Roth(Hell Squad 5) (14 page)

As she watched, the ball sprouted legs and tottered toward the canid pack. She frowned. What the hell was it?

“Hey, you. In here.”

Avery spun with a gasp. A gap had opened up in the junk wall and a boy’s head popped out. He looked about twelve, his dark hair in need of a cut.

“Quick.” He gestured them toward him. “Get in.”

Avery shared a brief glance with Roth, then dived through the door. Roth shouldered in behind her.

The boy reached around and slammed the door closed.

There was a loud boom on the other side, and the entire junk wall rattled. A tin can fell down, clattering and rolling onto the ground nearby.

“Jesus.” Roth rolled to his feet. “Well, we’re alive.”

Avery stood, surprised to find herself a bit shaky. She looked at the boy. “Thanks to you.”

The boy shrugged a shoulder. “Getting eaten by alien dogs wouldn’t be much fun.”

She smiled. “No. I imagine not.” The memory of foul breath and sharp teeth flashed in her head.

The boy was wearing clean clothes and running shoes that looked brand new. His face glowed with health and he looked well fed. “Hi. I’m Bastian.”

“Hi there, Bastian.” Avery smiled and took in their surroundings. She saw that the fortified junk wall circled a group of about six houses, and what looked like a grocery store.

Roth held out a hand to the boy. “Thanks for the save. We wouldn’t have made it without your help.”

Bastian blinked, then subtly his chest puffed up. He took Roth’s hand and shook it. “So, you’re military?” He was eyeing their armor and weapons.

“Yes.” Roth nodded.

“You’re really a soldier? Not just a regular person turned fighter?”

“Career soldier. Special Forces.”

“Wow. Have you killed lots of aliens?”

Avery watched Roth smother a smile. They shared a glance. Yep, kids always seemed interested in the same things.

“Yeah, I have,” Roth answered. “So many I’ve lost count.”

Avery limped forward. “Our aircraft crashed near here.”

“Aircraft?” the boy asked, wide-eyed.

“It’s called a Darkswift. A two person craft and glider.”

His eyes opened more. “I saw you! I saw three shimmers in the distance.”

Roth nodded. “The rest of my squad. We lost contact when alien…bugs attacked us.”

“The giant dragonflies.” Bastian’s nose wrinkled. “They breed around here, and they are always hungry. They’ll eat anything.”

“We haven’t seen them before,” Roth added. “We’re from Blue Mountain Base.”

The boy gasped. “The secret underground base in the mountains?”

“Yes.”

“But…that’s just a fairytale.”

“I assure you, the base exists,” Avery said. “It’s home to hundreds of people.” She looked around. “We have running water, electricity, food. Bastian, do you live here?”

“Oh, no. People used to live here, but they’ve been gone a long time.”

“Are your parents here?” she asked.

His smile evaporated, and he looked at the ground. “My parents are gone.”

Avery’s heart clenched. She knew that look. God, she’d worn it herself during her childhood. “I’m sorry.”

She really wanted to touch him, but she’d hated that, as well. Kind, well-meaning strangers touching her, sympathy in their eyes. Then they’d leave and go back to their cozy lives and families.

“Do you live alone?”

He shook his head and Avery took another step toward him, but this time, electric pain shot through her side and she cried out. Her leg went out from under her, and she saw the dirt rising to meet her.

Roth caught her. “Avery?”

“Something hurts,” she panted through the pain.

Roth patted her side and she cried out. He pulled his hand back and Avery saw the blood. A muscle ticked in his jaw, his eyes hardening. “Canid got through your armor.”

***

Roth laid Avery on the ground, hating when he saw her wince. He shrugged off his backpack and looked at Bastian.

“Bastian, can you fish around in there and pull out the first aid kit?”

The boy knelt, nodding furiously.

Roth set to work pulling Avery’s armor off her side.

“Sorry,” she muttered.

“Nothing to be sorry for.” With her armor off, he lifted her shirt and winced. “Damn, sweetheart. That has to hurt like hell.”

“Just a little. I didn’t feel it at first.”

Roth turned and Bastian held out the first aid kit. “Thanks, kid.”

With a nod, Bastian scuttled backward. “She’ll be okay?”

“Yeah.” Roth would make sure of it.

The boy nodded. “I’ll check the wall. Make sure no more dogs are hanging around.”

