Colliding Worlds Trilogy 03 - Explosion (22 page)

The camera hovered over a woman trying to get her crying baby out of a car seat. She fumbled, her red fingers swollen, the skin no longer resembling skin. When she finally unlatched the seat, the buckle took the baby’s skin with it. The baby screamed, and its mother cried out, “Why?”

Jax bent over and sucked in deep breaths, one after another, to keep from puking his guts out. From the sounds in the room, not everyone was able to hold down their breakfast or their murmurs of sympathy. He looked up to see a tear run down Nalea’s cheek as she held a hand to her stomach. By the time he could look at the screen again without tasting his own stomach acid, the camera was skirting over the landscape, back into the heart of the desolation. It panned out as it got within several miles of ground zero. There, through the haze, proudly stood four unscathed core ships, radioactive dust coating their shiny hulls the only thing marring their cold mammoth beauty.

He checked on Talla, who watched the screen in horror. He wanted to run to her and pull her into his arms, but he’d felt that if he moved at all, he’d likely puke. Her gaze turned to his then, and they watched each other for a long moment, sharing their pain, sending assurances that they had each other, and taking a burden off one another.

By the time he looked back to the screen, the image had faded, and Otas’s face reappeared.
“None of those innocents had to die today. As you can see, you will murder your planet and people long before I can be harmed. Their deaths fall on their own government’s hands. To protect you, I am forced to disband all governments, effective immediately. I will take care of Earth now.

“To ensure peace, the antitoxin included a safety measure. For anyone found guilty of a crime, punishment is immediate death. As of five minutes ago, every country’s leader and their next two in succession, were executed for crimes against humanity.”

“Son of a bitch,” Jax muttered.

“
Fyet
,” Talla whispered at his side.

He jumped, not realizing she’d gotten from her chair and moved to his side. Her expression was that of utter shock. She stared blankly at the screen, her face pale. He reached out and gripped her hand. It broke her daze, and she threw a thoughtful glance his way before watching the screen once more. He didn’t let go of her hand, even if he could, because she had it in a death-grip, as though he were her anchor. And, she was sure as hell his anchor.

“He’s not bluffing, is he,” Sommers stated on Jax’s other side. No one responded because everyone in the room, including Sommers, already knew the answer.

“ … We must all work hard to achieve a future without war. For now, stay in your homes. I will begin to roll out a new, more effective government structure later this week.”

The screen went blank, and the room swelled in uproar.

“Pompous ass,” Sommers said.

Someone’s wrist-com chimed, and Nalea spoke. “Otas is hailing me.” She looked at Tanel. “Put him on the screen, please.”

The Sephian com-tec rushed, and Otas’s face appeared on the screen once more.

He glanced over the room and smiled at Nalea. “It’s good to see you again, Nalea.”

Using her first name was an outright breach of Draeken protocol and a blatant act of familiarity. Nalea narrowed her gaze on him. “Nice speech.”

“I’ll get right to the point,” Otas said. “I need the support of the
Striga, Artox
, and
Evo
.”

Jax was surprised that Nalea didn’t laugh outright. Whispers and mutterings erupted throughout the room. “Why would I give you more resources to enslave this world?”

“I saved this world,” Otas replied, his voice rising with each word. “Without me, the humans would all be dead.”

Roden barked. “Bullshit! It’s because of
you
that the Etzee was attacked. You sent out the Omega virus, and now you expect homage for killing billions? Everything’s that happened in the past year falls on your shoulders.”

“You will pay for your crimes,” Sommers bellowed from Jax’s side.

Otas frowned. “Colonel Sommers? Why do you still live? You were found guilty of crimes against the future.” He was busy working on something off-screen.

Sommers belted out a laugh. “Can’t find my scan to terminate me, can you?”

Otas’s gaze snapped back to the screen.

Talla released Jax’s hand, only to wrap her arms around Jax’s waist. He glanced down to see she was terrified, her eyes wide in stark fear. He wrapped his arm around her. “I’m too low on his radar,” he whispered.

She swallowed and nodded tightly, staying tight in his embrace.

