D.E.A.D. Till I Die: An Action Thriller (GlobaTech Book 1) (9 page)

They stepped outside, hit by a light breeze that masked the deceptive heat of the early sun. Just ahead of them was the stolen sedan that had brought them there. And it was surrounded by six men, dressed in the same black outfits as the three Jericho had taken out in the room.

“Oh my God!” screamed Julie, as the men saw them and took aim, fanning out to form a semi-circle—three on either side of the car.

Jericho clenched his jaw muscles with a mixture of anger and frustration, flicking his aim to each of the men in turn. His breathing was steady and deliberate; his brain was working hard to figure a way out of what appeared to be, on the surface, an impossible situation.

Suddenly, a bright light appeared in front of him, followed by a wave of intense pain that hit the center of his head, behind his eyes. He grimaced and staggered back, disoriented. He dropped his gun and, clutching the left side of his face, sank to his knees. He felt a hand on his shoulder, which startled him.

“Jericho, are you alright?” asked Julie. “What’s happening?”

“Fuck! I don’t know…” he replied through gritted teeth. “My left eye…”

He had his left hand clamped over it, and he looked up at Julie with his right. She looked… different, somehow. Calmer, more disciplined. And also frustrated, he thought. He frowned at her change in demeanor, momentarily distracted from the pain in his head.

“Shit…” she muttered.

Before he could say anything, one of the men by the car shouted over. “Both of you, on your knees; hands where I can see them. We’ve been ordered to bring you in.”

Julie looked down at Jericho, tilting her head slightly. Jericho recognized the look immediately—an unspoken plea for forgiveness.

Jericho shook his head; he didn’t understand.

“Just stay here,” she said to him. “Your eye’s reacting to the influx of sunlight. Keep it covered.”

Without another word, she stood; tossing the gun she was holding into the air and catching it again in her hand by the butt. She flicked the safety off, chambered a round, took aim and started firing. She ducked low, moving forward and scooping Jericho’s handgun up as she went. She continued her shocking onslaught, taking out three of the six men with the first few rounds.

The remaining three dove for cover, but she seemed to anticipate their movements. She aimed both guns to the right and fired, catching one of the men as he moved away to the side; both barrels hit him in the face. He stopped dead in his tracks, dropping to the floor and skidding to a lifeless stop.

The final two men had emptied their clips, but inexplicably hit nothing. Julie ran at them, throwing both guns away to the sides as she approached them. At full speed, she charged at the man farthest to her left, using her right foot to step on his thigh. She ran up his body, pushing off first with her foot, and then with her knee on his shoulder, to elevate her into the air. She moved her arm so the point of her elbow was positioned above his head, and then slammed it down on the center of his skull. He crumpled to the floor, and she landed on top of him, straddling his chest.

In a flash, she turned her body to the right, just in time to catch a right kick that was aimed at her head. She caught it in her arms, displaying a natural strength you wouldn’t expect from looking at her. With very little movement on her part, she held the man’s ankle high in her left hand, and thrust her right forearm through his knee from the side, snapping his leg. He fell to the floor, screaming with obvious and understandable agony. She looked back down at the man between her legs, and threw a quick right hand at his face, ensuring he was out for the count.

She stood and dusted herself down, looking quickly around to make sure all of the men were taken care of before turning back to look at Jericho.

He was stunned, temporarily forgetting the pain in his skull as he watched Julie—a slight, timid, innocent nurse—single-handedly take out six armed men with more ease than practically anyone he knew.

She walked toward him, and he sprang to his feet, stepping back into a loose fighting stance, trying to keep his left eye closed.

“Who the fuck are you?” he asked.

“Relax, Jericho, I’m on your side,” she said. She placed a finger on her ear. “It’s me. Someone’s found us... probably the CIA. I had to break cover—Jericho’s bandages are off, and his eye is struggling with the sunlight.”

Jericho took a step toward her, forgetting any concerns he had, or any pain he felt, succumbing to the fresh feeling of anger. “Who are you talking to?” he demanded, pointing at her.

