The Escape

by Teyla Branton

  “What if something goes wrong?” Oliver asked.

  “We know they’re blocking radio signals from going outside the gate,” I said, “to make sure their guards aren’t overheard, so we can’t use radios. But we have detected cell phone signals. We can call out if we need to.”

  “If they don’t take our phones.” Oliver’s voice was a mutter.

  I shrugged. “Well, if it’s just you and Mari and me, Mari and I can always shift and take you with us at least some of the way.”

  Jace arched a brow and I knew he was remembering our practices with him. “You may need to fight your way out. Maybe someone else should go, too.”

  I opened my mouth to tell him that was ridiculous, but I couldn’t because he was right, and I was suddenly dreading going in with only Mari and Oliver. Even if the two didn’t kill each other, they would be next to useless in an actual fight. Oliver’s illusions certainly couldn’t fight, and Mari’s knives wouldn’t be much protection against experienced Unbounded. At least she could save herself by shifting out.

  “I don’t think—” Oliver began.

  “The question is, can he do it?” Ritter ran over Oliver’s protest, looking intently at Cort.

  “Oh, yeah. He does it rather easily, in fact.” Cort’s voice told me he wished it were otherwise. “He should be able to grow stronger with practice. There’s even a possibility that—” He shook his head. “Never mind.” But I had already seen in his thoughts that he thought Oliver might learn to imbue his projections with substance.

  Wait. I pulled back mentally from Cort, shocked at myself for spying, but unlike with Oliver, I hadn’t penetrated his shield, only picked up his surface thoughts, perhaps even meant for me. I gave an internal sigh of relief. I hadn’t lost myself to instinct entirely. I really needed to talk to Ava about this increase of my abilities. I didn’t want to lose what few friends I had in this new life.

  “Look, if it fails,” I told Ritter, “you can always go with the original plan. I know it’s a risk, but what we stand to gain far outweighs what we might lose.”

  Our eyes met, neither of us speaking. Everyone else seemed to vanish until we were alone. A tremor slid down my back.

  “Okay,” he said finally. “You go in now, before they change guards.” He looked at his watch. “You have one hour. If you’re not back by then, we’ll attack the guards, cut the electricity, blow Yuan-Xin’s booby-traps, and hope that provides you with enough distraction to get out.” In other words, he’d show all his hand instead of doling it out bit by bit as the original plan called for.

  “Maybe we should wait,” Mari said, “and do it all at once. Free them and attack from the inside and out with all our strength on the same day. We’d keep the advantage of surprise. We’ll lose that if they discover us tonight.”

  Ritter shook his head. “We need to know what we’ll be walking into. We have the original building plans but no idea how the inside might have been modified. We have no clue about locking doors or what kinds of experiments have been done on our people and how able they are to defend themselves. They could be drugged and useless for all we know, or their minds could have been damaged.”

  This last he said because of Delia Vesey. The Triad member had been one of the visitors to the compound before we’d arrived. Her machinations were not limited to enemies, as verified by the distinct fear the guards had of a possible return visit. It was she I planned to impersonate.

  A sense of excitement replaced the trepidation in the pit of my gut. Ritter had signed off on my plan and that meant he thought we had a real chance at success.

  “In and out,” he said.

  Sometimes he was so predictable. “Of course, Your Deathliness. No dallying or fancy stuff. I promise.” Not even Jace laughed at my comment. Probably too afraid of the beating he’d get at their next training session.

  Ritter scowled. “Good. Now just try to remember that.”

  “Will they let them in with weapons?” Cort asked, giving me a subtle wink.

  “They will if I’m in the Triad,” I said.

  Ritter’s mouth twitched. “Delia Vesey?”

  Oliver paled. “If she finds out, she’ll kill us.”

  “She’d kill us anyway.” Mari looked at me. “Who should I be?”

  “How about that guy at Emerson’s?” I said. “The sensing Unbounded. He’s obviously a favorite with Delia so they might have been seen together.”

