Chapter 32 Emery
EMERY
Cameron struggles to meet my gaze as he listens to Gage go on about how old a few of the plane models are in here.
He’s been quieter after going on a walk with the lieutenant earlier.
He hasn’t been entirely withdrawn, but there’s something he’s not telling me.
He’s been holding his head lower and spacing out during the afternoon drills.
Damian pats my knee and drops some gloves on my lap. “To replace the ones I accidentally lit on fire yesterday,” he mumbles, still smiling about it, so I know he’s not actually sorry.
“Let’s just hope you figure out how to use the flares before the mission,” I tease. Apparently my little stunt in the Great Basin hideout was a hit. Cameron thinks it will come in handy when it’s time for us to make a break for it.
“Yeah, yeah.” Damian waves me off and plops down next to Wraith.
Our eyes connect and I flatten my gaze. Wraith smirks and mutters, “So are you ever going to tell us how you know this Reed guy?”
Damian perks up and nods his curiosity as well. “Come on, it’s our necks he’s going to be digging around in tonight. You owe us this much.”
I shrug. “I knew him from my time at the academy I was sent away to when I was twelve. He was in the same class as me, but his intelligence far exceeded mine.” It’s weird to talk about Reed, it makes me nostalgic.
We were so close back then. Now we seem to be worlds apart, yet of course, he once again has a fierce grip on my fate.
Just as he always has. “After he was moved up a few academic years, we stopped seeing each other as much. That was around the time my father had him recruited to his internal team. He took a liking to Reed, probably because he could see the evil that lurked within him. We all saw it, yet he’s so charismatic it’s hard to see sometimes. ”
Damian looks worried, but Wraith only hardens his gaze.
“Don’t trust him too much. Let him extract your trackers, but don’t feed into his conversation tactics. Reed could get you to spill all your secrets in ten minutes if you’re not careful.”
Wraith snorts and looks back to the rest of our squad as they reconvene for dinner. Gage waves at us to join them.
“If I recall, you’re the one with loose lips, remember?” Damian jokes in an attempt to lighten the mood.
I shoot him a grin. “I have no clue what you’re talking about.” I laugh as the three of us rise and meet the others before heading below for the evening.
Cameron stands by the door, waiting for Erik to leave his room and head upstairs like Reed reported would happen.
He hasn’t spoken much and has been lost somewhere in his thoughts all evening.
I lean against the wall beside him and study his focused expression. He likely hasn’t even noticed that I moved to be closer.
“Cam?”
He flinches and slowly lets his eyes flick down at me. There’s a sea of worry in his gaze—a storm on the horizon waiting to spill over.
“Em?” he whispers softly, stealing away my courage.
“Did something happen this morning? You seem on edge after meeting with Erik.” His demeanor makes me uncomfortable, did the lieutenant say something to him that he’s not sharing?
Cameron offers me a torn smile. “No. We just had a nice walk.” He pauses and lets his eyes shift back to watching the hallway. “Is it weird that I’m trying to memorize the small moments before they end?” he says sadly.
I bite the corner of my lip. I know exactly how he feels. Saying goodbye to someone you felt was like a guardian to you can’t be easy, but I’m not sure if that’s what he’s referring to.
“No, I don’t think so. In a way, it’s like saying a silent goodbye.” I trace my fingers up his arm as I move to his back, wrapping my arms around his chest and hugging him tightly.
His hand presses over mine and squeezes.
The sound of a door closing makes us freeze. Cameron watches quietly and waits until we hear a second, farther away door shutting before he nods at me. “That was Erik. I’ll meet Reed, you get Wraith and Damian, and sterilize the bathroom.”
If he wasn’t acting so off, I’d readily agree. But something is wrong and I don’t feel comfortable with him leaving after the lieutenant. A pang of guilt slips into my veins for not trusting him, but it’d be better if I met with Reed. I need to confront him anyway.
“I’ll go get Reed. You stay and get things ready. I need to speak with him privately,” I say nervously, already knowing that Cameron’s going to fight me on it.
He lifts a brow. “Why?”
“There’s something I need to get off my chest with him… I’m not asking,” I say sternly.
He takes me in, firming his lips like he’s going to argue with me before letting out a sigh. “Okay, but be quick. I don’t know how long we have.”
I nod, swiftly moving over to the wardrobe and grabbing the extra uniform we set aside to give Reed so it’s easier to sneak him in.
Rain drums down on my shoulders heavily. I should’ve checked the weather for tonight. The guards always have the channel on in their small room at the entrance of the hangar, but of course I’d forget that weather plays a factor in everything.
My blood pumps loudly in my ears as I take the trail leading to the bent fence post. A figure is already waiting there for me. I’d know him even in darkness—if I could see nothing but the shape of his bones—I’d know it was Reed.
I slow my jog and stop a few feet away from him. His hood is pulled up, but it doesn’t hide his cruel eyes as they take me in.
A small wrinkle forms between his brows. “Emery?” He was expecting Cameron.
I glower at him and shove the extra uniform into his arms. “Hurry up and get dressed,” I snap at him and turn around, folding my arms tightly around myself.
