by R. D. Brady
And what she wanted was complete power.
The President’s Secret Service detail appeared at the top of the stairs. They scanned the area as they began to descend the steps. Then the President appeared. Unlike the last time Laney had seen her on those steps, she wasn’t smiling or waving. Her face was solemn, as was her gray coat. The President also examined the area, her gaze skipping right over Laney.
The President hadn’t been briefed on Laney’s resurrection. That was information on a strictly need-to-know basis, and they were not taking any chances. She had been needed to get Nancy access to the security protocol, but that was all she was told. If they couldn’t trust the people at the estate, they certainly couldn’t trust the people they didn’t know in the government.
Catching sight of the President, the crowd burst into cheers and jeers. More signs appeared above people’s heads. Some cheered on the President. Others accused her of treason and worse.
The President straightened her shoulders, giving the people a wave as she headed down the stairs. Laney noted the President’s son was not with her, although her husband offered his arm as they headed down the steps.
Dr. Ben Rigley was a former surgeon who’d given up his position when his wife had been elected. He usually stayed in the background, so Laney had to give him credit for being here today.
Together, they walked arm in arm down the stairs. Nancy Harrigan followed, escorted by a Marine, her son. Harrigan scanned the dais, her gaze holding for only a second longer than necessary on Laney before moving on. Nancy had recognized her.
Smart woman. Nancy knew a plan was afoot, but she had not been given the details either. She had, however, given Matt whatever he asked for to make this happen.
The Vice President would not be joining them. Being there was a good chance the President would not survive this, the VP had been whisked away to a secure location.
Matt’s voice rang through her earpiece. “Elisabeta’s motorcade just pulled up.”
Cain tensed next to her. Laney calmed her breathing, scanning the crowd. The President and Nancy glanced up toward the stairs. Tingles ran over Laney’s skin. “She’s got seven Fallen with her,” Laney said softly into her mic.
“Roger,” Matt said.
She glanced up as Elisabeta’s security appeared at the top of the stairs. Laney did not recognize any of them. And from their gazes, she knew they had not recognized her. They swept the area with arrogant smirks, knowing no humans here could hurt them.
Four of them started down the steps, then Elisabeta stepped out. The crowd roared—anger, cheers, all of it together made the cries indistinguishable. A small smile played across Elisabeta’s face. She waved a hand at the crowd, the light catching a thick diamond bracelet on her wrist. For some reason, the sight of that bracelet sent Laney’s anger spiking.
This woman, even without her abilities, had been blessed from birth. Wealth, schools, prestige—she had had it all. And it wasn’t enough. Her greed, her need for power; it was insatiable. But Laney knew that as soon as she had all the world’s governments cowering at her feet, she would demand even more. Nothing was going to satisfy her.
“Easy, ring bearer.”
Laney jolted as Drake’s voice came through the earpiece.
“I recognize that look,” he continued. “Just breathe for me. Your anger will only make this harder. Stay calm.”
Laney took in some breaths, trying to tamp down her anger. Drake was right. “I’m all right.”
“Of course you are. Now, I’m going to hand this mic back to Matt before he turns a darker shade of purple. You have this, ring bearer. Now go kick some ass.” He paused. “And who knows, maybe she’ll trip down the stairs, break her neck, and we can all go get a beer.”
Laney smiled.
Next to her, Cain shook his head. “Is that man ever serious?”
But Laney didn’t answer, because Elisabeta’s men were now only a few feet away. She focused on keeping her expression calm, unthreatening, and hopefully unfamiliar. The men’s gazes glanced over her, focusing more attention on Cain than her, but then they turned away, watching Elisabeta descend the stairs. Sadly, she did not trip.
Nor did she even glance at Laney as she reached the bottom of the stairs and took her place in the front row. The President stepped up to the microphone.
Laney tensed. “We good?”
“We don’t have the shots lined up yet. You need to hold until Elisabeta is at the podium,” Matt replied.
