Chapter One
Lucan bit back a chuckle as he squatted outside the closed window of Colonel Hall’s office. His hybrid hearing would have let him understand what was being said without any problems, but the general chewing out the colonel inside could probably be heard by anyone walking by.
“How the hell do twelve hybrid men, their wives, twelve children, and two babies just slip out?” the general thundered. “For Christ’s sake, one of the women was nine months along with triplets! You think they are just going to deliver those kids in a manger somewhere?”
“They took the doctor and the nurse,” Colonel Hall said, her tone measured and calm.
A loud bang came from inside as something hit the desk.
“So now you don’t even have a damned medical crew. Wonderful. Could this be anymore of a clusterfuck?”
“Sir,” said a man’s voice. It belonged to Cato, now acting head of Luna Lodge.
Lucan shook his head.
There were benefits to being dead sometimes, or at least reported as such. It was annoying to not have a nice, soft bed or home-cooked meals, but this kind of situation was reason enough to be dead. It was better Cato get reamed and deal with the furious general than himself.
As it was, Lucan didn’t even want to take on the second-in-command position. Cato’s choice of him surprised him. If anything, he thought that Cato might worry about power struggles and pick a younger rather than older hybrid. It also wasn’t like Lucan was the most popular hybrid left in Luna Lodge.
He wasn’t really well loved by the hybrids. Though it wasn’t that he was hated, either.
Lucan just didn’t give a shit about currying favor with anyone. He’d not been a dick like some. More aloof than anything.
Community building didn’t strike him as a good goal, not while the enemy was still out there. He’d wanted to take the fight to the Horatius Group for all the shit they had put the hybrids through. The Group’s continual assaults on the Lodge only fed into his desire for vengeance.
The now-departed leader of the hybrids, Titus, had sensed that fire in Lucan. Same with Rollo. The two had made it their mission to do whatever was needed to take the Group down, even if it was off the books and against all the government’s rules restricting hybrids.
“And I suppose you know nothing about the missing men, Cato?” the general said.
“Sir, there was a massive explosion killing both soldiers and hybrids. We had other sh… things we were dealing with at the time.”
Lucan realized Cato was trying to talk some sense into the general, but the man had spent too much time being a bureaucrat, worrying more about the next chance at rank.
“How many dead?” the general asked after a moment, his voice quieter and more controlled.
“Three hybrids and five soldiers,” Colonel Hall said.
The words stung Lucan’s heart. The hybrids had so few men, and now they had even less. It was worse for Nikon.
The man had to watch his twin die like that after all they had been through. They’d survived the hell of the Horatius Group and betrayal by the US government, and even the vicious Glycons. Nikon and his brother were some of the few to actually have true family members while with the Group.
Not that it was any easier for them. In fact, the Group had no problem running test after test to see just how linked the two were. Neither talked about it, but no one had to try hard to imagine some of the horrors they had been subjected to.
Still, being brothers was something special, even among the hybrids, and had helped them endure.
It didn’t matter though. Just when the hybrids thought they could relax, they were bombed.
Even if the mysterious mind control that led to the suicide bombings was linked to the US government, everyone knew the Group had to be behind it. It was the only explanation that made sense.
“Sir, we may have bigger problems in all this,” Colonel Hall said. “The suicide bombers weren’t outsiders. They were local citizens.”
Silence filled the room as Colonel Hall apparently waited for that to set in.
“A few fanatics are nothing new when it comes to the hybrids,” the general said. “Yes, they’ve escalated tactics, but that doesn’t change the fundamental underlying situation.”
Lucan could hear Cato as the other hybrid moved around restlessly.
“You don’t understand,” Cato said. “These weren’t fanatics. These were normal people who were being forced against their will to attack. Hell, fanatics we might have a chance of dealing with. There can only be so many, but we have an entire town that can be used as a weapon.”
The general scoffed, and Lucan could tell the conversation wasn’t going to go as they hoped.
“What are you trying to say?” the general said. “Someone was forcing them to go in and kill themselves? By what, holding a gun on them?” He snorted. “I’ve served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan at the height of the suck. I’ve seen unwitting bombers in my time, and those people were way different than what you and the colonel have described.”
