at Kafer.
For a moment it appeared Kafer might argue the point, but he leaned back in his chair instead. “Just curious is all.”
Aleman cleared his throat. “Queen and Bishop will lead two teams to South America. Knight will take one team to Taiwan. Rook will take Siberia.”
“I don’t need to tell you that not only do we not know who we’re up against, but we also don’t know what, ” King said. “You and your men have fought conventional wars up until now, but all that changes today. Throw out your preconceptions about human capabilities and effective tactics and do not, ever, believe a bullet can kill the enemy.”
“What do we know?” one of the team leaders asked. “I saw the damn statue from Bragg’s main entrance come to life and kill a man.”
“And that about sums up our intel,” Aleman said. “Someone has found a way to imbue nonliving material with, for lack of a better word, life. Statues come to life. Crude stone monsters. It doesn’t seem to matter what the material is as long as it is inanimate.”
“I faced off against two of them,” Rook said. “One made of stone and the other of giant crystals.”
“They appear to feel no pain,” Aleman said, “and when their mission, again for lack of a better word, is complete they return to their inanimate state, which is why the statue you mentioned is now in a barracks lobby.”
“You all need to move fast and quiet. I want you in and out of these countries with the targets without ruffling a feather, blipping a radar, or engaging the enemy.” King looked up at the screen, eyeing the members of his team, and then looked at the team leaders at the table. “Because as good as you all are, you won’t stand a chance.” He looked back at the screen. “ETA?”
“We’re incoming now,” Knight said. “Wheels down and hatch open in three minutes.”
King switched off the flat-screen and spoke to the team leaders. “I want you all on that bird in four minutes. Brief your men in the air. Got it?”
“Understood,” Kafer said as he stood. “One last question?”
“What is it?”
“Where will you be going?”
King’s nose twitched. “For now”—he looked at Aleman, who shrugged—“nowhere.”
Kafer gave King a pat on the shoulder as he headed for the door. “You’ll find her.”
The men filed out of the room. Keasling followed after them, intent on ensuring that each and every man made King’s four-minute schedule.
King sat down across from Aleman. He looked grim.
“Last night, did you get a chance to refill Fiona’s insulin pump and move it to a new location?”
Aleman paled. He hadn’t thought of that problem. “I did. The pump was on her hip. The needle just above it.”
Fiona’s insulin pump lasted three days when full. After that Fiona would be susceptible to hyperglycemia, which resulted in painful symptoms including coma and death, sometimes very quickly depending on circumstances such as diet and exertion. But that wasn’t the most pressing concern at the moment. The girl he’d been entrusted to protect had been taken from him by a man he knew very little about.
After first hearing Aleman’s description of the mystery man, King suspected his identity was none other than Alexander Diotrephes. He was sure of it. And Alexander was a doctor, among other things. In theory, he should be able to supply her with insulin. Hell, he could probably cure her. But what did they really know about the man? He’d helped them defeat the Hydra, but he had personal reasons for doing that. He’d saved Fiona once before, at the Siletz Reservation, but no one knew his real motives or intentions. Who’s to say he wasn’t behind the attacks himself? Until all of these questions were answered, King couldn’t trust that Fiona’s life wasn’t in danger. “Let’s operate under the assumption that she’s not going to be cared for. There’s no way to know for sure until I find her.”
Aleman nodded. “You really
For a moment it appeared Kafer might argue the point, but he leaned back in his chair instead. “Just curious is all.”
Aleman cleared his throat. “Queen and Bishop will lead two teams to South America. Knight will take one team to Taiwan. Rook will take Siberia.”
“I don’t need to tell you that not only do we not know who we’re up against, but we also don’t know what, ” King said. “You and your men have fought conventional wars up until now, but all that changes today. Throw out your preconceptions about human capabilities and effective tactics and do not, ever, believe a bullet can kill the enemy.”
“What do we know?” one of the team leaders asked. “I saw the damn statue from Bragg’s main entrance come to life and kill a man.”
“And that about sums up our intel,” Aleman said. “Someone has found a way to imbue nonliving material with, for lack of a better word, life. Statues come to life. Crude stone monsters. It doesn’t seem to matter what the material is as long as it is inanimate.”
“I faced off against two of them,” Rook said. “One made of stone and the other of giant crystals.”
“They appear to feel no pain,” Aleman said, “and when their mission, again for lack of a better word, is complete they return to their inanimate state, which is why the statue you mentioned is now in a barracks lobby.”
“You all need to move fast and quiet. I want you in and out of these countries with the targets without ruffling a feather, blipping a radar, or engaging the enemy.” King looked up at the screen, eyeing the members of his team, and then looked at the team leaders at the table. “Because as good as you all are, you won’t stand a chance.” He looked back at the screen. “ETA?”
“We’re incoming now,” Knight said. “Wheels down and hatch open in three minutes.”
King switched off the flat-screen and spoke to the team leaders. “I want you all on that bird in four minutes. Brief your men in the air. Got it?”
“Understood,” Kafer said as he stood. “One last question?”
“What is it?”
“Where will you be going?”
King’s nose twitched. “For now”—he looked at Aleman, who shrugged—“nowhere.”
Kafer gave King a pat on the shoulder as he headed for the door. “You’ll find her.”
The men filed out of the room. Keasling followed after them, intent on ensuring that each and every man made King’s four-minute schedule.
King sat down across from Aleman. He looked grim.
“Last night, did you get a chance to refill Fiona’s insulin pump and move it to a new location?”
Aleman paled. He hadn’t thought of that problem. “I did. The pump was on her hip. The needle just above it.”
Fiona’s insulin pump lasted three days when full. After that Fiona would be susceptible to hyperglycemia, which resulted in painful symptoms including coma and death, sometimes very quickly depending on circumstances such as diet and exertion. But that wasn’t the most pressing concern at the moment. The girl he’d been entrusted to protect had been taken from him by a man he knew very little about.
After first hearing Aleman’s description of the mystery man, King suspected his identity was none other than Alexander Diotrephes. He was sure of it. And Alexander was a doctor, among other things. In theory, he should be able to supply her with insulin. Hell, he could probably cure her. But what did they really know about the man? He’d helped them defeat the Hydra, but he had personal reasons for doing that. He’d saved Fiona once before, at the Siletz Reservation, but no one knew his real motives or intentions. Who’s to say he wasn’t behind the attacks himself? Until all of these questions were answered, King couldn’t trust that Fiona’s life wasn’t in danger. “Let’s operate under the assumption that she’s not going to be cared for. There’s no way to know for sure until I find her.”
Aleman nodded. “You really
Similar Books
