The Takeover

by Teyla Branton

  Ritter nodded, his expression without emotion. “You’re right, Cort. However, we’re not going to be alone. Patrick is working with his father and the military to give us backup. Without congressional approval, he won’t be able to give us many troops, but there is already at least one black ops team he can commit. If we can delay a week, there may be more.”

  “Mortals,” one of the Emporium agents mumbled loudly. “Like that will help.”

  I was pretty sure it was Fenton who’d spoken. The big blond man was sitting back in his seat, his muscled arms folded over his chest. “They’ll die,” he added when we all stared at him. “Believe me, if I thought you had a chance, I’d go up against them myself. Not to save the mortals, but to free myself from the Emporium. But using mortals . . . it’s like throwing a bucket of water on a grease fire. They’ll burn up, and we’ll still have the problem to deal with. Plus, any delay will cost you. The Emporium will figure out we’ve told you the locations, sooner probably than later. You don’t have a week to wait for more black ops teams.”

  “Thank you for the observations,” Ritter said, his expression resigned.

  He’d told me mortals were the weakest part of our plan, and that using them, even trained ones, against Unbounded Emporium agents went against everything he believed, but we both knew that without the mortals we didn’t stand a chance. Were we becoming just like the Emporium—using mortals as cannon fodder?

  “Fortunately,” Ava said, “we will have more Unbounded to help, and they are the crux of this plan. For years we’ve been sending captured Emporium agents to our compound in Mexico in an effort to undo the Emporium programming or, as a last resort, to identify those who would never reform and who needed to stand trial for their murders. It’s a slow program, and many Emporium agents have been there for decades. Some were eventually tried and convicted and executed, but others learned and reformed. We got to a point where we started using a few of those prisoners to help with the newer captives. Three months ago, when the announcement was made about our existence, Tenika Vasco—she’s the leader of the New York cell,” she added for Fenton and the other captives, “—and I decided to allow those who had married and had children to build houses nearby and interact with the natives on a regular basis. I’m happy to say that many of these people are ready to come back to the US. Ready to help us make a world where everyone is free. There are thirty-four ex-Emporium Unbounded who are willing to fight with us against the Emporium.”

  I bit back worry. The last I’d heard, over sixty Unbounded were living outside the compound, and Ritter and I had hoped that many would stand with us. Still, thirty-four volunteers was better than nothing.

  Cort cleared his throat and said, “Seventeen for each location here in the States. Depending on what their abilities are and how well they’ve been trained, I’d say our odds of fulfilling our directive just increased fifty percent.”

  A fifty percent chance of making a significant dent in the Emporium armor. That wasn’t the only part of the plan, of course. Mari’s shifting ability would be needed, not only to transport the former prisoners but also to get us inside once we destroyed the inevitable electronic grid. But now, looking around at the faces of the people I loved, I knew our plan wasn’t enough. Not even if the president found more mortal cannon fodder. Fodder like my brother Chris. No, this attack still seemed more like a suicide than something Ritter should have signed off on. That he had agreed only proved our desperation.

  Our only other choice seemed to be continuing our losses until we had no one left to fight the Emporium.

  “Actually, we’ll have to spread out those thirty-four people,” Ava said, “between the five locations, based on each headquarter size. Because if we attack only one location at a time, the others will be able to send each other backup. I think these extra soldiers will give us the edge we need, if not to win then at least to seriously impede their operation.”

  “You must be joking.” Fenton unfolded his hairy arms and placed his fists on the table. “You can’t trust those prisoners.”

  Ava didn’t react to his derision. “If we hadn’t thought it possible, we wouldn’t have wasted everyone’s time in sending them there in the first place. They understand the danger the Emporium has put the world in, and they have proven themselves.”

  Next to Fenton, Eden was flushing as dark as her many freckles. Instead of radiating cuteness times ten, the former Emporium agent was a red ball of fury. “Fenton’s still right. You’ll never succeed. Not with those from the prison, or the mortal soldiers. Not even if you trust them.”

  “I agree,” Bedřich said. “Oh, you’ll do some damage, and maybe it’ll be enough to beat them down temporarily, but you’ll lose too many people, and the next time, there won’t be enough of you left to stop them.”

  Silence fell, and for a long time no one spoke. How could we when we knew it was the truth?

  Ava’s probing eyes fell on Bedřich. “Why do you say that?”

  “Because you’re thinking like them,” the Czech said. “And they’ll be ready for that. Do you imagine that they could prance in here and murder you without a fight? Even if all four hundred of them showed up at once? And a few thousand of their mortal pets? Even if Jeane here was on their side and nulled everyone’s ability?” He shook his head. “I’ll bet you’ve got so many guns and hidden traps and back doors that they’d have to demolish this whole area just to get inside, only to find you were gone once they did succeed. Isn’t that right?”

  Not only right, but dead on. Besides our heavy artillery, we had an entire underground network that connected into the original sewer system that wasn’t reflected on any official plans. No, the Emporium wouldn’t get anywhere near capturing even one of us from our stronghold.

  “Well, they’ve planned just as well, and tripled that,” Bedřich said. “Especially after Stefan’s daughter here escaped from the old headquarters in LA.”

