The Legend (25 page)

 

chapter 38

I
t takes me only five minutes. As an afterthought, I throw on a jacket and then head to the aquatics centre. As expected, Kwan, Quinn, Heath, Matt and Rory are huddled together just inside the door. Reed is standing slightly apart, clenching and unclenching his hands, his need for action making him tetchy.

“Kwan,” I get his attention. “There are too many of them. I'm going to need you to stay here.”

Apart from Reed, Kwan is the soldier I trust most in the world. He is so good that despite not having the Power of Three, he is still more effective than ten ordinary Gifted soldiers.

“How many?” he asks solemnly, not questioning my decision.

“Too many,” I repeat, meeting his eyes. He doesn't bat an eyelid, not betraying his emotions, but he does rest his hand briefly on my shoulder.

“Good luck, Rebecca.”

“You too,” I smile, and then he is gone, racing off to help the others.

“You guys ready?” I ask my motley crew and they nod as one.

“You should go now,” Reed warns, and it is a measure of his concern for our people that he doesn't argue about my decision to leave Kwan behind. “It'll give you a good lead if things go badly here.”

“I'll leave soon,” I promise.

“How are we going to get out of here?” Heath asks.

“I took one of the old Ford pickups out of the grounds just after you left,” Quinn answers. “We should all fit, although it's going to be a bit of a rough ride for those sitting in the bed. Might also be a bit of a squeeze once Fiona's team joins us, but anyway it's got a full tank of gas. I figured once those bombs went off we might have a little trouble getting out of here.”

“Good thinking.”

We skirt back towards the other side of campus wanting to keep an eye on the approaching soldiers. I can see Fiona's group huddled behind one of the smaller buildings and I signal to her to be ready. It has already been at least fifteen minutes since the explosions, but there is not a whisper of movement from the end of the drive.

“I think they need a little incentive,” Aidan murmurs, and without any further warning, he runs out to stand in plain sight at the top of the drive.

“Aidan!” I hiss.

“Well, I'll be damned if he has all the fun,” Reed drawls a moment later and he runs over to stand beside Aidan.

“This is the stupidest idea ever,” I grumble as I go to stand between them. The sight of the three of us, particularly me – their number one target – is too much for the cautious soldiers and one by one they begin to emerge, flocking up from the street and forming an intimidating mass of dark blue.

“You should go,” Aidan murmurs, “before it starts. This is all for nothing if Kenneth survives.”

“He won't.”

We wait until the first soldiers are near enough, and then we turn and sprint into the grounds, zigzagging left and right, leading the invading army into the Academy, into unfamiliar territory. Legion members are hiding all over the grounds, their aim to divide NUSA's force, to separate them around the maze of the school. Jethro's group will follow at the rear, picking soldiers off from behind. The sound of a scuffle breaks out behind us and I turn to see Kwan and a group of Fiona's men doing battle with a squadron of NUSA soldiers. More fighting breaks out as we keep heading around the campus, most of the pursuing men staying with us, so determined are they to see me dead.

It doesn't take long before we are back where we started and as soon as I spot Quinn, Heath and the rest of my group, still crouched where we left them, I swivel around to face the oncoming charge. We are joined almost immediately by Fiona and her four team mates. The abrupt change unsettles the attacking army and a few of the tailing men bump into the frontrunners as they come to a halt. Then one man takes a step towards us and I hear the hiss of displaced air as a silver dagger streaks past me and buries itself in his chest. I grin up at Lydia, and as the men glance frantically around for the source of the new danger, arrows and daggers alike rain down from the sky. At least fifty men drop to the ground before it is over, and the balance are crouched as low as possible, trying to avoid the expert aim of our snipers.

As one, our group surges towards them, using their defensive position against them. I leap into the air, bringing my elbow down on the base of one man's neck, and then grab another by his head and twist it savagely. Nearby, Aidan brings his knee up to crush his still kneeling opponent's nose. Another NUSA man scrambles to his feet and grabs him from behind, his arm encompassing Aidan's neck. I feel a moment of fear and then, with a superb display of Kwan's training, Aidan jumps up and throws his weight back, crashing down onto the man's body, which cushions his own fall. With a grunt of pain, the man releases him, and Aidan twists around to punch him in the face.

