Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64702 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64702 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
“Lawrence is in possession of a stock of Green Hornets,” Jensen adds. “I’m assuming Brock gave them to Zodius, since we know he’s in bed with Lucian.”
“Maybe,” Creed replies dryly. “Or maybe it simply means my mother is as big a bitch as my father was a bastard. Selling to our government and the enemy at the same time.”
“What does that mean?” I ask at the same time as Jensen.
“Those bullets are made by Taylor Industries,” Creed informs us. “My family’s business.”
“You’re freaking kidding me,” Jensen murmurs, but it’s not really a question. More an incredulous statement.
“The technology was placed on the back burner years ago after some problems with product safety. The bullets imploded inside the weapons and injured the shooters. Obviously, they found a way around that. And Mommy Dearest doesn’t think twice about selling to a terrorist if the money is good. If my mother is involved with the Green Hornets, a weapon being used against GTECHs, it seems highly probable that she is involved with Red Dart, another weapon designed to be used against GTECHs. One to kill and one to control. Lawrence is nothing if not thorough this time. I’m going to need you to find a way into their database, Jensen.”
“Jesus,” Jensen murmurs. “And here I thought I had an effed-up family. I’ll get in. And not only will I get in, I’ll create a shipping order with the Green Hornet coordinates, and we’ll intercept the shipment before Lawrence ever knows they’re gone.”
Creed nods his approval, but I am not sure we’re looking at this the right way. “What if my father really is taking a stand against Julian? Those Green Hornets may be the only weapon that allows the soldiers to survive a confrontation.”
Creed is fast to disagree. “The Renegades, not those bullets, are the best chance this country has to stand against Julian. Your father’s forgotten that. I won’t let those bullets be used against our soldiers, and they will be if we leave them with your father.”
He turns back to Jensen. “Did you find anything on that hard drive about the crystal?”
“Not one damn word. But at least we have the location of the bullets and the information on the incoming soldiers who are meant to stand against the GTECHs. Diverting their arrival will delay Lawrence’s plans and buy us some time.”
“Zodius,” I correct. “The soldiers are meant to fight Zodius. I still don’t believe my father is turning against the Renegades. I know you both think he is, just as I know you think Red Dart is about torture, but it’s not. I have to go back and prove that. Then we can work with my father and shut down Julian. I have to go back. Tonight. I can’t run.”
Jensen shoots Creed a look and then turns back to his computer and begins working again. Creed’s attention is all on me. “Addie,” he says softly. “There is no maybe to any of this. Red Dart is a torture device, and the Renegades and the Zodius are both the intended targets.”
“You don’t know that.”
Jensen rolls his chair back and motions to the monitor. I walk to the computer screen and sit down, staring at what appears to be scanned paperwork.
And just like that, my world crumbles.
I am reading documents to the chiefs of staff, including the definition of Red Dart and the directives for its use: tracking and remote, intense torture. My eyes burn, and my heart hurts.
The past rushes over me and collides with the present and the clearly defined future. The immunizations. The God-like complex I’ve seen glimpses of. Did he ever think they were just immunizations? The lies.
So many lies.
I’m losing—I have lost—the man I’d considered a hero. Every action he’s taken has been to better himself, and every action seems to lead to lives lost or lives in jeopardy. My gaze lands on the newspaper Creed threw down. All those women already affected and torn from their families. Lost forever. And the ones who could still be new victims in the future.
My attention returns to the screen, and my eyes go wide at a certain paragraph. He’s testing Red Dart on GTECHs and humans. If Julian were to use this on humans, he’d rule the world. If my father were to use it on humans, he could too. That last thought sickens me more than any other. I have to consider the idea that this might be my father’s ultimate goal. Oh, he’d call it protecting his country, but it is really about controlling it.
I swipe angrily at the dampness streaming down my cheeks. There’s no time for emotions. I rotate around to Jensen and Creed. “I’ll help you destroy Red Dart, but I can’t do it from inside Sunrise City. I have to be close to my father.”