Free Epic: Book 03 - Hero by Lee Stephen

made him the most dangerous.
    Then Yuri Dostoevsky. Their commander. But EDEN rank aside, both he and Scott were fulcrum elites. In the eyes of the slayers, both men were equal. But were they equally adhered to? Not even close. Scott was more intelligent—more gifted. Every slayer in the Fourteenth knew it. There was a time when Dostoevsky’s physical prowess had been enough to make his authority unchallengeable. But whatever edge the commander still had, it wasn’t nearly as much as it had once been. If given a choice, Scott knew whom the slayers would follow. Dostoevsky wasn’t even in the running.

    Clarke spoke from the front of the Pariah . “By this point, you should be aware of our mission. We shall be undergoing a cooperative defense of Krasnoyarsk with the Eighth, Thirty-fifth, and Thirty-ninth.”
    Becan leaned close to Jayden. “Yeh know wha’ I miss abou’ Chicago? I could pronounce it.”
    “ We shall divide into three teams for three distinct operations. The first team to drop will be Commander Dostoevsky’s.”
    Behind the captain, the display screen showed their targeted structure. Scott had seen the image up close already. It wasn’t as detailed as would have preferred—it never was. Multiple stories, and some kind of tower. For a military city, this wasn’t surprising. There were probably lots of buildings with towers. But he was fully prepared for whatever it was.
    “ A Russian orthodox church has been captured as a stronghold…”
    Scott’s heart stopped. The captain’s remaining words turned to static. Scott spoke without even a thought. “Did you say a church?”
    Clarke stopped in mid-explanation. “That’s correct.”
    That was the one thing Scott hadn’t expected. His stomach started to ache.
    “ You will go into a church, won’t you, Mr. Remington?”
    For a moment, he couldn’t find any words. When he finally did, his voice was grave. “Of course, captain.”
    Clarke eyed him before going on.
    The rest of the captain’s words were completely lost to Scott. His focus fell away from the view screen, and he stared blankly at the floor.
    “ Lieutenant?” The hushed word came from Auric. The blond-haired German sat at his side. “Are you okay?”
    Scott had no explanation for his despondency—at least none he was willing to share. “Yes, I’m fine.” Forcing himself into combat mode, he resumed listening to the captain.
    Clarke would lead a team consisting of David, Esther, Jayden, and Svetlana into a warehouse. Resistance was expected to be manageable. The warehouse was a tall building, in view of several streets that the Thirty-fifth would be traversing in the distance. It was the perfect opportunity for Jayden to snipe. All the others had to do was secure the warehouse itself.
    Max’s operation was slightly more difficult. He would be leading Becan, Oleg, Maksim, and Varvara into a federal building with known hostages. It was a coordinated effort with a team from the Thirty-ninth. Enemy presence was expected to be high.
    Scott and the Nightmen would tackle the church.

    Across the troop bay, Esther aggressively checked her sidearm.
    “ You all righ’, Esty?” Becan asked.
    “ Of course I’m all right—why wouldn’t I be all right?” She tried to slam in a clip, but misjudged her aim. She jarred it in place a second time.
    “ Well, judgin’ from the fact tha’ yeh can’t seem to properly load your handgun…”
    “ She did it on purpose.”
    The Irishman eyed her strangely. “Wha’?”
    “ I haven’t gone by Molly in years . Not for applications, not for Academy registration, not for anything.”
    “ Wait, are you still goin’ on abou’ tha’ ?”
    “ If your name was Molly Esther, would you want anyone to know?”
    “ If my name was Molly Esther, I’d have serious testosterone problems.”
    She turned away. “You’re an idiot.”
    “ Esty, they’re medical records . O’ course they’ll have your full name. I mean, wha’ did yeh