“The Power of Three,” Reed grins across at me, duelling three men at once. I grab the closest, twisting his arm up and behind him until I hear the satisfying snap of bone, and then I toss him aside, moving on to my next target. “You take all the fun out of it,” I hear Reed grumble as I engage a new adversary.

Despite our skill, we are slowly being consumed by the sheer numbers of the NUSA army, and we are eventually pressed together in a tight circle, back-to-back. It reminds me painfully of our fight in the cemetery, but the memory of Michael's death only fuels my bloodlust and, one by one, any soldier who ventures within arm's length is despatched.

“You have to get out of here,” Reed hisses back to me.

“Kind of busy right now,” I reply as I kick out at another soldier. I am completely hemmed in, and it doesn't seem likely that I will be able to break free any time soon, let alone get my entire team through the crush.

“Dammit, Rebecca,” Aidan snarls, his momentary distraction costing him a brutal blow to the jaw, “I told you to go!”

There is nothing but blue as far as I can see and below still more NUSA soldiers are making their way up the drive.
How the hell are we going to get out of here?
Aidan was right – I should have left when I had the chance.

And then, just like that, I hear a deafening crack, so loud it makes my ears ring and blood blossoms on the chest of the NUSA soldier nearest me. Dumb-founded, I turn in search of the source and I see Archer and the others waving frantically through an open window on the second floor. Beside them, at two adjacent windows, the Lakeside Five are crouched low, each holding a rifle. I can hardly believe my eyes, and I send up a silent thank you to Adam and his persistence. It seems he got through to them after all.

“Stay still!” I warn the others as more shots ring out and all hell breaks loose. I grab Rory's arm as he prepares to make a run for it. “Don't break formation.” The last thing I need is my own people getting shot by mistake.

The Lakeside Five are either expert marksmen or very reckless, I think hysterically, as I continue to fight anyone I can reach. They are bringing men down far too close to us for my liking.

“She needs an open path!” Aidan yells up to Archer in a short intermission of gunfire and we can only hope that he has heard.

I know for a fact that their ammunition is limited, but even the sporadic shooting is working. It is so unexpected that the NUSA men, who have never faced the cold onslaught of bullets, are unravelling, their training and strategy going to hell as their fear overrides everything else. As more men fall, many abandon the attack and run for the cover of the surrounding buildings. Finally, I can make it through and I yell to the others to follow me. I shove my way through the dispersing crowd, determined to head for the car, when something catches my eye in my peripheral vision and I slam on anchors, skidding to a stop.

Jethro is heading towards the door that leads into the main building. I quickly shade my eyes and peer up to the top floor where Archer and the others are still crouched at the windows, wondering if they are in trouble. Jethro pauses at the door, glancing around, and like a knife to my gut I recognise the birthmark.
Mason!
It is almost impossible to believe – I had been so certain that Kenneth would keep his ultimate soldier close to him for protection. In the instant that this registers, two things become crystal clear. First, that Kenneth is certain of victory – he believes, with absolute certainty, that everyone who opposes him will die here in Georgia. Second, and even more important, is that Kenneth Williams has never been as vulnerable as he is right now.

“Mason!” The word rings out and I wonder if I yelled his name without realising it, until I see the real Jethro standing behind Mason. Reed's head jerks up at the name and as his green eyes come to rest on Mason it is as if his whole body has turned to stone. A snarl of hatred twists his mouth into a grim line, and he balls his hands into tight fists. The sound of gunfire has ceased, and I can only assume that the Lakeside Five are finally out of ammunition.

Mason turns around slowly to face his brother, and an ugly leer crosses his swarthy face. Jethro runs straight at him in a blatant, uncoordinated attack, and I redouble my efforts to shake off the soldiers that have swarmed around me once more. I can hear Reed doing the same a few yards away. All I can think about is getting to Mason, and even through the haze of the ongoing attack, I keep my eyes fixed on the duelling brothers.

