Helix

by Mary Ting

  “What are you going to do?” He looked at me suspiciously.

  “Not get caught, that’s for sure.”

  “I don’t like the sound of that.” His lips thinned.

  “I’ll see you in thirty.” I gently peeled my arm away from his grip and scurried off to my corridors.

  I didn’t even know if Brooke and Tamara had gone searching for 88, or if they’d gone to their rooms.

  Russ was headed where I had thought to go initially. There was no way I would snoop in Mr. Novak’s office. Not that I could even get in. But I ended up at his door.

  Rhett’s warning invaded my mind. Don’t you dare do anything reckless and stupid. It’s not worth your life.

  I listened to his voice, the voice of reason, the voice that had made me open my eyes, and the voice that had captured my heart. But the door was right in front of me. He probably had security cameras installed, not just inside his room, but around it. I needed to be casual.

  “Mr. Novak. Are you in there? I have a question.” I knocked.

  I jerked back when the door slid open. Russ had said Novak was out for a meeting. Then why had the door opened?

  Take the chance. Go. Pretend to think he’s inside.

  “Mr. Novak?” I walked in.

  I flinched when the door slid shut.

  “Hello?” I glanced around and fisted my hands to avoid the temptation to touch anything. Although if there were cameras, I had given Novak evidence I had been here.

  I could make up an excuse and tell him I had come to see him because I had a question. And that the door opened when I neared it. Just like how it happened.

  A small simple picture frame on his desk caught my eye. It was a picture of him and a blonde woman. He had an arm wrapped around her shoulders and a big smile. I hadn’t known he was capable of showing real affection to anyone.

  The woman had a heart-shaped face, thin lips, and a seductive leer. Pretty, but with a cunning expression.

  I cursed under my breath and clenched my teeth. Mr. Novak didn’t deserve to be happy. And what sick woman would be with a monster like him? Did she know what he did for a living?

  Mr. Novak needed to be put down like a wild animal. I trembled under the air seeping from the vent. How fitting. His room was gravestone cold, like him.

  I fought the urge to turn on his TAB and search through whatever information he had stored. He almost certainly had a security lock on it.

  Besides the TAB and the picture, his office was bare. And surprisingly, it was smaller than Russ’s. Where Russ’s office was inviting with a table and chairs for his guests, it seemed Novak didn’t want visitors.

  Time rotted as I stood there. Where else could I look?

  “Okay. This is strange, Mr. Novak. Your door opened, but you’re not in here. I’m going to go now. I’ll catch you later.” The lie left my mouth quickly and I dashed out, a chilled sweat on my forehead as the walls seemed to close in on me.

  It hadn’t been thirty minutes yet. I decided to head back to my room. Hopefully, Russ had better luck. I sprinted when I spotted Brooke and Tamara waiting for me in front of my door.

  “Hey. Where were you?” Tamara closed the distance, her eyes frantic.

  I smiled and became an actor, hiding my trembling hands in case we were on camera. “Came to visit me. So nice of you.” I rested my palm on the scanner.

  Brooke frowned at me for a moment before understanding filled her eyes.

  “Come in.” I smiled again.

  When the door shut, I bent over, palms anchored on my thighs, and let out a giant breath.

  “Are you okay?” Brooke placed a gentle hand on my back.

  “Yeah.” My heart rammed like a wild bull. “I went inside Mr. Novak’s office, and I think I’m finally realizing what I did.”

  “You ... you, oh my ...” Tamara ran a hand down her face, looking at me as if I were some kind of freak.

  “Holy, woman. You are a goddess.” A strange sound between a gasp and a yelp squeaked out of Brooke’s mouth. “Did you find anything? What did his office look like?”

  I lifted my head when the nausea eased, and I straightened my spinning world. “Not impressive, that’s for sure. It was small and freezing. And no, I didn’t find anything.”

  “I can’t believe you actually went inside.” Tamara covered her cheeks with her hands and bristled.

  I dropped onto my bed, taking in her concern. “I wouldn’t have gone in, but the door opened, and then I let curiosity lead the way.”

  Brooke shrugged. “I would have done the same.”

