Page 1 of Beta Team-The Saviors: Part two
1
KIRA
Iwake with a jerk and immediately regret it. My head starts pounding, and my stomach rolls. Closing my eyes, I swing my legs over the side of the bed and count to ten.What is wrong with me?I don’t remember anything.Did I get drunk? I slowly peel my eyes open, and dread settles in my stomach when I don’t recognize anything around me.
I gasp when the memories start slamming into me; us racing to save Ari and Jason only to be too late, the fight in the apartment, Professor North showing up. Tears fill my eyes, heartbreak overwhelming me.Keon.I frantically look around, searching for anything that I can use as a weapon. I have to get out of here. He has to be okay. Theyallhave to be okay.
I jump from the bed, jerking open drawers when the door flies open. A guy steps in wearing the full tactical gear the bad guys were wearing at the apartment. “Don’t come near me,” I warn.
“We aren’t going to hurt you,” he replies, his voice coming out distorted behind the helmet.
“The needle to my neck says otherwise.”
Professor North, or whoever he is, walks in beside him. “We didn’t have a choice. My mission was to get you out safe, and that’s what I did.”
“Your mission?” I ask calmly, even though I feel anything but. “Who the hell are you?”
“That isn’t important right now.”
“Where are they?” I demand. “Where are my guys?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” My voice rises with each word, and I take a step forward. “You left them there?”
“I didn’t have a choice. The place was getting swarmed.”
“It was on fire!”
Everything Kane ever taught me about self defense rises up, and I let my anger fuel me. I know there’s no way to fight them off, but that doesn’t mean I won’t go down trying. I fly at Professor North and tuck my shoulder. I hit him in the gut, and he barely moves. He grabs me by my upper arm and spins me around, locking his arms around me. “Kira. You have to calm down.”
“Calm down?! You left them there to die!”
“No,” he says evenly, “I didn’t. Their teams were arriving.”
“Let me go.”
“Can you refrain from trying to attack me? I’m trying to help.”
I snort before I can stop myself. “You ran away like a fucking coward.”
Professor North sighs, but slowly lets my arms go. “Come on. I want to show you something.”
I whirl around. “Fuck you.”
Professor North nods his head for his friend to leave, and crosses his arms over his chest. How did I think this man was a friend? I’m sostupid.“You can come with me, or I can lock youback in here. Either way, I have a job to do. The choice is yours whether you want to help me or not.”
“Why the hell would I help you?”
“Because I know where Aryeh is.”
My heart drops, and my stomach bottoms out. “Ari?”
“Yes.”
I go over my options quickly, and finally nod. He spins on his heel, leaving me to follow him. We walk through a small apartment and when we get into the living room, it’s full of computer monitors. Some are running what looks like code, and the others are cameras. “Who are you?” I ask again.
“Give us the room,” Professor North says to the four men sitting around, and they leave without a word. He pulls a chair out, and gestures for me to sit. When I refuse, he shakes his head. “I don’t mean you any harm. If I did, I would have either left you locked in the room or restrained you.” I pull the chair away from him and sit down, leaving some space between us. He sits in front of me with a serious look on his face. “My name is Tivon Askari. I lead Israel’s version of the Saviors.”
