"General," Avril said as she rushed into the Command Center. "A moment, please." She said in Hebrew, trying to smile, but the terror in her eyes gave her away.
"Come," General Sefira said, guiding her into a room off at the far side. He ushered her in and closed the door. "What is it? Have you found something?"
"They have Lynn," she said in a low voice.
"Who has Ms. Marston?" he asked, his concern riveted.
"Sleepers," she said trying not to panic. "We were shooting arrows when we found a fake wall. Oh, we did find the stockpile of ammunition."
"Where?" he asked as he pushed the button on the radio on his collar and spoke in English. "Redhawk 6, this is Titan 6. Move Alpha Company to Checkpoint Command to support the main effort. Acknowledge. Over. " He said into the radio.
The answer on the other end came immediately, ""Titan 6, this is Redhawk 6. Wilco. Out."
"It's in the area where Griff said police took the prisoners," she answered in her native tongue. "In the storage rooms. The empty room where Lynn set her targets. It had a false wall. We found boxes marked food but they were filled with ammunition. Sleepers came in, they took her, General Sefira. We need to save her, they will kill her." Six US military police bearing weapons came into the room with them and lined up, ready for orders.
"Take these men to the stockpile," he instructed Avril. "I'll get Griffin and his team there right away. I have to find out why the goddamn AI didn't report this!" Avril jumped into action and led the men and women out from the Command Center, through the garage and back down the maze of halls to the storage rooms where they had found the hidden ammunition.
"Computer, who was in here?" Avril called out to the AI, staring at the hole in the wall. It was distinctly larger than when she had left.
"There was no one in this room," came the AI voice into the room, speaking in Hebrew without interpretations for the other languages.
"I did not just imagine my friend being dragged off by soldiers. I witnessed everything," Avril said quickly when the lead guard turned to her with a questioning expression. "You have a big problem with the network brain." She warned ominously as she left the room. The guard pressed the artificial intelligence for a true answer, but only met with a disturbing silence.
Merc met the Israeli general in the hall, receiving a brisk briefing about Lynn. The orders were strict: gather his team and head to Storage Section E. He recalled the signage from their earlier hunt for the missing ammunition—he knew exactly where to go. Radio communication was out of the question. With unknown sleeper agents scattered throughout the facility, they had to move in total silence to avoid raising the alarm. Leaving the general behind, Merc slipped away toward the lair of the Holy Trio.
Griff didn't miss a beat. He stood, kicking his chair back, and smoothly reassembled the firearms laid out on the table. He slammed home the magazines, racked the slides, and sheathed them into his holsters. Grabbing his pack and rifle, he followed Merc out the door toward the rendezvous point. They swept up Jimmy and Sampson along the way, briefing them on the fly as they sprinted toward the general's coordinates.
"They touch one hair," Jimmy seethed, "and I'm going to make them wish they were dead!"
"If they know who she is," Merc remarked, "they'll use her for a shield, or a hostage."
"It won't happen," Griff said, cutting off his teammates' gloom before it could take root. He believed in Lynn. She knew how to stay alive. Hell, they'd been through worse than this. He couldn't remember exactly when at that moment, but they always came out on top. This time would be no different. He refused to believe anything less. Suddenly, Sampson began to bark, the hair standing up on his neck, his muscles tensed.
"Everyone, get down," Jimmy shouted and all three hit the ground as bullets began to fly from a bend in the hall. Samson took off like a shot before Jimmy could grab him.
"Sampson!" Jimmy yelled. Rifle ready, he crawled after his little buddy as fast as his belly and elbows could carry him. Griff and Merc hammered the corner where the first shots had echoed, covering their teammate as he wriggled down the hall. The two men stood and advanced, firing on the move. They swapped out empty magazines with smooth, practiced motions without breaking their stride or their cover fire. Reaching the corner, Jimmy sliced his eyes around the edge at floor level. "Clear!" He shouted, surging to his feet and bolting down the corridor. Griff and Merc trailed tight behind, guns low but ready as they chased the echoing barks ahead.
