by R. D. Brady
“Elisabeta does not seem to share his view of the restraint of power.”
“No, she certainly doesn’t.” The President turned to face Nancy. “Is there anything else we can try?”
Nancy wanted to give the President something. She wanted to say that the United States of America would never bow to terrorists. But at what further cost? Would they have to sacrifice millions more, only to come right back to the same decision? “I do not believe so, Madam President.”
“No, I don’t believe so, either.” The President blew out a breath. “All right. I think I need a little time alone. If you can, set up the call in the control room in five minutes.”
Nancy bowed. “Yes, Madam President.” She knocked on the door, and the Marine outside opened it for her.
Nancy headed down the hall, feeling the weight of what they were about to do. After two hundred years of being a beacon of freedom to the world, the United States was going to hand over their control to an autocrat with unlimited power. The fact that this was the only option that would save millions of lives was cold solace.
Chapter 78
Boston, Massachusetts
When they were kids, every time Mary Jane and her cousins got together, they played the same game—Bloody Murder. They’d wait until dark, and then one person would go hide in the yard. The other fifteen cousins would count to twenty on base. Then they would spread out across the yard, looking for them. The person who was “it” would leap from their hiding spot and try to tag as many people as possible before they made it back to base. Then all the people tagged would be “it,” too. It got to a point where there were fourteen people hiding and only two slowly walking through the yard looking for them.
Mary Jane hated that game. The dark, the shadows, the cousins waiting to jump out at them—it had been terrifying. Her heart would pound, her head would swivel back and forth at every sound, every shifting shadow.
But right now, Mary Jane would take a hundred games of Bloody Murder with her cousins over this real-life version. Even though it was daylight, Mary Jane’s heart still pounded. She tried not to jump at every shift of the wind, but it was so hard.
They were only two blocks from home, and already they had seen two houses on fire. The neighbors had gotten out, and other people were trying to contain the blaze with garden hoses until the fire department arrived. But from the amount of sirens she’d heard in the distance, Mary Jane was sure that was a long way in coming.
She honestly felt like she was in one of those zombie shows her boys watched. The normally bustling neighborhood was absent of pedestrian traffic. And any people they did see were running.
“I don’t like this,” Jimmy whispered from next to her.
Mary Jane didn’t answer, just nodded her head.
Joe was a few feet in front of them and didn’t hear the comment. He put his hand in the air, which Mary Jane thought meant stop. But being Mary Jane wasn’t a soldier and Joe had learned all his hand signals from TV, she couldn’t be sure. She stopped anyway.
Joe turned around, his eyes wide. “Hide.”
Jimmy grabbed her arm and dragged her behind a car. Joe dove in behind them, his finger to his lips.
Mary Jane struggled to keep her breathing quiet, which made it sound like a freight train in the silence. She strained, trying to hear anything over it. But then she heard the sound of footfalls on gravel. Her breath no longer became a problem, because she was pretty sure she had stopped breathing.
She leaned down to look under the car and could just make out a pair of sneakers about twenty feet away on the other side. A car engine sounded. The sneakers disappeared from view in a blur.
An awful crash sounded down the street. Joe ducked his head out to see. Jimmy yanked him back. “What are you doing?” he whispered furiously.
“It’s the Ilahis’ minivan. It’s on its side.”
Mary Jane edged past Joe to peer out. The blue car was on its side, but she couldn’t see any sign of the man who’d done the damage. “I—I think he might be gone.”
“We don’t know that,” Jimmy said.
Mary Jane turned to Joe. “How did you know he was a Fallen?”
Joe wiped at the sweat that dotted his forehead. “When I reached the intersection, he blurred into shape a block away, his back to us.”
Mary Jane’s heart lurched. If the man hadn’t been facing the other direction . . . She gripped Joe’s hand. He squeezed hers back just as tightly.
A baby’s cry sounded from inside the van, but no one moved.
“That’s Gurriya,” Joe said.
