‘Funny you should say that,” Jude says, grabbing Silvain’s laptop. “There is a guy, Grayson James, he took over my job as EVO recruitment when Gabe made me his right hand man. He’s a Cryokin. I think it’s some kind of temperature manipulation.”
“A Cryo can freeze things,” Wheeler adds. Temperature is his forte, after all.
Jude shrugs his indifference. “Anyway, Grayson fell off the radar about eighteen months ago, but now, he has magically popped back up. He’s head of a new association who call themselves Syndicate. I received a letter from them six months back, but I just laughed it off and thought it was a bunch of amateurs trying to start up their own version of the E.N.C. They requested I join.” Jude pops a USB stick into the port and opens a video file.
“Why did you not mention this?” asks Fabian.
“Like I said, I thought it was a joke. Grayson never struck me as leadership material. Plus, by the time I started the meetings with you lot, I had pretty much forgotten all about it.”
The video starts. A man in a denim jacket sits at computer desk, leaning on his folded arms. His hair is shaggy and blonde; I think it needs cutting and has not intentionally been left to get quite so long. His dirty blue eyes are shrouded in crowfeet, and his nose has a small bulbous end. I wouldn’t place him much more than forty years old.
“Hello Jude, it’s been a while. I’m hoping, with the change in climate, that you’d reconsider our offer. I know what you have to lose and we agree that she is very important.”
Jude fidgets, but refuses to look at me. Grayson holds up a picture of Jude and me holding hands outside of the secret meeting place. He had just kind of apologised for dropping the ‘Uncle’ bombshell on me.
“Who took that photo? I thought we were alone,” I say. A creepy, unsettled feeling spreads over my skin. Someone was watching us.
“Just listen,” snaps Jude.
Grayson continues. “I’ve been monitoring you for a while, Jude. We could use someone like you in Syndicate. You can pretend all you want, but you and I want the same things. We have waited our whole lives for liberation, the chance to live openly, but this was NOT our dream. I know that even Jude Lloyd cannot stomach the killing of innocent EVO and Non-EVO, or seeing children snatched from their mother’s arms. I know what they did to your family- your sister and brother in law, your father, to Tess Kersey. Syndicate have no affiliation with the government, we have no affiliation with Isaac Woodman and the E.N.C. We only want a just world. Right now, we can provide safety for those who want the same.” Grayson leans away from the camera, his chair straining behind him. “I won’t beg you, Jude. We could use you, but we don’t need you. However, we have vital information that affects the one person you have left in this world, and like I said, she is very important. You can contact me via the number on the envelope.”
“Aw, ain’t that cute,” laughs Cooper. “Is he high? He’s playing you. Number one, he knows you’ll protect her.” He jabs a finger in my direction. “Number two, he sounds like a pussy.”
“And number three, someone posted that envelope through my letterbox five minutes ago,” Silvain says. “They got through my security systems.”
“They were here,” Adam asks Jude, jumping from the counter. “Why the hell didn’t you say anything?” He makes a move for the door with Wheeler, Cooper, and Fabian on his heels.
“He’s not dangerous,” Jude calls after them. “The man wears a denim jacket for Christ’s sake.” I have to admit he has a good point. Grayson doesn’t seem like a bad guy, not that I’m sure what constitutes as a ‘bad guy’ these days. The lines are blurred and frayed around the edges. “What do you think, Princess? Do we contact Grayson? He says he doesn’t need me, but I reckon he needs you pretty bad. We need to know why he’s interested in you and what information he has.”
Adam marches back into the room, his jaw sets hard, and his eye blaze. “The E.N.C needed her,” he spits. “I won’t put her in that situation again.”
“It’s not your call,” says Jude. His voice is quiet, but his words clearly sting. “The truth of the matter is that for the moment I’m skint. All I have is tied up in assets- assets that I can’t get my hands on. How far can we run on nothing? Syndicate might have just thrown us a lifeline, and if they have information on Teddie, I want to hear it.”
