by Leigh Walker
My eyes filled with tears. “Finn.”
Nora stopped walking. As cold as ever, she ignored our clasped hands and my red-rimmed eyes. “Right through here.” She motioned to a door.
We both hesitated. Nothing in me wanted to walk through. Dread welled up from deep inside my gut. I didn’t have to be precognitive to know what that meant.
It meant bad. It meant run.
But there was nowhere to run.
Squeezing Finn’s hand, I walked through the door. At the same time, I started agitating the molecules around the monitor embedded somewhere in the base of my neck. Good thing I’d been working on using my powers with my eyes wide open, because I didn’t want to tip Nora off.
Finn and I stopped in our tracks as we heard the door shut and lock behind us. “No.” He shook his head. “No.”
I kept squeezing his hand, but nothing could make what was in front of us better.
Althea Remington and three guards stood in front of a helicopter, looking as though they were waiting for someone.
Someones. Us.
“No.” I joined Finn with my answer.
Althea smiled, largely undeterred. She was refreshed, regal in her robes, her hair smooth again. “Thank you so much for joining me. I’m looking forward to everything we can accomplish together.”
“Nora!” Finn turned and ran for her, but mid-step, his whole body seized.
Nora tapped something into her tablet and nodded at the guards. He stopped seizing and stood still. But he looked funny, like a marionette whose strings had been momentarily retired. “Put him in the copter. Take the girl, too.”
“I’m not going anywhere!” I tried to calculate how far we would get if I stole Finn back and crushed Nora and Althea’s skulls together.
I would never make it out of this room. The alarm would sound. We would be surrounded. Then everything, all of this, would be for nothing.
In that moment, Nora quickly tapped something else into her tablet. Althea watched me closely, an eager expression on her face. That was when it hit me—not the transmission or whatever Nora was trying to code into my monitor, but the fact that they had to believe I was under the monitor’s spell. Otherwise they would probably slice me open right there in an attempt to figure out how I’d evaded it.
How does a human-robot walk? I had no idea, so I just stopped fighting. When the guards came for us, I mimicked Finn’s movents, which were slow and steady, like an obedient zombi. Finn climbed onboard the helicopter and buckled himself without objection. I did the same. His body looked funny, almost as if he were frozen, or battery-operated and needed a recharge.
I didn’t dare speak. Are you in there?
But nothing came back.
Curse word that rhymes with mother-trucker!
Althea Remington climbed aboard and sat in the front, next to the pilot. The two guards came and sat in front of Finn and me. They put protective headphones over our ears. I didn’t say a word, didn’t flinch, didn’t make eye contact, and didn’t clutch at Finn.
Was I supposed to be a robot now…and forever?
Not knowing what was expected of me, I took my cue from Finn and sat rigid and silent.
But on the inside, I was praying. I was praying hard.
The roof opened wide, and the helicopter rose into the air. Without moving too much or looking interested, I attempted to make out what I could of the ground falling away behind us. The base was already tiny, a small speck surrounded by thick woods.
I’d noticed, when we’d landed and again now, that the landscape looked more like the Northeast. That made sense when I considered our flight time from California to Althea’s headquarters at SVA Systems. Our flight in had taken hours, but the return trip had taken a quarter of the time.
I tried not to think about the others and the fact that we were leaving them behind. I tried not to think about my mom and Tess. Maybe since she’d gifted us to Althea Remington, Nora would give them the antidote in an act of contrition? Maybe she would recognize our sacrifice and our service?
But since she’d just manipulated Finn and me, tried to turn us into robot servants, and handed us off to Althea Remington, “maybe” was definitely giving her too much credit.
Rage, fear, and sadness vied for predominance inside me. We were leaving everything we knew. Finn was a shell of himself beside me. I was now the pet of public enemy number one.
When she’d last held us captive, Althea had had her medical team perform multiple surgeries on Finn. I’d been next in line. They had been trying to figure out how we were different and to understand our powers. Was her plan to continue the work?
My mind raced. Althea had her hands in many things. She’d been trying to perfect a virus to employ in her ecological terror campaign. She’d stolen Nicole’s robot and sophisticated artificial intelligence. And now she had us again, the government’s genetically engineered psychic secret weapons.
We could come in awfully handy, especially if she could control our every move. No wonder she wanted us so bad.
But she can’t control me. Not now, not ever.
And I had every intention of using that against her until the bitter end.
19
The Secret
We flew over a city, and in a rush, I recognized where we were. Washington, D.C. We flew into the city and started to descend. I made out the National Mall, the White House, and the Capitol building.
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Was our government even still here? We’d been kept in the dark for so long, I didn’t know. I had no idea whether the president, the senate, or any of the federal infrastructure was still in place. The fact that Althea Remington was going to D.C. just made the impossible tangle in my brain constrict even more tightly. Was she there because she was seeing someone in the government? Was she there because she was the new government?
Considering everything that had transpired with Nora, I no longer knew where anyone stood. It was as if all the chess pieces had been assigned new value, and I didn’t know who was what anymore.
Then something else hit me.