Mary Jane looked between Jimmy and her son. And it was like Bloody Murder all over again. Although now, that horrific name took on an even greater meaning. “Okay. We help them, but if we see any sign of that man, we hide, okay?”
“Mom—”
“Joe, we can’t help anyone if we’re dead, okay?”
He nodded, and Mary Jane knew it was tough for him. He was a teenager and still thought he was invulnerable.
After a quick glance back out, she scurried from their hiding spot, crossing the street to hide behind an old green Ford F110. No one yelled. No blur appeared. She peered around. The minivan was just around the corner. Gurriya had gone silent, which made Mary Jane nervous. The windshield was cracked. Someone was slumped over the steering wheel. It had to be Obeid. His wife Ayesha was a police officer who was on duty today. Obeid didn’t move. Joe and Jimmy sprinted across the street, ducking down low next to her.
“It looks clear,” Joe said.
Gurriya cried again.
“Let’s go.” She raced toward the van. Joe outpaced her and got there first.
Heart in her throat, she watched in terror as her son hoisted himself onto the side of the van and through the driver’s open window. He wiggled past Obeid.
“How is he?”
“Alive,” Joe said.
“Check the kids.”
Joe disappeared inside, then reappeared only seconds later. “Ehsan and Gurriya are here. Both are awake but just kind of staring.”
“They’re in shock.” Mary Jane looked around the windshield. “Joe, get in the passenger seat and kick out the windshield.”
Joe scrambled into the seat.
“Shouldn’t we break it from out here?” Jimmy asked.
“No. This way will be safer.”
Joe slammed his feet into the windshield, one, two, three times. The edge of the windshield lifted up. Mary Jane and Jimmy helped peel it back, jumping back as the whole thing came loose and crashed onto the street. Mary Jane quickly climbed through, checking Obeid’s injuries. She really would prefer if they had a backboard to put him on, but they didn’t have time to wait. “Jimmy, I need your help.”
Jimmy stood in front of Obeid outside the windshield frame. “How do you want to handle this?”
“I’m going to see if I can release his seat belt. Can you brace him and then pull him out?”
“What about me?” Joe asked.
“Help guide his feet out when he’s free.”
Jimmy moved closer. Crouching under Obeid, Jimmy pinned him to the seat. “Go.”
She hit the release and said a quiet thank-you when it let go of the seat belt without any fight. Obeid tumbled forward, but Jimmy caught him. Carefully, he slipped his hands under Obeid’s arms and stepped through the windshield frame. As Jimmy pulled him through, Joe helped guide his feet out. Mary Jane slipped into the back of the van.
Ehsan was only two years old, just a little older than Susie. They played together a lot. “Hey, Ehsan.”
Ehsan’s bottom lip trembled.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay.” Mary Jane quickly felt around Ehsan’s car seat, but felt no injuries, and Ehsan didn’t cry out.
“I’m just going to check on your sister real quick, okay?”
Gurriya stared up at Mary Jane with her big brown eyes. “Hey, sweet girl. It’s okay. I’m going to get you out of there.”
Joe appeared right
behind her. “What do you need, Mom?”
“I’m going to see if we can keep Gurriya in her car seat. It’s probably the safest way to transport her right now. Can you stand underneath and brace it like your uncle did with Obeid while I release it?”
“Sure.” Joe slid past her, crouching low under the seat. With a quick prayer to the gods who made infant car seats a nightmare for parents everywhere, she pulled on the release while tugging the car seat toward her. It came free.
Oh, thank you, Jesus.
Joe helped her right the car seat. Then he stepped through the two front seats, and she handed the car seat to him. “Get her outside to your uncle. Then come back and help me with Ehsan.”
“Okay.” Joe disappeared.
Mary Jane made quick work of Ehsan’s straps and huddled him close to her. He gripped her tightly. “It’s okay, little man. I’ve got you.”
Joe reappeared. It took her a minute to get Ehsan to release her, but she finally managed to hand him through the seats. Quickly following them, she climbed out of the car.