There are only a few soldiers between me and them when it happens. Helpless, I watch as Mason lifts Jethro into the air as though he weighs nothing, and then slams his body to the ground, head first. Jethro's neck twists violently, his back bending at an unnatural angle, and then he goes completely still.

It is as if time has stood still, and my eyes are drawn to Reed. As our gazes lock, amidst the chaos, a silent message passes between us. Mason took everything from us – he tortured me, murdered our unborn child, and almost destroyed any relationship we had. These thoughts flash through my mind and I know without a doubt that Reed is thinking exactly the same thing. And then we are running, swiping NUSA soldiers aside like bowling pins as Mason disappears through the door. There is only one reason he would be heading up there – to eliminate those who are hindering NUSA's progress, the ordinary, innocent people that I had sent up there in the first place. The black fury is back, a rage so powerful that it seems to fill me like a dark, hideous, liquid wrath, threatening to boil over. Reed reaches the door only a second after me and I slip inside first, pounding up the stairs and praying we are not too late.

 

 

chapter 39

I
hear a terrified scream as I burst into the room and I give a cry of rage as I watch helplessly as Mason throws Lydia bodily out of the window. I am on top of him before he can reach for any of the others and I land a savage uppercut to his jaw as he kicks out at me, his steel-capped boot driving the wind from my lungs and sending me flying halfway across the room. Reed steps between us, grabbing at Mason's throat, but Mason side-steps and drops to the floor, sweeping his leg out and unbalancing Reed, who crashes heavily to the ground.

Archer, Crackerjack and Gabe are scuttling around the room, trying to avoid getting in the way, and I put myself between them and Mason as I move in on him again.

“Jethro was your brother,” I hiss in disgust.

“My brother was weak,” he replies without any trace of remorse.

“Your brother was ten times the man you can ever hope to be, you son of a bitch.”

Mason raises his fists, the sadistic smile on his face is pure evil. I feint forward and as he lifts his arms to deflect the blow, I throw all my weight into a front kick, perfectly timed so that my foot connects brutally with his jaw. Mason staggers backwards and without even thinking about it, I body slam him, both my arms going around his waist, and launching both of us through the open window.

We hit the ground hard, and even
with Mason's body cushioning my fall, I am temporarily dazed. I roll off him, gasping for breath, aware that every part of my body hurts like hell. I have barely managed to pull myself into a sitting position when Mason grabs my hair and, despite his weakened state, he slams my face into the tarmac. Stars explode in my vision, and the pain is excruciating. I brace myself as he yanks at my hair again, but then Reed is upon him, hauling him off me, Mason taking a fistful of my hair with him.

I stagger to my feet, spitting out blood and sand, and I shake my head as I try to clear my vision. Reed punches Mason so hard that he spins towards me, and I sweep my leg up and across, my foot coming up to meet his cheek and sending him spinning in the opposite direction. Reed lifts his leg and brings his heel down hard on Mason's kneecap, the audible crunch of bone shattering like music to my ears. I land two brutal blows to his lower back, directly over each kidney and then Reed lifts his arm high above his shoulder. It snaps forward as though on a rubber band and his open palm slaps Mason's face so hard that his head whips halfway around to face me. Mason, despite the beating he has taken, tries to take a step towards Reed. I kick out at his knees and he collapses at Reed's feet.

I step forward, plunging my fingers into his dark hair and then, viciously snatching handfuls of it, I yank his head back, bringing my lips to his ear.

“I made you a promise, Mason,” I hiss, my eyes locking with Reed's as I look up at him. He nods encouragingly, not a trace of mercy on his face and I move my hands down over Mason's head. “I always keep my promises,” I finish and, without any remorse, or any emotion at all, I snap his neck.

Mason's death concludes a personal vendetta, and it eliminates Kenneth's ultimate weapon, but there are still too many NUSA soldiers swarming all over the Academy. Kwan and his team come backing around the corner, overwhelmed by the number of men attacking them and being slowly pushed back.

