Chapter 2 #3
“It’s surprising what adrenaline can do. And it’s not uncommon for these kinds of injuries to manifest hours later, once the swelling intrudes on the spinal cord. I’m sure bouncing along forest roads for several hours didn’t help the situation any, not that it was avoidable.”
Guilt reared its ugly head. How she should have realized he was hurt worse than he was letting on. The pale skin, the hushed curses every time they hit a bump.
Neve stilled the slight tremor in her hand. “Will he be okay?”
Darwin raked his fingers through his hair, looking back at Gus before sighing. “It’s going to be a long road, but I’m optimistic I can help him. Which ties into to why you’re here. Why those men targeted your team.”
Neve perked up, her hand still lingering close to her weapon. “We’re listening.”
Gus moved in beside Darwin. “It might be best if we take this into the war room. That way, you can all sit before you pass out.”
Neve mouthed the words, “War room,” to her teammates, then followed the general down another hallway and into a large room.
A long, polished table took up most of the space, a few monitors attached to the wall.
She sat with a clear view of the exits, the rest of her team filling the seats around her.
Gus took it all in without saying a word as he stood at the front. He clicked a remote and one of the monitors winked on. “I’ll let Darwin do most of the talking, just know this. What you’re about to hear is above top secret and doesn’t leave this room.”
Neve nodded, focusing on Darwin. He looked haggard, as if he’d been running on coffee and faith for too long, his hair pushed back in a disheveled mess. He placed his folded hands on the table, staring at them as if they might bolt from the room the moment he started talking.
Darwin took a breath, stood, pacing to the far end of the room and back before facing them, arms crossed, head held high. “I’d say it’s nice to officially meet you, but…” He set his shoulders. “What I’m about to tell you sounds crazy but bear with me.”
Neve shifted in the chair. “I shot a man dead center in his vest, then again in the shoulder, just like Kane’s injury, and the bastard acted as if he didn’t even feel it.
Another lifted me off my feet by my neck and threw me across the room.
” She leaned forward. “With one hand. At this point, crazy’s a pretty low bar, doctor. ”
“Remember that once I’m done talking.” Darwin sighed, braced his weight against the wall. “Have any of you heard about a medical protocol called Valkyr, or VKR-1 for short?”
Wynn inhaled, glanced at Neve, then back to Darwin. “It’s an experimental battlefield drug. Blocks pain, increases oxygen absorption, and spikes performance. It’s supposed to give wounded soldiers a boost to help get them out of the kill zone when there’s no other choice.”
She scrubbed a hand down her face, looking a thousand times more exhausted.
“Last I heard, it’s on limited capacity to only a handful of teams.” She gestured to Neve.
“Like Coulter’s team. The one Neve was on.
But as I understand it, the damn stuff’s toxic unless it’s flushed with its counterpart, Katharsis, inside a specific window. ”
A hint of a grin tugged at Darwin’s mouth as he leaned against the wall, eyed Wynn. “Someone’s been reading.”
Wynn crossed her arms. “Our unit was on the short list to receive it next. I like to know what I’m potentially giving my teammates before I inject some sketchy miracle drug into their system.”
“I wouldn’t call it sketchy. Of course, there’re risks. But when used correctly, the benefits outweigh them.” He blew out an exasperated breath. “When abused, however…”
Neve frowned. “Are you trying to tell us these men were hopped out on this Valkyr drug?”
“Not exactly.” He sighed, reclaimed his seat.
“Several years ago, I developed a drug therapy called AXIS. It’s designed to stimulate nerve function among other benefits, and I’ve been using it in controlled clinical studies to treat spinal and other nerve injuries.
But during the synthesis phase, I realized the more potent version had other uses.
Ones that could drastically change battlefield medicine. ”
Neve eased back in her chair. “Which is your way of telling us that you created Valkyr and Katharsis.”
“I did. But what you saw tonight wasn’t my work. It’s a weaponized version of a variant that combines the two drugs. One that’s still in its infancy and has lethal side effects I haven’t been able to overcome, yet. Limitations Oliver Finch, CEO of Hyperion and my former partner, doesn’t share.”
