by K. A. Linde
He hugged Laura once more and then they were gone.
“I hate this,” Laura mumbled.
“I know.”
Reyna urged Laura away from the door the boys had walked through. If she hadn’t moved her, Reyna was sure that Laura would have sat there until they came back. Reyna made sure to spend time with her for the next couple hours until Laura’s exhaustion won out and she reluctantly headed to bed.
Chapter 32
Reyna couldn’t go back to her room.
She needed to get out and do something. But what? She had nothing to photograph. Becks wasn’t around. She couldn’t stomach seeing Washington yet and hearing the paltry explanation that he would be sure to offer.
She sighed as her feet carried her through Elle’s strangely silent corridors. It was better to be walking. She could get lost in the labyrinth. Anything was better than wondering what was going on.
It wasn’t until she stopped in front of the guarded room that she realized where her feet had taken her. She frowned. Had her words to Jodie earlier sparked this? This world wasn’t black and white. People could change. Not everyone would, but was it a disservice not to see if they’d try?
“Is he taking visitors?” she asked the guards.
“Uh,” the guy said, turning to look at the girl on his right.
She shrugged. “No one told us one way or another.”
“Okay. I’ll only be a few minutes.”
“Just knock when you want to come out.” The girl nodded at the guy, and he produced the key, opening the door for her.
“All right,” Reyna said before walking through the door. Her heart was racing. This was probably a bad idea. And yet…she didn’t turn back.
Everett sat on the floor of the sparse room in the lotus position. His hazel eyes opened slowly and weighed her standing there. He didn’t move. She didn’t move. They just stared at each other across the small divide.
“Well, it’s not a prison cell,” he finally said.
“More than you deserve.”
“Did you come here to tell me that?”
“I don’t know why I’m here.”
She didn’t know why she admitted it. She hated that she was here at all. That thinking about people changing had brought her here. That she could even consider that he could change. He was a spy. He was one of the bad guys. He’d turned her in. And yet…he’d come to find her when he’d realized the damage that Visage was really calling. Not to mention that he also had someone on the inside. And she knew what the inside was like.
“Probably because you know that I did the right thing and yet I’m still in this room with armed guards.”
“You did one good thing! And you’ve spied on how many people?”
“Countless.” He tilted his head. “But not you.”
“You were spying all along. You fed me information about Elle before I even knew what it was. You followed me to find out about my photographs. You took me to that fight and walked me right into that blood bank. You already knew about all of it, didn’t you?”
He shrugged. “Yes.”
“Why? Why did you do it?”
“I long suspected Beckham of being involved in the rebel group. I thought helping you along would tip his hand. That he’d reveal himself.”
“Why did you think that he was a part of something like that?”
“He disagreed with the permanent positions and developed a lasting relationship with a woman.” He smiled. “Penelope, that is.” Reyna kept her face neutral. “That prompted my interest, but it wasn’t until you arrived that he started acting different. So I thought you could help move things along.”
“But I wasn’t a rebel.”
“No. I never thought you were. You were too naive for that.”
Reyna glared. “So, you just used me?”
“I did actually like you. Spending time with you was refreshing.”
“Why? Because I was so naive?”
“Because you were so genuine.”
Reyna rolled her eyes. “Amazing that a spy can’t seem to find anyone to be genuine with him.”
Everett didn’t take the bait. “What did they do to you?”
“They?” she asked. “You did this to me.”
“You’ve changed.”
“Yeah, I have. I had to adapt or I would have gone insane. Being tortured for eight weeks does that to a person. I’m never going to be the victim like that again.”
“Tortured,” he breathed.
“Kidnapping victims tend to have psychological issues.”
“I bet it doesn’t help anything that you’re trapped here.”
Trapped. That word. She couldn’t fully suppress her shudder. “I can leave whenever I want.”
“Uh-huh. Just as much as I can.”
“God, what am I even doing here?” she said, throwing her arms wide and stepping away from him. “This is a waste of time.”
“Why are you here?” he asked quietly. “For real.”
Her hand was on the door, poised to leave. She didn’t have to talk to him. She didn’t have to tell him anything. He might have been her friend once, but that had been based on a lie. She didn’t want to fall into his trap again, but she still hoped. Hoped that he could be rehabilitated. That they could get his brother out like they were working to find June. That all would be right with the world.
“My brothers have gone to check out the camps,” she said into the door. “I guess I wanted to think about anything but my fear for them.”
“Wait…what?”
She glanced over her shoulder to find that he had surged to his feet. This entire time he’d been seated in an attempt to seem less threatening. But now he looked frantic.
“They went to the feeding camp?” Everett demanded.
“Yeah. We had to corroborate your story.”
“When did they go?”
“I don’t know. A couple hours ago. Why?”
The look on his face made her body turn to stone. He was processing something. As if there was a Rubik’s cube before him and he only had a matter of minutes to get all the colors on the right sides.
When he looked at her again, her blood ran cold.
