Code, p.21
Code, page 21
Josephine unhooked the top button of her black cloak and draped it behind her. “No, thank you. I had a glass of wine on the way. And a delicious sandwich. I hadn’t had one in a long while. We’re always eating fine meals during our meetings. I actually favor simple food.”
“I have to admit, I’m the same way,” San said. “Have you tried Crazy Burgers?”
“No. I’ve never heard of it.”
Mr. San’s eyes rounded. “They’re the best. They not only serve burgers, but the best pastrami sandwiches.”
She practically drooled over the imagined fast food. “I’ll have to try it.”
“I’ll take you. It’ll be a date.” His cheeks colored and he tried again. “I meant—”
“I know what you meant.” Josephine crossed her legs and relaxed her muscles. The light conversation eased her tension. “Besides, I owe you a meal. You saved my life.”
He flashed a quick grin. “I have kept my word. You do what I ask and I keep you safe.”
“So, let’s get back to Verlot, shall we? Has he given you any new information?”
“No, but he asked for you.” San flashed a glance at his TAB that beeped to indicate a message, but he ignored it.
Josephine furrowed her brow. “Why?” She supposed she shouldn’t be surprised. He probably wanted to assault her with his words.
He rose from his seat and grabbed his TAB. “Shall we?”
Josephine followed him out the door and gaped at the glass wall. His people were monitoring streets and highways in different regions.
“They’re searching for any unusual activity,” San said. “Our goal is to intercept the special beings before ISAN does.”
“How many?”
“So far, about twenty.”
“May I see them?”
“Come, this way.”
Mr. San had assured Josephine ANS was different than ISAN, but confining them and testing their abilities seemed no different to her. However, he claimed their testing was voluntary, and San would help them utilize and contain their abilities. She supposed it was a good thing. Transparency went a long way toward trust.
After going down a long hallway, San entered a grand chamber. A group of female teens were strapped in chairs with metal bands over their foreheads.
“They’re getting their brainwaves and pulse measured,” San explained. “We’re studying the relationship to high activities, stress, temperature, and how these variables affect their gifts.”
They moved on to the next group. The girls ran faster than possible on the treadmill.
“This scene needs no explanation.” His lips twisted. “Unless you would like me to explain what they are doing?”
“No. I think I get the picture.” She smiled.
His soft eyes lingered on her mouth, then turned. “Here, tucked in a special corner, our specialist works one-on-one with them. We learn the extent of their power. When we discover their abilities, we teach them how to control and manipulate, so they may return to society, knowing they are safe to themselves and to the citizens.”
“I like that plan,” Josephine said, gazing at the first window.
Inside the square room was a woman with a white lab coat and a girl about sixteen years of age, talking. The girl wore a comfortable sweat outfit with her long hair tied back.
She seemed focused, and most important, content as she listened to the instructor’s instruction. San tabbed a metal panel against the wall, allowing their conversation to be heard.
“Charlotte. You ready? If you feel uncomfortable or if you’re not ready, let me know. We can try another day.”
Charlotte nodded.
“They can’t see you.” San answered Josephine’s unspoken question.
Charlotte’s unblinking eyes focused on the stack of bricks, five layers. Silence filled the space as Josephine anticipated what she would do. When Charlotte placed her hand on top, a spider line crack formed. The splinter spread and split the first brick in half. Then she did the same to the second brick.
The girl panted, wiping beads of sweat off her forehead. “I can’t. It’s all I can do.”
The instructor set her hand on Charlotte’s shoulder. “You did great. Don’t worry about the other bricks. With practice, it will come easier.”
If the interaction between them was any indication of what this facility was about, then Josephine felt assured these girls were in good hands.
San took her to the next stall. A male instructor flipped a girl onto a mat. She was blindfolded, and she landed hard.
“What is he doing?” Josephine’s voice was razor-sharp. She didn’t like how the girl had been tossed about.
