Synarchy Book 2: The Ascension (27 page)

“
Of course it won’t, my God.
It’s impossible. Wait until after the winter solstice. The people
will change their tune then.” Alex assured him.

“
Yes. Yes, they will,” Enlil
promised with malevolent intent. “I’ve decided to move up the
attack on Terenzio.”

Alex didn’t miss a beat. “If you think
that’s best. May I ask why, my God?”

“
Olivia confirmed that they
have the second crystal. They are also building what sounds to me
like one of Tesla weapons. I knew Stefano stole one, I just could
not locate it.”

“
Good idea, then. Who did
you send?”

“
Family against family.
Except one side is going to have a little help.” Enlil smiled
coldly. “After killing a few thousand humans, we’ve finally gotten
the new PLF’s operational. They’re going to get their first test
run against the Terenzios.”

Chapter 14

“
To put the world right in
order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in
order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in
order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set
our hearts right.”

- Confucius

December 1st, 2012 - 10:11
PM

Alcyone Island

Phoenix Resort Hotel

*They were twenty days away. Twenty
days from the end of this war, and the undeniable fact that someone
would be proven right. It came down to a very simple, startling
duality; the Ascension would happen, or it wouldn’t. There was no
in between. No more walking the line for humanity, a choice had to
be made. Even with that tension hanging in the air, the family
decided to celebrate. Isabella had insisted. The triplets were
thrown a birthday party, day of. And the elders of the family had
spared no expense on the young heirs, the ballroom of the Phoenix
Resort Hotel turned into a private, festive celebration that
spilled out onto the beach. The majority of the family was there,
except Amadeo and Olivia, but their absence didn’t surprise
anyone.

Security was on high alert for obvious
reasons, and the area was patrol with Dion security, military
police, and the Omega Cadre themselves standing in the shadows,
against walls, and on either side of the open doorways. They
prowled between the crowds of people on the dance floor, or out on
the beach, watching the party-goers taking advantage of the free
liquor, and doing the occasional drug. Every thirty minutes or so,
the distant hum of a helicopter tainted the noise of the party
goers, the music that thundered from the wireless speakers, and the
steel drums and bongos played by the bohemians near the
bonfire-lined ocean.

Caleb was armed, but not dressed in the
uniform of Dion security with the Phoenix symbol and company words
bled in red on the right hand side of black suit jackets. He wore
the fitted tuxedo Lucien had taken him to get hours earlier. His
ear piece was in place, but it stayed silent. It was for
emergencies only. Period. It wasn’t just Terenzio’s night for
celebration.

Caleb moved as fluidly as a Terenzio,
but with his own unique style; the easy arrogance of the fighter
pilot he had once been and the hint of charm that bled off a
southern gentlemen; the confident way his body smoothly maneuvered
through the crowd, because of who he was now; deceptively languid,
but on complete alert. He was a man on a mission, a man who had
bar¬ely taken his eyes off of Simone Terenzio, who was dancing with
her older brother.

At Simone's request Vasco had pulled
himself from his corner of solitude and taken her out onto the
dance floor. "You're not allowed to ask me again for a week. I
promise I'm fine."

Simone smirked softly, setting one hand
in Vasco's and placing the other on his shoulder. "You've heard
that tired old cliché, haven't you? About what 'fine' really stands
for?"

Vasco chuckled lightly, shaking his
head. "That doesn't apply here. I'm just not colorful enough to use
any other adjective." He led Simone into the simple step dictated
by the rhythm of the music, but did confess something a moment
after. "I miss her. That's all."

Simone’s heart tightened with sympathy.
So did her hands. "I know," she said quietly, glancing down at the
square of dance floor beneath their feet. She, of all people, knew
what it meant to truly miss someone. She felt the hollow ringing of
loss—intensified, perhaps, because her soul's twin had seen fit to
take another spin at this thing called life in none other than
Caleb Kincade. Simone laughed, almost to herself, and shook her
head as she lifted it. "Come on, Vasco. Be a Terenzio. Suck it
up."

