22. Chapter 22
Chapter twenty-two
Day 7 Denali, Alaska
“Hey, asshole, wake up.”
Something hard slammed into the side of Aiden’s calf. He jolted up so fast he almost tumbled, face-first, out of his seat and into his captive’s lap, which would have been humiliating times ten.
A gray, wintry landscape and misty, elongated shadows followed him into wakefulness. The murky images wavered, straining against the sunlight streaming through the open windows. His heart still pounding like a motherfucker, he blinked the images away, then rubbed his burning eyes. That damn dream again. It seemed like the hellish thing was waiting for him every time he closed his eyes.
At least he’d finally recognized why the white, twisted faces looked so familiar. With their gaping, elongated mouths and eyes, they looked like the death masks from the Scream movies.
“What the hell’s wrong with you?” Cosky snapped from across the aisle. Annoyed eyes scanned Aiden’s face. Slowly, a frown knit his forehead. “Even the rankest banana knows better than to nap while on guard duty. You’re asking for a blade across the throat.”
“He doesn’t have a blade.” Aiden’s tone was indifferent, which was concerning, or should have been. But a soul thick lethargy blunted his unease.
“You have a blade.” The bite left Cosky’s voice, but the frown intensified. “Strapped to your ankle. Takes two seconds for your captive to grab it.”
Aiden almost pointed out that his guy’s arms were secured behind his back. But the excuse didn’t matter, and he didn’t have the energy to defend himself. He shrugged instead.
“You look like shit,” Cosky said after a moment of staring. “Better hit the ER when we land.”
“A good night’s sleep and a couple of solid meals will fix me up.” He ignored the fact he’d operated for longer stretches of time on no food or sleep and hadn’t been the worse for wear.
Maybe he should swing by the ER and make sure those microscopic fuckers weren’t taking a whack at him. Although he wasn’t exhibiting any of the symptoms his brothers had shown. He checked his fingers, which were resting on his thighs. No tremors.
Turning to the window, he scanned the blue sky. “How long before we land?”
“An hour, give or take.” A frown still clouded Cosky’s face. “Try to stay awake.”
Aiden saluted. “Aye, sir.” He loaded the affirmation with sarcasm.
“Smartass.” Cosky rolled his eyes before facing forward again.
An hour later, Aiden stared out the window as the Citation approached the Shadow Mountain runway. The landing was even more surreal than the lift off. The jet headed directly toward Mount Denali, only to veer hard to the east at the last possible moment. The mountain, with a vast swath of snowy cliff, greeted him before the plane dropped, touching down on a narrow runway clinging to the mountainside.
This runway was lethal. Yet according to Cosky, there had been no landing or lift off mishaps in the base’s history. The fact that the Shadow Mountain pilots consistently stuck this landing, with no injuries or mangled aircraft, while clinging to the side of a fucking mountain—without hitting it—was remarkable.
Over a thousand people climbed Denali each year. Didn’t any of them notice choppers or planes heading straight for the mountain, only to vanish? Granted, the meatheads climbing the slopes wouldn’t see the runway. The airstrip clung to the east side of the mountain, while ninety-five percent of the climbers chose the West slope. The mountain itself stood between most of the climbers and the approaching aircraft.
But what about the five percent that climbed the other slopes, or the locals on the ground, or the tourists wandering through Denali National Park? Hell, they must see the aircraft. Didn’t they wonder where the aircraft had gone? And what about radar? The Shadow Mountain aircraft must show up on radar, right? Didn’t their subsequent disappearances raise questions with the local authorities?
Demi slept right through the plane’s landing. A pity. He’d been looking forward to her reaction to Shadow Mountain’s runway and the hydraulic lift’s descent into the base hangar. Which reminded him…
“Do the lifts rotate?” He turned to Cosky as they unbuckled their seatbelts.
If the jet arrived at one end of the runway, they’d have to turn it around, so it was facing the full length of the strip for the next takeoff. There wasn’t room to maneuver the plane on the runway, so the airlift must do the positioning.