  “But there’s security cameras everywhere.” Tamara cringed.

  I blinked, coming out of my daze, half-listening to Brooke and Tamara bicker. “Hey, enough about me. Did you guys find anything?”

  Tamara and Brooke plopped on either side of me.

  Brooke sighed, sinking into the mattress. “Tamara came with me, but we didn’t have any luck. Then we went to see Kendrick. I told her to flirt with him.”

  “It wasn’t hard.” Tamara’s face reddened and she bobbed her shoulders. “He flirted back.”

  “Sooo, did he give you the serum? Does he even have access to it?” I clutched a fistful of blanket and squeezed, hoping to hear good news.

  When her mouth twisted and she broke eye contact, I knew the answer. I let out a heavy, disappointed breath.

  “Sorry, but he did tell me something useful. Kendrick said HelixB88 stays in the system longer than HelixB77. If we took blood from someone with it active in their system, then they can extract the serum ... maybe.”

  Brooke gaped, then rolled her eyes. “That’s all you found out from him?” Her voice rose an octave. “He might as well have told you to kidnap a guy and drag him off to the rebels after he gets injected with 88. I mean, that’s never going to happen.”

  I jolted off the bed and paced, trying to hold in my frustration. Taking it out on them would do no good. I had to remind myself lives were more important than finding the serum.

  “You know what, forget it. If we happen to come across it somehow, then so be it. If not, then don’t risk your lives. Promise me, okay?” My chest rose and fell so rapidly I thought I was going to hyperventilate.

  “O ... kay.” Brooke dragged the word out and glared over crossed arms.

  Tamara glanced between Brooke and me. “Agreed.”

  “Good. I have to meet Russ right now. I’ll see you guys in the morning.”

  “Okay. I have to study. Well, I guess I don’t need to anymore since we don’t plan on staying.” Tamara tapped the door to open.

  “Come on, newbie. Let’s bail.” Brooke sauntered out first.

  “Stop. You know what? You should be at this meeting, too. Let’s go.” I led the way.

  Ava

  Everything fell into place. Not only was my team headed for the fake rebel base, Russ had gotten a sample of HelixB88. When I’d gone to his office that night, he hadn’t been happy to see the three of us, but he’d understood we were all in it together, and it was critical we knew every detail of the plan for our escape.

  Dr. Machine had patched up Mitch, and he was almost back to himself. Too bad it couldn’t do anything for his permanently sour expression. I had worried about him, but the medics wouldn’t let me see him. Thankfully, Mr. Novak didn’t suspect Mitch of any wrongdoing and put him and Russ in charge of this mission.

  To my surprise, Mr. Novak had given the vials of HelixB88 to Mitch. That meant he trusted Mitch wholeheartedly. Had I known Mr. Novak would allow Mitch to administer it, I would have just asked him to give me one on-site instead of going through all that stress of looking for it. But would Mitch have given it to me? He would have had to come up with a believable reason why one went missing. So, our search had not been a waste of time.

  Just as our glider landed in the field of tall grass, another landed nearby.

  I unbuckled and stomped to Mitch in the pilot’s seat. “What’s going on?” I didn’t mean to raise my voice,
but he hadn’t told me about the second glider. He should have told me everything.

  Mitch gave me a once-over, switched off the monitor, and kept his voice soft and low. “West ISAN. I didn’t have a choice. Mr. Novak insisted, and so did Sabrina, since we were in their territory. Besides, did you think it would be just one team? West ISAN is also bringing guards. I don’t know how many. We’re raiding a rebel base, for crying out loud. We’re supposed to have backup. You know the drill. I didn’t want to tell you because I knew you would get like this.”

  “What is like this? What’s that supposed to mean?” That time I raised my voice intentionally.

  “Like how you’re acting right now. Stop being a spoiled brat and go with the flow.”

  I shut my mouth, thinking of Vince and Chelsea’s team. Dead on the ground. Nobody cared. ISAN hadn’t acknowledged their bravery or that they’d even existed.

  I forgot sometimes what Mitch had to do for the team. It couldn’t be easy. As a trainer, he would know every assassin who died in the field. He pretended not to care, but I knew he did. I had to give him credit for his bravery and the will to continue with a composed front.

