“Where are the other members? The driver?” I ask.
Bo shrugs. “Herded off to some detention centre I expect. Their abilities are not impressive enough for these assholes. They’re trained in manual combat, but Taggers aren’t interested in that. That sweaty guy said something about a Boss man. Apparently, he’s particularly interested in you,” she says, pointing at me. “I told them our abilities before they stuck us in the cattle wagon too. I’m guessing this place is the lesser of two evils. Oh, and I also told them we’re E.N.C.”
“What did you do that for?” Cooper growls.
“Because we are and the E.N.C doesn’t hide. Don’t worry, I didn’t tell them who you are. I said you were called Teddie and that was all I knew.”
“Thank you,” I say.
“Why are they interested in you? Is there something you’re keeping from me?”
Cooper and I share a tentative look. They must have picked up my strength. The brain scans may have shown something out of place. “Yes, but I don’t trust you enough to tell you just yet.”
Bo laughs out loud; the sound is out of place in this dungeon. “Fair enough, although, if your secret can result in me being six feet under, trust shouldn’t factor.”
“It shouldn’t, but it does. Tell me everything you know about this place.”
“All we found out is that they brand us, hence why we call them Taggers. They keep the EVO with the most impressive fighting abilities, dispense the rest back to the government for cash, and they make us fight to the death for money.”
“It’s blood sport,” Cooper says in disgust.
“I know where we are. The other members at base know too. We’ve been sussing this place out for the last week, trying to map their movements and schedules. The trouble is they’re erratic; they have no time keeping, the only thing that is set in stone are the fight nights. They hold two a week on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.”
Cooper’s brow furrows. “Was the E.N.C planning a raid on this place?”
“Nah, we changed our focus to the detention centres. The kids take priority.”
Cooper nods. “Fair enough.”
Bo shifts position, leaning closer to me. “But I bet that will change once they learn that you’re here. You’re infamous, you know? So, you were in Italy when it all went down. What actually happened?”
The door to the stairs swings open and quick footsteps resound through the cells. I’m glad of the interruption. The light from the stairwell illuminates the damp squalor we’re in a little more. A man strides towards us in an expensive looking suit and teddy picker shoes. His black hair is neatly styled and his full beard groomed to perfection. His grey eyes stand out from their sunken sockets like headlights in smog. He is a young looking fifty something at least. He stands with a less impressive man in jeans and a t-shirt.
He clears his throat. “Listen up. I’m the one they call Boss, and I run this house. We feed you, we water you, and we fight you; nothing more, nothing less. There’s no point lying about eventualities. Fight a good fight and you’ll live another day. You will get one bottle of water per EVO per day, so make it last, and yes, the buckets are for what you think they are. However, ladies can request the use of the toilet stall if accompanied by one of my men. After all, we’re not savages.” A grin creeps at the corners of his mouth. “Telekin,” he says, pointing in my face. “You’re something else. What grade are you?”
“Grades are bullshit,” I reply. I think of Jude. He knew the centre was deserted. Cooper was right, he has been trying to protect me- oppress me. He’d never have allowed me to leave if he thought I’d be in danger. I worry for him and his sanity once he finds out what has happened.
Boss steps closer to the bars. “Okay, let me ask you a different question. Why was your brain activity off the chart?”
“What can I say? I’m just special,” I keep my voice light, sarcastic.
He turns to the Tagger. “I like her. It’s a shame the cocky ones die first,” he says, walking away. He’s trying to rattle me, but I know I have irritated him. He doesn’t seem the type of guy to be messed around- especially by a woman- an EVO woman.
“You have a death wish, girl,” Bo says, laughing.
“Like I said, my secret is my secret for now.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Cooper has spent the entire day working out. At one point he asked Bo to count his crunches, but she told him to do it himself in not as many words. I know why he is doing it, I want to be occupied myself, but there is nothing to do other than pace.
“I need to lift,” Cooper says, panting. He looks to me, but I turn my back on him and continue pacing. Then, he looks to Bo.
