Evolve, page 19
part #2 of Logan Reed Series
Is that happening inside her body now too?
“You okay?” he asked, worried.
She nodded but grimaced. “Better than you would’ve been if they hadn’t found you when they did. We Ru’kan have a natural resistance to the poison. But you…”
“If you’re asking why I didn’t die immediately, I have no idea.” He looked over to the medic. “If it wasn’t for the medic and nurse over here, I wouldn’t be here right now.”
Fayng’s eyes squinted, confused. “Medic? Nurse?”
Logan tilted his chin towards the two women standing to each side of Fayng. “Them. It’s what I call them in here,” he tapped his head, “since they have no names. It’s easier for me to think things out and talk to myself. Sometimes there isn’t anyone around to listen and bounce things off of. So instead, I do it internally, occasionally voicing it aloud.”
“As do I,” Fayng said. “The jungle can be a lonesome place for some. Even with my son around, I find myself speaking to no one. Baird doesn’t talk much, even to his own mother.”
“The strong silent type,” Logan added. “Sounds like my friend, Jan. He was a formidable force—more than any of us. He rarely showed it, though.”
“The truly great warriors don’t have to,” Fayng said. “They let their very presence speak for themselves.” She smiled. “Unlike your friend, Fitz. He likes to talk.”
Logan laughed out loud, groaning as various parts of his body protested in pain. She’d only known Fitz for a few hours and already knew the man better than most. Then again, Fitz didn’t always make a good first impression. It was a lasting one, though. You would always remember the loud-mouthed Aussie whether you wanted to or not. He was truly unafraid of what people thought of him and acted as he chose. It was an admirable quality to have nowadays.
Pushing off the wall, Logan checked his gun for the third time since entering the latest of tunnels. “You good to go?”
“Yes,” Fayng replied, likewise shoving away from the worn wall. “This isn’t my first run-in with the Nsanga remember. We’ve been hunting them for centuries, controlling their population.”
She quickly retold her conversation with Fitz—about the Nsanga spreading like wildfire around the globe and the Ru’kan’s job at preventing that from happening.
“Bollocks,” Logan replied. “So it’s not just a turf war. You’re trying to save the world…”
She smiled. “Yes, but don’t think of it on such a grand scale. We are really just trying to save our homeland. But yes, if we fail here, then we have failed everywhere.”
They started off again. “We have a lot in common, you know? We’re both trying to conserve what we love and are willing to die doing it.”
“And Kiani?” Fayng asked, getting a nervous look from Logan. “What of her?”
Logan wasn’t sure why he found it easy to confide in the woman. He’d only just met Fayng but their relationship was one of respect and understanding. So, he did just that and trusted her. “I’m not sure. She’s the first woman I’ve had any real feelings for in a long time.”
“How long?” Fayng asked with a grin.
“Well,” Logan replied, “not as long as you.” He took a few more steps and collected his thoughts. “You see… When you’re in my line of work, even before I came to Africa, you have one goal in mind.”
“And that is?” she asked.
“Survival…and not just my own, mind you. My job is to protect the living things of the Serengeti at all costs and before that, when I was in the army, it was to protect human life.”
“Even if that meant taking them?”
He nodded. “It’s why I left the service. Fitz and I served together for a good bit and on our last mission I had to make the call to take down two gunrunners.”
“Sounds like it was an easy decision,” Fayng said.
“They were kids.”
“I see…” she replied, looking into the darkness as they walked.
“I never got over the fact that I gave the kill order on two brainwashed kids. When my sister called me to come work in Tanzania, I thought of it as a chance to get away from my old life and the nightmares that came with it.”
“Is that why you said you excel at nightmares?”
“Yep, and everything that comes with them. Only…they’ve gotten a lot worse since—”
“Since the outbreak in Tanzania,” Fayng finished.
Logan nodded. “It’s brought up a whole new set of problems now. I lost a lot of really good men that night—even better friends.” Tears welled up in his eyes at the thought of those he lost. “Until that night, the SDF had never suffered a casualty in the line of duty. I thought I’d never have to go through that much death again.” He wiped his eyes. “But I was wrong.”
“And, yet, here you are ready to jump back in to save the ones you love,” Fayng said, stopping.
Logan did the same and turned towards her. “It’s my duty.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head, “it’s who you are,” she tapped his chest, “in here. You could do a great number of things in this world if you were to accept your fate.”
“My fate?”
“As a hero of man.” And with that, Fayng turned and again headed off into the darkness. “We are close,” she whispered. “Be ready.”
They made it another hundred feet before the grade steepened and went uphill. As the diameter of the tunnel fluctuated, it also banked once to the right and then eventually came upon an opening. Twenty feet from the tunnel’s exit Logan heard what he knew was trouble.
Gunfire.
On the positive side of things, some of his friends had made it. But on the lesser side…he wasn’t sure how many.
Motioning for the others to get down, Logan crouch-walked to the opening and peered into the dusky lighting of the next chamber. It was even bigger than the first cave—the Ka’s village. But from this vantage, Logan couldn’t tell exactly how big it was and what type of terrain they’d have to traverse.