  After Mitch injected us each with a serum, he flashed the all-clear signal. My team swarmed to the fence that surrounded several abandoned warehouses. Then Sabrina and two teams—led by Drew and Gene—joined us. It seemed Gene had been promoted to a leader.

  Sabrina pointed at Gene and then to me. Gene’s team had been assigned to partner with mine.

  Some faces were new, and some faces I recognized from the visit, but I didn’t bother to recall their names. I was getting out of there.

  Good riddance, ISAN.

  Mitch held up a fist, lowered it, then opened his hand to signal go time.

  We passed through the hole in the fence and spread out. Some went to the front, others to the sides, and the rest to the back.

  “Are you sure this is the address?” Gene had his back to the wall, pointing his Taser.

  I almost told him to go screw himself. Did he think I was a newbie?

  “Yes. I gave Russ the coordinates I stole.” My tone came off sharp and cold. I had no right to snip at Gene for being a responsible team leader.

  Mitch closed his eyes for a moment, and concern etched his tired face. Then he opened them with renewed focus. “Get ready.”

  I nodded and glanced over my shoulder to Brooke, Tamara, Justine, and Payton. With their Tasers ready, lips tight, eyes narrowed, they waited for my instruction.

  When Mitch gave me a curt nod, I pulled up my map and I eased through a door already ajar. I waved the team forward when no one tried to shoot me. I did a quick survey of my mental map and spoke into the mic clipped on my skintight, black bodysuit.

  “All clear. Alpha team in the house.”

  “Beta in.”

  Hearing Russ’s voice reassured me everything was going to be fine.

  “Gamma in.”

  “Delta in.”

  I cautiously led my team past rusted machinery and piles of wooden crates. Then I parked them by the banged-up tractor.

  The rebel team should have been there. Had Zen given me the wrong coordinates?

  My steady nerves began to falter. My heart rate picked up. Hot. I felt so hot. I tugged at my suit, my back sweaty and sticky. This wasn’t right. Something was wrong with me.

  Please don’t let it be the wrong serum.

  I shot a glance to my team—Justine, Tamara, and Payton looked fine, but Brooke had her head against the metal side of a machine.

  “Brooke?”

  I never got a chance to check on her. Fire blasted the back wall, and that part of the structure tumbled down as expected. Rhett had said it would be the fastest way for our escape, nearest to their glider.

  The rebels rushed in and exchanged fire with ISAN. I needed to get to Rhett. The faster I left, the less harm on both sides.

  “Let’s go.” I rushed ahead, my team behind me.

  Mitch passed me as planned and went to team Beta to guide them out. Russ’s job was to do the same with the other teams, but seeing the plan through was always a whole different story once you were in the field.

  I spotted Rhett ordering his team to cease fire and to stay down. My heart burst with elation, followed by a wave of nausea and dizziness. I steadied myself on one of the crates.

  “What’s wrong?” Gene’s silver eyes darkened with concern.

  “Wha-I-I ...”

  Justine whacked my arm. “What the hell is wrong with you? You sick or something? We need to get out. If you don’t make the call, I will.”

  The blasts of weapons and Justine’s complaints sounded hollow in my ear. Fire blocked the path to Rhett, and I couldn’t see him on the other side.

  I shook my head, attempting to clear my mind. My map flickered in and out. I’d never had a problem with my ability before.

  Plans change, Ava. Go around. Move it.

  “This way.” I squeezed my eyes and forced my muscles to move.

  The wall of crates on either side protected us, but I had no idea where I was taking them. My map had died. The path seemed endless, like I was stuck in a nightmare labyrinth.

  “This is not the—”

  Justine yelled in my ear as the wall in front of us exploded. I crashed against the fallen crates, shattered bottles tumbling out. Something spilled around me in crimson rivulets.

  Alcohol.

  Wine?

  Then a cyclone of wind and fire engulfed us, following the path of spilled liquid.

  I could make out the shapes of Cleo and a few other rebel fighters, but they couldn’t advance under the fierce attack.

