CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
The Zodius soldiers are coming. Jocelyn’s words had barely left her lips when Cassandra’s father darted toward the door, leaving Cassandra to gape after him. Jocelyn was racing around in a panic. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Release Michael!” Cassandra shouted. “He’s our only chance to survive. Let him go.”
Survival instincts kicked in, adrenaline firing Cassandra’s blood. She jerked on the ropes. Felt them give this time. She jerked again, and she was free. Thank God! She grabbed Jocelyn. “How do I open the cage?” Shouts and footsteps sounded from the hallway.
“Damn it, Mother!” Michael yelled. “Let me out!”
Cassandra grabbed Jocelyn’s arms. “He’s the only chance we have to survive this. Let him out.”
Wide-eyed, Jocelyn stared at Cassandra and nodded. “The blue key above the number pad on the computer.”
Cassandra was at that computer punching the key in two seconds, and Michael was out in one. Cassandra’s heart about exploded out of her chest as a Zodius soldier appeared in the doorway, his weapon drawn. Michael charged after him, moving so fast he was a blur before he collided with the enemy.
Jocelyn shoved Cassandra away from the computer and started keying. “I have to destroy Red Dart. I have to kill the program. I have an auto-destruct set up on the lab, and everything inside.”
Cassandra heard her, but her attention was on that battle in the doorway. Michael forcefully took the other soldier’s weapon, planting a bullet between his eyes. Cassandra let out a sigh of relief that it was the enemy, not Michael, who crumpled to the ground.
Michael yanked the soldier inside the lab and went to work removing his weapons. He shoved the door shut as he armed himself. Bullets blasted against the steel door, followed by hard pounding. “We need another way out. It will only take them a minute to blast open the door.”
“Hidden panel behind the cage,” Jocelyn said, still focused on the computer.
Michael was already moving toward them. “Let’s go.”
“Wait,” Jocelyn said, doing something to the device beside the computer before hitting several more keys. “I need another minute.”
“We don’t have a minute,” Michael ground out, grabbing Cassandra’s hand. Voices sounded outside the lab, an argument about how to bring down the door and not the entire lab.
Jocelyn glanced up. “Actually,” she said and hit a decisive key, “you have exactly five minutes before everything to do with Red Dart that isn’t in my head goes up in smoke along with this lab and anyone still inside.” They started toward the back of the lab. A blast sounded in the hallway. The door jerked but didn’t come down.
“We can’t leave Brock!” Jocelyn insisted.
Michael half growled. “He’s a walking tracking device.”
“I can use him to make an antidote in case Red Dart ever surfaces again. Please. We need him.”
With a conflicted grimace, Michael released Cassandra’s hand and was in that cage and out in a second. “He’s dead,” he announced after checking his pulse. He was already motioning them forward, his gun in his hand as a blast finished off the lab door. “Go! Go! Go!” Michael yelled, firing off a round of bullets.
Jocelyn shackled Cassandra’s arm and pulled her forward, punching a code into a panel. Steel doors slid open, and they were inside a stairwell.
Gunfire sounded behind them and above. A semblance of hope found Cassandra. Someone was shooting at the Zodius soldiers other than Michael. Please Lord, she prayed, let it be the Renegades, not her father’s men.
Jocelyn was already moving forward, but Cassandra wasn’t going anywhere without Michael. She heard him fire another round of bullets and let out a breath of relief as he appeared in the corridor.
Cassandra punched the marked button to close the doors. Cassandra and Michael started running up the steps, Michael yanking his cell phone from his belt as they climbed, checking for a signal. He found one near the exit about the time they heard the door behind them blast open.
“We’re in the house,” he said into the phone.
Jocelyn called over her shoulder. “Kitchen.”
“Kitchen,” Michael repeated. Almost instantly more shots rang out from directly above, and the door opened to display Sterling and Caleb. “It’s gonna blow,” Michael shouted as he pushed the women forward. Sterling grabbed Jocelyn and started running with Caleb behind him. Michael reached for Cassandra to do the same, but bullets sprayed through the tunnel from behind.
Michael kicked the door shut to the tunnel. “Go! Get out of here!” he shouted at Cassandra. “I’ll hold them off so you can get out.”
“Not without you!” she yelled.
