ExtremeCircumstances (10 page)

Almost immediately Julian’s body started to relax. “You mean
you’d like to keep seeing my cock.”

Gates smiled at the teasing words. “I’d like to keep seeing
your tongue as well.”

Julian’s body shook with laughter. “I bet you would.”

He couldn’t resist a smile. “It’d be mutual.”

Julian rocked his ass against Gates’ cock. “So I keep
showing you mine and you’d keep showing me yours?”

“If that’s what you want.”

“Yeah.” The word was heavy and slurred with sleep. “That’s
what I want.”

The last of the tension faded from Gates as Julian’s
breathing became rhythmic. They still had to make it back to the shuttle but
even that obstacle seemed somehow more possible now. They had to make it back
if he was going to continue seeing Julian’s cock. And he had every intention of
continuing that.

As the world dropped away and he relaxed into sleep Gates
knew everything was going to work out. It had to.

The next morning he woke with the same sense of well-being.
They were finally done with this mission. Now they could put this planet behind
them.

“We’re going to be moving out in an hour.” He pulled the map
up on his reader and placed it on the table and motioned to Twelve. “But before
we go I’m going to need you to outline the path your men took with the Death.”

They actually should’ve already left. He’d messaged his
commander and told him they’d departed from the compound at first light. That
was the protocol and he needed everyone to think he’d followed protocol. And it
wasn’t as though he had to worry about the missing time. They expected him to
lose an hour or two on the trail. Things happened. Men got sick. But he needed
to make a plan while he still had the safety of the compound to protect them.
In an hour they’d leave the shields behind and he’d be looking over his
shoulder until they were in the shuttle on their way back home.

It took a few minutes of studying the map and conferring
with his men before Twelve could place the landmarks he was looking for.
“Here.” He ran his fingertip over the screen. “This is the path they planned to
take.”

The trail seemed simple enough. “I can’t promise we’ll be
able to find it but we’ll try.”

“And we’ll protect you from the Betas and guide you back to
your shuttle.” Twelve held out his hand and Gates took it in a sign of
partnership.

“Then let’s get out of here.”

“Someone is going to have to stay behind and shut down the
computer systems and seal this place up.” Kam gestured to the machinery around
them. “Wouldn’t want a native stumbling in here and making it into their home.”

“No, we wouldn’t.” Gates looked around at the group. He
hated splitting them up but there really was no other choice right now. “I’m
sure you and Julian would be able to get the job done.”

“We’ll need your codes to reset the security field.”

Shit. Why hadn’t he thought of that? If they didn’t reset
the field the next group of men would have to waste precious time hacking into
the system just as they had. And he might not know what was in those stasis
chambers but he knew the government would be back at some point to pick them
up. “Okay. Homer, you’re leading the others to the campsite.” He pointed to a
spot on Homer’s map. “We’ll meet up with you there.”

“Yes sir.”

He watched his men leave and then went through the checklist
with Kam and Julian as quickly as possible. Still, it took longer than he
thought it would and it was almost midday before they left the compound and
reset the code. He didn’t envy the hike they were embarking on. He would be
happy when it was all over though.

They’d only made it two klicks before a loud roaring above
their heads turned their attention to the sky.

“Are those our shuttles?” Kam asked as three vessels flew
overhead.

Gates couldn’t see the insignia from his current location
but he couldn’t imagine anyone else being out here. “I would guess so. Not sure
what they’re doing here though.”

“Backup?” Julian asked.

“They can’t land close enough to help us. Besides, the
mission is over.” He’d just paused to consider other scenarios when the
deafening roar of destruction filled the jungle ahead of them. The rending
noise of trees being knocked into one another was only surpassed by the shouts
of animals in pain. He’d never heard anything that came close to the terror and
fear emanating from the jungle.

“What the fuck?”