“Over there,” Fayng said softly, startling Logan. He didn’t hear her join him. “I see them.”
Logan followed her outstretched finger and found a couple of shadows huddled in front of a large black void. Another tunnel, he thought. Without his night vision, he couldn’t see much in the way of definition, just blobs and shapes. Then two of the shadows coughed what he knew to be a rifle discharge. It was quickly followed by the unsuppressed report from a smaller caliber weapon—a handgun.
Kiani.
A shriek answered the gunshots and Logan traced the cry’s origin out beyond a strange set of half-mooned lights.
“Flares,” he mumbled. They must have tossed them out and hoped it would ward off the creatures. Or maybe light them up…
“We need to get over there,” he said, looking over the area in front of them. It was quiet, all attention was on the others giving them an advantage.
“They’ll be fine,” Fayng said, noticing his concern. “You don’t survive down here as long as they have without working together.”
She quickly spoke to them in their native tongue, getting a quick set of nods from each and every one.
“What’d you say?” Logan asked.
“I told them to stay there for a moment and then head off and look for an exit.”
Good move, he thought. No reason to risk their lives if it can be avoided. But if they had to fight while searching for their escape, Logan was confident that they’d be able to take care of one another.
“Right,” he said, “let’s move.”
Logan slid out of the tunnel, going right, hugging the cave wall, making his way towards his team’s position. As he led Fayng and the once-captive women forward he continued to survey the terrain around him. Holes and crevices pockmarked the ground. In truth, it reminded Logan of a meerkat tunnel system. The stone must be fairly porous here and the Nsanga use the network of holes and crags as their homes.
Fayng grunted from behind and he turned. She was in a lot of pain, but like he, she masked it well. Her face was unchanging in emotion, except for an occasional twitch of her cheeks as she fought wave after wave of nausea and aforementioned pain. He was pretty sure she was worse off than she let on to earlier, when they around the girls. How bad, he didn’t know. Ru’kan biology was a mystery for sure.
It made him reflect on his own battle with the toxin. How did he survive so long without the gene Fayng and her people possessed? Was it luck? Had to be. The good thing was, Logan was pretty sure Fayng was going to survive.
“Oh, no,” she said, looking deeper into the ensuing battle.
Logan wasn’t exactly sure what he was seeing, but he could have sworn he just saw a massive individual go airborne through the ring of lights, holding what looked like a large blade of some kind. It seemed to glow as he passed over the reflective lights.
Baird, he thought, hearing the man bellow like a thunderclap.
Bloody hell. He was headed straight into the female Nsanga’s open maw.
* * *
So far, the operation hadn’t gone as planned, almost completely FUBAR—Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition, actually. He’d barely survived death on multiple accounts. He’d even thought about terminating the others and making off with his prize. She was so close, within arm’s reach for much of time. He could almost visualize his promotion within Phoenix.
One thing at a time. Getting ahead of himself would only get him killed and if the plan was for the operative to die in the jungle, the powers-that-be would have sent a grunt to do the job and not their best man. While some of their agents were unknowingly expendable, he knew he wasn’t. His family ties would guarantee it.
Would’ve been nice to have a team right now. Although he’d never acknowledge the need for help, he could’ve used it from the start now that he knew what he’d be up against. An extra twelve men would have been a priceless luxury right then, not to mention the helicopter accompanying them. All he’d have to do was make the call. They were on standby, knowing they could be summoned at any moment.
But like countless other missions before this, he was on his own for the time being. In most cases, working alone was preferred and generally easier. He didn’t have to create, and then continue, a cover for two people and could work on the fly if need be. There was less coordination needed and therefore fewer potential errors.
Errors that could also get me killed. It was the only way he would die. Fail, or worse, get found out and expose everything.
But was all this chaos really worth what he sought? The Ru’kan were alone fearsome, but add in the ruthless Nsanga creatures, not to mention the still formidable SDF and, of course, himself, and you had a four-way battle royal that put WrestleMania to shame.
He wanted very much to do a Macho Man impression right then but knew it would draw unwanted attention to himself. While a lot of Special Forces soldiers used humor to ease the sorrow felt when losing men, or at the very least, lessen some of the tension while out in the field, he understood the wire-thin reality of his predicament.
So instead, he’d continue to play the role asked of him. The SDF would inadvertently help him too. They would be his unknowing pawns and then he’d leave them in the dust. Or, if the opportunity arose…he’d kill them himself, starting with Logan Reed.
26
It happened in the blink of an eye. Baird was there, and then, he was gone. Logan was still trying to process what exactly happened. There was no way a man that size could outmaneuver the lightning quick strike of the Nsanga female.
But he did.
Just as the creature was about to snap its jaw shut around Baird’s extended arm, he turned the blade skyward. The monster bit down on what it thought was its next meal, but instead, all it got was pain.
Baird had just gotten his arm clear of the beast’s fangs when he let go and tumbled beneath the rearing behemoth. The force of its bite was like that of a Nile croc, quick and powerful. As it clamped shut with the pop of a gunshot, the freshly sharpened blade tip pierced straight through the softer tissue in the roof of its mouth. A less primal animal may have paused its attack and thought things through, but the Nsanga, while smart, weren’t what you’d call intelligent.
