The Hidden Two Read online

  Table of Contents

  Excerpt

  Praise for Kimberlee R. Mendoza

  The Hidden Two

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Epilogue

  A word about the author…

  Thank you for purchasing

  Also available from The Wild Rose Press, Inc. and other major retailers

  According to the BBC*, there are currently an estimated three hundred thousand child soldiers in the world, most in places like Sierra Leone, Liberia, Congo, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Burma.

  For two decades in Uganda, ninety percent of the soldiers who fought in their various wars were children. Children are small and can infiltrate tight spaces undetected. Children seem innocent and are less likely to be a target. Children can be taught, blackmailed, and brainwashed. And in some cultures, children are unimportant and expendable.

  In 1989, a former C.I.A. agent, Mel Greenstone returned from Africa with an epiphany for a black ops unit like none the U.S. Government had ever seen. However, he wasn’t able to convince several high-ranking officials to implement his plan—to recruit orphans, homeless, and young criminals to a secret organization and train them as special agents. He decided to take matters into his own hands. With a few financial backers, he created S.I.U.—the Secret Intelligence Unit. In Greenstone’s words, “Young people without a real future will be given one as the next generation of soldiers.”

  Years later, six of these soldiers fought back and imprisoned Greenstone, believing that the head of the snake had been cut off. Desiring a normal life on the run, they were determined to prove their freedom. Then they discovered S.I.U. still had a leader—Harding. With the help of many hands, they were able to take down S.I.U. and imprison their leader.

  Praise for Kimberlee R. Mendoza

  Amazon reader on the Forgotten Ones:

  “I felt like someone strapped me into a roller coaster and off I went. From the first page the clean, concise writing had my attention, as did the unusual and surprising characters/plot. This was more of an ensemble cast than hero/heroine, and it totally worked. I was as invested in the young group of teens that were trying to escape the secret government agency (that was evil), as I was the main character Laura and her change from against the group to trying to free the group. This was a busy, engaging read, and well worth your time. I was hooked by the premise and setting details the author provided. And after the exciting ride, the author gave us a great ending! Awesome Book.”

  The Hidden Two

  by

  Kimberlee R. Mendoza

  The Forgotten Ones, Book 3

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  The Hidden Two

  COPYRIGHT © 2018 by Kimberlee R. Mendoza

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press, Inc. except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  Contact Information: [email protected]

  Cover Art by Kim Mendoza

  The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

  PO Box 708

  Adams Basin, NY 14410-0708

  Visit us at www.thewildrosepress.com

  Publishing History

  First Crimson Rose Edition, 2018

  Print ISBN 978-1-5092-2223-0

  Digital ISBN 978-1-5092-2224-7

  The Forgotten Ones, Book 3

  Published in the United States of America

  Dedication

  To Ricky & Maddie

  May you two have an amazing life together; love never hidden, but always open and freely given in every aspect of your home.

  Prologue

  According to the BBC*, there are currently an estimated three hundred thousand child soldiers in the world, most in places like Sierra Leone, Liberia, Congo, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Burma.

  For two decades in Uganda, ninety percent of the soldiers who fought in their various wars were children. Children are small and can infiltrate tight spaces undetected. Children seem innocent and are less likely to be a target. Children can be taught, blackmailed, and brainwashed. In some cultures, children are unimportant and expendable.

  In 1989, a former C.I.A. agent, Mel Greenstone returned from Africa with an epiphany for a black ops unit like none the U.S. Government had ever seen. However, he wasn’t able to convince several high-ranking officials to implement his plan—to recruit orphans, homeless children, and young criminals to a secret organization and train them as special agents. He decided to take matters into his own hands. With a few financial backers, he created S.I.U.—the Secret Intelligence Unit. In Greenstone’s words, “Young people without a real future will be given one as the next generation of soldiers.”

  Years later, six of these soldiers fought back and imprisoned Greenstone, believing the head of the snake had been cut off. Desiring a normal life, they were determined to prove their freedom. Then they discovered S.I.U. still had a leader—Harding. With the help of many hands, they were able to take down S.I.U. and imprison its leader. Now, they are on a journey to discover the many souls who are still lost or forgotten.

  *http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/features/childrensrights/childrenofconflict/soldier.shtml

  Chapter One

  Teddy adjusted his weight on the back of the rooftop. It had been hours. His nose, hands, and dare he say, rear-end were cold and numb. Any longer and they would have to scrape him off the shingles.

  Where are they? For probably the thirtieth time, he glanced in the binoculars. The landscape remained vacant. Unmoving. No sign of them. Laura had strictly said not to move until he saw…

  Wait. Headlights. Through binoculars, he confirmed the make and model—yes, it was them. He slid off the roof and dropped to the open window below his perch. His tense muscles complained in revolt, but he couldn’t stop. Not now. With a quick glance back to be sure, he ran for the stairs. “They’re coming!”

