The Lost & Damned 2

by Keira Michelle Telford

  *************************

  Alex and Maydevine stand side-by-side in the Governor’s office—the office that used to belong to Phaeden Rist. The Governor stands at the edge of the room, looking out over the city.

  The new Governor.

  Eleanor Grant.

  “We’ve got much to talk about,” she states, turning to face the duo.

  She looks as though she’s in her early forties, and she’s wearing a bold suit and impossibly high heels. An impeccably preened, strong and confident woman, her outward presentation is absolutely flawless. It mirrors an internal sense of dominance, achievement and imperium that she’s mastered over a lifetime.

  “My daughter’s future?” Maydevine presumes.

  The Governor allows a brief silence to gently hug the room, before she carries on as if he’d never spoken at all. “I’ll start from the beginning, so that I can be certain we’re all on the same page.” She leans up against her desk, facing them. “I’m aware that you’ve both suddenly come into possession of a very valuable thing.”

  Alex and Maydevine share a look, neither one of them willing to speak up.

  “A woman infected with CV2,” the Governor explains, watching their reactions.

  They seem tense.

  “This woman survived the infection,” she continues, “and at this juncture in the evolution of the virus, that’s really something quite unique.” She eyeballs them both. “So what is it that we’re calling this woman?”

  Alex ventures an answer, albeit warily. “Jennifer McAllister.” His intonation rises at the end of the name, making it sound more like a question.

  “Ah, yes, that’s right. I have her file right here.”

  Alex and Maydevine share another look as the Governor reaches for the file. She begins flicking through the pages, for effect more than for the attainment of information.

  “Born in the Sentinel District thirty-four years ago,” she summarizes. “Parents are deceased, no siblings. Not married, never was. She has no known relatives at all, in fact. Dubiously self-employed, so no real work records. Home schooled by a string of brief foster families, so no educational records that could be verified.” She tosses the file back down on the desk. “A very neat life.”

  She waits.

  She gets nothing from their expressions.

  “Convenient, isn’t it?” She raps her fingernails against the edge of the desk. “Some might say it was rather unlikely.”

  Still nothing.

  Tired of waiting for one of them to give something up, she jumps to the crux of the issue. “This wouldn’t have anything whatsoever to do with an appeal I just denied for a banished Hunter, would it?” She flicks her eyes to Maydevine. “Your beautiful little daughter.”

  Alex peeks over at Maydevine, who keeps his own eyes fixed unwaveringly upon the Governor. Sensing that Alex might be easier to crack than his would-be father-in-law, the Governor switches targets and pins all of her attention on him instead.

  “What was her name again?”

  Startled, it takes him a moment to answer. “Ella Cross, ma’am.”

  “Ella Cross the Hunter. Silver, am I right?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “You lost your job for her. True?”

  “Several years ago, yes.”

  “Because you were unlawfully bedding her?”

  The insinuation that their relationship was little more than a foolhardy pursuit of physical pleasure bothers Alex. “Because I was in love with her,” he corrects her.

  “You gave up your career in the Hunter Division for her,” the Governor needles.

  Alex hesitates, unsure if he might be unwittingly incriminating himself. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “And now?”

  “Now, ma’am?”

  “Yes, now.”

  “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

  The Governor picks up another file from her desk and scans the pages. “Well, let’s start with something you do understand. I presume you’re aware that Omega keeps a DNA record of everyone born and living in the Sentinel District?”

  Alex nods.

  “Normally, these records are discarded and destroyed in the event that the individual is banished or enforced, but Omega employees are an exception to that rule.” She glances up at him, making sure that she has his full attention. “Their records are permanently archived.”

  Alex and Maydevine share another look.

  “You weren’t aware of this?” she triumphs.

  “No, ma’am.” Alex shakes his head.

  “Then I shall educate you both. When a patient is admitted to the hospital, no matter how minor the complaint, the hospital is obligated to run the patient’s blood work to confirm tag identity.”

  Another shared look.

  “Usually, this turns out to be nothing more than a mundane formality. But, in this case, Jennifer McAllister’s DNA was an exact match for the banished Hunter, Ella Cross.” She smiles. “Imagine that.”

  Alex and Maydevine try to keep the anxiety from their faces.

  The Governor presses them further. “You wouldn’t happen to have any comment on that, would you?”

  They don’t.

  “Ripping is a crime punishable by enforcement,” she reminds them both. “Not to mention the unlawful reassignment of a blue tag to a known criminal.”

  Silence.

  She fixes upon Alex. “So who did we found at your apartment this morning? Jennifer McAllister? Or Ella Cross?”

  Alex and Maydevine turn to each other, about to share words, but there’s no opportunity for even the first utterance of shock. The door to the office swings open and two armed Omega security guards bring Silver in, handcuffed and struggling to get free.

  Using the guard standing behind her as a tool to push her weight against, she lifts up her legs and kicks the second guard to the floor. The guard behind her pushes her quickly to her knees, subdues her, and draws his gun on the back of her head.

  At this, the Governor leaps from her desk with a sudden rush of almost inhuman agility.

  “Stand down!” she barks at the guard.

  The guard looks to her for clarification.

