When he opened the lid, Annika woke instantly with a stretch and a smile, as if she’d been napping on the couch. “Hello, Mr. Alun,” she said in a barely audible tone. “Might you have some water?”
He hurried to grab a bottle from a nearby container and held it out to her. She downed the entire thing with one long series of swallows. When she was done, he held out a protein bar that he’d stuck in one of the many pockets of his pants. She silently clapped her hands and took the food. It was gone in seconds. Then she stepped out of the trunk and down off the helo. Her head swiveled this way and that before she started in the direction the others had gone in.
Alarmed and dismayed at the lack of communication and worried that she didn’t seem to be trying to hide from the boys, Alun followed. Annika slipped through the sentries like a puff of smoke—or so it seemed to him. She moved in a blur without making any sound. Now, her bare feet made sense to him. He hurried to catch up to her, mindful that his actions weren’t as stealthy. But he was supposed to be here, so the other boys didn’t pay him any attention—that was until he picked up speed and chased after the girl. She was visible, barely, and there was no way he was going to let her go into that dreadful place on her own.
“What the fuck!” The shout came from behind. “Annika?”
It was Damien. He’d apparently spotted just enough to realize his stepdaughter was not only there but heading away from the relative safety of the helos and into the fray. The boy caught up to Alun within a few seconds.
“What the hell is going on?”
“I don’t know,” was all Alun could say.
“How did she get here?”
“I stowed her away in a trunk.”
Damien grabbed him by the arm and pulled him up short. “Are you freaking kidding me? Why?”
“Because she was determined to come and she’s your fucking Queen, so you tell me how I was supposed to say no to her?” Alun hadn’t raised his voice in nearly two hundred years. He didn’t recognize himself. Yet he stared down Damien’s fury.
“She’s actually not my Queen, and for sure Will is going to shit monkeys when he finds out. We have to keep her from getting to that complex.”
“Stop her? That’s not very likely. But we can at least protect her if we cease this jabbering and go.” He didn’t wait for a reply. He merely got moving as fast as he could.
* * * *
It all came back to him, like riding the proverbial bike. As Craig flattened himself against the outside of the seemingly decrepit building, his army training kicked in. He knew how to move, what to watch out for, how to breathe so that he made no sound and almost no movement. Val was the leader of his group, as they’d split into two. With them was Christos, Claude and the completely untrained yet absolutely motherfucking determined Dr. Ric. Babysitting said doctor was Craig’s duty, and he sat on him like a mama duck. The poor guy was vibrating with nerves, and Craig was sure that it was all about worry for his man and the baby. There was no telling what condition the one called Dafydd might be in, either, so his concern wasn’t something that Craig could try to wave away. Merlin had said everyone was okay, but that was always a vague and relative term. Besides, anything could happen in a day, and that was also assuming they weren’t walking into a damn trap. At least their group didn’t have the traitorous Petru to deal with. He was Alex’s problem, and given that they’d had to unshackle his legs for the run into the target area, that was not something Craig envied.
The unlucky guard who’d drawn the short straw for perimeter duty was tucked around the corner, courtesy of Claude, who’d been on top of him and snapping his neck before the mercenary could raise the alarm. Notwithstanding how easy they made it look in the movies, Craig knew how hard it was to break a man’s neck. Seeing the alien’s effortless movements reinforced the notion that these beings were Superman strong. Craig hoped they continued to be on humanity’s side, because fighting them would be one hell of a gamble.
Val gave the signal to go. This is it. Time to find out if we’re fucked or not. When Val opened the outside door and holy hell didn’t immediately rain down on them, Craig breathed a half-sigh of relief. He’d save the other half for when they didn’t walk into a hail of bullets. He almost felt disappointed. Can it be this easy? It wasn’t, because a second later, a couple of mercenaries met them around the corner of a hallway. Craig’s group had the element of surprise on their side. And, yeah, inhuman speed. Val and Claude didn’t have to fire a single round. They let their hands to their talking for them. Craig stepped over the bodies to keep up with them.
The next time wasn’t as easy. The five men hanging in what looked like a rec room had time to fumble for their sidearms. Val, Christos and Claude used their silenced handguns to neutralize that threat, although ‘silencer’ was a bit of a misnomer. Their pops were audible and Craig stood at the ready, waiting to see if anyone came down the hallway to investigate, while at the same time, he tried to keep Ric behind him.
“You don’t have to shield me,” the man ground out. “I know how to use my weapon.”
“Yeah, but you shouldn’t have to. You’re here to reunite with your man and kid and do doctor stuff. Leave the mess of killing to those of us who are used to it.”
Ric grunted. “You’re telling me you’re callous? I don’t buy it.”
Craig didn’t have time to respond because the others were already out again and on the move. Thank God, because he honestly didn’t know what to say. On the one hand, he knew he could kill and live with it. On the other, he didn’t want to have to, either. Better him than a newbie like the doctor, though.
They entered a hallway that was different. Unlike the others, this one had round black cameras dotting the way. That caused another inner sigh of relief, because it was just how Merlin had described it in his message. Craig was beginning to believe, oh so slowly, that they weren’t going to get fucked this night, that the rescue was going to succeed.
Val rapped on the door at the very end. One of those eyes moved, then a second later, the door flew open. Craig could only see Christos literally knocking Val out of the way. The normally take-no-shit guy didn’t make a murmur of complaint. He merely followed, as did everyone else. Craig was the last to go, making sure to cover their six. He shut them in and took a look around.
Whoa, dead slob drooping in a chair and lots of bad smells. But this was the belly of the beast, again, as Merlin had described it. There was a reunion going on as far away from everyone as possible, where Christos had what must be his Mateo wrapped in his arms and the poor naked kid was weeping. The important thing was that he clung to the alien with his face buried in his chest. That worry Christos had had about what would it be like for them when this rescue occurred had obviously been for nothing, at least for now. He turned to the monitor to give them privacy, as did the others, except for Ric, who went into doctor mode.
“Let me check you out,” the guy said to Mateo.
“I’m all right,” came the watery reply.
Sure you are, kid. Craig peered at the monitors beside Val and Claude. He could see a few bodies, and Alex and the others in his group walking down a hall. Alex had Petru by the scruff of the neck.