The Last Bastion of the Living (The Last Bastion #1)(52)

The last details of the divorce had finally been settled upon and he would finally be free. The kids were doing a little better now. Hopefully, time would bring them healing so when he introduced them to Maria upon her return they would accept her.

Turning the corner onto his much quieter street, his apartment building came into view. It was just beyond an old subway station. The windows in the buildings lining the street were darkened in the late hour. Only a few were illuminated with the glow of a vid screen or lamp. It seemed unusually dark and it took him a second to realize all the street lamps were out. Stopping in mid-stride, he studied his surroundings. The stairways to the apartments were all drawn up and several SWD security cars were tucked into the shadows with their lights off.

“Excuse me, sir,” a voice called out as two forms materialized out of the darkness. The facemasks of their helmets were an unyielding black. Most likely they were set to night vision or infrared vision. “Do you live in this area?”

“Yes, I do.” He swept his wristlet over the identification unit one of the SWD officers was holding.

“Have you seen any unusual activity around the subway station today?” one of them asked.

“I was at work,” Dwayne answered.

He was clad in civilian clothing and all the SWD security had checked was his address. SWD and Constabulary didn’t always see eye to eye, so Dwayne shifted his weight, trying to look like a regular civilian. Maria joked that he always looked like he was at attention. “What’s going on?”

“Just a minor problem with a criminal element,” was the answer.

Behind him, Dwayne heard the whine of the gates set into the corner buildings being activated. On the far end of the block those gates were closing too. “This is looking a little serious.”

“Just a report of a suspicious person hanging out around the subway exit. I’ll escort you to your apartment building,” the one doing all the talking said as he took hold of Dwayne’s arm.

Relaxing his shoulders, Dwayne allowed himself to be herded toward his apartment building. Now that his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, he could see several SWD units sweeping around the buildings. Another group was checking the locks on the subway station’s doors. Glancing up, he saw a woman staring down at him from behind a curtain as he was ushered to the retracted staircase of his apartment building. Dwayne swiped his wristlet over the sensor set into the wall and the staircase lowered.

“Stay off the street until further notice. This matter will be taken care of shortly,” the SWD officer said.

Dwayne studied the dark visor covering the man’s face, wondering if that was fear he heard in his voice. “I will. Thank you.”

Minutes later, tucked into his apartment, he set a small camera in the window over his kitchen counter to record the activity below. It was old and didn’t always get the clearest of images, but whatever it managed to capture he would send to Lindsey. His wristlet buzzed as a timer went off. It was time to call Maria. Hopefully, she would actually be able to answer tonight.

What remained of his earlier moonshine buzz was turning into a headache and he sat heavily at his small kitchen table. He quickly accessed the secret program and waited impatiently for Maria to answer. He hated when he wasn’t able to contact her, but she had explained about the blackouts and the wristlet alarm. Supposedly she now had full control over the alarm in her wristlet, but they both knew the SWD could turn it—and her—off at will.

It took nearly a full minute for her to answer. It was an immense relief to see her face.

“Hey babe,” he said, trying to keep the concern out of his voice.

“Dwayne,” she breathed, relief filling her voice. “I miss you. I was afraid I’d miss your call again.”

“They’re keeping you busy, huh?”

“Extremely, but it’s all good now that we’re actually in training.” She grinned in such a way he knew she was sincere.

“You look good,” he said, and meant it. Her cloudy eyes bothered him, but her smile was genuine and gave life to her gray-tinged features.

“We’re going in earlier than anticipated. I just got back from a briefing. Omondi and I are meeting in a few minutes to go over our plan one last time. This is such a huge relief. I’m so tired of training. I’m ready to be out there.”

“That’s my girl,” Dwayne said, smiling at her affectionately. He had struggled with the idea of telling her about the death the SWD was covering up, but seeing her calm demeanor he knew it would be the wrong thing to do. Maria believed what she was doing was right. Until he was certain about what was really going on, he wasn’t going to unnecessarily burden her. “Why did they move up the time frame?”

“I don’t know. They just called us in fifteen minutes ago and told us to get ready. We haven’t even notified the squad yet.” Maria laughed with delight. “They’re going to be thrilled.”

Dwayne noticed that a strand of hair had worked its way loose from her bun. His fingers twitched at the thought of pushing it back behind her ear and kissing her. His whole body ached for her. “I can see you’re thrilled.”

“I am. You can’t imagine.” Her expression was rapturous.

“You be careful out there.”

“I’m going to kick some Scrag ass!” A slight frown flitted across her expression. “Dammit. I gotta go. Omondi is pinging me.”