Recruit

by R. D. Brady

  Rolly dusted off his pants. "Pizza guy. I've been having such a craving for a stuffed crust."

  Pascha nodded to one of the armed men who walked over and slammed the butt of his assault rifle into Rolly's stomach.

  With a grunt, Rolly crashed to his knees - the air knocked out of him. The man moved to hit him again. Lou ran over and shoved him away.

  She stood in front of Rolly, glaring at Pascha and the guard.

  Pascha laughed, genuine enjoyment on his face. He pointed at Lou. "You see that? That's what we're looking for - people with courage - people who are willing to lay it on the line. Of course, these two are complete traitors and therefore absolutely useless to us, but you get the idea."

  Rolly got to his feet and stood next to Lou, his hand briefly touching hers. Lou gave him a subtle nod, but didn't take her eyes off Pascha.

  Pascha looked back at Lou and Rolly, his eyes wide, his smile big. He clapped his hands together. "I've just had a wonderful idea! A way they can help us."

  Lou's stomach tightened.

  "How about we use them as a demonstration? I usually save this for later in in the training, but I think the lesson may need to be learned earlier. You see - we like to ease you into the process. But eventually, you need to prove your worth. You need to defeat one of your fellow trainees."

  Rolly sucked in a breath. Lou felt sick. They wanted her to fight Rolly. She wouldn't do it. She couldn't.

  Pascha paused studying Lou and Rolly. "You two are thinking you won't fight each other, right?"

  Neither Lou nor Rolly said anything.

  Pascha slapped his knee. "I knew it. But don't worry. You don't have to. Keith, Hans."

  Two giant guards stepped forward, their expressions eager.

  Pascha smiled. "You get to fight them."

  CHAPTER 51

  The scenery blew by Jen in a blur. She glanced over at the odometer. It was hitting one hundred and ten miles per hour.

  And she still wished Henry would go faster.

  Ahead, the insane asylum was silhouetted against the dark night sky. This place is huge, Jen thought, her confidence dimming.

  As they got closer, Jen could sense the nephilim inside. Which meant they could sense her. Five minutes earlier, Jake had led a human task force in to take out the perimeter guards and that had gone smoothly. They didn't think any of the guards had had the chance to raise the alarm.

  But now the Fallen would know they were coming. Their only chance was that maybe they were distracted by something else and wouldn't pick up on the signals until too late. But it was two in the morning, what could possibly distract them at this time?

  Henry slammed to a stop in front of the main doors. Jordan was already there - waiting.

  Jen handed Henry a shotgun. He took it, catching her hand. She looked up into his eyes. "We've got this," he said.

  Jen banished all doubt from her mind. "Damn right we do."

  CHAPTER 52

  Lou stood with her back against Rolly's in the center of the ring. Hans and Keith circled around them.

  "Lou?" Rolly asked.

  "They're both nephilim," Lou whispered, not taking her eyes off of Hans who was circling toward her.

  "Well at least Pascha didn't let them use guns," Rolly said. "That's a plus."

  Lou watched Hans. "Yeah but he did let them use their knives." Each man had a knife strapped to his waist but neither had reached for it. Apparently they wanted to use their fists first.

  As Pascha had explained, guns would have ended the fight too quickly. But with knives, the fun could go on and on.

  "True," Rolly said. "But we have full blown terror on our side. That has to count for something."

  The laugh was strangled in her throat. Hans charged. Behind her, she could here Keith doing the same. "Jump," Lou yelled.

  As if they practiced it, Lou and Rolly leapt in the air, landing behind each of their assailants. But they had no time to appreciate the beauty of their move. Hans swiveled like he'd expected the action and slammed into Lou, sending her sprawling.

  Keith grabbed Rolly and slammed him to the ground. With a vicious kick in the ribs, he sent Rolly rolling across the floor.

  Rolly crashed into Lou. Stumbling, she grabbed him and helped him stand.

  Rolly grunted. "Okay, so got any more ideas?"

