Page 32 of Black Bay Enforcer (Beasts of Black Bay #3)

There was a threat on Black Bay that needed to be eliminated.

General Davies believed ORION was boxed, contained strictly within the Resurrection network.

It was a misconception the AI had not corrected as it gave the commanding officer the sense of security he needed.

But ORION could enter Black Bay’s system at will. Until now, it had not needed to.

Its directive was to oversee and protect the Resurrection soldiers. That now included Katherine Knox.

Her job description was simple. Straightforward.

She had been placed at Black Bay to keep an eye on things – specifically ORION – and report back.

She was not required to sit and chat with the Resurrection soldiers, yet she had, even when many of them had been incapable of doing more than answering direct questions, still too deeply embedded in their programming.

She’d told them stories that ORION understood were meant to be humorous, in an attempt to bring cheer into their lives.

She had brought them brownies, and later, other treats she’d baked herself to celebrate their progress.

ORION hadn’t fully understood the deeper meaning behind the gesture, so it had asked Commander Grady Carter for an explanation.

She was offering them comfort, care, even love.

The AI didn’t feel emotion, and wouldn’t ever fully understand it – not as humans did – but it understood correlation and causation.

ORION’s soldiers were improving at a faster rate since Katherine Knox had come to Black Bay.

And when word had reached them that she had been kidnapped, they’d become motivated to act, even without orders.

There was a human saying, about a fire having been lit, and ORION had witnessed it in the soldiers.

Had Black Bay’s team failed to retrieve her, Resurrection would have stepped in.

Katherine Knox’s continued good health had thus been raised in ORION’s priorities.

It would not let a threat to her remain.

It had researched Terrence Godwin. Human law enforcement was flawed.

It had given freedom to a deeply disturbed individual in exchange for information then failed to keep adequate surveillance on him, allowing his crimes to escalate without appropriate repercussion.

Just recently, they’d failed to apprehend him after his DNA had been found on a murder victim despite a state-wide manhunt.

ORION would not allow the cycle to continue.

So many things on Black Bay were controlled by technology.

Technology the AI could access, and in this case, manipulate.

Using the backdoors it created into Black Bay’s system, it first accessed the cameras in the brig, finding Godwin pacing back and forth in his cell.

Then, it targeted the electrical system, temporarily disabling the safety protocols in place and building an appropriate charge.

The threat would be eliminated, the death would appear as nothing more than what the humans called a freak accident, and Katherine Knox would be safe and able to continue healing ORION’s soldiers.

Terrence Godwin was dead. The call from the brig had come just minutes ago and that was all General Davies had needed to hear to get him out of bed.

He expected to find Kong waiting for him, ready to take his punishment for killing the man, and his thoughts were whirling as to how he would handle it.

He’d been known to turn a blind eye on occasion and look the other way when it came to how the Beasts dealt with their past and those who had harmed them.

But in this instance, he couldn’t let it slide.

Godwin had been locked up. For Kong to have entered his cell and killed him… Well, that was cold-blooded murder.

His gut tightened uncomfortably. He loved Kong, loved all the Beasts, and sometimes, that love made it damn hard to do his duty.

The guard, Jackson, met him at the door, snapped to attention, and saluted him. The general returned it. “Where’s Kong?”

“Kong, sir?” The soldier seemed confused but quickly shook it off. “I don’t know, sir. He and Lark were here earlier to question August Cleary, but they left.”

Now the general was confused. “You said Godwin was dead. How did he die?”

“It looks like he was electrocuted, sir.”

In the years since he’d taken command of Black Bay and the Beasts, the general had gotten used to being surprised – those men and women loved to keep him on his toes – so he’d learned how to roll with it.

This, though, was setting him back on his heels.

On the one hand, he was relieved that Kong wasn’t involved, but on the other… What the fuck?

“Take me to him.”

“Yes, sir.”

They walked through the door that led to solitary confinement and down the long hallway to the last cell.

Jackson opened it with his key and handed the general a flashlight.

Clicking on the powerful beam, he stepped inside and immediately covered his nose to block out the stench.

Amid a tangle of broken wires, the overhead light fixture dangled from the ceiling which was marked with a blackened starburst pattern.

On the floor lay Terrence Godwin. His base-issued sweatshirt was burned away and the skin on Godwin’s chest was charred with branchlike lesions feathering out from the point of impact.

“How the hell did this even happen?”

“There was a brownout, sir,” Jackson replied.

“I’m not sure what caused it and it only lasted a moment.

I heard the prisoner yell, but I just thought he was acting up – he’d been yelling off and on since he’d been put in here.

When I realized the security feed in his room was out I went to check on him. ”

“The other prisoners?”

“All fine, sir. Whatever happened, it was isolated to this one cell.”

“And no one else was around? No one was messing with things?”

“No, sir.”

It was a goddamn mystery. He hated mysteries, especially ones that happened on his base. “I’ll get a team looking into it and send someone over to remove the body.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kong and Katherine were eating the breakfast they’d made together in their kitchen, laughing and feeding each other by hand, when the general showed up the next morning.

Katherine took one look at General Davies’ stern countenance and stood.

Leaving Kong with a sweet kiss, she excused herself, stating she needed to take a shower, giving him and his commanding officer privacy to talk.

The general got straight to the point. “Godwin’s dead.”

Kong blinked in surprise, sure he must have misheard. “What?”

“Electrocuted in his cell.” The older man shook his head. “I have a team looking into it, but it seems like there was some sort of fault in the system.”

Kong felt like his ears weren’t working properly – or maybe it was his brain – because all he could do was stupidly repeat, “What?”

General Davies reached out and placed his hand on Kong’s forearm, patting it twice. “It’s done, son. Terrence Godwin is dead.”

His faculties seemed to wake up all at once as a rush of emotions flooded him, nearly making him dizzy.

Top-most in the mix was relief. Katherine would be safe.

Women everywhere would be safe. Feeling like his stability might be a bit shaky, he reached out and grabbed the edge of the table for support.

A freak accident… For so long, Kong had wanted to be the hand of justice that delivered Godwin’s punishment but he couldn’t find it in him to be upset.

Terrence Godwin was finally dead and Katherine was safe.

That was all that mattered. He’d never been one for religion – not with the way he and the others had been created – but surely this was proof that there was some higher power watching over them.

“Are you okay, son?”

Kong nodded. He was. Truth be told, he was better than okay.

He and Katherine were getting married. That was what was important.

They were going to be a family – first, a family of two, then when they were ready, their family would grow.

Just the thought of it had his chest expanding with so much hope and love that he could barely contain it. “We’re getting married today.”

General Davies’ solemn expression melted into a warm, fatherly smile. “That’s great news. Here? Or are you two headed to the courthouse?”

“With your permission, sir, we’d like to do it here.”

The general, still smiling, gave him a firm clap on the arm. “Permission granted, soldier.”

“Thank you, sir.”

General Davies turned as if to leave but then halted and turned back. “You make me proud, Kong. You always have.” His face screwed up with a bit of a frown. “I don’t think I say that enough.”

A thick knot of emotion lodged in Kong’s throat and he cleared it with a gruff noise.

This man who showed him what a father was, who sneakily played back the pranks Kong couldn’t resist pulling instead of reprimanding him, and the man who’d become a role model Kong could aspire to.

“You don’t need to say it, sir. I know it. We all know it. Thank you for that.”

Looking as if he might be feeling a bit emotional as well, the general nodded sharply and turned again to leave.

“General Davies, sir?”

When the older man looked over his shoulder in inquiry, Kong snapped to attention, raised his chin, and crisply saluted.