Easing slowly forward, Sorcha made her way to the hole in the fence. It wasn’t nearly big enough for her to squeeze through. She glanced around to see if the attacker was anywhere nearby. She saw a flash of his red clothing in the distance. With her heart beating overly fast she dug out the ground with her hands.
The critter had compacted the top layer with its own digging so she scrabbled to free the dirt but once she got through the compacted stuff it came out in large clumps.
A branch snapped close by and Sorcha went still. When no other sound came, she searched around for something to help her dig faster but she couldn’t see anything to work as a shovel. Sorcha pulled out a few more clumps of dirt and then took a risk and scrambled through. She could smell her attacker and she had to take the risk. Her shoulders caught on the fence. Material ripped and she knew her attacker would have heard that.
Working faster she pulled herself through. Gouging a deep cut into her shoulder. Hands wrapped around her ankle and yanked her back. Her knee jerk reaction was to kick back. His grip on her loosened but it was enough to pull her legs through.
Sorcha scrambled to her feet and backed up as she looked at her attacker through the fence. His blonde hair was sandy. A Scribe. She back peddled and ran. If he had a weapon, he would have shot her but he just glared at her through the fence.
There was no way he would be able to fit his brawny shoulders through the hole she had made in the fence and for him to unlock the gates and go around would take too long.
Sorcha ran.
She kept looking behind her and she didn’t see the Serenity step into her path. Colliding with his solid frame, the air was knocked out of her lungs. Her first reaction was to flail against him. Though there was no chance he was the Scribe who had attacked her in the park. That didn’t mean he didn’t have an accomplice. Whoever she had bumped into caught her arms and slammed her against the wall of the nearby building. The man yanked her hands behind her and zipped her wrists together.
The Serenity growled, “You are coming with us.”
When he turned her away from the wall, she saw another Serenity. He was dressed as a police officer or some form of military. She didn’t think there was much difference on Ardin between police and military. She almost called out for help when she realised the man, she had slammed into, also wore a similar uniform.
Sorcha groaned. She had attacked this man when she had run into him thinking he was the man in red’s accomplice. They would probably arrest her for assaulting a police officer. With her head hung low she let the men take her away. At least she didn’t have to worry about the Scribe attacker while she was in prison.
7
Serenity
Kynaston sat on the couch with his nephew. The baby stared at him with light blue eyes. He wasn’t sure what to do with the kid but Aaru was helping the other kid to dress so he was the designated baby holder.
The little girl hardly needed any help as Aaru held arms open and clothes up for the girl. It was hard to see how happy his sister was. He wanted to ask her if she forgave him for all the things he had done to force her on the path that he needed from her. But it was too difficult.
Before he could gather his courage Kaidan came to the door and said, “Sorcha has been arrested.” His world narrowed to a pinprick as he dashed out of the room. Shoving the baby into Aaru’s hands. Kaidan close on his heels.
Kynaston rushed into the police station where he saw Sorcha sitting at a police officer’s desk. At least they hadn’t put her in a cell or an interrogation room. The room went still but that was probably because Kynaston had brought Kaidan with him. Kynaston stumbled to a stop by Sorcha and caught up her hands.
“Are you alright? What happened?” Kynaston gingerly touched the gash in her shoulder. It wasn’t bleeding but it hadn’t been treated either. Aaru would look to that. She was a good doctor. Even if it had taken her longer to become a doctor because of his interference.
Sorcha was shaking visibly. “I went out for some air. I didn’t think it would be a problem. It was only to the park across the street. But a guy came out of nowhere and tried to attack me. He didn’t have a weapon but… He was a Scribe. I didn’t know there were scribes in the city.”
Kaidan said behind her, “There are a few. You aren’t the first to get on their bad side.”
Sorcha blinked and turned her head to look at Kaidan. She must not have realised Kaidan had followed Kynaston in. That warmed him that she had only seen him but that was probably due to her attack and shock rather than that she cared about him in any way. A man could dream.
“That is alright. We will get you out of here,” Kynaston reassured her.
Sorcha blushed. “I’m kind of under arrest. I assaulted a police officer by accident. I thought he was the Scribe guy’s accomplice.”
Kynaston looked up to Kaidan. He didn’t have to say anything and Kaidan nodded his head. He could trust him to sort out any misunderstanding. Kaidan left most likely to speak with the authorities. Though if what Aaru had told him about Kaidan it might be the police who had to follow Kaidan’s orders and he was actually the authority. He still couldn’t get his head around the changes that had happened in his life.
Sorcha looked shell-shocked. “I’m telling the truth,” She insisted.
He reached out and caught her hand. “Of course, you are. You haven’t lied to us yet. I don’t think this any reason for you to start. When Kaidan gets back, we’ll take you home and Aaru can look at that gash. It looks pretty nasty. How did that happen?” At least that had been her speciality when she had started studying. He assumed she had kept that up but he honestly couldn’t remember. He had tuned out whenever she spoke about becoming a doctor. It was too dangerous for her to work in a field that was dominated by Scribes. She had no subtly. They would have realised she was Serenity right away.
