Moonlight: Terminate Series, #2

By Spencer McKinney

The world has changed. People are trying to move on in the aftermath of a virus that sweeped the globe. 

 

More than half of the world's population has died from the virus. Gabriel is now a trained agent for The Society and part of a specialized team of agents sent to Base 47-- a city overrun with corruption and cut off from the rest of the world. When an undercover mission goes sideways, Gabriel uncovers a heartbreaking truth that The Society is desperately trying to keep hidden; and he got his team all tangled up in the mess. 

 

Now, with wavering loyalty and guidance from some friends along the way, Gabriel must hide what he knows about the agency all while trying to protect Ella. And with tensions rising, he must make the ultimate sacrifice to seek justice on his own terms. Because he doesn't trust anyone, not even his own team.  

• Language: English
• Publisher: Spencer McKinney
• Release date: Oct 24, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223626114

Book preview

Chapter 1

Tessa doesn’t take no for an answer.

Echo, status update.

Tessa and I are sitting in the humvee, watching Lorella’s hesitant movements through her body camera. Lorella is out in the open, she needs to get behind a bush before she is spotted.

Earth to Echo.

Tessa gets impatient easily. After a few moments of silence, she yanks out her earpiece and turns toward me. Her newly dyed and damaged hair is tied back in a ponytail so tight that it brings out her cheekbones.

Remind me again why she’s on our team?

I blow out a sigh and hold up my binoculars to get a better view of what Lorella is seeing. Her body camera footage is slightly blurry due to numerous sand particles. I pretend to scan the surroundings before answering her.

"Give her a break, Tessa. She just passed her firearms exam."

She groans in frustration and takes off her helmet. She is the only wearing her tactical gear, Lorella and I opted for light jackets and cargo pants. Tessa reaches for her rifle and gets out of the vehicle.

I’ll do it myself.

I contemplate following her. I don’t want to leave the humvee alone, but then again, no one is going to steal it. Anyone caught out here is a dead man anyways. I zip up my jacket and pop an old piece of gum into my mouth, which I had managed to sneak onto the humvee. The Society is very strict when it comes to where we can eat. I hop out and immediately notice how windy it is. Tessa and Lorella are about ten yards ahead of me, arguing over something. I stop a few feet short of them and catch the last bits of the conversation.

Just take the damn shot.

The wind will throw it off.

Tessa rolls her eyes and drops to the ground, getting on her stomach and keeping her knees slightly bent. She tugs on her hair tie to loosen the ponytail and takes a deep breath. It’s fascinating to watch her at work. Tessa is a hardass, but she’s also one of the best agents The Society has ever seen. I’m second to her.

She readjusts her fingerless gloves and wraps a finger around the trigger. A huge gust of wind whips by, sending sand into my eyes and nostrils. Lorella covers her face with her arms, but Tessa doesn’t flinch. As soon as the wind dies down, she pulls the trigger. Honestly, I don’t register the sound. But the men guarding the base notice it a second too late, as one of their men goes down. Tessa takes in another breath before pulling again. Two down. By the third shot, they were returning fire. Lorella and I retreat to the humvee, even though the guards aren’t close enough to get a good shot off. I hop on the driver’s side as soon as I make sure her door is closed. It roars to life and jets forward a little before I can get a handle on it and pull up next to Tessa. They are still returning fire as she stands and hops in the back seat, slamming the door shut with a force strong enough to shatter glass.

You see Ella, a good sniper can account for the wind speeds and adjust their shots accordingly.

Yeah, well that’s not part of training, Lorella mutters under her breath.

You’re right, it’s not. It’s a learned skill, maybe you’ll get there one day.

As we get closer to the base, the pile of bodies that Tessa left behind comes into view. Even though it’s nighttime in the Simpson Desert, we are technically driving on enemy territory, and I have to keep the headlights off. The desert, where there are no streetlights, not even in the city center. But we somehow made it.

This mission had been postponed at least five times. After World Falling, humanity descended into chaos. The virus took over our lives, even for the immune. And it continues to mutate. Many who were immune during the first wave are now getting sick, but I manage to remain untouched. Mari was right: I am lucky. After The Society perfected the cure, they finally came clean and presented it to the government. And how could they refuse? Even though the cure has saved countless lives, the virus moves faster. Between arriving at The Society a few months ago and completing my training, another third of the world population died off. Just a little over two billion of us left. Many of the smaller districts now serve as mass grave sites. Once a grave site gets full, they set it ablaze. It smells bad, and is only speeding up global warming. But at this point, scientists are convinced that most of the people left on earth will disappear before global warming can get to us. Yeah, tell that to the immune.

Even though the rest of the world was able to get past their differences to save humanity, one continent resisted. Australia alienated themselves from the rest of society. They were able to keep the virus contained by sectioning off those who were sick and banning travel. No one in, and no one out. But they didn’t account for those who aren’t native to the country. Their solution only worked for a year, people turned against the government, much like the Americans did. Now it’s just Base 47, and it’s overrun with gangs and corrupt officials. The Simpson Desert is in northern territory, which is also where they built their city center. Anyone outside of this territory is now dead, either due to starvation or the virus.

Alright Gabe. You can park here.

Tessa didn’t even wait for me to turn off the humvee before jumping out. It’s the middle of the night and she still has enough energy to fight someone. Base 47 may have closed itself off, but we still have a facility in the city center. I hear that it frequently gets vandalized, but I don’t think anyone knows that we operate from there.

From the outside, our facility just looks like a random old building. One hundred percent cement and one door. We traced the perimeter to make sure no one was watching before knocking on the door. We’re greeted with a familiar face. Jacob pulls me in for a hug.

You guys made it.

We each take turns hugging him, well, Tessa giving more of an annoyed side hug before heading in. It’s very muggy inside compared to the dry unforgiving air of the desert, but I couldn’t care less.

Yeah, we had a few hiccups along the way, Lorella said.

If by hiccups, you mean the bloodbath outside, then yeah. Please tell me that was you, Ella.

Before she could answer, Tessa points to herself and smirks.

Jake, you wish. All me buddy. Now, lead the way.

Jacob used to have a crush on Tessa before Lorella and I joined the team. Tessa has always been difficult to deal with, but ever since Lorella passed training, she’s just an ass to everyone. Which is weird because she doesn't have anything to prove. Jacob wraps his arm around Lorella’s shoulders and leads us down the corridor. We aren’t the only ones in the building, but every other agent assigned to this place is out in the field or turned. We all have to share a large room with two bunk bed sets and a bathroom.

I saved this room for us.

Jacob scratches the back of his neck and walks in first. It must’ve been hell for him. He’s part of our team, but they sent him out here with another group to assess the facility. As tensions rise, people start to care less and less about authority and have found ways to access the facility. They sent out computer specialists and hackers to enhance security measures before sending out any more agents. Our team is finally reunited. Jacob crashes on the bottom bunk to the left. Tessa climbs up to the top bunk above him and makes herself comfortable. I turn to Lorella.

Top or bottom?

What?

For the bed.

Her face turns beet red before climbing to the top bunk. I smile at my attempt to fluster her and kick off my shoes. Lorella and I aren’t that close, our only common thread being loving Mari, but she feels comfortable around me. I try to get her to drop her guard, but she stays closed off. And I guess I do the same, I find it hard to trust or get close to anyone ever since losing Mari. I only trust Jacob because he’s the only other guy on the team and is a huge nerd, he doesn’t have the balls to betray anyone. And for Tessa, she cares too much about the mission and her reputation to let a silly conflict ruin her track record.