Chapter 213

The RV and the four SUVs roared out of the airport. Maeve kept the RV steady, her eyes on the road. Willa checked a map on her phone. “We should be there in twenty minutes.”

Louis looked at Robin, who was cleaning his rifle. “How many men do you have with you?”

“Ten,” Robin said. “Including me. Most of them are in the SUVs with your men.”

“Good,” Louis said. “So we have twenty-six professional soldiers, plus us.”

“Against a city in chaos,” Robin said. “Fortunately we have air superiority.”

“Are we going to shoot down their air force?” Maeve asked.

“No,” Robin said. “As long as they stay in their hangars. But if they try to interfere, we will take them out.”

“Yamamoto, what’s the situation at the palace?” Louis asked.

“We don’t know, sir,” Yamamoto’s voice came. “All communications are down. We’re going in blind.”

“Then we’ll have to improvise,” Louis said. He looked at Sister Sarah, who was sitting on a sofa, her hands clasped. “Do you have a panic room at the palace?”

Sister Sarah nodded. “Yes. In the basement. It’s very secure.”

“How many guards are there?” Savannah asked.

“About fifty, usually,” Sister Sarah said. “But I don’t know how many of them are loyal. Or how many of them are alive.”

“We have to assume the worst,” Louis said. “That the palace is compromised. And that the attackers are there.”

“Or will be soon,” Angelique said.

Louis spoke to the Comms. “Sergeant Zhang, I want your drones out before we get there.”

“On it,” Zhang’s voice replied.

“How many children are we looking for, Sister Sarah?” Angelique asked.

“Twelve,” Sister Sarah said. “With five nannies.” She held her face in her hands. “They could be anywhere. They could be hurt. Or worse.” Her shoulders shook.

Cherish moved to sit beside her, putting an arm around her. “We will find them,” she said. “Don’t worry.”

Sister Sarah looked up, her eyes wet with tears. “Thank you.”

Louis watched them. “Is everyone alright? Are you hurt?”

“We’re good,” Savannah said, checking her pistol. “Ready for a fight.”

“I wish we had more guns,” Maeve said.

“We can use the Rods,” Gladice said. “Now it seems like the perfect situation.”

“No,” Robin said. “We’re not using the Rods. Not yet.”

“Why not?” Gladice asked. “It would be a perfect demonstration of power.”

“We’re here to rescue some kids, not to level a neighborhood,” Robin said.

“Fine,” Gladice said. “But I still want to use a bigger gun.”

Yamamoto’s voice came from the speaker. “Ma’am, we still have your spare rifles in our SUVs. We will distribute them when we get there.”

“Excellent.”

“I’ll be more worried about the children,” Donya said. “Where would they be at this hour?”

“Probably already inside the panic room with their nannies.” Angelique sighed.

“Zhang’s drones are in the air,” Willa said, her eyes on her laptop. “He’s sending me the video feed. I can see the palace. It’s not good.”

“What do you see?” Louis asked.

“A lot of smoke,” Willa said. “And I see a lot of bodies. Some of them are Danites. Some of them are Nauvoo Legion.”

“So the fight is already there,” Louis said.

“It seems so,” Willa said. “But I don’t see any movement around the palace or at the gates. It’s too quiet.”

“Quiet is bad,” Maeve said. “It means they’re waiting for us.”

“Or they’re already inside,” Savannah said.

“We’ll find out soon enough,” Louis said.

The convoy stopped in front of the main entrance of the palace. The doors were wide open. A man in Legion uniform was lying on the steps, a pool of blood around him. He looked up as the RV stopped.

“Help me,” the man whispered. He was clutching a wound on his stomach. “Please.”

Robin stepped out of the RV with two of his men. “Who are you?”

“Private Samuel Jensen,” the man gasped. “Palace guard.”

“Who attacked you?” Robin asked.

“The Danites,” Jensen said. “They went crazy. They shot everyone.”

“How many?” Robin asked.

“A dozen,” Jensen said. “Maybe more.”

“Where did they go?” Robin asked.

The man did not speak again. Robin checked for a pulse, then shook his head. “He’s gone.”

“Yamamoto, I want each SUV to have a driver and a gunner,” Louis said, opening the RV door. “Have two men guarding the RV, four men at the gate. The rest are with me. And get me a rifle.”

“Understood, sir,” Yamamoto’s voice replied.

A guard brought Louis a SAU-30 and a helmet. “Here, sir.” Louis looked at Angelique. “You’re in charge of the RV, Angi. Foxtrot team stands.”

