Authors: Mia Hoddell
“I didn’t know what to do, Cora. I didn’t know who to trust. You were safe there.”
“Trust? You control hundreds of people. Most live in fear of you and you’re expecting me to believe that you couldn’t order a few to protect me?”
“I didn’t have as much power as I do now. You wouldn’t have been safe. Steph is stubborn, she would have stopped at nothing”
Cora didn’t know why she was fighting so hard. She had accepted she hadn’t any parents years ago and the last person she wanted to connect with was Rogan.
“I did the best I could Cora, I swear. I made sure you got a big inheritance to live off for a long time. I had to find ways of doing things without tipping my wife off.”
“Why is it any different now? Your wife isn’t going to accept me and you’ll never choose me over them.”
Rogan shook his head despairingly, not sure of what to say. Cora was right but he didn’t want to admit that, he couldn’t say no to her again. That was why he had put up such a fight to bring her into his company. He had fought countless battles with Steph over Cora’s existence and so far he had been able to keep the two separate. With Cora’s announcement to his men who she really was though, he doubted it would be long before it got back to Steph.
“If you were so keen on protecting me, why bring me around so often? Why show your wife my face? And if you supposedly cared so much why did you let me sell my friend to you, fight my way out, give me a deadline and why did you buy me like I was an object?” Hurt flared through Cora’s body as she thought of all the things he had done and all the rings he had made her jump through.
“Don’t blame me for those, Cora. I offered you a choice to sign and you offered alternatives.” Rogan’s voice turned back to his hardened business tone at her accusation.
“You accepted though. You turned people against me.”
“You had to learn some way.”
“Learn what?”
“That to get to the top you have to stand on others. To run this business you have to be cruel. You can’t let emotions play you if you want to survive and you can’t trust anyone. You needed to learn certain skills to run this organisation—to be able to keep the peace.”
“You’re telling me you let me do all of that because you want me to take over?” Her voice rose in indignation.
“You had to learn,” he repeated again.
“I don’t want it though, Rogan. Leave it to Kirby. Hell, he tried to kill me over it.”
“Kirby can’t handle the jobs or the decisions you need to make in this position—”
“And I can?”
The argument was quickly rising again, the pace between the two quickening as emotions built.
“Yes. You’re like me. You can remain detached when you need to be. You can make hard decisions because you are driven to survive.”
“Listen to what I’m saying Rogan. I—don’t—want—it.” She pronounced every word slowly, trying to get her message through.
Rogan sighed heavily, exhausted.
“Cora it’s late, we are both tired. We can talk about this tomorrow. Is there anything else you want to know tonight?”
There were a million things Cora wanted to know but she knew he was right and felt drained by everything that had happened. She hadn’t slept at all and her constant flux of emotions was taking its toll on her body. Cora had decided that she should at least warn Rogan before the night ended though, even if she knew now more than ever, she owed him nothing.
“Not for now. But you should hear what I have to say.”
Rogan tilted his head to the side for her to continue, looking at her curiously as he wondered what she could possibly have to say.
“That organisation that wants to take you down? They’re attacking tomorrow,” she stated calmly, then added, “As my father…I just thought you should know.” Having said what she had come to say, Cora pushed off the wall to head home.
Openly referring to him that way touched Rogan. “Thank you, Cora.”
Rogan’s words stopped her. She shrugged, not wanting his thanks. She hadn’t done it for him…that’s what she had thought anyway.
“At least stay here tonight. It’s late and I could use more information tomorrow if you have it.”
Cora sighed, her hand on the door. She was too tired to argue or speak another word. Instead she just nodded slightly and headed to the family quarters alone.
“Are you sure this is going to work?” Jed said to Mayana as he watched two men carry the last delivery of weapons into the armoury that Mayana’s contact had sent them. He directed where each gun should be laid, organising them by model so they could be grabbed at a moment’s notice.
By freeing Cora, Jed had lost a significant amount of trust but that wasn’t going to stop him voicing his concerns. Jed still assumed he could speak his mind without being shouted down.
He thought wrong.
