by Mary Ting
I wanted to hug her. It was at the warehouse Tamara had first acted differently.
I glanced back at Brooke and settled into my seat. “That’s right. I remember now. What do we do with him? Keep him hostage? Send him back?”
Zen shifted in his seat and looked up from his TAB. “Ava, I’m going to let you decide after I finish what I have to say. The test result proved Brooke and you were injected with 88.”
I knew what Zen would report, but hearing the confirmation turned me to ice.
Rhett stiffened, murmuring curses, his arm muscles tightening, looking like he was going to rocket off his chair.
Zen held out a hand to pacify the tension in the room. “As you already know, 88 works in the same way as 77, but it doesn’t harm the boys. Gene is fine. Ava, you fought off the serum. I found no traces of 88 in Tamara’s body. But Brooke—”
“Stop.” I let my head dip, needing a moment to catch my breath.
I’d always wondered when or how Mr. Novak would terminate me. Now I had my answer. Using 88 was a perfect plan, because there was no way I could take anyone else out with me. I peered up and met Zen’s worried gaze.
“Mr. Novak tried to kill me. That son of a bitch tried to kill me.” My voice grew louder. “He thought 88 would do me in. And he, oh ... Brooke. But he left Justine and Tamara alone. Did you know Justine is Novak’s daughter?”
“I can’t believe she just announced who her father is. I was utterly shocked.” Tamara rubbed her ears. “It makes sense, though. Justine has a cold soul, just like Novak. She’s just like him.”
It all became clear. My team had shared their brutal past, but Justine never would. I had thought her memories were too painful and she didn’t want to relive them. I had made excuses. But, oh how wrong I had been. The truth was out in the open now.
Apparently, Justine had always wanted to be the leader, but her father had put that burden on me. I would have gladly stepped down. In truth, she would have sucked in that position. If her attitude and actions were any indication of how she would have performed as a captain, her squad would have no doubt rebelled against her.
Zen pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled a deep breath. “No, I didn’t. I’m sorry Ava, but I have no idea how long Brooke—”
“No.” That one word came out cold and sharp. “I don’t want to hear it. We have to find a way to help her. Won’t the drug wear off or something?”
I didn’t care if he was the world’s greatest scientist. He didn’t know everything. There had to be a way to help Brooke. There had to be something we could do.
“It has worn off. I’m not giving up, Ava. I need a couple of things, but I don’t have them.”
Tamara pulled out her pocket knife and flipped it open. “I’ll go. I’ll go get what you need.”
It would take some time to adjust to seeing this new, brave side of her. Though I didn’t say it out loud, I would go as well.
“Okay. We’ll get a team assembled.” Zen touched his TAB to scroll. “Second thing. I have a confession to make, something I should have told you earlier, but I’ve been too ashamed that I had a part in it. I just told Cleo before I came in here.” He inhaled a long breath as if he had just been given a death sentence. “As you know, HelixB77 binds and works with testosterone, one of the main reasons why it was too strong on males. To make a long story short, HelixB77 also known as Helix DASH which stands for DNA Accelerating Substitute Hormone, is part of a chemical protocol designed to control you—to control women—and your abilities.”
I covered my mouth to keep from saying something I would regret.
“What the hell?” Reyna’s eyes flared with something menacing.
“What?” Ozzie schooled his face tight.
“No freakin’ way.” Tamara blinked.
It was the first time I heard her swear.
“Go on.” Rhett glared at Zen.
Zen cleared his throat, his shoulders rigid. “The aftermath of the meteor radiation changed women, and only women, at a cellular level. We don’t know why, and the intensity is different for each person. Not all with the changed DNA even have the superhuman abilities. So, when you were told you have special DNA, that is true. HelixB77 enhances and gives an adrenaline surge that makes you think you’re invincible and overrides the inhibitor ISAN administers.”
“Whoa ... wait.” Reyna pinched her eyebrows. “There’s an inhibitor? When could we have taken it? Then what makes us stop from beating the crap out of the guards?”
