Good luck with that, pal.
Erin had walked over to join him, and she handed him his pack and asked, “You ready?”
He nodded and said in a low voice so the closest guard didn’t hear, “You good?”
“Yes,” she said, louder than he would have liked. “Let’s go; I wanna grab some shut-eye before sunup.”
That last part, he guessed, was for the guard’s benefit.
Keo followed her up the beach, sliding the pack’s strap over his left shoulder only in order to keep his right arm free. The M4 with the grenade launcher thumped reassuringly against his back, within easy reach. When he looked back at the water, the guy who had helped him pull the boat up had already returned his NVD over his eyes and was walking off to join his buddy.
“What about the boat?” Keo asked.
“Someone will take care of it later,” Erin said.
They waded through knee-high grass in a field on the other side of the beach. It was easy to pick up the signs that Uncle Sam had been here and had chopped down a lot of the scenery, leaving a mostly unobstructed view of the place. Keo spied the roofs of buildings jutting out of the ground in the distance, and though he expected to see planes taking off and landing, the only sounds came from the crickets in the woods and birds in the trees around him.
“What that guy said about silver bullets,” Keo said.
“What about it?” Erin asked.
“I can understand why people on the Ocean Star weren’t equipped with them, but what about the teams in the fields? The ones in Texas right now?”
“Mercer’s orders.”
“Why?”
“Their job is to strike at the collaborators, not fight ghouls. If they had silver ammo, they’d be tempted to do the very thing he told them not to do. This way, they’re forced to stay on course. Hide at night, fight in the day. And you don’t need silver bullets to do that.”
Four guys in a tank apparently didn’t get that message.
“That’s a pretty hardcore way to ensure your soldiers do exactly what you tell them,” Keo said. “And all the kill teams went along with it?”
“A lot of them protested—I was one of them. But he stuck to his guns and we found ways to be okay with it, like we always do. I heard rumors that some of the teams stole silver bullets from the armory and took them with them. But I never actually met any that did.”
“The funny thing is, I agree with him.”
Erin looked over, surprised. “You do?”
“Not his no-silver policy even if you die because of it part. That’s just stupid. But on the not engaging the ghouls part, yeah, I get that. It’s pointless.”
She nodded. “He said it was a losing battle. There are so many of them, killing a hundred here, a thousand there wouldn’t even make a dent in their number. He said we’d just use up all the silver ammo we spent so much time and sweat making. He wanted to save it for emergencies, but mostly for when we finally took the fight directly to the monsters. That’s why we still have people out there whose only job is to collect silver.”
“He’s playing the long game.”
“Always. From day one, his goal was to first take away the ghoul’s greatest resource—cut their supply line, as he put it.”
“Humans.”
“He’ll kill as many as he needs to get them to turn on their masters.”
“What if he ends up killing everyone instead?”
“That’s why I’m here on Black Tide with you, Keo. To make sure that doesn’t happen.” She ground her teeth together, and he heard the conviction in her voice for the very first time when she added, “There has to be a better way to take the planet back. There has to be.”
Maybe there was and maybe there wasn’t, but Keo wasn’t too concerned with the answer at the moment. Right here and now, he could only concentrate on one thing:
Find Mercer. Kill Mercer.
He replayed the look on Jordan’s face as she bled out in his arms next to the highway; the oddly contented smile she gave him as he held her, forever frozen in his mind’s eye. Days later, and he still didn’t know how he felt about her, but he knew that he liked her and knew exactly how he felt about watching her die.
Somewhere on the other side of the field they were moving through, lights shone from a series of blocky gray buildings. Mercer would be in one of those right now, oblivious to what was coming for him.
Keo glanced down at his watch.
3:36 a.m.
He smiled.
The hour of the wolf…
24
Lara
When Riley opened his eyes, the first thing he said was, “Andy shot me.”
Lara nodded. “Yes, he did.”
“Then someone shot him…”
“Peters.”
“I told you he never misses.”
“So I’ve been told,” Lara smiled.
Riley closed his eyes for a brief few seconds, then opened them again. “You’re still here. How long has it been?”
“I am, and it’s past midnight. You’ve been heavily sedated. I’m surprised you’re already talking.”
He squinted. “Feels like an elephant’s sitting on me.”
“But you’re alive.”
“Yeah, there’s that.” Riley looked pale and in pain, but his voice was surprisingly stronger than it should have been for a man who had been shot very recently. “I had a dream…”
“What was it about?”
“The Ocean Star was sinking.”
“Sounds more like a nightmare.”
“I guess it was.” He peeked down at his bandaged side. “Andy shot me,” he said again.
“How much do you remember?”
“I remember that it hurt like hell.” He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “It’s quiet. Why is it so quiet?”
“It’s one in the morning, Riley.”
“No wonder it’s so quiet.” He turned his head to look at her. “Is everything…okay?”
“You mean has Mercer sent anyone to attack the Ocean Star yet?”
