by Lola Dodge
When the door shut behind her, Quanta opened her eyes, where tears and bitterness pooled. I wanted to wrap her in comfort, but the tension in her body suggested she wouldn’t take well to being smothered right now. She practically projected guilt. I knew she didn’t like threatening others with the past, but when she was already suffering this much, who could blame her?
Wanting to tend to the injury before anything else, I picked a set of scissors from the tray. “I’ll have to cut off your sleeve.”
“Figured.” She wiped her eyes with her good sleeve and then stuck out the injured arm.
I sheared through the sweater as gently as possible. “Did you and Cipher manage to access the site?”
“We did.” Quanta winced, and I knew the gesture wasn’t related to her arm. She dabbed at her eyes again. “Kind of wish we hadn’t.”
“How long before the compound’s attacked?” My thoughts accelerated. Losing my lab now would be devastating. Eva and I needed to be working on a fix for Quanta’s condition. But if the Seligo were on the way…
We had no choice.
“That’s not the biggest problem.” Quanta toyed with her sweater.
My getaway plans evaporated at the hitch in her voice. “What is?”
The hum of fluorescent lights filled the silence. I tried to be patient, but worry wound increasingly tight around my ribs.
“There was a video…” Her gaze shifted out of focus, seeing elsewhere. For a moment, she looked lost, and I unconsciously reached for her. Then she focused again, facing me with grim determination. “One of my clones is alive.”
The scissors froze.
“I don’t know if it survived, or if Nagi had another lab all along, or…” Quanta bumped the back of her head against the table while I attempted to process the news.
Jesus. I set down the scissors and drew in a breath. “What else did you see?”
“Not enough.”
“Tell me. Everything.” I stayed frozen as Quanta walked me through the details. There was only so much we could learn from a frame or two of video. In a worst-case scenario, I’d assume the clone functioned at or above Quanta’s level before the destabilization had started.
Doctor Nagi would have it hooked up to thought projection to mine glimpses of the past and future and advance his own agenda. Exactly what he’d done to Quanta, with one critical difference. Quanta had fought him every step of the way.
If the clone cooperated?
The Seligo would locate the compound, and we’d all be found, sooner or later. Quanta was struggling now, but at full health and focus, she’d been a force to be reckoned with. She’d been able to take a lead and chase it through time until she found what she was looking for.
We had to eliminate the clone. Now.
The only question was how.
As plans and contingencies expanded and developed in my mind, I started working again. Both of us stayed lost in thought as I worked on treating Quanta’s wound. That was one positive. The burn spider-webbed her upper arm, but it wasn’t as serious as it might’ve been, given Cipher’s power. After cleansing, I coated it with a synthetic skin gel and added a bandage. It would heal, likely without much scarring.
It was our situation that was beyond repair.
Quanta itched the edge of the bandage. “We should talk to Eva.”
“Agreed.” But Marquez would already—
A message pinged my com. I tilted my wrist and tried not to groan at the subject line. “We’ll talk sooner than later. She’s called a briefing. All available agents.”
A noise of disgust rumbled from the back of Quanta’s throat. “That’s not ending well.”
I’d half a mind to skip it so Quanta could rest, but we needed to know what Eva was planning. “Are you up to it? Do you need pain meds?”
“No meds.” She straightened and eased herself to the floor. “My focus is already a disaster.”
If she’d wobbled, I would’ve reached out immediately, but Quanta stood firmly. Determined. I attempted to shake off the cloud of dread hanging over my thoughts. We had no choice but to deal with the situation, and that was what we’d do. “One millisecond at a time.”
Quanta smiled. “I can manage that. Probably.”
“You can.” I grabbed a blanket from a nearby shelf of supplies and wrapped it around her shoulders, covering the bandage and shorn-off sleeve.
She stuck close as we headed for the briefing room. Her pulse showed as elevated on my watch readout, but she breathed deeply and deliberately, trying to maintain focus.
