Revenant (The Midnight Society #3) (10 page)

Chapter Fourteen

Lincoln

“For once in your miserable life, tell me the truth. Is that baby mine?” I asked.

She reached for a bottle of chilled white wine, resting in a bucket of ice.

“I don’t know about you, Lincoln, but I need a drink,” she said brushing up against my shoulder.

I wanted to wrap my hands around her throat and just fucking squeeze the life out of her. I would take so much pleasure in that.

But I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. Not now, while there was life inside her.

My hands were shackled in heavy chains once more, now bolted to the limo floor. Our ride was making haste towards the direction of my ultimate fate as a prisoner of the mad dragon, Yuen Xi.

Buchanan sat across from me, white knuckled fists clutching the shotgun. From the flicker in his eyes I knew he desired to cave my skull in. All he needed was a reason.

I watched as Calisto popped the cork of the wine bottle and poured a healthy serving into a fishbowl glass.

“Want some?” she asked.

“You shouldn’t be drinking,” I said. “It’s not good for the pregnancy.”

“Like you care,” she said as she held the glass firmly in her hand.

“If it’s my child, then I care,” I replied. “Now tell me the truth. Is it my baby?”

She set the glass down on the side table and rested a warm hand on my thigh. She began rubbing it back and forth with sensual strokes.

I was repulsed by her touch.

“Do you want to feel my belly?” she asked. “The baby just started kicking the other day.”

“I hope it kicks a hole right through your stomach, you wench,” I replied.

Calisto laughed. “I can tell you would have been a good father,” she said. “But alas, because of all your past transgressions we’ll have to hand you over to Yuen Xi. Lord only knows what he’s going to do with you. It’s sad you won’t even get a chance to see your child.”

“So it is my kid?” I asked once again.

“Yes you fuckwit, it’s your baby,” Calisto said.

“I thought you were on the pill,” I said, “And I’m sure I’m not the only cock you allowed within that shapeless chasm of yours. Of all the men you’ve fucked over the past few months, how do you know that I’m the lucky one?”

Calisto laughed. “You were the only one who fucked me during the conception date. You’re also the only man I allowed to fuck me without a condom. As for the pill, sometimes I forget. It happens.”

I shook my head. “I can’t trust your lies. That baby could be someone else’s.”

“Once the baby comes, I’ll send you the DNA results. I saved some of your semen from our last sexcapade a couple of days ago. It was very satisfying, thank you. Being pregnant has made me hornier.”

“Well, you can go right on ahead and fuck yourself then. That might help with your urges.”

“What kind of man talk’s to his baby’s mother like that?” she asked.

“What kind of woman condemns her baby’s father to die?”

“You don’t know for a fact that Yuen Xi will kill you.”

I shot her a look. “Please. Does the sun set at night?”

She brushed her hair back and smiled. “You’re right. He’ll probably torture you first and then kill you in the most brutal, horrific way possible. It’s a sad story, I know.”

I frowned at the thought of having my head served on a silver platter to Yuen Xi, the scourge of Asia and Genghis Kahn reincarnated.

Meanwhile my unborn child, if he or she
is
even my child, will end up being raised by their psychotic bitch of a mother, Calisto, whose soul was as rotten as a hobo’s teeth.

Though I didn’t fear death, there was still much I needed to accomplish in this life. For starters, I needed to make amends with Shadow for what I’ve done. I didn’t want to die knowing that he hated my guts. And there was still the matter of this baby. Oh lord, what to do? What to do?

Calisto suddenly shoved her cell phone camera into my face.

“Say something,” she said.

I looked at her, bewildered. “What the fuck are you doing?” I asked.

She readjusted the position of the phone.

“I’m documenting the final hours of our future baby’s father. I thought it’d be appropriate that our child had something to remember you by.”

“You’re insane.”

She made a ‘tsking’ sound with her tongue clicking against her teeth. “Now, now. You don’t want little Maximus to grow up thinking his father hated his mother, do you?”

“The baby’s a boy?”

She shrugged. “No clue. Maxine if our baby comes out without a pair.”

I stared at the lens of the camera on her cell phone.

“Never listen to your mother,” I said. “She’s a demon straight out of the ninth circle of hell.”

Calisto genuinely seemed disappointed by my words. “Lincoln, can’t we just have a loving family moment together? Look, why don’t you rub my belly? It’ll help us bond.”