As the hordes of panic-stricken animals appeared, the men
turned in unison and started running back to the compound. They ran in the
midst of the animals for a time. The beasts seemed too afraid of whatever
chased them to give the men much thought. Which was something Gates was
profoundly thankful for. But when they reached the compound, the animals split
into two groups to go around the structure’s security field. That wasn’t an
option for them. Their only chance at safety lay inside the building. “Lower
the field, Kam.” The order barely made it over the sounds of the jungle coming
apart just behind them. “And unless you want these animals following us in,
you’d better make it quick.”

“Oh shit!” Kam immediately started fumbling to type in the
new security code as the storm of destruction came closer and closer. As soon as
the field came down Kam pulled him and Julian to the other side before bringing
it back up again. Now on the other side of the field, Gates allowed himself to
take in the horror of the moment.

Everything seemed to be going slower than it should. He couldn’t
make the pieces add up. “Why would they send more shuttles after the mission is
done? And what’s chasing the animals and destroying the jungle?”

Julian’s face paled as he stared out into the jungle. “I
don’t know, but I don’t want to be standing outside when it gets here.”

Following Julian’s gaze, Gates saw several of the trees
start to turn black, their large leaves wilting before his eyes. “Agreed.” They
raced back to the safety of the compound and then through the corridors. As if
by some silent consensus they ran back to the room that housed the stasis
chambers. It held their only chance at survival.

They only had a few more steps left to go when Kam started
to cough from somewhere behind him. Gates continued to race to the door as he
turned to look back at his tech specialist. He hadn’t realized Kam had fallen
so far behind. How had he lost track of one of his men? Guilt swept through him
as Kam collapsed on the floor and grabbed at his throat as if he was choking.

This was his fault. He’d failed one of his men. Hell, he’d
failed more than he cared to count on this particular mission. And there wasn’t
a damn thing he could do about it. He could try to race back to grab Kam. But
he’d already mentally worked out the futility of the attempt. The man was gone.
Kam’s eyes were already bulging and his muscles were convulsing. And if the
tickle in the back of Gates’ throat was anything to go by he’d be next if he
didn’t keep going. “Gas. Hold your breath.”

The door whooshed open easily as he slapped his hand against
the entry pad. As soon as he and Julian had crossed the threshold he sealed the
room once more. Still, he couldn’t be certain the seal would hold the toxin at
bay.

Julian shook his head slowly. “They intended to kill us. We
were two hours behind schedule. Had we been two hours out, we wouldn’t have
stood a chance.”

“I know.” He hadn’t allowed the thought to solidify in his
head, not yet. But he’d come to that conclusion at some point. It was the only
explanation for his easy acceptance of it. “We’ll have to deal with that later.
Right now we have to do what we can to survive. We need to get two of these
life forms out of their chambers.”

“But that will kill them.” Julian’s gaze swept the room as
if trying to digest the order.

“It’s either them or us at this point.” A cough rattled
through Gates’ body.

“Does it matter? When they find us—”

They would cross that bridge when and if they ever got
there. “Focus on surviving, Jules. We need to get into the chambers before the
gas starts to leak into the room.” His voice was steady and sure despite the
fear and anger that ate away at him.

Julian finally nodded and moved to a stasis chamber. Gates
chose the one next to Julian’s and returned the man’s nod. There was no
ceremony and he felt no remorse as they pulled the inhabitants out of the
chambers and then slid into the beds.

“Gates?”

“Yeah, Julian?”

“When we get back to the base you’re going to take me out.”

He smiled at the thought. “It’s a date.” As he pulled the
lid closed, though, he allowed the profound pain of the day to consume him. He
didn’t need to see the bodies to know he’d lost all of his men except one that
day. And the reptile people were gone as well. An entire civilization had been
eradicated. Just as Twelve had promised, he’d been the bringer of Death to this
world.

Blackness descended on him as the chamber put his body into
stasis.

Their mission was over but he’d failed. There were only two
of them left and they should, by all rights, be dead with the rest of the
planet.

Julian woke to a bitter cold that had to be death. He was
surprised by how little that upset him. He didn’t really want to be dead but he
found he didn’t have the energy to care that he couldn’t feel his body and his
mind was fuzzy.