That really didn’t matter. Not when people were attacking Sorcha but he couldn’t help the rambling that bubbled up in his head. He couldn’t forget his mistakes.
“He locked the gate to the park so I had to climb through a hole under the fence.” Kynaston turned her hands over to see that they were also cut up and dirt was embedded deep into the wounds on her hands.
Kaidan returned and nodded. Kynaston gathered up Sorcha and helped her out of the place. With his arm around her he could tell she was shivering from reaction.
Once back at Aki’s building Kynaston brought Sorcha to Aaru. She clucked over her and tended Sorcha’s wounds. Aaru shooed him off so Sorcha could have a long shower.
Kynaston hesitated at the door while Aaru dealt with Sorcha.
Heading towards the bathroom, Sorcha chuckled. “That is the third shower I’ve had in twenty-six hours.”
When Sorcha left Aaru asked, “What is the story?”
Before Kynaston could answer Kaidan said, “A Scribe assassin. Not fantastic.”
Aaru huffed. “I knew there had to be a few around.”
Kynaston asked, “You knew that was a possibility?”
Kaidan explained, “You won’t know this but when we got Aaru out we went back to broadcast to the rest of the people that the humans were coming and that the Scribes were hiding things from them. They had some spin story ready. That meant they were ready for us and the only people who knew we were coming was the council and a few select people involved in the actual raid. So we knew there were leaks in the city council and high in the Serenity government. We have spent the last few years taking out as many as we can but we never found the principal leak.”
“So Sorcha is in danger here.” His urge to bundle her up and run bubbled up. He knew it was an overreaction, so he shoved it back down.
“She knew that when she came. She shouldn’t have left the building.” Kaidan grumbled.
“She is a prisoner?” His own panic surfaced upping the pitch to her words. He knew she wouldn’t really care that she had to stay in the building but even thinking of the possibility bothered him.
Aaru
put a hand on his arm. “Calm down Kynaston. We didn’t realise they would move so quickly. Now we know what they are capable of we will have things in place. She will be safe.” Aaru’s face softened and she asked, “Do you like Sorcha? I mean I have never seen you like this over a girl. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with a girl that you cared to spend more than an evening with.”
It was more than that. He had never taken a girl home. He had made it appear like he had a different girl every night but that was to reinforce his image of a savvy businessman. In reality he hadn’t been able to risk having a woman close enough even for a night, in case she found out about his Serenity abilities. He had less control of them when his emotions were heightened. He hadn’t met a woman he was willing to risk everything for.
Sorcha was different. Even now when he no longer had to worry about hiding his Serenity abilities, he wanted to be by her. She was his anchor and that comforted him and bothered him at the same time. He shouldn’t need someone so much and in a way it was just as much a prison as his cell had been.
If he had met her before all of this, he might have risked it for her. He knew he didn’t have a shot with her. She was only helping him out because he had been shafted by the Scribes and could be her ticket into saving her own skin. He didn’t hold that against her. He had done worse things in his own life to survive.
8
Scribe
Sorcha couldn’t sleep. The rest of the building was quiet. Kynaston had gone to sleep hours before. A security guard had checked in around ten to see that she was alright and they had shut down the building.
The only way in and out of the suite was the stairs and they were almost seventy stories up.
Sorcha gave up on sleeping and went to get a glass of water. A scrap of noise told her she wasn’t alone. She stopped and then backtracked to Kynaston’s room, slipping inside silently.
He still slept so it couldn’t have been him in the other part of the building. She shook his shoulder and he came awake with a groan. She pressed a hand over his mouth to get him to keep quiet. She could see the whites around his eyes in the dim light of the bedroom and knew he was awake. She whispered, “There is someone in the apartment.” Kynaston moved then, shoving aside her hand he quickly dressed. She blushed when she realised he was naked and turned her head away so he could dress in some privacy.
He tapped his computer and whispered into it, “Code yellow, Kaidan. At least one person.” He cut off the call not waiting for an answer on the other side. She supposed there wasn’t a need for an answer. It was clear the two of them had spoken about what to do in case of an intruder. Serenities were not known for their fighting skills. She didn’t think Kynaston was a fighter.
Flustered by the intruder Sorcha flashed back to her attack earlier in the day which didn’t help her nerves. She frowned as she took him in. Calm and collected he shoved some pillows into his blankets as he said, “We just need to hide until Kaidan gets here. Closest?”
She frowned at the random question until she realised he was asking where she wanted to hide. Shaking her head, she glanced around for a less obvious hiding place. If their goal was to avoid the intruder for as long as possible then they had to avoid the obvious.
She motioned to a cabinet under the sink in the bathroom of his room. The ensuite was massive so there was plenty of space under the cabinet but since there were other places to hide in the room, including in the dark cavernous space under the bed she didn’t think they would search there first.
He groaned but taking her hand he helped her in. He surprised her by squeezing himself in beside her. It was a good thing this was a luxurious apartment and cabinet was a double sink. There was just enough space for them to crouch facing each other with their backs bent under the sinks. Crammed in around the pipes and the recycling unit.
