by Valia Lind
"What is this?" I finally snap, aware that I'm letting them see how they're getting to me. What wouldn't I give to have a comm device right about now. Having Logan create a distraction so I can get out of here seems like the best idea. I want to walk away from them. This isn't going exactly how I planned.
"What's wrong, Anastasia?" Barbara asks, circling me like a hunter looking for her prey. "Don't you remember all the lovely times we've spent together?"
Glaring at her, I shake the uncertainty away and keep my eyes hard. No matter how much her voice is a clue I can't quite place, I'm not about to allow them to play me.
"I'm here to tell you that you're done," I state, keeping my gaze steady on Barbara and Foster. "Whatever plan you think you have, whatever you try to do, I'm going to finish you. Once and for all."
"And why not do it right here and right now?" Foster asks, standing up next to Barbara. I would end him right now, it's all that I want to do. But without having all the facts on the table, I can't kill him and think that I've cut the head off the snake. Also, I'm no longer on a suicide mission. I want to live. I want to end Foster and this whole company and I want a life. A real life. Killing him right now will mean that I'll never get out of here alive.
So many variables and now I consider all of them. Meeting Logan, going through what I went through with the drug, my emotions are now a real thing in my life. I think about the outcomes as they pertain to more than just myself.
"Killing you is not the same as ending you, John." I say, curling my lips up in a small smile. Foster shifts uncomfortably beside Barbara and it's so small that I almost miss it. I got to him and that's a victory that I will take.
A commotion in the other room breaks up whatever else we were going to say. I glance back at Foster but he doesn't look surprised. Turning, he ushers Barbara to the door she came through, while I stand, frozen in the middle of the room.
After Barbara walks through, Foster stops and looks over his shoulder. "Not everything is as it seems, Miss Snow. You shouldn't forget that." And with that, he walks through the door, leaving me behind.
21.
TASIA
Honestly, a part of me expected him to kidnap me again. More people scream, the commotion growing into panic by the second. Glancing around myself, I wonder if there's something in here I need, or can use. But before I begin my search, Lucas rushes into the room.
"I need to get you to Logan." He reaches for my hand, pulling me behind him, and I'm too stunned to argue.
When we enter the main room, we enter chaos. Apparently, no Kallos Enterprises event can be anything but madness now days. People are running from one side of the room to the other, screaming as if the whole place is on fire. I have no idea what caused the panic, but they're all trying to get out, while Lucas pulls me farther in. We take two steps before sirens start blaring.
"What's going on?" I shout to be heard over the noise.
"A bomb threat. The security didn't handle it well."
That's an understatement of the year. It's like they wanted to make everyone in this place flee in terror. That makes me pause. Lucas grunts as I stop right in the middle of the room, yanking me towards him. I allow my body to flow into the movement, just so I can deliver a nice punch to his gut. Holding him to me, as if I'm comforting him, I say into his ear,
"Don't manhandle me again."
He nods, half bent at the waist and I see respect in his eyes. A couple bumps into us then, separating us for a second and now I'm the one to grab his hand. I pull him to the side, hoping to avoid most of the stampede.
"Lucas, where's Logan?"
"He's at the side of the house. The door locks from the inside, so he can't get back in."
"Okay, good," I state, glancing around me again. Because that means he's safe for the time being and will wait for me there.
"We need to go," Lucas say, looking over his shoulder in panic. I follow his line of sight when it lands on a man that's much larger than those around him. Even though I've never seen him before, he carries himself in a familiar way that I can't quite place.
"Come on, Tasia. I can't help you if he catches us." Lucas's voice snaps my attention back to him and that's when I realize who the man is.
"That's the general."
Lucas nods, making sure not to turn around again and I watch the big man make his way through the throng of people, looking for something. Or someone. For the moment, Lucas and I are hidden in the shadows, but it won't be long until he'll see us.
"You can't risk being found out," I say, making a decision on the spot. "If you know right from wrong, you know Kallos is wrong. But so is the general and everything he stands for. I know I've given you no reason to trust me, but you trust Logan, right? Listen to what he has to say."
Lucas watches me, trying to understand where I'm going with this, before he finally nods.
"Good," I'm pleased that, for at least this moment, he's on my side. "I need you to get Logan out of here before the general sees him." Lucas's eyes round in understanding.
"I'm not leaving you here," he says.
"You are. I need to have a talk with the general and I can't have Logan in danger. He's already risked too much by staying a double agent. If the company finds out he's anything but company, he's dead. That's not acceptable."
"What exactly am I supposed to tell him?" Lucas asks.
"Tell him that I threatened to take you apart, limb by limb." He looks at me like he thinks I'm kidding, before the reality sets in. He doesn't even bother commenting, but turns to go. When he's two feet away, he turns back.
"What are you going to do?" he asks.
"I'm going to go introduce myself," I reply.
LOGAN
She should've been here by now.
I pace outside the door, cursing it for only opening one way. When the mass exodus began, Lucas pushed me out the door and told me to wait while he went and got Tasia. Now, I'm basically pinned in with police on one side, the company on the other. There's no doubt in my mind that they're here.
