Epilogue
Elijah
I stare over the field of a hundred men who stand in formation. One hundred men representing the end of the world as we know it, especially once they proliferate the super serum.
My replacement stands beside me at parade rest. He’s in his late twenties, and Infinitum abducted him just after he left the military. He has the leadership skills necessary to fill my position, but he’s Edgar’s man through and through. I suppose they say the same about me.
“Congratulations, Chairman Davenport. You are a champion of the future. I look forward to fighting by your side when the time comes.”
He shakes my hand, and I nod at the compliment. “You can expect to see me on a regular basis.”
His smile slips, but he recovers. He’ll need to learn to hide his feelings or he will be dead by the end of the month. That is not my problem, though.
My current problem is that Edgar is late for this ceremony. The news cameras are on standby, waiting for his arrival to get this farce started. Several of the committee members mill around beneath a tent set up on the hill nearby. Lawrence Edgwater watches me with an unreadable expression. My plans are dangling over the edge. I raised too much suspicion with my interest in his daughter. Especially now that she’s escaped with the rebels. Part of me is relieved. I’d like nothing more than to get this over with.
Edgar’s offer to promote me was a shock, and I am still uneasy over it days later. It’s too good to be true, and in my experience, that means someone is about to die.
Pain, sudden and sharp, stabs into my stomach. I frown at the blood that soaks my black shirt. The invisible knife slides free and my replacement smirks.
I drop to my knees as screams of pain and violence ring out from the tent. My vision fades, but I catch sight of the committee members racing from the tent, only to be mowed down by my soldiers. The weapon in the man’s hand becomes visible, revealing a massive sword. He grips the pommel with both hands and brings it to the side.
“The Commander sends his regards.” The blade descends towards my neck, but I only feel the wind as it flies by my face and my attacker screams, dropping the sword and gripping his head.
Casper appears in front of me. “Hold on,” he shouts through the chaos, and then we’re somewhere else.
He lays me on a cot and I close my eyes as the wound in my stomach closes up. “Idiot,” I mutter.
Casper frowns at me. “Sir?”
“He should have gone for my head first.”
“Well, it’s a good thing he didn’t.”
I sit up, wincing with a grunt.
“Just wait a few more minutes,” Casper says, placing his hand on my shoulder to push me back down, but I stare at his hand and he removes it. I trained him in secret for several months. We’re not friends, but he just saved my life. I suppose I could show some gratitude.
“Thank you.”
He blinks at me, then nods, his shoulders relaxing.
“Where is Edgar?” I ask.
“He’s en route to his panic shelter. Insidatrex HQ is on lockdown, so I can’t get any info.”
“It’s a damn coup. Edgar must be desperate. But why?”
“Something must have spooked him,” Casper says.
“I’m going to the panic shelter.” I hand him the burner phone Clay gave me. “Call the only number on this phone and send them the coordinates for Edgar’s hideout. Tell them I’m going to kill him.”
His eyes widen. “Are you sure?”
“He thinks I’m dead. Now is my only chance.”
He nods. “Good luck, Sir.”
I move towards the door, but I pause. “If I don’t make it, and you end up with Raven, tell a man named Alex that I’m sorry.”
I leave before he can respond, sliding to a stop in a copse of trees outside of Edgar’s panic room. His SUV pulls up, and he sprints towards the door. I speed inside just before it closes and hide behind a pallet of canned goods while he and his lackey turn on the lights. I reach for the lackey’s powers and snap them in half. He screams, blood pouring from his nose before he slumps forward.
Edgar pulls out a gun and backs towards the wall. “Show yourself,” he growls.
I step into the light and have the satisfaction of watching him startle. “Surprised to see me, Edgar?”
He puts his gun back in the holster and smirks. “You’re wasting your time. You can’t hurt me.”
I laugh, maybe a little maniacally, but revenge is so close I can taste it. “Do you think my father would allow anyone to control me but him?”
He watches me approach, but says nothing. “He taught me everything about his program, including how to remain immune.”
He frowns. “Impossible.”
I speed forward, grabbing him by the neck and slamming his head against the wall. He cries out, his eyes wide with horror. “I can very much hurt you, Edgar. In fact, I’m about to kill you.”
He scratches at my hand. “Wait,” he gurgles.
I’m on a clock, but I’m curious what secrets he’ll reveal in his panic, so I loosen my grip.
“Something to say?”
“Dennis wasn’t your biological father.”
“You think I care?” I don’t, but I’m still surprised.
He lets out a desperate laugh. “You think this ends with me? If you kill me, someone else will take my place. Someone who won’t be as kind to you as I was. Let’s work something out. You and I together can stop him.”
“What are you babbling about?”
“I’m not the one in control. I never was.”
My mind reels. It never occurred to me that Edgar would be a pawn, too. Is he lying?
“He calls himself Anax.”
“Lies will not save you.”
He barks a laugh. “I wish it was a lie. Take the burner phone in my right pocket. I’m sure he’ll call soon.”
I grab the phone and pocket it.
“Please Eli, you’re not smart enough to take him on by yourself. Let me help you.”
Rex’s beautiful smile flashes in my memory, and I tighten my grip. “You lost any chance of bargaining when you killed the man I loved.”
His eyes widen, and I squeeze. He gurgles, his feet kicking against the wall as he drags his nails through my skin.
The door behind me opens, but I squeeze tighter. “For Rex, you piece of shit.” He goes limp in my hands and I snap his neck, just to be sure, before I rip out his throat and slam his body to the ground.
I look up from my crouch to find Raven, with Garrett and Casper behind him. He takes in the scene, his face neutral except for the flicker of his eye muscle when he looks at Edgar’s corpse. I stand, Edgar’s blood dripping from my hands.
“We’ve got a problem. Edgar wasn’t at the top.”
Raven’s lips flatten, and he nods. “Come with us.” He doesn’t phrase it like a question, but it still hangs in the air.
Garrett’s face is hard, but he doesn’t protest.
“Only if Casper comes, too.”
Garrett waits for Raven’s nod before he puts his hand on my shoulder and teleports the four of us out of the panic room and into whatever comes next.
Specter
The cold steel of my restraints digs into my wrists and ankles as I lay strapped to the metal table. The chilled air makes my exposed skin pebble. It’s dark, and the only sounds are my breathing and the creek of the joints when I shift on the table.
This was always a possibility. No, scratch that. It was an inevitability. We’ve gotten lucky with rescue missions these past few years, but none of that matters now. Even if they’re able to get the bunker’s location from me, Raven and I agreed that we’re done running. If our last stand is at home, then so be it. We’ll go down swinging and take as many with us as we can.
But the longer I’m strapped to the table, alone with my thoughts, the more doubt and regret sneaks in, and inevitably, thoughts about her.
There was never a reality where we would end up together. She’s a beautiful, smart, and skilled doctor. And I’m me, but you can’t blame a sad, broken man for dreaming of beautiful, happy things, however unrealistic they may be.
A door slides open on hydraulics and dim floor lights flicker on. Footsteps approach, and a dark figure stops above my head. I crane my neck, but I can’t get a visual.
He moves to my side and comes into focus. A mask covers the bottom half of his face, so only his eyes are visible. They’re green like mine.
“Hello, my son. My name is Anax.”
The Infinitum series concludes with Code Name: Specter , available spring 2025.