William had been quickly directed towards a Marauder. He’d strained for any sight of his grandmother or family, but was almost immediately ushered into the military vehicle. Waiting inside was the tall gray-haired man who’d held the bullhorn.

“My name is General Mark Wolve, and from this point on, you’re going to do exactly as I tell you.”

William had listened to his furious berating: how he’d put the lives of countless people in danger, that he was an instrument of a kind of weaponry that was ripping the world apart, that the government had tried to protect them all and he’d undone everything on the whim of an immature twenty-two-year-old mind—

“We can kill everyone,” William had said quietly. “Everyone here. You. Every soldier. Just like that.” He snapped his fingers. “I didn’t allow us to be taken because you had a sniper set on the girl. I did it because I needed a way to get to North Dakota as quickly as possible. Inadvertently, by separating us, you’ve positioned us in different locations within your military operation. Before you could put a bullet in my head, I could unleash all their weapons. No section of your soldiers will be unaffected. We will survive. You will not.”

The general’s eyes were furious. “So you’d unleash the weapon inside your grandmother? Knowing how it would destroy her? I’m supposed to believe that?”

“I wouldn’t have to. I have complete control over the weapons within the others. You saw the precision I had with the flames. I could activate all of it on your operation, and my family would be untouched. Speaking of safe, I need proof that Dr. Steven Richards is unharmed.”

The general’s lips had formed a thin line. “We offered to help him. Give him the medicine he needed. In the end, he refused assistance.”

“In the end?” William asked.

“Yes, Mr. Chance. The end.”

William fought the urge to launch across the helicopter at the expressionless man. “Now that we’ve established the rules, you’re going to order the helicopters to take all of us exactly where we need to go. I’d like to try and end this. And I need the girl with me.”

His directive had not gone over well, but the show of force with the flames was still fresh. After an hour of heated discussions, the helicopters had taken off. The general had even agreed to allow Lily to ride with William, but had explained that the rest of the Roseworth family would be on the helicopters carrying Jane, Ryan, and the immigrant. If William decided to activate any weapons while they were airborne, his family would perish as well.

William had just nodded and reminded him that the longer they delayed, the more people would die.

Steven.