Powerless (15 page)

“Without a doubt,” Simion answered. “Whatever shield Ahriman is using gives off feedback, almost like a blip of nothingness on the sensors. But there’s nothing—no signal or disturbance of any kind—coming from Armise. I’m just seeing his tracker. You have eyes on him? Someone could be wearing a chip that reads as him.”

“It’s him,” I confirmed. “How many minutes out is the Committee member?”

“Arriving now.”

And I could hear the thump of the heli blades before I could see the lights of it in the distance.

“I can’t get to Ahriman,” I stated, even though that was fucking obvious. Ahriman was shielded against any weapon I had on me and I was two kilometres away from him, perched on the edge of a cliff.

“But you can get to the Opp.”

I watched as the Committee member’s heli landed and he entered the house. “We talking the Committee member or Armise?”

“Either. Any chance you can hit them both?”

“Possible but not likely. Armise is in almost constant motion.”

Simion hesitated, then, “Like he knows you’re there.”

Armise’s words to me in the UU came flooding back.

‘I don’t need a fucking chip to track you.’

Instinct and years of experience with the Mongol Giant told me Simion was right.

“Who’s my target here?”

“As far as I’m concerned, your mission hasn’t changed. If you can take them both then do it. But your priority is the Committee member. I’m not on the ground, though. You tell me.”

“You want Neveed to weigh in on this?”

“Nope. He’ll order you to go after Armise. And I’m damn sure that order won’t have anything to do with business.”

I hadn’t thought twice about telling Simion what had happened between Neveed and me on the island. My list of allies had been crushed to dust like a tin hut struck by a massive reverb, and I figured that if I could share a drug den with the man then that had to put us on some level of trust.

“It’s time, Merq. We’ve got to get this job done and extract you before Ahriman can come looking for you.”

I sighted each of the targets, making minuscule adjustments to the rifle as I moved the sights between Armise and the Committee member.

Armise walked over to greet the Committee member, shifting him into a position away from the others where I would have no trouble taking the man down. Or Armise. Armise was deathly still, as only he could be. As if he were giving me the choice between him and the Committee member.

I kept my sights trained on Armise even as he looked up, appearing to be staring directly into the scope. It was possible—likely a sniper’s knowledge of where the best angle would be from—he was tracking me just as readily as I was tracking him. Then he gave an almost imperceptible hand signal to fire. A signal that wasn’t standard military practice, so it wouldn’t be detected. We’d developed our own shorthand when working together and Armise was using that secret language to send me a message. With his four-fingered left hand of all fucking coincidences.

I sneered.

He wasn’t just handing the Committee member’s life to me. He was ordering me to take it.

I had to tamp down my anger to keep my breathing and heartbeat even.

I placed the sights over the Committee member’s head and pulled gently on the trigger. There was an audible pop, and I watched the Committee member’s body slump and fall to the floor. I immediately went to my feet, slinging my rifle over my shoulder and heading for the extraction point. It wasn’t safe for me to linger here, as much as I wanted to.

“I’m on the move,” I advised Simion. “Target eliminated.”

Simion took a deep breath I could hear over the radio. “Which one?”

Simion knew. But he wouldn’t be the one to have my ass over not killing Armise when I’d had the shot. I snidely answered anyway, “Does it matter?”

Chapter Ten

May 2560

American Federation – Santiago

I wasn’t sure how to carry myself when my mission was to protect instead of to kill.

And Neveed and Simion found it inordinately hilarious how uncomfortable I was in a full uniform.

“I’m not fucking wearing it,” I gritted out, nearly ripping off the line of shiny black buttons as I shrugged the stiff shirt from my shoulders. “How the fuck is anyone supposed to fight when you can’t move your elbows?”

Neveed was slung back in a black chair, his hand over his mouth pretending to scratch at his thick beard, shoulders shaking from the effort not to laugh out loud.

Simion wasn’t even trying. He sat on the edge of the couch, elbows on his knees, grey eyes crinkled, as he cackled. It was rare to see Simion give a full smile instead of his usual smirk, but apparently my discomfort made him gleeful. Great.

