by Valia Lind
I see Lucas walk in, doing a scan of the room, before heading to the back of the house. Foster should be right behind him, considering Lucas has taken over most of my duties at the company. I used to be the first to arrive as well, making sure everything ran smoothly, before signaling for Foster to arrive.
I'm not sure if Lucas notices me or not, but he heads for the back of the house and after a few minutes, I follow. If this was a mission impossible movie, I'd have a nice mask in place to keep myself from raising any red flags. But instead, I have to have Calen walk me through the security cameras, to keep as out of sight as possible.
Lucas enters the side door and I follow. The moment I'm through the doorway, he's on me, pinning me to the wall.
"Why are you here?" he hisses, keeping me in a lockdown.
"Because I need information," I snap, pushing at him to get off me. He lets me go, staying close, before doing a scan of the outside. We're on the side of the house, by the trashcans and I hope we have a few minutes.
"The general won't be happy," Lucas states.
"The general doesn't have to know," I reply, staring him down. Lucas isn't a stupid guy, and he's a pretty excellent operative. If he hasn't figured out by now that I'm not exactly on the general's payroll anymore, he's definitely had his suspicions. His resigned sigh tells me as much.
"He's going to kill you," Lucas finally says and that's one thing we can definitely agree on.
"It doesn't matter," I reply, because it's the truth, it doesn't. All that matters is Tasia and I will risk it all for her. "What he's doing is wrong. If you're half the man I think you are, you see that as well."
"It's not like getting out is easy," Lucas comments after a long pause.
"But it's not impossible," I retort. Out of all the men on the general's payroll, Lucas is the one I can let myself trust, if only a bit. But I'm not about to put all my eggs in one basket. I'm just planting the seeds and hoping this doesn't get back to the general too fast.
"You want me to double cross not only Foster, but the general?" Lucas finally asks.
"I want you to keep your mouth shut about me being here. And I need you to tell me who Foster has been meeting with. We're missing a key player and it's time we had all the cards on the table."
"He's been in hiding, Logan," Lucas says, doing another scan of our surroundings. "It's not as if he tells me all of his secrets anyway."
"You forget that I used to be in your shoes. I know exactly how much he does tell you."
"But you seem to forget that you betrayed him. He's not as upfront about things anymore. Which, trust me, has come up more than once with the general. He wants intel just as badly as you do."
"What he wants," I snap, running a hand through my hair, "Is the drug for himself and a list of countries who'll pay big bucks for it. He's not a patriot, Lucas. Don't ever forget that."
I can't blame Lucas for his loyalty. He's a soldier, first and foremost. He was basically created to follow orders. But I need him to see the bigger picture. Because while the general deserves whatever hell is coming to him, most of the people on his staff do not. They're good men, like Lucas, who are following someone who won't tell them the whole truth. I've been there, I know how convincing the general can be.
"What do you want me to do, Logan?" Lucas asks. "Foster hasn't mentioned any plans in front of me and I haven't been able to gleam anything about who he works for. I think it might be a woman, but even that isn't one hundred percent."
His words stop me, and I turn my complete focus on him. "Why would you say it's a woman?" I don't think Freddie and I have ever considered that possibility. There's no one we have been able to find that would fit that description at all.
"Some of the conversations I've overheard and the way he talks about her sometimes. It can only be a woman, although, I can't imagine who."
"I guess it really is the best kept secret in the business and I wonder why," I mumble.
"Umm, Logan," Calen's voice comes over the comm suddenly. For a second I forgot he could hear everything. There's urgency in his voice that I don't understand.
"What is it?" I ask, earning a questioning glance from Lucas, before I point to my ear.
"We...have a situation."
"Spit it out, Calen," I snap, not really up to games right now.
"Tasia just walked into the building."
"What?!" I half yell, making Lucas motion for me to stay quiet. But he sees something in my expression that makes him come closer.
"What is it?" it's his turn to ask.
"Tasia is here," I reply, waiting for any other information from Calen.
"She must've left right after I changed her bandages," Calen says, his voice full of apprehension. "Freddie went to check and she was just gone."
It takes a lot of slow deep breaths for me to find my calm. Everything in me wants to run into the main room and drag Tasia out of here, even if it's kicking and screaming. Her knack for putting herself in danger is something that will eventually kill me. I know it.
"How is she here?" Lucas asks, his eyes on me. "I thought she was locked up somewhere."
"Is that the lie Foster has been spreading?" My eyes flash dangerously, making Lucas take a step back.
"I thought that was the real reason you were here. To find out where she's at," he says and it's understandable.
"No, she's been with us. But she's hurt and not ready to face Foster right now. I left her behind."
"And she followed you? That sounds like her." He's not grinning, but there's a bit of smugness in Lucas's voice anyway. Instead of punching him in the face, I focus on keeping my breathing even. Having her here is one of the nightmares I've been having. If Foster gets his hands on her again, I'm not sure we'll be able to pull her back out.
What was she thinking?
20.
