Kings and Crowns: A Dystopian Thriller (Age of End Book 2) (15 page)

“They’re not feeling well,” Vince said “They decided to skip the meeting. I hope that’s okay.”

Greene nodded. “Very well. I would like to speak with them soon, though, regarding other matters. That will have to wait until tomorrow.”

“I will let them know.”

“Good. I think we all know what needs to be done today before sundown. So let’s get to it.” They all stood up and broke off in their own direction. Greene pushed in his chair and walked directly to Vince and Saul. “Are you two ready?”

“I hope so,” Vince said. “There’s a lot at stake.”

“That’s right. No room for error. You should know this plan like your life depends on it. There’s a good chance it does. If Simon captures you, I have no doubt he’ll kill you. He has no reason to keep you alive, and every reason not to. I will be watching very closely. If you have any doubts at all, just follow my direction.” He leaned in closer and lowered his voice to a whisper. “And if you disobey me, your friends are dead.” He leaned back and returned to his normal speaking voice. “Just listen to my word and I’ll guide you. Easy as that.”

They were shocked by his sudden change in tone, but did not react. They just nodded, acknowledging his orders.

“Now follow me,” he said, walking towards the door. “We’ll get you both suited up with all of the necessary equipment.”

They followed him to the storage area, where all sorts of gadgets sat around. Uniforms, lab coats, bed sheets, silverware, canned food. In the corner, locked in a cage, were racks full of guns and ammunition. Vince and Saul stared at it, both amazed and frightened. After their incident with Barnabus, the sight of one gun was terrifying enough.

Greene pulled their attention away from the stockpile of weapons by handing them small earpieces. “Stick those in your ear and test them out. Make sure they work okay.” They did as he said. He held a small microphone up and tapped on it. “Do you hear that?” They nodded. He turned his back to them and whispered into the microphone. “Do you hear me?”

“Yes,” Saul said. “We hear you.”

Greene looked at Vince, who nodded in agreement.

Next, he handed them their own microphones. “You will use these to speak with me if you have to, but I will do most of the talking. Only speak back if it’s necessary. You don’t want to draw attention to yourselves.”

Saul held it up to his mouth. “Hello?”

“Yes,” Greene said. “It works, but you don’t have to hold it so close, and you don’t need to speak so loud. Clip it to your shirt and speak normally. That’s how they’re designed.”

He clipped it to the collar of his shirt. “Hello?”

Greene nodded. “Very good.” Next, he reached into a small box and pulled out a capsule. “This is the pill you will drop in his food. As I said before, it will dissolve. Just make sure it mixes well.” He grabbed another one. “I’ll give one to each of you, in case you get separated. Our plan is very precise, but sometimes things go wrong.”

Saul laughed. “I think we both learned that a long time ago. Things never seem to go as planned.”

“If things do go wrong, I want you to get out of there. We can always try again later, but not if you two get captured. If there are any signs of failure, I will abort the mission. And remember, what I say goes. No questions asked. You both know what’s at stake. I can’t have anyone acting against me.”

Vince nodded. “Yes, we understand.”

“I think I’ve covered everything. The troops will arrive soon. In the meantime, we’ll head back to the briefing room, and you can study those maps. Remember as much as you can. You won’t have time to fumble through the tunnels once we’ve started.”

TWENTY-EIGHT

VINCE AND SAUL stood at Greene’s side as they waited in the lobby for the troops. The front doors opened, and a line of uniformed men filed through. They wore almost entirely black, with the City crest embroidered on their chest. They shuffled in, each carrying a gun by their side. Vince noticed their height. They were all very tall, easily towering over him and Saul. Some of them were even taller than Rupert.

They marched up to Greene and saluted. Greene returned a salute of his own. “Welcome back. I hope all went well on your mission.”

The man in front spoke. “Everything went according to plan. The supply shop was secured and Simon’s forces were driven out.”

“Good,” Greene said, satisfied. “You are very much needed around here, as I’m sure you’ve heard.”

“Yes, sir. We are here to serve. What are your orders?”

Greene looked among the troops. “Where is Tully Sanders?”