San disregarded her panic and said, “Just watch. When Paula is on cue, she’s quite impressive.”
“I can do this.” Paula rose with determination. She extended her arms like an antenna, still blindfolded.
The instructor moved swiftly to her left and right. Paula shifted toward the sound, but if the instructor were to tackle her, she would fall.
Josephine folded her arms, anticipating the worst. The instructor edged toward the girl’s back. Paula had missed the movement, and was facing the wrong way. She was done for.
But Paula whirled and blocked a punch from her instructor. She clutched his arm and flipped him over, blindfolded all the while.
The instructor took off her cloth, gleaming with pride. “That was brilliant. I knew you could do it.”
“I homed in on my ability,” she said. “I heard your arm move and I felt the direction. It’s unbelievable.”
“Their senses are heightened beyond imagining,” San said and directed Josephine out of the room.
They rounded to another hallway and went down the stairs. Cool air and the dim lighting gave Josephine goosebumps. They passed through the first metal door into Verlot’s cell.
Verlot placed the book he was reading on the mattress and met her at the glass barrier. His room was spacious enough—a cot, toilet, and sink. He had plenty of room to move about. And for a prison, the place didn’t stink of urine.
San pressed a button on the panel next to the cell door. Voices could be heard both ways.
“How kind of you to visit me, Councilor Chang,” Verlot spat, his face contorting.
Josephine glared. “I assure you, the pleasure is not mine. Why have you requested to see me?”
“I’ve missed you.” His malicious smile did nothing to ease Josephine’s anxiousness, even behind bars.
“Say what you have to say or I’m leaving. You’re wasting my time. Next time you ask for me, I won’t come.”
Verlot strolled back to his cot and sat. “I have nothing to say. Like I said, I’ve missed your pretty face. Oh, wait. Have you heard the news lately? Anything regarding my absence?”
“No one cares,” Josephine said flatly.
“Well, don’t worry. My people are working behind the scenes. You know I’m not the only one running ISAN, don’t you? Why don’t you tell her, San? Or are you trying to hide information from her? We worked well together until you betrayed me. Do you plan to do the same to her?”
San stiffened, then met Josephine’s gaze. “I was going to tell you. Novak is Dr. Hunt.”
“What?” It took a second for her to register his words, and another second to ask him to repeat it.
“Dr. Hunt created a new identity for himself: Novak. He dyed his hair black and wore brown contact lenses. He’s also had his voice deepened.”
“Who told you this?” Josephine couldn’t believe it.
San opened up his TAB and pulled up hologram images of Novak and Dr. Hunt. “My team figured it out and Verlot confirmed it. Apparently, Verlot was the only person who knew. They planned it together. If you add the changed elements on Dr. Hunt, you can see the resemblance is uncanny.”
“Then that means Ava’s father is Novak?” Josephine’s voice came out in a whisper as she stared through the barrier, looking at the clean sink.
“Ava is missing.” San closed the TAB. “She might be with Novak as we speak. Do you think she would side with her father?”
Josephine crossed her arms, holding herself centered. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. All this time, Novak and Dr. Hunt were one person.
“No.” She laced her fingers though her hair and let out air. “I met Ava at the rebel base. She’s committed.”
“Not if she’s lobotomized.” Verlot picked up the book and pretended to read.
Josephine pounded once on the glass. “What do you mean?”
She knew what he meant, but she needed to hear it from the devil’s mouth.
“You should relearn your history, Councilor,” Verlot said. “And you might want to ask San why he hasn’t told you Zen’s whereabouts.”
San scowled at him.
“What’s he talking about?” Josephine said with an even tone.
San clicked the button on the panel. “Verlot can’t hear our conversation.” He pressed something on his TAB and faced her, his back to the prisoner. “I was going to tell you, but he beat me to it.”
She frowned. “It’s the first thing you should have said to me when I got here.”
“Relax, Councilor. My men are on their way. They were instructed to park their glider at a distance and march on foot. We want Novak surrounded and surprised.”
