The Last Mission of the Living (The Last Bastion #2)(79)

She didn’t answer, and he took that as a sign she’d dropped off again.

Listening to the sound of her deep breathing, Torran agonized over the situation he was trapped in. Though he loved her completely, at some point, he was going to betray her trust in him. If the vaccination to ISPV was in Maria Martinez, Torran would move heaven and earth to find her so he’d never have to fear for Lindsey’s life again. There were things much worse than worrying for your own life, and that was living in terror of losing the person you loved. Lindsey would never be a Scrag. He’d find Maria to ensure Lindsey’s safety. Would Lindsey forgive him? He wasn’t sure, but at least she’d be safe.

And if he saved the world along the way, that was something he could live with.





Part 4

THE END GAME





Chapter 23


“This is ridiculous,” Lindsey declared.

Commandant Pierce arched an eyebrow, but remained silent as she watched Lindsey stalk back and forth in front of her desk. Lindsey knew she should rein in her temper and show more respect, but it was difficult. She was exhausted, bruised, and mentally worn out.

“Four missions in one week! Four! The sheer amount of intel that we have to collect and then disseminate into a viable plan is staggering. I’m a f*ckin’ genius, but I’m starting to make mistakes because I’m so f*ckin’ tired.”

“Yet all the missions have been a success with zero loss of life. The commendations you’re garnering are impressive, Vanguard Rooney.”

“I don’t care about them, you know. This is about helping the people. It’s not for the higher ups or to decorate my uniform with pretty medals. Frankly, I can barely stand that stupid smile President Cabot gives me whenever I have to attend one of his bogus press conferences.”

“Because of your missions, the city is now back at Level Three rationing,” Commandant Pierce pointed out. “That’s excellent work.”

Lindsey stopped pacing, rested her hands on the desk, and leaned toward the commandant. It was so neat compared to her own workstations in the prep room back at the SWD Facility. She used to have neat workspaces, but those days were over for now. “I’m glad the riots are over. I’m glad the city isn’t on lockdown anymore, but...”

“But?”

“Do you really think they’ve given up on finding Maria and Dwayne?”

The commandant shook her head. “No. Of course not.”

“Then why aren’t they making their move?”

“But aren’t they?” Commandant Pierce swiped her desk so that a screen appeared. “According to your report, the remote generators are used on each mission to send out pulses to activate the security grid of each city.”

“So that we can use the city scanners to detect the movements of the Scrag swarms...” Lindsey realized she’d missed something vital. The shock of that revelation hit her in a tidal wave that sent her head spinning. With a dazed look on her face, she collapsed onto a chair. “Oh, shit. Of course! How could I miss it? They’re looking for them in each city we raid.”

“Most likely.” Commandant Pierce settled back in her chair.

“I guess I didn’t think about what else might be going on for the pulses because it was my idea to activate the local security.” Feeling ridiculously tired, a bit stupid, and very embarrassed, Lindsey sat in silence. Just because she and Torran were planning the expeditions didn’t mean that the SWD wasn’t twisting the excursion specs to their advantage. And she hated to think that maybe Torran had a hand in assisting the SWD.

The nearly round-the-clock duty schedule had her on the edge. She wasn’t even sure how Torran could stand her sometimes, but usually he just let her rant while agreeing with nods of his head. Then he made her some weird, but delicious meal out of their bars of protein and made her laugh until she forgot why she was so annoyed. The pang in her heart at the thought of him made her situation even more challenging. Were they already on opposing sides?

“They’re going to keep us going at this pace until they find them, aren’t they?” The thought made Lindsey frustrated to the point of anger. She was tired of the secret games people were playing in which she and Torran were pawns.

“That’s probably the plan.”

Lindsey clasped her hands in her lap and leaned forward. “Why can’t they send out another squad?”

“Resources. We still don’t have the fuel depot working at full strength. The mix has to be just right to get the stagnant stores returned to full potency. That’s the official word. Unofficial word is that Legatus Martel has convinced the President to keep your squad as the only active one.”

“How? I don’t get it.”

“Legatus Martel has the ear of the president. He likes her quite a lot in spite of my warnings. She’s more… accommodating than I am. She tends not to argue as much. Also, she’s been very adamant that the one team is sufficient and points to the calmer city population. Each time you return with more food supplies, you validate her viewpoint. The effectiveness of your team actually works against you.”

“And he buys into it? You’d think he’d want a bunch of teams out there making him look good.”

Commandant Pierce sighed. “It’s propaganda, Lindsey. The names and faces of each squad member are known by every civilian in the city. You’re heroes. I know you’re not allowed to watch the news vids, but you’re a celebrity now.”