From near the back of the squad, a voice called out. “Right here, sir!”

“Please step forward,” he ordered. The man stepped out of line and turned to face Greene. “Sanders, I have a special mission for you. You are assigned to a stealth operation alongside Vince and Saul.” He gestured to both of them. “You will assist these men in assassinating Simon Hedcrown.”

“Yes, Sir!”

“You will leave at sundown. Come forward and meet the members of your team. The rest of you are assigned to wall duty.”

They all chanted in unison, “Yes sir,” and marched out the door towards the wall.

Tully stayed behind. He extended his arm out to Vince. “Tully Sanders. Pleasure to meet you.”

Vince shook his hand and introduced himself. Saul did the same.

“You should get to know each other,” Greene said. “You should always know a little about the people you work with.”

“I already know about Vince and Saul,” Tully said. “I reckon everyone knows them by now. I’m honored to work with men who have such dedication to Mr. Greene.”

Greene turned to them. “Tully here is one of my top performers. He continues to impress me with both his bravery and loyalty.”

Tully saluted again. “Who else would I follow, sir? You’re the best leader a soldier could ask for.”

Greene chuckled. “And as you can tell, he spoils me with flattery.”

Vince nodded at Tully. “I’m sure you already know much about us. We look forward to learning more about you. He must really trust you. He handpicked you for this mission.”

“He’s the best of the best,” Greene said. “Now that we have introductions out of the way, let’s get to business. We don’t have much time before sundown.”

TWENTY-NINE

THEY LEFT THE Spire promptly at sundown. Vince and Saul had thoroughly studied the maps, but Tully and Charlotte already seemed to know their way through the maze of buildings surrounding the Spire. They weaved in and out of the streets, sticking to shadows when they could. They encountered one Crown on patrol, but with Greene looking over them, he was easy to avoid.

When they reached the building marked on the map, Vince and Saul looked at each other. It was the same entrance that Simon’s man, Jonah, had brought them through.

They approached the door and knocked lightly five times, in a distinct pattern. It swung open, and a man stepped through.

“Quickly, come in,” he whispered. They shuffled inside and shut the door. The man huddled close to them. “Follow me as quickly and quietly as possible. We have to move fast.”

They did as he said and gently trotted behind him as he navigated through the tunnels. He turned onto branching paths more than a dozen times before passing an area with a single television screen in the middle.

Saul stopped and whispered to the others. “Hey, isn’t it this way? This is where Simon took us last time.”

Their guide backtracked. “That way will lead to the main floor, but only Simon and few others are allowed in here. That’s a high-profile entrance. Someone might notice. I know a way that’s far less conspicuous.”

They took a few more turns and arrived at an old rusty door. The man leaned on the door, pushing until it finally budged. The hinges screeched, and the bottom scraped the concrete ground. It stopped with just a small crack to slip through. They squeezed between the door and the wall and carefully shut it behind them. Their guide began to walk again, but his stride was now more casual. They exited an alley and entered the main floor. Crowds of people wandered the area, leisurely strolling along.

“Okay,” he said, “we’re no longer in a restricted area. We don’t need to whisper anymore, but keep your faces hidden.” He pointed to Vince and Saul, who pulled the bandana over their mouths. They walked into the main square, which was filled with a dense crowd of people. “Stay close and keep up. I don’t want to lose you.” He stepped into the crowd.

They bumped shoulders with strangers as they shuffled through a wave of people. No one paid any attention to them, but they kept their heads low just in case. Tully watched the back end of the group, gripping the hidden gun under his cloak. If anything went wrong, he was ready.

They passed by the statue of Harry Hedcrown. Vince and Saul stopped to admire it. It was surreal to see the man from their hometown, the man who was famous for his brilliant mind. His brilliance had followed him all the way to the City. People gathered around, enjoying the sight of the man who started the Crowns. Some even knelt down and prayed to him.

“Hey!” Greene said into their ears. “The two of you need to keep up. Stay with the group. We’re on a tight schedule. You can look at that statue later.” The two of them turned around and pushed through the crowd to catch up.

