Resurrection Page 16

  “Morning! Come to assist in the interrogation?”

  “Sort of. One of them –the older, smelly one– is my old boss. I’d like a chat with him.”

  “Rudy cleared it?”

  “Shockingly, he did.” I wave my arm, where my newly-updated ID chip sits beneath my skin. Chuck runs it under his scanner.

  “Excellent. He’s in cell two.”

  “Thanks.” I take a step towards it.

  “And Ashe?”

  “Yes?”

  “It really is good to have you back.”

  I smile, run my chip under the reader, and head into the cell. It’s a crude brick room, not unlike the cells of the Institute, although it’s kitted out a little more comfortably. Abe is sitting on a bunk at the back, looking thoroughly annoyed.

  “You,” he glares.

  “Abe.”

  “You’re supposed to be dead.”

  “And you’re not supposed to be part of a weird cult, yet here we are.”

  Abe mutters something unintelligible.

  “How long have you been a member of The Chosen, Abe?”

  “It’s… a recent development.”

  “Did you start off smuggling for them?”

  “Something like that.”

  “I gotta ask,” I say, scratching my head, “what’s the appeal?”

  “The appeal?” he scoffs. “Life. Living through these godforsaken times. There’s a war coming, you know. I’d like to be on the winning side.”

  I’ve studied enough history to be wary of terms like ‘winners’. Who was it that said war never had winners, only survivors? Someone clever.

  “I’m a big fan of winning,” I say truthfully. “Less fond of wars. I’d co-operate with our interrogators, Abe. Tell them what you know. There’s no need for more bloodshed.”

  Abe laughs hollowly. “How will you make me co-operate?”

  I click my fingers and set them ablaze. “I have my ways.”

  Abe’s eyes widen, but not in the way I’d hoped. His gaze is almost hungry, no doubt imagining what he could do with such a gift, or what he could sell me for, to the right bidder.

  I swallow. How to keep him from revealing me…

  “It’s true then,” he says, “what you can do?”

  “Yes.” My flames burn brighter. “And if you mention anything to anyone about me, you’ll learn the full extent of my powers.”

  Abe swallows, but the look in his eyes barely wavers. I pull back.

  “Well, great catching up with you. Afraid I have things to do. Be a good boy for your interrogators. See you later.”

  The glint in his gaze haunts me long after I leave.

  Chapter 39

  For the second time in just as many days, I actually do as Rudy has instructed and round up the chimeras for another practise session. Joni is incredibly apologetic, so I have him target practising all morning as a “punishment.” It isn’t, not really. He just feels he needs to do something to make up for his momentarily panic, and the practising builds his confidence, which is all he was really lacking. In some ways, his nerves make me happy; it means he wasn’t drilled as hard as I was at the Institute. But I also remember how nervous I was, when I took on my first solo job here in the slums. Only difference was I didn’t care if I impressed the person I was stealing for.

  Oh, and if I failed, my family would struggle, maybe starve.

  Joni never has to feel that. I won’t let him.

  A few more days pass. I continue to hone my fire powers in the basement, training the chimeras inside the gym and out on the streets. One sunny afternoon, I even take them into the wilderness with me, and we practise tracking. Gabe comes with us then; it’s the most relaxed I’ve seen him since we arrived, although all of that is lost when I tell him about Abe.

  “He knows who you are? Where we live?” he asks, his face grave.

  I chew my lip. “I’m not sure. I never told him, but–”

  “He’ll tell the rest of Luca you’re alive.”

  “Does it matter? They’ll find out at some point–”

  “It’ll bring the Institute down on our heads–”

  “Phoenix won’t let that happen.”

  Gabe sighs, swallowing a groan. “You never used to be this reckless. This trusting.”

  “You’re right. I didn’t. And I was miserable.”

  “You’re miserable now!”

  Barely contained pain rises within me. “Yes,” I tell him. “I am. But for a different reason.”

