Crossfire (Book 1) (The Omega Group) Read online

  It took a moment, but realization soon dawned on Myrine. “I think this might be the parting gift from Daedric that Artemis mentioned. When Orano hit the succubus with an energy ball, it must have triggered more than just a reversal of the transfer of your powers. It must have gone too far, at least a little. I believe you may now have Daedric’s teleporting ability.”

  Mirissa looked dumbfounded. “Are you serious?” She closed her eyes and a moment later—disappeared. Before Myrine could climb out of bed to go look for her, she reappeared, holding a shocked looking Henry in her hands and wearing a big smile on her face. “This is going to be awesome!”

  Myrine looked at her husband and in unison they said, “Yeah. Awesome.”

  Chapter 42

  “I am such an idiot!” Julian yelled to everyone in the room as he slammed his fists on his desk. “How did I not see this before?”

  Mumbling profanities to himself, the Omega Group’s computer genius furiously typed at his keyboard. The three monitors that formed a semicircle on his desk scrolled through news reports, financial records, research papers, and a slew of other information available on the Internet. At least it was available if you possessed the skills—some legal and some not—that he did.

  Julian had spent almost every minute since the attack on their headquarters glued to Little Duck, the name he’d given his computer at Safe House Alpha. Big Duck, his pride and joy, was the Cray system he used at the office. He chose that particular moniker because of the way ducks always seemed so calm on the surface, even when their little feet were working frantically beneath. It had always seemed to him that computers were much the same. On the outside they were simplistic plastic boxes with a few keys and a screen, but on the inside they could make millions of calculations in the blink of an eye.

  His long dirty blond hair was tied in a ponytail that had all but fallen out. He was wearing his standard work attire: a graphic tee and torn blue jeans that were worn out from wear, not by design. They were the same clothes he’d put on two days earlier before heading in for his shift at headquarters. His lack of personal hygiene hadn’t gone unnoticed by his temporary roommates, but they knew better than to suggest he take the time for a shower.

  The litter basket at his feet was overflowing with empty coffee cups and energy drink cans, and his desk held the remains of take-out Chinese food and chocolate bars. He was living on caffeine, sugar, and MSG.

  Yesterday, Myrine and her field agents took out Daedric’s team and, even though Daedric was taken away, they’d stopped him. Julian should’ve been celebrating with everyone else, or at the very least sleeping, but something was still nagging at him. It was like a voice in the back of his brain whispering to him that he’d missed something.

  And he had.

  It was so clear now, but it had taken almost twenty-four hours for him to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. He would have liked to blame his lack of sleep or the smaller computer for not seeing it sooner, but he knew that wasn’t the truth. Daedric had simply done an amazing job of hiding it. If he’d kept his ego in check, he might have kept it hidden, but that wasn’t something that Daedric could do. That one slip started Julian on the path that led him to the answer. And what an answer it was.

  He grabbed his phone and punched in Myrine’s number.

  “Do you have any idea what time it is, Julian?” Myrine sounded more than a little perturbed.

  “Yes, but you need to hear this. I figured it out.”

  “Figured what out?”

  “Everything!” Julian’s caffeine intake over the last couple of days had him bordering on hyper, so he tried to pull his thoughts together before continuing. “It was an anagram. Sera Maison. It’s an anagram, not a person. If you rearrange the letters it says ‘I am Ares son.’ It was all a cover.”

  Myrine took a breath and commanded, “Start at the beginning and tell me everything.”

  Chapter 43

  CNN Special Report

  Today, the world let out a collective sigh of relief as a shining light suddenly appeared at the end of what experts thought would be a very long, very dark tunnel.

  In the aftermath of the terrorist attack that destroyed most of the world’s oil production capabilities only three weeks ago, we haven’t had much good news to report. The world economy has been thrown into turmoil. Martial law is in place in most of the large cities across America and around the globe. As our oil reserves depleted, citizens of all socioeconomic backgrounds found themselves thrust into what many called “The dark ages.”

  But that may all be coming to an end now.

  SeraTech, a company responsible for making many headlines over the last six years with their development of oil drilling and processing equipment, has just made their biggest headline yet.

  Sera Maison, the founder of SeraTech, made her first ever public appearance this morning at a scheduled press conference. Let’s take a look.

  “Thank you, everyone, for coming. I know this has been a terribly difficult time for all of you. It is my hope that the worst is behind us. For the last six years, SeraTech has been developing a new way of extracting oil from the vast shale deposits that we have right here in America. It has been well known for many years that the Green River Formation in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah has 17,000 square miles of oil shale deposits containing about two trillion barrels of oil. The Piceance Creek Basin in Colorado holds another one trillion barrels. We don’t suffer from a lack of oil, we never have. We have simply not had the technology to safely and efficiently extract it. Until now, that is.

  “I am proud to introduce to you, and to all the world, SeraTech’s newest development. A safe, efficient, and low cost system to extract all the oil we need, from within our own borders, without damaging the environment in any way. And the best part? It’s already up and running, extracting oil ready for processing.”

