Page 68 (1/1)

I allowed ht about as going on now and what I was going to do next

The first thing I realized once my head cleared a little was that I was obviously in a vehicle The ride was buainst what had to be the side of it And even though I couldn’t see because of the bag over er vehicle, a van, iven the fact that I was stretched out on a flat, hard metal surface and not in a seat

My hands were tied together in front, the rope tight, the nylon digging into my flesh so hard I could feel the skin had become raw My feet were the sa more panic to fill me

My hearing was muffled because of the cloth over my head, but I started to make out the conversation of two men clearly, presumably in the front seats

“He was a bitch to take down,” one of thein response “Too bad we can’t turn theth on our side?”

“Don’t let J hear you say that fucking shit,” the other man snapped “We don’t join forces with them We take theht? Them?” The other man’s voice rose It was clear he was a loyal asshole to this crazy organization “That’s not what any of this is about, Jack And if anyone in the top tiers heard that crazy bullshit co out of your mouth, they’d throw you in a Session with one of the at the one named Jack “They’ll let one of those beasts tear your throat out as they rip your limbs from your body”

The other man cleared his throat, and I could sense his discomfort as it filled the vehicle Good I hoped these bastards felt soout of their ears and eyes because of it

There was a heavy h I couldn’t see, I could feel so, keeping ht now my life depended on it

“J hit her kind of hard, yeah?” Jack muttered softly “I didn’t knooumption Hell, it's the first time I’ve seen a woman in the field with us”

The other , “She’s as dangerous as any man in the Assembly She’s… yeah Just watch yourself with her, okay?”

Jack cleared his throat and changed the subject “Since when did we start taking humans?”

“When those humans are known mates to these creatures, that’s e take them” There was acid in the otherto explain any of this “Listen,” he said, his voice a little less harsh, as if he lowered it because he was speaking to a petulant child “I know you’re neith us, Jack And I know you got this position because your daddy is one of the higher-up soldiers But I’ive you some advice, yeah” He didn’t phrase it as a question He was clearly going to give Jack the advice whether he wanted it or not

“When you start asking questions, that's when shit goes south Your job is to help secure the subjects and bring them to the facility That’s it We don’t question We don’t wonder about the what-ifs We do our job, we keep our et paid, and we s”

The other ain clear as it filled the vehicle with this heavy, toxic feeling

“I’ve been doing this a long time, and I’ve seen a lot of men just like you ask one too ers “They’re gone You feel me?”

A long, pregnant moment of silence filled the air before he answered, “Yeah, I feel you”

The vehicle stayed silent for a while, and when I felt like I wasn’t still being watched, I tried to silently loosen the ropes bindingas I shiftedthe rope looser and looser until I was able to pull a hand through I gritteddown my wrists from the now-ripped skin

“We have to meet at drop point A for the transfer”