Caleb sat behind the wheel. Sterling Jeter, one of Caleb’s closest confidants, sat in the back, his long blond hair loose around his shoulders. Wild, like his entire existence.
“The Dark One has arrived,” Sterling joked, hitting Michael’s shoulder. “What’s cooking, Mikey?”
Sterling could crack a really bad joke at any given moment, regardless of circumstances. Michael ignored the jokes because Sterling’s irritating need to be a comedian didn’t change the fact that Sterling was not only both a loyal friend and confidant to Caleb, but also one hell of a soldier. None of which kept Michael from wanting to beat Sterling’s ass. Often.
“What’s cooking is my nerves,” Michael said dryly, refocusing on Caleb. “If we rescue the women, he’ll just kidnap more.”
“Maybe,” Caleb said, cutting him a sideways look. “But it will take time for him to find this number of women again. Time we can use to stop him completely. Time the women inside Zodius now do not have.”
“If we do this,” he said. “I’m out. Only three people have the codes to override the security to get them to the surface,” Michael responded. “Myself, Ava, and Adam. He’ll know I did this.”
“Get me into the mainframe,” Sterling said, leaning forward. “I can make it look like we hijacked Adam or Ava’s security codes.”
“Not even you can do that,” Michael said. “There is a full-body scan to get into that room, and I’m not approved. Adam never fully trusts anyone. The bottom line here is, I stay in Zodius and a large percentage of those women die. Or I am out, and we save them.”
Caleb’s hands closed around the steering wheel in a white-knuckled grip. Obviously struggling with his choice. After several seconds, he slanted Michael a sideways look. “After two years of trying to get the name of the person, or persons, who would launch the attacks on our country upon Adam’s death, do you have any reason to believe you can get that information now or in the near future?”
“No,” Michael said. And he’d tried. Every which way and back.
“And you’re certain those chemical weapons are not on site?”
“Positive,” Michael assured him.
“Nor can you find out where they are?”
These were all questions Caleb had asked before, and he knew where this was heading. “No chance at all.”
Caleb stared out the front window, tense seconds ticking by. “We can’t let those women die. No. We won’t . We’ll get the women. Then, we’re going to get Red Dart and stop Adam once and for all.” He lowered his voice. “And you’ve been in that place too long, Michael. You can only play with the devil so long before you lose your soul.”
Right. Soul. Michael almost laughed at that. He wasn’t sure he had a soul to lose. But Caleb did, and Michael wouldn’t let that happen. “01200 then,” Michael said. “When the guards change.”
Sterling rubbed his hands together. “A long night of kicking some Zodius ass,” he said, excitement in his voice. “I live for this shit.” And he meant it. He lived to die everyday. Michael saw that behind his jokes. It was a wild glint in his eyes. And when they invaded Zodius City he might just get the chance. Caleb started the Jeep engine and glanced at Michael. “Looks like you’re about to walk into Sunrise City and stay this time,” he said. “Where you belong.”
Michael digested that like a well-placed bullet, right in the gut, with a hard bite. Not because he didn’t want to be inside Sunrise City, but because this was the day he had always known would come, the day he’d become Adam’s worst enemy. And Cassandra was right in the middle of the firing range. A prime target for Adam’s vengeance, and he had no way to get her off the radar. Not when she was the best shot they had at getting to Red Dart—a technology that could hand the world over to a madman. His world was bleeding onto hers. He ground his teeth. But that blood always seemed
“The Dark One has arrived,” Sterling joked, hitting Michael’s shoulder. “What’s cooking, Mikey?”
Sterling could crack a really bad joke at any given moment, regardless of circumstances. Michael ignored the jokes because Sterling’s irritating need to be a comedian didn’t change the fact that Sterling was not only both a loyal friend and confidant to Caleb, but also one hell of a soldier. None of which kept Michael from wanting to beat Sterling’s ass. Often.
“What’s cooking is my nerves,” Michael said dryly, refocusing on Caleb. “If we rescue the women, he’ll just kidnap more.”
“Maybe,” Caleb said, cutting him a sideways look. “But it will take time for him to find this number of women again. Time we can use to stop him completely. Time the women inside Zodius now do not have.”
“If we do this,” he said. “I’m out. Only three people have the codes to override the security to get them to the surface,” Michael responded. “Myself, Ava, and Adam. He’ll know I did this.”
“Get me into the mainframe,” Sterling said, leaning forward. “I can make it look like we hijacked Adam or Ava’s security codes.”
“Not even you can do that,” Michael said. “There is a full-body scan to get into that room, and I’m not approved. Adam never fully trusts anyone. The bottom line here is, I stay in Zodius and a large percentage of those women die. Or I am out, and we save them.”
Caleb’s hands closed around the steering wheel in a white-knuckled grip. Obviously struggling with his choice. After several seconds, he slanted Michael a sideways look. “After two years of trying to get the name of the person, or persons, who would launch the attacks on our country upon Adam’s death, do you have any reason to believe you can get that information now or in the near future?”
“No,” Michael said. And he’d tried. Every which way and back.
“And you’re certain those chemical weapons are not on site?”
“Positive,” Michael assured him.
“Nor can you find out where they are?”
These were all questions Caleb had asked before, and he knew where this was heading. “No chance at all.”
Caleb stared out the front window, tense seconds ticking by. “We can’t let those women die. No. We won’t . We’ll get the women. Then, we’re going to get Red Dart and stop Adam once and for all.” He lowered his voice. “And you’ve been in that place too long, Michael. You can only play with the devil so long before you lose your soul.”
Right. Soul. Michael almost laughed at that. He wasn’t sure he had a soul to lose. But Caleb did, and Michael wouldn’t let that happen. “01200 then,” Michael said. “When the guards change.”
Sterling rubbed his hands together. “A long night of kicking some Zodius ass,” he said, excitement in his voice. “I live for this shit.” And he meant it. He lived to die everyday. Michael saw that behind his jokes. It was a wild glint in his eyes. And when they invaded Zodius City he might just get the chance. Caleb started the Jeep engine and glanced at Michael. “Looks like you’re about to walk into Sunrise City and stay this time,” he said. “Where you belong.”
Michael digested that like a well-placed bullet, right in the gut, with a hard bite. Not because he didn’t want to be inside Sunrise City, but because this was the day he had always known would come, the day he’d become Adam’s worst enemy. And Cassandra was right in the middle of the firing range. A prime target for Adam’s vengeance, and he had no way to get her off the radar. Not when she was the best shot they had at getting to Red Dart—a technology that could hand the world over to a madman. His world was bleeding onto hers. He ground his teeth. But that blood always seemed
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