Atlas (Apocalyptic Cries Book 1)

by Adalie Jordin

  “No.” I quickly reply, letting incredulity leak out at his accusation. “Luca may be a sneaky dickhead, but he would never physically hurt me.”

  At least my gut tells me he won’t — and my gut is very rarely wrong. Although, harming me outright and turning me over to Nyler to save his own ass, and his step-dad’s, are two entirely different things. Crap.

  But he said he loves me, so….

  “He wouldn’t hurt me,” I repeat. “He was upset because I refused to leave The Compound with him.”

  This has Cade bolting upright from his semi-reclined position, and I almost think he’s about to storm from the room before he takes both of my hands in his. “And go where, Saedie? It’s a fucking wasteland outside these walls!”

  I will not be turned on by his cussing… I will not be turned on… “To the other Safe Haven — the one where Nyler claims his step-dad is.”

  He scoffs at that. “Does Luca even know it’s location?”

  “I’m not exactly sure.” I say, “But it can’t all be derelict. Your team is out there somewhere, and the government, too, right?” Reminding him of that has the opposite reaction as I expected. A shadow passes over him, and his entire demeanor changes to one of man who’s lost his way. “What is it, Cade? What’s wrong?”

  “I think somethings happened to them.”

  “Your task force,” I question.

  He nods, breaking eye contact with me to stare up at the dimly lit dome of the skylight. It’s early evening, so the view isn’t optimal. “I haven’t heard from them since I got here, and that’s a problem. We’re supposed to check in regularly.”

  Curiosity piqued, I lean forward, squeezing his hands a little to draw his attention back to me. “How do you contact them, Cade? You’ve never said.”

  “Remote operated carrier pigeons.”

  What the what?? Did he just say the U.S. Government uses robot pigeons to communicate with their assets?

  At my dumbstruck expression, he chuckles a little. Lips ticked up on one side in a sexy as fuck smirk, he explains further. “It’s not foolproof, but it’s all we’ve got for now. The distance on them isn’t good, but we’ve managed to keep them connected wirelessly, even with the fall of technology.”

  “How?” I whisper, amazed at their ingenuity.

  “I haven’t the foggiest.”

  Kenji’s offer to help me flits through my mind, and an idea strikes. “Do you think maybe the birds are the problem? That your team is fine, but can’t get a message in to you?”

  He watches me closely as I start to get excited, slightly apprehensive. “Maybe. Why?”

  Bouncing up so I’m eye level with him, I make sure he can see the spark of hope shining within me. “I might have someone who can give us a definitive answer. Do you have one of the pigeons here with you?”

  “Of course.” He says, tone implying my question is a silly one. “You’re referring to the person that made the code-catcher, aren’t you?”

  “Kenji - yes.”

  With a quiet exhale, he tugs my hands, shifting to the side and back so that we fall onto the pillows together. “And we can trust her?”

  “I believe so.”

  That makes up his mind — if I trust her, then by extension he’ll give her a chance to prove herself. “Talk to her then. Bring her here, if you want, and we can speak with her together.”

  After giving him a quick peck on the lips, that turns into a lot more, I leverage myself up from his arms, reluctant to leave. The man knows how to kiss a girl senseless. “You’ll wait here?” I ask, wanting to make sure.

  “I’m not going anywhere, Sunshine.”

  CHAPTER 21

  By the time I locate Kenji in the basement of Dorm 3 it’s well into the night. It took me longer than expected to figure out her haunts, and even when I did manage to find her housing, she wasn’t in her room.

  It takes a bit of detective work - or more to the point, one long-winded chat with a very nosy neighbor - to learn she’s down in the basement. Seeing as the washing machines in this building are shit, I know she can’t be engaging in any usual household activities.

  Right on the money.

  When I find her in at the opposite end of the laundry hall, I can’t help but laugh. She’s set herself up a tinkering room, complete with a workbench strewn heavily with old computer components and other disassembled tech pieces. It looks like the room had once been used for campus maintenance, but Kenji’s definitely made it hers now.