  “Is it?” Gabe says slowly. “Because I think it’s the same thing. You trusted the wrong person.”

  My fist swings from my side and hits him squarely in the jaw. Nick was not the wrong person.

  “I don’t care how well you know me,” I hiss. “You have not been here for five years. Things have happened.”

  “You know,” says Gabe, rubbing his jaw, “I was beginning to figure that out.”

  He grabs his bow –my bow– and stomps off into the wilderness.

  ◆◆◆

  I don’t hear anything from Rudy about what he’s managed to extract from the captives, and my patience grows thin with every passing day. Eventually I decide to confront him.

  “‘Sup, Captain?” I say, swanning into his office. “Just checking in, letting you know my offer of interrogation is still on the table.”

  “There is no need for threats. We already have what we need.”

  “Great! So… what are you doing with the captives?”

  “Releasing them, with a stern warning. I might get someone to watch Abe for a bit.”

  “Right,” I try not to feel too nervous about this. Would it be better if we killed him? Abe doesn’t have any family. He’s not a good guy. The world really would be better off without him… but I don’t relish the thought of taking his life. And I don’t want to ask someone else to.

  “So…” I ask instead, “When do we hit Luca?”

  “Classified.”

  “Are you still… mulling over the details?”

  “Ah,” says Rudy carefully, “You’re not on this mission.”

  I bite back the anger suddenly swelling beneath me. I also swallow the urge to ask if it’s because I got shot. That would make me sound weak and pathetic. “May I ask why?”

  “I still don’t feel like Luca is the safest place for you.”

  “I can be stealthy–”

  “I don’t doubt that,” he says quickly, “but this mission is more high risk. More things could go wrong.”

  “I could mess up, you mean.”

  He’s not entirely wrong to doubt me, almost every mission he’s ever given me has gone a little awry, sometimes due to my own fault, but mostly as the result of external factors. And the job always gets done, usually with me as the only victim.

  Although I did tell the others I’d be more careful…

  “You’re unpredictable,” Rudy continues. “Sometimes, that’s an asset. You’re a great improviser. But we can’t afford to go wrong here, there’s too much at stake.”

  “I hate to toot my own horn, here” –I don’t– “but I’m the best you have. It makes zero sense not to use me. Just have me in the van in case you need some serious ass-kicking–”

  “My decision is final,” Rudy rules. “Sit this one out.”

  I grit my teeth, trying not to sound like a petulant child. “Understood. I will await your further instructions.”

  A little anger slips out of me, and I’m glad it does. Otherwise my words would be far too much like Eve’s.

  I will not be a soldier again, a slave to orders. I will not become another person’s pawn.

  Chapter 40

  “Please, tell me when the mission is!” I beg Abi, for what must be the tenth time that morning.

  “No.”

  “But whyyyyy?”

  “Because you’ll join it against instructions, probably set someone on fire, probably reveal yourself to Luca, and possibly get yourself hurt.”

 
; “How high are the odds on that exactly–”

  “It’s dangerous and I love you.”

  “Ugh,” I roll my entire body away from her and sprawl out on the sofa. “I hate it when you play the ‘I love you’ card.”

  “I can get Ben to do it, if you prefer?”

  “Please don’t. I’ll never leave the house again.”

  “The odds on that are unlikely,” Abi says, trying to concentrate on her drawing. Her voice goes quiet, as if she doesn’t quite want me to hear. “Otherwise I’d do it.”

  “Why does it matter so much anyway?” Gabe asks. “Why not let someone else do the hard work for a change?”

  Because I don’t want to live in the shadows any more. Because I don’t want other people to get hurt because I wasn’t there. Because fighting keeps me focused, stops me thinking about… other things.

  There’s another motivation, too, one I haven’t shared with anyone. I want the city to know I’m back. I want the Institute to know I’m not afraid of them. And I want to contact Sia again, and let her know about her sister. I want to let her know I’m ready to take them down again.

  Gabe looks at me. “You’re all over the place right now.”

