Read Online Don't Look Back (Warders of Earth) by S E Gilchrist - Free Book Online
Authors: S E Gilchrist
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unusually high number. Can we send out recon teams to check the missing guys’ status?”
“That’s a negative. We need everyone to maintain their current roles. Any deviation from our plans could be fatal.”
“Do you think this is going to work?” I had to ask. I’d give anything to discover my father’s real opinion on the subject.
“Considering the alternative, Alex, we don’t have any choice.”
As usual, my father failed to give me any inkling of what lay hidden beneath the soldier. As a commander, he had no equal. He’d led our small, secret band of soldiers for as long as I could remember. And kept us alive.
But our time was limited.
Our army scattered.
The fate of this planet was now in the hands of our marks. Our job, as well as protecting them, was to make them believe and assist them connect with our ‘friends’ . Whether that would be sufficient to stop Earth from being destroyed, I had no idea. There was so much about this entire operation I didn’t understand. But a good soldier never questions his orders.
“Alex.”
I stirred and looked up to see my father glaring at me.
“Sorry, Sir. I was thinking about what’s coming.”
“That’s a pointless exercise. We have to proceed with our mission. That’s all there is to it.”
“Don’t you ever wish our lives were different?” I held my breath, half expecting my father to shoot me down in flames with one of his legendary brush-offs.
He crossed the room to stand near the window, hands clasped behind his back. Not that he could see anything because we’d boarded it up the moment we’d moved into the house. “Yes.”
One word uttered in such a low tone, the hairs on my arms bristled as coldness swept through my veins.
When my father turned around, there was no trace of any softening to his hard expression. “I don’t dwell on it. Sentimentality will get you killed. And your death will mean you fail your mission.” He pointed to the fine gold chain around Shay’s neck, just visible above his tee-shirt.
My mate’s hand closed over the tiny locket that, although hidden under his shirt, I knew hung from the chain, as if protecting the memento from my father’s razor sharp gaze. “Because of my lack of diligence, my mark died.”
“Brooding over it, won’t change the facts,” my father snapped. “Man up, Shay. Focus on the facts. Your mark failed to trust and as a direct consequence, a Mundos Novus operative was able to get close enough to take her out.”
Anxious to deflect my father’s attention from Shay, I said, “That’s the problem, isn’t it, Sir? Developing the trust factor with our marks.”
“Exactly. Considering time is not our side, every Warder must do whatever it takes to achieve the desired outcome.”
I snapped straight in the chair. “Yes, Sir.”
Shay squared his shoulder and echoed me, although he hadn’t as yet, been assigned a new mark.
Apparently satisfied, my father crossed to the board again. “Let’s go over everything we know about the people we’ve singled out. With luck, something will pop. Every little detail, no matter how small, must be examined. Somewhere in these reports, is the information we must find.”
He had no need to state the obvious. Because if we didn’t find it, we’d fail.
And failure would mean death; for all of us.
***
Tara
I switched off the car engine and headlights then opened the door. After my friends had scrambled from the car, I locked it and led the way back down the drive to the front of the house. Em and Marnie spoke in low tones, their high heels crunching on the rough gravel as they followed me.
A feeble light from the lone streetlight trickled down the road while overhead the pale light from the crescent moon made it hard to see my footing. I stepped on a rock. My awesome boots failed me. My ankle turned and pain streaked up my leg. I swore, regained my balance and limped up the three steps to the front door.
About to insert my key in the
“That’s a negative. We need everyone to maintain their current roles. Any deviation from our plans could be fatal.”
“Do you think this is going to work?” I had to ask. I’d give anything to discover my father’s real opinion on the subject.
“Considering the alternative, Alex, we don’t have any choice.”
As usual, my father failed to give me any inkling of what lay hidden beneath the soldier. As a commander, he had no equal. He’d led our small, secret band of soldiers for as long as I could remember. And kept us alive.
But our time was limited.
Our army scattered.
The fate of this planet was now in the hands of our marks. Our job, as well as protecting them, was to make them believe and assist them connect with our ‘friends’ . Whether that would be sufficient to stop Earth from being destroyed, I had no idea. There was so much about this entire operation I didn’t understand. But a good soldier never questions his orders.
“Alex.”
I stirred and looked up to see my father glaring at me.
“Sorry, Sir. I was thinking about what’s coming.”
“That’s a pointless exercise. We have to proceed with our mission. That’s all there is to it.”
“Don’t you ever wish our lives were different?” I held my breath, half expecting my father to shoot me down in flames with one of his legendary brush-offs.
He crossed the room to stand near the window, hands clasped behind his back. Not that he could see anything because we’d boarded it up the moment we’d moved into the house. “Yes.”
One word uttered in such a low tone, the hairs on my arms bristled as coldness swept through my veins.
When my father turned around, there was no trace of any softening to his hard expression. “I don’t dwell on it. Sentimentality will get you killed. And your death will mean you fail your mission.” He pointed to the fine gold chain around Shay’s neck, just visible above his tee-shirt.
My mate’s hand closed over the tiny locket that, although hidden under his shirt, I knew hung from the chain, as if protecting the memento from my father’s razor sharp gaze. “Because of my lack of diligence, my mark died.”
“Brooding over it, won’t change the facts,” my father snapped. “Man up, Shay. Focus on the facts. Your mark failed to trust and as a direct consequence, a Mundos Novus operative was able to get close enough to take her out.”
Anxious to deflect my father’s attention from Shay, I said, “That’s the problem, isn’t it, Sir? Developing the trust factor with our marks.”
“Exactly. Considering time is not our side, every Warder must do whatever it takes to achieve the desired outcome.”
I snapped straight in the chair. “Yes, Sir.”
Shay squared his shoulder and echoed me, although he hadn’t as yet, been assigned a new mark.
Apparently satisfied, my father crossed to the board again. “Let’s go over everything we know about the people we’ve singled out. With luck, something will pop. Every little detail, no matter how small, must be examined. Somewhere in these reports, is the information we must find.”
He had no need to state the obvious. Because if we didn’t find it, we’d fail.
And failure would mean death; for all of us.
***
Tara
I switched off the car engine and headlights then opened the door. After my friends had scrambled from the car, I locked it and led the way back down the drive to the front of the house. Em and Marnie spoke in low tones, their high heels crunching on the rough gravel as they followed me.
A feeble light from the lone streetlight trickled down the road while overhead the pale light from the crescent moon made it hard to see my footing. I stepped on a rock. My awesome boots failed me. My ankle turned and pain streaked up my leg. I swore, regained my balance and limped up the three steps to the front door.
About to insert my key in the
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