22.0 - Hero, page 46
“Will die, yes, yes,” Hades’s voice echoed back through the tunnels. “You are such a drama queen.”
The Watcher narrowed his eyes and said no more. But she would die.
He would see to it.
Just a little longer.
Without another word, he set about his task, preparing the cylinder for transport, to take it somewhere that would be safe, would not be disturbed … until the awakening.
126.
Sienna
“Where are we?” I asked as I stirred to consciousness, the skies a bright orange shining through a nearby porthole window. I was on a military transport plane, lying on the deck, surrounded by military guys in jump seats, and to my right was Warren Quincy, watching over me with a careful eye. As one should, for a dangerous prisoner.
“Over Germany now,” the corpsman asked, checking the IV that he’d strapped into my arm.
“Great,” I said, and pulled the IV.
“Hey, you shouldn’t—”
“I’m fine,” I said, sitting upright. I felt a little lightheaded, but most of the pain was already fading. I had a pretty thick layer of blood over the whole of me, most of which (I thought) was mine, but none of which was going anywhere without a shower and some intense scrubbing.
I just hoped that whatever prison they tossed me in, they at least went easy on the firehose. Or my skin healed first. Whichever. Beggars can’t be choosers and all that.
“Just … take it easy,” the corpsman said, and moved off to one of the jump seats that lined the interior of the plane’s cargo bay. I gave it a look around; it looked like a C-130 Hercules, a plane I’d become intimately acquainted with back when I was in government service. The toilet was a curtain and a hole, and smelled like you’d expect an open latrine to smell.
Quincy nodded me over, and I took it as a sign of respect coupled with a reasonable attempt to keep danger close in his sights. I wandered his way, watching the SEALs watch me. Not a one of them didn’t have a weapon close at hand, which, let’s face it, was smart.
“You had quite a day,” Quincy said. He was wearing a headset that was plugged into a jack behind him, but apparently could hear me just fine through it.
“Yeah, but I didn’t get shot in the leg and nearly plummet off a cliff,” I said, “so congrats to you for surviving, too.”
He broke into a smile. Very definitely different than how he’d appeared when we’d squared off back in January. “Respect, Nealon.” And he raised his hand.
I fist bumped him. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to test you.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
I shook my head. “Nah. I’ll go quietly.”
He just stared. Nodded. “Good. Have a seat.”
I drew a long breath, then sat down next to him. He fiddled with his headset, then handed it over to me.
“What?” I asked, looking at it. “I can hear fine. Ish. Still a slight ringing. Or maybe that’s the engine noise—”
“Put it on.”
I eyed the headset. “If there’s N’Sync playing on this, all that stuff I said about going quietly is out the window—along with you.”
He cackled. “Put it on.”
I did.
“Nealon, are you online?” came the static, slightly crackling voice of Bruno Passerini.
“Hammer,” I said, “uh, I mean—Mr. Secretary. Sir.”
“I think you’ve earned the privilege of calling me ‘Hammer’ if you want,” Passerini said. He had that same tired, been-through-a-war tone that I probably did. “How are you feeling?”
“Like hell.”
“Lot of that going around,” he said. “But at least you aren’t feeling like you’re in hell.”
“Well, if you want to go by the somewhat literal definition,” I said, “being that I did spend this last day in Hades’s kingdom … I kind of have been through hell today.”
Passerini chuckled. “You’ve got a way about you, Nealon. You going to be all right? Do I need to have the crew put in at Ramstein for medical care?”
I pondered what he meant by that. Was it, maybe, a veiled offer to get me on the ground, where I could escape to safety? I had a fleeting vision of disappearing over a barbed wire fence, of wearing my hood up as I wandered down the streets of Europe—
And I’d never see home again, not even for a minute.
I’d always be looking over my shoulder. For the rest of my life.
Ugh. Prison again. I could only hope the damned Cube had been utterly destroyed in that little riot I’d caused.
“No, I’ll be fine,” I said, letting go of that idea. I’d done the running thing. I’d done the fighting thing. Hell, I’d just done a shitload of the killing thing.
No more.
“I’m having them direct your flight to return to Joint Base Andrews straightaway, then. You’ll refuel in mid-air.”
“First class service,” I said. “Except the toilets on these Herky-birds suck ass. You really ought to do something about that, you know, as SecDef.”
He laughed again. “I don’t think even I have power over that. But … I have been ordered to get you back to Washington ASAP.”
“I figured as much,” I said, feeling that slow creep of resignation run over my scalp. “And I told Quincy here—I won’t fight. My running days are done.”
“That’s good,” Passerini said, “because I need a hole in that plane like I need a hole in my budget for next year. And I’d hate for my last act as Secretary of Defense to be tainted by such an inauspicious end as that when it could be … a little more triumphant.”
I tried to parse what he said, but gave up after a couple attempts. “No idea what you’re talking about there.”
“You really don’t, do you?” Passerini asked. “Well, in that case … let me spell it out. These are my orders,” and his voice changed to a slightly more serious timbre. “‘Deliver Sienna Nealon to the White House, Washington, DC, with all haste for immediate commendation. Details of her clemency to be worked out later. Signed, Richard Gondry,’ and well … you know the rest.”
“Wait,” I said, “… what … what did you just say? Was that …” I couldn’t hear right, could I? My ears had taken some pretty severe damage today, after all, hadn’t they?
He hadn’t said ‘clemency.’ Or ‘commendation.’ Those were just engine noise. Ringing in the ears.
Weren’t they?
The man who’d gone most of his professional life being known as ‘Hammer’ laughed on the other end of the connection. “You heard it just fine.” He turned serious again, but in a different way, one that was more … heartfelt. “Congratulations, Sienna.”
