The Bones of Valhalla (Purge of Babylon, Book 9) (13 page)

She didn’t reply for the longest time, and instead turned her face into another large gust of cold wind, thankful for the soothing sun rays caressing her skin.

“Thank you for seeing him off,” she finally said.

“No problem. It still kinda sucks to see him leave again. But if this plan works, there’s nothing to say he can’t stick around. Not that I’m saying it could ever be the same for us, or for you and him.”

“We’ll deal with that when the time comes. For now, let’s just concentrate on getting past the next couple of days.”

“You think it’ll work the way he says it will?”

“Are you having doubts?”

“No, but…” Danny shrugged. “I don’t know. Whenever we talked about it, even before he had to switch it up when he learned about Mercer, it always felt like he was holding something back.” Danny grunted and shook his head. “I’m probably just reading too much into it. You know me, always letting the ol’ brain machine take over. Besides, why would he keep anything back now, after all the trouble he went through to get it to us? It doesn’t make sense.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Lara said, but her mind drifted anyway.

Was there a chance Danny could be right? Was there something Will hadn’t told them about the plan? A facet of it that he didn’t think they could handle, so he left it out on purpose, even from her?

“It had to be Houston, didn’t it?” Danny said after a while. “But of course it had to be Houston.”

She smiled. She had thought the same thing when Will told her:
Of course it would be Houston. Where else would the end come, if not where it all began for us?

Both hers and Danny’s radios squawked at the same time, bringing her back to the cold present. Maddie’s voice came through the tiny speakers, and it was very obvious she could barely contain her excitement: “Lara, Danny—you wanna get back to the bridge.”

“There goes your first real sleep in a month,” Danny said.

“Like that was ever going to happen,” Lara said. She unclipped her radio and keyed it. “What’s happening, Maddie?”

“Just got a call on the designated emergency channel,” Maddie said.

“Is it Gaby and Blaine? Did they run into trouble?”

“No, not them,” Maddie said. “He says he’s calling from Black Tide Island.”

“Keo?”

“It’s not Keo, but he wouldn’t tell me his name. Said he’d only talk to you.”

Lara exchanged a quick look with Danny, and they immediately turned and slipped back into the ghostly empty main deck.

“We’re on our way,” she said into the radio.

“If it’s not Keo, then it has to be Keo-related,” Danny said.

Lara nodded. “Has to be.”

“What are the chances they sweated our number out of him?”

“I don’t think so.”

“No?”

“How would they even know to force it out of him in the first place?”

“Maybe through this Erin girl he was headed there with?”

“She doesn’t know about the emergency channel. I haven’t even told Riley.” Then, when Danny gave her a surprised look, “I’ve only known him for a few days, Danny. And as you probably noticed, Riley’s been known to make a few mistakes about personnel.”

“Oh yeah, there’s that,” Danny said.

* * *

“
I
t’s Rhett
,” was the first thing Riley said when she stepped back onto the bridge with Danny. “He wouldn’t tell Maddie his name, but it’s him. I recognize his voice.”

She was slightly out of breath when she said, “Did you talk to him?”

Riley shook his head. “He asked for you by name.”

“Definitely the same guy who issued the stand-down order before,” Maddie said.

Lara nodded at Maddie. “Okay. Put him on speaker.” Maddie pressed a button on the dashboard while Lara picked up the microphone. She took a breath, then keyed it. “This is Lara. I hear you’re looking for me.”

“Someone gave me this frequency,” a man said, his voice booming through the bridge’s speakers for everyone to hear. Maddie was right—it was the same voice that had given the stand-down message they’d heard earlier.

“You have me at a disadvantage,” Lara said. “You know my name, but I don’t know yours.”

“Rhett,” the man said.

“Who gave you this frequency, Rhett?”

“He said he was a friend of yours.”

Keo. It has to be.

“I need a name,” she said.

“Keo,” the man said.

Lara looked over at Danny, who grinned back at her. “I told you that boy’s got nine lives. Or however many lives dolphins have.”

“Dolphins?” Riley said.

“Long story,” Maddie said.

