Code, p.19
Code, page 19
I hadn’t heard him come into my room. What was his problem? I soon found out when I slid off the bed and turned to him by the door. I snarled at the sight of Gene. Of course he would be there. Novak would want to tell Justine about the both of us.
Justine was going to get the shock of her life, just as I had when I’d found out Gene was my psycho brother.
“You don’t seem happy to see me, sister,” Gene said.
“Well, that shouldn’t be anything new to you.” I passed him and exited behind Payton.
Payton, who usually strode beside me, walked briskly ahead.
“What’s wrong, Payton? Are you upset?” Gene would get a punch for his tone if he didn’t stop pestering.
Payton banked left and continued to ignore him.
I rushed to Payton. “Is Justine here?”
Payton met my eyes with sympathy and lowered his voice. “Yes. I hope it goes well for your sake. You know how Justine is.”
“Honestly, I don’t care what she thinks. I don’t like it any more than she does. It is what it is.” The last sentence was Rhett’s phrase. My heart swelled. I missed him so much. “Can you do me a favor? Can you check the system and see if Rhett or any of my friends have been captured?”
“I’ll do my best.”
“What are you two whispering about?” Gene said.
I imagined Gene grinning with sardonic pleasure. He was trying to rile us up. Well, it worked, but I wasn’t going to allow him to get the best of me.
Payton and I turned our heads to say, “Shut up.”
I rolled my eyes when Gene snarled behind us.
The door slid open to the lab with the CODE baby. Justine and Novak came into view, standing a few yards from the hub.
Justine blanched at the sight of me, then her gaze bounced from Payton to Gene. She reached for a weapon, but she carried none.
“Ava? Why is she here?” Justine bit out.
Novak walked toward me and stood in the middle, a solid divider between Justine and me. More for my sake than hers.
“Meet your siblings, Justine,” Novak said. “They already know about you.”
“All of them?” Justine ground out, sounding like a spoiled child who had just been told she had to share her toys.
“No, not Payton,” Novak said. “Ava is your half sister and Gene is your half brother.”
Justine gave me once over, then she did the same to Gene. “This is a joke, right?” She glared at Novak, a vein on her neck twitching. “Why are you doing this? And Gene? He’s a psychotic nerd. You’ve got to be kidding. What does Ava have over you, Father?”
“Justine, calm down.” Surprisingly, Novak’s tone was passive. “Ava and Gene are twins. I’m their father.”
“Are they CODE children too?”
CODE children too?
Gene cocked his head, squaring his eyes at Justine with contempt. “I don’t like it any more than you do. How do you think I felt? You’re just a CODE child. I will never think of you as a real sister. You’re a freak.”
Justine bristled, her face the same color as Gene’s red sweater. “Nobody calls me freak, you freak.”
I gaped. Had Gene known Justine was a CODE child before? I should be used to Gene knowing more than I did. The fact that Justine didn’t deny it or ask questions meant it must be true.
“Stop this instant,” Novak barked. “You’re both acting like children. I brought Justine here to make amends with Ava, and also to tell her about her family. I’ve appointed Justine to lead the CODE soldiers. And soon, Ava and Gene will lead all of ISAN as we prepare for war.”
“What?” Justine growled. “Then that means Ava will be head of all units?”
Gene gave a satisfied smirk. “Oh, thank God I’m with Ava.”
Justine’s nostrils flared, her jaw clenching. “I wasn’t talking to you, idiot.”
Gene walked past Novak and stood closer to Justine. “The only idiot in this room is you.”
Payton, standing on the other side of me, flinched when Justine slapped Gene. She tried to do it again, but Gene caught her hand and locked her in his arm with a twist.
“Let go of me.” Justine struggled in his grasp. Then she flipped him over and backed away, rubbing at her arm. “Don’t touch me, freak.”
Novak waved a hand. “Enough, before I send you both to solitary.”
Seriously? A time out? Let them kill each other and save me the trouble.
