Plagued: Book 1 Read online

  Sky saw them first as their heat signatures shimmered into her vision. Four enormous men surrounding their little group. They were wearing stealth suits, much like the one Hugo had on when Sky and he fought in this very place. That's why she hadn't seen them before. They could have entered at any time or been here all along.

  “You're not going to kill Sky or me.” Hugo kept his eyes on his brother.

  There was the sharp retort of a gun and Hugo cried out as he fell to one knee, clutching his thigh.

  “Doesn't mean I won't wound,” Quill said with a cold smile. “The next shot clips the girl this time. Maybe in the arm? The one after that, her calf.”

  He waved at the three men in suits as Hugo struggled to his feet, a long line of red dripping on the ground beside him.

  “Take him home,” Quill ordered.

  The men moved forward even though Hugo swung the gun in their direction. Sky stepped boldly in front of the gun and pushed the barrel to the floor.

  “No, Hugo. You don't have to save me. I'm the one that needs to finish this.” Her voice sounded very steady and firm, so different from the fear locking up her stomach inside. Her hands had stopped shaking. Swallowing down her terror, she made herself take a deep breath. Today she was a soldier. No more pretending. Two lives were at stake. “Do as Quill says.”

  Head up, she walked away from Hugo and went to stand beside his brother.

  “Sky,” his voice was almost pleading. Pouring so much emotion into that one word that she winced.

  She shook her head almost imperceptibly. “Go. You have to.”

  The well-dressed men pulled him toward the door. Not roughly, just firmly. With a last desperate look at her, Hugo was gone.

  The enormous men in the stealth suits filed by into the open vault.

  “Stay here,” Quill said before walking to the man in the mask and speaking quietly.

  Sky wished she had super hearing instead of sight and smell. Their words were nothing more than a soft buzz. She felt it was critical to know what they were talking about. For her and her country.

  Quill strolled back at a leisurely pace. He made a motion with both hands in the air to encompass the vault and all within, the grace of his movements almost theatrically perfect. “Job well done.”

  Seeing the blue auras around her fading to gray, Sky could not echo those sentiments.

  “What about the bodies?” she asked.

  He made a little bow in the direction of the man in the mask. “Our new ally will attend to that as well as stage dressing the major's suicide in his car.”

  Beckoning her to follow, Quill walked into the back of the vault. The vault went back deeper than she realized, stretching out on either side. Once they passed the massive metal doors, Sky saw how they had taken the blood away. Out of sight of the walkway was a hole in the floor as big as two of the enormous men standing side by side. One of them was in the process of dismantling a crane and pulley contraption they must have used to lower the containers holding the blood bags.

  Quill pointed to a steel ladder leaning against one wall of the rough-hewn tunnel.

  “Careless,” he said as he followed her down. “They made the walls out of steel but neglected to reinforce the floor. Drilling in was ridiculously easy.”

  At the bottom, he took the lead down the dimly lit tunnel.

  “Why didn't you just take the blood and go days ago?” She had to ask. “Why all this drama?”

  “Didn't mon papa tell you? Our government wishes to know as much about those involved in this operation as possible. Orders were to let it play out and voila!” He made a flourish with one hand. “A new player appeared to lead us on another merry dance.”

  Sky stumbled on some debris and Quill was by her in an instant before she could fall.

  “Careful.”

  She roughly shrugged off his hold. “Your dad said he and Hugo wanted, how'd he put it? The head of the snake, not the tail. I didn't know you cared too.”

  “Maybe I do, maybe I don't. However, we are all more or less on the same mission.”

  It was at least fifteen minutes of walking before they emerged into a dilapidated house. The air was foul with decay. Old corpses. Sky headed for the door as fast as she could, pushing by Quill, desperate to get away from the smell. Instead of fresh air, outside was full of diesel fumes. A large military transport and Humvee with Home Guard markings sat parked adjacent to the house, engines idling. Quill pointed towards the jet pack harnesses that had been laid out on the ground next to the truck. They must be returning to base the same way they left.