TASIA
What was he thinking? Leaving me behind as if I'm an accessory. This is my mission, my vengeance. I can't allow Logan to fight my battles anymore. I knew they were all up to something when no one would look me in the eye or give me a straight answer. It's like they're all walking on eggshells around me and there's no way I'm about to let them.
Because of my enhanced immune system, and with the help of the drug still coursing through me, my stitches are almost completely closed up. This sped up healing process is one of the few things I will miss about not having the drug in me. But I'm not stupid enough to sacrifice myself for some extra medical perks.
The dress I'm wearing is dark and simple. It was the first thing I found when I stopped at the store on the way here. So much different from the girl I was when I first came to Chicago a year ago. Back then, I wanted to dazzle Foster into believing I could be the answer he was looking for. And I succeeded. Now it's time to no longer dazzle. It's time to destroy.
I have no pretenses that I will be invisible walking in. Half a dozen guards recognize me on sight. Smiling my cool, perfected smile, I walk farther into the room, my eyes scanning for Logan. I know for a fact Foster isn't arriving for another few minutes. It's his new plan of making an entrance. But Logan is here already, no doubt about it. If he hasn't been found out yet, that is.
My eyes land on Lucas first, who is making his way towards me. He looks just slightly less assure of himself as usual and that's when I know Logan got to him. After all, he has that special super power of getting under your skin. Instead of moving toward Lucas, I wait until he reaches me.
"Come with me." He doesn't pause beside me, just keeps walking and after a moment I follow. The feeling of being watched grows, but I keep my gaze forward, heading to where Lucas disappeared. The second I step through the door, Logan is there, pulling me through another door. We find ourselves in a small closet, right off the back kitchens and the space is not large enough to hold all of Logan's fury.
"What were you thinking?" he almost growls, a whole ray of emotions shining in his eyes. I'm not sure which one to focus on, so I focus on my own.
"I was
thinking that you can't keep me from something this important. And you shouldn't have tried." I snap, keeping my voice dangerously low. Since I'm wearing heels, I'm taller than usual, coming up to meet him at his own eye level. "You are not in control of me and it would be better for everyone if you realize that now."
"No, stop." Logan snaps, but he's not talking to me. He shakes his head in frustration and I'm moving before I can stop myself. Placing my hands on either side of his face, I look deeply into his eyes, trying to make him understand.
He freezes at the contact, that undercurrent of uncertainty still present and it almost breaks my heart. I would give anything for him to trust me. The flood of emotions comes like a tidal wave, but I hold it at bay by sheer force of will.
"You can't go back on trusting me now," I whisper, keeping him immobile with one touch. "I know now that I cannot do this without you and I wouldn't want to. But please don't shut me out."
"You need time to heal, Tasia," Logan replies, placing his own hands over mine and pulling them down to hold. "We can't just throw you right into the battle, like nothing happened."
"But it's not your decision to make. Neither one of you," I say a bit louder, knowing that Calen and Uncle Freddie are listening in. That's the whole point here. They keep making these decisions for me, and yes, I understand where they're coming from, but at the end of it all, I'm in charge of me. The drug took that away from me, Foster took that from me, and I will never allow anyone to do so again.
"I don't want to see you hurt," Logan whispers, and that's the bottom line. He's afraid of losing me again, of seeing me on that table. I can only image how terrible that was. I don't pretend to know just how terrible. But we'll have this conversation another million times before this is over.
"Then how about you help me and we'll try and make sure that doesn't happen?" I smile, squeezing his hands where I hold them. Logan watches me for a long moment, and I'm unsure if Calen and Uncle Freddie are saying anything, but finally, he nods his head. This time, my grin is easy.
"Lucas works for the general," Logan begins, keeping his voice low, but talking fast. We already spent too much time in here. The information doesn't really surprise me, I had my suspicions. I've been learning a lot of new information lately. Like that Logan used to be part of the team sent by the general. Calen filled me in, but barely, when he changed my bandages. Some of this information I gleamed from Foster when I was under his "care", but Logan being a double agent explains a lot more about his personality. It's not like I meet soldiers on every corner who are willing to take up my war with me. Logan's history plays a large part in why he's so good at what he does.
"If we can get him on our side, he'll be incredibly valuable," Logan continues, as I process the information. "The general has been trying to get his hands on the drug, to use it for his own purposes, and he's going to be here today."
At that, my head jerks up in surprise. Obviously, I was not actually expecting any kind of a showdown. For me, it's more about the taunting. Foster needed to know that he lost me, because he doesn't do well with things he can't control. He'll make a mistake and that we can work with. But if the general is planning on being here, that will send Foster in a completely different direction.
"What did he say exactly?" I ask.
"That he wanted a one-on-one with Foster. The general doesn't have any idea who the main bossman is either and he prefers to deal with the top."
"I wish I could help with that, but my memories are too jumbled from being under the influence. I have no idea who the mastermind man is."
"Actually," Logan begins, "Lucas thinks it may be a woman."
That stops me cold. A woman. Have I even considered that? I'm not sure that has ever come up in my initial research. There's no one who is present in the company enough to fit that role. Except for Foster.
"That does provide us with more options," I comment, my mind racing with possibilities. So much frustration rushes through me. There's nothing I wouldn't give to have all of my memories intact.