  Eden was nodding. “They’ve been busy these past months, just as you have. Your plan will only aggravate them. It will never work. And waiting to fly those reformed prisoners here or for more soldiers will completely negate your element of surprise.”

  They weren’t factoring in Mari’s ability or that I could channel her, but seeing the plan from their point-of-view made me understand that we’d already failed. We just didn’t know it yet. Ropte and the rest of the Triad were going to win, and everything we did here on out wouldn’t make a lasting difference. The tide had already turned and now threatened to drown us all. I couldn’t breathe.

  “So,” Ava said, “what would you do in our position?” She spoke casually, but I saw anticipation in the erectness of her back. Next to me, Ritter was also at high alert.

  Bedřich thought a moment and then shook his head, as did Fenton and Eden. “I don’t have a clue. I just know your plan won’t work. I feel it. And you know what that means to a combat Unbounded. You’d be best off tucking tail and do like I plan to do once I get out of here—find a nice little out-of-the-way place and do some living before I’m forced to go back and be their slave.”

  “That is not an option,” I said, finally unable to keep myself quiet. If Ava and Ritter’s plan was to get Bedřich and the others to hand us a magic solution, it wasn’t working. Our captives didn’t seem to know anything to help, despite their combined years of experience and ability in combat. “What would you do if you weren’t a traitorous coward who wanted to hide away while the Emporium murders half the world’s population?”

  Bedřich glared at me with a hint of his former wildness in his eyes, but I glared back, and eventually he looked away.

  “I don’t think they want to murder everyone,” Jeane said under her breath. “Just the troublema—” She cut off as Jace came to his feet.

  “Answer my sister!” Jace ordered Bedřich. I was proud at how controlled his voice was. More controlled than mine. Across from him and next to Stella, both Chris and Mari looked ready to explode, so at least I wasn’t t
he only one who sat in the ashes of a perfectly useless plan.

  “I don’t know,” Bedřich insisted. “But you go ahead and throw your lives away. It’ll just buy me more time. I wouldn’t have said anything, but you took us from that place, so I owed you one. It won’t work, I tell you, and there’s nothing to make it work.” He hesitated and then added as an afterthought, “Unless . . .”

  “Unless what?” Jace grabbed onto the word. Everyone in the room held still.

  Bedřich ignored Jace and focused on me and Ava. “There might be a way, but it will probably still mean throwing some of you and your pitiful mortal soldiers into the fire as a distraction.”

  “We’re listening,” Ava prompted.

  Bedřich leaned forward, tenting his hands on the table. “All right. Here it is, for what it’s worth. When you think about it, the Emporium as a whole is not your enemy. Not even the hit teams. No, you only need to get rid of three people.” He held up fingers to emphasize his statement. “Three.”

  “He’s on to something.” Fenton let out an abrupt laugh, scanning the faces around the room. “Yep, you have the right people in this room to do it.”

  “The right people for what?” Ritter’s eyes glittered darkly in a way that made all the captives blanch.

  “Why,” Bedřich said, “to take over the Triad, of course.”

  WE STARED AT BEDŘICH. HE had to be completely and absolutely crazy, even without the pieces of Delia’s constructs still floating around in his brain.

  Of course taking over the Triad would be the thing to do, and they were on our list of priorities once we breached their walls, but it wasn’t like we could just knock on the door and make a polite request for them to turn themselves over. If Bedřich believed we couldn’t get inside any of the Emporium headquarters, how could we get to those three? Ropte maybe, but not Stefan and Tihalt.

  “Part of our directive is to get rid of the Triad,” Ritter growled. “All of them.”

  “Yes, but as we’ve discussed, you’ll never make it through their minions to get to them.” Bedřich didn’t quite look at Ritter as he spoke, as if trying to stay under his radar, but his triumphant grin didn’t falter. “By the time you do cut them down, their replacements will just keep coming until they outweigh you with their sheer numbers. Remember, they don’t care about using mortals as linings for your graves.”

  “Then what do you suggest?” If Ava’s voice held any more ice, Bedřich would be frozen so rigidly a breath would shatter him. “That’s why we’ve allowed you in this meeting. Because you agreed to help.”

  Bedřich’s mocking smile faded. “The Triad positions pass from family member to family member. Not only upon death, because there have been a few—very few—occasions that Triad members have stepped down and retired. Successors are usually chosen by the Triad member before he or she retires or is killed. If they die without choosing an heir, the other two in the Triad will appoint one of the deceased’s family members. Until the Triad member’s death, normally only the successor knows he or she is chosen, and they hold the correct papers. Even after they prove it, they must undergo DNA tests to make sure there’s a strong blood tie.”

  Bedřich’s companions, Fenton and Eden, looked at him blankly, and I suspected that if they had ever known this information, it had been removed from their minds.

  “He’s right,” Jeane said. “I’d been hoping Delia had died without giving anyone the correct documents, but she’d given them to David, of course.”

  “Why keep the successor a secret?” I asked. “Wouldn’t it be better if everyone knew up front so there’s no question?” I couldn’t help thinking that Jeane might not have been so anxious to kill Delia and return to the Emporium if she’d known.