“What?” she demanded.
“It’s a trap.”
“What’s a trap?” she whispered. Though she already knew.
“They set me up. They know you’re coming.”
“Everett, you’re scaring me.”
“Tell them all to come back. Get them home.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes! They never would have given me that information. They let me find it on purpose. I should have fucking known. Shit, shit, shit!” His fear permeated the room. “Reyna, go. Go now!”
She saw the truth in his eyes and slammed her hand on the door. It pried open slowly. She slipped out and was running down the hallway before either of the guards could ask what was wrong. Her heart was slamming in her chest at the possibilities that all of this could really be a trap.
She needed to get to Sydney. She needed to hear from her that all was going to according to plan. That she was freaking out over nothing. Everett had planted the idea in her head, but his fear had triggered this reaction. She was sprinting, running at top speed. All those hours on the treadmill pushing her to her limits. She skipped the elevator entirely and took the stairs three steps at a time.
She was panting by the time she burst into the conference room.
“It’s a trap,” she gasped. Her hands were on her knees. “Everett thinks…it’s a trap.”
Sydney had her hands braced on the table at the head of the conference table. Only Gabe and Washington stood at her sides. She knew Beckham had to be visible anytime a mission was going on. So he always had an alibi.
“We k
now,” was all Sydney got out.
“You…you know?” she said in shock. Her voice rose as her anger did. “You knew and you sent my brothers out there? You sent them into a feeding farm knowing it was a trap!”
“We didn’t know ahead of time,” Sydney snapped. “But we’ve been in contact with Tye and Xavier. They were ambushed once they got close enough to the facilities.”
“What happened? Is anyone hurt?” Reyna demanded.
“We don’t know.”
“How could you not know?” she asked, getting hysterical.
Gabe stood and crossed to her. “We should talk about this somewhere else.”
“Don’t you dare fucking placate me!”
“Communications went down. We’re blind. We have no idea what’s happening in the field.”
“Then send people to find out!” she nearly shrieked.
“We don’t have the resources and we can’t send more soldiers out into an uncertain situation,” Sydney said.
“Soldiers. Soldiers!” Reyna laughed manically. “My brothers aren’t soldiers! They’re not toy soldiers in your damn war. They’re people. They’re beautiful people. Brian was just married. He has a baby on the way. Drew is coming out of his shell here. They’re so young. Too young.”
“We know,” Gabe said.
But Reyna only had eyes for Sydney. “You send these men into war and call them soldiers. To you they’re another victim of your war. To us they mean everything.”
“Do I relish sending boys like your brothers out there?” Sydney bit out. “No. But sacrifices are the only way to accomplish anything.”
“My brothers are not a sacrifice!” she screamed at her. “How can you speak so frivolously of a potential casualty?”
“Don’t speak to me about casualties. I lost my life to this war. I sacrificed everything for it.”
“I don’t even know what that means. You seem to be doing all right,” Reyna spat.
Gabe winced and even Washington seemed to recoil at the comment. Sydney, however, straightened to her considerable height.
“You know so little to make such accusations. This rebellion was founded by Elle. She guided her toy soldiers into battle and lost her life to the cause. And Elle did die that day,” Sydney told her. “Because the person that they turned her into after they captured her was no longer that idealistic woman. She was tortured into a hardened soldier herself until she fought her way free of the chains that enslaved her. Until she came back as someone stronger, more realistic about the cause. Elle’s death sparked a fire in this revolution. And I was born from the ashes.”
Reyna froze. Elle was Sydney. Sydney was Elle. She couldn’t believe it. Couldn’t believe that Elle hadn’t died, but had been made into the one thing she had fought against. That she had become this slightly unhinged warrior. No wonder she hated Visage so fiercely. She had actually died for the cause.
A crackle from the radio sitting in front of Sydney kept Reyna from having to respond. “Carpenter reporting in,” a voice sounded through the scratchy radio.
“Drew,” Reyna whispered.
Sydney snatched up the receiver. “What’s happening out there, Carpenter?”
“I got away. I’m out, but the range on this is shot. Can you hear me?”
“We can hear you. Who else is with you?”
The radio crackled and then went out.
Chapter 33
Reyna stared blankly at the wall. She had never felt more defeated. Drew was out there somewhere. She didn’t know where Brian was or what had happened to any of the other guys that were out on the mission. All she knew was that it had gone horribly, horribly wrong.
“Gabe, get Tony in here. Now,” Sydney snapped, immediately launching into action.
Gabe flew out of his seat, rushing for the tech guy. He gave her a passing look of sympathy before leaving the room. But she hardly noticed.
“I’m going to find Meghan. If we have injured…” Washington said, trailing off.
“Go,” Sydney barked.
He hurried toward the door, but stopped to put his hand on Reyna’s arm. “You should take a seat. I will have Meghan bring you water. You’re in shock.”
