The Black Angel
Chapter 12
The Next Part
Alex got out of the car cautiously. She had debated with herself for hours about what to wear, and what would be the safest to wear. A pair of casual pants, boots, and a comfortable shirt had been the conclusion. It was an outfit that was common among soldiers on leave. Alex was banking that anyone affiliated with the Desert Panthers would not look long enough to recognize her.
The night before, one of her contacts had said that they needed to meet soon, that the news was big. Alex was hesitant, but this man had never given her a reason to be nervous before. So Alex left a note taped to Thomas' door on why she left, and slipped out of the base.
In town, the contact had chosen a bookstore to be the meeting spot. Alex was thankful, as the shelves made natural walk ways, which cut off multiple ways in which she could be attacked.
"Thank god you're alive," her contact said as he took her in a big bear hug. He was an older man with a round belly.
Pain shot through her entire body as the contact pressed down on top of the bandaged brand. Alex pulled herself away to collect her breath.
"It's true then, they got to you," the contact said as he slid down the bookshelf.
Alex huffed. "I'm fine, just a little sore. Now what do you have for me?"
"Dana, Bella, and Greg are all dead," the contact said with a troubled face. "And your father has been pulling every resource to the main base. Something big is happening."
"I knew about Dana, I pulled that trigger. When did Bella and Greg happen?" Alex said with a slight lump in her throat.
The man looked at Alex, even more troubled. "You know it's okay to be sad about this. They've always been terrors to you, but the were still your sisters and your brother."
"I'll deal with it later," Alex responded, having not found away to get rid of the lump that was creeping up the back of her throat.
"From what I understand, what your father's spies could gather, was that Bella and Greg ran to the base on the borderline. Evelyn and the twins had them executed, on sight," the man said.
He stopped for a minute to let the information to sink in. She turned back to her informant. "How is my father taking it?"
"Not well," the man responded. "When he learned you were a traitor, that shook him way to much. That was when he started to call in all of the troops to his main base. He's been in shock ever since we learned about up heave of the youngest three. He's calling for Evelyn's head, and possibly the backs of the twins."
"He wants to brand them?" Alex tried to clarify.
"Either that, or just being whipped to learn their place," the man responded.
Alex shook her head. "What a choice. Thank you; let me know if there is anything else I should know about."
"No," the contact said simply.
"This isn't over yet," Alex reminded him.
"If you just disappear, your father would never bother you again. Don't come back to this world."
Alex rolled her eyes, clearly frustrated. "He's collapsing. He'll come after my friends. I can't let that happen."
"Just think about it," the informant begged.
"I'll think about it," Alex said with a shrug. And then looked at her watch. "My time is up. I need to get back before I get in any more trouble."
"You're not a prisoner are you?" her informant asked sadly.
"No, no, no," Alex said with a laughed. "But if I don't get back, my adoptive father might just ground me."
The look on the informant's face was priceless as Alex quickly moved through the bookstore and back to her car. The drive back to the base was uneventful. But concentrating on the horizon held back the tears. As soon as the car was parked in the hanger, the tears came.
"So Schubaltz has already broken your heart?" Ford said as he calmly strolled up to Alex. "Now don't expect me to take you back just because you're crying."
"Matt," Alex looked up at him.
"Yes my dear?" Ford said with a happy look on his face.
"Go to the hospital wing so they can surgically remove your foot from your mouth," Alex snapped. She existed the car, and walked away.
Thomas and Karl were boxing in one of the combat rooms. The frustration of having Alex missing again had left Karl anxious to punch something. His little brother was taking the blunt of that anxiety.
"I swear, all I got was the note," Thomas said, peeking through the crack between his arms, which were his only protection. "I would have stopped her if she had actually talked to me."
"Karl," Alex sniffled as she came in to the room, crying.
"What's wrong?" Karl asked as he quickly left the ring. He quickly took her into his arms.
"Bella and Greg are dead," Alex cried into his shoulder.
The brothers shared looks over Alex's head. Their first reaction was that of rejoicing, two less threats in Alex's life. Then it sunk in; more of Alex's family was dead. The connection that was shared between siblings was engrained in people, no matter what their alliances dictated. Karl wrapped his arms around more tightly the sobbing woman and wondered what the best thing to say was.
He knew better then to ask if Alex was okay, or tell her it was going to be all right. She wouldn't believe him and would be insulted by the comments. It was Thomas who figured it out.
"I know how you feel," Thomas said. "They bullied you, they pushed you into a place that you didn't think you could get pushed into. But they still made you who you are."
Alex managed a smile, as Thomas existed the fighting ring. He pulled Alex into a tight hug that stopped the rest of the tears.
"Now, we're supposed to make sure you go straight to your uncle," Karl said. He wrapped his arm around Alex's shoulder. Thomas linked one of his arms with one of Alex's. "I think he said something about being grounded."
"There was a good reason why I left," Alex promised.
Kruger looked up as the Schubaltz brothers brought in Alex. "Major Kruger, you are still recovering from the last lead."
"This one was safe, and my closest lead to my father," Alex responded.
"Oh that lead," Kruger said. He turned back to the monitor. "How is the old man?"
"Busy, my father is calling all troops home," Alex responded. The General looked up in concern. Alex shook her head. "It gets worse. The twins and Evelyn killed Bella and Greg. So since then, my father has called for the reaming three's heads."
"So that's good right? There's no one left to take over the Dessert Panthers once this current leader goes," Thomas replied hopefully.
"A ton of mercenaries suddenly going freelance, not my idea of fun," Kruger responded.
Alex shook her head. "Worse, the Desert Hawks are ready to step in to fill the void."
"How will that work for us?" Karl asked.
"Not good," Alex responded. "My father and the leader of the Desert Hawks were best friends growing up. The man does not have a single compassionate bone in his body, but my father looks like a saint compared to the Hawk's leader."
A silent shiver went through the group. Kruger shook his head and turned away. "This isn't going to be easy."
Alex and the Schubaltz brothers took that as their cue to leave. Once out of the briefing room, Alex turned in the direction of her room, then turned to face Karl once more. "Do you smoke?"
"On occasion," was the response.
"Would hanging up with me on the roof count as an occasion?" Alex said with a hopeful look.
Karl smiled. "It could."
"9pm then," Alex said as she turned back to her room. She had one goal in mind, her bed. The pain killers were making her sleepy, and the doctors would have been upset if they found that Alex had driven.
She got to her room, and cracked the door open to slip in. She stripped out of her boots and pants before crawling into bed. "Roll over Cat."
Karl and Thomas sat down with Herman and O'Connell in the kitchen. They were calmly chatting, but Karl sense the tension that both seemed to carry when Alex was gone from the base.
"Alex is back," Thomas told the Republican pair. Both visually relaxed at the good news.
"Was it worth her leaving?" O'Connell asked.
Karl shrugged. "More family disputes, and the Dessert Hawks are ready to step in when the Panthers collapse finally."
"So Darren is back in the picture," Herman said with a tired look on his face. "I thought we ran him out of the country."
"He always comes back," O'Connell responded. "Alex doesn't report his whereabouts half of the time."
"Any particular reason why?" Karl asked.
"The same reason that Alex goes to see Chaz, she has a very screwed up sense of what is love," Herman responded.