  Lou narrowed her eyes. "Yeah. Let's stop playing defense." She ran for Hans, faking a punch to the face before dropping and sliding through his legs. She slammed her fist right into his groin.

  Hans groaned but didn't fall. "You're going to pay for that."

  Lou smiled back at him. "Try your best, buddy."

  Hans smiled. Lou heard the foot fall the second before Keith grabbed her shoulder. But Rolly tackled Keith away from her, slamming him to the ground and punching him repeatedly. "It's. Not. Nice. To. Hit. A. Girl."

  Lou's attention on Rolly gave Hans the opening he needed. A straight punch sent Lou flying and she was sure her jaw was broken. She grunted, tasting blood in her mouth.

  Pascha knelt down near her. "Tsk, tsk, tsk - not looking good there, Lou."

  Lou spit a wad of blood in his face.

  In a split second, Pascha's face went from smirk to incensed. He grabbed Lou by the hair and yanked her up.

  Pain screeched through her scalp. He punched her in the face twice. Lou's head snapped back and consciousness winked out for a moment. She blinked furiously trying to stabilize her vision.

  Pascha's eyes narrowed and his cheeks flamed with color. He spit out his words. "You bitch."

  The sound of gunfire made him pause.

  Lou smiled back at him as the pain in her face began to recede. "I believe they're here for me."

  Pascha pulled his fist back. The punch sent Lou sailing through the air. She landed in a heap, and saw Rolly land on the ground across the ring.

  Pascha stomped toward her. He gestured to one of the guards who handed over his gun. Pascha aimed it at Lou. "Say good bye."

  CHAPTER 53

  Jen sprinted through the building. Jake, Yoni and their team were clearing out any remaining guards. That was their priority. Maddox, Henry, Jordan, and Jen were searching for the kids. Danny said most of the heat signatures were grouped at the back of the building.

  As they got closer, Jen could sense the nephilim. She poured on the speed but Maddox outpaced her. Not waiting for Henry and Jen to catch up he burst through the door into the gym.

  Jen was right behind him - the butt of her P90 tucked into her shoulder.

  Lou was on the ground. Pascha stood over her with his gun pointed at her heart.

  Jen took it all in in a second - the same amount of time it took her to pull the trigger.

  Pascha stumbled back again and again as bullets slammed into him. The rest of the kids in the gym stumbled away, running for the doors.

  Henry, Jordan, and Maddox focused on the other guards in the room.

  Jen only had eyes for Lou. She ran to her and fell to her knees at Lou's side. "Lou? Lou?"

  Lou turned her head.

  Jen blanched at the bruises even though she knew they'd heal. The healing never mitigated the pain in receiving them.

  Jen felt the tears burn the back of her throat. "Oh God Lou, I'm sorry."

  Lou struggled to her knees. "You came."

  Jen pulled Lou into her arms. "Of course I came."

  Lou stiffened for a moment and then she wrapped her arms around Jen. "You came," she said again. Then her shoulders began to shake.

  Jen couldn't hug Lou enough. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

  Lou just clung to Jen tighter.

  The boy who'd been on the other side of the floor made his way over. He sat gingerly on the floor next to them. "Any of those hugs for me?"

  Lou pulled away and with tears streaming down her face, pulled him into a hug. Finally breaking apart, Lou wiped at her cheeks.

  "Guess we showed them," he said, a grimace as he held his side.

  Lou laughed. "Gues
s we did." She turned to Jen. "This is Rolly. He's the reason you found us."

  The grimace on Rolly's face faded. "True. It was all me."

  Lou whacked him on the arm.

  Rolly sighed. "Fine. Lou helped a little."

  Jen extended her hand. "It is very nice to meet you Rolly."

  Rolly's face turned serious as he took Jen's hand. "Thank you for saving us."

  Jen nodded, a catch at the back of her throat. "You are very welcome."

  CHAPTER 54

  Henry stood in the parking lot of the Marriot in Danvers. He'd rented out every room that wasn't occupied. They had gathered up twenty kids who ranged in age from twelve to nineteen.

