Turner was dialing his cell phone. He put it on speakerphone.
“Hello?” General Clifton’s voice came through the cell phone in a casual tone.
“Harry? What on earth are you doing with my wife?” Turner accused abbrasively.
“Excuse me? What are you talking about? What would I want with Roberta?” Clifton sounded irritated.
He put on a good show. If Kala hadn’t known for certain that he had taken Roberta, she might have believed him.
Turner shook his head. “I know you have her, Harry. Let her go and I’ll forget this ever happened.”
“Where is this coming from? Why would Roberta be at the Compound anyway? I’m telling you the truth. I don’t know where she is.” Clifton’s sincerity was flawless.
This guy was good.
Turner wasn’t easily fooled though. “You’re honestly going to sit there and lie to me?” He paused, not sure how to proceed. Then his anger erupted, “Deny it all you want, but I have my sources and I know you’ve taken her. If you harm one hair on her head, they’ll never find your body.” He hung up.
The fire in his expression was something Kala had never seen in Turner. It was murderous. He’d rip Clifton from limb-to-limb to save Roberta and wouldn’t think twice about it. Seeing that look made Kala grasp that his love for his wife was the only motivation he needed to kill innocents in the future she’d witnessed. If Roberta’s life was on the line, there was nothing Turner wouldn’t do, of that Kala was certain. He had said as much when she asked him what he would have done if his mission had been to kill Roberta. I’d let it burn.
And he would.
Right now, Turner looked like he was going to burn Clifton to the ground.
“You’re positive Harry has her?” Turner already knew the answer, but he needed to hear it.
“Roberta told me herself.” Kala tapped her head.
“Well, you heard him. He’s denying the whole thing. He’s always been jealous and he’s always wanted her for himself. He’s going to try and keep her like a possession. The man is insane.”
Kala wondered why Turner would have worked with Clifton for so long if he really felt that way, but power created odd bedfellows. Time could build up resentments, destroying the strongest of friendships. If Clifton really did have feelings for Roberta before Turner came along, it must have been pretty painful to watch another man swoop in and marry her whether it was his best friend or not.
“Can’t you teleport in there?” Turner asked, his anger intensifying.
“We’re being blocked again,” Talan informed him.
“That’s why we came to you,” Kala replied. “We’re going to have to break her out. Without magic.”
Turner didn’t seem fazed by this in the least. “I’ve got a bag of tricks Clifton knows nothing about.” Focusing on Kala, his expression left no room for argument. “Roberta is the mission. I don’t care about your Atlas thing, understand? Once Roberta is safe, I’ll give you access to Fortski’s lab and you do what you need to. Are we agreed?”
Being a Titan, Kala shouldn’t have felt intimidated in the least, but the man radiated more power than Cronus. He really would rule the world. Kala envied the love Turner and Roberta had for each other. She had chosen the world instead of Jack. If Turner had been in her place, the earth would have crumbled by now. The thought stung in a way she never expected. Kala shook it from her mind and didn’t bat an eye as she said, “Roberta’s mission one. Agreed.” Going after Roberta somehow made her feel better. As if doing this would make what she did to Jack hurt less.
“I’ll let Mr. Echolls take you to my own personal Cog.” Turner motioned for the two of them to go.
Kala’s heart jumped in her throat. The Cog in the Compound was full of insanely advanced technological inventions designed solely for combat. If Turner had a Cog of his own, she was excited to see what toys he had.
Turner nodded to Talan. “You. I need your eyes. I have my own security cameras stationed around the Compound. If there are any of your angels or Titans around, you’ll be able to recognize them, correct?”
Talan’s eyes lit up. “Yes.” He looked at Kala. “I’ll gather the Grigori that passed through the portal and we’ll take care of Cronus.”
Kala was worried about whether or not the Grigori could do much to Cronus. Maybe their combined powers could at least distract him long enough for her to complete her mission and get the hell out of the Compound. Breaking in would be hard enough, but escaping would be so much easier if she could teleport Roberta and Derek to safety. “Be careful,” she said.