He nodded.
She shook her head. “Not yet.”
“Thank God.” Then, “Did I almost die or something?”
“No,” Lara said, and sat back in her chair while trying to decide how much to tell him.
They were the only two people in sickbay at the moment, and except for Riley’s slightly labored breathing, it was as if the world outside didn’t exist beyond the thick walls. Zoe had returned to the Trident a few hours ago, satisfied that Riley was in good hands with the rig’s vet/doctor, George, taking over. Like everyone onboard the yacht, Zoe had a lot of work ahead of her.
“Hart took charge after you went down,” Lara said.
“Where is he now?”
“Overseeing the transports.”
“Transports?”
“We’re shuttling your people to my boat.”
“In the middle of the night?” he asked, eyebrows rising in either curiosity or alarm, she couldn’t really tell.
“We didn’t think it was prudent to wait any longer, in case more of Mercer’s men showed up on their way back to Black Tide.”
“Something happened, didn’t it? Besides Andy shooting me. What else happened while I was out?”
“Erin’s group came through. Hart did the best he could in your place, but they didn’t buy it. Something about the lack of civilians on the top deck spooked them.”
“Erin noticed,” Riley said. It wasn’t a question.
Lara nodded. “According to Hart, yes.”
“Is she…?”
“No. But you did lose a man, and someone named Troy was killed by Peters.”
“But Erin’s alive?”
“Yes,” she said, noticing the relief on his face. “It was bad, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been.”
“Who was it? My guy.”
“I don’t know his name. You’ll have to ask Hart.”
“Was it a man or a woman?”
“Yes.” He ran his hands over his face. “I brought them here, Lara. They’re my responsibility. Every single one of them. Even Andy…”
The burden of leadership, Will. How did you ever shoulder it for so long? I’ve been at this for only a few months, and I already feel a million years old.
“Hart handled it,” she said. “He’s not a bad second-in-command.”
“He’d rather be fishing,” Riley said, and smiled. “You wouldn’t believe how hard it was to convince him to lead the mission to your boat.”
“It’s a good thing you did. If someone else were in charge, that night might have gone differently. We might not be having this talk right now.”
Riley nodded and scooted up to a sitting position, stuffing pillows between him and the wall. He grimaced the entire time but kept at it until it was done. She resisted the instinct to lend him a hand, mostly for his ego’s sake.
After finally settling back down, he said, “How’s it going? Moving everyone over to the Trident?”
“It’s going,” Lara said. “Everyone’s been very cooperative. We should be done by sunup, if not before then. I’m having Hart transfer the rest of the supplies over at the same time on different boats, but they’re going to take much longer than the people. Everyone’s handling the move surprisingly well. You could even say enthusiastically.”
“Must be the idea of cruising around in that sweet ride of yours,” Riley said, looking over at the sickbay’s only window, not that he could see anything but darkness on the other side. “Is there a reason you’re doing this now?”
“Between the time Andy shot you and now, we’ve already gotten five radio calls from Mercer’s people in Texas. The first group is supposed to be here by ten in the morning. There’ll be more by midday.”
“They’re moving much faster than I expected…”
“Is that good or bad?”
“For the war effort, it’s good,” Riley said. “But not for the people caught in the middle. If they’re already starting to return to Black Tide en masse, it means they’re having a lot of success in Texas.”
I wonder how Mercer measures “success.” Maybe in body bags.
“Thank you,” Riley said, looking back at her. “I mean it, Lara. You could have bailed, but you didn’t.” He smiled, and it was probably a little too smug for her liking. “I knew the Lara wouldn’t back out of the deal.”
She frowned. “Please stop calling me that.”
“Don’t freak out,” Riley said, and she thought, Too late, “but some of my guys are carrying around iPods with your messages in a loop on them.”
Lara sighed. “I know. Hart told me.”
“I know it’s not something you’re comfortable with, but your messages gave a lot of people hope. To a lot of us, you’re not just Lara, you’re the Lara. You’re famous.”
“Glad to be wanted, I guess,” she said. Then, hoping Riley would take the hint and move on, “Maybe it’s time you filled me in on where I’m taking your people.”
“I guess I should tell you, since we’re in this together now.”
“I think so.”
“Have you ever heard of the Bengal Islands?” he asked.
Lara smiled. “I might have heard a thing or two about it.”
“Don’t tell me…”
“Yeah.”
He broke out into a big, stupid grin. “Maybe I was right the first time.”
“About what?”
“This.”
“What is ‘this?’”
“Fate. You showing up just when we needed you the most. It’s got to be fate, Lara.”
“I don’t believe in fate,” she said, and thought, At least, not anymore. Not after Will didn’t come back to me.
“I do,” he said.
“Then you’re a fool.”
“I’ve been called worse. I know what Mercer’s going to be calling me when he learns about what I’ve done.”
“You think he’ll come after you?”
“I don’t know.”
“You haven’t thought about it?”