In the storage room with the military police, Avril inspected the breach in the wall, realizing dozens of ammunition crates had vanished—as if cleared out by a highly efficient contingency plan. She ordered three guards to secure the remaining munitions and shoot anyone who tried to touch them. Turning on her heel, she signaled the three female MPs to follow her back out. In the corridor, the Israeli general and his troops joined their ranks. Avril scanned the floor and walls for any trace of where the "sleepers" had dragged Lynn and the stolen supplies. Spotting a fresh scuff mark near a junction, she motioned the team forward. As they sprinted down the hall, the distant echo of Samson's barking collided with the sharp crack of gunfire.
General Sefira signaled for his forces to follow, leading them down a corridor away from the echoing gunfire. Reaching the end of the hall, he swiped his badge against the hidden scanner within the wall. A concealed panel slid back, revealing a control box. The Israeli general punched in a rapid sequence of commands, opening a heavy security partition ahead while simultaneously killing the breach alert.
"Keep moving, Avril!" Sefira urged, ushering the squad through just before the partition hissed shut behind them. Sprinting down the final stretch of the hallway until it emptied into an open chamber. The path ahead was blocked, but a low, reinforced bench sprung up from the floor. "Down! Kneel behind the barrier and prep your weapons!" Sefira ordered. He opened a secondary control pad on the adjoining wall. The top half of the fortification slid upward, revealing a chaotic crossfire on the other side. The soldiers raised their rifles, waiting for his command to fire.
"Hold your fire," General Sefira bellowed. Surprising the men on the other side of the wall. Jimmy jumped back as he turned and looked across the line of weapons pointed at him.
"Holy FUCK!" he yelled and hit Griff on the shoulder. All three turned to face the impending assault and then laid down their weapons slowly, standing with their hands up until they noticed Avril and the general off on the side. The sound of Samson's barks growing weaker caused Jimmy to retrieve his rifle and run down the hall toward the sound. Everyone else followed. The team of three were joined by the men who jumped the barrier, and turned into a group of twenty. Better odds than what they had in the beginning.
As they rounded the corner they found Lynn tossed aside, blood on her face and upper torso as she wriggled in her confined state sitting on the floor. Griff ran to her as he motioned the rest to go after the enemy soldiers. Jimmy motioned for Avril to stay as well before turning to join the others.
"Lynn," Avril called out when she saw all the blood on her friend. Griff grabbed the tape on her mouth and ripped it off.
"Son of a fucking ass bitch!" Lynn cried out. "That fucking hurt!"
"Where are you shot?" Griff asked as he searched the bloodsoaked area, not finding a hole anywhere.
"Stop feeling me up, I'm not shot," she answered as she allowed Avril to cut the zip ties off her wrists. "The bastard that was shoving me around was shot, he threw me into the wall. I think he thought I was shot and knew he couldn't handle his wound and dead weight. I was acting as if I were dead and he ran off with the rest of his men. And then the general and a bunch of men with Jimmy and Merc went running by so I tried to get to my feet." She closed her eyes as she spoke, trying to get past the stinging of the missing skin on her face.
"You know," Griff said in total relief, "Jimmy is right, you're the luckiest person we've ever known." He helped cut off the ropes as Lynn pushed the loose bindings off of her shoulders and rubbed her wrists where the zip ties had cut into her skin. The sound of the battle still raging down the hall brought them back to the reality of their situation.
"We go," Avril said to Griff. She wanted to get back by her sweetheart's side immediately. "Lynn to see care from infirmary."
"Yeah, get to medical," Griff ordered. "That looks pretty bad," referring to the lacerations on her wrists.
"Not really," Lynn said with a smile. "But I'm not going with you into a battle without weapons." Griff nodded and ran after Avril to join the fight. The battle was relatively short after the two finally joined the others. They made it just in time to see the General and his men corner and capture the enemy.
No amount of threats or demands could force the prisoners to yield any information. They refused to reveal where they had stashed the ammunition from the storage room, or where the remaining sleepers were hiding. What enemy soldiers they found in allied uniforms, who had returned to salvage the remaining crates, only found a trap and those that escaped for the moment were hunted down and captured. Now the hunt was on to find the remaining sleepers. Following their failed interrogation, the military police marched the silent, defeated prisoners toward the holding cells.
