by Mary Ting
I stalked purposefully toward the wall. You can thank me later. You hate that stuff.
“Ava. You come back right now.”
I tuned out Justine. On my way, I heard whispers from the farthest tables.
“What is she doing?”
“That’s Ava, right?”
“Maybe she sees something we don’t see.”
“Is she crazy?”
“Maybe having too much Helix makes you hallucinate.”
“Will we become like her?”
I bared my teeth even though I had my back to them and they couldn’t see my expression. Stupid girls. If only you knew what I knew.
“Ava. What are you doing? Come back.”
I barely heard Brooke, too focused on the line no one else could see, which seemed out of place on the perfect gray wall.
“Ava?” Payton’s voice boomed in my ear.
When a hand came near me, I sensed the shifting of the air and shoved outward with flat palms. Someone landed on the ground hard. Someone else tried to put a hand on me with the same outcome.
“Stay back.” The guard’s voice echoed distantly. “Ava, go back to your seat.”
The top line on the wall started about my chest level and went down below my knee. A perfect square. Big enough to fit a body through. I traced the outline, visible to me where they had patched the hole. My mind zoomed through a white tunnel.
The same memory flashed, but this time I saw a bit more.
“Ava!” Rhett had no choice but to jump in as bullets shrilled. His cry boomed like a raging storm lashing out.
I raised my hands to surrender and Mitch knocked me out with his gun.
Then the memory disappeared. My heart stopped beating, and Rhett’s desperate cry lingered in my ears.
I did this. I broke us apart.
When Rhett told me how much he’d suffered without me, I’d imagined it, but when I heard his scream and felt it through my memory, I almost dropped to my knees and sobbed.
My heart shattered into a thousand pieces all over again.
For a fleeting moment, I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move. I felt like I had died and come back to life. It was the second true memory I’d recovered on my own. A small victory, but a victory nonetheless.
Then something cold and dark replaced my moment of grim triumph.
Mitch.
He’d known me then. I ground my teeth until my jaw hurt. I’d known there was something fishy about Mitch. My instincts served me well.
You’re so dead, Mitch. So dead.
My pulse roared in my ears. Who else needed to go on my list? What if Russ, Lydia, and even ... no. Not Brooke. I darted my gaze to her. I found her closer to me, baffled and worried.
“Ava.” Her mouth formed my name, but it never reached my ear. She came closer and reached out a hand to me.
Please don’t be a bad guy, Brooke. I won’t be able to bear it.
I clawed at the wall, digging like a dog retrieving a bone. Pain speared through my fingers and shot up my arms as I sliced with my neatly trimmed nails. I wanted to rip off the plaster and find the evidence on the other side. But the plaster wouldn’t give.
“Ava, this is your last warning.” A guard’s Taser clicked, ready to fire.
I ignored him. They knew who I was and what I was capable of. They had seen how easily I’d thrown the others who tried to touch me. But the walls spun and collapsed around me, and my world tilted.
Bile burst from my stomach and rushed up my throat. Backing away, I gave the guards my middle finger and then threw up my dinner on their boots.
Twice.
Ava
My team was flawless in the mental mission, breaking record time. We knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
Our success in MM had come from the fire I needed to burn. The pain and grief I had to release. In every MM and real-world mission, I concentrated on one thought—to tear ISAN apart piece by piece. If I could have done it in one blow, I would have already.
A handful of times, I wanted to punch Justine in the face, but I worked to keep my cool. A leader showed patience and tolerance, as Russ reminded me when I came close to Tasing Justine myself. So I tried ignoring her, pretending I didn’t hear her insults.
The next day, I commanded a joint MM with Chelsea’s team. Guiding eight people through the mental mission proved to be a challenge, but I got them through on time. Barely. While everyone else was excused, Russ summoned me to his office.
“Yes,” I drawled as I shouldered in. “Did you ring for me?”
“I didn’t ring for you. You’re not a servant.” Russ frowned.
Instead of sitting behind his desk, he sat on the front edge. I eased into my seat, wondering what he wanted.
