The Becoming: Ground Zero (2 page)

“You’ve never been into Atlanta,” Avi began after her long silence. “Am I correct?”

“Yes, you’re right. Because we’re not
suicidal.
”

“You help people,” Avi cut in quickly. “You rescue people from tough situations so they actually have a chance of survival. You give them
hope
when they have none. There are dozens more people in Atlanta like those you’ve already saved. There are people trapped in their houses and apartments who can’t get out of there without your help. Everybody left alive knows that the government abandoned the city’s people to their deaths.
Everybody
abandoned them. They weren’t given even half a hope of survival, and they won’t have a hope at all if someone doesn’t help them get out. And if anybody can get them out of there, it would be you, Mr. Bennett.”

Avi’s appeal was horribly emotional, and she worried that it would be too melodramatic for someone of Ethan’s caliber to take seriously. But to her surprise, a smirk replaced the incredulous look Ethan had worn for the past several minutes. He nodded his head slowly, even as his smirk grew wider.

“You’re a sneaky bitch, aren’t you?” Ethan said. His tone was impressed rather than insulting. “You know exactly what buttons to push to get me to even think about it.”

“I’m a journalist,” Avi said simply. A small blossom of hope bloomed in her chest. Ethan was actually thinking about it? That was definitely a step in the right direction. Maybe now Avi’s colleagues wouldn’t threaten to throw her out on her ear. Just a consideration of her request gave Avi time to work on Ethan, time to convince him that going into Atlanta was something worth doing. “I’m supposed to know what buttons to push. I do my research.”

“And you did that research on us, huh?” Ethan said. He relaxed a fraction, uncrossing his arms and sliding one hand into his pocket. Avi thought the position looked much more inviting than the stiff stance Ethan had held previously.

“Not on all of you,” Avi admitted. “Most of the people in your group are unknowns. I focused my search mainly on you.” Avi had the good grace to blush as she shifted her weight again. “I mean, how do you think I managed to track your entire group down in the first place? I followed
your
trail, and it led me to all of you.”

Ethan let out a short, gruff laugh and shook his head, running a hand through his dark blond hair. The woman cleaning the rifle looked up suddenly. Avi wondered if Ethan’s laugh had startled the woman and why so simple a sound would make that surprised look cross her face. Perhaps Ethan didn’t laugh very often. Avi filed that observation away in a mental box; it might be something that her superiors would find interesting. Avi gave the unnamed woman a tiny smile as she shoved her hands into her pockets almost casually, unconsciously mimicking Ethan’s stance again.

“And here I was thinking we were being careful about keeping our location from being tracked,” Ethan said. His smile lit up his whole face, making him appear several years younger. “Look, I’ll think about it, okay?” he conceded. “I’ll have to discuss it with my team, see what they think and if they’re willing to go in with you. We’ll have a sit-down later and get more information about what exactly you want to do and where you want to do it. But I’ll warn you, there are at least two members of the group who are going to be against this. It will take some serious work on your part to convince them to go.
No one
will be forced, though. If they say no, that’s it.”

Avi let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. She nodded and pushed her own blond hair back from her face. “I understand. Thank you for at least considering it.”

“I’m not making any promises,” Ethan added quickly. He motioned for Avi to follow him to the dining table. Avi trailed just behind him as he continued. “There’s too much shit that can go wrong on a mission. We don’t normally go into the larger cities like Atlanta; we don’t have that kind of equipment. It’s too risky, and the chances of something going wrong in a city like that are exponentially greater than in a town like this one.” Ethan gave the woman at the table an affectionate smile and squeezed her shoulder. “Ms. Geller, this is Cade Alton. She’s our weapons expert, I suppose you could say. She served in the Israel Defense Forces as a sniper before she moved to the United States.”

Cade gave Avi a warm smile. “Hi, nice to meet you.” She returned her startlingly blue eyes to the part in her hand. “Sorry about the reception you got when you arrived,” Cade continued after Avi acknowledged her greeting. “We’re pretty uptight about security.”

Avi waved off the apology. “It’s fine,” she assured Cade. “I’ve been through a heck of a lot worse. So there are seven of you in all?”

