The Dragons of Men (The Sons of Liberty Book 2) (32 page)

Sarah Reinhart finally fell to her knees, gasping for air in between her endless sobs. She glanced back toward the direction of Montgomery—the darkening skies above glowing in the distance. They had run for miles, unsure if the gears of war would pursue them or not. Their pace had slowed substantially as time drew on, Elizabeth nearing failure after the first half-mile of running. Eric had actually carried her for the next four miles—Judah carrying Eva and Trey carrying Grace as they ran. None of them held their guns at the ready. They knew the greatest danger would be stopping, waiting for death to catch up with them.

Like it had with Rick and Judi.

“They’re dead,” Sarah said, muttering the words for the first time in the two hours since the explosion.

Grace and Eva wept silently and Judah set them down, taking another long breath from his inhaler before wiping a lone tear away from his cheek. Alexandra stared at Judah, the small tears beading in her eyes and failing to fall as she watched him pace back and forth. Elizabeth sat motionless on the ground, her eyes nearly as vacant as Judi’s had been in death. Eric, however, immediately grabbed his weapon and began checking it over as he spoke.

“Trey, see what you can find out about that battle. Who fought it, who won, who lost, and what they were doing there in the first place. Everyone else, rest up. I’ll take first watch. Trey, you’re next and Judah’s last. We’ve got four hours before we hit the road again.”

“Why?” Sarah asked, inwardly startled at her words. “What for, Eric? Where are we running to?”

Eric stared back at her for a few breathless moments, his eyes meeting hers in the dim light of night. “I don’t know where we’re going,” Eric finally replied. “But we
are
going to survive. That’s all the here and the now is: us, fighting to live.” He paused before approaching Sarah. “We’re going to keep running until we find a place we can call home. I promise, I will do everything I can to get us there. When we arrive, we will make sure the people remember men and women like Adam, Rick, and Judi. Rick lived and died by his oath, and this is my oath to you: I will do whatever it takes to protect you and your family. Together, we will make sure the world remembers what it lost when it gave up on America. I’ve now had two men of the Reinhart family ask me to watch over their loved ones and I mean to do just that until the day I die.”

He pulled her in tight, holding her as she sobbed against his Kevlar vest. She wept for the dead. She wept for the world she’d never see again. She bawled for a husband lost. She cried and she cried until night and sleep finally began to overcome her. As it did, her tears halted for a moment and she pulled herself in closer against Eric—a man she knew she couldn’t survive without; a man she almost didn’t want to survive without. A man who had devoted himself to her family as though they were his own kin.

A man whom in a new world of hate, Sarah had begun to love.

C
hapter
T
en

The Jack of Blades

Lukas Chambers swayed slightly as he studied the three-dimensional map hovering before him—his hands clutched firmly behind his back as the smile on his face beamed almost as brightly as the fires that blanketed the digital projection of his latest conquest.

“Congratulations, sir,” Clark Madison said as he turned to Lukas. “Savannah, Georgia, is yours.” Lukas nodded back casually, though he continued to watch his drone fleet slowly roll over the city like an ominous squall.

Clark Madison was fresh off his battlefield promotion to interim Battle Lord following the close victory at Montgomery just over three weeks ago. Eli Kane had been placed on temporary leave after his near disastrous failure during their first engagement with the Patriarchs. Lukas had told Eli that his suspension was for rest, convincing him that the stress of forging and leading the Imperium’s armies in such a short amount of time had stretched him too thin. The Battle Lord was to return to service after a month, though even Eli was unsure in what capacity he would serve once he returned.

What Lukas hadn’t disclosed was the fact that Kane would be closely monitored during his hiatus while Jamie and Maria completed their comprehensive investigation into Kane’s background. Though all early signs still pointed to an unpretentious failure to act during battle on his part, Lukas couldn’t help but wonder if the man’s mistakes had been a last ditch effort to help Sigmund win the day.

“Good work, everyone,” Lukas said, looking up from the map. After a couple weeks of hacking the encrypted Patriarch hardware that had survived the battle for Montgomery, Lukas’ men were able to salvage important war intelligence, giving them an unobstructed glimpse into Sigmund’s plans. One of the first vital pieces of information they had uncovered led to the discovery of a couple hundred Patriarch Agents that had recently infiltrated Savannah. Their goal had been to quietly move north in small teams and begin a covert campaign to sabotage the Imperium’s drone facilities along the east coast. Once they were revealed, Lukas had ordered the Yellow Jackets that had survived the battle of Montgomery to hit Savannah hard and fast. They had swept into the city, hunting down the Agents. The Imperium had lost forty drones in the battle for Savannah to shoulder-wielded anti-air, but they had managed to locate and exterminate over one hundred and twenty confirmed Patriarch Agents while capturing thirty-seven survivors.

