“We can eat in the office,” Rafe says, nodding toward the door in the centre of the foyer. I open the door, bracing against the weakness in my legs. This is the most physical exertion I have had in weeks. “Take the head seat,” he says, placing my tray on the desk.
The office is large, but by no means extravagant. The desk is scratched and cluttered, and there is a large, wooden table in the centre of the room. The chairs around it are the uncomfortable, plastic types you find in schools. Again, the walls and flooring are plain concrete and unhomely. The only stamp of individuality is the wall behind the desk, full to bursting with pieces of paper, newspaper cuttings, photographs, and maps. They’re pinned so the leaves overlap in a higgledy-piggledy collage of information. There must be an order to the chaos, but my mind can’t make head nor tail of it.
Darcy sits at my feet, resting his head on my knees. I have so much love for this dog it’s unreal. He is loyal just like those I’ve left behind.
Rafe pulls up a chair opposite, moving piles of paperwork to set his tray down in front of mine. “This place doesn’t look like much, but it’s home and it’s safe.”
“Do all those people live here?”
Rafe twists noodles onto his fork. “There are two hundred and seventy-six members living right here. We have barrack style accommodation to house everyone, but it’s a squeeze. I was looking at obtaining a second property before Woodman’s hare-brained act of war, however, nothing suitable or secure presented itself.”
“Do you house Non-EVO?”
Rafe laughs to himself. “No, we are an EVO only organisation. If the Non-EVO act wisely and don’t draw attention to themselves, then they’re safe right where they are.” He stops eating to judge my reaction. “Stop scowling at me. We’re not Non-EVO haters like the E.N.C, and neither are we a bunch of hippy wannabes like Syndicate. We are the middle men. The happy medium.”
“What is it that Shift want?”
“We want to put EVO in a position of power. Only then, can we change the lives of our kind. We’re passed the point of no return. It’s all or nothing now. It really is a shame that it has come to this.”
I snort in distaste. “Where do the Non-EVO feature in your plans?”
“What is your obsession with the Non-EVO? The ones who want to fight alongside Towley can do so. We will show mercy to those who accept us. You know first-hand how many Non-EVO are affected negatively by this war. Don’t forget that my own daughter was Non-EVO. They will benefit from this just as much in the long run. What is your motto again- strength and mercy?”
I bristle from the realisation that he knows a hell of a lot about me, and I know next to nothing about him. “How’d you know—”
There’s a knock at the door. Rafe leans back in his chair and calls them in. I watch him with a burning curiosity. He is the embodiment of Shift and said his piece with conviction. It’s clear that he has been waiting for this unrest for a long time. I have confidence in him and that scares me.
Three people enter- Bo, the Aerokin I first met in the fight house, and who somehow found her way into Rafe’s organisation. Anders, the EVO who wormed his way onto Towley’s security detail using Influence, and a handsome, blonde man I haven’t met before.
A smile betrays Bo’s usually hard exterior. Her hair has been freshly shaved and dyed peroxide-blonde. “Hey, Leason.”
I’m not sure if I’m mad at her or not. She was working under Rafe’s orders at the rally, but I don’t think any of them expected the outcome they garnered.
“This one has a death wish,” she says to the blonde man.
He strides toward me, takes my hand and kisses my knuckles. There’s a familiar glint in his blue eyes.
“Hello, Vin,” I say, slipping my hand from his grip. I remember Vin as the gentle giant who carried me back to Towley’s rally. His eyes are startlingly blue and he isn’t afraid to use them, maintaining eye contact for longer than necessary. They were all I saw of his face before, but now the mask is off, and I can see the flirtatious glint and the upturn of his lip, I get the feeling that Vin is a bit of a lady’s man. He looks like a Greek God and he knows it.
“You’re looking better than the last time I saw you,” he says. “But only just.”
“The last time you saw me, I had a gun to my temple and a bomb in my head.”
“And none of this humour. You surprise me. I like it.” He winks at me before returning to Bo’s side.
