Chapter 592

Kenneth tried calling Donald right away, but all he got was a robotic message. “The number you have dialed is currently switched off.” That was Donald’s personal line. He only ever turned it off when he was out on a mission. So, he was away again.
With no way to reach Donald, Kenneth turned to Anthony, who was leaning on the car door, looking like he really didn’t want to see Charlotte go. Kenneth had known Anthony for years and was used to his usual cool and distant vibe. Seeing him look so lost was honestly kind of funny. It seemed like Lottie was the only one who could actually get to him.
“Did you talk to the coach?” Kenneth asked.
Roger glanced over too. Both of them stared at Anthony, waiting for his answer.
“Lottie doesn’t need that,” Anthony finally replied, pulling his gaze away. A lazy smirk played at his lips, the kind that made him look a little dangerous. “Let her do her thing.”
Do her thing?
Roger and Kenneth shared a look, both a little stumped by that.
…
Somewhere far away, in a lawless corner of the world, bullets were flying and chaos reigned. The captain of The White Whale had just been called in, leading a handful of men to deal with a new wave of enemies.
Donald, dressed head to toe in camo, his face streaked with paint, stood on a tower with a pair of binoculars. He scanned the distance, his face set and serious.
“These guys must have a death wish, coming back to mess with us,” someone behind him scoffed. “Forget the entire White Whale team. Just a few of us is all it takes to wipe them out.”
Donald frowned, turning his head. “The rest of the team’s in Cabinda already?”
“Yeah. Physical training starts tomorrow,” his teammate replied.
Donald nodded. If the army hadn’t been so short on resources, he never would have agreed to train bunch of spoiled students. It
sounded exhausting and pointal net
but thinking about the millions new weapons waiting for them made it a little easier to swallow.
“Tell Cotton to train them hard,” Donald said. “They need the workout.”
“Got it, Donald. Shouldn’t take more than three days to finish things up here. When we’re done, you can finally go see your sister.”
Word was out that the Gates family had finally found Donald’s cousin after all this time. If it hadn’t been for all this trouble, Donald would have gone home months ago.
At the mention of his sister, Donald’s face softened just a bit. He even managed a small smile. “It’s about time.”
He hadn’t been able to reach his family, so he had no idea what she was like. Roger and Kenneth had probably already met her. That thought made him a little nervous. He wondered if his little sister would even like him.
…
Back in Cabinda, the wilderness training base was a swirl of dust under the blistering sun. Tough-looking instructors stood in front of their teams, every one of them looking as if they ate nails for breakfast.
Together, Cabinda University and Kingswood University had sent more than five thousand students. Just the majors in law, traditional medicine, physics, business, and psychology totaled over fifteen hundred, all split into three teams.
Charlotte and Andrew were on the same team led by Coach Cotton. He was well over six feet tall, with a sharp, cold look and skin darkened by the sun. Just standing there he fooked so intimidating that some of the sheltered girls were already on the verge of tears.
Training was set for fifteen days, with something new every day. The first day was all about standing attention in the sun. By the end,
students were dropping left and net
right. When they were finally dismissed, most just collapsed on the ground. Even Andrew and Parrish, who were in pretty good shape, were completely wiped out.
Shirley and Stella looked overheated and too tired to eat. Charlotte, on the other
hand, still looked fresh, as if the whole thing hadn’t bothered her at all.
“Charlotte, aren’t you tired?” Andrew asked, shuffling over to her.