Zen tapped his lips. “The inhibitor works on the nervous system. What do you eat or drink every day in ISAN?”
“Protein drink.” Tamara’s eyes widened, brighter.
“Yes.” Zen nodded like a proud teacher. “I found traces of something similar to an old drug, Ritalin, that was once prescribed to manage hyperactivity, especially in children. Ritalin and its class of drugs provide something of a calming effect, but only for people with specific brain chemistry. For those without that condition, ADHD, it’s basically speed. This modified Ritalin appears to suppress abilities in these girls in much the same way. All of the girls with changed DNA also have unique brain chemistry that becomes far more typical when they take the drug.”
Ozzie ran a hand over his face.
“We had to drink it every single day.” I jabbed the heel of my palm against my forehead, feeling nauseous.
It was no wonder I was able to pull out my map when I’d stopped drinking the protein drink. But I’d also been told over and over I was different than the other girls. The protein drink made us compliant, of course we wouldn’t act aggressively or try to think for ourselves.
ISAN had manipulated us like we were nothing more than objects or animals to experiment on. Whoever was backing ISAN wanted to control women. Keep us from this empowering knowledge. At least until they could mimic the effects in men.
What were they so afraid of? Did they think we would abuse it, perhaps take over the world? Farfetched, but possible with such abilities. And it seemed no one knew how far the abilities stretched or how many of us had them.
It was so senseless. I wanted to punch the wall, throw the messenger across the room, and stomp on his TAB.
It’s not his fault. But he knew. He knew. It explains why he didn’t seem surprised when I told him what I overheard between the unseen scientist and Sabrina.
Then what did my father know? This threw doubt on everything I’d read in his journal. What else had he left out?
“Who?” I pounded a fist on the table, rage scorching my blood.
Zen actually flinched and backed away. Afraid of my power? Now that I knew, and now that I knew he knew, he seemed anxious.
“Who is behind ISAN?” My voice was softer.
Mr. Novak couldn’t be the sole person to birth ISAN. He was just one man. He needed financial backing. He needed facilities. He needed support.
“Pierre Verlot.” Zen showed a picture of his face on his TAB.
He had a nice, affable smile in the photo as he waved to citizens. Never would I have guessed such evil ran through him.
I had seen him at the gala. Regal. Polite. Warming up to the people.
Hypocrite.
“And Josephine Chang is backing the rebels. One of her reps reached out to me when I escaped. It’s imperative you keep her identity safe.”
Rhett narrowed his eyes at Zen. “You called Councilor Chang to get the C gliders to back off during the chase, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
I had no idea what they were talking about, but I would ask Rhett later. I hadn’t suspected our very own Council representatives would be involved. One backing ISAN, and one wanting to destroy it. All along pretending to embolden each other.
Pierre Verlot and Josephine Chang. I repeated their names in my head, disbelieving.
“Councilor Chang will be stopping by this week. She wants to meet the team, but especially Ava.”
“Why?”
So she could ask me more questi
ons, probe for answers I didn’t have. She probably knew more than I did. Now it all made sense. When our team had gone to terminate Thomax Thorpe, he had warned someone wanted to be the sole ruler. He may not have known who exactly, but he must have been on Chang’s side. Or maybe ANS?
“She wants to confirm our commitment.” Zen gave me a stern look.
Perhaps this was a good thing. I couldn’t wait to give her my opinion.
Rhett rubbed his forehead. With his elbow on the table, he leaned into his palm. “So that means HelixB88 is an enhancer for someone like Gene?”
“No, not an enhancer,” Zen said. “Males don’t have the DNA mutations associated with enhanced abilities. But 88 makes them equal to a female who does.”
You’re wrong, Zen. Drew and Payton. What about them?
I decided not to say anything. Zen’s bombshell was enough to handle for one day. I would bring it up later.
Zen leaned back into his seat and rubbed the back of his head, looking like he wanted to faint. “There’s something else I should have told you, but I didn’t want to tell you until I had evidence.”
