“There’s a black cruiser pulling in back,” Rem continued. “There are two speeders in front and behind it with another cruiser hovering nearby, trying to pretend like it’s not part of her security.” Rem scoffed, and Selene smiled.
The announcer left the stage, and the man and woman Selene recognized as the New Manhattan news duo stepped up.
The crowd cheered as the two waved and smiled at everyone before taking their seats. Two plush chairs sat to one side of the stage with a glass table between them, and another chair, the one she assumed waited for Zelena Stein.
Anticipation sent her heart racing as the crowd quieted down again. Any minute the woman she hated most in the world would step onto the stage. Her fingers instinctively flew to her hip. There was no cool metal laser pistol to assure her this time. Instead, her gun was tucked away in the back of her pants, carefully hidden by her vest. It was far too hot a day for jackets.
“She’s coming,” Rem said.
Sweat beaded on her skin and she squeezed Rikkard’s hand, probably far tighter than she meant to, as Zelena Stein stepped onto the stairs leading up to the stage.
The crowd burst into cheers, applauding the woman for what, Selene wasn’t quite sure. Flames of rage ripped through her chest as she stared at herself, smiling and waving at the people.
What a damn joke.
As usual, Zelena’s hair was slicked back against her head, and her eyes were lined with black and silver. But today her cheeks were accented, powdered with deep brown, and her lips were drawn a deep, dark red.
Selene narrowed her eyes at the woman. How dare she masquerade as Selene? How dare she use her face to pretend she was someone else?
Zelena sat in her chair after properly greeting the newscasters. She smiled and shook their hands, nodding and whispering something polite the crowd couldn’t yet hear. The news anchors nodded and laughed, smiling at the fraud of a woman.
“Welcome Zelena!” Elrin Sarrel beamed, flashing her perfect teeth. Her white skin nearly glowed, brushed with her typical blue under her cheeks, and pink accented lashes.
“Thank you for having me,” Zelena said. She got comfortable, shifting in her seat before crossing one leg over the other. Her tight dress pulled up above her knees.
“It’s our pleasure,” Jace Fenton said. He grinned as he adjusted his tie. “The people love you!”
Zelena made a face like it was no big deal. “They’re smart people!”
The crowd and the newscasters laughed while Zelena winked at the crowd.
Selene thought she might vomit.
“But in all seriousness,” Elrin said, obviously trying to drive the conversation back to their planned questions. “You’ve really been a hit with the public, especially in New Manhattan.”
“Thank you,” Zelena said. Her eyes flashed with something familiar, making Selene’s eyebrows furrow as she reassessed Zelena’s posture. “But I’m only trying to do what’s best for our wonderful country.”
The crowd cheered again as Zelena turned to them, a smile on her face.
“Of course,” Jace said. “But your rise to fame has everyone wanting to know just who this Zelena Stein superstar is.”
Zelena laughed, a laugh Selene thought was obviously fake, but the crowd seemed to love. “Superstar? Hardly!”
“Well, you have had quite the rise,” Elrin agreed. Her perfectly constructed pale blue curls bounced around her face as she looked to the crowd. “Hasn’t she, folks?”
Again, applause.
“Well, it’s all thanks to the public for believing in me,” Zelena said.
Dread swelled in Selene’s stomach as she watched Zelena. She’d never realized it before when watching her on the holoscreen, but seeing her in person was different. Even twenty feet away, there was something familiar about her.
“The citizens of New Manhattan have by and large been your biggest supporters,” Elrin said.
“But as your platform suggests, your plan reaches much further than our fair city,” Jace said. He crossed one leg over the other, leaning against the arm of his chair as he got down to business.
“Of course, Jace.” Zelena smiled stiffly, her lips flattening. “My proposed plan affects not only our fair city, but all of the United Americas, and even Earth as we know it.”
Her words were so scripted it hurt. Something dark lurked beneath Zelena’s pristine exterior, so perfectly quaffed without a hair out of place.
