by Meli Raine
I pick him up, holstering my gun at the last second, shaking my head to clear it.
He arches his back with such force I nearly drop him, but my reflexes kick in.
So do Jay's. His toes nail me in the balls.
“Oof,” I say, trying to filter out all the screaming, craning my neck to look through the doorway and check on Kina.
“Oof!” Jay says, kicking me in the balls again, giggling. His laughter makes Kina poke her head through, face a mask of fury, as if the toddler offends her.
“What's going on?”
“Nothing. What do you need?”
Her face goes blank again. I shift good old Jay onto my other hip and shield myself from further attack. Another toddler holds her arms out for me, her long, blonde curls like a princess in a fairy tale. Sad eyes with fat teardrops top a pouting mouth, the frown almost comical.
I pick her up, too.
A young woman, Phillipa, I presume, rushes in wearing a loose nightgown and a horrified grimace as she slips on a pool of blood from the dead men.
“What happened?” she gasps, then spots me.
Horror turns to utter astonishment. To someone who just came out of training, I'm sure the vision of the man who is now one of the leaders here at the compound, holding two toddlers and comforting them, must not fit her sense of how the world works.
I hand the toddlers off to her and go to Kina, who is cradling a baby, her eyes blank, her body rocking in place.
“Kina.”
Nothing. She doesn't even look at me. Assessing her is hard in the dark, the moonlight through cracks in the curtains the only real light. I reach for the light switch.
“Don't.”
The babe in her arms is calmer. She sets it down in a crib, patting the baby's back, her hips moving in a rocking motion as if she's still holding it. Soothing it.
My gut tightens.
It's not the baby she's soothing now.
I can't tell, under the blood and in the dark, whether he actually raped her. But I saw the blood on him. I saw where it was.
If I got here too late...
Abruptly, she walks out into the hall, using the toe of her shoe to push the blonde guy's arm out of her way. Reporting what happened is going to be a nightmare. The acrid scent of fresh blood makes my stomach turn. Kina opens the exterior door and I hear her gagging, then the unmistakeable sounds of more.
I go into her apartment, careful not to track blood, and find a glass to fill with water.
“What should we do?” Phillipa asks behind me. Spinning about, I see her holding a now-sleeping Jay on her shoulder, the other toddler back in bed, I presume.
“You take care of the babies. I'll get a clean-up crew in here.”
Disgusted eyes flit down to the bodies. “What were they doing?”
“Attacking Kina.”
“And you killed them?”
“Yes.”
“Why did they attack her? No one does training exercises in here. No one...” Her throat spasms. “Is it because Romeo died? Are people attacking each other? Is there some panic?” Clinging tighter to Jay, I see concern for the babies in every part of her.
“No. Don't worry. It will all be fine.”
A pointed look down at the two bodies between us makes it clear she thinks I'm wrong.
Leaving her, I find Kina, offering the water. She takes it, rinses her mouth, and spits in the bushes. When she finally looks at me, I know instantly.
The rape didn't happen.
Then why was there blood on his –
“The babies?” she asks, her lips swollen, the words laborious for her to speak.
“Phillipa's in there. I have to report this. The gun had a silencer on it, but – ”
“Why would you have a gun with a silencer on it here?”
“It was still on from my mission tonight.”
“Tonight? Oh, my God, Callum, that was tonight, wasn't it? Romeo died tonight. I saw Glen tonight. So few hours, so much life in them. So much death in them.”
“Did he hurt you?”
Her gimlet-eyed look makes it clear that's a stupid question.
“Did he rape you, Kina?”
“No.”
“Good. I need your help.”
“You need my – what?”
“Everything is imploding. Angelica likely sent them to attack you. Their deaths will be investigated. I'm not worried – surveillance will show what happened. But it's going to be a mess and before that happens, I need you to help me hack into the computer system.”
“Hack?”
“Come with me. Quick. I'll explain.”
She looks down at her smeared clothes, fingers shaking as she pulls at the two pieces of her waistband, the button popped off by the force of what those assholes did to her.
Head tipping back up, she catches my eye.
Every bit of her is in there. Elevation is done.
“What do you need?”
“Your finger and your face.”
Guiding her back into the building, we step over the bodies. I spot Phillipa's back, her body bent over a crib, arm moving in a rhythmic pattern. Kina pauses, but continues with me to the office.
I find my way through the computer system to the point where I know I've hit a limit.
“Here.” I motion to the security system.
“Why would I have more access than you, Callum?”
“It's a gut feeling. Try it. Have you ever tried it?”
“I've never gotten to a point like this.” She stares at the screen, which is covered with terminal windows and a picture of my face.
My phone buzzes. Damn it. Phillipa must have contacted someone. Or the person who sent those two guys to attack Kina is trying to find them. I suspect Angelica, but Glen's here, too.
I don't trust anyone at this point.
Her finger pressed in place, Kina centers her face.