  Sky went to fasten one on as Quill spoke briefly to his mother. When he returned to put on his own jet pack, he said only, “They've been recharged. Follow me.” Pulling the metal bolt and smacking the red start button, he was gone.

  Sky followed, wishing as she soared into the cold night air, she could just keep going up and up and leave the earth behind.

  Chapter 24

  Blood Donors

  The white van back in the base parking lot held more goodies besides illegally licensed jet packs. A trio of Catz crouched on all fours in the 'off' position waited under a black plastic tarp. Quill waved his hands in front of them and a single red light in the middle of bots heads blinked into life. They rose up to stand, vibrating slightly as the engines purred with power.

  Their flight back to Moffett Field had been short with only one real scare aside from Sky's poor flying skills. Two large military drones buzzed them as they neared the perimeter fence, guns swiveling in the pair's direction. They hovered barely a yard away. Sky held her breath until the jet pack codes were accepted and the drones veered off after other prey.

  Standing at the open van, Quill called the Catz to him one at a time without any control device Sky could see. He fiddled with a small box attached to their backs. The Catz filed out of the van one by one and Quill shut the doors.

  “All right children, off you go.” He waved his hands and the Catz trotted away between the parked cars.

  “What are they for?”

  Without answering, he strode off on his long legs in the direction of the locker rooms. Sky trotted in his wake, trying to keep up. Inside, he changed back to his modified Harlequin costume. To her surprise, he told her to stay in her uniform. She was glad in a way. Her arms and legs were heavy with stress and fatigue. Every movement took too much effort.

  She slammed her locker closed and looked at Quill. The overhead lights of the locker room bounced off his skin highlighting the planes of his face and throat. How could someone so beautiful have no soul?

  He held the door for her on the way out. “What are you thinking?”

  She told him.

  “I have a soul, thank you. And I am glad you find me attractive.”

  “God, that's not the point I was trying to make. I hate you, and your beauty has no meaning because you are heartless. Evil. I've never met anyone truly evil before.”

  He stopped to face her with one of his enchanting smiles. “Oh, but I'm just getting started.” He snapped his fingers and an explosion rocked the compound, so loud it made the detonations from the night of Operation Cineplex sound like firecrackers. Sky automatically dropped to the ground, covering her head and ears. A giant fireball shot high into the sky illuminating the base in a red glow. The first was followed by another and another until the stars were blotted out by black smoke.

  There was only one place that much explosive power could be coming from. The armory was burning.

  Quill stared raptly at the destruction, his eyes sparkling in the flames. Sky watched him silhouetted as black smoke poured from the building, flowing across the pavement, pushed by the evening breeze across the bay. The acrid smell scorched her throat.

  “The Catz,” she coughed. “They were on timers.”

  “No,” he made a face at her. “What fun would that be? I signaled them just now.”

  “How? You're not holding any device.”

  “Didn't my fa
mily tell you? I can manipulate electromagnetic waves. I'm anything from a human EMP, disabling all electronic systems to...” He indicated the burning armory with a grand flourish of both hands. “An amplifier. That's what makes my aberration so very valuable to my government.”

  She stayed where she was, crouched down looking at the fire grow. “You disabled the cameras in the building. That was you.”

  “Really, Sky, you were watching as I did it. I fuzzed them. That's what we call it. Blurring the electronic signal a bit as I pass. Good for surreptitious snooping. Sets off no alarms.”

  “They're going to lock down the gate.”

  He winked. “I'm counting on it.”

  The weight on her shoulders had grown ten fold. Her life could never be the same after this night. If she even survived it. “I don't understand what you're doing and at this point I don't much care. When do I get my mom and sister back?”

  “Oh, that's entirely up to you. Come on.” He pulled her to her feet and keeping a tight hold on her wrist, dragged her behind.

  Sky did not like the sound of that. What choice did she have at this point? They shouldered through the crowds pushing out of the ballroom. They were filling up the parade area either to see what was happening or scrambling to join their unit and change into battle gear. Alarms were echoing all over the base. The scene looked more chaotic than it was. A squad of uniformed soldiers was efficiently herding civilians towards the parking lot and away from the danger.

