Prologue #3
Nate had secured the suit in a place no one would find it, and he meant no one.
It was gone for good if he never came back for it, and that was for the best. His priority was to keep that suit out of the hands of the Conglomerate, and he had succeeded in that.
Now, he just needed to survive. He wasn’t quite sure if he could pull that one off.
Losing a suit was one thing. Disappearing when the Conglomerate was on a vengeful manhunt was another.
He was currently sitting in an abandoned warehouse in East Texas.
It was hot—a lot fucking warmer than he was used to, especially since his suit was temperature-controlled.
He hadn’t had to think about the weather for a long time since he was either in his suit or in a Conglomerate facility.
It was rare that he got to go out on his own, and that was Commander-sanctioned to get pussy. The guy understood his men had needs.
It was kind of pathetic now that Nate thought about it.
What he wouldn’t give to find a woman and settle down with her.
Sneaking into Logan’s wedding had changed him, even though it had been a huge fucking risk.
He supposed the Conglomerate thought he wouldn’t have the balls to do it and didn’t have anyone there.
His win. When he saw his brother and sister-in-law together, it stirred something within him.
It had shown him everything he had been missing with his years playing soldier with the Conglomerate, thinking he was helping the world when he was actually the bad guy.
That stung the most.
If Nate ever had the chance, he would make things right. He would do his part to wipe out the Conglomerate, starting with those damned suits—and then eventually Victor. He just needed them to stop the tireless witch hunt first.
He heaved out a sigh and took a sip of water from a plastic bottle next to him. The water was lukewarm and did nothing to quench his thirst, but it was better than nothing.
Suddenly, he felt the ground vibrate. There was silence in the warehouse, but something was wrong.
Sitting up, he grabbed his rifle and scooted back into the darkness away from a set of shattered glass windows.
He had multiple contingency plans, but if this were the Conglomerate, they might have a small army.
Nate watched as shadows bounced around the walls of the warehouse. There was almost no sound, but he could get an idea of where these guys were. He had a few exits in mind, and hopefully, he could get to one and get the hell out.
Quietly, he climbed a crate in the shadows and then another one until he was body-level to a busted window.
From there, he could swing himself down onto a dumpster and then out to several possible getaway vehicles he had parked around the area.
The only problem was that to get out through the window, he’d have to give up his position.
Once he committed to leaving, he’d have to go through with it.
Nate waited until the shadows along the walls stopped dancing and then made his move.
He jumped effortlessly out the window and did a controlled fall to the dumpster below.
It hurt, but not enough to slow him down.
He immediately began to run to his getaway vehicle, but before he could move more than a few feet, four figures surrounded him.
What he saw made his heart sink: four X-suit soldiers.
He was totally fucked.
“Stop,” a mechanical voice said. “Put down your weapon. Get on the ground.”
There was nothing else Nate could do. He couldn’t damage these suits. If he ran, they’d just put a bullet in his back. The only way he’d survive—at least for now—was following the soldier’s command.
Nate dropped his rifle on the ground. It was a good run while it had lasted.
“Lie on the ground. Hands behind your back,” the soldier continued.
Nate was about to comply when a familiar, haunting male voice said, “Now, now. He can kneel. We have some things to talk about.”
Fucking Victor. Just great.
They must have been sure of Nate’s location to have Victor and a few suits with him. He wondered how they had found him.
“Facial recognition from a camera on an eighteen-wheeler from one of our operations,” Victor answered his unspoken question. “You were careful, but that was a lucky break.”
Nate sighed. And that was the reason it was inevitable he would be caught. It was impossible to outrun the Conglomerate forever.
“Lucky me,” Nate grumbled.
Victor snorted and said, “Oh, you are in so much trouble, Slade. It would be best for you if you cooperated. That way, your death will be quick. Otherwise, your new life will be…not pleasant.”
Nate shook his head as he said, “Sorry, Victor, you aren’t getting shit.”
“That’s…unfortunate,” he said. “Perhaps we can change your mind?”
“I doubt it,” Nate said with a shrug. “I’m stubborn.”
Victor snorted and waved at the soldiers.
“You’re going to wish you were dead,” was all Nate’s old superior said before the beatings began.
Then, one of the X-soldiers hit him in the head with the butt of his rifle. It was such a swift and thorough hit that Nate’s vision went fuzzy, and he lost consciousness. That was just his introduction to hell.
Victor was right about one thing: Nate did wish he were dead.