Modified- The Complete Manipulated Series

by Harper North

  CHAPTER 18

  “We have to move,” Emma orders. “It’s just a matter of time before the EHC makes their way up that hill.”

  Elias glances back to the base. “She’s right. The sooner we get away from Telhix, the better off we’ll all be.”

  “So I guess that means no broadcast,” Knuckles sighs. Down the hill, dark smoke billows from several buildings. Numerous guards begin to take formation.

  “It’s going to have to wait,” Elias says.

  Jase scowls, turns and marches back to the transporter.

  “Come on,” Elias says to me. “Let’s get this guy inside.”

  Emma steps forward and blocks him from moving. “You’re not going to take an Aura operative into my transporter. Are you crazy?”

  “We need him,” I insist.

  Elias wipes away sweat from his forehead. “Hey, I know it’s crap, but we’re running out of options here.”

  Emma runs her hands through her hair and looks back to the vehicle. “You are going to get us all killed.”

  “There has to be a way to keep him sedated,” I suggest.

  Emma pinches her lips together in thought. “Maybe,” she says. “We have some bio-electrical tech in the back. It should work as a temporary damper on his ability. If it works like I think it might.”

  “Good,” Elias says, waving for her guards to come closer. “Help me lift him.”

  Emma raises her hand to halt the guards and looks at Elias. “If we die, this is on you.” She flicks her gaze to me. “And you.”

  I nod, and she lowers her hand, gesturing to three of her guards to assist.

  They step forward and reach down, grabbing hold of Talen. Slowly, they lift him and head back toward the transporter. We all follow.

  “What if he wakes up?” Drape asks, lingering by the vehicle’s stairs. “I don’t want to go through what happened at Mason’s camp again.”

  “Emma’s working it out,” I assure him, not that I really believe it, but it’s the best we got.

  More gunfire erupts in the distance. This time, bullets bounce off the rocks near the edge of the hillside only feet away from where we stand.

  “We have to hurry.” I grab hold of Drape’s hand, dragging him behind me and up the stairs.

  Once inside, Knuckles sits behind the wheel and quickly presses a button, sealing the door. “Strap in, everyone. We’re getting out of here.”

  I quickly bolt to a seat and secure myself. Drape slides in next to me. The transporter shifts over rocks. I brace a hand against the wall as the vehicle shudders and picks up speed, convinced I hear the pinging sounds of bullets hitting the side.

  Drape’s breathing is fast as he turns his gaze to me. “Hey, where’s Lacy?”

  My heart sinks at his words. “They took her.”

  Panic washes over his face. “No way!” Drape wrestles off his seatbelt and stands. “We can’t leave!” he shouts toward the front of the transporter.

  I grab his arm and yank him back into the seat. “Shut up. We have to. She’s already gone.”

  Drape claws at the back of the seat in front of him, trying to stand again, and I squeeze his skinny upper arm tighter.

  “Stop it,” I hiss.

  He slumps back in his seat. “I should’ve been there.”

  “Why? There was nothing you could’ve done.”

  He’s silent while the transporter climbs over a steep rise and descends further away from Telhix. I know I should give him more information. It’s not fair to leave him in the dark. I take a long drink from my pouch, unsure how he’s going to take the news.

  “We did everything we could to find her.”

  “Tell me, Fin,” he demands.

  “She’s was taken to be enhanced. Level four.”

  “Like that guy?” Drape points behind to the operations room. “The Aura operative?”

  “Talen,” I say. “That’s why we have him. He knows where they went.”

  Drape scoffs. “Good luck with that.”

  I bite the inside of my cheek, remembering how impenetrable Talen was during his interrogation. Even though there were glimpses of humanity there, getting through to him is going to be tough. Probably impossible.

  Drape shifts his gaze back to me. “How’d it happen?”

  “We were all shot with blasters,” I say. “But I don’t know what happened after that. We were separated.”

  Drape leans his head against the seat in front of him. My heart hurts for him. Lacy and I are all he has.