"What exactly happened?" Griff asked Lynn when they met up in their room later that day. "I thought you were going to fire off a few arrows, maybe practice getting better with the crossbow."
"We find secret room," Avril said as she walked into the room with the two, the door was standing open so she saw no need to knock. "It filled with much ammo, probably missing ammo from you."
"Yeah, I just wish we could find out what happened to the crates they carried off." Griff sighed.
"There can't be too many more places they could have hidden it," Lynn said, peeling off her overshirt and tossing it onto the floor. She winced as she looked down at her t-shirt; the dark stain had soaked entirely through to her skin. "Jesus, I think that son of a bitch was hit worse than I thought. I figured it was just a flesh wound, but look at all this. He still got up and ran off like it was nothing." Lynn grabbed a fresh change of clothes and her toiletry kit from the storage chest under her bed, then headed for the showers. When she returned, Griff and Merc were sitting at the table cracking open beers, while Avril stood completely still, staring at the discarded, crimson-stained shirt on the floor.
"Well, I feel better," she announced as she threw the rest of her soiled clothes on top of the bloody shirt on the floor. "Where's Jimmy and Sampson?"
"In the cafeteria eating steak," Merc answered. "I believe this is the first time Sampson didn't back down from gunfire. We're all pretty proud of him."
"Nice," Lynn muttered. At the mere thought of steak, her stomach growled. She slid her pistols into their respective holsters—one at her hip, the other at her shoulder—and waved the group forward. "Let's eat." Turning on her heel, she led the way out into the hall, the rest of the crew falling into step behind her. The crew ate together, recounting the events that had just taken place. The Holy Trio left the table after eating and headed for their room.
"Oh, here's your watch," Griff said as he handed it to her. "We found it along with your weapons when we searched the prisoners."
"Thanks," said Lynn. "I didn't want to have to order a new one."
"You have tape stuff still on your face," Jimmy said as he noticed the red square patch around her mouth. He made a square on his face around his own mouth with his finger when he spoke. He picked up his pack and weapons and turned to leave the room.
"That's missing skin," she answered flatly as she eyed her third in command.
Silence settled between Griff and Lynn as they sat together at the table. Lynn scrolled through her phone while Griff counted the recovered ammunition, the quiet in the room heavy but not uncomfortable. He was relieved their earlier kiss hadn't broken the code between them in their business relationship. In his experience, women—usually younger, louder, and more volatile—would have turned a moment like that into a high-stakes drama scene. Lynn was different. She didn't budge from whatever boundaries she kept for her own wellbeing, and he respected that. Still, the fact that he hadn't seen the kiss coming bothered him. It was a tactical blind spot, confusing and unresolved, and he knew they'd have to face it eventually.
Griff waited as the silence continued between them, watching for any sign that Lynn was ready to talk. Finally deciding on that moment to begin the conversation. "I want to talk about why you kissed me," he said softly. He had been tracking the logistics of their escape from distractions all morning: Avril was preoccupied with the young warriors at the Essenes classroom, and Jimmy's patrol with Merc and Sampson would keep them out for hours. He finally had his window.
"I... uh..." She stammered, the words evaporating before they could reach her tongue. Her mind blanked, entirely consumed by the terror of facing what that kiss had stirred up. Or maybe it wasn't the kiss itself, but his reaction to it—or the utter lack of one. The memory of the scene chafed at her, triggering a desperate urge to retreat into her shell. No, she thought. We have to do this. We have to talk about it, or I'll spend the rest of my life wondering 'what if?' God knew she was already trapped in that exact loop.
"Did you really think about it before you kissed me?" Griff asked, leaning in on his elbows and squaring off for an answer. They sat facing each other, eye to eye.
"I...I...I wanted to talk about it," Lynn said, biting her lip. "I fully intended on talking to you. But when I couldn't get the words out, kissing you was all I could think to do."
