Thomas responds on my behalf, “Morphine decided to make it more attention grabbing than you originally concocted.” Amusement blooms through his voice.
I partially wait for Gage to make a comment too, but another whistle of a bullet flying above us hits someone on the top of the roof. Their body falls ten feet away from where we are. A spurt of blood splashes over the ground as their neck snaps and a dying gurgle bubbles from their throat.
One more visual sweep of the field reassures me that we’ve already killed everyone outside the building.
“Now what?” I ask as we crouch low at the edge of the fortress. Thick vegetation grows near and hides us well from anyone should they approach from the rear.
Mori lifts his goggles and I do the same. The smoke has already mostly cleared away with the gusts of wind.
“We should figure out another way to draw the majority of their attention. The original strategy had longevity.” I don’t miss the insinuation in his tone. “But I guess yours sort of cut that time in half, which isn’t a bad thing in case we need to help on the inside.”
I bump his shoulder and he lets out a short breath, bordering a chuckle. “Fuck yeah it did,” I gloat.
He listens to our surroundings for a moment before slowly turning his eyes to me. He routinely looks over my body for wounds like he always does. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t fond of it. His eyes widen and he sets his gun down quickly.
“What?” I barely ask in time before he’s pushing me until I’m sitting with my back against the wall.
His eyes flick up to mine, a flicker of hurt burns there. He looks back down as he assesses my shoulder. “Do you feel that?” His voice is sharp.
I glance down but don’t see what he’s looking at. Our uniforms are covered in dust and ash, plus it’s still dark outside. Though I guess it looks a little wet over my right arm and vest.
“No, I don’t feel anything,” I mutter in awe as he presses down hard on my shoulder. “Am I bleeding?”
Mori’s jaw looks tight under his mask, half the skull face is smeared with blood. “Yeah, you’re fucking bleeding… Goddamn it.”
My eyes widen. I knew the pills and injections worked, but to be shot and not even know it… This kind of technology would change the entire military. Soldiers who don’t feel and are twice as lethal. We’d be unstoppable. The thought only solidifies my concern for Nolan’s plans.
“I wasn’t sure if being shot would be painless, but it really does work.” I breathe out in disbelief.
He grunts his frustration. “Yeah it works for injured legs if you need to run in the trials too.”
That was oddly specific. I raise a brow at him and narrow my eyes. “Another secret you’re keeping from me?” When he doesn’t respond I press him harder. “I’ve taken the pills before, haven’t I?”
Mori gives me that damn look again before finally giving in. “Yeah.”
“Did I do it on my own like I did this time around?” I watch his expression fall and his hand loses a little pressure on my shoulder.
“Mori?”
He lifts his gaze to mine. “I really do hate when you call me that,” he says softer. This is the second time he’s said that to me. I’m not sure if it was his intention to change the subject, but I can tell he wants to tell me more about us.
“What would you like me to call you?” I ask, it comes out as a small whisper.
He considers me and when I think he’s finally about to tell me his name, gunfire sounds off in the distance and both our heads snap to the right. It was muffled, possibly inside the fortress.
Shit.
Kayden yells over the headsets, “Wolf in the den!”
That’s the code phrase to initiate strategy four. My heart thunders inside my chest as we go into the worst-case scenario. Mori stands abruptly, pulling me up in his next movement and gripping his gun tightly.
“Wolf in the den” means that either the lieutenant is injured or that Mikah is about to be compromised. Either one is an absolute disaster that we cannot afford.
Captain Bridger’s cold words seep back into me.We don’t come home until we get that flash drive.
Chills break out across my arms as I swallow the possibility that we might not make it out of this.
14
