Kailynn leaned forward and kissed the Golden Elite gently. She backed away and her thumbs ran over Isa’s cheeks.
“You’re unlike anything else on this planet,” she said with a small smile. “Don’t try to change that. Be exactly what you are.”
Isa closed her eyes, lowering her head.
“I don’t know what that is,” she murmured.
Kailynn pushed Isa’s head up and looked at her seriously.
“Yes, you do.”
The house was quite full that morning. Rayal and Remus had both stayed at Anon Tower—Rayal to watch over Tarah and Remus at Isa’s request. Isa seemed surprised when she saw the number of people in the living room. She spared a glance at the floor near the bar, but quickly turned away, relieved that Remus distracted her.
He pulled her into a quick hug that had Kailynn scowling.
“Are you feeling alright?”
“No,” Isa said, shaking her head.
“Paul called this morning,” Remus said. “He’ll be here soon.”
Isa could only nod, looking at the worried faces around her.
“Does everyone in the Syndicate know?”
“Don’t worry about that right now.”
“Then everyone knows,” she concluded. “And the people? Have they heard about it?”
“…I’m afraid so,” Rayal admitted.
“How viral is it?”
“Considerably,” Rayal admitted. “But the information is splintered and very few reports are remotely close to the truth. Many are saying that he went insane.”
“That’s the best report for damage control,” Remus added. “If we say that he went insane, then we can discount his treason against Venus as mad ravings and that there is no means to shut her down.”
Isa let out a broken chuckle.
“You want to lie?”
Remus blinked at the Golden Elite.
“What are you talking about?”
“Maki created a backup power system,” Isa said. “I don’t know the details, of course, but he said he created a system—the Aren System.”
“…do you think he actually did?” the Silver Elite breathed.
“I don’t know,” Isa sighed. “I’m not sure I want to know. That’s only a small part of attempting to shut down Venus, and you know that.”
Remus lowered his head.
“Then he didn’t find a way to save your life?”
“What?” Kailynn said quickly, turning to Isa.
“Isa?” Rayal asked, his eyes wide.
“Well done, Remus,” Isa said dryly, turning away from the group and walking into the kitchen. Everyone followed.
“What is he talking about?” Kailynn demanded.
“The reason we never shut down Venus is because we knew she would die,” Remus said.
“Are you trying to get a treason charge put on your head as well?” Isa asked sharply, glaring at Remus. “You can’t reveal these sorts of things.”
“I’m trying to understand how far Maki got in figuring out how to remove her.”
“Remus! There is no way to destroy her!” Isa snapped, rounding on him after grabbing a bottle of water. “Accept it!”
Everyone in the doorway of the kitchen went silent, staring at the Golden Elite. Isa sighed heavily and leaned against the counter of the kitchen.
“Look,” she said slowly, “I know that we always discussed taking down Venus, but I’m more concerned about Gihron breathing down my neck and threatening war. Taking down Venus when things are this unstable in the Altereye System would be suicidal. No one in the Alliance would come to our aid, not once Venus is shut down. They wouldn’t know how to respond. And I doubt that Maki found a way to shut her down without killing me, so you would be the one to lead the people through a war with Gihron and a planetary reform that would likely kill half the population of the planet.”
Isa took a deep drink of water, closing her eyes and letting out a long breath.
“That’s it, then?” Remus asked.
Isa shrugged, her eyes averted to the floor.
“We have to submit to the reality of the situation.”
Remus stared at Isa.
“You’re doing it again,” he whispered.
“Doing what?” Isa challenged.
Remus shook his head and turned away, walking out of the kitchen.
Isa sighed heavily and took another drink of water.
“Isa,” Kailynn said, stepping forward, “he’s just trying to understand. We want to help you, no matter what you decide.”
“You can start by getting off my back about making decisions,” Isa near-growled, walking out of the kitchen, pushing past a surprised Kailynn and speechless Rayal and Tarah.
“Isa,” Kailynn called after her, walking back into the living room once more. When the Golden Elite did not answer, continuing to walk toward the balcony doors, Kailynn felt her own anger swell. “Isa!”
“What, Kailynn?” Isa groaned, turning around, her eyes cold.
“How dare you treat us like this?” she snapped. “We’re just trying to help!”
“How do you expect to help?” Isa snarled. “What do you know about any of this?”
“I know that there is something about this that you’re not telling me, because you are so fucking defensive, it’s clear you’re hiding something.”
Isa spread her arms, her tone going dark.
“But apparently, you all know more about me than I do, because I’m not acting as I should, or as I once did, or however the fuck you think I should act!”
“What the hell is wrong with you?!”
“Kailynn,” Remus said, quickly walking up to her, “don’t push it. She’s impossible to talk to when she’s like this.”
Isa’s arms lowered.
“When I’m like what?”
“When you are trying to act like an Elite,” Remus said sharply.
“I am an Elite, which is more than I can say for you.”
Tarah turned away, lifting her hands to her cover her nose and mouth. Rayal walked over to her and hugged her once more.
“It will be alright,” he assured.
“You really are going to let this happen again?” Remus growled. “You’re going to start pulling this shit once more? You feel guilty and hurt, so you need to push everyone away? Isa, we’re not going anywhere.”