  I ask her if she’s worried anyone will find her hideout - it wasn’t too hard for me to get here, after all - but all she does is laugh me off, stating no one bothers to look for someone they don’t care to know about.

  True, girl. True. But if Atlas finds out about her skill with technology? They most definitely will care, and then she’ll be just another person on their list of victims.

  The thought makes me sad, but at least if Kenji had no friends to watch her back before, she’s got me now. And Cade, hopefully.

  Leading her back to the observatory in the dark, cold, night air is nerve-wracking. I keep expecting Nyler to pop out and snatch me away now that I know why he wants me. I’m sure Luca was right — my name being scrubbed from his list won’t hinder him much in the long run. If I’m as important to his end-goal as I now believe myself to be, he’ll have my name and face memorized. Whether he’s made a connection yet to The Incubator is the real question I’m facing.

  It hadn’t taken much to convince Kenji to come with me back to my place, but I didn’t tell her Cade would be waiting. I didn’t want to give away our allegiance too soon.

  When I unlock the door and step in, Kenji close behind, I quickly close and lock it. Kenji watches, but doesn’t comment. My paranoid ways have been noted, and she doesn’t seem to mind.

  Good.

  Cade is standing on the opposite side of the room to the entrance, holding up the wall with his bulky arms crossed over his chest. He wears a fierce expression, aimed at convincing Kenji not to mess with him… with us. It’s not hard for me to see past the outer shell and to the man beneath, but that’s because he lets me. I’ve learned that now — I was deluding myself in thinking it was a particular skill of mine, because when Cade wants to play the blank card and keep things under wraps, he does it perfectly.

  He wants me to know him.

  I tug on the sleeve of Kenji’s purple sweater, getting her attention and breaking their staring contest at the same time.

  “Kenji, this is Cade. Cade, Kenji,” I introduce, smiling to try and slice through the tension he’s radiating.

  Kenji doesn’t seem to feel it as she bounces around the room, inspecting all the knickknacks and such I’ve picked up over my time here. When her eyes land on the pillow corner, they light up. “Where did you find so many pillows!” She squeals — legitimately squeals — and runs over to fling herself atop them, swishing her arms and legs like she’s making a snow angel.

  I laugh out loud at her antics, and notice Cade’s serious demeanor has slid somewhat. He thinks she’s funny too. Sucker.

  “Here and there,” I tell her, giving her a few moments to play around before getting down to business. “You ready to hear all the fucked up shit that’s been going on right under everyone’s noses here?”

  My question has her bolting upright, staring at me with an anxious yet expectant expression. “I’ve been waiting so freaking long for that. Spill.”

  I spend the next hour going over everything Cade and I have unearthed, including the fact Luca is involved - under duress - and that Gladys was one of their victims. I leave out the news of my immunity to ODR…. That’s just not something I want anyone to know right now. Maybe I’ll tell her soon, but I need time to process.

  “So basically, I was right.” She jests, eyes glittering in satisfaction. How Kenji manages to keep her spirits up and a smile on her face in times like these, I don’t have a clue — but I definitely admire her for it. There’s still a slight palenes
s to her coffee colored skin that lets me know she’s not as completely unaffected as she’s fronting.

  “Essentially, yes.”

  “I can’t believe Atlas got Gladys,” she says, her mood darkening the slightest bit. “I knew she was missing, guessed she was dead, but I couldn’t have fathomed what they did to her in a million years. And for something so stupid!”

  “I know, girl. I hear you.”

  “What about you, big guy? How do you play into all this?” Kenji asks, focusing her ire on Cade. “What makes you qualified to help Saed take down Atlas? Your massive arm-guns?” She’s ogling his muscles like she’ll start panting soon, and I can’t even find it in me to be jealous. Cade is gorgeous.

  I’m right there with you, Kenj. Just don’t drool, then we’ll have problems.

  Cade looks to me, asking silently one last time if I’m sure about this. I nod to give him the go ahead. His job is his to share when he wishes to, and with whom he wishes, but I’m happy he trusts my judgment enough to look to me for reassurance.

