Alexia- The Price of Freedom (Project Zeus-Olympia Book 1)

Mikhail Hudson groaned as the ringing of his cell phone pulled him from a dead sleep. He’d just spent two months in Pakistan on a deadly mission. He’d only returned home mere hours ago, where he washed the smell of death away and crashed into the bed, nude. “Hudson.” His voice was a growl, rough with sleep and annoyance. “Hey, Sunshine. Feel like company?” Cooper’s laughing voice filled his ears, making him perk up and pay attention. Those were the code words meaning they were being assigned to a new case. “You know where to find me.” He responded, letting him know that he was ready to be briefed. “See you in an hour, Dodger.” The dial tone sounded in his ear as Cooper disconnected. Dodger. When he went off to the military, he’d refused to let anyone call him Dodger. No one knew of the nickname. He stopped using it after he’d lost Alexia St. James. His Alex. He’d returned to their flop one day to find her unconscious and covered in blood. He’d nearly lost his mind that night. Grief and guilt ate at his soul as the police questioned him and then arrested him. A few hours later, he was mysteriously discharged. Eager to get back to her, he went to every hospital that he could think of, but no one had seen her. It was as if she’d vanished. After months of searching, fruitlessly, Dodger fled St. Louis, leaving behind the ghosts of his past, but never forgetting the girl with the beautiful green eyes, that gave him the moniker Dodger, from her favorite story, Oliver Twist. It was funny, because for the next five years no one knew him as Dodger, but once he joined the Cobras, a deadly strike-force of the government, no one knew him as anything but Dodger. Mikhail had gotten lost somewhere along the way, with what was left of his humanity. The only thing left from his past life was his love for Alex and his determination to find her. He tossed his cell phone back on the nightstand and fell back on the pillows in exhaustion. Dodger awoke from a dead sleep. Was that a click he heard? The hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention. Someone was in his home. Gripping his combat knife, he rolled from the bed and eased to the door, waiting patiently for his prey. When the door eased open, Dodger grabbed the dark-clad figure, slamming him into the wall with the knife at his throat. “Easy, brother.” Cooper’s voice held a touch of amusement. “Damn it, Coop. Don’t you know how to knock?” He sneered, glaring at the man in front of him. He was damn lucky he was family. “Yeah, but this way is more fun.” Cooper smirked at him. “Put some clothes on. I’ll make the coffee.” Dodger didn’t even bother swearing as Cooper left the room. He reached for a pair of sweat pants, pulling them on and nothing else as he headed into the bathroom. He looked dispassionately at his reflection as cold, clear gray eyes stared back at him out of a smooth butter pecan face. His long, lean body was muscular, and contained a maze of cuts and wounds, some still healing. Dodger splashed cold water on his face to chase away the last remnants of sleep, before heading to the kitchen, where eggs sizzled in the skillet and fresh coffee percolated in the coffee maker. “Wow, coffee and breakfast. Now I don’t feel all cheap and used.” He called from the doorway, eliciting a grin from his friend. Cooper was Dodger’s only friend. They had met in the military and took an instant disliking to one another. Dodger thought the tanned, blond-haired, blue-eyed boy was too cocky for his own good. Some rich little snob sent away to learn some discipline. Cooper thought Dodger was an over-privileged black boy living off the government and too lazy to do any real work. “Move, rich boy.” Were the words growled by Dodger that started their friendship. Cooper’s blue eyes had narrowed at that. His statement was so far from the truth and he didn’t like people making assumptions about him. He’d gotten that his entire life. “I ought to beat your ass, you over-privileged racist dick.” Cooper stepped to Dodger, challenging him. “Don’t let the civilization fool you. I come from the streets. Literally.” Dodger’s voice was low and dangerous, but he moved on. He knew that a fight could get him kicked out, and he wouldn’t risk his first taste of belonging for anyone. Now Cooper was curious about one Mikhail Hudson, so he broke into the records room to find out more about him. He was surprised to see that Mikhail’s life story read so much like his own. Well, he’d just have to reevaluate the situation. During field training they talked and they bonded, one recognizing a kindred spirit in the other. “Come take a seat. Tal says to bring you up to speed.” Cooper's voice pulled Sodger from his thoughts. Donovan “Viper” Tal was the leader of their special operations team. “What’s up?” Cooper pulled out the dossier as he tucked into his eggs, sliding it across the table. Dodger opened it and skimmed the first page, his brow wrinkling in confusion. Precious Wright and Devonte Smith looked like two average, everyday citizens, and nothing in the file mentioned a threat or exposure. So why was the government interested in them? “Why are we eliminating these two?” Dodger asked as he tucked into his own plate. “We’re not. It’s a snatch and grab.” Well, this was just getting more interesting by the minute. “Snatch and grab? Why?” Dodger frowned at that. They specialized in eliminations and they didn’t deal in hostages. “Because those two aren’t the main target; they’re bait for the target.” Cooper responded. “Bait? Bait for what?” Now he was even more confused. “Yeah, something about a government-funded project known as Zeus back in 1983. It had something to do with genetic engineering and super kids. Somehow six of these little freaks were born and they lost control of the experiment and they escaped.” Cooper stopped and took a sip of coffee as Dodger continued to flip through the dossier. “So, they want us to track down these little freaks? And then what?” He asked as he continued to flip through the pages of the dossier. “Our assignment is only to capture the two civilians. Tal says that will bring one of them right to us. He believes that once we catch one of them, the rest will come for her.” Dodger looked down at the dossier again. There were a lot of equations and scientific jargon that he didn’t understand. “Psychosis?” He muttered under his breath. Had they really been experimenting with animal DNA and psychosis drugs? He hated to see how these things turned out. “So, what’s the plan?” He asked as he closed the file and pushed it away. “Follow the targets for a couple of days, establish a pattern, and then grab them and return to Tal.” Coop polished off his meal with a satisfied grin. Dodger shrugged as he thought about the assignment. He could use a distraction. God knows he was coming up empty. “Sounds like fun. Let’s do it.” “Alex, you’ve been here all day. Go home.” Alexia St. James glanced up at her friend and boss, Sandra Golden, with a frown of confusion on her face and a tray of donuts in her hand. “If I leave now, you’re going to be short handed.” She gently scolded her friend. “I close in an hour. I think I can manage.” Sandra gave a grin and a roll of her eyes as she took the tray and whirled around, miscalculating the distance and banging the edge of the tray against the display case, causing the tray to dip dangerously. “No!” She screamed in dismay, just as Alex’s hand shot out, saving the tray from dropping to the ground. “You were saying.” Alex grinned teasingly. “You have reflexes like a cat.” Sandy said with awe in her voice, making Alex roll her eyes. You have no idea. “But I’ll still be fine.” She continued.She whirled again, this time turning carefully before sliding the tray into the case and shot Alex a triumphant grin that had her snickering. “Fine, you win. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Alex pulled the strings of her apron loose and tossed it back on the rack, before waving a friendly goodbye as she headed out of the door. She’d just go and see what her aunt and uncle were up to. Thanks to her mom’s journals, she knew about her other family, Precious Wright and Devonté Smith. She kept her distance to make sure that no one connected them to her, but she kept tabs on them to make sure that they were safe. She made her way quickly down Grand Boulevard and towards Tower Grove Park. There was a bench that faced her aunt and uncle’s two family flat, and at the right angle, she could catch glimpses of the family that she longed to know and belong with.