Nadine nodded to the fit female teleporter, who wore emerald-green government-approved clothing. The woman said goodbye and thousands upon thousands of needles fell to the floor before being sucked away through a hole in the ground.
“Welcome back,” Celia told Nadine, the doll sweeping some of her red hair off her forehead. “Would you like some tea? I would love to make you some tea.”
Roman’s doll stood near the small kitchenette adjacent to the bathroom. She looked eager to do something, her demeanor the exact opposite of Coma, who had taken a position near the door, her arms crossed in front of her body.
Casper was on the nightstand, lifeless, the tiny doll having grown on Roman’s nerves since they’d arrived back at the hotel.
“I’m fine, but thank you,” Nadine told Celia.
Roman, who had been lying on the bed, was sitting up now, his eyes focused on a small metal case in Nadine’s hands. “Do I need to ask?”
Nadine shook her head. “This is it,” she said as she sat on the bed across from him.
She opened the case and showed Roman a silver tiara resting on a black velvet cushion.
“That’s it?” Roman asked, quickly looking from the tiara to Nadine’s gleaming necklace before finally settling on her face.
“Still a prototype,” she told him. “But they’ve already started on their final tweaks before putting it into production.”
“Have you tested it out?”
“I sure have. Would you like to see it in action?”
“Definitely. How did you even get a copy?”
“They wanted me to play around with it considering my past—our past,” she said as she took the tiara out of its case. “It’s not supposed to leave the country, though. That’s another thing I should tell you: because of the rebel attack on the train, it’s going to take them an additional day to bring passengers that have pre-purchased tickets. This news hasn’t yet been publicized, but it will be tomorrow. There’s going to be a lot of unhappy people. Luckily, I already have tickets for us to leave two days from now. But we can discuss those details later. Let’s just check this out for now.”
“Yes, let’s,” Roman said as the two of them moved over to the table near the small window. Roman took a few sheets of stationery and set them down while Nadine put the tiara on.
“How does it activate?”
“Like this,” she said as she ran her hand over one of the gemstones, which flashed blue.
“This should be interesting,” Celia said, joining them at the table.
Nadine focused on the piece of paper as she nonchalantly placed her hand just below her neck, tapping her fingers twice.
“It’s not working,” Roman said.
“Give it a second,” she told him as she dropped her hand over the piece of paper.
Nadine curled her fingers; the piece of paper bulged like a mushroom quickly growing out of a rotten tree trunk. She was able to flatten the paper again, then followed this by performing the same gesture to two pieces at once.
“Can you do something larger?”
Nadine focused on the chair, its legs starting to splay outward.
“Has it been tested on more organic objects? Like…”
“Other people?”
Roman nodded. “Yeah, something like that.”
“I’m sure it has. They said this one was one of the earlier models, so it can only do limited things. But to be honest with you, I still can’t believe they did it.”
“It was bound to happen…”
Nadine swallowed hard. “We have to destroy it,” she told Roman, turning to him suddenly.
“Destroy the tiara?”
“No, think larger,” the Eastern spy said as she deactivated the device. “We need to destroy the facility that’s making them. If we do that, we can at least postpone their production for a while. There’s more. They’re planning on giving them to the rebels at the border. Imagine if the rebels are able to utilize this kind of technology.”
“It would push Centralia and the Eastern Province to war,” Roman surmised.
“Exactly what I was thinking.”
“But destroy it? This isn’t why I came here; I’m just supposed to get information and then go back to Centralia and go after Margo,” Roman lied.
“I used to be more patriotic,” Nadine said with disdain. “But seeing this, and knowing exactly what it’s capable of and what it would look like in the hands of our military… Now imagine if my government gives it to the rebels. It’s just too much. We have a chance to do something here, to save the world in a way, as cheesy as that sounds.”
“So…” Roman bobbed his head left and right, considering what she had said. “We need to bring down the facility then?”
“I believe so,” Nadine said in a low voice. “It’s at one of the universities, a series of buildings, actually. I can guide us there, but you would be responsible for bringing the buildings to the ground.”
“Of course I would. And that is definitely within my wheelhouse,” Roman said, recalling times he had done similar things. Maybe not a full-scale building, but it only took a disruption in the foundation, which he was confident in doing.
Yet again, it dawned on him at that moment why his own government was so apprehensive about Roman using his powers freely.
With the ability to modify almost anything, someone with his power could do incredible damage before they were brought to justice. He had witnessed this in his fight against Margo, and looking back, the destruction they had wrought seemed small compared to what someone could do if they really wanted to bring a place down.
“Okay, so we would do that tomorrow, right?” Roman asked. “Or the day after?”
“Tomorrow. We can do it in the morning, then return here and lie low for a while. I have something I need to do tomorrow afternoon. They won’t suspect it’s me. Why would it be?” she asked, removing the tiara.
“We have to make it look casual,” Roman said.
