“You will be split into four teams. Lorrell and her team will remain here to monitor tech, relay information to our VIDI screens and headsets, and so on. My team will take this entrance in the armoured trucks.” He points to what looks like the gates at the front of the detention centre. “Information suggests that this is the most heavily protected of the two entrances, and they have automatic tagging systems called Sprayers. “I will take only the best manual fighters on my team for this reason. Although, it is best that everyone be prepared to be tagged.”
“These are tags,” Fernan says, holding up a star shaped device that is about the size of her palm. The tagging guns automatically spray-fire these at heat sources. This bugger will clamp into your flesh and electrocute you upon use of kinetic abilities. We believe it doesn’t affect those with psychosomatic abilities” Tapping at the tag, the six-pointed star clamps down and in. It would have the similar effect of a fishing hook. “Other than cutting it out yourself and removing a good portion of flesh with it, Tech skills are required. If you find yourself tagged, leave the damn thing be until Lorrell can remove it.”
“Rafe’s team will target the second entrance once we have the first entrance under siege,” Adam continues.
Rafe steps forward. “This entrance doesn’t have the Sprayers, but we can still expect resistance. If we secure the south gate with little fuss, team two will assist team one in the taking of the north gate if necessary, and then the retrieval of weapons and supplies.”
Adam nods in agreement. “Whilst we’re distracting their forces at both entrances, Fernan’s team will head over the wall. Teddie will be part of that team. The third team’s objective is not to engage unless necessary. Fernan will be commanding the release and rescue of all detainees from the hangars. Teddie will briefly show her face to some guards who will then be tranquilised, not shot, and Lorrell’s stickers will be left as a calling card. The wall will be destroyed to deal with the mass exodus. Get all detainees on the trucks and buses, and then get the hell out of there.”
“Teddie is to be protected by Cooper, TORO 94, TORO 48, and Cal. You all know the power of her name, and for this mission, she is to be a rallying force and nothing more. It is vital that she remains safe for our future objectives.”
“Not bloody likely,” I scoff. Adam rolls his eyes as if expecting my response. “I play peekaboo with a couple of soldiers, hand out some stickers, and then ask these people to fight in my name when I do nothing to help them? Not a chance!”
“We can’t risk you, Kiddo,” Rafe reiterates.
“We can’t have an able body doing nothing,” I throw back at him. “Besides, my name holds weight because people believe I fought back. Having Teddie Leason cowering behind her bodyguards isn’t sending the message you want.”
Fernan places a hand on my shoulder. “Let us handle the propaganda.”
“Well, the propaganda is not happy to be handled. I’m highly trained, so use me where I’m needed.”
“You are trained for the eventuality that you will have to fight and protect yourself,” Rafe adds. “Hopefully, that day is not today. Today, you need to keep quiet, follow the plan, and keep your ass alive.”
Fury bubbles in my chest. They’re using my name to get people to fight and die for our cause, yet I’m not allowed to fight and die for it. Teddie Leason will be a damn hypocrite before the night is through. Grayson’s words hang heavy over me- a sheep in wolf’s clothing.
Fernan clucks her tongue. “You may not see it, but we are using you where you are needed, for now. If it’s your pride that you’re worried about—”
How dare she. Snapping my head in her direction, I flash warning in my eyes. “Don’t you dare,” I hiss through my teeth. Fernan simply shrugs. “Pride and principle are two very different things.”
Adam, who has remained silent, steps in between us. “So, Teddie’s with Cal, Coop, TORO 94, and TORO 48,” he continues, not paying the slightest heed to my opinion.
Turning tail, I head to the door.
“We’re not finished?” Adam calls after me.
“What more do I need to know?” I reply, without so much as a backward glance.
***
My afternoon is spent running the perimeter. Working out feels proactive, and proactive is what I’m lacking at the moment. On my ninth circle passed the chapel, Adam glances up from the bonnet of a truck. He and an E.N.C woman are up to their elbows in engine oil. Before he can call me over, I turn away and sprint off through the trees.
