Patriots & Tyrants (Rebels & Lies Trilogy Book 2) (15 page)

Reed’s back was still
sore from another grueling day at the factory. Having just showered and changed
in the locker room, he was putting on his street clothes when X tapped him on
the shoulder. Reed looked up at him unsure of what the loose cannon would do next.
All the reformed gangbanger did was make a simple hand gesture with his thumb
by his ear telling Reed to meet him outside once he was ready. The leader
understood and he finished getting ready. The closer he got to the back door,
the faster his heart rate rose.

The cool air outside
felt good as it brushed against his skin when he first walked out. Work in the
factory was not only hard labor, but it seemed that the USR didn’t deem the
factory workers worthy of the credits it would take to air condition the place.
Reed looked around for X but couldn’t find him right away. After a few short
moments, he heard a whisper sound to his right. He turned the corner of the
factory and found his friend motioning with his hand to come closer. While Reed
wore a light jacket and jeans for the cooler weather, his comrade simply wore a
sleeveless vest made of leather to go with the worn out jeans on his legs. Reed
approached, preparing his mind mentally for the worst.

“What’s up, X?” Reed
asked in a low tone.

“Heard you talked to
the enemy today.” X replied.

“You heard that, huh?”

“Let’s get the fuck
out of here, amigo.”

The two began to walk
with a brisk pace down the deserted sidewalk and streets around the factory.
Because of the grueling nature and hours with their work, everyone who worked
in the factory was exempt from the USR’s mandated curfew. All they had to do
was show their credentials and they were given a free pass. Tonight, they were
kept several hours later than what they normally worked. That tipped off Reed,
and he’s sure X and the others, that someone was onto them. They couldn’t meet
for their card games after work if they were in the factory until midnight.
Reed didn’t mind the extra work, but he knew there were certain others in the
crew who would be upset about it. It seemed that they were going to X now and
not him, which pissed off Reed to a certain degree.

Without warning, X
grabbed at Reed near the chest, his strong hands gripped his jacket as Reed was
shoved into the brick wall behind him. Reed’s breathing quickened as he looked
into the eyes of a man not afraid to kill. X let the tension build by not
saying anything at first. In the process, he quietly dared his leader to say
anything to him without permission.

X pressed Reed further
into the wall. “What are you doing talking with an Agent, bro?”

Reed talked through
his heavy breathing. “He came to the factory. I was called down to talk to him.
I wasn’t going to say ‘no’.”

“Was it the same pig
who crashed our party the other night?”

“Yes, but listen…”

X moved his face
closer to Reed’s. “Listen to what? I think you’re sleeping with the enemy,
homes.”

Reed fought through
the stench in X’s breath as his mind raced. “Look, he’s disillusioned, his
wife…”

“I don’t give a shit
about his wife. What I do care about are my homeboys that you’re putting in
danger. I should kill you right now.”

X reached into his
jacket pocket and reached for his old switchblade. With a push of the switch,
the clean, shiny blade popped up through the handle. The sight of the weapon
caused Reed’s heart rate and breathing to escalate to the point where he
thought he would pass out. The words “wait, wait” didn’t come from his mouth as
his vocal cords failed to respond. X held the blade close to Reed’s eyes.

“You know how many
people I’ve killed?” X demanded.

Reed shook his head.

“More people than you
can imagine. Now, I want to know why you’re talking to the enemy.”

“Just…let me breath
for a second.”

X let loose of his
one-time friend. Reed’s sore back slid down the brick behind him. When his feet
touched the ground again, he bent over and grabbed at his knees. The fatigue
from the workday was still clouding his mind, now he had to deal with X’s
bullshit. Their whole operation to this point was built on trust. Now, there
was some dissention within the group thanks to this Agent who wanted to play
both sides. Reed feigned catching his breath so his mind could work. How could
he explain this to X? He tried to reverse the situation and think how he would
react if X was the one that seemed to flirt with the enemy.

“Look,” Reed began.
“He wants out, okay? That drug in the water supply killed his wife and he wants
answers.”

“Why us?”

