Ethan Colberg: Rise Of The Hidden War God

Chapter 8

Ethan stood frozen. The image of Linda’s clinic burning was seared into his mind.

Kael grabbed his arm. “Sir! We have to go! The EMP!”

Valerius smiled. “What will it be, my boy? Your new protector? Or your futile revenge?”

Ethan’s eyes met Valerius’s. The confusion and anger coalesced into a single, sharp point of focus. He made a decision.

“Kael,” Ethan said, his voice low. “Get to the extraction point. Now.”

“But sir—”

“That’s an order!”

Kael hesitated, then nodded. He turned and ran, his men covering his retreat.

Valerius looked pleased. “A wise choice. Now, drop your weapon.”

Ethan slowly bent down to place his gun on the floor. But he never took his eyes off Valerius. “You misunderstood. I’m not surrendering.”

“Then she dies.”

“You’re a strategist, Valerius. You taught me that. You taught me to always have a counter-move.”

“And what is yours?” Valerius sneered.

“Linda isn’t at the clinic.”

On the monitor, the feed of the burning clinic flickered. A new group of figures emerged from the shadows, attacking Valerius’s assault team from the rear. It was Kael’s men. The ones who had left for the “extraction point.” They weren’t extracting. They were reinforcing.

“I had a feeling you’d pull something like this,” Ethan said. “I sent half my team to guard her hours ago. Your trap just sprung on you.”

Valerius’s smile vanished. Rage contorted his features.

Ethan launched himself forward. He moved faster than any human should. He plowed through the soldiers between them. He didn’t fight to disable. He fought to kill.

Valerius turned to run. Ethan was on him in a second. He grabbed the older man by the neck and slammed him against a metal wall.

“This is for Kalgar Pass,” Ethan snarled.

The reactor alarm screamed. Two minutes.

“You fool!” Valerius choked out. “The EMP will kill us both!”

Ethan leaned in close. “I’m not the man you knew. I don’t fear death. I command it.”

He knocked Valerius unconscious with a single, brutal punch. He threw the man over his shoulder and ran. He sprinted through the chaotic plant, dodging falling debris and panicked soldiers.

He burst out of a side entrance just as the world went white. A silent, powerful wave of energy erupted from the plant. Every light went out. Every electronic device died.

In the sudden, absolute darkness and silence, Ethan kept running. He had his prize. And the war had just changed.

Valerius’s body was a dead weight, but Ethan’s enhanced strength allowed him to run without slowing. Behind him, the chemical plant was a tomb of dead electronics and trapped men.

The EMP had done its job.

Then, he reached an earlier arranged rally point—a rusted maintenance shed half a mile away. Kael was already there, his face filled with worry until he saw Ethan appear from the darkness with his burden.

“You got him,” Kael breathed, helping Ethan lay the unconscious Valerius on the ground. He quickly bound the man’s hands and feet with reinforced cable ties.

“The team?” Ethan asked, his chest heaving.

“All accounted for. Minor injuries. Jax is already working on a way to transport our… guest.” Kael looked back toward the dark, silent plant. “The entire Syndicate network in this region just went blind. We have a window.”

Just then, Ethan’s secure satellite phone, shielded from the EMP, buzzed. It was Linda.

“Ethan? Status.” Her voice was calm, but he could hear the tension underneath.

“We’re clear. Valerius is with us. Unconscious, but alive. Your status?”

“Your team got here just in time. We lost the clinic, but we saved the core data and equipment. We’re mobile and secure. Valerius’s assault team was captured or eliminated.”

A wave of relief washed over Ethan. The gamble had paid off. “Good. We’re heading to the secondary location. We’ll meet you there.”

He ended the call and looked at Kael. “Linda’s safe.”

The old truck moved slowly down a dark road. No headlights were on. Valerius sat in the back, his eyes covered. He was quiet now.

Ethan watched him. "Tell me about the place called 'Anvil' in the jungle. What do you do there?"

Valerius said nothing.

"You sent me to hell," Ethan said, his voice flat. "Now I have questions. Is 'Anvil' a factory? Or is it a school for your soldiers?"

More silence.

Kael was driving. He looked back. "He will not talk this easily."

"I know," Ethan said. "I am just starting." He moved closer to Valerius. "You taught me this. First, you learn how a person acts when they will not talk. Even silence tells you something."

Valerius did not move, but his jaw tightened.

"You like names that mean something," Ethan said. "'Anvil.' A tool used to shape metal. Or to break it. Which one is it for you?"

"You talk too much," Valerius whispered.

"Do I? Your big project is gone. The plant is destroyed. The Syndicate will not want you back. You are a failure to them. You are a problem. They will want to kill you now, just like they want to kill me."

For the first time, Valerius shifted his weight. Ethan's words were hitting their mark.

"I am the only thing keeping you alive," Ethan said. "You have information. That is the only reason you are breathing. So I will ask again. The A****n facility. What is its purpose?"

Valerius was quiet for a long moment. Then he let out a slow breath. "It is... both. A factory and a training ground."

Ethan did not smile. He just nodded. It was a start. A very small crack in the wall.

"Good," Ethan said. "Now we are talking. How many soldiers are there?"

"I do not know the exact number."

"Guess."

"Two hundred. Maybe more."

Kael whistled softly from the driver's seat. "That is a lot of men."

Ethan kept his eyes on Valerius. "And the factory. What does it make?"

Valerius turned his head, as if he could see Ethan through the blindfold. "If I tell you, I am a dead man."

"You are a dead man if you do not tell me," Ethan replied. "The only choice you have is how quickly it happens. And how much pain there will be."

The truck hit a bump. Valerius flinched.

"The factory makes the serum," he said finally, his voice tired. "The one from your blood. They are trying to make a weaker version. One that can be used on ordinary soldiers."

Ethan sat back. This was the confirmation he needed. The Syndicate was not giving up. They were adapting. The war was far from over. But now, he had a guide.

Kael grinned. “Then we just pulled off the impossible.”