“Believe me, I’ll be able to handle that part. Eastern University is always filled with students, especially near the Quad. The production buildings are sort of hidden in plain sight. From the Quad, you wouldn’t expect the government to be doing something in such close proximity to the public.”
“Will people be in there?” Celia asked Nadine, concern in her eyes.
“Tomorrow is the university president’s birthday. Classes have been canceled, and support staff has been told to come in four hours later than normal.”
“Really?” Roman asked, looking at her with a raised eyebrow “Because if that’s the case, how convenient is that?”
“It’s really convenient,” Nadine told him with a shrug. “We got lucky. Like you, I’m not interested in killing innocent people, and to think that a day meant to glorify the president of the university would prevent us from doing so is just one of the ironies of life.”
“It really is,” Roman said as he moved back to his bed. He yawned and sat down. “Speaking of days, it’s been a long one.”
“Yes, it has,” Nadine told him as she locked up the tiara.
While she went to the restroom to get ready for bed, Roman relaxed some, his hands now crossed over his chest as he tried to get comfortable on the stiff mattress.
They’ve made a tiara that can replicate my powers, he thought to Miranda.
A tiara? the telepath thought back to him. Like a princess?
Yes, I just saw the prototype. It works. The East is already in the process of mass-producing them. It seems a little impulsive, to be honest, considering they haven’t been thoroughly tested. But even if these tiaras can do a quarter of what I’m capable of, we have a real problem on our hands.
Can you think of what it looks like? I should be able to intercept the image and relay it to Command.
Roman remembered the tiara and the gemstones on it, how the one Nadine had pressed to activate had flashed blue.
Got it, Miranda thought back to him.
Al
l trains have been delayed because of the attack earlier today. I don’t know if you knew that.
Miranda’s voice played out in his head just a few moments later. Really? I was hoping not to have to stay in this shithole country any longer than necessary.
Nadine has scheduled us to return two days from now. You should do the same. This information has yet to be released to the public, and when it is, there may be some ticket scalping, or other issues. I don’t know how that works here.
I’ll be in touch with our contacts at the embassy.
Roman considered for a moment if he should tell her what they planned to do tomorrow. The old Roman would have just kept the information to himself and gone with it, but he was trying here—or at least he was hoping to make it look like he was trying.
Nadine has suggested that we, meaning I, use my powers to destroy two of the buildings where the production and testing are taking place. I would do this by bringing down their support structures. The buildings are at Eastern University, but tomorrow is the university president’s birthday, and all classes have been canceled. Further, support staff won’t be in until four hours later than they normally come.
Minimal casualties.
Yes, Roman thought back to her. Hopefully none.
I will relay this and get you the approval you need.
I definitely need this approval. I don’t know how I would walk back from this now.
Understood. It is to our country’s benefit to delay the replication of these devices. It would be even better if we could get a copy of one. Do you think that’s something you could take from her? Then there is the second part of your mission, Miranda thought to him, referring to how Roman was supposed to eventually “remove” Nadine.
I think she’s still too valuable to us as an asset to remove her here. It would be best to do so back in Centralia.
That makes sense. We don’t have the same extradition agreements with the East as we do the West. I’ll get you your approval.
Thanks. One more thing: Nadine is planning to do something tomorrow afternoon. Maybe we’ll be able to get together.
I would like that. I don’t know how we’ll get some time alone, but…
If it happens, it happens. There’s always time in Centralia. Good night, Miranda.
Nighty-night, Roman.
“You look tired,” Nadine said, startling Roman. He blinked his eyes to see her standing over him in a pair of silk pajamas.
“Sorry,” he told her. “Almost dozed off there.”
“At least change your clothes before you go to bed,” she said.
“Yeah,” Roman told her as he sat up, his eyes darting over to Celia, who now sat in the chair near the window. She smiled at him and he took her life away, the doll’s head falling forward, her shoulder slouching.
Roman took off his shirt and pants, then lay back down.
“You don’t mind if Coma stands guard, do you?” he asked Nadine, who had already settled onto the other bed.
“Not at all.”
“Good.” Roman flicked off the lights using his power, his eyes adjusting to the darkness of the room. “See you in your dreams.”
Roman awoke at the crack of dawn, actively forgetting everything that’d been discussed with Nadine in the dream he’d just had.
It made it easier that it had happened in a dream, and it wasn’t like he had to worry about Miranda poking around very much anyway.
Still, leading the telepath on was a precaution he knew he needed to take.
A message came in almost immediately from Miranda, letting Roman know he had been approved to bring the buildings down, and to keep in contact with her.
“Good to know,” he said under his breath as he sat up and looked over to Nadine. She was still sleeping, her back facing away from him. He motioned Coma over, his combat doll coming to him and taking a seat on his lap.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“Like some tea and breakfast would do me just right. Other than that, I’m fine.”
“That’s good,” she said, the corners of her mask lifting as she smiled at him.
“Hopefully, this will all be over soon.”