There were snipers in place for each of Elisabeta’s guards. Then Mustafa and Jake would move in to neutralize each of them once they were down, hopefully before they could fully heal. But Laney needed the okay to begin. Because just one of the Fallen could do irreparable damage to the people on the dais.
The President stepped up to the podium. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is a historic day.”
Chapter 97
Baltimore, Maryland
The bomb shelter was quiet, but Patrick could hear murmuring in the large room beyond. He knew that the coronation of Elisabeta would be playing. Patrick had no interest in watching it. He had little interest in anything these days, ever since learning about Laney.
Grief choked him as it crawled up his throat. He slammed his eyes shut, willing the pain of her loss to go away. But it didn’t. It rolled through him and over him, battering him with images of her plunging to her death in a fiery explosion.
“Patrick?” Charles, the nurse who’d helped out at the Pennsylvania cabin when Cain had been injured, hurried over to the bed. He started to place the oxygen mask over Patrick’s face, but Patrick batted him away.
“Go away.”
“Patrick, I know you’re hurting. But you need to calm down. You are still recuperating. Let me help you.”
Patrick turned his head. “No.”
Charles hesitated. “I know how much Laney meant to you.”
Her name sent fresh waves of grief through Patrick.
“But there’s another little girl here who is relying on you. She needs you to get better. And Max, he needs you, too. He’s been asking for you.”
His grief for Laney was compounded by his grief for Kati. But then he remembered the first time he’d taken Max out for ice cream. The smile on the boy’s face. And now that little boy was all alone, in a bomb shelter full of people he barely knew. He was no doubt hurting as much as Patrick. Patrick clawed his way through the pain, turning his head to nod at Charles, who lowered the mask over Patrick’s face. “There we go. Just breathe normally.”
Patrick closed his eyes, letting the oxygen fill his lungs. He felt his heart rate slow.
Charles patted his shoulder. “That’s good. You’re doing great.” Charles stayed with him for another ten minutes before removing the mask. “You want me to turn on the TV? The coronation should be—”
“I don’t want to see it, but thank you.”
Charles nodded, stepping back outside. Patrick looked around the room. With Cain gone, it was quiet. He hoped Cain was all right. He said he wanted to help out where he could, but Patrick was pretty out of it when he’d explained what exactly he’d be doing. But without him, Patrick found himself a little restless. There was a wheelchair over by the wall, but he hadn’t quite worked up the nerve to try it out. Besides, he really didn’t feel like facing a bunch of strangers. Most people had elected to stay until after the coronation. No one felt like taking Elisabeta at her word that the violence was over.
The remote lay quietly next to him. He stared at it and finally swiped it up. He hit the button to raise the back of his bed until he was in a more comfortable position and then turned on the TV. He didn’t want to watch the coronation. He hated that woman, but at the same time, he knew he needed to watch it. This was history in the making. With dread, he turned to a twenty-four-hour news station. Tuning in to the news channel was a habit, but he could have chosen any channel. Everyone was covering this event.
It had already begun. The President was
walking down the stairs toward her spot on the dais. He frowned as the President walked in front of a Secret Service agent that looked familiar. The man looked like Cain but with short hair.
Then Patrick’s gaze shifted to the female agent next to him. His breath caught. She had dark hair, darker skin, and her cheekbones were different, fuller. But he knew her. He gripped the remote, not sure if he was going crazy or if in his grief he was seeing only what he wanted to see.
The camera panned up to the top of the stairs, stealing his view of the woman as Elisabeta and her security appeared. She walked down the stairs, but Patrick kept glancing at the bottom right of the screen, willing the camera operator to go back to the female agent. Then when Elisabeta reached the bottom of the stairs, Patrick could see the agent again. She was only a few feet from Elisabeta.
He gripped the remote hard, staring at her while praying with everything in his being.
Help her. Whatever she has planned, help her.
