Enemy One (Epic Book 5) (66 page)

“Praise Him in the good, praise Him in the bad.” It was a catchphrase he’d heard all his life, stereotypical of the down-home churches in his region of the country. But what was one to do when their own actions prompted the bad? Scott had screwed up so many times between then and now, it was hard to feel spiritual at all. Was he supposed to praise God for deciding on his own to be a hero in Chicago? Was he supposed to praise God for the lustful seed he’d allowed himself to plant that night in the lounge at
Novosibirsk
? Was he supposed to lift his hands in praise for murdering Sergei Steklov in a misguided attempt to avenge his fiancée’s murder? These didn’t seem like reasons to praise anyone. They seemed like reasons to give up on trying. For a while, he had. So what was he to do? The correct answer was, of course, to give it to God. If only he knew what that actually meant.

You let me do some pretty rotten things to bring me to this point. You let a lot of people get hurt.
Closing his eyes, more in exhaustion than reverence, he sighed.
If this was all for some greater good, I really need to start seeing it.

The thoughts didn’t feel jaded. They felt honest. They were the kind of thoughts—prayers—that he’d been incapable of making back in
Philadelphia
, when cookie-cutter philosophies with no substance were what drove him. He was realizing now that God’s task wasn’t to give His children good lives. It was to comfort them through painful ones.

Sitting up from the bottom bunk, Scott slowly pushed up to a stand. His thigh still hurt badly. He had a feeling it’d be a while before it felt right. At least he was alive. Running a hand through his hair, Scott limped across the room.

When I see you, Sveta, I’m not even going to say a thing—I’m just going to grab you and kiss you.
He’d actually dwelt on that thought for some time now. In much the same way he’d fantasized about moments with Nicole, he now did the same with the woman who’d taken her place. He imagined looking into Svetlana’s eyes—those deep, ocean-blue eyes—and placing his hand behind her head, cradling the back of her neck under her golden strands of hair as he drew her in and took her breath away. He’d make her melt right then and there. He would be hers to do as she pleased with. To kiss him, to wrap her arms around him. To be with him, body and soul.
Svetlana Remington
. Even now, he longed for that name. Who else was he ever going to meet to rival her? They were meant to be. Destined in a way that only God could have ordained.

Just like Nicole had been.

Scott was on the verge of a depressing thought when a knock at the door interrupted it. Casting a curious eye its way, he grabbed his crutches and made his way over. Reaching out for the door, Scott turned the knob and pulled it open.

It was Tiffany Feathers.

She must have known immediately that of all the people he could have expected to knock, she was at the bottom of the list. The almost apologetic frown on her face gave it away. “Heya,” she said quietly.

It didn’t even register as an improper introduction. It just sounded like Tiffany. Sliding his hands into his pockets, he said, “Hello, Tiffany. Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” she answered quickly, nodding her head as if to reassure him. “Can you, umm…take a little walk?”

“Take a little walk? To where?”

The apologetic frown remained. “To the medical bay. Someone there wants to talk to you.”

Someone must have woken up. Could it have been Max? What a boost in morale his presence would be.

Before he could pontificate on it too much, Tiffany ended the suspense. “It’s Captain Rockwell.”

Scott blinked. “Captain Rockwell.”

“Yes, sir.” The apology in her smile faded, leaving the traces of something genuine in its wake. “I think the conversation’s gonna be good.”

Natalie. What in the world does she want this late at night? What does she want at all?
As Scott followed Tiffany down the hall to the medical bay, those questions circulated in his mind. The conversation he’d had with her before—the one in which he’d implored her to trust—had been somewhat positive, despite Natalie’s obvious and understandable misgivings about him. But he was still surprised to have her call upon him at this hour. Had something happened to change her mind?

Stepping into the darkened medical bay, the first person who caught Scott’s eye was not Natalie, but the night nurse, who was dutifully standing in front of Natalie’s quarantine cell. Stepping between Scott and the nurse, Tiffany smiled. “Scott, Inna. Inna, Scott.”

Scott and Inna swapped formal smiles.
Let’s get on with it, then.

“So, my friend Inna here is just going to hang,” said Tiffany, “and I’ll be here for moral support.”

“I want to go in the cell.”

The moment Scott said it, Tiffany and Inna raised eyebrows. “Excuse me?” the nurse asked.