  “I’m an agent with the Secret Service…” He tells her gravely, explaining how he was placed on a task force aimed at making sure Nyler stays in line. He doesn’t disclose anything about my dad’s involvement and I’m surprisingly grateful for it.

  “So, basically, you’re the full package. Sexy as sin, and a good guy to boot. Can I lick you, or has Saed already called dibs?” Kenji blurts out at the end of his speech.

  I bust up laughing at the look on Cade’s face. He’s appalled by her candor, eyes blown wide like a deer in the headlights. It’s fucking hilarious to see him so rattled by someone nearly half his size.

  Apparently, he’s one of the few men left that don’t see themselves as creation’s gift to women. I’d kind of guessed before now, but his reaction to her comment confirms it. And has my sides screaming from laughing so hard. Kenji joins in, and soon we’re both in hysterics — a giggling, crying, snorting mess of limbs sprawled out across the pillows.

  “Are you two finished?” His amusement is palatable, and I toss him wink before making a concerted effort to calm down, getting back to the business at hand.

  Wiping away the tears pouring from my eyes, I give Kenji a considering look. I can’t even remember the last time I lost myself in the moment like that — full belly laughing, not just a chuckle here or there.

  “We’re good.” I assure him, managing to keep a straight face as I deliver the words. It’s not easy.

  “Uh huh.” He’s looking at Kenji, who seems about three seconds from ending up right back where we started. I lean over and slap her on the thigh, getting her attention.

  “What? I’m done!” She’s not convincing at first, but then I watch as the light slowly dies in her eyes, and I know reality has come crashing back in. “I’m really done,” Kenji assures him, straightening her rumpled clothes and getting up from the pallet. She moves a few steps away to sit down in one of the fold-out seats, subdued.

  Time to get down to business. “We need your help, Kenji.” Her spring-like curls bounce as she whips her head my direction.

  “I was waiting for you to say that. How can I be of service?”

  I tell her how Cade hasn’t been able to contact his team for quite a while, and about the robot pigeons. She seems impressed by that part, but stays quiet until I’m finished speaking. By the end, she’s gone contemplative — lost in her own world. I’d hazard a guess she’s already planning out how to fix the issue in her mind.

  I wonder if she has a vault in there like me?

  “Do you know how they managed to restart the messenger’s long-distance capabilities?” She asks Cade. He shakes his head regretfully. “Great. Okay….” Taking a minute to think through her options, she looks up at Cade once more. “Do you have one here with you?”

  Cade shifts on the wall, dropping his arms down at his sides and widening his stance. “I have an emergency back-up unit, but I’m hesitant to use it, being it’s the only one I have left. I sent out my main carrier this morning and it hasn’t returned.”

  That catches my interest. “How long does it usually take for them to come back?”

  “A few hours at the most.”

  Then his team isn’t as far as I assumed.

  “Okay…. I can work with that. Do you have the pigeon here, or is it stashed back at your place somewhere?”

  Cade’s response comes as a shock, earning him an accusing side-eye from me that he purposefully ignores. Dick. “I wanted it safe. It’s here in the Observatory. Let me go grab it.”

  When was he here without me and how had he managed to hide something in my own space without my knowing? Not that I’m truly bothered, more curious than anything.

  My eyes track his progress across the room as he goes over to a mostly-hidden door along the outer wall of the dome. Pushing through it, he heads up the narrow stairs leading to the catwalk.

  I’ve only been up there once, when I first found this place, to remove a plastic tarp from the base of the dome. I prefer natural light and didn’t want anyone to notice an excess use of electricity in the building. I still refrain from turning on the bulbs along the walls when I can.

  Kenji and I sit, patiently watching, as Cade crosses to the far back side of the catwalk before crouching down to pull a stiff travel bag from the dark recesses of the unused space. Gripping it tightly in one hand, he makes his way back around the perimeter of the circular walk and down the stairs, presenting his wares to Kenji with little flourish.