Chapter 98
Washington, D.C.
The President was wrapping up her remarks. She called for calm, for understanding, as the United States entered a new phase. Laney thought she handled the whole thing with remarkable grace. Now Laney just needed her to get the hell out of the way so she could get to Elisabeta.
Laney was tempted to spring across the space and grab Elisabeta while commanding all of the men with her not to fight back. But there were too many things that could go wrong with that. Elisabeta could see her coming and slip away. Her men could intercept her before she reached Elisabeta. No, she needed to wait so her guards were neutralized and Elisabeta was closer. It was the only way this whole plan had a shot.
“And now, Elisabeta Roccorio.” The President backed away from the podium, not waiting to shake Elisabeta’s hand. If Elisabeta noticed the snub, she gave no sign of it. She stepped up to the podium.
Movement in the crowd pulled Laney’s attention.
Oh no. About two dozen people unfurled banners they’d hidden amongst their clothes. Collectively, they read: Resist. Tyranny will never defeat us.
“This is a glorious day for mankind. No longer will you be shackled with decisions. You will be freed from all of that.” She glared down at the group holding up the banner. “You will fall in line or you will simply fall.” She looked into one of the TV cameras. “People of the world, you have a chance to live in peace. Those who go along with my rule will live. Those who do not will be eliminated.”
“Matt?” Laney whispered, not liking Elisabeta’s gaze continually straying to the group of protestors.
“One guy is out of range.”
“Which one?”
“Farthest east of your location, red tie.”
Laney nodded, sending a mental image to Cleo. She was located right under the man. You got him?
Yes.
“Cleo will take him,” she whispered just as Elisabeta held up her hand. Gunfire burst out. The group with the handmade signs screamed as bullets tore through them.
“She brought snipers! Open fire!” Matt yelled, but Laney didn’t respond. Lightning crashed down to Elisabeta’s sniper’s location as Matt’s snipers opened fire. Laney tore across the stage, tackling Elisabeta as she whirled around, her mouth hanging open in a surprised O.
Laney slammed Elisabeta to the ground. “Do not move.”
Elisabeta smiled and rammed her fist into Laney’s jaw. Pain radiated through her skull as she flew across the stage, crashing into a row of people, taking them down with her. And the reality of what had just happened slammed into her harder than Elisabeta’s punch. The Omni had given her abilities, but it had also taken one away.
I can’t command her.
Chapter 99
They had talked about the effects of the Omni. Laney had never tried the commands once she’d been certain her other abilities remained intact. She extricated herself from the people she’d landed on, her jaw already healing. Vaguely, she heard Matt give the command for everyone to move in. But all her attention was on Elisabeta.
Elisabeta rolled to her feet, her eyes staring daggers into Laney. “You’re supposed to be dead,” Elisabeta snarled.
“Not yet.” Laney leapt toward her, her fist crashing into Elisabeta’s face before tackling her at the waist and sending the two of them crashing through the stage.
Laney and Elisabeta hit the ground under the stage with a thump. Elisabeta managed to fling Laney off before leaping back through the hole they’d created. Laney quickly followed her.
Up top, all hell had broken loose. The attendees on the stage were madly scrambling for the exits. People dove off the stage. Others rushed up the stairs. Some tripped and were trampled. Screams and yells punctuated by gunfire pounded all around. But with their panic, the dais was almost empty. The Secret Service was picking up and moving the last few dozen people as quickly as possible.
Elisabeta made it clear she wasn’t going anywhere. She stood waiting, two of her men behind her. Before Laney had a chance to do more than realize they held guns in their hands, they pulled the triggers.
“Laney!” Cain dove for her, tackling her to the ground, bullets slamming into his back. The barrage cut off as the men collapsed to the ground.
With grunt, Cain rolled to the side.
“Cain.”
He grimaced but waved her away. “Got the vest. Go, go.”
