Michael, Magnolia, and Samson walked in, and the doors closed behind them. They were the only ones who knew the truth about the events aboard Discovery, but X knew he couldn’t keep this a secret forever.
The group stopped in front of the steps, and X moved to the edge of the platform, looking down on Ada, who continued to avoid his gaze. Her youthful features were in shadow, but he could tell by her posture that she was nervous.
Rhino stepped onto the platform and stood beside X, cradling his double-headed spear so that it rested against his chest and shoulder. He was the only living Cazador who knew about what had happened beyond the dark barrier, and X trusted he would keep it that way.
X walked to the edge of the platform and looked at Ada.
“Why, Lieutenant?” he said. “Why did you kill them?”
He knew the answer. Hell, he should have known something like this would happen. Not only in the sky but also in the boat port.
“I’m sorry, sir. I just…” Ada’s words trailed off, and she bowed her head.
Magnolia looked at X, but he didn’t return her gaze.
“The crew of the Lion helped kill Captain DaVita,” said Eevi. “We all know what some of them did to Katrina once they boarded the USS Zion.”
X wanted to close his eyes and block out the image, but he kept his gaze on Ada.
He too had heard that some of the Cazadores dragged Katrina’s body onto the deck, where they held her up like a prize. Edgar Cervantes, the sole survivor, had witnessed it when the Cazadores took him into captivity.
The warrior had stayed with Katrina until the end—an almost certain suicide mission. But not only had he survived the Cazadores who boarded the ship, he had killed three of them before they finally subdued him.
Knowing that the courageous diver had been with Katrina in the end helped ease some of the pain X felt. But it didn’t bring her back.
“Captain DaVita sacrificed herself so we could live here in peace,” he said. “So that we could have a home. You just jeopardized it all—everything she died for.”
Ada glanced up, her eyes glazed with tears. “You don’t think they’re waiting to kill you, sir? You don’t think they’ll do the same thing to us when they get the chance? Parade our bodies on boats or hang us from the rigs? And eat us?” she said.
He had considered everything she was saying, but what was he to do? Commit genocide? When the human race was already facing extinction?
That would make him worse than el Pulpo.
He had to keep the big picture in mind. Sometimes, young people didn’t consider all the ramifications of their actions. When X was her age, he couldn’t think beyond a bottle of shine.
“She’s right, you know,” Samson said.
It seemed the older generation was also having a problem with the bigger picture.
“That mechanic killed DJ in cold blood, over a stupid boat,” Samson said. “And then the asshole stuck a screwdriver through my other mechanic’s eye when he tried to pull him off DJ.”
“Cold-blooded murder is also what Lieutenant Winslow did to those people in the crate,” Les said, glowering at his former XO. “You murdered them when I was trying to save them.”
“I couldn’t forgive them, and they deserved to die,” Ada said.
“So that gives you the right to disobey a direct order, commit mass murder, and put us all at risk?” X snapped. “Guess what? El Pulpo captured and tortured me when I was clinging to life by my teeth in Florida. This was after Captain Jordan abandoned me on the surface for nearly ten years. I had a hell of a lot more to forgive than you will ever know.”
The chamber fell into silence.
“The Cazadores aren’t the only humans to have sinned,” X went on. “We have also sinned, and I was trying to move past all that, to forgive the past and look toward the future.” He waited for Ada to look at him again and then said, “You just severely fucked all that up, Lieutenant.”
“If the Cazadores find out about the Lion, it will start another war,” Les said.
“Maybe they don’t have to know,” Samson said. “I mean, none of them survived, and they didn’t send any radio transmissions, right?”
“None that we know of,” said Eevi.
Rhino spoke up. “Colonel Vargas has spies,” he said. “If he or any of the other members of the Black Order find out, war is a given.”
X resisted the urge to sit back down on his throne.
He needed to think.
Maybe he should have had Rhino execute Colonel Vargas and the rest of the Black Order, along with the Praetorian Guards who protected them. But Vargas had taken the vow with the others, and X had let them serve.
In hindsight, maybe that wasn’t the best idea.
If they found out about the Lion, it would mean Ada’s and X’s heads at the very least; at worst, another war. He couldn’t afford more spilled blood. They had too many other problems and threats to worry about.
But how could he keep these events secret? He couldn’t silence everyone who had been on the airship. Alfred and the other technicians who had helped Les lower the hoist cables didn’t know exactly what had happened, but they knew their equipment. They had surely gone over every plausible accident scenario and come up with nothing.
X bent down and rubbed Miles’s neck, mulling his options. What should I do, boy?
The dog rolled on his side—an invitation to rub his belly. X almost smiled, but that would have been disrespectful under the circumstances.
He patted Miles again and stood.
His people looked to him for guidance. And a decision. This duty he had inherited was way above his pay grade. He didn’t want to be king, captain, or even a commander. He was just an old Hell Diver.
It was the only thing he was ever good at. And now he couldn’t even dive.
“I spent ten years in the wastes,” he said, “wandering like a crazed cockroach, thinking I was the last man on this poisoned planet, only to discover that not only were my people still alive, but there was a habitable goddamn paradise waiting for all of us. Then we fight for it, win it, and two idiots put it all at risk.”
He looked at Ada with a frown. “I should throw you to the wolves, kid. I should let them kill you for what you did. Or perhaps I should send you to the wastes—exile you from paradise and leave you, just the way Jordan left me.”
“You can’t,” Magnolia said. “That would be killing her.”
“I didn’t die.”
“True,” she replied, “but that’s why you’re the Immortal.”
“I’m not Jordan, and I’m not a Cazador, that’s for sure,” X said. “I’m a Hell Diver. My job is to save people, not kill them.”
Ada let out a small sigh of relief.
“Honestly, I’m not sure what I’m going to do with you yet,” he said.
He saw Rhino stiffen.
“What I am sure of is that we can’t delay any longer on sending someone to check out that signal in Rio de Janeiro. I’ve made up my mind. I’m sending Discovery and deploying Star Grazer to take out any defectors and save the humans there.”
He turned to Rhino. “General, I’ve changed my mind about having you lead that mission. You’ll stay here and help me keep the peace. I want you to put together a team of men and women you trust, just in case our friends decide to do something stupid like Ada did.”
Rhino nodded.
“I want eyes and ears in the sky and on the sea for this mission,” X continued. “Mags, you know how to sail. I want you to start the mission on Discovery, and when you arrive at the target, you’ll use the Sea Wolf to accompany Star Grazer.”