  “Stand down,” she repeats, more calmly this time.

  Reluctantly, he lowers his weapon, and Alex helps Silver to her feet. The sudden exertion put stress on her injuries, and she does everything she can to stop the pain from showing.

  “Who the fuck are you?” She tips her head to the Governor, an unnecessary look of disdain plastered all over her face. No hint of recognition.

  The Governor holds out her hand for Silver to shake, but Silver doesn’t reciprocate.

  “Eleanor Grant.” She keeps her hand held out. “You can call me Governor.”

  Silver’s disdain becomes a fierce glare. “You denied my appeal, didn’t you?”

  The Governor withdraws her hand from the hostile air and crosses both hands behind her back. “I don’t want to cause a stir by formally acknowledging an appeal,” she explains. “Your appeal papers would become public documents, and these people—my people—are scared and confused enough as it is. They don’t need to know that their former Governor was a sadistic prick who liked to rape and abuse Fusion women.”

  Silver is livid. Her broken body prevents her from lashing out, so she funnels every bit of her anger into her voice. “You’re sending me back to the Fringe District because my innocence is an inconvenience to you?!”

  “Oh, no,” the Governor assures her. “You’re not going back to the Fringe.”

  Bombshell.

  Without pause for thought, Alex and Maydevine leap to the wrong conclusion.

  Enforcement.

  In unison, they bombard the air with objections, insults, threats of violence, and unadulterated outrage. All the while, the Governor sits back and takes it. She lets them spill their bile, with Silver caught between them, looking as if the bottom just fell out of her world.

  Eventually, the room falls silent.


  The Governor sighs. “If you gentlemen are quite done besmirching my good character, perhaps you’ll let me finish?” She has everyone’s attention. “I’m not sending Silver back to the Fringe District because I’m ordering a full acquittal.”

  Silence.

  “I can force through an acquittal without having to divulge the details of the case,” she explains. “All the public will need to know is that the conviction was overturned.”

  Silver is utterly expressionless. “You’re going to have to say that again.”

  “I’m throwing out your conviction.”

  “I thought that’s what you said.”

  The Governor turns to Maydevine. “You should’ve had more faith in me.”

  “You were taking your sweet time.”

  “I gave you my word. You should’ve come to me the night you took her to Western Point, instead of sneaking about behind my back like naughty school children.”

  Silver and Alex look blank.

  Neither were aware of any preexisting arrangement between the Governor and Maydevine, and both are suspicious of it.

  Sensing Silver’s mistrust, the Governor makes an effort to appear forthcoming. “In return for your repatriation, there is something I must ask of you.”

  “Awesome.” Silver seems skeptical.

  “I’m sure you’re aware of what the Hunter Division has become in recent months.”

  “A bunch of terrified, bumbling fools, struggling to tie their own shoes.”

  “There was a time when the Hunter Division could pick and choose from an abundance of raw talent, all clamoring to sign the enrollment papers. Now they’re chasing people down with offers of employment, and thieving sub-par candidates from their sister Division.”

  “They’re Agents with delusions of grandeur,” Silver concurs, looking apologetically at Alex and Maydevine. “No offense.”

  “What they need is a new leader,” the Governor keeps pushing Silver. “Someone with experience, integrity and courage.”

  “Superman?”

  No-one but Alex gets the reference.

  “You.” The Governor beams.

  Dumbstruck silence.

  “That is, if you want the job. Otherwise, I can still hold you on the assault and attempted murder charges.” The Governor takes Silver’s file and holds it over the waste bin by her desk. “Or I can toss the whole thing out.”

  Tick.

  Tock.

  Tick.

  Tock.

  Life hovers over a waste basket.

  Silver pins her eyes to the file in the Governor’s hand while Alex nudges her with his elbow.

  “Silver …”

  Wary of hidden caveats, Silver still doesn’t leap at the chance. “What exactly is the position?”

  “You’ll be in charge of the Hunter Division.” The Governor looks proud.

  “What part of it?”

  “All of it.”

  “My own unit?”

  “All of the units.”

  Realization. “The Hunter General?”

  “Indeed.”

  Silence falls and Silver contemplates the generous offer, not quite sure what to make of it.

  “Why the hesitation?” Maydevine coaxes her. “You always had your eye on my job.”

  “Yesterday, everybody wanted me dead.” Silver meets his eyes. “Now they want me to run the place? I’m just guessing, but I reckon there’s a catch.”

  “No catch,” the Governor promises, dropping the file into the bin. “I’m assuming that you’ll accept?”

  “Well, yes, but what about the Deputy General? Traditionally, the Deputy has dibs over shit like this.”

  “What Deputy? He defected over a month ago.”

  “And you couldn’t find anyone else willing to step up and replace him.”

  “What makes you think that?”

  “Because you asked me.”

  “I asked you because you’re the best.”

  “No, you asked me because I’m the only. Because no other Hunter in this city wants the responsibility of cleaning up after Phaeden Rist, and because this Fusion crisis has the whole city on tenterhooks, just waiting for something to snap.”

  “The situation is delicate. I’m not denying that.”

