By that point, Eva had slipped Mackenzie's hand into hers. Mackenzie stifled a sob then continued. “Shifter saw something in my intelligence and offered me a spot here at the academy, but the only way I would accept was if James could come with me. James... He was smart, but he wasn't the kind of smart that they needed here. Shifter knew that, but I was determined. We were resolute in our promise to stay together. In the end, Shifter offered James the transportation position. He was sure that since James was a quick study when it came to trades, and because he was young, that he could learn the skills he would need. And he did. James was our transportation specialist and he kept us safe. He would drive into the center of trouble and get us out of there. James was never the type to leave a teammate behind, and he died sacrificing himself for us.”
“He made that choice. You know he would have never wanted it any other way,” Logan whispered.
“It doesn't matter. He shouldn't have been put into a position where he needed to make that sacrifice,” Mackenzie said, her voice strained and weak.
Nobody responded. They lit the lanterns they had brought with them, and one by one released them into the night sky. Then, they stood there watching them float away until it was impossible to distinguish the floating points of light apart from the stars.
That was their goodbye to James. That was their attempt at moving on.
On the way back to the villa, Mackenzie pulled Ryan aside. “I wanted to thank you,” she said softly.
“Huh?”
“The others told me everything you've been doing lately. How you've helped clean and cook and how you've been trying to spend time with everyone. Thank you for being there for us.”
“But, I... I didn't do much.”
“You did enough.” For the very first time Mackenzie offered him a look that was not filled with suspicion or antagonism.
Surprisingly, her softness pleased him.
“It's like you were telling me,” he said, “It's best if I'm a part of this team.”
“Cuddle night?” Clarisse asked when they joined the others in the main room of the villa.
The largest sofa was tugged out to form a bed, with a mountain of pillows and blankets piled atop the wide mattress. Kenichi was holding the remote in his hand, though Logan was attempting to steal it from him. They were all heaped together like rodents. Mackenzie piled in with them with a measure of eagerness. She shoved her way onto the outside. Then, with a little more pushing and nudging, managed to free up a bit of extra space.
“Well, Ryan? What are you waiting for?” Mackenzie asked, patting the open spot next to her.
He started to stammer out some excuse, but everyone had gone silent and was staring at him. Going with the flow, he tentatively sat down next to the strategist and everyone went back to arguing over what to watch. Mackenzie offered him a smile before turning her attention back to the others.
“We are not watching any romcoms,” Mackenzie said.
Chapter 10
The team decided to return to their classes on Thursday afternoon. Despite their grief, they all agreed that James would want them to concentrate on accomplishing their goal of qualifying for Vicara rather than continue to be overwhelmed with their mourning. Ryan was relieved because he hadn't known how his escape plan would have worked if they had all chosen to remain in the villa.
“You're certain this is what you want?” Leon asked him for the fifth time.
Ryan resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “I'm sure.”
He pushed aside his memory of the night before, and how the others had ended up ignoring their movie to instead share stories of their first years at the academy with Ryan. However, one decent night with the others didn't suddenly make them a family. He had to keep reminding himself of that. Besides, they would be better off without him. They needed someone they could trust. Ryan knew they still didn’t trust him.
“We should get going then. Stewart wasn't sure you would come since your team hasn't shown up for classes this week.”
“Yeah, um... There was a situation.” He didn't feel comfortable telling him about James.
Leon shrugged. “They're all in class now right?”
“Yeah, I saw them all go to their buildings.” He nearly stumbled over an uneven cobblestone but quickly caught himself.
“That's good. They shouldn't notice you're gone for at least a few hours then.”
The rest of Leon's team was assembled inside the villa except for Eloise, who was outside with the borrowed hover-bike. Everyone was reviewing the final details of his escape.
“You guys ready to remove the band?” Delilah asked.
“Got Replacement Ryan on standby,” Teresa confirmed from where she was standing over the lifelike mannequin which, disturbingly enough, was imitating breathing at that moment. Its chest rose and fell every few seconds.
“This shouldn't hurt,” Delilah said.
She produced a device and fiddled with it for a few moments until Ryan's band beeped. He then felt the unpleasant sensation of the tiny needle sliding out of his wrist and back inside the band.
Her eyes narrowed in concentration, she said, “Now we can remove it.”
Using a steel, rod-like device, she took the band in her grip and focused on putting pressure on one spot edging the rod between Ryan's skin and the band. The light went out of the band and into the small rod.
“Just a little more,” she murmured.
Then the band popped open and Delilah threw it to Teresa, who worked quickly to get the band hooked onto the mannequin. They all held their breath until the band beeped back to life.
“And that part is done,” Teresa said. “Now it's up to you guys.”
Ryan stared down at his wrist, studying the strip of pale skin the enslaving device had left behind. Even though the band was no longer there, evidence remained that it had once marked him. The seemingly trifle puncture wound smarted despite its size.
“It should stop stinging after a while,” Teresa said.
