“I get it,” I said. “You want to make sure someone’s there who can protect him, in case things go south again.”
“Exactly,” she said. “And I’ve been banished from the new recruit interviews.” She clenched a fist and pressed it against my fresh dryboard. I hoped she wouldn’t put a hole through it.
“I can’t imagine why that is.” I struggled not to laugh in her face. She might have another knife tucked in her pants.
She didn’t take my bait. “Sasha, I need to know.” She laid her palm flat on the wall and leaned closer to me. A reflexive sense of self-preservation made me rock back against the sink. “If it came down to it, and you had to use your ability to protect Julian, would you do it?”
“He said I wouldn’t have to…”
She waved away my protest. “I’m asking you—would you do it? To save him? Because he’s key to everything, the revolution, all of it.”
“I thought you said your cause wouldn’t be won with his words.” I couldn’t help but grin.
“Not on his words alone.” She narrowed her eyes. “Would you be thinking you could have a chance at a new life, if he hadn’t convinced you it was possible? Would you have even tried to come to us, if you hadn’t heard about how different he is?”
Well, she was right about that. Julian could sell ice cream to an Eskimo; or in my case, salvation to a hopelessly lost sinner. Charismatic didn’t touch it. His hope was an infectious disease that had infiltrated my mind.
“No, I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for him,” I said. “And I appreciate that he’s willing to take a chance on me. But I’m not going to use my ability on anyone. Ever again. No matter what.” She didn’t know what she was asking, and she didn’t need to know. My victims lived and breathed, but they were hollow copies, empty of the uniqueness they were born with. The simple truth was that I’d rather have my pitiful life end now than destroy another soul. And I couldn’t chance bringing on the nightmares again. They would only carry me off into madness, and who knew what kind of harm I could do then.
She gave a tight nod. That obviously wasn’t the answer she wanted. “I’ll be watching the new recruit from back in the racks. I’ll be nearby, within jacking range, if there’s trouble.”
She pulled a knife, sheathed in a strap-on case, out of a pocket in the leg of her pants and handed it to me. “You know where the guns are,” she said, referring to the ancient wooden cabinets up front in the kitchen area where she kept her arsenal. “Make sure you’re armed before she gets here.”
I took the knife, not sure I would know what to do with it, and even less sure that weapons would make a difference. I strapped it under my pant leg anyway.
Julian’s first recruit, Serena, nearly killed us all before Julian stopped her. She had already wiped out my old Clan, setting one member against the rest, until he killed everyone but me. I only escaped because I managed to steal his soul first. If this new recruit was like Serena, Julian might be able to stop her too. If Julian couldn’t control her, then Anna’s weapons would be all we had.
Because using my ability wasn’t an option I was willing to consider anymore.
I pulled a small caliber pistol from the kitchen cabinet drawer. I wasn’t willing to erase someone to save Julian, but would shoot them if I had to. I had no taste for killing, but if they died the normal way, at least they took their souls with them.
I tucked the shiny, black gun in the back of my pants. Julian watched me, but didn’t say anything, just pierced me with the same intense look he wore when studying the latest news about mindjackers on the tru-cast. I understood why the mindreaders hated us—they could only read thoughts, but we could control them. What I didn’t understand was what Julian got out of analyzing the mindreaders’ protests. The readers acted as if mind-chanting hate messages about jackers would make us all magically disappear. Julian’s revolution was doomed if it relied on convincing the haters of anything. But he had already convinced me that his fight was worthwhile, so I guessed anything was possible.
Then again, Anna said his ability messed with people’s instincts. Maybe he had already played with mine.
I turned away from Julian’s stare and skimmed my hand along the ancient kitchen countertop, worn smooth by a thousand uses. If we would be living in this factory for any length of time, I wanted to install a modern flash oven. Maybe get some decent flooring to cover the cracked concrete.
“Any idea who this recruit is?” I asked casually.