"What words, Lynn?"
"That I love you. I always have, always will."
"I don't recall hearing that you added all that to your declaration of love to Merc." The words came out quicker than Griff could stop them. But the thought had lingered in his mind for too long.
"The difference between saying it to Merc and saying it to you," Lynn said, the words rushing out before she could stop them, "is that I offered to love Merc, if he'd have me. But you, Griff—you already own everything I have to give. You've had me since the first moment I saw you, long before any of this started." She swallowed hard, facing the truth she had buried for so long. "I felt so guilty. About my husband's death, about loving you... and no matter how hard I tried to kill these feelings, I couldn't. They were so raw they terrified me."
"You say that like I'm supposed to know what that means?" Griff felt his emotions taking a grip on him again. He closed his eyes and summoned his analytical self to balance the scales of decisions he would inevitably make. "What has changed between us? Why now? What's different?" He looked at her again.
"That's just it, Griff," Lynn said nervously, "nothing has changed. I just realized these feelings for you aren't going away. Maybe I shouldn't ignore them, maybe I should explore them."
"Are you sure about this?" Griff asked.
He doubted she had really thought it through. Their entire dynamic was about to shift. Would it be a true partnership of mutual surrender, or would she keep bulldozing ahead, only letting him in at the last possible second? The thought made him question reality, especially now that his dreams finally felt within reach.
No, he chided himself, they're just dreams. He couldn't afford to care this much, not until she committed to something solid and secure. But security required a guarantee that she would never shut him out, and right now, he felt a glaring lack in her. Lynn just didn't know how to let someone else take the helm. Sure, she trusted him implicitly with the business, but her heart was a different story. If she shut down this easily, how could he ever trust her to communicate? To Griff, a real relationship meant standing on equal footing, which meant Lynn stepping back to give him the room to lead. That was the ultimate test. If she couldn't yield her control, she didn't truly trust him with her heart—and her rigid reaction to his attention was already making him doubt she ever would.
"I am," Lynn answered firmly.
"And you'll be okay if I need more time to think about this for myself?" He looked deep into her eyes. "Honestly, I'm not sure about this. I have to really think about it long and hard. If I come up with the same conclusion you have, I can guarantee you that the connection between us will be very different. I want you to understand that if I make any concessions to anything between us...this shutting me out, will never happen again. If you can't come out and talk to me about anything, well everything really, I don't want to bother about whatever comes up between us. Until I know for sure you're not going to pull your shell around yourself without me in it, then we'll talk again. Until then, at least while we're here in the Middle East, it doesn't need to be a topic of conversation until I'm ready. Agreed?"
"Agreed." Lynn's smile broadened across her face. At least he was considering the possibility. That was enough, for now.
"We've recovered about fifty thousand rounds," Griff informed her when his iPad made a buzzing sound and he checked it out. "A few thousand or so are still missing."
"You still have the maps of this base, don't you?" she asked as she looked at a topical map of the upper ground. Something about it looked too familiar.
"Yeah," he answered. "Over beside the computer station." Lynn retrieved the map, unfolded it and laid it out one above the other.
"Holy shit," she said as she looked up from the maps at Griff. He stood and walked over to see what it was she had found. "Look here," she pointed to the destroyed base where they had found Mozel the scorpion and then she pointed at one of the underground areas of the base.
"That enemy base was above that part of this base. You don't think...?" Griff said shaking his head.
"We gotta check it out," Lynn said, her eyes widening as the true purpose of the base clicked into place. "We better get some backup and head there now."
They checked their weapons and slung their rifles and packs on their shoulders before racing toward the Command Center. Over the last few days, they had systematically purged the Military Police and command staff, rounding up suspected traitors and shipping them off to a Jordan detention center alongside the few captured sleepers. Now, with both generals fully briefed on the threat and news of the battle exploding across the encrypted chats, the entire installation was locked down one step from turning into a high alert.
Griff walked into the Command Center, Lynn right behind him as they made their way to General Sefira. "Sir," he said as he moved to allow Lynn to lay the two maps on the table in the middle of the room. "We've found something." As they matched up the two maps, one above the other, the general immediately caught sight of the problem they had discovered.
