Traitor (Collaborator Book 1)

by Krista D. Ball

  “For Zain,” Kat said. “I’m not here to trick you, Rebecca.”

  “Everything that comes out of your mouth is a lie!”

  Kat laughed. She actually laughed. Head thrown back and a full belly roar. “Would you prefer if I was actually dead? Is that what you want?”

  “No,” Rebecca whispered. She threw the laser gun across the floor. “They told me you were dead. All this time, I’ve been mourning you. And then today, I discover Mom and Dad were already dead when I’d made the deal. They said Mom and Dad were alive and they’d move into protective custody if I came to work on their drones. They said you were dead. They lied. Oh, God, they lied.”

  “They’re the bad guys, Rebecca. Of course they lied.”

  “So I did it all for nothing?” Rebecca broke into sobs. “This fucking hell I’ve been living and it’s been for nothing.”

  Kat sprang to her feet and marched over to Rebecca. She slapped her hard across the face. “Pull yourself together, Rebecca.”

  Rebecca touched the smarting spot on her cheek. “You’ve never hit me.”

  Kat responded by slapping her again. “Snap. Out. Of. It.”

  “Why do you hate me? Why didn’t you just tell me the truth?”

  “Pull yourself together. I have a couple of days, tops, before I get arrested. Chill the fuck out before you get us both killed.”

  Security File: Rebecca St. Martin

  Security Virtual Assistant H7-00P Daily Surveillance Report

  Security Access unknown: Classified under Blackout Protocol

  Security Risk unknown: Classified under Blackout Protocol

  SVA notes: Rebecca St. Martin has been placed under Blackout Protocol

  SVA Protocol: No action, as per Blackout Protocol

  SVA Special Protocol, Authorization Lieutenant Commander Zain Ravi

  Attached is the public record of Rebecca St. Martin’s movements and activities.

  Zain sneered at the daily report in front of him. He knew, he knew something was up with Rebecca the moment that bitch of hers stepped on the station. The problem was that he had no proof she was Captain Katherine Frances, or else he’d have long had her arrested. He couldn’t warn Rebecca off associating with her. Rebecca wasn’t known for asking questions, but she wasn’t stupid; she’d want to know.

  Zain slammed his hand down on his pod’s small desk. He’d managed to get so close to her, too. He was hoping to get her to open up about Katherine enough that he could get some additional intel on her. Or even find out if Rebecca had some communication with her. He’d even pulled that stunt with sending her those stupid files to see if he could shake her loose. Instead, here he was with nothing to show for months of undercover work. He hadn’t even gotten his cock warmed a little.

  He logged out of the secure program. For all he knew, Frances was monitoring him even now. He would have to be careful and find evidence of what those two bitches were doing. His ass was on the line and there was no way he was letting that fucking terrorist and her little fuck toy get away with making the fool of him.

  Chapter 13

  Rebecca didn’t remember her walk back to the sleeping pods. She didn’t remember sitting down at the table with Nino, nor did she remember ordering a carafe of wine. She certainly didn’t remember ordering a cream-filled pastry, two cinnamon cookies, and a piece of spicy cake.

  She ate the food methodically, taking a bite from each, washing each down with a sip of the very decent wine that cost her a full day’s pay. She didn’t give a flying fuck on a pogo stick. She was going to sit here, eat and drink, and then she was going to enter a carb coma. She would wake up in the morning and it would have all been a terrible, terrible dream.

  “How are the repairs coming?” Nino asked in between bites of his own pastry.

  She glanced up at him and wondered how she even ended up here at a table with him. She didn’t even really like Nino. Hell, for all she knew he was another undercover Blackout murderer, monitoring her for the butchers who ran this place.

  She stared at Nino, his dark hair matching his dark eyes, and realized she didn’t care about him. Any of them. It was like she’d stepped through a door and saw them all for what they truly were. A chill spread through her body. This was why she’d fought so hard to keep her emotions in check. Seven years she’d been in this mess. Seven long years of being their slave.