Josephine felt a little better. “I can contact Vince. He could have a team there as well.”
“There’s no need. I’ve got it covered.” His astute tone indicated his decision was final.
Josephine shifted in her stance, her feet aching from standing all day. “What do you mean by ‘I’ve got it covered?’”
“Councilor. You can trust me. We’re on the same team.”
His genuine tone suggested she could, but she was not used to taking orders. Josephine wanted details.
“I’m sending my team,” she said with conviction. “My team knows Zen and the rebel crew. It’s best to send a squad that knows how to work together.”
San rubbed his chin, contemplating. “Fine. Your team has twenty-four hours to retrieve them.”
She gripped his arm when he turned to walk away. “What happens if they need more time?”
San grabbed the hand still clutching his sleeve and slowly peeled it off. “Then my team intervenes.”
Josephine narrowed her eyes. “I don’t understand. Why can’t they—” As she spoke, she finally realized his intentions. “Your team isn’t planning to go inside, are they? You’re going to destroy the facility. There are citizens in there. My people. You can’t just blow up the place.”
“Novak will be in there with his best assassins and assets. I think it’s about time we take down a key player.”
“And what about my crew?” Her eyebrows pinched at the center. “You’re not allowed to strike until every one of them is out, do you hear me? As one of the Remnant Councilors, I’m commanding you.”
For the first time, they weren’t seeing eye to eye. Perhaps they never had.
San’s eyes were glacier cold. It seemed he didn’t like to be ordered. “Councilor, you are a novice to the world of ISAN. Do keep in mind I’ve been at this longer than you. Finding any of their bases is like finding a needle in a haystack. When a once-in-a-lifetime chance comes by, we do not let it go. This is a battle. If we don’t win these battles, a war will be inevitable. Because you are a Remnant Councilor, I will back down for twenty-four hours. Come nightfall, regardless of who is in or out of the facility, I’m going to blow it up.”
Josephine stared hard at this unfathomable man. He’d been good to her. He’d even saved her life. How could this be the same man? She had to take into account that he’d been fighting a war with ISAN long before she’d known both networks existed.
Josephine would give him the benefit of the doubt that he was not a cold-hearted being. But he was tired and wanted the battle to end. Still, how could he mean to blow up the facility with her people inside?
Never.
She would never let that happen.
Chapter Thirty-Seven — New Hope
Momo
Some of Momo’s friends had to share a room with four or more people. Others had to share with people they didn’t know. The rooms were shoebox-sized with two bunk beds, a single dresser, and a small desk and a chair.
Momo considered herself lucky to bunk with Coco, Jo, and Marissa. Momo didn’t know how that happened, but she wasn’t going to complain. She had washed and changed into spare clothes—a mismatch of sweatshirts and pants—a size too big, but at least they were clean.
Coco was already in bed on the bottom bunk. Instead of climbing to the second level, she tucked under the blanket with her friend. Not the first time, and she knew Coco wouldn’t mind. Sometimes, Momo slept better next to her friend.
Momo felt fortunate to have a place to go, a place to call a home. She missed Hope City, their hideout they had built, but she missed Bobo more. Momo thought about him every day. Sometimes, she’d forget he was gone, but she would never forget him. She shifted on her side, trying to find a comfortable position on the flat pillow, careful not to wake her friend.
Why did bad things happen to good people? Like Debbie, their leader, and the rest of their crew who died in that blast. Momo said a silent prayer for them and ended with, “You will always be remembered. Renegades forever.”
Momo knew it wasn’t their fault, wasn’t her fault, but the truth was, they hadn’t gotten to Debbie in time. Time had been crucial, especially for Rhett and his team. They’d also needed a lot of luck to find Ava and Naomi.
Momo wanted to go with Rhett, but he wouldn’t let her. She understood his reasoning, but he also had to understand that she was capable. Momo had grown up the second she’d held a weapon. She had seen gore, death, and destruction.