“And wet,” Danny added.

Lara smiled, because she couldn’t help it, and then turned back to the microphone and keyed it again. “Is Keo there with you?”

“Afraid not,” Rhett said. “He’s currently in the brig. A little matter of murdering our commanding officer.”

“Mercer,” Riley said softly, as if he was afraid Rhett would hear. Or maybe he was afraid Mercer would hear?

“Put a stake in him, the man’s a goner for reals,” Danny said.

“I’ve never met the guy, but even I’m relieved,” Maddie said.

“Trust me, you’re not missing much. He was a typical officer ass munch.”

“Mercer,” Lara said into the microphone.

“Yes,” Rhett said.

“Did he say why he did it?” she asked, even though she already knew the answer.

The truth was she wanted to get a feel for Rhett, wanted to dissect every word he said. More importantly, she wanted to know how he felt about Mercer’s death. Maybe it was impossible to discover all those things over the radio, but it was worth a try.

“He said some people just needed killing,” Rhett said through the speakers. “If you were to ask me, it was personal. Not that he admitted it.”

“Why’s Keo still alive if he’s been captured, and if he took out Mercer?” Riley asked.

“He’s a smooth talker, that Keo,” Danny said. “Maybe he smooth-talked himself into a jail cell instead of a bullet to the head. Which reminds me, don’t ever let him talk me into gambling with him.”

Lara said into the mic, “Is this just a social call, then?”

“You’re his last phone call,” Rhett said. “Or last radio call, I guess. Also, he had some interesting things to tell me.”

“Such as?”

“That he knows someone who knows how to defeat the ghouls. That you would know how to get in touch with this someone. He didn’t give me a name, though.”

Will?

“Was he right?” Rhett continued.

Lara exchanged another look with Danny, who raised a curious eyebrow, and said, “Is he talking about Willie boy?”

“I think so,” Lara said. Then, into the microphone, “I might.”

“You either do or you don’t,” Rhett said.

“That depends…”

“On?” Rhett said, the suspicion in his voice very obvious even through the radio.

“What are you going to do with that information?”

“It’ll depend on what that information
is
.”

Lara lowered the mic and glanced at Riley. “You know him. Rhett.”

Riley nodded. “Besides Erin, he was the only other member of Mercer’s command that I was mostly sure would come with me if I had asked. He’s a good man. It makes perfect sense he’d be put in charge after Mercer’s death. People like Rhett. He’s decent, and smart, and he’s no pushover. If there was a power vacuum on Black Tide, there would be a lot of people who would look to him.”

“Lara?” Rhett said through the speakers. “You still there?”

She turned back to the mic. “I’m still here.”

“So who’s this guy with the plan?”

“His name is Frank,” Lara said. “And Keo’s right. Frank has a way to defeat the ghouls and take back the planet.”

Rhett went quiet on the other end.

“That’s some response,” Danny said. “You actually made him speechless.”

“It’s been known to happen,” Lara said. Then, to Riley, “Where would he be talking to us from?”

“The Comm Room,” Riley said. “That’s where all the communications equipment are.”

“Hence the name,” Danny said.

“So there’s a chance he’s by himself?” Lara asked.

“Maybe, but chances are Jane will be there with him,” Riley said. “She’s in charge of the room and has been since we arrived on the island. Kid’s pretty good with all the gear. She was the one who figured out how you were doing that repeating message thing and replicated it for us.”

“What about everyone else? The other commanders?”

Riley shook his head. “I couldn’t tell you. That would depend on how much control Rhett has—”

“Lara,” Rhett said, interrupting Riley.

“I’m still here,” Lara said into the mic.

“That’s a hell of statement you just made. Defeat the ghouls and take back the planet. The last person who promised me that ended up shot in the head by your friend in this very room I’m standing in right now.”

“That’s Kia, always making friends wherever he goes,” Danny said.

“It’s the truth,” Lara said into the mic. “There is a plan, and it doesn’t involve slaughtering civilians or shelling towns filled with pregnant women. This time the only things
that will be hurt are the real monsters.”

“So you claim.”