“Lift this,” she says flipping him the bird. “Will you quit with the strong man routine. We get it; you work out, now do us a favour and give it a rest. I’m done with your grunting.”
Cooper spits into the piss bucket and comes to stand beside me at the bars. “And I thought you were bad,” he mutters.
I ignore his comment. “Our only chance of escape is during a fight. We could attempt to fight our way out manually, but the Taggers have weapons. If we did over throw them, the only exit is up those stairs and god knows what or who is up there. I was so close to seeing Adam, and yet again, things have blown up in my face. I need to know if he is alright.” I lower my voice. “But I can’t link with this thing stuck on my neck.”
Cooper grins to himself. “Lovick will be alright, although, I bet he’ll shit the bed when he wakes up and sees Mummy dearest is back from the dead.”
I never thought of that. How will he handle it? She lied to him, manipulated him, and is now out for forgiveness. I know Leoni did what she did to protect him, but I’m not sure if Adam will accept that as an excuse.
“What is it with you? Do you get off on other people’s misery?”
Cooper holds his hands up and backs away. “I’m just saying.”
“You’re good at that. You were just saying when you wanted me off the yacht, right? You know, the time when Adam handed you your ass?”
Bo smirks. “I like the sound of this Adam guy.”
Cooper growls and slinks to the far corner of the cell, lies down, and closes his eyes.
My chest burns with agonising clarity. I touch my dressing and it feels damp. I can’t see the wound clearly, so I ask Bo to take a look. Her scrunched up nose tells me everything.
“It’s opened up a little. Is that a stab wound?”
I nod. “A friend of mine had a breakdown. She killed Fabian, Cooper’s friend, and almost killed me.” My voice cracks and I cough away the emotion. “I haven’t had time to think about it to be honest.”
I’ve not once mentioned Fabian to Cooper since I woke up. I haven’t once given Fabian a second thought. Guilt only adds to my pain.
“Why did you help me?” I ask Cooper. He appears amused by my question. “You can’t stand me, my friend killed your friend, and you still helped me.”
“That’s not usually how you thank someone. And besides, you killed her right back.”
“I am grateful, thank you. I’m sorry about Fabian. I’m sorry about this whole bloody mess.”
He waves my apology away. “Just before we saw you and Jude that night, I was trying to convince Fabian to steal the guns and ditch you guys. He told me that I was a coward, and that I was afraid of trusting you because it meant things were going to change for the better, and I can’t allow myself anything good. He saw something in you, and I know you said that you’re not the girl Syndicate needs, but you kind of are, Teddie. You’re important somehow.”
“What the hell do you mean, ‘Syndicate’?” Bo advances on me, until I’m pushed against the bars.
Cooper jumps to his feet, dragging her away from me. “Yeah, that’s right, Syndicate.”
“You said you were E.N.C,” she shouts in my face. “Are you even Theyda Woodman.”
“No, I’m Theyda Leason. Isaac Woodman is not my biological father. He let me belie
ve he was, so he could use me, but that man was a psychopath.” Rage boils in my blood, and I round on Bo. “That man killed his own mother for being Non-EVO- his own mother!” Bo’s lips curl in disgust if only briefly. “The Dual EVO he claimed was his weapon was in fact his sister, Tess, but when she refused to carry out his sick plan guess what happened? Yep, he killed her too! He killed his nephew, his best friend; do I need to go on? You talk about him like he is some idol and that sums up everything that is wrong with the E.N.C. You target Non-EVO because you need someone to hate, to blame your shit lives on. Well, now, it’s time to face facts, Bo. I’m going to tell you the same thing I told Isaac right before I killed him- your hatred is all your own.”
Bo looks to Cooper for confirmation of all I’ve just said. She is physically sweating, but I guess that’s what happens when everything you think you’re fighting for crashes around your ears.
He nods, wiping his hand through his beard. “I was E.N.C, but it never sat well with me. I hated the Norms because my Dad was a Norm and he was a bastard, but he was just one Norm. I can’t blame them all for my shitty childhood. I’ve met good people- Norm people. They have risked their lives to help us.”
