The general, however, did not. “Many of us were not fully aware of what Daedalus was carrying out or how they were acquiring the Luxen and hybrids. There will be a lot of changes in the future.”
“He’s one of the big guys who put the smackdown on Daedalus.” Luc folded his arms behind his head, and I had no idea where his fruit box had gone. His slippery gaze slid over to Nancy, and a chilling grin tilted his lips. “I think he’s kind of cool.”
“That means a lot to me,” the general replied drily, and Archer’s cough sounded suspiciously like a laugh. “We may not see eye to eye or think along the same lines,” he said to me, “and I will never be able to say anything that will make up for what was done to your family or to those you care for.” With that, he passed a stern look in Nancy’s direction. “Those who were responsible for the more unsavory aspects of Daedalus will be punished accordingly.”
Kat gaped at him.
“Wait.” I moved closer to her—not that I was far away in the first place. Now I was practically standing on top of her. “That’s all great that you love yourself some Luxen, but why in the hell would you trust any of us right now? Why would we trust you?”
The general tilted up his chin. “I know you don’t think you and your brother are the only Luxen to ever mutate a human you care deeply for. Matter of fact, I think you also realize that there are many Luxen out there who would do anything to protect the human or humans they care for. I know that bond is stronger than the influence of those who have recently arrived. I know that for a fact.”
“How?” Kat asked.
“Because my daughter and her husband are here on the base,” he said, looking at me. “And yes, he is a Luxen.”
I could feel Kat’s eyes on me as I watched the general. For some screwed-up reason, out of everything, that had to be the most shocking shit I’d heard. I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “Your daughter is married to a Luxen?”
Nancy’s lips pursed, and I thought her cheeks might cave in.
“They’ve been married for five years,” he said, and as he folded his arms, the dark blue uniform stretched over his shoulders.
“Your daughter is married to a Luxen, and you’re okay with what Nancy was doing to them? To us?” Anger flashed across Kat’s face.
A long look of chagrin settled in his eyes. “As I said, there were things we were unaware of.”
“That’s not an excuse,” she said, and damn, I knew she was about to get a wee bit feisty.
His lips twitched as if he wished to smile. “You remind me of my daughter.”
Nancy turned her cheek, and I swore her eyes rolled.
“I know there is nothing I can do to change what has been done in the past other than ensuring it will never happen again. And I will.” He drew in a breath. “But right now, we have an unprecedented global disaster on our hands. That is all I can focus on.”
“Global disaster.” Luc arched a brow. “That sounds so incredibly dramatic and like there’s—” A muted beep cut him off. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.
Luc dropped his sneakers onto the floor, his expression stark as he shot to his feet. “Got something I need to take care of.”
He headed for the door without a backward glance, his free hand curling into a fist, and warnings fired off, one at a time. I’d never seen Luc look so . . . so unsettled.
It’s okay. Archer’s voice filtered through my thoughts. What he has going on right now has nothing to do with any of this.
Call me paranoid if that doesn’t mean shit to me, I sent back at him.
The general is legit, Archer replied, his gaze locking with mine. And like I said, what Luc is dealing with has nothing to do with it.
I still wasn’t 100 percent on board, so I draped my arm around Kat’s shoulders just in case. My gaze flickered over the general and Nancy. I wasn’t sure what was really going on there. “Where’s the other one?” I asked. “Sergeant Dasher?”
Nancy turned to me. “He’s dead.”
Against my side, Kat stiffened. “How?” she asked.
“In a fight with the Luxen just outside of Vegas.” Nancy’s dark eyes narrowed on us. “That should make both of you happy.”
“I can’t say I’m going to lose any sleep.” I held her gaze until she looked away. Dasher may not have been a complete sociopath like her, but he was on my To-Kill list.
At least I could mark his name off.
“General Eaton.” A voice traveled from a man near the large monitor. He was standing, arms pressed to his sides. “We’re five minutes out.”
Five minutes out from what?
No sooner was that thought finished than the image on the monitor zoomed in and the tops of buildings became clearer, as did congested streets. Some areas were nothing but blobs of gray smoke.
“What is this?” Kat asked, stepping forward and out from underneath my arm.
I glanced at Archer, and at once, I knew this was what he wanted us to see. “What’s going on?”
The general strode down the middle of the room, past the lines of smaller monitors and people pecking away at their computers. “This is what we are doing to stop the invasion.”
I turned my gaze back to the screen. Man, I had a real bad feeling about all of this.
“Four minutes,” another guy up front announced.
Yep. When people started counting down, no good shit came from that. Kat had asked for clarification, but as I stared at the twinkling lights of the city, an idea began to take form in the back of my head.
“What you see on the screen is Los Angeles,” the general explained. “There was a significant number of invading Luxen there, all who have taken human form, mostly government officials and others in positions of power. They have rapidly assimilated the human DNA of those who are around the age necessary to have a family. We have people in there who’ve been keeping us up to date, but as of yesterday night, we’ve lost complete control of the city.”
“Oh wow.” Kat folded her arms around her as she stared at the monitor.
“We’ve also lost Houston, Chicago, and Kansas City,” Nancy interjected. “That we know of at this point. The only city we’ve been able to hold without any Luxen is D.C., but the invaders are amassing tremendous forces around the city—Alexandria, Arlington, Mount Rainier, and Silver Spring are all almost completely under their control.”
Damn.
“And we don’t know of any Origins inside D.C. who might have joined forces with the invading Luxen,” he added. “We’re hoping that’s not the case, but we have to plan for it.”
“Three minutes.”
My gaze landed on the back of the man counting. “What happens in three minutes?”
Kat turned around, her face pale, and I knew her mind was going where mine was, and none of this was heading to a pleasant place.
“We have to stop the Luxen by any means necessary that will result in minimal human casualties.” The general’s shoulders rose as he drew in a deep breath. “Obviously, that limits what we can do.”
Archer pushed off the wall, gliding closer, as if he expected me to lose my shit when my suspicions were confirmed.
“The president of the United States, in conjunction with the secretary of defense, has approved a test strike of an EMP over the city of Los Angeles.”
I stared at the general.
“EMP?” Kat said, her eyes wide.
“Electromagnetic pulse weaponized in the form of several nonnuclear e-bombs,” he explained, and my stomach dropped to my feet. “It will work just like a PEP weapon once the bomb detonates around a three-hundred-foot elevation, but on a more widespread level. Expected loss of human life is nominal, limited to those with heart disease or other disorders that might be susceptible to an electric pulse of that magnitude . . . and currently those whose lives are dependent upon life-support systems.”
“Two minutes, elevation at seven hundred feet,” came from the front, followed by a static-filled voice announcing the location over a radio signal.
Archer was now standing near me.
“Most humans will experience a burst of pain and momentary paralysis,” he continued as Kat turned back to the screen. “The EMP will act as a lethal, immediate kill weapon to any Luxen, hybrid, or Origin within the strike zone.”
Holy shit.