Cassius

by Stevens, Madison

  “This is only going to get harder,” CJ replied. “I’m never going to claim Alpha Squad can’t kick ass, but we’re only twelve guys. We don’t even have everyone from our original group. If we’re trying to keep a distance from the Luna Lodge hybrids, then the only choice we have for real backup is the government.”

  “I know.” Maximus nodded. “And I’m not above at least taking some help from the government, as long as it is limited mostly to cleanup or intel we can doublecheck ourselves. That’ll keep us from walking into any traps while we continue strengthening our own independent intel capabilities.” He glanced over at Julius. “Which is where our teams come in.”

  CJ could never help but be a little uneasy around Julius. The other hybrid had been created by the same people, but whereas most of the hybrids were trained in squads as frontline assault troops and operators, Julius received special training to operate alone deep behind enemy lines as an infiltrator and saboteur. Years of freedom hadn’t dulled those skills, and there was always something about him that felt a bit false.

  It wasn’t like CJ thought he was a traitor or double-agent, and all the hybrids had to lie and go undercover as part of their missions, but the ease with which Julius slipped into false personas disturbed CJ. It was hard to know who the man really was.

  “I get that.” CJ frowned. “And I want to do my part, especially with this new enemy.”

  “We still know next to nothing about Ouroboros,” Maximus continued, frowning. “We only know they’ve received some personnel, research, and aid from remnants of the Horatius Group and the Phoenix Corps, but they also seem to be doing their own thing, and none of the hybrid groups, to the best of my knowledge, have ever seen anything like the strange powers demonstrated by Quinen. Whatever their goals are, we know they’re targeting Vestals and they’re ruthless. That’s enough to want to stop them. We can’t have true freedom until that’s achieved. I refuse to believe there’s somebody else waiting in the wings to replace them.”

  “What about these leads?” Julius asked. “They’re not total garbage if you’re willing to send out teams, but it smells like none of them are good enough for you to send a major team either.”

  “That’s an accurate summary,” Maximus said, looking down for a moment. “I’m not going to sit here and waste an hour going through all the particulars with you, but it’s possible Ouroboros is trying to throw us off their trail with some fake operations or intel. All of the leads we have suggest small-scale operations, rather than bases or facilities, and we don’t have any indications of major players being involved. Moving all Alpha Squad is hard, and we risk more detection than when we move in smaller groups.”

  CJ didn’t need to be an intel-minded saboteur and infiltrator to wonder about one obvious question. “Do we have intel clearly saying the opposite? Are we sure these are all small-scale ops?”

  Julius grinned and gave CJ an approving look. CJ wasn’t sure how that made him feel.

  “No.” Maximus shook his head. “I can’t guarantee the force disposition of the enemy on any of these leads, which is why everyone’s going in pairs. I’m confident that two members of Alpha Squad can at least cover each other’s asses well enough to escape.”

  CJ frowned. “Escape and not eliminate?”

  “Recon, establish potential targets, and call for reinforcements if necessary.” Maximus highlighted his orders by ticking up a finger for each statement. “Even if the other teams are busy, we can scrape together enough members of the squad for a major raid, and anything big isn’t going to be something Ouroboros can pack up in a day. I don’t need either of you to be heroes. You do your job, and if we need to drop the hammer, you wait for reinforcements. This should end with them taken out, not us.”

  Maximus’s gaze lingered on CJ who got the feeling that Julius was being sent to keep him in check. Being able to kick ass had its benefits in straight-up fights, but CJ would admit how going off half-cocked might cause trouble in situations requiring more finesse. He didn’t think he was as overeager as some of the other hybrids, but when he started going through the list, the only other hybrid he could think of who might be not as willing to wait to take someone down was Agrippa.

  “Understood,” CJ said. “We’ll keep it in check.”

  “And where will we be doing that?” Julius asked. “We’ve got the background, but no specifics. I know you don’t want to bore us with the details, but we need something.”

