| |
––––––––
I GOT WORD FROM LUKAS that he was out of the building. We weren’t coalescing on the beach, so he must have found a different exit. I glanced back up at the fortress and had a sobering thought.
“Are you sure this is the only detonator?” I asked Clark, pointing at her pocket.
“No,” she gulped. “This was the one he showed me.”
“What about all the computers in there?” I pondered. “Maybe someone could recreate the destruction sequence.”
“Where is the key that was in my shoulder?” she demanded.
“I don’t know,” I responded. “We need to get them all together and destroy them.”
“Where is Lukas?” Clark wanted to know.
“He must have escaped some other way,” I said. “I need to go back and find him.”
“No!” she shouted, grabbing me by the lapels. “Stay with me.”
“I don’t want to leave,” I argued. “But one of us has to make sure that Ashcroft’s dreams die with him.”
“Then we’ll both go,” she decided, crouching in anticipating of running back into the base.
“No,” I objected, holding her down. “Get away. Get back to the Dark Sparrow safehouse. I’ll meet you there.”
“Dammit, Theo,” Clark spat. “We just found each other and now you want to split up again? What happened to our master plan?”
“You mean retiring on a beach somewhere?” I asked, kissing her fiercely. “I fully intend to be there.”
“What do I say to Lukas if he manages to get here without you?” she demanded.
“Tell him not to wait,” I said.
“I could kill you,” she swore, wiping tears from her eyes.
“The only way we can be sure that New Dawn will never rise again is to destroy the base,” I said. “Give me the detonator.”
“What about getting to Z and having her dismantle it?” Clark asked, desperate to find a different solution.
“We have a chance to end this right now,” I told her. “Please.”
“I love you,” she responded, handing the device over. “Don’t you dare get yourself killed.”
“I won’t,” I promised, scooting out from under the abandoned boat.
A New Dawn bullet nearly took my head off. I fell back down again, scooting away toward the cliff. As soon as I reached the door, I was beyond their range. They focused on Clark and her cohort, exchanging fire while I managed to hightail it to safety.
###
Clark
A MOMENT AFTER THEO disappeared back into the building, Lukas emerged. He came at us from down the beach, bringing a full squadron of Dark Sparrow soldiers with him. They made quick work of the New Dawn troops we were fighting, giving me enough space to go after my boyfriend.
I started back toward the fortress, but Lukas stopped me. “Clark!” he shouted, pointing out at sea. “We have to go.”
“Theo went back inside!” I shouted, not wanting to leave him behind. It felt like a moment’s hesitation was the only thing standing between me and happily ever after. I couldn’t bear the thought of not knowing where Theo was and whether he was hurt.
Lukas grabbed my wrist, apparently reading my intentions on my face. “He’s going to blow the building.”
“I know,” I snapped. “I’m going to help him.”
“He doesn’t want your help,” Lukas said, his words landing like icicles in my heart. “He wanted me to get you to safety.”
“You talked to him?” I asked, torn between doing what was expected of me and what my soul desired. If Theo was going to throw himself on a figurative grenade, sacrifice himself for the rest of humanity, I wanted to be there with him. The last thing I wanted was to run and hide while he was still in trouble. And yet, if I ignored his wishes and joined him in his suicide pact, then he would hate me.
“He called me,” Lukas responded, tugging me toward the shoreline. “He made me promise to get you away.”
“No!” I shouted, pulling back on my arm. “Let me go.”
“Clark!” Lukas responded, dropping my arm to avoid having a physical confrontation. “Put yourself in his shoes. What would you want him to do?”
When he said it like that, I could see that I wasn’t going to win the argument. If the shoe was on the other foot and I was the one inside, I would want Theo to get as far away as possible. It didn’t help that I had done the exact same thing only a few hours before. I’d put myself in harm’s way to protect him, to protect Z and to protect Dark Sparrow.
We were two crazy self-sacrificing people who were perfect together. I debated for another heartbeat before finally falling into line. Lukas led the way out into the surf, toward the boats that were rapidly approaching.
The rest of the Dark Sparrow operatives crowded in around us. As the boats motored toward the shore, someone helped me in. We split up into three groups, each boat packed with refugees.
I held on to hope that I would see Theo running down the beach, eager to join us. When he didn’t materialize, I got worried.
“I don’t see him!” I shouted to Lukas over the sound of the waves and the motor.
“We have to go,” Lukas said, glancing at the man sitting in the stern.
“No,” I pleaded. “Give him another minute.”
The other two boats took off, leaving us all alone at the brink. My stomach tied itself into knots, the thought of leaving Theo too painful to swallow. I kept imagining that I saw movement at the basement door, but finally, I had to admit that there was no such luck.
Lukas read my resignation in the slump of my shoulders and signaled to the driver. Before I could stop him, the boat peeled away from the coast. I saw the entire fortress as we pulled farther and farther away. Still laser focused on that basement door, I watched it recede into the distance until it was only a speck on the horizon.
My heart sank. I was sure Theo would complete his task and come back to find that we had abandoned him. If it was just me and Lukas, I might have punched his lights out, stolen the boat, and returned. But there were other lives at stake, and I didn’t want to take responsibility for that many deaths.
Chewing on my bottom lip, I lost sight of the door. But I could still see the building when all of a sudden, an explosion ripped through the cliff face. Mr. Ashcroft’s fortress had been built into the land. It burst outward, raining chunks of plaster and furniture down into the waves.
The sound hit a moment later, throwing me back against the man next to me. The water rippled under the stress, splashing against the side of the boat and spraying all of us with sea salt.
“No!” I screamed, launching myself forward.
I don’t know what I was thinking, that I could dive into the water and swim back for him. That I could stop the explosion from happening by traveling backward through time. Lucky for me, Lukas was fast.
He put his arms around my waist and pinned me down. I struggled more violently than I meant to, crushing his nose against my palm. I felt hot blood leak out and instantly regretted it. But then I had another agonizing thought.
“You knew!” I shouted, turning all my anger on my foster brother. “You knew he was planning to do that!”
“You knew too!” Lukas said, using one hand to mop up his face while the other hovered close by, ready to scoop me up if I attempted to abandon ship again. “Don’t tell me you didn’t.”
“I didn’t know he was going to blow himself up!” I screamed.
“Dammit, Clark,” Lukas growled, sitting back to tend to his wound. “You don’t know he was in the building.”
“Where else would he be?” I demanded. I could feel tears rising up through my throat and did my best to keep them there. I swallowed again and again, not wanting anyone to see me grieve.
The people in the other boats cheered. They actually cheered. Those who were traveling with me and Lukas knew better than to applaud, but I could tell from the looks on their faces that they approved. Damn them. Damn them all.
I slumped into the bottom of the boat, crossing my arms over my chest. The easiest way to face this nightmare was to just go numb. I’d done it before, and I could do it again. If Theo wanted to sacrifice himself to keep me safe, that was his prerogative. But I would be damned if I would shed a tear.
I glared at the water as it lapped against the hull. This was the worst day of my life, and it was only just getting started.
