Cornerstone (Phantom Squad Series Book 1)
Page 12
No one answered Jensen. They figured he was joking. “We work as a team,” Brent said. “That’s our best chance to get out of here and then we all get to eat.”
“Y’all do what you want,” Jensen said. “I’m going solo. I’m gonna enjoy seeing your faces when I put that first piece of steak in my mouth.”
He slid the hood up and over his left eye just enough to get a glimpse around the room. He surveyed the area, remembering what Seven had said about the answer sometimes being right in front of you.
While all this was happening, Seven was strategically placed in a spot where he was able to see and hear everything, but could not be seen. He watched as Jensen moved his blindfold to uncover one eye.
Jensen made his way to a window that had been left cracked open and slithered his way out like the snake he was. Safe on the other side, the corner of his mouth curled up like the first ember of a forest fire. An evil grin spread across his face.
Seven who had been hiding in an alcove right by a side entrance, followed him outside and watched with disgust.
Jensen turned to strut towards the mess tent when he felt a sting on the side of his neck. Before a guttural sound could emanate from his throat, his body crumbled to the ground. Seven bagged and tagged—tied up and gagged—the soldier.
Brent, Jefferson and Fitzpatrick worked as a team and found a way out. Seven congratulated them on their teamwork.
Brent’s mind cleared as the memory faded. He blocked out all the sounds in the room and focused on the sound of his heartbeat until that too faded. He then repeated the process for his sense of smell, clearing his consciousness of all odors. Then there was nothing. No sound. No sight. No touch. No smell.
Everyone in the room stopped moving. They just stared at this strange man squatting in the middle of the stone floor.
In deep concentration, Brent heard a faint whoosh sound. He tuned it in, trying to figure out where it came from and what it was telling him. The longer he stayed still, the louder it became. Allowing his vital signs to stabilize, he opened his eyes, and stood up.
Brent made his way to the prayer bench. Kneeling, he said a prayer of thanks, stood, and faced the others. “There is little ventilation in this room. It comes from the passage we just entered. The flames from the candles should flicker in that direction, towards the oxygen supply.”
“Ah, so you think that is our way out?”
Brent turned his head toward Brother Gregory. “I said should. If you look at the wall where the candle basin is attached, you will find slight burn marks. That’s because they flicker toward the wall.”
The brother nodded. “And what does that tell you, Chosen One?”
Brent didn’t answer, but again knelt on the pew. Instead of placing his hands on the top of the prayer rail, he slid his fingers under it and felt a slight depression. With a soft touch, he felt the stone begin to depress. He knew there had to be a spring built into it. With added pressure, he felt the wall give way revealing a much larger room on the other side.
Gregory let out a hardy laugh. “It is true what we have heard about you,” he said.
“And that is?”
“That you are a man not like many others. One like David. A man after God’s own heart.”
“Like you, Brother, I am just a man trying to do what God asks of him.”
The old monk patted him on the back. “Come and we will show you what we have been working on for your arrival and then we will eat.” He led them through the opening into the rest of the monastery.
CHAPTER 32
Brent stepped through and walked into the Twenty-first century. He stood in a large heated room with hardwood floors and walls. It was if he walked back into the Endowment office inside the Palm Cove Library. “Interesting place you have here, Brother.”
“It took us eight years to complete. All the work had to be done in the pitch of night, but the arduous task was worth your arrival.”
Brent’s expression turned inquisitive. “I don’t understand. How did you know I would come?”
“The light on the mountain. I’m sure you saw it on your approach to the monastery.”
Brent nodded.
“It first appeared a little over eight years ago. At first, we didn’t understand its significance. Two of our younger brothers climbed Mount Ararat to try to find out what it was shining on, but they didn’t get far.”
“What happened?”
“The light became brighter the higher they climbed. Soon it was blinding.”
“So bright, they had to turn back?”
“No, blinding,” Brother Gregory emphasized. “They began to lose their sight.” He called two of the monks forward. Brent could see a foggy glaze covering their eyes, much like cataracts. “They had no choice but to return.”
Brent pushed his hair back from his face and placed his hand in front of the eyes of one of the brothers. The monk reached out and grabbed his wrist. Not completely blind, he thought. “I still don’t understand how you related those happenings to me?”
Brother Gregory smiled. “While on the mountain, they heard the word of God. They were told to expect Noah’s heir to return to Ararat. They were also given instructions on what to build in preparation of your coming. We finished just days ago.”
“What were they told?”
“Come and I will show you.” He led them through the great room into another.
“Holy . . .” Tag said. “I wouldn’t believe this if I wasn’t seeing it.”
They stood in the middle of what could only be described as a war room complete with what appeared to be the latest in electronics and maps of the world.
Brent moved about the room, studying each map and its layout. Each was similar to the ones back in the Endowment Office, complete with pushpins showing the location of a Brotherhood of Gaza stronghold.
“Do you know the significance of each map?” Brent asked.
“No, only that they are important to you,” Gregory answered.