“Sir,” Clark began, “we should start moving the Yellow Jackets north to Charleston for resupply and repairs. I’ve been given word that Warren Anniston’s team has managed to design and begin manufacturing high yield, low weight solar fuel cells that will cut the Yellow Jacket’s fuel intake by eighty-three percent.”

“No,” Lukas replied with the shake of his head.  “Not yet. I want you to station as many drones as you can on every city intersection possible.”

“With all due respect, fuel is becoming a very precious and increasingly rare commodity,” Clark argued. “We must conserve what we can until new refineries are established.”

“And we will once we’re done here. I want you to program the drones to broadcast a message over their loud speakers commanding all citizens to emerge from their homes with their hands above their heads. In the meantime, I have dispatched one of the Praetorian Legions to interrogate the local population. They are to find whatever Agents we might have missed and execute them.”

“Yes, my Sovereign,” Clark replied with a nod of his head. “Forgive my questions.”

“I do not mind intelligent concern,” Lukas replied. “So long as you always obey my final orders and win this war for me. Now get it done.”

The interim Battle Lord nodded back and Lukas turned to leave. As he turned, Jamie walked into the room, her eyes meeting his as she slowed. She wore a gray business jacket over a thin black blouse with matching pants and high heels that clicked on the tiled floor. Lukas smiled, happy to see her. She nodded her head and smiled back, a captivating grin that soothed Lukas as he slowly approached her.

“There you are,” he said quietly as those around him in the White House’s bunker began to hurry to some other place. One way or another, nearly all the staff had caught a hint of the tension growing between Lukas, Maria, and Jamie. Lukas had grown bold after his victory at Montgomery, refusing to disguise his smiles and growing desires. After all, he was the Sovereign of the Imperium—a man with an empire beneath his feet and the world at his fingertips—and he didn’t believe he should shy away from anything his heart desired.

“Hello, my Sover—”

“Lukas,” he interjected quickly with a grin. “Please, call me Lukas. I’d like to think you and I are beyond titles, Jamie.”

Jamie’s smile broadened as she brushed a strand of red hair behind her ear. “Forgive me…Lukas. I will try my best.”

“Your best is all I ask for,” Lukas replied before glancing around him at the soldiers and officers who busied about. “Why don’t you and I take a walk? Some place more private.”

“And where might that be?”

“Anywhere but here,” Lukas said, turning back to her with a reassuring smile. “I believe I might find myself in this room more often than not over the next few months. Any excuse to meander about the world above is a good enough excuse for me. Come, let’s find coats and stretch our legs.”

“Alright,” Jamie replied happily. “Lead the way.”

A short time later—after pausing for an interview with the INN and a group of well-fed, well-indoctrinated school children—Lukas and Jamie were slowly walking through the White House grounds atop a cleared brick path that bordered the east colonnade. A late winter snow, white as the mansion’s exterior walls, fell lightly around them. Boxwood shrubs outlined by the few flowers that had bloomed before the snows were covered with a thin dusting. After half an hour of walking and talking about the future and the Imperium’s eventual reign over all, Jamie paused and turned to Lukas.

“I’m cold,” she said, rubbing the arms of her thick coat with a shiver. “Isn’t it about time we head back inside?”

“Here,” Lukas said, moving in close and rubbing her arms for her. He glanced around, the snowy haze obscuring anything beyond fifty feet. No one but his watchful drones observed them, a fact for which he was grateful. “Is that better?”

“It’s perfect,” Jamie replied, leaning in closer against his chest. “But shouldn’t we still be getting back inside?”

“For what?” Lukas asked, cocking his head down to look into her eyes.

Her dangerously invigorating eyes.

“I was…just thinking,” she began, stumbling over her words as she looked back at him.

“Thinking what?” Lukas asked after a lengthy pause.

“Thinking this might not be safe,” she finally replied, stepping back from him before continuing on with her walk.

“What isn’t safe?” Lukas inquired hesitantly as he began to walk beside her.

“You’re not worried about Sigmund here, out in the open?”

“You think his reach extends this far?” Lukas asked.

“We’re at war,” Jamie replied. “If today’s battle of Savannah proved anything it is the fact that he has a network of Agents out there that want to destroy your kingdom.”

“And we will capture every last one of them—”

“But what about those we don’t yet know about?” Jamie asked. “What about the one trained killer with a gun and a good eye?”

“They couldn’t see through this fog,” Lukas said. “Besides, I almost hope some hidden sniper attempts to kill me.”

“Lukas!” Jamie said quickly, stopping as she turned to him. “Why would you say that?”

“I said attempts, not succeeds,” Lukas replied with a grin. “Our friend Warren Anniston has outdone himself once again.”

“What did he make?”