Justine unflexed and flexed her fingers. “Send me back. I don’t want to be here.”
Gene got up, slicked his hair back, and straightened his sweater. “Justine is not ISAN material. Just kill her and be done with her. She knows too much.”
Justine’s eyes grew wild and focused on Novak like a scared little mouse. When he didn’t answer, she said hurriedly, “I take it back. I’ll stay. I’ll do whatever you want me to do.”
A sly, secretive grin spread on Novak’s face.
Justine craned her neck to focus on the CODE baby near her, and cradled her arms to her center. Gene continued to glare at Justine. Payton kept quiet, stiff as a log. As for me, I’d had enough.
Novak could plan and pretend I would be the perfect daughter he wanted. Never would I side with him. Never would I think of him as my father, or Gene as my brother, or Justine as my half sister.
Never!
NEVER.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Novak asked when I strolled toward the door.
“Back to my room. You’re all are crazy.”
“But then you’ll never get to see my surprise, Ava.”
Something about his tone raked a chill up my middle. I halted just before the sensor.
“Gene, would you like to do the honors?” Novak asked.
Gene’s lips curved upward, the sly grin said he was going to enjoy what lay ahead. Something terrible was about to happen. I felt it in my gut.
When Gene reached the table in the center, he tabbed on the monitor, and a light flickered. Then people in separate cells appeared on a hologram screen.
I had prepared for the worst, but this ... I never would have guessed. Novak told me he was going to send them off on a wild-goose chase. And I, foolishly, had hoped he would do something he promised for once.
Rhett, Ozzie, Reyna, Tamara, Cleo, Mia, and a new girl were locked in individual cells. Even Naomi was there. Rhett sat on a cot with his head down, cupping his face. He must regret coming here.
The camera moved to the last cell, showing a figure I knew too well. I almost shouted with joy, but managed to swallow it. I didn’t want to give Gene any reason to ask Novak to turn the monitor back on. Gene had been too busy snarling at Justine and hadn’t seen it.
Brooke was alive.
Seeing her gave me new hope and inspiration. We girls should lift each other up, support each other. We should ignite each other’s beautiful souls and not douse them in darkness. And that was the kind of friendship I had with some of the girls at the rebel base.
Novak watched me closely. “All I have to do is send a signal, and then well, you know what will happen.”
I hate you. I hate you with every fiber of my being.
“There’s no need for that.” I had to think fast. One way or another, I needed time with Justine alone, to get her on my side. Novak hadn’t said anything about me hurting Gene, so I pounced on him.
Gene pressed the coin-sized gadget as I expected. My body sizzled in midair and dropped. I curled up in the fetal position as pain seized my body. I quaked like a fish out of water, a knife slicing through me again and again.
As the effect dwindled, unlike the first time, I drew the power and absorbed it into my system to save for my day of glory. I must have looked like I had gone to hell and back. I sure felt like it. When I managed to peer up, I met Justine’s horrified eyes, her jaw slackened.
I’d thought she might smile, or perhaps even laugh. Instead, she lacked for words, her expression haunted.
Novak shook his head, standing inches from me. Still on the floor, I didn’t attempt to move as I rode out the pain.
I’m so sorry, Rhett. You fell in love with someone like me. Now you and my friends will pay the price.
“This did not go as I had planned.” Novak narrowed his eyes on me as if I had disappointed him. “Gene, come with me. Justine, stay with your sister. When she’s ready, bring her to the dining room. We’re having a family dinner.”
Good. What I’d hope he would say.
Justine’s face sharpened with aggression. “Why do I have to stay behind? And she’s not my sister. She’ll never be my sister.”
Novak must have given her a death glare. Something shut her up.
“Fine.” Her voice softened and she nudged me with the toe of her boot. “Get up. I don’t want to wait here longer than I have to. This place gives me the creeps.”
Just you wait until I’m fully recovered. You’ll have a thing or two coming from me.