“Leave her be. She’s sulking,” Rafe’s voice follows after me. “Don’t pretend that you wouldn’t be pissed if you were in her shoes.”
With another burst of anger, I exert myself into a full sprint until I drop to my knees and vomit from exhaustion. There goes the slop, and unsurprisingly, it looks exactly the same as it did before I started to digest it.
Knowing my limit, and in need of a sit down before I fall down, I stroll through the thicket to the far side of the chapel, out of view from the camp. The rear door is locked, so I levitate myself in through the vestry window. The room is empty with everyone busy on their tasks for tonight, so throwing a stack of blankets onto the floor, I slump down, arms on knees, and close my eyes for a few minutes.
***
Waking with a start always sets me off in a bad mood. The vestry door clangs open, and then closes again with a bang. The room is dark with only the moonlight streaming in through the open window. I’m unseen, sat in the shadows.
Fernan sighs. “The timing isn’t right and we’re not in dire straits just yet. Let’s see what they’ve got up their sleeves first. If we can work together toward achievable objectives, then we should. Let’s just call it ‘Plan B’ for the time being. It’s an unnecessary ask as of right now.”
“And people say you have no heart,” Cal says with amusement in his voice.
Fernan lets out a breathy laugh. “I have plenty of heart and brains for that matter. The latter has gotten me this far and will continue to keep this ball rolling.”
The door opens once more, allowing light to fill the dank room. Fernan and Cal’s figures exit, leaving me with a stone in my stomach. Scrambling to my feet, I grab the door before she can shut it behind her.
“What is ‘Plan B’?” I ask her.
Fernan jumps in fright, cursing me under her breath. “I didn’t know you were in there. Quite the sleuth.”
“I was sleeping on the floor. No sleuthing required,” I reply. “Well?”
Cal barely conceals his grin as he excuses himself.
“Plan B is a non-plan. Forget about it.”
“Well, I can’t do that, because it sounded to me like it is a post Rafe and Adam plan. I don’t like the ‘post’ bit.”
She bundles me back inside the vestry, closing the door once more. Once again, we’re in darkness, and Fernan doesn’t look to turn on the lantern. “Plan B is an option to get inside Towley’s headquarters. It hasn’t made it passed the brainstorming stage, and it is unnecessary until I deem it necessary.”
“Why have you not acted on this before now? If you have a way in, why do you need Shift?”
“I didn’t need Shift.”
I slouch back against the wall, my eyes now acclimatising and focussing on Fernan’s hunched silhouette against the window. “You needed me. Is that what you meant by ‘an unnecessary ask as of right now’? What are you going to ask me to do when ‘as of right now’ has been and gone?”
“Hopefully, I will not have to ask anything of you in regards to Plan B. It may be a way in, but it’s not a magic wand. If we charge in without thorough planning and long-term strategies, we will have little to no footing with the Norms once we’re in power.”
I cringe at her choice of word.
“Seriously?” she laughs, mocking me through the darkness. “We need to show the Norms that we’re not all out to burn their houses, steal their spouses, and drown their babies. We just want what we are owed: a fucking break. Using y
our name to forward our plan is all I want from you right now.” She leans bodily on her cane to get her leg moving again. “Like I said, don’t worry about Plan B, it’s no longer important. Rafe and Adam seem to have brains as much as me, and hopefully, we can bring down this regime without the need for excessive risk.”
She limps back into the main chapel, cane tapping as she goes.
Adam finds me in the crowd of people checking weapons and securing their equipment. He hands me a black sweatshirt and a synth mask. “Remember, in and out, show your face, get your ass out of there.”
Yeah, yeah, I know the drill. I sit back whilst you potentially get yourself killed?”
“I’m not going to get myself killed. If we’re quick and stick to the plan, we’ll be on them before they even realise what is happening.”
There’s too much left to chance, no matter how meticulous the plans. I’m suddenly incredibly aware of how much risk is involved in this one mission. For Fernan to say that Plan B is an excessive risk, it must be something quite perilous.
Adam lifts my chin with his finger. “I don’t want to go into this with a cloud hanging over us.”