“Was that all God told the brothers?”
“No, they were also told to prepare you for what you must do.”
Brent stopped his movement and faced his host. “And how are you going to help prepare me?”
“We are to teach you our ways. Our knowledge, and our ways of self-defense.”
“Your ways of self-defense?”
“The use of the staff and how to move in complete silence. It has taken us a lifetime to learn what we know. I questioned how you would learn everything in a short span of time,” he smiled, “but after what I just witnessed, I am beginning to understand.”
Brent turned and sat in a chair in front of a large computer monitor. “May I?” he asked.
Brother Gregory held his arms out wide and swept the room. “This is all yours. We have no use for any of it.”
Brent touched the keyboard and the monitor came to life. He typed an encrypted message and was soon connected to Joan and his home. More importantly, he had a way to communicate with Faith.
CHAPTER 33
Scarlet knocked on Maddie’s office door.
“Come in.”
She found the director, Seven and Joan in deep conversation.
“I’m sorry to bother you. I didn’t realize you were in a meeting.”
Maddie didn’t look up from what she was doing. “How can I help you, Scarlet?”
She shifted her feet, not knowing exactly what to say. The silence was enough for the three of them to turn their attention towards her.
Maddie stood and crossed the room. “Is everything all right?”
“I spoke to my father, but I wasn’t able to convince him to change his plans.” She shifted her stance from one leg to another. “He won’t change his mind about going to Alpha Camp. He said it would be a sign of weakness if he didn’t go. I’m frightened for him
. I have no reason, just a gut feeling.”
Maddie looked at Seven. “We figured as much,” he said. “So we came up with plan B.”
“No disrespect, sir, but I hope it’s better than plan A.”
“None taken, and don’t call me sir. I’m still Seven and this is still the colonel’s squad. I’m just holding fort until he comes home.”
She nodded and asked of plan B.
“Instead of SIA agents, the squad will be with him when he enters Alpha territory. We’ll make sure he is safe. You can count on it.”
She crunched her face in frustration. “He is so stubborn,” she said. “Ever since I was a child, he’s been the same way.”
Maddie reached out and held Scarlet’s hand. “His stubbornness, as you put it, is one of the reasons your father will go down in history as one of this country’s greatest presidents.”
Scarlet rolled her eyes. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Call me anything,” Maddie said, “but not ma’am. It makes me feel old.”
Joan tried to hold back a laugh, but a giggle made its way from her throat. Soon, Scarlet joined her. Maddie retook her seat and rolled her eyes back at the two of them. “You two will be the death of me yet.” Her remarks made them laugh even harder.
“When you’re done laughing, have a seat, soldier,” Seven said. “I want to go over our plans with you, and I would also like to talk to you about Alana.”
He spit in his cup. When he looked up, he was all business. “Since your acceptance as a member of the Phantom Squad, this has been a five man . . .”
Maddie cleared her throat.
It was Seven’s turn to roll his eyes. “Person,” he corrected. “A five person team. I see no reason to change that. Alana has proven herself to be more than capable and her knowledge of the Mid-East is a big plus. I want you to take her under your wing and fine-tune her skills with the compound bow.” Scarlet went to reply, but he held up his hand. “I also want you to find her weaknesses and exploit them.”
“I’m not sure what you mean?” Scarlet asked. “Didn’t you already do that with the simulation exercise?”
“To a degree,” Seven replied. “She is a tough nut. She has had a hard life that has made her cold in many ways. This is good and bad. She is good at keeping her emotions in check, but I don’t want them to come out at the wrong time, she is a ticking time-bomb. There is something deeper that has her wound so tight. Find out what it is and bring it to the surface.”
She nodded. “Why me?”
“Alana has a huge wall when it comes to men. I’m hoping another woman will be able to break through it.” His eyes glanced at his wife and then to Joan. They both gestured for him to continue. “You have both been the victims of violence. I need you to use your past experiences to bring her to a boiling point. Once she cracks, I can use that emotion to make her stronger.”
Scarlet thought back to her torture while in the hands of the Omega Butcher. A shiver ran up her spine. “I’ll do the best I can,” she mumbled.
“You’ll do better than that.” Seven stepped forward so he was inside of Scarlet’s personal space. “I’m counting on you. The entire squad is counting on you.”
She swallowed hard. “May I be dismissed?”
He nodded. “We can go over the mission plans tomorrow.”
When she had left, Maddie addressed Joan. “Go with her. Have a girls’ night and find out how she really feels.”
“Great, just what I wanted,” Joan said. “A night of bitching and moaning.”
Seven laughed. “Git.”
CHAPTER 34
That night, Joan invited Scarlet over for pizza and wine, they asked Alana to join them, but she declined.
“So,” Joan said between bites, “what do you think of what Seven said today?”
Scarlet twirled her goblet, watching the red wine slowly spin and twinkle from the overhead lighting. She shrugged. “It’s an okay plan, I guess.” She raised the glass to her mouth and took a sip. “But you know how hard it is for me to talk about abuse.”