The bomb threat is too clean for them, so I'm thinking Foster might've organized it himself. He needs the sympathy of the public if he's to make any kind of a progress and by playing this right, he can get that sympathy. This also provides him with a perfect way to get out of meeting the general. If his sources are as good as he always claimed, he knew the general would be coming. Regardless of what the general said. It's always a game of cat and mouse with people like them.
The door opens suddenly, and I'm guard a second before I realize it's Lucas. And he's alone.
"Where is she?" I half yell, advancing on him. He holds up his hands in surrender, taking a step back.
"She wouldn't come. She's going to talk to him, Logan."
I don't even need to ask who he means. Pure panic courses through my body and it takes everything in me not to burst in there half cocked.
"Logan, don't do anything foolish," Freddie's voice sounds over the comm and he's like a voice of reason in my head. One that I would rather not have at the moment.
"I can't just leave her in there," I snap in reply, trying to come up with some sort of a plan.
"No, but you told her you'll trust her to do what she deems right. Isn't that what your heart to heart was about earlier?" Ugh, I really hate that they heard all that. Now, they'll hold me accountable to it too. And themselves for that matter. They have to let her go too. I seem to be forgetting that fact.
"You need to get out of here," Lucas says, brining my attention back to him. "I need to get back to Foster and you need to let her do her thing." He doesn't wait for me to respond before he salutes me and runs into the crowd.
I stay by the door, weighing my options. The best one would be to get somewhere I can monitor what's going on inside and be there if Tasia needs help.
"Calen, find me a good vantage point, out of the way."
There are a few moments of silence, then Calen's voice comes over the radio. "There's a parking garag
e in construction straight south of your location."
I can't see if from my position, but I trust him. Rushing over to the crowd, I keep my face low and get lost in the mob. Police are pulling up on scene now and they'll want to question everyone, so I slip to the side and past the parking lot. It's the long way around, but at least I'll be free. The moment I round the building, I see the parking lot Calen was talking about. It's about two building lengths down and far enough that it shouldn't be disturbed right now.
"Are you still in the system?" I ask, making my way to the lot. It's more difficult than I anticipated, walking away from her, but I make myself do it. I can't help her if I'm caught.
"Yes. No audio, but the cameras are still online."
"Find her."
Calen doesn't question me further and I don't say anything else. They understand just what's at stake here. I know I shouldn't be blaming myself, but it's the only thing I can do at this point. Tasia would've taken poorly to being locked in a room, but at least I would know she's safe. I really need to stop thinking that I control any part of what she does.
"The main room is mostly cleared out. I don't see her." Calen's voice speaks up in my ear and my heard thuds as if making sure I'm paying attention.
"So where is she?"
"Maybe he got her out while everyone was exiting?"
"Not possible. She would've put up a fight and someone would've seen something. They're still in there. Keep checking."
I climb the stairs, going up to the third floor, as far as the stairs go. Being here feels too far away. I should be there, by her side, regardless of consequences. But of course, that's not how the world works. We can't control every aspect of our lives. We definitely cannot control other people or how they act. Frustration runs through me and it's all I can do not to lose it completely.
"They're in the northwest side of the house," Calen's voice sounds in my ear and my heart speeds up.
"Are they leaving?"
"No, they seem to be stationary at the moment."
Turning to look over the side of the railing, I watch as more officers arrive on the scene. I wouldn't be surprised if a large number of them is on either Foster or the general's paycheck. Especially in a situation like this.
"Calen," I call out, something bugging me. "Who sounded the alarm on the bomb?"
There's another few moments of silence as Calen pulls up the reports and calls before he answers.
"No name given on the call, but the voice is male. And it definitely came from inside the house."
"What did he say?"
"Let me patch it in." Calen works his magic and then I hear a woman's voice in my ear.
"911, where is your emergency?"
"River's Ranch." The voice that answers isn't familiar, but it also doesn't sound scared. He's stating the facts as if he would be talking to me face to face.
"Okay, what is the emergency?
"There's a bomb here. It says it's going off in less than thirty minutes. Please, someone help."
"We're sending someone now." The operator replies. "Can you give me any other information?"
"No, I'm scared." But he doesn't sound scared. Not even a little bit. The operator is trying to talk to him, but he hangs up before he says anything else.
"That's all we have," Calen's voice comes back over the comm.
"What time did he call?"
"It came in at 20:21." I glance down at my own watch, it's now 20:32. That's good response time. Especially in the city. But something is still not sitting right with me.
"How did the people at the event know about the bomb?" I ask, keeping my eyes on the scene below. People are being moved farther away from the blast zone, as the special units prepare to go in.
"I'm not sure. One minute, everything was fine on the screens and the next, people were running."
I mull over the information, my mind separated into what happened and what's happening now with Tasia. I would love to have a direct line into what was being said in there. Knowing what the general is doing would be helpful as well.
"Wait, Calen. When did the mass exodus begin?" I ask. There's a pause and then his voice comes over the line.