Like a beagle, Logan thought. Massively smart dogs, but stupid as shit sometimes. It was the same in human beings sometimes too. Smarts didn’t necessarily coincide with intelligence.
As the creature finished its deathblow, the machete popped through its snout, making it look like a metal-horned rhino. Immediately following the sickening pop, was a geyser of blood and a shriek of pain. Baird was caught underneath the rampaging female as she thrashed wildly, trying desperately to rid herself of the painful nuisance.
“No!” Fayng cried, pumping her arms faster, heading straight for the mayhem. Logan did the same, but then thought better of it and instead headed for his team. They needed to reorganize and find a way out.
He expected to see them jump for joy upon his arrival, but instead, all he got was a couple of nods and smiles. They seemed to be more concerned for Baird’s well-being than his at the moment. Had they connected somehow, giving Baird the respect for such concern?
Apparently so, Logan thought, turning back to the scene before them.
The Nsanga continued to thrash and buck. As it did, it actually shanked two of its own children with the dagger-like protrusion sticking up from its serpentine snout.
“We need to help them,” Kiani said, pointing at the two Ru’kan warriors. Fayng had successfully dragged Baird’s unmoving form out from beneath the monster and moved off to the right. The younglings had backed off some as well, cowering from their rampaging mother.
But not Fayng. Her own motherly instincts took over and she dove right into it to save her son, a man that may already be dead. Baird had mortally injured the female, though, and Logan and his team needed to take the fight to her while they could.
“Open up with everything you have while it's distracted!” he shouted, motioning for CJ to hand him her rifle. She didn’t argue one bit, trading for Logan’s Glock. “Stay here with Kiani and guard this exit. We may need it.” CJ nodded and stepped back.
Logan, Fitz, Zeus, and Ares, rushed the belligerent female, taking pot-shots while they moved. Logan didn’t, though. He was waiting for the right moment to unload.
“Come on you she-devil,” he said to himself, “show me that throat of yours.”
“Grenade!” Ares shouted, rolling the explosive like a bocce ball. It bounced and hopped a few times, detonating directly on top of the Nsanga’s front right foot. It shrieked again and leaned heavily on its left leg, tipping slightly as it continued trying to shake the machete free. Then, it hit a slick of blood and went down, clawing at the stone with its mutilated forelimb.
“Move in!” Logan shouted, steadily walking forward, laying into the beast’s face with every well-aimed shot. Each time he scored a hit inside its still-open mouth, he was rewarded with another bellow of agony.
Fitz, Zeus, and Ares must have understood and joined in, sending round after round into the thing’s throat. Zeus and Ares even switched their fire selectors to full-auto and just let the weapons go until they ran dry.
They reloaded and started anew, ducking under its tail as it continued to thrash about. The four men followed it, never taking their fire away from its face.
One of their bullets must have struck something vital, because, like a car with no fuel, the fight went out of it. It was still alive but the massive amount of blood loss must’ve caught up with it.
For good measure, Ares lobbed his last grenade into its mouth and ran. The detonation was sickening but effective. Bone and blood, splattered everywhere as the front half of the Nsanga’s face was torn to shreds.
The queen was dead.
Logan wheeled around and searched for her young, expecting another wave to attack at any moment. A few of the smaller ones could be seen in the distance huddling next to another larger lizard. It wasn’t nearly as big as the female, however.
One of the males guarding the nests, he thought.
“Zeus. Ares.” Both men turned to him. “Take CJ and Kiani and look for an alternate route out of here. Stay within earshot. If something doesn’t feel right, head back this—” Logan’s orders were halted as the Ru’kan captives appeared from out of the shadows.
“What the hell?” Fitz said, shouldering his weapon. Zeus and Ares did the same.
“Don’t,” Logan said, pushing the barrel of his rifle down. He then waved off the Americans. “They’re friendlies.”
Taking a second look, Logan saw something he didn’t like. There were only five of the women present and accounted for and they looked like they’d been in a war of their own.
The medic and nurse led the remaining women over to Logan smeared in blood and covered in cuts and welts. Their stone-tipped staffs were also dripping in blood.
No wonder we didn’t encounter many, Logan thought. They must have met their own resistance while searching for an exit.
“What happened?” he asked the medic in Swahili.
“We fight,” she replied. She motioned to the group. “We all fight.” Her eyes fell to the floor. “Not all live.”
Damnit.
“I’m sorry,” he said, meeting her empty gaze. “Be proud of them.”
She nodded. “Am proud.” Her eyes left Logan and found Fayng kneeling over Baird. “No…”
The five women ran over to their mentor and guardian angel, some weeping in sorrow. From that distance, Logan could see Baird was alive. But how?
He and Fitz followed and quickly saw why the women reacted as they did.
“Holy shit,” Fitz said, covering his mouth.
Baird was torn apart. His left eye socket was crushed in and his nose broken, as was the rest of his face. Logan determined that Baird also suffered a crushed sternum and a shattered collarbone too—not to mention what happened to the man’s lower body.
