Nods all around.
“Okay then,” I say. “Tonight we save Kate, stop Richard Glass. If he was willing to reveal himself, it means he’s ready to clone Dalton.
“He’s ready to destroy Chicago.”
Kate
“Chicago is in panic, after the kidnapping of The Black Kat. Police have claimed the situation is under control. Citizens are advised to stay indoors.”
-Radio Announcement
Seventy-Four
Richard Glass reminds me of a tyrannical king.
He strides into the room, his shadow a black cape whipping behind him, his eyes hard and cold and so proud. He thinks he owns Chicago, he thinks it’s his kingdom.
Maybe it is.
“Miss McCallister,” he says. Dramatic flair is in his words, like this night is a show and this is the grand finale. “It seems as though your team has abandoned you.”
He strides across the room, rips the tape off my face.
And I have a lot to say.
“You murderer!” I scream. “You killed Pelletier, you’re going to me, you destroyed everything!”
He’s smiling. “And now I’m going to add Chicago to the list,” he says. “I have made the proper preparations to have Dalton cloned. After you are dead, I will begin the cloning process. Thanks to Dr. Pelletier, the cloning process has been accelerated. Within the night, I will have an army of Invincibles. Pelletier made Chicago’s destruction a much faster possibility.”
“And you killed him for it.”
Glass takes his gun out from its holster, points it at my head. “You’ll be with him soon. Feel free to apologize for me.”
I close my eyes. Take a deep breath. Listen to the sound of the trigger being clicked into place and—
The gun slips from his finger and slaps the ground and there’s a sound like thunder.
I open my eyes. Exhale. Not dead yet.
Zandra stands in the room, holding her whip. She must have smacked the gun out of his hand. She’s saved my life twice now.
Glass is glaring, composure gone, control lost to the clone he made. He reaches out for her, grabs for her.
Zandra flaps her wings once, moving back. “You’re an idiot for thinking we would ever abandon our leader.”
She’s smiling at me and Glass is stepping back and I’m laughing. Because they would never leave me to die, because they might be able to help me finish this, because this might
end tonight.
There’s a roar in the hall, screaming soldiers, gunshots. They came. They all came.
Glass is turning. “You’re all going to die.” And then he runs out of the room.
Zandra stares at me, like she’s unsure, like she doesn’t know if she should get me down or give chase.
I make the choice for her.
“Go!”
She runs out of the room and I start yanking against my bindings again. I have to help them.
Swing.
I start throwing my legs back and forth, pushing my weight forward and back. My feet are practically kicking the ceiling now.
A crash fills the air and I land on my back. I shake the chains off my wrists, loose now that they’re not attached to a rafter. I push the chains off my ankles and stand.
Time to finish a war.
Seventy-Five
I throw myself into the battle taking place in the hallway. Kick the nearest soldier in the head, knocking him out before he can pull a gun on Zane.
“Where’s Glass?”
“Hello to you too,” he mutters.
I smile. “Thank you for coming for me.”
He grabs a man’s fist, throws him back. “I wasn’t about to let him shoot you.”
I lash out, shove my heel into a soldier’s chest. He falls back into the man behind him.
“Glass ran down into the basement,” Tatyana says, swinging her staff, knocking a man off his feet.
He’s going to start the cloning process.
I stop. Every man here is down. I look at the four of them. “You came back for me.”
Still in bear form, Jay lets out his breath. Tatyana puts a hand on his side. “Zane is the only one who actually stayed initially. But we all found our way back.” She smiles. “It seems that your reckless determination has rubbed off on us.”
I grin. Open my mouth. Prepare to tell them my plan. Prepare to take charge.
Plans change.
“Well, it looks like the whole team is here.”
Dalton grins, leaning against a wall, crossing his arms. With taunting eyes and a cocky smile.
I glance at the others. “Find Glass. He’s going to make the clones right now. Stop him.”
They nod. Tatyana and Jay run out the hall first, Zandra close behind. Zane stops, looks at me, those ice eyes so intense.
“Don’t get yourself killed,” he says under his breath.
It seems we’re both full of less than kind comments tonight. Maybe it’s the tension.
“I love you, too.”
He smiles, turns, and walks off. Leaves me alone to take care of the Invincible.
It’s just me and Dalton now.
“You just won’t die, will you?”
I’m grinning. “You’d miss me too much. Who else is going to cause you so much grief?”
He smirks. “Grief?”
Casual, nonchalant, not a worry in the world. Make him believe it.
“Well, I am the girl you can’t control. It’s driving you crazy.”
A smirk falls into a dark frown. “I can break you. You won’t be able to defy me then.”
Now I’m smirking. “Try it. I’d like to see how that works out for you.”
He growls. The muscles in his arms tense.
I’ve learned that everyone has a calling card, something they do when they’re about to attack. Dalton tends to tense up.
That’s how I know he’s about to throw a punch.
I duck, throw myself against his stomach, push him into the wall. He shoves me back, glaring at me, wearing an expression that is borderline murderous.
“You know,” I say, grinning, “For being the Invincible, you’re really slow.”
Storms brew in his eyes.