  Fire trucks and emergency personnel had already converged on the armory by the time Quill and Sky managed to get through the ballroom doors. The building had emptied out completely. A few kitchen personal ran by them on the way out. They appeared to have the place to themselves.

  Quill still kept his hold on her, walking directly to the painted village by the buffet and swinging doors to the kitchen, stopping in front of the “Bakery” sign. He looked at Sky with a self-satisfied smile before pulling open what she thought was only a painted door. Inside, her mother stared back. Her mouth, hands, and arms were tightly duct taped. Her calves were strapped to her knees so she could not stand. A thick, black collar around her neck blinked red and green, red and green, rapidly.

  The gaily painted Village Flower Shop, two houses down, also proved to have a cardboard door that opened. Sky was not surprised to see Kara, bound, gagged and collared there as well.

  Her mother and sister may have been only a few meters away from her all evening.

  “If they move, the collar delivers a shock strong enough to paralyze them,” Quill explained.

  They were quickly joined by four men. Probably the same giant ones as in the vault, or maybe he had a whole army of them. Minions indeed. He aimed a small device at the two women. There was a little 'beep beep' just like for an old-fashioned car alarm. He looked at her grinning. “Funny, right?”

  Sky said nothing, watching as the men sliced through the duct tape on her mom and Kara's legs and wrenched them to their feet. The henchmen held them since neither could stand. They'd probably been trapped in those cramped positions for hours.

  Sky's eyes flicked to the entrance. They were standing in the ballroom on base, hundreds of soldiers nearby. If she ran for help, Quill could shoot her family in seconds. There was no doubt in her mind. He wouldn't hesitate to kill. Surely someone would come in and see them. Raise the alarm.

  “In case you think the cavalry is coming, don't bother. I have men in uniform at the entrance and emergency exits. Besides, this won't take long.”

  With those ominous words, he took Sky and positioned her so she faced her mother and sister. “Now, it's up to you what happens next. You can have your mother or your sister. Not both.”

  Sky moaned and she felt her knees go weak. It took all her strength to keep her feet and not break down completely. She didn't plead or ask him to stop. Beg him to reconsider. That would do no good. This beautiful, broken boy could not be moved by tears. He had plotted this revenge to be terribly intimate. It would rape the minds of the survivors forever.

  She twisted around so she could look him in the eye. “Kill me instead, St. James,” her voice, she was proud to hear, hardly quavered. “That's a fair trade. You want a death. Make it mine.”

  Sky's mother struggled, screaming behind her gag, her eyes desperate. Kara said nothing. Which was not surprising. Sky had no illusions about her sister. She would not have offered her life for Sky's.

  Quill's eyes got wider and he gave her an appraising look. He reached out with his long fingers and stroked her cheek slowly. “I would have been so disappointed if you hadn't done that.”

  A gun fired rapidly and one of the men holding Sky's mom fell to his knees. Her mother lashed out with a kick that, unfortunately, had no effect on the big man. The minion dragged her with one hand towards the kitchen as she kicked in vain. In his other hand, he held a handgun. Firing non-stop, he barreled through the swinging doors.

  Gun in hand, the man with Kara followed right behind. He fired in the direction of the first shot as he backed quickly through the doors.

  Sky didn't hesitate. She swung the butt of her gun like a club, smashing Quill on the side of the head. Not waiting to see if he got up, she dived head first through the kitchen doors. Sliding and scrambling on her belly, she came to a stop behind one of the prep areas set over rows of metal cupboards. Several shots rang out, punching holes through the cabinets back to front. She hugged the floor, crawling crab-like towards the far edge of the counter. Shots followed her high and low. Something grazed her calf and she gave a yelp of pain.

  A man appeared at the end of the cabinets and leveled his weapon at her. A gun barked and a small red dot blossomed in the middle of the minion's broad forehead. He looked surprised as he slumped to the ground.