  Critics came forward immediately following Ms. Maison’s press conference, citing the impossibility of her claims. There are many problems with shale oil extraction that, they said, simply can’t be overcome. They listed the vast amounts of energy and water required, the harmful greenhouse gases produced, the surface impact and the overall costs as the insurmountable problems faced when trying to extract shale oil. But, their arguments were quickly put to rest.

  According to Sera Maison, these problems are not insurmountable. In fact, with her geothermic fuel cell technology, she’s already solved them, and then some. There is no combustion, so virtually no greenhouse gas. It requires very little water as the steam created by the fuel cell’s exhaust is simply recirculated, and the entire process takes place in a sealed environment underground, so there is no surface impact. SeraTech also stated that her technology uses its own waste products as fuel. The costs are also diminished by the excess electricity and natural gas that is formed as a by-product of her process.

  In short, Sera Maison has solved the age-old problem of not having enough oil, and her timing couldn’t have been better.

  Stay with us here at CNN as we bring you all of the details about this amazing development. I’m Julia Saxon and we’ll be right back.

  Chapter 44

  Mirissa stifled a laugh after seeing her mother on the news posing as Sera Maison. “Nice job, Ms. Maison. You just saved the world.”

  Mirissa stretched out on the couch of her mother’s office in their brand new headquarters. It was decorated with the same warm colors as her old office and had half-full bookshelves lining most walls. The one difference was the two new additions to the picture wall. Janice Campbell, shot by the attackers of their old headquarters, and Lincoln, killed on Ortega. Their official causes of death were a mugging and training accident.

  The new location, deemed necessary by Director Finley and Myrine, was a welcome change for everyone involved. The Omega Group now occupied a seven-thousand-square-foot building on six wooded acres just north of the city. The building was originally someone’s very large home, but was now remodeled and re
trofitted to comfortably house the offices and equipment required by Myrine’s team. Julian and his team of computer nerds had a wing all to themselves with Big Duck, and Myrick, perhaps the most pleased with the new location, could swim to work as the property was on Nassau Sound.

  In the days following the Ortega Incident, as Finley now called it, Mirissa, her father, and Greco were officially appointed to the Omega Group team. Everyone’s first priority had been to locate Daedric, but after weeks of finding no trace of him, things started to get back to normal—at least what passed for normal in Mirissa’s life these days. She started patrolling the streets at night again, looking for Kakos and whatever else might be out there. Getting a paycheck for hunting bad guys was a new, and very welcome, experience for Mirissa. She could now afford to get her own apartment, although she kept that bit of information to herself. Her parents weren’t quite ready to let her go just yet.

  Greco, on the other hand, didn’t seem as excited as Mirissa was. They’d spent most every day together training and learning the ropes of the Omega Group. Through it all, he was quiet and withdrawn. Even more so than usual. Though Mirissa had tried several times to get him to open up about what was going on with him, he’d refused.

  Mirissa’s father and mother sat across from her now, sharing a large recliner and acting like teenagers in love. Since being reunited they’d spent every possible moment together, always holding hands or kissing each other.

  Gross! Mirissa thought. But kind of adorable, too.

  It was almost time for Mirissa to go out on patrol, so she gathered her things to leave.

  “Let me give you a key to the building, sweetheart. That way you can come and go as you please.” Myrine walked to her desk and grabbed a key ring from her drawer, handing one over to Mirissa.

  “Thanks.” Mirissa was about to walk out when a thought struck her. “Hey, Mom. I’ve been meaning to ask you. The key you left in the wood chest with the Amazon book. What’s it for?”

  Myrine sat back down, this time on Steve’s lap, and smiled. “I wish I knew. My mother gave it to me, as her mother gave it to her. She told me I needed to give it to you when you reached the age of maturity.”

  “So, I’m just supposed to hold onto it and pass it down to my daughter one day?”

  “No,” Myrine began. “The key is yours. It has always been yours. My mother said it’s been passed down through the generations with instructions that you finally receive it. She also said that, when the time comes, you will know what to do with it.”

  Mirissa stopped herself before she asked all of the questions that popped into her mind. It was obvious that she had gotten all of the information about this key that she was going to get. “I guess I’ll just wait and see then.”

  With that, Mirissa headed out to patrol the streets of Jacksonville. To keep the masses safe and blissfully unaware of the unbelievable dangers that lurked everywhere around them.

  The End

  Stay With Me!

  You’ve just read Crossfire, the first book in the Omega Group Series. I hope you enjoyed it.

  Would you like to know when my new releases are available? Sign up for my newsletter at www.andreadomanski.com/contact-me.html or like my Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/AndreaDomanskiAuthor. You can also follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/andrea_domanski.

  If you’d like to share this book with a friend, it is available for lending through Amazon.

  Other Books in the Omega Group Series

  Greco (Book 1.5)

  Rogue (Book 2)

  Pandora (Book 3)

  If you’d like to read an excerpt from Greco, the next installment in the Omega Group series, please turn the page.

  Please enjoy this excerpt from the novella sequel to Crossfire.

