Lost in thought and grappling with his own doubts, Mark did not realize the commotion happening at the perimeter of their encampment.
“Sir,” one of the guards Mark had posted to watch the perimeter was catching his breath as he turned to Mark, “we found someone trying to breach our perimeter. He says he needed to speak with whoever is in command. He says it’s urgent.”
“You confirmed he is one of ours?” Mark asked.
“Yes, sir,” the guard answered. “One of our guys trained with him at the program. He’s legit. He says it’s important. Urgent.”
Mark stood. “Bring him in.”
“Yes, sir,” the guard said and then vanished to fetch the intruder.
Mark paced, unsure what matters this visitor deemed so urgent. It wasn’t long before the guard returned with the man they’d found. He was covered in sweat, his face beet red from the exertion of traveling so far on foot. He had come with great haste, and he was still catching his breath.
“Sir,” the man said in between gasps, “I was with a team charged with operation Olympus.”
There were only a few people within the organization who were aware of that operation and its codename. And it immediately sparked Mark’s interest.
“What happened?” Mark asked.
“We were taking one of the finished pieces out of our work camp toward Johnson City,” the man said. “We were about halfway there when we stopped for food and water. We were off the main road and out of sight from anybody who might’ve been traveling. But we were ambushed by a group of men. I’m not sure how many, but they managed to take the device we were transporting to our command center.”
Mark’s pulse quickened. “You let them take it?”
The man grew fearful. “We were outnumbered. They were shooting at us from everywhere.”
Mark clenched his jaw. “And did you actually see these people?”
The man stuttered. “I didn’t—I mean I saw—I only saw the person who grabbed the duffle bag, sir.”
Mark could have shot the man on the spot. It was a classic divergent technique, making the enemy believe there were more of you than there actually was. “How long ago was this?”
The man cleared his throat. “It took me less than an hour to get here.”
Mark grimaced. That was enough time for whoever had stolen it to take off and head to wherever they wanted to go.
“But I think I know where they were going,” the man said.
Mark perked up. “And how would you know this?”
The man swallowed, and he grew hesitant as Mark leaned forward. “I, um, I followed them.”
“You followed them and didn’t recover the item they took?” Mark asked. “Do you have any idea how valuable that item is to the cause? To our supreme leader?”
The man stuttered again, but this time when he finally spoke up again, he had some confidence. “I do, sir. But I explained the situation. We were outgunned—”
“Where were they going?” Mark asked, wanting to cut through the bullshit.
“Asheville, sir,” he answered.
The moment the soldier spoke the name of the city, the only thing Mark could think about was his brother. It seemed impossible that Ben was still involved in all of this, but a piece of him knew the truth.
“How do you know this?” Mark asked.
“I met up with the team from the work camp where the device was made,” he answered. “We recovered some of the scientists and engineers who escaped during an attack. We think the same people who stole the device were responsible for the attack on the work camp. We interrogated them, and they told us about the city they were talking about returning to.”
“Well, that’s convenient,” Mark said. “Do you still have the scientist you questioned?”
“We brought him with us, but he didn’t survive the journey,” the man said. “Sorry, sir.”
Mark stepped away, needing time to think about his next move. His brother had created this fiasco for him, and Mark remembered what the supreme leader had told him. He would need to take care of this himself. He had sacrificed too much to lose it all now over some nostalgic feeling of brotherly love. It was time to end it.
“Sir?” one of the fighters asked. “Do you have orders for us?”
Mark spun around and saw all the men at his command. He knew they would be able to overwhelm whatever forces waited for him in Asheville, but if his brother was involved with the military somehow, which was the only way any of this made sense, then it wasn’t impossible for them to have a few tricks up their sleeve.
But Mark had a few aces in the hole himself.
“How many prototypes do we have finished?” Mark asked.
The soldier frowned. “What do you mean, sir?”
“The work camp where you were stationed was tasked with developing new aerial weapons,” Mark answered. “How many did you finish?”
“I don’t have the exact numbers—”
“Then find out.” Mark leaned forward, enunciating every syllable, and his underlying tone caused the soldier to immediately depart.
Once he was gone, Mark’s right-hand man in the unit approached him.
“Should we dispatch a unit to retrieve the device?” he asked.
Mark considered his answer before he replied. “No.” He turned around to face his assistant. “I will handle the retrieval myself.”
“Sir, don’t you think you should send—”
“I’m perfectly capable of handling this mission on my own,” Mark said. “Is that clear?”
The assistant nodded. “Of course, sir.”
“Good,” Mark replied. “Get the men and tell them to be ready to leave in five.”
“Yes, sir!” The soldier quickly saluted and was dismissed.
Alone again, Mark pondered the best way forward. It was obvious to him that if Ben were involved, then he would need to find his brother to find the piece for the bomb. And if Ben were working with the military, he would be well guarded.
But Mark had an ace up his sleeve, and he thought it was time to
