“Thank you, sir,” Mark said, and then he raised a duffel bag. handing it to the supreme leader. “I don’t know if it’s operational, but I managed to bring it back.”
The supreme leader took the duffle bag from Mark as if it were a sacred token. He removed the machinery from inside and couldn’t wipe the smile from his face as he stared at it.
“And so our dream lives on,” the supreme leader said and then looked up at Mark. “You will be remembered as one of the greatest generals of our time. History will never forget your name, Marcus.”
Mark’s voice caught in his throat when he replied. “Thank you, sir.”
The supreme leader inched closer and lowered his voice. “And have you purged yourself of that troublesome past?”
Mark nodded. “Yes, sir. That won’t be a problem anymore.”
“Good,” the supreme leader said, and then he smiled, flashing those stained, yellow teeth. “I’m so proud of you.” He patted Mark on the shoulder, like grandfather dismissing a little boy.
The supreme leader turned to face the rest of the men and then raised the device high above his head. The men cheered, erupting into another raucous frenzy as though the supreme leader was raising the head of their enemies.
But while Mark should have been reveling in their victory along with the rest of the men in his unit, all Mark could think about was his brother rotting in the street. He knew he should at least go back and bury the body, but he didn’t think he had the strength. And for what came next in their crusade, Mark would need every ounce of his strength if he wanted to survive.
The voices sounded echoey and like they were underwater. Whatever they said was nonsensical, and the volume faded in and out. But then a voice crept through, a voice that was recognizable and comforting and didn’t seem possible.
“Ben?”
Ben cracked his eyes open, and he saw a blurred vision of Liz. She smiled at him, and he could tell that she’d been crying.
“Oh, thank God.” Liz collapsed onto Ben’s arm, and she cried.
Ben knew he should have been relieved at the sight of his wife, but he couldn’t comprehend how he was even alive.
“I told you he was hard to kill.”
Ben looked to his left and saw Colonel Jackson in a bed next to him. He had a bandage over his shoulder where he had been shot.
“I dragged you out,” Jackson said, seeing the confusion on Ben’s face. “Well, I managed to crawl over to you, and then some of our guys came and dragged us both out. But I got there in time to stop the bleeding. You’re welcome.”
Ben winced and then rolled his head back to face his wife. His mind was still swimming in confusion. “Where are we?”
“A military camp,” Liz answered, wiping her eyes.
“They came and got you?” Ben asked, remembering the general sending one of his men to the compound, but then Liz shook her head.
“We had to leave,” Liz said. “The Percys took it over. The kids are fine. Cole and Rachel are with us. And Nancy and Abe came with us, too. But…” She trailed off, shaking her head. “But everyone else stayed behind.”
It was a lot for Ben to take in in his current state. But then he remembered that he had lost the device to the bomb, and it was now in the enemy’s possession.
“Ben?” Liz asked. “I’m so sorry.”
Ben reached for his wife’s hand and mustered enough strength to give her a reassuring squeeze. And while it was difficult to lose the compound, the loss paled in comparison to Ben’s failed mission. Because now the enemy was one step closer to creating a nuclear bomb. And God only knew what they planned to do with it.
