by S. E. Weir
“I have an important announcement to make.” Jack Kaiser had a fervent light in his eye as he spoke solemnly. “There has been a cancer among us, eating our organization from within.”
Shocked whispers spread through the crowd, and a few people yelled to demand to know what he was talking about.
“It is to my great regret that I inform you one of our own has turned traitor.”
Link shook his head in disbelief. He felt a tug on his arm, and Masha whispered, “Did you tell him?”
“No,” he responded softly.
“Phina?”
“No.” She wouldn’t have.
Masha glanced between Link and Jack in confusion as Jack continued. Link couldn’t bring himself to spell it out for her.
“It deeply saddens me that one of our brightest students chose to betray our beloved Empress and Empire, but it remains the truth, unfortunately.”
“Who is it?” someone in the crowd called angrily from behind Link. Murmurs and similar calls rang out until Jack raised his hands for quiet. The noise of the crowd of agents used to following Jack’s orders dropped into silence.
Jack glanced at Link, his expression regretful, though who knew if it was genuine or not, before turning back to the crowd.
“Seraphina Waters!”
As the crowd reacted with surprised outrage, Link reflected that he hadn’t realized he had been holding onto a smidgeon of hope until it had died. There was no chance that Phina, his adopted niece and the child of his heart, had turned.
The traitor had to be Jack.
Hadn’t he made unexpected trips to the Meredith Reynolds? Hadn’t he been there at the same time as the trouble with the Qendrok? Link had accepted the reasoning Jack had given, but there couldn’t be any hiding Jack’s actions now. Further, Jack’s words and actions were out of character. Clearly, something was wrong.
Link raised his voice and spoke firmly. “That is a lie, Jack. Phina would never betray the Etheric Empire. The only traitor here is you for turning against her.”
The crowd was hushed. He could still hear some angry murmurings and knew this situation was a powder keg waiting to explode.
Masha gasped and clutched Link’s arm, her voice devastated as she whispered, “No, no.”
Link sympathized with her since he felt the same way. It was unthinkable that Jack would turn traitor. Yet, the evidence was being played out before his eyes.
Jack stood strong and stared pityingly across the distance that separated them. “It is unfortunate that the traitor has convinced you with her lies, Greyson.”
“Dammit, Jack, she hasn’t lied! I don’t know what screw got loose in your head, but I know exactly where her loyalties lie, and she isn’t a damned traitor!”
The beta agent continued to shake his head sadly while the crowd kept swiveling their heads between them. “I didn’t want to have to fight you too, Wells.”
Link straightened to his full height meeting his friend’s...his former friend’s gaze. “If you go against Phina, you go against me, Jack. You know who her parents were. There’s no chance she would turn traitor.”
Jack scoffed. “Her parents? She turned traitor because of her parents. The Empire took her family away, and she wants revenge.”
Masha spoke firmly, all traces of the devastation removed. “You’re being very brave here, Jack, accusing her without her being present in the room. You aren’t giving her a chance to defend herself, just slandering her with your opinions.”
Pressing his lips together, the traitor nodded. “True, true, but unfortunately, she has been waylaid and won’t be able to be here.”
Link narrowed his gaze in suspicion. “And why is that?”
“Why, because she’s dead, of course.”
“That report is grossly exaggerated, I assure you,” Phina called in a voice that carried from the back of the room. “You chose the wrong tool, Jack.”
Link had never been so happy to see someone in his life. He sagged in relief when he saw her decked out in her full kit and weapons.
“Phina.” Jack spoke tightly.
“Jack,” Phina replied brightly as she advanced, the crowd inching away to let her pass, though she felt their gazes on her. “So kind of you to show yourself so we could see you as the traitor for ourselves.”
He scowled. “Stop calling me a traitor, young lady! You are the traitor!”
“Huh.” Phina paused her momentum as she tilted her head. “You believe that. Interesting. What makes you think I’m the traitor? What proof do you have?”
