Enemy One (Epic Book 5) (18 page)

Canting her head slightly, she asked, “How long ago was that?”

“Eight, maybe nine months.”

“Did you try to get in touch with him?”

Swallowing, he nodded. “I tried calling, I tried sending a few letters. But they all came back unopened. I don’t even think he got them.” His shoulders sagged. “Please tell me what’s going on, ma’am.”

For several long moments, June’s eyes remained still, scrutinizing Mark’s own gaze as if to ascertain the cadet’s level of truthfulness. When the moment passed, she inhaled calmly. “Mark, your brother was involved in something that was…” She bit her lip, and for a moment, paused. “Maybe it’s better if you see for yourself.” Rising from her chair, June motioned for the young man to follow her. “Come with me please. You can take those,” she said, pointing to the crackers.

Doing as instructed, Mark pushed back from his chair with the cracker box and glass of water in hand. Quietly, he followed her as she led him out of the cafeteria.

“You said your brother lost his fiancée?” June asked. Mark nodded. “How did she die?”

“She got sick. Some kind of virus, or…I don’t really know. It just happened all of a sudden.”

After a moment, June eyed him again. “And this was at about the time you lost contact with him?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Did Scott ever mention a woman named Esther?”

Blinking, Mark returned June’s gaze with a look of confusion. “What? No, not ever. I’ve never heard him mention someone with that name.”

“Mm.” June continued to walk on as they left the cafeteria behind, returning to the long corridors that led into EDEN Command’s depths. Once again, she asked, “And you’re
certain
about that? No mention of an Esther, not before he joined EDEN or after he was sent to
Novosibirsk
? Not an ‘Esther’ or a ‘Molly Esther?’ Last name of ‘Brooking.’”

“Ma’am, I promise, I’ve never heard of any of those names. He didn’t really deal with any other women but Nicole.”

June’s chin dipped slightly. “Nicole was his fiancée, I’m assuming?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I see.” Turning down a small hallway, June pointed to a metal door at its far end. “We’ll be going right in there.” Quickening her pace to get ahead of him, the judge stood in front of the door’s side retinal scanner. After a satisfied chirp, the door slid open. Inside was a series of unoccupied chairs, all facing a wall of monitors, all of which were turned off. “This is one of our many briefing rooms,” she said. “They’re sprinkled throughout EDEN Command. Please, have a seat in one of these chairs.”

Shuffling down the front row, Mark slid down into one of the chairs in the middle, his hazel eyes watching June as she approached a panel that was set into the wall. After several taps on the screen, one of the central monitors came to life. June’s fingers continued to move about the screen until a final press sent a feed to the monitor. What appeared was a hallway viewed from a vantage point in the ceiling. Camera footage.

Walking to the side of the monitor, June looked at the cadet again. “This was footage taken from one of the security cameras at our base in
Cairo
.
Cairo
is a base that specializes in, among other things, Xenobiology—the study of the extraterrestrials we’re fighting.”

Mark nodded quietly, his glassy gaze shifting to the monitor as the video played. There was an obvious commotion taking place off screen, as numerous men and women ranging from what looked like scientists to civilians ran like a small, albeit panicked, mob. Squinting with curiosity, Mark watched as a small cluster of operatives in black, metal armor—led by one with a golden, spiked collar—emerged, running and firing their weapons behind them. Everything about the way they moved looked like defensive tactics. Suddenly, a giant, fully armored Ceratopian appeared. The cadet’s eyes widened as the alien fired its neutron blaster, seemingly in unison with the men in black.

Reaching her finger to the display, June tapped the pause button. She angled her head back to Mark. “Does any of that make sense to you?” Mark shook his head in silence. Drawing a preparatory breath, the elder judge once again dipped her head down. “Mark, this soldier, the one with the golden collar, right here,” she pointed, “is your brother. He and a group of agents from
Novosibirsk
broke into
Cairo
, retrieved two extraterrestrials from Confinement—a Ceratopian and an Ithini—then fled the base. Forty-eight people were killed in their escape.”

The medic-in-training’s reaction was one of being taken aback. His head flinched back a bit as he stared at her, then turned his focus back to the screen and the black warrior with the golden collar in its center. Several seconds passed, then he laughed defensively. “No. No way. Ma’am, you guys have the wrong guy. That’s—that’s not Scott, there’s no way.”