“Come on, Mig. It’s only a couple of hours. You can handle it,” Simion managed to croak out before breaking into raucous laughter again that had him almost rolling off the couch.

Neveed scrunched his eyes and looked up at me. “Who the fuck is Mig?”

I caught his gaze in the mirror as I pulled on a long sleeved T-shirt with the sunburst emblem of the Revolution and fixed my hair. I thought I may as well look somewhat presentable since I was going to be in front of millions of people once again.

I made a show of rolling my eyes. “Me. Merq Grayson. MG. So, Mig. Don’t ask me. Simion gave me the name, I didn’t choose it.”

“I was fourteen when I gave you that nickname. It’s fucking brilliant. You don’t like it?” Simion answered with a faux pout, his thick, perfectly bow-shaped lips tugging down into a frown as he swept his blond hair from his forehead.

Neveed took a drink of the water sitting on the table next to him then gestured between Simion and me with an outstretched hand. “I forget you two were practically babies together.”

Simion smirked. “Merq was the first boy I ever kissed.”

“Jesus fuck, Sims. You really have to go there?”

Neveed flipped his black General’s cap with a bright orange band onto his head and peeked out at me under the bill. “Well, he’s a much better assassin than a lover. At least when he kills someone they get off before he does.”

Simion’s eyes widened as he roared. “Damn! That was cold.”

Neveed winked at me and I flicked him off.

“So where are they putting you?” I asked Simion.

He was dressed like a civilian and wouldn’t be on the dais with any of us—that much I knew.

“Back of the plaza. I’ll be monitoring the crowd and periphery.”

“Armed?”

“Yeah. I’ll be in your ear, but I won’t be within reach if anything happens on the dais. Neither will Jegs.”

I only had hints as to why they were keeping Simion’s involvement low key. While he was technically active duty, the President was keeping him closer than he ever had in the past. Jegs, on the other hand, should have been part of our team. I lifted an eyebrow and looked to Neveed for a reason that Jegs wouldn’t be involved in today’s protection detail. Three members of the Council of Five were taking the stage in the AF city of Santiago for the first public address since the summit and there had to be a good reason why we weren’t engaging all our assets.

Neveed sat up taller in his chair. “She’s a liability today. Her brother isn’t going to give a shit about killing her or not, but she may not have the same lack of empathy.”

“Or she may be too focused on revenge,” I added, purposefully not commenting on who that revenge could be focused on.

“Exactly. I’ve got her off-site with Chen.”

“We sure Grimshaw is going to be on the ground?”

Neveed turned to Simion for the answer. Simion and Neveed shared a look that I wasn’t sure how to interpret. Their relationship had changed over the last five months while I’d been out on assignment. It wasn’t as if they were closer—and I was damn sure they weren’t involved physically with each other—but Neveed was looking to Simion in ways he never had before. And it wasn’t just Neveed. The President was too.

I still didn’t know what had happened to Simion after we’d left the surge den besides that he had stayed in the capital. I hadn’t asked him any more details of the missing months. But I had no doubt that if I did ask him he would tell me. That Priyessa had been right, and Simion had joined me on missions as a backup… Fuck that. That Simion was still alive was all I needed to know.

Simion scratched his nose as he dragged his eyes away from Neveed and looked at me, “He’ll be here.” Finally answering my question about Grimshaw.

My gaze flitted between the two of them, taking in the tension. “But? What else is there? You think Ahriman’s going to make an appearance?”

“Uh-uh. He’s perfectly happy to stay hidden away in Singapore.”

“So what the fuck is it?”

Simion shrugged. “We’re not expecting anything. The lack of intel or intentions is making me anxious. Neveed seems to think that making the first Council meeting so impenetrable dissuaded them.”

“Come on. You don’t really. This one is going to be a hell of a lot more public.” More on the scale of half a million people present versus five in one room.

Neveed rested his elbows on his knees and leant forward. “I don’t know what else to think. The Opposition hasn’t been quiet. Fighting is just as fierce. Just as territorial. I just think they’ve focused their energy on the ground forces instead of leadership. Maybe they’re finally learning that it’s the people who will matter in the end of this. The majority.”