"Redhawk 6, this is Titan 6. Move Omega Company to Checkpoint Command for support," General Sefira barked into the radio on his collar. He turned back to Lynn and Griff, "do you think they breached the premises?" He motioned for a man at one of the monitors to bring video surveillance of that particular area on the screen.
"Don't know," Griff answered. "We came to get some back up to check it out."
"I can't get the cameras up sir," the soldier said after trying multiple times to gain active video. All feeds in that area were now static screens. They were able to get past the auto runs that fed the lines to the command center, but gaining real time was not happening.
"Lynn, get to the Essenes," said Griff as he grabbed the maps and handed them to her. "No one goes near them." She took off running out of the room, hoping that Avril would already be there as they had originally planned after the discovery of the missing ammunition. The Essenes were never to be left without one member of the team around them at all times with the twelve warriors always on guard. Everyone else would continue the search for where the other missing crates of ammo disappeared.
As soldiers flooded the room, General Sefira motioned Griff forward—he would lead them into the hot zone. Out in the open expanse of the motor pool, Sefira briefed the men on their route and objectives. A mechanic stepped up, handing Griff a sleek motion tracker. "Take the beam reader," the man urged. "It doubles as a bomb detector. I don't want you boys running into any surprises." Nodding, the Israeli general pulled the mechanic into the ranks, drafting him on the spot. "You're our scout now," Sefira told him. "Take point and find us the safest path into that hell."
General Sefira set up a mobile hologram projector in the center of the group, giving their point man the floor. The speaker introduced himself as Corporal Harry, using a stylus to gesture toward the various entry points on the glowing map. First, he explained, he would sweep their chosen path for explosives using a custom-built scanner. General Sefira would then station squads around the primary entryway, moving them inside one wave at a time to overwhelm the enemy forces holding the room should there be a sentry there. Sefira smiled at the young man, impressed by his ability to throw together a plan with such precision. With the briefing concluded, the troops hurried up the metal stairs into the corridors. Each soldier grabbed a personal transit device to boost their speed. Once mounted, the troop deployed their scooters down the halls at full speed, keeping to the designated lanes so they wouldn't impede the footpaths on their long journey to the target.
As they neared the danger zone, Corporal Harry raised a hand, signaling the column to halt. He dropped from his vehicle and swept the area with his bomb detector. A sharp beep confirmed it—one booby trap found, God knew how many left to find. From the shadows behind the squad, a skinny man stepped out wearing a camouflage shirt with the sleeves ripped away, an unlit cigarette dangling from his lip.
"You can't smoke that," Corporal Harry said, giving him a disapproving glare.
"It's not for smoking," the skinny man commented. "It's to remind me not to smoke." General Sefira didn't flinch as the man approached the bomb until he began to handle it.
"The rest of us need to get back," the general said. "Just in case." The group scrambled for cover, following the Israeli commander into a nearby passageway. Unbothered, the skinny man rolled the cigarette to the other side of his mouth with his tongue, cocking his head to study the bomb's calibration. He quickly backed out two screws with his Swiss Army knife and popped the guard off. With a soft chuckle, he pricked through the cluster of wires and snipped a green one. He ripped the heavy casing free and tossed it carelessly over his shoulder. Griff caught it, staring at the man with a mix of shock and pure disdain.
"We're good," he called to the general. "There's no challenge here. Old tech shit."
The scout pointed out all the bombs around the area and the skinny man dismantled them all. When they found no more, the man then pulled the cigarette from his mouth and threw it on the floor.
"Can I get back to the cafeteria now?" he asked. "I wasn't done eating."
The Israeli general frowned, waving him off with an irritated flick of his hand toward the troops before turning back to his crew. "I want Company One on the opposite side. Two, take the middle hall. The rest of you, including Corporal Harry, move into this hall. You will be the first to enter with me."