June smiled sympathetically. “Mark, that man in the center
is
your brother. And this woman,” she pointed, “wearing the black dress, is Esther Brooking, his primary accomplice in this heist.”

“But that’s—” Shaking his head the whole time, he motioned to the image. “I mean, why would he be wearing something like that? I don’t even know what that is.”

Arching an eyebrow, she asked, “You’ve never seen a Nightman, Mark?”

“What? No. I mean, yeah, I’ve never seen a Nightman. They look like robots. What…”

“Do you know who the Nightmen are?”

After a moment, Mark answered, “I’ve heard of them, a little, I think. But…” Again, his words trailed off.

June bit her lower lip as if unsure how to proceed. Sighing quietly, she said, “The Nightmen are a Russian military cult that were thought disbanded until recently. Their leader, and also once a Nightman, was Ignatius van Thoor, the general of
Novosibirsk
.” She hesitated. “The Nightmen are a dark force, Mark. They do very bad things. In fact, one of their rights of passage—one of the things you have to do to become a Nightman—is to commit an act of murder.” Mark stared at her for several seconds, no response on his face. It was as if he didn’t understand. Exhaling softly, the judge went on. “This means that, in order to become a part of the Nightman cult, your brother murdered someone.”

“
No
,” Mark said firmly. “That’s impossible. Ma’am, I’m sorry, you guys are wrong. There’s no way Scott would murder someone. He wouldn’t even
think
about something like that.”

“These aren’t speculations, Mark. These are provable facts. This man,” she said, pointing again, “
is
Scott Remington. That’s a fact. And he’s with the Nightmen, fighting with them, wearing their armor. That means he
is
a Nightman. That’s also a fact.” Once again, she frowned. “I know how hard these things must be to hear, Mark, but these aren’t the reasons we called you here. These aren’t things we need clarification on. These are knowns.” Stepping toward him, she lowered herself into the chair beside him. “Mark, the reason you’re here is to help us bring your brother in.”

The moment she said it, his eyes widened alarmingly. “Wait, are you guys going to
kill
him?”

June’s hand reached for his knee. “No, no, not at all. We believe your brother was manipulated. Perhaps he was even placed in an impossible situation where he was forced to do the things that he did. Scott Remington was a good soldier, as evidenced by the Golden Lion he earned during the
Battle of Chicago
.” Her eyes returned to the screen. “That obviously meant a lot to him, and the Nightmen knew it—hence why he has that golden collar, there.” She looked at him again. “Your brother
does
need to answer for what he did. Everyone in that image does. But everyone has a right to a fair trial. We’re a noble organization, Mark. We would never punish one of our own—especially someone as reputable as your brother—without knowing all of the facts.” Very faintly, she smiled. “Our eagerness to bring him in is also out of concern for him. We don’t want any of our flock being manipulated, especially by the religion of Ignatius van Thoor.”

The room fell silent. Mark simply stared ahead at the screen, his expression as blank as it had been since he’d first arrived. He looked numbed beyond belief.

Her eyes unwavering, June offered him the faintest of hopeful smiles. “Will you help us, Mark?”

Without words, Mark nodded his head a single time.

The smile on June’s face widened. “Thank you. This is important for the world. It’s important for
him
. There are a lot of difficult questions that Scott is going to have to answer. You deserve to be there to hear them, too.”

“What do we have to do?” Mark asked, his voice subdued. “To bring him in.”

Very slowly, the smile leveled off on June’s face. Beneath dark auburn eyebrows, her eyes turned to stone. “Whatever it takes.”

Twenty minutes later, after a thorough conversation with the medic-in-training, and after he was escorted away by one of Security Chief Hector Mendoza’s deputies, June was walking down the hallway alone. Her face revealed no emotion. She simply stared straight ahead. Bringing her comm to her lips, then flicking away loose strands of her shag haircut that had fallen across her forehead, she opened the channel and said, “Mark Remington is in.”

“By choice or by force?” The voice that replied was Archer’s.

“By fear,” she said. “Little turd doesn’t know where to put himself. He just wants his brother taken alive.” She glanced down at her vomit-stained shoes in disgust.