We were last to arrive at the packed room. Someone had thoughtfully left two empty chairs in a space near the doorway. I eased Quanta into a seat. While she gasped and her eyes darted—seeing across time—I scanned the gathered agents.
Eva stood at the front near a display, but there was no video queued. Yet.
Marquez stood at her side, face a mask. Cipher had tucked herself into a chair in the front corner of the room and wasn’t doing as well hiding her emotions. She chewed at her lip ring, posture hunched with guilt as she took in Quanta.
I turned my attention to Eva, giving Quanta a few more moments to acclimate. “Is there a need for this crowd?”
A few grumbles sounded, but Eva lifted a hand, silencing the complaints. “Welcome, Altair. Quanta. We can begin now that you’ve arrived.”
I settled in next to Quanta—her delta waves spiked into the red until I took her hand. Are you sure you’re up for this? I could report back to you.
No. Quanta’s eyes snapped back into focus. It’s my problem to fix.
Our problem. We’ll fix it together. I wished she’d rely on me for that much.
She let out a breath, and her fingers relaxed in my grip. Thank you. I can’t do this without you.
My chest expanded. You don’t have to.
Quanta looked so vulnerable wrapped in her blanket and gazing up at me. I’d keep her as safe as I could.
I just wished the threats would stop multiplying.
Chapter Eleven
QUANTA
I held on to Tair to keep the timeghosts from choking me while sweat matted my hair to my neck. Without his help, I would’ve been lost. My head ached, my arm burned, and I was so exhausted I could barely sit up straight, let alone keep focused on what was in front of me.
But the briefing was important, and it wasn’t like I’d be resting easy if I skipped it. With the clone on the loose, I wasn’t going to be resting at all.
“If we’re all ready to begin?” Eva’s polite tone drew every eye to the front of the room. “Quanta and Cipher have uncovered a situation.” Eva waved to the wall, and a projection flickered on—a wobbly security cam feed.
I swallowed. I’d seen enough of the vid, so instead of rewatching the film, I watched the other Ravens reacting to it. They leaned forward, drinking in the details as the two girls got dragged off.
And now that I actually looked around the room…
The Ravens were young. Not genetically modified to look young. Actually young. Other than Eva, nobody looked older than thirty. A few faces still had teenage acne.
I’d been gone for ten years, but other than our lady leader, I hadn’t seen a single face I remembered from back in the day.
Where was DeLuna? Or Oska? Or the other Reds I’d followed over the years?
I’d been a bit too wrapped up in myself to ask, and now that I was thinking of it, I didn’t dare check the past for the people I remembered. I didn’t want confirmation of the worst.
The Ravens were always losing people, and if Eva’s teams went after Clone Quanta, we’d all be losing more of our friends.
Tair nudged my shoulder, and I shuddered back to the present. Eva was looking at me. So was everyone else. “I missed a question?”
“I was hoping you could share any intel you’ve amassed on the clone.”
The clone? Try clones. Although I was still crossing my fingers and toes the one in the video was the only survivor. Hint
ing there were more would be opening an industrial-size vat of worms when we didn’t know anything for sure yet. “Nagi had a lab full of them, but Tair and I thought we destroyed them all…” Just remembering it made my stomach heave.
“We destroyed the entire lab.” Tair nodded. “But all the clones we saw were dependent on life support systems. Doctor Nagi hadn’t achieved a true copy.”
The tubes and tanks of goo…
I pulled Tair closer, and he wrapped a comforting arm around me.
Eva rested a hand on her forehead. “I’m amazed he managed to clone a Red with your power profile.”
So was I, even now. I’d only figured one plus point in all of it. “At least I’m the source. The clone can’t be any more stable than I am, right?” I didn’t spell it out for the crowd, but Tair tensed. At least three of us knew exactly how stable I was these days.
“That’s likely,” Eva said. “The question now is whether we should mount a rescue mission or a target elimination.”
I hesitated.