“Of course it’s going to work, I thought of it. Why wouldn’t it?” Mayana cried, outraged by his lack of faith and loyalty. The last person she assumed would question her was Jed. He had been by her side from the start and was her most trusted man. If he was beginning to doubt her she needed to reinforce her authority with everyone else. “If you’re questioning me, then leave. No one is forcing you to stay here but your desertion will be recorded and remembered when I come to power,” Mayana stated forcefully as she looked over the wall of weapons she had been collecting over the last year. She had built up an impressive armoury, with enough fire power to distribute among all of her men. It was her favourite room in the tunnels, the cruel, black metal drawing her towards them every time she entered. She liked the power they held and how even the image could strike fear into anyone.
“Of course I’m not deserting. I’m going to be there when Rogan falls and I’m going to revel in it. Who supplied all of this, just out of interest?” It was true, the only problem he had originally was making Cora do it. Now she was out of the picture and hopefully somewhere safe he could focus on the mission. He couldn’t allow himself to worry about her, he had done all he could.
Jed walked over to Mayana, standing beside her as he pulled an old, standard military issue sniper rifle down from the hooks. He ran a finger down the side of it, admiring the way it glinted in the dim light of the tube station storage area.
“Oh put it away, Jed, before you start drooling. It’s like you’ve never seen one before.”
Instantly her words slapped him out of his thoughts and with a sheepish smile he replaced it with the others carefully.
“So who’d you get them from?” he asked again.
“I have connections everywhere. It wasn’t exactly a hard task.” She avoided giving any names away deliberately. She wasn’t going to feed people her sources so they could do the same to her when she rose to power.
“Contact everyone. Tell them that it’s urgent and I need to speak with them. They have an hour to get here. Those who don’t show will be considered deserters and be dealt with harshly.”
Jed nodded.
When Mayana stared at his unmoving body he looked up, meeting her cold eyes. A nervous shiver ran down his back and before she had time to question why he was still around, he turned on his heels, leaving the room briskly.
* * *
Exactly one hour later Mayana emerged from her office to face the waiting crowd that had gathered. As the door creaked open, signalling her entrance, the muttering subsided instantly. The only sound in the tunnel was the steady thump of Mayana’s boots as she paced to the centre stage position in front of them all and stood up on one of the tables.
With the reality of possibly dying, no cause was great enough for some and the numbers had dwindled. Now her army stood at no more than forty, but Mayana had been prepared for this and had taken it into account when she had planned the attack. With fewer numbers a full frontal assault was impossible, so she would have to employ her secondary plan that relied on stealth. Creating a distraction then blasting their way into the mansion, they would clear the mansion room by room until they fought their way into the heart of the nest and found Rogan.
“All of you stood here before me have chosen wisely. By the end of the night, the life you have been living will be no more, Rogan will be dead and we will have gained full control of his territory. You have all pledged your loyalty to me by standing here today and it has been duly noted. When we succeed, you will all be the first to be rewarded. Anything you want, you will get. Those who fight with courage will be rewarded with a place in my inner circle; that means you will help me run everything, you will be revered and we will be hailed as saviours for taking down Rogan.”
Eyes shone with excitement at Mayana’s words and people twitched, eager to get on with the job. They all wanted to prove themselves as one of the best and they all wanted a place in Mayana’s most trusted circle. After having to train rigorously day after day, they were more than prepared and were all itching to overthrow the man who had caused so much fear. Mayana had brought them together and united them and she deserved to be leader in their eyes.
Only one person in her ranks saw her for what she was. Having seen how ruthless Mayana could be, Jed had no doubt in his mind that she would be just as bad as Rogan. He knew that there was a deeper desire than just wanting control that was driving Mayana but he had never been able to figure out what. Mayana had mastered her emotions long ago and very rarely did she slip up; it was only one time that gave Jed the hint, but it was enough. He had thought she would calm down as time went on but the hunger for power had become worse and by that time Jed was in too deep to get out alive. He had seen what Mayana had done to other deserters—leaving them on the tracks for passing trains to kill them before everything shut down—and for that reason he had stayed loyal. However, he was hoping that tomorrow night would be the night he could finally free himself.
“I can tell you’ve all been wondering when we are going to follow through with this mission. Well, I can say for certain that tomorrow night is the night this is all going to end. After tomorrow we will no longer live in fear of his organisation and we will be free once more.”
