Created (Talented Saga) (30 page)

Read Created (Talented Saga) Online

Authors: Sophie Davis

BOOK: Created (Talented Saga)
11.95Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

Victoria spoke with so much confidence that she was awe-inspiring.
Her calm demeanor left no room for doubt. Even I had to admit she was a master orator. I wasn’t the only one who felt that way, either. Just in our small command center, the readiness for a fight was palpable. She had the soldiers’ attention. Her words were mesmerizing. While I couldn’t feel their emotions through the wallscreen, I saw it on their faces; she’d gotten to the others, too.

“Councilwoman Walburton,” someone called from one of the feeds, and that rectangle zoomed to the forefront of the screen, dwarfing the other nineteen.
A male soldier with a bald head and weathered face was larger than life as he addressed Victoria.

“Yes, Captain?” she replied, acknowledging him.

“Forgive my curiosity, but are we positive a violation has occurred? These are serious charges.” His tone was clipped and he had a faint Irish lilt.

“UNITED has proof that at least four TOXIC operatives have been injected with the drug.
Two of the four have suffered through rounds of experimentation at TOXIC’s hands. I have personally evaluated each of the individuals. The evidence is irrefutable.”

I thought this might be a cue and that I was going to be called upon to speak.
But when I caught Victoria’s golden eyes, she gave an almost imperceptible shake of her perfectly-styled head.

“Councilwoman,” this time it was Councilman Tanaka’s image that flew to the center of the
wallscreen, “will our forces be facing super soldiers? What do we know about these created Talents?”

“As of right now, not as much as I would like, I am afraid,” Victoria responded.
“For a more complete answer, I will turn the floor over to the Council’s Head of Biomedical Research, Dr. Alexis Kramer.”

I glanced around the room in surprise.
I hadn’t seen Dr. Kramer enter, but there he was, dressed in khakis and a blue short-sleeved button down. He moved away from the wall where he’d been standing between two Coalition soldiers.

The doctor cleared his throat and began explaining to all twenty-one locations that we should expect Mac’s operatives to be stronger, faster, and all around better than our forces.
Their healing abilities were likely to be far superior to our own, even those of us who were naturally talented. They’d be harder to incapacitate for this reason.

I wasn’t sure if I had the authority to speak, but a question was burning a hole in my mind.
What about the operatives who were fighting against their will? Few, if any, had asked to be injected. Most had been against their will, or at least unbeknownst to them. Like Harris, many had probably been brainwashed. It wasn’t fair to kill them. As soon as Dr. Patel found a cure, those people could be saved.

“Councilwoman,” I started.

Victoria shot me a warning look, but I plunged forward before I lost my nerve. Speaking in front of this many people was new for me, and I found it extremely intimidating.

“Is the goal to capture as many of the operatives as possible so that they can be questioned?” I asked innocently.

Victoria’s smile was for the cameras. Inside she was seething; I felt her annoyance like a slap across the face. “Only the high-ranking officials. Those are the individuals UNITED is most interested in interrogating.”

“So we are to kill all the foot soldiers?” I asked like I was throwing down a challenge.

“Talia,”
Crane warned in my head.

I ignored him.
“The Council is researching a reversal drug, right? So, we could conceivably uninfect those who’ve been infected. Not all of them chose this fate.”

Murmurings from the soldiers in the command center, as well as the people on screen, filled the room.

“Good job,”
Erik sent, patting my leg under the table.

I wasn’t sure if he was being sarcastic.

“The research is far from complete. The containment facilities are not equipped to handle the thousands, possibly tens of thousands, who have been infected.” She met my gaze across the table and tried to stare me down.

I almost laughed.
For all the notes Victoria had on my life, she’d failed to see the common thread: I was not easily intimidated. I opened my mouth to argue that she hadn’t actually answered my question, when Crane
and
Erik invaded my head.

“You’ve made your point, Talia,”
Crane said.

“Don’t start a fight, Tals.
This isn’t the time,”
Erik sent.

