“So maybe it’s non-diluted shots,” Ursula said, waving her hand at the vial DJ had held up for her to examine. “They get it after getting their instructions. They hear their orders then get the shot, turn, and act.”

  “It would kill them instantly,” Theo disagreed.

  “Unless your father has found a better way to give the treatment. I mean, you four said yourselves that you saw the labs. Maybe he made a more portable solution.”

  I looked over at Jake across the table from me. He was rubbing his chin, deep in thought.

  “Then why the three doses?” Jake finally said. “It doesn’t make sense. If Reynolds makes a portable shot so they can take orders first, why have three doses? If they could take it all at once, it wouldn’t be capped off at 5mls, they’d get the whole thing at once.”

  “My thoughts too,” DJ agreed. “It must be a faster working product, maybe even with temporary effectiveness. Or maybe it takes three does to make it effective. If that is the case, they would have been in some stage of transformation while receiving the orders from the Guardian.”

  “So how did Reynolds figure out a way to get Defectives, or even partial Defectives, to take orders?” Ursula stated the obvious.

  “To tell you the truth, I still don’t know. Everything I know about Defective experiments was on confidential, partially-redacted documents. Maybe it is some form of shock therapy, or perhaps they have perfected the serum. It could be a mixture of both. Either way, what we do know is that Reynolds has made a way for Defectives to be controllable weapons.”

  “You mean he truly made a super soldier,” Usual stated. I couldn’t help but hear the hint of jealousy in her tone.

  “It is a possibility,” DJ answered, reluctant to be the one to give the bad news.

  “If that is the case, we won’t stand a chance no matter how ready our men are,” Theo stated the obvious.

  “Bottom line, the truth will be in the serum,” Ursula said quickly to smother out anyone else thinking the same unhelpful thoughts, despite how right they were. “Did you get a sample of it? There had to be enough to at least test.”

  “I swabbed what I could from the vials,” DJ said with little confidence. “We are limited on resources here.”

  “What resources do you need?” Ursula responded like she was ready to fulfill a wish list.

  “Probably nothing short of the lab it was created in,” DJ said only half seriously.

  I didn’t have to see behind me to know that Hilary perked up at the notion. It had been her suggestion months ago that we infiltrate the lab where these experiments were taking place. At the time we were looking for proof it existed, now we needed more than ever to know what exactly was going on inside.

  “Fine.” Ursula nodded as if such a thing were possible. “This will be our top priority then. We can’t fight an enemy that we don’t understand. We will locate the labs and find a way in, simple as that,” she added with a soft smile.

  “And what about all the people?” I chimed in.

  “What people?” Ursula retorted.

  “The ones we told to move to settlements. We only got partial protection on the ones near the inner Communities. Against Defective hoards it’s a good start, but now with Reynolds targeting these people with whatever those monsters are he created they don’t stand a chance. Shouldn’t our top priority be their safety? We told them to go there. We told them they would be safe. I told them that.”

  I added the last part finally expressing what the turmoil I was feeling inside was really about.

  “There are already units of Fighters dispatched to each settlement and helping with the fortification of the areas.” Ursula, more than anything else, waved off my comment.

  “He could have hundreds, thousands, of these Super Soldiers,” I persisted. “Who knows what he will do to the next settlement having failed the first time.”

  Ursula narrowed her close-set eyes on me. I would have guessed in Ursula’s opinion letting the settlements hash it out for themselves with the aid of a single unit was enough effort on her part.

  “It would be in our best interest to continue protection protocol we already have planned. It would give the settlers peace of mind. Reynolds played the attack out like a regular hoard, and he can keep doing the same until he scares every single person back into the Communities or to the Outskirts. We’ve lost a lot of popularity as it is,” DJ added as delicately as he could.

  I felt like he was translating between the rational thoughts I was saying and the irrational notions Ursula had. She could care less if Reynolds wiped all those people out, in fact, encouraged it if she could swing it in her favor. But DJ tweaking the words just right made the moral choice sound enticing. Without a personal gain, Ursula would see little reason to even discuss the matter.

  “I see your point,” she said slowly. “We will continue as planned. Fortifications have been begun in settlements all over the country, not just the ones you went to.” She looked at me as if to say I wasn’t the only one looking out for their interest. “I will contact headquarter leaders nearest to each settlement to continue the work.”

  “I think your camera shots are no longer needed,” Ursula added, turning to me, “It certainly will speed up the process to no longer have to propagandize the process. You understand, of course,” she added, insinuating that I would be upset over losing the air time.

  I would have liked to tell her that I wasn’t as self-centered as she was. I couldn’t care less about doing more promo shots at the settlements as I had done before.

  It was the sole reason I had been allowed to visit the settlements in the first place. My concerns had nothing to do with being in the limelight. I would have rather gone without it altogether and actually been more useful to the settlements I visited.

  My concern was that I had been the face on their tablets and monitors telling them it was safe to come out of hiding and build up these new settlements. I wasn’t willing to leave them to the wolves, or monsters, in this case. I was responsible for their well-being now.