Jimmy had Obeid lying on the side of the road. Gurriya was in the car seat next to him. Mary Jane hurried over, leaning down to Obeid. “How is he?”
“Breathing, but I think he took a pretty good hit to the head from the steering wheel,” Jimmy said.
“He probably hurt his ribs too, then.” Mary Jane pulled back one of Obeid’s eyelids. The pupil was rolled back. “I don’t think he’s waking up anytime soon.”
Joe stood behind her, holding Ehsan while rubbing his back. “What do we do?”
Mary Jane looked around. There was no sign of that man, but she didn’t think waiting out in the open for an ambulance was the best idea. “Okay, we need to get them back to our house. Su’Ona can look them over. Jimmy, can you manage Obeid?”
“No problem.”
“Joe, can you get Gurriya and Ehsan?”
He frowned. “Yeah, but what about you?”
“We came out here to find Molly. You two are going back. I’m going to keep looking.”
Joe shook his head. “What? No.”
Mary Jane put up her hand. “I’m not debating this, and I’m not asking for anyone’s permission. I am telling you what is going to happen.”
“I don’t like this,” Jimmy muttered.
“You don’t get a vote. Now go.”
With one last look, Jimmy swung Obeid’s body over his shoulder and headed back toward their house. Joe slipped the car seat handle over one arm, cradling Ehsan with the other. He turned toward her, his worry clear. “Mom?”
She forced a smile to her face. “I’ll only go a little farther, and then I’ll be right behind you, okay?”
“Promise?”
She nodded. “Promise. Now get going.”
Mary Jane only watched their progress for a little while before turning and starting back down the street. She’d lied to her kids before. All parents did. The lightning can’t get you. Yes, Santa is watching, even in February.
But this lie, it felt heavier, because she knew in her heart she wasn’t going back without her daughter. Last time, she had been powerless to help Susie. This time, she was getting her daughter back.
No matter what.
Chapter 79
Boston, Massachusetts
Jake had his hand on his Glock as soon as the driver’s window broke, and he pulled it free as he was yanked from the car. Without looking at his assailant, he pressed the Glock up against the man’s ribs and pulled the trigger four times.
With a yell, the grip on the back of his shirt lessened. Jake slammed to the hard asphalt as Zane burst through the window behind him. His large jaw closed around the back of the man’s throat. Blood poured onto Jake’s neck as he yanked himself from the Fallen’s grasp.
“Release,” he ordered Zane, who’d dragged the man to the ground. Jake placed the muzzle of his gun against the man’s chest right over the heart and fired three times.
The light in the man’s eyes dimmed, then went out. Zane let out a roar.
“Thanks, buddy.”
Reaching in through the shattered window, Jake turned the engine off. Pulling out the keys, he scanned the neighborhood. Two houses were on fire. Cars were smashed, although it looked like they had been parked when the destruction happened. His car was still drivable, but with the telephone pole blocking the road, he had a feeling it would be quicker to get to Mary Jane’s on foot. He looked down at the large leopard who stood next to him, doing his own scan of the area.
“Now go see who you can help.”
Zane hesitated.
“I’ll be okay. You know where I’m heading.”
With one last look, Zane bounded through a yard and over a fence.
Checking to make sure the man who had attacked him was truly dead, Jake ejected the magazine and loaded a full one. Holstering it, he went to the back of the Jeep and pulled out his M60. Slamming the door shut, he paused, getting his bearings. A blur flashed across the street. The front door of a house obliterated. Screams sounded from inside. Jake took off at a run.
Twenty minutes later, Jake was still moving. He’d killed one additional Fallen, wounded another, saved maybe a dozen people, and seen at least twice that many dead. He’d tried Mary Jane again, but either the cell towers were down or overwhelmed with calls. He’d spotted Zane a few times in between houses, and in one case, he was dragging a child from a burning house.
But he still hadn’t seen any sign of Molly or Mary Jane. A shadow shifted behind a car. Jake whirled around, his finger on the trigger, and Zane stepped out.
