Red Handed

by Gena Showalter

  "Really? What could you have done differently?"

  "I don't know. Jam my palm into your nose, sending cartilage into your brain. Chop block your throat, crushing your trachea. Knee your balls, making you cough them out."

  His eyes sparkled with pride. "Funny."

  "True."

  "But you did none of those things. And you know why?" His lips twitched as he fought a grin. "No killer instinct. Just. Like. I. Told. You."

  Anger rocked me to the bone. No killer instinct. Grrr. I'd show him! "You wanna see killer instinct? I'll show you killer instinct."

  He released me and stood. He even motioned me over. "Do it, then. I dare you."

  I stood to shaky legs, and we faced off. "Sure you're ready for this?"

  "Come and get me, sweetheart. I'm ready for whatever you've got to give, sweetheart."

  I didn't leap into action, but circled him. As I walked I lost the heat of my anger. I lost my "killer instinct." Not that I'd ever had one. Not with Ryan. We both knew I'd been blowing smoke. I just wanted him. Only him. I wanted him back on top of me, kissing me. Finally.

  He watched me, followed my every move with his heated gaze. "That's it? That's all you've got?"

  "Maybe."

  His brows winged into his hairline. "What are you waiting for? Attack," he commanded.

  I almost grinned. "I'm stalking."

  He barked out another laugh and threw his arms in the air. "Stalking like this won't scare your enemy."

  I might want him, and I might have lost my instinct, but I didn't hesitate. While he was distracted, I attacked. I spun, using my speed and momentum to kick. My foot connected with his stomach. Gasping, he bent over. I rushed him, slamming my elbow into the top of his head.

  Crack.

  He fell to his face. And he didn't move. I'd hit him harder than I'd meant to. But he should have been able to handle it. Right? Surely. He had to be playing. Eyes narrowed, I kicked him in the side.

  He didn't make a nosie.

  My heart drummed erratically in my chest. Oh God. Oh no. "Ryan?"

  No response.

  "Ryan?"

  Still nothing.

  Ohmygod! What had I done? "Ryan, I'm sorry. So sorry." I bent down and gently clasped his shoulder, meaning to ease him to his back. Before I could blink, he had a vise grip on my wrist and flipped me to my back. "What the--" I hit and he rolled on top of me, squishing the breath from my lungs.

  Once again, I was pinned.

  "Told you," he said, grinning. "No killer instinct. And that's like the oldest trick ever."

  "You dirty little--"

  "Uh, uh, uh." He tsk ed under his tongue. "You lost. Twice. Accept it."

  "Hell no. You cheated."

  "Whether you lose by trickery or not, you still lose. Fighting dirty is more than okay, it's expected. Haven't I taught you that?"

  I gnashed my molars together. "I was winning."

  "Was doesn't matter. Only the end matters." His face inched closer to mine. So close. "How do you get out of this position?"

  "Try to knee you in the balls?"

  He laughed. "No. That would cause me to double over, closer to you, and I'd still be able to hit you. You'd work your knees up and kick me in the stomach, like I told you before."

  "Maybe later," I whispered. I could feel his breath on my nose. I could feel him all over, in fact. And I liked it. I bit my bottom lip. I liked it a lot.

  He lost all trace of amusement, and his eyes darkened hungrily. His breathing became choppy. He knew what I was thinking because he was obviously thinking it, too. "This is stupid," he said.

  "Yes."

  "This is wrong."

  "Yes." But why did it feel so right?

  "Do you care?"

  I didn't hesitate. "Not right now."

  I'd barely gotten the words out before he was kissing me. His tongue swept into my open, waiting mouth and his taste consumed my thoughts. Decadent. Exquisite. Wonderful. Better than anything I could have imagined.

  His hands tangled in my hair, and he angled my face for deeper contact. His lips were soft, hungry, and he fed me pure passion. Something I'd never really experienced before.

  "I want you," he panted.

  "Yes." Yes, yes, yes.

  If he stopped kissing me, I'd...I'd...I don't know. I wound my hands around him, anchoring one at the base of his neck, one at his waist, holding him captive. I lifted up and thrust my tongue back into his mouth.

  He moaned. I groaned.

  Delicious.