A ripple of excitement ran through the crowd at her words. Of course, they didn’t know everything and Mayana had no intention of filling them in on her plot to seize power for herself. If they found out the truth they would not follow her and she needed their sacrifice
“Tomorrow night we will take Rogan by surprise in his home. You’ve already been assigned to squads because of training. Those are the teams you will be in tomorrow. Your main objective is to distract and draw as much attention to yourselves as possible. Your commander will brief you after I leave in what types of distraction you will be causing and where you will be. They have all the information on the plan and you will listen to them as if they were me, is that understood?”
A series of ‘yes Mayanas’ were barked out, the men pulling together like an elite band of the armed forces.
“While you are causing a diversion, Jed, myself, and Red Team will head for Rogan. As you all know, my inside informant can get us in undetected and we will be following his directions to infiltrate the building. However, if any of you see Carvelli before we have the chance to get to him, you are not to engage. He is mine, and mine alone, to deal with. Understand?”
Another series of barks echoed around the tunnel and Mayana grinned inwardly at the belief they had in her.
If only they knew
, she thought, laughing to herself at how easy they had been to manipulate and how obedient the people in front of her had become.
“We move out at dusk.”
Mayana swept out of the room dramatically, shutting the door to her office with a loud bang.
Rogan would be dead by tomorrow.
The empire would be hers.
And she would finally take her rightful place.
When Cora awoke the next day it was late in the evening. Having been up nearly all night she had slept most of the day in peace, not aware of anything going on around her. As she went through her usual wake up routine though, it all came back to her in a flood of nervous confusion. No matter how much she busied herself, the thoughts refused to dissipate while she prepared to face everyone.
As she dressed, Cora thought about every word she had exchanged with Rogan. She knew the reaction she had received from Rogan the previous night was too good to be true. When someone tells you people are coming to kill you the most uncommon response is probably “thank you.” But that’s what Rogan had said. He hadn’t looked worried, concerned or any other emotion that would render him a normal human being, but then again Rogan didn’t act like anyone she had ever known. Instead of a predictable response he had simply gone back to bed—or so she assumed.
Cora had brushed it off thinking that he was either tired or used to death threats and already had a plan in place. But, when she woke up to people running around frantically, men barking orders and more weapons than usual, she knew that Rogan just wasn’t showing his hand the night before. He’d definitely been busy while she slept.
It was obvious he was still rushing to prepare for something he had no information on and by the looks of things, from Cora’s perspective, his men were panicking. At least, the ones outside her room were as two more stormed by into Kirby’s room carrying wooden boards. What they were doing with them she had no idea but her curiosity didn’t stretch far enough for her to follow and find out.
Walking down the halls, no one paid her any attention as she made her way to Rogan’s office. Most were too busy undertaking whatever task they had been allocated. Brushing past her, the hallways were swarming with people, doors opening and closing every second as someone came in or out of them.
More interested in what was going on around her Cora wasn’t paying full attention to her actions. She had paused in front of Rogan’s office and her arm was stretched out towards the handle. About to open the door, suddenly it was snatched from her grip. Feeling startled, she retracted her hand and glanced up to see a strikingly beautiful woman stood in the doorway.
Her slim, but curvy figure was emphasised by the tight fitting clothes she wore as they clung to every inch of her. The short skirt and deep purple heels showed off her long legs and the low cut, rich purple top her ample cleavage. As Cora’s eyes moved up, long flowing chestnut locks of hair encased her face with perfect curls, her eyes where deep brown and her skin looked delicate and flawless.
When their eyes found one another’s hers hardened into a cold mask of realisation, scarring her face with a few creases. Her lips curled as if she were about to say something and then thought better of it. The sneer remained on her face showing she knew exactly who Cora was.
Ignoring the dramatics, Cora brushed by into Rogan’s office, as it was obvious she was about to leave anyway. There was nothing she wanted to say to the woman that wouldn’t cause a fight—and that was the last thing she needed.
With her back turned, Cora missed the suspicious look at both her and Rogan. The woman’s perfect eyebrows arched slightly before returning to the annoyed frown as they pierced into Cora’s back. She made to take a few steps in Cora’s direction, determination flowing from her strides as her hands levelled with Cora’s throat.
“Steph!” Rogan barked suddenly, causing her to jump but it did not derail her attack. Her fingers were just about to graze Cora’s skin when Cora reacted and spun round. Bringing her arm up, she deflected Steph’s attack, knocking her off balance from the momentum.
