“No, not yet. Twelve would not have had time to warn me. You know we’re not allowed to communicate with each other. I was told of my assignment the evening before.” Seventeen brushed a wisp of hair from her face. “I managed to tell Fifty-one what I had to do. Though she couldn’t answer me, her expression told me she was shocked.”
“Starla and I want to try and stop the doctors, to tear apart their whole operation, including the World Leadership Organization. If anyone should be eliminated, it’s Schultz and Schmidt. They’re monsters. We need to save the other recruits and children. The Institute and all their research need to be destroyed.”
The look in David’s eyes made her shiver, and she could feel the anger pouring from him in waves. A coup like that would take strategy and planning... And a hell of a lot more soldiers than just Starla and David. “How can you stop them? There are only two of you.”
Starla studied her so intently, Seventeen almost squirmed in her seat. “We’re hoping three now. Do you still want to kill us? Do you think we deserve it?”
Seventeen had already made up her mind regarding Two and Four—Starla and David—before Edrian had brought them to her. Deep inside, she knew she could never have completed her mission. Though the Institute frowned on forming attachments, it couldn’t be helped. Two was a sister of sorts, and she refused to terminate her family.
“No. You’ve given me much to think about. My brain is spinning.”
Starla grinned at her. “It’s a little overwhelming at first. I’m hoping that Twelve managed to warn the other girls chosen for the off-world missions. We need to find a way to figure out where they were sent or will be sent. If we can enlist the help of Twelve and the others, we’d make a formidable team.”
Yes, they would, but the information would be hard to get. The doctors guarded their secrets well, and the Institute was a fortress. “How do you suggest we gain the data needed? The portal only allowed us to travel here and it would take weeks to get back, even if we could sneak onto a ship returning to Earth.”
“Timyt has spoken to the king about our plans. His Royal Highness has offered to help, and so have Timyt and Edrian. Brevona has a space fleet. They have jump drive capabilities and can travel between universes at incredible speed. They have offered to transport us back to Earth in a matter of days,” Starla informed her.
“Infiltrating the Institute will be difficult, we don’t even know where it is located. In a valley surrounded by mountains, the Alps, that’s all I know.”
David chuckled. “The Swiss Alps. Switzerland. You have your wings. It shouldn’t be hard for you to find it. The World Leadership Organization is located in Austria.”
“How do you know all this?”
“I have super enhanced hearing. I’ve overheard conversations, too, but kept it all to myself. Starla has heard a lot more than me. Did you know they are experimenting on babies?” David looked at Seventeen.
“No. I knew there were babies, but experimenting on them? That’s just gross. It’s monstrous.”
Starla nodded. “My sentiments exactly. They begin altering their brains when they’re six months. Sometimes even younger.”
“Where do they get the children and babies? There are so many of them. More are brought to the Institute every day!” Some days the children were brought in by busloads. She had seen them during her flight training. What happened on the ground below her was hard to miss when she had such a bird’s eye view.
David sighed. “I overheard the doctors talking about how parents who were very poor would sell their children when they were offered quite a lot of money. They mentioned how easy it was to obtain a child or baby that was orphaned. They laughed about the number of recruits they just abducted off the streets.”
It took a bit for her to absorb that information. Did that mean her parents had sold her? It was a thought too horrible to contemplate. She preferred to think that she was either orphaned or abducted.
Starla nudged her. “How about you choose a name? I hated the idea that we were just numbers.”
“I chose one last night when Timyt asked. Jane. I read the book Jane Eyre and identified with the girl. I think it’s appropriate. It will take some getting used to.”
“I read that book, and you’re right. Jane Eyre was an orphan and treated badly in the orphanage. Jane it is. The experimentation alone is abuse. Our lives were stolen from us. And to just eliminate kids and young women and men without blinking an eye, the doctors are inhumane.” Starla placed an arm around her shoulders. “And each time you call me Two or David Four, I’ll smack you.” She grinned.
Teasing... This time she couldn’t suppress her smile. Was this what it was like to have a friend? “It’s going to take some time to locate the other girls if they’re still alive and heeded what you wrote in Twelve’s hand. That’s if she even managed to warn them.”
“And I need to get a warning to our fellow recruits. At least the older ones that are ready to be sent out on assignments. We need to come up with a solid plan... and fast. Edrian, is there a chance we could meet with Brevona’s king? What is he called?” David asked.
Edrian nodded in agreement. “King Frimont and Queen Sangalia. I will talk to my father. He may be able to set it up. The meeting can take place here. Do you have in mind how you could warn the other young men and women?”
“No, not yet. If only we could become invisible. That would help.” David laughed.
Seventeen was puzzled. “Why would the king help or meet with us? I know Starla and David are considered heroes, but what we are planning is a government takeover on Earth. Why would your king risk an interplanetary war?”
“The king and my father have known each other since they were young men and have implicit faith in each other. As the eldest and heir, and future king of the dragons, Father trusts me to make decisions for the welfare of Brevona. What your leaders are planning could be the end of our planet as we know it. This is something that neither I nor my people will allow.
