Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
nyx
Istand at the perimeter of the base, staring out into the woods.
The sun setting just to the east of us, the woodland ahead cast in a haunting glow.
The sun piercing between the trunks with streaks of light shining through hitting the earth - it looks almost heavenly.
I don’t know how long I’ve been here. Time feels irrelevant.
All I know is that I'm devoid of all emotions.
No anger. No sadness… Just nothing. I'm a shell of a human being. Hollowed by the loss and betrayal dealt in a short space of time. The after effects are dangerous. They turn someone into a lethal weapon. Someone who knows they’ve nothing to lose anymore.
I know I'm a ticking time bomb, waiting for the shock to fade, waiting for the moment to finally go off.
I just hope it comes when I'm standing with a gun to Nocturne's head. I had the perfect opportunity.
Footsteps crunching on the gravel sound behind me, but I don’t acknowledge them.
I stay still, locked onto the horizon, lost in the vast, consuming nothingness.
“Hawk and I overheard you with Graves, but I thought I'd give you time to digest first.” Adam’s voice is low, cautious, like he’s treading carefully.
Not wanting to startle the beast forming inside me.
I nod, not saying a word, I'm not even sure what would come out of my mouth.
My mind isn't my own. “Talk to me, Nyx. You can't keep this all bottled up inside.” I reluctantly break my gaze from the tree line to look at his expression. No, it's not pity - It's worry.
“There's nothing to say Adam. I can't change the past or what happened. Only the future.” I shift my gaze back to the tree line. It offers a strange, unsettling calm, just enough to keep a lid on the darkness slowly bleeding its way beneath my skin.
“That doesn’t fill me with confidence.” His laugh is uneasy beside me as he steps forward, deliberately shifting to block my view.
“Don't do anything irrational, Nyx. You can't do it on your own.” I let a wicked smile form break from my static features; it makes him visibly pale. It feels as murderous as the scheme in my head. “When have you ever known me to be anything but rational, Adam?” He’s concerned; I can tell, he’ll be adding me to his watchlist. I can't have that for what I'm about to do.
“I know you, Nyx. You’re plotting. I can only imagine the lengths you’re willing to go to. Which is why you can’t.” I deliberate over my words, eyes cast down at my boots. I put my hand on his shoulder, my grasp firm, giving him a reassuring squeeze before I met his eyes.
“You have nothing to worry about, Adam.” I leave him in the lingering silence as I head back to the quarters. I’ll need to try to get a couple hours of sleep before I head back to hell.
Surprisingly, a sense of peace settles over me as I lay my head on the pillow, or maybe it’s just that my emotions have finally shut down.
My alarm is set to vibrate, forcing me to wake in a couple of hours.
My bag is packed and ready. I’m going to burn Peklo to the ground.
I get up and change. Black tactical gear, long-sleeved shirt, bulletproof vest - all in place.
My supply bag and belt are loaded with whatever I could grab in the short space of time: explosives, a suppressed Glock 19, a smoke bomb and some other nano-sized device I swiped from the supply room earlier.
Thankfully, no one was around when I packed up; everyone’s in bed early, on post-mission rest. I grab my black bomber jacket and pull it on, concealing everything beneath it.
My hair is tucked inside, my hat in place.
I shove the balaclava into my pocket - it’s only for my entrance.
When I have him on his knees in front of me, he’ll see exactly whose face is responsible for his last breath.
I quietly crack open my window - the screws I loosened earlier to let me slip through with ease, avoiding Adam’s watchful eye in the corridor.
I stick to the shadows, avoiding open spaces and the gaze of watchtowers, moving like a wraith through blind spots.
Once I’m clear, I break into a quiet sprint toward the tree line, pausing only to let my hearing adjust - making sure no one caught onto me.
I get to the vehicle hut, pulling the screwdriver from my pocket as I approach one of the land cruisers.
“'You're not gonna leave me out of the fun, are you?” I whip round so fast the screwdriver scrapes the paint on the cruiser's door.