  “Oh, I like that.” Venom laced her voice. Apparently, she knew how to hold a grudge. So did I because a perverse part of me was looking forward to being Delia. She scared the hell out of me and I didn’t like that one little bit.

  “Oliver and Jace can be a couple of their Unbounded guards,” Cort said. “Someone prominent enough that they are recognizable, but no relation to anyone we’ve identified at the compound. Stella should be able to send us profiles. Oliver will be able to remember the information long enough to mimic them tonight. He has a good memory.” That was an understatement. Oliver’s memory was a lot better than any of ours—as he enjoyed reminding us every other day.

  “Jace?” Ritter said.

  Jace looked over eagerly, and for a long moment they exchanged a measured stare. At last, Jace sighed and shook his head. “Normally I’d be all over this, but it’s too risky to send four. Not when Erin and Mari can shift only one. Even a few feet could get them free. If Erin has to mask two people, she won’t be able to concentrate on getting information. Besides, I’ll need to be out here if things go wrong.” Jace met my surprised gaze. “Don’t worry, Sis. I have your back. I’ll plow through these guards and come get you if you run into trouble—no matter how many guns they shove in my face.” That was more like the Jace I knew.

  “Erin can fight well enough if it comes to that,” Ritter said. Well enough was high praise from him, but the fact that he’d been willing to let my unpredictable brother go inside told me he was more worried than he let on about us making it out without incident.

  I was both relieved that Jace had finally started listening to his ability’s internal warnings and worried that I’d need him inside. Clamping down on the emotions, I turned to Oliver. “What was it you were saying about voices?”

  Ritter reached for his phone. “You two practice while I let Yuan-Xin and Ava know what we’re doing. Ava and Dimitri will want to be here just in case.”

  “Not Dimitri,” Cort said. “He and Keene are watching Brody Emerson.”

  “Right.” Ritter put his phone to his ear. “Remember the clock is ticking.”

  Ticking fast, it turned out. By the time we drove up to the compound gate in a sleek black Mercedes produced by Yuan-Xin, we had only fifty minutes left before the guard change. Mari was at the wheel, looking like the sensing Unbounded at Emerson’s townhouse. I sat next to her, with Oliver in the back, resembling a man I vaguely recognized from our Unbounded files.

  “They’re letting us go in because we’re expendable,” Oliver muttered. “That’s why they’ve lived so long. They sacrifice the newbies.”

  Mari snorted. “No way. No one can do what we can. Ritter’s letting us go in because he knows we’re the best for the job. He would have come himself if he didn’t need to organize out here in case we screw up.”

  “Let’s make sure we don’t screw up,” I said. To Mari, I added, “If I say shift, you get out. You’ll need to tell Ritter everything. Don’t hesitate.”

  “I know. He told me I’d be on probation if I didn’t.” She waited several seconds before adding, “What does that even mean?”

  “No action,” Oliver said. “Sounds good to me.”

  Mari’s hands tightened on the steering wheel, but she didn’t respond. “They’re coming.”

  Sure enough, the guards from the trailer had come out, their weapons pointed at the car. One opened the gate and stood in front of us, while the other approached slowly. Both wore green uniforms and hard green helmets.

  Mari pushed the button to roll down the window. �
�Let us through,” she demanded. “I have Delia Vesey with me.” Her voice was more nasal than the real man, as Oliver was doing her illusion and he’d never heard the voice, but it would pass. Jace had been right about not coming because at the moment I didn’t know if I could have masked him well enough while pretending to be Delia.

  The Unbounded guard leaned over to look inside the car, a tablet in his very white hands. “We weren’t told of your visit.” He tapped the screen, taking a picture of Mari.

  “I don’t have to tell you anything,” I snapped in Delia’s strong, aging voice. She was physically in her mid-sixties, which made her seventeen hundred years old, one of the oldest Unbounded still alive. With the ongoing war, too few lived to two thousand these days. “Do you need proof it’s me?” I pushed aside his shield and said silently in his head, Well, here it is. Let us through now. Or should I have you moved to somewhere less comfortable? I hear we need a contact inside the mortal prison.