  Of course I'd been kissed before, but all those times faded from my mind. There was only here, now, and Ryan. He was strength, and he was fire. He was everything just then. I felt inexperienced. I felt vulnerable.

  "Phoenix," he breathed, like a prayer.

  "Ryan."

  Slowly he pulled away from me. "If I don't stop now, I won't be able to." Tension layered his voice.

  "Then don't stop," I said, staring up at him. "Just a little more."

  "A little more," he agreed. Leaning down, he kissed me a second time. This kiss was hotter, more dangerous. His hands roved the length of my body, stopping at my breasts and kneading. My nipples hardened.

  He tore away from me yet again. He was panting as he crouched on his knees. I lay where I was, needy, achy.

  "I've never done anything like this before," he said darkly. "I've been an instructor for over a year and I've never wanted a student. I never even dated another trainee."

  "Ryan," I said. Kiss me.

  He scrubbed a hand down his face. "We'll be punished for that. Boss will know. He always knows." Ryan stood. He didn't speak a word as he disabled the ring and strode away from me.

  "Ryan," I called.

  He stopped at the doorway. I don't know what I planned to say, but neither of us were given a chance to find out. An alarm suddenly erupted throughout the room, its shrill warning sending chills through my spine.

  Ryan spun around and faced me. "Shit. Shit."

  "What's going on?" Fear coursed through me. Was the alarm for us? For our kiss?

  "We've been invaded."

  15

  "This is not a drill," the computerized voice said over the intercom. "Repeat, this is not a drill."

  I jumped to my feet. Ryan was already racing back to me. He grabbed my wrist and tugged me forward. "Come on."

  Confusion rocked me. "I don't understand what's happening."

  "We're being attacked, Phoenix. This has only happened once before, years ago, but half of the student body was killed." He had to speak loudly to be heard over the alarm. "If a sector is breeched, the computer usually locks all doorways, preventing the invader from moving from room to room. But the alarms are screeching and I haven't heard the locks click. That means part of the system has been compromised."

  "And that means..."

  "Everyone is fair game," he said bleakly. "Now come on." He raced to the far wall and splayed his hands in a section that looked like every other section.

  Blue lights scanned him from head to toe, and the wall opened into an arsenal. Tier after tier displayed guns, knives, throwing stars, and weapons I didn't recognize. My jaw nearly hit the ground. "That's...that's..."

  "Plan B. There's an arsenal in every room of the building," Ryan said. "Including your room. You're just not in the database to open the locks."

  Wow. I'd never known, never suspected. Maybe that was a good thing. "How could anyone know about this place and attack it? It's invisible."

  "I don't know how they did it, but we'll worry about that later."

  "Sybilins have bypassed security," the computer said. "There are four Sybilins in sectors one, two, and three."

  Sybilins? My fear intensified, branching to every part of my body.

  "Shit. It's worse than I thought." Ryan sheathed several knives at his waist and palmed a pyre-gun. He tossed it at me, and I deftly caught it. "Hope you learned how to use one of those."

  I gulped. "I've practiced, and I almost always
hit what I aim at."

  "Almost is better than never. The gun is locked on stun right now, so you don't have to worry about killing anyone. But don't fire if your friends or an instructor is nearby. If any of them carry alien blood, they'll be frozen in place and helpless."

  "Only Kitten is alien, and I swear to God I won't aim in her direction."

  Ryan snorted. "She's not the only one, Phoenix."

  My eyes widened. "What?"

  "Siren. Angel." Pause. "Boss."

  "What? But they look...they look...completely human. And your dad? That would mean..."

  "Yeah. Who better to track aliens than aliens? Does this change your opinion of me?" he asked with the slightest trace of bitterness.

  "No." It didn't. Not at all. I was just shocked. "Does the government know?"

  "Of course. There are a select few who are trusted, but that's something the general public can never know. And something you might never have been taught." Another pause. "If you don't want to engage the Sybilins, if you don't think you are ready to handle this, lock yourself in your room. Better yet, just reactivate the boxing ring." He faced me as he said it, eyes staring deeply. Probing. "The Outers won't know how to bypass it, I hope, and you'll be safe."

  Hide away like a coward? Hide away while others fought--and maybe died. I'd rather die. I was here to become an agent, so I would damn well act like one. No matter how scared I was.