“There’s no cloud.” I link my fingers with his. “This is my part.”
He tilts his head. “Unconvincing,” he says, smiling. “Thank you for putting up with this. I know you feel a hypocrite, but we have a real shot at burning down Towley’s whole regime if we use your name wisely.”
It’s easier not to say anything because at this late stage nothing will be gained from it. I can be propaganda for one night.
Engines splutter into life, and a focussed, determined energy fills the air. Fernan’s and Rafe’s orders carry over the worsening weather, and Adam pulls me into his embrace.
“Be careful,” I whisper, burying my face into his neck.
“You know I will be. And as for linking, we only do so if absolutely necessary. It’s best that we keep clear heads.”
I agree, and it’s then that I see Cooper brandishing that infuriating wig.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Fifteen of us sit on the uncomfortable, metal floor of a truck, sandwiched in like sardines. More people have been squeezed into the other trucks, and a convoy of transportation buses follow us, ready to pick up the detainees.
Cooper checks over my gun for the hundredth time, despite my eye rolling. Cal simply watches me in silence as we jostle about in the back of the truck. Occasionally, I’ll purposefully meet his eye, but he continues to stare with what appears to be a mix of curiosity and contempt.
After another ten minutes of his eyes burning holes in the side of my face, I confront him.
“I’m just wondering what role you’re actually playing tonight? How would the outcome of any of this be different if Theyda Leason really died like Towley believes?” he replies.
Cooper shoves the gun into me with force, scrambling to his knees to get at Cal. The E.N.C members manhandle him back to sitting. “Watch your mouth!” he warns Cal.
“Chill out. I just mean that she could disappear into the sunset and leave us all to it. What difference does Theyda Leason make to our mission tonight, tomorrow, or whenever? We have four able bodies on babysitting duty instead of where they’re needed. Why are you so important?”
I hold my hands out. “When you find out, let me know.”
He laughs a little. “That’s just fantastic. If the woman herself doesn’t even bloody know—”
I point a finger in his face. “Hey, don’t act like you know me. I don’t know what difference Theyda Leason can make, but I’m damn sure that I want to be a part of whatever is about to go down. I don’t want a babysitter any more than you want to babysit, yet here we are.”
Cooper grunts in annoyance. “Towley has used her death to fuel his own end. Theyda Leason will blow holes in that. Do us all a favour and shut that ugly hole in your face.”
Cal smirks at Cooper, but returns to staring at me. This time, I glare right back. The others in the truck return to their whispered conversations or silent contemplation.
Our driver slows, which means the truck ahead - Fernan’s truck - must have stopped. The energy in the air changes from anticipation to nervousness. People fidget and a hush falls over us.
“We’re in position,” whispers Fernan’s voice over the radio. “Await the signal.”
I try not to think on the fact that any minute now, Adam and Rafe will be fighting within the detention centre.
Cooper takes my gun and thrusts it into my palms, squeezing my hands into position. “Head in the game,” he says. “Adam and Rafe don’t need your worry. They’re machines.”
TORO 48 takes my synth mask and tries to slide it on my head.
Cooper swats his hand away. “Are you trying to piss her off more than she already is?”
Muffled laughter goes around the truck. I’m grateful for the break in tension, despite the anxiety squeezing at my lungs. Adam will link if he needs to, which means no news is good news. Gunfire sounds in the distance and a siren shrills. My blood runs cold and my skin goose pimples. They’re in. This is happening.
“Are you ready for Teddie Leason to be reborn?” Cal asks.
“I’m ready for this to be over, so yeah, I am,” I reply.
“That’s flare one from the south gate,” Fernan’s voice crackles through static.
I breathe a sigh of half-relief. Rafe’s taken the back gate in record speed. Come on, Adam.
The next few minutes stretch into an eternity. No one speaks. We listen to the gunfire and explosions and wait.
“Flare two!” Fernan calls over the radio. “Move in!”
Our truck lurches forward, everyone jolting with the sudden movement and the fear of what is about to come. I’m just relieved that Rafe and Adam have secured the entrances. It’s not over, but taking the gates and the sprayers is step one.