Bo backs away from the both of us, clearly agitated and looking like she is about to puke. I wish I could read her, to judge her stand on this, but I have to stick with intuition and my intuition is telling me to press her further.
“My boyfriend, Adam, the man you rescued from the military, he was E.N.C, so were many of my friends and my Uncle. They wanted what was promised: safety, freedom to be who they are without prejudice, not this fear that the E.N.C spreads now. Isaac was unstable, and if you follow his twisted legacy the E.N.C becomes unstable by proxy. Syndicate wants to do right by—”
She shakes her head vehemently. “Enough. Why are you telling me all this?”
“Because I know you’re too intelligent and too empathetic to discount anything we’ve just said. Sometimes it just takes someone to spell it out to you. If Cooper understands it, you should understand it.”
Cooper’s eyes bore holes into the side of my face. “Cheers.”
“Isaac was a high grade EVO and you expect me to believe that you killed him.”
“I was there. She killed him,” Cooper confirms. “And he deserved it.”
“You saw the detention centres, and look around you, Norms are going to pay money to watch us die.”
“They’re just a drop in the ocean. There are many Non-EVO with EVO kids, family members, lovers. They outnumber the rest and they’re suffering just as much as the EVO. We’re not the only ones chased to the gutters now, and Syndicate wants to unite us all.” I am actually talking myself around to Grayson’s way of thinking. Syndicate needs to be a haven.
Bo scratches at her head impatiently. “Do you really think Syndicate could do that?” She’s cracking; I can sense the shift in her perspective. “Let’s pretend I’m listening for a minute. Do you honestly believe that Syndicate can unite us?”
“No.” My reply is blunt, and she looks confused. “The thought is there, but they’re naive. People are scared and when they’re scared they look for strength not passivism. Syndicate is weak at the moment.”
“At the moment?”
I can’t tell her about Shift. “They’d be stronger with people like you behind them.”
She chuckles to herself, sits back down on the floor, and drums her fingers on her knee. “Well, it is tough shit for them that I’m stuck in here, isn’t it?”
***
I’m woken by hands at the scruff of my top. Goatee thrusts me up against the wall, pushing himself hard against me. I don’t want to anger him; I don’t fully know what is happening. I take a deep breath and clench my fists.
“You two are the first women to be brought in here in weeks,” he says. “The other fight houses are inundated, but not us.” He backs toward the cell door, dragging me with him. I hear a grunt as Bo kicks out at Sweaty who holds her neck in a vice like grip. She kicks out again, this time catching him in the groin. He cries out, releasing her from his grip, and grasping at his crotch.
“That one knows what she’s doing,” Goatee says, laughing. “Help me with this one.”
Cooper stands, but Sweaty points a gun in his face, so he steps aside, allowing them to pass. Sweaty swings the gun over his shoulder, grabbing me under my arms from behind. I know from the way he gropes at me what is coming and I panic.
“Cowards,” Bo screams through the bars.
We’re outside the cell. I kick out at Goatee, but he grabs the area of muscle just above my knees, squeezing painfully, and then wraps my legs around his waist. I can feel the bulge in his jeans. This can’t happen. I can’t let this happen. He fumbles with my buckle as Sweaty’s hands find my breasts. My hands are loose, allowing me to smack Goatee in the side of the head.
“Hold her arms, Idiot,” he growls at Sweaty.
My arms are pulled back, and my buckle snaps open. I look passed Goatee to the cell. Cooper is stood with his head bowed. No, I bet you can’t look at me, you coward.
Bo stands at the bars, unable to take her eyes from me. “I’m sorry,” she mouths.
Faces watch from the other cells, everyone solemn and silent.
My zipper slides down, and I throw my head back, smacking Sweaty square in the face. He releases me, my back and head slamming the ground. Goatee still has a hold of my legs, and he drops to his knees, pinning me to the floor. His tongue fills my mouth, making me gag. He gets to his knees, and lifts me by the fabric of my jacket. Then, a fat fist meets the side of my face.