“If you don’t believe me, maybe someone else can convince you.”

“Someone else?” Rhett said.

Lara looked over at Riley, then held the microphone out to him.

He stared at it, then at her. “Now?”

“No time like the present,” Lara said. “He needs to hear it from a familiar, friendly voice.”

“The same voice who betrayed them not very long ago…”

“Mercer’s dead, remember? Things are different now for everyone. You said besides Erin, you thought you could turn Rhett. Well, here’s your chance to prove that theory.”

Riley sighed, then walked over and took the mic from her. He swallowed hard before keying the radio. “Rhett…”

There was no response from the other end.

“Rhett,” Riley said again. “It’s Riley.”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Rhett finally said. “You sonofabitch.”

Danny chuckled. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m getting a really good feeling about this.”

“
Y
ou head-butted
a man to death,” Rhett said when Keo opened his eyes. “Goddammit, Keo, you’re not making this any easier for me.”

“In my defense, they were going to kill me first,” Keo said. “Or did I read the situation wrong?”

Rhett sighed. “You didn’t.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“The problem is, I now have two more bodies connected to you.”

“So they’re both dead?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll take the fall for Calvin, but what happened to Bellamy?”

“We shot him,” Rhett said with a frown.

“You
shot him?”

“No, one of my men.”

Keo smirked. “Couldn’t have happened to a nicer asshole.”

“Don’t be so goddamn cavalier. We’re talking about lives here.”

“Hey, better them than me.”

He reached up and touched the bandage wrapped so tightly around his head that he felt like a watermelon being squeezed by a few hundred rubber bands.

A few hundred? Try a few thousand.

He could feel the rows of stitches, the ones in the very center of his forehead and the ones along the temple, underneath the gauze, but thank God there weren’t any Calvin bones sticking out of him. The flesh around the impact points were probably red or black, or both, and likely made him looked like a walking ambulance, not that he wasn’t already. Still, scars were better than a casket.

Getting prettier and prettier, pal. At this rate, you’re going to end up looking like Lurch. Only uglier.

“Yeah, it’s pretty messy up there,” Rhett said with obvious amusement. “Looks like your modeling days are over.”

“Eh, I was getting tired of throwing up after every meal anyway.” He brought his hands back down. “By the way, I can’t help but notice I’m still not dead. Not that I’m complaining, of course. Though I might feel differently if someone doesn’t stop trying to jackhammer nails into my skull.”

It took only a glance to know he wasn’t back in the brig, but in some kind of military sickbay. Which was to say, sparsely decorated and efficiently built. There were empty beds to both sides of him and two uniformed figures worked across the room, talking over clipboards. They weren’t armed, but they didn’t have to be with the other two standing at the door holding M16s.

Someone had swapped out his old stained (and bloodied) clothes with one of those familiar tan uniforms with the sun emblem on white collars. No wonder his nostrils weren’t instantly twitching from his own stench. He didn’t have socks or shoes on, and except for the constant thrumming against his chest all the way to the very top of his head, this was probably the most comfortable he had been in a while. Of course, he didn’t have a bed in the brig, so it wasn’t like there was a whole lot of competition.

Rhett sat on a chair next to him, one leg casually draped over a knee. Keo couldn’t decide if the other man looked worried or angry. Maybe a little of both, or maybe a third option that he couldn’t figure out given the
goddamn relentless pounding in his head.

“They said the bullet caught you in the temple and glanced off the skull underneath,” Rhett said. “Took a nice chunk of skin along with it, but didn’t penetrate the bone. You must be the luckiest sonofabitch alive.”

Keo grinned back at Rhett.

Lucky? Maybe. He was lucky he had managed to talk Bellamy into going for a headshot instead of a surefire chest target. Or maybe “talked into” was too nice a phrase; it was more like
cajoled
.

Hey, whatever works.

“Lucky me Bellamy wasn’t the best shot,” Keo said.

Rhett shrugged. “Well, he was a truck driver in a previous life. We can’t all be as dead-shot accurate as the great Keo.”

“My legend precedes me.”

