Assassin's Promise, The Red Team Series, Book 5 (35 page)

He held a hand out to her. “Then let’s go get you something to eat. Something small and light.”

She took his hand. “I don’t want small and light. I could eat an entire village suddenly.”

He gave her a lopsided grin as he looked at her sideways. “Maybe I should sleep with Zavi at night, just to be sure neither of us goes missing.”

Mandy laughed. “Maybe you should.”

He caught her up against him as they faced the bright afternoon sun, then kissed her forehead. “I love you. Don’t ever doubt that.”

She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight, communicating her love in the only way he’d hear—through touch.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Max went into the conference room in the bunker. Owen sat at the long table with his laptop. “Hey, boss.”

Owen looked up.

“We’ve been looking for the right time to get Lion and his pride out of the WKB. Now is that time, under cover of all the chaos happening near the Friends.”

Owen met his eyes, considered it a moment, then nodded. “Do it. We can set up bunks in the basement until we find a permanent situation for them.”

Max went upstairs to break the news to Lion. Dr. Beck and the medic were taking the medic’s cases outside. Max pulled Lion aside, out of earshot. “It’s time we got you and your pride away from the WKB. With everything that’s happening, no one will notice our vehicles. I’ll pick you up at ten tonight on the forest service road above your dorm.”

“You’ll take all of us?”

“Yes. But only bring what you have to. There won’t be room in the vehicles for you and a lot of baggage.”

Lion nodded. He started toward the door, then stopped to look back at Max. “Is this the beginning of Armageddon?”

Max took a deep breath. “Good question. It might have been, had Greer and Doc Chase not been there right when they were.”

“If this disease gets out, what happens?”

“A lot of people die. But it by itself isn’t enough to collapse our country.”

“What if this is happening in multiple countries at the same time?”

Max walked over and set a hand on Lion’s shoulder. “Don’t borrow trouble. We stopped this in time. And whoever started this will be brought to justice.”

* * *

It was a quarter to ten that night when Max turned his small convoy onto the dirt road that led behind the pride’s bunkhouse on the WKB compound. They’d passed several vehicles near the Friendship Community, but no WKBers anywhere.

He pulled to a stop and shut his lights off. At ten o’clock, there was no sign of the boys.
 

“What time did you tell Lion?”
Angel asked via their comm system.

“Now. I’m going down there.”

“Want company?”
Val asked from the third SUV.

“No. Best if it’s just me in case I run in to anyone.”

Max walked down the hill and across the backside of the WKB compound, heading toward the Quonset hut where the pride bunked. He stepped inside the dark interior. His eyes had acclimated to the dim ambient light outside, but it was even darker in there.

The bunks were all made. Nothing seemed out of order. He opened one of the footlockers. It was empty. He checked another. Same thing.

“Looking for something?” Pete said, stepping out of Lion’s room.

“Pete,” Max greeted him. “Was looking for Lion. He’s hard to get a hold of except in person.”

“He’s gone. What are you doing back here anyway?”

“King sent me for Lion and the pride.”

“No shit.”

“Yeah.”

“Can’t say I’m sad to see them go, but it’s odd that he sent you.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because King already took them.”

“That a fact?”
 

“Yeah, it is. So you want to tell me who you’re really working for?”

“Does it matter? We’re both in the same war.”

“I liked it better when you had my back.”

“What makes you think I don’t?”

“You sneaking around my compound at night.”

“We had a deal, if I remember,” Max reminded him.

“How close to the end is it?” Pete asked.

“Close. Did you know about the smallpox the Friends are infected with? Have your guys been exposed to the virus?”

“No. We got shots recently. I don’t know that everyone here has been vaccinated, but most of us have. I didn’t know why that happened.”

“You aren’t going to win this war, Pete.”

He shrugged. “I don’t expect to be alive long enough to care.”

“So be on the right side of it. Help me get to King.”

“That would be instant death.”

“There’s only the two of us here. No one else will know.”
 

