We change and lounge on the couch awaiting the interview broadcast this evening. While we wait, we discuss our cabinet and who we want or don’t want. Then there is a knock on the door.
“Yeah?” Lyncoln’s jaw and neck go tense as he lets Langly in, waiting for news.
Not being in the midst of everything or at least at DIA while everything is going on is hard on Lyncoln. I can’t help but think it may be the first of many such situations, should we win. Langly has kept him informed as much as he can and has interrupted us numerous times today to do so. So that at least helps.
“The team is about to move. Should take an hour to get there,” he informs us. “And Taggert cleared you guys to come to DIA if you want. Henry wants to come too. There will be a car downstairs in 30. Marisol knows something is up but is at least smart enough to stay out of it.”
You can see Lyncoln’s whole body sigh with relief. He gets to do something to help. If he can’t be there in action, he can at least be at DIA helping and watching the live feeds, not just sitting around waiting for news.
“Thanks, Langly,” Lyncoln nods. “You’re coming with I assume?”
He nods. “Yes, sir. If you are, I am.” Then he looks to me and nods, “Ma’am.”
I smile. “So we are back to ma’am-ing?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Lyncoln sees him out and closes the door. He doesn’t hesitate to come back and kiss the crap out of me. “Regs, this could be it.” He’s excited and breathless pulling back from me.
I shrug. I don’t want to get my hopes up. Only in a perfect world would they catch Hadenfelt three days before the vote. The Culling has been far from perfect so far, so it seems unrealistic to have hope. The happy ending is so close though. So close, and yet, so far.
****
Twenty-five minutes later, we are in gear and downstairs waiting. I tried checking my email from Samson multiple times before coming down, but have nothing, and haven’t since his last email. It makes sense if something is up though, he probably can’t talk right now. I just wish I knew what was going on.
Sarge is with me, Rodgers and Langly with Lyncoln, and we are just waiting on Henry to finish with the interview. With Henry and Henry’s guard, we will have a full vehicle.
Lyncoln and I are standing outside the vehicle waiting to leave and I’m starting to freeze despite my heavier gear coat and gloves. It’s a chilly December day, and I can almost feel the temperature drop with the sun starting to set. I’m about to just give up and climb into the SUV to wait, but Henry finally shows up.
“Let’s go,” he nods to Lyncoln and we all pile in.
Rodgers drives and Langly joins him up front in the passenger seat. Henry’s guard Parker sits in the back seat with Sarge, behind Henry, Lyncoln, and I who occupy the middle row. Once upon a time sitting between these two men would seem awkward, now it just feels normal.
“Any update?” Lyncoln asks for the third time in five minutes.
“No. They should just be landing by the time we get there,” Langly says.
“With any luck, they’ll get both Hadenfelt and whichever drifter leader he is in bed with,” Henry says both optimistically and disgusted.
Langly turns around looking at us, as if remembering something. “Oh. Forgot to mention we are recording the interviews from tonight. You will probably miss them, depending on how long this mission takes.” He looks directly at me, almost apologetically.
“What’re you looking at me for? I don’t give a crap. This is way more important.” I look at him like he’s crazy.
Langly grins and Sarge laughs while saying, “That’s our girl.”
Being between Henry and Lyncoln while we drive reminds me of the tour of Denver we took after winning our group project. I can’t help but stifle a laugh. They made me so mad that day.
“What?” Lyncoln smiles.
“I’m just remembering the last time the three of us went somewhere and the two of you thought a cat was a drifter,” I offer.
“Well the pesky thing was following us.” Henry shudders as if freaked out by the notion of a cat and says as if it explains everything, “Cats.”
“So zombies are cool, but cats weird you out?” I smile, trying hard not to laugh at him.
He glares at me with his emerald eyes though he doesn’t look fully mad. “That’s totally different.”
For the next ten minutes, the three of us joke back and forth with one another. It feels good to have Henry back with us. I think back to all the evenings we would sit around talking and playing cards. I miss the friendship between the three of us. I sure as heck don’t miss the tension, but I do miss being with both of them together.
Maybe, just maybe, with Hadenfelt being found and the Culling ending, the three of us can get back to normal, whatever normal may be.
And, of course, it’s when I think that exact thought that everything goes to hell in a hurry.
Chapter 34
A loud popping sound is followed up immediately with something that sounds like a metal scratching, like our vehicle is scraping a trench into the road. Both noises will haunt me the rest of my life. The scratching lasts only a few seconds though. Curse words fill the SUV as two arms are thrown across me from opposite directions. I feel us roll, and my stomach floats somewhere near my lungs. My head connects with something hard, possibly Henry’s shoulder, and my ears ring as glass shatters to my left. I don’t even have time to process what is happening.
And why am I sideways right now?
Next, a hundred different things happen at once and I can’t seem to focus on any of them. Lyncoln releases my seatbelt, pulling me up and out of his side of the SUV, which is now in the air. He gently places me on the cold ground and I feel his hands on me as he begins checking me over. Langly and Rodgers are busy getting Henry and themselves out of the overturned SUV. Sarge and Parker kick the rest of the rear windshield glass out and are easily able to get out that way.