My Dad said I need to find my biological parents. And Finn… Finn had said something about D.C. I concentrated, bringing his words back to me. I’d been about to bleed out on the tiles in the steam room after we’d come back from Levels when I told Finn what my dad’s note had said.
“Okay…” Finn’s forehead furrowed. “I think all of our donors were at the capital.” The capital. We were about to land on a helipad in the center of the capital.
Was Althea here on business for The Division?
I wanted to believe it was just a coincidence. I also wanted to believe that this was all a dream, that I was going to wake up and Finn would be beside me, wholly himself, and that all our friends and families would be safe. But wanting to believe things was going to get me nowhere—except curled up in a ball and hysterical.
I checked Finn again, my gaze traveling over him subtly, making sure I didn’t alert the guards with any sudden movement.
Babe? Are you in there?
He stared straight ahead.
I concentrated briefly on my power. I’d set it on autopilot to protect my monitor from Nora’s frickin’ gamma rays or whatever the heck she’d zapped us with. My power continued to hum along, agitating the molecules and blocking my monitor. I didn’t have to babysit it or even concentrate on it. I’d gotten stronger over the past few weeks. Fighting to save the people I loved had done that, I supposed.
My gaze flicked to Finn again, who sat stock still, his hands clenched into fists. I needed to keep my telekinetic block running on my own monitor and simultaneously try to clear Finn’s.
We descended further, heading toward a tall building. The copter hovered above the helipad, preparing to land. I glanced at Finn again, deciding to wait…at least for now. I would work on freeing Finn as soon as possible, but I didn’t want to screw up my own block and make myself vulnerable, too. Then we’d both be
lost.
The helicopter completed its landing procedure, and the pilot flicked the engine off. The guards removed their protective headphones then mine and Finn’s. Again, I stayed still, my body language mirroring Finn’s.
Althea was escorted out of the chopper, and she waited for us on the landing. “Cuff them,” she said.
The soldiers led us out and cuffed each of our wrists together. I took cold comfort in the fact that I could telekinetically free myself and Finn from the cuffs then knock Althea on her ever-loving ass.
Note to self: Um, hey… Why aren’t you doing that?
It was because I needed to know. I was as done with Althea as I was with Nora, but I needed to know what she was up to. I didn’t have any idea if her subordinates would carry on her war in her name if she were gone. I wanted to know what her plans were, and I wanted to know how and if she was involved with the government. I wasn’t going to get another opportunity like this. So although I itched to get all Hulk Smash on her and wipe that smug look off her face forever—and I planned to—I needed to know what she was doing first.
I felt as though I was making a choice. Considering we were handcuffed, Finn was acting like a robot, Althea was leading us inside some building in a city far away from our team, and there were armed guards watching our every move, I was buoyed by the feeling that I still had a modicum of control, a choice. Even if I was kidding myself.
We aren’t going out like this. Oh hell to the no. Finn didn’t answer, but it still made me feel better to say it.
We’d landed on the top of a tall building in what appeared to be downtown Washington. I fought the urge to peer over the top and take in the view. Still, I took in every detail I could as we followed Althea toward the building. Her guards brought up the rear. The weather was pleasant and warm. However, it was too quiet considering we were in the center of a once-bustling city. There were no sounds of traffic, and I didn’t hear anyone on the streets below. Washington wasn’t one of the cities that Althea had originally targeted. But what had happened here in the weeks and months since all our lives had changed forever?
We entered the building, into some sort of large lobby, and I glanced at Finn. He walked stiffly, without a hint of his usual strut. But he stayed with me, behind Althea, without bumping into anything or tripping or fumbling about. It was as though he was still in there, but only partly, like someone had pushed him out of the way and grabbed the wheel, and he was only a silent, and most likely extremely pissed, passenger.
If they can do this to us, to all of us, we would literally be their weapons. They could use us however they saw fit.
At the other end of the lobby was a reception desk. A lone woman in a black suit sat behind it, just as if this were a typical day at the office. She rose to her feet when we got closer.
“Your Highness.” She bowed formally to Althea, while I tried not to vomit inside my mouth. “We’ve been expecting you.” Her gaze flicked over Finn and me. “Is everyone here cleared?”
“Yes. Thank you.” Althea motioned for her guards to bring us and we followed the woman down a bright, sunny, stylishly decorated hall. I felt as if I’d fallen through the rabbit hole. This looked like a high-end advertising firm, with its potted plants and sleek, modern decor. The woman brought us to a conference room, ushered us inside, and closed the door.
Althea sat at the table. She nodded at her guards, motioning toward Finn and me. “Keep an eye on them. They’re not due for a reset for another forty-five minutes, but I want to make sure.”
I filed this away. We waited in silence until someone knocked on the door. A balding man came in, smiling obsequiously. He wore a suit and a red tie, and again, I felt as if the ground was shifting underneath my feet.
People still have business meetings? People are still wearing ties? Doesn’t anybody around here know it’s the apocalypse?
He bowed, quite awkwardly, toward Althea. “Your Highness. So sorry we kept you waiting.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Do you have the information I’ve been looking for?”
