Rogue (Convergence Series Book 1)

by S. A. Stephenson

  Evie looked out at the crowd and found Cara sat to one side staring at her with hopeful eyes. Evie knew they couldn't go back to the Capitol. They'd worked enough so they could escape the confines of the walls, while they were still living under the regime, it was at least marginally more tolerable.

  Jenks started an applause, purposefully interrupting Evie's talk. The room soon joined in as Jenks walked over to the podium. 'We'll now take a few short questions before we retire for the evening,' she said.

  'What are you doing?' Evie whispered to her. 'I'm not finished.'

  'I'm receiving word that the FSA are in the building,' Jenks replied, turning their backs to the crowd and indicating to the small communications device that was nestled behind her ear.

  Evie's eyes widened and felt her heart race at the thought of the attack. A woman in the crowd raised her hand. 'What are you doing to apprehend Katarina Valletta?' She asked. 'If she hadn't escaped, none of the other mutants would have been able to, and we would be safe.'

  'Katarina Valletta has been under surveillance,' Evie told her. 'We established the free zone so that we could maintain some peace in Volt. The mutants know that they're not allowed to leave the zone without facing the death penalty.'

  'Does that mean you have found a way to kill Valletta?' A man asked.

  Sirens sounded throughout the auditorium before Evie had to answer and everyone rose to their feet calmly.

  'Head to the basement everyone,' Jenks said. 'That means you too Dr Fox.'

  'We need to alert the Capitol,' Evie told her. ‘They will send backup to help,'

  'They’ll already know that we’ve been breached,' Jenks said as she ushered her off the stage.

  Evie searched for Cara in the crowd fighting the bustling people. She widened her eyes and saw Cara up ahead, moving to her but caught herself when she saw Jenks give her a curious look.

  'What was that?' Jenks asked.

  'What was what?' Evie asked her. 'I've got to get to my friend,' she said and before Jenks could stop her she pushed her way through the crowd and caught up with Cara.

  'Did you know there was going to be an attack?' Cara asked.

  'No idea,' Evie said. 'Jack's been telling me everything's fine back in the Capitol,' she said as they made their way to the basement.

  Evie found them a spot in the corner of the large basement and turned over a couple of crates for them to sit on. The building had been filled with staff and Evie watched as they began to flow into the basement. She could feel her heart raced as the air grew thinner, Cara looked at her and took her hand. 'Don't lose it. Not here,' she whispered.

  Evie looked at her not saying anything as a man came over to them. 'You never answered my question,' he said, Evie realized he was the man who had asked the question in the auditorium.

  'Now's not the time sir,' Cara said.

  'It's fine,' Evie said, dropping her hand. 'We're doing what we can to apprehend Valletta,' she said. 'She is an anomaly in the system but we're making progress to make sure that she can't cause harm.'

  'So this isn't her army?' The man asked.

  'She's not part of the FSA,' Cara told him, before she thought about the consequences.

  The man's face went pale. 'This is the FSA?' He asked quietly.

  The first attack hit the building, causing the room to shake so fiercely they fell to the floor. The lights went out and the room went dark. Everyone fell quiet and Evie looked up at the ceiling. All went quiet for a brief moment. Black shadows came crashing through the ceiling. Evie had seen the shadows of the Death Marks once before. She knew the horror they were about to unleash.

  Screams erupted around the basement as the shadows landed and transformed into men wearing dark long coats, over black clothes. They turned to their victims, electric energy formed in their palms and shot out at the cowering people, she watched frozen as the attack vaporized their victims. Evie felt something switch inside her without warning, she could feel the electric energy begin to surge through her. She had spent years controlling the mutated power inside her, fearing what would happen if anyone discovered what she could do. Her energy directed itself towards their attackers. Her energy connected with the men and the Death Marks flew backwards and hit the wall. They looked around with surprise. Their eyes met hers and Evie quickly snapped out of her trance. Shouts of soldiers filtered down the stairs. Kingsley had been hit by Evie's attack, and he got to his feet looking at her. He smiled to himself, she looked at him knew, that he knew who she was. As the soldiers descended and attempted to capture the Death Marks who shifted back into the black shadows and escaped. Kingsley tried to follow but one of the soldiers was able to hit him with a taser causing him to convulse. Evie saw Jack hurry down the stairs and over to Kingsley. He looked at the crowd who were quiet and in shock.