“Because, the USR has
done such a damn fine job of weeding out the resistance. That Agent seems to
think we’re the only ones left in town.”

“I don’t buy it. It’s
a trap.”

“It could be, I agree.
But, if it’s not, think of the advantage we could have with someone on the
inside feeding us information.”

X pondered that for a
moment. “I don’t like it. You need to stop talking to him right now.”

Reed reached into his
jacket pocket for the phone. “He gave me this. He told me that he would call me
on this phone if he sensed any trouble.”

“Give me that.”

X snatched the phone
from his hands. He held it up close and began to inspect it. Reed simply gasped
for breath again.

“Is it bugged?” X
demanded.

“I don’t know, okay?
We can run a tracer on it to see.”

“What all have you
told him?”

“Nothing. He has no
clue what we do in the factory. It’s forbidden even for him to know by his
superiors. I think he’s telling the truth.”

X slid the phone into
his vest pocket and put the knife away as well. He then reached over and patted
Reed on the back. The leader grew confused as to what would happen next. Was it
really over after X threatened his life with that knife?

“Pick yourself up,
homes.” X said. “Just had to make sure.”

“Make sure what?”

“That you weren’t
switching sides. We’ll take a look at that phone to see if it’s bugged. Just,
don’t trust that Agent, okay?”

“Not sure who I can
trust at the moment, actually.” Reed replied.

“Well, you can trust
us.”

“How’s our little
mission going?” Reed asked with a sense of relief in his tone.

“We’ve got the
shipment ready. Statue is going to export our goods within the next couple of
nights with that truck. Just gotta make sure he’s all clear. After that, we
disappear.” X replied.

“What are you going to
do?”

“I’m going to fight
with the resistance. What about you, homes?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve
got my family to look after. We’ll probably go on the run. Maybe I can find a
job somewhere after that.”

“Unlikely. The USR’s
going to be looking for you. You’ll have to go underground.”

“Thanks for the
reassurance.”

“I’m not here to
comfort your patty ass. I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”

The combat vehicle
came to complete stop. Under Sanders’s direction, the rebels were able to avoid
detection, just as he planned. They sat now on the mountain some thirteen miles
away from their target. Kaspar felt the vehicle stop and his nerves were
starting to get the better of him. His body was shaking, and he wasn’t sure if
it was from the cold air outside, or if it was from those nerves. He still
struggled with pre-fight jitters.

Krys’s head rested on
his lap. Somehow, she managed to get some sleep during the trek up the
mountain. When the vehicle stopped, she started to move her head as her mind
left the dream world and reentered the real one. She moved her hand up to her
burning forehead and wiped at the sweat. Then, her eyes made contact with
Kaspar’s and her mouth revealed a smile. Kaspar smiled back down at her.

“Hey, you.” Krys said
with a weak voice.

“Hey, yourself. How
are you feeling?” Kaspar replied.

“I feel like I’m
burning up.”

Krys reached for the
zipper on her jacket, but Kaspar moved her hand aside. He unzipped the jacket
for her. She needed help rising up from her lying position and then she slid
her arms out. The fact that she was burning up was not a good thing. The combat
vehicles they rode in did not have heating on the inside, and the temperature
outside was frigid.

“See you outside,
Kas.” Dexter said as he stood and moved for the back of the vehicle.

When the door was
opened, the cold air blasted its way through. Dexter was quick to shut it, but
the damage had already been done. Krys’s demeanor immediately changed. Now, she
felt a sharp chill run down her spine. A curse from under her breath could be
heard as Kaspar maneuvered himself down the bench.

“Might need that
jacket after all,” Krys said through her chattering teeth.

Kaspar handed over the
jacket and helped her put it on. Once on, Kaspar then helped her try to get
comfortable on the bench. There were blankets in the back and two were placed
overtop her. She rested her head on a white pillow and struggled to take a deep
breath. Kaspar moved off the bench, got down on one knee, and rubbed at Krys’s
forehead.

“You be careful out
there.” Krys said.

“I will. You going to
be okay back here?” Kaspar wondered.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.
Robbie’s going to be here to look over me.”

“Not sure he’s the
best person for that.”

