by Sarah Noffke
“Stop,” I say, my voice loud and clear.
Mae freezes, her gloved hand resting on the back of Roya’s neck, the needle of pink liquid in her other hand.
“This will only take a second,” the old woman says.
She presses the needle firm into Roya’s skin. Mae isn’t stopping. And Roya is going along with this, making no notice of me, her eyes closed.
The needle pricks Roya’s skin and I know I have to act fast. Mind control is risky in this situation and not as fast acting as I need. Like how Clint taught me I throw my hand forward, the motion quick and deliberate. It knocks Mae’s hand back and the needle flies away from Roya, crashing to the floor. Mae at once grabs her own hand, which might be broken in several places judging by the brittleness of her bones.
“What in the hell are you doing?” Roya says, wheeling around.
“Stopping a fucking mole from sabotaging news reporting efforts,” I say.
“What? What are you talking about? I’m not the mole,” Roya nearly screams. She’s always had such a quick temper.
“No, of course you’re not,” I say, my eyes narrowing on the elderly lady who’s cradling her hand, probably healing it as I speak. “She is,” I say, pointing at Mae.
Roya’s gaze revolves on the healer, growing shock in her eyes.
“Read my cases from Oregon with the Reverians, did you?” I say to Mae.
My first agent case was in southern Oregon, stopping a society of Dream Travelers who were injecting rebellious young adults with a drug called cerevitium. This blocked their psychic ability, allowing the government to keep control of them. In my report I detailed the contents of this drug. And through accessing Smart Solutions’ files, I found they had bought these rather unique drug ingredients and had them shipped to the Institute, care of Mae’s department.
“Ren, I can explain,” Mae says and to my surprise her voice is steady and strong.
“I ask the questions and you answer them. If you do then I won’t kill you,” I say. And it’s a bluff. That’s been the rub. How could I kill a healer, a person who has saved so many, who has the power and the longevity to heal so many more people? It would be like harming my own mother. But my mum wouldn’t have betrayed me.
“Mae, it was you?” Roya says, standing at once, taking the place next to me, her stance defensive like she’s ready to fight. Clint has trained her for many years and honestly I wouldn’t want to spar with Trey’s daughter. She’s got an awful temper and ridiculously impressive reflexes.
“I can explain. What I’ve done was for a healthy future,” Mae says.
“Silence,” I say. Allowing an enemy to lead the conversation is wrong. The person with the advantage is the one who puts the other in an interrogation mode. Takes control. “You will simply and directly answer my questions and only my questions,” I say, giving Roya a sideways look. She nods briefly.
“You’ve been injecting Roya with cerevitium. For how long?” I say.
“For a few months now. When she started having trouble news reporting I started the treatments,” Mae says.
“But she was having trouble news reporting because Vivian was reflecting her powers, is that right?” I say.
“Yes, and we knew cerevitium would be the long-term solution to rid her of her clairvoyance,” Mae says.
“So Roya came to you for help and you gave her a drug that would completely rob her of her ability. This would ensure that even if Vivian failed to reflect due to elemental forces, Roya wouldn’t have clairvoyance to news report. She wouldn’t be able to see what Smart Solutions was doing,” I say.
“Oh my god,” Roya says, grabbing the back of her neck where she’s been receiving painful injections for months now.
“Don’t worry, your powers will be restored when the drug wears off in a day or so,” I tell her.
Relief marks the girl’s eyes at once.
“How long have you been spying for Vivian?” I say to Mae.
“For a few years now. Only brief reports in the beginning and then much more detailed ones the last year,” Mae says.
“Why?” I ask.
“Well, because I felt her pain. We grew close during her time here. So later when she asked for reports on the affairs of the Institute and on you, I figured it was because she missed the place that healed her. Missed the man who fixed her. And then she came to me this year and told me of her plan to repair families and make them functional. She told me the Institute would stop her because they wouldn’t understand until they saw how beautiful the results would be. I’d lost my daughter and had a soft place for the girl. And you Ren, must see that her mission has been pure. It’s working and you know it,” Mae says, and I know she’s told the absolute truth.
“She’s killed thousands to make a better future,” I say.
“No,” Mae says, with a hiss.
“Oh yes. And you’ve been her pawn, disarming Roya, giving Vivian inside secrets, and sharing every detail of my life with her. You, Mae, are culpable for helping a psychopath rob the world of thousands of souls,” I say, and this is a hard truth for me to reveal, but I must.
“But how?” she says in utter disbelief.
“Antonio,” I say simply. “Vivian employed him. He wasn’t the leader of Group X, the terrorist group responsible for thousands of deaths. Vivian was.”
“Why would she do that? She wants peace,” Mae says.
“Because she’s a master of distraction,” I say.
And because I have no reason to lie and I’ve always been right with my accusations, Mae believes me at once. But she is a strong woman, and the anguish seeps to the surface with only a tiny pained look in her eyes. It is one of devastation and regret and I suspect she’ll wear it from now on. “Oh my god,” she says in a cursed whisper. “I can’t believe I’ve been a part of this.”
