World War IV: A Broken Union (13 page)

Dean sat while Jason paced back and forth impatiently. Jason’s eyes were glued to the door, and he mumbled under his breath. “It’s been too long.”

“You told me we could trust her,” Dean said. “If Gabriela gave us her word, then she will return.”

“But with what we want?” Jason raised his eyebrow skeptically. “One of us should have gone with her.”

“How was it that you two met again?” Dean had asked the question before but received only vague words and gestures, which Jason repeated once more.

When the door opened, the two brothers jerked in anticipation. Gabriela stepped inside, and Dean swore he heard a sigh of relief spill from Jason’s lips. He pushed past his brother until he was directly in front of the rebel general. “Did you find anything?”

“No. The place was there, just like Ruiz had said, but it was empty.”

Dean deflated. Whatever Ruiz had conjured up with his engineers at the palace was no doubt valuable to the Chinese. If the ambassador had taken them, the war could be over much sooner than expected, having them on the losing side. “I need to speak to him.”

Gabriela gave a nod then led both Dean and Jason to the cell. The two brothers hung back a bit, and Jason leaned into Dean’s ear. “You think she’s lying? That tech could be useful to keeping us off their backs.”

“I’m less worried about the tech and more worried about the engineers,” Dean answered. The knowledge that Brazil possessed was what made them such an appealing trading partner to begin with. Dean had use of the minds here in the south, and he would need them now more than ever. “How many did she say we have?”

“About half,” Jason answered. “The others must have fled with Fung.”

“He’s inside.” Gabriela opened the cell door. “I’ll keep my guards here.” She turned to Jason. “Make sure you don’t do anything stupid.” Then she disappeared.

Ruiz was shackled and chained to the wall. His arms and legs were spread apart, and his head hung limp from his shoulders. He’d been a prisoner for less than a day, yet he looked as though he had aged years. “And to what do I owe the pleasure of my usurpers?”

“We never had any intentions of taking over your lands, Ruiz.” Dean crossed his arms, keeping a few feet between himself and Ruiz. “You have the rebels to thank for that.”

“And I have you to thank for helping them.” Ruiz lifted his head and smirked. “Find what you were looking for?”

“What were you building for the Chinese?” Dean asked. “Have you helped the Russians as well?”

Ruiz laughed, sweat dripping from the tip of his nose. He shifted uncomfortably in the shackles, his face wincing from the movements. Chains didn’t suit the man’s sensitive constitution. “Are you a student of history, Governor Mars?”

“What did you build, Ruiz?” Dean took a step forward. He was losing patience and time. Every second wasted here was one more where the Chinese could already be sailing to the northwest to join in Rodion’s fight.

“I’ve always been fascinated by the subject. It was a common interest that Delun and I bonded over. He’s cleverer than you think, Governor,” Ruiz said.

“Cleverer than you?” Jason asked, mocking Ruiz.

“Yes.” Ruiz snapped the word quickly. “He’s smarter than all of us, but he lacked the resources that I possessed. And his was a mind I couldn’t resist trying to conquer. Sadly, I believe it was the other way around.”

Dean brought his fist to Ruiz’s cheek, knocking loose a tooth, which Ruiz spat on the ground. “What does Delun have, Ruiz? You tell me, and I promise that when we kill you, it won’t be torture.”

Blood and spit dribbled down Ruiz’s chin. “War. That’s what I built for him. You’ve heard he has radio? Well, that is just the tip of the iceberg. He will have missiles, radar, automatic weapons that haven’t been seen in nearly a century!”

“That’s impossible. Even with your engineers,” Dean replied.

“Not with what Rodion found. The good general stumbled upon an untouched factory in the wild of his own country. He’s been constructing modern rifles for the past three years.”

“You’re bluffing,” Jason said. “We would have noticed a surge in your ore trading if it were true.”

“They didn’t get the ore from me. You know, much of the African continent has remained untouched since the Great War. One man has capitalized on that and built quite a following in the northern territories of the continent. And Rodion has become good friends with the man behind the unification.”

Dean grabbed Jason’s arm and pulled him back. He kept his voice low as he spoke. “You think he’s telling the truth?”

“It would explain what Lance saw in Sydney. The weapons there could have just been a small sampling.”

“We won’t know for sure until we hear back from Lance once the fighting with Rodion starts.” Which could have happened already. Dean knew that if Ruiz was telling the truth, that if Rodion and Delun truly had the weapons of the Great War, then they would only have one option available to them.

Dean gripped the two pendulums around his neck, and Jason did the same. The two brothers shared an expression of fear and anxiety, which was cut short by Ruiz’s laughter.

“You brothers have built quite a legacy for yourselves, but I’m afraid it’s coming to an end. Rodion and Delun will wipe you off the map. They have enough bullets to kill every man, woman, and child in your regions. It’s only just a matter of time.”

“I wouldn’t count us out just yet, Ruiz,” Jason said, the necklace dangling on his chest. “We’ve still got a few tricks up our sleeve.”

Sign Up for the James Hunt Email List to Get Updates and FREE Books

Click Here to sign up!