An urgent knock sounds at the door and we're out of time. Foster must have arrived and Logan's comment confirms that.
"Calen says he's here." I nod, my mind on the man outside.
"What's your plan?" Logan asks, giving my hand another reassuring squeeze. Not sure if he's trying to reassure me or himself, that I'm here and next to him. That I'm real. Either way, I think we both need the reminder.
"I thought I'd go say hi," I let my lips curve in a menacing way and Logan grins.
"It's good to have you back."
* * *
The moment I step back inside the main room, the feeling of excitement floods me.
There has always been something exhilarating about taking a stand. This mission may have started off as just one girl's journey to revenge, but it has become so much more. There are thousands and thousands of people who are now relying on me to not fail. Even if they don't know it.
Being blinded by Kallos Enterprises and what they stand for is so easy. Seeing how they want to be seen is what they work for, harder than anything. That makes everything we do that much more important. We're the ones to take the screen off the real picture, exposing the truth hidden behind the pretty words and promises.
I leave Logan behind, as he heads in the opposite direction, and make my way through the crowd. People have a difficult time meeting my eye and I try not to be too pleased by that fact. My reputation precedes me. Now that the thought of a woman boss has been planted in my mind, I study the faces around me more carefully. But there are no sparks of recognition, no mental responses at all. I either don't know her identity or it's so far hidden that I won't be able to unlock it any time soon.
Foster is in the corner of the room, surrounded by this entourage. There are five bodyguards within a close perimeter around him, but no one stops me as I walk up to his group. Foster's eyes land on me and for just a split second, he looks horrified. Then, being the actor he is, the mask is back in place and he's smiling.
"Excuse me, please," he speaks to the group. "Some important matters have risen." Then, he moves away, with me staying close on his heels. He heads toward the back of the house, walking through a doorway which is protected by two large men with guns. They don't stop me when I follow.
"Miss Snow, what a pleasant surprise." Foster speaks, the moment I'm in the room.
"Is it? I thought you were hoping I was dead."
"It would've simplified things, I suppose," he says, reaching for a glass and taking a seat on the couch, as if he hasn't got a care in the world. But I know this charade, I've seen him play it with all kinds of people and I know my showing up here has upset his plans.
"Your desire to have me killed and to stay safe are always conflicting, aren't they?" I ask, smiling sweetly as I walk over to the tall windows on the opposite side of the room. While he has to pretend at being at ease, I don't. He's never scared me and does so even less now. Maybe it's the memories buried in my mind that show me his true colors. But more and more I see just how much of a puppet he really is.
"Having you on my side made the experimentations much easier, I won't deny. But now that we have all the information you can give us, having you dead would be better."
"Are you sure you have all the information you can get?" I ask, turning to watch him. That's the truth, isn't it? He really doesn't know if I've given him all I can, but taking the risk with me alive is much too dangerous.
"How did you break through?" Foster asks the one question I've been expecting. I smile again, walking to stand in front of him, instead of by the windows.
"You didn't count on a fail switch," I reply, giving him just enough information to panic. This company has prepared for so much. Knowing that there might be something to ruin it all will send Foster into a spiral. He's not a strong enough man to withstand the doubt.
"You're lying."
"And yet, I stand here, in control of my own actions." Spreading my arms out, I grin. Foster's eyes
flash and then he sits up just a bit straighter. Watching me for a long second, he finally asks,
"Are you? In control?"
There's something behind his words I don't quite understand. The uncertainty makes me nervous, but I push that away. He won't see weakness from me. Never again.
"You didn't think that we were so stupid as not to include our own fail switch, did you?" Foster asks, sitting forward with his elbows resting on his knees. My mind runs over every possibility, wondering just what he can mean by that, but nothing comes to mind. The only thing I can possibly come up with is him killing me right here, on the spot. But death doesn't scare me. Not really.
He's just playing the tough guy, trying to outsmart me. But he's not very good at that. Never been and never will be. Which is why believing someone is pulling his strings was never such a farfetched idea. It only made sense.
"You can't control me anymore, Foster," I spit out, straightening my spine. "You can come up with whatever games you'd like. You can shoot me right here and now. But that won't stop what has began. Kallos is going down and you'll go down with it."
"Oh, Anastasia," a voice comes from behind me and I twist around to see a woman I've met a few times come into the room. She's one of Foster's clients - Barbara Walton - I remember meeting her before the explosion and a few times since then. She walks farther into the room now, keeping her eyes on me and there's something in the way she looks at me that makes me nervous.
"Is that any way to talk to your boss?" she asks.
That practiced smile is on her face, the one I've seen so many business people wear, and the familiar way she speaks to me is making my head hurt. Inner alarms start to go off, but I don't flinch from her look. Nor do I flee. I watch as she walks over to Foster, while the other man stands, keeping his eyes on me.
"Miss Snow, you remember Mrs. Walton?" he's smiling as if he's a cat who ate the canary and I can't shake the feeling that I'm missing something crucial here. Her voice sounds more familiar than I'd like and I don't understand where all of these feelings are coming from.