“Any other questions before I turn the floor over?” Victoria asked.
“Ah, yes, Councilwoman Saito.” The live feed from UNITED HQ took the center of the display, and I knew my window of opportunity had passed.

That was when I realized Victoria hadn’t addressed me by name the way she had with everyone else.
I studied her, wondering if that had been a tactical decision on her part. I knew why she’d refrained from containing me, but had she told her colleagues? Was she afraid if people knew who I was that she’d be forced to defend her actions? The Council was basically ordering the extermination of the created, with the exception of Erik, Penny, and me. Harris was being taken away to be studied, which might sound to some like good fortune, but it wasn’t. His future looked bleak from where I sat.

After several more questions about TOXIC and Mac and whether the created could be killed – like we were invincible or something – Victoria introduced Captain Brand Meadows, who began a lengthy explanation of the underground metro system.
I was keenly aware that he seemed to know a lot more than Erik had told him in our brief meeting beforehand. That’s when I noticed Erik concentrating on Brand as the Captain spoke. Erik was feeding him the information mentally.

After Brand laid out the plan for both our ground attack and airstrike, Victoria introduced the men and women who would be leading the individual teams.
She left Erik out. Again, I wondered whether the oversight was intentional. He’d be leading a team from here, so only the Coalition soldiers had cause to know who he was and what he was capable of.

My mistrust for her grew by leaps and bounds.

Days seemed to pass while I was stuck in that command center. Not that poring over blueprints and debating strategy wasn’t important, or anything new for me; I just wanted to go already. I was ready to face Mac. I wanted to be the first one to reach him. Once UNITED had him in custody, the time for vengeance would be over. I wasn’t sure what the penalty for his crime was, but a quiet, painless death was too good. Maybe that made me a monster. Maybe I was a monster. Maybe I didn’t care.

Finally, we were dismissed with nothing to do but wait.
Patience wasn’t my strongest virtue, or one I had at all. My fingers twitched and my foot tapped the ground when the elevator didn’t appear the instant I pressed the call button.

“Tals, it’s almost over,” Erik told me, placing a hand at the center of my back.
“Just try to relax. I know it’s hard.”

“Relax?” I snapped and immediately felt bad about jumping down his throat.
I sighed and tried to regroup. “I’m sorry. I just … it’s just –”

“I know, Tals.
I know.”

The elevator arrived, and the two of us boarded.
I pressed the button for the medical sublevel, and the doors closed.

“Maybe we could take Alex to the beach?
I haven’t been outside yet,” Erik suggested, drawing me into his arms. He rested his chin on top of my head and worked my shirt up just enough so his hands were on my bare skin. “I bet Henri will want to come, too,” he added.

The elevator arrived on our sublevel, but neither of us moved when the doors slid open.
I tilted my head back and stared up at him through my lashes. Erik’s eyes were hooded as he bent to kiss me. My lips parted as his touched mine, and the moment was starting to get a little intense when I heard, “Get a room!” echo down the corridor behind me.

I broke the kiss and turned to see Frederick jogging towards us.

“How’d you get down here so fast?” I asked grumpily.

“I wanted to see Henri before I return to being Victoria’s personal Viewer,” Frederick replied breathlessly.
His cheeks were flushed, and he looked like he’d been the one caught making out. “Glad I ran into you two. Cadence and Randy have been relocated. They're in San Lolito. It’s not far from here. I know there’s a lot going on, but I bet if you wanted to go for a visit this afternoon, Ian would approve it.”

“Really?” I asked hopefully.
It was almost pathetic how excited seeing Cadence made me. “Wait, is she okay?”

Frederick shrugged noncommittally.
“Physically, yes. Her injuries are healing. She’s been through a lot and could really use a friend.”

Suddenly I was desperate to get away from the cottage.
War was everywhere here. The soldiers in residence rarely wore casual clothes, favoring fatigues and boots despite the hot summer air. Few people I encountered on a daily basis were devoid of physical reminders of the raids and attacks. I knew Cadence was probably still heavily bandaged, and Randy was definitely still too thin. But their new home wouldn’t have constant reminders of what was happening throughout the country.