Eva had left the screen paused on Clone Quanta in her floppy hat, just barely on the camera. She was a person.
She was me. How much of me, I didn’t know.
But that smile on her face…
Shivers rolled down my spine. I’d had a childhood and a few solid goals to keep Nagi’s system from breaking me. This other version of me… Being born and raised in a lab meant she had no reason not to tell the Seligo whatever they wanted.
It was too much power. Probably for me, but definitely for her. And if she could rewind time, too…
Way, way too much power.
But I still wasn’t sure I could kill her. “We have to get her out.” I didn’t know whether that meant freed or dead yet, but letting her stay with the Seligo wasn’t an option.
“I’m prioritizing the compound relocation,” Eva said, “but as soon as we have the new sites secured, we’ll have all teams focused on finding the clone.”
Her tone sounded like she was about to let us go, even though we’d only been here a few minutes.
Or maybe I’d tuned out for longer than I thought?
I sat up in my chair, ready to get out as soon as possible. Even with Tair’s touch keeping me present, the room’s crowded energy made sweat prickle between my shoulder blades.
But we weren’t done yet.
A blonde girl raised her hand. “Can’t she just tell us where the clone is?” The girl turned to look at me. “Can’t you? I mean, isn’t that why you’re dangerous? You can see everything?”
How did I begin to explain?
It would be easier to show her—and everyone else for that matter. If I volunteered for a holo session, I could show them the mess in my head and answer all their questions at once.
And then hopefully be done with the Q&A for good.
But did I dare?
I’d already slipped once today. I couldn’t think of anything worse than losing it again in a room packed with the only people on the planet who might possibly have my back. I fiddled with the edge of my blanket. “Hypothetically…”
“Yes?” Eva asked.
“Would it be safe for me to project some holos in here?” I offered it up, figuring she’d shoot me down if the idea was crazy dangerous.
Tair tensed. I got that he was worried, but the more I thought about it, the more I was positive having him at my side would keep my timeghosts from spilling into anyone else.
I just wanted the Ravens to understand. They had to know what they were up against with me and now the clone. What I could do for them and what I couldn’t.
And maybe most importantly, they needed to know what the clone might be doing for the Seligo. I wanted them to hear all of it before they put their lives on the line.
“Based on your latest readings…” Eva stilled in thought. Finally, she inclined her head. “I’m confident you’re well enough to run a projection, as long as you feel up to it.”
“I am.” Even after a hell of a long day, I wanted to do this. It was possibly the only thing that could make me feel better, even if it ended up making me feel physically worse. I just wanted to put my cards on the table.
“Agent Marquez?” Eva turned to Knight. “Can you establish a projection link in here?”
“Yes, ma’am. Just need to grab a unit. Give me a few minutes.” Knight cut through the crowd, which was whispering like crazy.
“You don’t have to do this.” Tair vibrated with tension, clearly unhappy. “Not now or ever.”
“I know I don’t. I still want to.”
“The risk—”
“There’s no risk. I won’t hurt anyone with you here.”
“The risk to you.” He squeezed my hand, and my stomach fluttered with a little bit of happiness that he cared and a little bit of guilt, because I was still going through with it.
“It’s important to me.”
Tair settled into a stony silence. I promised myself I’d apologize later.
Knight finally popped back in, holding a clunky wired headset. He handed the gear to Tair instead of me, which was definitely a good idea, but I couldn’t help scowling at the hardware.
“This works?” The Seligo had more faults than I could begin to count, but their tech toys were top notch. This thing looked like a kid’s science project from a century ago.
“I had to make some mods to use it outside the holo room,” Knight said. “It’ll function.”
“Grand.” I took the thing from Tair and started hooking the sensors into place. My pulse kicked up, and it was hard to move the little wires around when my hands were shaking, but I was the one who’d volunteered for this.
“Let me.” Tair took over, and his hands were gentle, even if he didn’t look pleased with my decision.
