Eternity's War

Book 1: Chapter 18

"This is bad, Ren," Skye muttered, alone with his leader and comrade by her computer. The warehouse had become silent and tense since Nikolai's sudden declaration. "We can't risk having Juliet and Roman come out with us tonight if Black Dawn are there. They'll be killed on sight."

Ren grunted in agreement, not pleased with the situation either. She was somewhat protective of Juliet, not necessarily because she cared for the young girl, but rather because her telepathic ability to locate others was a major asset to their faction. With Delta in Shizudera, Juliet was White Shadow's only remaining tracker, even if her ability was new. Ren had so far done an excellent job of keeping the girl safe in their base, but Juliet was now about to be thrust into the open where danger waited.

"Are we still going to do this tonight?" Skye asked, uncertainty in his voice. "I want Archie gone, but I don't want to see our own murdered in front of us."

Ren let out a long sigh and buried her head in her hands. "Neither do I. But we can't assign the mission to the other three alone. We both know they've got their own priorities. Sierra will be chasing Tahlia, and Tango and Echo will be chasing the Tianzu."

"Could we leave it to Nikolai?" he suggested. "Black Dawn is more than enough to stop Archie. Nikolai wants him dead more than we do."

Ren briefly considered the proposal before dismissing it. "What if something happens? We can't risk Archie escaping the tower. I wouldn't put it past Nikolai to let him leave just so they can hunt him for sport."

Skye shook his head, exasperated. "I don't know what to do. I don't know what's right," he admitted.

"Nothing's right anymore." Ren placed a reassuring hand on Skye's shoulder. "But one thing I do know is that Tango had a point earlier—White Shadow is falling apart."

"It doesn't have to. We can fix this. But it's impossible to do so when we can't function as a team."

The two sat in silence, gazing around the vacant warehouse. Their group was once strong and prosperous, but what used to be small rifts had now grown into large fractures, threatening to split them all apart.

"I miss the old days," Ren said. "They were simpler times."

"They were. Less exciting though."

Ren raised an eyebrow. "Exciting?"

Skye quickly corrected his mistake. "Sorry—wrong choice of word."

Ren continued staring at him, her face one of suspicion. "I take it you're glad you weren't part of the original White Shadow back in Novabourne?"

Skye tried to hide his smirk, but doing so seemed impossible. He knew that Ren had seen straight through him. "Hunting petty criminals doesn't sound overly appealing."

"Well what does? Hunting other shengxian? You and Nikolai sure seemed eager to join us when I first moved here."

He didn't respond. He instead turned away and resumed looking about the empty room. "I don't think we have a choice tonight," Skye said, changing the subject. "I'll have to take Juliet and Roman with me."

Ren nodded slowly. "Keep them safe, but remember that our priority is killing Archie."

Skye shot her a perplexed glance. "You say that as though Juliet and Roman are expendable."

Ren looked behind her to ensure that no one was within earshot before speaking. "If it means putting a stop to Archie, then yes, they're expendable," she whispered. "But Roman is especially expendable. I want Juliet alive while Delta's gone."

He stared at her momentarily, taken aback by her words. "What do you mean that Roman is expendable?"

"I mean that his protection is not a priority. If you have the opportunity to kill Archie at the expense of Roman's protection, then I expect you to take it. It was only by chance that you even managed to save his life earlier today."