Conspiracy Game

seemed to turn inside out.

Damn, Ken, do men just make complete idiots of themselves over women? I feel like a fool every time she looks at me like that.

Jack felt more than a fool-he felt humble and undeserving, but most of all, there was a part of him that was afraid. If she left him, she’d rip out his heart and what was left of his soul. Sooner or later the rose-colored glasses were going to come off, leaving him naked and vulnerable to her scrutiny. She would see inside him, not just to the black violence always seething beneath the thin surface of ice he kept to cover it. No, she’d see the true monster- the one who didn’t feel-couldn’t feel.

Ken’s sympathy moved in his mind. Ken knew-he felt the same rage, and the same detachment. The monster was a legacy from their father they would never be free of, and any woman in their lives would have to live, just as they did, with that unspeakable demon.

Ken dropped a hand on Jack’s shoulder and looked toward the trees. We can’t stay in the open like this. It will be a good ten to twelve hours even with the teams scrambling to pick us up. We have to find cover and a defensible position.

Jack nodded and helped Briony to her feet. They moved fast in single file, staying to the trees and brush, careful not to make a sound. In the night, any noise carried, and they couldn’t afford to bring the enemy down on them. They needed as much distance as possible. As soon as they were a good mile from the cliffs, they began to pick up the pace, jogging now, using long, ground-eating strides.

Every muscle in Briony’s body felt fatigued, but there was satisfaction in knowing she’d not only used her circus training to escape Whitney’s men-but the very skills and abilities he’d provided. Even now, her enhanced muscles worked like a machine, carrying her fast over rugged terrain, and her vision enabled her to see in the dark when few others could have moved so quickly. And that was all due to Whitney’s experiment and the education he’d insisted on providing for her.

They jogged for two hours, took a break, and ran again, this time slowed down by the thicker brush and trees as they started downhill. Obviously Jack and Ken had a particular place in mind. They took cover a few hundred yards from a clearing. They hunkered down in a spot that had plenty of cover, with boulders, trees, and brush, but more importantly, depressions in the ground provided an added element of protection.

“We’ll rest here and wait,” Jack said. “The team is coming, and if we stay quiet, we might just get lucky.”

The men set about building a blind, a cavern of twigs and leaves where they could lie and rest while they waited. As dawn streaked the sky, Briony found tension rising and tried to cover it. Jack lay beside her, his fingers curling around hers, and on her other side, Ken appeared to doze.

How can you do that? Just go to sleep when we’re being hunted like animals?

Jack turned over to nuzzle her neck. Conserve energy, baby. That’s what it’s always about. Grab sleep when you can. We’re safe enough for a couple of hours. They have to figure out where we went before they can find us. He pulled her closer, his hand pressing her head to his shoulder until she relaxed. Briony had no idea how, but she drifted to sleep.

She woke to find Jack and Ken gone. She sat up, looking around her, heart beating fast. In the distance she could see Ken lying in the open clearing, talking softly into a radio. Jack was harder to spot, but she was beginning to know their methods, and she searched above, in the trees and rocks, knowing he’d be protecting his brother. She thought she saw him in a tree, but blinked, and when she tried to look closer, he wasn’t there. She nearly jumped out of her skin when he put a hand on her shoulder.

The familiar rifle was in his arms and his face looked grim. Ken returned, and there was a similar expression on his face. “Damn, Jack. I’m sorry. This is my mistake.” Ken shook his head in disgust. “We take it for granted we’re enhanced, and if they send anyone against us chances are the enhancement is only physical, but Whitney sent someone with psychic abilities too. I should have considered that possibility.”

“There was no way to know.” Jack shrugged as he crouched down beside his brother. “We had no choice; we had to use the radio to call our people in. Don’t waste time trying to blame yourself. They were bound to find us, Ken, and you know it. We have to move, and fast.” He held out a bottle of water to Briony.