“If you don’t let me in to see my son this instant I’ll have
you scrubbing latrines until you’ve reached retirement. Have I made myself
clear?”

A cold shiver of dread worked through his body as he
recognized the voice. Really? He couldn’t escape his father? Not even in death?

“You can threaten me all you like, but I’m just following
regulations, sir. I can’t let you in there until he’s been debriefed.”

Julian gave the man a mental applause for standing up to his
father. It was something Julian had never been able to do.

“Fuck your goddamn regulations. That’s my son.”

He was startled for a moment by his dad’s words. He’d never
heard so much pain in his father’s voice. Anger, sure. But never pain.

“And you’ll be able to see him once all traces of H8 have
been cleared from his blood and he’s been debriefed.”

Julian’s stomach seized at the mention of H8. The chemical
weapon was commonly used to raid Coalition-controlled planets because it left
nothing living in its wake. One flyover and the traitors were burned alive from
the inside out. That he’d survived, if he had indeed survived, was a miracle.

His father growled loudly in what Julian had come to
recognize as frustration and then there was silence. He could only assume that
his father had left. Not for good, of course, but most likely to get
reinforcements.

Julian drifted in and out of consciousness for some time
until a nurse finally pulled him viciously out of the numb state with an
injection. “He should be able to talk in just a few minutes.”

“What the fuck did you just inject in me?” The sensation of
pins and needles overwhelmed him as his skin started to regain feeling.

“There we are.” The nurse disposed of the needle and his
gloves before turning back to the other person in the room. “If you don’t need
anything else?”

“You’re dismissed.”

Julian turned toward the voice but the man’s face was
shrouded in shadows. “Who are you? Why are you here? Where’s Gates?” Now that
he was fully awake he cared about everything all at once. He couldn’t seem to
stop the flow of questions that bombarded him.

“My name isn’t important. I’m here to talk to you. And Gates
is in a room down the hall, recovering remarkably well.”

With that admission Julian’s body relaxed.

“Is there anything else or can we get started?”

“This is the debriefing, then?” It made some sense. If he
ignored the fact that the man obviously didn’t want to be recognized, that was.

“Consider this a prep session for the debriefing.”

A prep session? He’d never had one of those before. “Okay,
let’s get this over with, then.”

“Tomorrow some government suit is going to meet with you in
a nondescript conference room and ask you what you saw on your mission. Your
answer to him is going to be, ‘Nothing, sir.’”

So this was a cover-up, then? “But I did see things on my
mission. Several.” He sat up gingerly so he didn’t feel as vulnerable in the
man’s presence. “I saw flesh-eating spiders, genetic crossbreeds and an entire
civilization that was slaughtered using H8. But that’s probably not what you
want me to keep silent about, is it? I’m guessing you’re hoping I don’t
remember the stasis chambers and their occupants.” It was the best guess he
could come up with. Seeing as that’d been their mission and then the entire
team had been wiped out after completing it.

“Unfortunately the men were attacked by hostile inhabitants
of the planet before they got to the stasis chambers.” The man’s voice sounded
so sincere Julian would’ve believed him had he not been on the planet. “So you
and Commander Gates had to turn around before you reached the compound. You saw
nothing.”

“Funny thing is, we were attacked. A lot. The entire team
would be dead if it hadn’t been for Gates. And this little meeting has me
wondering if that’s what the original plan was. It would certainly explain why
we weren’t given any warning.” So much of the mission was starting to make
sense now. It was all about covering up the existence of those stupid stasis
chambers. They’d killed an entire planet just so nobody knew they were still
there. Pain and anger rolled through him like a storm.

“You’ve been through a horrific experience. I can understand
if it takes you a couple of days to clear your memory.”