“And how would you propose the new election be held to keep out the corruption that infiltrated our last one?” Jace asked.
“Firmer background checks.” Zelena didn’t miss a beat. “There were obviously some grave mistakes made in Former President Pate’s election. There was so much we didn’t know, and still don’t, about the man. During our next election, I believe all information about potential candidates should be made public, and subject to scrutiny so we never have to face a debacle like that again.”
Murmurs of agreement flooded Selene’s ears from every direction.
“But that’s not all you’re proposing.” Elrin stepped in. She folded her hands neatly in her lap. “You also want aliens to be eligible to participate in the coming election, correct?”
“Yes.” Zelena smiled, tilting her chin up slightly to look down her nose at Elrin. The newscaster stiffened at the cold look. “I’m surprised you yourself haven’t been an advocate for this type of electoral reform.”
Elrin sat back, her eyes flashing wide. “It isn’t my place… this isn’t what this is about.” She stammered, clearly caught off guard by the accusation.
A rumble passed through the crowd before all sound died out.
No wonder Selene recognized her mannerisms. How had she not seen it before? Her eyes widened and her pulse pounded in her ears, draining all sound from the tent. Though she watched as Zelena and the newscasters spoke, she didn’t hear a word.
Who had a thing for slicked back hair, sharp cheekbones, and a proclivity for superiority? Selene couldn’t believe it. She hadn’t thought about the woman since their last meeting, but somehow it all made sense.
“Selene?” someone mumbled beside her ear.
Her racing heart nearly blocked him out, but Rikkard’s voice got through her shock.
“Selene? Are you okay?” he asked.
She slowly shook her head. “It can’t be.”
“What is it?” Rikkard’s eyebrows furrowed.
“It’s her,” Selene said.
Rikkard looked between her and Zelena. “Who?”
“Director Tine, the former leader of the Zahkx Alliance rebellion.”
Rikkard’s eyes widened as he looked back at Zelena Stein, her name already a clear rip off of Selene’s, and her last name a rearranging of Tine.
Her blood burned as she squeezed her hands into fists.
“Ow.” Rikkard yanked his hand from hers.
Selene narrowed her eyes at the woman on stage and gritted her teeth. She couldn’t believe this. The woman who’d led the rebellion wasn’t actually a rebel at all.
She was one of them.
“Keep your guard up,” Rikkard whispered into his comset. “Zelena Stein is Director Tine from the Alliance.”
“What?” Flik and Sav hissed in unison.
Their voices buzzed through her ears, filled with shock as they muttered about how this was possible.
“Quiet,” Rikkard snapped. “We still have a mission.”
He was right. They did have a mission, but with each passing moment, Selene’s hand inched toward her gun. It’d be so easy to pull it out and shoot the woman square in the head. She’d die, and Selene would have her revenge, but killing Zelena meant killing her own body, and without it, she was screwed.
Selene bit back an angry growl. She hated the Director for what she was putting her through. She couldn’t believe someone she had trusted enough to follow into battle was the bad guy. Tine had only ever strung her along, using her to take out Pate. Though Tine’s plan hadn’t
exactly gone off without a hitch, it had still done its major part: kill the rebellion, and take the Icarus for herself.
Frustrated tears burned the back of Selene’s eyes. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen it. She was so naïve. So stupid.
Movement on the stage pulled her out of her torment and back to reality. Her racing heart slowed as the interview came to a close and Tine bid the newscasters goodbye.
Before she departed, Tine stopped by the edge of the stage, waving and smiling at the cheering people of New Manhattan before she descended the stairs and was enveloped by her security team.
Selene’s stomach rolled with disgust for the people around her. How could they not see who she was? How fake she was?
Shaking her head, Selene pressed the coms in her ear. “It’s go time.”
The black cruisers, short and curved like old sedans with tinted windows, weren’t exactly conspicuous. Once Tine left the stage, Rikkard and Selene made their way out of the crowd to the street where their hoodless speeders waited.