Lyncoln’s blue-brown eyes as he examines me with one of those looks that see into the depths of my soul are what scares me the most. I see fear. Unabridged fear. I’ve never seen that in his eyes before. If I didn’t already know this was bad, I would know it now. He keeps checking me over with one hand while the other holds a gun.
This is freaking bad. And when did he get his gun out?
“Has to be drifters,” Rodgers says as he steps around on the broken glass with a gun also drawn. He spews out a string of curse words before adding, “I jerked the wheel and rolled us. I just made it easier for them, dammit.”
“They’re the ones who shot out the tire,” Langly replies frustrated while he too scans the area through the sights of his gun. “Time for some serious backup. I’ve already called DIA. Everyone is busy though. It’ll take a minute for them to switch gears and get here.” The sun is quickly setting and is not helping his cause. He lets out a few expletives as well.
Ears still ringing, I look to Henry as Parker and Sarge set him in the cover of the overturned vehicle beside me on the cold road. He must have hit his head on the side of the door when we landed because he is knocked out cold and has a line of blood trickling from his temple. It doesn’t look too serious though we landed on his side of the car. I see his chest rise and fall and know he’s still breathing.
Sarge and Parker then take up positions at the rear of the vehicle, weapons ready. Langly and Rodgers take the front the same way as they scan the area for drifters.
Where are they? Where did they come from?
I rub the back of my neck and try to start thinking faster. Lyncoln immediately moves to check it. “I’m fine,” I tell him, “Just sore.” Everything feels sore. And fuzzy.
As Lyncoln gets done checking me over, deciding that my neck is in fact fine, he holds my gaze a second or two before he moves to Henry. While he and Langly are discussing the direction the drifters are at based on the tire they shot out and the way in which the vehicle flipped and landed, he checks Henry’s vitals.
They have it narrowed down to a certain section, gesturing toward what I assume is north, but after flipping I’m not so sure. All of them get together to angle the vehicle to give us the best possible cover. It makes an ungodly screeching noise as they do, which would make me nervous except for the fact that the drifters obviously already know we are here. Lyncoln then picks me up and places me by the front tires. He briefly tells me that this is the safest place to be should we come under fire. Henry is soon moved near me.
I sit on the ground leaning against the bottom of the SUV with my arm resting on the tire and try to calm my breathing. An unconscious Henry and I stay low to the ground where we were placed as the others continue looking for any sign of a drifter. Even though only minutes have passed, they are in full military combat mode. I am handed a gun by Sarge and am thankful to have something to defend myself with, should I need it.
I look at the shattered glass all around me, crunching under everyone’s feet. The snow has melted off the road, so only a skiff of it is left over in the ditches. I know my brain is a little slow and fuzzy feeling, but I am thoroughly confused amid this chaos. I hear what they are saying but it’s like they are a long way away. I put my gun down for a moment to rub my temples. Aren’t we supposed to be the ones attacking the drifters right now? That’s why we were in the car in the first place… we were going to DIA to watch it all go down. Why are the drifters here?
Crap.
I shake my head and try to focus. I look around, taking in my surroundings and realize we are in a more secluded area on the way to DIA. We are past where people live and are on an old highway with some abandoned houses off in the distance, probably five miles or so from DIA. What a perfect place for…
And just like that, it clicks.
It’s an ambush.
This is their plan. This right here, right now, is the thing that Samson warned me about. This is the deal with Hadenfelt.
I stand and grab Lyncoln’s arm.
He sees the terrified look on my face and is about to say what I assume will be some reassuring words when I stop him. “It’s an ambush. This was their real plan. This is the deal with Hadenfelt,” I offer. “The team and whatever lead they think they have is in trouble. There is no lead. It wasn’t a lead, it was bait.”
I briefly think of the team and all the men on it… some of our best men. I hope they can be stopped in time. Lord knows what is waiting for them when they land. They thought they had a lead on Hadenfelt’s location, but they were fed the lead to draw us all out. If all our lives weren’t on the line right now, I might venture to say that it was a pretty genius idea. It worked brilliantly.
Langly curses and immediately gets back on his radio. “She’s right.”
“The location and the lead were all a ruse,” I offer while Langly is almost yelling into his device.
Lyncoln nods once in agreement, clenching his jaw. He looks pissed. And… murderous. I don’t think I have ever seen him this violent and I’ve seen him pretty mad.
“Well they better have brought everyone they’ve got,” he says angrily. “Because there is no way in hell we are going down without a fight. And we are only six miles out from DIA. That’s ballsy.”
I look to Sarge, knowing what I’m about to say I must do to both protect and inform the man I love. But it’s going to hurt him. And this is the worst bad timing in the history of bad timings.
I look Lyncoln directly in the eyes and blurt out what I need to before I think about it too much, and while we still have time. “I love you. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. Last week Taggert told me he has feared for quite some time that Hadenfelt was behind your dad being murdered. There’s no proof, but it isn’t just me he’s after… it’s you, too.” I almost choke on the words as I continue, “I’m so sorry. Please be careful. I need you to be careful. Please… I love you.” I try to blink away the tears but am so terrified for him that I don’t even care when I feel a few running down my cheeks.