“So I’ve been told. Though I’ve never seen it.” Cosky stepped into the aisle and waited for Aiden to release his prisoner’s seatbelt.
Aiden yanked the captive up. He’d cut the ankle ties on his guy as they approached base, to facilitate disembarkment. His prisoner seemed resigned to his fate, shuffling off the jet with subdued acceptance.
Wolf waited several feet away with a six-man security team of black-haired, hard-faced warriors. Between their tats, tactical clothing and flat, cold eyes, the six men—seven if he included his brother—emitted a badass vibe. The men took charge of the prisoners and marched them between the various aircraft to a ten-person utility cart sitting in the hangar’s mouth.
“The Bell’s prepped and waiting.” His face impassive, Wolf turned to Cosky, handing him a plastic square the size of a baseball card. “Explain when she needs to wear it.”
She? Demi was the only she disembarking from the plane. He leaned in for a closer look as the plastic square changed hands. Sure enough, it had Demi’s name printed on it, along with a barcode. A prickle of concern stirred.
“What are you two up to?” The question was thick with hostility, far more than he’d intended. But it was too late to moderate his tone.
“I’m taking Demi back to the house. Kait’s got a room ready for her.” Cosky shifted to face Aiden, holding his gaze with narrow, ice-gray eyes.
Aiden set his shoulders. “Like hell you are. She’s staying here. With me.”
His face impassive, his gaze unreadable, Wolf shook his head. “Shadow Mountain cannot shelter her. She will do better with Kait. In The Neighborhood.”
In The Neighborhood? Aiden scowled. No fucking way. She wouldn’t be protected in a damned neighborhood. Demi would be safer on base, under his protection.
“She stays here. On base,” Aiden snarled through gritted teeth. “With me.”
If the bastard behind Karaveht tracked him or Demi down, the chances he could infiltrate the base were nonexistent. But penetrating a neighborhood would be easy. Aiden didn’t doubt that Cosky had security at his home, but such precautions wouldn’t stop the butcher of Karaveht. Judging by his bot testing operation, the bastard had the resources to hire teams of mercenaries. Cosky’s neighborhood wouldn’t stand a fucking chance.
“Where’s your damn sense?” He stepped into Cosky’s space, aggression swelling. “You shouldn’t want Demi anywhere near your wife. Her mere presence puts Kait in danger, too.”
Cosky froze, then methodically squared his feet and shoulders. Danger radiated from every inch of his rigid body. Ice chilled his gray eyes to crystal chips.
“Fuck you, dude. There’s no way I’d ever leave Kait home alone with Demi, unless I was certain she was safe. Unless I was certain our home was impenetrable. Tangos have been looking for us for years, long before you showed up.” Disgust replaced the icy rage. “You think Zane would leave Beth and his kids in an unsecure location? Or that Rawls would shrug off Faith’s safety? We know, without doubt, that our families are safe when we’re gone. Nobody can penetrate The Neighborhood’s shield.”
“All security systems are fallible.” Folding his arms, Aiden leaned forward, refusing to back down. “Guards can be bribed. Alarms can be neutralized. You can’t be certain your system is impenetrable.”
“Actually, we can.” Rawls ran a finger down his nose and winked. “Because our security system was designed by Faith, my wife, the most brilliant scientist in the history of brilliant scientists.”
Aiden glanced around. Zane had joined the cluster of hard-faced and opinionated men. “Where’s Demi?”
“O’Neill’s taking her to the Bell. Trust us, nobody will get to her under Faith’s shield,” Zane said in his perennially calm voice.
He studied his former CO’s unconcerned face. He’d never known Zane to ignore security concerns. Nor could he imagine the dude overlooking them now, not when it came to his wife and kids. Why were they all so certain this shield protected their families?
“What’s so special about this security system you have?” He looked from former teammate to former teammate.