Selene jumped on, the cool metal burning through her clothes as she turned the engine on. Blue lights traveled through the black metal, and the display lit up, casting cold light on her face. She leaned forward, her stomach and chest resting on the curve of the speeder as she held the steering handles.
Rikkard mounted his own speeder, parked behind her, and revved the engine to let her know he was ready.
Her fingers danced along the controls as three black cruisers holding Tine and her security team pulled out from the back lot, and onto the main street. Before they could follow, four speeders, nearly identical to hers and Rikkard’s pulled out to follow, flanking the cruisers while another two sped ahead.
“We’re heading out,” Rikkard buzzed in her ear.
Selene revved her engine, and kicked off, hovering several inches above the ground as she sped after Tine.
Her hair whipped in the wind, slapping her neck and shoulders. Though every fibre of her being told her to push hard, get ahead, and drive Tine’s cruiser right off the road, she had to remind herself they had a plan. She’d get her chance, but for now she had to behave and hang back. They didn’t want to appear too suspicious, and with the steady flow of traffic, they should be able to follow at a safe distance.
She took a deep breath through her nose, not wanting to breathe through her mouth in case a bug got passed the curved visor sticking from in front of her control panel.
“Security coms are clear,” Rem said. “No sign of suspicious activity.”
Good. Then they wouldn’t see her coming.
“Security team is taking a left up ahead as planned.”
Selene and Rikkard weaved through traffic. Leaning her weight to one side and then the other, Selene pushed her engine harder to make the turn up a ramp heading west.
“They’re on schedule. Prepare for first contact.”
She smiled as the rev of engines rode up another on-ramp. Two more speeders merged with traffic, Sav and Flik joining them on the road, disguised in black helmets and riding gear. They stayed ahead of them, driving faster—getting closer and closer to Tine and her security team.
“Chatter on coms. They’re getting suspicious of Sav and Flik!” Rem’s voice rose in her ear.
“Now,” Selene said.
Sav and Flik darted forward, reminding her how speeders had earned their name. Even from thirty feet back, Selene could see Sav and Flik pull laser pistols from their belts, and aim at the two back security speeders.
Red laser fire flared from their guns, and burned through the front of each speeder, disintegrating the control systems.
Each speeder swerved to the edge of the road and flipped, throwing their drivers over the railing onto the lower street.
A wicked grin spread on Selene’s face as she pushed her speeder harder.
“Nice job, guys!” Rem cheered.
The two remaining security speeders slowed, falling back to reach Flik and Sav as traffic came to a standstill. No one was about to keep driving after two men had just been thrown off the overpass.
Flik and Sav spun to the right, heading due east at full speed. The security speeders flew after them, doing exactly as they’d expected.
Her heart raced as she pushed her speeder harder, swerving through the slowing hovercrafts around her until she reached the open four-lane highway with nothing but air between her and the three cruisers.
“Phase two beginning in three, two, one!”
Selene revved her engine hard, and flew past the first cruiser as an explosion rocked the street. Fire burned through the skyscraper ahead, blowing shrapnel onto the highway.
Wind pounded against her ears as she rushed to catch up with the middle cruiser—the one hiding Tine. If she didn’t catch up, the skyscraper would crush her, and that just wasn’t acceptable.
The wind burned her eyes and brought tears to them as she pushed past the first cruiser. The metal titan fell toward the overpass, smoke rising from its side, blackening the clear sky.
A shadow descended upon her as she pushed faster and harder, until she rode up beside the middle cruiser. The road fell out behind her under the weight of the building, crushing the first cruiser, and destroying part of the highway.
Selene couldn’t help her grin as she looked over her shoulder at the chaos on the street. Her heart pounded in her ears, competing with the roar of wind as she slowed to ride beside Rikkard. She met his adrenaline laced gaze, and he surprised her with a flash of his teeth.
So far, so good.
“All right, Rem. Last one!” she shouted over the wind.
“You got it.”
Another rumble shook the street as a fiery explosion ruptured in a building up ahead. With no time to dodge, the speeders at the front slowed dramatically, and the cruiser behind them swerved to avoid hitting them.