I arched my eyebrows. “Are we going to have a staring contest, or are we going to finally have a conversation?”
Russ blinked as if coming out of a daze. “Finally?”
I propped my elbow on the armrest. “Well, yeah. You’ve been ignoring me. You said your door is open, but you’re not around.”
Russ burst out in a laugh, catching me off guard. I straightened and glanced behind me to see if I’d missed something.
“What?” I perked my lips and crossed my legs.
“You threw up on the guard’s boots?” His eyes twinkled with amusement.
I shrugged and twisted my mouth. “His fault. He shouldn’t have been that close to me. I thought he was going to Tase me.”
Lydia had purposely shot a Taser at me during the first week of training when I’d been a newbie to give me an idea of how it felt. My body had jolted and shaken violently. It hurt like hell. I rubbed at my chest, recalling the ache.
Russ scooted to the middle of the desk and rested his hands on his lap. “Care to tell me what happened yesterday?”
I glanced at the ceiling. “Nope. Not much to tell.”
He tapped the table repeatedly as a breath hissed out of him. “Then tell me why you stood in front of a wall and tried to dig through it. Did you see something?”
I saw the truth, I wanted to tell him. Open your eyes, Russ. But he couldn’t. My eyes had been shut, too, until Rhett forced them open.
“No. I walked over there to talk to Payton.” I was surprised at my composure and how easily the lie had left my mouth. “Then I kind of spaced. Maybe it’s a Helix side effect? Did anyone else experience that?”
Russ crinkled his nose and narrowed his eyes. “Somewhat, but not like you.”
Yup, he knew I was lying. No matter my neutral expression, no matter how steadily my eyes locked on his, no matter how convincing my story, he could always tell. My mind raced with ways to get out of this situation.
“Anyway,” he continued while scrutinizing me, “I’m going to dismiss this incident. Next time you want to stare at a wall, go to your room.”
“Fine,” I scoffed, playfully. But I released my breath and eased my pounding heart.
Russ sat behind his desk and waved to open up the screen. “Do you like working with Chelsea?”
I leaned closer and rested my crossed arms on his desk. “Why? Is this a trick question?”
Russ hiked up his eyebrows. “Do I give you a lot of trick questions? Why would you ask me that?”
“No.” I pushed back into my chair and cleared my throat. “Anyway, Chelsea and her team are fine.” Unlike Roxy’s team, I wanted to say.
Roxy and her team were never mentioned by anyone, like she had never been in our lives. It showed me how nobody would care if we disappeared. The truth was, we were all replaceable. Except maybe me.
“Good.” He lit a half grin. “As you already know, I’m sending two teams, yours and Chelsea’s.”
A shot of a massive room with ornate furniture popped on the screen.
I blew a wolf whistle. “That’s a nice bedroom. It’s huge. More like a living area. You can fit like five people on that bed.”
“Maybe he does.”
Russ’s words stunned me
to silence. I almost gagged at the image of Mr. San and whoever.
“Why are you showing me his bedroom? I don’t have to ... please don’t tell me—”
Russ flushed a dull red. “Ava, calm down. No. You know I wouldn’t. ISAN has strict policies. We would never put you in that kind of predicament. I wanted to show you the rooms ahead of time since you’re the team lead.” He swiped his hand in the air and another photo replaced the previous. “A source informed us this living room is specially equipped with advanced tech, and there are several ways you can escape without leaving through the front door. Understand?”
“Oh.” I offered a demure smile. “So, then the room has secret compartments or switches to open another room or—”
“Yes.” Russ formed a fist, elbows on the table. “I’m wondering if you can see through walls with Helix.”
Blood drained to my toes. A trick question, after all. Someone wanted to know if I could see through walls. No doubt Mr. Novak. Russ’s question might as well have been, “Did you see the trash chute we sealed up so no one else would escape that way?”
“No, I can’t.” I reprimanded myself when I dipped my head. No eye contact signaled withholding the truth.
