“Shhhhh. More digging, less talking.”
Jonah and Cole appeared next to a cell phone repair shop across the street. Their young business personas blended right in as they waited in front of the cement wall, alternating between chatting and tapping on phones that may or may not have really been there.
Faith had taken a post at a bus stop as suggested. Melissa and Josh were nowhere in sight, but I hoped they had good views of Evonatura.
I glanced up from my bag as Rose and Sage walked past our alcove wearing full-length beige trench coats. I gasped and their heads snapped in my direction in unison. They peeked at Ilya and me only for a second, not breaking stride as they did so. Our disguises did their jobs—for the moment.
The harpy twins were striking as ever. They had brushed and ironed their long platinum hair. The pair looked like incognito brides that hadn’t seen the sun in years. Nobody in Soho seemed to mind, so Evonatura’s CEO had been right about the neighborhood. Not that I’d doubted a peer of Ivan’s.
My pulse still raced as Casey lumbered behind them moments later. I had gained control of myself and didn’t gasp. I only stole one quick glimpse of him, flicking my gaze up from my bag as I intently stirred its contents.
I waited several minutes before I dared to speak. “Have you heard anyone else we know in the building?”
“I think Gemma is there, but so are our father and Aunt Tat.”
“You can’t read Ivan, but what about Tatiana? Now that she’s a variant,” I said as quietly as possible.
“Aunt Tat is different, wilder, but I can still hear her in words. She’s angry that Evonatura hasn’t torn down this office. She thinks they’re ready to launch Terra Nova and the rest of The Compendium. They’re pretty sure Melissa came to us. Rose and Sage are ready to rip Melissa in half if they find her.” Ilya’s punk persona concentrated on the wall next to him.
“What about Evonatura people? How many are there?” I leaned toward my brother, barely breathing.
“Casey has a counterpart. His name is Gregory. I can’t quite make out his variation. I think he’s a shifter of some sort. Maybe he has an exoskeleton like Josh. He keeps picturing his skin transforming to brick.” Ilya squinted as he listened harder.
“How about staff?” I saw a brief flash of a girl like me, answering a phone, not remotely aware of the malice all around her. I had come to know the difference between a vision and my imagination. It was only speculation, but it frightened me all the same.
“I don’t think Claude is there yet. They’re waiting for him. There are two men thinking about the rabbits they’ve been testing. They’ve been recording how long it takes animal after animal to die from Terra Nova. They cremate them afterwards for safety. After the rabbits, they’re moving on to stray dogs Casey grabbed off the street. Every other Evonatura project is on hold until Terra Nova is perfected.”
“Oh my Gawd! That’s horrible. Those poor animals. Isn’t anyone missing them? I bet their owners are going nuts. Aren’t the cops looking for them?”
“Yes, it’s awful but there’s nothing I can do about it,” Ilya said. “And at some point, it’s going to get worse when they turn it loose on innocent people.”
“Wait a second.” My voice rose. “If they’re still testing the virus, they’re not actually ready to release it yet.”
Ilya nodded. “Right. Now, shhh. I need to concentrate.”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly while I waited, feeling helpless and useless as Ilya listened to the air.
“There’s also a young girl, very young, like seven or eight years old. She can transform plant matter to crystal. Aunt Tat cultivated some vines for the girl to practice on leaf by leaf. They might let her go home, but they might keep her. Aunt Tat isn’t sure yet.”
Despite his artificially rough exterior, I could see that everything he heard bothered him. My stomach turned over too. “Are there other tenants in the building? Something we could use as a way in? Maybe we could save the girl.”
“Wait. Aunt Tat just took a call. Claude isn’t coming in today! Shit, she’s furious! They’re getting ready to leave. At least she’s taking that girl home now. Let’s get out of here before they walk past us. I’m not taking any chances that Father will recognize us. For all we know, he can smell us.”
I followed my brother back the way we had come. I shot an urgent glare at Jonah and Cole, beckoning to them subtly, yet still noticeable from across the street. Faith saw me instantly and rose to follow.
“Don’t worry about Josh and Melissa. They’re right behind us. Keep staring ahead. You’re only with me. We’ll regroup at the hostel.”
We were a group again as we marched up the Berwick Hostel stairs. I glimpsed behind me and saw my friends back to normal since Ilya had lifted their disguises.
“Josh, Cole, Melissa, can we use your room? It’s the only one that isn’t a closet,” said Ilya.
I pictured getting Jonah back to our closet and a smile crossed my lips. I forced it away. We all had to focus.
“Of course. What did you find out?” Cole’s tense form emitted a hunger for action.
“I think I know how to get us in,” said Ilya after we had all filed into the small double bedroom.
“What do we need to do?” said Faith.
“My idea could work as early as tomorrow if you guys can help me find the missing pieces of the puzzle,” said Ilya.
“What’s your plan?” said Cole.
“If we can capture Rose and Sage, I can send in Melissa and Irina disguised as the harpy twins, provided they don’t have to take off their coats. I don’t think I’ve ever studied those wings enough to make convincing copies. And they damn sure wouldn’t actually fly.” Ilya tapped his puckered mouth, reflecting more disappointment in the shortcomings of his illusory abilities than in his grandiose plan.