“Can I count on you to keep your word? You’ll give me sufficient warning before the end so that I can go out my own way?”

“Yes. Now where are Lion and his pride?”

Pete shook his head. “I really don’t know. King took them.”

Max shook his head. Lion and the boys were gone. That was going to be some hard news to break to Hope. They were savvy kids. They’d find a way to get in touch with him. But why would King have taken them—taken the only alarm system he had in place to guard his gold?
 

What was the bastard up to?

Max walked to the door, then looked back at Pete. “Look, the CDC is going to come knocking on your door. Let them in. They don’t give a shit about your drugs. They just want to vaccinate the ones who need it. Let them do their thing.”

“Sure. Why not?”

“Call me if you hear any news about the boys.”

“Maybe.”

Max smiled. “If you hear something and I learn later that you didn’t tell me, I’ll revoke our agreement.”

“It’s not like King tells me anything. But if I hear something, I’ll tell you.”

* * *

Kit’s phone rang when he was on his way back to Blade’s house that night. He didn’t recognize the number. “Bolanger here.”

“Hello, Mr. Bolanger. It is I, Jafaar. How are you this fair summer night?”

“What do you want, Jafaar?”

“I merely wished to tell you how aggrieved I am to see so many citizens of the mighty United States brought so low so quickly by an antique germ many thought extinct. Of course, it was never eradicated. It simply withdrew into labs and other dark corners. It has been tenderly cared for by specialists for decades, while it waited, patiently, for its appointed time to reappear. Like so many who are truly loyal to the cause.”

“Why am I not surprised you’re calling me tonight?”

“I couldn’t help but speculate how things might unfold. Who would suspect an eradicated virus when members of a certain motorcycle gang spread their illness across all states in the U.S., across the northern and southern borders? How quickly terror will spread when it hits the southern border, especially.
 

“It will be fun to watch. Your country will be overrun with panicked immigrants, demanding a cure for their loved ones. A cure for a disease your country unleashed upon them. The U.S. may have enough vaccinations for every one of its citizens, but it doesn’t have enough for its neighbors.

“But do not think I am responsible for this. I am merely an amused bystander—how is it you say ‘popping popcorn.’ I believe the smallest first domino spilling into the next, and the next is all that will be needed to end the oligarchy that is America.

“No wall along your southern border will be high enough when millions start climbing it at once. While the border patrol along with local and national law enforcement have their hands full, the next domino will be falling.”

Kit laughed. “Ah, Jafaar, you’ve been watching too many zombie movies. The CDC already has this under control.”

“No, my friend. It is not I who is lost in the fiction told to us by our leaders. I deal in facts. I have workers in key labs whose only function has ever been to help disburse the appropriate lab samples at the appropriate time. Have you not noticed how many samples lately have been mishandled, inadvertently shipped internationally? Live bacteria, spores, and viruses. From American labs.
 

“You see, our cells are not comprised of the disorganized and disenfranchised few. Oh no. They are far more complex than that. Our foundation is made up of multigenerational members who’ve waited for years to be called upon. They remember the wounds of their ancestors. Their blood is red with hate and white with patience.”

“Holy hell, that’s depressing, Jafaar. Our people spend generations lifting each other up, not plotting doom. Clearly you’re mismanaging your breeding program.”

“We do not have an issue with your people, my friend. I do not blame them for the country they were born to. They are merely fodder for the fire. We must pass through them to get to your leaders. It is them I blame.”

“Hate is a perfidious motivator, Jafaar. It not only bites the hand that feeds it, it consumes its entire food source, then dies of starvation. You’ll botch this just as you’ve botched every other attempt to end this country. So keep running around, singing big songs. Just makes it all the easier to root you and yours out.” Kit dropped the line.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Greer came awake fast. Too fast. Without opening his eyes, he tried to get a sense of what roused him. He and Remi weren’t alone. He drew a long breath, testing the air. Nothing unusual. No stink of a hitman. No chill of a specter. He opened his eyes, surprised to see that morning had already come. A soft blue light radiated from a spot near the door. He looked at the window and realized that it wasn’t daylight illuminating the cabin.