  “Delicate? It’s fucking nuclear. As if Omega’s formal acknowledgement of the Fusion colony’s existence wasn’t enough to send the public reeling in the first place, the resurgence of the Chimera virus is triggering mass panic.”

  “It’s a shitty job, we’ve already established that. But I’m in a position to give you everything you want: repatriation, employment, and more.” She glances at Alex, then back to Silver. “I fail to understand your hesitation.”

  They lock eyes.

  A silent eyeball standoff.

  The Governor wins.

  “When do I start?” Silver concedes.

  “I have a surgeon standing by downstairs.”

  Shocked by the Governor’s haste, Silver is unusually speechless. Instructed by the Governor, one of the guards who brought Silver in uncuffs her, and prepares to escort her to the lab. She tries to steal one last glance at Alex over her shoulder. She hopes for an encouraging smile, but all she receives is a sharp, manly nod of approval.

  And she’s gone.

  Not yet done with the day’s administrative tasks, the Governor switches her attention back to Maydevine. “That’s one recruitment issue solved. Has there been any forward motion on the selection of a new Deputy in your Division?”

  “Some.”

  “Care to elaborate?”

  “I have candidate in mind for the position.”

  “When can I expect to receive your recommendation?”

  “Knock yourself out. He’s standing right there.” Maydevine nods toward Alex.

  “Are you serious?” Alex seems oddly surprised.

  “Why?” Maydevine frowns at him. “You think I’m making a mistake?”

  The Governor shushes him with a wave of her hand. “It’s done.”

  “Just like that?” Alex can’t quite wrap his head around it.

  “I don’t have the time for red tape, and I’m familiar enough with your work. Don’t let me down, Deputy.”

  *************************

  Elsewhere in the building, Silver watches an Omega surgeon cut through her stitches and slice open her wrist, removing Jennifer McAllister’s old tag. Retrieving a brand new platinum tag from a tray of saline solution, he inserts it into her wrist with absolute precision, and she doesn’t even flinch.

  Stitching her up takes only seconds, and he weaves the sutures through the hospital’s puncture marks, still fresh from the night she was brought in. He wipes away the blood, and bandages her fresh wound before reaching for a portable tag reader to make sure that everything’s working correctly. Scanning her wrist, all of Silver’s information pops up on the small LCD screen.

  Name: Ella ‘Silver’ Cross

  Division: Hunter

  Rank: Hunter General

  Date of birth: 27.08.2314

  Clearance: Level 5

  Badge #: 197065

  Officially cleared for duty, Silver’s escorted to a private room where a new Hunter Division uniform awaits her. Seeing that her name is already embroidered on the left chest pocket of the Kevlar vest, she cocks an eyebrow. The Governor must’ve had this plan in motion long before she was hauled out of Alex’s apartment.

  In a briefcase next to her clothes, she finds her personalized hunting knife and two HK USP handguns, though her custom piece is still conspicuously absent. She holsters the weapons and retrieves her new dog tags from a pocket in the briefcase, admiring her appearance in the mirror.

  She’s back.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Pressing Matters

  An impromptu gathering has formed in an Omega DDH function room. Following the announcement of Silver’s new rank, the Hunter units have been sent on the first of many compulsory training exercises to get th
em back up to speed, while the heads of both Divisions are being congratulated in a room full of their seniors and peers.

  Silver is the primary target of the meet-and-greets, and Alex struggles to track her down in the crowded room. Spotting her through an ocean of faces, hers isn’t the only one he recognizes.

  Luka Kinsella.

  Luka strides up to Silver with a wide grin etched onto his face, and she can’t help but smile back at him.

  “This is a vast improvement over the last time I saw you.” He leans in for a peck on the cheek.

  Their first real physical contact in a long time.

  “You could’ve said something, you bastard.” She shoves him playfully. “I was being escorted to my death, and you just sat there like a mute with a miserable look on your face.”

  “Hey, I was following protocol.”

  “So I’m not worth breaking the rules for anymore? Gosh, things really have changed.”

  Luka catches sight of the marks on her neck and sweeps her ponytail aside to get a better look. Feeling the tickle of his fingertips against her skin, exploring the bruises, Silver isn’t sure if she should slap his hand away.

  She doesn’t.

  “I came to see you in the hospital,” he says, his hand still gently stroking her neck. “But Alex was there, and I … I didn’t want to get in the way.”

  She takes his hand in hers and squeezes it, moving him away from her neck. “Thank you.”

  For what? For coming? Or for not rocking the boat? Luka’s not in the least bit sure.

  “Are you and he … ?”

  Silver feels herself blush. “Yes. Very.”

  Luka pulls his hand away. “Then I guess I won’t ask you if you’d like to nab a bottle of wine from the bar and get the hell outta here with me.”

  “I guess not.”

  Luka shoves his hands into his pockets. “Well, it was just a thought.”

  An awkward silence lingers.

  Silver breaks it. “I’m sorry, Luka.”

  “No, it’s okay. It was a silly idea.”

  “Not that. I mean, about the Deputy position. I know you were next in line after Carter.”

  Luka shrugs. “Maydevine wants to make you happy. I get that.”

  “He didn’t do this for me.” Affronted.