He chuckles, a sound I’ve known for far too long.
“Well, I’m surprised he actually told you about the deal he has with me.
I didn’t think the broken soldier had it in him.
Then again, he’s been full of nothing but surprises.
” Reed sounds delighted. I hate that he’s so conniving.
It’s impossible to know what he’s really after.
I’ve never been able to figure him out. Not entirely.
“What are you doing getting mixed up in all of this, Reed? Do you have any idea what Greg will do to you if he finds out that you’ve been leaking information to the Dark Forces?
” I hate how worried I sound, but as much as I loathe Reed right now, he’s like family.
If he were to die… I don’t know what I’d do.
The sound of him tossing clothes onto the fence post makes me flinch. Having my back to him is terrifying.
“Emery, I promise you don’t need to worry about me. You know me, I’m always four steps ahead and have plenty of backup plans if shit turns the other way.” He says it simply, as if he really is that prepared. “Oh, you really made that haircut work for you.”
He pats my shoulder to let me know he’s done. I throw him a glare from over my shoulder. “No thanks to you. At least tell me what you’re really after.” I swat his hand away.
Reed purses his lips. “You know, Greg wanted me to shave your head. So you’re welcome for leaving it a ratted mess.
That’s the only way he would allow it to be left at that length.
” He takes a long breath like he’s already tired of my questions.
“What, you haven’t guessed yet?” He smiles at me and it makes my stomach churn with dread.
Why do psychopaths enjoy mind games so much?
“How do you have so much intel in the Dark Forces? Do you know someone on the inside besides Cameron?” I try squeezing any information out of him while we take the path back to the airplane hangar.
His laugh only pisses me off more. “Oh, you’ll know soon enough, Emery.”
I whirl on him and he stops abruptly, eyes mildly widening.
“This isn’t a game, Reed. My entire squad is going to be terminated on this next mission, and I don’t know if any of us are going to make it out.” I grit my teeth and shake my head.
He sighs and tips my chin up. I narrow my eyes against the drops of rain.
“I won’t let you die, okay? I promise. But you’re not getting information out of me.
Not tonight. If you want your friends to have their trackers out, we need to go now.
I don’t have long before I’m expected back,” Reed says earnestly.
He glances down at his watch and nudges me to start walking again.
“Believe it or not, you’re my only friend so I won’t risk you, Emery. ”
“Trust me, I believe it.” I glower and it makes that cruel grin curl again.
It should make me angry, because he’s a complete asshole, but I take solace in his words. He was once my only friend too, but since entering the Dark Forces, I’ve found more than I could have ever imagined.
Reed starts with Damian, setting a device next to Damian’s side. It’s a small black box with no screen, only a button that flashes red when he pushes it. I’m glad Reed insisted that we gag him, because Damian’s painful groans are bone-chilling as Reed uses a scalpel to cut into his flesh.
The operation takes less than a minute.
Then the tracker is out. I’m surprised at how small it is and the similarities it has to a pill capsule. Reed urgently sets it down next to the box and presses the button once more. The light turns green and then shuts off.
Cameron stares in bewilderment at Reed’s precise motions, likely wondering as I am how the fuck Reed knows the exact procedure to remove them. Where did he get the device he’s using too?
Wraith’s is much less dramatic. He doesn’t so much as flinch as Reed cuts out his tracker.
“It’s as easy as that,” Reed says as he wipes off his bloody hands with one of the towels.
I stare at the trackers. “What would happen if someone tried to remove their tracker without that device?” It’s obvious, but I want to hear him say it anyway.
Reed looks at me like I’m an idiot. “It would detonate. You need this box within two feet of the tracker in order to remove it safely.” He says it with a malicious smile, as if he’s fascinated with the craft of devils.
“And I’m guessing you won’t tell us how you got your filthy hands on one?” Cameron asks with his arms crossed as Reed finishes up stitching Wraith’s small incision.
Reed smirks. “Of course not.” He checks his watch and stands to leave. “Well, this was fun, but my time is up.” He extends his hand to Cameron, lifting a brow in expectation for the syringe.
Cameron pulls the black syringe from his pocket and hands it over quietly. There’s defeat and guilt in his gaze.
Reed hands him two small metal plates with bandages taped to the back of them. “These are for the other two. You’ll need to block the signal before escaping, otherwise you risk being followed or detonation of a tracker.”
We all share a collective grim look.
“Wonderful. See your asses in a few days,” Reed says with a wink before slipping out of the bathroom unceremoniously. I trail him as far as the stairs.
“Stay out of our way out there, okay? The last thing I want is to find your lifeless body,” I admit and grab his hand, squeezing in an earnest farewell.
He offers a wry grin. “You’d have to try really hard to kill me, Emery.
You don’t give me enough credit, as per usual.
I’ve been waiting for this for a long time, so don’t worry about me.
You’re only of use to me if you’re on top of your game out there.
So don’t let me down, and I won’t let you down.
” The fire in his eyes is wicked and all-consuming.
“Self-serving jerk. What do you have planned in that head of yours,” I whisper to myself after he shuts the door behind him.