“The bitch broke my nose,” shrieks Sweaty. “I get a go on her first.”
I cry out and vomit floods my throat. My telekinesis fizzes inside my skin, but the cuff is enough to stop me using it. I won’t be sedated.
Sweaty grabs my wrists, lifting my top half as Goatee takes my legs once again. My flies hang open. I can’t let them get my trousers off, but what can I do? I hang between them like a lump of meat. All I can do is struggle and scream.
Their faces start to fade away, and my mind starts to flutter. No, not now, this can’t happen now. I can sense Adam instantly. It is as if he is waiting for me to come through. I force the sensation and Adam away. I won’t let him in when I’m like this. I won’t be sedated and give them an easy ride.
“Get her to the back room,” says Goatee. My focus flies back to reality. I scream out again. “Calm down, love. You’re making this harder than it needs to be,” he says, laughing.
I’m taken into a small room with a desk and stacks of what look like bar stools. Goatee drops my legs, grappling at my jeans. My knee meets his chest, but it only slows him for a moment. My trousers start to slide off my hips. I look down at Goatee’s eager face, his eyes wild and hungry. Above me, Sweaty sneers down with blood running over his lips and chin.
The hard hilt of the blade in my boot digs into my ankle. I had forgotten about it. I need that blade. If Goatee pulls my boots off he’ll find it. I stop flailing my arms, and in turn, Sweaty’s grip loosens slightly. I pull one arm free, and before he even knows what has happened, I stick my finger deep into his eye.
Both hands are free now. I throw myself forward into a sitting position, punching at Goatee with one hand and reaching into my boot with the other. I snap the popper on the sheath. The blade is warm in my palm. I can see his jugular and I aim.
Boss strides in. He is still suited and booted and looking totally out of place in this dive, but he is scum just like the rest of the Taggers.
Both men have stopped their attack, and I quickly slide the blade up into my sleeve.
“She’ll have to wait. We’ve got a few more freaks incoming in five,” says Boss. He looks me over, his eyes resting on my pants and legs.
Goatee sighs and reluctantly gets to his feet. My trousers are at my knees and my sweater ripped, but other than a black eye I’m unharmed- exhausted, violated, but unharmed.
Sweaty pulls me to m
y feet by my hair, spitting a mouthful of blood into my face. “You better sleep with one eye open tonight, Freak,” he whispers, and then shoves me toward Goatee. “I need to go sort my face.”
Goatee lifts me over his shoulder. His hands on my bare thighs feel like sandpaper. More Taggers head down the stairs. If I use my blade now I’m as good as dead, and there is no chance of escape. I keep a tight hold of my sleeve to hide the blade as he marches back out into the cells. I hear the clunk of the cell door opening, and then feel the slam as he drops me in a heap at Cooper’s feet. Goatee turns on his heels, and as quickly as the ordeal had started, it has ended.
“Close call,” says Cooper.
I clamber to my feet, pulling up my trousers, and panting for breath. I point the blade into his face with a shaking hand. “You would have let them rape me. You really don’t give a shit about anyone but yourself, do you? Stay the hell away from me.”
“How have you still got that? Keep it hidden. You had a chance at surviving,” he says, swatting my hand away. “If I had caused a scene the chances are we’d all be dead right now.”
“He’s right,” says Bo, straightening my top.
“Whatever. Stay the hell away from me, Cooper, or I’ll castrate you where you stand.”
Cooper laughs. “You couldn’t even fight off that fat bastard and I’m a lot more skilled than Armpits.”
I point the blade at him again.
“You lack basic fighting skill, you panic, and you waste your energy screaming like a girl. You’ll be dead before you get anywhere near my nuts.”
I swallow hard, my knuckles white from gripping the blade. Cooper studies me for a moment, before sitting back down on the damp floor.
“Don’t worry, Teddie. Men like that never survive long,” says Bo.
“That’s where you’re wrong. It’s the cockroaches that always survive,” Cooper says through gritted teeth.
EVO Shift: EVO Nation Series: Book Two Page 12