“You’ll have to ask Ian,” Frederick repeated.
“He’ll want to send an escort with you. Tensions are high, and we can’t be too careful.”

“Tal, I’m not sure this is such a good idea,” Erik said.

“You’re the one who wants to get out,” I insisted. “Don’t you want to see them? We can take Alex and Henri. It’ll be good for us.”

Erik hesitated and I continued to plead with my eyes.

“Yeah, okay. I guess if Ian thinks it’s okay,” he finally relented.

I squealed – actually squealed – and threw my arms around Erik’s neck.

Crane thought the outing was a good idea. He thought it would prevent Victoria from trying to question Erik further and that I, too, should be kept at arm’s length after my outburst in the meeting. Janelle and Marcel were tasked with escorting our entourage on the journey. Crane said he didn’t expect any trouble, and the guards were merely for protection.

I found Marin and collected Alex and a bag of snacks for the short trip.
Henri decided to stay behind on the off chance that Frederick was able to extract himself from Victoria’s claws long enough to spend time with him. Penny also declined my invitation, being evasive about the reason. A quick swipe of her mind told me she already had plans. Brand had asked her to spend the afternoon with him, and she was giddy at the prospect.

They’d been friends for as long as Penny could remember.
Her crush on him dated back to early childhood. She worried his proposal of an afternoon hike and picnic was just a distraction for him, and not the date she was envisioning. I considered telling her Brand was head over heels for her, but decided she’d find out the truth soon enough.

I was happy for her.
It warmed my insides to see their relationship going somewhere. Besides, maybe spending a little quality time with Penny would loosen Brand up and make him more pleasant to be around.

Hugging Penny, I told her to have fun.
Her cheeks flushed pink as images of how she wanted to spend the afternoon filled her head. Exercise was on the agenda, but my best friend hoped it wouldn’t come in the form of hiking.

Erik, Alex, and I stopped by to say goodbye to Mr. Kelley, who was getting ready to leave on his scouting mission.
The three soldiers assigned to protect him were not names I recognized, but Mr. Kelley assured us they were competent. I had my doubts about how his leg would survive the expedition. Apparently Dr. Patel did, too, because he stopped by while we were there to reiterate his displeasure.

“I’ll be fine,” Mr. Kelley assured us.
“I’m in good hands, and President Crane’s contacts in Virginia are expecting us. There won’t be any trouble.”

“I could go instead, Dad,” Edmond insisted.

“No, son, they need you for the hard stuff. You need to lead the soldiers in. That is more important.”

“Then I’ll go,” Evan offered.

“You’re too young,” Mr. Kelley said sternly. “Besides, I know the tunnels best.”

I hugged Mr. Kelley and wished him luck.
He made me promise to keep Erik safe and to make sure he made it home alive. I heard him ask Erik to make the same promise about me.

All of us, Mr. Kelley, Edmond, Evan, Erik, Alex and I, rode the elevator upstairs together.
In the cottage driveway, we said our final goodbyes. I watched Mr. Kelley board a small four-seater hovercar with his escorts and their pilot. Then Erik, Alex, and I crammed into the backseat of another small craft with Janelle and Marcel in the front.

Janelle took the pilot’s seat, dark shades covering her marble eyes.
She’d been sitting with Harris when Crane had called her away to go with us. The shades were more to hide her red-rimmed eyes than to block the sun. She kept sniffling and wiping her cheeks. From her mind, I learned Harris was being transported ahead of schedule, that evening in fact. Guilt gnawed at my insides. Janelle had wanted to stay with Harris until he left. Instead she was ferrying me around and all because I’d been somehow both too bored and too anxious to sit in the cottage for another minute.

Other books

Linda Needham by My Wicked Earl
El sueño de Hipatia by José Calvo Poyato
Immortal With a Kiss by Jacqueline Lepore
Freya by Anthony Quinn
No Dawn for Men by James Lepore