I waited until Novak and Gene were out before prying myself up. I didn’t want them to see how fast I recovered now, compared to the previous times I’d been electrocuted. My muscles had learned to tolerate the stimulant, but the agony was still the same.
No matter. I could endure the suffering as long as I had my mobility.
“Hurry up. Get up. What’s wrong with you?” Justine spat, but there was a hint of concern in her voice.
“Did you seriously forget what they did to me?” I wanted to match her callous tone, but I had no energy.
Justine crossed her arms and bit her finger, regarding me jadedly.
“Have you known all along?” I asked as I flipped over and lay on my back.
Her eyelashes fluttered. “Known what?”
“That you’re a CODE baby?”
“No. I just found out,” she murmured.
I was shocked by her honesty—more so that she answered at all.
“It doesn’t make you any less of a human being, you know.” I pushed up on my knees and brushed fingers through my hair.
“I never told you I thought of myself as less.”
Her jealousy always got the better of her. It was always about her trying to best me in everything.
The tingling sensation along my fingertips began to wear off, and I moved with more fluidity. I didn’t know what I had done to deserve this animosity, but I had to fix it. If I could get her on my side, she would be one more person to help me escape.
“I never thought you were less than me,” I said and rose. “In fact, I always thought Novak had made a mistake assigning me as a lead. He should have given that position to you.”
She scrunched her features, then a hint of a reserved smile showed. “Well, I’m glad we agree on something.”
I straightened my shirt. “Not just one thing. I don’t like Gene. He is such a nerd and completely psychotic. So that makes two things we have in common.” I flashed a grand smile.
Justine lowered her hands to her side, her rigid stance relaxing. “He’s a prick. Novak kiss-ass.”
And you’re not? I almost laughed, but I agreed with her with a straight face.
I rubbed at my temples and released a sigh. “I can’t believe we’re half sisters.”
“Well, it came as a surprise to me too.” She grimaced. “We don’t even look alike. People might not ... Let’s not tell anyone about this. I don’t want anyone to know I’m related to Gene.”
I raised my hand halfway. “I won’t, but those who know you are Novak’s daughter might put two and two together if they find out Gene and I are twins and Novak is our father.”
Justine shot out a disgusted noise. Then she asked, “You’re not here of your own free will, are you?”
“No, I’m not.” I looked where the hologram screen had been. “If I don’t find a way to release my friends, he’s going to kill them.”
She scoffed. “You’re still with the rebels.”
She needed to know about her father and all the horrible things he’d done. I didn’t know how she would perceive the things I was going to tell her but I had to try.
I told her how Novak took the assassins’ memories to ensure their compliance. I told her how he not only grew infants in the pod, but had them lobotomized to mold them to be perfect soldiers. And still more, about the protein drink and how we didn’t need Helix to access our abilities.
When I finished, Justine’s stoic expression turned sour. I’d thought I had gotten through to her, but instead she lashed out.
“You’re lying. You ... you want ... He ... Novak is....” She paused between words as if unable to make up her mind.
I huffed in frustration and shoved my hands inside my pockets to keep from strangling her. “Just to be clear. I hate Novak. If I ever get the chance, I’m going to kill him and your half brother, Gene. He hurt Brooke. If he had his way, he would kill you without any hesitation. If you want to leave ISAN, you can come with me. Think about what kind of life you want. The choice is yours. It always has to be yours.”
She blinked and blinked, soaking in my declaration, or rather astounded by it.
“Well ... I don’t ... I think ... this is too much. You don’t know what you’re talking about.” She sounded defensive and afraid.
Perhaps that was a good sign.
“No one has the right to direct your life.” I walked away.
“Where’re you going?” Justine’s footsteps padded behind me when I took off. “Wait. I’m supposed to take you. You can’t walk yourself. That will make me seem incompetent. Please.”
I halted by the door with a roll of my eyes and waved her forward. I couldn’t believe I was going to let her have her way, but she’d said please.
This could be a start of a beautiful sisterhood ... nope. Who was I kidding?
