Catalyst (Breakthrough Book 3)(26)
DeeAnn was quiet for a moment. “It doesn’t matter. This guy will never find a single monkey on an entire mountain. Dexter’s probably already dead anyway. Even if he’s not, it would take months, maybe years, to find him.”
“Not with Dulce’s help.”
DeeAnn’s eye widened and she shook her head. “No! I can’t do that to her. I won’t. You don’t know what was happening to her up there. She may be better now, but if she melts down again…a manic gorilla who’s twice as strong as you would be the last thing you want on your hands. Believe me. We can’t risk that again.”
“Not even for an all-expense paid trip to the rainforest?”
DeeAnn was not amused.
“Then how about a fancy medal from the President?”
“The answer is no.”
Caesare’s smile faded. “Okay, look. The truth is we need your help. We need you and Dulce to help us find the monkey. To get in and out, quickly.”
“Who’s we?”
He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he looked at them both and then took a few steps back to the door. He opened it, leaned outside, and motioned his head. Steve stepped back, holding the door open.
A moment later, three men appeared in the doorway and one by one stepped into Alison’s office. All three were dressed in casual clothes but sported hardened, chiseled faces.
“I’d like you to meet my friends: Officers Corso, Anderson, and Tiewater.”
She looked them over with her arms still crossed in front of her. “Well, at least you’re not dumb enough to go alone this time.” DeeAnn immediately regretted her statement the moment she said it. If Caesare hadn’t gone alone last time, she wouldn’t still be alive. It was a stupid thing to say.
Caesare let it go. She’d gone through enough trauma. Taken advantage of by both Alves and Blanco on what was supposed to be a mission of goodwill, she was literally staring down the barrel of a gun by the time Caesare got to her. She had every right not to want to go back. But they needed her and Dulce, badly.
Neither Corso, Anderson, nor Tiewater replied or even moved. What DeeAnn Draper didn’t know was that these three men were handpicked from three of the best Navy SEAL Special Warfare teams on the East Coast. And they were now tasked with safely accompanying Caesare, DeeAnn, and Dulce back into the jungle –– four members, including Caesare, who could protect them and still maintain a small, nimble, and fast group. From the insertion to the extraction, the priority was to get in and back out before Otero and his men. And there wasn’t a lot of time.
Alison remained quiet and watched DeeAnn, standing strong in front of all four men. Their presence and stone like expressions exuded a feeling of strength throughout the room. She was sure it was supposed to be reassuring, not intimidating, but it was both.
“I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Steven,” DeeAnn said. “And I applaud your courage. But I don’t share it. I came as close to death as I ever want to be, for a long time. I’m not a soldier. I’m a scientist. Fearlessness is not one of my strengths. Dulce may have gotten over it, but I haven’t. I don’t know if I ever will.” She glanced briefly at the other men. “I’m sorry.”
Caesare frowned. “This isn’t about fearlessness, DeeAnn. Or bravado. This is bigger than you and me. It’s bigger than all of us. This is about the world being a much more frightening place to live in tomorrow if we don’t do something today. And every generation after us will have to pay the price. The price of not stopping this while we could.”
DeeAnn stared at him, considering his words. To her, it didn’t matter what happened today. There was so much evil in the world. So much apathy. It was everywhere and the world was going to end up in a bad place regardless. Maybe this discovery would hasten it, or maybe it wouldn’t, but either way she was sure that in the end things would end up the same. She wasn’t ready to trade her life, or Dulce’s, for a bunch of egotistical men and governments who would keep fighting with each other long after she was gone. Those men didn’t care about a brighter future for everyone else. They only cared about a better today for themselves. For their secret, corrupt, elitist clubs that would do anything they could to survive. And to rule. Men like Caesare and his friends might be genuinely concerned about the future, but the men they served were not.
She slowly shook her head again. “Sorry, this is not my fight. I paid my dues, and then some. DNA or no DNA, I don’t believe anything is going to change. Not the people, the politics, and certainly not the system. If we were all in this to make life better for everyone, that might be one thing. But this is just a game. Nothing will change. It will always be played by people who have never played by the rules and who now want to change the game itself. I don’t think they’ll be able to, but I’m not willing to die just to find out. ”