  'It's okay everybody,' he assured them. 'The soldiers will lead you back upstairs and you'll be escorted to your homes. A curfew is going to be in affect across the city so that we can keep everyone safe.'

  There were murmurs as the people followed the soldiers out of the room. A few of them looked over to Evie with wary glances, she did her best to avoid their stares.

  'You shouldn't have done that,' Cara whispered. 'Someone's going to say something.'

  'They won't,' Evie said, hoping the fear would be enough to silence most of them. 'Hopefully.'

  She walked over to her brother who was kneeling over Kingsley. His eyes were closed as he was lying motionless on the floor. 'Is he still alive?' She asked.

  'Yeah, it'll take more than a taser gun to take one of these guys down,' Jack said and then looked up at her. 'Are you okay? I assembled the men as quickly as we got word something was going down. We just weren't here quick enough.'

  'I'm fine,' she said. 'I think Cara's a little shaken, it's been a while since we've encountered a Death Mark.'

  'They're not the friendliest of mutants,' Jack said.

  'Trained assassins never are,' Evie said. 'What's going to happen to him?'

  'We'll haul him in for questioning and see what information we can get,' Jack said.

  'Won't he just be able to escape?' Cara asked.

  'We can bind that part of his powers,' Evie told her. 'Only a select few mutants have the ability to genetically move through different locations, so we should be able to neutralize it.' She suddenly felt light headed and had to hold onto Jack to stop herself falling.

  'Are you okay?' He asked as he caught her.

  'It's been a big day,' Cara said quickly. 'She should be checked out by doctors.'

  Jack motioned over to other soldiers. 'Get him to the interrogation room, and take my sister to see a nurse.’

  The man saluted and Kingsley was dragged to his feet, as a nurse came over to Evie, she watched as the mutant was taken away. He looked like an ordinary man, there was nothing that distinguished him as someone who was deadly or a threat to humans. She wondered what had led him down the path of trying to kill them today, though she didn't have to think too much about his motives. Mutants wanted to kill humans. That's what she had been taught. That's what the government had made everyone believe. That's what her speech had been about. Kingsley had simply helped prove Galen's government was correct and that they're the biggest threat to the Empire. Evie felt her heart drop at the realization, she longed to meet a mutant who would make the world think differently about who they were. About who she was.

  Chapter Three

  THE CITYSCAPE OF THE Stacks was quiet in the morning dew, as the sun began to rise, Kit felt a brief moment of peace. She looked over the makeshift buildings to the Spire. Memories of a forgotten time danced behind her eyes. She tried to grasp it, hold onto the fleeting moment long enough so she could make sense of what it meant, but just as she tried, it was gone. They had taken it from her years ago, but she still found herself searching for something.

  A motorbike pulled up behind her and a woman dismounted. Kit heard the boots hit the ground and knew it was Liljana Storm. Her
sweet perfume carried through the air and greeted Kit with a warm sense of familiarity. Kit glanced over to her, the young self-made soldier greeted her with her usual cheery smile. Her slender frame had a leather jacket hung loosely off her shoulders, a nice match to her black combat pants, it wasn’t an official uniform, but close enough. Her long blonde hair shimmered in the morning sun as the tattoos up her arms glistened.

  'You're up early this morning,' Lil said as she joined her.

  'Couldn't sleep,' Kit said.

  'The dream came back?' Lil asked.

  'Third night in a row,' Kit answered.

  Lil was quiet for a moment and Kit looked over to her. 'I don't think it's a dream,' she said. 'You're relieving your escape every night. And it's keeping you hostage.'

  'That's probably because we can't ever really be free from that place,' Kit said. 'We might have broken out, but they'll always chase us.'

  'Which is why your plan needs to work,' Lil told her. 'Freedom is the best motivator to achieve anything.'