Startled by the force of Cora’s actions, Steph turned her attention to Rogan. She had lost the element of surprise and would be easily overpowered if she continued. “How dare you bring her here, Rogan! To let her sleep under my roof, you know what I’m capable of.”
Cora wasn’t stupid enough to miss the threat in Steph’s words and the reminder that she was the woman who caused her to grow up motherless. For that she wanted to release the growing urge to take her frustration and anger out on her physically but she refrained. Cora wanted to see how Rogan dealt with her.
Rounding the desk, Rogan moved so he was standing toe-to-toe with her and even with Steph’s heels, he dwarfed her. “You are not to go anywhere near Cora, understood? This is my house, my business and she is blood.”
“She’s just a bastard child who deserves nothing. It should be Kirby in her place.”
Cora saw Rogan’s arm twitch, rising as if he was going to hit her, and he had to mentally remind himself of who he was talking to. Steph was his wife, not an employee.
“Kirby is unfit to lead. I will not have everything I’ve built turned over to him just so he can ruin it. He’s incompetent, worthless, lazy and good-for-nothing, I’d disown him if I could—” Rogan’s words were cut off abruptly with a crack as Steph’s hand collided with his right cheek. Cora watched as his face turned with the impact and the red hand print started to form.
“Go get your things and leave with the others,” Rogan said, his voice flat and emotionless as he remained totally in control, his threat implicit.
Steph considered Rogan’s words carefully, she didn’t like being ordered around but she realised she had pushed him too far and she could see that. She wouldn’t apologise but she would back off, the fear of losing everything was too great if she continued. “This isn’t over, Rogan.”
“Yes, it is. You do anything to threaten Cora and we’re through—you signed a contract last night, Steph. You’ll be left with nothing. Cora is my blood, unlike you, and she will take over my rule. You’ve kept us apart for too long but that ends now. Go and get your things, the cars are ready.” Rogan turned his back on her, moving behind his desk once more as Steph flounced from the room. She slammed the door behind her so hard Cora could have sworn she saw the wall and the picture frames hung on it shake with the force.
“Your wife is a lovely woman.” Cora’s voice dripped with sarcasm to cover her shock of Rogan’s words. She hadn’t expected him to go to those kinds of lengths to defend her and she was having trouble finding a proper reaction.
Rogan only shrugged as she took a seat in front of his desk. The apologetic, nervous, and vulnerable side Cora had witnessed the night before had vanished as she watched him. His face was once again taught with stress, his jaw locked tightly and the permanent frown lowered his eyebrows, creating shadows around his eyes. That may have been caused by a lack of sleep though.
“Should I be concerned about her?” Cora pressed after a few minutes of silence when it became clear Rogan wasn’t going to say anything. She didn’t want to end up like her mother and it seemed only Rogan would be able to protect her—not something she was thrilled about.
“No, she won’t get near you; I’ve made sure of that. If she touches even a hair on your head, she will lose everything and Steph won’t risk that…I have it in writing. Anyway, anyone who can’t fight is moving to stay in one of my safe houses until everything is sorted.”
Cora nodded, thankful she wouldn’t have to contend with a wife who held a nineteen year old grudge against her for existing. “Look, I’ve fulfilled what I came here to do. I’ve given you as much warning as I can but I’m going to go home now. This isn’t my fight and I don’t want to be used by either side. You’ve all done that enough.” Cora stood to leave, pulling herself out of the chair.
“The house is in lock down, Cora. No one comes in or out without an alarm triggering.” Rogan’s tone was distracted as he focused on the map of his grounds, although not enough to intentionally omit that a few could enter or leave by using one of three key cards.
“Damn it, Rogan! I should be able to leave if I want. This isn’t part of my contract and our relationship discovery doesn’t change anything either.” Cora slammed her fist on the desk, jolting his attention in her direction. He looked at her with cold fury but she was sure she saw a glint of admiration at her guts for defending herself.
“You should have been up at 9 am then, not 9 pm if you wanted to go. It’s already getting dark and nobody knows when this attack is meant to happen. I’m not breaching security for you.”
“So you want me at the heart of this when it all kicks off? You know they’ll use me if they catch me, right? They’d already be using me if I hadn’t escaped.”