While Tine’s security slowed, Rikkard shot forward, yanking his pistol from his belt and aiming it at the driver of the first speeder.
Red flared from the barrel, and left a hole through the man’s head. The speeder slid across the road into the cement barricade.
The cruiser’s propellers shut down as it was forced to spin to avoid crashing. Tine’s cruiser did the same, narrowly missing the leading vehicle. Selene slowed, and the street stilled as sparks rained down from the lower half of the skyscraper now lying on the street, blocking Tine’s exit.
Selene stopped a dozen feet back, leaving her speeder running as she slid off the side onto the pavement. Better safe than sorry.
The second security guard leapt off his speeder and aimed a pistol at Rikkard, but Rikkard was ready, and shot him through the temple.
Selene turned on Tine’s cruiser as the side door screeched open. She raised her gun, and shot the driver through the windshield, while Rikkard took out the first man to leap from the head cruiser.
Her heart raced as the second leapt out and returned fire, forcing Rikkard to duck behind his speeder.
Her chest tightened as she glanced between the cruiser and Rikkard. He was a good shot, nearly as good as her, but he wasn’t laser proof, and worry crept through her.
Another black-clad guard leapt from the open door of Tine’s cruiser, his laser fire slicing through the heel of Rikkard’s speeder. Her heart lurched as she dove behind her own speeder, a dozen feet from the fight. There was nowhere to go. No place for her to hide on the open street.
Again, a door screeched, but this time from the other side of the Tine’s cruiser. A woman’s cough echoed on the desolate street as two guards yanked Tine from the vehicle. Smoke curled across the pavement, and sparks rained.
Selene raised her gun. They weren’t taking Zelena anywhere.
A white-hot laser shot from her pistol, and through the back of a guard’s head.
Tine cried out, startled as the man fell. The second shielded Zelena’s head and body with his own as he raced the Director to the sidewalk next to the office buildings lining the highway. A set of stairs wo
uld lead down to the lower street, but Selene would never let them get that far.
Selene raced after them while Rikkard distracted security from the head cruiser. Her boots slapped the pavement as she rounded the ship and raised her pistol to shoot the last guard through the back of the head.
The man collapsed in a heap, and the Director stopped, turning back with wide eyes to look at Selene.
She yanked off her sunglasses as wind tore at her hair and narrowed her eyes at Tine. Strands of hair whipped around the Director’s face, ruining her perfect bun.
Finally.
Selene smirked. “It’s just you and me now, Director.”
Smoke wafted across the barren street, and sirens sounded in the distance. Her heart rammed painfully against her ribs as she stared down the woman who took her body. Selene’s fingers tightened on her gun.
“Selene,” the Director said. She cleared her throat and straightened her suit jacket. Her lips pursed and her hands relaxed at her side. “It’s good to see you again.”
A humorless laugh burst from her chest. “Is it?”
Tine narrowed her green eyes, only lighting Selene’s angry fire further. Those were her eyes, not Tine’s.
“No, not particularly,” the Director said.
“I thought not,” Selene said dryly.
“So, what? Have you come for your revenge like what you did with Pate? He lived you know.” Tine smirked like this was news to her. It wasn’t.
“I know all about Pate’s miraculous recovery.” Selene stepped forward, and the Director glanced nervously at Selene’s feet. “Did you know he kept me locked up in his ivory tower for weeks, plotting to use me against you and the rest of the Dominion?”
The Director blanched, and Selene smiled victoriously.
“I thought not.”
“So that’s where you went to,” Tine said. Her voice lowered dangerously. “I wondered where your mind had gone. It wasn’t in your body when I got to it.”
Selene narrowed her eyes. The Director made it sound like her body was just a thing to take as she pleased, not the body Selene had grown and lived in through hell and back for twenty-three years. Not the body she’d been tortured for.
The Zahkx Alliance: A Sci-Fi Dystopian Adventure (Dominion Rising Book 2) Page 21