Wheeler sighs wearily. “What are their motives? What is their game plan? I think we’ve all got trust issues now, and I’m with Adam on this one. When people need something from you, it usually ends in you being shorthanded.”
“Okay, so what’s the alternative?” Jude has an edge to his words, and Wheeler bites his lip to stop himself retaliating. “We need them as much as they need us. Swings and roundabouts.”
“I thought you weren’t the plan man,” snipes Cooper.
“If you got a better idea, Cooper, let’s have it? The only opinion I value is hers,” he says, nodding toward me.
October manoeuvres herself between Jude and I. “I want to talk to Teddie... alone.” She leads me out of the kitchen and into the gardens. I’m grateful for the respite. “Wow, it’s suffocating in there. I needed to get you out to find out what you feel?”
“I think—”
“No thinking. I asked you what you feel. Ignore Jude, Adam, everyone. How do you feel about it? Adam is worried, Jude is lost, Cooper is angry, but when isn’t he angry? It’s a hurricane of emotions in that room and I know from experience that those emotions seep into us and alter our mind-set. I wanted you to have this breather to make your own mind up. After all, Syndicate has asked for you not us.”
I close my eyes and breathe in the salty sea air. It’s crisp after the storm and awakens my senses a little. I do feel better now I’m out of the house. “I feel like we have no other way to turn, and they at least sound like okay people. I can’t be sure until I meet that Grayson guy face to face. I need to read them to know their intentions. What do you feel?”
“I want to do some good. I feel that Syndicate want to do some good. I can’t base my feelings on my ability because I can’t empathise until I meet them, but hey, it’s worth a shot.”
“I trust your opinion, you know that, right?” I say to her.
She runs her hand over the shaved part of her head and offers me a crooked smile. “Yeah, ditto,” she says. She looks pale and exhausted.
“I’m sorry about your Dad. How are you doing?” I don’t hug her. October seems uneasy with affection. I assume she’d class it as weakness.
“Dad died fighting for what he believed in and I guess I’m okay with that. It was about so much more than Tess. Tess was a lovely woman. I remember her from when I was a kid and Dad thought highly of her, but it was about so much more. The E.N.C was- is a scary thing to be a part of. It wasn’t meant to be about the supremacist hypocrisy that it became. Dad would talk about equality- no fear- living with our abilities publicly. ‘Imagine the good you could do with your blessing if only we were free to be ourselves,’ he’d say. That was why he signed up. After that, people signed up from fear of the government, and then from fear of Gabe.”
I met October’s Dad once and I knew he didn’t like me from the get go. I think he thought I was dangerous, and perhaps he was spot on. He was an intimidating man, but a good man with a level head on his shoulders.
October sits on the low wall, picking at a scab on her finger. “I grew up amongst all that hate, but I never agreed with it. Isaac screwed up in a monumental fashion because people don’t react well to fear. They will fight it every step of the way. The only way there can be any kind of normality again is to show the Non-EVO that we’re not all a threat. That we’re happy to stand at their side.” She straightens herself out, putting her hard face back on; her hard face that has never fooled me.
“Do you think your Dad will ever get his wish? Will we ever have equality? I don’t want to be afraid anymore, but it seems a long shot to me.”
She rests a hand on my shoulder, her face flinching as she does
so. “I reckon this moment right here, right now, is the defining factor. I can sense the shift- the shift in you.”
“No pressure, then?” I say, half laughing.
She winks at me and heads back inside.
Adam has positioned himself between Jude and Cooper. Jude looks ready to explode with rage, and Fabian shouts at Cooper to ‘let it go.’
October rolls her eyes at me. “Testosterone,” she says under her breath.
“Both of you wind your necks in,” Adam warns. He can be scarily authoritative when the situation calls for it. “Jude, mate, have a word with yourself. Are you really letting him work you like this?” He restrains Jude with a firm hand to his chest.
Jude spots me and shoves Adam away. “Are you two done with your little powwow?” He snaps. The fight seems to be over in an instant.
I look to Adam. I want him to know my decision first. “We have to do this,” I say, privately.