Rawls slapped his back and grinned, looking unnervingly proud. “Because it’s a force field. Like you see on those sci-fi shows. Faith cooked it up a few years back. She re-engineered one of the NRO energy bombs into a force field, one fed by solar energy. The field envelops the entire Neighborhood. Only those with an entry chip, or—in Demi’s case—a badge, can enter.”
“You’ll need to be chipped to enter. So will Demi, eventually,” Cosky added, with an edge to his voice, like he was still pissed.
“Chipped?” Aiden grimaced. Hell, no.
USSOCOM had chipped most of its operators a couple years back. The chips were fancy GPS locators, which enabled leadership to pitch the technology as retrieval devices, technology that would locate missing or captured operatives. Aiden had refused to take part in the program. As had the rest of his team. Chips could be hacked, which would allow anyone to access their location at any time. Terrorists would pay top dollar for that information.
Cosky must have read his discomfort with the idea, because he scoffed. “For Christ’s sake, man up. This tech didn’t come from Uncle Sam. It wasn’t developed to keep tabs on you. It comes from Faith, who’s as wholesome as Mr. Rogers—if Mr. Rogers was a woman.” His voice took on a scathing tone as he switched his glare to Wolf. “Faith’s been a godsend. If she comes across any of Shadow Mountain’s secrets, she passes them on to us, unlike some of the closed mouthed bastards around here.”
Aiden cocked his head. “Yeah, like what?” God knew his big brother liked to hold on to his secrets.
“Like the fact this whole place is run on solar energy.” Cosky shook his head, like he wasn’t sure how they’d ended up down this conversational rabbit hole.
Rawls grinned, his blue eyes lazy and amused. “While my wife’s a genius, she’s not nearly as wholesome as Cosky believes. Mrs. Rogers, she ain’t.”
“How about we don’t dig into your sex life, asshole?” Cosky swung his irritation toward his longtime friend.
Rawls shrugged, running a hand down his face, which did nothing to wipe away the smirk.
“I’m not the one who misidentified my Faith as wholesome.” Rawls’s drawl slowed to a languid crawl. He turned to Aiden. “Point is, Demi will be safe in The Neighborhood. As safe as she would be tucked inside the mountain. Accept that and mosey along.”
Not so fast. It was Demi’s life on the line. “How does this—” what had they called it? “—force field work? Do unauthorized visitors…” he paused, frowning. “Bounce off it?”
“No bouncin’.” Rawls shrugged, his blond hair glinting beneath the hanger lights. “Faith calls it a holographic shield. She tried to explain the mechanics a time or two, but hell—I’m no scientist. Somethin’ about particle beams and heavy matter tunnels through holo-programs or some shit.” He rubbed a hand down his face and looked confused. “It’s pretty remarkable, though. If you try to cross the barrier without a chip or a badge, it sends you somewhere else.”
Aiden just stared at him. What the hell did that mean? “Where does it send you?”
Zane squinted, like the conversation was giving him a headache. “Don’t ask me how it works. But somehow Faith’s technology ejects you from the opposite end of the shield from where you tried to enter.”
Cosky nodded, with a half grimace/half wincing twist to his face. “It’s the craziest thing. You don’t see any houses or people or cars. You don’t even realize you’ve gone through…anything. The forest looks the same. You’re surrounded by trees, shrubs, even birds. It feels and looks like you’ve only taken a couple of steps. But then you realize you’re standing a couple of klicks away.”
Aiden digested that. Cosky had obviously tested the technology. At least from the ground. “What if someone tries to access it from above? By chopper or parachute?”
That weird flinching look flashed across all their faces. Except for Wolf. His brother just looked bored.
“Same thing as the ground.” Zane grimaced. “No access code, no getting in. You think you landed in the spot you targeted. Only to realize you’re a couple of klicks outside the shield. Now if you’re chipped, or you have a badge, or the chopper is rigged with a passcode broadcaster—like the Bell—you slip right through the force field and land where you intended.”