Krys smiled. “He’ll do
fine. We should be able to avoid detection all the way out here, anyway.”

“I don’t want to leave
you here.”

“I know, but they need
you and your gun. Trust me, I’ll be fine. You just need to focus on the task at
hand.”

Kaspar could feel a
lump in his throat as he swallowed hard. “I’m going to save you.”

Krys smiled again. “I
know.”

Kaspar was about to
move in for a kiss when he heard a loud banging noise on the back door. He
shouted to hold on a moment then focused his attention back on Krys. It was
always obvious to him, but the woman in front of him had never looked more
beautiful. The greatest privilege of his life was being the one that Krys
loved. That love was returned ten-fold on his end. Besides Mother, no other
person loved him just for being exactly who he was. The thought of not having
her around any longer caused him to feel a great, vast darkness inside. He
moved his face close and embraced Krys with a kiss.

“You better get
moving.” Krys said.

Kaspar pulled away.
“Yeah, I guess so. You just hold tight. Try to stay warm.”

There was that damn
banging on the door again, only louder this time. Kaspar looked to the door
then back at Krys. With a wink, Kaspar turned and moved to the door. Once
there, he turned and gave one last look to Krys before he opened it. He was met
by the ice cold stare of Sanders once it was opened. Sanders helped with the
shutting of the door.

“About fucking time,”
Sanders scowled.

“Just had to make sure
she was okay.”

“You need to focus on
the mission.”

Kaspar bit his tongue.
This old bastard was the wrong person to get in a shouting match with and
Kaspar knew it. The rebel moved over to the others who were dressed in the same
white camouflaged fatigues as him. The new uniforms, different from the black
ones they wore on every other mission, were provided by Sanders and his crew.
Kaspar wiggled around in his as the closest one to his size was bit snug. It
brought back memories of the first time he suited up for one of these missions.
He reasoned that the tighter fit would help him to stay warm, which would be
essential. They had a long hike on their hands, feet, and everything else.

Dexter moved over and
patted Kaspar on the back. There was a halfhearted smile on Dexter’s face. He
was a man who was not good with emotion. Still, Kaspar appreciated the gesture.
All around them were men from Sanders’s unit. During their travels to this spot
there was little time to get to know any of them. They all looked tough as
hell, though. Sanders simply didn’t allow them to be “weak” with any kind of
emotion other than a gung ho, let’s fuck some Agents up, attitude.

In the middle of the
make shift arc that they all made, Sanders was having words with Harvey. It
didn’t seem like a confrontation so much as the two old war veterans making
sure the plan was in place. Over to his right, Kaspar noticed Buck standing by
himself, his arms folded across his chest. The kid was leaning against the trunk
of a pine tree. The snow underneath Kaspar’s boots made a crunching sound which
gave away his approach. Buck looked to the sound, saw his comrade, and then
looked back into the distance again.

“How are you feeling,
Buck?” Kaspar wondered.

“I’m doing fine,” Buck
replied without looking over. “Just ready to get this over with, you know?”

“I hear you.”

“I hope it’s in there
and that we can find it.”

“You’re telling me.
Your lover isn’t sitting in the back of a vehicle dying.”

Buck smirked. “Just
because I don’t love someone who’s infected doesn’t mean you’ve got more reason
than me to get it.”

“Why do you want it so
bad, then?”

“Well,” Buck said with
a shake of the head. “I just want to make my old man proud, I guess.”

“I’m telling you, kid,
you already have.”

The conversation was
cut short with a loud whistle from Sanders. Kaspar made a gesture with his head
to follow him over. When they arrived at the huddle, the bitter cold was
already getting to Kaspar. He reached into his flak jacket and grabbed the
white Balaclava. It fit snug on the top of his head and he didn’t fold it all
the way down to cover his face just yet.

“Okay, girls,” Sanders
said. “We’ve got a long hike in front of us. Just suck it up. If you don’t
think you can make it, you can stay behind with the woman and Robert.”

Kaspar bit his tongue
again.

“Now, we want to make
it there in as short a time as possible, you get me? So, go the equipment
truck, get your shit, and get back here. Double time it!”