  Bedřich opened his mouth, but it was Cort who answered. “To us that makes sense, but the Emporium is completely foreign to the way we think. If a successor was positively known, they’d need round-the-clock protection.”

  “From other potential heirs?” I asked.

  “Yes, and from other Triad members. This was especially true with Stefan and Delia.” Cort smiled at our stunned expressions. “Oh, it wasn’t always this way, but it has been during my whole lifetime. One of my brothers was murdered shortly before I left the Emporium. He was my father’s pick as a successor. I don’t recall how I knew he’d been chosen, but in the end, he was murdered because he was my father’s choice.” His narrow face hardened. “It turned out to be a good thing; my brother was a cruel man. His murder probably saved my father’s life because I don’t know how much longer he would have waited to take his inheritance, and my father was blind to his intent.” He waved a hand as if to clear his head of the images. “My father believed Delia was behind it. My brother hated Delia with a passion, and they always butted heads—unlike my father, who was content to let Delia and Stefan run the Emporium. Everyone at the time thought she was making sure she wouldn’t have to work with him, but nothing was ever proven.” His word choice was careful, even for him, and I wondered if he knew more than he was telling. Against my will, I felt a little pity toward Tihalt for losing yet another son.

  “So I guess Triad members either want to wait as long as possible to choose someone, or pick a successor who won’t knock them off,” Jace remarked. No one had a response to the ugly thought.

  Keene stared at Cort from across the table, an unreadable expression on his face. Power swirled around him, unsteady and erratic. I wanted to say something but didn’t want to call attention to him. I was relieved when Mari, sitting next to him, angled her body slightly, as if placing her hand on his thigh. The power gradually began to subside.

  “That’s why you left,” Keene said to his brother.

  “Only the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Cort responded, keeping his tone light. “He wasn’t the first sibling I saw die unnecessarily for a cause I no longer believed in.” The brothers sat, gazes locked, and the sadness that came from their surface thoughts made me want to weep. They’d lost so much to the Emporium due, in large part, to the evil man they called father.

  No more.

  I could practically feel Ritter thinking beside me, despite his heavy mental shield. I could only imagine the scenarios that were running through his mind. “How,” he asked Bedřich, “do you suggest we go about this takeover?”

  “Well, I don’t exactly know your abilities or what else you might have in place, and I doubt you’re going to share everything with me, so it’s hard to plan a strategy.”

  “Oh, go ahead, take a stab,” I said, with a challenge in my voice I knew Bedřich wouldn’t be able to ignore.

  “All right.” Bedřich motioned to Cort and Keene, and then to Jeane and me. “Here in this room, you have descendants of each Triad member. Well, in Jeane’s case, she’s a sibling and not a descendant, but the blood tie would still be strong enough, I’m guessing.”

  For the briefest instant, I thought of telling him that I wasn’t Stefan’s daughter and that surely Jeane and Lew had reported this to the Emporium by now. Except Jeane nodded at his suggestion, which hinted that she hadn’t told Stefan the truth. Why? It didn’t make sense. Delia hadn’t told Stefan the truth about either my ability or my heritage because she’d wanted to use me—or my body, at least—to win Stefan over and, blood test or no, eventually take his place. But Jeane had no way to use me, and this information might have won her points with Stefan. I filed the thoughts away and forced myself to follow Bedřich’s words.

  “So I’d try to somehow get inside the headquarters,” he was saying. “Sneaking in or blending in, not fighting or killing anyone—and then take over the Triad from within. Depending on your persuasiveness, you could force them to sign papers designating you as their successors. Or you’d figure out how to create the paperwork yourselves. The papers could be forged if you had the right access.” As he spoke, his eyes kept sliding to Mari, and I had no doubt as to how he thought we might get close to the Triad once we were inside the building. He�
�d seen her shifting around.

  “If they’ve already signed papers naming other successors, it’ll cause a problem,” Jace said.

  Bedřich thought about that for a moment. “I don’t think so. I’ve heard rumors of more than one set of papers being given out, just in case one heir is killed in battle at the same time as the Triad member. I don’t know if that’s true, but it doesn’t really matter. Others will have heard the same thing. Your papers will be the latest and the most valid.”

  “So you expect at that point the rest of the Emporium will simply start following them?” Ritter’s disbelief wrapped every word. “Because from what I’ve seen of their soldiers, it won’t be that easy.”

  Bedřich shrugged his wiry shoulders as if to say it wasn’t his concern. Eden answered for him. “Even if you just permanently kill them, you’d be further ahead than you would have been with your original plan. If it doesn’t work, you could always go back to slaughtering the rest and getting slaughtered in return.”

  Between them, Fenton leaned forward, looking interested for the first time, if I could judge by the flush covering his pale skin. “The Triad will be surrounded by loyal people, so I expect there’ll be a struggle with some of them, but given the power Bedřich claims Erin has”—he flicked his gaze over me—“she should be able to control at least some of them. And if you have people standing by to help, even better.” He looked at Mari. “Tell me, can you shift other people too? And how far?”