Killian growled, a sound that was low and dangerous. Rowan shuddered, clearly not wanting to recall the incident.
"Where is he now?" she asked.
Cade grabbed his laptop, fingers flying as he flipped through feed after feed until he finally isolated Zolkos in the herd of other Arca personnel. It helped that he stood out so much amongst the sea of camouflage uniforms, wearing a stark white lab coat.
"There," Cade said, pointing to the screen.
Zolkos was walking through the base, surrounded by six alphas, all in full tactical gear. They headed into the vehicle hangar and began loading a convoy with storage containers and other equipment.
"What the hell are they doing?" Ryker asked, squinting at the screen. "Where are they going with all that shit?"
"I don’t know," Cade said, eyes narrowing, "but we need to. Talon, Killian, and I will follow them and figure out what’s going on. Ryker, stay with Rowan and keep your comms open. We may need backup."
"We should all go," Rowan said quickly. "I don’t like separating."
"No," Cade said, his voice hardening with command. "Tactical decisions are mine to make. Do not interfere. If you plan on being a problem for Ryker, I can tie you up until we get back."
Rowan scowled at him.
"No need. I’ll be good, sir," she snapped in a bratty tone.
"I can think of plenty of ways to keep Kitten busy," Ryker said, eyes glinting with mischievous promise.
"Thanks, but no thanks," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Behave, you two," Cade cut in. "The rest of us move out in ten minutes. Get ready."
Zolkos and his crew of alphas left base shortly after, and we followed behind them in another convoy. It was pitch black outside, so we killed the headlights and stayed far enoughbehind their vehicle that our tail went unnoticed.
The old, paved access road we traveled on criss-crossed through the woods. I didn't need to guess where it led, because there was only one thing for miles in this direction.
The decommissioned Border Front Base.
Killian shot me a look as we passed sign after sign, warning us to turn back.
ARCA Private Property. Secure Area.
Restricted Grounds.
Unauthorized Entry Will Result in Immediate Detainment.
Force Protocols Authorized.
“Why the decommissioned base?” Killian grumbled.
“I don’t know,” Cade said, “but whatever the reason, it’s not good.”
“How long ago did Arca decommission it?” I asked. “Do you remember?”
“Over twenty years ago,” Cade replied. “Our father was stationed there when he was only a captain. Command shut it down right after the Whistleblower Files got released to the public. I always figured they closed it as a PR stunt before building the new facility.”
“People are so naïve,” I muttered. “I don’t need a whistleblower to know the corrupt things Arca does right under the public’s nose.”
Cade said, “From what I remember, the files were bad. Human experimentation. Kidnapping. Animal abuse. Even redacted, the public understood what ARCA was truly capable of.”
“Yet they turned a blind eye and still servethem without resistance."
Cade glanced back at me. “Them? Seems like sometimes you forget weareArca. And we have been for a long time.”
