Page 43 of Us Defiant Few

Even though her eyes drilled holes into him, he still didn’t look at at her and sat at the opposite end of the table, with his back to the wall. His shoulders were stiff and rigid as his calculating gaze roved over the Aces, scanning each individual like he was making some type of mental inventory.

But for what?

“Now that we’re all here, we can get started.” Jack raised his voice, commanding everyone’s attention.

“We’ve received word from our scouts that the Dealers have been called back to the prison camp. We don’t know the exact reason, but we believe it’s to implant the chips into each Dealer and use them to wipe out not only the gangs but the rest of Hermes.”

Murmurs erupted along the table, while Khalani and her group remained silent. They’d encountered this before, and the similarities between the two cities sent chills racing down her spine.

She shook her head as the Governor’s pale blue eyes entered her mind once more.

Leave me alone.

“Why would they do that?” one of the Aces asked, his pupils blown wide. “Why would they want to destroy Hermes?”

“We aren’t entirely sure why, but we have confirmed reports that similar events are occurring in Apollo. The underground cities are too close for this to be a coincidence. We have no choice but to act.”

“What do you expect us to do?” Raziel leaned forward.

“The Dealers outnumber us ten to one, and they’re recruiting more by the day,” Jack said. “Lane estimates it will take a month for Doctor Strauss and his team to implant all the chips and complete their army of mindless soldiers. By then, it will be too late. We can’t wait for them to strike first. We have to attack where it will hurt the most.”

Jack’s gaze flicked from Takeshi before centering on Khalani and her group.

“We know the chips originated from Apollo. Lane and his team tried overriding the code to see if there was a way to shut them all down, but they were unsuccessful. Do any of you know where the chips could be stored in Apollo?”

“The R&R Labs,” Adam answered automatically.

The Research and Resource Labs.

Very few had ever seen them in person. The labs controlled the underground farms and cloned food source of Apollo. It was where Derek had worked before he learned of imminent crop failure and was quickly thrown into prison.

“We don’t have the manpower to storm the prison camp again,” Jack said in a grim voice. “And even if we were able to kill Doctor Strauss, Apollo would keep sending chips to Hermes, and we’d be stuck in the same cycle. Our only choice is to travel to Apollo, infiltrate this lab, and destroy all the chips.”

“But how do you expect to get in?” Brock asked, straightening in his chair.

Jack crossed his arms, his grave expression solidifying.

“We blow up the Genesis Dome.”

Everyone’s jaws dropped.

The plan was ludicrous. Asinine.

“That’s a suicide mission!”

“The radiation will kill us.”

“I’m not stepping a single foot through the Death-Zone.”

The voices jumbled together, and Khalani’s lungs worked faster. She stared at a large dent in the wooden table. The image of Alexander Huxley’s torn-off head rolling in the sand replayed in her mind, toying with her.

She clutched her cramping chest, and Serene whispered, “You all right?”

Khalani licked her dry lips and nodded, trying to get her breathing under control. She felt Takeshi’s hard gaze on her, but she couldn’t let him witness the fear in her eyes.

“Quiet!” Jack’s loud voice pierced the room, silencing the commotion.

“We’ve received reports that there is no radiation on the surface. Spade volunteered to test the truth of these claims,” Jack exclaimed, gesturing to his right-hand man.