More hybrids. Selena let out a sigh of relief. It was like she thought. They traveled in packs.
Chapter Fifteen
Maximus ran with Selena in his arms and the other three hybrids behind him for several minutes, no one saying anything. They all implicitly understood the need to withdraw from the area before more heavily armed reinforcements arrived. He was confident they could win a fight against far superior numbers, but less confident they could do that and keep the redhead in his arms from being hurt. Certain they had put a decent distance between their group and the guards, Maximus slowed to a jog and then a stop.
“Did you see that?” he asked, looking to CJ, Cornelius, and Tiberius.
CJ nodded. “We were trying to flank them when we saw you take them out. What did they say to get you to do that?”
“They were getting ready to kill us.” Maximus scoffed. “It sounds like they have orders to try and take hybrids alive but kill anyone else.”
He gave Selena a comforting squeeze but didn’t set her down. She was still trembling. He’d fucked up bringing her along. If the Corps guards had shot on sight, she might be dead already, a victim of his arrogance.
“What’s the plan?” Cornelius asked. “Even if they don’t have any cameras on that area, they’ll know what happened the minute they find those bodies. We’ve lost any chance of surprise. The entire damned island probably knows we’re here now.”
He cast a grim, accusatory look at Selena.
Maximus set her down gently before marching over to Cornelius and squaring his shoulders. There were few men who could make Cornelius look small, but Maximus was one of them, and he wasn’t in the mood to be challenged.
“What did you expect me to do?” Maximus growled and locked eyes with the other man. “Let them shoot us? Let them shoot her?”
Cornelius managed to keep eye contact for a few seconds before looking away. “I’m just saying we had a plan, and now that plan’s shot, so we need a new plan. Otherwise, we’ll end up with the Corps up our ass when we least expect it.”
Maximus stepped away, his fists clenched. He wasn’t sure why he was so angry at Cornelius other than feeling frustrated at how close Selena had come to dying. The Phoenix Corps was supposed to be all but destroyed, but somehow they still managed to threaten innocent people.
“Those guards weren’t kitted out for the forest,” Maximus said, inclining his head in their direction. “And I heard a rumble. I’m guessing something subterranean.”
“They might run,” Cornelius said.
“They might.” Maximus gestured to Tiberius. “Use your sat phone to contact the men. We don’t have enough guys here to take any place out, and Cornelius is right. We can’t have the Corps running out until we’re ready. We’ll get the drones near where I had the fight and keep an eye on things.”
“And then what?” Tiberius asked, pulling out his phone.
“If they’re running, we’ll follow them, if not, we’ll assume they’re holing up and prepping for a full assault.”
“Is there going to be one?”
Maximus nodded. “This is what we came for. No reason to give them an advantage. Even if we had all the guys come right away, the Corps would be ready for us. We need to play to our advantages, not theirs.” He pointed to his eyes with a smile.
CJ mirrored his smile. “There’s something nice about a night raid.”
“You sure?” Cornelius asked.
“Yes,” Maximus said. “I want the equipment ready, but for now, the men should focus on drone recon. I don’t want a wild boar to shit near that location without us knowing about it.”
Selena stood and cleared her throat. She was pale but had stopped shaking. “Um, may I offer a suggestion?”
Maximus inclined his head forward. “First, let’s get going again. No reason to let them catch up if they decide to follow us. Everyone keep alert.”
The hybrids fell into a rough diamond formation around Selena., even Cornelius who kept frowning at her from behind. Maximus didn’t need to voice his opinion on that. The other man was nothing if not consistent, which was good for someone taking orders, but not always great for a leader. That was why Cornelius had ended up Maximus’s number three rather than his number two.
Once a couple of minutes passed, Maximus shot Cornelius a warning look before nodding to Selena. “What did you want to suggest?”
“I noticed you’re talking like you have to handle all of this by yourself.” Selena stood and placed her hand on her chest. “I haven’t heard as much about these Phoenix Corps guys as I have the Horatius Group, but I do know that two of their guys were about to kill us. You can call the police, and they can show up with a SWAT team, right? I’ll testify that you killed those guys in self-defense if that’s what you’re worried about. I know you said you can’t rely on other people, but they tried to kill a human, too. That means human authorities will care.”
Cornelius snorted but kept his mouth mercifully shut. Maximus was grateful. He didn’t want to have another showdown with the man in front of Selena.
Maximus offered Selena a tight smile. “The police?”
“Yes.” Selena rolled her eyes. “I know you’re genetically engineered badasses and all that, but they have guns and grenades and stuff like that.”
“We have no idea what might be in there,” Cornelius snapped. “You were lucky it was only a couple of guards with guns. The Corps could have other hybrids working for them, or worse like Glycons. You already saw what one hybrid did to two armed men. If we send humans in there, a lot of them will die, if not all of them.”
“T-then the military.” Selena stuck her hands on her hips, her face locked in defiance. “They can send in paratroopers or something or blow the place up with a missile. Monsters aren’t explosion-proof.”
Maximus
