everything else will be explained from there. We’ll also be handing out gear and specialty uniforms for the action.”
Brock slapped him on the shoulder. “Perfect. And where can we get some chow? We’re starving.”
The staff sergeant nodded. “Of course. I’ll wait and escort you from your rooms to the chow hall. It starts in thirty minutes.”
Brock turned to the guys and cupped his mouth. “If you boys want chow tonight, then you have exactly five seconds to get those crates over here so they can shut that plane up.”
The guys looked at each other and scrambled to grab more crates. Turner jostled his tattooed teammate. “I got this one. I got it.”
“You’re slow. I haven’t eaten in a week.”
“More like six hours.”
Tattoos groaned and leaped up the plane to grab another crate. He slammed the last crate down, and Brock laughed as he grabbed rucksacks and started tossing them to their respective owners. “Dummy One, Dummy Two, Dummy Turner, get your gear. Come on, get your shit together, we’re having steak tonight.”
The staff sergeant muttered, “I don’t think chow is steak tonight.”
Brock glanced at the sergeant. “You’re in for a treat tonight, sergeant. These boys are a mess.”
Calvin put the phone to his ear and waited for Katie to answer. It rang several times, then he heard loud noises in the background. “Katie?”
“Yeah, hold on. Let me get somewhere a little quieter,” she yelled over the noise.
She made her way to the other side of the hangar bay and put her finger in her other ear. “Calvin, you there?”
“I’m here. Where are you?
A construction zone?”
Pandora scoffed. He has no idea.
Katie ignored her. She knew if he was calling, he probably had some idea of what was going on. “Kind of. It’s quieter now. How’s everything going over there? Is Timothy up and running?”
Calvin smirked. “We’re getting there. Timothy has everything set up and is monitoring everything as we speak. Stephanie is making the place pretty, and Korbin is working on defensive measures. I just got done hanging some shelves and getting everything unpacked. It’s a lot, and it’s a mess, but nowhere near what the other base was when we moved in.”
Katie sighed with relief. “Good. I know the general is worried about you guys. He wants to know the armory is up and running as soon as possible.”
“It’s all headed in that direction,” he replied.
“So, what’s up?”
“Well, I heard a rumor. It’s a pretty good one too. The rumor has it you’re going to hell.”
Katie laughed. “Wow, but Daddy, I didn’t diddle that guy.”
Calvin chuckled. “Not for sex before marriage or I already have a reservation. I’m talking about a real operation.”
Katie shook her head. “Oh, I wonder what birdy told you that?”
Calvin tried not to snort, but he couldn’t hold back. “I bet you can figure that one out pretty quickly.”
“Hmm, was it one that really likes clothes and refers to everyone as ‘girlfriend?’”
“No comment, so the guilty can remain blameless.”
Katie tilted her head toward the ceiling. “There is definitely truth in that rumor. We decided to do a low-risk R&D operation. We’re going to gather a bunch of information on hell. The climate, the terrain, mineral information—that sort of thing. In and out very quickly. Ultimately, sure, it will be used to storm hell, but right now it’s just reconnaissance. We’re trying to make sure we can sustain human life down there, or out there, wherever it is. The place almost killed me, and we know what kind of tolerance I have. I can’t send humans or lightly infected in just to have them melt into the lava pits. We need a test run so when I do decide to take the war to them, we know exactly what we’re facing.”
Calvin listened. He understood the need for the mission, but he felt like he was being left out. “Here’s the thing. You’re missing a very important part of this project.”
Katie smiled. “Oh, yeah? What’s that?”
“Me. I should be there.”
Katie sighed. “Look, Calvin, I understand you want to be part of this, but it’s really unnecessary at this point. It’s not worth the risk right now. You need to be at that base. They need you, and we need it up and running.”
Calvin tried to keep his emotions in check. “If I stay here much longer, Korbin is going to have me filling sandbags and digging embankments myself.”
Katie grinned. “Oh, I see how this is going to go. This is a sympathy play, is it?”
“Hell, yes. Whatever it takes, so I’m not digging dirt out in the desert. It’s hot out here, Katie. Hell would be a relief.”
Pandora cackled loudly. Dude has a point.
Katie grumped. I don’t want to take the chance of losing him. He’s too important to me right now.
Oh, get off it. Let him come. I can have fun with all twelve inches of him.
Calvin bit the inside of his lip, waiting for her to say something. “What does Pandora think?”
Here, let me drive. I’ll describe my thoughts in great detail. First, he’s dressed up like a Roman Centurion, and I’m me.
Katie rubbed her face. “It’s too complicated to go into right now. She says something about letting all twelve inches of you come. And I mean come here, not the dirty version.”
Calvin chuckled. “You know she means the dirty one.”
Pandora scoffed. Damn right. When do I ever not mean the dirty version?
Katie growled. “I don’t want to do this and have something happen to you. I know Korbin can take care of the base, but we need you long-term. This is just research.”
“Come on, Katie, when is it ever just research?” Calvin could feel her wearing down.