“I’m talking more about your handiwork the last few days,” Rhett said, leaning back in his chair, eyes never leaving Keo.

Keo looked over at the guys with M16s. He was at least reassured one of them wasn’t Donovan, the guard who had let Bellamy and Calvin into the brig. “So what happened in the hallway?”

“Calvin died of his wounds before we could get him back here. Bellamy was shot when he wouldn’t put down his gun.”

“How did you know?”

“I went to the brig to get you, but you weren’t there. Donovan confessed pretty quickly and then there was the gunshot, which told us where they took you. Bellamy was about to finish you off when we turned the corner.”

“A day ago you were trying to decide whether to kill me fast or slow, and today you’re running around trying to save my life. If my head didn’t feel as if it were about to explode, I might just let out a nice long laugh. A guffaw, even.”

“I guess if anyone deserves a good laugh, it’s you.” Rhett gave him what almost looked like a pitying smirk. “By the way, I got in touch with your friend Lara.”

That brought a smile to Keo’s lips. “She told you what a great guy I am?”

“If by
great
you mean
a royal pain in the ass
.”

“But a great ass, right?”

Rhett ignored him, said, “Your friends are worried about you.”

“I make very good first impressions.”

“Apparently.”

“You said you were coming to get me earlier. So what’s the verdict? Do I get to keep being a pain in the ass?”

“I had more questions for you, mostly about your friends,” Rhett said. “But no decision’s been made. I guess it’ll depend on what your friends have to say when they get here.”

“They’re coming here?” Keo said, unable to hide the surprise in his voice or on his face.

“They intercepted one of our broadcasts.” He made a wry face. “Riley has been telling them our secrets.”

“The prodigal son returns.”

“There are some on the island who won’t welcome him back.”

“Is one of them you?”

“No. In a lot of ways, he opened our eyes to what we were doing. He and Erin…” Rhett pursed his lips. “I don’t think we’ll ever be able to repay her for her sacrifice.”

“Hey, I’m the one who pulled the trigger on Mercer. Thank me.”

“I’ll do that by arguing for you to keep breathing.”

“That’ll work, too.”

Rhett stood up. “Meanwhile, keep praying to whatever God you believe in. If Bellamy had moved his gun one more inch to the left, I’d be talking to a corpse right now.”

“What makes you think I believe in God?”

“Everyone has to believe in something.”

“I do. He has nine millimeters.”

Rhett grunted and turned to go.

“Hey,” Keo said. When Rhett stopped and looked back, “Can I get something to eat? Something that doesn’t look like someone tossed day-old mashed potatoes into a glass of water and didn’t bother to stir it?”

“I’ll see what I can do. Anything else?”

“Coconut drinks? You guys have coconuts on this island, right?”

“No.”

“Well, that sucks.”

“I’ll get you some water instead,” Rhett said, and walked to the door. He said something to the two armed guards, and one of them went outside with him while the second remained behind.

Keo lay back down on the slightly hard mattress and sighed with relief. Whatever they had given him before he woke up had numbed most of his body; with the exception of the relentless throbbing coming from the halo around his head, he was as comfortable now as he’d ever been since laying eyes on Black Tide Island.

Things looked up even more when one of his doctors came over. She was in her early twenties, with light brown hair. She was just a bit taller than Lara, but shorter than Bonnie. He focused on her friendly smile.
Mary
was written across her name tag.

Way too young to be a doctor. Maybe a nurse?

“How’s the head?” Mary asked.

“Pounding,” Keo said.

She jotted something down on her notepad. “You were shot in the head. If a pounding headache’s the worst of your problems, you’re in good shape.”

“I’ve been told I have a thick head.”

Mary smiled. “That’s putting it mildly. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone get head-butted to death before. You…really did a number on Calvin.”

“Wasn’t a friend of yours, was he?”

She shook her head. “I’ve seen him around, but no. I try to stay away from the soldiers. All that testosterone isn’t good for your health.”

“Tell me about it,” Keo said, rubbing his bandaged forehead.