Laney stood, keeping Cain behind her. Elisabeta’s men were now out of the fight. Any injury that resulted from trying to harm Cain would heal at a human rate, but being they’d each shot Cain twice, they probably wouldn’t survive their injuries.
Elisabeta spared her men only a quick glance before she smiled at Laney. “This is how it should be, don’t you think? Just you and me? Of course, I have a bit of an advantage being I can’t be killed. But then you seem to have been juicing a little as well.”
Laney smiled. “Guess we’re evenly matched.”
“Oh, child, we are not equals. You still have all that pesky baggage weighing you down. Like all those people safe in your little bomb shelter.”
Laney’s heart stopped. She couldn’t have.
“And that’s not your only weakness is it?” Elisabeta waved to the crowd. The Fallen were rippling through them. A familiar tingle ran through her. Drake appeared at the edge of the dais.
“The people. Help the people!” she yelled, pulling her gaze from Elisabeta for only a second.
But that was all the time she needed. Elisabeta thrust her fist toward Laney’s chest.
Laney managed to fling herself to the side. If she hadn’t, rather than crushing her ribs, Elisabeta’s fist would have plunged through her chest.
With a roar, Drake dove across the stage, but Elisabeta danced away. “Tut, tut, tut. You were not invited to this dance.”
Crap. Laney curled around her ribs, flames of pain roaring through her side. She got to her knees, then pushed to her feet. “Drake, go.”
“I’m not leaving you.” Drake didn’t take his gaze from Elisabeta, who just smiled at him.
“Drake, you promised me. The people, help them.”
Drake glared at her. “Same rule applies as earlier, ring bearer, you get yourself killed and I’m going to be really mad at you.”
“Noted.” She squeezed his hand. “Go.”
With one last hard look at Laney, he dashed into the crowd.
Elisabeta shook her head. “What is wrong with you? You have an archangel on your side, and you send him to what, help a bunch of strangers? If I were you, I would have ordered all my people to attack me. Remove the biggest threat. And sacrificing a few people to attain that goal? Just the cost of getting it done.”
Laney rolled her hands into fists, her side thankfully healing but still burning. “It’s an unacceptable cost.” Laney grabbed the folding chair to her left and heaved it at Elisabeta. Elisabeta ducked, but Laney was right behind the metal chair, her knee slamming into Elisabeta’s face. Blood burst from Elisabeta’s nose. Laney threw a hoo
k that caught Elisabeta in the jaw and sent her sprawling.
With a growl, Elisabeta rolled to her feet. Her nose healed in front of Laney’s eyes, and her jaw realigned. She sneered at Laney. “You thought you’d walk in here with your fake abilities and what, take me down? That you would become this ultimate weapon?”
Laney shook her head with a smile. “No, I’m not the ultimate weapon. I’m the distraction.”
The ricochet of the bullet was deafening. Elisabeta’s back arched as the bullet filled with the Omni buried itself in her skin.
Chapter 100
The backup plan. If Laney couldn’t get to Elisabeta, Jake was supposed to fire the Omni into her system and destroy her. Laney stumbled to her feet as Jake stalked toward Elisabeta, holstering the gun with the Omni and pulling a separate Glock from the other holster. He fired at Elisabeta again and again. He stopped next to Laney but kept his eyes on Elisabeta.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I’ll live. What do you—” Elisabeta rolled to her feet, grabbing the podium and chucking it at Jake.
“Jake!” Laney lunged, barely yanking him out of the way in time. The podium splintered into shards next to them.
Laney was already moving for Elisabeta, but her mind was practically frozen in fear. It didn’t work. The Omni didn’t remove any of her powers or her immortality. What the hell are we going to do now?
But while her mind was splintering almost as much as the podium, her body was on automatic pilot. She slammed her foot into Elisabeta’s chest, followed by a round kick to the knee and spinning back kick to the chest. With a yell, Elisabeta went flying into a row of chairs.