  “Everyone down,” Laura hissed to team. The room fell into a hush. Only the sound from clock above the entryway echoed in the space. Tick, tick, tick. Someone’s foot scraped on the floor, and a few jeered, “sshhh.”

  Outside, rocks crackled under car tires as the vehicle pulled into the driveway. There was a slight hesitation before
the sound of doors opening and slamming; then, a duo of steps made their way to the front door.

  Teddy tensed. His hands annoyingly sweaty, his mouth super dry. This was it. He readied himself.

  The handle jiggled. The door opened. The light popped on.

  “Surprise!” everyone yelled.

  Charlie and Eri stood in the doorway with complete awe on their faces. They glanced at each other and then back to the group.

  A huge grin spread across Teddy’s face to the point his cheeks hurt. He couldn’t help it. They were back—married. Crazy things kept happening. Happy things. It had been almost eight months since Laura had plucked him from Hell, and now, everything just kept getting better and better. It consumed him with joy. He ran to Charlie and Eri and hugged them both, probably a bit too tight.

  Charlie politely pushed back and smiled.

  “Teddy, what is all this?” Eri asked.

  “It’s a party for you, of course.” Teddy smiled and threw his arms out wide to encompass the room.

  “A party? Why?” Eri looked at him with a coy smile.

  “Please.” Teddy rolled his eyes. “A party for our two friends, who thought they did a secret thing, but come on, we knew. We knew you got married, because well…we are all spies, after all. It is hard to keep things like that from spies, because spies are smart and know things. You know this, so why even try?”

  The two of them glanced at each other and laughed.

  Laura stepped forward and hugged them both. “Congrats, my friends. And Teddy is right; you can’t keep secrets from us.”

  “Why you did it in private is a bit unclear,” Myers said, stepping forward to shake Charlie’s hand. “We’re family. Not cool.”

  “But we aren’t about to let you avoid a chance for us to spoil you with a reception.” Teddy beamed. “Bryce and Deshawn did the cooking. Willow did the cake. I decorated. Not bad, right?”

  Eri and Charlie glanced round the room and laughed. White and silver streamers were everywhere, complimented by mylar balloons. It looked more like a tacky ’80s prom than a wedding reception, but Teddy didn’t care. He liked what he did.

  “So, why did you elope?” Laura asked, folding her arms in front of her. “Myers is right. We’re family.”

  The two exchanged glances. Eri started to speak, but then stopped. Charlie responded, “We were just afraid that if we tried to have a regular wedding something would go wrong. Every happy moment is always stolen from us. It just felt better this way. Besides, Las Vegas is just a few hours from here.”

  “In other words, they had too much to drink the other night and did it on a whim,” Deshawn joked.

  “Precisely,” Charlie said.

  Eri elbowed him. “That’s not true.”

  “Okay, fine.” Charlie wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “I did it because I love her, and I didn’t want to wait for the next bad guy to come and hurt us and not have done it.”

  Myers glanced at the floor, pain evident in his eyes. From what Teddy knew, that is precisely what happened to his girl, Denise. Laura must have noticed and gave him a side squeeze.

  “I still think you could have invited us,” Teddy said. It didn’t make much sense to him. Myers was right. They were family and would want to share in that moment. Didn’t they understand that? Oh well, he was happy for them. No one would ever put that couple together—the quiet, Chinese ninja with the long-haired, blond computer hack. Only God would make such a match.

  “Well, I’m glad you’re back in one piece. We were starting to get worried.” Laura led them into the dining room of the condo to a large spread of T-bone steaks, twice-cooked potatoes, Caesar salad, cheddar biscuits, and a berry fruit salad. On the counter was the three-layer vanilla cake Willow had made, topped with two army men. One of the plastic soldiers had toilet paper stuck to the back of its head—Teddy’s contribution.

  “Alicia still isn’t back, huh?” Eri said to the empty chair.

  Teddy shook his head, shooting a glance across the table. He missed his friend, and Helena’s downcast expression said she also missed her sister. Not once did Alicia indicate she wanted to leave. She seemed happy here. Possibly even happy with him. His mind glazed over to the last time he had seen her. Around two a.m., Teddy had heard someone or something moving around in the basement. He crept down the stairs with a kitchen knife, only to find Alicia tucked in the corner with a cell phone in her lap, sleeping. When she opened her eyes, she jumped up, ran into his arms, and kissed him passionately. It completely disarmed him. They had flirted, but never acted on it. His heart swelled, excited at the future they might have together. So much so, he didn’t bother to ask what was wrong or why she was in the basement.

  The next morning, she was gone. The only evidence she had ever been there was a note stating she was sorry, but she wanted to go back to Puerto Rico. No other explanation.