She walked over, putting her hand in her pocket and taking out an earpiece. She handed it to him.

Jericho frowned. “What’s going on?” he asked, both angry and confused.

“Put this in,” she said. “You want answers? They’re on the other end of the comms.”

Reluctantly, Jericho took it and placed it in his right ear. Lightning bolts of pain were shooting through the left side of his head. He grimaced as he activated the earpiece. “Who... is this?” he asked, grunting through a fresh wave of agony.

There was a brief crackle of static, and then a familiar, British voice. “Jericho, it’s me—Josh. Are you alright? What’s happening?”

“Josh? What’s happening is, I feel like a thousand burning knives are stabbing my skull! What the fuck did you people do to me?”

“Bollocks... okay, try to relax. We thought there might be a reaction to the light at first, but it’s only temporary. Keep it covered, and we’ll check you over when you come in.”

“Fuck you—I’m not coming back!”

Josh sighed. “Jericho, listen to me. Those men Julie just disposed of for you, and the ones in your hotel room, were part of a CIA unit sent to kill you. Not bring you in...
kill
you. Do you understand? Do you get what’s going on here? Thanks to your phone call yesterday, they now know you’re alive, which means you have a very large bullseye on your back. You’ll be dead within twenty-four hours on your own. We can help you.”

Jericho paused, feeling a second’s reprieve from the pain inside his head. “Why would you help me?” he asked, conceding that Josh made a valid point.

“Because we’re on the same side,” he implored.

Jericho looked over at Julie, who was stood resting against the hood of their sedan, her arms folded casually across her chest.

“Jericho, you need to come with us,” she said to him. “You shouldn’t have made that call to your old boss yesterday, but I had to let you see for yourself that you can’t trust them anymore.”

He glared at her. “Come with you? After you lied to me? I mean, it
was
all a lie, right? The helpless nurse, the frightened girl who can’t hold a gun... even you ‘rescuing’ me... it was all for show, wasn’t it?”

Julie stared at the ground for a moment before answering. “I’m sorry, but we had to. It was the only way…”

“You
had
to? You didn’t
have
to do anything!”

“Don’t be angry at her,” interrupted Josh on comms. “It was my idea. The only way you’d believe us is if you figured out for yourself what was going on here, like Julie said.”

“I’m not going anywhere with her,” he replied. He stared at Julie. “You lied to me… give me one reason why I shouldn’t fucking kill you right now.”

She shrugged and smiled at him. “Because you couldn’t if you tried.”

She stood up straight, turning her body slightly away from him, visibly tensing her muscles.

“Alright, easy tiger,” said Josh. “Julie, stand down. Jericho, you have no real choice. We need to take a look at you to ensure there’s no permanent damage to your eye. If there is, it will be excruciating, and potentially fatal. Plus, you have no allies in a war where the opposing side is far bigger.”

“Enough!” He clamped a hand over his left eye, and looked at Julie. “If you try to follow me, I
will
put you down—I don’t give a shit
who
you really are. Understood?”

She held her hands up passively and nodded without a word.

“I thought you were different,” continued Jericho, “but you’re not. You’re just like everyone else. There’s always a hidden agenda. I just want someone to be straight with me!”

“We
are
being straight with you,” she insisted. “I know this is hard, Jericho, but we’re not your enemy. The real enemy is the CIA, and these guys,” she gestured to the bodies scattered around them, “were just the beginning. They’re not going to stop now they know you’re alive, do you understand that? You’re a loose end, and they’ll do whatever it takes to finish what they started in Colombia.”

Jericho thought about what she’d said. He knew she made a good point, in spite of everything else running through his mind. And after speaking with Julius Jones the night before, he was convinced
something
was amiss. Even if he didn’t want to believe everything GlobaTech had told him, he could tell things weren’t right. Jones was very keen to get him back to Langley, and quick to jump on the defensive when Jericho questioned the CIA’s position.

He took a deep breath and stared at Julie, watching her. His anger slowly subsided and, finally, he relented. “So, you’re not a nurse, I’m guessing?” he asked.