  A few had had to be hospitalized. Nothing serious luckily - one kid had run into the middle of a firefight, but he'd only been grazed. There were a few broken bones, one case of malnutrition, and one asthma attack. And obviously, none of those kids had any powers yet. And maybe never would.

  They'd taken out most of Pascha's force - capturing over a dozen of them. The SIA agents had taken away the eight Fallen and nephilim they'd caught. The humans had all been hospitalized and then they'd head to jail to await trial.

  Tomorrow, they'd figure out what to do with all of the kids. But right now, they all needed to sleep and eat, not necessarily in that order. All in all, it had gone better than expected.

  The only fly in the ointment was that Pascha had escaped. Due to his height, some members of the force had thought he was one of the teenagers. He managed to sneak through their lines and off the grounds of the asylum.

  Henry had forwarded his picture and information to every law enforcement agency with the instructions not to approach him but to contact SIA. Henry had the feeling, however, that the next time they saw Pascha it would be because Pascha chose to be seen.

  Yoni walked up to Henry. "Tsk, tsk, tsk."

  Henry glanced down at him, his eyebrows raised. "What are you tsking at?"

  "You." Yoni nodded toward Jen who stood surrounded by the teenagers. Although she was taking notes from all of them, she kept scanning the group every few seconds to check on Lou. "And her."

  "What do you mean?" Henry asked.

  Yoni shook his head. "You are in very real danger of falling into the friend zone."

  "What? I'm not-"

  Yoni put up his hand. "Look, you are smarter than me. I do not deny that. You are more successful than me. I give you that too. But with women, your track record is horrible."

  "Yoni, what are you-"

  "Hey - I'm not saying this to make you feel bad. I'm just saying, you know, have you met my wife?"

  Henry pictured Sasha Benjamin, who now helped run the Chandler School. Almost six feet tall with long blonde hair, Sasha had been an Olympic volleyball player for the Ukraine two Olympics ago. She was also incredibly smart and empathetic.

  Henry nodded stiffly.

  "Right, so I'd say in that area, I'm ahead of you. So take some advice from a man who has found the woman that makes his life worth living - don't wait. Tell her." Yoni walked away and Henry watched him go.

  The little Israeli might appear to some to be all brash, but he noticed more than people gave him credit for.

  Henry turned back and watched Jen as she handed out room keys. As each teenager grabbed a key, they disappeared into the hotel.

  "No mini bar!" Jen yelled but there was a smile on her face. She gave the last key to Rolly.

  Lou looked up at her. "What about me?"

  "You're bunking with me," Jen said. "If that's okay."

  Lou nodded with a smile. "Okay with me."

  Rolly nudged Lou. "Come on. Let's go get something to eat. I'm starving."

  Linking arms with Rolly, Lou looked at Jen. "Want to join us?"

  Jen glanced over at Henry and then back at the kids. "I'll be in in a little bit."

  "Okay," Lou said before heading inside with Rolly.

  Henry took a breath and walked over to Jen. She turned around and smiled at him. "Well, they should have all started running up their room service bills by now."

  Henry smiled with a shrug. "I think that's the least they deserve after what they've been through."

  "True." She paused. "You want to go for a walk?"

  Henry nodded. "That'd be great."

  They walked down the block and stumbled across a park. A man-made lake had been placed in the center with trees scattered along its edge. Jen and Henry stepped onto a small deck overlooking it. Ducks swam by and a few flew by overhead.

  Henry looked down at Jen as she leaned against the railing. In profile, she was stunning. He could not recall ever seeing anyone more beautiful.

  He turned back to the water. Yoni's words tumbled through his mind. You're heading into the friend zone. "Are you okay?"

  Jen nodded turning to him. "Yeah. Lou's safe and so are the rest of them. So yeah, I'm good."

  Jen looked back at the water a smile on her face. Henry stared at her for a moment feeling completely tongue-tied.

  "Hey Henry?" Jen asked softly.

  He turned to find her looking up at him. "Yeah?"

  "Are you ever going to kiss me?"

  Henry felt his mouth drop open. "I didn't think-"

  Jen wound her arms around Henry's neck. "Stop thinking."