As everyone took their positions, the general pulled a bottle from the case he carried. He poured a liquid precisely where the internal hinges were hidden, pouring a stream down three spots on each double door. Once the hissing stopped and the toxic clouds cleared, he pushed the door inward and ran to rejoin the nearest group.
The heavy steel door hit the ground with a loud thud, shaking the ground beneath it. Everyone froze, waiting for a counterattack. When nothing happened, the general's personal security detachment slipped around the wall and peered inside. Finding it empty, they turned to the general who stepped through the doorway and looked around. The two men close by his side. The room was entirely bare—not a speck of dust or anything was found anywhere except where the door had collapsed. He turned back to his troops and motioned them inside. Slowly, each group joined him in the magnanimous room.
Griff walked into the room last, his eyes scanning the space. He calculated the dimensions and realized they were wrong, recalling Lynn's description of the hidden room she'd discovered. He rushed toward General Sefira but froze instantly as a pistol was shoved into his face. One of the men had him pinned right in his sights. Stopping dead in his tracks, Griff glanced at the general, who already had Corporal Harry's gun pressed to his head. No wonder the little fucker had such a great plan.
"Everyone drop your weapons," Corporal Harry commanded in an even, unblinking tone. "You might take a few of us out, but your general goes down first." Griff glanced around the tight crowd, counting four extra barrels trained on the general's company. Griff and the rest of the soldiers began to lower their firearms, but the surrender was cut short. The makeshift walls splintered open. Sleeper soldiers, wearing Allied uniforms, lunged into the room with rifles poised. A split second later, two Russian agents stormed through the main door, shoving the remaining Allied soldiers into the center of the room. The trap had sprung, and there was no way out.
"We're not going to need all these men," a figure proclaimed, emerging from the hidden wall. He made no effort to mask his thick Russian accent. "General Sefira is all the bargaining chip we need." Corporal Harry stepped out of the group, ushering the general forward. As the enemy soldiers raised their rifles, Harry spun and shot the Russian speaker through the head. Before the body hit the floor, five operatives embedded within the allied ranks, including the men who pretended to be spies, executed the remaining hostiles with precise, lethal shots. Then the door burst open. The skinny man charged into the room, a fresh squad at his heels, weapons raised.
"You didn't save us any?" he asked as he and his men lowered their weapons. The general stood eyeing Corporal Harry, not sure what the hell was going on. "You good, Harry?" the skinny man asked.
"General Sefira is safe," he said as he lowered his weapon and handed it to the commander. "We really didn't know this was going to work, that's why the back up." Corporal Harry said to the general, referring to the gaunt soldier and his company.
"What's your name?" General Sefira asked the scruffy looking thin man who led their calvary. "You've been a pain in my ass for the last year. Was that all an act?"
"No sir," he said as he stuck a fresh unlit cigarette into his mouth. "Just thought it was best to be myself." He grinned.
"This isn't over yet," the Israeli general said as he pulled the cigarette from the man's lip and threw it across the room. "What's your name?"
"Cooper, sir," he said, still grinning. "First Sergeant Thomas Cooper, United States Special Forces. These are my men, even the defected Russians. They're mine."
"Well Cooper, you and your men stay right here," the Israeli leader snapped. "We're going to have a word with General Taylor about your conduct. You need to be reminded exactly who runs this base." He narrowed his eyes, holding Cooper's gaze in a hard scowl before turning and marching out of the room with his personal guards. Griff trailed him closely; after a threat like that, he wasn't letting their leader out of his sight until they reached the command post. The two guards assigned to flank the commander fell into step instantly behind the general. As the four of them marched off to find General Taylor, the Israeli leader's face burned a dark, furious crimson.
Lynn leaned over a table in their common area, oblivious to the ambient whispers of the Essene families around them. Her eyes tracked the ink lines winding like spiderwebs through the blueprint of the base. The answer was right here, buried in the corridors that ran like a labyrinth across the map. They all knew the sleepers were coming for the Essenes—but how remained a frustrating blank.
"What the hell is going on?" Merc said as he came into the room. Avril, Jimmy and Sampson marched in behind him. "Everyone in the motorpool is going ape shit. They almost wouldn't let us back into the base."