Archer’s smile could be heard. “Then we share something in common. Thank you, Carol.”

“It’s what I do.”

*
      
*
      
*

“I DON’T CARE how well-invested he is in this,” Klaus shouted, “he is not a Vector! He has no reason to take part in any of our operations!”

Archer ran his hand down his face and sighed. “Captain Faerber, listen—”

“There is nothing to listen to. It is out of the question!”

The four men—President Blake, Judges Archer and Rath, and Klaus Faerber—had been sitting in the Conference Room for almost thirty minutes. Initially, the Vector captain had been under the impression that he’d been summoned there to strategize about Remington’s capture. It was only after he’d arrived and engaged in the discussion that he learned he had been misled.

“Captain,” said Rath, standing across from Klaus near the entrance, where all of the men were gathered, “he is a former mercenary with a lot of experience. He’s highly motivated, and he has the ability to track people down. He also worked with Remington, which none of us can say that we did.”
He

Scoffing, Klaus said, “He worked with Remington for what? A week?”

“Enough to know what he’s capable of.”

Archer interjected. “We’re not asking you to give up
anything
in regards to the manhunt. We’re simply requesting that you allow several Vectors to fall under his authority.” Arms folded, he went on. “He knows how to track people down—that’s what he did prior to EDEN. Vector Squad
doesn’t
. You are, however, the best of the best when it comes to tactical combat.” The Briton tried to smile. “We add some of your soldiers, under his command in this unique situation, and suddenly we have an elite strike team with the specific task of hunting down the Fourteenth.”

The double doors opened as Judge Torokin entered. Blinking, he looked at the clustered group.

“Thank you for coming, Leonid,” said Archer, motioning for the Russian judge to approach them.

Confusion on his face, Torokin asked, “What is going on?” As he approached the group, Archer explained.

“Whilst Rath was at
Cairo
, he interviewed a Lieutenant Logan Marshall—Captain Natalie Rockwell’s third in command who also reported directly to Remington.”

“Rockwell is the hostage?” asked Torokin as if he half-knew already.

Archer nodded. “That’s right. He and Rockwell’s unit was the unit that Remington used as his cover to enter
Cairo
. Marshall was a mercenary prior to his joining EDEN.”

“An
elite
mercenary,” Rath interjected.

“Exactly. He knows how to hunt people down, even those who are supposedly ‘off grid,’ as Remington and his outlaws are now. Marshall has a good relationship with Captain Rockwell; they came to
Cairo
together from
Atlanta
. He has a strong desire to track Remington down.” Motioning to Klaus, Archer continued. “What we’re trying to convince the good captain here to do is ‘donate’ several of his operatives in Vector to Marshall’s command.”

The moment Archer said it, Torokin’s eyes widened in surprise.

Klaus caught it immediately. “Look, see? Leonid’s sentiment echoes my own.”

Archer shot Klaus a look of fatigue. Sighing, he went on. “Having an experienced mercenary with Vectors at his disposal, on an operation like this, would be a tremendous benefit. It puts elite forces in the active pursuit of Remington. This is what we need right now.”

“Who in Vector does he want to send with this Marshall?” Torokin asked Klaus.

“You see, that’s the glory of it,” Archer said, interrupting before Klaus could answer. “I’ve left that completely up to the captain. He may send whoever he sees fit.”

Klaus scowled and turned away, but a quick hand from Torokin caught him by the shoulder. “Wait, my friend.” Looking back at Archer, Torokin asked, “Under whose jurisdiction would this operation fall? Is this a
mercenary
operation or one sanctioned by us?”

“Does it matter?” Klaus asked before Archer could reply.

“Yes, it does. Marshall wears two badges, that of a mercenary and that of an EDEN officer. If he undertakes this as a member of EDEN, it is not a terrible idea.”

Smiling, Archer said, “This would absolutely be an EDEN operation. What makes Lieutenant Marshall so alluring is not his ability to skate the boundaries of international law, though he most certainly has it. It’s his personal knowledge of the situation, of Scott Remington, and his close connection with Natalie Rockwell.”

“Why must the Vectors fall under
his
command?” asked Torokin.