“You’re saying Finch stole your work?”
“Stole it. Weaponized it, then subjected your team to a live test-fire.”
Neve tilted her head to the side, staring at Darwin as he palmed the table, looked as if he wanted to pound his fist on the top. “Okay, let’s say these men were jacked up on this other combo drug—”
“TITAN. That’s what I called it, but I have no idea what Finch did.”
“On TITAN, then. How does all of this tie into the general sending us a Hail Mary and you coming here?”
Darwin breathed for a moment, the silence settling like dust. “Tonight, I walked into a secure operations room I wasn’t cleared to enter.
One Finch had set up as a monitoring station.
And on the main display… I saw your team in the Bralorne backcountry.
Under fire. Heavily outgunned. Being hunted by men who displayed traits that were eerily familiar.
Along the side of the monitors were portrait tiles — faces and codenames I didn’t recognize, with vitals running in real time.
Heart rate. Blood oxygen. Temperature. Stress markers.
” He swallowed. “That’s when I realized what Finch had done.
That he’d orchestrated the altercation to test his enhanced men against a team he deemed worthy of the challenge. ”
He slowly reached into his pocket, as if any sudden movement might spook Neve — have her reaching for her pistol.
“I didn’t have time to stand there and process it.
Someone saw me.” His gaze flicked to the door, then back to them.
“I went to my office and grabbed what I could before they could box me in. Silence me.”
Darwin pulled out his phone and tapped the screen.
Grainy images filled the monitor — men in tactical kit caught mid-stride, faces half-lit, eyes flat, their stats glaring back at the camera like trophies.
“I have other files, but this pertains directly to you. It’s not much.
A few photos. But it’s enough to prove I didn’t imagine what I saw.
Give us a place to start digging. Maybe if we uncover who’s on the ground, running these tests, we can get to Finch through them.
” His voice dropped. “On my way out, I called the only person I trusted to help, because if Finch is willing to run a live-fire test on Canadian operators, I knew I was leaving as a target.”
“Not just a target, a fugitive.” General Esposito sighed then launched one of the monitors.
An image of Darwin appeared on the screen, a list of felonies stacked beside him.
“This went live a few hours ago. Manufactured, of course, but that hasn’t stopped the police from issuing a warrant.
From slapping his face on every street corner, which won’t stop until we prove Finch is the mastermind behind this. Find the proof to clear Darwin’s name.”
Neve sat there, the words rattling inside her weary mind. She squeezed the bridge of her nose, hoping she didn’t sound as crazy as Darwin had. “All right. Let’s assume this is all true. What, now?”
Darwin glanced at Shepherd and Esposito, then back to her. “As I see it, you four have two choices if you want to stay alive. You can walk out of here, buy yourselves new identities, then fly off to some obscure part of the world…”
Neve arched a brow when he didn’t continue. “Or?”
“Or, you can join us. Find a way to bring Finch down.”
The words hit her like a physical blow, and she shoved the chair back, got a bit of distance. “Join you, as in, leave the military?”
Gus stepped forward. “The military already thinks you’re dead, Monroe. And until we know how many soldiers Finch has on his payroll, if there are more of these enhanced assholes, it’s not safe for any of you to return. You all witnessed his master plan, and he’s not going to let you ruin that.”
Scout cleared her throat. “Not to be critical, but it sounds no matter what we choose, everyone we know will think we’re dead.”
“It’s the only way to keep your loved ones safe.
If Finch discovers you’re alive, that you’re trying to destroy him, everyone you’ve ever cared about becomes a target.
” Gus crossed his arms. “You don’t have to decide this minute.
Talk it out. But keep in mind… Without your combined skill set, I’m not sure we’ll be enough to bring Finch to justice. ”
Scout glanced at Neve, eyes wide, mouth slightly open. “I don’t really have anyone, anymore, but you and Coulter…”
Neve’s stomach dropped. Three years she’d been waiting for the two of them to get a chance at forever, and in one, cruel twist, it had all been torn away. “I can’t just walk away. Let him think I’m dead. He’s Spec Op. He can handle this. Keep it secret.”
