Colonel Cross didn’t appear offended. In fact, he chuckled. “I’ve been told you were smart. Looks like it’s true.”
“I wouldn’t go so far as smart, but I wasn’t born yesterday, Colonel, that’s for sure.”
“Please, just Tony. I’m not even a colonel. I’m a sergeant at heart.”
That made sense. Nothing about Colonel Cross suggested officer. He was a rough, no-nonsense type who seemed uncomfortable with formality. He reminded Mass of someone: Sergeant Honeywell.
Hope you’re somewhere back with your family, Rich.
“Okay, Tony, let’s get this over with before I collapse.” Tony reached out to help Mass, but Mass waved him away. Slowly, they walked twenty metres from the nearest tent. “So what do you want to speak about, Tony?”
“Amanda Wickstaff.”
“First name basis, huh? You must have made quite the—”
“She’s dead.”
Mass stumbled. Fortunately, Tony steadied him before he fell, which was good because he might not have made it up again. He glanced over at the tents, wondering if anyone had seen his weakness. It seemed like the coast was clear. “What d’you mean, she’s dead? She can’t be. I don’t believe you.”
“Your man Cullen will confirm it for you. He’ll also confirm that she was murdered by my superior, General Thomas.”
“Who?”
Tony sighed. “We can get into that later, but right now you need to know that I’m on your side. The men I brought with me aren’t though. They were ordered to find and kill you. They still expect to carry out that mission.”
“What the fuck? Why?”
“You were loyal to Wickstaff, and somewhat of a legend in Portsmouth. That makes you a threat to Thomas’s leadership.”
“A legend? A threat?” Mass shook his head. “I can barely walk. This is unbelievable. Wickstaff’s really gone?”
Tony nodded.
“And some old prick has taken over Portsmouth?”
“Yes. Thomas was the commanding officer of what remained of our overseas forces. He returned to reclaim Great Britain.”
“So where do you come in? Why are you helping me?”
“Because my days of killing on command are behind me. If I hadn’t arranged for Cullen to meet me on the road, you would already be dead. It’s created a stand-off, but my men will pull the trigger soon. They’re just waiting for the right moment, and then they’ll kill me too.” He peered at the tents. This time, every man was watching. They were too interested in what should have looked like a simple chat between two men. Tony turned back to Mass. “Thomas blamed Wickstaff’s murder on a demon that came to tell us you were in trouble, and about a place up north called Kielder Forest.”
“Shit, David. Is he okay?”
Tony shook his head. “Its – his – body was cooling right next to Wickstaff’s, part of Thomas’s narrative that the demons sent an assassin. Can’t question a dead demon.”
“Nor a live one in most cases,” said Mass, wondering how much longer his legs would keep him upright. “No offence, Tony, but you’re a right soddin’ downer. Do you have any good news? Tell me they’ve opened up a strip club in Portsmouth. Tell me they reopened McDonalds.”
“I’m sorry, pal, but all I’ve got is bad news. The only good thing is we got Maddy out of the city before Thomas killed her too.”
Mass pinched his nose and let out a sigh. “Shit, I didn’t even think about her. Maddy and Wickstaff were close.”
“Yeah, that much was obvious. Thomas planned on making her go away, but I got her out of there. She went north with Commander Tosco, hoping to find this settlement in the north. Are you aware of it?”
“Aware, but not convinced. David spoke about it – said there was a bunch of people holed up in some castle. I hope he was right, but me and my team never made it much further north than where we’re standing now.” Mass took a breath to summon strength, then told Tony about Nas and the farm they’d stumbled onto after being ambushed. He had lost most of his team but rescued a group of abused women. It wasn’t a total loss.
Tony shook his head in disbelief. “Even now, bad men can’t help themselves. That’s why it’s so important for you to survive, Mass. You and your people are the good guys. Take your men and get out of here. Go north and look for Maddy and this settlement in Kielder Forest. There needs to be a force remaining besides General Thomas. He’s a tyrant that cannot go unopposed.”
“No way, mate. I’m heading straight to Portsmouth to take his ass out.”
“That would be extremely foolish. Thomas arrived with fifteen thousand of his own troops, and I imagine he is already politicking to gain the loyalty of Portsmouth as a whole.”
Mass clenched his fists, and even that hurt. “He needs to pay. Wickstaff was no friend of mine, but I respected the hell out of her. She earned her place as leader, and I won’t let some old-world elitist claim her place because he thinks he’s entitled to it.”
“I’ll handle General Thomas,” said Tony. “Diane and Commander Klein are both on board with removing him, but it’s a long game and we need to be smart about it. Your talents are more of the—”
“Shooting things in the face variety?”
Tony put his hands up. “Hey, I’m not knocking it. My nature is no different, but I have direct access to Thomas; I need to be a little smarter than I’m naturally inclined to be. You can live to fight another day, Mass. If Diane and I fail at ridding the world of Thomas, there needs to be somebody left to oppose him.”
Mass sighed. Tony could be right. All the people Mass cared about were here, more or less, so why shouldn’t he leave? Did he really want to take them into danger? If a group existed in the north, then finding them was important enough to delay a reckoning, at least for a while. There was a bigger picture to think about.
That