“You don’t know the first thing about how I feel!”
A chime at the door caused everyone to turn as a man walked into the home.
Kailynn’s eyes shot wide and she found herself staring, unable to look away.
The man who walked through the door was the most handsome man she had ever seen in her life. He was tall with thick, wavy brown hair pulled away from his sharp features. His eyes were a stunning dark blue and his jaw was sharp and defined. His well-built frame was accented in just the right way by his professional suit. Kailynn continued to stare, unable to immediately take in the stunning good looks the man possessed.
“Sounds like I arrived just in time,” he chuckled, his voice calm, but strong. His white teeth were also perfect as he smiled gently. “Isa, perhaps it would be better if you only spoke to me today.”
Isa groaned and turned away, walking out onto the balcony as the man stepped further into the room, setting down his briefcase on the coffee table.
“Paul,” Remus greeted, letting out a relieved sigh. He shook the doctor’s hand, shaking his head. “She’s doing it again. It’s the exact same thing she did when Colonel Amori was here.”
“Well, the situations are quite similar,” Paul said. “She’s trying to protect herself.”
“They’re not similar.”
“Yes, they are,” Paul disagreed with a gentle smile. “She did something against her duty to protect the few she loves.” The doctor turned his vivid blue eyes on Kailynn. She felt weak in the knees, her cheeks flushing. She had to turn away. He was too handsome to bear.
“Yes. Kailynn, this is Dr. Paul Arre, the
leading doctor in Elite Psychology,” Remus introduced. “Paul, this is Kailynn.”
“Yes, I’ve heard of you,” Paul said, extending a hand, his palm up.
Slowly, trying to keep from shaking, she took his hand, but was startled when he leaned down and kissed the back of her hand. When he backed away, Kailynn was worried he would hear her heart pounding.
“You may call me Paul.”
“O-okay,” she said meekly, her eyes averted.
“Whatever Isa said to you, or if she said anything that hurt you, I want you to try and disregard it,” he said. “Elites have a complicated way of defending themselves psychologically. What happened last night opened many wounds from five years ago. You know about that, yes?”
“Uh, no, not exactly,” Kailynn said. “A little bit.”
“I see,” Paul said, his eyes were looking over the cuts on Kailynn’s shoulder and chest. “Michael really should look at those,” he said, motioning to the injuries.
“Tarah treated them,” Kailynn said, shaking her head.
“Yes, but I would feel better if he took a look at them.”
“You should go see Isa first,” Kailynn said quietly, glancing at the balcony where the Elite was leaning against the railing.
Paul glanced at her as he touched his ear to activate his phone.
“She’ll need to cool off a bit before she listens to anything I have to say,” he chuckled lightly. “Michael Busen.” He turned to his briefcase and opened it, revealing a few glass bottles and syringes. “Michael, it’s me,” he said when the other doctor answered the phone. “What does your schedule look like today?”
He listened to the other man as he pulled out a few bottles, setting them on the table.
“I see, but you’re planning to come over here?” He unwrapped a syringe. “Well, Kailynn has a few cuts. I didn’t get a good look at Isa’s wounds before she stormed out to the balcony.” He chuckled brokenly. “About as well as you’d expect,” he answered, dipping the syringe into one bottle and pulling back the plunger. “I’m going to give her a mild sedative, so she’ll probably be more cooperative when you get here.”
He laughed again.
“Okay, thank you. Bye.”
He tapped his ear again and unwrapped another syringe.
“You’re going to drug her?” Kailynn asked, surprised.
“Do you want to deal with her as she is now?” Paul asked with a smile. “Don’t worry, it’s just a way to get her to calm down. If we can keep her quiet for a day or so, she’ll start to feel better. She’s too spun up right now.”
He filled the second syringe and returned the bottles to his briefcase.
“I’m going out there,” he said. “I don’t know how long we’ll be, but I suggest you don’t come out. I’ll bring her in when she’s doing a little better. Michael is will be coming around in an hour or two to look at both of your wounds.”
“Thank you, Paul,” Remus said quietly.
The tall, handsome doctor flashed his smile once more and nodded.
“You probably should make an appointment, too,” he said with a chuckle. Remus smiled as well.
“Probably.”
Paul went out to the balcony, Kailynn’s eyes following him.
“That’s Paul?” she asked, her eyes widening again.
“Yes,” Remus said, confused. “Why are you surprised?”
“Hey,” Rayal said, snapping his fingers in front of Tarah’s face, forcing her to look away from Dr. Arre as he stood next to Isa outside.
“Huh?”
“Why are you staring at him?” Rayal asked.
“Why wouldn’t I?” Tarah breathed.
The week after Maki’s death was rough on everyone in Isa’s home. Dr. Busen had arrived a half-hour after Paul had left and double-checked their wounds, though he said that they were properly treated and complimented Tarah’s work. He also gave the sleeping Isa a short medical exam, checking her blood pressure and heart rate—“just to be sure,” he said.