  "I'm ready," I said, straightening my back.

  "Good," Ryan said, but he didn't look happy about it. He looked mad and proud and scared. Yes, scared. For me? "Stay safe, Phoenix. Promise me."

  "I promise."

  He kissed me. No tongue this time, but a swift meshing of lips. Hard, comforting, giving. "Let's do this."

  He rushed out of the gym, and I stayed close on his heels. Chaos awaited us in the halls. Agents rushed in every direction, laden down with weapons. Students raced, too, but they were panicked, their wild gazes scanning as they demanded to know what was going on.

  "Three Sybilins have breeched sector four," the computer said. Pause. "Five Sybilins have breeched sector five."

  From the end of the hall, Kitten spotted me and sprinted to my side. Her face was pale, and her lips were pulled tight with worry. "I was sleeping and all of a sudden the alarms were going off and I nearly jumped out of my skin and I don't have any clue about what's going on and--"

  I grabbed her arm to silence the babbling. "We're under attack. Sybilins like to fuse their lips with their prey and suck the water out of their bodies. Whatever you do, do not let one get on top of you. Understand?"

  Her skin became even more pallid, but her pupils elongated like they did before she engaged in battle. Determination squared her shoulders. "I--Yes. I understand."

  I jumped back into motion, dragging her with me and closing in on Ryan. "Use any weapons you can find," I said to Kitten. "Wait, I'll get you one." Reaching out, I withdrew one of the knives from Ryan's waist. He almost sliced my arm off, but caught himself when he realized it was me. Note to self: Never take a weapon from Ryan without asking. I slapped the hilt into Kitten's palm. "Tell the others, okay. Warn them."

  "I will." She turned to the wall. My brow furrowed in confusion. What was she--Dear God. She'd just disappeared through it! She'd actually walked through the wall; there one moment, gone the next.

  My (kind of) boyfriend was half alien, and my best friend had superpowers.

  I wanted to marvel at that, but didn't have time. Ryan and I hauled butt into the Common. There, we spied several Sybilins. They were crawling all over the walls. Like insects. The door to the agent's section was open, and I could see Bradley, Erik, and a few others trying to get to the girls' area to protect them, I was sure, as a true agent would do. But the Sybilins spotted them and attacked, knocking them down.

  Erik fought his way out in a bid to get to Bradley.

  Before my eyes, one of the creatures lowered its head...touched its lips to Bradley's...

  "No!" I shouted. Not again. My friends would not be hurt. Bradley began jerking.

  Ryan cursed. I screamed, filled with more rage than ever before. These creatures will not hurt my friends again, my mind repeated over and over. At least I knew what to do this time.

  I aimed the pyre-gun and fired, just as Ryan did the same. Blue beams erupted from mine, red from Ryan's. The Sybilin on top of Bradley froze at the same moment a hole was burned into his back, and Bradley was able to kick the thing off himself.

  "It...it..." Bradley's voice was shaky, and he grasped at his throat.

  Ryan fired another round, hitting a Sybilin behind Bradley.

  Ryan wasn't using stun, I realized. The red-gold blast was frying everything it touched. He fired again, and this round slammed into the creature trying to subdue Erik, burning the skin from its bones. Erik shouted and scrambled away from the screaming inferno. His eyebrows were singed.

  As I stunned as many water-sucking monsters as I could, Angel pounded into the Common. I almost paused and gaped at her. Almost. I'd never seen her so...enraged. Her eyes glowed with an unholy fire of their own, and her body moved as if it were pure electricity, flitting from one wire to another.

  She was a frightening sight to behold.

  "Not everyone is human," Ryan had said. Yeah, I believed him. Angel didn't look human just then. Which species was she? Whatever it was, she was spellbinding, mesmerizing. Beautiful. She clutched two knives, each with a pronged, serrated edge, and she used them with abandon. The Sybilins' yellow, puss-filled blood splattered as she moved and killed as if it were a dance.

  Mia Snow pounded in behind her, just as lethal. "Bastards," she snarled, punching anything stupid enough to get near her. "Die!" Her gaze caught mine and she worked her way toward me.

  "What should I do?"

  "Keep freezing them. They set us up," she growled, never slowing. "I didn't think they were smart enough to do it, but they followed us here. They attacked tonight so I wouldn't have time to question the one I stunned. Behind you!"