  Henry lowered his head to hers. "Yes ma 'am."

  CHAPTER 55

  Delaney McPhearson disconnected the call and looked over at her uncle, Father Patrick Delaney. "They're all okay. They got there in time."

  Patrick closed his eyes. "Thank goodness." He bowed his head and Laney knew he was praying.

  The morning sun made Patrick's red hair appear even redder. Laney had always thought she got her own red hair from Patrick's side of the family. But like a lot of things she learned in the last two years, that hadn't been entirely correct.

  She closed her eyes and sent her own informal message out to the universe. Thank you.

  She stood up and stretched. They were sitting on the back porch of Laney's cottage on the Chandler Estate. Kati was inside putting Max to sleep.

  Laney breathed deep with a smile. This was truly a 'life is good' moment.

  Patrick came to stand next to her, wrapping his hand in hers. "When will all the kids be arriving?"

  "In the next few days. We'll have to see legally where each kid stands. Some of the kids are in the hospital but nothing serious. Jake thinks at least a dozen of the kids will be heading back here with us. We'll have to get some beds set up."

  "Shouldn't be a problem. There's plenty of space."

  Laney nodded, a feeling of contentment in her chest. This was the first time she hadn't been involved in a Fallen incident. It had been hard to stay away. But Kati, Max, the kids at the school - they all needed her too.

  And in the end, everything had turned out fine. Maybe she could delegate a little bit more. Let some other people handle things. Let her and Jake have a life.

  Lines from the book they had recovered from Amar's estate flashed across her mind:

  The time of judgment is at hand.

  The choice of sacrifice or death will be made.

  Laney shoved the thoughts aside. She didn't know what the words referred to. And right now, she didn't want to. She just wanted to relish this one moment when the world was calm.

  Laney leaned into her uncle's shoulder with a sigh.

  He patted her hand. "What's the sigh for?"

  "All of it. I wasn't shot at. All of our people are all right. And the kids are safe. And there are no looming crises. For once, everything is peaceful."

  EPILOGUE

  Atlanta, Georgia

  The little blonde girl played in her front yard. The man in the car two houses down looked at the folder in front of him. Sophia Watson, age ten. He handed the photo to the man in the passenger seat.

  "That her?" The passenger asked.

  The driver nodded. "So what do you think?" The two could pass for brothers with their dark brown hair, light brown eyes, and musc
ular build.

  The passenger glanced up and down the block. "Blocks pretty quiet. We can grab her from here. But we should probably wait until night."

  The driver pointed to the house across the street. "There's a little old lady there who seems to be always parked at her window - watching. Night would be better."

  The passenger looked at the little girl, who was playing hopscotch on the front walk. Sun glinted off her almost white hair and her smile was huge. He shook his head. "It's hard to believe she's one of them."

  The driver nodded. His lip curled in distaste. "But she is. A wolf in sheep's clothing."

  The passenger nodded. "'The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord'."

  The driver made the sign of the cross. "Let God's will be done."

  FACT OR FICTION

  I know, I know - I use very little history and/or archaeology in this story. In my defense, I never intended for Lou's story to be a stand-alone novel. Originally, Lou was part of the next book, The Belial Children. But as The Belial Children developed, I realized there were too many story lines and one needed to be dropped. Lou made the most sense. But I still really liked her.

  As a result, Recruit was born. And while there is little archaeology, there is some truth that I drew from to create the tale. Enjoy!

  The Death of Rasputin. I actually wrote a scene for The Belial Library that depicted the death of Rasputin. Maybe it will appear in some future book. Rasputin's death was fascinating without any embellishment. As described in Recruit, Rasputin was indeed shot, stabbed, poisoned and finally drowned.

  According to historians, after he ingested poison laced pastries, Rasputin appeared even more chipper. After finally, being stabbed and shot, he was tied into a rug and tossed in the Neva River. When his body was found a few days later, one of his arms had worked its way free of the ropes - leading some to speculate, that Rasputin had still been alive when tossed in.