Gus arched a brow. “No one’s questioning Captain Barrett’s integrity, but his unit’s still deployed, and his accommodations aren’t sophisticated. If you reached out, tried to contact him…”
Darwin rapped his knuckles on the table. “There’s no way we can guarantee a secure line. Finch is bound to be overly paranoid. If he discovered Coulter was connected to this, I’m sure he has men who could arrange an accident before Coulter had time to register there was a threat.”
“Coulter’s not an easy target.”
Darwin sighed. “It’s hard to fight when you don’t know who’s a threat.”
Neve squared her shoulders. “All the more reason to bring him on board, now. So, he knows what he’s up against from the start.”
Gus palmed the table. “While having his expertise would be invaluable, you won’t just be risking his life, you’ll be putting your teammates in jeopardy, too, when you rely on Zadie to attempt to manufacture a secure line. Open up the bunker to possible detection.”
“There’s got to be a way.”
The general’s expression softened. “Just one.”
“So, I either hurt him, or…”
“You set him up as Finch’s prime target, along with your crew.” Gus blew out a slow breath. “I know this isn’t what you’d planned. That we’re asking more than anyone should have to give. But if there’s a chance we can stop Finch…” He headed for the door. “We’ll give you four the room.”
The men left, a quiet void filling the space as Neve stood, paced a couple laps.
She stopped, stared at her teammates. “Talk about a clusterfuck…. Thoughts? Options?”
Scout leaned her hip against the table. “Doesn’t sound like we have many. And I’m not the kind of person who could sit on a beach somewhere, knowing Finch was out there, killing people because we didn’t step up.”
Zadie nodded. “I’m with Scout. If we’re going to hurt the people we care about, it should at least be for something worth actually dying for.”
“And they hurt Kane.” Wynn crossed her arms. “He’s family. And we don’t bail on family.”
Neve simply nodded, her cell a heavy weight in her pocket. “Sounds like you’ve made up your minds. Guess I should have called Coulter when I had the chance.”
“Hey…” Scout rounded the table. “If you want to go rogue, bring him in on this, we’ll have your six. Hell, you two were only a few weeks away from finally taking the plunge — giving it a real shot.”
“I’m not the only one. Didn’t you just reconnect with some guy you were crazy about in high school? A cop?”
Scout’s shoulders drooped. “Quinn’s more wishful thinking. We only just got back together when I bumped into him on my last furlough. We hadn’t made any promises. But you and Coulter…”
Neve’s chest tightened, the air thinner, as if the truth had sucked up all the available oxygen.
“You heard what they said. I’d make all of you a target.
Losing him to a cause is one thing. If Finch killed him, got to us because of me…
Because I wasn’t strong enough to let him go…
” She swallowed, nearly choked when it wouldn’t go past the lump in her throat. “That would break me.”
Wynn shifted closer. “Maybe you can see him once this is over. Explain.”
“Explain what? That I didn’t have enough faith in him to tell him the truth? That I didn’t give him the chance to decide what was worth risking his life? That maybe I just didn’t love him enough? Because it all feels pretty unforgivable.”
She swiped at a few tears that slipped free. “None of which matters. You’re right. We can’t allow Finch to do this to other teams. To hold the world hostage. We bring him down, or we die trying.”
She pushed off the table, opened the door, stepping out with her team flanking her as the three men turned, waited, gazes locked on her.
She took a breath, aware she was burning her one chance at love into ashes.
“We’re in. But if we’re gonna take down Finch, we’re gonna need supplies. A lot of them. And no’s not an option.”
Gus grinned. “Kane warned me about your stubborn side. Give me a list. I’ll do what I can to make it happen.
” He turned, headed for the stairwell up to the cabin, before stopping at the bottom, looking at them over his shoulder.
“Effective immediately, Echo team has been retired. Time to put you all on a new one.”
He tapped an old sign positioned above the exit that looked as if he’d rescued it from some old mine. “Welcome to Black Hollow.”