He looks taken aback, but he nods. “Okay, then we do this.”
“Well?” Jude asks, still raging with anger.
“Give me the number.” I take Silvain’s mobile from the counter and type in the number before I lose my nerve. Adam and Jude linger just inches from me, and I take Adam’s hand as the dial tone is replaced with a ringing. He traces comforting circles on my palm with his thumb.
“Jude, I was hoping you’d call,” says a soft spoken, male voice.
“Not Jude,” I say, turning on speaker phone.
There is a moment of silence. “Am I talking to Theyda?”
“We’ll meet with you, but we’re not making any promises. And remember, if you try anything, we have high grade EVO ready and waiting.”
“Expect us first thing tomorrow. You won’t regret this, Theyda.”
“I’ll judge that for myself,” I say, and then dial off.
The room is quiet as I hand Silvain his phone.
“You should have let me do the talking,” Jude says, breaking the tension.
“No, this is about me. I don’t know this guy or what he and his people know about me, or want from me, but I’m not letting him think I’m hiding behind anyone.”
“So, you don’t trust him?” Yana asks, her cheeks appear drawn in, and she chews on her nails.
“We have no other option, and he talks a good talk, but as for trusting him- nope. I won’t make that mistake again. If they’re coacher I think it’s our best move. I need to meet Grayson, so I can read him.”
“And what if you read him and don’t like what you see?” asks Wheeler.
“There are enough of us to hold our own. We’ve done it before,” I say.
“And I can sense the emotion as soon as we arrive. Teddie and I won’t let it get out of hand,” says October.
Cooper snorts, but my glare silences him.
I won’t let it get out of hand. I shall be meeting Grayson with my walls up, telepathy on high alert, and willing to use my abilities if necessary. No one will take advantage of me ever again if I can help it.
CHAPTER SEVEN
We sit around a large, glass top table. All of us are grubby, damp from the sea, and exhausted. Adam sits to my left, holding my knee under the table, and Seth is on my right, tending his swollen jaw with an ice pack.
Silvain brings out piping hot lasagnes with garlic bread and wine. It smells how love feels, but my stomach cramps at the thought of eating. I spoon lasagne into my mouth and force myself to swallow.
Talk doesn’t stray from Syndicate. I wish it would; a little respite while we eat and pretend to be anything other than wanted EVO would be nice.
“I like their ideologies. Perhaps, this Grayson guy has a shot at bringing us together,” says October.
Dom and Fabian both laugh in unison. The sound grates on me and I know what is coming.
“Don’t be so naive, October,” says Fabian, still laughing.
October sits straighter, squaring her shoulders. “Naive? Seriously? After everything that has happened—”
“Don’t call her naive,” Emiko snaps. “Until we meet with Syndicate none of us can know exactly what they can bring to the table. Is it wrong to hope that we have a fighting chance at a normal life?”
Jude massages his neck with his hand. “There nothing wrong with hoping, Emi, but it might be a little presumptuous. Syndicate don’t just have Norms to contend with. There are many EVO who share the supremacist views of the E.N.C. Equality isn’t on their agenda either.”
“But there are more who don’t,” says Emiko. “And there are many Non-EVO who don’t agree with the government. Most EVO have some Non-EVO family members, friends, and neighbours. I bet they’d rally behind Syndicate. Families are losing their children; we can’t allow that. They need protection.” Her voice cracks with emotion, and a lump forms in my own throat.
Wheeler folds his arms around Emiko and looks to Adam with tired eyes. “Let’s hope Syndicate have balls as big as their mouths.”
“I thought we agreed to test the water? We get what we need from them, and if they can keep us under the radar, then so be it. The most important thing is to not draw unwanted attention to ourselves,” says Jude, his frustration apparent.
Silvain rushes into the room and turns on the television. I’ve had enough of television for a lifetime. My face fills the screen; an unflattering, grainy image of me standing face to face with Isaac at the complex. He has his hands on my shoulders, in what looks like an affectionate gesture, but I’m actually about thirty seconds away from using his gun to kill Gabe.