The glow came from the ghost girl who’d been following him around. He eased himself free from Remi and sat up. The girl turned and stepped through the closed door. Greer walked across the room and looked out the front window. She looked at him from the middle of the public square.
 

Greer dressed. He felt an illogical urge to go after her. Was she warning him? Or guiding him toward something?

The glow returned to the dark cabin. Greer touched Remi’s arm. “Remi. Wake up.”

She smiled at the sound of his voice and stretched, then opened her eyes and shrieked, instantly pulling the covers over her head.

“You see her too?” Greer asked.

A lump under the covers nodded.
 

“We have to go with her.”

Remi lowered the covers enough to expose her eyes. She looked over toward the floating, human-sized blue orb, then shook her head and covered back up.
 

Greer pulled the covers back. He handed Remi’s clothes to her. “Get dressed. I don’t want to leave you behind.” She dressed in hurried jerky movements, keeping her eyes on the apparition. He geared up, strapping on his Kevlar, stowing his weapons. When Remi came to stand behind him, he turned and helped her into her protective vest.
 

“Don’t be afraid.”

She glared up at him. “Do you hear yourself? We’re going out into the night in an area where we know mass murderers are loose, wearing Kevlar, you’re armed to the teeth, to follow a
ghost
. The only sane thing to do
is
be afraid.”

Greer grinned. “That’s my girl.”

The ghost disappeared. Greer took Remi’s hand and led her through the front door and out into the night. The village was buzzing with activity, as it had been since he and Remi quit for the night. He checked his phone to see if something more had happened while they slept. No alarms or messages.

The ghost had jumped all the way to the edge of the forest, on the far side of the village. Greer and Remi jogged after her.

When they reached the edge of the community, Sally’s ghost slipped into the woods. Her glowing light dimmed, then disappeared, only to reappear whenever they had to make a course correction.

Two miles into the national forest, Remi stopped Greer. The path they’d taken wasn’t a well-defined hiking trail. No, it was over steep, rocky outcroppings and through underbrush dense with ancient scrub pines. They’d just topped another jagged ledge when Remi snagged Greer’s shirt. She needed a short a break…and they needed a reality check.

“What are we doing? Think about it. This is crazy.”

Greer set his hands on his hips and peered into the dark woods in the direction where they’d last seen the blue glow. “Have you ever seen a ghost before?” he asked.

“No.”

“But you saw the ghost tonight, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I saw her the night I ran into you up here. I saw her at your office. I saw her on the next rooftop over the night your apartment was hit. It’s no accident that we’re seeing her tonight.”

“Greer, where is she going? What’s ahead of us in this direction?”

He pulled out his phone and opened an app Owen had provided the team. Beyond a topographical map, this one had layers for roads and trails, residences and commercial buildings, energy and telecommunication resources, underground gas, sewer, and water lines.

“The only man-made structure around here is another mile east of us,” he said.

“Do you think that’s where she’s leading us?”

“I don’t know. According to my info, there’s no power or telephone to the site. Either they’re running on generators or it’s an abandoned building.” He sent their coordinates to Max. There was no reason to wake the team—yet. When they arrived at what the ghost was leading them toward, he’d be better able to assess the situation and know what kind of help he needed.
 

He looked at Remi, proud of her fortitude and attitude. He wished, as much as she was keeping up with him and staying calm, that he’d had a safe place for her to wait. He had no idea what they were getting into up ahead. This whole thing may not pan out at all…or it could be an important discovery in the mystery of what had happened to Sally and the others.
 

He cracked open a bottle of water and handed it to her. She guzzled half of it and handed it back to him. He finished it off, then put the empty bottle in his backpack. They started off again, following the terrain shown by his phone app. He hadn’t gone but a few hundred yards when he realized Remi wasn’t behind him.
 

“Greer, over here! She went this way!” he heard her call.