"I am. I haven't cried once." Well, not
since he had the first time, Vasco thought. "An urge my alter ego
is horrified was ever an option." Amusement flickered briefly
through his eyes. "How's life without Victor?"

Simone laughed again, and it wasn't to
herself. "It isn't dull, but I don't know how to describe it better
than that."

The humor in Vasco's eyes lifted from
Simone to some point over her shoulder; more specifically to a
figure moving through the crowd behind her. A subtle smile crawled
across Vasco's mouth. Simone narrowed her eyes. Vasco only smiled
like that when he was up to something. She opened her mouth to
demand just what he was plotting, but Vasco interrupted her. "We
can do better than that." He tipped his head close to Simone's and
whispered, “He’s a little less of a pussy this lifetime." Vasco
drew back and spun Simone out from him, releasing her
hand.

He knew. Vasco
knew?!
The whole fucking time, Simone
seethed, Vasco knew the truth about Caleb, and he hadn't bothered
to tell her? Fury licked up Simone's spine, stiffening it. That
same fury dissolved in a tingling flush of anticipation as someone
caught her hand. That someone was Caleb. Simone opened her mouth a
second time, and still no words came.

Caleb curled his fingers around
Simone’s and drew them into his chest. He had been waiting for this
moment for the stretch of his lifetime. A few hours ago, for
whatever reason, Vasco had lifted the gag order. It hadn't come a
moment too soon, either, because Caleb had been days away from
taking matters—her—into his own hands. He slid his arm around
Simone's waist, pulled her closer, and silently led her away from
the crowd and back onto the floor. For the first time—openly, at
least—there was nothing remotely professional about the way he was
looking at her. He had never looked at her like that; not in this
lifetime. "Happy Birthday,” he said quietly.

Simone's body tightened as a heady rush
of longing swept through her. For the last five months Caleb had
been a permanent fixture in her life. He was always there—sometimes
standing just out of sight—ever vigilant, but never obtrusive. The
moment he took her into his arms, his presence overwhelmed her. He
consumed each of her senses. Simone tightened her fingers around
his before the current bore her away, and lifted her gaze to his.
"Thank you," she said just as softly.

He leaned forward, brushing his cheek
against hers, and said, “Since you made me ask you to marry me
twice, I decided to recruit some help with the dance."

§

December 1, 2012 - 10:11 AM

Loyalty Airlines International
Airport

Cargo Runway #17

Amadeo sat in the backseat of the sedan
parked on the runway. Olivia was next to him, lighting a cigarette.
He pressed the button to crack her window himself and asked, “What
time is it?”

Olivia looked down at her diamond and
gold watch. “Fifteen past the hour.”

Amadeo pulled the cell phone out of the
inside of his suit jacket. “Is Kayla sure about this?”

Olivia snapped her eyes over to him.
“When did you turn into such a fucking pussy? Haven’t we been
waiting long enough for this day? Make the call.”

Giving his cousin a hard look, Amadeo
pressed the speed dial button, and then brought the phone up to his
ear.

“
Yes?”

“
Nicholas, where are
you?”

“
On my way to the triplets’
party.”

“
We’ll all go together. Meet
us at the airport. Runway 17.” Amadeo reached over for his cousin’s
cigarette, plucking it out of her fingers, and pulled hard on the
filtered end.

“
When?” Nicholas
asked.

“
Now.”

§

December 1, 2012 - 10:22 PM

Alcyone Island

Phoenix Resort Hotel

Simone closed her eyes,
slipping her arm around Caleb's shoulders and digging her fingers
into his shirt. A sharp peal of emotion knifed through her, and she
released a hard, shuddering breath.
He
knew, too
, she thought.
Jesus Christ, he knew
. And suddenly,
every reason why she couldn’t have a happy ending with Caleb
floated right out the window. She could have the now. Fighting the
urge to fan her lips against his jaw, Simone turned her face into
the warmth of Caleb’s neck. A small smile tugged at the corner of
her mouth. "So, you're planning to ask me a third time?"