“I guess I never got that far,” he said, and seemed to drift off.
He looked as if he was thinking very seriously about her question when there was a squawk and she heard Maddie’s voice coming through the radio hanging off her left hip.
“Lara, come in.”
She unclipped the radio, but said to Riley first, “She’s one of my people.”
He nodded, though she wondered if he actually heard her. He looked gone, as if he was still trying to come up with an answer to her question.
She felt like giving him some space and stood up and walked over to the window, where she keyed the radio. “I’m here, Maddie.”
“Uh, there might be a little problem,” Maddie said. “Well, maybe a possible complication.”
Riley, hearing that, glanced over.
“What kind of ‘complication?’” she said into the radio.
“Hart was doing a head count of the Ocean Star folks, and he thinks we might be, uh, missing a few, uh, heads.”
“Be more specific, Maddie.”
“Hart says a couple of the civilians are missing.”
Riley sat up straighter. It was a mistake, and he grimaced with pain from the sudden movement.
“Did he check the entire boat?” Lara said into the radio.
“Twice,” Maddie said. “All the civilians should have been on the Trident by now. The only ones that should still be on the Ocean Star with you are a few of Hart’s soldiers.”
“There’s an armory,” Riley said.
“I know; I had Hart put guards on it after you were shot,” she said. “The guns were the first things I had your people move over to the Trident. I know I said I didn’t need them before, but I didn’t see any point in leaving them behind when we go.”
“I think that’s a good idea,” he nodded.
“What are the chances some of the civilians might have snuck weapons onboard? Like Andy?”
“Pretty good. It wasn’t like we searched everyone. Or anyone, for that matter. There was no reason to.”
“Lara?” Maddie said through the radio.
“I’m here,” she answered. “Where is Hart now?”
“Doing a third head count.”
“That’s a waste of time,” Riley said. “They must have stayed onboard while you guys were shuttling people over. It wouldn’t make sense for them to go along only to sneak back here.”
Lara nodded, then walked over to the door and pushed the lock into place.
“Why did you do that?” Riley asked from behind her.
“Just in case,” she said and walked back to him. Then, into the radio: “Maddie, you said all the civilians except two are onboard?”
“That’s what Hart says,” Maddie said.
“I want you to pull anchor and take the yacht farther out.”
“How much farther?”
“At least another half mile.”
“Should I ask why?”
“Just in case.”
“Gotcha. But you know we’re not done with the supplies, right?”
“Doesn’t matter. We can finish it later. Right now, I want you to put some distance between the yacht and the platform.”
“What about you?”
“When you see Hart again, tell him to radio me on this frequency and we’ll coordinate what to do next. Your job right now—your only job—is to take care of the Trident and everyone onboard, understand?”
“Roger that,” Maddie said.
“Why the second ‘just in case?’” Riley asked when she put the radio away.
“Because I don’t know what those two missing crewmen will do. Best-case scenario is they’ll hide until we leave.”
“And the worst-case?”
“They use whatever guns they snuck onboard and finish what Andy started. And maybe they won’t stop with you. Maybe they’ll decide no one should be able to
leave, either.”
Riley shook his head. “If you think they’ll blow up the Trident with all those people onboard, it’s not going to happen. They wouldn’t do that. I know everyone who served onboard the Ocean Star. None of them are capable of something that heinous.”
“You thought you knew Andy, too.”
He flinched. “Below the belt, Lara.”
“But true,” she said, and stared back at him.
“Goddammit, I know you’re right.” He swung his legs over the side of the bed and leaned forward to gather his strength, even though those movements probably cost him more unnecessary pain. “I messed up,” he added quietly.
“Think of it this way,” she said, “you’re three out of forty-six. These days, if you’re batting over .500, I’d say you’re coming up ahead.”
He made an effort to smile, but she could tell he was far from convinced.
“They were in the comm room,” Hart said when Lara opened the sickbay door for him. “But they took off long before we showed up.”
“What were they doing in there?” Riley asked from his bed.
“I don’t know, but they didn’t go in there for their health, I’m guessing.”
“Who was it?”
“Ezekiel and Lang.”
Lara looked back at Riley. “Anything special about them?”
Riley shook his head. “Nothing that I can think of. Ezekiel’s one of the mechanics and Lang helped out in the galley.”
“A mechanic and a cook?”
“Basically.”
Lara turned back to Hart. “Any ideas where they’re hiding now?”
“Not a clue,” Hart said. “It’s a big place with a lot of nooks and crannies to hole up. Frankly, if they are hiding and waiting for us to leave, I’m not sure we should even bother looking for them.”
“I agree,” Lara said.
Riley nodded. He had looked stronger when he first woke up, but the last hour had drained some of that strength, and just sitting on the bed seemed to take a lot out of him. “The only thing to be concerned about is that they might have called for help. Given us away.”
The Purge of Babylon Series Box Set, Vol. 3 | Books 7-9 Page 68