Suddenly, the swinging door off the kitchen leading to the living area burst open, and a Zodius soldier grabbed Cassandra, yanking her into the other room. Michael’s heart jackknifed, and he dove for her, but the door slammed shut, bullets coming at him from all sides. He replied with shots of his own and shoved open the door, seeking Cassandra, but it was too late. The Zodius soldier who’d captured her had yanked her out the front door onto the porch. He wind-walked out of the house, intending to cut off Cassandra’s capture. He appeared on the lawn right as the house went up in a blast that sent him and everyone within ten feet sprawling to the ground. Michael recovered, flat on his belly, with one thing on his mind—Cassandra. Staying low, he scanned for her, relieved in one instant to find her alive, but—damn it to hell—she and Sterling were in the hands of the Zodius Soldiers, blades at their throats. Caleb stood across from them with Powell as his captive and holding a blade at his throat. On either side of this standoff, Zodius and Renegade soldiers stood toe-to-toe, ready for battle.
Michael stood his ground as the Zodius soldier who he knew to be a cold-blooded killer, Tad Bensen, made his demand. “The general, for his daughter,” Tad bargained with Caleb.
Caleb was now put in a position of choosing. If he handed over Powell, then Powell could give the Zodius the Red Dart crystal. If he did not, Tad would kill Cassandra and Sterling. Michael had no doubt about that, and neither did Caleb.
Michael’s mother crawled to his side. “Powell can’t give them Red Dart, if that’s what you’re worried about,” she whispered. She reached inside her pocket and then handed him the crystal. “I destroyed the data, but I have the crystal. It’s yours now.”
Michael inhaled sharply, unable to consider the magnitude of his mother’s actions now. She hadn’t destroyed everything. She’d simply made everyone believe she had. But instead of using the crystal for personal gain, she’d given it to him, and now he was free to end this battle without recourse, with no fear that Powell still held the power of Red Dart.
Michael unleashed his power. Hurricane-style winds whipped around them, wreaking havoc on everyone but Michael. He was on his feet, charging toward Cassandra, well aware that the intensity of this wind was something he could hold for only a minute at most. He ripped the blade from Tad’s hand, freeing Cassandra, and then turned to where Sterling was being held. In a quick twist of his wrist, he snagged the soldier’s gun and shot him between the eyes. He turned to do the same to Tad, but the wind faded, and Tad instantly wind-walked away.
The soldier he’d killed fell beside Cassandra, and she jumped, a terror-laced scream following, a prelude to the all-out war that followed, Renegades against Zodius soldiers.
Michael spotted Powell and saw the moment he broke away from the group when Caleb had been forced to release him to defend himself. Powell was in a full-out run. He was getting away, and Michael had to choose between him and Cassandra. Which was no choice at all.
With a low curse, Michael let Powell escape, pulling Cassandra to her feet and wind-walking her to his mother’s side. “Run!” he yelled.
Powell ran across the wooded terrain, charging toward a tunnel opening a mile away. The sound of wolves howling nearby pierced the air and spiked his adrenaline. Faster. He had to run faster. Suddenly, the wind ripped, and Lucian appeared before him, drawing Powell to an abrupt halt.
“Been a long time, General,” Lucian said, referring to his time serving Powell at Groom Lake.
“Not long enough,” Powell said, aiming the Glock he’d grabbed from the lab before departing at Lucian. “Careful now, traitor. I’d enjoy planting one of these Green Hornets between your eyes.”
“This ‘traitor,’ as you call me, is your only chance to escape,” Lucian said. “Both the Renegades and the Zodius want your blood, General.”
“I don’t know what game you’re playing, but save it for someone who’s stupid,” the general said. “I know you are with Adam, Lucian.”
“I’m a free agent now,” Lucian said. “You get the first opportunity at recruitment.”
General Powell arched a brow. “And why would I want to do that?”
“Because you don’t have a choice,” he said. “You will die if Adam gets his hands on you. Or rot in a cell if Caleb does. Agree to work with me, and I will wind-walk you out of here, and we will begin planning a way to show both Adam and Caleb who is really in control.”
“Wind-walking might kill me,” he said.
“And so will Adam.”
“How do I know you won’t take me to Adam?”
“Because you are still alive, General,” he said. “I could have easily wind-walked behind you and slit your throat. But you have resources I want.” Footsteps sounded in the air. A scurry of movement. “Now or never, General.”
The general considered only a moment more before lowering his gun. Lucian might think he had control now, but Powell had no doubt—he would easily remedy that. He’d lost the Red Dart crystal in that explosion, but he still had serum and twelve soldiers who were GTECH-ready. Now that he knew what the serum was capable of turning a man into—he wouldn’t be a fool this time. He’d take precautions. He’d implant kill switches in their brains before giving them their freedom and come up with a plan suited for limited manpower and resources that involved covert action. This was not over. All he had to do was survive the wind-walking.
“Do it,” Powell ordered. Lucian stepped forward and grabbed him. The wind carried them away.
Michael called forth another hurricane-style wind. Zodius and Renegade alike stumbled and struggled, but Tad screamed through the wind. “Retreat!” The instant the wind died, the Zodius soldiers faded into their own gusts, escaping by wind-walking while they still could.
