Rising Tomorrow (Roc de Chere Book 1), Mariana Morgan [epub e ink reader .TXT] 📗

made and to use the power he had with surgical precision. Just like his old-time mentor, the General, did. That was possibly now out of the question, having had his real identity compromised so thoroughly, but he was going to go down fighting.

And if things were about to go spectacularly wrong, he was probably going to drag quite a few people down with him. Megan. Ingram. Rivas.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he pondered the promotion he had recommended Rivas for shortly before he went undercover. A long-overdue promotion.

If for some reason I fail to clear my name, not only will they dismiss my recommendation but they will go through Rivas’ life with a fine-tooth comb, digging out his dirty past in the process, since the records haven’t been expunged yet. Even if he survives this, he will be ruined.

‘I’m sorry, Lieutenant.’ He focused his eyes on the committed and devoted redhead in front of him. ‘You can’t go back, and I need you here.’

The younger man inhaled deeply, but refused to look away.

‘Yes, sir,’ he replied simply.

Rivas had thought about it already. He knew about the impending promotion and had figured out all the possible consequences of obeying illegal orders given by his now ex-CO. In fact, his thoughts had gone further than that.

He had been ready to die when the news had spread declaring his CO rogue while he was deep in MIS HQ. The little suicide device he had implanted in his tooth didn’t even need to be put on standby first. He could use it anytime. It was a hundred per cent effective, and would turn his nervous system into a mush that no amount of nano-intervention could fix. It was also undetectable by any scanners until activated; one would need to extract the tooth in question and perform a chemical analysis on it. Rivas had always wondered whether Colonel Larsen would be impressed or scandalised if he knew. Or maybe he wouldn’t react at all, expecting all his people to have made similar arrangements.

Lieutenant Rivas didn’t want to die. He still had unpaid debts, but he knew that when the time came, his death would help pay some of them off. Not to the people that he had wronged—it was too late for that—but he was hoping to pay off his debt to humanity at large. He would make sure that his death would have a meaning.

Today, however, he was relieved to be alive. He almost hadn’t believed the anonymous message that had told him he had one hour to disappear.

‘What’s next, sir?’ he enquired.

‘You will take a Stealthy out at seven. I want you to approach the East Side to monitor any police activity above the crash site. See what they are up to. You should have about an hour of daylight. After that I want you to overfly the slums, low.’

Lieutenant Rivas opened his mouth to ask what for, but then chose to bite his tongue instead. If Ingram and Eloise had died in the crash, there would be nothing to find. If they had survived, they would be so deep underground there would be even less to find. There was no logical reason to go. There would be nothing to see that they couldn’t get from Lyon’s net of satellites. Gonzalez was just trying to keep him busy.

No, he’s trying to keep himself busy, Rivas realised. And I will spend however long I have to riding a Stealthy in the cold of the night if that’s what it takes to provide him with a little bit of a distraction.

Stealthies, or MOF5-HYBs, as they were originally coded, were the pinnacle of aviation progress achieved in the second half of the Freedom Wars. They were of a two-man, sleek military design, medium-range fighters that could also be piloted outside of combat conditions by one person. They belonged to the most popular type of hybrid craft that combined the vertical take-off and landing properties of an old-fashioned helicopter with the speed, range and manoeuvrability of a small aircraft and decades of advanced research on ultimate stealth capabilities. In low-power mode, with only their passive sensors in use, they were truly undetectable. With what the Police Forces had at their disposal one didn’t even need low-power mode—not that Lieutenant Rivas was going to take any chances.

Despite himself, Rivas smiled. The Stealthies were also a joy to ride, even if they were mentally and physically demanding.

Seeing the smile, Gonzalez wished even more fervently that he could do something himself. But this was not the time to act like an ancient cowboy.

CHAPTER 13

Massif des Bauges

West Prealps

Afro-European Alliance

Friday 24 April 2725

DAY 5

Ingram was struggling to keep her eyes open. She was beyond desperate for a break. In fact, what she needed was a good, long night’s sleep. Badly. It was hard to keep track of how long she had been driving along the unmaintained windy roads illuminated by only a sliver of moonlight and a handful of stars. Stopping was a bad idea, and she fought the temptation hard. It was a race against time.

‘And isn’t it fucking always,’ Ingram growled under her breath. She used one hand to rub her weary face, hoping to squeeze out just a little bit more energy to continue, while with the other she gripped the wheel fiercely until her knuckles turned white.

She knew that if she didn’t get Eloise, and herself, somewhere safe, somewhere with food, water and nano-meds, they had no chance of survival. If she allowed herself to fall asleep, there would be no telling when or if she would wake up. And while she blissfully descended into the world of sleepy oblivion, there would be no one to watch the Elite woman.

‘And fuck, that woman needs constant attention!’

There was never any doubt as to where to go if they managed to get out of the Underground City alive. There was only one place. Roc de Chere. It was not only the closest safe choice but