  “They have Sky, too.” It’s pretty much the only non-horrible news I have, and hopefully it will distract him.

  Drape raises his head. “Sky?”

  “Apparently, he’s alive,” I say, smiling. “Talen told me.”

  Loud voices bounce back to us. I crane my neck to see what’s going on up front. Jase points a finger at Elias, then slams his fist against the front dash.

  “I better see what’s going on,” I say, unbuckling my seatbelt and pushing myself past Drape, working my way up to the front.

  “It was a total failure!” Jase yells.

  Knuckles shifts a gear, then adds, “We were covering you. There shouldn’t have been any surprises.”

  “We didn’t know there would be guards inside the tower,” Elias says.

  “Of course you knew it would be guarded,” Jase scoffs. “That was a rookie move at best. I’ve trained you better than this Elias!”

  Elias sighs. “It wasn’t a complete loss. We managed to get an Aura operative, didn’t we?”

  “So what?” Knuckles says. “First, he’s probably going to zap our brains, and even if that doesn’t happen, how is he supposed to help us change the minds of the people? Only getting the word out would’ve made any difference. You heard what Emma said. Taking one op won’t crush them.”

  “We’ll try again,” Elias insists.

  I step into the cabin and try to diffuse the situation. “Is Talen ready to talk yet?”

  Jase whips his gaze to me. “Emma’s hooking some kind of device to him. He’ll either tell us what he knows, or suffer the same pain he put all of us through.”

  I cringe, remembering how awful it was to be controlled by Talen, but if it's the only way, it's the only way. I glance back down the aisle to the research room in the back. Curious, I make my way toward the partition to see what kind of device Emma has come up with. I step into the room, and strapped securely to the chair is Talen, head slumped to the side. His lungs rise and fall, but barely. Two of Emma’s guards keep their weapons trained on him.

  “What is all this?” I ask, shifting between the guards and Talen.

  Emma continues to fiddle with a bunch of wires in her hand. “I used some of the medical defibrillator equipment I found back here and sensors from the supply kit.”

  “But what does it do?” I ask, circling him.

  One of her guards holds Talen’s head back as Emma secures something to his neck. Her hand works quickly, threading it past his uniform and into his skin. “It’s a device that detects energy signatures,” she says. “Discharges from Talen’s nanotech, bio-electrical signals—anything he sends out. If we can isolate the unique frequencies, we will be able to hack him, in a sense.” She secures another wire to Talen’s collarbone and threads that down to the center of his chest.

  My eyes widen as I try to make sense of Emma’s genius. “So, if he tries to use his ability…?”

  “His tech will be redirected,” she says. “He’ll be jolted by himself.”

  I step back and examine the wires and the monitoring equipment Emma’s set up. It’s hard to believe that just this will keep him from destroying all of us. “How much longer do you think he’ll be out of it?”

  Emma shrugs. “His body recovers fast—faster than any of us. He could wake any minute.”

  I step back, a bit nervous that he might pop up and take me out.

  “Are you worried?” she asks. “You didn’t seem concerned a few minutes ago.”
>
  I swallow and pull my shoulders back. “I know what he’s capable of, but we need to use it to our advantage.”

  Emma eyeballs me between securing wires. “You are, likely, a fool.” She makes another adjustment, then steps back looking over her handiwork. “But sometimes foolish risks pay off.” Emma returns the leftover pieces of her device to a box and shuts it. “You got farther than I thought, and I didn’t expect you’d return at all, so that’s something.”

  “If Elias didn’t get us out of there, I’d still be in the interrogation room with him.” I gesture to Talen. “Or worse.”

  Emma presses her lips together. “We can try to interrogate him when he wakes, but I wouldn’t get your hopes up. He may give us nothing.”

  I stare hard at him, remembering how powerless I was when my hands were tied. How quickly the roles have been reversed. “I have to try. Even if I don’t, we’re probably going to die anyway.”

  Emma nods. Sadness washes over her, as if she knows it’s the truth, too, but her eyes soften. “I’ll do my best to help.”