“Omega — and now
pika
— are mere symptoms,” Nalea added. “You, Otas Olnek, are the real plague this world faces.”

Otas shook his fist, his face darkening. “I control this planet! War will be eliminated. Only
I
can guarantee absolute peace.”

Nalea shook her head sadly. “You demand unconditional power. That only guarantees absolute corruption.”

Otas shook with fury. “Release the force barrier around my ship and give me full support.”

Nalea rose to her feet. “I am the Grand Lord of Draeka. You do not give me orders. You are a common criminal. You are
nothing.
I charge you, Otas Olnek, with treason to the Draeken people. You impersonated the Grand Lord Hillas Puftan, my father. And, now you declare war against your Grand Lord, which means you declare war against the Draeken people. You will be executed for your crimes.”

“You killed the Grand Lord!” Otas shouted. “You do not deserve to wear the title!”

A smile crept onto Nalea’s face. “Yet, I wear the title, and you don’t. I carry the Puftan blood in my veins, and you don’t.”

Otas opened his mouth, and then shut it. He glared for several long moments. “The time for talking is over. You will release the force barrier and turn control of all four core ships to me. For every ternion you delay, I will erase a country.”

He glanced off-screen once again. “Switzerland is a so-called peaceful nation, yet they conspired with the U.N. against us.”

Nalea’s face hardened. “Do not do this,” she warned.

Otas sneered. “Everyone of Swiss nationality has just had their
pika
programming activated.”

Jax could’ve sworn his heart stopped for a moment. Switzerland? They were a peaceful, neutral country. They were known for watches, cheese, and chocolate; not war. How many lives were lost with the push of a button?

“
You bastard
,” Nalea ground out.

“You have a ternion — three hours — to release the barrier before I activate the next country.” He closed his eyes and pressed his forefinger against a screen showing a map of the world just on the edge of their view. He leaned closer to the map and smiled. “It looks like Zimbabwe is next.”

“You are a madman,” Nalea said, with Roden now standing at her side.

Otas glared at Roden before looking at her once again. “Things would be different now if you accepted my offer a year ago.”

“Yes,” she agreed. “You’d be dead already.”

His face reddened and his features tightened. He moved, and the screen went blank.

“What’s he talking about?” Talla asked. Her tension lessened slightly, but Jax kept his arm around her, her warmth infusing him with strength.

Nalea smiled grimly. “He invited me to take him as my consort.” She glanced at the man at her side. “Fortunately, I already had a much better option lined up.” Roden lowered his head, and she kissed him.

Jax found himself wanting to feel what their closeness portrayed. He pulled Talla closer, and he nearly smiled when she leaned into him.

After the kiss, Roden looked across the room. “It’s time to run. We’ll move the
Artox
and
Evo
to Alaska as soon as they can get prepped, but with the nuclear fallout blocking the moon, it may take them a couple extra days to recharge their power cells enough for the short move.”

“Why Alaska?” Jax asked.

As locations went, Alaska wasn’t ideal. The U.S. had bombed the core ships. They should be looking somewhere in another country. And, while Alaska was relatively remote, much of its land was treacherous. Not the best military setup, in his mind.

“Alaska and Hawaii didn’t appreciate getting abandoned by their government when Omega hit,” Roden replied. “They reached out to us. Brazil has also offered us land in exchange for our resources. For now, we’ve selected Alaska. It’s the least inhabited, and we can land in the northern region to minimize risk to local inhabitants in case there are further attacks.”

“Alaska is our new home,” Talla said softly.

“Yes, for now, anyway,” Roden replied with a smile. “We have a home.” His smile quickly faded. “However, the
Striga
will remain here to maintain the force barrier. We cannot allow Otas the chance to flee or use the
Grax
offensive power.”

“Millions more will die every three hours,” Sommers said. “Until we do something.”

Roden and Nalea looked at each other and both of their faces hardened. Nalea’s lower lip trembled. It was Roden who spoke. “There’s nothing to stop him from killing every scanned human already. If we succumb to his demands, this planet doesn’t have a chance. These three core ships and pockets of unscanned humans are all that stands against the power-hungry lunacy of Otas Olnek.”