  “I’ll be sending you some data directly to your phones,” Maximus said. “The high-level overview is that you’ll be going to New York City to investigate suspicious shipping activity that might be linked to Ouroboros. What’s odd about it is what this activity is associated with, an obstacle course racing event called the Knickerbocker OCR Assault.” He furrowed his brow. “We’ve not seen this kind of thing before from any of the groups we’ve dealt with.”

  CJ grinned. “And you want us to take a stab at the course? See what we can flush out? I always wanted to go full-out on American Samurai Training Challenge. This could be a nice practice run.”

  Maximus’s angry glare almost made CJ chuckle. It was worth a shot.

  “No.” Maximus shook his head. “The last thing I want is either of you to show off your full abilities in public. Some contact lenses aren’t going to be enough to convince people you’re not hybrids if two huge men suddenly start dominating a course like that with superhuman speed. Ouroboros might not be watching every random athletic competition, but this is one time they might.”

  Julius cocked his head to the side, his brow wrinkled in deep thought. “But why would Ouroboros be interested in an obstacle course race? Are they testing new hybrids?”

  No one spoke for a good ten seconds. Julius’s tone came off curious more than worried, but the sickening possibility hung in the air.

  Maximus shrugged with a grunt. “We have no clue. None of our intel points to any reason the event is important, only that they might be associated with it, and we only know that because of the follow-up investigations from Hawaii. There’s still a lot we need to learn about who Ouroboros is and what they’re up to, and checking into this lead and others will help. If they are making new hybrids, we’ll put a stop to it and free them, just like the Luna Lodge hybrids did for us.”

  “Are the other leads as weird?” Julius asked.

  “Honestly?” Maximus replied. “Yes. It’s a random grab bag of locations and leads. It’s why we’re sending out so many teams. It’s hard to tell what might be going on other than, potentially, a lot of money laundering. That might be the simple explanation behind all of this.”

  Julius’s face lit up, satisfaction creeping into his eyes. “Ah, everything makes a lot more sense now. These people have to fund themselves somehow, and since they’re newer than the Corps and the Group, they have to be more careful.”

  “That’s the working theory, but it’s just that, a theory with no proof.”

  Julius and Maximus went back and forth about the possibility. CJ tuned them out. It wasn’t that he didn’t care at all about how the evil organization got their money, but he had no illusions about being a grunt. Maximus was a leader, and Julius a spy. They needed to understand those sorts of things.

  CJ needed to identify targets and then shoot or blow them up. Low-level recon didn’t require a thorough understanding of the big picture as long as he was detail oriented during the mission itself. Some men were destined for command, and some were destined to take orders.

  “So, in other words,” Julius said, “check out the area, look for anything unusual, and if we find it, call for reinforcements. And if we find nothing?”

  “We don’t assume that means nothing happened,” Maximus said. “But we’re not going to waste too much time following up on trails with no obvious leads. Get your gear ready by 0900, and Trajan will fly you directly to New York. For now, dismissed.”

  CJ lingered for a moment before following Julius out of Maximus’s office. No one ha
d been involved in a major mission or operation since the Hawaii incident with Dr. Quinen. It’d feel good to get off the island, but traveling to one of the most densely populated cities in the United States while having to maintain a cover and investigate a shadowy group guaranteed this wouldn’t be a leisurely excursion.

  Not that he minded too much. He liked the bustle of human cities and dealing with people. He never had much trouble getting along with them, unlike some of the other hybrids.

  Selena appeared from around the corner, offering both CJ and Julius bright smiles. “He’s not pissed off about anything is he?”

  “Probably, but nothing he’s showing,” CJ replied with a smile.

  “Thanks.” Selena nodded once more before hurrying past them.

  Julius stopped and looked over his shoulder, following Selena’s progress into Maximus’s office with a curious look. He stopped looking her way when she closed the office door.

  “It’s interesting,” he said.