Sister Sarah came out, her face pale. “I’m going with you.”

“No, Sister Sarah,” Angelique said, her voice firm. “You stay here.”

“This is my home, Princess,” Sister Sarah said, her eyes flashing. “I will die here, if I must.”

“Let her come,” Louis said. “She knows the layout. And she might be able to calm the children.”

“Alright,” Angelique said, sighing. “Be careful, Louis.”

Savannah, Gladice, and Maeve also came out. The guard gave them rifles, tactical vests, and helmets too. They put them on quickly.

“Let’s go,” Louis said. He led the team inside the palace.

The entrance hall was a mess. A crystal chandelier was shattered on the floor. Marble columns were riddled with bullet holes. The bodies of a dozen Danites and Legion guards were scattered around. A wounded Danite tried to raise his pistol. Yamamoto shot him in the head. “Clear.”

“Stay sharp,” Louis said.

They moved through the palace, their rifles raised. The palace was silent, except for their footsteps. They checked the main rooms, one by one. The dining hall, the living room, the library. Louis nodded to Yamamoto. “Captain, clear the second floor and standby. My team will go down to the basement.”

“Understood, sir,” Yamamoto said, leading the rest of the guards up the grand staircase.

Louis, the women, Sister Sarah, and Robin’s team headed toward the basement. A dead nanny was lying in a hallway. Sister Sarah gasped.

“Keep moving,” Louis said.

They reached a steel door in the basement. “The panic room,” Sister Sarah said. Her hands trembled as she knocked. “It’s me. Sister Sarah.”

A muffled child’s cry came from inside. “Mom?”

“Yes, honey,” Sister Sarah said. “It’s me. And I have some friends with me.” Her face was desperate. “Open the door.”

A slot in the door slid open. A pair of eyes looked out. It was a nanny. “Sister Sarah. What’s happening?”

“The palace is under attack,” Sister Sarah said. “But we are here now. Open the door.”

The nanny looked nervous. “I’m sorry. I cannot do that. We have our orders.”

Sister Sarah raised her voice. “I am the First Wife of the Prophet King! I am ordering you to open this door, in the name of the king!”

The slot slid closed. A moment passed. Then the heavy door clicked and slowly opened a few inches.

“Look out! A trap!” Maeve yelled. A guard had already taken out a flashbang and tossed it inside the room. A muffled boom and screams came from the room. Another guard grabbed the door and pulled it fully open. Louis rushed in with his rifle. The room was full of children and nannies. But there were also three armed men in Danite uniforms. Two were on the floor, disoriented. The third one was shielding a little girl. He pointed a gun at her head. Louis shot him before he had time to think. The bullet went through the attacker’s eye. He collapsed. The little girl started to scream. Gladice shot one of the stunned attackers in the head.

“Wait! We want one alive!” Robin shouted.

Maeve rushed to the last attacker and placed her sword on his neck. “Got one.” Savannah ran to him and took a pistol from his holster. The other guards all pointed their rifles at him.

“Get the children and the nannies out of here. Now,” Louis yelled. Robin nodded to two guards, who helped the stunned people to get up and leave the room. Sister Sarah ran to her children, hugging them and crying.

“Mommy, I can’t see,” a little boy said, rubbing his eyes.

“It’s okay, honey,” Sister Sarah said. “You’re safe now.”

Savannah crouched down by the captured Danite. “Who sent you? Was it Brother John?”

The Danite was shaking. “We were protecting the children from you!”

“Bullshit,” Maeve said. “You were using them as hostages. Were you going to kill them?”

“No! We were ordered to bring them to a safe house!”

Savannah pointed her gun at his head. “Who ordered you?”

“His Holy Majesty! In his last will, he ordered us to protect the children from you!”

Louis looked at Robin, who shook his head. “He’s lying.”

“Or he’s been lied to,” Gladice said.

“Either way, he knows something,” Louis said. “Take him with us. Keep him quiet.”

Robin nodded to a guard. “Tie him up. And gag him.”

The guard pulled a zip tie and a piece of cloth. The Danite struggled, but the guard overpowered him easily.

Yamamoto’s voice came from the speaker. “Sir, we have secured the CCTV room. We’re looking at the footage from the last hour. I think you should see this.”

“We’re on our way,” Louis said, leading the team out of the panic room. The children and nannies were huddled in the hallway, crying. Sister Sarah hugged her children, her face wet with tears. “Thank you, Mr. Collins. Thank you.”

“Take everyone to the RV, Sister Sarah,” Louis said. “Keep them safe.”