“Be careful,” Avery said.

“I always am.” Bastian scurried away.

Roth ripped the kit open, rummaged through, and pulled out the remaining sterile pads. He wiped the blood away. The canid claw had gouged her smooth skin, but it wasn’t as deep as he’d feared. He smeared some med gel on—it would ease the pain, and stop any infection. Not to mention speed up the healing a little.

He pressed an adhesive over the wound.

“How’s that feel?”

She smiled at him. “Better.”

He let his fingers brush gently over her bare stomach. “Wish I was shoving your clothes out of the way for a different reason than this.”

Her smile was wide. “That makes two of us.”

He dipped a finger in her belly button. “When we get back to base…”

She gasped. “Yeah, you told me.”

He helped her up, glad to see the color back in her face.

“What’s your take on Bastian?” she asked.

“Resourceful,” he said. “Lonely.”

She nodded thoughtfully. “But well cared for.” She glanced at the empty houses. “He isn’t living here.”

“No, he isn’t. And we need to know where he’s from.”

Moments later, Bastian reappeared. “No sign of the dogs.” He looked at Avery. “You’re okay?”

She gave a nod. “Roth fixed me right up.”

The boy’s shoulders relaxed. “Good.”

Roth looked around again. It was time to get some answers. “Hey, Bastian, I wanted to ask—”

Shouts suddenly echoed around them. Roth lifted his carbine and saw a group of armored soldiers running at them.

“Drop the weapons!”

“Get down on the ground!”

There were twelve of them. Roth’s hands flexed on his weapon. “I’m Colonel Roth Masters of—”

“On the ground,” a woman roared. She rushed up and grabbed Bastian. She yanked him backward and shoved him at a soldier behind her.

She was in charge, Roth decided. The woman looked like she was in her early forties, her dark hair in a chin-length bob under her helmet. She held her carbine like she knew exactly how to use it.

The soldiers surrounded them, all stony-faced. Roth took note of them all, and their pristine armor and well-maintained weapons. No raptor claw marks or dents to be seen.

“We don’t mean any harm,” Avery said. “Bastian saved us from some alien canids—”

“I’m not going to say it again,” the woman said, her voice hard. “Drop your weapons and get on the ground.”

“Listen—” Avery began again “—we just want—”

Something whizzed through the air and slapped into Avery’s armor.
What the hell?
Roth stepped in front of her and saw her eyes widen.

He saw the small device’s prongs had dug into her unarmored chest. Dammit. A shockround. A second later, her body started shaking as the high-voltage ran through her.

Roth grabbed her. He saw soldiers converging and he fired his carbine one handed, taking down the soldiers nearest to them.

Then he felt a shockround slam into his shoulder. As the electric shock hit him, he managed to roll so he hit the ground first, Avery on top of him.

He saw the grim face of the woman in charge above him. He struggled to stay conscious, gritting his teeth and trying to keep his hold on Avery.

Then he saw the butt of a gun descend and everything went black.

Chapter Thirteen

Avery groaned and struggled to sit up. Her muscles were aching like she’d spent hours in the gym.

She blinked, then went still as her brain recognized her surroundings as unfamiliar. Where the hell was she?

Then she remembered. She scrambled to her feet, a hand pressed to her chest where she’d been hit with the shockround. Her armor and weapon were gone, and she was in a cell. There were three concrete walls and one that was just metal bars.

She strode to the bars, staring into the empty hall. More cells lined the corridor. Where was Roth? Her throat tightened. Was he okay?

She forced herself to calm down and assess the situation. She was in a locked cell. There were no windows, just a row of muted lights built into the top of the wall, and she heard the steady whoosh of the ventilation, so she guessed they were underground.

Avery paced across the small space. The contents of her cell consisted of a narrow bunk and a built-in bench, and that was it.

A low groan made her freeze. She raced to the bars, trying to see into the cell beside hers. “Roth?”

“Avery.” His voice was low and raspy. A second later, he appeared at the bars.

She couldn’t see him that well, but she slipped a hand through the bars and when his strong fingers wrapped around hers, she released a breath. “You’re not hurt?”

“Ache like hell, but I’m fine. Damn shockrounds. You?”

“I’m good.” She tried to see his face, and when he shifted, the dim light illuminated his black and swollen right eye. She gasped. “They beat you!”