He cleared his throat. “Y-yes.” Did I imagine it, or did his gaze travel over Finn and me, lingering a bit guiltily?
Althea beamed at him. “Then it was well worth the wait.”
He set a file in front of her then scurried away while pretending not to scurry. Dude was obviously petrified of Althea, and he didn’t want it to show.
Join the club.
She opened the file and quickly read through the papers. “So are these all still viable?”
The man shook his head slightly. “They’re too old for actual harvesting, but their DNA is perfectly acceptable for cloning. That’s the board’s recommendation. We think it would be cleaner.”
“What about quicker?” Althea asked.
He nodded doggedly, as though he couldn’t emphasize his agreement enough. “Yes, yes, much quicker.”
“Then that sounds like the appropriate route. Do you have the necessary equipment for me?”
His face fell. “We don’t have enough to spare.”
Althea smiled at him, but it wasn’t a nice smile. “That’s not going to work for me. The admiral was very clear—parts and equipment are part of this deal.”
The man took a step back. “Sh-she didn’t clear that with the board.”
“Get her on the phone, then. Now.”
The man nodded, making his way toward the door. Althea motioned to her guards, and they went and blocked him.
“You can call from in here.” Her tone was clear. That was an order, not a request.
“Of course.” He still nodded doggedly, but his face had gone pale. He tapped on his tablet, and Nora’s voice filled the room.
“What the hell do you want now, Andy?”
Andy cleared his throat. “I’m just here with Althea.”
Nora said nothing.
“She’s looking to pick up the donors. She would also like the equipment.”
“Put her on.”
Andy offered Althea the tablet with a weak smile. She snatched it from him and glared at the screen. “We talked about this, Admiral. About two hours ago.”
“The terms have changed.” Nora’s voice was icy. “I spoke with my team out there after you left. In order for this to continue to run smoothly, the equipment has to stay on-site. You’re welcome to view the lab and how we’re set up. But that’s it.”
“That’s not good enough.”
“I’m afraid it’s going to have to be. It’s the best I can do.”
Althea smiled again. Boy, was she creepy when she smiled. “That’s not going to work for me.”
“Moving on—how are the agents?” Nora wasn’t affected, or at least she pretended she wasn’t. “Is everything working as planned? I see they’re due for a reset in forty minutes.”
“I don’t need your help, Nora. I never did.” Althea turned the tablet off and unceremoniously dropped it against the table. She looked at her guards. “Let’s get going, shall we?”
Andy cleared his throat again. He grinned stupidly at Althea, even as a bead of sweat trickled from his sideburn to his jawline. “We’re not going to have a problem, are we?”
“Of course not.” She nodded toward the nearest guard.
He took out his blaster and shot Andy. The man slumped to the ground.
Althea grabbed the tablet and stood. She brushed the hair back from her face and headed for the door.
It was almost a relief to act like a robot—I felt numb inside. I followed Althea out, stepping around Andy’s body on the floor. Her Majesty led us down another hallway, empty of guards, workers, and even potted plants. There was a chemical smell permeating this part of the building. The parts and equipment must have been close. I didn’t dare guess what we’d come here for.
I studied Althea’s back. She hadn’t even flinched. She hadn’t even blinked as Andy died right in front of us.
I tried not to think about it. I could’ve saved him. But if I didn’t learn what Al
thea was up to and stop her once and for all, so many more people would die. I was glad I was pretending to be a robot. I swallowed back the bile that threatened to rise. I would never forget Obsequious Andy and his bead of sweat.
I continued to watch Althea’s back.
The guard nudged me from behind with his blaster. I was lagging. I mindlessly increased my pace, catching up to Finn. He still stared straight ahead. He needed a reset soon, and they would try to re-amp my monitor as well. I silently tracked the time in my head, counting one Mississippi, two Mississippi. Althea led us down another hall, down a stairwell, and to a set of double doors.
I didn’t need any more evidence. She’d been working with the government. It was obvious that she’d been to this building before. Andy had met her before—he’d been terrified already—and she’d been planning on coming here for some time to take whatever we were about to get.
My heart hurt. The people she was working with were the people I’d been working for. They were the people who had our families. They were the people who’d created us, the people who were supposed to be protecting us. All of us.
I watched Finn, still counting down, still minding the time. I needed to be ready. But part of me hesitated.
Maybe it would be better if he didn’t wake up, if he didn’t know, if we didn’t ever go back. Maybe it would be better to let this all play out and reach its natural conclusion—which had to be the end of civilization, of humanity itself.
With every step down the hallway, I felt it coming closer. The end.
Maybe it was for the best. Seeing what people were capable of… I imagined poor, dead Andy back there, who’d made a deal with the devil and paid the ultimate price. Maybe we didn’t deserve to make it. Maybe Her Highness was right after all.
But then images flooded my brain. The night Finn first kissed me. My dad, jogging next to me when I’d learned to ride a bike, making sure he’d be there to catch me if I fell. Katie braiding my hair before school, because I could never do it right. My mother hugging me. Emma sharing her cake. Josh patting my back, Micah hugging me. People are good. People are kind. Not all people. But most people.