Children of Trident Book 1: Broken Treaty

The Rescue

Nate

    Nate came too when someone slapped him across the face. His own hand cuffs held his hands to a cold, steel chair. Another slap woke him the rest of the way. A large man stood before Nate, dressed in black. He turned away from Nate to grab something from the table behind him. Nate could see something sticking out of the man’s neck. The captor picked up a syringe of clear liquid. Nate knew getting the injection would be a bad thing.

    “You know, I would get your neck checked out,” he said indicating the object. “Looks like they left some shrapnel in there.”

    Nate must have struck a nerve. The sarcastic statement earned him a backhanded slap across his mouth. He swore he could feel his teeth come lose. He could taste blood filling his mouth and he spit it in the face of the man. This earned Nate another backhand. His chair fell, and he landed on his back, crushing his hands, and slamming his head into the concrete floor. Nate saw stars.

    The large man picked Nate up and placed the chair on all four legs again. He swung at Nate again and his fist connected with Nate’s skull. Nate could no longer focus. Something was happening in the room, and he could hear scuffling before he heard the unmistakable grunt of a woman. Had Lacy found him?

    “Nathan,” a familiar soft voice called to him. He hid behind the sofa and the moment a woman appeared around the corner, he took off running, screaming, giggling. He was a boy again. The woman caught him, and he let out a chorus of laughter as she tickled him.

    “Nathan.” The voice was firm and commanding. “Nate wake up,” a woman said.

    She gently slapped his cheek trying to rouse him. His head bobbed and weaved.

    “We’ve got to move,” she said taking a blade out.

    In one swift movement, she sliced through the thin metal of the cuffs. The clicking of someone c*****g their gun made her pause as she tried to hoist Nate up. Nate looked up from his groggy state and saw Darren holding a gun to the woman’s head.

    “Don’t move,” he warned her.

    “Lower your weapon,” she commanded.

    Nate could see Darren struggling to hold his composure. Blood streamed from a gash on his head and his left eye had begun to show deep purple bruising. Fear crossed Darren’s face as he took in the scene before him.

    “Darren, lower the gun,” Nate managed to say as he tried to get his feet under him.

    He leaned heavily on the woman as she hoisted him up. Her strength surprised him, and she easily lifted him to his feet. Darren finally lowered his gun and assisted Nate.

    “Who are you?” Nate asked.

    He finally got a look at the woman. Her petite body disguised her strength. She dressed in dark combat clothes and had two blades, one on her hip and the other on the opposite calf. Her light brown hair had been pulled back into a tight bun and she kept her eyes averted from his.

    “Cassielle,” she said,

    That name sounded familiar. Her voice and name bounced around Nate’s head. He knew that name. He knew that voice. Why did he know that name? His head throbbed. His thoughts were foggy, and he had a hard time concentrating. His hands throbbed. He could barely stand. Who is this woman?

    “And you are?” She looked directly at Darren.

    “Detective Moss. What are you doing here?” Darren responded.

    “Looking for Nate and Kevin. My intel led me here.”

    The name of his father seemed to get Nate’s attention. “Why my dad?”

    “No time for talk. We have company,” she said focusing on the door.

    They listened for a few moments and could hear footsteps approach. Cassielle drew her blade and prepared herself. A large man dressed like her looked into the room and she put the blade away.

    “Jacobee. I found Nate but Kevin is still missing,” she said as he entered.

    He took up the whole door and towered over her. If Nate had to guess, he would put Jacobee close to seven feet tall.

    “High Command, I believe we have problems. The energy signature we detected earlier is getting stronger and closer. We must find Kevin and leave. The courtyard is the best extraction spot,” Jacobee said leading the way out of the cell.

    “Agreed,” Cassielle said following.

    Nate managed to stand on his own, and he followed the pair with Darren bringing up the rear. Once in the hall, Nate ran into Jacobee. The larger man caught him before he fell over. Animal droppings and debris littered the halls of the hall. Only three lights worked, the middle one flickering. The group could hear coughing as it echoed towards them. Cassielle started searching the cells, peering in window after window. She crouched in front of one near the end of the row. The others joined her, Darren acting as guide to Nate who had tripped over several pieces of debris. Nate looked in to see his father on a bed on the far wall. His body looked frail with gaunt skin shook. With every cough his whole body would convulse.

    Nate looked down at Cassielle as she studied a lock he had never seen before.

    “That is an unpickable lock, High Command,” Jacobee said.

    “No lock is unpickable,” she said studying it.

    On the back, she saw a round indent about the size of a dime. Cassielle smiled.

    “Did your grandfather give you his ring,” she asked pointing to the ring on Nate’s middle finger.

