Kennedy watched him stash the pistols. “What are those for, sir?”
He twisted his lip. “If we need a peace offering.”
*
Harrison was on point as they moved through one of the underground passages between Krypton’s key buildings. It was hot as hell, but he knew it was safer than being upstairs where everything was falling apart. The thought crossed his mind and he felt a twinge of uneasiness. He’d felt it before a few times in his life. It was when he knew he was doing something wrong.
They had Stealth in handcuffs. After seeing her move in Smith’s office, he’d used two sets of cuffs. One was latched on her wrists, the other pinched her arms together a few inches above the first set. They’d shackled her legs, too. Polk and Taylor kept her at gunpoint as they marched down the tunnel. The chains rustled and chimed as she shuffled along the hallway.
Harrison turned to Smith. The agent walked between him and Stealth. He didn’t seem scared of her at all. “Sir,” said Harrison, “may I have a word?”
Smith glanced at his watch. “You do know we’re running a tight schedule, don’t you, Sergeant?”
“Yes, sir. Of course, sir. It’s just...” Static roared in his head and he had to blink it away. He rubbed his face with his hand and realized his nose was bleeding again. He saw the swath of red on his hand and it helped him focus. “It sounds like there was some truth to what she said, about the Nest units not working. Perhaps we should contact Captain Freedom and make sure...”
“Make sure of what?”
“That we’re doing... that we should be...”
Smith watched the blood flow out of sergeant’s nose and tried not to take too much pleasure in it. He twitched when the voice spoke next to his ear.
“He is resisting your attempt to control him,” said Stealth.
Polk grabbed her shoulder and yanked her back. Smith could still feel her eyes boring into him. The woman had incredible willpower. He’d asked her to be quiet twice now. He hoped her nose was gushing blood under her mask.
“The sergeant just needs a moment to process his orders,” said the agent. He looked at the other soldiers. “We don’t need to remember this moment of weakness, do we?”
They nodded with the serene faces of discreet gentlemen. “Of course not, sir,” said Polk.
“Excellent. Thank you both.” He turned to Harrison. “We’re going to follow Colonel Shelly’s last orders, remember? We’re going to get this prisoner to Groom Lake and establish a base there. It’s even more urgent now that this ‘Legion’ is attacking here.”
Stealth spun and brought her arms down over Polk’s head. Twin blows to the base of the collarbones stunned him and trapped his neck between the two sets of handcuff chains. She vaulted over him, swung her hips across his shoulders, and dropped to the ground behind the soldier. The cuffs on her wrists pulled tight across his throat. “Release me,” she said, “or I will kill him.”
Taylor had his Bravo inches from her head, brushing the fabric of her hood. Harrison and Hayes stayed a few feet back with their weapons raised. “Don’t be stupid,” said Harrison. “You know you can’t get out of here.”
She tugged on the handcuffs again and laced her fingers over Polk’s mouth and nose. “He will asphyxiate in two minutes if you do not place your weapons on the ground and give me the handcuff key.”
“Standard procedure for moving prisoners,” said Harrison. “The key’s never in transit, only at either end of the—”
“The key is in the left front pocket of your pants on a silver ring. Corporal Polk now has one minute forty-six seconds left to live.”
“You’re supposed to be one of the good guys,” said Hayes. “You’re not going to kill a soldier in the line of duty.”
“One minute thirty-three seconds.”
“Oh, for Christ’s sake,” said Smith, shaking his head. “You’re not going to kill him, are you, Stealth?”
The cloaked woman lurched forward an inch, just enough to loosen the chain. Polk took a deep, wheezing breath. “No,” she said.
“Would you mind releasing him then?”
She unlaced her fingers and pulled her arms over his head. In the process she yanked out his earbud, mussed his hair, and knocked off his cap. He took another deep breath. “Fucking bitch,” he muttered.
Smith gave her an annoyed look. “Can we make it all the way onto the helicopter without any more outbursts?”
“Of course,” she said.
“Thank you.”
“Do not expect to bend me to your will,” she said. Her voice was loud and clear in the tunnel.
“Lady, you’re already bent,” he said. “Be thankful I just want to get out of here or you’d be putting on a donkey show for the soldiers.”
Taylor chuckled.
“You have demonstrated a small amount of control when I was unprepared. Your limited influence forces you to use more indirect means. If you could assert direct control, you would have done so.”