Silence filled the room once again, and Lucan wondered if they were even going to go all in at this point and explain the truth. It didn’t seem like it mattered much.
“These people were subjected to mind control,” Cato said. “There’s a signal that can be used to influence the people of the town. We don’t know the exact technology, but we do know a little about the signal.”
Lucan winced a little. It sounded ridiculous. The general hadn’t seen what they had, and even then, it was a hard pill to swallow.
“And you have proof of this?” the general said, obvious irritation in his voice.
“There’s an abandoned mill outside of town that was set up with speakers,” Colonel Hall said. “With strange output. One of the townspeople tried to inject Sergeant Morris with something as well. We think it’s some sort of compound that makes people susceptible to the signal.”
Judging by her tone, it was clear the colonel knew they’d lost this round.
“And you have what they were trying to inject her with?” the general said.
Silence.
“No.”
Lucan could hear the scrape of the chair as the general stood.
“So all you really have is a lot of fanciful ideas, missing hybrids, and eight people dead.”
“Sir.”
Lucan could hear the steady click of the man’s shoes as he made his way to the door.
“Find the hybrids,” the general said firmly. “I’ve got to clean up this mess before the media has a field day with it.”
“Yes, sir,” Colonel Hall replied.
Lucan waited until the door had closed, and the men the general brought had moved back to their cars before making his way inside the office building.
Sergeant Wendy Morris, Cato’s mate, stood in uniform right outside the room.
Once he’d stepped into the room, Lucan knew it was as bad as it seemed. Sergeant Morris followed him in.
“We need proof,” Colonel Hall said.
Lucan stared at the older woman. He’d expected her to fold under the direct attention from her superior, but the weathered woman held her own.
“Proof against the Group has always been hard to come by,” he replied.
“Those bastards are too damn slippery,” Cato said, and growled.
She nodded. If anyone understood, it was the military.
“Search the mill,” the colonel said. “There has to be something we’ve missed. We need to find the source before they attack again.”
Cato frowned. “Will they so soon?”
Sergeant Morris shrugged. “It’s what I would do. Strike while numbers are low, and people are still scrambling to fill the gaps.”
Lucan frowned, but the plan made sense. They knew whoever was doing this didn’t care about murdering people. They killed off the townspeople like they were nothing.
It wasn’t like the Group had ever given any indication they cared about collateral damage.
“What are you going to do about your orders?” Lucan asked.
All eyes turned to the colonel. She held all of their fates in her hands.
“I have no idea where your people are, and as far as I’m concerned, neither do any of you,” she said, staring each of them down. “We have bigger fish to fry. The general isn’t on our side because we’ve given him nothing concrete to go on. If we want to get anywhere in this fight, we’re going to need that evidence and him on our side.” She frowned slightly. “At least he’s giving us a chance.”
Lucan nodded. If they’d learned anything over the past few years, it was that everything in the government involved red tape and to get around that, they would need something compelling.
The existence of the super-human hybrids themselves made a lot of things sound plausible, but that didn’t mean they could get by without proof.
“Any word from Rollo?” Cato asked.
Lucan shook his head. It had been about a month now with no word.
Titus had sent him out to dig up what he could on any political leader who might be connected with anti-Luna Lodge efforts, but with all the craziness that had been going on, he could have just as easily been picked up by the Group.
Cato clapped Lucan on the back. “I’m sure he’s fine.”
Lucan nodded and shook himself of the worries over his friend. “If he’s as good as Titus seems to think he is, then he’s working hard to collect what he can.”
Colonel Hall had adapted well to all the secrets they had been hiding. In fact, she seemed more comfortable with those than she was with any of her military’s own secrets. Although he supposed no one wanted to look at their own people and see the enemy.
“We need to keep you scarce around here,” Cato said.
Lucan nodded. “I’ll go back to playing dead,” he said with a grin.
Cato placed a firm hand on his shoulder. “We find that evidence, and it will all be over, finally. We’ll have what we need.”
Lucan stepped back with a nod.
They were so close to the life they had all dreamed about. They just needed this one piece to fill in the gap.