by Tarah Benner
“This isn’t good,” Jonah mutters, staring at the transmitter as if he’s waiting for it to jump up and start tap-dancing across the desk.
“What?” I don’t think I can take any more bad news.
“I haven’t been able to get in touch with Colonel Sipps,” he says. “I was sure someone would be standing by to receive my message, but . . .”
“Is it working?” I ask.
Jonah shakes his head.
“Then why . . .” I trail off. There’s no good reason for the air force to be unreachable. Either Mordecai has found a way to block the signal from the transmitter, or they no longer care to coordinate with the Space Force.
“They already launched a missile at us,” says Jonah. “We’re lucky it didn’t throw us out of orbit.”
“I swear,” says Tripp. “If they hit us with an EMP . . . I am gonna be pissed.”
“You won’t even be alive,” Jonah mutters.
“And what a loss that would be.”
Jonah rolls his eyes. “This can’t happen.”
“We should warn the Space Force.”
“And tell them what?” Jonah snaps. “Tell them to prepare to have a non-nuclear EMP detonated over the space station? Prepare them to shoot down a hypersonic missile?”
“Is that possible?” I ask.
“It’s like intercepting a bullet with a bullet,” says Jonah.
The rest of us fall into heavy silence. My stomach is in knots. I’d assumed that Jonah would get in contact with the air force and that everything would be fine. I’d assumed we’d have a chance to take out Mordecai before the military decided that the people aboard Elderon weren’t worth saving.
“Maybe Mordecai knows you have the transmitter,” I suggest. “Maybe he tampered with it somehow.”
But Jonah is already shaking his head. “Even if he knew about it, he wouldn’t be able to disable it without dismantling the thing completely. The machine works. It just . . .”
Again, the room falls into silence. I can sense everyone’s collective dread — waiting for an attack that has yet to come.
“If they were going to kill us, they would have done it by now,” says Jade suddenly. “They want Mordecai alive.”
“I still don’t like it,” says Jonah. “Someone should have been in touch. The air force is planning something, and if they attack, the people on Earth don’t stand a chance.”
“Oh . . . you’re worried about the people on Earth right now?” says Tripp. “How selfless of you.”
Jonah looks up at Tripp, and I catch a waver of resentment still simmering between them. “The attack on the president was Mordecai’s doing,” says Jonah. “His bots on Earth could have more orders to kill. Those orders won’t die with Mordecai. The only way to stop the attacks is to reprogram the humanoids.”
“Ziva,” I whisper.
Jonah meets my gaze, and I know we’re thinking the exact same thing.
“She’s the only person besides Mordecai who can stop this,” I say.
Jonah’s face is filled with dread. He sinks down on the couch and rubs his forehead. “If Ziva dies on Elderon, so does our chance to stop the humanoids on Earth.”
I swallow. He has to be thinking what I’m thinking, which amounts to abandoning a sinking ship. It’s grim. It’s impulsive, but it’s the only way to secure the world’s future.
“We have to get her off the space station.”
19
Jonah
“What do you mean ‘get her off the space station’?” Van de Graaf asks in an incredulous voice. He’s looking at me like I’m a complete fucking idiot. “In case you forgot, Ziva is being held hostage.”
“In case you forgot, Ziva is only Mordecai’s hostage because he controls the humanoid she thinks is her father,” I bite back.
“I’m sure Ziva is aware that it’s just an intelligent replica of her father,” Van de Graaf mutters.
“Whatever she thinks, Ziva is under Mordecai’s control. We need to get her out of BlumBot and away from her brother.”
Maggie frowns. “How are we going to do that? Mordecai isn’t going to let us anywhere near her.”
“But he may let Jade near him. If Jade can gain access to Mordecai, we can use her as a diversion to find Ziva and get the hell off this space station.”
“Even if you managed to get Ziva on a shuttle, you’d be arrested the second you set foot on Earth.”