“Just that she contacted me through Myrtle.” At my mystified look, he explained further. “Myrtle’s a friend of our mutual friend Henry’s. She’s set up a halfway house of sorts a few blocks over.” Julian inclined his head toward the south end of the building. More and more jackers were moving into our decrepit slice of Chicago New Metro, and the tru-cast reporters had taken to calling it Jackertown—not the most flattering description, but probably accurate. The place was an abandoned slum, and wayward jackers moving in didn’t improve it much.
“So this new recruit has already been vetted by Myrtle?” I worked the muscles between my shoulder blades, trying to unwind the tension. It had only been a couple weeks since Serena walked in from nowhere.
“Not exactly,” Julian said. “The recruit contacted Myrtle by private message and seemed to already know we were looking. She just wanted Myrtle to set up the meet.”
“So another walk-in,” I said. “Because that went so well before.”
Julian spread his hands wide. “I didn’t know much more about you when you walked through my door.” He smirked, like he knew something I didn’t. Either Julian was far too trusting, as Anna suspected, or his ability to influence people made him dangerously overconfident. He made a mistake with Serena, and he probably shouldn’t have let me in either.
Two sharp raps sounded at the front.
“Could you do the honors?” Julian gestured toward the metal door. An ancient punch code lock was all that we had for security, beyond what we could do with our abilities. And the weapons.
I pulled the gun out of the back of my pants while I strode toward the entrance, lunging out with my mind beyond the door. If there was anything at all suspicious outside, I would shoot first and ask questions later. My mental reach pushed through the relatively weak mind barrier of the person at the door, plunging deep into the soft gel her mind. I got a flash of her personality before she shoved me out again: young, wary of strangers, but also wildly willing to take risks.
I gripped the rough handle of the gun tighter and hesitated at the door. She knew I was there and nothing strange had happened yet. No sudden instinctual need to flee, like Julian’s brain would cause. No impenetrable barrier like Anna’s. Of course, no one could detect my ability with a simple mind surge either—I had to touch my victims before I could use my skill. If she was bent on attacking, she was saving it for later. Maybe once she was inside.
I held the gun at the ready as I opened the door.
Covered from head to toe in black, including a face-hugging Second Skin mask that obscured her features, she wasn’t at all what I expected. Her eyelids moved under the mask, and she minutely cocked her head, so I knew that she could see me.
“Are you going to shoot me or invite me in?” Her voice was strung tight and her right hand slowly flexed, as if it wished for a weapon to counter mine.
“It’s alright, Sasha,” Julian said over my shoulder. “Please invite our guest inside. No reason to keep her waiting out in the cold.” A gust of crisp winter air pulsed over the threshold, as if to underscore Julian’s words.
I eased back, clearing the doorway, but my gun stayed trained on her. She took two steps inside, watching me through her mask and keeping an open path to the door.
“Put the gun away, Sasha,” Julian said. “I’m sure that our guest won’t be any kind of trouble.”
I assumed that he had dipped into her instinctual mind to control her. Or at least made sure she wasn’t a threat. I tucked the gun into the fro
nt of my pants, but kept a hand on it.
Julian welcomed her inside with a sweep of his hand. “You won’t need the mask, not if you’re truly interested in joining us. Although I must say, I’m surprised to see a contractor showing up on my doorstep.”
A contractor. The term scratched my mind. Some jackers sold their mindjacking favors to readers, using go-betweens to set up the transaction anonymously. That must be why the mask. But Julian made a good point. Why was a contractor showing up here at all? Julian’s revolutionary business wasn’t the type that would interest mercenaries. There was no money in it that I could see.
“I’ll keep the mask, thanks.” She glanced over her shoulder. Another young woman stepped into the doorway, her long blond hair wisping in the breeze. “I’m only being paid to make sure Ava made safe passage here.”