  “I couldn’t really care less about that,” I said, only half under my breath.

  I felt Theo squeeze my thigh in warning. I may have been on a precarious pedestal at this moment with the people of the nation, but where I sat in Ursula’s eyes was a far cry from honorary Venus. I was a threat. A threat to her future reign as the mother birthing a new nation. Talking back to the one person who held the power in our current situation probably wasn’t the smartest move, but sometimes I couldn’t help myself. I would have liked to say I could blame the beast within for the lack of control, but it was all me, and I knew it.

  “You know, Ella,” Ursula said slowly, “you did remind me of something we do need to discuss today. I’m glad you spoke up,” she said, her ice blue eyes on me with hands folding delicately on the table.

  I swallowed hard. Sometimes I wished I just kept my mouth shut. Was Ursula going to out me here in front of everyone? Her thin lips twitched up ever so slightly into what would be considered a smirk on someone else. On her, I knew it was merely the face of a cat about to pounce on her mouse.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “I STILL THINK if I have to go, you should come with me,” I half said, half pouted.

  Pouting wasn’t a strong suit of mine, but for the second time I was saying goodbye to Theo for an indeterminate amount of days and for what would have been considered our honeymoon.

  Theo pulled me close and wrapped me into a hug as we stood in the open air of the transport docking lot. It was only a short walking distance from the opening of the headquarters. Unlike our current home that was inside half-open caverns, the lot was a quarter mile down from the mountains and in an open field. Several regular transports, as well as some military grade ones, were all set out in the oblong-shaped field, exposed to the elements.

  Circling the clearing were thick, tall pine trees. They reached higher into the sky than even the two-hundred-year-old trees in the Communities, making me wonder just how real the desolation of the planet was. Theo had opted to walk down the dirt path to the clearing with me. It had been a silent hike down the mountain. As much as I was dying to ask Theo his take on our morning gathering in Ursula’s office, I had kept my mouth shut thanks to the lone figure walking in front of us.

  Jake either hadn’t told his mother about me, or she had decided not to play that hand just yet. Either way, what I thought was going to be a big outing party that morning had been nothing more than an assignment to a settlement I had yet to see.

  She even went as far to name others who would also be going on this cryptic mission she was handing out. The small band included me, a half unit of Fighters—to be assigned by Jorge—Jessica, who was once in charge of my hair and make-up for camera opts (though her place now was a little confusing to me), two other names she picked out from the standing room only behind me, and Jake.

  Jake had looked just as surprised by Ursula’s announcement as I was. It was the only time our eyes met the whole of the meeting, and I could read him clearly. He was terrified at the prospect of either going out there again, or going out there with me.

  It was still unclear to me what exactly my purpose was on this new mission. A small part of me was wondering if Ursula was just hoping for a neat way to get rid of me.

  “I talked with Jorge,” Theo said, trying to reassure me in his hug. “We picked out a good team to accompany you guys. I doubt there will be any problems that far north anyway, at least from a hoard,” he added as an afterthought.

  “I think I have proven I can handle myself if the occasion arises,” I said under my breath.

  “But I don’t want you to.” Theo looked down at me in warning. “We still don’t know everything about this. Maybe you just got lucky last time. It’s not worth the risk. You’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone that close to the frost line outside of these settlers, anyway.”

  I studied the warmth of his hands interlocked with mine as he spoke.

  “Hoards stay clear of it. But you never know what my Father will have up his sleeve. You are a big target for him. If he gets news that you are up there and vulnerable, there is no telling how many of his new soldiers he will send. I want you to be safe. If an attack happens,” he said, taking on his authoritative Guardian Unit Leader voice, “you hide, run, I don’t care, but you get somewhere safe.”

  I pressed my lips together. If there was some kind of an attack, especially one seeking me out, I wasn’t going to hide while innocent settlers were killed.

  “I mean it El,” Theo said, reading my thoughts. “Promise me you won’t…you know, turn it on and try to save everyone again.”

  Though his words were serious, I could see his rich brown eyes melting with worry. I couldn’t say no to him. I rolled my eyes and nodded in defeat.

  “Good,” he said, pulling me into a hug again.

  We took a small step back from each other as Jake came up in a military transport. He parked it in the center of the clearing. Leaving it on, he jumped out of the driver seat and came to stand with us.

  “This one should be good,” he said in the awkward silence. “It might be a tight fit, but better we all squeeze into one than draw attention with a caravan.”

  It didn’t escape my attention that Jake was still trying to look everywhere but in my own direction. He was actually directing all his words to Theo. It just went to show how freaked out he was by me. I don’t think I have ever seen the two of them hold a conversation that didn’t involve being on opposite sides of opinion.

  I could already hear the voices of the others following not far behind us. Jessica could be heard above the rest. You didn’t have to ask her twice to go on a dangerous mission into the wilds with targets on our backs if it meant being around more Fighters.

  Honestly, I still didn’t see her purpose in coming along. We weren’t bringing any cameras, and I had no intention of getting dolled up just for the fun of it.

  “Did Ursula at least tell you who this contact is?” Theo asked Jake.