  “Get out of my head!”

  There’s a feeling there. Regret. Sometimes, he wishes he could, and now I regret snapping at him. He’s right about the loop, that’s for sure. Why did things have to get so complicated between us? Things were easier before–

  Before, when you were both prisoners in a lab, weapons of the state, treated with less humane care than a lab rat. OK, things were better now, it was only between the two of us that things were a little… off. A small price to pay still, for having him home.

  “I’m heading out,” I declare. I’ve given the chimeras the day off from training, but I’m not so kind to myself. I’ve still got plenty to practise.

  Halfway down the stairs, I bump into Scarlet. She’s wearing a red hooded jacket and is carrying a basket of freshly-baked buns. They smell delicious.

  “Careful, someone might try to rob you!” I jest.

  Scarlet flashes me a dangerous smile, and points to the knife strapped to her side. “I’d like to see them try.”

  “Hot. Mi’s still asleep, by the way. Long night at the Infirmary.”

  “That’s OK. I’ll just eat his for him.”

  “You are a lovely girlfriend.”

  “I try.”

  She skips up a couple of steps before a thought occurs to me. “Scarlet, are you on the mission to bust The Chosen base in Luca?”

  She stops. “Of course. Aren’t you?”

  “Apparently, it’s too high profile.”

  “But you’re like… the best we have. We have no way of knowing how many people–”

  “I know.”

  “Surely Abi has told him–”

  “She doesn’t want me to go. Pulled the ‘I love you and it's dangerous’ card.”

  “Ugh, that is just the worst.”

  “I know!”

  Scarlet chews her lip. “So, I take it you want in anyway, against orders?”

  “I do. How much trouble did you get into last time?”

  When I was new to Phoenix, Scarlet was assigned a virtually impossible task by Rudy. She wisely –or unwisely, depending on how you look at things– substituted me in at the last moment. I’d never asked her what the fallout was; I’d been preoccupied with… other things, at the time.

  She shrugs. “Not much. Nick took the brunt of it. Still…” She thinks for a moment. “I’ll tell you when we’re going, but you’ll have to sneak on yourself, ‘k?”

  “Done.”

  “Great! It’s tomorrow. Setting off at six. Don’t be late.”

  ◆◆◆

  Sneaking onto the mission turns out to be a little trickier than I thought, mainly because I need to come up for a plausible reason that I won’t be home. Abi is watching me like a hawk. I finally decide to tell them that I’m doing another evening training session with Joni to help build his confidence. They believe this, mainly because I tell Joni that that’s exactly what we’re doing. I take him out onto the old road ahead of the hangar doors, and practise his hunting skills with the animals that lurk around there. This gives me a decent reason to be properly kitted out ahead of time.

  When the hangar doors open, I give Joni a list of things he has to locate before he is allowed back to the base. I feel bad for ditching him, but I’ve asked Bullet to try and keep an eye on him without being seen, in order to build his skillset. I can’t work out if this makes me a terrible teacher or an excellent one, but I don’t have time to fixate on it. I have to get into the hangar while everything is still a bit chaotic.

  Luckily, there’s plenty of people assigned to this mission, and even more bustling about loading the vans and handing out equipment. I grab one of the regulation helmets and suit up before anyone can recognise me. Generally speaking, if you don’t look out of place, no one will ask you why you’re there. And no one does. Even Scarlet barely recognises me as I slot onto the bench beside her.

  There are only two minor complications. One, Harris is running support. He will know the plan back to front, and know that I’m not in it. Two, Nick is also on the mission. He recognises me immediately, but says nothing, either because he assumes I’m there by design, or because he remembers that social protocol dictates he gives me a wide berth.

  I don’t know why I’m so surprised. He’s a good fighter, and familiar with Luca. I should have expected it, calculated for it. I hope I can concentrate with him in the field with me.

  Luckily, it’s too noisy at first for Harris to notice me. He’s sitting at the head, communicating with the driver as we slide towards the gates.