Scott motioned to the glass separating Natalie from the rest of the room. “I want in there. If she wants to talk, we’re going to talk face-to-face.”

“You can talk face-to-face through the glass,” Inna said. “I am sorry, but—”

“I didn’t ask for your permission.” He didn’t have the time or patience for this.

Inna’s jaw set. For several seconds, she stared at Scott with a mix of fear and disapproval, before lowering her chin and stating quite coldly, “As you wish. I will not be held responsible for—”

“Nothing’s going to happen,” Scott said. “And if it does, I can take her. I’ll beat her with my crutches. Lock me in there if that makes you feel better.” Looking back at Tiffany, he said, “I appreciate the offer for moral support, but this is something that needs to be done just me and her. You can stay in the room, but just let us talk.”

The pilot nodded without argument. “You’re the boss.”

Stepping past Inna, Scott made his way for the cell. With extreme reluctance, Inna followed him, reaching out to unlock the quarantine cell door as Natalie watched with a raised eyebrow. “You’re coming in?” Natalie asked through the glass.

“I’m coming in,” answered Scott. If nothing else, it would show her that he was willing to have this conversation person-to-person rather than captor-to-captive. He hoped. Inna pulled the door open, and Scott stepped inside. Natalie stepped backward to allow him plenty of room. The moment Scott crossed the threshold, Inna closed and locked the door behind him. On any other day, Scott might have found the act humorous. But finding humor right now just didn’t quite feel appropriate. “You wanted to see me?” Scott asked, leaning his crutches against the wall as he looked at Natalie across the cell.

For several moments, Natalie simply scrutinized him, her emerald eyes boring deep into him almost as if sizing up a challenger. At long last, her tension eased up. Drawing in a deep breath, she finally said, “I get it.”

Angling his head curiously, Scott asked, “Come again?”

“As much as it pains me to say it, and believe me, it pains me…I get it. I’ve talked to you, I’ve talked to some of the others.” Briefly, Natalie’s eyes drifted to Tiffany. “Miss Feathers and your former colonel, most notably. Everything points to you being in an unwinnable situation.”

A shimmer appeared in Natalie’s eyes. It took Scott a moment to realize that it was anger.

Sucking in and with her expression hard, Natalie said, “I am so angry at you for what you did. I am so…” Her fists trembled. “I am so livid. Please appreciate how hard it is for me to do this, when I hate you like I’ve never hated a man.”

She was on the verge of turning. She was actually on the verge.
Come on, Natalie…you can do it…

“I believe…” Her voice shook. “…that you are not a villain by choice.” As the first tear fell, Natalie’s face twisted horribly in rage. Whatever she had prepared to say went flying out the window. Looking back at him and tear-filled, she pointed at him from across the cell.
“Why did it have to be me?”

The eruption was ear-piercing. It actually made him jump.

“Why did it have to be my life, my career?”
Biting down on her fist, she dropped into a crouch and bowed her head. He could see her teeth biting into her hand. Rising again, she shot daggers his way. “I did everything anyone ever asked of me! I worked hard, I paid my dues. I sold out to this job with
pride
!”

The rest of the room was silent.

“I worked so
damn
hard to get where I was,” she said, slamming her fist sideways against the glass behind. “I have nothing. You have left me…with
nothing
. So please…” Closing her eyes, she swallowed to regain herself. “Please appreciate how very hard this is, when you made me look like a fool.”

All the while she spoke, Scott said nothing. He could feel the tension of Tiffany and Inna outside the glass. This moment was Natalie’s. More than she may have needed it, she deserved it.

At long last, she managed to say the words. “What can I do to help you find the truth?” The moment Natalie spoke, her face reddened, and she looked away. She was humiliated.

Taking a step in her direction, Scott said, “Natalie…”

“Don’t,”
she said, holding up a hand without looking. “Don’t ‘Natalie’ me. Just tell me what I can do.”

Ceasing his approach, Scott returned to the wall. Without saying anything, he nodded his head a single time.
So, here we go.
“There’s a Ceratopian device that’s being shipped on a train that runs from the EDEN base of
Nagoya
to Tokyo. We need to intercept it. H`laar,” he said, motioning to Centurion, “that is, the Ceratopian this big guy was assigned to protect, had recorded evidence of Judge Benjamin Archer conspiring with other Ceratopians. Those are the only details I know, but I can only assume that he’s selling out Earth, or something along those lines. If he’s doing that, there must be something in it for him.” The whole while he spoke, her simmering gaze stayed fixed on him. “We need to get that device, then get it out there for the world to see. EDEN is the good guy, but all signs from our end point to Judge Archer being a bad seed. If he’s working against Earth, then he’s more dangerous than the aliens.”