  Sky craned her head over her shoulder to see who fired the shot. Quill stood, a pistol in one hand, holding the swinging doors wide as if he was invincible.

  “What did I tell you?” He shouted.

  “Don't kill her?” answered a hesitant voice.

  “Exactly.”

  Sky brought her gun around but not before someone tackled Quill from behind.

  She saw clearly who it was.

  Hugo.

  They fought hand-to-hand, snarling like animals, kicking and punching, striking out so fast Sky could hardly see the blows. Thrashing and throwing punches, there was no way for Sky to get a clean shot at Quill. At one point, Hugo threw his brother on top of the counter and began to throttle him. Quill made a motion with one arm and a small dagger shot into his palm. He thrust it into Hugo's side and they both tumbled out of view.

  Distracted momentarily by the fight, she didn't see one of Quill's men reach over the counter. He plucked her right off the floor, holding her in the air with just one hand. She smashed him in the face with the butt of her gun and kicked out at his chest with both feet.

  He acted like he didn't even feel the blow, though she'd opened a long gash across his forehead. He grabbed the gun and held the barrel high. Sky squeezed the trigger convulsively. The bullets pounded uselessly into the ceiling and the wall. He twisted the barrel sharply, Sky had no choice but to let go. He threw her across the kitchen and she bounced painfully off one wall, falling painfully to the floor. Despite his massive size, the man leaped nimbly over the countertop, grabbed her by the vest and tossed Sky into the corner with her mother and sister.

  He then walked over and pulled Hugo off Quill.

  “Deal with him,” she heard Quill say.

  Pulling his torn clothes into place and smoothing his hair, Quill stalked over to where the three of them huddled. Blood ran from one ear, his nose, and a gash over his eye. That one was probably from Sky's gun.

  He dragged Kara and Sky's mom to their feet almost as effortlessly as the big bodyguards.

  “Choose, Skylar. Now.”

  The remaining two bodyguards leveled their guns at the women. Whoever Sky chose, the other would be shot.

  A shock grenade e
xploded almost on top of them, throwing Sky, Quill, and the others to the ground. The lights went out and they were in darkness except for the bright retorts of gunfire. Sky frantically grabbed Kara by her pajama top. Kara seemed unable or unwilling to get to her feet. Luckily the linoleum was slick and Kara in flannel. Sky pulled her with a strength she didn't know she had. Sky had the layout of the kitchen in her head and made for the doors. The emergency lights switched on and she looked back even as she kept moving forward. Her mother was on top of Quill, apparently head butting him over and over, ignoring the pain.

  Sky had made the choice she knew her mother would have wanted. Every mother wants her children safe above all else. Sky fought her instincts to go back and dragged Kara faster. She saw her gun where the man had tossed it. The weapon was too far from the exit. She couldn't risk it. One of the bodyguards leaped from the floor to the counter, sprinting over the tops to jump down right in front of her.

  She dropped her hold on Kara. Her sidearm was still strapped to her thigh. Ripping it out of the holster, she brought the gun up, aiming for his head, and pressed the trigger. He flinched and then smiled as the gun clicked uselessly. Quill must have removed the magazine. He took a step closer, still smiling, knowing there was no way she could fight him hand-to-hand.

  The retort of a gun barked nearby and the bodyguard stopped, his hands flew to his back. More shots followed and he howled.

  “In the ass!” a girl's voice shouted. “Come on! Come on! Come on, Sky!”

  Sky pulled Kara behind her, still prone on her back, around the screaming bodyguard to see Mary Mathews, gun strap over one shoulder, frantically waving her forward. Melissa standing next to her.

  Chapter 25

  Blood Blisters

  Sky slapped Kara across the cheeks. “Get the hell up! Unless you want to die, stand up and run you idiot.”

  Kara finally stumbled to her feet and followed Sky. Mary turned and ran to the swinging doors. Melissa provided cover, shooting into the back of the kitchen. Hugo stood over the bleeding body of the guard Quill had set on him. The man's throat was cut from ear to ear and he was making horrible, gurgling sounds, pressing both hands against the gaping wound.