Momo was an assassin and one of the leads for her team. She could handle more than he believed, and she wished he would stop treating her like a child.
Momo flashed her eyes opened when Jo entered the room, Marissa shadowing behind her. Jo’s jeans, though faded, fit her well, and so did her blue sweater.
“What’s going on?” Momo sat up and studied Marissa’s concerned gaze, and then Jo digging into her backpack on the desk by the door, her movements frantic.
Coco sat up, rubbing her eyes. She smiled at Momo and then shifted her gaze. “Jo. Are you going somewhere?”
“No. I was ...” Jo paused for a good measure, staring at nothing in particular. “Vince told me...”
Momo hated when adults paused to think and didn’t finish their sentences. It was like reading the last chapter in a novel that had a cliffhanger.
Jo opened the door when a soft knock echoed in their small space. So strange for it not to open on its own. Momo wasn’t used to places that had been built with no advanced technology.
A man wearing dark jeans and a black T-shirt with big muscles, maybe bigger than Rhett’s, stood over the threshold.
“Vince?” Jo sounded surprised. “How can I help you?”
Speak of the devil.
Vince eyed the younger girls but didn’t bother to address them. “Can I talk to you privately?”
What Jo said next made Momo’s jaw drop.
“Momo and Coco are in charge of our group when I’m not around, so whatever you have to say, you can tell them too. So why don’t you come inside and talk to us? No sweeping details under the rug. We need to know exactly what’s going on. They may look like kids to you, but I assure you when you get to the battlefront you’ll want them beside you, not behind you. The more they know, the better.”
Vince’s twisted lips hinted at a frown. “Fine. My men spotted a group of young ones, kids around Momo’s age, in the south territory. They’re all wearing caps that said Renegades.”
Coco’s eyes beamed, but Momo dared not hope.
“Where?” Jo’s hand shot up to her chest as if to hold in her heart.
Vince peered in farther into the room. “They’ve been moving around the same neighborhood. The coordinates indicate they’re near the structure ISAN blew up.”
Jo anchored her hand on the back of the chair. “Do you have a close-up frame?”
“No. My men didn’t want to scare them so they kept their distance. If we were able to spot them, then the chances are ISAN might have too.”
“I should go,” Jo said.
Vince leaned against the door. “You can’t go alone. I can assign you a group, but I can’t ask Rhett’s people since he’s not here.”
“I don’t need your men.” Jo glanced between the girls. “This should be dealt with a small squad. I’m going to take Coco and Momo with me. I just need to borrow a glider.”
“Very well. You can go tomorrow.”
“Thank you.” Jo tipped her head forehead. “Why was your team there?”
“Councilor Chang had asked me to check it out. So you can thank her. I also stopped by to let you know I’m on my way to meet Councilor Chang. If you need anything, you can talk to Nick, Jill, or Katina. Sleep well.” He gave a curt nod to all of them and left.
Momo couldn’t believe what she’d heard, but she hoped with all her heart that Debbie and the other half of her team was alive. Tomorrow. She couldn’t wait to scout.
Marissa tugged on Jo’s sweater. “You said you were taking Momo and Coco. Can I come too?”
Marissa was the smallest and the shyest one in their group. She looked even smaller, wearing a sweatshirt double her size.
Jo regarded her for a second, and then stroked her blonde hair. “I think it’s best if you stay.”
Marissa shifted sharply, moving away from Jo as her features contorted with hurt. “Is it because you think I’ll get in the way?”
Momo had wondered what ISAN saw in Marissa. Besides having the ability to heal, she was no soldier. She had a difficult time in training and kids made fun of her. Momo had never been on the same team with Marissa, so she decided not to judge her.
“No, of course not,” Jo said. “I’d rather not risk too many lives if I can help it.”
Marissa stomped her foot once, her face coloring. Momo had never seen her like this.