“Rebecca!” I hear Aidan yell, and I turn to see him fighting half a dozen men, the front of his shirt stained red with blood. He is in bad shape, but still fighting with all the intensity of the Power of Three. I take a step towards him to help, but he fends me off with his next word. “Go!”

“Go,” Reed echoes, appearing beside me. “Find Kenneth. Finish it.”

“There're too many of them,” I insist. “You need us here.”

“We will deal with them.” He turns and backhands a soldier who had been trying to sneak up behind him. “Now go!”

I falter, torn between my desire to find Kenneth and my fear that even if I succeed I will have nothing to come back to. That they will all perish in my absence, when we are so very close to the end. My eyes automatically find Aidan, and in a flash I have an awful premonition of him lying dead on the ground, his brown eyes cold and lifeless. My whole body feels the anguish of that vision, and I fight the urge to cry out.

“Rebecca,” Reed waves his hand in front of my face, breaking the spell. This is what it comes down to. I am the leader of the Legion, and our sole purpose is to defeat NUSA. It is the reason this army was formed in the first place. The fences must come down, and it is my responsibility to ensure that happens. I am the Resistance's ultimate weapon, and their only hope.

“You stay alive,” I reply, turning to face Reed. “You keep them all alive. That's an order.” Without waiting for a response, I start running, finally completely embracing my duty.

“Quinn! Heath!” I yell as I run and, sure enough, the two men rush to meet me, Matt and Rory with them. Fiona, Abby and the others bring up the rear as we storm down the drive.

We encounter very little resistance as we leave the Academy grounds. There are a few NUSA soldiers loitering near the cluster of abandoned Humvees on the street, but it takes only a couple of minutes to dispose of them.

“Why don't we just take one of these?” Matt asks, gesturing one of the NUSA vehicles, but I shake my head.

“They're all rigged with tracking devices. It wouldn't do us any good if Kenneth figures out we're coming.” A lone vehicle returning to the States at high speed would give us away in a heartbeat.

As I turn to follow Quinn, who is leading the way to our transportation, I see a familiar-looking mob making their way up the street. The Ordinary, armed with their crude weapons, are joining the fight, no doubt most of them are those who volunteered for the Gifting procedures and were denied. There is no time to question Adam's decision in allowing them to enter the fray – he leads his men, not me. Soon enough, we reach the dark blue double-cab pickup and are on our way back to the States. The journey is over seven hundred miles, and we drive all day, taking turns at the wheel and stopping only for restroom breaks and to refuel.

About a mile from the fences, I pull over and Quinn takes the wheel. Quinn is an excellent driver; in fact, he was our official driver when I was still married to Eric.

“Drive straight through the fences,” I remind him and he nods.

“Do you really think it's a good idea to barge right in?” Abby asks from the back seat.

“Yes,” I turn to face her, Fiona and Heath, who are sitting on the back seat. “We need them to know that we're here, but we can't afford to get caught. It's the only way to find out where Kenneth is.”

“How exactly do we find him, again?” Heath asks, the plan making no sense to him.

“We follow the cavalry.”

As Quinn pulls off, Fiona opens the small window between the back seat and the bed.

“Hold on to something,” she cautions the five soldiers huddled in the bin. “It's about to get bumpy.”

We reach the fences under the cloak of a pitch black sky.

“Go straight through,” I instruct Quinn and he tramps harder on the gas. Unsurprisingly, the fences are much less heavily guarded than usual, Kenneth having sent so many soldiers into the Rebeldom to destroy the Legion for once and for all. We smash through the fence, the giant engine growling as we steamroll over a few discarded poles, and I spare a moment's sympathy for the men and women being thrown around in the bin. And then we are through and racing into the States. Quinn's focus is incredible and he never wavers, making hairpin bends and lightning turns as we shake off our pursuers and weave deeper into NUSA territory. Soon enough we start to see signs of traffic and, as we shoot past a gas station, Quinn turns up a side road, kills the lights and we abandon the car.