  “What?” CJ asked. “Selena? She’s nice, sure. Not really my type, but not my Vestal, so that makes sense.”

  “Does it?” Julius scratched his chin. “You are one of the fate guys, I suppose.”

  CJ stared at the other hybrid, more curious than irritated. “And what about you? Are you like Cornelius? Do you think it’s all pointless hope?”

  “No, the proof is in that office right now.” Julius nodded down the hallway. “Hope can exist as long as there is a possibility of success, but hope isn’t the same thing as a guarantee of success. There’s another factor, though. One I don’t think a lot of you have thought about.”

  CJ chuckled. “I think we’ve spent a lot of time thinking about Vestals lately.”

  “You don’t understand.” Julius sounded disappointed. “Finding a Vestal might not be enough.”

  “Yeah, it is. Sure, we have to convince them, and that can take some work, but I haven’t heard of a case yet where a Vestal turned down their hybrid permanently. I don’t even think that can happen.”

  Julius gave CJ a smug, almost pitying look. “When doing data analysis, you have to control for all the variables.”

  “This is bonding, not science.” CJ shrugged.

  “The point is the number of bonding pairs we have to analyze is pretty small,” Julius said. “And they’re almost all based on Luna Lodge bonded pairs. By the time they started getting their mates, they weren’t hidden from the world.”

  “But they are now.”

  “So? There’s a whole community there. Not every woman, even a bonded woman, might be willing to agree to effective exile in a place like here. I think we’re all drawing the wrong lesson from Selena.”

  CJ frowned. “You’re saying even if we find our Vestals, it won’t matter?”

  Julius nodded. “I’m saying we should prepare ourselves for that being a possibility. This might be an island, but it’s not Isla Luna. It’s not a community. It’s a disguised armed encampment with minimal contact with small coastal fishing communities.”

  “Anyone ever tell you you’re a bowl of sunshine, Julius?”

  “The only person who has anything to fear from the truth is a deluded man.” Julius clapped CJ on the shoulder. “Keep it in mind. Of the rest of us, I think you’re the one most obsessed with getting a Vestal.”

  “I wouldn’t say that.”

  “I don’t hold it against you.” Julius’s tone was low, almost threatening. “But we’re going on a mission soon, and I need you to concentrate. I don’t doubt your skills, but the situation is different from Hawaii for all of us.”

  “Sure.” CJ smiled. “It’s better.”

  “Better?” Julius looked uncertain. “How do you figure?”

  “In Hawaii, we had to sit around on our asses in some ratty motel while Maximus had all the fun until we went into the forest and kicked ass. Now we get to hang out in New York City.”

  “This is a mission, not a vacation.”

  CJ shrugged. “No law saying it can’t be both.”

  Chapter Four

  Kendra shifted her foot, moving to a red hold on the climbing wall. This problem was tricky despite her experience. She’d spent more time doing rock climbing, specifically bouldering, than a lot of sports because the skills and training lent themselves so naturally to obstacle courses, but that didn’t mean she could dominate any bouldering problem she encountered.

  Confidence wasn’t the same thing as arrogance. One propelled a woman forward when she was tired. The other got her hurt.

  She kept her breathing slow and easy, ignoring Graham filming from below. Personality and cutesy quips were one thing when she was on the ground, not in the middle of a serious athletic effort. A couple more moves put her to the top before she smiled and let herself fall onto the mat below her arms outstretched.

  The owner of the gym, David, hurried over to her, smiling. He had a cute dark-haired boy-next door thing going on with his face, and the kind of compact but functional muscular body she expected of a climber. She thought back to her conversation with Graham. Maybe she was having trouble because she was limiting her options. Someone like David would understand her lifestyle and support her.

  Kendra sat up, rubbing her tired triceps. “Oof. That was hard.”

  “Flashing our toughest problem without any beta is damned impressive,” David said, offering a hand.