“Now you and I are taking a trip on a repulsive submarine,” I say, dreading what I have to do next. “I’m going to suffer pressure changes to rid the Institute of you, a traitor to your own people. And if you ever land on one of our GAD-Cs then I will end you. I will burn my own soul to punish you for trespassing on our grounds. The monitors of the GAD-Cs have been warned and if you ever enter our Institute, that minute will be your last. Are we clear?”
Mae nods, shame marking her movement. She’s not a bad person. This woman is the one who has been used. And she’s the one who I’m certain will repent for this for her remaining twenty years on Earth. Most people aren’t bad. They are misdirected or being manipulated or driven by old pains. Mae, now knowing Vivian is the mastermind behind Group X, will probably reduce herself to poverty, spending her life in a monastery healing orphans. That’s my hope, but Roya’s news reports will have to confirm this as I’ll assign her to do. And again I’ve learned something from this case. Sometimes not punishing your enemy is the best strategy. What they will do to themselves, after experiencing your mercy, is much more effective.
“Let’s go,” I say to the old woman. I plan to rid this place of her and then I’ve got to act on the second lesson I’ve learned from this all. The one concerning my wife.
Chapter Twenty-Six
I teleport straight into Vivian’s office. She wasn’t expecting me and the startled shock is written on her face. It quickly morphs into delight.
“Oh, Ren, you nearly gave me a heart attack,” she says, clapping a hand to her chest.
Nearly won’t do the trick. I haven’t figured out exactly how to completely deal with Vivian. The approach I used for Mae won’t work. Trey asked that I bring Vivian in, but my instinct is unclear on that strategy. We have ways of imprisoning Dream Travelers using a piece of technology called a dream blocker. But strangely, the idea of Vivian rotting away in a cell catches in my throat. However, I have to remind myself she’s not that damaged orphan anymore. She’s a dangerous mastermind who deserves to be stopped and punished.
“I had no idea you could teleport,” she says, pride in her voice.
“Ther
e might be secrets I’ve kept from you yet,” I say.
“Oh?” she says, sounding curious. “Did you like the furniture I had delivered?”
“Yes, it’s more my taste. Masculine and utilitarian,” I say. Dahlia moved out over a week ago, and Vivian wasted no time repainting and redesigning the house. As I suspected, it has kept my cover and given me the time I needed to put things into place.
“Well, I know your taste. I dare say I know almost everything about you,” Vivian says like this is a point to brag about, rather than a creepy admission. “It pleases me very much that we are going to make a real life together now that you’ve gotten rid of Dahlia.”
“You made me do it, didn’t you? Even though you said you’d never use voice control on me,” I say, having dropped the act we’ve been playing over the last week. It’s not necessary anymore.
“I didn’t want to,” she says with a pout. “You left me little choice. But now you see how my influence works and I’m sure there will be no further reasons for me to exert it.” And somehow Vivian has managed to edge her way to me and now stands right up against me. I step back, my eyes roaming over her, catching every detail I can. Anything that will give me an advantage as I enter the next phase of my plan.
“Soon you will figure out a few things, and as the dutiful husband that I am I’ve come to share the news,” I say. “I wanted to be the one to tell you. Best you find out from me and presently.”
“This sounds exciting,” she says, her hand on my chest, as she’s found another way to close the distance between us.
“It’s extremely exciting,” I say.
“Well, don’t leave me hanging. Tell me so we can christen my office,” she says, unbuttoning my suit jacket. I clap a hand over hers and squeeze like I mean it with affection. Then I steal her thoughts, which unfortunately are of a provocative nature and only serve to distract. Pulling my hand from hers, I take a step back.
“Mae has been removed from the Institute and you should expect to never hear from her again,” I say simply.
The seductive look on her face is wiped away, replaced with a slow simmering anger. “You…you knew? And how dare you? Why would you do that? Why would you remove her from the Institute?”
“Because, darling Vivian, no one spies on me and gets away with it.”
“But I was only doing it so I could better serve you,” she says sweetly.
“You’re not serving me. Your corrupt plans are only to feed your burnt out soul,” I say.
“Ren, what’s going on here? This doesn’t sound like you.”
I laugh and to my surprise it’s a genuine one marked by disbelief that people can be so blind when consumed by evil. “This is me. The man you’ve married and known for the past several weeks is the imposter. You, Vivian, have been played.”
Her mouth drops open. “No I haven’t. This is real,” she says, motioning between us.
“It’s a hoax,” I say, noticing the restraints she has on my mind control. I can feel that connection like one does the tension on a kite string. Vivian is strong and able to reflect psychic energy. I knew I had little control on her but now I realize just how resistant she is to my influence. It’s fine. My plan doesn’t fully rely on my mind control or hypnosis.
“It isn’t a hoax. Maybe Dahlia said something to you to make you have doubts, but I know you, Ren. I know you better than her or Trey or anyone on this damn Earth.”