  And for what? A few credits. A bit of training. A tiny pod to sleep in. She didn’t even have a gender-segregated shower, so had to endure Zain’s creepy eyes on her all of the time.

  “Rebecca?”

  “What?”

  “I asked how the repairs are going.”

  “I’m doing an audit, not repairs.” She didn’t even recognize her own voice. She didn’t recognize herself, so it was fitting.

  “Oh. Well, how is the audit going?”

  “They torture people in the lower wards. Did you know that?” She didn’t even realize she’d said it until she saw Nino’s shocked expression. “I watched them beat the shit out of a guy today.”

  “Rebecca,” Nino said, leaning forward. “Keep your voice down.”

  “Why?” she said, draining the last of the carafe. “I mean, we’re all friends here, right? Or, wait? Are some of us not actually who we say we are?”

  “It’s best you be careful what you talk about.”

  Rebecca grabbed the front of Nino’s shirt and hauled him clear across the table with a strength she didn’t even know she possessed. The chatter around them died as all eyes turned to them. “Are you threatening me?”

  “No! God’s blood, Rebecca, what’s gotten into you?”

  “If I hear one peep about this outside of this conversation, well, let’s just say I know how to rewire your environmentals. Clear?”

  “Don’t threaten me, whore.” Nino pushed her and sat up.

  “I already knew who you were, asshole,” Rebecca said. She didn’t, actually. She just knew she trusted no one now. “Don’t fucking spy on me.”

  “I’m not the one spying on you,” Nino said in a low whisper. He leaned forward and said, “You keep your mouth shut, you hear me? If you blow my cover, I’ll lock you in your pod and catch it on fire.”

  “Then we understand each other,” Rebecca said. She added a sneer in her voice to compensate for the fear that she felt in her guts.

  “I told Captain Dags you were fucking unstable,” Nino said.

  “Go outside for a nice stroll,” Rebecca said, pushing as much disdain into her voice as possible.

  Rebecca watched Nino storm out of the communal pod area. The others who’d been gathered around the monitor at the far end were all staring at her. “What? Never seen a lover’s spat before?”

  A few of them chuckled, but most of them stared at her like they were seeing her for the first time.

  A sour feeling spread through her and she pushed her plate away. Rebecca folded her arms across her stomach, trying to fight past the sickness that washed over her. There was no cure for it, though. What she felt was a sickness in her soul, the uncontrollable urge to see her home planet, to stand on Earth. Not dirt. Earth. Capital E.

  Zain stepped out of his pod and saw her being noticed by all of the others. She could see the calculation his eyes. She wondered how many people he’d killed, or if was he just a flunky, doing the petty work while those braver did the real, messy jobs.

  “Hey, Rebecca. Why is everyone staring at you?”

  “I just threatened to kill Nino,” she answered conversationally. “Puff pastry?”

  “Um, no thanks. Why Nino?”

  “I don’t like the way he looks at me in the shower and I’ve had enough of it.” She looked up at Zain and stared into his dead eyes. She wondered why she never noticed it before, but then she realized she had noticed it. That’s why she’d never let her guard down around him.

  “Fair enough.” His easy smile returned. “Look, I got the audio for the waterpolo sector championships, round robin. The vid files w
on’t arrive for another day, and by then the winners will all be announced. Let’s go listen. We can pop some rice—”

  “Corn,” she corrected. “We popped corn.”

  “Corn, right. Well, I’m sure there’s some at the grocer down in the market district. They’ve been bringing in Earth foods lately. How about I go see if they have anything like corn and we can watch the game?”

  “No, thank you,” she said. “I’m going to get a quick nap and then get back to work.”

  “Work? Now? It’s your off-shift.”

  Rebecca looked him in the eye and spouted the lie Kat had told her. “I ended up finding a lot of broken systems. Captain Andrewson said if I finished it all in a week I could get a pass to the planet. Maybe…we could take that vacation.”

  Zain eyed her, searching her face. Then his features eased and he whispered, “I’d like that.”