I needed to protect Russ and myself, so I lied. Hopefully I gambled correctly that Russ was unaware of the trash chute, or at least hadn’t been told much.
“I see.” Russ untangled his fingers and rested his hands by his sides. “Then we have a problem. I’ll talk to Kendrick. Maybe he can rig up a special scanner.”
“Will you be going to the gala?” I asked.
“Yes. And so will Mitch. We’re taking a detour to ISAN West first. We’ll be joining forces to bring Mr. San in.”
Mitch. Maybe I can accidentally shoot him there.
In my mind, I stabbed him with a knife. “Great.” I lit a wry smile.
Russ closed the screen and came around the table. “Come on.” He beckoned me to follow.
“Where are we going?” The chair retreated into the floor when I slid off.
“To get our masks fitted with Lydia.”
“Mask?” I realized the answer after I asked.
“You need a mask for the masquerade, silly.”
Indeed. But I already have one on.
I giggled. “Of course. Silly me.”
White-peaked mountains materialized when the sub-glider zoomed out of ISAN. The tinted window revealed a river snaking around the hills and valleys. Submerged in green, this part of the terrain had not been touched by the meteors. Breathtaking. I marveled at the splendor of my view.
The spell broke when grand trees emerged. I turned to my team, all either mesmerized or deep in thought.
I scowled at Mitch’s back and then kicked my backpack underneath my seat. I had been instructed to pack toiletries and a change of clothes, since we would stay overnight at the West ISAN compound. My ball gown and mask had been neatly boxed and placed inside the sub-glider’s storage compartment and would be given to me shortly before the ball.
Butterflies swarmed in my gut. I would finally get a chance to find the twin my father had spoken of in his journal. The last he’d heard, my twin had been stationed to the West.
Did ISAN know I had a twin? My father’s journal indicated he had separated us at birth and told no one. This was going to be more complicated than I’d thought.
The sub-glider’s tinted windows swallowed us into a dark world again, and I prepared for landing. The transporter smoothly cruised like a bird soaring on the docile wind, then finally stopped.
My seat belt automatically released me, and I filed in line to exit after grabbing my backpack. Brooke glanced over her shoulder at me and smiled, then faced forward. The front of Tamara’s boots bumped my heel when the line halted.
“Sorry.” Tamara placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. “Are you as nervous as I am?”
“Very.” Not really, though. I only wanted to ensure she didn’t feel alone in her insecurity. “But we’re going to be fine. We have each other.”
Those words seemed to pacify her.
Rows of people dressed in gray ISAN uniforms saluted when the last of us stepped out. They were mostly male.
Where are you, my twin?
I cast a quick glance at every face, looking for my mirror image, but no one stood out. Of course, no one would. My twin might be fraternal. Would we look alike at all? Being twins didn’t guarantee we would recognize each other.
“Welcome, ISAN from the East. My name is Agent Sabrina. We are honored to have you here.” Agent Sabrina shifted to face Russ.
Sabrina’s hair—black with highlights of ash—was a stark contrast to Russ’s, and her beaming smile friendly.
“Thank you.” Russ shook Sabrina’s hand. “We’ve spoken many times, but it’s nice to meet you in person.”
“Likewise.” Sabrina smiled curtly, then turned to her fellow agents. “Agents Mark, Courtney, and Alonzo.” Then she set her eyes on Mitch with a knowing smile. “Mitch and I have met before. Welcome back.”
The sly exchange made me curious about those two.
“Thank you. It’s always a pleasure.” Mitch cupped Sabrina’s outstretched hand.
“Agent Courtney will take you to your rooms,” Sabrina said with a quick glance at us. “Please settle in and get comfortable. I’ll see you during dinner.”
Agent Courtney smiled and led the way. Her gait, graceful and poised, reminded me of Diana.
I trailed her through the sliding double doors, down the gray halls, and curved left into a grand room. Thanks to my ability, I saw the layout was identical to our facility, down to the ISAN symbol on the gleaming floor.
