“Roger that, and thank you! Who is this?”
Madeline gave a most unmilitary giggle and said, “You can call us Fire team Vixen.”
“Thanks, Fire team Vixen. Proceeding to objective.”
“Orders, ma’am?” asked the backup squad leader.
“We’re returning to General Marwan’s position and hoping the Lord Peregrinus doesn’t ever find out we were here,” answered Madeline.
“Roger that, ma’am.” There were chuckles amongst the squad members as they moved out.
***
An hour later, it was over. General Marwan’s troopers declared the complex secure, with both Rachel Gentry and General Branko held prisoner in the executive board room, a brief walk from Madeline’s long-abandoned office. Giles had been found, his big frame squeezed into a tiny service cubicle that he had been using as a hideout while he hacked his way through layers of computer security. Aurelian had not been happy until he had found Marc Duchesne, who had maintained a disguise as a maintenance and service coordinator in the below ground service and utility tunnels.
“You cunning bastard,” said Aurelian in relief, embracing his friend in an enormous bear hug.
“Easy,mon ami!” protested a laughing Marc, patting Aurelian’s arm to make him put him back down. “I am an old man now. You young people cannot manhandle me anymore,oui?”
“Have you told Amelie that you’re safe?” demanded Aurelian.
“Do you honestly think I would have talked to you before I talked to her?Imbecile,” scolded Marc.
“Of course. What was I thinking, my friend?”
“Eh bien,” replied Marc. His expression turned serious. “So now we have to face the dragons in their lair, eh?”
“I’m looking forward to it,” affirmed Madeline, striding forward.
The group went past the security detail on the door and walked into the executive board room. For Madeline, the feeling was surreal. This was the place where she had done her daily business for years, and here it was looking exactly the same, but between this moment and the last time she had been here, everything had changed. Her life had been upended: first by a murderous coup, and then by the man who had demanded, and won, her love and devotion.
Rachel Gentry, who had always seemed terrifyingly larger than life, and menacing, now seemed terribly small, sitting at the conference table. Across from her sat General Branko, a hulking thug of a man, whose current unfortunate circumstances did not prevent him from gracing the new arrivals with a sneer.
“So,” he barked loudly, “the degenerate bitch is back. And look at the mongrels she brings with her.”
Before anyone could say a word in response, Enoch quickened his pace and threw a left hook directly onto Branko’s chin, sending him flying out of his chair, unconscious.
“I don’t believe the general has anything to say that might be of interest to us,” said Enoch, setting the chair back up. “General Marwan, please feel free to interview Branko at your later leisure.”
“Roger that,” chuckled Marwan. “Boy, I’m glad I got to see that. I’ll just grab a couple of people to haul him out.”
“So it really is you,” marveled Rachel Gentry, looking Enoch up and down. “You were foolish to come out from underneath whatever rock you’ve been hiding under. There won’t be a safe hole in this entire galaxy for you when all of this comes out.”
“Strong talk from someone who just overplayed her hand all the way into a prison cell,” said Madeline sharply.
“There’ll be no prison cell for me, my dear,” replied Rachel. “The organization behind me does not tolerate this sort of failure. As you should know.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Madeline demanded.
“Such a temper,” sneered Rachel, in a tone of reproof. “Like father, like daughter, I suppose.”
Madeline narrowed her eyes.What was that supposed to mean?
“Ah,” sighed Marc. “So my hypothesis is correct.”
Madeline whipped her head around. “What do you mean, Marc?”
“Your little weasel has sniffed out who’s really been behind all of this,” said Rachel. She sneered as she looked at Madeline then Enoch. “I suppose it’s not really surprising that you have obvious daddy issues.”