Access Permitted.
“I knew it!”
More shock appears in her features than she showed for the attack. “Me? Why me? It must be a mistake! Maybe the system thinks I'm Glen?”
“No. Your fingerprints are different.” I half listen as I get a flash drive in place to download as much as I can. We have minutes, if that. I have to hurry.
“What are you looking for?”
“The truth.”
“Which truth, Callum?”
“More truths than we're being told.” The records I'm downloading were blocked from me specifically. Quickly, I shove in a second flash drive. Duplication is a must when it comes to sensitive data. If I have a copy and Kina has one, we're better served.
Served what, exactly, I do not know.
A beep down the hall tells me someone's opening the exterior doors. Kina shuffles to the office door.
“I'll stall,” she hisses, disappearing.
Seconds pass like someone moving a large boulder with a feather.
“What the fuuuuuuck,” I hear Angelica say, her voice dropping at the end as Kina says something to her in an urgent, low voice. The second flash drive download completes, but then I see a new file, a folder I copy on impulse. I can transfer it to the other flash drive later.
Palming the first one, I shove it in my pants pocket, a smear of slime at the outer seam a reminder of what I just did. My gun presses against my hip and lowest rib. It'll be inspected, I'll be grilled, but in the end it's simple:
The two trainees broke protocol by attacking in the nursery. I acted to protect the toddlers. Killing them was necessary to protect important Stateless assets.
The two trainees failed.
I'm not worried.
But this? Downloading classified documents? What the hell am I doing?
This could get me killed. Or worse.
Doesn't matter.
The truth matters more.
Kina matters way more.
File download complete, I snatch the flash drive out of the USB port and slip it into my pocket, backing out of the system,
and walking to the doorway as Angelica and Glen appear, both looking at me like I'm the insane one.
“What the hell did you do to them?” Angelica demands.
“I gave them a massage and a cookie. What do you think I did?”
“Why? Those were two of our best trainees!”
“They were raping Kina.”
Both give me flat looks.
“She's not the training body. And why would they attack her in the nursery?”
Their eyes catch each other as Angelica says, “Power vacuums do this. Make operatives behave in unpredictable ways.”
“They're trainees,” I snap. “Not operatives. But you're right. Operatives become squirrelly in a power vacuum. Good thing there isn't one now that I've been promoted.” I grab my phone and finally trigger a clean-up team.
“Svetnu is going to be pissed,” Angelica says.
“Not when he hears what actually happened.”
“Are you okay?” Glen asks Kina, who looks at her like she has two heads.
So does Angelica. The display of concern is a rookie error.
Or is it?
Kina just stares at Glen for so long I wonder if she's elevated.
Two people I don't know appear in Tyvek suits, carrying shop vacs and body bags. Someone beat me to it, I see. Angelica's look makes it clear she's the one who called before me.
Which means she knew before she arrived.
Figuring out who called the attack – Angelica, Glen, or someone else – isn't my priority right now.
Getting these flash drives and Kina to safety is.
As the clean-up crew begins, I catch Kina's eye. She sends a signal to me, so nuanced I am on the fence as to whether it's real.
Go, the signal says. Go and read.
I nod.
My phone buzzes. It's Svetnu.
Get over here. Now, he says.
This works for me.
Meeting with Svetnu.
Find my burner phone in my room.
Clear it of bugs that Angelica's team likely installed.
Grab my USB converter.
Find a place to read.
Nothing much to it at all.
The hardest part will be leaving Kina with Angelica and Glen.
Chapter 28
Kina
* * *
The long scrape on my hip from Brian's ragged fingernail won't stop throbbing.
My reactions are successfully contained. My body, though, is a physical entity with its own biological realities, and scrapes like that sting.
My lip is swollen like a flesh balloon, my tongue struggling to form words around it as it grows.
And my heart? Oh, it never expects to get any attention. It's given up.
The clean-up team works fast. Angelica and Glen move toward me, their backs to them, bodies curled in secrecy. They're surprisingly non-threatening. Perhaps the scent of blood makes them stand down a bit.
Or maybe knowing Callum killed for me is tempering their behavior.
“What happened?” Glen asks. “I just left an hour or so ago. They weren't here then, were they?”
“Of course not,” I respond. “Why would you ask that?”
“Did they tend to visit here a lot?”
“No. I don't know them at all. Even when I worked the nursery as a trainee, I was assigned to a different room. I know the blonde is Brian, but that's all I know.”
“So they weren't regulars?”
“Regulars?”
“You weren't sleeping with them before this.”
“What are you asking?”
“Were you screwing them for fun, Kina?”
“Fun? FUN?”
“People do it. Everyone needs a release sometimes,” Angelica says in a sly voice.
“No.”
“You can tell me. It's just between us.”
“No.”
“No you won't tell me?”
“No, I wasn't consensually sleeping with either of them!”