  The man dipped his head as if trying to shake me loose. His shield strengthened and I could see he believed he’d pushed me out, but I was still there observing. Interesting that he thought he could push her out. Could he really or had she let others believe they were protected? “Sorry. Triad Vesey. Just protocol. I need to verify your companions. You understand, I’m sure.”

  “Hurry, then, if you must.” My voice dripped sarcasm, while I silently applauded his backbone. In his mind, I saw a clear desire to do his best. More than a soldier following orders, he was someone who believed in the cause. People like him obscured the lines between our organizations, and I felt that in other circumstances, he’d make a good Renegade.

  The tablet in his hands beeped and he nodded at Mari. “Mr. Roberts.” Lew Roberts, his mind said. He glanced in the backseat at Oliver and recognition flooded his mind. I watched the sand stream of his thoughts as he found the memory: the two had worked together during an operation in London fifty-odd years ago.

  Pretend you know him from fifty or so years ago. I pushed the thought into Oliver’s mind. He wasn’t shielding so I could use his ability, though he was resentful about it. Ask if he’s ever been back to London.

  Oliver stiffened and cast me a quick look before addressing the guard. “Hello,” he said, using a voice that to me sounded just like the one we had on file. “Long time no see. You been back to London recently?”

  The man relaxed. “No. You?”

  “Once or twice. Been busy.”

  “I hear you,” the guard said with a hint of a smile. “Been a bit busy myself.”

  “All for a good cause.” Oliver dipped his head and looked at me again. The guard followed his gaze, suddenly remembering my presence.

  “I just have to take your picture.” The man pointed the tablet at Oliver as he spoke, tapping the screen. Seconds later a beep came. “You’re cleared,” he said, signaling his companion. “Drive on in.” To Oliver, he added. “Good to see you.”

  “You, too.”

  With that, we drove through the gate and into the compound.

  “WHAT WAS THAT?” OLIVER SAID, using his own voice.

  “My bet is recognition software.” I glanced back at the two guards who were standing close now, one of them tapping on the tablet. “Probably double checking to see if there are any notices out on us.”

  As Mari parked the car in front of the main entrance, two guards opened the front doors, one large with skin darker than the night, the other slightly less dark, a thin man who must trace his ancestry from India, or maybe came from there himself. They were combat Unbounded by the way they moved, the big rifles in their hands held with the ease of familiarity.

  Instinctively, I felt for my own weapons. They should expect us, as Emporium Unbounded, to carry weapons, but if they frisked us for some unknown reason, it would all be over. Oliver and I might be able to hold realistic illusions, but they had no substance and our real bodies wouldn’t match up with the illusions. Not for the first time, I wished I could manipulate conscious thoughts without signaling my presence. Delia had nearly succeeded with me, but I’d been so intent upon resisting, that I hadn’t paid attention to how she’d accomplished it. Ava didn’t know how, either, but we had better figure it out soon.

  I forced myself to be calm as we walked toward the guards. Mari’s step was confident, which I expected from someone who knew she could shift out at any moment, but Oliver’s fear was choking me. “Oliver,” I said, sending him soothing emotions, “try to relax.” The last thing I needed was for him to drop our cover from sheer terror.

  A surge of resentment came from him, but the fear cranked down a notch, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Blocking him out wasn’t an option as long as I was channeling his ability.

  “Greetings, Triad Vesey,” said the Indian. “Nice to see you again. Is there any particular reason for your visit?”

  “That is my own business,” I said with acid in my voice. I pushed at his shield. It wasn’t as strong as Lew Roberts’ but constructed more solidly than most I’d seen.

  He bowed. “I only meant how I should guide you? Do you wish to visit Director Tunns or with the other doctors? I have already notified them of your visit.”

  “The director will do,” I said. “But I also want to see our guests.”

  He blinked. “Guests. Uh, yes.”

