Horsemen's War (The Rebellion Chronicles #3) - Steve McHugh Page 0,22
We’re keeping the ones we trust informed, and the ones we don’t trust will just make shit up no matter what we tell them. We do a citywide broadcast to tell people to stay inside and quiet. We’ve got people going door to door to make sure that civilians are safe, but it’s a hard job.”
I looked up at the full moon. The cold was creeping in, and I wondered if it might start to snow soon. That wouldn’t help matters at all.
“Nate,” Roberto said.
“I’m listening,” I said, looking back at him. I followed him into a large tent, where two dozen men and women stood around a large table.
“The president and his family—wife, three kids—are hostages,” a stern-looking man in a blue uniform said. “They are our main priority for extraction.”
“And everyone else?” I asked.
“The president first,” the man said.
“Yeah, we’re going to at least try to get everyone out,” I told him. “There’s no ifs, ands, or buts here. Gawain is in there with highly trained members of Avalon and several of your own people. If we get the president out and leave the others, it’ll be a bloodbath. We go in, get everyone, shut this shit down, and leave.”
Everyone started yelling—mostly at me—which I ignored as I looked over at Roberto. “You know we can do this,” I said.
Roberto nodded as everyone quieted down.
“As good as your people are,” I said to the various officials in the tent, “those people in there have powers. You need powers to face them. Guns won’t be enough.”
My team and I left the tent with Roberto walking beside us.
“There are at least four snipers on the roof,” Roberto told us, pointing to where the snipers looked to be situated. “They’d already killed six agents before we put up those shields. At least twenty Secret Service inside are working for Avalon. Maybe a hundred personnel overall.”
Roberto went on. “They’ve executed two senators and a member of Congress since they took control. And that was after killing a dozen police officers who tried to intervene.”
“This doesn’t bode well for getting all of those hostages out alive,” I said.
“No,” Roberto said. “No, it doesn’t. It might help to know that the security feed inside the White House was shut down by several members of staff as the building was taken. They got word to us; it makes entry a little easier without them having eyes all over the place, but we lost two good people getting it done. Gawain contacted us directly to let us hear them die.”
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“What’s a good guess for the number of hostages to make it out in one piece?” Selene asked.
“A front assault is zero,” Roberto said. “A stealth assault, maybe half. There’s no good end to this, Nate.”
I looked beyond the trees and wall to the White House. “How about an army of one?” I asked.
“You’re going to go in alone?” Roberto asked me.
I shrugged. “Thinking about it.”
“That’s insane,” he said. Someone from the tent waved him over, and Roberto left Selene and me alone.
“You’re not really thinking about doing that, are you?” Selene asked me with a frown.
I shook my head. “People are going to die here, no matter what we do.”
“Yes,” Selene said. “It looks unavoidable.”
“We need intel as to what’s happening in the White House,” I said. “Or at least above it. You think you can scout it without anyone shooting at you?”
Selene transformed into her dragon-kin form. Her massive silver wings beat once, and she took high to the skies at a speed I could barely track. Her vision thousands of feet in the sky was better than a hawk’s. Only it was Avalon members who were the tiny mice scurrying for safety.
“Nate Garrett,” a voice said from behind me.
I turned and saw Layla Cassidy. Her blue-and-green hair was up in a ponytail, and she’d lost one arm just below the elbow in a battle a few years back. Thankfully she was able to manipulate metal, so she’d made herself a new arm. I smiled. It had been a while since I’d first seen her as a new umbra, a woman with no idea of the power she possessed. Now, several years later, Layla was a formidable warrior capable of great power.
She hugged me and stepped back. “So you’re here to make things go boom?”
“Well, you all seem to suck at it, so they brought in an expert,” I said. “Nice wall, by the way.”