The Last Mission of the Living (The Last Bastion #2)(65)

“How’s your folks?” Lindsey knew Torran’s family was near one of the warehouses under siege by rioters.

“Fine for now. Ma is terrified. Da is pragmatic. He moved their garden tubs into the kitchen as soon as they got the news. My brother and an uncle are helping them guard.”

“Your sister?”

“Their building pulled up the stairs and are working together to protect their resources. The kids are scared, and no one is certain how they’re even going to get their rations with things as chaotic as they are.”

“Shit. This is awful.”

“The question is: will the higher ups give us twenty-four hours of prep, or thirty-six? And the altered schedule isn’t about allowing us enough time to get ready. I’m sure if they had their way, we’d already be leaving right now. It’s about giving the president time to roll out a big production around our departure.”

Slumping into his side, Lindsey exhaled with fatigue born of both mental and physical exertion. “You mean we’ll have to smile for the cameras.”

“Look somber and resolute for the cameras, you mean.” Torran slung his arm about her shoulders, snuggling her against his body.

“First my leg then this... I f*cking hate propaganda.” Lindsey shut her eyes, blocking out the images of the civilians panicked in the streets. Some mothers and fathers had risked the curfew to take their children to the Central Sector gates to hold up their crying children for the media cameras to record. Closing off the sectors had only made the crisis worse. Now rumors were spreading through the feeds that only certain sectors would be receiving food rations.

The Bastion was engulfed in turmoil.

“Someone is playing a very dirty game,” Torran said at last.

“And we’re at the center of it.”

“Yeah.” Torran kissed her forehead, then said against her skin, “but we can’t give up hope. We’re so close to so much good happening.”

“You mean the first crops being planted? Our mission?”

“I’m sure other good things will come, too.”

Lindsey stiffened slightly. Did he mean capturing Dwayne and Maria? “Like what?”

Tilting his head back to rest it on the rear of the sofa, Torran pressed his fingertips to his bloodshot eyes. “Hell if I know. I just hope something positive comes out of all of this.”

Teeth tugging on her bottom lip, Lindsey stared worriedly at the live coverage. They were safe behind their walls, far away from the pandemonium. It seemed wrong until she realized that very soon they’d be facing the Scrags for the sake of the people rioting in the streets.

“Linds, we should sleep. I’m sure they’re going to call us in early.”

“You don’t want to wait up for the president’s speech, Torran?”

“Nah. It’ll be the same old, same old. Smoke and mirrors. I’d rather fall asleep with you in my arms than listen to him yammer on.”

Lindsey kissed his chin tenderly. “You’re such a romantic.”

“Another reason why you like me.” Torran lightly brushed his lips over hers. “Admit it.”

“I admit to nothing but wanting to sleep!”

The playfulness between them was fun, but she found herself studying him as they switched off the news and set about readying for bed. Would she be able to tell when he was informed of the secret mission? And how would the SWD and Constabulary teams end up being split apart out in the field?

When Lindsey snuggled into Torran’s side a short time later, she wondered if the night’s events were just part of some greater conspiracy that she wasn’t yet aware of. Her mind churning, she was half-tempted to climb out of bed and hack into the grid. Instead, sleep snatched her from the waking world, and she fell into a deep slumber.





Chapter 19


Torran watched the squad moving rapidly through the training room. The holographic projection of the loading site at the Beta City depot looked disturbingly real. The exterior of the building was flawlessly rendered. Lindsey had created the simulation using the crystal clear images downloaded from the drones. Sunlight poured through the open bay doors and the shriek of the Scrags filled the air. The interior schematic was to specifications found in the databases, but shouldn’t have changed over time due to being sealed off.

From Torran’s position on the observation deck, he saw a few of the SWD soldiers drifting off their assigned path.

“Carter and Ramirez, you’ve overshot your objective,” he said into the comm.

The two soldiers’ immediate course corrected.

“Could you have made the Scrags a little less noisy?” Torran asked Lindsey.

The simulated screeches from the Scrags clearly had some of the soldiers rattled.

“I matched the sound frequency of the hordes outside the walls,” Lindsey answered with a shrug.

“Of course you did.”

Both officers were dressed in the stealth armor. There wouldn’t be any updated trials on the suits and the first real test would be on the field. A good chunk of their day had been spent maneuvering with the squad through the simulation multiple times. There were still issues with the team, so Lindsey and Torran had retreated to the observation deck to observe and come up with solutions.

Chief Defender Solomon had been called away, which Torran was certain was not a good sign. The bureaucracy wanted its fingers in the mission, and the chief defender had spent long hours in conferences while the squad practiced.