“You too.” Talan smiled, then walked with Turner to another room.
Kala turned back to Derek. He was grinning. “What’s that look for?”
“That guy is in love!” He laughed.
“Shut up.” Kala punched him in the arm.
“Have you beat him up yet? It seems to be a pattern with you,” Derek teased.
“You seriously suck so hard right now. Can you just take me to Turner’s Cog?” Kala smiled, but she wanted to change the subject. Even joking about Talan’s feelings for her made her uncomfortable.
Derek picked up on her mood change right away because he observed, “I get it. I never thought I’d see the day when Kala Hicks actually had feelings for someone other than friendship.”
Apparently, Kala’s face was an open book. A thought struck her: Derek never knew about her and Jack. She had never told him and he had never picked up on it. Of course, after the rollercoaster ride of the last eight days, the subject of her love life never came up. Did Derek even know that Jack was dead?
Kala stopped him in the hallway. “Derek.”
Seeing Kala’s seriousness made Derek pause. “It’s none of my business I was just teasing you…”
She shook her head. “Jack’s dead.”
He stared at her for a few moments, then nodded in acceptance. “These supernatural freaks take him out? Is that why you’re so protective of me?”
“I’m protective of you because you’re my family, but Derek…” Kala didn’t want to tell him, she wanted to blame anyone else for Jack’s murder. She couldn’t bear to see the look of disgust on Derek’s face when she admitted her guilt. Taking a deep breath, she charged forward, “I’m the supernatural freak that killed him.” The catch in her voice was unavoidable. Saying it aloud to Derek hurt her more than she could have imagined.
“Was he evil?”
It was obvious that Derek had complete faith in Kala. He trusted her judgment and if Jack needed to be killed, then he needed to be killed. It made it all the more painful for her.
“No. It was my Atlas mission. If I didn’t kill him the world would collapse. That earthquake you felt a few days ago? That was me not wanting to go through with it. I almost let the world end to keep him alive, Derek.” Kala shoved down her tears as much as she could. “I loved him.”
Instead of the hate and disappointment Kala expected to see in Derek’s eyes, she saw recognition and understanding. He could have condemned her right there, and she would have understood completely, but instead…
He hugged her.
It was the last thing Kala expected.
She clung to him, sapping out every ounce of comfort she could.
“You saved us all, Kala. Jack would be proud.”
The words were meant to reassure her, but they slashed her heart in two. The image of Jack’s lifeless body collapsing to the floor from her bullet would stay with Kala forever. And the hardest part to come to terms with was the fact that Derek was right: Jack would be proud of her. For some reason, that made it worse.
She pulled away, regaining her composure. Kala needed to keep her emotions bottled up if they were going to rescue Roberta.
But Derek wasn’t ready to let Kala off that easy. “I’m sorry about Jack.” He paused then shook his head. “I can’t believe I never saw it.”
“Lali saw it and she was a Demon.” Kala’s way of squeezing out of intense mom
ents was with humor.
“She’s a Demon?” That took Derek by surprise.
“Was.” Kala understood he had no idea that Lali was dead either.
Derek’s smile faded and Kala felt a swarm of guilt rush over her. In the span of two minutes she had told him that the other two members of their tight-knit crew were gone. Whether Lali was a Demon or not didn’t matter. They had spent enough time together that the four of them were inseparable.
Derek was all she had left.
“I didn’t mean to make light of it…” Kala was at a loss.
Derek processed his emotions the way Kala did. He took a few moments, then nodded. Slowly he cracked a small smile. “I can see the Demon thing. Lali wasn’t exactly friendly.”
Kala smiled back. “We’re okay, right?”
His expression was serious. “We’re more than okay. We’re family. You’re never getting rid of me.”
Kala didn’t bother to hide her relief as she sighed, “Good. Now, can we start this mission or not?”
Derek grinned as he led the way to Turner’s Cog. “You’re the one spilling her guts.”