Remus stayed for only two days before he returned to the Syndicate. Isa started to come around by the middle of the week, though her eyes still remained dark and she seemed uninterested in eating. Paul came over every day and they went to the balcony and spoke alone, sometimes for hours, while Kailynn waited impatiently inside.
Even though she tried to let go of the way Isa acted the day after Maki’s death, Isa’s actions startled and confused her so much that Kailynn found herself becoming angrier. On the fourth day of Paul’s visit, when Isa came into the living room once more, she sighed heavily and sat on the couch next to Kailynn. Paul excused himself quietly.
“Kailynn,” Isa started, turning to face the younger woman. Kailynn looked at the Elite, her jaw clenching to be sure she would not yell at Isa out of frustration. “I want to apologize.”
“Good.”
“I’m trying to get my thoughts straight,” Isa whispered, flinching away from the sharp tone of Kailynn’s voice. “I killed one of my best friends four days ago,” she murmured, her eyes dropping. “I keep trying to think of ways I could have acted that would have saved his life. I feel so guilty, it physically hurts.”
“I thought Elites couldn’t feel emotion,” Kailynn noted.
“…they can’t,” Isa affirmed. “When an Elite can, they’re considered degenerate. And that’s what Maki would have been killed for.”
“…are you?”
“According to all the tests I’ve been through, no, I’m not a degenerate,” Isa said. “They can’t figure out what’s wrong with me.” The Golden Elite looked at Kailynn seriously. “I am sorry if I hurt you. I’m just very confused and worried about everything going on right now. I did not mean to lash out.”
Kailynn took a deep breath.
“Don’t push me away, Isa,” she said. “You and I are both risking everything just by being together. If we can’t depend on each other, there is no reason to be risking our lives like this.”
Isa sighed, lowering her eyes.
“You’re right.”
“If you do that to me again, I’m going to call you out on your bullshit,” Kailynn warned.
“I would hope so,” Isa said with a smile.
The following day, Isa returned to work, as did Rayal and Kailynn.
Kailynn never thought she would enjoy working with the Syndicate Intelligence Agency, and she did struggle with her limited reading and writing abilities, but she was learning quickly, and she started to enjoy working for Rayal, even if most of the time she was only running errands.
Things seemed to be returning to normal, slowly.
Kailynn never asked how the other Elites were handling Maki’s death. She did not want to bring up that night. It had frightened her, and she could see the way Isa’s eyes darkened whenever it was discussed. The wounds were too fresh to be immediately addressed.
However, a week after Maki was killed, there was a crash reported in Trid that put the entire Syndicate on alert and turned the attention away from Maki.
Kailynn came back from dropping off files at the various desks of the other employees and saw Rayal staring pensively at the screen.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
“Do you know the area around Raizen Lake in Trid?” he asked.
“Yeah, why?”
“There was a drone that crashed there about an hour ago,” he said pointing to the red dot flashing on his screen.
“A drone? Like a spy?”
“Possibly,” he admitted. “I need you to come with me. I don’t know the area.”
“The lake is huge,” Kailynn said, walking closer to the screen. “Where is the Walking District on this?”
Rayal pointed.
“So it was close to the Walking District,” she noted. “Does that mean it was a spy drone?”
“The only way to find out is to retrieve it,” Rayal said, standing.
They drove silently to the border of the Walking District, where Rayal parked the car an
d the two joined the tourists on the streets, walking with their heads down and glasses covering their faces, trying not to be noticed.
Kailynn led the way into Trid, ducking into an alley that allowed them to slip carefully past the border patrol.
Once in Trid, Rayal turned to Kailynn, following her lead.
“Isa apologized?”
Kailynn dropped her gaze and nodded slowly.
“Yeah…”
“You don’t seem to have accepted her apology,” he noted.
“I have,” she said. “I just wish I knew what the hell was going on half the time. I feel like she doesn’t trust me.”
“She trusts you,” Rayal assured.
“Then why won’t she tell me what happened with Colonel Amori?” Kailynn snapped. “She’s dealing with Gihron again, right? Wasn’t he from Gihron?”
“He was,” Rayal said with a nod.
“Then I feel like I should know.”
“I agree,” Rayal murmured. “But I can’t tell you everything she endured, because I don’t know. She never told me everything. She never told Remus, either. I’m sure Paul and Dr. Busen are the only two who know.”
“Then what did he do to you?” Kailynn pressed.
Rayal closed his eyes briefly.
“He poisoned me,” he said simply.
“Poisoned you?”
“Slowly, over the course of four months, or so,” Rayal said. “He was trying to take over the planet, and he knew the only way to do that was to have complete control over Isa. So, he made sure to manipulate everything he could to ensnare Isa in a trap. She was being blackmailed by the time she realized what he was doing.” Rayal took a deep breath. “I didn’t realize what was happening, either. I just started to feel ill and it kept getting worse. I would lose hours of the day. I would just black out. I didn’t realize until it was far too late…until the damage was already done.”
“What damage?”
“You thought Isa was bad last week?” Rayal said, looking at Kailynn with his eyebrows high. “Imagine her acting like that all day, every day, for months, and you have no idea why. You try to ask her what’s wrong, and she just…pushes you away. I didn’t realize that Colonel Amori was the reason until…”
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