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  “Mr. Jones, you just won’t stay gone,” Salk announces with a smirk. “It was my understanding that you were occupying a prison cell.”

  Flashing a cold smile, I say, “Sorry to, like, disappoint you. I have a problem with doing what’s expected of me. Kind of goes against my nature.”

  The man strides over to me like he wants to strike me. He raises his hand. An unreadable expression crosses his face before he lowers the hand. “Why are you here?”

  “Doesn’t matter why I’m here. I’d like to know what the fuck brings you to North Woods, though,” I remark.

  He flaps his hand in the air. “My business does not include you.”

  “If it involves Mohammad Bashur, then it does concern me.”

  He looks at me with a bit of surprise in his eyes. That’s the only acknowledgment I receive that he knows my adversary. “I guess condolences are in order. It’s a shame your wife didn’t make it.”

  Wrong words. I lunge toward the cold-hearted bastard. The repetitive click of weapons being loaded sounds around the room before a hard body slams into me, knocking my ass to the floor.

  As I struggle to breathe with a knee pressed into my spine, Salk crouches beside me. “Too bad you won’t be able to attend her funeral. You’ve reached the end of the line, Mr. Jones.”

  I bite the words out, “Don’t be so sure of that.”

  “Oh, I’m certain this time. You will be executed even if I have to pull the trigger myself.”

  Salk rises and says to whoever is holding me down, “Make sure their deaths are painstakingly slow and arduous.”

  The pressure eases, and I’m yanked to my feet. A small circle of Riza soldiers clusters around us. Salk took the experienced team with him and left behind a bunch of greenhorns. None of them know me or my reputation. All they know about are my perfidious actions. I won’t get any respect or shows of loyalty from this bunch. Curled lips, wrinkled noses, and murmured insults are all they have to offer.

  “Got an ace up your sleeve?” Mark asks, rubbing the back of his neck and glancing toward the exit.

  The door inches open. Butler steals into the room and places a finger against his full lips.

  “Yeah. I do.” I rake a hand through my hair and imperceptibly point a finger toward the door.

  Mark’s eyes follow my finger. “Once again, Jones, my ass is on the line because of you.”

  It only takes a second for me to understand what he’s up to. I shout back at him, “You, like, volunteered. I didn’t beg you to come.”

  “Right. You’re always begging soldiers to do things you wouldn’t do your damned self.” Mark raises both hands, opens his palms toward the ceiling, urging men to agree with him. “Anybody else tired of receiving orders from a brat? Did you know that he has two grandfathers who served? That’s how he rose up so fast. He ain’t earned shit.”

  If we had time, I’d ask him how he knew about my step-grandfather.

  These tentative soldiers start jawing back and forth. Some of them nod their heads, vigorously agreeing with Mark. Others squish their eyebrows together and glance around the room for answers. Mark’s laid down the invisible line. Sides are being chosen.

  My friend walks up to Fletcher and Niang. “C’mon guys. You’ve been in Riza longer than this kid. Shouldn’t you outrank him? If it weren’t for him, you could be at home between the legs of some honey.”

  Fletcher’s face lights up with awareness. He walks over to a young guard. “You know, Carter has a point. And I know exactly how to squash this bullshit.”

  “How?”

  Why did he ask?

  “Like this.” Fletcher punches the kid square in the face. His action is like tipping a stack of dominoes. Other soldiers notice the outburst and join the fray.

  Mark locks eyes with me, and we weave in and out of the fighting men and boys. He pops open the door, looks up and down the hall, and we step out. Niang and Fletcher rush out behind us.

  “I have to admit it, Carter,” Fletcher says as he slaps Mark on the shoulder. “That was a nice move.”

  Mark grins and replies, “Nothing like a bar fight to get people distracted.”

  Niang asks, “Where to, sir?”

  These men are still expecting me to lead them. I just want to get the hell out of here, but the first thing they teach you in Riza is to take your feelings out of the equation. There’s no place for a guy with a broken heart in the military.

