Kraken Rising

CHAPTER 5

Aimee sat in the back of the black van as it sped away. There were three men and one woman in the back with her. She didn’t know them, but knew who they were — HAWCs.

Peter lay flat on the floor, his head propped and his chest bandaged. He groaned and coughed wetly. Aimee reached down to wipe the hair from his forehead.

“He’ll be fine. Collapsed lung, but otherwise, it’s through and through. He’s lucky.” One of the men wiped blood from Peter’s chin, and then read some figures from a small electronic pad they had stuck to his chest to monitor his vital signs.

“Lucky,” Aimee repeated, looking at Peter’s drained face. She felt sorry for him, but also something else — she suddenly knew that even though he was a good man, a good provider, and a good role model for Joshua, he could never be their real protector.

She turned to Joshua and he smiled up at her. In his face she saw him again, Alex Hunter, that specter from the past. She smiled back, amazed that her son seemed unfazed by the night’s brutal events. Instead, the boy turned to one of the HAWCs, and reached across to touch one of his gloved hands. Across the back of the knuckles and fingers was armor plating. Joshua made a fist and rapped on it.

“I bet that would hurt.”

The big man looked down, and grinned. “It’s supposed to.”

Joshua nodded, as though this was the answer he expected.

“Ma’am.” One of the HAWCs handed her a small pellet, and he pointed to her ear. “He can hear you as well.”

She nodded and inserted it.

“Aimee, are you okay?”

She closed her eyes, immediately recognizing the voice. She couldn’t decide whether to be angry or happy. “You know I am, Jack. You’ve been watching me, haven’t you?”

“Yes,” Jack Hammerson said softly.

“For how long?” she asked.

“We never stopped.”

She exhaled. “Thank you.” She had thought Joshua was a secret, now she knew differently. Strangely, rather than inflame her, it calmed her. If Jack Hammerson had known for five years, and done nothing, then they never intended to take him away at all, she rationalized. In fact, while she had been abominable to the HAWC leader in the past, he had secretly been guarding them all along.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“The sins of our past… or perhaps the sins of others, now carried by you, whether you like it or not. I’m the one who is sorry, Aimee.”

She leaned back. “So, what now?”

“That depends on you. Say the word, and you can go back to your home, or a home somewhere else. We’ll patch up Peter, and generate a cover story.” He paused, waiting.

“For how long? Until someone finds us again?” Aimee lowered her voice and turned away. “That was no random break in, they wanted him, didn’t they, Jack?”

“We think so. The secret’s out — the Israelis know about Alex Hunter now, so do the Russians. They captured one of our people, interrogated him. Probably learned everything there was to know about him, and the people around him,” he said. “More worrying is the Chinese joining the party. We know they have their own Advanced Soldier Program. Getting a little crowded now.” He sighed. “A lot of choppy water, Aimee.”

She shut her eyes. “Is anywhere safe?”

“Nowhere is ever really safe. But there are places that are safer than others.” Again he waited.

“What about Joshua? I know, you know, he’s… different,” she said.

“He might be. But my only interest in him is that he stays happy and healthy. Aimee, we can protect you.”

“If… there’s always an if.” She waited.

“No Aimee, no if, no catch… a request maybe, but no catch. My priority is protecting my country, and its people. That includes you and Joshua. You both can live a happy and safe life under our care and protection. No one will ever touch you or him again. No one will ever even get close to either of you again. A normal life; I promise you that.”

“Normal?” She leaned back, knowing that the devil always wanted its pound of flesh. “And the request?”

“Come in and we can talk about it. There’s a lot to catch up on.” Hammerson ended the call.

Captain Wu Yang lowered the night-vision glasses, revealing eyes that were coal dark in a face that looked like it was carved from solid stone. The Chinese captain was tall, even by Western standards. He and his team had benefited from early detection and then cultivation of the XYY chromosome phenotype breeding programs — the extra Y chromosome in males delivering height, strength, and aggression well above average, and ideal for roles in the Special Forces arm of the People’s Liberation Army, or PLA.

Breath hissed from between Yang’s clenched teeth, as he turned away from the breached house in Boston, heading for his car. There was no need to wait for any result — his men were already dead, and if not, and they were captured, they were ordered to take their own lives.

Inside the dark car, he sat for a moment, feeling the throb of pain in his head. He gripped the steering wheel, the hard polymer beginning to bend in his hands as his rage built. This was supposed to be a simple mission, to enter the country, take the child, and be gone, all in twenty-four hours. He had erred by not expecting there might be surveillance. But why would there be? he wondered.

The wheel began to crack as it bent towards him. Who was this Joshua Weir that he had some sort of Special Forces operatives as his personal protection? Why wasn’t he told, so he could successfully execute his plan?

The top of the steering wheel snapped off in his hands, and he exhaled, releasing the building pressure. It was over, and he had failed. All that remained was to leave the country and report the result to his Controller, Chung Wanlin — and this was not going to be well received.

Yang sped away from the sidewalk, his large calloused knuckles beginning to bend the remaining portion of the steering wheel once again.