“Fuck no,” I scoffed. “Ahriman will never give a shit about any of them. Grimshaw, yeah, he gets it even if he’s fighting for the wrong side. But Ahriman will never care for his people as more than a buffer zone.”

“In my opinion, that’s why Grimshaw is here in an official capacity,” Simion clarified. “Ahriman’s not an idiot. He banded with the Nationalists so there would be the perception that the Opposition gives a fuck. They haven’t given up on killing any or all of the five leaders. And today is a perfect opportunity for them to do it.”

Neveed gave a pointed look to me. “Which is why you’re not going to move away from the President’s side.”

One bullet.

That’s all it would take.

I steeled myself. “There’s not a whole hell of a lot I can do if someone tries to take a shot at him from a distance.”

“I know,” Neveed admitted. “All of them will be shielded from sonic weapons, but that will do nothing against real bullets. You think Armise will be here?”

“I don’t know,” I answered quickly.

But I wasn’t sure. The night before—the first that I had woken without dreams of searching for Armise—had been…unexpected. There were no other words I could put to explain it. Even if Armise was here, though, there was little that could be done to stop him.

“Can’t you just scan for his tracker?” I asked.

Simion nodded. “We are. But there’s going to be over half a million people in that plaza. And if he decides to set up somewhere distant, we have almost no ability to find him. That’s if he’s even still carrying a chip. What happened in the Wildes could have spooked him and Ahriman.”

Neveed studied me, as if he could see through what I was thinking. “What’s your gut telling you, Merq?”

I wouldn’t lie to him about this. “If I was in his position, I would see this as my best opportunity.”

Simion nodded thoughtfully. “Neveed and I are split. He doesn’t expect much to happen. I, personally, am waiting for hell to be unleashed. Neither of us has good intel to back us up. And that level of uncertainty makes me think we should call this all off.”

“What could possibly go wrong?” Neveed drawled out, his southern accent lilting thickly. “It’s just the leaders of the Revolution making speeches in public. For the first time since the Olympics.”

I gave a derisive snort. “That ended well.” I tucked in my shirt and attached the band around my neck that would allow me to have radio contact with the team. “You ready, General?”

Neveed stood, smoothed his uniform and set his cap back on his head. His black hair was slicked into a loose ponytail, and his beard was thick but trimmed close. “Ready, Colonel.”

Simion shook his head. He stood and popped the top button on his shirt. “All this fucking formality.”

“Get used to it,” Neveed quipped and opened the door before I could ask him what he meant by that.

We were met immediately in the hallway with the leaders of three of the five countries—all of them holding the title of president in their respective homelands—huddled together. In full view of floor to ceiling windows. I knew that most people didn’t immediately think of bullet trajectories or see glass as an invitation rather than a deterrent, but our own security team and theirs had to be smarter. Whoever had allowed the President to move out of his holding room before I gave the okay was about to be severely demoted. I gritted my teeth and stepped between the President and any opportunity for a clear shot.

“Merq, you’ve met President Kariabba Tivy before,” the President offered.

I nodded in the direction of the stately woman with a head full of tight curls and sad but knowing eyes. The President tipped his head towards the president of the American Federation. She towered over him—almost able to look me directly in the eye—chin tipped up, but a warm smile arching across her cream skin. “And Isida Agri of the American Federation.”

“Pleasure,” I offered without moving out of position. I gestured for the men who appeared to be their bodyguards to stick close. “I’d like you all to move back into the interior room until we’re ready for you to enter the square. General Niaz, you as well, please.”

Neveed nodded in my direction then exchanged another knowing glance with Simion. Simion slipped silently down the corridor.

I followed the group inside the room I had secured earlier—the one they were supposed to remain in—then closed the door, bolting it closed. We had almost an hour until the Council was set to take the stage in the first public address of the leaders since the Borders War had restarted and there was no way I was going to allow any of them to take on more risk than they already were.

Isida and Kariabba sat at the table piled high with food and drink, but didn’t touch any of it. They leaned intimately into each other, talking in hushed tones.