  “Don’t worry,” Scarlet whispers, “he won’t notice you until it’s too late not to include you.”

  I nod. “I didn’t realise Nick would be here. Is he… is he even safe to be on missions, if he can’t feel anything?”

  Scarlet shrugs, as if she isn’t entirely sure herself. “He’s pretty formidable, at the moment, but Julia will check him over once he’s out. He’s been more or less fine so far.”

  “Why… why even fight for something, if you don’t care any more?”

  Scarlet swallows. “Because it’s what you know.”

  Harris runs us through the plans again as we get closer. I try to keep my head down while looking interested at the same time. Sometimes a lowered head is more obvious than one looking straight at you.

  “OK, Alpha team. We are just a few minutes short of our destination. The purpose of this mission is to dismantle the group by whatever means necessary. These people are not just civilians like the gathering in the slums; we expect a lot of them to be armed and they may have explosives; be careful where you shoot.

  “Now, there’s a good chance that the Lucan police force will get involved before we have a chance to finish things. They are no fans of The Chosen, but they are not our allies, either. As soon as you hear sirens, get to the extraction point. Let them take over, clear?”

  We all acknowledge him.

  “OK.” The van slows to a stop. Harris put his hand to his earpiece, murmuring a few things to the leader of the other team. “All right, Beta team is in position. Are the rest of you ready?”

  Everyone confirms that they are. We all climb to our feet. Nick, Chuck, and two others I don’t recognise heave a battering ram. The rest of us exit first. I can’t believe I’ve avoided detection.

  We spill out onto the streets of Luca. We’re in the outer ring, a place little better than the slums, outside of a boarded-up factory. The Beta team is nowhere to be seen, but my keen eyes hear them on the other side of the building. I can hear something else, too, from inside the building. A low rumbling and… chanting?

  We head for the door. It’s a big, heavy, iron monstrosity, barred from the inside. Nick holds up his fingers, counting down until the first strike. Someone buzzes in his earpiece.

  He gives t
he signal. They pull back the battering ram. At the first engagement, nothing happens. The door moves, just a fraction, and the chanting continues. Maybe no one can hear us over it? The others continue to heave it, backwards and forwards, until I hear the chains shift and rattle. A few more plunges and it bursts open.

  The entire lower floor is filled with rows and rows of people, set up almost like a church. There are easily a hundred. At the end of the room, a group of twelve people stand in a circle around some kind of blazing altar. They are wearing red cloaks with distorted golden masks.

  Well, if it looks like a cult and chants like a cult…

  I realise we’ve miscalculated something seconds before the bombs go off; most of the people in the rows look just like average civilians. Some of them are barely more than children.

  “Wait–” I start, but then the back wall explodes and the Beta team starts pouring in.

  Within seconds, bullets are firing. It is impossible to tell who starts first. They have guards, perhaps a dozen, maybe more, stationed around the side, but they are virtually indistinguishable from ours.

  Someone sets off a smoke grenade.

  “Scarlet!” I hiss.

  “I know!”

  Already, Scarlet is sliding into the smoke, grabbing the arm of some screaming woman and trying to haul her out of the fray. But she refuses to go. She probably thinks Scarlet’s trying to capture her, and we’re still blocking the door, using the walls as cover.

  “Oh, for the love of–!” I seize the battering ram off the ground and run it halfway down the wall. I smash apart the bricks until there’s an opening, kicking it into the shape of a human-sized hole. “Scarlet!” I yell. “Over here!”

  A few of the civilians have spotted it and are already crawling towards me, deciding one lone person with an exit isn’t a threat. Bullets are firing everywhere. The people in cloaks have thrown them back to reveal weapons of their own and are shooting indiscriminately. Bodies litter the floor.

  This is a colossal mess, but for once, at least, it isn’t my fault.

  I take out two of the guards at the side, but the rest are too far away for me to reach. I have to do something else to minimise the damage, to draw their fire away from the civilians.