48
She watched as the small silver speck in the sky grew closer until she could make out the full detail of the aircraft. The peachy light from the setting sun turned the silver body of the ship into copper. The day was coming to a close but the new nightmare Camille found herself in was far from over.
There’s been an incident.
Her eyes followed the aircraft as it slowed down and began to descend smoothly towards the landing pad. A group of people were waiting patiently for the ship to land before they moved swiftly towards it. It felt like the scene unfolding Down on the landing pad was a million miles away from and yet everything unfolding was linked to her.
It was meant to have been a routine trip. They had been planning it for weeks, staking out the property and monitoring everyone’s movement. So how had this happened? How had Nathan gotten away? How had someone manage to detonate a bomb?
There’s been an incident.
Kal had explained that he had been able to jam the signal between the switch and the bomb but they had no idea what the size of it was, not until it blew up and even then, anyone who had been close only had twenty seconds to run for cover.
Sid only had twenty seconds to run for cover.
Camille hadn’t recognised the man who had blown himself up. Jag and Kal had shown her pictures of the men they apprehended but none of them were familiar. To be fair, most of the people she did see were high rollers in Nathan’s plans or staff who were conveniently blind to her suffering. These men had to be new to Nathan’s cause and clearly stupid enough to let themselves get caught. One was even dumb enough to be a suicide bomber. They were cannon fodder, low value even to the man they blindly followed.
There’s been an incident.
Sid had been thrown by the blast despite making as much distance as he could. Sid hadn’t walked away unscathed.
Camille didn’t know exactly how badly he is was injured but it was bad. They had rushed him to the Ark in Dallas to stabilise him. Camille was certain she had heard Jag mention something about surgery and tests but she had gone numb, her mind had flat lined as she felt her heart drop like stone into her stomach.
There’s been an incident.
Sid’s armour had been designed to take the shock of an explosion but that didn’t mean it made him invisible. It hadn’t prevented him being thrown into the side of a building. It hadn’t prevented him from being burnt by the explosion.
She remembered asking Jag and Kal how it was possible that Nathan and his men had been able to trick Sid like that? How had this happened? The words had felt like razors in her throat, bringing to life the horrible nightmare with every syllable. How had this happened? How had this happened?
How had this happened?
“Cam?”
Kal’s voice sounded so far away, a whisper lost in the roaring sound of her thoughts that crashed around her mind like a tidal surge battering the coast. Her head felt like it might explode at any moment from the storm inside. On and on the questions and memories went, clattering around like debris in a tornado. However, it wasn’t dread and worry she felt. Instead Camille felt anger. It was white hot in her veins, curling into her chest like an unbearable weight. She knew how this had happened. It had been a trap. Nathan had wanted the Draygonians to find his place. He wanted them to raid it. Camille had unwittingly led Sid to where he was now like a lamb to slaughter and Nathan had orchestrated it all.
Someone had helped Nathan as well. Someone within this very building. Someone who had fooled everyone and had walked around freely, looking for ways to destroy everything. They had assisted in trying to take someone Camille cared about deeply. Rage burned up inside of her like magma, threatening to destroy everything in its path. Her mind was already trying to work out how she was going to bring their mole to justice. Camille was done being helpless.
“Camille.” Kal was closer, his voice louder. She felt the gentle warmth of his hand on her back, grounding her once more. “What are you still doing here?”
“I didn’t know where else to be.” Camille admitted, looking at the male. “Can I see him?”
“Not yet.” Kal shook his head sadly. “Its going to be a few hours as yet before he’s settled in and the doctors will want to examine him.”
Camille’s heart sank a little at the thought of waiting but she didn’t have the energy to argue. Instead she turned back to the view of the outside world, watching as the last of the sunlight faded and night began to bleed into the sky as inky blue tones. Out there, somewhere, Nathan was living his life without suffering any repercussions for his actions and the thought made Camille’s stomach turn.
“Come on,” Kal coaxed gently. “Let’s get you home. There isn’t anything we can do right now. As soon as we can see him, I’ll take you down.”
Camille didn’t want to move and yet she did with Kal’s encouragement. She felt like she was in a dream, moving but feeling like she was merely an observer of her own body and actions. But the heat of her anger was still there, burning and spreading like a wildfire. It consumed her insides and burnt away all of her stray thought until one remained to be repeated like a mantra.
She was going to bring Nathan to justice even if it was the last thing she ever did.
---
“He’s lucky to be alive in all honesty. Internal bleeding, collapsed lungs, severe trauma to several vital organs, fractured skull and bruising around his spine. The odds weren’t exactly in his favour but, provided there are no complications and he pulls through, he will make a full recovery. It will take time though.”
Jag gave a single nod to confirm he had heard the doctor but his eyes continued to look through the window, watching as several nurses hovered around Sid’s seemingly lifeless form. He had been in an induced coma since his last surgery back in Texas. Despite how strong Sid was, whether he made it or not now relied on a delicate balance. It was one that could tip out of his favour at the slightest complication. Swelling on the brain, internal bleeding, organ failure...
“Our female wants to visit him.” Jag finally spoke up, turning to face the doctor.
The woman blinked in surprise at the comment before quickly looking at her tablet. “I want to see how he does over night first. Provided he doesn’t take a turn for the worse, She can visit him tomorrow.”
“If anything changes then contact me immediately.” Jag finished, forcing himself to leave his friend behind and head towards his office.
As expected, Kal was waiting for him looking undoubtedly as exhausted as Jag felt. But there was no time to rest, not anymore. This war with the EFHA had been personal from the moment they had learned how Camille was involved but this was a whole new level. His friend was injured and his female was hurting and for the first time ever, Jag felt useless. It was an ugly feeling, one that burned on his throat like bile but as much as it had Jag stumbling, it also drove his determination to find those responsible.
The men they had arrested didn’t know it yet, but they were going to help Jag and his team.
“How’s Sid doing?” Kal ask as Jag made his way to a seat.
“He’s hanging in there.” Jag replied. “He’s too stubborn to die.”
Kal let out a quiet chuckle. “Sounds like Sid. Have you sent news to his family?”
“Yes,” Jag nodded
“How’s Camille?” Jag found himself asking.
“Sleeping finally.” His friend replied. “I asked her friend to stay with her for now.”
Jag’s thoughts rarely left Camille, even when he was working. If things had been dramatic over the past few months then the last two weeks had been insane. He could admit he had been a bit cruel to Camille by teasing her over the last few weeks. He knew she wanted his affection and Jag nearly gave in and gave it to her but, he had promised himself that he would wait until Camille could take it no more and would beg him to take her. After all, he had promised her that he would have her at his mercy. All of that seemed so far away now, though. When they had explained to the blonde what had happened, it was as if she shut down. She didn’t cry or scream. She didn’t get angry. She simply remained silent as Jag and Kal had filled her in before she had asked in a quiet, empty voice about Sid’s transfer back to the Ark.
Kal and Jag weren’t alone for long. The rest of the task force joined them only minutes later. Every single one of them, whether they were human or Draygonian felt the pain of one of their own being so horribly injured. Every single one of them wanted answers.
“I’m glad everyone could make it here, even in this terrible circumstances.” Jag began, amber eyes burning with determination. “Kal, can you please give us an update on where we are on the investigation into what happened.”
“Sure,” Kal nodded, motioning to the screens that appeared in the middle of the group of men and women. “Get comfortable everyone, it’s going to be a long night...”