When I was all hooked in, I took a deep breath. For once, I wanted everyone to see what I saw. “I’m ready.”
Eva nodded to Knight. “Proceed.”
A mechanical hum started up as the tech kicked on.
Tair’s lips pressed together in a firm line. I gently pulled away from him. “You have to let go for a sec.” I could still see and project the timeghosts regardless, but his touch gave the illusion of a control I didn’t have right now. I wanted the Ravens to see the whole shebang.
“I’ll be right here.” He let go.
As soon as I was on my own, the timeghosts teemed. The Ravens’ whispers silenced, and I saw more than one jaw drop before I lost sight of the present.
Each ghost materialized as a blue-tinted hologram. The room was too crowded to do them justice—they layered over people and chairs and walls, too thick to make out—but I wasn’t trying to show anything specific. Just the general chaos in my head.
Figures flickered in and out so fast the ambient light strobed and the projection equipment sounded like a jet taking off. Some were disembodied faces; others fleshed out into whole scenes with furniture and walls and groups of people interacting. They ran the gambit. Some histories and futures of the room itself, some from the Ravens in the crowd, and a disproportionate amount of ghostly Tairs. I was sure no one else could tell them apart, though. “What do you want to know?”
“Quanta…” Eva’s hushed voice carried through the room. “This is…”
“Not what you remember, right?” I didn’t remember much of my childhood, but I knew for a fact that my powers had exploded since I got kidnapped away from Eva. Ten years was a long time, especially for a Red Helix. “Anyone? Questions?”
Knight cleared his throat. “Are you positive the compound is safe until we finish relocation?”
Positive was a bit strong, but it was worth double-checking. I fixated on the question, flexing my mental muscles to filter out the nonrelated ghosts as best I could. They didn’t totally disappear, but I managed to shoo away enough that most of the holos were nighttime pictures of the compound and its shipping container buildings. I strained forward in my chair, trying to narrow them down.
Gasps sounded as a h
olographic helicopter crashed into the main complex, but it looked ten times hazier in my mind than it did onscreen. The machines never picked up the different shades and line thicknesses that gave me hints on probability.
The volume of muttering dialed up as I flicked through the pages of possibility—some gunfire here, a flash of Cipher’s blue lightning there, but all of it was too tissue-papery to worry me. “We’re good for now.”
“But…” The girl who’d spoken before waved at all the images that contradicted me.
“Everything’s possible. That doesn’t mean it’s likely.”
“What of the clone?” Eva asked.
Her words changed the flow of timeghosts. A face that looked like mine blinked in and out, filling the room with hazy alternate versions of me.
But I could only hold the images for a second before they evaporated. Even while they lasted, the timeghosts were too blurred and chaotic to tell where the clone was or what she was doing. I strained until the meat between my temples pounded like a taiko drum, but I couldn’t get a single image of the clone to stick around.
The projection equipment whirred louder and louder.
I kept straining. I needed answers.
Where was she hiding? How did we get to her?
“It’s going to—” Knight began.
The electric hum died in a cloud of choking ozone, and the power cut off, plunging the room into darkness. The holos disappeared, but the timeghosts kept up the same dance in my head. They pulsed and flickered until Tair found my shoulders. “Quanta?”
“I’m fine.” I tugged at the headset, wanting it off.
“Here.” Tair kept one hand on my shoulder and used the other to gently remove the electrodes. By the time backup power kicked on, he’d untangled me.
I flinched as the lights came on. My head gave an answering throb. When I could finally squint through the light, I found Eva staring.
I flinched again.
She looked straight at me, giving the science stare I hated more than anything—like she wanted to cut the answers out of me. She must’ve noticed my reaction because she snapped right back to her cool professionalism. “Are you hurt?”
“No biggie.” Just the full-body aches, but in the grand scheme of holo sessions, I’d had worse experiences. I craned my neck to find the girl who’d spoken up earlier. “Does that answer your question?”
