Tears welled in Martin’s eyes as he listened. He looked to Arielle for assurance, and she only returned a nod and grin. Darius finally released his grip on Martin’s hand, taking a step back and shaking his head while he looked at Chris on the ground.
“I’m not sure what to say . . . thank you.” Martin wiped his tears away, feeling them on the verge of freezing over his eyeballs.
“Nothing to say, Commander,” Darius said. “Job well done. Now, are we ready to get this dead bastard out of here and back to Winnipeg?”
“I thought you’d never ask,” Arielle chuckled.
The four of them each grabbed a limb, hoisting Chris into the air, the limp body not weighing very much thanks to his sudden aging that had caught up with him in his final days. As always, he wore his signature black suit, and Martin brushed his fingers along the pants, sensing the memories and destruction that had once swarmed within the man. He thought back to the day he and his mother entered Wealth of Time, neither aware what that one simple visit would lead to.
They trudged through the woods, moving at an excited pace, all three of them anxious—and honored—to hear the story firsthand from their commander of how he finally killed Chris Speidel. The story would take its own form in the coming months as people added little details and bent the story to make it dramatic in their own way. But these four would forever know exactly how it all played out.
Chapter 30
Martin and the crew arrived back to the jet in Winnipeg to a raucous welcome party. He had placed the phone calls he wanted once they arrived back to the vehicles in Angle Inlet, receiving a deafening howl from Steffan all the way in England. His call with Alina turned into an emotional conversation that she promptly ended, wanting to wait until they were together in person.
Darius and Marie drove the van with Chris’s body, Martin and Arielle trailing behind for the entire trip back. The car ride was a completely different scene compared to their trip out of Winnipeg. Music blared and laughter filled the vehicle. Martin and Arielle swapped stories of their early lives, mainly the good memories.
By the time they arrived to the jet, it was close to one o’clock in the morning. Everyone was wide awake, lining up in two opposite rows to form a pathway for Martin and everyone else to file back up the stairs, and onto the jet where a full dinner spread had been catered, and the bar had been restocked.
A round of applause greeted them for a solid two minutes, each individual team member taking the opportunity to either shake Martin’s hand or give him a big hug as he made his way through the tunnel of people. Every face he saw had been on this mission since its first days. He’d seen these people through ups and downs in the matter of a few weeks, but nothing could replace the sheer glee now stuck on their faces.
A stretcher was brought out to help carry Chris’s body onto the jet, a handful of members volunteering to do the honors while everyone else gawked in disbelief at the dead body of a man who had at one point ruined their lives.
Martin led the procession up the stairs, where Alina waited at the top with a generous grin.
“Welcome back, Commander,” she said, opening her arms to hug him. She planted a kiss on his cheek before whispering in his ear. “Thank you.”
“It’s great seeing you,” Martin said. “Can’t say I thought I’d actually be back here.” He looked around the jet as if he had marooned on a foreign island. All chairs and tables had been pushed along the edges of the cabin to clear room for an open floor. A solid black sheet hung from the ceiling where Martin’s seat was normally stationed, a podium set up in front of it.
Alina followed his gaze. “We’re ready for your big speech. Did you prepare any remarks? Do you want to get changed out of those bloody clothes? You look like you got mauled by a bear.”
“Let the people see the fruit of my work. I haven’t prepared anything on paper, but I have been thinking over what I want to say. You don’t think we should wait until the morning? How many people are honestly going to watch this right now?”
“A lot has been put in motion since you left. I opened a line of communication with Uribe, and once I got word from you, he lifted the blackout and informed all members to be ready for a special announcement likely to come in the middle of the night. I’m sure the rumors are flying, but our protesters have retreated, leaving just the Revolters out on the streets to get scooped up by local authorities. At this point, people are assuming that you’re either dead or have pulled off the impossible. Both circumstances are hard for everyone to process.”
“Well then, I guess they’re gonna be pleased to see me.”
“We’re ready when you are.”
“Let’s do this.”
The rest of the team had made their way onto the jet, two members sliding a table behind the podium where they would lay the stretcher holding Chris. The noise level immediately rose as chatter filled the confined space, an impromptu—and deserved—party breaking out.
Alina put two fingers between her lips and whistled, a piercing sound that dropped a hammer on all the noise. “I know we are all very excited to party the night away, but our work is not done. Commander Briar needs to deliver a speech to the organization,