He goes to grab me and I duck again, running to the other side of the room. “I’ve been training for this moment a long time, Dalton Knight,” I say. “You are never going to beat me. Never again.”
He lunges forward, wraps his fingers around my arms, drags me toward him.
I dig my claws into his cheek, pull them across his face. Angry red lines run down one side of his face. I hope it scars.
He’s glaring and suddenly there’s a gun in his hand and he points. I fall flat and the bullet shatters through the glass behind me, revealing the Chicago sky.
A smile touches his face and he’s tensing again. But I’m on my back and I’m not fast enough, not ready.
He throws himself forward, picks me up, drags me to the window. And now I understand what he’s going to do.
Scream, kick, fight. Don’t let him win.
He drops me at the building’s edge and I grab onto the frame of the floor, claws digging into the steel frame. My feet squeak against glass. I can’t pull myself up.
Dalton crouches down, grins. “You know, I always wanted to know if cats always landed on their feet. Should we do a little experiment?”
I hiss.
He laughs, sits down, gets comfortable. “I’ll wait.” He leans forward. “I want to watch you fall. I want to watch that bravery vanish from your eyes.”
“Never.”
He cocks his head. Still grinning, still laughing. “Just wait, Kate. Terror is going to consume you. And when it does, you’re going to realize you’re nothing but a coward.”
No.
“Just wait,” he says again. “Just wait.”
Lindsay
“Kate. My daughter. My baby. My angel. Killed just like my husband. I wonder where the casualties will stop.”
-Linds
ay McCallister’s journal
Seventy-Six
Glass Tech has fallen into complete chaos.
It has been abandoned, left to rot, left to hide soldiers and madmen and scientists and experiments.
I didn’t know, couldn’t imagine what they actually did here. I couldn’t find the information. Until tonight at least.
And now I know everything. I know about the Invincible Project and the cloning and the coming destruction of Chicago. I have to tell someone, I have to warn them.
I have to tell the Black Kat.
She’s a hero, she’s Glass’s enemy, she could stop him. But she’s in trouble, they chained her up, they were going to kill her. I have to help her, I have to warn her.
I run down glass hallways, Jackson’s gun in one hand. I’ve never used it. I’ve never had to. I’ve never wanted to. It was always meant for Kate.
Kate. My daughter. My baby. My angel. Dead, killed, murdered.
“Hey!”
I turn, point the gun, feel it knocked out my hand. The soldier grabs me, yanks me against the wall, and I scream.
No, no, no. This is not how it’s supposed to end.
And then it doesn’t. A black wolf dives, knocks the man away, rakes its claws down his front. The man goes limp.
I’m staring. Because I’ve heard of him. The Timber Wolf. But I never expected to meet him. Let alone see him transform.
He’s human again. Just a kid. Not older than twenty.
“Are you okay?” he asks.
I nod. “You’re—”
“The Timber Wolf,” he says. “And you are?”
“Lindsay McCallister.”
He stops. “McCallister?” He looks excited now.
“Yes?”
He stands a little taller. “Allow me to introduce myself. Zane Rothstein, former agent of The Dragon.”
Oh. Oh.
“Lindsay,” he says, “There’s something you need to know.”
“Yes?”
“About the Black Kat.”
“I need to find her,” I blurt out. “I need to tell her something. Glass is going to clone Dalton Knight. We have to—”
Zane is laughing. “Trust me, Mrs. McCallister, she knows. The rest of the team is on their way down there. But there’s a lot of soldiers. I’ll be joining them.” He stops, grows serious. “But, Lindsay, you still need to see the Black Kat.
“You see, she’s your daughter.”
Kate
“Subject Five has the capacities to destroy Richard Glass. If only she can push herself to use them.”
-Dr. Pelletier, “Final Notes”
Seventy-Seven
I feel like screaming.
I’m still hanging out the window, clinging on with my fingertips, digging into steel with my claws. My arms are burning. My fingers are starting to slip. And Dalton is laughing at me.
“Oh, come on, Kate. Just let go already.”
“No!”
Stop. Hold on. Keep hanging on. For that voice. The voice of a woman, so quiet, so soft, so angry right now. It’s hers. The voice of my mother, the voice of Lindsay McCallister.
Dalton jumps to his feet, stands. “Lindsay! Nice to see you again.”
She stares past him, at me, hanging from the side of the building, clinging onto the edge of the skyscraper.
“Don’t let go,” she whispers, cries, sobs. “Just hang on.”
Dalton takes a step toward her. “No!” I scream, desperate. “Leave her alone.”
He’s smirking when he looks down at me. “I don’t think you’re in the best place to order me around.”
Dalton takes another step toward my mother and she steps back. There’s a gun in her hand but it doesn’t matter. It wouldn’t kill him. It wouldn’t even hurt him for long.
I kick against glass, try to push myself up, almost falling in the process.
No. No. No. I have to do something, I have to save her, I have to, I have to, I have to.
And then I don’t have to.
A knife spins past my mother, slicing through Dalton’s arm. He growls, turns, and sees the Vigilante standing there.
Relief is a flood and my heart is drowning in it.