    “Uh, yeah,” he said glancing at it. “It’s a family heirloom.”

    “I know,” she said. “Put it on this spot.”

    Nate tried to remove the ring, but the pain and swelling in his hands stopped him. Instead, he opted to leave it on. It was uncomfortable being so close to this stranger, but the moment his ring contacted the lock, it opened. Nate and Darren were stunned. They exchanged a look of bewilderment.

    “Does my grandpa have something to do with this?” Nate asked.

    “No.”

    Cassielle removed the lock and the door swung open. Nate entered first and his father recoiled away from the door, trying to hide under the thin blanket on his bed.

    “Please, no more,” Kevin begged.

    The smell of the room brought tears to Nates eyes as he tried to keep from gagging. It was a mixture of vomit and feces, topped with body odor and urine. The conditions Kevin had been forced to live in were worse than third world country jails Nate had toured while in the service. The sound of his father’s voice stopped him in his tracks. Kevin’s voice cracked as he cowered away from the door.

    “I can’t take anymore. I’m begging you,” he cried.

    “Dad,” Nate called closing the distance.

    His hands were still swollen and possibly broke from his fall, but he still grabbed his dad’s head. Nate winced as pain shot past his shoulders.

    “Dad, it’s me. It’s Nate,” he said staring into the older man’s eyes.

    The once bright brown eyes were now cloudy, and tears began to flow. The older man clung to his son and wept. Thirty-two days of captivity. What had they done to him? Kevin let out another cough and Nate could feel his body shudder. Kevin’s body had wasted away from malnutrition and torture, making him too frail to stand.

    Jacobee took over at that moment and he gently picked up the senior Kall. They turned and walked out of the cell, Cassielle leading the way.

    “How did my ring open the lock?” Nate asked catching up with her.

    “It is a Trident made ring. We do not have time now. I will explain it later,” she responded.

    Nate tried to reply to her statement when a sound from near Kevin’s cell made them turn. A tall, slender woman walked towards them. Her pale skin shone bright against the dark hall. She had long black hair and wore black clothing.

    “Welcome back to Earth, Kalli,” the woman called.

    “Run,” Cassielle said pushing Nate towards the end of the hall.

    Cassielle nearly picked him up to move him faster. Darren followed last but did not move as fast as the others. The woman caught him and held him against the wall in a choke hold. Cassielle let Nate go and slammed into the woman, causing her to drop Darren. Nate barely registered Cassielle’s movement before she attacked the woman again.

    “Looks like you are willing to die for them. Too bad they have to die too,” the woman said in a mocking tone.

    Who was she talking about, they?

    “Move,” Jacobee ordered and the detectives followed his direction.

    The woman pulled a blade and threw it at Jacobee. It struck his calf and he fell, landing on his elbows before rolling away from Kevin. Jacobee grabbed the dagger and pulled it from his calf. Once removed, it disintegrated. Cassielle lunged at the woman with her blade in hand, and the woman dodged the attack.

    “You’re going to die here.” The woman dodged another attack.

    Nate watched as Cassielle dodged her attacks. Jacobee got up, as if nothing happened. He picked up Kevin and beckoned the others to follow. Before Nate could take another step, a black blade went past his head. He would have been hit had Darren not pulled him out of the way. This seemed to throw Cassielle off her game and within moments, the woman disarmed her. Nate watched in horror as the woman plunged the stolen blade into Cassielle’s side. She crumbled to the ground. Darren fired on the woman. She pulled Cassielle’s blade out of her body and threw it at Darren, hitting him in the chest. He fell backwards.

    “Run,” Jacobee shouted.

    Nate managed to make it to the door and out into the courtyard. The sunlight again blinded him. The woman caught him and held him by the throat with one hand.

    “Too bad mommy died before you. Maybe she could’ve helped you if she wasn’t so useless,” the woman laughed.

    He hit at her wrist and tried to break her hold.

    “What…. are…. you…. talking…. about?” he gasped out.

    Jacobee attacked the woman and threw her into the middle of the courtyard. Nate fell, gasping for air. Jacobee walked out to the woman who stood up again and attacked him. He dodged her attack and struck her again, sending her another ten feet back. She moved fast and before he could block, she hit him in the chest. Nate watched Jacobee crash through a wall of the courtyard.

    She turned her attention back to Nate who tried to get up. She caught him and threw him into the middle of the courtyard. She kicked him hard several times in the gut before another hit sent him against a wall. He struggled to breath. She walked over to him and backhanded him. He hit his head on the wall, and for the second time that day, he saw stars. She raised her fist to strike him again, but it never came.