“British Intelligence has released the identity of this individual as nineteen-year-old Theyda Woodman. She could be using the names Leason, Lloyd, or Lovick.” The reporter’s voice sounds warbled through the blood pulsing in my ears. “Woodman is the biological daughter of Isaac Woodman and is said to be a high grade, extremely dangerous EVO. She was present at the E.N.C headquarters on the night of Friday the twentieth of February, however her current whereabouts is unknown. She was last seen in Italy, but has connections to Great Britain. If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of this individual, please call the number on screen.”
A hush falls over the room, and I drop my fork on my plate with a clatter.
“What were you saying about unwanted attention?” I ask Jude.
***
The bed feels like I’m lying on a cloud and the sheets delicate under my bare legs. I wear nothing save one of Silvain’s shirts that hangs off of me like a tent. Emiko took it upon herself to wash everyone’s clothes, and I’m not going to lie about how much I am going to appreciate clean underwear.
Adam and I have one of the top floor bedrooms. The view over the bay is unreal, yet I choose to stare at the ceiling, listening to the hurried chatter from downstairs, and the inaudible rumble of the television.
Adam’s pacing was driving me crazy. He would stare out of the window, then back to me, and out of the window again, all the while wearing a hole in the carpet. I sent him downstairs for a cup of tea, and to give my sanity a fighting chance. That was thirty minutes ago. I know he’s talking with Jude, but I don’t want to know what about.
His head pops around the door. “A cup of tea for my girl,” he says, trying to keep his voice light and breezy.
“Thank you.” I take the tea with a smile. “What’s that?” I ask, pointing to a small box in his hand.
He offers it to me, kissing my shoulder in the process. “Hair dye.”
I inhale deeply. “Okay, I guess that makes sense.”
“It’s a dark brown. If October had her way you’d have been green. Silvain picked it up for you. Apparently, he was stopped and swabbed again. The town is swarming with the police and the army. He drove passed Wheeler’s and it has been gutted. They know the identities of all of us, but for some reason they’re focussing on you.”
“They know I’m Dual- EVO.”
“We don’t know that.”
“They know I’m Dual-EVO, Adam. They know everything.” The th
ought is a terrifying one, but I can’t deal with it now. “How do I use this stuff?” I ask, brandishing the dye.
He shrugs, looking at the box like it’s something from another planet. “I’ll go get the girls... and Seth,” he says, jogging out of the door.
***
Emiko rinses out the dye; black water runs over my forehead and into Silvain’s pristine bathtub. Yana, Seth, and October sit on the floor rummaging through the contents of Silvain’s toiletry baskets.
Emiko scrunches the last of the water out of my hair and turns the shower off. “It’s going to be dark,” she says, wrapping my hair in a towel.
“As long as it’s not red,” says October. “That hair was like a ‘wanted criminal over here’ beacon.”
“Can I look?”
“No,” Emiko and Yana says in unison.
“Never look at it wet. It’ll be a whole different colour when it’s dry,” Emiko adds.
I don’t protest. She leads me out of the bathroom by the elbow and shoves me on to the bed.
The hairdryer has the ferocity of a jet engine, so we can’t hear each other over the noise. I take to sitting in silence whilst I await my new look.
Yana gives me a sympathetic smile that does nothing to ease my apprehension. “It suits you,” she says, kindly.
I look in the mirror and shrug. The government have succeeded in taking my bloody hair colour from me. As if it wasn’t enough to take my family- friends- my life. The brown hair makes my brown eyes all the darker, and I look older, more drained.
Emiko continues to fiddle with my hair as we enter the kitchen. All eyes are on me, and I know Adam can sense my distaste.
‘I hate it,’ I say to him, telepathically.
“You still look beautiful,” he says out loud.
“I look like Morticia Adams.” My pale skin and dark hair contrast noticeably.
Adam smirks. “Actually, you look like—”
“Me,” interrupts Jude.
Adam nods his agreement.
EVO Shift: EVO Nation Series: Book Two Page 6