The Vigilante unsheathes his sword, pulls off his hood, lets it drop to ground. “I would leave the woman alone if I were you.”
Dalton steps toward him. “This is none of your business, vigilante.”
“I’ve made it my business.”
Dalton lunges for him and now they’re fighting and my mother runs to the window, kneels down. “Kate.”
“Mom,” I grunt, still hanging on by my fingertips.
She holds out a hand and I take it, wrapping my fingers around her forearm. She pulls and I push off the building’s glass side with my feet.
It’s a good thing I’m so light.
I fall back into the room and she catches me. We stare at each other for a minute.
Because this is the first time I’ve seen her in months, because she thought I was dead, because I didn’t think I’d ever see her again.
And then she’s hugging me and sobbing. “Kate. My angel. Kate.”
I hug her back, wrap my arms around her. I’m crying too. “I didn’t think I was ever going to see you again.”
“I thought you were dead.”
“What made you think otherwise?”
“Zane Rothstein.” She almost laughs. “He’s quite smitten with you, you know.”
I blush, clear my throat. “He found you?”
“He told me you were fighting Dalton. And then he went down to help the others with Glass. He said they ran into a lot soldiers on the way.”
I nod. Of course.
Mom glances at Dalton and the Vigilante. “Who is he?”
“The Gray Assassin,” I say, a scowl on my expression. “He’s a British crime fighter that kills criminals. I guess I should be grateful he showed up. But I still don’t like him.”
Mom is smiling. “He’s cute.”
“Please, Mom, don’t try to set me up with a murderer. Zane is crazy enough, as a wolf man and spy.”
She laughs. “So, you’re just as smitten with him.”
I’m blushing again and I focus on the fight. The Vigilante swings his sword, cutting deep into Dalton’s side. Dalton growls and lunges for him. He dances to the side, just out of reach.
Dalton stops. Presses his finger to his ear. “Got it.”
And now he’s grinning, stepping back, raising his hands. “Not that this isn’t fun,” he says, “But I’ve got other things to deal with. Other than crazy cat women and vigilantes with samurai swords.”
And with that, he runs off.
I stand, walk over to the Vigilante. “I suppose I owe you a thank you.”
He smiles. “Don’t bother, love. Not if you don’t mean it.”
“Fine. I’m not going to thank you.”
He laughs.
I’m scowling. “What are you doing here?”
“I saw you on the telly,” he explains. “I came to help.”
I sigh, glance at my mother. “I need to find Glass. If he clones Dalton, it’s all over.” Glance back at the Vigilante. “I hate to say it but I need a favor.”
He’s smiling. “Anything for you, love.”
I scowl. Love. Stop it.
“Take my mother home. Protect her.”
“Kate—”
I shake my head. “I need you to be safe. And he’s the only one who can protect you. Go with him.” I lower my voice. “Just don’t trust him.”
“I heard that,” the Vigilante says. “I won’t hurt her. She’s not one of the bad guys. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather have me help you?”
“No.”
He grins. “Fair enough. I will take her home and keep her safe. If you have any doubts, I will give you my name. If I were to harm her or take her, you would be able to hunt me down.”
“Fine.”
He holds out his hand. “Landon McKay.”
I do
n’t take it. I look at my mother, touch her cheek. “I’ll come home the moment this is over.”
She sighs. “I love you, kiddo. Don’t get yourself killed. I can’t do it again.”
I nod, step away. “Expect me late. Maybe not until the morning.”
She nods, steps next to Landon.
I turn to go, turn to leave the room, turn to run, but—
“Kate!”
I turn back and my mother runs to meet me, gives me a hug, places something cold into the palm of my hand.
It’s my father’s gun.
“If it’s between his life and yours,” she says, eyes cold, voice hard, “Make sure it’s his.”
Seventy-Eight
I keep the gun close as I run down the hall. Into the basement. Past groups of soldiers fighting police officers. It seems that we’re not alone in this fight.
Stop. Zandra, Jay, Tatyana. Fighting soldiers.
Tatyana spits at a soldier, paralyzing him. And then she looks at me. “Go,” she mouths.
And then she’s fighting again and I start to run. Past the fighting, deeper into the basement, and into a room I’ve never seen before.
I stop. Because there’s a lot of steel, a lot of machinery, a lot of things I don’t understand.
This has to be it. The cloning device.
I walk through the room, in search of Zane, in search of Glass. It’s time to end this.
But time is so changeable.
I stop. See the black wolf with a giant trap clamped around its body.
“Zane!”
I run to help him, ignoring the soft growls ripping out of his throat.
And come face to face with my own reflection.
Seventy-Nine
It’s me. Standing across from…me. A copy, a reflection, an exact replica.
A clone.
She lunges forward, grabs my throat, digs her claws into my neck. And shoots me in the gut.
Cry out, fall on weak knees, clutch a bleeding stomach. I just got shot by a clone. Of me. I just got shot by myself.
I’m staring at her and she’s smiling and now I can see Glass, stepping out from behind machinery.
The Invincibles (Book 1): Trapped: A girl. A monster. A hero. Page 25