“How the hell are we supposed to grab the harpy sisters?” Faith demanded, glaring impatiently at her boyfriend.
“I told you there was a missing piece.”
“It’s too bad that Ralph is gone. One bite each is all it would take,” said Jonah.
I shook my head. If he’d personally seen Ralph and Adelaide meeting with that monstrous thug Thorn, forming an alliance that got innocent students killed, he wouldn’t want Ralph back.
“That reminds me, I heard no sign of Adelaide or Ralph at Evonatura,” said Ilya.
“We should assume they’re in the city and still working for The Compendium.” Cole drove his thumb into his other palm and alternated occasionally, as though the muscles in his hands needed preparation.
“Agreed, but all we can do is keep our eyes and ears—and whatever else—on alert. For the harpy twins, I think we should try something a bit more traditional, assuming nobody here wants to start taking lives. If we steal a tranquilizer gun from whatever animal control they have here in London, all we need to do is follow the girls home. We can knock them out and bind them. After that, it’s straightforward. Melissa and Irina sneak into Evonatura the next day and convince Gemma to leave with them.” Josh’s mention of a tranquilizer gun spawned a flash of him checking his vest at the pub. I still hadn’t decided whether or not I wanted that real gun with us.
“What about their supply of Terra Nova? Spying won’t cut it. We need a plan that includes stealing every last vial, sample, and scrap of data.” Jonah watched Josh and Cole with a steady eye.
“Then Melissa and I go in with the tranquilizer gun. We hit everyone we see. We take everything we can, including packing my sister out on our backs.” I sat a little straighter.
Jonah put his hand on my shoulder. “You won’t be fast enough. You’ll need more than just the two of you. Signal me when you’re ready and I’ll come in.”
“No, it should be me and Cole,” said Josh.
“Someone needs to help me go over all this Compendium stuff in the netbook. It’s loaded with docs and data, right?” Faith nodded her dreads at the innocuous black plastic case on the tiny dresser.
“There’s more stuff in there than I know. And you’ll have to crack it. The folders were password protected when I had access to the network.” Melissa crossed her arms.
“This plan needs work, guys,” Josh said urgently. “We don’t know who will be where. There are some seriously dangerous people in there. Strategy and assault tactics are my business. It’s why you came to me in the first place.”
Faith leaned toward Josh, her fists balled at her sides. “So what, you’re thinking of stealing some surveillance tech too? Won’t it take forever to create a picture of exactly how things are laid out inside?”
“If we had the time, I’d love to get the layout before we enter. But I’m thinking of getting Ilya and Irina to interrogate Rose and Sage. They’ll give up what they know whether they like it or not. And it’ll give Irina and Melissa a chance to familiarize themselves with the girls they need to impersonate,” said Josh, satisfied his expertise had won.
“Couldn’t we just get Jonah to cook up some knockout gas and take them all out that way?” Faith relaxed again, leaning back on the dresser.
“Even if I could make some, it’s hard to get the dosage right for variants. Most recipes have humans in mind and most variants are much hardier. For Rose and Sage, a tranquilizer dart is probably still a better plan.” Jonah cast Josh a gaze of confident support.
“It’s settled then. We’ll tranquilize Rose and Sage, mine them for info, and then disguise Irina and Melissa. It’s not my best work, but it’ll have to do.” Josh fisted his hands, ready to act.
Faith’s research quickly uncovered that London required very little animal control and that just about no wild animals threatened anyone in the entire United Kingdom. The London Zoo, on the other hand, possessed some large and dangerous animals, therefore making the likelihood of tranquilizer guns and darts a high probability.
While Melissa and Faith stayed behind to work on cracking and reviewing our precious Compendium files, the rest of us headed downstairs. I asked the apathetic plum-haired employee of the Berwick Hostel how to get to the London Zoo.
“That’s in Regent’s Park. Got to take the tube. ‘Ere’s a guide.” The woman furnished us with a pamphlet on the London Underground and a map of Regent’s Park before she resumed her unenthused assessment of the newspaper.
Josh and Cole took turns examining the snarl of rainbow pipes on the London Underground route map. Back home, we’d only had to contend with Vancouver’s three train lines which barely intersected. A swirl of anxiety bubbled in my stomach as the guys argued about where to go from our current location. Ilya busied himself by restoring our disguises.
Cole concluded we needed to take the Bakerloo Line from a station a few blocks away. It would be one stop on the train, but the pamphlet’s map suggested a long walk on foot.
The station on Oxford Street was easy to spot amid the throngs shuffling through the streets. A large blue sign with Oxford Circus Station crowned a stairwell that plunged under the pavement. I had always pictured my first subterranean train ride taking place in New York, but I had also watched too much television as a child. We fell in with the stream of human traffic filing down to the Underground.
We plugged some change into the turnstiles and pushed into the barriers. When we reached the platform, I finally understood why people casually referred to the Underground as the Tube. We were in a cylindrical cavity filled with curved ad posters fitted to the concave stone walls.
I had time to read ads for a European airline, a local shoe store, and a new nature show on the BBC before a sleek white train with red doors and blue trim slid onto the track in front of us.