Joan took a sip of her wine. “I remember how difficult it was for me to talk to Brent about everything that happened with my stepdad.” She put the glass down and twisted the ring on her right hand. “But I also remember the weight that was lifted off my shoulders when I did.”
Scarlet lowered her head, thinking about how much she had hated life and how she had trusted no one before coming to Palm Cove. It had been cathartic to tell Joan about her time in captivity, held by the Butcher. She also knew she wouldn’t have said a word if Joan didn’t first tell her about the abuse she underwent at the hands of her stepfather. It made her think about how Alana must be feeling about her past.
A subconscious grunt emanated from her throat. “I think I’ll go see if Alana is still awake.”
Joan chewed on her lower lip. “I’ll just clean up while you’re in there. If you need me, you know where I am.”
As if it were a death march, Scarlet walked to the other side of the townhome.
Alana opened the door, placed her finger to her lips, and whispered, “I just got Faith to sleep.”
Scarlet looked in the crib and smiled. “Such innocence.”
Alana nodded and kissed Faith’s cheek.
“It’s a beautiful night,” Scarlet said. “A full moon. I thought you might want to take a walk down to the beach.”
Alana shook her head. “I want to be here in case she wakes up.”
Scarlet reached out and took her by the hand. “Come on, it will do you some good to get out. Joan will watch her.”
Before she could rebut, Scarlet led her out of the room and down the stairs.
“It is a gorgeous night,” Alana said as they walked.
They chatted about the squad and how Alana was adjusting to life in Palm Cove as they made their way to the water. Standing on the beach, they both looked up at the moon and stared.
“So amazing,” Scarlet said. “I don’t know how people can look at such wonder and deny God’s existence.”
“It is easy to think that way if you’ve never experienced the sorrow in the world.”
Scarlet closed her eyes and silently asked God for the right words.
They wandered down to where the water could break over their feet and felt the warmth of the Atlantic wash over their toes before it receded back into the ocean.
“We don’t know each other very well, and since we’re going to be working close together, I thought I’d tell you something about myself,” Scarlet said.
Alana pushed her thick, dark hair away from her face. “Let me see,” she said, “you grew up in Connecticut. Your father was an attorney, before running for state senate. Your mother passed away when you were just eleven-years-old. You went to the best schools and your father eventually became the leader of the free world. Am I missing something?”
The air between them became tense. “You are direct.”
“Some would say it’s a good thing,” she answered.
Scarlet tilted her head back and stared at the moon and then out at the open water. “When you were in Israel, did you follow the news from the U.S.?”
“All the time, why?”
“Did the news of the Omega Butcher ever reach your country?”
“Of course. Bad news always travels fast and far.” She cocked her head to the side. “Why?”
Scarlet began to unbutton her blouse. She pointed to the top of her chest. “These are the scars, the visible ones that he left on me,” she said. Her hand quivered as she touched them. She quickly pulled her hand away. “I haven’t touched them since I was released from the hospital.” Tears welled up in her eyes.
Scarlett could see the look of shock on Alana’s face as she covered her mouth.
“I never knew,” Alana said. “I mean, no one has ever spoken of it. I�
�m sorry for assuming, I . . .”
“Don’t. Don’t apologize. You said nothing wrong.” Scarlet brought her hand back up to her scars. “When I woke up in the hospital and was able to think clearly, I asked what happened to the man who rescued me. I was told he died from the burns he incurred saving me.”
“Did you ever find out who he was?”
The tears flowed freely. Again she looked at up the moon and then down as the ocean broke over her feet. “It was Brent.”
Alana’s big, brown eyes opened wide. “I don’t understand?”
“It’s a long story, why don’t we sit.”
Scarlet drew a cross in the sand and began to tell of her ordeal with the Butcher and what life was like after her rescue and before she was brought to Palm Cove. She left out no detail. She told of her humiliation of being forced to strip in front of him. She told of being called a worthless whore. She told of her fear when he threatened to peel off her flesh and knowing that she was going to die like all of his victims that came before her.
Alana’s mouth was agape. She appeared mesmerized by Scarlet’s words.
When Scarlet finished, she was trembling. When she finally calmed down, Alana turned away from her and lifted the bottom of her blouse. Her back was full of deep, purple scars.
“These are the marks left from my father and then my husband. They would call me a whore and whip me when they were drunk.”
The tables had been turned. Scarlet timidly reached out and traced the deep lines on her flesh. Alana instinctively pulled away.
“Don’t,” Scarlet said. “I knew there was a connection between us, but I didn’t know what it was.”
She felt Alana tense up.
“No one has ever seen my scars before, never mind touched them,” Alana said.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Scarlet said.
She shook her head, pulling her shirt back down. “I can’t.” Alana stood up and ran back up the beach.
Scarlet didn’t get up and run after her, she knew exactly how her friend felt. She knew Alana needed to be alone. She sat holding her knees to her chest and dropped her head in despair and mouthed, “That went well. I hope you have a plan C, Seven.”