“What now?” Rhett’s nostrils flared, his fingers digging into the table.
Zen released a long sigh and met everyone’s eyes. “You all believed Ava had erased her own memory, and because of her special abilities, it is possible. But ...” He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, they appeared reddened. “ISAN has the resources and technology to erase a person’s memories and give them new ones of rejection and isolation. All the assassins in ISAN have false memories, except for the agents, guards, and recruited supervisors like Rhett. Ava was somehow able to break through that barrier, it seems.”
I was too shocked to speak.
“What the f—” Rhett shot up and socked the back of his chair.
Ozzie dropped his jaw.
Reyna jumped out of her seat and stumbled back, but Tamara sat, grounded, her features unreadable.
Zen shook his head. “I didn’t want to say until I knew for sure. Now that you know, we’ll deal with the situation later, but first our goal is to bring down ISAN.”
Zen was right. Bringing down ISAN should be our first priority, but this revelation would hang over us like a dark cloud. He had done the right thing by telling us when the evidence was absolute, but damn. Taking our memories and implanting false ones to ensure our loyalty to ISAN was no better than controlling our bodies, making us complicit in our own captivity. They were both beyond forgivable. Inhumane.
Reyna planted her hands on the desk as if she needed something to hold her upright. “Let me get this straight. It’s possible for ISAN to take away memories of my family and implant a new one?”
“Yes,” Zen answered.
Reyna dropped her head and shook.
Zen squared his eyes on mine. “Ava, as you know, I took blood samples.” He paused briefly to eye Brooke when her monitor beeped. “I have information about your twin. I believe this is a topic I should share with you first.” He rose and looked at each of us. “It’s been a long day and I’ve given you a lot to process.” He turned to me. “Ava, I’ll be in my office.”
Zen gave a curt nod to Rhett and walked out.
Ava
After I nearly had a stroke and a heart attack, everyone left me alone except for Rhett. He led me back to the other room. He scooted two chairs on the floor, facing each other.
“Let’s talk it through. What are you thinking?”
“I-I-I don’t know. These abilities ... these abilities women have. It’s something you’d see in a movie or on TV shows. What Zen said, it doesn’t seem real. How can Verlot ...?” I clutched my hands together in my lap, trembling under a mountainous rage. Too heavy. Every word I wanted to express clogged in my throat.
“I know. It’s hard to take it all in.” Rhett stroked a hand down my hair. “It’s okay if you want to wait, but sometimes talking about it helps. You know what I mean?”
“Yes.” I pressed my lips together, attempting to coerce my thoughts into words that were somewhat cohesive. Rhett said we could talk later, but I was so far beyond furious I had no hesitation. “These women have the right to know. It’s their bodies. Their minds. They should’ve been told. Women finally got equal pay and job opportunities, but keeping this knowledge from them is like taking away all those rights. To say it’s wrong would be too kind. ISAN, the entire network, is based on taming the power of these girls, girls like me. They didn’t want us to know the truth. They wanted to use us.” I laughed. “Because nothing ever changes.”
My face burned. No, my entire body shook. All the deception, oppression, and wrongdoing by Verlot.
“Taking memories away and leaving behind bullshit lies. I can’t even put into words.” I fisted both hands in my hair and suppressed a scream. “How could they? Why? I can’t stop wondering what memories are real and what’s ISAN filth. And what if I didn’t have the ability to ... what if I never remembered my life, or you?”
I peered up to meet his gaze, just as concerned and furious as mine.
“I know.” Rhett cupped my hands between his. “This is a delicate matter. We can’t just announce what ISAN did, especially since ISAN doesn’t exist. And if it got out, I’m worried how society would handle it. Will they look at every woman and wonder if they are special? How would others treat them?”