“What happened?” Briony asked. She uncapped the bottle and swallowed quickly. The water was warm, but welcome all the same. She screwed the cap back on and offered the bottle to Ken.

“I had to use the radio and wanted to know how far out the extraction team was, but Whitney sent a radioman, a waver. They can sift through the frequencies at a rapid-nearly computer fast-rate, and hear anything being transmitted. Whitney’s people know exactly where the chopper is coming to get us, and they’re on the way, and they’ll get here first.”

Jack swore softly. “How far out is our extraction team, Ken?”

Ken shook his head. “Thirty minutes-too long. We’ll be dead by then.”

Briony gripped Jack’s hand. “What do we do?”

“We fight. We have no choice, baby; we have to fight. If we don’t keep them off of us, they’ll run us over in minutes-and it’s going to be a gauntlet, baby, nothing less. Whitney’s going to drop his team between us and the only extraction point and force us to fight our way through. He’s coming at us with everything he has because he’s running scared now. There’s a possibility that you’ll slip out of his hands. Once we reach Lily’s, he won’t be able to get near you.” He closed his eyes briefly trying to tell her. He couldn’t shield her from this one and he had to keep his mind open to her in order to convey commands.

Her hand brushed his face. She easily read his distress, but was uncertain why he was looking at her with such apprehension. “We’ve come this far, Jack; we’re going to make it.”

“I know. I wouldn’t let anything happen to you-it’s just that I have to do everything in my power to protect you-no matter the cost.”

She stared into his gray eyes, reading a plea for understanding. Briony leaned close to kiss him. “The cost had better not include a scratch on your body. You’ve got enough scars. Be a little careful, Jack.” She lifted her head to smile at Ken. “You too. Let’s just get out of this and get to wherever we’re going. Where are we going?”

The brothers exchanged another, almost despairing glance. She obviously hadn’t understood what Jack had been trying to say. He could only hope she wouldn’t turn away from him in horror when she discovered the real Jack-the one he kept hidden.

“We’ll head to Lily Whitney’s, the place Kadan told you about,” he explained grimly. “She’ll send a cleanup crew to the house; we’ll make the necessary repairs and set up a better alarm system. We’ll have to turn our home into a fortress if we go back.”

“Tell me what you want me to do,” Briony said.

There was so much trust in her eyes, Jack had to look away. This was battle, an all-out war, and it wasn’t going to be pretty. There were the three of them against a helicopter filled with soldiers. Ken and Jack had limited ammunition and weapons, and every bullet was going to have to be a kill.

The sound of a helicopter grew louder as Whitney’s men approached.

Infantry taking up positions at nine and twelve o’clock, Ken reported.

Jack handed Briony a gun and several clips of ammunition. Don’t waste this, baby. Shoot to kill. He caught her chin, looked into her eyes. You understand me? You shoot to kill. Ken and I will shield you from the repercussions. Not the emotional ones, that was impossible, but they’d do what they could.

Helicopter’s coming in. They could see it hovering over the thick grove of trees, whipping winds so that the leaves and branches swayed. Thick ropes dropped from the open doorway and several men began a fast descent toward the safety of the trees.

Briony stifled a cry of alarm when the first shot rang out, followed closely by a second and then a third. Jack reached up and yanked her down so that she lay prone on the ground between the two men. Three of the descending soldiers dropped instantly, crashing into the heavy branches. Ken calmly fired a fourth shot, and Jack took out a fifth soldier. It happened so fast she didn’t do more than stare, gun in her hand.

The helicopter veered away in an effort to protect the remaining soldiers. Both Jack and Ken fired at the retreating mechanical bird, placing their shots with care and precision. Almost immediately black smoke billowed and the helicopter spun out of control.

Go! Jack yanked her back up, pushing her in the direction of the clearing. Stay to cover but keep moving forward.

They ran several feet and the ground soldiers suddenly swarmed around them. For a moment, Briony felt