  Kit shook her head. 'We are free,' she said. 'We escaped from the Shard twenty years ago. We're not going back.'

  Lil was quiet for a moment and then turned back to the city. The once glorious skyline of New York been all but destroyed decades ago. In its place, the Spire had been created; ramshackle buildings littered the skyline, abandoned towers had become home to squatters and it had become unofficially known as the Dead Zone. It was the place where humans were allowed some freedom from the Shard, even if it only marginal. They were monitored and tracked, confined to strict rules and made to fear the consequences if they chose to try and break free. The Statue of Liberty was all that had remained throughout the rebellion, a beacon of hope for centuries.

  'Is this how you imagined freedom would be?' Lil asked quietly. 'Living in a designated zone for mutants while the rest of the world lives freely.'

  Kit turned and looked at the city. 'They're not all free,' she said. 'This is a way station for us. If we can get to the true free zone, then we can find a way to leave, to find home.'

  'Here is home,' Lil said. 'It's the only one they'll let us to have.'

  'There has to be something more,' Kit said. 'Home and family makes us human. We have to be able to find that again somehow.'

  'There was something in us that made us want to fight them,' Lil said, not wanting to dwell on the issue of family, knowing all too well the pain that it would cause. 'We weren't the only ones created in that place. There are others who are strong enough and want to break free.'

  'Rescue those from inside so they can join the fight on the outside,' Kit said. 'Rescue Kingsley.'

  'Have you heard anything since he was arrested?' Lil asked.

  Kit shook her head. 'I've tried getting in touch with the Alto sector but no one will speak to me.’

  'They're not the most trusting bunch of people,' Lil commented.

  'But Kingsley is an ally to our army as well as Alto,' Kit said. 'If they want him back they'll want our help.’

  'You know they don't want to work with us,' Lil said. 'They're not ready for the challenge in leadership, and until they are ready for real change and unity with us, they'll always work alone.'

  Kit sighed in frustration. 'An army led by men is a frustrating one to try and work with,' she said.

  Lil smiled. 'I know,' she said. 'But it doesn't mean we have to leave Kingsley behind, we can still go and get him out.'

  'It's risky,' Kit said, Lil detecting hesitation in her voice. 'If we're captured we'll be sent to the camps before anyone can stop the order from being carried out.'

  'They've had plenty of chances to try and arrest you in the last twenty years and they haven't done it yet,' Lil told her. They’ve got to be holding back for a reason.'

  Kit looked at her. 'Not just because we're really good at evading the authorities?'

  Lil scoffed. 'It's not like we're hiding.’

  Kit was quiet for a moment as she thought. 'We can try to help Kingsley,' she said. 'But it's likely that he's already up to something to get himself out, he won't let Volt keep him captive.'

  'That's true,' Lil said.

  'And even if they did he, would find a way to rebel from the inside, it's just part of his nature,' Kit added.

  'It's easier to destroy an establishment from the inside,' Lil noted. 'Convincing others to help us rescue Kingsley is going to be tricky. Have you spoken to the team yet?' Lil asked.

  'Rook suspects something, I've kept Adam in the dark as much as possible,' Kit said. 'They're not going to want to go back in a hurry.'

  'And Gia?' Lil asked, after a pause. She saw Kit wince at the name. 'I know you don't want to mix with your ex, especially after everything she’s done, but she might be our only chance.'

  'She's killed people,' Kit reminded her.

  'She wasn't herself,' Lil added. 'You know how badly they treated her. How messed up it made her. You also know how much power she was given and still has as a result.'

  Kit nodded and was quiet as she thought of Gia, the woman she had known in Volt and the darkness that had consumed her. 'How is she?' She asked, her face softening, the feelings returning and she was hesitant in her answer.

  'She's coping, she's managed to control it but still asks about you.’

  Kit was quiet for a moment as a swarm of old emotion passed through her. 'Good. If we work with her, she'll need to be able to handle her abilities, I'm not going to ask her to join us if it's going to make it worse for her.'