Aiden rubbed his eyes. This scenario was easier to believe in science fiction than in the real world. Zane’s explanation sounded impossibly farfetched. He needed to test this force field himself. “What happens if someone in the chopper isn’t chipped or carrying a badge?”
“Everyone who arrives in the Bell has a chip or a badge,” Wolf broke in.
Aiden moved on as another question hit him. “What does it look like from outside the shield? Can you see the community? The houses? Any people?”
“Nope.” Zane shook his head. “Looks like virgin forest until you pierce the shield.” He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Take my advice. Don’t try to figure it out. It will just give you a headache.”
Aiden weighed his options. Wolf ran the Shadow Mountain base. Unless his big bro relented and allowed Demi to stay, Aiden was shit out of luck. He couldn’t sneak Demi into his assigned quarters, not when the only way to access the base was through aircraft being lowered into the air hanger.
Resigned to the inevitable, Aiden twisted to face his big brother, who’d maintained his macho, impassive, He-Man expression through the entire confrontation. “Guess I’ll need one of those badges too.”
“‘Fraid not,” Cosky interrupted without bothering to hide his satisfaction. “Space is limited in The Neighborhood. We get no visitors, so have no need for motels.”
Aiden grunted. Irritation, which hadn’t completely dissipated, swiftly rose again. “Your point?”
Cosky looked skyward. “The point is, you’re bunking on base.”
“Not happening.” Despite his annoyance, he kept his voice cool. Level. “Staying with you will give Demi and I a chance to talk.”
“Fuck no, dude. We only have one spare bedroom, which Demi will be occupying. We’re not gonna ask her to share it with you.”
Aiden planted his fists on his hips. “Don’t be an ass. You got a couch, don’t you? A goddamn floor? I’ve sacked out on worse.”
“For Christ’s sake, she wants to cut you loose. Your mere presence will make it awkward for her,” Cosky snapped.
His brother-in-law wasn’t wrong. But how was he going to patch things up with Demi if he wasn’t around to talk to her?
Rawls chuckled. Ever the peacemaker, he stepped between Aiden and Cosky. “Ignore Cos’s inhospitality. You can bunk with Faith and me. We got a guest room. Even better, we’re next door to this clown.” He shoved Cosky’s shoulder so hard the bastard staggered back a couple of steps. Rawls looked incredibly pleased with that feat of strength.
“You cannot stay in The Neighborhood,” Wolf interrupted. While his dark gaze was implacable, a shimmer of sympathy lit his eyes. “You are needed on base.”
Scowling, Aiden turned on Wolf. “Why?”
He couldn’t afford to be stuck here, not without Demi. He needed the time and proximity to prove to her that something special still existed between them.
“You have captives to interrogate. We must identify who is behind this bot weapon and prevent the weapon’s launch. I have never seen Benioko so worried.” An expression close to concern touched his brother’s face, as though the shaman’s anxiety rattled him.
Aiden forced himself to relax. He felt like he was at war with himself. Half of him wanted to dive into the interrogation and find out who was behind the slaughter of his team. The other half wanted to rescue his relationship with Demi. Both actions were essential to him, yet irreconcilable. He couldn’t do both at the same time.
“I have no intention of abandoning the interrogation or the search for answers. I’m merely making bunking arrangements for when the interrogation is complete.” Sudden exhaustion crashed through Aiden, making it hard to focus.
Wolf was already shaking his head. “There is more at stake than the information Demi’s attackers possess. We must have a vaccine ready in case this weapon is deployed. You are our only hope of a vaccine. The labs need you on base, close at hand.”
Dammit.
Aiden scrubbed a palm down his face, trying to think past the tiredness. He could hardly bitch about Wolf’s request. If the worst happened and the bots got loose, a vaccine was essential for the survival of humanity. If Benioko’s vision came true, everyone would die…including Demi.
He needed to focus on stopping the release of the weapon, and finding a cure if they were already too late to contain the threat. Which meant he needed to be on base.
Fixing his broken relationship would have to wait.