“Escaped? What are you talking about?” Rogan’s full attention was suddenly focused on Cora and nothing could distract him.
“Don’t play stupid. You knew I was in contact and was helping them. Well at least until their leader locked me in a cell and refused to let me go unless I helped her by shooting you. Then when I refused she decided to use me as a hostage to get what she wanted,” Cora spat, her anger at the memory coming to the forefront of her mind.
“And you’re only just telling me this now?”
“What difference does it make? That plan needed my cooperation to be viable. I refused and escaped. I’ve had plenty of opportunities to kill you and haven’t, so if you’re worried about me, you can stop.”
“Why haven’t you killed me? Surely you wanted me dead before—”
“Before what? Before I found out you’re my father? Don’t flatter yourself, Rogan. I’m not doing this because of family ties. I owe you nothing and you gave up the right to my loyalty when you abandoned me. The only reason I haven’t killed you is because I don’t want to take over your empire. I may hate you but you cause me less hassle alive than dead.”
He didn’t even flinch at her words. It was as if he were expecting them.
“Now if you don’t mind, I’m leaving.” She spun away from him, turning towards the door.
“You’re—not—leaving,” he said slowly, emphasising the individual words as he stared at her. It didn’t fail to escape Cora’s notice that he had moved from one subject to the next without struggle, the past forgotten already.
“You let your wife and others out though. Why can’t I?” Cora said, the thought just dawning on her. She didn’t want to join that party but if Rogan could breach security for them why not her.
“Because you’re important. If something happens to me, you need to be here.” There was a small sense of urgency and desperation in his voice as he tried to urge her to come around to his way of thinking.
“Jesus Christ, Rogan! I’m never going to take over so you had better make sure nothing happens to you. I don’t want your empire, money, influence or your name.”
“You’re already living off my money Cora and you will take over. If anything happens to me tonight then the men’s contracts are automatically passed to you. There’s nothing you can do.”
“I’ll refuse. I’ll release them all. I don’t care how I get out of it but I’m not running your empire.”
Before Rogan could argue the point any further, the door to his office flew open and Nick burst into the room. His face was reddened from all the running around, planning and trying to make sure everything was set up, but that was the only sign of exertion. His breathing was steady, his movement precise and his voice even.
“Everything you ordered has been done, sir. The windows are boarded, the guards armed, patrols have been doubled and all entrances and exits have been sealed. The alarms have been set so only certain key cards will open doors now—yours and mine. Also, your wife got away safely with the others.”
“See? You could open a door for me without an alarm. Why—”
“That’s enough, Cora! We’re not going over this anymore,” he said, raising his voice, his face set in an angry scowl before turning to face Nick.
“Good. Make sure everyone stays alert; I don’t want anyone slipping in because they can’t stay awake. I’ll personally shoot anyone who isn’t focused on the job.” With his orders given Rogan gave Nick a dismissive nod and watched him leave.
As soon as the door was shut, Cora went to argue but Rogan held up his hand, silencing her with look.
“You’re staying here Cora, end of discussion.”
“Since when did you decide to start acting like a father?” she screamed indignantly, furious that he was suddenly trying to control her after nineteen years of nothing. The ship that gave him the right to order her around with parental authority sailed a long time ago if that was the angle he was going for.
“Since you started acting like a child. You are inheriting all of this Cora, it’s already settled and organised.”
Frustrated, Cora stomped towards the door, all too aware of how childish she looked. She didn’t know where she was heading but wasn’t left in confusion long. She had just taken a step through the doorway when a gunshot halted her movement.
* * *
Unaware of Rogan’s forewarning about her attack, Mayana was continuing with her plan and so far it had gone without a hitch. Of course she was none the wiser.
When she had given the orders to arm themselves, the men had done so with practised speed. Everyone was suited and armed within minutes, ready for the impossible feat they were about to take on. They had taken the tube tunnels as far as they could, coming up as close to Rogan’s fortress as possible. From there the groups had split up, blending into the night and moving with precision and stealth as they headed to their designated areas. Mayana’s informant had provided them with all of the blind spots where they would be safe from Rogan’s cameras and using that, Mayana’s teams would all enter from one of those points before raising hell inside the walls at her command.