Buchanan pointed the shotgun right in my face.

“Rub her belly, asshole,” he stated.

Could this get any more awkward?

I exhaled as I allowed my fingertips to slowly come to a rest on top of her round belly. I felt nothing but cotton fabric.

“It’s better to feel her right against the skin,” she said as she lifted up the bottom of her shirt, revealing her bare stomach. I could see traces of a thin line, drawing form her naval down to her groin. She definitely wasn’t faking her pregnancy.

“Go on, touch,” she whispered in a loving voice.

For a split second, I forgot that she was sacrificing me to a warlord, and thought about potentially being a dad.

She grabbed my shackled wrist and guided my hand to her womb.

“Sometimes it takes a while for the baby to do anything. Most days, he’s just sleeping.” Her voice was as light as silk.

I closed my eyes and allowed myself to feel the warmth of her belly, the vessel that was protecting our child.

And then I felt the baby move. My heart surged to the back of my throat. “I felt him,” I whispered. “I felt him move.”

I opened my eyes and noticed that Calisto was smiling at me. “I know you did, silly. I know you did.”

I was dumbfounded. I was going to be a father.

“You know what’s great, Lincoln?” she asked.

“What?”

“Tossing this little abomination in the trash can the second she’s born.” Her laugh that followed after was one straight out of a nightmare.

“Don’t you dare,” I whispered. “It’s a baby, Calisto.
Your
baby.”

She leaned back in her seat and reached for the glass of wine again, which Buchanan gave to her.

“You dumb fuck,” she said. She took the glass and splashed it right into my face. Oddly enough, I was relieved that instead of drinking the wine, it was being used to humiliate me. “I was joking. Do you think I’d ever harm
my
child? Hell, Lincoln, I’m going to raise our child alone. Trust me when I say that he or she will grow up with enough sparks in her blood to ignite the world on fire. She’ll be molded into the perfect man or woman, in my image.”

Suddenly the car rolled to a stop.

“We’re here,” Calisto said as she waited for Buchanan to exit the vehicle first. He opened the door for her and she stepped out, leaving my hands still chained to the limo floor.

The door closed behind them. I heard the sounds of chatter from the outside, some of it in English, but most in Mandarin.

Unsuspecting to all parties I understood the Asian dialect.

“He is the one who killed Yuen Xi’s daughter?”

“Yes,”
Calisto answered in Mandarin. “
You tell Yuen Xi that I’m willing to sacrifice Lincoln Richard’s, the father of my own baby, to make things right between the Revenants and his organization. It’s a high price to pay for peace but for the betterment of both organizations, one that I’m willing to pay.”

I hated her.

And to think, there was a time where I wanted nothing more than to have her in my arms.

Suddenly the limo door opened again. Buchanan’s beefy arm reached through and grabbed me by the collar.

“Time’s up, boy,” he said. “Are you ready to say goodbye to this shit show you’ve called a life?”

I thought of the baby in Calisto’s belly.

No. No, I was not.

#

Chapter Fifteen

Aria

It was time. Tonight, I was either going to orchestrate one of the most brilliant breakouts in history or I was going to condemn all those under my command to die a horrible, horrible death.

No pressure. No damned pressure at all.

“What was the plan again?” Cairo asked as he looked at me with skepticism on his face.

“I didn’t tell it to you yet,” I replied.

“Great. So when do we get to know?”

I thought about it for a moment. “It’ll be a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type of plan. I’ll give you instructions as you’re going through the motions.”

“Jesus Christ,” Beau said as he leaned back in his chair and smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. “This has to be a joke.”

His brother, Braydon, a massive hulk of eye-candy whom I had the pleasure of meeting only minutes ago, also decided to voice his displeasure. “Seriously, I’ve seen football teams in the Football Lingerie League more organized than this. It’s that bad.”

It was Isadora who hushed them all.

“We live with what we have,” she said. “I put my trust into Aria. If Shadow acknowledges that she should be the one leading this rescue mission, then so be it.”

Thank you.

“Besides, if it’s our time to die, then who are we to oppose?” she added.

Damn it, you weren’t helping Isadora.

I had spent the better part of the afternoon going over everything again—geographical maps, sections of the power grid, escape routes, and the million other variables that could affect our success. I had drafted up three contingency plans per scenario, hoping that I’d never have to use them.

But what if I missed something? What if there was a critical key element that I overlooked, one that spelt doom for us all?

