Because just one could find a way to hide and create a new army.
“Is it true you got us some crotch rockets to move around the city?” Pisces bounced on the balls of his feet, not hiding his excitement.
“Everyone gets a bike with nav systems linked to the command post. Soon as something is spotted on a drone, the warrior closest to the location will receive coordinates to the GPS. Any questions?”
“How long are we hunting for?”
“Until they’re all dead.” A flat reply. “Assuming all goes well, the mission should be complete by dawn.”
“That’s only four hours,” noted Scorpio.
“If the poison works as well as hoped, then we could even be done within the hour.”
“Assuming it reaches every single tunnel,” Sagittarius pointed out.
“Even if it doesn’t, any escape route will be compromised. This stuff is highly toxic to the aliens. As a precaution, even if there’s no sightings after tonight, my contact is planning to reflood the tunnels and subway system again in a week. Now, is everyone ready? We’ve got a schedule to keep.”
There was something about seeing them beaming out one by one that struck her as patriotic. These people didn’t fight for a country or a religion, but rather, the entire world, and they did so without qualms. Even Grayson.
While he waited his turn, he came over to her for one last lingering kiss.
There was nothing left to be said. They’d discussed what would happen already at length. Still, she couldn’t help but murmur, “Be careful.”
“I’m coming back to you,” he gruffly replied.
“You’d better.” Then she blurted out what she’d realized the first night they slept together. “I love you, Grayson.”
His lips curved. “I know.”
She arched a brow. “Did you just quote Han Solo?”
“Yeah.”
“And do you have anything else to say?” She crossed her arms.
“I do, but it’s going to wait until I return and am holding you tight.”
His turn arrived, and with Aries coaching him, Grayson, AKA Libra, sat in the sandbox, traced where he was told, and in a flash of light—Poof—he was gone.
While Leila had been invited to join those working the command center and the drones, she instead found herself on Tower’s rooftop staring at the stars.
Praying to the Astraeus.
Keep him safe.
It was the longest night of her life. She ended up spending part of it scrolling social media in the dining room, with its endless cups of coffee, with Asterion’s cat in her lap. Despite the late hour, the citizens of Toronto seemed aware something big was going down. Video after video popped up, showing soldiers sweeping the streets. A few even caught the mercenary-looking types zipping by on motorcycles. The one thing the citizen reporters didn’t catch?
Any aliens.
As dawn approached, Leila finally dared to brave the busy command center, only to find the women, and the one male partner there, looking relaxed and even smiling.
“How did it go?” she asked of Sage, who sat apart holding her sleeping baby.
“Better than we could have hoped for. Thus far, only three healthy aliens were caught trying to escape and were easily handled. A dozen more also emerged, but they’d already been touched by the poison and died within seconds.”
“So all the warriors are okay?” Leila asked about them all rather than the one that concerned her most.”
“Grayson is fine, and as a matter of fact, I see him arriving very soon. Aries has begun releasing the warriors.”