Anders limps over and hugs me. He smells of the cold and rain. His injured leg is strapped up over his trousers; a bullet wound served by Towley for his part in aiding me- aiding Shift. He has lost his faux marine act surprisingly quickly. His face is unshaven, and he wears a fringed, suede waistcoat on top on a baggy tie-dyed shirt.
“Thank you for saving my ass,” he says into my ear.
Rafe still eats his noodles. “Are they back?” he asks Bo.
“They’re just unloading. They’ve done well,” she replies. “Took a warehouse just outside of Surrey. All canned and dried food. I’m not sure how long our scavenging will last, though.”
Rafe wipes his mouth with a napkin and disappears from the room, followed by Bo, Vin, and Anders. I’m definitely missing out on something. Straining to get out of the chair unassisted, I drag myself to the door.
A group huddle in the foyer with Rafe. He slaps someone on the back, bringing them into a brief embrace. They wear masks I recognise- synth masks. The man that Rafe hugged removes his mask to reveal a mop of ginger hair.
Crow.
I falter a little, managing to steady myself on the door frame before I hit the floor. Shift are here. Well, the Shift that I know.
“What is this?” I snap, staggering from the safety of the door frame.
Adrenaline takes the edge off the pain a little. Every head whips in my direction. Kid, Coco, and Crow are taken aback by my appearance, but Brick and Rio just seem relieved to see me up and walking. They saw me at my worst - barely breathing - as good as dead. I feel betrayed by them all. These people are like strangers to me.
“Did you plan this all along?” I ask Rafe. “You were always going to snatch me away from my family. Is that why they’re involved?” I jab a finger at them, keeping my face appropriately pissed off.
That’s how Rafe knew Darcy’s name, and how he knows so much about me.
People start to file out of the canteen at the sound of the commotion.
Crow takes a few paces in my direction, but my glare stops him in his tracks. His eyelid hangs heavier than usual over his eye. “I wasn’t honest with you from the start, but that’s on me, not these guys. We never planned to separate you from the others. It wasn’t supposed to be this way, Cub.”
The name, Cub, slips from his lips naturally. After all, that was my Shift nickname, but now, I’m not sure that I want him feeling so familiar. I feel doubly betrayed by Crow, not only has he pretended to be my friend, he is my biological cousin and that should mean something.
“If I could move, I would knock you out cold,” I say to him. “You lied to me.”
“No, I skirted around the truth. Just hear me out.”
“I’m done for today,” I say to Rafe, conscious not to make eye contact with the gathering horde. He tries to assist me on the steps, but I shake him off. “Please don’t. Just leave me alone. All of you, just leave me alone.”
I struggle to climb and maintain dignity with all eyes on me. I’m practically crawling on all fours.
Hands close on my upper arms, and Brick turns me to face him. “I would never have left you if I had known what was planned,” he whispers. “I made Adam a promise.”
It’s understandable that he doesn’t want Crow to hear. He is devout to Crow, but that doesn’t mean he has to agree with all of his actions. I believe Brick, and a weight is lifted to know I still have a friend. He carries me just like he did when he rescued me from Towley. I wrap my legs around his huge frame and rest my head against his thick neck as he carries me up the
staircase and out of the stench of betrayal. At least I have one person I can trust. Two if you count the unfaltering mutt keeping pace beside us.
CHAPTER TWO
Brick takes the armchair beside my bed, kicking off his boots and stretching out. His movements are slow and precise considering that Brick is a Runner: EVO with super human speed. He looks as tired as I feel. I make a futile attempt to get comfortable, but after the excursion downstairs, an ache eats at my bones, and Darcy lies like an anchor across my legs.
“Hasn’t that stiff doctor offered you anything to help you sleep?” he asks, eating the grapes that Rafe had stocked at my bedside.
On second thoughts, I must look equally as tired as I feel.
“Yes, but I never take them. I’m not a fan of sedatives for obvious reasons,” I say.
He nods nonchalantly. “These are some good grapes.”