They doubted my leadership capabilities and I couldn’t blame them.

Damn you Shadow for putting me in this position.

“Look, I think this will work,” I said. “You just have to trust me and follow my instructions. We
should
all make it out in one piece.” It was my pathetic attempt at an uplifting, spirit-rousing speech.

“Easy for you to say, darling,” Beau sighed. “You’re not the one going out into the field, headfirst into the danger zone.”

That was fair.

“Out there, I’ll be coordinating with Braydon, as per Shadow’s instructions,” I said. “He’s the field leader. He has the experience out there.” I pointed to the control console which Reiko had set up. “I have the experience in here.”

Beau raised a brow. “And how much experience is that?”

“About twenty minutes worth,” Reiko answered for me.

“We’re all going to die,” Cairo muttered.

Braydon rose from his seat and then pointed towards the directions of the couches in the other room.

“Let’s have a few words,” he said. His voice was strangely calm and reassuring.

I nodded. “Reiko, in the meantime, can you wire up everyone with the Bluetooth mics?”

She nodded.

We took a seat on the white couch. By instinct, I grabbed a cushion and hugged it close to my body using it as a safety blanket to calm my nerves.

Braydon leaned back in his seat, draping one arm over the armrest. If he was nervous, it certainly didn’t show. He was a walking totem of confidence.

“I’ll be blunt. If I can’t trust you, we’re going to have problems,” he said. “I have no problem tuning you out and redirecting this group of stragglers as I see fit.”

“That’s not a good idea,” I said. “From mission control, I have full visibility of everything. You’ll be able to only see what’s in front of you.”

“Agreed,” Braydon said, “However when I signed on for this mission, I was reassured I’d have a well-oiled team out in the field.” He pointed a finger at the others. “Not a steroid-infused meathead, the wicked witch of weird, and my shit-for-brains brother. Now add onto the fact that the entire show is being run by a…” he paused. “What did you do for a living?”

“Classical pianist in training.”

“Great…like I was saying, this entire gong-show being run by a classical pianist.”

“You just met me,” I stated. “You can’t start making judgments about my ability to lead.”

Braydon rubbed his chin and stared at me with thoughtful eyes. “This isn’t a game.”

“No shit.”

He leaned forward. “Tell me, after we grab this Lincoln fellow, what’s the best route to take?”

“That’s classified info. Shadow specifically said to trust no one with the plan in advance.”

“Give me an answer on this, girl. If you want me to follow your orders without doubting you, then I need to know you’ve done your research. Out there in the field, there can be no hesitation when it comes to decisions. If I can’t trust yours, I’m ignoring them all. Also keep in mind that unlike you, I have no emotional attachment to anyone here. I’m willing to make the calls that will keep
me
alive, even at the expense of the others.”

“That’s kind of selfish.”

“Don’t go mistaking me for a man who doesn’t follow orders. I can and will, but only to a general I can trust. I’d chew broken glass if the order came from someone who had my respect. They tell me to leave no man behind on this mission; I’d be the last man to leave. However, if it were my call, everyone on this mission is expendable.”

“Even Beau? Your own brother?”

We both turned to look at him. For some reason, beyond my reasoning, Beau was flicking the Bluetooth bud with the tip of his tongue in an effort to either gross out or impress Isadora. She looked at him like he had worms on his face.

“Not the greatest loss in the world,” Braydon said.

I didn’t want to agree aloud.

“I’m going to ask you again, Aria. What route is the best to take after we extract Lincoln? I need reassurance that you know what you’re talking about.”

“The Foxway underpass tunnel,” I replied.

“Why?”

“Because it’s sheltered from aerial view, limiting the line of sight Calisto will have on us. Also just 3.5 miles shy of the tunnel there’s a roundabout, allowing us to separate into different directions, scattering us in the event of a chase, which most likely will happen.”

Braydon seemed pleased with my answer. “Good,” he replied. “Good.”

“We done?” I asked.

“No, not yet. I want to see how much you know about the actual army airport facility. What’s the best mode of entrance in?”

“There are two,” I replied. “The first one is the underground sewer system that leads into the basement of the command tower. The second is the unnoticeable and often forgotten south east gate, which is surrounded by dead aircrafts. Both provide stealth accesses of entry.”

“So which one will we take?” Braydon asked.

