We had an eleven-hour flight to reach the drop point.I faded in and out.After a few hours, sleep was overrated, or at least Labyrinth thought so.He had questions about the female Warrior who had given Marinah the journal.He said that he and Alden planned to travel to the Shadow women and return with mates.Of course, the women had a choice.I wasn’t as sure about their choice as Labyrinth was, but they were on a mission to find their own Marinahs, and who was I to deny them?
It also reminded me of Nokita speaking about a future without war and death, a vision that felt almost impossible.Beck was happy with Missy, and I was sure they’d have a child soon.Cabel’s wife was expecting their first baby any day now.Alden and Labyrinth deserved their own happiness, but I couldn’t help wondering if there would ever be a time without war.It had been woven into my life for too long.
As a child, I’d known I was different.I wasn’t meant to be a farmer.The last thing I wanted was to grow up and work the land.After my first shift to Warrior, I spent a year resenting my Beast.It was Uncle Greystone who saved me, who showed me what I was capable of and what I was made for.
War.It made for a bleak future when I actually considered it.
When we finally reached the drop point, we parachuted in as humans, our shaved heads and outpost daily wear helped to sell the deception after we were on solid land.If someone from the Federation saw us, we wanted them to see what looked like ordinary outpost citizens, not the real threat we posed.If they saw us parachute, all bets were off.
After landing safely, bundling our chutes, and hiding them, I turned and scanned Marinah from head to toe.There was nothing left of the frightened woman I encountered when she first came to the island.Her eyes met mine.She carried more strength than all of us combined.If anyone could bring an end to war, it was her.With her by my side, I wouldn’t be a farmer, but we would find something that settled us both.
Marinah’s plan was straightforward: if we couldn’t get the president, we’d take a lesser official, someone who might have the answers we needed.We also hoped it was someone we could use as a bargaining chip though information was our key goal.
The escape, however, was the messy part of the mission.Whoever we kidnapped wouldn’t stay quiet during the extraction.Marinah had come up with the idea of using Federation uniforms, and while I didn’t have a better plan, it still felt dicey.We’d likely have to use the hostage, or hostages, as shields.This mission relied on a mix of stealth and the unexpected.While it wasn’t perfect, it was the best we had.
We had landed about fifty miles from the first enemy encampment and set out at a steady jog.Labyrinth and Alden carried a large, insulated box with extra equipment and clothing, which included the Federation uniforms we’d gathered after the attack on the island.
We found an old gas station on the edge of the city.Marinah, Alden, and Labyrinth changed out of the fatigues and into plain uniforms with red stripes on one arm.I wore an officer’s uniform that was in good condition with no holes.We figured the man had been taken out by a percussion round.It was a little tight, but Marinah said there were few uniforms that would fit me, and we got lucky that this one was close.I caught her eyes after I slipped on the shirt.She winked and whispered, “Later, baby cakes.”With a look in her eyes that should have mine glowing.
We had to blend in to execute the next stage of the plan.Marinah gave us an overall inspection.Beast didn’t like it when her eyes went to Labyrinth and Alden, but I shoved him back.
“The idea is for you to appear human,” Marinah said.“It would help if you shrank six inches, lost fifty pounds, and maybe scowled a bit less.It’s okay for King in the officer’s uniform, but the rest of us are just dumb fodder, ready to die with smiles on our faces.In the name of country and all that.”
Alden snickered, clearly not accustomed to Marinah’s brand of battle humor.
“Dismissed,” she said with a cheeky smile.
“Isn’t that my line?”I snapped back with my own grin.
“You’ll get your chance, big boy.”
We stashed the insulated box behind the gas station, in dense shrubbery.If at all possible, we planned to pick it up after completing the mission and heading to the rendezvous point.
We entered the soldier-filled camp thirty minutes later.With our size, it was hard not to draw attention.The key was to act like we belonged, and that’s exactly what we did.Our destination was a small brick building to the east, maybe twenty by twenty.Small groups of soldiers entered and left the building at regular intervals, but they weren’t carrying food or gear.It only made sense if it was connected to the tunnel system.
A large group of soldiers drilled on the west side of camp; their young faces eager to impress despite the inevitability of death.I didn’t know why Marinah had spared the red stripe who attacked us.Sometimes she hesitated when it came to killing, and that was dangerous.The hesitation came from her human side, warped from too many years of brainwashing.Or maybe it was the fact that she was a female Shadow Warrior.I still dwelled on thoughts of peace from my conversation with Nokita.The females left the males for a reason.I didn’t want to be that reason, but our future seemed cemented in war.
I opened the heavy steel door at the entrance to the small building.A soldier almost ran into me.He was a foot shorter, probably in his twenties, his attention focused elsewhere.“Pardon me, sir,” he said, snapping a salute.I gave him the expected response along with a slight grunt for inconveniencing me.He moved on without another glance.
The room was dark, with small lights at knee level marking a path to the stairs.Marinah, Labyrinth, and Alden followed me silently as we descended.The sidewalls were steel making it perfect when it came to repelling hellhounds.Marinah had been right.The Federation had been hiding underground for a long time.We would have eventually figured it out, but I gave Marinah all the credit.
Voices echoed from below, and I heard someone ask, “Are you hitting the party tonight?”
A party.I’d forgotten how the Federation operated.Invade the Shadow Warrior island, try to kill them all, then throw a party even if they lost.I inhaled slowly, suppressing the K-5 from rising to the surface.
After two flights of stairs, we reached a long, narrow tunnel that stretched in both directions.We turned right, passing closed doors on either side until we arrived at a central area.It was a busy cafeteria filled with soldiers milling about.They sat in groups, talking and laughing.They were safe in their confined world and paid us no attention.
We crossed to a single door that led to who knows where and stepped into another long hallway.It was empty.
“We need somewhere secure,” Marinah whispered.
“We could go back and check out the rooms down the first hallway,” I suggested.
“No, we move forward.They’re having a party tonight.Let’s crash it.”
In the midst of the enemy, Alden and Labyrinth smiled.
About fifty yards later, the hallway ended, and we entered a massive rotunda.The glossy marble floors reflected sparkling lights from the ceiling.The Federation’s emblem took up one wall, an official sign of domination.This had to be the government section of their underground complex: fewer soldiers and more opulence.Several men, paying no attention to us, wore actual suits.
