Riding on Whispers (the Wolfegang series Book 3) (22 page)

I was frozen as I watched Donnelly leave. No one else moved, but they all watched me warily. What should I do? I was so far out of my depth.

I had to do something.

My feet moved, and suddenly I was running out of the bar and down the hall to our quarters.

“I’ve located Wolfe. He’s in a room behind the lieutenant’s office,” Ricky informed me over the comm.

My heart skipped a beat, and I paused. “Do you know how long he’s been there?” I whispered.

“About half an hour, but you need to get out of there and back on the ship right
now
.”

Ricky sounded afraid. Ricky was never afraid when it came to Wolfe.

“We can’t just leave him.” I made it to our quarters, and the door slid open. I grabbed for the weapons on the bed.

“You have to,” Ricky said. “What if they find you have no actual records?”

I stopped in the middle of checking the ammunition. “What if he’s the bait?” I asked.

Ricky was quiet for too long. I started going through the magazines faster.

“Kat, you don’t know what you’re doing. You won’t come out of there alive.”

I took a deep breath, leaned on the desk, and tried to calm my nerves. I breathed deeply, in and out, trying to dissipate the fear I could feel building. “I have to,” I said. “I owe Wolfe everything. He saved my life, and now it’s my turn to save his. There’s nothing you can say to change my mind.”

I could practically feel him sigh. “All right, let me pull up a virtual blueprint of the base. I’ll help you get in and out. You’ll need to do this quick and dirty.”

“Oh good,” I said with a smile that was more of a grimace. “This should be fun.”

I had no other plan, and I was clueless about how to do a rescue. I’d never attempted one before.

I strapped a pulse rifle to my back, and had a pistol on each hip. Stuffing extra ammo in my pockets and in my shoulder holster made me feel better. Though I could have access to all the ammo in the world, and I’d probably still feel under-armed. As an afterthought I tucked a knife into my boot.

Meet Donnelly in his office was what I was supposed to do. I assumed there would be some villain speech, and then he would arrest me. I’d be no good to Wolfe then.

“Do you have that blueprint pulled up?” I asked Ricky.

I placed my back against the wall and waved my hand. I peered around the corner as the door slid open. It wasn’t necessary, but I felt safer doing it. The possibility of someone waiting to grab me was one I didn’t want to ignore. The hall was eerily empty though.

“Take a left and keep walking down that hall,” Ricky said. “Take it all the way down to the offices. When you reach the gym, take another left. That will lead you to the high-ranking soldier’s offices. At the very end of that hall is where Donnelly will be.”

The click of my boots against the linoleum bounced off the concrete walls as I walked. I worked to try and clear my mind, to focus it. This wouldn’t be a sparring match, this would be my life – and Wolfe’s – on the line.

There was a checkpoint to the offices, and I placed my hand over the blue light. The doors slid open, and I looked around carefully. I was pretty confident I wouldn’t have been allowed through that particular checkpoint a half hour ago. My footsteps were soft and light as I kept an eye out. There was a label on each door that I passed. The labels stated name and rank. I kept going until I reached Lt. General Donnelly’s at the end of the hall.

His door looked innocuous enough. It didn’t slide open at my approach. It was then I noticed the same blue light that shone from a scanner next to the door. Would it work, or would I sound an alarm?

My hand went over the scanner and the door slid open. The room was empty, but I could see another door straight ahead of me. I stood at the threshold, pausing as I looked around. It was so quiet.

I grabbed both pistols; one in each hand and ready. I slowly did a three sixty as I crossed the room. No nasty surprises if I could help it. I stared the next door down, my heart pounding in my chest. The anticipation flooded me like electricity. There was still no one to greet me, or ask what I was doing in Donnelly’s office. What kind of game was the man playing?

I couldn’t hear anything on the other side of the door so I pressed my ear to the cold metal. All I heard was a dripping sound like water.

My brain ran over the possibilities of what was behind that door like lightning. Possible outcomes and strategies came at me faster than ever before. The amount of information I was processing had me reeling from the sudden overload. If this was what higher brain function felt like, I wasn’t so sure I liked it.