“Yes,” Cade answered. She started to assemble the rifle once again, her hands moving deftly to fit the pieces of the weapon together. As she spoke, Ethan wandered over to the front door to peer out the peephole. “Besides myself and Ethan, there’s Theo Carter and his younger brother Gray. We picked them up in Tupelo. Gray’s a mechanic, mostly body-work, but he’s not too shabby with engines and electronics when the situation calls for it. He’s also fantastic at information gathering, and a decent shot with a hunting rifle. Theo is a paramedic. Having our own medic on board is definitely a plus.” Cade paused as she turned the weapon over and slid the trigger assembly into place.

“Then there’s Remy Angellette,” Cade continued. “We pulled her out of a tight spot in Biloxi about a month after everything got ugly. Brandt and I almost got killed in the process, but it could have been worse.” Cade shrugged nonchalantly and shot Ethan a warning glance as he opened his mouth to speak up. “Remy doesn’t have any military experience or anything, but she’s smart and driven and tough, and she learns quickly. Let’s just say she’s proven her worth.” Cade fell silent as she continued her work on the rifle.

“Who else is there?” Avi prompted.

“Well, there’s Brandt Evans,” Cade said. She finished assembling the rifle and set it carefully on the table. “We met him in Gadsden the day after the Michaluk Virus hit Memphis. He’s a Marine. That’s probably why Ethan likes to stick us in the lead on missions. Out of the entire group, we know what the hell we’re doing and what to look out for better than any of the others.” Cade’s tone wasn’t arrogant, just matter of fact, as if it were something they all acknowledged.

“And lastly is Nikola Klein. She’s the youngest in the group, but she is the best when it comes to scavenging for supplies,” Cade said, a hint of pride in her voice. “Ethan picked her up on a … well, let’s just call it a solo mission to Memphis. Lucky for her, too. I’m sure if he hadn’t, she’d be dead by now.

“You’ll probably meet all of them late this evening or, at worst, in the morning,” Cade added. “They’re all out on supply right now, and Theo is on the roof keeping watch. Ethan and I are the only ones here.”

Avi nodded. Cade picked up the weapon in front of her, snapped a magazine into it, and lifted it to her shoulder, holding it as if she were ready to shoot something. Avi hoped the rifle was unloaded, though the few holes in the dining room wall suggested that the opposite was a regular occurrence. Avi also hoped Cade was halfway as competent shooting the rifle as she was pointing it at walls. Avi’s concerns were alleviated a bit as Cade squeezed the trigger. The rifle clicked to signal it was empty. Cade nodded thoughtfully and set it on the table once again.

“What kind of gun is that?” Avi asked. She rocked forward onto the balls of her feet to get a better look at the rifle. Just the sight of the weapon made her nervous, which was ridiculous. She was supposed to be used to guns by now. Relaxation hadn’t kicked in yet, despite their constant presence in her life.

“This?” Cade asked. She patted the rifle and rubbed a hand lightly along it. “Oh, this is my baby.” She practically glowed as she talked about the weapon. “It’s a seven-point-six-two millimeter Galil sniper rifle,” she explained, speaking slowly and reverently. Avi lifted an eyebrow. Cade’s tone made her sound like she was reciting an owner’s manual long-since memorized. “Semiautomatic, rotating bolt, twenty-five-round magazine, with a ten-by-forty Nimrod scope. I hoard the ammo for this thing like you wouldn’t believe.”

“Cade, you’re starting to talk Greek again,” Ethan said. He chuckled as he came up behind Cade, teasingly flipping her ponytail with one hand. “None of us understands a word you’re saying when you get going about all your gear.”

Cade rolled her eyes and gave the rifle one last pat. “Philistine,” she joked, tilting her head back to look at Ethan. “When are we going to talk to the others?” she asked, her voice suddenly serious. Her vivid eyes slanted toward Avi.

Avi drew in a breath. So the woman
had
listened to their conversation.

“In the morning,” Ethan replied shortly. He beckoned to Avi again. “Come on, Ms. Geller. I’ll show you where you can get some sleep. You look like you haven’t had any real rest in days.”