“You’ve deluded yourself to think you know me by watching my actions, but they tell you little of my inner workings. I’m a master of strategy. Therefore I know that by observing people you gain the most advantages, and that’s exactly why I behave in ways that never give away my true nature. You don’t know me. You know the man you’ve watched but I’m more than that. And I’m changeable, which is the one thing that you never expected having witnessed my military regimen,” I say.
Vivian’s beautiful cream skin is now tinged with pink. Her shoulders tensed. Her chest vibrating with anger. “Ren, stop talking like this,” she says and I sense the controls in her words. The influence and power. And they sound like a chorus of a compelling song, but they don’t work on me thanks to Lucidite technology.
“No,” I say firmly.
Her eyes narrow into darts. “What did you just say to me?” she says, the shock heavy in her eyes.
“No,” I repeat, my mouth exaggerating the one word. “You see, Vivian, I haven’t just removed your mole from the Institute. I have also outmaneuvered you.”
Her mouth forms a tight line. “That’s impossible.”
“It isn’t though. I’ve systematically brought you down. The Smart Pods have all been reprogrammed with the same technology I’m wearing,” I say, tapping my ear. “Now your voice controls have zero influence on their hosts. No longer will families act in your prescribed and approved ways. Your voice echoing through the Smart Pods is just a regular woman’s voice. Vivians in every home only serve and no longer control.”
“Why would you even do that? How could you?” she says, her siren voice shrill with fear.
“Because you can’t control people. That’s not the way you fix dysfunction,” I say. And I know that so firmly now. If the past several months have taught me anything they have served to teach me this. But I don’t dwell on this reasoning now. Not with a fuming medusa staring at me with murder in her gaze.
“Ren, don’t you see I did this, all of this, for you,” she says, throwing her arms wide, her tight suit jacket rising as she does. “I did this so you didn’t have to kill yourself trying to fix the world. You stress trying to do it all. Serving as the Head Strategist, and managing the Institute, saving damn Middlings. Stopping corrupt people. I’d been working toward this project for a while but accelerated my plans when Mae warned me your blood pressure was on the rise. I’ve done this to save you.”
“Oh, so that’s why you employed Antonio and started Group X, so you could save me?” I say.
Her face shows acutely her newest stress. Never did she expect that I’d figure this out.
“Oh yes, Vivian, I saw the fund transfers in Smart Solutions’ records. I know you’re the one who backed Group X and paid Antonio to create anarchy.”
“I had to. And you weren’t working for the Institute when I started Group X. I knew that their activity would be a burden on you,” she says.
“And you knew that by filling up the news reports with events related to terrorist reports that you’d be able to put your Smart Pod plan into place without the Lucidites getting wind of it. But then I took out Antonio. So then you had to reflect Roya and then drug her so we didn’t see what you were doing,” I say.
And the smile that laces around her mouth is cruel and still stunning. “See, you and I belong together. Only a mind as brilliant as yours could be the companion to mine.”
“You are fucking out of touch,” I say.
“Don’t you see how incredibly strategic I’ve been? Doesn’t that impress you?”
And she’s right. Vivian must have read it on me when I recited her plan. It was a bloody brilliant plan. And the way she adapted the strategy when things all changed was creative. And it was all done to move everything into place and dupe the Institute, which has never been blindfolded in that capacity.
“You fucking blew up schools and hospitals. You’re responsible for the bomb that went off in the Underground and almost killed me,” I say.
She sucks in a cry, her hand flying to her mouth. “I didn’t know about that incident. Antonio started to work on his own at that point. I only funded him and didn’t know he had that target planned. You have no idea how angry I was when I found out, but then you survived and I knew God was plotting our union. He saved my man, ensuring you would be with me until the end, walk with me into the valley of heaven one day,” Vivian says.
“That bomb killed my friend,” I say, my words hot as I think of Jane.
“I’m truly sorry for that. I’m sorry people had to die, but you know better
than anyone that humans have to die sometimes. I had people murdered, but only so I could create a better future,” she says.
I shake my head. I’ve encountered people all my life who are out of touch. Read the thoughts of psychopaths, but I have rarely met a person as seriously deranged as the person in front of me. “You aren’t just pathetically misguided, you are fucking insane. It’s sad really because you believe you’ve done the right thing. You killed children. Separated families. Destroyed lives. And for what? So you could make a better future. The end doesn’t justify the means,” I say.
“I’m creating lasting change. Even Trey found no fault in my plan,” she says.
This must be another leak from Mae.
“He didn’t know you were behind Group X,” I say.
A sly smile slides on her red lips. “And you would have found that out if you didn’t have Antonio killed. If you’d brought him into the Institute for interrogation,” she says. And Vivian must know that Trey ordered me to do that, but I refused. Killed the terrorist instead.
“Well, no point in regrets. I’m on to your plan now and it’s officially over,” I say, realizing that if I had done as Trey requested then Vivian’s cover would have been blown. However, she’s crafty enough she would have found another way.
“Oh, no it’s not. It’s slightly derailed but nothing that my technicians can’t reprogram,” Vivian says. She’s confident. Not flustered now. She’s regained her composure and looks ready to tear me in half and still make me rule by her side.