I let out an exasperated huff. She isn’t wrong. I did flee police custody while being held on murder charges, and Maggie vouching for my innocence apparently did no good. Van de Graaf is the only one the authorities might believe, and I’m not banking on getting his testimony. He’d probably love to see me rotting away in prison for the rest of my life.
“It’s either risk being arrested or be here when the air force decides to launch another strike against Elderon,” I say finally. “If Sipps launches that EMP, both the Blums will be dead.”
“Them and four thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine other people,” growls Van de Graaf. “Minus the ones who are already dead.”
I level him with a stare. “What do you want me to do? Sipps already reneged on our deal once. She was supposed to give me a chance to talk to Mordecai. Instead she used me as a distraction.”
Tripp opens his mouth but doesn’t say a word.
“If Jade can get inside BlumBot, we might be able to capture Mordecai and convince Sipps to call off the strike.”
“Capture him?” says Jade. Her dark eyes are narrowed in a way that tells me she is not on board with that plan. “Uh-uh. I came here to kill Mordecai. I’m not handing him over to the military so he can spend the next twenty years doing art therapy at Gitmo.”
“The air force wants him alive,” I say through gritted teeth. “But, trust me, I would love to kill Mordecai, too.”
“Has he ruined your life?” snaps Jade. “Did he force you to leave your home and cut ties with everyone you’ve ever known?”
I don’t say anything. The truth is that Mordecai did ruin my life in a roundabout way. The Bureau for Chaos drew me into the life of a special forces assassin. Cyberattacks carried out on his orders led to the mission that ended my army career for good.
“Everyone I’ve ever known has been called into questioning,” says Jade. “I have a fiancé that I haven’t seen in six years because the FBI wiretapped his phone and sent people to follow him everywhere.” She lets out a deep huff. “Mordecai destroys every life he touches.”
“Well, sorry,” I say. “But if you want your life back, you need Mordecai alive as much as we do.”
“My life is over,” says Jade, practically vibrating with fury. “I just want him dead.”
“He’s in it for the glory!” I cry. “It must be driving him crazy that you took credit for his crimes on national TV!”
Just then, I hear a burst of static coming from down the hallway. Everyone looks around, and then Maggie steps out of the office. A familiar voice is booming over the intercom, and I get a surge of roiling fury.
Good afternoon, space residents. I hope you are enjoying your day . . .
As some of you may know, an admitted terrorist has managed to infiltrate our home. Jade Armaz is in our midst — founder of the Bureau for Chaos. The Bureau is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocents, and Ms. Armaz confessed to the attempted assassination of President Graham. I’m sure you would like to see her brought to justice. So would I.
I am offering a reward for the apprehension of Ms. Armaz: ten million dollars to the person who delivers her to BlumBot headquarters alive. You’d be a patriot and a national hero. We would all be in your debt.
This offer will expire in forty-eight hours. Good night and good luck.
Mordecai ends his broadcast, and Maggie and I exchange a look. My whole body is burning with rage. I know what Maggie has to be thinking — Mordecai has outplayed us again.
He knows he’d take a loss if he sent his bots after Jade, so he’s using
civilians as human shields.
“Shit, girl,” says Ping from the couch. “You just made it to the top of Elderon’s most-wanted list.”
“Porter!” Van de Graaf yells.
I roll my eyes. There doesn’t seem to be a crisis he can handle on his own.
Within seconds, Porter comes sprinting around the corner. He’s dressed in dark colors with a long black shawl draped around him like a cape. He looks like a Civil War widow in mourning.
“Make sure the offices are secure,” Van de Graaf orders. “I want this place on full lockdown.”
“Already done,” says Porter, throwing a wary glance at Jade. “Though I am concerned that the Space Force could gain access —”
“Then we need to get Jade to the panic room. Now!”
“You have a panic room?” says Jared in amazement.
I don’t hear whatever crazy bullshit Van de Graaf says next. I grab Maggie by the arm and pull her down the hallway out of earshot. Maggie comes with me willingly, but she’s wearing a strange look. I can tell that she’s shaken by Mordecai’s announcement, but there’s this twinkle in her eye that seems misplaced given the deep pile of shit that we’re in.
