Nigel sifted through the remains of the chateau. He couldn’t fathom who could have done this and why? Tear welled in his eyes when he thought of April—and Blanka.
I hope they are alright.
Nigel made his way to the far side of the crater where part of the chateau remained. He thought it might have been the entrance, but he needed to be sure. As he got closer to the wreckage, he kept a watchful eye out for any sign of human remains.
“Nigel,” a female voice called.
He turned in the voice’s direction. It was Eva. Using her cybernetic arm, she tossed heavy debris like it weighed nothing.
“Have you seen anyone?” Nigel asked.
“Just you so far, but Vedrana was on patrol. We need to find madam Dahlia.”
Things would be so much simpler if she was dead, Nigel thought.
A helicopter broke the silence. Nigel gazed at the cloudy sky, but saw nothing. He fell as Eva tugged on his arm.
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“Get down,” Eva said.
Nigel did his best to conceal his position, but couldn’t find a suitable hiding spot. Moments later, he followed Eva into a gap between the remains of two walls.
“Do you know who attacked us?” Nigel asked.
“I can’t be sure, but madam Dahlia received an alert seconds before the blast. There is a shelter at the bottom of the chateau, but I haven’t been able to find its location in all this mess.”
“It’s buried.”
Echoes of shots rang out in the distance.
“They’re coming,” Eva said.
“Who is?” Nigel asked, alarmed.
“The cabal must have tracked us. We need to find shelter.”
“Jet’s out there! I told her to wait while I searched.”
“Let’s try to get to her. Stay close,” Eva said.
Nigel followed the teenage assassin, crawling around (and sometimes under) piles of debris.
“She’s just atop that ridge.”
Eva pulled out a pair of binoculars and scanned the area.
“I see her. She’s a hundred yards from us—wait, there are men with guns heading toward her. No way can we get there in time.”
“I’m going after her—”
A scream interrupted Nigel. It was Jet! He made a move to head in her direction, but Eva stopped him.
“It’s no use trying to save her. These men are professionals.”
An icy breeze blew flurries of snow in every direction. To keep from freezing, Eva pressed against him. Darkness came sooner than Nigel was expecting. They waited a long time before she allowed them to leave the safety of the wreckage.