* * *

M
ary gave
him some additional meds for the throbbing pain and he drifted off a few minutes later, and didn’t open his eyes again until—Well, he wasn’t entirely sure when he opened his eyes because there didn’t seem to be any clock on the walls, and the two doctors (or one doctor and a nurse) had left while he was knocked out.

Keo grunted and tucked the pillow under him so he could (mostly) sit up on the bed. He looked across at the only other person still left in the room with him—his guard, who seemed to be staring at an old calendar on the wall to Keo’s right as if it were the most fascinating thing he had ever seen in his life.

“Hey,” Keo said.

The man didn’t respond.

“Hey,” Keo said again, louder this time.

The guy finally turned his head. “What?”

“You got a name?”

The guard tapped his name tag. Keo squinted, but he couldn’t make out the letters even though they weren’t that far apart. Of course, he still had a major headache and focusing on one thing was difficult, especially small letters across a room.

“You can’t read English?” the guy asked.

“I can even read cursive, smartass,” Keo said. “I just can’t read it from here. They told you I was shot in the head, right?”

“And that you head-butted someone to death.”

“That, too. So you can probably guess I’m not exactly working at one-hundred percent capacity here. Wanna help me out?”

“Henry,” the guy said.

“I’m Keo.”

“I heard,” Henry said.

Keo nodded at the bed next to him. “Can you grab me that extra pillow, Henry?”

Henry fixed him with a suspicious look, but didn’t move from his post.

“Oh, come on,” Keo said. “It’s not like I’m going to try anything. Didn’t Rhett tell you? We’re practically BFFs now.”

“I doubt that’s even remotely true.”

“Doubt all you want, but I’d still like you to grab that extra pillow for me. I’m tired of lying down. How long has it been since Mary shot me up with those sweet, sweet meds, anyway?”

“Two hours, give or take.”

“That’s all?”

Henry nodded before walking over. He shifted his slung rifle from his right shoulder to his left as he did so—to take it a little more out of Keo’s reach—but otherwise didn’t look
too
paranoid that Keo was going to try something. Henry grabbed the pillow and handed it over, keeping a respectful distance between them before returning to the door.

“Thanks,” Keo said after him.

“Sure.”

“How long’s your shift?”

Henry glanced down at his watch. “Another hour.”

“Hey, at least you get to leave this place.”

“From what I’m hearing, you won’t be here very long, either.”

“Back to the brig?”

“Not what I meant.”

“Ah. Good news, then.”

Henry resumed his post and casually switched his rifle back to his right shoulder. “Despite everything you did.”

“We talking about Mercer now?”

“Who else?”

“Well, there was that incident in the hallway earlier…”

“I don’t care about that,” Henry said. “You didn’t have any choice. They were going to kill you against Rhett’s orders.”

Keo stuffed the pillow under him and propped himself into a better sitting position. His head started to clear up even though the throbbing continued, though it had lessened noticeably since the last time he was awake. Instead of jackhammers trying to punch their way into his skull, the pain was now more like mallets banging away. But it was an improvement, and the best he could hope for after his most recent ordeal.

“Someone once told me there were three types of people in Mercer’s army,” Keo said. “The true believers, the nonbelievers, and everyone else in between. Which one are you?”

Henry didn’t answer right away, but Keo didn’t think he was a part of the first group. The young man didn’t have the look of a Mercerian who thought Keo had killed someone he worshipped. If anything, Henry looked angry, but not that
angry. Then again, considering Keo’s ability to read faces, he could be completely off.

“He saved us,” Henry finally said. “If it weren’t for him…”

“That doesn’t mean you have to slaughter innocent civilians for him. There were pregnant women and kids and old men in those towns.”

“I know that,” Henry said. He had come dangerously close to snapping. Then he added, in a much softer tone, “We all knew that.”

“But you still went along with it.”

“I…stayed behind. A lot of us who had problems with it did the same. The ones that went out there, the kill teams, were the true believers, as you call them.”

“Like Bellamy and Calvin?”

Henry nodded. “They’re not the only ones. That’s why I’m here and Pete’s outside.”

“Pete?”

“The other guard. He’s in the hallway.”