“Blitz! What are you doing?” I whisper-yell at her.
“Saw gear missing from the supply room, very particular choices and only enough for one person to carry.
But enough to blow an entire block out if not carefully thought through.
Suspected it was you after the news you've had, so I was waiting outside for you to leave.”
I stare at her, mouth agape, my mind scrambling to catch up.
Has Adam just decided to tell the full unit?
“Go back, Blitz. I need to do this on my own.” I slip into the land cruiser, shutting the door quietly behind me, but before I can even process it, she’s already in the passenger seat, securing herself with the seatbelt.
“Are you deaf?" I snap, turning to her. She can’t come with me. I’ll be dismissed after this.
If I’m going out, I’m going out with a bang - alone.
She sighs, shifting to face me fully, her expression unshaken.
“I’m not going anywhere, Nyx. I’m coming with you.
Not just because you have enough explosives in that bag to cause a catastrophic event - which you’ll kill yourself trying to escape - but because you can’t do this alone.
I won’t let you.” Her gaze sharpens, cutting through the silence.
“You’re hurting,” her voice is softer now.
“I can see it in your face." I twist to stare out on the road ahead, my nails digging into my palms to stop the tears threatening my eyes.
“Betrayal darkens the soul, but if you fuck this up.
Kill innocent people? That's a whole other depth you'll go to, and I can't allow that to happen to you, Nyx, you're better than that. So at least let me be your wing woman and we can raise hell together. In a controlled environment of course.” Her smile is genuine as she takes my hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze. She’s right, and it's annoying.
I grabbed anything I could find on a whim; I haven't thought through a strategic enough plan.
I just want the world to burn right now.
No. I can’t allow myself to be like him. Killing innocent people, killing my own flesh and blood. The thought of that threatens the bile to rise again, so I swallow deep and stare ahead. “You could be dismissed for this Blitz, I can't add that to my conscience.”
“You'll be caught if I let you head out alone.
But with me? I'll help make it look like a gangland hit, should you decide to go with the bangs.
We'll work together and get back in enough time so that no one will suspect a damn thing. Besides...” a devilish smile forms on her lips.
“I haven't done anything devious since joining special ops, I need this.” She leans her head back on the headrest. A frustrated breath exhales from me, admitting defeat.
“Well, at least I know I'll have a friend in hell when I get there.” I smile at her, allowing a small, authentic one, seeing as it may be my last. That familiar cackle spills out in the cruiser - the laugh of hers I’ve come to know and love, a laugh that I used to have.
“If I get there first, I’ll keep a seat warm for you. ”
Blitz is on her phone, analyzing the club's surroundings, picking out a spot for us to hide the cruiser. She’s been reviewing the area map the entire way, cross referencing with our intel.
She directs me to a small car park four streets behind the club, jumps out, and - without hesitation - breaks the padlock on the gate with cutters.
I’m starting to think she’s been watching me a lot longer than she let on.
I drive in, parking up against the darkened wall to keep the car concealed.
She slides back into the passenger seat and pulls a bag from behind her - one I hadn’t noticed before.
She shoves the cutters inside and pulls out a tablet.
“Uh, Blitz … is that the same tablet Hawk and Graves use?” Her fingers flick across the screen, a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth.
“I’m only borrowing it," she says, shrugging as if that’s a perfectly valid excuse.
“It was left unattended in the command room.” I sink lower into the car seat.
Yeah. Not getting away with this. “Hawk wanted us to analyze the layout for a reason,” she continues.
“He’s had intelligence drafting up mock blueprints of the building.
” She turns the tablet toward me. “That door you saw? It leads to the private floor. I spotted the tinted windows running the full length above the bar - it’s small.
I’d say a bathroom, judging by the piping running up the walls.
Maybe an office and a seating area. The square footage isn’t big enough for much else…
unless it’s all open plan.” I curse myself for ever brushing off Blitz’s background in architecture.
She’s just saved this mission from turning into a complete shit show.