“Good to know.” I refuse the one he offers me.
He sits forward, resting his gigantic arms on his knees. “I’m sorry about what happened, but I’m not totally innocent in it. I knew about Rafe. Crow told us everything the night you were taken by Towley… the night we lost Pug.”
Brick looks to his hands, his bulky shoulders sagging. There have been so many people lost that I forget that everyone has their own pain, their own grief.
“How long has Crow known?” I ask.
“Since you were taken from the detention centre by Bo and the E.N.C. That’s how Crow knew to head to the E.N.C base. He was doing what he thought was right. When you were taken by Towley, he had to explain it all to us in hopes that we could aid Rafe in getting you out. The initial plan was never to take you from Adam and Jude, but to get you out of the rally and back to the safety of Syndicate. Rio and I were not clued in on Bo’s involvement. I think it was need to know for your protection. Crow took the opportunity to recruit Bo the night we got you away from the fight house. She took some of the more powerful EVO to Rafe’s meeting point, the rest came with us to Syndicate. As far as we were aware, we were supposed to get you out alive, and then train you at Syndicate until Rafe was ready for you. When Bo sent me to get Adam and the others, that was for real. I promised him, Cub. He agreed that Rio and I were the best ones to get you out quickly and quietly, but he made me swear I’d bring you back to him. It was the bomb development that changed everything. That’s the first time in all my life that I have not kept my word.”
“I had to think on the fly,” says Rafe from the door. Coco, Kid, Rio, and Crow stand behind him. “I suppose now is as good a time as any to explain.”
“What does that mean? Wait until you were ready for me?” I ask Rafe.
He perches on the edge of my bed, forming answers before he opens his mouth. “There is a plan. We call it the ‘bigger picture’.”
It’s not the first time I have heard that phrase. Bo had said it to Brick, and I’m guessing that’s why he stopped questioning her plan to take me back to the rally.
“We wanted to instil doubt in the general population in regards to Towley’s accusations and make ripples he couldn’t control. That’s why we attempted to clear your name and disassociate you with Woodman and the E.N.C, but it wasn’t enough. It seems opening eyes alone will not change anything. We have been training all our EVO with ‘attack abilities’ in what we call ability warfare. Any lower grade EVO are being trained in manual combat. Everyone here is willing to help in the rebellion.”
I snort at the use of the word. Rafe gives me another of his pointed glares and it’s enough to shut me up.
“This is a rebellion, Kiddo. What word would you prefer – uprising - revolution? I am not playing games. The only way this will end is for EVO to end it. We’re not supremacists, but we need to be the victors for all our sakes.”
I believe him. He is deathly serious, and although I should probably be scared, I’m far from it. “Strength and mercy,” I say.
Rio lies beside me on the bed, arms folded behind his head, and feet crossed in a relaxed manner. He turns to me with that sultry look he has perfected, brushing his long brown hair out of his handsome face. Sometimes, I wonder if he uses his illusions to fool us into thinking he is good looking, when in reality, he isn’t really all that. That would be quite some feat.
“Exactly, Cub. You said yourself that Shift are your people. Shift starts with this man- your own GrandPops”
“What is stage two of the plan?” I ask, ignoring the reference to my relationship with Rafe.
“An army,” says Rafe.
I hold in my snort this time. He means exactly what he says. “Excuse me?”
“Why does Towley and the government fear us? Because they feel threatened by us. Because we are powerful, right? But we’re not using that power to its best. The E.N.C have been too reckless, and Syndicate are being too cautious. Shift can be just what this world needs, and we will be. We haven’t time for weak links. Everyone has a role. Here we are training every member to strengthen their abilities beyond anything they thought possible, or teach them to fight hand to hand. Crow’s orders were to train you to the best of his ability, whilst I continued to recruit, strengthen, and expand our numbers. You would have been brought into the plan when we thought you were ready. I wasn’t happy to take you away from Adam when your link was developing at a phenomenal rate. I was hoping he would have been an important recruit.”