  I whipped around--and saw a creature bounding toward me. Le'Ace jumped in my path and cut its throat. Thick yellow blood dripped from her hands. There was no expression on her face. I understood now why they were so hard on us, why they made us obey without hesitation and punished us if we didn't. Why they took our freedom and constantly wanted us at our very best.

  Everything they did was meant to save our lives.

  "Twelve Sybilins have breeched sector six," the computer said.

  The room was suddenly flooded with more of them. The creatures hopped everywhere in their frenzy to get to us. I aimed and fired, aimed and fired, freezing as many as I could.

  Ryan worked beside me, never leaving my side. We made a good team. But my gun eventually gave out, forcing me to use another weapon: my hands. The Sybilins were salivating, eager for more water.

  Siren strutted into the room as if she hadn't a care in the world. She hummed under her breath. The Sybilians paused, pointed ears perching as they listened to her. Distracted as they were, I launched forward and kicked one in the middle. Contact. It howled. Another pulled itself from Siren's spell and came at my right. I spun, ducked, and punched. Two more appeared at my other side. I crouched low, spinning my leg as I'd been taught by Ryan and knocked the creatures together.

  "Phoenix! Catch."

  I turned at the sound of my name. Ryan tossed me a blade, and I caught the hilt. My heart pounded frantically in my chest. I could see another Sybilin coming toward me...in the air...about to land on top of me...

  I stabbed without thought. Kill, yes, I could kill. I would kill. I had killed, and I felt no guilt. Some people might call me a murderer, but I was an agent. I was doing my job, my duty.

  The metal sunk into its belly. Yellow blood, warm and thick, oozed over my hands. I tried not to gag. It smelled bad, like rotten garbage. Keep fighting. I have to take out as many as I can.

  Panting, I looked for my next opponent. Still the war raged.


  I threw myself into a group trying to latch onto Cara. Erik was there, cursing as he fought to save her. He moved with lithe grace and potent fury. Sweat trickled from my temples as I stabbed, turned, stabbed, soaking my hair to my head. My muscles burned; my arms shook.

  I didn't slow. I couldn't.

  Four of the creatures jumped onto Ryan, subduing him with their sheer numbers. In that moment, I went a little crazy. My strength intensified, riding the waves of an already intense adrenaline rush. The other agents were fully engaged and didn't realize that Sybilins were fusing their mouths onto any part of Ryan's body they could reach, sucking his energy, sucking away his life.

  Dimly, I thought I heard Allison Stone shout. Thought I heard Kitten hiss. Then Emma was at my side, rushing to Ryan, as well. We reached him at the same time, and she grabbed one of the Sybilins by the neck and ripped it off Ryan.

  She punched the creature in the face.

  I think she saw the Lyrosses in these Sybilins, because there was death in her eyes, a need to kill in her expression. Once she started punching, she didn't stop.

  I elbowed and kicked two of the monsters, cutting them as I did so, ensuring they wouldn't get back up. Finally, there was only one left. Its lips were attached to Ryan's. Ryan's struggles were weakening, and I could see the dryness of his skin, the vagueness of his eyes. His body spasmed.

  "You want to get wet," I spat at the creature. "Then I'll get you wet." I slashed out, but the Sybilin moved and I only managed to graze its shoulder.

  Thankfully, though, it released Ryan and bounced on top of me, trying to lower its lips. I saw its glowing eyes, red, hungry. One of its hands wrapped around my wrists, preventing me from using the knife. I flailed, trying to dislodge it.

  I'd been in this position before, with Ryan. Don't panic, I thought. Remember what he told you to do. His words echoing in my mind, I worked up one of my legs, until it was between me and the Sybilin. I kicked with every ounce of energy I possessed. The alien sailed backward. I didn't allow myself a moment's rest but jumped forward, gripping my knife, and cut.

  It howled, then dropped to the floor, immobile.

  I stood in place, gasping. Ryan looked up at me, his features pained.

  "Thank you," he managed. "Thank you."

  "My pleasure." I was just about to jump back into the fight when another Sybilin fell at my feet. I blinked in surprise.

  "It's over," Mia said, panting. "They're dead."

  "Enemy neutralized," the computer said, confirming Mia's words.