The trucks rumble through the darkness, only the night vision monitors guiding the drivers. The uneven ground sees me clashing heads with Cooper and getting a hard dig in the ribs from his gun.
The vehicle stops and the back doors are flung open, allowing the cool breeze to freshen the stagnant air emitting from the sweating people crammed in around me. Cal grips my scruff to stop me exiting.
“We don’t go in until the wall is destroyed,” he says, nodding to Cooper and the two TORO.
“We’re literally not helping at all?” I ask, mouth agape.
“Orders are orders.”
The four men are chomping at the bit to be in on the action, but are stuck watching over me. I’m capable. I’m more capable than some of those I’ve seen training at the chapel, and yet, here we are.
The five of us scoot to the back of the van and peer around the back doors. Team three are heading up and over the wall. Some of the Telekins are levitating the others, some climb on grappling hooks and ropes. The circling mass of barbed wire at the top has been peeled back to allow easy access. The wall can’t be destroyed until they’re inside, or Fernan runs the risk of drawing unnecessary attention.
“Lorrell’s device must have worked,” Cal says with a sense of pride. “Otherwise, they’d have been frazzled by that barb.”
Two of the team sit straddling the wall, pointing rifles down into the centre’s grounds. It takes only a minute before they need to start firing and protecting our people.
“This is so bloody frustrating,” I moan. “I want to be helping. I can’t stand this.”
“Whiny asshole is making a comeback,” Cooper goads, scruffing at my head.
“Doesn’t it bother you?”
He shrugs. “I do as I’m told. I’m not the brains behind any of this.”
“Well, that’s obvious,” Cal chortles.
Cooper growls in his throat, swinging the butt of his gun toward Cal’s face. Cal side steps the attack, slapping Cooper upside the head with the palm of his hand.
“Way to prove my point, pal.”
An explosion rocks the ground and the
truck. I topple into TORO 94, and a second explosion has all of us on our butts.
“There goes the wall,” Cal says, using my shoulder to help him to his feet.
“Cub, get out here!” Fernan shouts from the wall.
Not needing to be asked twice, I slip on my synth mask and jump from the truck, followed closely by my armed guard. The portion of wall that has been decimated lies in boulders and rubble, blocking the twenty-foot hole. One Telekin struggles to move the rubble at a quick enough rate.
“We need a clear path!” Fernan shrieks at me. Her face shines with sweat, and she leans heavily on her cane, digging it deep into the dirt for support.
“Get out of the way,” I roar at the Telekin and those around the hole.
Wrapping my telekinesis around the entirety of the debris, I lift every last boulder, rock, and pebble clear over our heads, launching it with a burst of exhilaration at being able to contribute. All eyes follow the soaring debris and watch mesmerised as it slams into the ground at least fifty feet away from us, kicking up dust.
“What are you waiting for?” Fernan crows at the group awaiting instruction to enter the centre. “Ensure the area is secure! Be ready to organise the detainees.”
The continuous gunshots, shouting, and general combat ruckus becomes ambient noise to the orange glow of fire, the cloudy mist of dust and debris, and sweating faces. Adam should have instructed vehicles to be brought around to Fernan’s position by now.
So far, there is no sign of either team one or two.
“Securing all buildings and retrieving the tech,” says Adam over the radio as if answering my thoughts.
My heart flutters in relief.
“Team two are securing the armoury,” Rafe adds.
Fernan glances anxiously at the hangar. “Our guys should be coming out by now,” she whispers quietly to Cal.
“Team three, what is your position?” asks Adam.
“Working on it,” Fernan replies. Her eyes never leave the double doors at the back of the hangar.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
She looks to speak, her face paling as the moments pass on, but the screech of metal on metal snatches both our attention. The doors fly open and some of Fernan’s people race out, guns raised, panting and swearing. They are followed by a mass of bodies fighting to escape through the inadequately sized doors like a wave trying to fit through a pin hole. Sunken, dirty faces with hollow eyes stare out at us, desperately clawing their way to freedom.
EVO Nation Series Trilogy Box Set Page 73