  It seemed the rebels had blown up the second wall since I hadn’t passed through the first. I had to get through, only my muscles wouldn’t move, and Brooke lay face down on the floor as fire made a circle around us.

  “Ava!”

  Payton?

  I pushed up, and smoke filled my lungs and stung my eyes. The ringing in my ears got worse. Gene’s teams were nowhere to be seen, but Gene was inside the ring of fire. He had been closest to me. The fire forced him to split from his team.

  “Brooke is down, Ava.”

  Tamara shook me, taking me out of my daze.

  “Brooke?” I dropped to my knees.

  Desperate, I pushed Helix even harder, but nothing. Brooke hadn’t been shot or Tased. Why was she knocked out cold, and what was wrong with me?

  Something wet and sticky appeared on Brooke’s left side. At first, I freaked out, thinking it was blood. But Brooke had carried the HelixB88 in a tiny glass vial. It must have broken when she fell.

  Our only sample, gone. But I had no time to worry about that. Brooke’s life was more important.

  “I can get us out of here.” Tamara pointed her gun at Gene, who was looking for a way out of the blistering blaze. “You. Pick up Brooke right now.”

  “What?” Gene’s eyes widened.

  He looked as shocked as I was at the ferocity in Tamara’s voice and the boldness of her orders, both so out of character for her.

  Tamara fired and smashed a bottle next to Gene. He flinched and did as he was told. Then Tamara helped me up.

  Someone flew through the fire. Payton. We had been told our suits were fire repellant, but my mind didn’t register that I could walk through the flames.

  “This way.” Payton’s eyes held many questions.

  He probably wanted to know why I was propped up and couldn’t stand on my own.

  “Let’s go, then. What’re we waiting for? This shithole is about to collapse.” Justine tensed to dash through the fire, then stopped. “What’s going on? You’re not coming?”

  It was a pivotal moment. I would look back and wonder if I made the right decision. I had never planned to ask Justine if she wanted to come with us, but knowing what I knew about ISAN, I couldn’t just leave her behind. Brooke might be furious with me for bringing her along, but she would understand why I had to try.

  T
he thing about being a team leader, you don’t think about yourself. Every member in the team was part of me. As much as I disliked Justine, she was a human being. She had been wronged by ISAN as well. She’d once had a family who loved her, and I was certain she couldn’t have been all that bad. For this reason, I needed to give her a choice.

  “Justine, come with us.” I coughed, smoke rising and spreading.

  “Oh, no you didn’t just ask her.” Tamara tightened my hold. Either out of annoyance I had asked Justine or because she had almost dropped me. But still, so out of character.

  “Go with you where?” She gave me a sidelong glance. Then as if understanding clicked, she scoffed. “You’re running away, aren’t you? Go ahead. It will make my day. I’ll finally get to be the team leader.”

  “ISAN is bad. You have no idea. I’ll explain everything.” I pushed through the noise and exhaustion to change her mind.

  Payton just stood there blank faced, flame reflecting off his glassy eyes. I didn’t ask him to go, for I knew what his answer would be. Then it seemed he changed his mind.

  “You’re not going anywhere.” He pointed a Taser at me.

  “No, let them go. Then I’ll have an excuse to shoot them all down.” Justine switched her Taser to a gun and pointed at me. “I’ll even give you a running start. Go ahead.”

  Payton’s weapon flew out of his fingers. Justine’s gun popped out of her hand. She yelped and cradled her arm as blood dripped on her suit. Tamara had shot them both dead-on, one right after another.

  “You bitch,” Justine hollered, eyes like a raging storm. “Go. Run away. I don’t care where you and your little pets go. You picked the wrong side, Ava. You don’t understand. ISAN is my life. I will never leave. And now that the star is gone, my father will finally give me the chance I deserve.”

  I coughed in the choking smoke. “Father?”

  The image of the photo on Mr. Novak’s desk came to mind. The blonde woman—Justine’s mother? They had the same heart-shaped face, blue eyes, thin lips, and cunning, seductive leer.

  “That’s right. Mr. Novak is my father.”

  The heat became unbearable and the smoke began to cloak us.

  “We have to go now.” Payton grabbed Justine’s arm and yanked her away.