As usual, Cameron began to blab about his day. Jill stayed quiet and just enjoyed the sound of him as well. His conversation with himself moved from Eva to his first soccer practice to scraping his hands on the slide and then back to Eva. Eventually, he exhausted his vocabulary.
“Mommy,” he said. “I miss you and Daddy.”
“I miss you too, Cam Cam.” She felt her strength ebb away and another tear escape the corner of her eye.
“All my friends have mommies and daddies.”
That broke the dam. Jill buried her head in her hands. “I’m sorry, Cam, we’ll all be together soon.”
“I had a bad dream last night. I went to find you when I couldn’t sleep again.”
“If you ever need to find me, just look up at the stars,” she tried to say. The words came out a blubbery mess. Finally, after several more minutes of trying to say she loved him and hearing him say he loved her back, Jill hung up.
She leaned against a boulder in the ravine and broke down, burying her face in her hands, her entire body shuddering as she sobbed. After what seemed an eternity, long after her tear ducts had dried out, she just sat there looking up.
“I don’t know how much longer I can keep it together.”
This war is for Cameron as well. If we lose, his future will be lost.
Jill palmed her face and wiped away the tears. “I already lost a husband. And I lost two years with my baby. I’ll never get those back.”
I promise you. After this is over, you will reunite with Cameron, even if you need to walk away from the Prophus. I owe you this much. But for now, you need to hold it together just a little bit longer.
Jill closed her eyes and sucked in through her nose. She held it for a few seconds and slowly exhaled. “I don’t want just my son, Baji. I want my husband too. They’re everything to me. Promise me both, and I’ll fight the Genjix until the end of the Earth.”
When this is all over…
Several headlights suddenly appeared in the distance, rumbling down the ravine at high speed. Jill frowned. Were they discovered?
Get inside.
“No time. If it’s the Genjix, they’ll be right on my heels. I can’t open the vault door for them.”
It was suicide, but she scrambled up the ravine and hoisted herself onto a small cliff jutting out of the side. Lying flat against the cool stone, she watched as six cars screeched to a stop. She did a quick head count on the bodies getting out and prepared to run.
“You can come down, Jill,” Marco called up to her.
With a sigh of relief, she peered over the edge and slid down to greet him in a rough embrace. “I was that invisible, huh?” she asked. “Some ninja I turned out to be.”
He squeezed her tightly. “Nah, the ninja detecting bangle gave you away.” He let her go. “Listen, we need to get inside. There are Genjix on our trail. They’ll be here soon.”
Jill gasped. “You led them there? You idiot! Why?”
Marco motioned his men inside and pushed her in as well. “Not us. They intercepted Paula’s recall signal. We came to get you out.” He stopped just as they entered the tunnel and looked outside as several new headlights appeared in the distance. “Too late,” he said grimly. “Get inside. Guess we’ll make a final stand here.”
THIRTY-NINE
THE PORT
The Roman Empire became our philosophical paradox. We became so adept at manipulating humanity that we were able to dominate them by creating the largest empire the world had ever seen. However, in doing so, we also created a stability that directly stifled our Conflict Doctrine.
Therefore, in order to maintain both the empire and the doctrine, the Quasing pushed the empire further and further out. This led to the eventual corruption and rotting of the empire. It was at that time that I decided to venture eastward to Asia and try my hand at unspoiled lands.
Tao
It was a rough couple of hours for Roen and his band of very un-merry men as they were tossed around like dice in a cup in one of the shipping containers marked to be unloaded at the Punai warehouse. Between the cranes, trucks, hooks, and conveyor belts used to move these containers about, they were jostled around constantly and violently until they finally reached their resting place. They presumed it was somewhere on the Punai grounds since the container was virtually pitch black inside.
Otherwise the men passed the time in silence though, the recent news weighing heavily on their minds. Most had been with the Prophus for years if not decades, and all of them believed fervently in the cause. They knew what was at stake if the war was lost, not only for the world but for them personally as well. If the Prophus fell, they were all dead men walking. Roen spent his time worrying and napping. There wasn’t much else to do other than have his imagination run out of control. At midnight, Tao woke him up. He always said having a built in alarm clock qualified as his one super power.
Game time.
Roen checked his watch out of habit and then shined his flashlight around the room. He saw his men’s long faces and decided to give everyone a pep talk. After all, they could all use a morale boost, even though Roen felt like he needed cheering up the most.
You should say something. Be the leader.
“Technically, Faust is. Or Dylan since the Keeper assigned him to run this.”
Dylan is the tactical lead, but he is still a stranger to the men. Faust is still not right in the head. The job falls on you.
Roen stood up and paced the container, watching each man tending to his own little part of the world. Grant had a son who was in Tibet fighting with Stephen. Hutch’s wife worked on the Hill with Jill. Ray’s brother was in Greenland with the Keeper. Being part of the Prophus was more than a job; it was a family affair. And now everything they stood for was on the verge of falling apart. Hell, it was all Roen could do to not bust out of this metal coffin and swim across the ocean to search for Jill.
“Tao, I don’t know what to say.”
Everyone feels defeated. Just be honest.
Roen cleared his throat. “Alright, huddle up. I know the situation sucks, and we’re probably screwed.”
I was hoping for a better opener.
“We have loved ones and friends all over the world who are in danger,” he continued. “We don’t know if anyone is still alive, and all we want to do right now is ditch this mission and go look for them. At least that’s what I want to do. My wife’s out there somewhere in the thick of it. Right now, I could give two shits…” he gestured at the container “…about this shit.”
You are making things worse. Stop talking while you are ahead, or better yet, repeat after me.
“No, Tao, I got this.”
Roen scanned each face. At least he had their attention. Well, most of them. Hutch was still sleeping. Roen raised his voice. “And I’m so frustrated right now that I just want to hit something!” He emphasized his anger by punching the wall. The ringing woke Hutch, who reached for his rifle.
Easy, Tyson. Last thing we need is to be discovered.
“But I’m in the same boat as you,” Roen continued. He pointed at the wall. “We still got a job to do. And at least we know that some of the people responsible for endangering our loved ones are right outside. Our mission is still important. We can still hurt the enemy.”
Roen’s speech was met with silence. And though he didn’t quite expect an enthusiastic huzzah after his speech, he had hoped for some sort of positive reinforcement. Grant looked stone faced, Hutch tired, and Stan resigned to their fate. Only Dylan wore a smile, but then, when didn’t he?
“You know,” Ray said. “I’ve always been told that if the Genjix win, humanity’s doomed. Is that still correct?”