“Gun butt to the face. It’ll be fine. Nothing’s broken.”

Avery’s other hand tightened on the bars. The assholes. They’d seen that Avery and Roth hadn’t meant any harm but they’d still stormed in like they had something to prove. “This is Howell’s bunker, isn’t it?”

“That’s my guess.” Roth fiddled in his pocket and withdrew something tiny.

Avery frowned, pressing her cheek to the bars to see. “What is that? An insect?”

“It’s a mini-drone. Noah designed it. I tested one in the alien ship on a previous mission.” He touched it and the little drone took to the air, flitting there like a bug, before it zoomed away. “It’ll take a look around and send info back to my mini-tablet.”

“They left you with your tablet?”

He smiled. “Not my well-hidden, backup one. It’s tucked into the sole of my boot.”

“Well, aren’t you a boy scout?”

He stroked her palm. “Not always.”

Footsteps echoed in the hall. Avery sucked in a breath and Roth squeezed her fingers. “Showtime.”

Two people appeared in front of them. The woman was the leader of the soldiers who’d brought them in. Her face was set in the hard lines of someone used to command. The man was an opposite story. Avery made note of his stats: six foot, broad shoulders, green eyes and long, dark hair that he had tied back at the base of his neck. He had a compelling face, strong and brooding. Unlike the woman, who wore fatigues, this man wore well-worn jeans and a T-shirt. Both of which were splattered with streaks of paint. Actually, he had paint on his hands as well.

“Who are you?” the woman demanded.

“You could have asked that question before you shot us with shockrounds,” Avery suggested.

The man looked at the woman with a raised brow.

The woman straightened. “I’m Captain Kate Scott. I run security here. Since we’re in the middle of a hostile invasion, we don’t tend to chit-chat with strangers.”

Avery gripped the bars tighter. “Do either of us look like damned aliens? We’re on the same side.”

Captain Scott’s mouth tightened.

“Avery.” Roth’s tone held a hint of warning.

The man stepped forward. “I’m sorry if the captain was overzealous in her duties. But believe me, she holds the safety of our residents as her highest priority. I’m Nikolai Ivanov. And whether I like it or not, I run the civilian side of things in the Enclave.”

“I’m Colonel Roth Masters. We’re from Blue Mountain Base.”

“There is no Blue Mountain Base,” the captain said.

“Since I’ve been based there since the invasion, along with about a thousand other survivors, I respectfully disagree,” Roth said. “I’m also head of one of the squads fighting the aliens under General Adam Holmes.”

The captain’s eyes widened. “You’re
fighting
the aliens?”

“Of course.” There was a frown in Roth’s voice. “What else do we do with them?”

“Avoid them,” the captain replied.

The paint-splattered man was looking at Avery. “And you? You’re part of the colonel’s squad?”

“Not usually, no. I’m Avery Stillman. I was with Coalition Central Intelligence.” Hot anger filled her throat. “And I’m guessing you’re both part of the elitist group of assholes put together by Howell, who sold out humanity.”

The captain’s eyes narrowed and the man frowned and cocked his head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. The Enclave was specially designed to house survivors of the alien attack. People were selected at random by government officials. We have men, women, children. Professors, historians, artists—” he held up his hands ruefully “—scientists, and more. We are the hope for the continuation of humanity.”

Avery’s face twisted. “I’m guessing Howell sold you that bullshit.”

“President Howell set up this place, yes.” Nikolai shoved his hands in his pockets. “He’s the third leader of the Enclave.”

“Howell is scum,” Avery spat. Memories of her time with the aliens flashed through her head. “I was part of Howell’s negotiation team with the aliens. He sold us out. In return for his own safety and this precious place—” she waved a hand around “—he let them destroy the world. To take human prisoners. And he damn well gave me to them.”

“Sydney is in ruins,” Roth said quietly. “Our squads have destroyed numerous alien labs and testing facilities. Billions of humans are dead. And those who are left are scrambling to survive.”

Both Kate and Nikolai looked stunned.

Nikolai finally cursed under his breath in what Avery guessed was Russian. That seemed to shake the captain out of her spell. “We don’t know you. Howell has only done good things by the people of this Enclave. He deserves a chance to tell us his side of the story.” The woman straightened. “I’m sure there’s been some misunderstanding.”