“Yes, sir,” Sister Sarah said, guiding the children and the nannies to the exit with several guards.

Louis and the team went to the CCTV room on the second floor. Yamamoto was there, looking at a monitor. “Sir.”

“What did you find, Captain?” Louis asked.

“A clip from about an hour ago,” Yamamoto said, pointing to the screen. “Look.”

Louis leaned forward. He saw Brother John lead a group of Danites entering the palace. He was talking to a Danite in charge. Then he left with a few of the men, leaving the rest behind. The Danites then started to shoot the Legion guards. The camera angle shifted to the panic room. Several Danites pointed their guns at the nannies and children. They forced their way in. The video ended.

“They were definitely not protecting the children,” Maeve said.

“So Brother John was here, after all,” Gladice said. “And he’s still out there.”

“And he has men in the city,” Savannah said. “Probably more in the palace.”

“We need to find him,” Louis said, nodding to Yamamoto. “Take the footage. We are leaving.”

“Understood, sir,” Yamamoto said, pulling out a hard drive.

They headed back to the entrance hall. The rest of the guards were already there. The captured Danite was struggling, but the guard holding him had a firm grip. Robin’s men were standing by.

“Where are we going, sir?” Yamamoto asked.

“To the airport,” Louis said. “We need to get out of here before more of them show up.”

Robin looked at Louis. “Negative, our surveillance drone just confirmed multiple vehicles, including APCs and tanks, are reinforcing the airport. We need a new extraction point.”

“What’s on your mind, Robin?” Louis asked.

“We need to get out of town first,” Robin said. “Most of Danites and Legion forces are busy fighting each other, we should not get caught in the crossfire. I suggest a rendezvous point at Antelope Island, near the shore of the Great Salt Lake. We can make an extraction there with choppers.”

“Choppers won’t have the range for Sacramento,” Louis said.

“Not directly,” Robin said. “But it can get to Nevada.”

“Do it,” Louis said.

They ran to the convoy. The children and nannies were already inside the RV. The guards helped the captured Danite into one of the SUVs. Sister Sarah sat on a sofa, hugging her children. Donya and Cherish were distributing water and juice to the crying kids.

“Are we leaving?” Sister Sarah asked, her face pale.

“Yes,” Louis said. “We’re going to a safe place.”

“Where?” Sister Sarah asked.

“Antelope Island,” Louis said.

“I’ve been there with my children,” Sister Sarah said. “We had a picnic. It was a beautiful day.” Her eyes were distant.

“Tell them we are going to have a trip there, Angelique said, lowering her voice.

Sister Sarah looked at her, then at the children. She forced a smile. “We’re going on a trip, everyone. To the beach at the island.”

The children looked at her, their faces wet with tears. “But I’m scared,” a little girl said.

“Don’t be, honey,” Sister Sarah said, her voice trembling. “We are with the good people now. They will protect us.”

The RV drove out of the palace. The SUVs followed. Willa looked at her phone and frowned. “I have some news.”

“Bad news, I assume,” Louis said.

“It is,” Willa said. “Brother John is at Zion TV station right now. He is giving a speech to the whole city.”

“Put it on,” Louis said.

Willa’s phone showed a video of a man in a white robe with a beard. He was standing on a stage, with the Zion TV logo behind him.

“—our beloved Prophet King was murdered today by the devils of the Dominion of the Pacific!” Brother John was shouting, his face contorted with rage. “They came to our holy city with their weapons, their technology, and their immoral lifestyle. They shot him in cold blood, in the House of the Lord! They kidnapped his innocent family, and now they are holding them hostage. They are the enemies of God, and we must rise up and fight them! We must avenge our king and purify our land! The Lord has chosen me, John Dever, to lead you in this holy war!”

“That son of a bitch! He’s trying to start a civil war!” Maeve said, pounding the table. “And he framed us for the murder!”

“He’s probably going to declare himself the new Prophet King.” Savannah didn’t look up as she loaded ammo into the magazine of her Nightingale pistol.

Gladice looked at Louis. “Then let’s give him a war. It’s time for catching shrimp.”

Louis thought of the Rods of the Pacific. They could end this in minutes. It would be a massacre. But he understood Gladice. This had gone on long enough. This was a war. And in this war, there were no rules.

“Get me the exact coordinate of the TV station, Willa,” Louis said. His voice was cold.

Willa stared at him. “Are you going to do what I think you are?”

“Yes.”

“Louis, no,” Angelique said, putting a hand on his arm. “Think about the consequences.”

“I have,” Louis said, looking at her. “I’m tired of running. And I’m tired of being hunted. Brother John has chosen his death. We are going to give it to him.”