I tensed my grip on the gun. I should have known to search farther than the door. This Ava person was slender, almost painfully thin—the winter breeze might tumble her down the street with a strong gust. But that meant nothing; it was her mind that posed a threat. I was about to surge into her head when Julian threw a hand across my chest. I wasn’t planning to attack her, I just wanted to know what we were facing. I held back, hoping that he had a plan.
Julian gave the contractor one of his warm, trust-me-I-know-what-I’m-doing smiles. “I can assure you that your charge is in safe hands now.”
Sure, she was safe. The girl had little to fear from us, unless she or her contractor friend made some kind of move. Which was why I had the gun. And the knife strapped to my leg. It was us I was worried about.
The contractor ignored Julian and looked to Ava for confirmation. The girl suddenly beamed a smile straight at me, her wide blue eyes radiating such pure happiness that it startled me—and stilled my twitchy grip on the gun.
“It’s alright.” Ava briefly touched the contractor’s black-sleeved arm. “Sasha thinks I’m safe, and that’s good enough for me.”
My mouth dropped open, and Julian flashed a look to me.
“How do you know my name?” My hand tightened again. Was she reading my thoughts? How was that possible, when I hadn’t felt any kind of mind surge? I would have sensed her in my mind if she had linked in.
Ava glided in front of the contractor and stood uncomfortably close to me. She peered up into my eyes, her slim black jacket shielding her against the chilled wind still gusting in from outside. She was nearly a foot shorter than me, but my body recoiled from her intense gaze.
“I know all about you, Sasha. I’ve been watching you.” She frowned at Julian, then looked back to me. “Can I trust Julian? Is he a good person? Can he keep me safe?”
“I… um…” My voice ran away—having to character witness for Julian, I suddenly didn’t know what to say. Was Julian a good person? I hoped so, because I trusted him with my life these days.
She saved me from answering by nodding. “I had heard about Julian before, but I couldn’t exactly get into his head to find out for myself. Although it wasn’t as bad as when you tried.” The corners of her mouth turned down, then her gaze roamed the factory. “The person hiding in the shadows is also someone I can’t read. That’s why I had to rely on you, Sasha.”
For no reason at all, the soft smile she wafted up to me cut loose the cords that held my shoulders tense, strung tight across my back.
“I’m sorry for peeking in on your thoughts,” she said. “I don’t usually spy, if I can help it.” But her smile held no regret, like she was apologizing for breathing, something she couldn’t help and wouldn’t stop if she could. “But your thoughts told me so much… I figured, if only I could find a way here, to you, then maybe I might be safe again.”
Her words snapped tension back into my shoulders and drove a panicky feeling through my chest like a hot knife. What had she read in my mind? What did she know? I took a step back, and a frown marred the sunshine on her face, like a cloud passing over the sun.
“Well, then,” Julian said, and I couldn’t tell by his voice if he was amused or annoyed. His face showed only his typical intense curiosity. “Maybe you can tell us about this ability of yours to read Sasha’s mind without him knowing. I have to say that’s a skill I haven’t seen before.” He smirked again, but it was clouded. Which made me wonder what his ability was telling him that I didn’t know.
Ava ignored him and turned to the contractor, handing her a tally card she pulled from her jacket pocket. “This is all that I have, and most of it is stolen, so you should change it to unos as soon as possible.”
The contractor took the money and made a quick salute with the card. “Nice doing business with you.” Then she turned and left the door standing wide open in her wake.
I quietly drew in a breath, trying to clear the panic from my chest, then shuffled to the door and shut out the bleak afternoon sun. I took my time reprogramming the punch code. When I turned back, Ava was watching me. Her eyes were alight, intense like Julian’s but softer, the color of the sky on a summer day when you can see for miles. Julian alternated between studying her and flicking glances at me, as if watching a ping-pong match or possibly a chess game with the concentration he gave it.
I decided to play it cool, even though my nerves were still singing alarm bells throughout my body. I crossed my arms and leaned against the now-closed door.
“So are you reading my mind now?” I asked, boring a look into those too-innocent blue eyes. If you are, I’d like you to get the hell out and mind your own business.