“Mind the gap. Mind the gap,” said a melodic British woman’s voice as we boarded a car.
The train rocketed forward and click-clacked along the tracks for several minutes until our announcer said, “Next stop, Regent’s Park.”
I stole a glance at the dark glass across from where we sat. My reflection of messy blond hair and that baggy sweater unsettled me. I did not imitate the sort of person who would discreetly steal a gun, even a mere dart gun. I shrugged. My regular reflection wouldn’t have inspired my confidence either.
The train slowed to a stop and released us along with a small surge of other people. We went with the flow of bodies up the stairs and out onto the street where we came face-to-face with trees bursting out over a cement wall.
I placed my hand on the back of a metal bench around the corner from the Tube exit. London disappeared. I stood in a modern white and steel apartment with Tatiana and Ivan.
“I don’t want to be in this city one day longer than necessary!” Tatiana’s green tinged skin and hair stood out against the stark décor.
Ivan turned from the bar with a glass of gold liquid in his hand. “At the rate this hotel is costing us, I can’t agree more.” He swirled the drink and took a sip. His face had completely healed, back to his normally pale and ginger complexion.
“I don’t give a shit about human money! That’s the whole fucking point! Let’s rid ourselves of this circus!”
“How about we save the tirade for another day.” Ivan eyed the main door and pointed. On cue, Gemma entered the room, smiling. Her bright green eyes and full lips were pretty as ever. She had her long straight sandy hair tied back behind her neck, simple but elegant.
A jolt from behind broke my contact with the bench and knocked me out of my vision. I landed back on the street across from an urban park. I whirled around to see what had hit me, angry that I didn’t get more information.
Jonah in his businessman disguise held my arm. Concern animated the unfamiliar face. “What happened when that guy bumped you? Are you all right?”
My other stranger companions stared at me with matching furrowed brows.
“Damn busy city. I was in the middle of a vision. I saw Ivan and Tatiana in a hotel room. Then Gemma joined them. That’s all I got!” I glared at the pedestrian traffic flowing beside me.
“A vision? From what, the bench?” Jonah looked at the simple seat in disbelief.
“They might be nearby then. One of them must have sat there.” Cole eyed the bench like a crime scene.
I contemplated touching it again for another attempt.
“Guys, I know this is thrilling, but we’re on the street in broad daylight. Not exactly a slow part of the city either,” said Ilya’s punk façade.
“I can’t get my head stuck in the search for Gemma right now. Let’s go get some dart guns.”
Chapter 4
Regent’s Park lived up to its name. Past the cement wall along the tube station entrance, an elegant black metal fence stretched around green space in both directions. Across the street opposite the park, large elegantly stuccoed, terraced houses gleamed with opulence. The whole neighborhood emanated a regal vibe.
Cole led us along the black fence and into the park past a small green sign for the London Zoo. The sign’s arrow pointed down a long wide pedestrian road lined with huge trees and wrought iron benches. Tourists milled about on the manicured path ahead which stretched into the horizon.
“How far does this thing go?” I said.
“We just keep walking straight until we hit the zoo,” said Cole.
“Is this going to take all day?” I took a deep breath trying to center myself.
“Calm down. It’s not that far,” said Josh.
“We’ve got the rest of the day anyway. We can’t risk hitting Rose and Sage until night time.” Jonah’s voice coming from a guy in a strange suit did not help calm me.
“Businessmen don’t hang out with punks, so you two should fall behind us a bit. As soon as
I catch sight of a zoo employee, I can change us again,” Ilya said to Jonah and Cole.
“I’ll take point.” Dressed for construction work, Josh appeared very sure of himself.
“What?” I said.
“I’ll go first.” Josh jogged ahead into the park while Jonah and Cole stopped to play with their phones.
“If I could somehow have a vision of where Rose and Sage are staying, we might not have to wait for a chance to follow them home. If everyone bailed on Evonatura this morning, there’s no point in going back this afternoon. And we’ll lose a whole extra day waiting for them to lead us to where they’re crashing,” I said to Ilya as we walked.
I felt myself adjusting to the strange person next to me. Watching my own fake blond hair flow around me in the breeze entertained me.
We reached rows of red and white and yellow flowers sculpted into oval beds. Paths led off to more gardens on our right, but we couldn’t wander. We came to a beautiful stone three-tiered fountain and I paused, only for a moment.
“We’ll travel properly someday. You and Jonah, me and Faith. We’ll come back and we’ll see all the European cities the way they’re meant to be seen.” Ilya pulled gently on my arm and we resumed our brisk walk.
“What about Cole? And Gemma? We should bring them too.” Worry for Gemma’s safety quickly replaced the stab of guilt I felt when I pictured Cole’s endearing smile. I hadn’t seen him smile in weeks.
“Sure, why not. The more the merrier.”
“Once we get this gun, how are we going to get it back to the hostel?”
“I’ll disguise it somehow. Depends on what we find. I think some of these things are like rifles and some are like handguns. I’m hoping for the latter, since this a zoo and not a game reserve.”
Terra Nova (The Variant Conspiracy Book 3) Page 3