Chapter Thirty-Three — Family Dinner
Ava
Justine kept close enough for me to follow her, but she made an effort not to walk beside me. I didn’t mind. Probably better that way. She might say something to trigger my temper and I might do something I’d regret. We had made some sort of progress and I didn’t want to hamper it.
Back there, in that room, was the most we’d ever said to each other about something that wasn’t related to a mission. Our conversation about her joining the resistance might backfire, and I was risking the chance she would squeal to Novak, but I took a gamble that there was more to her than just an ISAN assassin. She must want more.
Justine strolled in first at dinner, her demeanor guarded. With her back tall, she held up her chin. As for me, I focused my attention on Gene, who appeared in my line of vision next to Novak, drinking wine, and then my mother across from them.
My mother never lifted her eyes from the assortment of food on her plate. Either she didn’t hear us or she simply refused to look up.
Unlike her attire at the garden, she wore a long spring dress with a flower pattern. Her hair was nicely combed and her light makeup brought out her features, making her look more alive. Regardless, I knew her true self was in slumber, locked up in the dark recesses of the hell Novak had created for her.
“Welcome. Have a seat.” Novak waved at the empty seats. “We were waiting for you.”
I pulled up a chair next to Mother, and Justine sat on the opposite of Gene. I ran a finger along the ridges of the fine oak table. A bouquet of red roses in a vase sent a pleasant scent in the air. Mother’s flowers from her garden.
The elegant white dishes with gold trim angered me. While the rebels at Hope City ate from old cracked dishes, Novak ate from fine china. But there was no Hope City. I had no idea who had survived besides my imprisoned friends.
“Sweetheart,” he said to my mother, “I want you to meet Justine. You remember me talking about her, don’t you?”
Novak’s tender voice made my skin crawl. Mother hummed instead of giving Novak her attention. She glanced about the simple room that held only a dining table, chairs, a couple of paintings of sunflowers, and nothing else.
Novak propped his elbows on the table, his fingers entwined. “Justine, this is Avary. I don’t expect you to call her Mom, but she is your stepmother.”
Gene twisted to fully face Novak. “You’ve got to be joking, Father. She’s a pod prodigy. She’s not ...” He grimaced at Justine, searching for words.
Justine gripped her spoon, her hand trembling. “You say that one more time, and I’ll—”
“Justine is more human than you’ll ever be,” I said. “Don’t understate her intelligence, her beauty, or her ability.”
Justine gawked at me.
Gene fluttered his eyelashes, looking hurt. “What does it mean to be human, sister? I would like to know.”
Mother flinched. I placed a hand on her thigh to calm her. She still wouldn’t look at me.
I squared my gaze on Gene’s. “Being human means to be better than you think you are. To test the boundaries. Sometimes it means giving more of yourself. Even if it’s hard.”
“Enough, Ava,” Father said.
“It means doing the right thing even when others are against you.”
“I said enough.”
Novak’s loud scolding didn’t stop me.
“Being human means to live. Living means loving someone, and them loving you back. To know what it’s like to have friends. All these things you know nothing of.”
Novak pounded his fist on the table, the crimson liquid in the wine glass undulating like the ocean. “Eat your dinner.” Novak scooped up rice pilaf with his spoon and shoved it in his mouth as if he hadn’t just had a temper tantrum.
I’d said more than I meant to, but sometimes ... sometimes words were stronger than action.
Justine’s perky lips tugged a bit at the corner. She tried to hide it, but I had seen it. Mission accomplished.
After escaping ISAN, I’d learned what it truly meant to live. I learned that I should surround myself with good people, people who lift your spirit, people who forgive you when you make mistakes, people who love and support you for who you are and all that you can be.
If Justine could feel and experience what I had been through, I was sure she’d change, too. You don’t know what you could have if it’s never offered.
I at least had a mother who loved me unconditionally. She had been the first person to show me there was love and good in this word. But Justine ... she only had Novak. What kind of role model was he? It was no wonder she’d turned out the way she had.