Sienna Nealon Will Return In
FLASHBACK
OUT OF THE BOX, BOOK 23
Coming December 4, 2018!
Get it here!
Author’s Note
Thanks for reading! If you want to know immediately when future books become available, take sixty seconds and sign up for my NEW RELEASE EMAIL ALERTS by CLICKING HERE. I don’t sell your information and I only send out emails when I have a new book out. The reason you should sign up for this is because I don’t always set release dates, and even if you’re following me on Facebook (robertJcrane (Author)) or Twitter (@robertJcrane), it’s easy to miss my book announcements because … well, because social media is an imprecise thing.
Come join the discussion on my website: http://www.robertjcrane.com!
Cheers,
Robert J. Crane
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Editing was handled expertly by Sarah Barbour as per usual, with Jeff Bryan and Jo Evans batting cleanup. Many thanks to all of them.
Once again, the illustrious illustrator Karri Klawiter produced the cover. artbykarri.com is where you can find her amazing works.
Nick Bowman of nickbowman-editing.com provided the formatting that turned this into an actual book and ebook.
And thanks as always to my family – wife, parents, in-laws and occasionally my kids, for keeping a lid on the craziness so I can do this job.
Other Works by Robert J. Crane
World of Sanctuary
Epic Fantasy
Defender: The Sanctuary Series, Volume One
Avenger: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Two
Champion: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Three
Crusader: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Four
Sanctuary Tales, Volume One - A Short Story Collection
Thy Father’s Shadow: The Sanctuary Series, Volume 4.5
Master: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Five
Fated in Darkness: The Sanctuary Series, Volume 5.5
Warlord: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Six
Heretic: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Seven
Legend: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Eight
Ghosts of Sanctuary: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Nine
Call of the Hero: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Ten* (Coming Late 2018!)
A Haven in Ash: Ashes of Luukessia, Volume One (with Michael Winstone)
A Respite From Storms: Ashes of Luukessia, Volume Two (with Michael Winstone)
A Home in the Hills: Ashes of Luukessia, Volume Three* (with Michael Winstone)
The Girl in the Box
and
Out of the Box
Contemporary Urban Fantasy
Alone: The Girl in the Box, Book 1
Untouched: The Girl in the Box, Book 2
Soulless: The Girl in the Box, Book 3
Family: The Girl in the Box, Book 4
Omega: The Girl in the Box, Book 5
Broken: The Girl in the Box, Book 6
Enemies: The Girl in the Box, Book 7
Legacy: The Girl in the Box, Book 8
Destiny: The Girl in the Box, Book 9
Power: The Girl in the Box, Book 10
Limitless: Out of the Box, Book 1
In the Wind: Out of the Box, Book 2
Ruthless: Out of the Box, Book 3
Grounded: Out of the Box, Book 4
Tormented: Out of the Box, Book 5
Vengeful: Out of the Box, Book 6
Sea Change: Out of the Box, Book 7
Painkiller: Out of the Box, Book 8
Masks: Out of the Box, Book 9
Prisoners: Out of the Box, Book 10
Unyielding: Out of the Box, Book 11
Hollow: Out of the Box, Book 12
Toxicity: Out of the Box, Book 13
Small Things: Out of the Box, Book 14
Hunters: Out of the Box, Book 15
Badder: Out of the Box, Book 16
Nemesis: Out of the Box, Book 17
Apex: Out of the Box, Book 18
Time: Out of the Box, Book 19
Driven: Out of the Box, Book 20
Remember: Out of the Box, Book 21
Hero: Out of the Box, Book 22
Flashback: Out of the Box, Book 23* (Coming November 2018!)
Walk Through Fire: Out of the Box, Book 24* (Coming in 2019!)
Southern Watch
Contemporary Urban Fantasy
Called: Southern Watch, Book 1
Depths: Southern Watch, Book 2
Corrupted: Southern Watch, Book 3
Unearthed: Southern Watch, Book 4
Legion: Southern Watch, Book 5
Starling: Southern Watch, Book 6
Forsaken: Southern Watch, Book 7
Hallowed: Southern Watch, Book 8* (Coming in 2019!)
The Shattered Dome Series
(with Nicholas J. Ambrose)
Sci-Fi
Voiceless: The Shattered Dome, Book 1
Unspeakable: The Shattered Dome, Book 2* (Coming 2018!)
The Mira Brand Adventures
Contemporary Urban Fantasy
The World Beneath: The Mira Brand Adventures, Book 1
The Tide of Ages: The Mira Brand Adventures, Book 2
The City of Lies: The Mira Brand Adventures, Book 3
The King of the Skies: The Mira Brand Adventures, Book 4
The Best of Us: The Mira Brand Adventures, Book 5
We Aimless Few: The Mira Brand Adventures, Book 6* (Coming in 2018!)
Liars and Vampires
(with Lauren Harper)
Contemporary Urban Fantasy
No One Will Believe You: Liars and Vampires, Book 1
Someone Should Save Her: Liars and Vampires, Book 2
You Can’t Go Home Again: Liars and Vampires, Book 3
In the Dark: Liars and Vampires, Book 4
Her Lying Days Are Done: Liars and Vampires, Book 5* (Coming October 2018!)
Heir of the Dog: Liars and Vampires, Book 6* (Coming November 2018!)
Hit You Where You Live: Liars and Vampires, Book 7* (Coming December 2018!)
* Forthcoming, Subject to Change
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Author’s Note
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Other Works by Robert J. Crane
Robert J. Crane, 22.0 - Hero