“I haven’t slept, no,” Avi admitted with a nonchalant shrug, as if sleeplessness were a common state. She suspected that this group went without sleep much more regularly than she did, and she refused to admit that she was bordering on exhaustion. “It’s not really a big deal, though.”

“Yes, it is,” Ethan shot back. “As long as you’re going to be with us, you’ll be treated like one of us. That includes decent amounts of sleep and as much food as we can spare. If we decide to help you, you’d better get used to that.”

“Well, I guess I could do with some rest,” Avi conceded in the face of Ethan’s ire. She paused in mid-step. “When can I get my things back?” she asked, half-turning to Cade. The other woman rose from her seat.

“Oh, tomorrow probably,” Cade replied. She headed to the kitchen, adjusting her ponytail. “I’m going to sharpen your machete, and maybe we’ll get you something else to go with it. A backup, you know? You good with a gun?”

“Not very,” Avi confessed, embarrassed at the admission. Her colleagues had mostly kept her out of situations involving the need for guns. As a result, she was the equivalent of a pencil pusher rather than a warrior. She hadn’t had much experience with firearms.

“Don’t worry about it,” Cade said assuredly. “If you end up staying with us, worst-case scenario is we’ll teach you. But as long as you can handle your blade well, you should be okay in a reasonably small life-threatening situation.” Cade disappeared through the kitchen doorway, leaving Avi feeling vaguely unsettled. Avi hurried to catch up with Ethan, who had already climbed half the stairs and left her behind.

Ethan paused at the second-floor landing to wait for Avi. He leaned against the railing, his legs crossed at the ankles and his hands braced against the wooden rail behind him. “Ms. Geller,” Ethan said when she arrived. He started up the second flight. “I don’t suppose I have to tell you what will happen if you get in our way, either here or on a mission.” He kept his tone mild, but Avi wasn’t fooled. She heard the threat under his words. “We take our safety seriously, and we don’t need you interfering if you’re not going to help.” Ethan paused at the top of the stairs and looked at the closed doors in the hallway one by one. He nodded and led her to the second floor on the right. “This is where you’ll stay,” he announced as he opened the door.

Avi stepped inside and looked around the room. It was mostly bare of furniture, though there was a twin-sized bed on each side of the room. The one to Avi’s right had been recently used; the bed was unmade, and a hairbrush and toothbrush had been tossed carelessly onto the mattress. A satchel leaned against the wall near the headboard.

“You’ll share a room with Remy tonight,” Ethan said. “That is, assuming she gets back before sunset. Otherwise, she’ll hole up somewhere else and you’ll be here alone.” Ethan glanced over the room and added, “We’ll discuss your proposition in the morning, once everyone is back and has had some rest.”

Avi nodded and swept her eyes over the room once more. She opened her mouth to thank Ethan once again for his hospitality and consideration, but before she could get the words out, he turned on his heel and stalked into the hall, shutting the door firmly in her face.

Cade looked up from her quiet contemplation of the front door as Ethan came back downstairs. He looked grumpier than usual, likely from lack of sleep. Cade could sympathize. She
still
suffered from chronic exhaustion brought on by the less than four hours of sleep she’d managed a night for the past year—when she was lucky. That sort of exhaustion could bring the strongest men to their knees; Cade had no idea how she was still able to function at times. But she was sure that if Ethan had an inkling of how tired she was, he wouldn’t be pleased.

“Is anyone back yet?” Ethan asked as he reached the bottom of the staircase. His tone suggested that he was unconcerned with Cade’s answer, but the expression in his eyes spoke of how worried he actually was about their companions.

The Israeli woman hesitated and glanced at the door again, debating how to break the news to Ethan. Straightforward was likely best. Ethan hated people beating around the bush when telling him bad news. Cade returned her eyes to Ethan’s face and shook her head slowly.

“No. No one,” Cade confirmed.

A spasm of emotion crossed Ethan’s face. He quickly schooled his features into a neutral expression. The twitch wouldn’t have been noticeable to most people. But to someone who’d known Ethan as long as Cade had, the look was obvious.