  The partition slides open and Elias walks in. “In about five minutes, we’re going off-road,” he informs us. “Should be far enough away from the EHC patrols.” His attention goes to Talen. “He’s secure?”

  Emma nods. “I can’t promise anything,” she slaps her legs and stands, “but I think you’ll have the advantage—for now.”

  “Good. I’ll be back in a minute.” Elias gives us a nod and walks back toward the front of the vehicle. The transporter slows, and a few moments later there’s the sound of rumbling tires on uneven earth.

  Jase saunters through to the back, a sly look on his face, and sits opposite of Talen. “Let’s get this little party started.”

  “What about Elias?” I ask.

  As if on cue, Elias returns. He stands along the wall, giving a nod to Emma, and she goes to the medical kit and pulls out a syringe. She slowly slides the needle into Talen’s neck and presses the plunger.

  “What’s that?” I ask.

  “Just a mild stimulant,” she says. “Nothing too strong. We need him awake, not violent.”

  I nod. “How long will it take?”

  Before anyone can answer, Talen jolts upright. His green eyes flash as he turns his head from person to person, probably analyzing us and deciding who he’s going to kill first.

  “Easy there, buddy,” Jase says, training his weapon on Talen.

  Talen struggles to raise his hand against his restraints, but can’t.

  Elias moves closer, his hand on top of his holstered blaster. “Don’t do anything,” he warns.

  Talen ignores Elias. Instead, he focuses on Jase and narrows his eyes. A flash of electricity pulses through the wires and back into Talen. His whole body stiffens as he lets out a low groan and squeezes his eyes shut.

  “That’s got to hurt,” Jase says. He leans forward. “How does it feel? Not too good, huh?”

  “You’ve got to stay calm, Talen,” I insist. “You’re hooked up to a device that will redirect anything you try to do back onto yourself.”

  Talen grunts and tries to shift in his chair. His nostrils flare.

  “We just want information,” I say. “We don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Says you,” Jase mumbles.

  Talen slowly opens his eyes, focusing on me. “You,” he says through gritted teeth.

  I take a deep breath. “If we don’t hurt you, will you agree to help—”

  “He’s not going to agree to anything,” Jase says, jumping up. He punches Talen square in the jaw.

  “Jase!” I scream, but Talen barely moves. He narrows his eyes at Jase again.

  “He can’t feel it,” Jase says. “He’s not even human.”

  My eyes flash to Elias, who stands with his arms crossed. Emma leans against the side table.

  I quickly stand. “There’s no sense in torturing him if he agrees to work with us.”

  Jase laughs. “That thing?” He leans closer into Talen’s face and spits. “He’ll never help us.”

  A slow smile spreads across Talen’s face.

  “See?” Jase says. “Try to interrogate him. Where is Lacy?”

  Talen stays silent.

  Jase turns to leave.

  “Wait,” I say. “Where are you going?”

  “I’m getting my gun,” Jase says. “I’m going to shoot him in his foot, work up to his knee caps, then put a bullet in both arms. I’ll put one in his head if I have to, but he’s going to tell us what we want to know.”

  I whip toward Elias. “You can’t let him do this. He’s going to kill him, and then we’ll have nothing.”

  Elias taps his fingers on the table, then looks toward me, silent.

  “Let me talk to him,” I offer, moving to his side. “Alone.”

  Emma’s jaw tightens. “You know he will kill you if he gets the chance.”

  “I know. Just give me fifteen minutes. If I don’t get anything out of him, we can try Jase’s method.”

  Jase returns with his gun. “Ready?”

  Emma puffs up her chest and clears her throat. “Stand down, soldier. Fin wants to talk to him first. Alone.”

  “No way,” Jase argues. “We don’t have time to get nice with him. We need answers!”

  Emma doesn’t budge. “As the commander of this transport, I order you to stand down, soldier.”

  Jase tenses his jaw and stares at Emma. She stands her ground.

  “Fine,” he growls and storms from the space.

  “This is the way to get answers,” I say to them. “Trust me, I can do it.”