"20:26."
I stand up a little straighter at that. However called it in waited another five minutes before alerting the rest of the room. Why? What was the purpose in waiting? If there is a bomb, it would've put people in more harm, but I really don't believe that there is one. It seems more like a set up to me and I'm not quite sure what it's supposed to do.
"Logan," Freddie's voice sounds in my ear. "The cameras arrived at 20:25 to broadcast the event." And that's all I need to hear. Foster is behind this, but why is still the question. He wanted to make it public, I understand that. But having the cameras here to witness the bomb threat doesn't help the company. Does it?
"None of this makes sense," I say out loud. I receive no response, because they don't have any answers either. I look over the barrier one more time, wishing I had some superhuman hearing that could get me inside that room.
Why was the general still here and what was he doing with Tasia?
22.
TASIA
The room clears out quickly. People have a tendency to overreact, but it's especially true in an emergency. One whisper of a situation and the whole place panics. But not the general.
I have basic information about him. From what I remember overhearing from both Foster and Uncle Freddie, the general is the main person of interest when it comes to the Company.
They're an elite branch of the government contractors, like Navy Seals who operate on foreign soil and for specific missions. That's where my knowledge of them ends. They stay to the shadows. They do their job well. But Calen told me they were responsible for the bombing of the previous event and that they want the drug for themselves. Now, here they are at another Kallos event and a bomb threat is issued. As intimidating as they may be, they're not very inventive.
The general notices me the moment I begin making my way to him. His eyes flash with pleasure at seeing me here and I can't miss the familiarity I feel when I look at him. There's something about him that's too recognizable to me and I wonder where I know him from. He doesn't move toward me, stopping on the side of the room and waiting for me to come to him.
"General, to what do we owe the pleasure?" I ask, coming up to stand ten feet in front of him. My voice is cool, controlled, and I can honestly say this man does not intimidate me. Maybe it's the left over drugs making me braver, or maybe I'm just that calloused to men with big guns now. Either way, I give him a cool smile and see his eyes flash again.
"Anastasia Snow. You are a difficult girl to come by." His voice is also a memory I can't place and I wonder if our paths have crossed before. My memory isn't as good as it used to be, but I know I haven't seen his picture on paper. That I would've remembered.
"What can I say?" I shrug, keeping my motions elegant. None threatening. "I'm in high demand these days."
"I was wondering if Foster lost you." The general says, studying me carefully, and that's when I realize he has no idea I'm me again. He thinks I'm still under the control of the drug and I can use that to my advantage. Not that I need help being ruthless, but he doesn't know that.
"I'm a busy girl, general, and I don't like my time wasted. Why are you here?" Placing one hand on my hip, I stare him down. There's power in me and I'm not afraid to use it. He'll see it, if he doesn't already.
"I was hoping for a quick word with Mr. Foster," the general says, keeping a close eye on me.
"In case you haven't noticed, there's a bomb threat in the building. Mr. Foster is unavailable at the moment."
A part of me thinks Foster is behind the bomb threat. It would be just the thing to do to boost ratings. "Do gooders" are always attacked for their work and he wants to be seen as one. Getting out of here before the Company arrived is just an unexpected perk. Foster is not that smart to have so much foresight.
"Kallos doe
sn't seem to have too many friends, do they?" the general asks, moving a tad closer to me. The other three men with him spread out in a circle around me, keeping me in the center. I can tell by the way they study me that I'm not a threat to them. One of the men to my left is particularly obnoxious about his open leering. I think I'll have to take him out first.
"What do you want?" I ask, keeping my attention on the general. His familiarity is unnerving me just a tad, not that I'm about to show it. The general studies me for a long moment before finally replying.
"I want the drug. Let's not beat around the bush. Foster isn't the right man to make an impact with as much power as the drug possesses."
"You think you can do better?" I have to laugh at that and the sounds doesn't sit well with the general. He's not used to people disrespecting him so easily. His shoulders tense for just a moment, but I don't miss anything.
"I know I can do better."
"Selling it to the highest bidder, you mean?" He's angry at my interruptions, and it's taking a lot for him not to lash out. I've been around enough of men like him to understand his sadistic attitude.
"You're nothing but a puppet, Anastasia," the general snaps, his eyes full of that closely controlled rage. "Don't think that just because you're important to Foster that you're untouchable."
And that's what it all comes down to. He wants me just as much as Foster does. I'm his ticket into whatever this drug is and whether or not he knew I'd be here, the general isn't planning on leaving without me. His goons move in closer, surrounding me from all exit points, but I'm not afraid. I'm exhilarated. It's been too long since I've had a proper fight.
"I'm untouchable because I say so," I smile sweetly, keeping my attention on the general. "I don't need anyone's protection."
"Not even Logan's?" the moment the general asks the question, my mind is filled with Logan. But I don't show an ounce of that on my face. It's important that the general thinks I'm indifferent to him, because that's what the drug made me to be. He's playing with me, trying to find the right buttons to push, but I'm not some weakling.