She smiled. “I’m a lot of things,” she replied. “But no, I’m not a nurse.”

He lowered his left hand and let out a reluctant sigh. “Fine, let’s go. But this doesn’t mean I trust you.”

“Atta boy, Jericho,” said Josh. “Just give us a chance to prove ourselves to you, okay? That’s all I ask.”

“Whatever,” he said. He walked over to the sedan and opened the driver’s side door, but Julie appeared beside him.

“I don’t think so, handsome,” she said, smiling. “I’m driving.”

Jericho hesitated, but realizing he should probably keep his left eye covered with one hand, he stepped aside, allowing her to climb in behind the wheel. He shook his head and walked around the car, sighing as he slid into the passenger seat and slammed his door closed.

Julie started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot, turning right, and heading back toward Santa Clarita.

Jericho rested his head back in the seat. “Better the devil you know…” he muttered.

SANTA CLARITA, CALIFORNIA, USA

April 20
th
, 2017

10:32 PDT

The drive back to GlobaTech’s headquarters took less than an hour. The journey passed mostly in silence. The pain in Jericho’s head had subsided, too, which he was relieved about, although he still kept a hand over his eye as much as possible.

The traffic was steady, and the mid-morning sun was behind them. Julie had remained quiet, calmly focusing on the road. He noted the change in her body language; like someone had flipped a switch and turned her into a completely different person. She was more relaxed, comfortable… confident. He couldn’t deny being impressed with her fighting abilities, despite his anger at being deceived by her, and by the people who had spent the last thirty-six hours asking for his trust.

She turned into the compound, slowing to a stop in front of the security barrier guarding the entrance. On the other side of the roadway, a team of three men were replacing the barrier they broke the day before, during their escape. Two guards came out of the hut in the middle and approached the car. Jericho recognized them both from the large group who had tried to stop him, before Julie’s intervention.

They moved to the driver’s window, which Julie buzzed down, resting her arm on the frame as she leaned out. “Hey, fellas… we’re here to see Mr. Winters.”

They exchanged an uncertain glance, ducking slightly and staring at Jericho. Julie spotted their concern. “It’s okay, guys, he’s with me.”

Both guards relaxed and walked back into their hut. A few moments later, the barrier lifted and she eased through, heading left toward a large building in the far corner—a tall glass structure that wouldn’t have looked out of place against the skyline of any major city.

She navigated the network of roads as Jericho gazed out the window, looking at the industrious citadel that surrounded him. Although he’d seen it from inside the conference room a little over twenty-four hours ago, he hadn’t really appreciated just how big the place was.

Small, six-person transport vehicles with the GlobaTech logo emblazoned on the sides whizzed by in every direction, carrying people wearing a mixture of suits, fatigues, and overcoats to wherever they needed to be.

The roads formed a large square, and branched out to the corners of the compound. In the middle was a helipad, a large SAM site, and units of troops all kitted out in hi-tech uniforms running drills.

“How can you afford all this without any government funding?” asked Jericho, genuinely curious and impressed in equal measure.

Julie laughed. “Don’t ask me, I just work here.”

He glanced across at her. “Yeah, about that… who are you? Really.”

She smiled. “I’ve worked here for the last six years,” she said. “I did a lot of security work in South Africa for the first eighteen months. Then I was brought in to work for Robert Clark.”

“He’s the guy who died in the terrorist attack, right?” asked Jericho, recalling his brief conversation with her yesterday.

She nodded. “He was a good man, and deserved better than that. We had a… bit of an issue a few years back with internal security. Someone who worked in our Finance and Logistics section—something Jackson, I can’t remember his first name—tried to sell land that GlobaTech owned to a terrorist cell. Robert headed up the investigation following Jackson’s death, and uncovered corruption at the highest level. I was part of the unit that took out the trash. Once that was behind us, the company restructured its hierarchy, sought investment from reputable, private sources, and was able to quickly turn itself into what you see today.”

Julie pulled over beside some steps that led up to the main entrance of the building. As they got out of the car, the doors slid open and Josh Winters appeared. Jericho looked over, and then raised an eyebrow at Julie.

