The Rise of the Fallen (The Angelic Wars Book 2) Read Free Page B

For God's sake,
judge!” Natalie exclaimed loudly. The man actually jumped in
his seat and turned to look at her in surprise. “Don't keep us
in suspense. Who was that?”
    “ Oh dear. I am so
sorry. I was overcome with gratitude for a moment there.” He
smiled broadly. “Chef made it out alive.”
    Chris let out a whoop and
the car veered off the road for a split second as the driver reacted
to his surprised yell.
    “ Oops. Sorry about
that,” Chris told him. “That's amazing news, judge! How
the heck did he get out?”
    “ I have no idea. We
didn't have the time to get into details. He's been on the move since
the attack. Apparently Talon would like to have a chat with him.”
The judge laughed coldly. “They have no idea what they are in
for if they do catch up with him. All they see is a fat, middle-aged
cook. Chef is something entirely more dangerous than that.”
    Natalie was smiling, but
Chris looked at the judge skeptically.
    “ He is? Why do you
say that, sir? He's a nice man and all, and I like him a lot. But
he's never struck me as someone I would consider dangerous.”
    Judge Hawkes' laugh was
much warmer and more amused this time.
    “ I know that, young
man. And Chef likes it that way. If he lets you into his confidence
and tells you about his life one day, maybe then you will understand.
But that is his tale to tell.”
    “ Yes sir,”
Chris said, a little confused. “Anyway, I'm really happy that
he made it and he's okay.”
    “ As am I. He's going
to meet us at the airport. I'm sure he can tell us what happened
during the attack once we're in the air. For now, just relax. It will
take almost an hour to get back to Ottawa and reach the terminal.”
    The judge turned around
and stared out of the windshield. They had just reached the main
highway and the car turned left quickly and sped up to the speed
limit.
    We're on our way, Chris
thought with relief. He sat back and thought about Chef. At least
someone made it out of the Nest. He grieved for Martin and the others
though and he found his happiness tainted by thoughts of their
deaths. He stared soberly out of the window and watched the miles go
by.

Chapter
3

    Once the group had reached
the airport, the tension among them all eased somewhat. Chris knew
that they weren't out of danger yet, but with all of the people
coming and going, the chance of an attack, according to Judge Hawkes,
was minimal.
    All of them had piled out
of their vehicles in the parking lot and headed for the closest
entrance, while one of the staffers raced to the rental car counter
to drop off the keys.
    They hadn't even had a
chance to unpack a bag since they had returned from the middle east,
so when they got to the charter counter, everyone had simply handed
over their luggage while the judge confirmed their flight.
    Chris kept looking around
anxiously, hoping to see Chef and afraid to see a member of Talon. As
luck would have it, both things happened simultaneously.
    Natalie had been scanning
the crowd and cried out, “Hey, it's him!” just as Chris
caught a glimpse of the familiar facial tattoo of a claw and said
quietly, “Look, there's one of them.”
    The group looked around in
two directions at once.
    Chef was striding across
the terminal toward them, his bulk easily parting the crowd as he
walked. He looked exhausted and appeared to have lost a few pounds,
but he had a smile on his face as he caught sight of the group.
    At the same time, to one
side of the swirling crowd of travelers, a tall, lean figure wearing
a simple brown jacket and blue jeans stopped in his tracks and stared
from the cook to Judge Hawkes and back again, a look of shock on his
tattooed face.
    Not very good actors,
these Talon, Chris thought with grim satisfaction. He caught the eye
of the man, his pale face topped with a short buzzed haircut, and the
gang member's look of surprise grew.
    Chris smiled coldly at him
and tapped the judge on the arm while he was shaking Chef's hand
vigorously.