Kynaston closed the doors with his Serenity abilities. Probably for the best as it would have been impossible to bend their arms around to close the doors themselves. Any of the ambient light in the room was shut out once they were in the closet. She could hear her own heart beating and her breath that seemed loud enough that the assassin would be able to find them in a moment.
Fright had her almost squealing when something touched her hand only for her to figure out that it was Kynaston. He tightened his fingers over her own. Nerves completely shot she took a moment to take a couple of deep breaths.
She told herself that they were in a building that had security. Even if the intruder found them, they could fight. That had her calming down and she shifted to a more comfortable position in the small space on her side of the cabinet.
Her back ached with the forced confinement and the awkward position. A step outside the cabinet made her breath catch in her throat. She hadn’t even heard the assassin coming into the bedroom. Feet scuffed outside the cabinet as the intruder moved around the bathroom. He didn’t stay long. Just enough time to look around and then he left. She could hear his footsteps now in the bedroom. He hadn’t stopped to open any cabinets or closets so they might have been fine in the closest or under the bed.
Listening so intently to the soft sounds of the intruder moving around had her jerking with surprise when the scuffle started. There was a crack that sounded like the concrete of the floor had broken.
Kynaston opened the cabinet and urged her out. They got out and went to where they heard the fighting.
The two dark clothed figures rolled on the ground and then stopped as Kaidan got on top and tightened his arm around the intruder’s neck. The assassin was dressed in black but he had lost his hood which was a blob of blackness on the ground by them.
Kynaston called, “lights,” and turned on the lights.
Kaidan dropped the man, his head landing on the carpet with a thump. Unconscious, he was no longer a threat. Kaidan was hardly even breathing hard from his tussle with the assassin. Only wearing some sleep pants as he must have rushed down to save them. She was impressed with his muscles and envied Aaru for a moment.
Kynaston asked, “Another scribe?”
“No, this is a Serenity. He has an ability.” That must have been the crack they had heard as it was clear he didn’t have a weapon. His hands were empty and he was wearing gloves. Most weapons required skin to activate the weapon.
Sorcha said, “A conspiracy then.”
Kaidan didn’t seem shocked by the revelation that there were more than Scribes involved. He secured their prisoner but tying his hands up with some cable ties. Though if he woke, he could probably free himself with his abilities. Kaidan didn’t seem concerned as he flipped the man over to have a closer look at his face. Now Sorcha could see the Serenity features. His skin was much paler than her own. “No doubt. But not surprising. To even enter the city, they would need someone’s approval. This building though has high security. There are only a handful who have access so we can certainly start to narrow it down.”
Kynaston asked, “Do you need someone to get answers from this guy. I’m not very good at reading thoughts unless I’m touching them.”
“No, he’ll be worked over differently. I can’t let any of the council know that I have him. We will tell people he is dead. The council have to approve mental interrogations in any case. So to use that method we would have to reveal him to the council.” Kaidan slung the man over his shoulder and left with a nod to Kynaston.
Sorcha slumped to the ground and Kynaston rushed to her. She shook with shock. Facing assassins was not something she wanted to get used to be she would prefer the blasé nature of the Warrior.
Kynaston wrapped his arms around her and asked, “You alright?” she didn’t answer as she wasn’t actually sure of her answer. Instead, she allowed him to hold her for a while.
9
Serenity
Kynaston looked around his grandmother’s office. Sorcha sat opposite his grandmother. The corner office was impressive. He knew of some CEO that would envy her. When he had come in here the other day, he hadn’t
really had time to take in the views as he had still been very raw from his emotions of being reunited with his family. Now they were waiting for Kaidan. He had said he had news from his interrogation of the assassin. He didn’t want to know how he had gotten the man to speak but he also didn’t think it was torture. Many people wrote off the Warrior model but he knew they were smarter than people accounted them for.
His pacing must have annoyed his grandmother as Aki said, “Sit down, boy.” As he turned to take in his grandmother Kaidan came in who then took the other available chair so Kynaston decided to remain standing and looked over the view of the city. Besides, he didn’t think he could sit, anyway.
Aki said, “What is this news you need us to meet like this?” Kynaston got the impression that Aki didn’t like meeting people face to face. He could understand that as everyone’s emotions were on edge and if she couldn’t filter that out it would be painful.
Kaidan, familiar with her sharp nature, didn’t prevaricate. “The assassin was eager to talk. He said he had been sent to silence Sorcha.” Unsurprising as Kynaston didn’t think the assassin had been sent for him. His presence here in the Serenity city was only a minor aggravation to the Scribe government. Only because they didn’t have power over him. He didn’t know anything to pass onto the Serenities and he certainly wasn’t capable enough to be a problem for the Scribes.
Sorcha’s eyes widened. “What could I know? I’ve already told you everything I know.”
“Well, it isn’t about the humans,” Kaidan mused. Kynaston gathered that Kaidan knew more than he did but all Kynaston was concerned was whether it would affect Sorcha.
“What? I don’t know any secrets.” She was confused rather than upset. He had to admire her strength.
Model: Scribe (Model Humans Book 2) Page 6