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“What is it that Kingsley wants? Living in this place that’s so isolated can’t be his long-term plan.”
“Oh, no, it’s not. Colton Kingsley wants to be the next Lazarus.”
Her heart slammed against her chest at the name. “You know about Lazarus?”
“Everyone within WREN knows about Lazarus.”
“Who is he? Is he the one in charge?”
“You probably already know that Lazarus is a title, not a name. There have been several over the years. I’ve never met any of them. But what I do know is that he is the final decision-maker. He’s not necessarily in charge. There are five who sit on the council. They make most of the big decisions, and Lazarus stays apprised. If something monumental comes along, he’s the one they go to. He’s the one who makes the ultimate decisions—life and death, war and famine.”
“And you have no idea who he is?”
“None. Kingsley knows, but if there’s one thing he’s closemouthed about, it’s who’s in the top tier.”
Then she needed to wait. If she notified her team to come now, when Kingsley was away, the chances of getting those names diminished considerably. Once they captured Kingsley, they could find a way to make him talk.
Today, Smith had given her more than she’d ever imagined obtaining without staying here for years. But without the identities of those at the highest level, it would take more time to destroy WREN. If they could get that intel from Kingsley, they would be so much further ahead.
For now, she wanted more information on logistics. When her team arrived, she wanted them to know as much as possible. “Tell me more about the compound. How many are here?”
“There are forty-two residents within the walls of this compound. Most, if not all, were either kidnapped or trafficked victims who have no choice but to be here. Most of the soldiers outside are loyal to Kingsley.”
“How many soldiers?”
“Hard to say. My last count was thirty-two. They’re well armed and have orders to shoot us if we try to escape. They’re not allowed to kill guests but have been given permission to capture them by any means necessary without causing total loss of life.”
“Any soft areas?”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Areas that aren’t guarded? Where an invasion might not be noticed?”
Smith went completely still at her words, his eyes wide with wonder. “Your people are coming, aren’t they?”
Glad to be able to share this good news with him, she nodded. “That’s the plan.”
Excitement gleaming in his eyes, Smith leaned forward and said, “The minute I saw you, I knew you would be the one to save us.”
“Have you ever tried to escape before?”
“Not in a very long time. And not from here. It’s a much better situation here than what I had before.”
“What happened when you tried to escape?”
“At my last school, four of us decided to try to go together. We thought we had everything planned, thought we had found the perfect way to get out. Our uniforms were sent out once a week for cleaning. A truck would come and pick them up. Our plan was to hide in the back of the truck. One of the guys had broken a camera that covered the alley where the truck was parked. We didn’t know there were two other cameras.
“We made it as far as the gate. The truck stopped, and we knew we were caught. We jumped out and instead of lying facedown on the ground like we were told to do, we took off. Three of the guys were killed. I was shot a couple of times but survived.”
He gave a sad little smile. “There was a saying at that school. ‘If you try to escape and they catch you, pray they kill you.’ They were right. The three who were killed were lucky.”
“They tortured you?”
The quick, jerky nod he gave told her he didn’t want to talk about it anymore. She wouldn’t push him, but hopefully, once he was free, he would trust someone with his trauma.
Smith swallowed audibly and said, “After I healed somewhat, they sent me to the place where even worse things happened. And as I mentioned earlier, they saw something in me and decided I was worth more to them alive, rather than being sold for body parts.”
This young man had never had a life. Not really. He’d been abused, used, and treated as disposable merchandise. Yet, somehow, he had become this amazingly brave and caring person. She couldn’t wait to get him out of here so he could begin to really shine.