“Both,” I replied, “There’s four of you going in. Two of you will take the sewers and two will take the southeast gate. Those who take the sewer will have to clean out the command tower to gain control of the enemy’s highest vantage point. That’s also the location of all the backup generators. We’ll need them all disabled.”

“Shouldn’t we
all
be going into the sewer then, if that’s the case?” Braydon asked.

I shook my head. “The sewers are narrow quarters. Putting four people through it will slow things down. The sewers are essentially a tunnel. If, God forbid, the ones down there are discovered, there’s pretty much nothing they can do. We’ll need the other two for backup as a secondary option.”

“And who do you plan on throwing down into the sewers?” Braydon asked.

“You and your brother, of course.”

He laughed. “I guess it is fitting. We’ve both been called little shits numerous times, by our dearly departed father.”

Braydon seemed at ease with all that I’ve told him thus far. I hoped that was a good sign.

“Well?” I asked.

“What?”

“Do I get the thumbs up to be your fearless leader? At least until Lincoln’s broken out and Shadow gets his head in order.”

Braydon nodded. “For now,” he said, “for now.”

“I still need you as field tactical leader. There will probably be things that come up that I can’t possibly see from the command center.”

“Fine,” he said as he rose from the couch. “Now, if you excuse me, I have to get myself wired up and prepare myself for a mile long hike in shit.”

I watched him stroll calmly towards Reiko, who had just finished wiring up Cairo. There were no loving words exchanged between the two former lovers, only averted eyes. I could tell Cairo’s silent treatment of Reiko was tearing her up inside.

Men. Why did they have to be so stupid about things?

My thoughts naturally gravitated towards Shadow. I supposed now was a good time as any to pay him a visit.

I walked up the winding staircase of the mansion and past the long hallway, which featured full-length windows overlooking the gorgeous ocean. The setting sun reflected rays of dusk along the surface of the crystal waters. I exhaled.

At times like these, it was important to stop and take in the beauty wherever I saw it.

I found Shadow inside the panic room, sitting cross-legged on a yoga mat, cell phone pressed up against his ear.

“The sooner you can get here with your person, the better. I need to know what kind of damage Calisto has done to me. Perhaps there’s something implanted in there that can help us find her…”

He seemed agitated.

“I seriously don’t know. I tried digging around in there but every time I do, I blackout. I end up waking up with a raging headache.”

Who was he talking to?

His eyes eventually locked onto my own.

“Gotta go,” he said. He shoved the phone back into his pocket and then smiled.

“Ready?” he asked.

I shook my head. “How can I ever be?”

He rose from where he sat and leaned up against the doorframe of the panic room, arms folded across his chest. A thick layer of glass still separated us.

“After Abraham’s death, do you know why I chose you to be his replacement?”

“Because you’re an idiot?”

He smirked. “There’s a little bit of that. But I also saw a lot of qualities in you that make you a leader, the same qualities Abraham shared. To put you in the role, based on personality alone, was a seamless fit.”

“You can’t compare me to Abraham. He was a great man.”

“And you’re a great woman,” Shadow reassured me. “I trust you more than anyone in planning and coordinating tonight’s escape; myself included.”

I walked up to the glass and pressed myself against it. “Is everything okay in there?” I finally asked, pointing to his head.

“I don’t know. It’s a scary thought knowing that I don’t have full control over myself. Lord knows what else I’ve done under Calisto’s influence.”

I thought about our relationship again and how the basis of it was because of Calisto’s brainwashing. Shadow had reassured me he loved me, in spite of it all. But still, there were moments where I couldn’t help but wonder...

“Who was that on the phone?” I asked.

“Someone who can help,” he replied. “Let’s leave it at that for now.”

I could tell he wanted to keep this one close to his chest. Despite my curiosity of who this person was, I respected Shadow’s wishes.

Everyone was entitled to their secrets. I certainly had my own fair share of them.

“I better get going,” I said. “I need to go over my notes one last time and make sure I’m not missing anything.”

“You’ve got this, Aria,” Shadow said as he pressed his forehead against the glass.

“Any chance you’ll let me put down this barrier so you can give me a hug?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Believe me, I want to. But I just can’t risk it. Don’t worry. I’ll have my head sorted out soon enough. Once we have Lincoln back, we can concentrate on our endgame in taking Calisto down.”

I nodded.

“I love you,” I said.

“Ditto. Now go save Lincoln.”

#