“I don’t need a couple of days. I remember everything just
fine.” He practically spit the words at the man. “I’m sorry if it screws up your
plans, but I remember the spiders swarming over my brother and making him beg
for death. I remember watching a hybrid slice another from his neck to his leg.
I remember the species that asked to negotiate with us in good faith. But the
thing I remember the best is the rows of stasis chambers that had to be moved
to a secure location. And I will testify to that before any court you put me in
front of.” He sat up a little straighter as he spoke. “We completed our
mission, sir. I saw the damn chambers.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

“I’m sure Gates remembers seeing them as well.”

The man laughed as he stood. “I wouldn’t count on it. Those
chambers killed his men. He strikes me as the kind of guy who likes to stay
alive.”

Gates’ comment about knowing too many things to worry about
courts-martial surfaced in Julian’s mind. What kind of things did he know? Was
this going to be just one more to add to his leverage file?

As quickly as the idea bloomed, though, he killed it. Gates
was a soldier. He’d had to work gray missions in the past. They probably all
did at some point. But this mission went darker than gray. Gates would do the
right thing. “Those chambers didn’t kill his men and he knows it. I’m not sure
who ordered our team to be slaughtered, sir, but I do know they weren’t hiding
out in those chambers. I guess the rest is for a court to decide.”

“You’re making a mistake, son.”

“It wouldn’t be my first.”

The man stood and started walking toward the door. “But it
may very well be your last.” With the cryptic words still hovering in the air,
he left.

“That was a fun chat.” No one could hear him now but he’d
intended the words for himself anyway. It didn’t matter what the man
threatened, he couldn’t bring himself to lie. Knowing about those chambers had
cost too many good men their lives. They deserved to have their story told. The
universe should know why they’d died and who ordered their deaths.

The door to his room opened again. Slowly this time. At
first he was afraid the shadow man planned to kill him before he even had the
chance to be debriefed. When he saw Gates, though, he started to relax.

“I just had an interesting visit.” Julian smiled at Gates as
he walked over to stand next to his bed.

“I’ll bet. I’ve had several of them over the last couple of
days.”

“You’ve been awake for days?”

“Yeah. You had a reaction to the gasses they use in the
stasis chambers. Took them longer to revive you than usual.” He took a deep
breath and ran his fingers through his hair. “Scared the crap out of me.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” His body went stiff but then he
relaxed. “And I’m relieved that you’re okay.”

“For now.” He laid his hand on top of Gates’. “I just had a
visitor who implied I wouldn’t stay in good health if I tell them what actually
happened.”

Gates pulled his hand away and looked down. “Yeah. I had a
similar visit.”

“And you told him that you wouldn’t lie, right?”

“I told him I would give his proposition the consideration
it was due.”

Julian’s heart froze with pain. “But our team died. Their
families deserve to know the truth.”

“Jules, I told him I would consider it. I didn’t tell him
I’d do it. I agree with you.”

“Then why didn’t you just tell him you wouldn’t lie from the
start?”

Gates laughed dryly and looked up at the ceiling. “Sometimes
I forget how simple everything is in youth.” He shook his head and then his
gaze found Julian’s again. “I needed time. Time to come up with a plan. And
time for you to wake up. These people aren’t used to hearing no. I wasn’t sure
I’d live to see the debriefing if I told him where he could stick his little
cover-up.”

Julian’s heart started to beat a normal rhythm again. “And?
Have you come up with a plan?”

“Yes.” He paused for a second. “But you aren’t going to like
it.”

“I have to like yours better than his.”

Gates was silent for a moment. “I’m not the only one who has
been worried about your health.”

“And?” Julian wanted to strangle the man for not giving him
a straight answer. “Out with it, Gates.”

“I know you don’t have the best relationship with your
father, but he’s been here every day, raising hell.”

Julian grimaced as he allowed himself to take a guess at
Gates’ plan. “I won’t hide behind my father’s name.”

“I’m not asking you to hide. But he has connections.
Powerful ones. He could level the playing field.”

Anger heated his blood as he gave the idea serious thought.
Gates had told him he wouldn’t like it, but damn. He had no idea he could hate
it so much. “I’ve earned everything the hard way. I’m not going to start taking
his handouts now.”