“Time is of the essence here. Eloise is waiting outside with the hover-bike.” Stewart motioned for Ryan to go on. “It was nice knowing you, man. Don’t get caught again.”
“Thanks for all the help. Try not to take this the wrong way, but I hope we never see each other again,” Ryan said.
Stewart laughed. “No offense taken. If you end up back here after all our work, I'd be insulted.”
Ryan jogged out of the villa to where Eloise was standing next to the commandeered hover-bike, working on the distance controls.
“Everything's ready for you. All you have to do is get to the meeting point,” she said, tossing him a helmet. Then, after catching his eye, she stepped towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I'm going to miss having you around. Be careful.”
She stepped backwards to give him some room.
“I'm going to miss you as well,” he said. “I hope you guys go on to win Vicara.”
Her smile wavered between pride and knowing resignation. “Thank you.”
Ryan straddled the hover-bike and tugged on his helmet. He gave her a last nod then sped towards the not-so-secure front gates of the campus. The entrance marked the Proserpine territory, but wasn’t meant to actually keep anyone inside. That was the job of the Belligerent Bands. Without a band, anyone could a pass freely onto the grounds. Of course, no one but Owners would dare cross into a holding cell of hundreds of trained Belligerents.
It seemed too easy to escape, but that didn’t stop Ryan from holding his breath until he was officially off the campus grounds. Once the looming gates of Proserpine were behind him, he allowed himself to relax and take a breath steering the bike off the only road and into the thick forest. After five miles of carefully steering around numerous trees and convincing himself that the hover-bike could outrun any creature that might be living in the forest, he reached the next part of his escape.
A hover-car waited for him right where the nav system led him. A man in his twenties was cas
ually leaning against vehicle. Ryan parked the hover-bike and slid the helmet off.
“Are you Ryan?” the man asked.
“Yeah.”
The man gave a short nod. “Good. I've been waiting for you.” He stepped forward and Ryan caught a glimpse of something that made him jump back. The familiar insignia of a disciplinary squad member was on the man's jacket.
“What's going on here?” Ryan asked, backing towards the hover-bike only to hear the bike start up and drive away - likely under Eloise's command.
“You're being taken to a training facility,” the man informed him, and the doors to the hover-car opened to reveal three more men. Ryan started running. “That's pointless!” One of the men hollered after him. Something that sounded like a gunshot echoed through the forest.
Ryan raced over tree trunks and leapt over rocks. He didn't know which way to turn, but he knew he couldn't stop running. A root tripped him sending him tumbling down a few feet before he scrambled back up. Disoriented from his fall, he panicked momentarily.
Turn right!
Turn right! Clarisse shouted again through the comm. The comm? Hadn't he taken it out? There was no time to contemplate that. He ran to the right and to the edge of a cliff. He switched his comm to speak mode.
“There's a cliff! You want me dead too?” He wouldn't be surprised if she did.
Look down!
Ryan carefully peeked over the edge of the cliff and stared for several moments at Kenichi, who was effortlessly hanging from the cliff's edge. “Finally here?” Kenichi scaled his way up to where Ryan was standing. “Hurry and put this on,” he said handing Ryan a spare harness.
“What are you doing here?”
“Helping you get away from those guys. Now hurry up.”
“How did you know?”
Kenichi sighed. “There's really no time for this,” he said. “Can’t believe it takes this long for a campus leave to go through,” he muttered under his breath.
Ryan took the harness and stepped into it. “You knew I was planning to escape from the academy?” He adjusted the harness around himself then looked to Kenichi to see if he had managed the task correctly. Kenichi glanced over it and gave an approving nod.
“I think escaping those men is the priority at the moment.”
As if on cue, the disciplinary squad crashed through the trees, firing guns wildly at them. Kenichi hooked a line onto the harness then shoved Ryan over the cliff.
“Watch for the rocks!” Kenichi said.
Ryan plummeted and came to a wrenching halt when the line jerked tight. He waited for Kenichi to appear beside him and now knew at least one skill retrieval specialists were required to master – as if this situation was commonplace. Kenichi's descent was just as fast but far more graceful. Despite that, there was still a grimace on his face when Ryan turned to look at him.
“You okay?” Ryan asked, guessing it was only polite to ask the guy saving his life whether he was hurt or not.
Kenichi inhaled sharply. “Mackenzie's waiting at the bottom with our escape vehicle.”
“Isn't that my job?” Ryan asked.
A smirk appeared on Kenichi's face. “Is this what it takes for you to admit you're a part of our team?” he asked in disbelief. “It's about time. We need to start scaling down.”
The cliff's edge kept them covered from the gunfire as they made their way down to where Mackenzie waited for them. Kenichi paused for a moment during their descent, and Ryan froze wondering what was happening. The climber’s face was paler than usual and there were lines of discomfort around his eyes.
“What's wrong?” Ryan asked.
Kenichi shook his head, then hissed, “We need to keep going.”
“The gunfire's stopped,” Ryan said, cocking his ear upwards.