I eased my stiff shoulders and sighed. “I know. You’re right. We need to respect their privacy. If I were a citizen living a normal life and I had the mutation, I wouldn’t want others to know, just so they wouldn’t treat me differently or be afraid of me. There must be individuals out there showing signs of superhuman powers and keeping it to themselves because they’re afraid. We need to reach out, set up a secret organization to help them, or at least help them understand what happened to them.”
Rhett patted my hand and kissed the back of it. “You’re right. When this is all over, we’ll set it up together. And I know our friends will want to help.”
Though this knowledge would haunt me, knowing we could do something about it made me feel a whole lot better. First things first—we had to bring down ISAN.
“I’d like that. Together.” I smiled, a thin-lipped one.
Rhett tilted his head as if he suddenly remembered something. “I have a question I’ve been wanting to ask. You stopped those bullets at Mitch’s apartment, didn’t you? You saved our lives.”
I had tried not to think of what I’d done that day, but the way Rhett looked at me with reverence and not suspicion or disgust had me almost smiling.
I dropped my hands to my side. “Yeah. I did, but I don’t know how I did it. I think desperation and fear. The thought of you, Oz, Reyna, and Cleo falling to your deaths ignited something inside me. I never had the chance to explore it after that.”
Rhett nodded his understanding. “It’s okay. When you feel up to it, you should try again. Not stopping bullets of course. Something small, like moving a chair or taking a gun away from me, and then move to something bigger. Doing more than your body is ready for might cause you to faint or lose control.”
Yeah. I know the feeling.
“Okay.”
He nailed it. I recalled fainting, but I didn’t mention it.
“I have good news to share in light of all that has happened.”
“What is it?”
“We were able to save some of the southern rebels, and you’re not going to believe this, but they’re young. Very young. Like twelve and thirteen.”
My mouth widened, unexpected joy filling me. I’d wanted to ask about them when I had a chance, but he’d beaten me to it.
“That’s wonderful. Mr. Novak made it sound like he wiped them out. But he likes to make himself seem invincible.”
Rhett drew his eyebrows together, pain in his eyes. “There were deaths, too many, but we did save lives. One of the girls is kind of a pain in my ass sometimes, but very brave.” He let out a light chuckle. “She said something to me. I didn’t think an
ything of it at the time, but she said she didn’t need Helix and that she had natural ability. I saw her in action. Quite impressive. We should talk to her when you’re ready. Maybe we can get some questions answered.”
“Okay.”
Rhett spread out his legs to pull me in closer. “Are you ready to find out who your twin is?”
I met his warm amber eyes that put me under his spell every time. I could lose myself in them and float away.
“Yes. I’ve been ready. But a part of me doesn’t want to know. I can’t believe I’m going to admit this, but I’m so scared.”
Rhett pulled back, looking at me as if I were a stranger. “Ava, scared? Now that’s a first.”
Rhett chuckled, his chest shaking. It took every bit of my will to push away the image of us in our pretend home, and the urge to kiss him at that moment. His sinister grin and the five o’clock shadow lining his jaw overthrew my rational thoughts.
Rhett matched his forehead against mine and dropped his voice. “I thought I’d lost you. You gave me a huge scare. You’re going to owe me for that.”
I lifted my chin and draped my arms around his shoulders. “Oh, don’t worry. I’m going to give you plenty.” My flirtatious attempt fell totally flat, and from the somber expression on Rhett’s face, I knew he felt it.
“Brooke is going to be okay. We’ll go together and get the things Zen needs tomorrow. It’s almost nine. You need your rest.”
“Okay.”
Rhett gave me a beautiful smile. “I’m so happy. I can’t believe you’re here for good.”
I opened my eyes, breathless. “Yes. I’m happy, too.”
I sounded like a lovesick fool, and though I felt guilty for having these wonderful feelings while Brooke was in a coma, I told myself Rhett deserved it at least. He had gone through hell and back for me. He merited my attention, my affection. He deserved to be happy. I didn’t want to kill the moment.
He stroked a knuckle down my face. “You must be hungry. I’ll get you something to eat. Would you like to come with me?”