“What about the people in the city?” Donya asked, her face pale.

“We are going to target that building,” Louis said. “Not the city.” He looked at Willa. “The coordinates.”

Willa typed on her laptop, her hands shaking. She said the coordinates aloud. Zhang’s voice came from the speaker. “Got it.”

Louis spoke to the comms. “Sergeant Zhang, I’m authorizing a Rod strike on the Zion TV station immediately.”

“Understood,” Zhang’s voice came. “Which type of Rod? We have twelve 500kg tungsten kinetic impactors, eight 2t type, and three 5t type.”

“One 500kg type will do,” Louis said. He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them. “Make it a direct hit.”

“Executing,” Zhang’s voice replied.

“What are you talking about?” Sister Sarah asked, her face confused and scared.

“We’re ending the war,” Louis said. “Now.”

The RV turned at a private road to the north, away from the main city routes. The convoy followed. Gladice watched out the window, a grim smile on her face. “Good riddance, Brother John.”

“I don’t feel good about this,” Donya said, her hands trembling.

“I do,” Maeve said. “I hope he screams.”

“He won’t feel a thing,” Savannah said. “He’ll be vaporized.”

Zhang’s voice came from the speaker. “Target confirmed. Impact in five minutes.”

Donya looked at Louis. “Louis, please. We need to evacuate the innocent people in that building.”

“We can’t, Donya,” Louis said. “We have no way to do that. Brother John would know. He would get away. He made his choice. And I made mine.”

Donya’s face was pale. She looked at Cherish. “Cherry, say something.”

Cherish looked at Louis. She seemed unsure of what to do. After a moment, she put a hand on Donya’s arm. “Let’s pray for their souls.”

Donya nodded, tears running down her cheeks. She took Cherish’s hands. Cherish began to murmur. “Lord, have mercy on their souls. Forgive them their sins. Grant them eternal peace. Amen.”

“Amen,” Donya said, her voice choked.

Louis put an arm around Donya. “I’m sorry, Donya. I have to do this.”

Donya leaned her head against his shoulder. “I know.” She took a deep breath. “I’m with you, Louis. Whatever happens.”

“Thank you,” Louis said.

Maeve glanced back at them from the driver’s seat. “Are you done? Because I want to see the fireworks.”

Gladice glared at her. “Eyes on the road, Mae-Mae!”

Maeve’s eyes went back to the road. “You know what.” She turned on autopilot and stood up. “I’m going to watch with you.”

Louis led the women upstairs to the lounge. Willa projected the drone feed onto the large screen. A thin white streak appeared in the sky. “That’s the Rod,” she said.

Brother John’s voice still came from her laptop, distorted with rage. “—and we will rebuild our kingdom, stronger and purer than ever, with the Lord as our guide, and me as his servant—”

The signal suddenly cut. The screen of the laptop filled with static. Louis turned to the RV’s large screen. The Rod slammed into the roof of the Zion TV building. Concrete and glass burst outward. A moment later, the building began to collapse, and a cloud of dust rose into the sky.

“Direct hit,” Zhang’s voice said over the comms. “Target neutralized.”

Louis watched the dust cloud. He felt a strange emptiness. He had done it. He had killed hundreds of people with a single command. But he didn’t feel anything. Not pride, not guilt, not satisfaction. Just a cold, hollow certainty. He turned off the screen.

“It’s over,” he said. “For now.”

“I’ll get you a drink,” Maeve said, going to the kitchen.

“It’s not over,” Savannah said. “Not really. He’s gone, but what he started isn’t. We just threw a lit match into a powder keg.”

“She’s right,” Angelique said. “This changes everything. The whole Kingdom will be in chaos.”

Robin walked into the lounge, a rifle in his hands. He looked at the screen and nodded. “Nice shot.”

“Don’t, Robin,” Donya said, her face pale. “Not a word.”

“Sorry,” Robin said. “I have news. Our bird just landed in Sacramento with the Prophet King. He’s alive, but in critical condition. Our men are escorting him and the family to a secure medical facility.”

“And Sterling?” Louis asked.

“Already in a cell,” Robin said. “Awaiting interrogation.”

“Good,” Louis said. “Let them know Sister Sarah and their children are safe with us.”

“Already done,” Robin said. “Now, let’s find us a good spot to wait for the ride.”

Louis nodded and leaned his head back against the sofa. He closed his eyes, trying to process the day. He had been a guest, a target, a rescuer, and now, a mass murderer. He was a Collins, after all.