They entered what looked like a marketplace. Various tables were set up, some with small trinkets, others with oily street food. People yelled over each other, calling out prices and handing out merchandise. It was a crowded, bustling mess. If this was how the underground was, Vince couldn’t imagine what street level was like during peak hours. They reached the end of the path and looked back and forth to find the others.

“Turn right,” Greene said, “and pick up the pace. They’re almost at the entrance to the upper levels.”

They turned right and moved a little faster. As the crowd began to thin, they walked even faster, picking up speed until they reached a steady trot. Off to the side, they saw Charlotte and Tully. They jogged up and studied the door against the wall.

“Sorry about that,” Saul said. “The place is packed. It’s easy to get lost in the mix.”

“Don’t let it happen again,” Tully said. “This mission is too important to be fooling around.”

Vince and Saul nodded.

Their guide walked up to the door. “This door leads to the upper level. It is much less crowded up there, so you shouldn’t get lost, but there will be other concerns. The place is heavily guarded. They follow a strict patrol schedule and their shift change starts in approximately three minutes. That is your one chance to get through. You’ll have about ten minutes to get in, poison his food, and get out. Screw up and the mission’s over. Do you understand?” They nodded. “Good. This is where I leave you. I can’t risk blowing my cover. Once you’re in, go straight ahead and then turn left. You’ll want to find a bright red tent. That’s where Simon’s chef will be. You know what to do from there. Be careful. I believe there is some sort of alarm system set up. If you trigger it, they’ll be on you in seconds.” He raised his hand. “Good luck.” He stared at his pocket watch, counting down the seconds. When the hand struck zero, he swung the door open. “Go now.”

They dashed through the door and into a small empty courtyard. There were no guards around, just as they had planned. The area split off into five paths.

“I don’t have a visual on you,” Greene said. “You’re on your own.”

“Straight and then left,” Tully said. “Simple enough. We have ten minutes.” He pulled out his own digital watch and pressed the button on the side. A ten-minute countdown began. “We better get moving.”

They softly stepped down the path straight ahead. There was no sign of anyone, which made Vince uneasy. He expected to see at least one person, someone they would have to sneak by, but there was no one.

“This place is empty,” Saul said.

Tully hushed him. “That’s because they’re changing shifts, but that doesn’t mean they can’t hear you. Keep your voice down.

“He’s right,” Charlotte said. “We don’t have many cameras down here, but I have seen some of the footage that we
do
have. Most of the guards are at the tagging station right now. They take plenty of time tagging out and tagging in, but we can’t get too comfortable. You never know, one of them might stray from the group.

Vince darted his head around, making sure that was not the case. “We would be in a lot of trouble if that happened.”

“Would you all shut up and focus,” Tully whispered. “You’ll just draw more attention.”

They stopped talking and continued down the path. When they reached the end, they turned the corner and immediately saw the red tent. Tully pulled out his watch again. Six minutes left. He signaled for the others to follow his lead and cautiously approached the back of the tent. There was a back entrance. He pushed through the opening and poked his head in. Humming came from the other side, behind a partition.

“Wait,” Saul whispered. He pointed down at the tripwire at Tully’s feet. He grabbed Vince and waved the others back. He pulled the capsule from his pocket and held it up. “Wait here,” he mouthed. “We’ll do it.”

Vince shuffled through his pocket for his own capsule.

Tully nodded. “We’ll keep watch,” he mouthed back.

They carefully stepped over the tripwire and along the side of the tent. Boiling water from behind the divider steamed up and dripped from the ceiling. The alluring aroma filled Vince’s mouth with saliva. His stomach began to rumble as he realized how hungry he was. He ignored the smell to focus on his task.

Saul peeked around the corner. There was a man in front of a gas stove, humming a jovial tune. As Saul began to step out, the man spun around, flipping the pot in his hands. Saul swung back behind the barrier, listening to the tune move along the side of the tent. They both stood like rocks, waiting to see where the humming would go. It moved away, back towards the stove, made a sharp turn to the left, and left through the front of the tent. Saul peeked around the corner again. The chef was gone, and the steaming pot remained over the hot flame.

Saul leaned his neck down, towards the microphone. “The guy left the water boiling on the stove.”