Jack drew himself up, his chest puffing out. “I have it on the highest authority.”
“Oh?” She paused, confusion passing over her face. “Why am I hearing a clock ticking in your head?”
Phina shook her head as if it didn’t matter before calling, “I find that hard to believe.”
“It’s the truth!” Jack exclaimed. “Not that anyone could believe anything that comes from the mouth of a traitor.”
“Exactly.” Phina nodded as she continued toward him with all the casualness of a leisurely stroll. “Just who could this highest authority be? It can’t be Greyson Wells because we’ve been working together to uncover the real traitor’s identity.”
“What?” Jack stared at Link with horror, betrayal, and devastation. “How could you?”
“What the hell, Jack? You aren’t listening or making any sense!” Link got a bad feeling and tugged Masha behind him.
“You want my authority?” Jack bellowed as his grief switched to anger. “It’s from the Empress!”
The crowd startled into the noise of awe and confusion.
Phina stopped and stared at Jack. “That can’t be, Jack. That’s just not true.”
“Again you call me a liar!” He scowled, his face twisting.
“Because we have a problem. See, Greyson and I spoke with the Empress just before we came here, Jack.” She spoke calmly and firmly, with a note of kindness. “She gave us the mission to come to Spy Corps and find a traitor we had gotten wind of. Someone who had caused problems with previous assignments. Our mission is classified as Top-Secret: Empress Eyes Only-slash-Alpha-One Priority Black. The base’s EI Shade can confirm she received orders to assist us from ADAM.”
Jack Kaiser stared at her in bewildered confusion.
“You see, Jack,” Phina continued gently, “we can’t both have been sent by the Empress. That makes no sense since Bethany Anne is a straightforward person. She always has a reason for the actions she takes and the orders she gives. She would not have given us conflicting orders.”
“No, no, no!” He shook his head as his confusion and disbelief turned to outrage. “You’re trying to trick me!”
“There’s no point in that, Jack,” Phina answered absently. Her brow furrowed. “Seriously, how can you stand having that ticking sound in your—”
Phina broke off and stopped ten feet away from Link. “Not ticking, but counting down.” She turned to Link in alarm as she repeated, “Counting down.”
His stomach dropped, and he swung back toward Jack in time to catch him aiming his pistol.
At Phina.
Link didn’t stop to think. He didn’t even remember that Phina could heal from most wounds. He just reacted to the threat against his only remaining family by throwing himself in front of her just as the gun went off.
Masha tried to catch him, but his momentum helped him slip out of her fingers.
Fire, then numbness and pain sprouted between his heart and his shoulder. His legs seemed to have lost their bones.
Link collapsed to the floor as shouts erupted around him.
Phina felt the blood rush out of her head as she realized that Link had been shot instead of her. She pushed herself out of her momentary paralysis and rushed to his side.
Masha held onto Link, her voice shaky as she pleaded with him.
Phina saw Jack lifting the gun again. Fear for Link and anger that he had been shot caused her emotions to erupt as
she raised her hands and yelled with both her mouth and her mind, “Stop!”
Everyone froze in surprise, including Phina. Jack’s hand involuntarily opened and dropped the gun.
Phina recovered quickly and rushed to Link. The wound was close to his heart, but he was not in immediate danger. He still had to get to a Pod-doc urgently.
She searched her mind for something she could do, then grabbed one of her knives and sliced open her hand, focusing her mind and will on her blood dripping onto the wound.
Heal, heal, heal...
She ignored Masha’s startled protests and focused on Link and Jack. When Jack began moving again, she sent energy to her hand to jumpstart the healing process while she dug into a pocket and slapped a bandage into Masha’s trembling hands.
“Put that on him.”
Phina didn’t wait to see if she responded. She threw her knife at Jack and charged him, dodging the agents who sided with him.
She reached the table as her knife hit Jack’s wrist, smacking the other pistol out of his hand.
