Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 78534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Skyhigh takes a look. "Narrow band comms unit. Good for communicating if you don't want anyone intercepting. I was taking them apart and putting them back together back in my deployment days." Ghost nods like he recognizes it. With his background, he's probably used them before.
"How's it work?" Hellfire asks, his growl threatening. I wonder if the guy on the ground is with it enough to understand he’s a dead man.
"This one looks text based. Probably encodes it on the way. Silent and more accurate than voice. Might require a code, though." Skyhigh takes the unit from Hellfire and examines it closer. He nudges a button, and a screen comes on, so low contrast it's almost invisible, even in the darkness.
Ghost kneels in front of the last of the attackers and grabs his chin to force him to look up. "You’ve got two options, friend. Quick and painless, or real long, real slow and the worst fucking agony you've felt in your whole damn life. How much loyalty is that money worth when you know you'll never see any of it?" The ice in his voice doesn't just give me chills. Even a couple of the Outlaw Sons look a little uncomfortable with how easily he makes the threat. Killing in the heat of battle is very different from the promise of torture.
The man's eyes clear up, like his body just channeled every drop of adrenaline in his body towards this new threat. I don't know how much he understood but definitely enough that his face contorts in terror. "What do you want from me?"
"Give me the code word."
The man looks around at the glowering Outlaw Sons surrounding him, his expression resigned. There's no mercy to be found here. "Quick?"
"You won't feel a fucking thing."
He nods. I don't see how he can meet his obvious fate that calmly, but I guess you have to be a certain type of person to get into this kind of business at all. "Spoiled brat. Two words," he says.
"You gotta be fucking kidding me," growls Riot. Tex just chuckles.
Ghost nabs the comms unit from Skyhigh, and types on the little screen. I peek over his arm to read.
Target acquired and removed from premises. Mission successful. Spoiled brat.
"Let's see what they say." The screen remains black long enough that Ghost turns his attention back to the man. "If you fucked this up, it's gonna take fucking days."
The man shakes his head. "No, I swear. It's legit."
A faint dark red glow lights up on the comms unit, barely visible and pulsing slowly. Ghost taps the button. There's a new message there.
Good work. Confirm when your team has cleared the blast zone. You've got three hours.
Tex is looking over Ghost's shoulder on the other side from me. "Cleared the fucking what?"
33
JESSICA
"We need to get everyone the hell outta here," Hellfire's voice is low, meant only for the immediate circle around him. There's something else there too. Sadness? The Outlaw Sons are proud of their clubhouse, and now it sounds like it's going to get blown up, and us with it, if we don't get out of here.
Tex pulls me close. "If there's anything you need out of Bonnie's, better be quick." I rack my brain trying to think if there's even anything here I'd even care about. Maybe some changes of clothes, but I’m mostly considering how many of the pictures of General I should grab. Definitely her old ‘property’ patch.
Hellfire's phone rings. "Hidden number," he grumbles, but he takes it. "Hellfire. This better be fucking important."
The sudden crack of a gunshot cuts through the air. I start to turn, but Tex urges me forwards. "Nothing to look at. We gotta get you outta here." I guess Ghost made good on his promise of making it quick. I've seen more than enough death for one day.
"Tex! Jessica! Back here! Ghost and Riot too," Hellfire calls out, still holding his phone.
We gather around and he puts his phone on speaker. "They're here. Repeat what you said."
The moment I hear the voice that comes through the speaker, a core memory is triggered way back in my mind. It's a voice my body formed a primal connection to from even before I was born. Any doubts about our informant are brushed away with the speed and ease Ghost cleared out the attackers. "Mom," I whisper. Tex pulls me closer. So many emotions run through me that I don’t even know where to start picking them apart.
She speaks in a clipped tone with no time to waste. "I have to keep this quick. I was as good as exposed as soon as I tapped into the phone lines, but this is too important. Kane has a missile aimed at the compound. His yacht is somewhere offshore. I’m not exactly sure where and I don’t have time to track it. It's more than powerful enough to clear not just the compound, but the whole neighborhood around it. He's already got someone ready to spin it as a chain gas explosion."