Caleb couldn't have asked for a more
perfect reaction. He turned his face into Simone’s hair and pulled
her closer to him, his feet barely moving over the floor. "Only if
you promise to say yes the first time."

Simone drew back, but only as far as
she needed to in order to hold Caleb’s face between her hands and
look at him; really see him, because burbling through the tide of
happiness that swept through her was a hint of misgiving. "You want
to do that? Take a chance on a woman you barely know, for the woman
she used to be?"

"Not just because of the woman you used
to be. Because of the woman you are now." Caleb pressed his face
closer, so he could set his forehead against hers. "You can't hide
from me, in any incarnation. I know you."

No one had known Liliana like Kyle had.
No one had loved Liliana like Kyle had, either. Ever. In that
moment, Simone knew that she could feel for no one what she felt
for Caleb. She closed her eyes, drew a deep breath, and tightened
her hands. "Then kiss me," she breathed, opening her eyes and
locking their gazes. "Really kiss me, and don't stop."

§

December 1, 2012 - 10:22 PM

Loyalty Airlines International
Airport

Cargo Runway #17

“
Why am I here?” Nicholas
leaned down into the open window of his cousins’ sedan.

“
Call it in that the
security team for this shipment is going radio silent for fifteen
minutes,” Amadeo said.

Nicholas arched a brow.
“Why?”

“
Obviously, because it’s not
cargo in that plane, Nicky.” Olivia gave him a condescending smile.
“Just do it.”

Nicholas ignored Olivia’s crassness,
lapsing into thought. “I can’t guarantee this. Not with all the new
security protocols in place.”

“
Be convincing,” Amadeo
said. “The plane lands in ten minutes.”

“
Do this right, Nicky, and
you’ll never miss a tip from the Brotherhood again.” Olivia
winked.

The look that Nicholas gave Olivia was
sharp and deadly. Warning. He didn’t give a fuck what rank she was,
he would kill her if she made a remark like that again. “I’ll see
what I can do.” Stepping away from their car, he jogged over to the
hangar. Flashing his credentials to the guard, he waited while the
Dion Corp security guard pulled the finger print scanner from his
pocket and pressed Nicholas’s thumb onto it. Identity confirmed,
the guard opened the door to the wide, open space ready for one of
the usual late night transports. Five guards prowled the perimeter,
always alert. Three Packdog Operators stood near the waist high
robots that would unload the plane’s cargo, smoking and chatting.
Nicholas climbed a metal staircase to the small office above the
hangar’s security pod.

Nicholas smiled at the sergeant in
charge. “I need to radio into headquarters.”

§

December 1, 2012 - 10:25 PM

Alcyone Island

Phoenix Resort Hotel

Heedless of the game in which Simone
was submerged, the eyes on them, or the crowd that surrounded them,
Caleb’s arms engulfed her as he brought his chin down and covered
her mouth with the needy weight of his own.

A flood of memories surged through
Simone, filling her mind with glimpses of their past; his
face—Kyle’s face--limned with early morning light, crisp sheets
folded against the blade of his hip, the eager grip of his hands on
her shoulders, his mouth on her breast; moments of tender affection
and explosive passion that settled in her consciousness like dust
on a windowsill, only to burst into the air in a flurry of golden
chaos as the past gave way to the present and left her reeling;
left only Caleb, with his heart beating against her chest and the
taste of him on her tongue. Making a quiet but fierce sound of need
into his mouth, Simone wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed
her body flush against his.

Caleb didn’t want to break the contact.
He truly didn't. He wanted to trace the curves of Simone’s body
with the warm pressure of his hands and reacquaint himself with
every inch of her. He wanted to reminder her, in this lifetime,
what it felt like to be loved.