  She took it and stood with his assistance. Her burning legs were grateful for the help. “Sometimes I get lucky.” She smiled at the camera. “For my newer fans, a reminder, flashing means sending a problem on the first try, and sending means completing the climb. Beta is information about the problem prior to the climb, but with indoor bouldering it can be used a little more freely.” She gestured to the wall. “The colors and tape itself are technically types of beta, but back to the victory.” She offered a V sign to Graham. “All the good thoughts and feelings of all my fans help me out on these kinds of problems.”

  “I’ll bet,” David said.

  Kendra stretched her arms above her head. “I want to give a special thanks to Walls and Falls Climbing Gym, and its owner, David, for allowing me to film and train here before I hit the Knickerbocker OCR Assault this week.”

  David smiled. “My pleasure, Kendra. I’m a big fan of Roving Champion.”

  Graham lowered the camera. “Mind if I take some B-Roll around the rest of the gym? I’ve got waivers ready for everyone.”

  “Be my guest.” David laughed. “No better advertising than Kendra Champion talking up my place.”

  Graham gave a sly smile to Kendra before wandering off. He was trying to set her up. She appreciated the idea, but being semi-alone with David still gave her pause. It didn’t help her heart was still pounding from the difficult bouldering problem she’d just thrown all her energy into.

  Kendra lowered and shook out her arms. “You ever been to the place they’re running the Assault?”

  “No, but I know it’s mostly just all outdoors setup around the sportsplex building, but I haven’t looked into it much.” David shook his head. “I know it might sound odd to you, but I don’t tend to pay much attention to OCR stuff, though there are a lot of climbers who cross-train for it.” He gestured around. “And that works out to my benefit.”

  “Yeah. It’d be nice to have some hints about a place I haven’t been.” Kendra tucked some loose strands of her dark hair behind her ear. “But there are a lot of places I’ve never been. That’s part of what inspired me to start Roving Champion. It’s inspiring to see all these different athletes from complete beginners to seasoned veterans and their techniques, and how their local community affected them. That’s something Graham’s going around doing now, looking for people for good interviews. I get that not everyone gets the blessings of doing this full-time like you and me.”

  David craned his neck up smiling at his wall. “Maybe I should start hosting obstacle races.”

  “You could.” Kendra smiled. “You’d have to lay things out a little dif
ferently here, but you know what I always say in my videos. You should do what you’re passionate about.”

  “At least your advertising will help.” David stared at her for a moment, discomfort playing across his face.

  “Is something wrong?” Kendra asked.

  She rubbed at her face hoping something embarrassing hadn’t gotten stuck. The Roving Champion blooper videos displayed how often stray bits could get stuck to her body in embarrassing places with the help of sweat acting as glue.

  “Ah.” David chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “This is kind of embarrassing.”

  “It’s okay. Say what’s on your mind.”

  “You’re very attractive.” David coughed. “The camera doesn’t do you justice to be honest. Not that you’re not gorgeous on camera, but up close, you’re stunning.”

  Kendra blinked a couple of times, her cheeks warming. She laughed nervously. “I’m never going to complain about a compliment. Um, uh, like thanks.”

  She felt like an idiot. It wasn’t like she didn’t receive compliments on her appearance all the time, but it was far easier to compartmentalize when it was a random comment underneath her video or in an email. It was different staring at a cute guy who not only said she was pretty but that she was gorgeous and stunning.

  Kendra averted her gaze. “You know when I was in junior high, I almost gave up on sports. A girl I knew told me that it’d wreck my figure, make me look like a man.”

  David grimaced. “I still have to deal with that mindset at times. Obviously, it’s more of a problem with the women then the men, but I try to explain to them that being fit doesn’t mean you have to become the Rock.” A smile broke out on his face. “And it helps to have examples like you to point to.”

  “Do you practice those lines as much as your climbing?” Kendra asked.

  “No. So…” David shrugged. “I know you’re busy with the competition and all that, but you’ll probably have some time afterward, right? Would you like to go out to have a bite to eat?”