Breathing deeply, I got a hold of myself. Wolfe waiting behind that door was one possibility. Donnelly could also have Wolfe in a holding cell somewhere completely different. If that was the case I’d have a lot more work to do. One possibility had nerves shooting down to my belly and it made the muscles in my stomach tighten. What if soldiers waited for me? What if I had to fight? I had no training with multiple attackers, and the prospect of a real fight scared me.

I looked at the pistols in my hands. I was prepared, if not necessarily ready. If I let instinct take over like in my sparring matches with Celeste, there was a chance Wolfe and I could get out of this unscathed. The adrenaline already coursed through my veins; all I had to do was let it take over.

Inspecting the door, I found there wasn’t a scanner, or anything obvious that opened it. My fingers traced the doorjamb, looking for weak spots. When I figured out where they were, I took a few steps back, thought about it and took another step.

I ran as fast as I could and jumped, drop-kicking the door – a football move my brother had taught me. The door blew off the jamb, and I landed on my back, skidding into the room. Without thinking I flipped to a crouch. My feet were heavily planted on the door, and I quickly scanned the room. Pulse blasts fired at me. Instinctively I shot at the locations of origin, and then rolled to my right.

With my back to the wall I aimed, and downed two more guards. With my new senses I knew where everyone was with barely a glance. There were three more soldiers, the lieutenant, and Wolfe. I twisted so that I was hidden behind one of the metal pillars. Blood made the floor slick, the heat from their pulse shots warmed my skin, but I barely felt it. I peeked out and noted new locations, then pulled my head back just in time to keep it from getting blown off. The pillar shuddered with the force of the blast.

I didn’t give myself time to think, and didn’t allow myself to wonder about anything. If I did, I’d freeze. I had to act, not react. Otherwise, Wolfe and I would be dead. I shoved back at the fear and breathed.

I found the source of my strength, where I thought my new abilities came from. Though I suspected the modifications only amplified a part of me that was already there; the part of humans that remembered the days of being hunted, where every day was a life or death struggle to survive. A cool breeze seemed to wash over my skin, and I could feel it smooth out the nerves, the fear, and my doubts. It told me what to do, and I obeyed, leaving everything else behind.

I spun out from behind the pillar, and fired three shots. Then looked up slowly and saw Donnelly with his fallen men around him. That feral place inside me didn’t allow me to wonder if the men I shot were still alive or not. It didn’t matter. They were no longer a threat, whatever the case may be.

My eyes fell on Wolfe chained up against the wall behind Donnelly. Wolfe’s face was swollen and beaten; his wrists were bleeding from the shackles. A pool of blood spread on the floor beneath him. His shirt was gone, showing deep cuts and bruises. Wolfe looked unconscious at the moment, and the sight of the damage that was done to my captain made me falter.

Donnelly inspected his fingernails as he spoke. “You are quite magnificent,” he said. “You have beauty and grace that is scientifically rare with the human race.” His voice was oddly soft, yet deep. Something you would expect a father to sound like.

My eyes snapped from Wolfe to focus on Donnelly. That feral side of me was still in control, and it sized him up, locating possible weaknesses and strengths. My assessment wasn’t sure the odds were in my favor.

Donnelly stood tall and strong, with broad shoulders nicely incased in a suit. His hands were relaxed, but they looked like they could easily break someone. His skin was tanned, and his blonde hair was sculpted off his face in a very handsome wave. His blue eyes were piercing, as if they tried to see into my soul and find what was hidden there. His glasses perched on his nose just like the first time I’d seen him.

“Do you like what you see?” Donnelly asked.

I stayed silent. I didn’t want to give him any advantage.

He walked over to Wolfe and inspected him, but he spoke to me. “You’re so cold – a kindred spirit. Do you truly care for your captain?” Donnelly asked. “Or is it merely a show to appear normal? Do you just enjoy killing, so any excuse will do?”

What was he talking about? I didn’t enjoy killing. I started losing control of the part of me that knew what it was doing, that didn’t care about the consequences as long as the goal was achieved. It slipped away as I took a closer look at the bodies on the ground, and the horror struck me like a hammer. I almost buckled at the nausea.