  Helena and several of them had looked for her for days but ended up with nothing. The trail was cold.

  “I’m sorry, Teddy.” Eri touched his shoulder.

  Teddy blinked out of his memory and nodded. “Yeah.”

  “I’m sure she’ll return eventually,” Eri said.

  Teddy hated the attention. It just made it hurt worse. “In the meantime, let’s eat. Deshawn has been bragging about his steaks all day. I want to see if they live up to all the hype.”

  “Hey, man, they will. No doubt. My old man was a grill master.” The black man wiped both his hands over his bald head, shrugging before holding his arms out to his sides. “It’s in the DNA.”

  Everyone laughed.

  Bryce said a blessing over the couple and the food, and then, they sat to eat.

  “Myers,” Charlie said, passing the biscuits, “Were you able to find out anything from that website I sent you?”

  Myers shook his head. “I think it’s a dead end.”

  Laura frowned. “At this point, I don’t know if that is good news or bad news. No news could mean we found all of S.I.U., or it could mean they’ve hidden them really well. Either way, I think we need to let it go.”

  “Just because Myers has worn out his resources doesn’t mean they aren’t out there.” Bryce took a bite of a strawberry and looked at Laura. “I don’t want them creeping up on us again.”

  “I also don’t want to kick over a hornets’ nest like last time.” Laura took a sip of her iced tea and glanced at Myers. It was no secret Laura felt responsible for Denise’s death. The last time they went digging into S.I.U. was her call, and the group killed their friend for it.

  “Honestly, I’m still trying to figure out why any of you think there are more?” Charlie lifted two potatoes onto his plate and passed the tray. “Why couldn’t that be it? After all, we got Greenstone and Harding. An organization without a leader should fall. Am I right?”

  Eri set her fork down and sighed. “He said he brought in over a hundred in just one year. That doesn’t include the other people already out there. We’ve only rescued forty or so, and maybe shot another thirty. Where are the others? I really don’t want to stop until we have saved all those kids. It’s the right thing to do. We all know it.”

  Willow set her glass down and cleared her throat. “I know for a fact there are many more out there.”

  The table went silent as everyone looked at her.

  “I know, because I helped recruit some of them. I may have been in jail for almost a year, but I was in the field for four more. At one point, we had close to a thousand soldiers around the globe.”

  Mouths visibly dropped. Teddy knew why. Most of them probably assumed she was a new recruit. When the team first met her, they guessed she was thirteen years old. Boy were they super surprised to find out she was actually twenty, just small in stature. Once they knew her age, Laura probably should have assumed she had been with S.I.U. for a while. The organization didn’t often recruit older people.

  “Why are you just telling us this now?” Laura asked with a tight smile. />
  “Mainly, I was scared. I’ve wanted to tell you, but you were shooting them.”

  By them, Teddy presumed she meant seasoned agents. He knew Willow when they were there, but only briefly. They were in different crews, and she was a few years older. He hadn’t really thought about the fact she was a full-fledge agent.

  Myers pushed back from the table and stood with steak knife in hand. “Do we have something to worry about here?”

  “Sit down, Myers,” Laura said. “We’re not ruining the celebration.”

  Without taking his intense gaze from Willow, he sat back in the chair.

  “I’ve proven I’m loyal to you.” Willow glanced around the table. “You saw me. I was almost dead. I have harbored no positive feelings for the agency. I want to take them down as much as you do. Maybe more so.”

  The group all exchanged looks. Teddy believed her. But then, he believed everybody. It was his downfall. Overt optimism. “I say we trust her.”

  “I say we table this conversation until later,” Helena said, then raised a glass. “To the happy couple. May the Lord bless them, and may they find their normal.”

  “To normal,” everyone said in unison.

  Chapter Two

  Laura rolled over next to her husband and pulled the covers under her chin. His soft breathing said he was exhausted. If only her mind would shut down too. Not knowing Willow was a full agent disturbed her, especially since they would have been in the agency at the same time. Why had Laura never heard of her? Was she a spy meant to watch them?

  Memories of finding her seemed to rule that out. When they found the frail red-headed girl, she looked close to death. She was quiet, almost shy. Instantly, Laura liked Willow and took the girl under her wing. Now, she was family.

  “You okay?” Bryce said in the darkness.

  “How can you tell?”

  “A little over a year of marriage, I can tell when you’re troubled by something.”

  She rolled over to face him, propping onto one elbow. “I just can’t get the whole Willow thing out of my head.”

  Bryce slid back against the headboard and flipped on the lamp by his side. Dark hair, intense blue eyes, and firm jaw—he still took Laura’s breath away. “Consider this. She was so malnourished and on the brink of death when we found her that I highly doubt she harbors any love for the agency.”