“And before you ask, King Frimont is regent over most of the population of our planet. My father is king of the dragons, who were the first to inhabit Brevona. The king has high regard for the dragons, especially for my father. They have always been, and will always be close, though my father will outlive the king, and several kings after him.”
Seventeen was stunned and began to see him in a different light. She studied his handsome face. He wasn’t just an obnoxious beast. The man had a core of steel and would protect his planet and people fiercely. That prickling awareness she felt at his nearness had become a constant hum in her body. She would never be rid of it, the ache to touch him burning her fingertips. She swallowed and tried to focus on their conversation. “You’re going to become a king?”
Edrian chuckled. “Not for a very long time. Dragons live for thousands of years.”
She scrunched up her face. Did the man not feel the same need she did? Her body felt as if it were on fire and yet he seemed completely unaffected.
He doesn’t feel the same about me. But why should he? I came here as a virama, a woman ready to kill two people he calls friends. And really, I’m not that attractive. Look at Two. She’s absolutely stunning.
“Thousands? Then why are there not that many of you?”
“We procreate only once every few hundred years. Just imagine if we had young ones like humans, Brevona’s population would be mainly dragons. Though many Brevonians know of dragons, very few know that we are also shifters.” His golden eyes sparkled, and that dimple flashed. “Why? Are you thinking of procreating with me, Jane?” He winked at her.
Her jaw dropped, and she felt her face heat. “Hell! No!” Obnoxious teasing beast. But damn... he was sexy as hell. She still had trouble thinking of herself as Jane, but when he called her that, it made her feel special. Like she was somebody instead of a number. I really must think of myself as Jane and get used to it. What would it be like to throw caution to the wind and
give in to the aching need in her body and soul?
Starla giggled, then gazed at her a moment, a knowing look in her eyes. “Relationships aren’t all about what the Institute taught us.”
Jane shrugged off her comment. She didn’t have time to deal with her out of whack hormones. “I have enough to think about with what you and David have told me.”
She tried wrapping her mind around everything Starla and David had divulged. It was difficult, and some of it didn’t make sense. Now that she thought about it, Schultz had been rather vague with his answers when she’d asked him questions. How would they even know that her assignment was completed? That she’d activated the implant and was dead as well?
Edrian seemed to pick up on her roller coaster thoughts and answered her. “My father can ask the king to let the governing officials on Earth know that the two that killed the general were slain by an unknown woman from Earth and that the killer took her own life. We can even record some images, make it look like you’re all dead. We can use an animal’s blood for Starla and David, and we can make Jane look very pale and pose her in such a way that she appears to have died. What do you think? That should be enough evidence to leave the three of you in peace, and together you can form a plan to eliminate the Institute. Just know, we will give you all the help we can.”
“That should work. What do you think, David?” Starla asked.
David shifted forward and rested his arms on the table. “I think it might.”
“The gun they gave me would disintegrate you, so not a good idea.” Jane knew what her instructions were, and Schultz did not like deviation from his orders. Would the scheme be believable?
Edrian contemplated her a moment, then pulled a knife from his belt and set it on the table. “Maybe you lost the gun and used a knife instead? We can use the hilt and make it seem as if it’s sticking out of Starla’s chest. Maybe David’s throat will be slashed. Lots of blood and splatters on you. We can easily stage it to fool them, then make a holograph of the scene.”
“We can set that up.” Timyt approached them.
“Don’t any of you work? How do you make a living?” From what Jane had learned when reading the data on Brevona, it was much like Earth. Currency was required to purchase necessities. Unlike Earth, Brevona looked like it was prospering.
“We own this mountain, the mine on the other side of it, and much of the land in this area. We mine gold. Many of the adults work in the mine. We also process the gold into coin for the royal house and the mint. Some of it we trade for exquisite jewels mined here on Brevona or on other planets. Quite a few of our women create beautiful jewelry that we sell.” Timyt sat with them. He looked pointedly at her. “Jane, have your plans changed now that you have spoken to your friends?”
“Yes, they have. I never liked the thought of being a virama in the first place. To kill from afar to eliminate a bad person, like a murderer or a terrorist, that at least justifies it somewhat. I don’t want to kill fellow trainees. They are the only family I have ever known. It would be like killing a sister. And now that I know about the scientists and what they have done and still do, I am completely in on taking those two monsters down.”
“Virama. Wow, you dug deep into the dictionary to find that word.” Starla chuckled.
“I hate the words killer and assassin.”
Edrian stood and stretched. “We have talked all morning. My stomach tells me it is almost time for lunch. As for work, it is the queen’s birthday, so today is a national holiday.”
Chapter Five
Schultz paced impatiently in his office, waiting for Schmidt. He’d just received a subspace transmission from the king on Brevona. He turned as Schmidt stepped into his office, closing the door behind him.
Schmidt first poured himself a whiskey. While sipping from his glass, he sat in one of the plush chairs near the coffee table. “You’ve received word?”
“Yes. The king himself sent a subspace transmission along with a personal message. I’ll show you. Watch it while I read you his message.” He opened his tablet and placed it on the table in front of Schmidt.