“Be nice,” she said. “He’s here to help.”

“Whatever…” he muttered in response, before setting off up the steps.

Josh greeted him with an extended hand, and Jericho stopped, looking first at the hand, then in Josh’s eyes.

“Let me be clear,” he began, “I don’t like being lied to.” Careful to keep his left eye closed, he took Josh’s hand, shaking it firmly. He tightened his grip as Josh tried to pull away, holding him there. “I told you before I wanted you to be straight with me, and you weren’t. If it happens again, I’ll break your fucking neck. Understand?”

Josh smiled, continuing to shake hands and appearing unfazed by the threat. “Jericho, you are one
scary
bastard, d’you know that?” He laughed, eventually letting go and gesturing to the doors. “Come on, let’s get you looked at. No more games.”

He walked off, and Jericho followed him through the automatic doors. Inside was a large, open lobby. It looked incredible—the floor was dark marble, and there was a large, circular enclosure in the middle, with trees and plants contained within. Along the right wall was a front desk, with two stunning women sitting behind it, working feverishly away at their computers. Behind them, embedded in the wall, was an enormous TV screen with a graphic of the company’s logo spinning round. All the way around, the walls were adorned with framed images showing the work that’d been done, and the things GlobaTech had accomplished over the years. On the left were three glass elevators in a line.

Jericho let out a low whistle as he looked up, unable to mask how impressed he was. The ground floor stretched all the way up to the roof, six floors above them, where two massive chandeliers were hanging. The floors above were square, built around the central column of space.

“This is our primary Research and Development building,” said Josh, looking over his shoulder. “This is where our technology is born and tested. We have a medical facility on the top floor similar to the one you stayed in.”

The ladies behind the desk stopped working and looked up as Jericho walked past, smiling, which he did his best to ignore.

They headed for one of the elevators, and Josh pressed the button, looking up to see it descending toward them. A few moments later, it landed with a ding and the doors opened. Jericho stepped inside first, followed by Julie, and finally Josh, who pressed the button for the top floor.

“You’re not afraid of heights, are you?” asked Josh, as they went up.

“No, why?” replied Jericho.

He shrugged. “Just wondered. I know some people are, and glass elevators aren’t the best if you struggle with such things…”

He shook his head. “I’m fine.”

“Good. We’ll get you checked out, and once we know you’re okay, we’ll discuss how we want you to help us. Now, you’re not gonna get angry and do a runner again, are you?”

Julie smiled, but Jericho frowned. “
Do a runner
?” he asked, not fully understanding the reference. “I won’t try to leave again, if that’s what you mean.”

“Excellent, because now the CIA knows you’re alive, we’re not just running low on time—we’re out of it.”

The doors opened again and Josh stepped out, heading left down a bright corridor, naturally lit due to the outside wall being made entirely of glass. Jericho and Julie followed, and they all walked through a large set of double doors at the far end.

Inside looked like a futuristic hospital, and expanded back and to the right, running the full length of the corridor they had just walked down. There were hospital beds surrounded by equipment—which reminded Jericho of the one he woke up in—along the left wall, with a glass partition forming a square room in the corner, filled with lab equipment. To the right of that, along the back wall was an area made up of opaque glass, with a sign that announced it was an operating theater.

In the middle of the room were various workstations with an array of computers and paperwork on them. Each was manned by a man or woman wearing a white coat and protective glasses.

Josh led them off to the right, toward the far end. A woman wearing a striped top, navy pencil skirt and heels looked up from behind a desk as they approached, moving round to greet them.

“Mr. Winters,” she said with a smile. “What can we do for you?” She glanced at Jericho, but said nothing.

Josh returned the smile. “Hey Gloria, I need you to give Mr. Stone here a once over. He underwent surgery last week to replace a damaged eye, and he took the bandages off today and experienced—”

“It hurt like hell, ma’am,” Jericho said, stepping forward.

She smiled sympathetically. “I’m sure it did,” she said. “I’m Gloria, and I’m a senior consultant for GlobaTech’s medical research division. If you don’t mind, I’d like to take a closer look at your new eye...”

