Page 117 of Monsters within Men
“So, what’s the plan?” Vitt asked, looking to Noah. “Shall we start getting them down while we’re type-free?”
Noah swivelled to Lowenna, who still gazed out at the sea of bodies, contemplative in her stance.
“Roskilly?” prompted Noah.
Lowenna eventually tore herself away from the edge to address the platoon. “I… I need a moment with the lieutenants.” She shouldered her rifle and shuffled back into the darkness of the attic, with Noah trailing after her.
Zeke’s eyes automatically shot to Tobias. He’d taken his helmet off and was whispering something to David Reeves and Sebastian Moss.Odd.
A second later, the interface on his own helmet shut down, as if it was out of battery. His night vision vanished, leaving only the handheld torch lights to create visibility. The shocked cries of the surrounding soldiers told him he wasn’t alone in this problem.
“What the hell?” muttered Frankie.
A cry of pain echoed across the space.Noah.
“Helmets and wristbands off and weapons to Moss. Hands up where we can see them. Now!”
Waves of frantic panic pulsated through the group as everyone tried to make sense of what was happening. Frankie lunged for Zeke’s hand, pulling him towards her.
“I said weapons on theground,” Tobias shouted.
Zeke darted his eyes between Lowenna and Noah, who stood shellshocked, hands up in surrender. Reeves disarmed them of their rifles, crossbows, daggers and helmets, throwing them into a pile. Every single one of Squad C trained their weapons on various members of E and K.
“You have got to be kidding, Newman,” spat Habib. A small red dot appeared on Tobias’s forehead. “What the fuck is this bullshit? And, your brain might be too small for basic math, but we outnumber you two to one. Let them go, now.”
“You have exactly ten seconds to comply with my instructions,” Tobias stated, his face an emotionless mask. What on earth was going on? “Or we shoot Noah and Lowenna.”
Zeke tried to make eye contact with Noah, but Noah only stared at Tobias, rage written all over his face.
“Ten. Nine.”
When Moss raised his dagger to Noah’s throat, Zeke threw his rifle at Tobias’s feet so hard it bounced off the floor.
“Good boy.” Tobias turned to the rest of them. “Do we need to continue?”
Soldiers slowly peeled off helmets, wristbands and weapons and placed them on the ground, to be collected by Moss.
“Why are you doing this?” asked Vitt, panic and fury duelling for dominance on her face.
“Call it a citizen’s arrest. Of sorts. Special orders.”
“Our squads have nothing to do with this, Newman,” Noah snapped. “Do what you want with Lowenna and I, but the others know nothing.”
An icy grip tightened around Zeke’s heart as the puzzle pieces locked into position. He didn’t know much about Leonie Voigt’s conspiracy—Noah had tried to conceal most of the details, in case Command tried to interrogate him. But clearly Command had discovered something was amiss. What had Murphy ordered Squad C to do to them?
Lowenna shook her head. “Noah didn’t want any part of this. It’s just me, Tobias. Let’s go downstairs and talk.”
“What are you even talking about?” Luo said. He and Habib were now the only ones not to have surrendered their weapons yet.
Behind him, Zeke felt someone pull his hands behind his back and lock them together with a zip tie. By the time he turned to Frankie, she’d suffered the same fate. He stared at her.What should we do?
Frankie only shook her head, fear written all over her face.
“Barakat and Shun,” Tobias spat, his face twisted in rage. “We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Do I need to start cutting off Bianco’s body parts to get you to comply?”
Moss pushed Vitt roughly onto the ground, hands bound, in between Habib and Tobias. She let out a small cry.
Habib and Luo dropped their gear.
