Realm by HL Gibson

Author:HL Gibson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2023-02-07T19:07:06+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Raine gathered the twisted locks into a pile and considered making a funeral pyre out of them, so much so that the odor of smoke escaped her mind and entered her nostrils. The first to die upon the blaze would be Frank Blast. Of this, she was sure.

In the twenty-four hours since she had sneaked away from Sister Mary Joy’s convent, she had obtained a download of blueprints for Blast Tower. Her source, another GEA agent in Blast’s service, was more than pleased to believe she had finally convinced Raine to align herself with the crime boss. She had died with a smug smile on her face, and the guilt of having eliminated a fellow agent still roiled Raine’s stomach.

Working in Raine’s favor was the fact that Blast believed she had died in the warehouse fire along with Rogue. He would never see her coming. News stations ran reports of the unfortunate death of GEA Agent Jessica Raine, who died inspecting the warehouse district for illegally shipped goods. The fabricated accounts detailed Raine’s encounter with smugglers who blew up the building and escaped the Quadrant. Memorial services would be held tomorrow at the GEA Headquarters, concluding with the addition of her name to the plaque already bearing her father’s and brother’s.

Wet warmth trailed down the sides of Raine’s face, meeting beneath her chin and dropping to the floor. She missed her father and brother, but these tears were not for them. Whatever Rogue may have been, he did not deserve to die the way he had. She only cared because she hated to see another human die so unjustly. It had nothing to do with Rogue sacrificing himself to save her, and it sure as hell had nothing to do with the unresolved feelings agitating her heart.

Raine rubbed her hand over her face and newly shorn head, blowing upward to dislodge any remaining bits of hair. Her GEA uniform lay at her feet. She stepped away from it and into the shower. Afterward, she donned a black TechMesh bodysuit with built-in body armor stolen from the GEA barracks and her GEA boots. The dead agent’s hooded sweatshirt completed the transition from law enforcement to vigilante.

She tucked Theo’s knife in her boot pocket and strapped her GEA blaster to her thigh. A sawed-off shotgun hitched a ride across her back beneath the sweatshirt. Into a drawstring knapsack she stuffed a BioMetric Duplicator Card used to copy an image of the dead agent’s retinas and her HoloMir tablet with the blueprints for Blast Tower. She looked around a final time and closed the door behind her.

Raine was alone on Earth.

***

A method for calculating the time difference between Earth and the Realm did not exist. If it had, Rogue might not have spent every moment of his self-imposed solitude wondering where the Realmers were and regretting his suggestion that sent them away.

At least recalling his escape from Kolbian brought a smile of satisfaction. Staying still in the dark crevice was all that was required to lose the disorganized, impetuous leader and his followers.

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