  Clearing my throat, I turn to Butler. He’s been watching us with an amused expression on his face. “Were you, like, successful?”

  “If you’re asking whether we found the Helix, the answer is yes. But if you want to know whether all of them are out, answer’s no.”

  “Why not?” I ask. How is it that they couldn’t free eleven teens?

  “You’ll have to see it for yourself. Meet you at the fence.”

  —

  The crowd of teens standing near the rear fence stops me in my tracks. My jaw drops with the realization that we have no way of transporting all of them. Problem number one.

  Drawing closer, I notice the duplication in faces, expressions, and gestures. I hear it in their voices. Shit! These are clones. Problem number two.

  A quick head count tells me there are at least twenty individuals, male and female, here. According to the notes, the Helix was supposedly made up of eleven prototypes the New Order wanted to propagate—hence the six males and five females we were rescuing.

  Butler approaches me. “This ain’t all of ‘em.”

  My head rocks back. “How many more?”

  “My count ain’t accurate. Maybe another thirty or forty.” Problem number three.

  “How the fuck are we transporting this many kids? And where do we take them?” Problem number four.

  Glancing over Butler’s shoulder, I see a line of teens walking behind one of his men. This isn’t a good situation. How long before Salk realizes the greatest science experiment ever conducted on man is literally walking out of the lab?

  “Call Steve,” I instruct Butler. “Tell him, like, what’s happened here. I need available men with me.”

  He raises an eyebrow and cocks his head. “What are you gonna do?”

  “Make sure this doesn’t continue.”

  Mark intercepts me as I make my way back to the medical wing. He pulls me behind a crumbling wall and sucks in a quick breath. “Man, what the fuck are we gonna do with all these kids?”

  “No idea, but maybe between the two vehicles…”

  He shakes his head. “No way. I asked one of Butler’s men. He said there are nearly a hundred kids coming out of that shit hole. Ash, you want out. Well, this is your bargaining card.”

  Without Rihana, what the hell am I bargaining for?

  The images of the burning car race through my mind. Going back to the medical wing isn’t important, not right now. Leaning against the wall, grief weighs down on me like a sledgehammer. Breathing hurts. My knees slip from under me, and I slide to the ground. I can’t do this again. Last time, my despair threatened to kill me. Hell, it almost did. Drugs and alcohol flipped my world around and landed my ass in jail. Rihana helped me crawl out from under the sorrow. She showed me the light and gave me hope for a better future.

  How do I go on without the woman who rebuilt me—made me strong again?

  Bringing a shaky hand to my forehead, I understand I don’t have a choice. I have to be strong and brave for my daughter. But how do I be her rock when my foundation crumbled?

  As always, my friend—my brother—is by my side. Mark sits beside me. “I gotcha bro’.”

  My phone is buzzing again. I pull it out and look at the display. It’s a phone call I’m not ready to deal with it. “Zared? Dude, like, what do you want?”

  His concern is clear. “Man, what’s wrong?”

  The words just won’t come.

  Mark takes the phone from me. “Aoki, there’s been a situation… No… It’s Rihana… A car… What are you talking about?
”

  I try to tune into Mark’s words, but I can’t focus. The growing hollowness is pulling me under, and I don’t know how to fight it. I drop my head. Nobody outside of Mark can witness my meltdown. He’s been through this with me before, so he wouldn’t judge me.

  I’m aware of his hand on my back. Most men in Riza keep a guarded distance from each other. They have this intense fear of showing emotion, like it will weaken them somehow. But Mark has been with me through the worst times in my life. He gets it—gets me. After Shiloh died, Mark took the place of my big brother. And brothers support each other despite what anyone thinks.

  “Really? No… Thanks… I’ll let him know.”

  Mark leans in and lowers his voice, “Ash, listen to me. Rihana wasn’t in that car.”

  Is he toying with me? I raise my head. “What did you say?”