Donnelly continued speaking, ignoring me. “Did you know that Wolfe and I used to be very close friends?” He pushed Wolfe’s body so he swung from the ceiling. “He left me to die. ‘Leave no man behind’ is not one of his policies.” Donnelly looked right into my eyes. “Remember that.”

I struggled to do something, anything, but I was frozen in place. Staring at the men on the floor, I mentally begged them to move, cough,
something
to tell me they were still alive.

One of them groaned, and I found my voice with the sudden relief. “So you like to hold a grudge,” I said. “I never would’ve guessed.” My attempt at mockery managed to hide my debilitating fear.

“Ah, sarcasm, one of the most obvious social defense mechanisms,” Donnelly said. He traced the line of Wolfe’s jaw.

I stepped softly to the side, and hoped he wouldn’t notice. Donnelly turned to me, and I held my breath.

“There is so much history between Wolfe and me,” he said. “The only reason I’m interested in you is because he fought so hard to keep your real name from me, nothing more. Why does he want to hide you from me so badly?”

His question sounded rhetorical so I stayed silent, and took a step closer. Donnelly moved so fast it made me dizzy. He held me by the back of the neck before I could blink, and knocked the guns from my hands. He ripped the pulse rifle right off of me and wrenched my shoulder. He slowly slid his hand down my side to the small of my back. Donnelly stared at me with a hunger in his eyes. Then he grabbed my extra pistol hiding there, and tossed it away. He shook me and then released his grip. I stumbled in surprise.

He backhanded me with so much force that I flew into the pillar I’d just hid behind. The air was knocked from my lungs, and I slid to the ground desperately trying to breathe. Donnelly slowly stalked towards me, like a cat.

I tried to scramble away, but I was too slow. He kicked me in the ribs. I heard something crack and I curled into a ball, trying to escape the pain. He grabbed me by my hair and yanked my head back to expose my throat. I was terrified. The searing pain in my scalp brought me to my feet. He looked so calm when he pulled me up.

“Why are you so special?” Donnelly asked with his head tilted to the side, studying me.

“I’m not,” I gasped. I kneed him in the crotch. Promptly his hand released its grasp on my hair and I fell back to the floor. I kicked him sideways, to the knee. He buckled to the ground, and I thought I heard something crack, but I couldn’t tell over the sound of his scream.

I jumped to my feet. My balance wasn’t stable, but I had to get to Wolfe. I kicked Donnelly in the head and ran towards my captain. My ankle caught, and I fell flat on my face. I looked over my shoulder, and saw Donnelly’s hand holding on to me. He yanked me towards him.

I tried to grab onto something, but the floor was slick with blood. I aimed and drew back my knee with my free leg, and then kicked him straight in the face. His nose and glasses broke; blood squirted everywhere. I stood ungracefully to my feet.

“I suggest you forget about me, Lieutenant.” I aimed another kick to his head, and he flew over onto his back. I made sure he was unconscious this time.

I grabbed the keys from Donnelly’s waist and ran back to Wolfe. I unlocked the chains at his ankles and then his wrists. He fell into my arms. The unexpected weight made us both fall to the ground. My lungs heaved as they struggled to work with the piercing pain from my cracked ribs. I winced as I leaned over to place his head in my lap.

“Wolfe, can you hear me?” I shook him, and then slapped his face, trying to shock him into consciousness. “Please, I need you to wake up,” I pleaded with him. There was no way I could carry or drag him out. Wolfe was too heavy.

I put my ear to his chest. I could hear his heartbeat, but it was very weak. How did he get so beaten in such a short amount of time? I couldn’t leave the captain alone for a second before he got into trouble.

“If you die here, Wolfe, I’m never going to forgive you.” I got up and tried dragging him, but it was impossible. All my extra strength was useless in that moment. We were too slow, and we’d never get out that way. We’d be shot down before I could get us anywhere near the hangar. My hands trembled, and I felt so lost. Ricky was right. I had no experience with this kind of situation.