She shook him off and turned away. Shock. Yes. That was the correct word. She knew it for truth and yet couldn’t seem to process anything past that.
To Sydney’s credit she didn’t try to console Reyna. Perhaps she knew that she was past that. Or that she had caused this. Or maybe…she just didn’t care.
People flitted in and out of the room. Coming and going. Tony tried to fix the radio, listen in to microphones he’d attached to people, fixed earpieces. Nothing worked. All the cameras were down. All the radios were out. It was like an electromagnetic pulse had gone off inside the camp they were infiltrating.
Or it was a technological black hole.
Tony’s head jerked up finally. “Someone just pulled into the parking lot.”
Gabe was out of the room in a second. Reyna’s heart raced, wondering who was there. What could possibly have happened.
“It’s Tye,” Tony confirmed. “He just scanned in.”
Reyna deflated. Tye. Thank God. She was so relieved for her friend. He had helped her escape. She couldn’t imagine what would happen if…
She didn’t even know what would happen. Caught? Captured? Killed?
She shuddered at that thought.
Tye burst into the room. Gabe was holding him up and he looked like utter shit. He was favoring his right ankle. His clothes were covered in black soot. He coughed and collapsed into a chair. Meghan was at his side in an instant.
“Oh my God, Tye,” she gasped. Her hands were fluttering over him. All of her calm demeanor had dissolved upon seeing him in such condition.
“I’m okay, Meghan. It’s just my ankle. And I inhaled something.” He coughed again violently. “Knocked most of us out, but I covered my face with my jacket and got far enough away.”
“Tell us what happened,” Sydney said, only slightly gentler than her normal command.
Reyna took a wary step forward. Her eyes were wide with terror and barely concealed hope.
“It was a decoy,” he gasped. He clutched his lungs. Meghan brought him a glass of water. He took a long drink, draining the entire glass before continuing. “They knew we were coming the entire time. I don’t know how they did, but they did. We showed up at the lands. We crossed the property line. I should have known it was too easy to get past the guards on duty. Too easy to get over their fence and inside the perimeter. All my training for shit.” He shook his head in exasperation and ran a hand back through his spiky black hair. “We split up. Carpenter took one team. I took another. Xavier took the third.”
“Carpenter,” she whispered.
“Brian,” Tye said with a grimace.
Reyna hadn’t known that he was leading a team. It made her even more sick.
“My team had only just made it inside when we noticed that none of our comms were working. That was my first sign. But when we got inside, it was empty.”
“Empty?” Sydney asked.
“Just a warehouse. I mean, it had shit in it. But like building supplies. Guarded and all that shit for some building supplies. They’d set us up. And then the smoke rained down.” He coughed again, trying to expel whatever toxins they’d hit him with. “I called a retreat. Tried to warn the other teams, but there was no way.”
“What happened to your team?” Meghan whispered.
He shook his head. “We scattered.”
“You had a rendezvous point, right?” Gabe asked.
Tye nodded. “No one showed.”
“Fuck,” Gabe spat.
Meghan covered her mouth. Reyna’s eyes welled with tears. Washington sat back hard in his chair.
“I don’t know if any
one else got out.”
“Drew did,” Reyna said softly. Tye’s eyes snapped to her. “He was able to radio us right before everything went out.”
“Anyone else?”
“We don’t know,” Sydney answered for her.
There was a long silence in the room as the possibilities swept over them. An ambush. All communication down. Tye and Drew the only people accounted for. It would be an incredible loss to their cause.
“We should get that leg looked at,” Meghan said.
“I’m fine,” Tye said.
Meghan glared at him. “You need medical attention. We have a long night ahead of us. I don’t want you to do more damage to yourself than necessary.”
He sighed and then relented. “Fine.”
“Gabe, help me get him upstairs.”
The trio retreated, leaving the bomb that Tye had just dropped in the room. Reyna’s heart was in her throat as she realized that she’d have to wait longer to get more information about her brothers.
“We’re going to need to interrogate Everett,” Sydney said. “He set us up for this. We need to know all the information he has. I’m going to give Gabe the go for whatever methods prove fruitful.”
Reyna’s head snapped to her. “Everett didn’t know.”
“He clearly did. He told you it was a trap.”
“He pieced it together when I told him that they had gone there. He didn’t know before then. Why would he tell me it was an ambush? He wouldn’t want me to know that he was involved.”
“He wants you to trust him. So providing you with key information once it was already past time that it could be of value is an easy way to do so.”
“I really don’t think he had anything to do with it.”
“Either he was manipulated or he manipulated us,” Sydney said evenly. “Either way, we will find out tonight.”
* * *
—
It was nearly dawn when Gabe returned to the conference room.
Reyna had finally sat down. Her head resting on her hands. Her eyes drooping from lack of sleep. And yet she wasn’t tired. Just exhausted.
“Either he’s trained to sustain this,” Gabe said, flexing his fist and revealing the split knuckles, “or he really didn’t know what he was leading us into.”