"We found more sleepers," Lynn mumbled. She kept looking for something, anything that would tell them what the sleepers were up to. "Griff is with the general now, they took a team and went to check out this area." She pointed to the map.
"Fuck!" Merc said when his eyes followed her finger. "That's under that abandoned enemy base." He said as he compared the two maps for himself.
"Yeah," said Lynn.
"Hey, that's where we found Mozel," Jimmy said, remembering their plight with the scorpion.
"Mozel need new name," Avril said to her sweetheart.
"What?" he asked her. She pointed to the fifty gallon tank on a stand against the far wall. He gave her a peck on the cheek and walked over to the aquarium. "Hey, there's a bunch of little scorpions. Where did they come from?"
"Mozel is mother," Avril smiled. Jimmy turned to her and then back to the tank. "She need girl name." Avril added.
"How long ago did the general and the men leave to check out the area?" Merc asked. "We better get down there." He said to Jimmy.
"I can't leave Essenes and their families," Lynn said to him. "You guys go. Avril can stay with me."
"You go on ahead," Jimmy said to Merc. "I'll meet with the debriefing counselor. She said she would be in our room shortly."
Both men turned and headed out the door, Merc to the area Lynn had pointed out and Jimmy took Sampson with him to their room, the dog's nails clicked against the tile floor as he trotted out with the men. Avril joined Lynn as the women continued to study the map of the base. Finally after more than an hour, Yeshua came up and pointed to an area on the map just under their common room.
"They are here now, below us," he said, his voice entirely devoid of emotion. "The children have been taken to the Command Center. You have the warriors at your side when they breach the floor. The rest of us are retiring to our rooms. Everything is going according to plan." With that, he vanished into his quarters, slowly clicking the door shut behind him.
"What is he talking about?" Lynn turned to Avril, who simply shrugged. If there was danger, Avril couldn't feel it. They looked at the warriors standing like statues, one in front of each Essene door. They remained completely motionless, even as the ground began to tremble beneath them. Suddenly, the floor crumbled, collapsing into a massive sinkhole in the center of the room, swallowing several tables and chairs. Three uniformed base soldiers emerged from the dust, weapons aimed at the two women as they climbed to their feet. A third came up and fanned his rifle toward the guards at the doors as four more soldiers climbed out of the pit. Lynn and Avril stood frozen, entirely detached from their emotions. The intruders marched over and disarmed them, tossing their sidearms into the hole. Lynn raised her arms passively, letting them take her weapons. How odd, she thought, completely unbothered by their presence. Suddenly, one of the soldiers shrieked, yanking up his pant leg as two tiny black scorpions tumbled onto the floor.
"They bit me," he yelled at his comrades in Russian. "They bit me!"
"Technically, scorpions don't bite," Lynn said in English without thinking. Suddenly she realized she could understand their language. What was going on? But she continued to address the man who began to sweat profusely. "They inject a poison that can kill weeks after it enters your bloodstream, well, if you run into complications. Let's hope you're not allergic to the venom." Another of the trespassers yelled and began to slap around at his torso. It didn't take long for all the men and women to dance around trying to get the arachnids off themselves.
"The smaller," Avril joined her friend in the discussion, "is more deadly."
Suddenly all the men and women jumped around, yelling and then ran to jump back into the hole in the floor, shimmying back down the ropes. Lynn and Avril walked calmly to the punctured flooring and looked down into it.
"What do you suppose just happened?" Lynn asked her as they knelt down to inspect the damage below. "Hey, there's our pistols. Why do you think we aren't upset about any of this?"
"I do not know," Avril said just as calmly. They both looked up to see the Essenes and adult civilians slowly emerged from their rooms and through the exit door; adults and children together returned, all collecting the baby scorpions with their bare hands and returning them to the aquarium.
"Any other time," Lynn said as she stood and faced her friend, "I would think this was weird, but all I can think of is how this all makes sense. I don't really understand it, but it makes sense."
"Uhuh," Avril responded and looked at Lynn. She didn't know how else to respond.