The retrieval specialist nodded. “They've gotten the alerts then.”
“Alerts?” Ryan asked.
“Yeah, the ones telling the disciplinary squad that Shifter doesn’t like it when people damage his property.”
“Why do you still seem worried then?”
“Because they’re not the only threat we need to worry about at the moment and because the disciplinary squad can still injure us if we continue to help you. They’ll just say there were no other options.”
“Got it,” Ryan said and he kept silent until their feet were on the ground. Kenichi unhooked them and led the way to the car, stumbling slightly.
Ryan shook his head. “Daylan, we're going to need you on standby.”
Details?
“You'll have to ask Kenichi.”
Kitten?
“I was grazed by one of the gunshots.”
And by grazed do you actually mean shot? There was a pause. Where's the bullet?
By then they had reached the hover-car, and Mackenzie, who had overheard the conversation along with everyone else. She had the vehicle started and ready to go.
“We'll be there soon enough for you to see for yourself,” Mackenzie said over the comms. “Don't worry. We’ll make it.”
Ryan and Kenichi climbed into the car where Mackenzie relinquished control of the driving to Ryan in order to move to the back with their wounded teammate, who sat gripping his arm to his side. The blood flowed from his shoulder, but the dark colors of his climbing gear made it impossible to see the extent of the injury. The best Mackenzie could do for the moment was to help brace the boy during any sharp turns or sudden stops.
“Where are the others?” Ryan asked.
“Eva, Daylan and Aria are all waiting at the front gate with weapons in case the disciplinary squad members actually try to follow us back. We might be in the clear, but your band has obviously been deactivated which means they could still take you in. Clarisse and Logan are in the villa. They were tracking you in the lab. Logan's waiting with a new band for you... If you want it, that is.”
“And if not?”
“There's also a hover-bike waiting for you at the academy's entrance. This one has no outside controls on it, and you can take it as far as you want. It's your choice. We decided that we don't want anyone on our team who doesn't want to be here.”
Ryan knew she meant her words. Suddenly, he realized he could trust Mackenzie. He could trust all of Shifter's team, just perhaps not Shifter. The others though, they were in the same situation that he was. All they wanted was a chance to change their lives and accomplish their dreams. The only family they had was each other.
And what waited for him if he kept running? Most disciplinary squads? A gunshot wound to match Kenichi’s? Worse? Resuming his life with Alex was probably a false hope – one he allowed his angst to cultivate ever since he was caught in Shifter’s trap.
After doing the math with a clear mind for the first time in months, he saw only one true direction.
Gritting his teeth, his decision was made. He sped the hover-car through the entrance gates and came to a stop where the other three were waiting.
“Get in!” he instructed. “They'll be here soon.”
“You're not leaving?” Mackenzie asked.
“I'm not going anywhere. Not right now anyway,” Ryan said.
He punched the button to open all the hover-car doors at once, allowing his teammates to quickly scramble inside. The other three piled into the vehicle and Ryan headed straight to the villa.
“Logan, the gate needs to be closed,” Mackenzie instructed. They waited for a reply. “Logan?” All that greeted them was an unusual static. “Clarisse?” Mackenzie tried next only to have the same thing happen.
“Something's happened. Step on it!” Eva instructed.
The hover-car couldn't make it up the steep incline to the villa, so they were forced to run up the tricky pass on foot. Daylan lingered behind to help Kenichi, who had insisted on joining them despite his injuries. Mackenzie had her wrist up ready to open the doors to the villa when they realized it wasn't necessary. The doors stood wide open.
Betrayal.
There was no time f
or a plan. They needed to reach their teammates, so they rushed inside. Ryan’s eyes widened when Mackenzie and Eva drew swords. Aria loosened her whip from her belt, the tail falling to the floor. Though Kenichi and Daylan were behind them, Ryan assumed they held weapons too.
Ryan’s heart thumped as he realized he had only his insufficient fists to defend himself.
What greeted them inside made them all freeze. The pool in the foyer was slowly turning pink. Katherine lay unconscious, her wounds feeding blood into the water. A few feet away lay Leon. His blood was splattered around him as well. One of his arms was twisted to an unnatural angle.
“Clarisse? Logan?” Mackenzie called out hesitantly.
Logan wandered in from the main room. His eyes were wide, and he was shaking a little. “They attacked again,” he mumbled.
“What happened here?” Aria asked keeping her voice calm so as to not startle him further.
“They decided to strike while we were weak.”
“Were they listening in on the comms?” Mackenzie asked.
Logan shook his head. “No, no, I fixed those when Clarisse told me that Ryan had let them get a look at his comm. I didn't count on them finding a way to block all the receptions in the villa at once. It was my fault.”
“It wasn't your fault.” Eva stepped closer to him. “Nobody can plan for everything,” she said, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
“Where's Clarisse?” Kenichi asked. “Is she okay?”
“The labs,” Logan said. “She would have gone to the labs.”
“I'll find her,” Aria said before dashing from them.
Belligerent (Vicara) Page 13