“What is it?” she asks.
I let out the breath I’ve been holding, deciding it’s best to just rip off the Band-Aid. “I’m going to deliver Jade to Mordecai.”
Maggie frowns. She’s confused.
“We planned for a lot of different scenarios, but Mordecai offering a reward for Jade wasn’t one of them. Everyone on Elderon is going to be looking for her, and we still don’t know what Mordecai might do. When she’s brought to BlumBot, I need to be there to make sure things go our way.”
“Okay . . .” says Maggie. I can tell she still doesn’t understand where I’m going with this.
“You’re getting off this space station,” I continue. “With or without Ziva.”
Maggie’s mouth falls open in shock. That wasn’t what she was expecting me to say.
“I still want to get Ziva away from Elderon,” I add. “But no matter what happens, you need to be in position. Take Ping and Jared with you. I’m going to talk to Van de Graaf. He’ll get a message to Carl if things go bad and you need to take the shuttle without us.”
Maggie shakes her head. She isn’t having it. “Why are you talking like this? We have to get Ziva back to Earth. We can’t risk —”
“I know,” I say. “The plan hasn’t changed. It’s just —” I glance around to make sure we’re alone. I don’t want Van de Graaf eavesdropping. “You can’t be here if this goes bad.”
“Why not?” Now she’s irritated. “I’m a journalist, Jonah. This is what I do. And when it comes to Mordecai and Ziva and the Space Force . . . I’m in this as much as any of you.”
“I know,” I say quickly, not sure how to explain.
“I was good enough to go with you to Earth . . . Why aren’t I good enough to stay and fight now?”
“It’s not about being good enough,” I say, rubbing my forehead in frustration.
“I’m not leaving,” she says, puffing out her chest. “Not without Ziva.”
“You won’t be without Ziva if things go as planned. But if they don’t, you need to leave.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Yes, you do.”
I let out a noise somewhere between a groan and a yell. Now she’s just fighting me because I’m giving her orders.
“Maggie!” I growl. “Will you just fucking listen?”
“No. I’m not going to flee — not when thousands of people on board could die.”
“That doesn’t mean that you have to die,” I say. “Why are you fighting this?”
“Because I don’t need your protection,” she snaps. “I’m not a member of your squad, but that doesn’t mean I’m weak or —”
“I didn’t say you were weak . . .” I trail off. I don’t know what she wants from me. I’m trying to save her life. Why is she making this so hard?
But then I get this annoying feeling that I’m not doing it for her. What Maggie likes most is to be where the action is. It’s the reason she infiltrated the Space Force. It’s the reason she rocketed down to Earth.
Maggie’s not the girl you get to safety. If it’s not on fire, she’s not interested. She wants to walk the razor’s edge.
That’s when I realize I’m doing this for me. I’m sending her away so I don’t have to worry. I’m sending her away so I won’t have to watch her die.
“Shit,” I mutter. I don’t have the words.
Maggie is watching me with suspicion.
“You have to leave,” I murmur. “I can’t have you here.”
“What is your problem?”
Great. Now she’s pissed. I don’t know what else I can say. I don’t know what I have to do to make her listen — God knows she never listened before.
She opens her mouth to argue some more, but I just grab her face and push her back against the wall.
I plant a kiss on her angry mouth. Her skin is soft and warm to the touch. I get that rush of dizziness that comes when you stand up too fast, and I wonder what it is about her that makes me forget to breathe.
I open my mouth to deepen the kiss, but Maggie’s lips harden in resistance. I feel her hands on my shoulders, pushing me away, and it’s as though she reached in and ripped out my heart.
She pushes me back, and our lips come apart. My face is burning. My mouth is still tingling. Maggie’s face is flushed in anger, and her eyes are filled with fire.
“You don’t get to do that,” she breathes.
“Do what?”