  Greco

  Chapter 1

  Greco sat on the end of the dock that served as the boat slip for the new Omega Group’s headquarters, his feet dangling above the water. The sun had begun to rise over the ocean and he could just make out the outline of Amelia Island off to the north. The orange and yellow hues that blanketed Nassau Sound at this time of day were breathtaking, but Greco barely noticed.

  His thoughts were elsewhere.

  In the three months since the Omega Group—and Mirissa in particular—succeeded in ending Daedric’s plans for world domination, Greco found himself spiraling into a deep depression. Although no one had ever considered him a people person, his need to withdraw even from those he now considered friends was taking over his life.

  Every day he was expected to train with Mirissa, and every evening he went home feeling even more disconnected. A good night’s sleep was a thing of the past as his guilt kept him tossing and turning throughout the night.

  How long can I keep up this charade?

  For over a year he’d been Mirissa’s guardian—teaching her, molding her, helping her fulfill her destiny. He’d done a good job, too. Mirissa was strong and getting more powerful every day.

  When he first met her, on her eighteenth birthday, Mirissa was a happy-go-lucky teenager getting ready for her prom. Only a year later, she was a formidable Amazon warrior with powers that no other Amazon throughout history possessed. And she’d succeeded in taking down a demi-god.

  One thing he’d never understood was why he’d been assigned as Mirissa’s guardian in the first place. Myrine, the former queen of the Amazons during the period when Artemis imbued them with their unnatural powers, had given Greco that particular duty. Although two thousand years had passed since the time of her reign, Myrine still played a vital role in shaping and training the Amazon tribe. Not in this dimension, of course, but in another where the island of Tritonia still existed. All Amazons visited this island and Myrine when they first donned their rings, and whenever they needed guidance. They could simply will their consciousness there.

  Greco travelled there many times and was the only man to do so. He was, much to his mother’s chagrin, the first male born to an Amazon in history.

  A shiver went through Greco’s body. Not from the chill of the early morning breeze, but from the thought of his mother.

  She was the reason he was in this predicament. Why couldn’t she have just accepted him for who, and what, he was? After all, it wasn’t as though he had any control over his chromosomes.

  The earliest memory Greco had of his mother was of her locking him in a closet to ensure her “guests” didn’t see him. At the time, being only five years old, he’d had no idea that this was unusual behavior. “They can’t know about you,” his mother would say. That was why there weren’t any pictures of him displayed in their house, and his bedroom was decorated as a guest room.

  He wasn’t hidden away from everyone, though. His father wouldn’t allow that. Only his mother’s special friends weren’t allowed to know about him. The friends who—unknown to him at the time—were Amazons.

  A splash beneath his feet brought Greco back from his trip down memory lane. Myrick, the Omega Group’s resident Merman, reached his hand up to the dock and gracefully pulled himself out of the water.

  “You out here again, lad?” Myrick stood behind him, wearing neon green swim trunks, toweling off. Ever since the new headquarters was built on the water, he would swim to the office, staying far enough under the surface to ensure that no fisherman or pleasure boaters would catch a glimpse of him. He kept a supply of clothing and towels in the dock house.

  “Just finished my run. Taking a breather before heading in.”

  The look in the Scotsman’s eyes told Greco he knew something was bothering him, but he was kind enough not to pry. “I’ll be ready in a minute. We can walk together.”

  When Myrick emerged from the dock house, he was wearing loose-fitting blue jeans and a white button-down shirt. His now dry gills had molded themselves back into his neck, and the webbing between his fingers and toes was fully receded, leaving no trace of their existence. “So, any idea what’s on the agenda for this morning’s meeting?” Myrick
asked.

  “Nope. Maybe they finally found Daedric.”

  “A bit of good news would be a nice change.” Myrick laughed.

  Myrine Colson, named after the Amazon Queen from two thousand years ago, was the current queen and also the leader of the Omega Group. She’d set their weekly meeting for first thing that morning. Everyone, including Mirissa, would be there.

  When they reached the back entrance to the headquarters, Myrick stopped and turned serious for the first time since Greco had known him. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on with you, but whatever it is, you need to deal with it. What you’ve been doing the last few months isn’t working.”

  Greco stared at him and gave him a quick nod.

  “For God sakes, boy. If you want to ask the lass out, just do it and put us all out of our misery!” Myrick’s moment of seriousness was over.

  Chapter 2

  Myrine patiently waited for her team to get settled. Phoenix, still on assignment in Africa, was the only Omega Group member not attending today’s meeting. The rest of the team waited in the conference room, with coffee or tea in hand, for her to begin. Carter and Han, sitting together as always, were laughing about something that happened over the weekend, while Ken Hodges and Jackie Barns, the only humans on the team, listened in. Myrine’s husband, Steve, and daughter, Mirissa, sat next to each other whispering conspiratorially. Myrick, Beck, Asteria and Orano were all glued to the screens of their smart phones, most likely checking emails or, in Asteria’s case, playing Candy Crush or some other mind-numbing game.

  One person was still missing.