  He repeats the words, slower, like he’s speaking to a child. “The woman in the car wasn’t Rihana.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  “I suppose there are worse things in life than Riza, but don’t get it wrong. You’ll work your ass off trying to prove your worth.”

  —from “Reflections on Riza” by Lt. Asher Nicholas Jones

  “But,” I swallow hard. “I know what I saw, dude.”

  “It wasn’t her. Zared got intel about the car before it happened. He said he tried to call you.”

  My mind sifts through the clutter in my head. The phone did go off. I heard the buzzing after the explosion. Clearing my throat, I mutter, “What did he tell you?”

  “They’re still in the Azure Street house.”

  “Like, what about the people in the car?” I ask, not fully understanding what Mark is telling me.

  “The people you saw in the car were decoys. You were supposed to die thinking you were saving Rihana.”

  Shaking my head, I run my hands through my hair. “Not possible. I didn’t tell anyone I was planning on blowing up the building.”

  But you did ask Red for enough explosives to take down a large structure.

  “No one gave you away. Bashur has been planning this. Zared overhead him talking to his men.”

  Inhaling deeply, I exhale. “Tell me everything.”

  “Bashur’s meeting with Salk was bogus. Not even the leader realized it was a setup. The second car was rigged to blow up. Bashur knows you’ll do anything to save Rihana so he set it up to look like you were trying to save your wife.”

  “And when I died trying to rescue her—”

  “Bashur would have released information that you were going to kill Salk as part of a plot by the rebels.”

  My posture slumps, and I let my head fall back. I need to hear it one more time. “So Rihana’s not dead?”

  Mark puts a hand on my shoulder. “She’s alive, man. Alive and well.”

  What the fuck is going on?

  Bashur letting innocent people die to get to me doesn’t make any sense. There has to be more to this than what it… Things aren’t as they seem.

  “Give me my phone, dude,” I say and redial Zared.

  “What’s wrong?” Mark asks.

  Zared asks, “Asher? You okay?”

  Holding up my hand to silence Mark, I say, “I’ll be fine. Sorry to freak out on you.”

  “No apologies needed. I’d do the same thing in your shoes.”

  “Listen to me, they’re not on Azure Street.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Just, like, follow me for a minute. The clue Rihana gave us about the bookshelf…”

  “Yeah?”

  “The bookshelf exists. Back in the guesthouse. There’s a small bookcase in the bedroom. Find it. I can guarantee you there’s a blue book there.”

  “Okay, I’ll go myself and find it.”

  “Let me know when you do.”

  Disconnecting the call, I look over at Mark. “We’ve got four hours left to figure this shit out, dude.”

  “Contact Bashur.”

  “Not me. You. Let him think I was stupid enough to go into that fire. Tell him the Helix is free, and the team is arranging transport. Ask Bashur where he wants us to stash the kids.”

  I scramble to my feet.

  Mark stands and asks sharply, “And where the hell are you going?”

  “Back inside. I’m putting a stop to this whole thing. Enough lives have been lost.”

  He grabs my arm. “Not without me, you don’t. I’m not losing my best friend, not today.”

  My eyes drop to his hand. “I appreciate the concern, but I have to do this. Let me go.”

  “No,” he says with a little too much force.

  Clenching my jaw, I demand, “Are you defying an order?”

  Mark flinches. “Since when did you start ordering me around?”

  Why is he fighting me on this?

  If I wanted, I could easily remind Mark of his rank, but this man is my friend. He’s my brother. We’ve been in this military together from the very start. We’ve been through hell and back. Of course, he’s worried about me stepping into a virtual lion’s den, but risk comes with the territory. It’s what we do.

  “Like, step off, Mark,” I order once again.

  His hand stays locked around my arm for another beat or two. With a palpable reluctance, Mark drops his and stumbles backward. He mutters, “Just be careful, man.”

  What the fuck just happened? No time for this shit. I’ll address it later. “Always. Make the call and, like, meet up with me.”