  'I'll be her guardian in the field,' Lil said. 'And I'll make sure she knows that it doesn't mean you're going to be getting back together any time soon.'

  Kit took a deep breath. 'Good,' she said.

  Lil tried to hide a wry smile 'Human relationships. Still one of the most challenging things to learn.'

  'Somehow I doubt it's made its way onto Volt's syllabus,' Kit said. 'Assemble the others, I'll give them a debrief.'

  Lil left her to head back to the stacks and Kit went down to the waterfront. She sat on the steps that led down to the water and looked over to the city that once stood so majestically. She had never known New York in its glory days, but she had known what freedom had felt like. It was a feeling that was growing ever distant, but as long as it still lingered, it gave Kit a reason to keep going.

  Kit made it back to the Stacks. She pulled the Land Rover to a stop outside the Mermaid Inn and looked out at the streets. The Mermaid Inn was a little bar that had been set up using two cargo crates like all the shops and houses in the Stacks, Kit loved how the store owners liked to change the crate fronts on a regular basis. Some of the smaller makeshift stalls had begun to hang fairy lights. Soft music was flowing throughout the main market area. It was so different to where Kit had grown up. All she had known was a cell, dark gray walls, and uniformity devoid of any personality. This little part of the city felt cozy to her, familiar. The store owners saw her they smiled and nodded, making her feel safe. She stepped inside the Mermaid Inn and saw Adam had saved her usual table with a cold Snakestone beer ready for her.

  'You're too good to me,' she said to him as she took a seat.

  'If I don't know you by now then I wouldn't be good bartender. Plus, today's an anniversary,' he told her.

  She looked at him curiously. 'It is?' She asked. 'I didn't realize you had started dating.'

  He blushed, he always did when she mentioned girls to him. His floppy brown hair fell in front of his eyes and he turned from her, unaware that she could still catch his eye through the reflection in his glasses. Muscles peaked through his army green t-shirt, Kit had always been curious by the tattoos that showed out from underneath the sleeve but there was only so much Adam would tell her.

  'You first arrived here twenty years ago,' he told her. Kit hadn't realized and looked away from him as she remembered that day. It had been pouring with rain and she had been traveling for days. Cold, exhausted and starving Kit had been certain she wouldn't survive the night. She had continued through the Sp
ire, the city too big and sprawling for her to even try and comprehend. By the time she had made it to the Stacks she had been ready to collapse and give in. She had found an alleyway, hoping she could find warmth in a doorway but the cold wind swirled with the rain. As she began to fade she saw the outline of a man approach her. Her instinct had been to fight, and Adam still had a small scar on his arm from where she lashed out at him. Instead of hurting her, like so many had in the past, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to his block.

  'You took care of me from the beginning,' she said and took a swig of the beer. The strawberry flavored beer was cool and sweet and steadied her nerves.

  'We have to look out for each other, there's enough people out there trying to hunt us down,' Adam said as he dried a glass. Kit gave him a smile and was about to say something when the projector flickered onto the back wall. Like the other public service establishments, Adam had to install the small glass device that transmitted messages from the Shard. It didn't activate as often as Kit thought it would so when they heard the Presidential music flow through the bar the usual hum of conversation fell quiet. The screen flickered to Astrid Jenks, the news reporter from Galen's inner circle. Her uniformed appearance, the badge that had Volt's symbol proudly showing on her chest made Kit squirm, she ate a couple of peanuts, trying in vain to ignore what she had to say.

  'Today's attack in the Spire has been one of the deadliest in recent years,' she said. Looking up at the screen Kit saw the carnage at the Institute. 'To attack the Spire and Volt is to attack the very way of life that we're creating. The Institute that was attacked is paving the way in Nano-genetic research. Something that is helping us maintain control and help everyone who was affected by the virus. To attack this research center, is to directly attack the cause.'

  'Do you think she actually believes what she's saying?' Kit asked Adam. He didn't answer, the screen flicked to footage of Kingsley and the other Death Marks.

  'King,' he said as the video flickered to show Kingsley being pulled into the back of a van. 'They captured Kingsley.'