“What?” Jack cried in confusion as the gun tumbled to the floor. “You can’t move like that!”
“Sure I can.”
“Only the Empress can move like that!” he protested angrily as he pulled out his double blades.
“Jack, Jack, Jack,” Phina chided as she slid her short swords out from her back sheathes. “For a spy, you have been limiting yourself. If you’ve missed the information that there are more than the Empress with these abilities, I wonder what else you’ve missed.”
He shook his head as if it pained him, his mouth twisted in a grimace. “It doesn’t matter. You still have to die.”
Phina met his double blades with easy strokes. She no longer had to hide her enhanced speed and reflexes. She saw a few agents moving toward them with intentions to subdue her.
“By the authority granted to me by the Empress, I order you all to stand down.”
She pointed one sword at them for emphasis as she continued to block Jack with the other. The agents halted, shuffling uncertainly.
“Don’t just stand there!” Jack yelled as he jumped off the table to gain more space. “Come get her!”
The agents gathered themselves to obey him but were stopped by Felan and a few other agents.
“We’ve got this, Phina,” Felan called. “Do your thing.”
She flashed her fellow trainee a smile and flipped to the floor, her swords outstretched in front of her.
“Damn and blast!” Jack grimaced as he lunged at Phina. “I’ll just have to do it myself.”
They exchanged strikes for a minute, the beta agent’s face growing red as he threw all his effort into defeating her.
It still wasn’t enough.
Phina decided enough was enough and hooked one of Jack’s swords, pulling it out of his hand. He growled and grabbed a dagger strapped to his thigh, refusing to give up.
“Come on, Jack. You can’t keep going like this.” Phina spoke softly as she continued to disarm him one weapon at a time.
“No!” His voice grew more desperate as he pulled out his last knife. “You can’t beat me! I was teaching you just last week! How can you beat me this easily?”
“I was always a good student.” Phina swatted Jack’s hand with the flat of her blade, forcing him to drop the knife. “And I’ve had several good teachers.”
Now that he was disarmed, she dropped her weapons and glanced around the room. Link still lay on the floor with Masha right beside him. Shaw had finally joined them and was working to regain control of the room, along with Felan and the team leaders.
Phina reacted in time to grab the fist that had almost hit her. She turned her attention back to Jack and shook her head. “Wrong move.”
She held onto his arms and pushed the beta agent back until he landed in a seat at the table behind him. She ignored his grunts of protest and the startled glances as she hauled around a man almost twice her size.
“What are you going to do to me?” Jack asked, showing a hint of panic as he tried to fight her off. Phina took out a restraint and wrapped it around his wrists, pulling it tight. She placed her hands on either side of his head as he shook it, his eyes wheeling. “No! The Empress told me to stop you!”
“I’m finding out who screwed up your life, Beta Agent Kaiser, and for the last time, it wasn’t the Empress.” Phina stared into Jack’s eyes until he stopped thrashing and she knew for sure he wouldn’t fight her.
Shaw, watch my back?
Phina didn’t realize she had spoken mentally until she felt his surprise, then he answered.
Of course.
She shut her eyes and scrolled through Jack’s memories until she found the most recent blank spot. Phina proceeded to do what she should have done weeks ago. She poked at the grayed-out memories that had been hidden and realized it had a command similar to the mental trick she had just used for the exercise attached to them. The command told anyone that messed with the memories to forget the importance of them. No wonder Phina had floundered.
Grumbling to herself, Phina increased the amount of energy she was using, which allowed her to ignore the command and focus on the memory. She didn’t think it was possible to erase memories. Not completely. Something else must have been done to Jack’s mind to make them appear absent.
Phina gently probed, but that didn’t do much more than it had the last time. After some thought, she tried sliding around the absent memory until she found a nearly invisible crease. She did the mental equivalent of slipping her fingers underneath to separate the layers and realized that the very top layer was a compulsion for Jack to forget what had happened aside from the orders he had been given.