“I’m not disagreeing,” Sommers said. “But we need to get on board that ship and take Otas down.”

“So are you saying you’re with us?” Roden asked.

Sommers nodded. “I can learn the secret handshake later. I can vouch for my division and pretty much guarantee you’d have any remaining military forces at your back. Give me ten minutes to see who I can get here in time. I may be able to pull together some semblance of a coalition.”

Jax looked at the man who’d trained him, who’d led him through some pretty sticky situations, and felt pride again. The Six had always been a hands-on leader. It was clear he was hankering for action. “It’s good to have you on board, Colonel.”

Sommers turned his attention onto Roden. “Can we get through the force barrier onto the
Grax
?”

“Of course,” Roden replied. “But once you’re on the
Grax
, there’s no guarantee against the ship’s sensors picking you up.”

“It’s a risk we’ll have to take,” Sommers said.

Nalea looked over the faces in the room. “Going after Otas is a high-risk mission, so it will be volunteers only. Who will accompany Colonel Sommers?”

Hands raised and voices yelled out, “I’m in.”

“You can count on me,” Jax said.

“Me, too,” Talla said from his side. Jax snapped his attention to her, and she pulled away. “Taking down Otas is more important than anything,” she said bluntly, cutting him a hard look.

He was about to tell her no fucking way when Roden spoke. “Everyone with Sommers meet back here in ninety minutes for details. That gives you time to see your families and pull gear together. When you get back here, be ready to go.”

There was a silent pause before everyone moved and funneled out of the room. Jax reached for Talla. “We’ve got to talk.”

She watched him, and then nodded. “Let’s go.” Except at that moment her wrist-com chimed, and she looked up a couple seconds later. “I’ll catch up. I have to do something first.”

Talla was gone before he had a chance to say anything. Edgy, he headed straight to his room. Seeing her with that Draeken showed him exactly how much he was throwing away. Maybe it was best they didn’t talk. If he spoke, he’d only say things he regretted.

He didn’t regret saying the shit earlier. That had been to hurt her just enough so that she wouldn’t hurt more in the long run. No, he was more afraid he’d blurt out shit about his feelings and fantasies and how they all revolved around her. Stuff like that could fuck with her concentration in the field.

Stuff like that could get her killed.

Talla flew all the way to Jax’s room, and he still beat her there. For being wingless, he could move fast. Her wings flicked anxiously as she pressed his room chime over and over until the door opened.

She stepped inside to find Jax, shirtless, checking his weapons. Some of her anger melted away at the display of his broad chest. Focusing on her anger, she took a step forward. “You wanted to talk, so let’s talk.”

He put down the gun and took a step toward her.

“If you want me to not go, I need you to know that I’ve fought my whole life, and I’m good at it,” she blurted out.

He watched her, betraying no emotion.

“I get it,” she continued. “You don’t want me out there because you don’t want to see me hurt. It’s the same for me.”

His eyes narrowed.

“I don’t want you to go on this mission. I like you too much — ”

He held his finger to her lips.

Her eyes widened, and he pulled his finger back only to bring his mouth crashing down on hers. There was nothing sensual about the kiss. It was demanding, needy, even sloppy. Her teeth banged against his as he thrust his tongue inside her mouth. They tumbled to the floor, her straddling him. She moved against him, and he intensified the motion by grabbing her back, pressing her wings tight and thrusting against her.

He grunted and she groaned, and they struggled at each other’s pants. She yanked his down first, and gripped his hard cock. He muttered something and then nearly tore her pants off her hips. She kicked at her boots and he tugged.

“Need you,” he said, leaving her boots on and turning her over. Pulling her up on her hands and knees, he positioned his cock at her entrance. She backed against him as he thrust it inside her. She sucked in a breath at the sudden invasion, but he began pumping into her, and she quickly grew accustomed to his size.

With one hand on her hip and his other hand on a sensitive wing spur, he held her in place. He went deep and showed no mercy. She felt every inch and every movement, and moaned. All the passion he hid in his life came out full force when he fucked. Being the recipient was both pure ecstasy and torture, knowing the flood of emotion would end and solitary Jax would return.