Total Betrayal (Deep Space Endeavor) (13 page)

             
"Jess, I made a promise, I can't tell you."

             
Jesse put it together as a look of shock crossed his face. "It was Nina? Oh no, it's got to be eating her alive. Does Serge know? What happened?"

             
Manny relented, "Alright, here's what happened..."

             
When Manny had finished the story, Jesse thanked him and got ready to board his shuttle. He needed to find Nina before he left and make sure she knew he was behind her decision. It shocked him and he wasn't sure he would have done it, but he knew she needed his reassurance. She approached the shuttle with Suzy and Ariel to say goodbye. He gave Suzy and Ariel each a long hug and a kiss on the cheek. He then asked them if he could talk to Nina alone for a minute.

             
"What's up, Jess?" she asked as Suzy and Ariel walked away.

             
"Nina, I know about you hiring Maria to hit the Enclave after all the assassination attempts."

             
A look of utter shock came across her face, "How? Who?"

             
"I figured it out, I called Manny in and he told me he did it. I knew he was lying and called him on it, but he wouldn't tell me. That's when I knew it was you."

             
Nina looked as though she were about to cry. The one person she had hoped would never find out her darkest secret was calling her out on it. She didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry, Jess, it's just that it really was us or them, and you weren't around to figure things out. I just didn't know what to do." She looked dejectedly at the floor.

             
"Nina, look at me." He said as he raised her head up. "You did the right thing. You protected the people you love most and the people that I love most. I'm not mad at you, I wanted to say thank you."

             
"Really? You're not mad? You wouldn't have tried to find another way?"

             
"I don't know, I wasn't in that situation, but you did the best you could, and if the situation ever arises again, hopefully we can find another way. Does Serge know?"

             
"Yes, he does."

             
"How is he taking it?"

             
"Not real well. I know he still loves me, but things have been different between us since he found out. Part of it might be because the experience changed me, but part of it is him not knowing how to deal with it."

             
"Give it time, Nina, go back to being the woman he fell in love with. It'll work out. I need you to hold everything together here until I come back, are you alright with that?"

             
"I guess so; I just really wish you wouldn't go. I don't trust them."

             
"The attempts on our lives have stopped since I first spoke to Bliney and he's escorting me in under a Banner of Peace. In the history of the Coalition, no one has ever been detained or mistreated while under a Banner of Peace. I wasn't here when most of the stuff happened, so I may be the only one who can put an end to it. If we go to war with them, all could be lost to the aliens. I have to at least try."

             
"I know, Jess, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."

             
"I love you so much, Nina. You're the person I trust most in the universe. I can leave with confidence that if anything were to happen, Polisia would be in great hands." He hugged his sister and then turned to go. He said goodbye to Josiah, Collin and the rest of
Endeavor's
crew. He was about to leave when he realized there was one more person he needed to say goodbye to.

______

              Tanna landed the cloaked shuttle five meters from the edge of the lake with some dense foliage to the shuttle's back. Josiah, Maria, Reece and Jason exited the shuttle under the cover of night and stealthily inched their way into the water. Tanna watched anxiously, ready to call for reinforcements should they be needed. She could see the guards across the lake out by where she assumed Jesse's house was before his sister blew it up. There were big lights focused on the rubble and construction workers clearing the site. They had apparently gotten here with little time to spare. She commed Josiah as he swam, "Jo, there is a strong military presence here, be quick and be quiet, even with reinforcements, I'm not sure we could take this many."

             
"Copy that, Tanna," he replied as a handheld device pulled him quickly through the water. Being underwater almost felt like being in another world to him. Josiah loved the water, he would have preferred to swim the lake, feeling his muscles tighten with each knife-edged stroke through the water, but time was of the essence. They reached the other side of the lake and quickly found the fake rocky outcropping hiding the entrance.

             
While Jason was entering the proper codes, Reece marveled, "I can't believe this is a decoy, I never would have figured this for a fake wall."

             
"No one would, Reece, that's kind of the point." Maria laughed.

             
"Still, this is impressive." Just then, the wall opened and they swam into the chamber behind. When the wall had closed, Jason hit the switch and the water began to drain from the chamber.

             
Several soldiers noticed a disturbance in the water and went to the edge of the lake to have a look. "What did you see, Davis?" The officer in charge called.

             
"Not sure, Sarge, but the water was definitely moving."

             
"Could it have been from the construction equipment clearing the rubble?"

             
"No, this was different, steadier, then stopping abruptly."

             
"Alright then, let's get some people in the water and have a look. I'll call in for some divers. This was the Colonel's house, so we can't be too careful." He called his superiors and was told divers were on the way.

             
Tanna watched intently as the soldiers stood by the lake and called up to Collin to see if he could intercept their transmissions. He was able to catch the end of it and sent it to Tanna immediately; she commed Josiah again with the bad news. "Jo, your entrance disturbed the water and some soldiers came over to have a look. They've called for divers, so you don't have much time."

             
"We'll have to be quick, then; thanks for the heads up, Tanna." He turned to his team and said, "Our entrance disturbed the lake, company's on the way, so let's make this quick." Jason smiled as the door to the lab opened and he took out the pouch they were to put the notebooks and hard drive in. The musty smell of an unused room hit them as they made their way into the dimly lit room.

