Red Awakening (Red Zone 2)

“Really? So am I.” He eyed the guy. He had an inch or two on Mace and definitely more muscle. But he wouldn’t have Mace’s speed. It was a gift that came from his freaky other half. One that allowed him to read air currents and anticipate movements almost before they happened.

“I’m Rock,” the guy said. “It’s only right you should know the name of your executioner.”

He had to be kidding. Mace barked out a laugh, throwing his opponent for a second. “Hate to tell you, bud, but that name is already taken.” Well, it had been, a lifetime ago. And the original Rock would have eaten this guy alive.

The mountain opened his mouth to argue, but Mace was done talking. He plowed his fist into the Freedom fighter’s jaw. The blow made them both shudder. Rock shook his head, narrowed his eyes, let out a war cry, and threw himself at Mace.

…

Keiko tore down the stairs to the basement level, the air ripped from her lungs in desperate gasps. She’d left Mace to fight that monster. She shouldn’t have left him alone. Mace was huge, but that guy was something else. He was what happened when good sense was replaced by muscle enhancers. Her steps faltered. She could help. All she needed was a gun. She could fire at the monster. She could help.

She spun on her heels and ran back up the stairs, just as the door above her crashed open.

“Mace?” she called.

No reply.

They’d found her. The door slammed shut, locking her in the stairwell with whoever was chasing her. There was no time to see how many people were after her. She turned and ran. She had to hide, to wait for Mace. He’d come for her. She knew he would. And if he didn’t, she’d damn well hunt him down.

Footsteps gained on her, and she risked a glance behind her. Too close. The man was mere steps above her, running fast. He held a gun in his hand, and his face was a mask of menace and determination. Jumping the last few steps, he wrapped an arm around her, lifting her from her feet.

Not again! She was so completely over men picking her up and running away with her.

“Put me down.” She swung her elbow and felt the satisfying smack when it hit his face.

“Stop it, bitch, or I’ll knock you out.”

“Don’t. Call. Me. Bitch.” She bit his arm until she tasted blood.

“Fuck,” he roared.

But the bite did the trick. He dropped her, and she ran, scrambling up the stairs, back to Mace. Why hadn’t she picked up a weapon? A gun would have been great right about now. She heard him on the steps behind her and turned, kicking out. The blow glanced off him, but she didn’t let that stop her. She kicked again, catching him in the stomach. He let out a groan, lost his balance, and fell back down the stairs.

Kung fu. Karate. Krav Maga. She was signing up for all of it—if she lived.

A hand grabbed her ankle. She fell, and then she was being pulled down the stairs, bumping over them. Pain shot through her head as it hit the edge of a step.

“What the hell are you doing?” someone shouted.

The grip on her ankle released, and Keiko groaned. She felt like her body had been put through a grinder. Fighting to sit up, she watched another man push her attacker away from her.

“We need her in one piece,” the new man shouted. “Are you trying to kill her?”

“The bitch took a chunk out of my arm.”

The new man shook his head in disgust and walked over to crouch in front of Keiko. “Are you okay?”

Was he serious? “No.”

He let out a sigh. “I apologize for my fellow Freedom fighter, but you’re needed on the terrace.”

“Well, I’ll just hurry on up there, then.” She winced when she moved and wondered if the whole of her back had turned into one long bruise.

His smile turned cold. “Yes, I’m afraid you’ll have to. You have a date with a camera, you see. You like being in front of a camera, don’t you, Ms. Sato? You like the attention. And the least we can do is provide that for you.”

This game was becoming tiring. She wanted it to end. “Why are you doing this? Enforcement is going to storm this building, and all of you will die. And for what?”

“I’m dead anyway, Ms. Sato. I died the day CommTECH decided everyone in their accounting division had to be implanted with active recorders.”