She turned and walked back to her desk, picking up a penlight. Without much hesitation, Jericho followed her.

“Just take a seat on the edge of the desk,” she said, looking back up.

Jericho did, and Gloria moved in front of him, leaning close and clicking the light on. He tried to relax and ignore what his instincts were telling him about being there. He found himself thinking back to earlier that morning, when Julie was doing the same thing.

“Just stare straight ahead and take some deep breaths,” she instructed.

He did, and she shined the light into his left eye, examining the reactions professionally. After a moment, she moved away again and clicked her light off, placing it on the desk before turning to face Josh.

“Okay, the good news is, the eye has taken—the surgery was a complete success, and it will function perfectly... once it’s adjusted. This, however, takes time, and the bad news is, you removed the bandages sooner than we would’ve liked. There’s some damage to the lens, as it wasn’t strong enough to deal with the light. It’s not permanent, but it will set your recovery back a couple of weeks.”

Jericho nodded. “So I’m not going to go blind, or need it removing or anything?” he asked.

Gloria smiled and shook her head. “Not at all. Think of it like it’s first thing in the morning and it’s sunny outside... You can’t open your eyes straight away, because they’ve not been used in a few hours and will be sore when the light hits them. Same thing here, except your eye hasn’t been used
ever
, so it’ll take a bit longer for it to get used to the natural light.” She moved around her desk, opened one of the drawers and took out an eye patch. She handed it to Jericho. “Wear this for a couple of weeks,” she said. “Then take it off every two hours for thirty minutes for the following week. Then you should be good to go.”

Jericho took it reluctantly, regarding it in his hand before looking first at Julie, then at Josh, before addressing Gloria. “Can I not just wear shades?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Even the most expensive sunglasses you can buy won’t stop enough of the UV radiation the sun emits to actually be effective. You need total blackout for two weeks, otherwise you
do
risk more severe, longer-lasting damage.”

Jericho looked at Josh, who shrugged back at him. “Doctor’s orders,” he said. “So suck it up. Two weeks is nothing to rock the Nick Fury look, and then you’ll be back to normal.”

Jericho frowned. “Who? Anyway, it’s easy for you to say that—you’re not the one walking around without the ability to judge distances properly. And I wouldn’t be in this position if it wasn’t for you, violating my human rights by giving me this fucking eye without my consent.”

Gloria cleared her throat, and looked uncomfortable. “Mr. Winters, if you don’t need me for anything else, I’ll leave you to it.”

Josh smiled and nodded. “Of course, thanks for your help, Doc.”

She exchanged silent pleasantries with everyone and excused herself.

Josh waited until she was out of earshot before replying. “Technically... yeah, I suppose we did ‘violate your human rights’, as you keep putting it, and I’m sorry about that. But, no offense big guy, it’s time you cracked open a can of
Man The Fuck Up
juice and got over it. We’re at war, here, okay? And you are a high-ranking target on the enemy’s shit list. We did what was necessary to save your life, and we took an opportunity to do you a favor, in the hope that once you were back to your full strength, you’d maybe do something for us in return.”

Jericho took a deep breath, standing to his full height and width as he buried the flash of anger that just surfaced inside him. He didn’t always care for Josh’s tone, but he could see the man had a point. While he was still trying to piece together everything he’d been told about the last twenty-four hours, he knew enough to understand that he’d need help if he was to stay alive long-term. He was very aware of how the CIA could operate, if need be.

He let out a sigh. “I’m sorry, alright? It’s been a long couple of days, and I’ve had a lot to deal with. I know you stuck your neck out for me, and I’m grateful for it.”

“Forget about it—you have every right to be angry. That’s the only reason we handled you leaving the way we did. So go easy on Julie as well, alright?”

Jericho looked across at her and smiled. “You
are
pretty bad ass, I’ll give you that.”

Julie smiled back sheepishly. “You have no idea,” she said. “But we’re good.” She held her fist out, which Jericho bumped—the universal gesture of camaraderie among soldiers.