A storm of pent-up energy flickers across Maggie’s face. “You don’t get to kiss me and then send me away.”
“I’m not sending you away,” I counter. “I just —”
I blink twice very fast. I don’t know what to say.
“Would you be treating me like this if I were still a member of your squad?”
“That has nothing to do with —” I huff. “You’re not even in the Space Force.”
Maggie takes a half step toward me, glaring in a way that makes me scared for my life. “Say I’m not in the Space Force one more time.”
I stare down at her in bewilderment. Her mouth is saying one thing, and her voice is saying another.
“You’re not —”
Maggie takes another step forward and grabs me roughly by the back of the neck. She kisses me so forcefully that I have no choice but to surrender. She stands on tiptoes, grabs a fistful of my hair, and smashes her body against my chest. She grinds her hips into my pelvis, and my whole body responds with a rush of hunger.
Suddenly, I get what she wants. Maggie doesn’t want me telling her what to do. Maggie didn’t come to Earth as my subordinate. She wasn’t my private when she fought off the bots, and it wasn’t my private who risked everything to sneak aboard the Impetus to clear my name.
No one’s ever done something like that for me — not since Ian died. Not since Mom.
Strange as it is, she won’t leave my side. Maggie and I are in this together.
After a few seconds, she softens against me, and it feels like our first real kiss. Her lips become tender, soft, and giving, and her body seems to melt into mine. I run my fingers through her tangled curls, hardly able to believe this is happening.
One minute my mind was racing to figure her out, and the next everything went completely still. I don’t remember the last time my mind was quiet. For a few glorious moments we’re lost in each other, and I feel as though I’ve died and gone to heaven.
She stretches up as far as she can, and I pull her even closer.
Maggie makes a little noise in the back of her throat and wraps an arm around my neck. I can feel every inch of her pressed against me, and my brain wants one thing and one thing only . . .
“Guys?”
Ping’s distant voice interrupts the kiss. It’s coming from inside the office.
“There’s some people coming fo
r Jade. They’re on their way down the hall.”
As I release Maggie and she drops to her feet, we both seem to come crashing back to Earth. Her face is flushed and her chest is heaving. Every inch of her gives it away.
I know I should feel satisfied. Van de Graaf has been sniffing around Maggie ever since she got here. Nothing should make me happier than having our kiss written on her face, but right now I want to keep this for myself.
But as soon as we walk back into the room, Jared is wearing an expression that says he knows exactly what we’ve been up to. Jade’s face has not changed. She doesn’t give a shit. But Van de Graaf is wearing a stony look, and I feel a pang of discomfort.
“All right,” he says. “While you two were taking a coffee break . . .” He allows himself a dramatic pause. “We came up with a plan.”
“Oh yeah?” says Maggie, combing her hair back behind her ears. She is studiously avoiding Van de Graaf’s gaze.
“Wyatt is going to escort Jade to BlumBot for added protection.”
Porter’s protests from down the hall seem to be growing louder, but Van de Graaf continues in that stiff, steady voice. “Maggie, Ping, and Jared are going to get to the pocket rocket. You’ll wait there for Ziva and Wyatt to take off for Earth.”
“What about you?” asks Maggie, finally meeting Van de Graaf’s eyes.
“I’m staying here. With a little luck I’ll be able to convince the air force not to fry my space station . . . especially since I’ll have two terrorists gift-wrapped and waiting. Well, not so much gift-wrapped as body-bagged, in Mordecai’s case.”
“You’re going to kill him?” Maggie asks, turning to me.
“I am,” says Jade, her eyes smoldering with bloodlust.
“They wanted Mordecai dead or alive,” says Van de Graaf. “Dead is the only option we’re comfortable with.”
“At least we agree on that,” I grumble.
“They’re in Maverick,” says Ping, still watching the security feed. “Six people from the Space Force . . . They’re here to take Jade.”
My heart speeds up. I didn’t see this coming. I never expected the Space Force to be involved — not if it meant working with Mordecai.