  “Here. I keep an extra battery pack in there too, in case it doesn’t start up on the first try. Do you need me to walk you through getting it going,” he asks her kindly.

  She declines, already tuning him out and focusing on the new techy toy she’s about to play with. “I got it. You two….” She doesn’t finish her sentence, waving us away from her as she strides quickly across the room, holing up as far away from us as she can get as she removes the contents of the bag.

  “I think she’s excited,” I mutter to Cade, trying to convey my thanks to him for trusting her.

  “I’d have to agree. I just hope she can figure out what’s going on and fix it.” He’s only a little apprehensive.

  “I’m sure she’ll do her best. And if Kenji can’t figure it out, I’m not sure anyone else here could.”

  “Maybe Luca.”

  I don’t know what I expected him to say in reply, if anything, but those words definitely weren’t a part of the equation.

  “What makes you say that?”

  “He said he hacked Nyler’s old computer system. If he’s capable of doing that, maybe he knows more about technology than you think.”

  Valid point.

  I don’t respond to his words, instead trying to visualize the scenario in my head. “Oh hey, Luca. Yeah, I’m not going to run away with you, and I know you said you can’t stay to help me, because you love me and don’t want to see me hurt and all - but I was wondering…. Mind forgetting all that and assisting us into hacking a U.S. government prototype to try and take Nyler down before you leave? Gee, thanks.”

  Yeah, no. Not likely.

  Cade’s shrewd eyes miss nothing. “It’s a last resort, Sunshine.”

  “Mhm. Yeah… Last resort.” I can’t meet his gaze, heat flushing my face as embarrassment rears it’s annoying head out of the blue. I told Cade about Luca’s exclamations of love, and honestly… He didn’t seem to perturbed by the notion. It makes me wonder if he doesn’t have as strong of feelings for me as I do for him.

  Which would suck, considering I’ve moved so far past ‘like’ at this point, I can’t even see it in the rearview mirror anymore.

  ◆◆◆

  Cade’s out for a meal run a few hours later. It’s the butt-crack of morning, but he insisted we all need to eat and there’s not enough food at my place for the three of us.

  Kenji has his pigeon pulled apart, completely disassembled with little pieces scattered about the floor around her in a circle. She
seems to have a system to what she’s doing, so we’ve mostly left her alone.

  It’s not until Cade has been gone for a good fifteen minutes that she moves for the first time in an hour or so. I’d been afraid to talk to her before - didn’t want to interrupt her process - but when she looks up at me with a blinding smile lighting up her face, I know she’s got it.

  “You figured it out,” I praise, going over to her side of the room so we don’t have to shout.

  Kenji preens, tilting her pert chin up in satisfaction. “I did!” A little of the lightheartedness leaves her, and then she’s pouting. Mood swings, anyone? “Well, kind of. I know why Cade hasn’t heard from his team.”

  Unsure if we should wait for him to get back for her to share her findings, I plop down just outside the ring of little metal bits and bobs. “Do you think they’re okay?” That’s safe enough to ask, I think.

  “They’re alive.”

  Her confident response has my brow furrowing. How can she be so sure?

  Obviously seeing the confusion I’m sporting, she clues me in. “They figured out a way to send messages embedded in the code of the network itself. I can’t read them, which is freaking annoying, but I can see they’ve attempted communication as recently as this morning.” She shares, bouncing up and down. She makes me think of a hyper Pomeranian, minus the fluff ball hair — hers is too pretty to call fluff. “Cade’s the only one who will likely know how to decode it. It would take me longer than I’d like to admit to break their cipher.”

  I guess that’s that.

  While we wait, I learn a bit more about Kenji’s past. She’s older than me by a couple of years, so she’s lived more in some ways. But in others, because of her stint in prison, she’s not experienced at all. Take for instance, she’s never been on vacation. Ever. I tell her about the family trips my Dad, The Incubator and I attempted - and failed miserably at - before Jeremy was born. She commiserates with me over the trying times, then shares with me a few stories about her Grandmother, who she was extremely close with before getting caught up in the justice system.