  “No,” Jake gave in a short, irritated answer. Jake prided himself on being his mother’s right hand. Anytime he didn’t have all the information she did was like a stab in his heart. Well, probably closer to his ego than his heart.

  “I knew she wanted to swing a way to infiltrate the Central Community,” Jake added.

  “To find the lab?” Theo asked, a little surprised by that.

  Jake furrowed his brow and shuffled his feet before answering. I could tell by his body language that he didn’t know the answer to that either.

  “She has been keeping a lot of things tight since Reynolds’s announcement. It’s not a trust thing,” he added quickly. “I think she has some sort of surprise attack to the heart of the Protectorate in the works.”

  “You mean she wants to take the fight straight to the Capital. Take it down from the inside out,” Theo said, half mulling the idea over in his head. “Tactically I would say it’s smart, but now with these Soldiers, an enemy that we know nothing about, it’s practically suicide. Not to mention we are only assuming that Reynolds is keeping his lab in the Central Community. Knowing my Father, he would still want to keep his big weapon close, but again I’m only guessing at that. Until we know our enemy, even the thought of attacking is useless.”

  “Well let’s hope it still is in Central. I’m pretty sure that is what Hilary is counting on as she starts that endeavor,” Jake stated flatly.

  I wondered if he would have rather had Hilary’s orders instead of ours. At least then he would know exactly what he was doing and would have the prestige of announcing he found the lab that would solve all our problems.

  “And that your supposed contact up north actually has some information that can help us,” Theo relayed back.

  Our mission was to meet a mystery contact who would be passing along what he claimed was vital information. That was all we were told, nothing more, nothing less. It seemed even Ursula hadn’t actually been informed what this person had to give. I assumed that meant he had to be someone of some power to have the mere thought of information to be enough for Ursula.

  Jake, and I guess in a small way myself, were to be liaison to this mystery informant. It was or job to determine if this information was worth whatever the person wanted in return. The price was just as unclear as the product, though.

  I thought of all people Jake would have had a little more information on who this person was. I mean, how the heck are we supposed to find them if no one knew who it was?

  “Are we all ready?” Jessica said brightly as her party joined ours. I looked for any other faces I might recognize among the half dozen fighters joining us, but I didn’t. I trusted Theo, however. If he said these were the best men for the job, then they were.

  Lifting my small bag onto my shoulder, I gave her a smile in return and a nod of agreement.

  “I’ll meet you in there,” I added to her, hinting that I wanted to say one last goodbye to Theo before we went into the transport.

  She gave a squeak that sounded so much like her mom; it was almost like I was looking into a mirror.

  “Jake, I’ll let you sit next to me if you carry my bag,” Jessica said, batting her eyelashes at him.

  I smiled to myself. Jessica trying to charm Jake. She had no idea the guy she was dealing with. Flirting was an art form to him.

  He smiled his charming smile that used to make my stomach flop and took her bag from her. He slid it on his own shoulder next to his easily. We didn’t plan to be away for long and had packed minimally for the trip.

  “I’m always willing to help a lady in need, but sadly I will be driving so I can’t sit by you.”

  “Well there is always shotgun,” she added, not backing down.

  “Sorry, Ella already called it,” he said, nudging his head to me.

  It was the first time he had acknowledged my existence.

  “Plus, we have something we need to discuss,” he added before I could deny calling shotgun.

  He didn’t wait for an answer, just turned and threw the two bags in the back of the transport already tight with men.

  “This will be good,” Theo said once everyone else was out of earshot. “Find out what he knows, and who he told. And feel free to threaten him within an inch of his life if he doesn’t keep his mouth shut about it from here on out.”

  He was using his Guardian tone again. I looked up at him, unable to hold back my smile as I squinted against the sun to see his face.

  “Didn’t you just make me promise to not go into beast mode? Jake may not look it, but he is a pretty tough guy. I don’t think I could beat him to a pulp otherwise.”

  “Oh, not you. I’ll gladly kill him. It will be nice to get rid of the competition once and for all.”

  “There is no competition,” I assured him.

  I reached up on my toes and kissed him quickly. His lips were warm from the sun, and I would have liked to stay there a while longer. I was painfully aware of the car full of people right next to us waiting to leave, however.

  He gave me a grunt suggesting he only half believed me.

  Most people looked ugly when they were green with jealousy. Even that looked handsome on Theo’s face.

  His skin was turning that perfect golden bronze with the ends of his hair bleaching out. I would guess they had been drilling outside in the open at the other headquarters before everything went to crap. I didn’t think I would ever get to a point where I could look at him without catching my breath. Words can't even express how lucky I was to have found him.

  I sat in the transport musing over the last fleeting images of Theo as we made the slow journey to our mystery meeting point. Usually, we would have reached a higher altitude and been there in less than an hour.

  We were all on high alert right now, however, and figured crossing the vast Outskirts near to the ground and risking a hoard was far safer than being detected by the Protectorate. All it would take would be one stupid Cream spotting us among the clouds and reporting it to their local Guardians for us to be shot right out of the sky.

 

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