“You wanted Adam too?”
“Of course. A link like yours is unheard of, and to have more than two abilities is unprecedented. I had dubbed you both Mega-EVO. I had hoped the pair of you could have developed your abilities further, but everything has its bonuses. Towley knows that if Adam thought you were alive, he’d be with you. Distance is good right now.”
My mouth goes dry and I eye him warily. The other’s clearly have no clue what Rafe is talking about, all except Crow.
“How do you know about our abilities?” I ask, barely louder than a whisper.
“Crow told me about the exploding pylon, and I remembered a talk I had with Leoni about a similar incident concerning Adam’s electrokinesis when he was a child. Then, there was the incident at the house in Cornwall. That shouldn’t have happened now that you have better control over your telekinesis. Adam, however…”
“I eavesdropped on your conversation with Leoni and Jude,” states Crow, quite openly.
“Are you saying Adam has telekinesis because of the link?” Kid asks, his voice rising an octave in surprise. I half expect him to screech his shock with that eardrum popping ability of his. His mousey-brown hair clings to his cheeks, and his face looks even more drawn in than I remember. In fact, everyone looks exhausted.
“The link worked both ways. Adam gained telekinesis and telepathy from Teddie, and Teddie gained electrokinesis in return. They were effectively Mega-EVO as a direct result of their rare link. I have never heard of EVO with more than two abilities. Honestly, I’ve never experienced a telepathic link with such power.”
“Have you ever had a link with someone?” I ask him.
Rafe shakes his head. “No, I can’t say I’ve ever had the privilege of being in love with such ardour. From what I have learnt, two people - at least one being a Telepath - need to be connected on an incredibly deep level for a link to occur.”
Lifting my hand, I will a spark of electricity. Nothing. “The link has broken,” I say. Am I no longer deeply connected to Adam? The thought makes me nauseous.
“Right,” Rafe confirms without compassion. “Adam is no longer of significance to Shift.”
“He should be,” I say, quietly. “He is strong and trained. Hell, he was a TORO. I need to go back.”
“That is not an option right now and you know that.
“No, I don’t know that. You can put me in a car, drive me back to Syndicate’s base, and then you can leave us be.” I mean it as well. Once they get me back to my family, they can crawl back under their Shift rock.
Rafe groans in frustration. Good. He can be frustrated because I bet it’s
not an ounce of what I’m feeling right now.
“Get up,” he demands. “I have something you need to see. If you’re going to continue to be pig headed, then you can damn well see what is at stake.”
We follow Rafe into his bedroom. It’s fairly big compared to my cupboard room, but as I suspected, it’s bare. A bed and wardrobe make up the entirety of the furniture, and some shoes line the far wall next to a pile of laundry in the corner.
Rafe retrieves a laptop from his bed, sits on the pristine, army-style sheets, and gestures for me to sit beside him. “Things have stepped up a gear since the rally. What has it been- twelve days? I can’t fully believe it myself.” He hands me the laptop, presses play, and gets up to leave, taking the others with him. “Come and find me when you’re done.”
A news broadcast that is dated just two days ago plays on screen. Smoke billows from a high-rise building. People run from the inferno, clutching infants, carrying the injured, and some throw themselves to the ground in an attempt to put out the flames that engulf their clothes. The news reporter can’t be heard over the noise, but he comes into view and gestures for the camera to swing to the right.
Soldiers and military vehicles fill the area to the right of the burning building. Every person who rushes out of the flames is restrained by soldiers and tested with a kinetic reader and a swab. Injured men and women are cuffed and thrown forcefully into the back of large trucks with guns trained on their heads. None are offered medical treatment. Screaming kids are bundled into separate trucks from the adults. They look terrified.
“I thought this was an E.N.C attack,” says the reporter to the camera man, the carnage making him oblivious to the camera still rolling. “I don’t understand this.”
“It’s a flush,” shouts a bloodied man, running passed them at speed.
EVO Nation Series Trilogy Box Set Page 57