             
"Look at this place," Maria whispered in awe. "I knew Jesse was careful, but this is downright paranoid."

             
"It's only paranoid if they're not out to get you," Jason laughed. “Apparently, Jesse wasn't paranoid enough."

             
"This is a legit lab, too. Look at this, ten-foot ceilings, it's got to be easily eight by ten meters. Stainless steel walls and workstations, an entire wall of monitors, hover-chairs, he wasn't messing around. He even has a small kitchen in one corner and a cot in another."

             
"So this is how Jesse spent his weekends, huh?" Reece asked with a laugh.

             
"At least some of them," Josiah agreed. "Jason, how are we coming with that safe?"

             
"Almost there, this security is no joke. Even with the proper combinations and codes it's a couple minute process, I'd hate to think about trying to break into this without them."

             
"I'm done with the charges, this place is toast once we leave; Jesse doesn't want Rhodes and Lucien to have any of it, even the chairs."

             
"Got it," Jason called as he began to fill the pouch with the notebooks and hard drive. There was also a stack of cash and what looked like a prototype of a new blaster. Jesse hadn't mentioned them, but Jason grabbed them as well. "Got it all, let's get going."

             
As they exited the room and waited for the chamber to refill with water before they could exit into the lake, Tanna commed Josiah again. "Be careful, divers are in the lake. Looks like about ten of them. There are also two more full units on the property, they're taking no chances."

             
"Thanks, Tanna, be ready to lift off quickly, we'll be coming in hot." He turned to his team and added, "Reece and Jason exit left, Maria and I will exit right. We leave the wall open and blow the lab as soon as we're clear. Hopefully the distraction will give us a head start back to the shuttle." The wall opened and they exited the chamber to see ten divers in the murky waters shining lights in their direction. Maria hit the button and the explosion sent a wave out across the lake. Josiah's team used the distraction to quickly make their way back towards the other side of the lake, but the divers recovered more quickly than Josiah had hoped and began to fire on them while following. The soldiers on the ground saw the underwater blasterfire and began to make their way around the lake, hoping to cut off their unseen foes’ escape.

             
"Jo, we've got ground forces on their way to my position, I'll hold as long as I can, but we can't let them get a hold of this shuttle."

             
"No, we can't," Josiah replied as he grunted. "Call in
Endeavor
to strafe the soldiers, Make sure Collin knows to de-cloak in the clouds so no one sees it. He's to cover your position until we're aboard. I gotta go, we're taking heavy fire." He turned and began returning fire while Maria rigged some more explosives. She tapped his shoulder when they were ready and they began to flee again. Josiah hoped they were still heading in the right direction because it's easy to get confused underwater, but a look at his compass told him he was okay. When their pursuers got close, Maria set off her trap. The resulting explosion ended the chase and trapped some of the divers under debris. Now, their friends had a choice, continue pursuit of Reece and Jason or save their teammates. They chose to continue after Jason and Reece, and Reece had to stop to engage. Meanwhile, they were still evading streaks of light being fired by the soldiers on land into the water. Josiah was hoping the water would attenuate the blaster's effectiveness, but the hit he took in the chest told him there was no such luck.

             
"Just go, Jason, I'll be right behind you," Reece called as one of the divers lunged at him with a knife. Reece barely escaped the blade when another diver swam into him, grabbing his waist. They were going all out to capture or kill him.

             
"Hold on, Reece," Josiah yelled into the comms as he and Maria closed on his location. Maria shot a small hooked projectile into the back of the diver hounding Reece with the knife pressed the recall button quickly, dragging him away. She finished him off with her own blade and kept moving. Josiah stunned the other diver and the three turned to go. Jason was already in the shuttle, but it was too late for the rest of them. Angry soldiers blocked their path to the shuttle.

             
Endeavor
strafed the ground in front of the soldiers, causing them to scatter away from the lake, as Josiah's team broke for the shuttle. Maria took a shot to the back as two of the divers had followed, but Reece quickly took them out and helped Maria back to her feet. By this time, some air support was on the way and they quickly moved to enter the shuttle as
Endeavor
lit the area up one more time. Tanna took off when they were all aboard and
Endeavor
made for the sky. To anyone observing, it would have looked like Josiah's team fled into the dense tree line on the other side of the lake. Coalition forces would search, but they would find no one. Tanna's shuttle caught up with
Endeavor
on the dark side of the moon and Josiah immediately commed Nina.

             
"Nina, the package is secure and the lab is destroyed. It got a little hairy, but we're okay."

             
"Good job, Josiah, but we need you to stay on Earth a little bit longer. Admiral Collingsworth’s family has been forced out of hiding and we only have a small window fourteen hours from now to safely extract them. While you're there, Ariel would really like you to look for Carmine. I'm sending a list of his possible whereabouts. She's worried that she hasn't heard from him in a while, so let's ease her mind. The Collingsworth family is the top priority, though. We can't let Rhodes get his hands on them."

             
"No problem, we're on it. Anything else going on we should know about?"

             
"Jesse's about to leave to meet with Admiral Bliney under the Coalition's Banner of Peace, so please keep your eyes and ears open for anything we should know about concerning that."