“The best fence money can buy,” Lukas replied with a grin. “He installed a network of five magnetic rings that completely surround the White House grounds. I have a fleet of five thousand drones, some disguised as cockroaches while others are the standard FODs that guard the streets of DC. They are watching and listening to the very heartbeat of the city that surrounds us. If any one of them hears a gunshot within five miles, the rings will immediately activate. Any bullets traveling through the air will be thrown off course.”

“Really?” Jamie said with a smile. “And what about anyone inside your rings that might want you dead.”

Lukas paused, his eyes narrowing as he studied Jamie. “Have you or Maria discovered something I do not yet know about?”

Jamie smiled back, her smile warm though her eyes unsure, before turning and resuming her walk.

“Jamie,” Lukas began, “if you know something I do not then I kindly ask that you let me know.”

Jamie paused, turning back to Lukas with another smile, a beam that warmed him despite the cold snow that swirled around them both.

“I am not so sure about Jacob Brekor,” Jamie said in a rush.

“Jacob?” Lukas asked quickly. “Jacob saved my life. Without him I’d still be under Sigmund’s rule.”

“Yes, I know, but he’s the only one I don’t have access to.”

“For your investigation?” Lukas asked, his face contorting as he became perplexed. Jamie nodded back. “Is he not cooperating?”

“That’s just it,” Jamie replied. “You asked your wife and me to investigate potential traitors within your ranks. That doesn’t change the fact that Maria is Jacob’s sole child. I will say that Maria has been completely amicable and easy to work with during our investigation. However, anytime I go near the idea that her father might still be involved with Sigmund she grows angry and refuses to even explore the notion that her father might have a valid reason to betray you.”

“And why even suspect Jacob?” Lukas asked, shaking his head. “It makes no sense. Had he wanted me dead, he could have easily let Sigmund have me.”

“Yes, but through you the Imperium exists without Sigmund and he alone rules Europe.”

Lukas smiled before letting loose a cold laugh. “I can assure you that Jacob Brekor does not rule Europe. He is my ambassador, paving the way for my rule there. He may now govern it, but he is nothing more than an emissary.”

“Tell that to the people of Europe who all but kneel to him,” Jamie said quietly.

Lukas’ eyes narrowed again as he gazed back at her silently. After a lengthy pause, he cleared his throat.

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve heard rumors—just rumors, mind you—that there are those in England and France who see him as a king who will finally unite them all.”

“He’d never dare try and unite them under his own banner,” Lukas said. “To try would be to declare war on me and—”

“What if he already has and you just don’t know it?” Jamie interjected. “Think about it. All of our attention is focused on learning the truth about Kane, whom I do believe might be a spy; but what if Kane isn’t the only traitor? What if Jacob is using the distance between us as a reason to plea his innocence. What if he’s the one giving Sigmund access to your nVision during meetings and battles? What if Jacob is pitting you and Sigmund against one another, watching from afar, waiting for the dust and blood to settle so he can rise unscathed with all of Europe united beneath him?”

“What proof do you have?” Lukas inquired.

“None,” Jamie relied after a pause. “And as of now it’s only speculation. All I’m saying is I can’t prove or disprove anything so long as the one person closest to Jacob continues to impede my investigation. Trust me, I want to be wrong about this and I hope I am, but I will never know for sure unless you let me step around Maria. I hate to come between you and your wife, but—”

“Do it,” Lukas said, stepping closer. The concern on his face melted away, shifting into a welcoming smile. “I see what Sigmund saw in you.” He reached forward, putting his gloved hand on her cheek and rubbing it softly with his thumb. “You are a gift, Jamie Rowe. Nothing less and everything more. I promise you that you will never need to worry about coming between Maria and me. So far as I am concerned, you find my traitor and you will be rewarded with whatever you desire.”

Jamie smiled back, her rosy cheeks growing even redder as she gazed back at him.

“Now let us go to work,” Lukas said.

“And Maria?” Jamie asked.

Lukas glanced up toward the White House, gazing in the direction of his room almost as though he could see his wife through the fog and walls. He still loved Maria, despite what she had done and his growing attraction to Jamie. Still, he needed to be careful. He doubted that she would betray him again, but he couldn’t risk his empire on the love of one woman.

“You don’t need to worry about Maria anymore,” Lukas finally said. “So far as you are concerned, you will be working alone from now on.”

“Yes, Lukas,” Jamie said with the nod of her head. She turned and began walking in the opposite direction, turning back once to shoot him a warm smile before disappearing behind the shroud of fog. Lukas’ smile vanished as he turned and began walking toward the White House. He entered the door and walked through the hallways, greeting those who approached him while answering their pressing inquiries. It was methodical—going through the motions as his mind really focused on the coming conversation with his wife. Finally, after an hour delay to answer questions about the reconstruction effort and another half hour to pick up the gift he had recently ordered for his wife, he found himself slowly opening the door to his room.