“Jesus, Zane. I almost shot you.”
Zane bumped him.
“No, I wouldn’t have really shot you. You okay?”
Zane just looked at him. His face and fur had spots of blood, but it didn’t look like he had any injuries.
“Okay, good.”
At the end of the street, an SUV came around a corner too fast.
Jake stepped toward the street. “What the hell are they doing?”
A blur bolted out from between two houses and slammed into the side of the car. It flipped twice before coming to a stop on its roof. The engine caught fire.
A second blur bolted from the opposite side of the road. The driver’s door went flying. Jake could just make out red hair as the driver stumbled into view. Jake started to run.
Molly disappeared again, then reappeared. She pushed a baby toward the driver and told him to run. She turned just as the Fallen slammed into her. Molly flew across the road, crashing into a car across the street. The windows shattered with the impact.
“No!” Jake yelled. Zane was already outpacing him.
But neither of them was fast enough. Molly crumpled to the street, and the Fallen was on her. He grabbed her by the neck, pulling her up, then he turned, placing Molly so Jake had no shot.
The Fallen smiled. And Jake knew that no matter how fast he ran, he wasn’t going to get to her in time.
Chapter 80
Jake had never run so fast in his life, but a second Fallen swooped in and dove for him. By what could only have been divine intervention, Jake caught sight of the movement from the corner of his eye and threw himself to the side, firing as soon as he landed. The shot caught the Fallen in the shoulder and turned it from a blur into a woman. Jake fired again and again, catching the woman in the chest.
He didn’t check to see if the woman was dead, just unloaded three more shots in her chest. He scrambled to his feet in time to see Zane launch himself at the back of the Fallen holding Molly. The man screamed. Molly kicked herself free as Zane took a chunk from the man’s back.
Molly hit the ground hard and scrambled back. The Fallen reached over and grabbed Zane to throw him.
“No!” Jake’s heart was in his throat as Molly tackled him at the waist, hitting him right at the hip. He buckled, losing his grip on Zane as he fell back. Molly rolled to the side, crashing into the wheels of a panel truck. The Fallen got to his feet a little wo
bbly, but he still advanced on Molly.
“You little—”
A shotgun blast caught him in the upper back. He whirled around, and another one caught him in the stomach.
“Get away from my daughter!” Mary Jane yelled.
Jake pulled his M60, finally having a shot, and caught the Fallen in the back of the head. He toppled forward. Mary Jane ran around him, sprinting for Molly. She yanked her up into her arms as Jake advanced on the Fallen. He unloaded three more shots into the man’s heart before turning to Mary Jane.
Mary Jane ran a hand through Molly’s red curls. “What were you thinking? You could have been killed!”
Molly was shaking. “I was helping people. People need help, Mom.”
“But you don’t have to be the one to help them.”
“If not me, then who? God gave me these powers, and you always tell us God has a plan. I think He’d want me to use them for good.”
Mary Jane ran a hand through her hair before pulling Molly back toward her. “Stop sounding so smart. I’m supposed to be the parent.”
Molly wrapped her arms around her mom.
“Are you both okay?” Jake asked as he approached.
Mary Jane nodded. “Yes. Thank you again.”
“I’m not sure you needed me.”
Mary Jane’s eyes grew large as Zane sat down next to Jake.
Jake scratched the giant cat behind the ears. “This is Zane. He’s a friend of mine.”
Molly reached out a hand. Zane licked it. She smiled before looking up at her mom. “There are still people who need help.”
“You’re not trained to fight—”
“I’m not fighting,” she said quickly. “I’ve helped people get to safety, get out of houses, things like that. I’m not fighting, I swear.”
An explosion sounded a block away, causing all of them to jump.
Molly turned back to her mom, her voice pleading. “People need help, Mom. And I can help.”
“I hate this,” Mary Jane said, her chin trembling. She kissed her daughter on the forehead. “Be careful.”