Free Wiped by Nicola Claire Page A

mumbled, but what else could I say? I had no idea where we were going, just that we were being followed. If we abandoned Nirbhay and his compatriots now, we’d be blind down here. Worse off than we currently were.
    But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to be prepared.
    “How many, Calvin?” I whispered into the heavy silence.
    “I estimate twenty,” my Shiloh replied. “But that is an estimation. There are simply too many shadows aboveground for me to be certain I didn’t miss any.”
    “So, minimum twenty,” Beck muttered.
    “Can you at least confirm if they were u-Pol or armed?” Trent demanded.
    “Identification was impossible, but none have remained aboveground,” Calvin supplied. “And yes, Trent,” he added. “They were definitely armed.”
    “Lasers?”
    “It appeared so.”
    Trent was silent a moment and then with a sigh he said, “And Carstairs?”
    “A contingency of soldiers is on the move from the base as we speak.”
    I twisted around to look over my shoulder at Trent, my eyes full of accusation. His met mine, head on, challenge undertaken. Not an ounce of guilt or shame in the blue staring back.
    “What did you expect, baby?” he murmured, only loud enough for me to hear. “There is no way I would let you walk alone into a trap. No way.”
    I couldn’t argue with him. I didn’t want to anymore. He was right. This was probably a trap. But that didn’t mean I was giving up all hope.
    “Translate for me, Calvin,” I announced.
    “When you’re ready,” the computer replied.
    I tapped Nirbhay on the shoulder, drawing his attention. He looked up at me expectantly as he reached out to grasp my hand, tugging me forward at the same time as he waited for me to speak. The fact that he wasn’t mucking around scared me. The fact that he’d split his team worried me even more. Just what was he up to down here?
    I pushed it all aside and said, “Are they u-Pol?” Calvin translated, his voice coming out of the speakers in my wristwatch.
    Nirbhay glanced down at the device, his footsteps halting momentarily. Wide eyed, his free hand reached out, then he thought better of it, and started tugging me forward again instead.
    “u-Pol,” he said. No translation required.
    “What do they want?” Calvin translated again. But Nirbhay just shook his head, frantically pulling me forward with one hand, the other up to his face, finger pressed to his split lip requesting silence.
    “I don’t like this,” Alan grumbled over my shoulder.
    “You and me both,” Trent agreed.
    “Quiet,” Beck hissed, but I couldn’t help feeling it was his way of throwing his vote in with Trent and Alan.
    If I could have spoken then, I would have agreed. None of this was good.
    We walked on for several more minutes, until we reached a rock fall in the tunnel. God alone knew how long it had been there. It was hard to tell if Nirbhay was surprised. But there was no denying our way forward had been crushed under a roof collapse. Panic started to crawl up my throat as I turned around and looked back down the tunnel that we’d just traversed.
    “Fuck,” Trent muttered.
    “Trap,” I think I heard Cardinal Beck say.
    But all I could do was look at the men I’d brought down here, at their faces as realisation hit. I’d brought them here. Trapped them in a no-win situation. Took a gamble and now they’d pay the price. This was all my fault.
    My heart beat a frantic rhythm in the centre of my chest. Sweat beaded my brow. An ache had started up deep down inside; guilt, shame, desolation taking up residence.
    I pulled my laser gun from its holster and powered it up. Beck looked across the small space toward me and nodded, firing up his as well. My eyes found Trent’s.
    “It’s OK,” he whispered and for a moment I couldn’t breathe. “It’s OK.”
    It wasn’t, but he was doing his best to reassure me. Forgive me. I held his gaze, saw the conviction in his eyes. Saw more than I had any right to claim. I’d