  I’d chosen the word because when I’d been held prisoner at the old Emporium headquarters in Los Angeles, Delia and the others had been all too polite, pretending I was there for a long-awaited visit with my supposed father, that I wasn’t actually a kidnapped victim. Apparently no such pretense existed here.

  “Please follow me,” the Indian took one hand from his rifle and motioned us through the door.

  “We’ll want to see the new prisoner as well,” Mari said in the wide foyer where couches sat in front of a long reception desk full of computer equipment. “You haven’t damaged him too much, I assume?”

  “No. But he has been difficult.” This from the dark-skinned Unbounded, who fell into step behind us. “He’s still adamant about not helping.”

  I waved a hand. “No matter. He will change his mind.”

  “I thought that was no longer necessary,” the Indian said over his shoulder. “Wasn’t that why they brought him here?”

  This gave me pause. Was the new prisoner connected to the Emporium’s plan with Patrick Mann or Emerson’s son? Or were they working on yet another way to further their control over the world? At any rate, I had no intelligent way to answer the question unless I could break through their shields and the big Unbounded’s mind was equally protected. Why couldn’t I get through? Maybe I needed my machete.

  To the Indian I said, “My plans for him do not concern you or anyone else. You will focus on your job.”

  He stopped walking, pivoting in my direction and bowing again. I envisioned pulling out my machete and swinging it against his shields, but the black barrier remained impenetrable.

  “If you will come this way?” The Indian made a sweeping motion toward the door. “My partner will call to ask the director to meet us in the lab.”

  I pushed harder as he turned to lead us deeper into the compound. The instant we stepped out of the foyer and into the hallway, the shield gave way and I practically fell inside his mind, scrambling not to touch the sand stream of his thoughts and give myself away.

  How odd, I thought. Almost as if something had been blocking me from getting inside. Something outside him. The more I thought about it the more implausible it seemed. Yet it would also explain why Ava and I had both been able to get so little from those inside the compound, especially when at least part of the compound was within my known range. Yet at the same time, whatever it was hadn’t interfered with the connection I’d already forged with Oliver before we entered the building. I reached for Ritter. I’d been connected with him when I entered the building, but I couldn’t feel him now. I filed the observations away for future reference.

  I could find no suspicion in the guard
’s mind, though resentment was there aplenty. He and his partner were supposed to be relieved within the hour and he worried my visit would keep him here longer than expected. He wished there was someone to complain to, but the Triad could do whatever it wanted. He reminded himself, not very convincingly, that my visit was to further the good of all Emporium Unbounded. Besides, no one complained about Delia Vesey. No one. He’d heard rumors about those who had dared defy her. About people disappearing. Just being this close to her was nerve-wracking. He only wished he knew more of what was going on with the new prisoner than what the agents who’d brought him here had let slip.

  Excitement welled through him, momentarily blotting out his nervousness. It was important. He could practically feel it. Utopia, where Unbounded were out in the open and mortals in their rightful place of servitude, couldn’t come too quickly as far as he was concerned. Meanwhile, keeping watch over prisoners who were going nowhere fast was a tedium he had no choice but to endure. He almost hoped Delia would take notice of him and move him up the chain of command, but the thought alone brought all his nervousness crashing back on him. He abruptly felt like vomiting.

  For a moment, I toyed with taking advantage of his nervousness to question him about the prisoners and their condition, but the more exchanges we shared, the more chance I had of messing up.

  Down one corridor and then another. I paid close attention, though Mari would be able to reproduce it better than I would later. For the most part the halls were bare and old paint flecked on the ground, but this contrasted with the occasional pieces of luxury furniture we glimpsed through partially open doors.

  Finally we arrived at an inconspicuous door where another guard stood with a bored expression on his chiseled face. He came to attention as he noted my presence. “Triad Vesey,” he said, nodding once but not quite meeting my eyes. I reached out to his mind, breaking through his weak shield. Nothing out of the ordinary caught my attention.

  “I need to see your prisoners,” I told him. “Now.”