  “Just don’t start looking at me the way Nino did, or I’ll have to kick your ass, too.”

  Zain’s smile widened. “I might like that.”

  Rebecca ignored the chill in her bones. She excused herself, dumped her food into the recycler, and went into her pod, loudly locking the door.

  Nightmare Three

  Dozens of faceless soldiers burst into her office, grabbing her coworkers. Rebecca didn’t protest when one soldier grabbed her arm. His fingers dug into her fleshy bicep, causing her eyes to sting with tears. Judging by size and strength, she assumed the guard was a man, but there was no way to tell under the black body armor and helmet.

  Some of her co-workers weren’t as calm. Behind her came various shrieks and protests as they were herded out of their work cubicles and into the corridor. Rebecca let the fear take over, freezing her emotions and doing whatever the soldier told her to do.

  She did jump, however, when shots rang out and one of the shrieking voices was quieted.

  Rebecca wept as silently as possible as she was led down the elevator and into the parking lot. The soldier made no attempt at conversation, and neither did she. She didn’t even know if she could speak if he had asked her something. Could she even understand him, or he her?

  None of that truly mattered, though, for she was still alive.

  A hot spike of pain jolted her out of her thoughts. She looked down and was confused by the blood smear all over the front of her white blouse. How did that get there? Had they shot her?

  She collapsed to the dry asphalt.

  Nightmare Four

  Rebecca kept her gaze planted squarely on the ground when the security guard grabbed her arm and led her from her home. She had noticed her neighbours in the same situation, being dragged by black uniformed soldiers from their houses and into the streets.

  Lines of people formed amongst the rubble of what was once their neighborhood school. Did any of those kids make it out? Had they been killed in the bombing, or had they been taken somewhere else? What would these invaders do to children? What would they do to her?

  Her dread grew the closer she reached the front of the line. Her neighbours were being loaded into army trucks, complete with the green tarp. They were being herded like cattle. She couldn’t go. She couldn’t let them choose her death.

  Rebecca grabbed the pistol of the soldier in front of her and shot herself in the head.

  Nightmare Five

  Rebecca gulped audibly when the security guard behind the desk said, “ID.”

  Trembling hands pushed a driver’s license at the seated clerk. The clerk scanned the ID into the system and motioned for the guard behind her. The clerk said something Rebecca didn’t understand before the guard clamped a strong hand on her shoulder.

  “Get your hands off me!” she shouted.

  He tugged on her as he spoke in a harsh tones. She didn’t understand the words, but she understood his intention.

  “Where are you taking me?” Rebecca demanded.

  He looked at her and made a disgusted sound inside his helmet. She saw the blood-stained concrete ahead of her. Terror grabbed her brain and she screamed, trying to push against the guard to run for her life. She tripped in the struggle. The guard grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to the brown stains on the concrete.

  The guard raised his pistol to her head to execute her.

  Nightmare Six

  “Where are you taking me?” Rebecca demanded.

  Kat looked at her and made a disgusted sound. She saw the blood-stained concrete ahead of her. Terror grabbed her brain and she screamed, trying to push against Kat to run for her life. She tripped in the struggle. Kat grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to the brown stains on the concrete.

  Kat raised her pistol and shot Rebecca.

  Nightmare Seven

  “So put the gun down and tell me.”

  Her voice sounded unhinged even to her own ears. “Why? So you can shoot me? So you can turn off the environmental systems in my pod, just like Captain Dags’? Fuck you, Kat. Fuck you!”

  Katherine’s voice was quiet, calming. “If I wanted you dead, Becky, you’d already be dead.”

  “Don’t call me Becky!”

  Katherine brandished a pistol and shot Rebecca in the chest.

  Nightmare Eight

  “So put the gun down and tell me.”

  The massive pistol in Rebecca’s hands waved drunkenly. It was heavy and hard to hold. She slapped her other hand around it to steady it. “Why? So you can shoot me? So you can turn off the environmental systems in my pod, just like Captain Dags’? Fuck you, Kat!”