Fire engines screeched into the driveway, men rushing off the trucks to fight the fire behind them. Renegades faded into the wind before they were spotted, some on a search mission for Powell. Caleb would have to make government contact to explain the fire, and then try and re-create the relationships that Powell had destroyed. A tough task when they had no idea who they could trust.
Cassandra ran to Michael and flung her arms around him. “Thank God, you’re okay.”
His arms wrapped around her, the warmth of that moment was like none he had ever felt. She’d watched him kill today, and still she accepted him without question. “It kills me to know I did not stop you from being tortured.”
“Those two years apart from you were torture,” she said.
His mother approached, hugging herself and looking uncomfortable. She glanced at Cassandra. “I’m so glad you are okay. I…well…I don’t know how to say I am sorry. I misjudged you. I…misjudged your father.”
Cassandra snuggled closer to Michael, as if she knew he needed that warmth right now. “We’re alive, and it’s over. That’s what counts right now.”
Jocelyn nodded and cut a tentative look at Michael. “I promise you, I didn’t know what I was getting involved with. I thought…well, a lot of things that would appear skewed right about now. Seems I have a bad way of choosing the wrong men.”
Michael didn’t know what to say to that. He’d spent years believing his mother was as evil as his father, and he wasn’t sure he was ready to see her otherwise. Those feelings had defined much of his life and how he saw himself. But she’d come through for him and the Renegades today.
Ultimately, she’d saved Cassandra’s life by telling him about the crystal, rather than concealing it. Probably Sterling’s life as well. A silent agreement passed between them, and a bit of mutual, if not limited, respect had been earned on both sides. Which was a good thing, considering she was the only living person who knew how to make Red Dart work. She was going to be coming to Sunrise City for protection. Caleb would decide the fate of the crystal. Michael motioned to Damion and gave that order.
His mother accepted it freely. “I can help the Renegades,” she said. “I want to.”
The sounds of wolves howling in unison shot a warning through Michael. He scanned for Caleb and made eye contact. Adam was here. They both felt it a moment before he emerged from the woods, several wolves surrounding him.
Michael lifted his hand to Damion, who stepped to his side. “Go with Damion, Cassandra,” he ordered.
“Michael—”
“I said, go with Damion,” he said. “I need to know you’re safe.”
Reluctantly, she nodded, pushed to her toes, and kissed his cheek. “Be careful.”
Michael, Caleb, and Sterling walked toward Adam; there were too many civilian humans nearby to wind-walk without exposure. Michael and Sterling lingered behind as Caleb stepped forward and met Adam face-to-face. Two powerful figures, so alike, but so different. One who radiated a magical quality that inspired and motivated. And another who oozed evil and darkness, a promise of destruction.
The two of them spoke, their voices low, too low for Michael and Sterling to make out what they were saying. Long minutes passed before Adam faded into the wind, the wolves howling with his departure.
Caleb turned and walked back to them, a grim expression on his face, a hard set to his jaw. He said nothing as he joined them, stepped between them, and lifted his hand to signal their departure. The three of them faded into the wind—the Renegades’ leader and his two most trusted soldiers.
Words were not necessary. Michael and Sterling knew all they had to know. The war had not ended. In fact, it may well have only just begun.
Hours after his promise to Caleb that he would destroy the Renegades, one by one, until his brother joined Zodius Nation, Adam sat at his coliseum table and waited for the main event to start. Ava sat by his side. Dr. Chin and Tad sat across from them.
“I’m so excited you’re here, Dr. Chin,” Ava said, rubbing her belly. “Now I know I will deliver a healthy baby.” She smiled at Tad. “And I have you to thank for bringing him to us.”
Tad inclined his head. “I am your loyal servant as always.” Ava beamed with delight, which pleased Adam. Ava’s happiness over Chin’s arrival had made any failure on Tad’s part easily overlooked. For now. So did the extra GTECH serum that Chin had brought with him from Powell’s lab, though it was still limited. Losing the immediate implementation of Red Dart had been disappointing, but they would eventually make it work.
“Perhaps your child,” Chin said, “will hold the secret to re-creating the serum.”
His child, Adam thought. Yes. His child was the future. There was greatness in the air tonight, Adam thought, as he lifted his glass to Chin and then to everyone at the table. “To the future of Zodius Nation.”
He knew that the Renegades believed they’d achieved a victory by destroying Red Dart, but they would soon discover they were mistaken. Adam’s plans to spread his Zodius movement had only just begun.
The weak would be destroyed, and Adam would lead a world like none anyone had ever imagined. A world free of divisions. One nation under his command. One Zodius Nation.