“Yeah, I’m an American.”
“Really? You don’t seem like the way my Uncle described Americans.” He felt her eyes climb up and down his now-dirty cream-colored suit. “What’s it like there?”
He could just imagine the horror stories of the evil and immoral American capitalist regime that had been drilled into Ling’s head. “It’s a great place where people are free to live their lives the way they choose.”
The girl’s eyes sparkled at the thought. He knew that such a vision of a perfect America where freedom rang and everyone was treated equally wasn’t entirely accurate, but it was a sufficient one-sentence answer. Plus, he didn’t have time to give a politics lesson, and the ultra-idealized version of America was much closer than the lies he suspected she had been told her whole life.
As he scanned the monitors, his thoughts shifted to the scheduled rendezvous with the rest of the team from Delta. He had no idea where he was supposed to meet them. That information had been lost along with Mueller. For a moment, he considered how he could get in contact with them. He needed to warn them about the beast.
“Ling, have you seen any other people in the city? Other soldiers maybe?”
The girl’s eyes darted away, and she seemed to shrink.
“What’s wrong?”
She swallowed hard. “We were living in a building north of here when we heard men screaming and lots of shooting. We went to see what was happening.” She hesitated. “That’s when we first saw the monster.”
He closed his eyes and thought of all the soldiers he had seen die in combat, all of the families back home that would receive notices of their loved ones’ deaths but never know the classified details. They would never know that their family members died as heroes defending the world from forces beyond imagining.
He opened his eyes and looked to the bank of monitors. “Ling, can you show me the building where you heard the screams?”
9.
Ling examined the walkie-talkie that Knight had found on a shelf in the back of the bunker, twisting it over in her hand and studying each knob and button.
“Are you sure that you understand everything?” Knight said.
Ling nodded and repeated his instructions. “If Jiao or I see anything on the monitors, then we call you on the radio. And don’t touch any of the knobs because you’ve already dialed in the proper frequency.”
“That’s right. And whatever you do, don’t leave this bunker. You’ll be safe here. There’s food and drinks in the back.” He had already searched through the rest of the chamber and found that it apparently did pull double duty as a bomb shelter. There was a storeroom in the back that held enough supplies to sustain at least a dozen people for a week. He suspected that it was designed to hold the top city government officials and their families in case of an emergency. The kids would be safe here for a long time while he dealt with whatever enemy waited outside.
He moved to the first workstation and brought up the camera feed of the hallway outside the bunker. The beast was gone, but he had spent the past hour trying to locate it on any other camera and had come up with nothing. He suspected that it was out there somewhere waiting for him, but he couldn’t stay holed up inside the bunker forever. He had a job to do.
If the team from Delta had gone up against the creature, then the chances they were still alive was slim, but he had to know either way. And maybe he could at least gather some intel from the scene to shed light on what exactly he was up against.
“Once it’s safe, I’ll be back to get you both out of here.”
“Please,” Jiao said. “Don’t leave. Don’t go.” The boy struggled to keep his emotions in check. Tears welled in his eyes. His voice shook. But he stuck his chin out, doing his best to appear tough.
Knight knew the kid had been abandoned, first by his parents in death, and then by the betrayal of an abusive uncle, but there was no way he could stay with the kids. Nor could he take them along for the ride and keep them safe.
Knight crouched in front of the boy. “I have to go,” he said. “Not because I want to, but because I have to. It’s the only way any of us will get out of this mess. Understand?”
A furtive nod confirmed the boy’s understanding.
“You have Ling,” Knight said. “She’s never left you, right?”
Another nod.
“And she’s kept you safe? You trust her?”
“Yes.”
“Then trust her now. And me. I won’t leave you here. I promise.”