Keeping to the shadows, we make our way back towards the gas station and watch. Luck is on our side and within a few minutes a minivan pulls out, heading in our direction. I step out into the street directly in its path and it skids to a stop. As I yank open the driver's door, the others pile into the back. There is barely enough room, but Abby and Fiona clamber over the seats into the trunk, making way for the others. A terrified young man stares up at me from the driver's seat, his hands in the air.

“Move over,” I yell. He stares at me, bewildered. “Move, now!” I repeat, and he scrambles across to the passenger seat.

“Don't even think about it,” I warn, hitting the gas as he reaches for the door handle.

“Are you going to kill me?” the youth asks after a few minutes.

“No,” I reply, signalling left and making the turn. “But I can't risk you reporting me, so you're coming along for the ride.”

“What do you want?”

“If I told you, I'd have to kill you,” I state solemnly, and then I grin at the petrified expression on his youthful face. “I just need your car – that's all you need to know,” I say gently and he relaxes slightly.

“It's not mine, it's my mom's. Oh man, she's going to kill me.”

“I'm pretty sure she won't hold you responsible.”

“She didn't give me permission to take it.”

“Oh . . . well, yeah, then you're in a whole heap of trouble.” He reminds me of Michael. “What's your name?”

“Jensen.”

“Jensen, I promise you I will do everything I can to make sure you get this car home in one piece, okay?” He nods sceptically.

We drive for half an hour, heading for Chicago.

“Where are they?” Matt sounds frustrated.

Another ten minutes pass uneventfully and then Quinn's voice breaks the silence, making Jensen jump almost a foot off his seat.

“There!” Quinn points and I glance down to see three black vehicles on the highway below us, red lights flashing.

I tramp on the gas, making a sharp right turn and taking the first glide-on to the highway. It takes a minute or two to catch them, the minivan shuddering in protest at the high speed, and then the expensive black sedans come into view.

“Definitely NUSA,” Fiona murmurs from the back.

“You think they'll take us to my uncle?” Quinn ponders.

“I don't see where else they would be going in such a hurry.” This had been my plan all along – to access the States and get Kenneth on high alert, which would mean calling in as many guards as possible to protect himself. Kenneth apparently has a number of residences that he makes use of, being so distrustful of Resistance spies, and not even Fiona could tell us exactly where he would be.

I keep a fair distance between us and the three sedans, tailing them without being obvious. It is after midnight and the roads are quiet, hardly ideal for going unnoticed. I just have to hope that they don't suspect anything.

Soon the terrain around us becomes remarkably familiar. We are heading towards the same area where Eric and I had lived. As we enter the affluent neighbourhood I wonder for a second whether Kenneth is arrogant enough to have taken up residence in my old home, but then the trio ahead take a left turn. It seems Kenneth isn't that foolish after all. We cruise slowly past as they turn into a sweeping drive. The brief glimpse of the house at the top shows a palatial home, complete with palm trees lining the drive and an ostentatious water fountain at the top. The lawn is teeming with NUSA guards, all in uniform. I am fast beginning to hate the colour blue.

“I would never have found him,” Fiona calls from the back. “I've never seen this residence. It must be a new safe house.”

“Jensen,” I say, as we cruise past the house and pull over to the kerb about a half mile away, “I think it's safe to say that you will get your mom's car back in one piece.”

My team clambers out the back sliding door as I toss him the keys. He catches them clumsily, and then gawks at me, unable to believe that I am simply going to let him go.

“That's it?” he stammers. “I can go?”

“I told you, I just needed your car. I hope you don't get into too much trouble.” I slam the door and join the others on the sidewalk.

“Are you all ready?” They nod in unison.

“We'll keep your path as clear as possible,” Quinn promises.

We stride up the street, not bothering to keep out of sight. There are ten of us, too many to try to conceal. They will see us when they see us, and there is not much we can do about it. We are taking the offensive. Let them defend for a change.