“You need to hijack a train,” she said. “To get all this evidence, and to bring it to the light, you need to hijack a train.”

Scott nodded. “Pretty much, yeah.”

Very briefly, her gaze drifted to his leg. She returned it to his face. “When is this going down?”

“Next week. Tuesday.”

“Your leg won’t be healed by Tuesday.”

Scott chuckled humorlessly. “Yeah, I know.” Right then, and suddenly, he caught what she was insinuating. Eyes narrowing ever so faintly, he was suddenly the one scrutinizing her. “Are you…” He left the question out there for her to finish. When she didn’t, he did it himself. “Are you offering to be a part of this?”

“I’m offering to lead it.”

His eyes widened. To lead it? Had he heard that right? Her emerald stare was still locked, still simmering. She was serious. “You’re offering to
lead
it?”

“I was the captain of the Caracals for a reason. You saw me operate in Luxor. You don’t have anyone more qualified than me.”

“Now, hang on.” Even with his preparation for an uncomfortable conversation, this was something he never expected. Natalie Rockwell,
leading
the Fourteenth?

Before he could say anything further, she stopped him. “You owe me this. You owe me the chance to see the truth for myself.”

“But you’ve basically been a hostage. If I put you in charge of an operation…how are my guys supposed to trust you?”

“Do you believe my offer is genuine?”

Scott set his hands on his hips. Briefly, he looked away. “Natalie…”

“Look at me,” she said, her stare holding its ground as he looked back. “Look me in the eyes. Do you believe my offer is genuine?”

Despite her demand, he found himself sighing and looking to the floor. Rubbing the back of his head, he shook it. There was no other way for him to answer. “Yeah, I do.” He knew this wasn’t a façade. Her intensity was honest. “Let’s say, hypothetically, that I entertain this. How do I sell this to my crew?”

Behind him, Tiffany cleared her throat. “I’d support her.”

Come on, Tiff.
He found himself shooting her a look. “You’re coming at this from the outside. There are a lot more people in play here.” He looked back at Natalie. “Esther, for one, wouldn’t buy into this for a second.”

“Let me handle Esther,” said Natalie firmly. “Believe me, nothing would bring me more pleasure than to ‘handle’ Esther.”

“You say that, but she’s not the kind of girl you want to be enemies with.”

Natalie’s expression remained focused. “If she gives me a problem, I’ll handle it. But I’m extending to you my trust that you’ll sell the idea yourself.”

“That’s a heck of a lot of trust.”

“Maybe I’m in a trusting mood.” Flatly, she said, “Maybe I want Esther to call me
Venus
one more time.”

Scott rubbed his eyes. “That’s guaranteed to happen.”

“I hope it does.”

There was no doubt in Scott’s mind that, emotional turmoil aside, there was no one more able to do this than Natalie. All this time, he’d wanted her to come to their side. Now, she was offering it. How could he
not
try to sell it? Exhaling a long, but quiet breath, he said, “All right. But listen, you’re really going to have to follow my lead, here. These guys
will
buy into you, if…” Biting his lower lip, he sought for the words. “If you buy into them.”

“Asking you for this is humiliating,” Natalie said. “Personally, professionally. In every sense. If I’m willing to endure that, don’t you think I’m willing to buy into your crew?” Closing her eyes with intention, the former Caracal captain’s voice softened. “Listen. I signed up for this war to make a difference. To help save this planet.” Her eyes reopened. “If everything you’ve said, and that the Falcons have told me, is true…then I may very well have done the same thing you did in
Cairo
had I been in your shoes. I would like to think that I’d have extended you more trust than you extended me there, because I would’ve come with you had you told me the truth then, but I wasn’t the one in that position. I was on the side that, for all you know, could have blown your operation apart. And had you told me, and I
hadn’t
believed you,” she drew in a breath through her nostrils, “I think I know what you would have had to do. And so for that, with as much dignity as I can possibly muster, and though it revolts me to say it, thank you.”