Lyncoln looks at me like I have grown horns, but before I can say anything more, Langly, now on hold with DIA, chips in, “She’s right. It’s true, sir.”
Lyncoln looks shocked… mad… and almost… betrayed. He looks to me, and then to Langly, and then back to me, and finally back to him. “And everyone has known this except me?”
This is what I feared. More than he won’t be able to accept this, he won’t be able to forgive this.
Langly shakes his head. “Not everyone. Just a select few of us. And don’t be pissed at Reagan. It was Taggert’s jerk move. He had her not tell you because we all knew the minute you found out the truth, you would try to take Hadenfelt out by yourself. We knew you would lose it. And you can’t lose it right now, brother. Now is not the time. We need to get your wife out of here. We need to get Henry out of here. And I need to get you out of here. Then we will hunt him down and kill him. Together.”
Lyncoln’s level of angry goes up three notches. He looks to me and the hurt in his eyes is a bullet directly to my soul. I can feel his indignation radiating off him.
As if this could get any worse right now.
He looks back to Langly and nods. “This discussion is not over, but you’re right. First things first. Get back up and get the hell out of here.”
For the next few minutes, in the safety of the impending darkness, they debate back and forth on whether we should make a beeline for the cover of some old houses 400 yards away or stay put and wait for backup. Every second they argue wears on my nerves. Where are the drifters? Why haven’t they charged us yet? What is the goal here? Just when we are about to make a run for it to the old houses, Langly hears from DIA and they are on their way, in full force.
So we decide to wait it out since we have neither seen nor heard from a drifter since the wreck. Help is less than five minutes away. We roll the dice on a huge gamble. In five minutes will the drifters have found us, or will we have time to get out of here alive?
And where are they?
For now, we are sitting ducks. The drifters are there. Lurking. Waiting.
The only question is, for what?
Chapter 35
The minutes drag on like years. The seconds feel like days. Each and every sound I hear makes me jumpy, even if it’s just the wind or the crunch of glass under someone’s boot. I sit with Henry and check his pulse at least three times and pick the glass out of his hair, especially around his wound. I would have thought that he would have come back around by now, then again, it has been just minutes since we crashed. Time is crawling by. Has it been ten minutes? Or maybe only a few? I don’t know, I don’t have my watch on.
The rest of the men are all positioned around the vehicle, guns drawn. My eyes are on Lyncoln, trying to convey how sorry I am and that I care about him with a look, but I can’t seem to get his attention. He is in full killing machine mode and not looking my direction. I get it though. He needs to focus. Especially after the bomb I just dropped on him, he really needs to focus. Our lives depend on it.
We only have to make it a few minutes more.
I repeat that thought over and over and over again in my head, willing it to fruition.
I check Henry again, taking off my gloves and using them to wipe away the blood on his head. Just then the ground shakes.
What is it with these stupid drifters and explosives?
“Got them. Four. Moving in from the north, northwest. Looks like they used the explosives to get through an old retaining wall,” Rodgers calls. “Too far to be sure, but I think they are fully loaded. Handguns and explosives.”
“We best get to them before their firepower can get to us,” Parker offers.
“Four? That’s it?! Ha!” Langly says, ready for battle. “Let’s do this.”
Lyncoln doesn’t hesitate to start barking orders. “Langly and Rodgers with me. Parker and Sarge stay with Henry and Reagan.” He stares down his prey viciously, almost excited really. He’s plenty angry and he just found an outlet for th
at anger. Before he turns to run into danger, he drops to his knees where I’m sitting. He grabs me from behind the neck and kisses me roughly. “I love you, Reagan.”
I say it back to the cold breeze because by the time I say the words, he’s already gone.
I try to stand up and watch but Sarge stops me. “I will let you know if I see anything. You need to stay safe and low to the ground. DIA should be here at any moment. I got you, hun. Just stay low.”
I don’t agree with him but fight off the urge to stand and help him take watch. I know that out here, in the middle of an attack, he knows better than I do, so I listen for once. This isn’t paintball. This isn’t a sim. This is freaking real.
A full minute passes and I hear nothing. No gunfire. No birds chirping. No glass crunching. Just nothing. Which is oddly terrifying after the loudness of the wreck. I can’t help but wonder if it would have helped to move to the houses to the east when we had the chance.
A minute later, I hear Parker cuss followed by, “Two more over here.”
“What?!” Sarge asks in disbelief. “They sent two groups? This is a first. But, we’ll let them get close and just pick them off.” He tries to offer it nonchalantly, but I can see him tense up. “Reagan, make sure you and Henry stay between the front tires. If we come under fire, the bullets can’t go straight through there.”
“Make that four more,” Parker adds. “And coming in hot.”
Sarge gets on his radio, I think with DIA, or it could be with Langly.
Though Henry is resting on the ground next to the tire, I move to prop him up so he is sitting exactly where he should be to be safe, between the tires and leaning against the bottom of the car. He’s heavy too, so it’s a lot of work.
The Fracturing: Book 2 (The Culling Series) Page 50