“Shut up.” Kala couldn’t help but feel happy. Derek always knew her moods – when to push and when to pull back. She rubbed her hands together, readying herself for the Cog. “Let’s do this.”
After a few more hallways, they arrived at a steel metal door with a DNA scanner next to it. Derek stuck his thumb in and with a KERPLUNK, the door slowly swung open. He turned to Kala before they entered. “This stuff is insane.”
She was ready to see what toys they could use. Derek opened the door the rest of the way and motioned Kala inside.
The room was big and cluttered, not at all like the Cog in the Compound. Of course, that one was neat and orderly for secrecy, with every door sealed up, hiding what was behind it. Here, it was a free-for-all for gadgets and gizmos. The actual space was about the size and shape of a semi-truck, long and narrow. The more Kala examined the area, the more she noticed that what had seemed like a mess of wires and metal was actually a structured workspace.
“Do you know what all this stuff does?” she asked, a little jealous that Derek had free rein of Turner’s personal technology.
“About a tenth of it. A lot of these devices are still in progress, but some of them would blow your mind.” Derek smiled, then thought better of his statement. “Although with your super powers maybe it wouldn’t.” He shrugged.
Kala said playfully. “Ha, ha. Trust me, I’d rather deal with technology than my spotty teleportation skills. I kind of suck at all this stuff. I miss being a soldier.”
Derek looked thoughtful. “You’ll always be a soldier, Kala. Now you’re just a soldier in a more powerful army.”
“I guess, but I miss the days when everything was a little more black and white.”
He sighed with a laugh. “So do I. Demons, angels, gods, Titans… seriously? And you. You’re freaking Atlas. Now I know why you kept asking me if you were hallucinating. That’s how I feel all the time lately.”
“Well, I’m still not ruling out that possibility.” She shook her head. “I’m glad we’re together though.”
“Me, too.”
Derek knew his way around and led Kala directly to a metal workbench that had three pairs of goggles lying on it. The goggles were a spectacle unto themselves, they had so many tiny levers and buttons attached to them. It reminded Kala of the night vision goggles she’d used in the past, but more complicated and smaller. Next to each pair was an egg-shaped metal device the size of a thimble.
“Say hello to our eyes.” Derek grabbed a pair of the goggles and handed them to Kala. “Put them on. Let me show you.”
Kala placed them on, but all she saw was Derek standing in front of her. There was nothing special about the view through the lenses. “Should I press some buttons or something?”
“Hold on, Miss Impatience.” Derek picked up one of the metal eggs, pressing a button that opened it up.
The egg appeared empty inside which made Kala want to say something, but she waited for Derek to show her what the device did.
“Okay, now…” Derek reached over and flipped a lever on the side of Kala’s goggles.
Tiny pinpricks of red dots flowed out of the small egg.
“Nanobots.” Kala recognized.
“Phase-nanobots.” He grinned.
Kala looked up at Derek with surprise. “Like the suits?” If the nanobots were like phase-suits they’d be able to move through any wall, and being so small, no one would ever know it. She hated phase-suits with a passion. Walking through walls wasn’t a great experience; her propensity for motion sickness didn’t help much, either.
He nodded. “Those goggles not only control the bots, they’re equipped with cameras as well.”
“That’s great for seeing what we need to see, but how are we going to break in?” Kala was thrilled with having eyes in the Compound, but without teleportation, she needed some way to get inside.
Derek gave her an apologetic shrug, motioning to the wall behind them.
Hanging off two hangers were the dreaded phase-suits.
“Fantastic.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
After changing into the phase-suits, Kala remembered the last time she wore one. The night she shot the President, who happened to be the current Atlas surrogate. It wasn’t a pleasant memory, so she tried to focus on what lay ahead instead. The suit was a tight fit and every inch of her body needed to be covered. Body parts could be left behind if they were exposed, and Kala wasn’t about to let that happen. She kept the hood off for the time being so she could see better. The thin mesh that covered the face allowed for vision, but it was still a bit cloudy. Her new goggles hung loosely around her neck. If anyone saw them, they’d think they were about to go swimming, since the outfits resembled wet suits, a detail that had saved their cover many-a-times before.