“You have a point. Every time I’ve been to hell I’ve either had to fight something terrible or I’ve been chased out.”
“Wait. You’ve been to hell more than once?” Calvin was confused.
Katie looked around to make sure no one had heard her. “Yeah, but that’s not important. That’s secret agent stuff, top secret shit.”
You’re a terrible secret agent.
Calvin squared his shoulders and stiffened his voice. “Look, this is important, and I feel like I need to be there. The base will get taken care of without me, and you know that.”
He’d be great for the team.
I’m thinking.
And he’d look great in a toga, or one of those leather skirts they wore back in the day.
Katie was silent for several moments before finally giving in. “Fine. Good lord. But you have to do what I tell you, and if I tell you to get out, you get out. Understand?”
“Yes!”
Yes! Toga! Toga! Toga! Cross my Rubicon! Invade my Gaul!
Katie rolled her eyes, but she was secretly feeling better now that her partner was going to be there with her. “Get ahold of Angie and have her handle the plane. She’s the only one outside of this base who knows where you’re going. If she questions it, tell her she can call me, but she might not get a signal. I can’t believe you talked me into this.”
Calvin chortled. “I told you from the beginning, Katie. We’re a team, and that means if you go to hell, then I am going to be right there beside you, no questions asked.”
Katie nodded. “All the way to hell, huh? That’s a big thing to do for a friend.”
“Please, you know you’re my family. You jump, I jump, Rose.”
Pandora growled. That’s my line.
Katie shook her head. Yeah, except only one person made it to the end of that movie.
15
The screeching sound of a gate opening in the forest echoed through the tree line. Gentle waves of snow trickled down as Moloch poked his head out and looked around, ruining the peaceful scene. He shivered and wrapped his arms around his big body before he climbed through the gate and let it shut behind him.
He stood there for a moment, steam rising from his body. “Great. I’m in a fucking winter wonderland.” He glanced down at his horrible nether regions “All right. Let’s get this over with before the boys freeze the fuck off.”
He tiptoed across the ground, jumping with each step as if the ground were hot to the touch. Anybody watching would have thought he was in burning pain. He found a large log on the edge of the mountain cliff and brushed the snow off. Moloch took a seat and rubbed his hands together, his knees shaking.
Moloch had been watching the frost giant from the warmth of his office in hell, but he decided this particular creature needed a personal touch. It was necessary for him to come here and wait for the giant to emerge the rest of the way. The vibrations in the ground beneath Moloch’s taloned feet let him know that the giant was close. It was freezing cold outside, and he bounced his legs up and down, listening to the pounding and cracking of the ice below.
Moloch rolled his eyes. His horns were already accumulating snow, giving him a white crown. He was so over the cold wind whipping across the mountain and the constant dusting of ice crystals falling from the tree branches over his head. “Come on, you big frozen bitch, get up and get moving. I don’t have all day. I’m going to fucking freeze to death out here.”
Moloch thought he was talking to himself, which made him jump even harder when a booming voice came from over the edge of the mountain. “It would take a thick-skinned demon like yourself a very long time to actually freeze to death, Moloch.”
Moloch jumped to his feet and grinned a sharp-toothed grin. “Old friend, good to see you’re up and moving around! I’ve been keeping tabs on you from my office and figured I’d come
and welcome you back to the land of the living.” Moloch spoke in demon, a language of guttural utterances and wet, snotty growls. English wasn’t really in the frost giant’s vocabulary.
A large hand pushed through the snow and slammed onto the ground in front of Moloch. He watched as a twelve-foot Leviathan pulled himself from the snow and onto his feet. His large, scaled body was blue with enormous icicles hanging from his chin like ornaments. His bright red eyes narrowed as he looked at Moloch.
Moloch backed up a bit as steam blew from the beast’s nose. The frost giant bent down on one knee and glared at Moloch. “So basically, you’ve known I’ve been struggling to get free for days, but instead of coming to help me, you watched from afar? Please, Moloch, tell me what was so important that you weren’t able to come here and help me out of that frozen tundra?”
Moloch laughed nervously. “World domination? No? Really, I thought I would get in the way. I didn’t want to mess up your efforts. It helps warm the blood, and you’ve been sleeping a very long time… in a freezer, no less. Don’t you feel better, now that you were able to stretch it all out like that?”
The frost giant growled, and the mountain shook. Snow rained on Moloch’s head. The frost giant poked Moloch with a frozen finger. “Why does it not surprise me that you haven’t changed? You’re still the arrogant asshole I’ve known for centuries.”
“At least I’m reliable.”
The frost giant pulled a tree from the ground and began stripping branches off. “So what is this all about? You’ve woken me, and I’ve discovered I don’t like the waking world. Speak.”
Moloch shivered on his stump. “Well, Baal and I are working on taking over the world. We’re tired of the cramped space below, and we want to branch out. We haven’t been doing that bad, actually. We’re causing some decent chaos, using strategy and everything. The angels haven’t really interfered with us at all. I thought by now they would have put together some sort of huge attack, but they have pretty much stayed out of it. So we’re free to fight the battle with the humans.”