Hologram figures formed on my mental map, informing me others were coming. My muscles tensed but eased when friendly young faces appeared. Five newcomers marched in perfect sync and halted next to Courtney.
Brooke elbowed me to get my attention and arched her eyebrows. “They’re as stiff as robots. They walk like bad computer animation.”
“Hush.” Justine kicked Brooke’s boot.
“I would like to introduce you to your team.” Courtney focused her attention to us. “Russ sent me your names and profiles. I’ve analyzed your strengths and weaknesses and paired you up with a partner. Your partner will take you to your room. You’re all in one designated wing, except for Mitch and Russ. Now ...” She opened her handheld TAB. “Chelsea.”
“That’s me.” Chelsea raised her hand and stepped forward.
“Nick is your partner.”
Nick shook Chelsea’s hand and guided her down the hall.
“Payton, your partner is Ethan. Tamara with Gene. Ava with Drew.”
“Your partner looks like he has a brick up his ass,” Brooke murmured.
I was on the verge of cracking up, but I pursed my lips to keep a straight face.
“Brooke and Vince, and ...” Courtney continued.
I tuned her out when Drew approached me.
“I’ll take you to your room. Please follow me.” Drew’s eyes met mine with intent.
He waited for me to step beside him to proceed down the hall. Though someone else was directing me, I felt as if I hadn’t left the ISAN I knew.
“How long have you been here?” I admired the two-tone color of his hair and his hazel eyes.
“A couple of months.”
“What?” My voice came out harsher than I intended. “I mean, are you ready for the mission? How much have you trained? Only training for two months can’t possibly prepare you.”
Drew’s lips quirked slightly, and a groove intensified on his brow. Though he didn’t give me a full smile, his eyes twinkled with amusement.
“Relax, Ava. Let me rephrase that. I’ve been training for about six months, but ISAN has injected me with Helix for only two months now. It seems ISAN has finally perfected the serum for males.”
Not ISAN. My father.
It told me two things: ISAN had predicted my father would perfect the serum and began recruiting. A
nd we, ISAN in the East, were a bit behind the West, having only recently gotten male recruits.
Perhaps with the new serum, they didn’t have to be injected in utero to hold on to the effects. Maybe they didn’t need special DNA. I thought about the rebels who had taken Mr. Palmer. They were so young. What else was ISAN doing?
With many having died, they’d need replacements. A nasty coil looped through my gut and something bitter rose to my throat.
I held my tongue and pretended to be ignorant to extract what information I could from him. I had become a good actress.
As we rounded a corner, Payton acknowledged me with a nod, then I passed Tamara entering her room.
“Isn’t that wonderful? HelixB77 is finally working on the boys. Who knew?”
“No. HelixB88.” Drew stopped in front of a door and placed his hand on the scanner.
HelixB88? Of course, the serum would be called something else.
“Oh, silly me. I’m so used to calling it HelixB77.”
I giggled and wrung my hair behind my ear. Yup, I was flirting, kind of, but only to get more information.
Drew grabbed my hand and placed it on the scanner without permission. I hissed through my teeth but kept a smile.
Touch me again, and you can see exactly what I’m capable of.
“Sorry.” Drew patted my hand and let go, as if he read my thoughts. “I almost forgot the scanner needed to take your handprint immediately after mine to activate your handprint ID. That way, you can enter without me. Courtney rebooted the scanners on this wing. You distracted me with your questions.”
The door slid open.
“Next time, just ask me.” I shrugged with a wink. “I hope HelixB88 won’t make me forgetful like that.”
I snorted and lightly patted his biceps the way Diana had taught me to distract an opponent.
The room was set up like mine. So much for originality. Bed already slid out and made with a crisp sheet and gray blanket. Blank walls. Table to the side with no TAB. I frowned. Customer service sucked around here.
He narrowed his eyes when I spun to him, and then he eased the crease on his forehead. “Well, I hope you don’t get injected with HelixB88. From one top officer to another, I assume you’re aware 88 has brutal side effects for females.”