“Callum killed them?” Angelica asks, as if moving on to a different line of questioning is perfectly fine.
“Yes. With his gun.”
“Did he warn them?”
“I don't know. It was hard to pay attention while a guy was ripping my labia with his fingers and trying to stuff his cock in me for shits and giggles, Angelica.”
Glen makes a sound of pleased denigration. For once, it's not aimed at me.
“You're protecting Callum. Why?” Angelica snaps.
“I'm telling the truth. Why are you so obsessed with Callum?” I challenge, taking a step closer to her, body language unequivocally clear.
Back off.
She huffs. “This is a waste of time. You're no one,” she sneers.
“That's right. So quit proving Svetnu right in choosing Callum over you to fill Romeo's job.”
“What?”
“Callum's in a meeting with the leaders. You're here bullying me. Which strategy do you think works better for gaining more power within Stateless?”
Her mouth drops.
Glen doesn't even bother to try hiding her glee.
Nine years ago, they were thick as thieves. I didn't realize it then, but as time passed and I had plenty of it to ponder, loop through memories, and replay memories over and over, it became clear.
Now? Now, there's a rift.
Is it really as simple as Romeo's death turning people into opportunistic assholes who do whatever it takes to gain advantage? My logical, well-trained mind can see it.
My heart, though, can't quite imagine what it takes internally to do that.
“You're a complete waste of flesh,” Angelica says to me.
“Why are you wasting your energy, time and air on a complete waste of flesh, then?” I flick my finger toward the door. “Go. Play catchup with Callum. I'm sure he's already showing Svetnu all the ways you're lacking.”
“Kina got a backbone while I was gone,” Glen says.
“Kina had a backbone all along, Glen,” I inform her. “Just because you couldn't see it doesn't mean it wasn't there.”
Edging past the work crew, I go to the toddler room and find Jay, fast asleep. It doesn't take much to find the flash drive Callum's left for me. I slip it into my pants pocket, careful to avoid the long tear at the seam.
“Kina?” Glen says behind me. “Shower and be prepared to be summoned to Svetnu. He'll have questions.”
“I'm sure he will. I have some, too.” Self-control means I don't touch the flash drive in my pocket.
Yet.
Angelica leaves without saying a word to me, shoving past the clean-up guys, who are now lifting one body bag down the hall to the door. She lets it slam shut after her. The babies don't stir.
Good.
A spike of fear rattles me, making it hard not to shake. The babies. So much violence, so many threats – so close to them.
The escalation is significant.
Callum just broke every rule we've been taught. Angelica or Glen ordered that attack on me. They came near my babies.
And now I possess files that could reveal my identity. My real one.
But what if my fake one is falling apart second by second, minute by minute?
It's worse than being someone I don't know.
I'm doubly unraveling, like cloth turned to thread and thread turned to unspun fiber.
The sooner I can read these files, the better.
Glen's staring at me, eyes roving over my front. “Kina? That shower?”
I look down. “Do I really need it? This could be evidence.”
“Evidence of what?”
“The attack.”
“You think anyone needs evidence? This is never going to be taken to court,” she says with a funny laugh.
“Not court. We don't have that here. I figured Svetnu would want – ”
The pressure of her fingers on my shoulder makes me cut myself off.
“None of this is objective, Kina. Don't you see that? It's all ab
out who can shape reality.”
“Maybe that works in the field, but not here.”
A few beats pass, her eyes locked with mine, before she smiles.
And walks away from me, stepping over the remaining body bag as if it's a child's discarded toy.
Chapter 29
Callum
* * *
I expect an inquisition. I expect to be dressed down until the facts are revealed. I even expect vague threats to remove me from taking Romeo's spot.
What I don't expect is Svetnu's smile.
“Good work,” he says, motioning for me to take a seat. He's with Marshall Josephs, the two of them clearly at the end of a long meeting. I look at the clock on the wall and do a double take, then realize that morning light began peeking through the clouds as I walked here.
This is the longest day of my entire life.
And it's about to get longer.
“You killed two trainees who were attacking Kina,” Josephs says, his tone a declaration, not an inquiry.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I could. They left themselves vulnerable.”
“And because you like her.”
“I find it contradictory for trainees to attack someone who isn't the declared training body.”
Neither says a thing.
“She isn't, is she? A named training body.”
Silence.
Silence that fills me with rage.
“This needs to stop! Call them off! Make it clear she is no longer the training body, and that NO ONE is! This policy doesn’t work and it’s costing us trainees.”
“I can't.”
“What do you mean you can't? Your word is law here!”
“My word isn't the only word people listen to, Callum,” Svetnu says simply.
If he had taken an automatic weapon to my face he could not have rattled me more.
“The leadership is divided?”
“People at your level certainly are. Why would you assume the leadership would be different?”
“Romeo's death couldn't cause that level of discord,” I interject. “What is it?”