Page 122 of Beta Team-The Saviors: Part One
Keon pushes his mask to the top of his head. “What the fuck is going on?”
“We can check the perimeter,” Tyler offers. “Stay here with Kira.”
“I don’t want to split up,” Keon says.
Gavin gestures to the stuff that’s knocked over and the blood on the door. “Someone got hurt here. We can’t just stand here with our thumb up our asses.”
“We wait for Axel,” Keon barks, and it’s the first time I’ve heard him use that tone of voice.
“What’s that smell?” I ask, my entire body seizing. “That’s smoke.” No sooner than the words leave my mouth, all hell breaks loose.
I hear the guys yelling and turn back to see them swarmed by guys with dark tactical gear and helmets. There are at least ten ofthem. “Get out of here, Kira!” one of them yells, but my body is frozen in place.
“Get the fuck off me,” Keon growls, punching one guy in the face and roundhouse kicking another. I can hear more fighting in the bedroom and know that Gavin and Tyler are in there.
I raise my gun without a second thought and pull the trigger, hitting the guy on Keon. He stumbles back but recovers quickly, running back at him with a growl. More shots are fired, and Keon is running toward me.
“Get her out of here!” Tyler yells and then grunts.
Keon grabs my hand, jerks the door open, and I try to pull away. “We can’t leave them!”
“We aren’t.” His voice is calm, but I can feel the slight tremor in his arm. “I just need to get you to Axel.” Keon pulls me toward the steps and stops dead in his tracks. The entire stairwell is on fire, indicating where the smell was coming from. I back up quickly, my eyes going blurry with fear. “I’ll get you out of here,” Keon says gently, pulling me back the other way. I sigh with relief when I see the back stairwell. Keon kicks the door open, and we jog down the steps only to get to the first-floor landing and see that it’s already burning.
“What do we do?” I can’t keep the tremble out of my voice, and Keon squeezes my hand.
“They’re trying to flush us out to the fire escape.”
Keon pulls the door back open to take us into the hallway, and he sees the guy at the same time as me. He’s wearing the same gear as the other’s, and he doesn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. The bullets slam into Keon, and he falls back through the door. “Oh my God!” I hear him roll down the stairs, and I can’t stop the tears from streaming down my face. I try to run to him, but the guy grabs my arm. “Let me go.” I swing the gun up, but he knocks it out of my hand.
He starts dragging me down the hallway, and his body jerks several times, then slumps to the floor. There is so much noise that I didn’t even hear what happened. My head swings up, and all the breath leaves me. Professor North is standing there dressed head to toe in black, holding an automatic, and has a hard look on his face.
“Let’s go.” His voice is deep and gruff, sounding nothing like his normal voice. I shake my head, and he takes a slow step toward me. “I have a way out, but we have to move now.”
“N…n…no. I can’t leave with you.”
“This whole place is about to go up in flames. Let’s go.”
“I can’t leave them!” I start to back up, and he takes measured steps toward me. I have no idea where I’m even supposed to go. Keon is just beyond this door, probably bleeding to death, and the fire would have to be close to him by now. A loud crash sounds from behind me, and I whirl around, shoving the door open. Part of the roof collapsed, obscuring my view from Keon. “NO! KEON!”
“We have to move.” Professor North grabs my arm and spins me around. “I’m not who you think I am. Everyone is pinned down. They were waiting to ambush whoever showed up. You can either let me get you to safety or burn in this building.” He softens his voice on that last bit, probably already knowing my life history. “You have to trust me.”
With a sigh, he wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me with him. I’m so shocked by everything going on that I don’t react at first. But then he pushes me into another apartment, and I snap out of my shock. “NO! LET ME GO!” I swing back and up with my elbow, which he evades easily.
“I’m not going to hurt you.”
“How do I know that?!” I jerk out of his hold and whirl around. “They’re going to die in there!”
“You’ll die if you stay. I’m trying to help.” He grabs me by my upper arm and pulls me into the bedroom. I swallow the lump in my throat when I see two other guys dressed like him, but their faces are covered. “I’m sorry,” he whispers, and I feel the sting of the needle.
The last thing I remember is crying for Keon.
41
ARI
Iwake with a groan, my head fucking throbbing. All my training kicks in, and I freeze, taking in my surroundings. I’m in a concrete cell with a thick metal door. No windows, bed, or sink—just a urinal stuck in the corner. My hands are in handcuffs and shackled with a thick chain to the cuffs around my legs. I know exactly where I am.
A military holding cell.