“Oh!” she said. “No, of course not. I mean, not that you would know. I’m sorry.” This time her apology seemed real, turning her cheeks red and making her slender fingers work against each other in silent agitation. “I don’t do it all the time. Only when I need to. I promise I won’t do it again. Unless you want me to.”
I don’t want you in my head! The thought came unbidden and ferocious, but she didn’t flinch, so I guessed she was true to her word.
“How does that work, exactly?” Julian asked. “Don’t you have to push through a mindbarrier to read thoughts?” He had templed his hands, tapping them against his lips.
She finally turned the spotlight of her attention to him. “Well, I do in a way, I suppose. I brush against people’s mind barriers. I’m very gentle. They hardly ever notice, and usually they can only tell if they already know that I’m doing it.”
“So you can read their thoughts by simply brushing the surface of their minds?” Julian asked. I recognized the Board of Directors voice he used when diving into things that fascinated him. “You don’t jack inside their heads at all, then?”
“Oh no,” Ava said. “In fact, I can hardly jack at all. At least not very strongly. I’m mostly a linker, really.”
Julian’s lips quirked up at that.
“Well, maybe you didn’t hear,” I said, “but everyone here has an extreme talent.” I glanced at Julian. “I don’t know if being a linker qualifies as extreme.” Although there was no question that her ability to get in my head without my knowledge was making me extremely uneasy.
Her pale face turned even whiter as she grasped my meaning, and my insides wrenched loose. Why did I say that? Part of me wanted to shove her right out the door again. Part wanted to say something to ease the frightened look on her face.
“Please don’t turn me away,” she said. “I… I risked a lot coming here, and…”
“No one’s turning you away.” Julian’s voice gentled, like he was talking her down from bolting. “You’re safe as long as you’re here, and you were right to trust us.” I was glad that he recovered for my idiocy. At the same time, I didn’t like the soft tones he was using with her. My head was ready to explode with the contradictions.
“Just tell us what you can do,” Julian said. “You’ve already shown you have unique skills.”
She took a shuddering breath, and the worry seemed to float right out of her. “I can jack, but not well, and I can’t keep people from jacking me worth a darn.” She
ticked them off on her fingers. “I can read thoughts without people realizing I’m in their heads. I can link thoughts too.” She dropped her hand and gazed into Julian’s eyes. “And I can do it at long distances.”
He was entranced. “How far?”
“Miles,” she said. “Tens of miles? Once I reached all the way to Wisconsin, but that was from the northern suburbs of Chicago New Metro. I haven’t tried farther than that.”
“Tens of…” Julian let out a low whistle. “You’re a viewer.”
“A what?”
“You can view at long distances…” His gaze flew a hundred yards away. “I’ve heard of an ability like this, before the change, before mindreaders were common. There were a few people who claimed they could see things at huge distances… but I didn’t think it was real…” His gaze snapped back to her. “That’s an outstanding ability, Ava.”
I could see the gleam in Julian’s eye. He had already decided to invite her to join. But something didn’t add up. She could spy on us long distance, but she only spied when she had to? She was all of a hundred pounds soaking wet, with this crazy ability, but she never jacked anyone? No one was this innocent, especially a jacker. I could picture Anna seething back in the racks, wondering why Julian was letting himself be duped again.
Time for me to inject a little reality. “We don’t know anything about her, Julian.” I ignored the twinge that came when she frowned the tiniest bit. “She says she can do these things, but she could be making all this up. And I’m sure there’s more she’s not telling us.”
“Quite true,” he said, but he sounded more like he was humoring me than doubting her. “Maybe a demonstration is in order.” He turned to Ava. “I have a friend named Myrtle. She’s a rather strong jacker. Her mind’s not impenetrable, like my sister lurking in the back, but I assure you that she’ll push you out of her head if she senses you. She’s a few blocks away. Can you find her?”
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