“Hopefully.”
He placed his hand under her skirt and ran it along her leg, feeling her smooth skin. Coma shifted over to the left a little, so her rear was directly on top of Roman’s lap. The doll adjusted her hips, looking over her shoulder at him.
“Not now,” he said.
She stood without protest, her heels clacking on the wooden floor until they reached the carpet, waking Nadine.
“We need to go,” the Eastern spy said instead of good morning.
“I was waiting for you to take the lead,” Roman told her.
“Right.”
Nadine moved toward the restroom, bringing her overnight pack with her. As she did this, Roman returned life to Celia and got dressed. Once everything was on aside from his boots, he turned in Casper’s direction, the tiny doll suddenly alive.
“What did I miss?” Casper asked.
“Not a lot. But we do have some things we need to do today. Actually…” Roman considered this for a moment.
It would be best for him to not have his dolls draining his power, aside from Coma, and he could always have her rest on a bench or sit on the ground while he did what he needed to do.
“Sorry, Casper,” Roman said, and before she could protest, the life twisted out of her, the tiny doll falling face first on the bed.
“She’s not going to like that,” Celia said.
“No need to make anything,” Nadine called from the bathroom. “They have a buffet downstairs.”
“Are you sure?” Celia asked.
“All the hotels here do, at least in the capital.”
“I suppose I’ll be staying here then,” Celia said, still with a smile on her face.
“Yes, I’m sorry I can’t bring you,” Roman told her. “This might take more power than I’m used to using.”
“It’s fine,” Celia said as she took a seat again at the table. “It makes sense.”
“Thank you for understanding,” Roman told Celia as he met Nadine at the door.
Coma waited for both of them to pass before stepping out herself, the three of them quickly making their way down to the lobby, where Roman smelled a hint of spice with an undertone of boiling tea leaves.
There was food spread out on a table in a room behind the reception area, pastries as well as potatoes and carrots, and two fresh pots of tea on a table pressed against the wall.
They ate quickly, Coma taking her place near the door as always.
Once they were finished, Nadine and Roman moved to the hotel’s public teleportation zone, a pyramid of light beginning to form just as they stepped up to it.
The pyramid of light oscillated a few times before inverting on itself and taking the form of a woman in high-waisted pants and a flowing top, a sparkle to her eyes.
“Shall we?” she asked graciously.
Roman and Nadine were suddenly standing in yet another approved teleportation zone set before a rather expansive university quad. It was a bit chilly outside, absolutely no wind, the grounds clean and well maintained.
The Quad must have run three kilometers north to south. From students working out to people enjoying cups of hot cocoa while sitting together on picnic blankets, it was a pretty active place.
“This really isn’t bad,” Roman started to say, but Nadine was already moving away from him. He caught up to her, Coma heading up the rear.
“Do you see those buildings over there?” she asked under her breath, gesturing toward an open area surrounding a pair of magnificent fountains.
He looked up a set of marble steps to the buildings in question, which were several stories tall. They practically loomed over the campus, one taller than its counterpart, which was much wider and had a glass terrace at its top.
“And you’re sure no one’s in there?” he asked Nadine.
; “I’m not sure; but there shouldn’t be many if there are some.”
“Yeah,” Roman said as they moved closer to the fountain.
He was already feeling apprehensive about this, but something about Nadine’s assured demeanor calmed him, reminding Roman that however risky this was, it was the right thing to do, especially if they were able to replicate his powers.
Nadine wasn’t stupid. She hadn’t left the prototype back in the hotel room with Roman’s lifeless dolls; no, it was with her now, the Eastern spy carrying it as if it were a handbag.
After shaking his hands out, Roman turned in the direction of the two buildings. “Coma, please take a seat.”
His combat doll walked over to a bench beside a stone parapet and sat, her arms at her sides. Her head dropped as Roman took her power away.
He then focused on the marble steps and sent forward a ripple that smashed into the first building.
He took control of his ripple as it moved through the building, grabbing whatever he could from the foundation and yanking it toward the epicenter.
People started to turn, Roman immediately covered by Nadine, who grabbed him and pretended like she was hugging him as he continued to destroy the first building, which naturally affected the foundation of the second.
The two buildings fell, screams ringing out across the Quad as people ran in opposite directions.
Roman quickly gave Coma her life back, his head pounding as he did so, Nadine leading him away.
They joined the crowd, panic swelling through the Quad as teleporters appeared and a cloud of dust and debris began to rain down.
The three came to a teleporter who was already waiting for them, Nadine, Roman, and Coma gone in a flash.
Chapter Thirteen: Trespassers
There was a fence around the warehouse, concertina wire running along its top. It was dark outside, clouds covering the moon, breezy as usual. The streets before the warehouse were dimly lit, not a soul in sight, yet another indicator that Margo and Paris were about to be ambushed.
“It sure seems quiet around here,” Paris said, squeezing Margo’s hand.
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