    Looking up, Nate saw Cassielle blocked the strike as both women went sprawling into the courtyard.

    “This will end badly for you,” Cassielle warned. “Surrender now.”

    “Over my dead body,” the woman sneered before attacking again.

    Cassielle seemed prepared for this. She dodged the move and countered the woman’s attack. The woman again attacked and again Cassielle dodged and countered. Faster than humanly possible, the woman rebounded and kicked Cassielle in the chest, sending her towards Nate. The woman moved quickly and grabbed Nate as Cassielle stood up, blade in hand.

    Fear flashed across Cassielle’s face and she threw the blade into the ground. She lunged at the pair, knocking Nate lose. He fell in front of the blade. He glanced back and saw the two women fighting hand to hand combat. They were moving fast. He grabbed the blade. Cassielle knocked the woman back and turned to Nate. He instinctively tossed the blade to her, and she threw it at the woman. It sank deep into her chest and she dropped to her knees.

    “Surrender,” Cassielle commanded.

    The woman began to laugh. She grabbed the handle of the blade and removed it. The once blue blade with a white hilt turned all black. Cassielle kneeled and pulled her second blade from her calf sheath. The woman held the blade, hilt up with the spine of the blade parallel with her forearm. Cassielle held her blade out, horizontal with the ground. The woman swung first and Cassielle blocked the attack. The clashing of metal echoed against the courtyard walls.

    Nate could no longer stand. Black hooded figures began to enter the courtyard and started to make their way around the edges over to him. Jacobee extracted himself out of the wall and moved Nate next to Kevin. One of the hooded figures attacked Jacobee, who threw the attacker through a nearby pillar. The women fought in the sunlight of the courtyard while Jacobee fought in the shadows.

    Nate watched as Cassielle disarmed the woman.

    “Enough,” Cassielle commanded as a shockwave of power emitted from her. All the black hooded attackers were pushed back and Jacobee changed his stance to block it. Several of the hooded figured disappeared. The woman disappeared.

    Cassielle fell to her knees. Jacobee went to offer aid but she refused it, standing on her own. Her skin looked much paler and she stood unsteady on her feet. Both blades disappeared. Jacobee reached down and picked up something from the ground. He inspected it for a moment and then quickly put it in his chest pocket. Cassielle faltered and he reached for her. She again waved him away.

    A large ship appeared above them and began to descend into the courtyard. Finally, it seemed that reinforcements had arrived. Once on the ground the back hatch opened, and a dozen guards came down the ramp of the ship. They surrounded Cassielle and Jacobee.

    Nate noticed many of the hooded figures kneeling and removing their hoods. He recognized Captain Nodes. This shocked him. How could the Captain condone the capture and torture of his dad? Of him? The soldiers quickly apprehended those that surrendered. Jacobee and an equally large soldier came over to Nate and Kevin. Jacobee gently picked up Kevin and the soldier hoisted Nate to his feet. Nate struggled to walk. He struggled to breathe and could tell that more than a few ribs were broken in that last attack.

    He clung to the soldier as his feet refused to work. As they passed Cassielle, he could see the fear on her face. She had a puddle of blood around her feet, but no one offered aid. She turned and followed the procession onto the ship. They took off as she made her way to the front of the vessel. When she returned, she still looked pale and unsteady.

    Nate sat on one of the benches in the main cargo area and accepted an oxygen mask.

    “My name is LuHan,” the soldier who carried him onto the ship said. “I am going to quickly scan you.”

    He held up a strange device. A light passed over Nates body and beeping indicated the scan complete.

    “You will have to wait for a stasis bed. Don’t get up when we get there. Your injuries are too great.”

    LuHan stood back up and walked over to Cassielle and spoke with her. Across the crowded space, Nate stared at his Captain. He stared back. Down deep in his severely damaged body, Nate’s anger and hatred for Nodes began to grow. This man knew where Kevin was being held and did nothing. Nodes knew what tortures Kevin endured did nothing. Nodes was a man that Nate had invited into his home, into his life. Nate struggled to breathe, and his eyes went out of focus. LuHan and Cassielle both returned to his side.

    They tried to talk to him, but their words sounded far away and foggy. LuHan tried to explain the extent of his injuries and Cassielle said something about his dad. Nate did not understand what either said. His head bobbed as he struggled to remain conscious. LuHan rescanned him and forced him to lay down on the bench. Everything began to swim as Nate continued to struggle to stay conscious. The world swirled into blackness.

    “Nathan,” the woman called again. This time fear streaked her voice. A hairy arm reached for him as a woman screamed.

    Nate sat straight up in bed.