  —

  I’m on my way back to the medical wing. This time I’m playing it smarter, checking for signs of Riza. Although I don’t see any soldiers, I’m not counting them out. Surely, after the explosion, they’re searching for us.

  There are still too many puzzle pieces for me yet to assemble. I don’t know why that phrase—it’s not as it seems—ran through my mind. Everything happens for a reason is something Grandma Bernice tried to tell me years ago.

  Right now, all I can think about is Bashur and why he wants the Helix freed. He can’t be working with the government. It’s not in the New Order interests to expose their greatest science project. Besides, the leaders are scrambling to resurrect order in the country. They’d keep the Helix under wraps for as long as possible.

  A power move is more likely. After all, Bashur hinted at that much. If he knows the whereabouts of the Helix and has the information about the program, then he can wield influence. If he threatens to expose everything, the New Order will concede and give him whatever he wants. Hell, they’d find a way to give him my wife in order to keep their pet project a secret.

  All of this could have been avoided if I’d realized sooner what Bashur was up to. Honestly, I just don’t understand. It was Bashur who convinced me to join the cause. He was the one who ran interference so that I could date Rihana. He was the one who went to Asif on our behalf. I thought the man had my best interest at heart.

  The only person I would have ever suspect at being against me is Rihana’s older brother, Habib. He’s a traditionalist like their father. Her brother wanted her to marry someone from their community. Rihana wanted to marry for love.

  Truthfully, I thought Habib had moved beyond his archaic beliefs. After all, I was the best man at his wedding. As soon as I moved up in rank, I secured a nice home and a better paying job for him. I’ve considered him my family. We buried the proverbial hatchet years ago. I believe we did.

  But what if he simply removed the hatchet to use later?

  I dismiss the thought. Even if Habib had something against me, Rihana’s his sister. He wouldn’t harm her. A nice sentiment that I don’t trust at all.

  —

  Passing the last of the kids exiting the medical wing, I notice the sea of smiling faces and waves. This is a good thing we did despite the risks.

  Speaking of threats…

  The hairs stand up on the back of my neck. My muscles quiver and twitch. A whisper of danger hangs in the air and spikes my fear. The drumming of my heart lets m
e know I’m ready to act.

  Most people would be ready to run in the opposite direction. For me, this kind of shit fuels me. If it weren’t for the possibility of getting my ass killed with each venture, I probably would have dropped out of Riza years ago. Aside from Rihana, risking my neck keeps me away from the alcohol and drugs always waiting to suck me back in.

  The door to the loading dock swings open, and the first soldier steps out. It’s him or me. He aims, but I’m faster. The man drops like a sack of potatoes.

  Screams ring out behind me.

  Somebody protect the kids.

  Another soldier comes out on the dock. His body jerks with the impact of shots not coming from my gun.

  “This is why I told you to wait for me,” Mark screams at me. “You got a death wish, Ash.”

  “And, like, so do you,” I shout back at him. Whatever that moment was earlier is gone and forgotten. Good to have my friend at my side.

  We run for the dock and climb the stairs.

  That was too easy. Where’s the rest of the soldiers? Salk?

  —

  The corridor is eerily quiet and dark. Salk is probably hiding in one of these rooms along with Doctor Galton. I’m anticipating a barrage of bullets as I venture forward into a carefully laid trap.

  “Ash?”

  “Yeah, Mark?”

  “You do realize they’re waiting for us?” He eases a door open. No one’s inside.

  I do a quick sweep of the hall with my gun before opening the next door. “Yeah. That’s, like, never stopped you before.”

  “True,” he replies and mimics my movements.

  We reach the end of the corridor without encountering anyone.

  “Something’s wrong here,” I remark.

  “Yes, Mr. Jones. Something indeed is wrong here.” Salk’s voice comes from behind us.

  Where the hell did he come from?

  Mark and I turn around slowly.

  Odd. The leader is alone.

  “Where the fuck is your security team?” Mark asks.

  No time for questions. I aim the gun at Salk’s head. “If they were dumb enough to leave you alone, it’s to our advantage.”