Kala and Derek joined Turner and Talan in Turner’s surveillance room. The fact that this room existed in his personal residence showed Kala how paranoid the man was. Or, at least, how well-informed he was, depending on which way one looked at it. There were wall-to-wall screens, showing almost every angle of the Compound both inside and out. A long metal table with a single swivel chair was the only furniture in sight. Everywhere Kala looked, there was a different screen. With thousands of screens surrounding her, it felt as if she was inside a fly’s eye.
“Why do we need the bots if we have all this?” Kala motioned to the mass of monitors.
Turner responded, “This is only half of the Compound. There are hundreds of rooms I haven’t managed to slip a camera in. Clifton pretends not to know what I’m up to, but he’s just as duplicitous. It’s a game we play, and this time it’s to my disadvantage. He has Roberta in one of his private rooms and we need the bots to figure out which one.”
“What about Cronus? Did you spot him on the cameras?” Kala found it hard to fathom that, with all the screens she was staring at, it only showed half the Compound. She never knew how big the structure actually was.
Talan indicated one of the monitors. Sure enough, there was Cronus, dressed as a security guard, with no one giving him the time of day.
Turner pointed out, “I tried having him removed, but as you can guess, anytime anyone came near him they turned away, completely forgetting their task. Some even forgot who they were, so getting the Titans to leave won’t be easy.”
“Titans?” Kala didn’t like the sound of that.
Talan specified three more screens showing Hyperion, Themis, and Kala’s favorite, Iapetus. The three of them were spread out around the outside of the Compound. Though they were clearly visible on screen, their powers kept humans away from them. “Cronus is the strongest, so he’s staying inside in case his brothers and sister fail. The Grigori will try and lure them to one place and attack. The Titans carry the sacred blades, but thanks to you we have three plus yours.”
“And you outnumber them,” Kala
reminded him.
Talan conceded her point. “True, but they’ve been gaining power for the last 2,000 years while we’ve been imprisoned. I don’t know how well we’re matched anymore.” Talan appeared worried. “We won’t have to fight long in any case. The Titans are only here to stop you from completing your mission. If they can stall long enough for you to fail…”
“I won’t fail,” Kala interrupted, then faced Turner. “Roberta first, but as soon as she’s safe I have to destroy Fortski’s research.”
Turner nodded. “You do what you please. I’m not interested in the world ending, so I’ll give you as much leeway as I can after Roberta is safe and sound in my arms.”
“I’m more worried about Cronus than Clifton and his men, but they are going to be a pain,” Kala complained. She eyed the clock.
0d 2h 55m 33s: 2:05 AM.
“Less than three hours. We’d better get a move on.” Kala’s adrenaline was on overdrive. As horrible as destroying the cure was, it felt like any other operation at this point. It was nothing like killing Jack. Nothing ever would be.
Talan teleported away, back to Owen and the others. Turner gave Kala and Derek the rendezvous point where they were to deliver Roberta. Less than two weeks ago Turner was Kala’s boss, now they were working together as equals. It was a surreal moment, but at least part of it felt familiar. It was nice performing a mission for Turner again. It almost felt like old times, except for the fact that she was about to break into her own headquarters and fight men she had worked beside for the last few years.
Derek seemed a lot less fazed by that particular aspect. After working solely for Turner, she noticed he had no problem fighting Clifton’s men. Kala couldn’t really blame him. There was always a bit of a divide between Turner’s favorites and Clifton’s favorites. Clifton surrounded himself with arrogant a-holes, while Turner gravitated towards the unique or the intelligent. Even through kidnapping Roberta and lying about it, she’d bet her life that the two of them would act as if it never happened once Roberta was safe. It was such a strange and demented relationship. It made Kala grateful for her own healthy friendships. Of course, most of hers were with non-humans, but she was grateful anyway.
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