  Elias nods. “Okay, but you only get fifteen minutes. That’s it. If you don’t have answers by then, we find another way.”

  Emma pats me on the shoulder. “Good luck,” she says as she slips out of the room, followed by Elias and the guards.

  I turn my gaze on Talen. His eyes narrow at me. A shiver creeps up my spine, but I move closer, pull up a chair, and sit down.

  “Alright, Talen,” I say. “I need to know why you didn’t kill me in that alley.”

  CHAPTER 19

  Dread simmers in my chest as Talen sits in silence, his face blank. This isn’t working.

  My eyes flash to the clock in the back of the communications room. Twelve minutes left. I know I saw a hint of humanity in him in the interrogation room earlier, and he stopped that other op from killing me.

  Desperate, I scoot my chair forward. “How did you become like this?”

  Talen’s face is stone cold, and his body is stiff, but I swear there’s a hint of something behind his eyes, although not much. I could be imagining it.

  “Please answer me. I want to help you.”

  He narrows his eyes and a flash goes through the wires again and into his body. He moans and squeezes his eyes shut.

  “You have to stop. You’re only going to hurt yourself.”

  Talen tightens his jaw in pain, his fists clenching.

  I lean back and shake my head. “I need you to work with me. It’s the only way you’re going to keep your legs intact.”

  Finally, the electricity dissipates, and he slowly cracks his eyelids open.

  “Relax, okay?”

  He eases open his hands and lays them flat on either arm of the chair. “What do you want with me?” he finally grits out through his teeth.

  I sigh. “I just want to know if you remember how you became an Aura operative.”

  Talen sits up, shaking off the painful shock. “I was compatible,” he says flatly, sounding more robotic. “Test results showed genetic markers for accepting nano implementation. My cellular makeup showed an aptitude for resisting high levels of electrical input. The tech would not kill me.”

  “That’s not what I’m asking.” I glance to the clock. Think Fin. What do I need to ask to get him to remember his life before? “How did you lose your connection to humanity?”

  Talen stiffens, his eyes staring vacantly again. There’s a good chance he’s cal
culating how best to get out of this chair and kill me. My palms sweat as I try to push back my worry and stay a step ahead.

  “My genetic markers made me ideal to accept the nanos,” he says without emotion.

  Ugh. Maybe Jase was right. Maybe I can’t get through to him. He’s been enhanced for too long or the EHC did too good of a job and now there’s no going back.

  Talen stares at me, waiting for the next question. His face is relaxed and seems less threatening, but that could change if I push him too hard.

  Let’s try a different approach.

  “Were you always loyal to the EHC?”

  “I was recruited from my pathetic Tenant class life several years ago.”

  My heart leaps. Bingo. Finally, something to work with.

  “Pathetic?” I ask. “You were from a working family?”

  “Yes.”

  “So, your life was awful, and then what?”

  His jaw ticks tight for a moment before he answers. “Duty called for me to serve the EHC.”

  “You felt like it was your duty to join the EHC?”

  “It was my duty.”

  I lean forward, searching for a shift. His pupils are thirty percent more dilated than before. His breathing has picked up at least twice the rate from before.

  “Who told you it was your duty? Your family or the EHC?”

  Talen pauses. His eyes go from looking through me to looking at me. I hit a nerve.

  “I… I was brought to the EHC,” he stutters. “It was my… duty.”

  I cock my head and slide to the edge of my seat. There’s no way he really believes this. Not deep down. The Aura upgrades have really messed with his brain.

  “I think that’s what they told you. They brainwashed you to think it was your responsibility to become an Aura op.”

  Talen’s eyelids look heavy. He closes them for a second. Suddenly, his face goes pale. His lips part.

  “Talen?”

  His shoulders drop.

  I jump up. “What’s wrong?”

  “I followed orders,” he mumbles, slumping over, his skin taking on a pale hue.

  “What’s going on? Are you sick?” My mind flashes back to his injury from the blast. Maybe Emma was wrong. Maybe his body isn’t healing.