Page 85 of Red Zone Awakened

An image of a woman with blond hair entered his mind, and he recognized her from the earlier broadcast, during which she’d killed Abigail.Mace spotted her easily.The woman was deep in discussion, a group crowding around her as she gave orders.He’d found the leader of this assault.And he marked her for death.

Do what you can to get that headband off Keiko, he ordered the bat.I’ll get to you both as fast as I can.

Don’t die,came the droll reply.

Get ready.

He glanced across the terrace, noting the position of each Freedom fighter.The terrorists were confident enough to believe they were untouchable.They were relaxed, and instead of spreading out to guard their weak points, most were chatting or listening to their leader.

Mace reached into the bag he’d stolen from a dead Freedom fighter and retrieved two hand grenades.

It was time to end this.

* * *

She was going to die.

There was no getting around it.The weapon that would kill her was strapped to her head, and she’d done everything within her meager power to piss off the woman with her finger on the trigger.

Keiko supposed she should have spent her time thinking about all the things she could have done with her life or remembering all those she loved and would miss—her parents, friends, colleagues… The list was endless, making her realize exactly how blessed her short life had been.But, as important as all those things were, the only thoughts in her mind were of Mace.

Where was he?What was he doing?Was he okay?She scanned the sky for his bat, feeling relief when she found it.Mace was alive.That much was certain.But what state was he in?What if he needed her?

She’d never felt more helpless in her life, and she hated it.No, she hated Susan Neal and the Freedom terrorists for putting her in this situation.She hated them for killing Abigail and other innocent people in their quest to be heard.Hated CommTECH for their underhanded practices and their disregard for human life.She hated all of it.

She wanted to go home.

How pathetic was that?She didn’t even know where home was anymore.Even if she’d wanted to, she couldn’t go back to her apartment and carry on as usual, pretending she didn’t know what CommTECH was doing or that people would die because the company was more interested in profit than lives.Truth was, she didn’t want to go back anyway.She wanted to stay with Mace.

And that’s when it hit her.

She’d fallen for the Viking.

Or possibly she was suffering from Stockholm Syndrome…

No.It wasn’t some desperate feeling brought on by circumstance.This had been building ever since she first set eyes on him in the nightclub.Never in her life had she been so drawn to a man.And that pull had only gotten stronger with each minute she spent in his presence.She loved his strength, his courage, his honor.She loved his sense of humor, how he cared for her, and how he thought about things.She even loved that he was fighting in the shadows, doing what he could to survive in a world alien to him as he struggled to come to terms with being so very different.

Really, there was no denying it.She loved Mace Armstrong.

Keiko wasn’t stupid.She knew if she chose Mace, she’d be turning her back on her life.He lived on the fringes of society, and she’d have to live there too.But she’d lived in the center of everything her whole life and had discovered that there was nothing of substance there.It was all smoke and mirrors.So perhaps it was time to try the shadows with Mace.

Only, she’d never get that chance.

Because she was going to die.

A hand came to rest on her shoulder, and she looked up to find the polite man studying her.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.“I was wrong.None of this is worth your life.I-I was hurt.Bitter.I believe in Freedom.But not in this.”His face was a picture of devastation as he looked around the terrace, as though seeing the damage they’d wrought for the first time.

With the silencer covering her mouth, Keiko couldn’t answer him.But, strangely, she understood.She could see how easy it would be to get caught up in a fight against the people you blamed for taking everything from you.Yes, she definitely understood.So she nodded at him and hoped he saw it for what it was—forgiveness.

“Get the cameras ready,” Susan shouted across the terrace.“It’s time to contact the great Ms.Shepherd, and I suspect she won’t have what we want.”Her cold smile fell on Keiko.“Your death will be on her shoulders.It will show the world that CommTECH cares nothing for its people, not even its precious press secretary.”

The hand on her shoulder tightened at the words, and Keiko did the only thing left in her power to do.She stared at the woman who would kill her, letting Susan Neal see her defiance.She would not die cowed.She would not die intimidated and afraid.She poured her disdain, her judgment, and her pity into her gaze.

And Susan was the first to look away.