“It’s not a handout.” They both looked up to find Colonel
Black standing in the door.

“How wouldn’t it be a handout, Father?” There was more acid
in the word “father” than he intended but he refused to apologize for it. “I’m
in trouble and you’d be using your name and connections to get me out of it.
How would this be any different than the night you made me sit in a jail cell
because I was in a car with someone who’d been drinking?”

“Because you weren’t irresponsible with your life this
time.”

“I don’t know, trusting the military seems pretty
irresponsible from where I’m sitting. Oh wait! That was your idea, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. It was. And I’ll have to live with that guilt for the
rest of my life.”

“I find it hard to believe you’ve ever felt guilt.”

“I know I’ve always been hard on you. It was the only way I
knew how to be a father.” His dad paused as he swiped a hand over his face.
“But when they brought you in you were so pale. And you wouldn’t wake up. For
days I’ve sat, thinking about all the time I wasted trying to be the perfect father
instead of being
your
father.” His dad looked up at him and Julian
thought he saw the sparkle of unshed tears in the man’s eyes. “Almost losing
your child really helps redefine your priorities.”

Julian watched in disbelief as his father stepped into the
room. His once-proud posture was now hunched as if he’d lived ten years in the
past few days. “Whatever you need, you’ve earned it from me. You earned it the
moment you took your first breath. I was just too big a fool to see it before.”

It was such a huge shift in personality that Julian didn’t
know if he believed it. But as his father walked over to his bed and looked
down at him Julian saw the guilt in his eyes, and years of anger and
frustration melted away. He needed help. Gates needed help. If his father was
the only one willing to give it to them he’d take it. “They want us to lie.”

At that simple sentence the floodgates opened and he told
his father everything. When he was finished with the story, his dad nodded and
then looked to Gates. “I know someone who’ll help. Get some sleep, men.
Tomorrow is going to be full of difficult decisions for you both.”

Julian watched his father leave in silence. He wanted to
start fresh with his dad but could he really move past the years of anger?
There was so much history between them. Could they really start over?

Gates allowed him a few minutes of thought before asking,
“Do you think he’ll come through?”

“Failure isn’t an option with him. He says he’ll do
something, he’ll do it.” That was one thing he could respect about the man. He
might have high expectations but he held himself to them as well as everyone
else. His dad wasn’t a hypocrite like so many in positions of power.

“And you’re going to let him?” Gates ran a hand over
Julian’s head in a comforting stroke.

He’d asked himself that very question. But when he heard it
spoken, he realized how pointless it was. “I’ve never been able to stop him
from something once he sets his mind to it.” He sighed heavily at the truth.

“Then what’s wrong?” Gates cupped Julian’s cheek and the
comforting sensation helped to settle Julian’s nerves a little.

“What if no one cares? What if we tell the truth and it’s
brushed under the rug?”

Gates nodded slowly. “Scoot over.”

When he’d made as much room on the bed as possible, Gates lay
down next to him and pulled him into a loose embrace. “I care. Your dad cares.
And together we’ll make the universe care.” He kissed Julian on the temple
lightly. “We’ll keep talking to anyone who’ll listen until they do.”

The reassurance was just what he needed to hear to drift off
into a light sleep. He didn’t feel anywhere near rested when he woke up the
next morning though. His muscles were tight with nervous energy and his heart
beat fast enough that he was both lightheaded and sick to his stomach.

“You ready for today?” The languid warmth of sleep held in
Gates’ voice made Julian want to snuggle back into to his chest and spend the
day in his arms. But that wasn’t meant to be.

“Yes.” Of course it was a lie. He couldn’t tell Gates the
truth. He doubted he’d ever really be ready for what he was about to do.

Gates must have sensed something, however, because he lifted
Julian’s chin up until his mouth was just a breath away from Gates’. “We’ll
make it through this just fine. I promise.” The kiss was soft but it held the
warmth of his promise and that was enough.