“I regret to inform you that the man and woman who saved my family and me from execution, have been assassinated. The killer seems to be a woman from Earth. She had no documentation on her body, nor any identification. After an autopsy, blood tests revealed a potent poison. It appears that she took her own life after she committed the crime. The bodies have been cremated and their ashes released into space as is our custom for off-world burial. Please see attached images for verification.”
The holograph popped up, and Schmidt leaned closer to look at the images. Schultz had already seen them. There were two bloodied bodies, those of Two and Four, the hilt of a knife protruding from Two’s chest. Four’s neck had been sliced, and there was so much blood he was sure that the carotid artery had been cut. The young man’s clothing was drenched in blood. Both Two and Four were wearing peasant clothing they must have stolen after their escape. A third body was that of Seventeen, wearing the camouflage suit, her wings spread wide beneath her. Her hands were covered in blood, and blood splatters dotted the pale skin of her face. A pink-tinged froth dripped from the side of her mouth and dribbled down her chin.
“I wonder why she didn’t use the weapon we gave her?” Schmidt tapped the screen, then took another sip of his whiskey.
Schultz shrugged. “Maybe she lost her phaser. The main thing is that she completed her mission. Now we can send Twenty-four to Brevona to get rid of the leader of the new resistance cell and kill his followers.”
“What a waste of years of training and money.” Schmidt planted his glass on the table and sighed. “Why are you so focused on that planet in particular? We’ve got a list of other targets to take care of on a few other planets, and here on Earth as well.”
“The powers that be have requested we speed up the plan. Brevona is a wealthy planet. We need to stay on good terms with the royal house. The World Leadership has mega plans for Brevona. The planet is one of the largest ever known and has plenty of room. You know they are targeting it for possible relocation for chosen people from Earth. We can’t do that without the king’s permission. Once we’re settled there, we’ll take over the planet and the royal house, unless we can set things in motion now with the help of our contacts on Brevona. Earth is dying. We need to save humanity, or what’s left of it.” Schultz reached for his cigar box.
“What do you mean, what’s left of it? There are millions of people out there. Instead of focusing on human enhancement and engineered soldiers, we need to concentrate on cleansing our environment to make Earth livable again.”
Schultz lit his cigar and blew a cloud of smoke at Schmidt who waved it away angrily, a look of disgust on his face. “World Leadership has a list of those that were selected. They will be relocating about a thousand to start, plus our recruits, and all our equipment. We have also been ordered to create an army of enhanced soldiers to take over Brevona. We have to begin recruiting young men and women age eighteen or older, and commence their enhancement and training.”
“Fuck, Schultz. We’ve trained all our recruits from when they were very young. We’ve never begun training them at an older age. It won’t be that simple.”
“You’re too negative. Offer them enough money, promise them the moon, and they’ll happily and eagerly sign up. We need to build another facility right away and start looking for suitable subjects.”
Schmidt stood up, grabbed the decanter of whiskey, and filled his glass to the top. “And you finally decided to tell me about all these accelerated plans now? I thought we were partners and consulted each other on everything. I have no say in the matter?”
“Grow up for God’s sake. There is a group we have close contact with. They are some of the former general’s men. Our contacts on Brevona have joined them. They’ll be a huge help in taking down the royal house and give us the ability to rule the planet. But another faction has sprun
g up that is hunting them and any other insurgents. We need to get Twenty-four ready to annihilate that small pocket of upstarts. There’s not that many of them at this point, about thirty from what I was told, but before they get a chance to influence others they must be eliminated. Nothing can get in the way of our plan. Get a message out to Twenty-four that I want to see her. We’ll send her first thing in the morning. Matter of fact, we should send a male recruit with her. Thirty or more might be too much to handle for one person. What about Ninety-one?”
Schmidt didn’t answer. He gulped the remainder of his whiskey down and left the office frowning.
“Maybe I should get rid of you, too,” Schultz muttered. “You might have a brilliant mind, but you’re becoming a hindrance.”
Chapter Six
“So you and David are an item now?” Jane asked Starla when they were alone in the park sitting at a table sipping from tall, refreshing drinks.
“Is it that obvious?”
“Hell, yes. I must admit, he’s rather handsome in a Viking sort of way.”
Starla giggled. “I’ll have to tell him you’ve compared him to a Viking.”
“Don’t you dare. How does it feel? I mean, how do you know it’s love?”
Like the rest of the trainees, Jane had been taught that love was a myth. But she was learning the doctors had lied about so many things. And the way David looked at Starla? It had to be love.
What would it feel like to have Edrian gaze at me the same way?
“Hard to explain. After all this is behind us, we plan to get married and settle here.”
“Wow. Talk about fast work. When the Institute has been destroyed and the doctors eliminated, wouldn’t you prefer to live on Earth?”
Starla shook her head. “Nope. For the first time in my life, I feel that I belong, like I have a family. And I really like Brevona and its people.”
“Do you remember anything from before the Institute besides your name?”
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