Hmm...
She withdrew enough to speak. “Jack, I can see the compulsion, and I think I can remove it, but I don’t know how you will feel when I do or what you may remember.”
She didn’t get an answer, so she opened her eyes to see the large man had become subdued. Shaw stood nearby, keeping his word to watch her back.
“You really think someone messed with my brain and made me believe things that aren’t true? Pretended to be the Empress?” Jack’s expression had turned bilious.
Phina responded simply. “Jack, I know someone did. I want to find who did it and make them pay for it, among many other things.”
He sighed but nodded. “Do it. Get the proof you need.”
She smiled in encouragement before she closed her eyes and dived back into the anomalies in his brain. She slipped her fingers back underneath the top layer. Once she had a firm grasp, she tried tugging gently, but it didn’t go anywhere. After a brief contemplation about how she had compelled Jack to drop the gun, she sent a quiet but firm command right to the memory.
Remember.
Remember.
She slowly peeled the memory up. The compulsion clung to his mind as if stuck with sticky taffy. Both she and Jack winced at the pain.
She spoke quietly, her eyes still closed. “Jack, I want you to focus on remembering what happened. There are blank spots in your memory. Don’t hide from them, even if it’s painful. Decide you want the memory no matter the cost.”
He responded with a hint of the steel that had allowed him to survive decades of war and spy missions in his tired voice. “I’ll do my best.”
Phina nodded in satisfaction and went back to her task, pulling energy and pushing it into the command she sent through her mental fingers. She realized the originator was female and she had talent with mental manipulation.
She pushed the realization to the back of her mind until later and focused on releasing Jack from its hold. After a few agonizing minutes, she decided to reassess.
“Phina?”
“Shaw. Just give me a minute. She’s got her hooks in him tight.”
A short pause. “So, he was brainwashed?”
“Definitely. Hmmm... Brainwashed. That’s a good term for it.” She opened her eyes to see Jack with his eyes closed in pain. Form
er soldier. Spy. Trainer.
Phina tilted her head as she considered what made up the man and the female who had deceived him and decided on a more subtle approach. She closed her eyes and changed the thought she was sending to the memory.
Mission accomplished. Your task is now complete.
As she did so, she lifted the command in a spiral, as if she were untwisting a cap on a bottle. It began to move. Once the compulsion had fully let go, she disintegrated it.
“Yes!” Phina couldn’t help but cheer.
Jack gasped in shock and dismay. “No! Oh, no, no. I remember. I remember her telling me to kill you.”
“Good.” Phina gave him a fierce smile of satisfaction. “Now, let’s get the rest of your memories back before something else happens.”
“Yes.” Jack appeared shaken but resolved to continue.
Link coughed and winced as he opened his eyes. He ignored the sounds of everything happening around him and focused on the wide, gray eyes staring at him with fear and concern.
“I’d say I’m in heaven since you’re here, but I’m in too much pain to believe it.” His voice rasped as he spoke, causing him to whisper the last words.
Masha wiped away her tears, then she grabbed a bottle of water and opened it for him to drink. “Hush now. You were shot. You need to rest and not say ridiculous things.”
After half choking down some water, Link tried to look down at the wound. He stared in shock. “Hellfire and damnation! How am I not dead?”
“Phina.” Masha gave him a watery smile, which pulled his gaze away from the bloodstains all over his shirt.
“Are you all right?” He frowned in concern.
Her face scrunched as if she wasn’t certain how to respond. Then she scowled and put her hands on her hips. “Am I all right? Am I all right? Don’t be an idiot! Of course I’m not all right! First, Jack is a traitor, and he tried to kill Phina. Then you were shot.” Her voice wobbled, but she continued, “All the agents have been fighting each other, and everything is a shambles. Of course I’m not all right, you ridiculous man!”
“Bloody hell, woman,” he muttered. “It was just a question.”