  In the quietest voice Katherine could manage, she said, “If I wanted you dead, Becky, you’d already be dead.”

  “Don’t call me Becky!” Rebecca shrieked. “You don’t get to call me that ever again!”

  Rebecca pulled the trigger and Kat lay still in a puddle of blood.

  Chapter 14

  Rebecca screamed. When she came to her senses, she was upright in bed gasping for air. Her hands trembled and her clothes were soaked in sweat that was already turning cold in the lowered sleep temperatures. It took her several seconds before she knew where she was, and then several more of slapping at the wall until her small nightlight came on.

  She was still sobbing and gasping when her doorbell buzzed. “Rebecca? You okay in there?”

  She wanted to answer Chad’s concerned voice, but couldn’t catch her breath. So she just wrapped herself around her pillow and sobbed more.

  “Rebecca?” It was a different voice. Zain this time. He was pounding on her door. “Rebecca! Open the door!”

  “Assistant,” Rebecca whispered.

  “Yes, Rebecca?”

  “Please tell them I am fine.”

  “Yes, Rebecca.” More pounding and shouting. “Zain would like me to unlock the door.”

  It took significant self-control, but eventually Rebecca managed to say, “No. No…please don’t. Tell him… I’m not dressed and it was just a nightmare. Sorry to scare everyone.”

  “Rebecca, Zain wishes to know why you won’t tell him yourself.”

  “Please tell him: Not now, Zain.”

  “Done. He wishes you a good night and says for you to call if you need him.”

  “Thank you, Assistant.”

  “You are welcome, Rebecca. Do you require medical assistance?”

  “No, Assistant. I’m okay.”

  Rebecca curled around her sweat-soaked pillow and sobbed until her heart rate returned to normal. Nightmares were common enough for her, but this was different. Between those damn Jane Austen novels and Kat coming back from the dead, things had changed so much.

  A desperate, despairing part of her longed to call Zain back to fuck away the hurt. He’d be willing, and she could use the extra injection of dopamine it would give her. Of course, she could never do that now with him. Before, it had been because he made her uncomfortable and she didn’t trust him. There was something about him, her intuition always said. He’d been making it clear she was something special to him, which was creepy as all hell. Now, sh
e knew exactly what he was and could never unravel her disgust of him.

  Eventually, she managed to crawl out of bed and over to her small sink. She turned the water on and stared at her image. For so long, she had only a half existence. Owned and controlled by others. Property. Security risk. She had done everything right. Everything they wanted from her. She had taken the coward’s path.

  And it had gotten her nowhere.

  Instead, here she was helping a known terrorist. And not just a regular terrorist, but one of the terrorists.

  She stared at her short hair. She looked awful with short hair. Her sharp features always looked best with layers. But she’d cut it all off to fit in. She didn’t even get to keep her hair in this place.

  Terrorist.

  Rebecca leaned closer to the mirror and observed the black circles beneath her eyes. She was too young for those to be permanent fixtures on her face. She was only thirty-three. Hell, Kat was a year older and she looked years younger. This place did that to her, with their lies and cruelty.

  Kat was a terrorist.

  What choices did Kat have, really, when it came down to it all? Kat had lost her home, a home she had vowed to protect. She had travelled to other countries to help with elections and peacekeeping, so that others could have the same greatness and freedom as her own home offered. Then they tried to take away her home. What else was Kat supposed to do?

  Freedom fighter.

  Kat was doing what she knew how to do: fight. Perhaps she was trained on how to put people into prison, as opposed to breaking them out, but Rebecca was starting to think the skills were rather related in cases like these.

  And now she was helping Kat. She could have reported Kat as soon as she’d left the habitat ward. She could have called up just about anyone and told them. She could have told Zain, since he was just another asshole trying to stop people from living their lives. He wasn’t like her. He was like them, all of them. All of the assholes who’d killed her neighbours, her family, her friends.