Inescapable (Talented Saga #7) (11 page)

Transfixed by whatever was taking place on
his communicator’s screen, my babysitter didn’t look up.

“
Nothing?” I
prompted.

“
Can’t say I have,” he
muttered.

“
Thanks, Nicci. I really
don’t know what I’d do without you and your wildly helpful ways,” I
grumbled. Yocum spared a shrug, and I returned my attention to the
I-pub.

According to the article, Selby was a local
townswoman the reporter interviewed for this particularly
hard-hitting piece of journalistic work. Ms. Masterson went on
record to say that Mr. Duquesne was “a bit unstable” and “prone to
ranting.” Apparently, good ole Franz even believed he’d been the
victim of several alien abductions.

“
Maybe once I get out,
Victoria will let me take a fieldtrip to France,” I said to the
uninterested Yocum. “It’s not every day you get to look into the
mind of an alien abductee. Franz’s head is probably a fascinating
place.”

Yocum didn’t seem to find the prospect at
all interesting. In fact, he couldn’t have been more disinterested
in me and my boring new store of knowledge.

Staring intently at the guard, I was tempted
to compel him into conversing with me. Finally, after ignoring my
penetrating stare for an impressively long time, Agent Yocum tore
his gaze from the communicator in his hands. His expression was
uncharacteristically grim, as though someone had just plucked the
feathers from his pet canary.

“
Did you lose your latest
round of
Bubble Kingdom
?” I asked, barely suppressing a smile. “Or, wait, have you
been abducted by an alien before? Oh, please,
please
tell me that you—”

“
Agent Kelley was
attacked.”

My snarky follow-up died on my lips.

“
W-what?” I stammered. “Is
he okay? When? What the hell happened? Who attacked him? I
will
kill
them.”

Every thought on Erik, I couldn’t contain
the stream of questions, concern, and anger bubbling up inside of
me.

Yocum slid his sunglasses up onto his head,
revealing pinprick black pupils surrounded by colorless irises. The
first time I’d seen his eyes, the sight had been so unnerving that
I’d actually spit milk all over my lumpy fauxt-meal. With Erik’s
wellbeing occupying every corner of my brain, I barely registered
the oddness.

“
Councilwoman Walburton
told you earlier that Agent Kelley was scheduled to speak at a
peace rally in Manhattan this morning?” Yocum prompted.

“
Yes, she did,” I replied,
willing him to get to the point.

“
It appears he was attacked
there, on his way from the helicopter to the stage.”

My heart skipped several beats. This
couldn’t be happening.

Victoria had assured me that Erik was
surrounded by bodyguards at all times. From her descriptions, my
boyfriend couldn’t shower without an audience. So how the hell
could someone get close enough to attack him?

“
Where was Erik’s
protection detail during the attack?” I posed the question aloud.
“Where was Miles? And Penny? Isn’t she with him? How badly is he
injured? Oh, shit. Was Penny hurt, too?”

“
Look, Talia…” Yocum began,
gaze darting nervously around the small cell. There were no cameras
in the interiors of the cell, only in the hallways of Vault, so I
wasn’t sure what he was so worried about. Even if a camera with
full audio was pointed directly at him with the entirety of
UNITED’s council watching with rapt attention, I wouldn’t have
cared.

“
Don’t,” I snapped. “Don’t
you dare tell me the information is classified. Erik is my
boyfriend. My
family
. I have a right to know what happened.”

Yocum gritted his teeth. “It’s not
classified, but you know I’m not supposed to share news with you.
As far as you’re concerned, these four walls,” he made a circle
with his index finger meant to encompass the cell, “are your world.
That’s it, nothing else.”

I slammed my fist on the thin mattress,
causing the springs to groan.

“
Erik is my world,” I
snapped. The still air in the cell began to stir, ruffling the
papers strewn on my bed. My temper was rising too fast, my emotions
entering the red zone. And still, even being cognizant of it, I
didn’t care. This was Erik we were talking about.

“
Just tell me how badly he
was hurt. If he’s going to be okay. I deserve that much. If you
won’t divulge that information willingly, I’ll—”

“
Easy, inmate,” Yocum
barked, interrupting my tirade. “You need to calm down.
Now
. Look at me,
Natalia.”

The use of my full name caught me by
surprise. Still seething, though not quite so ready to peck out
Yocum’s pigment-free eyes, I met his hard gaze.

“
You need to listen to me,
Talia. You are a prisoner. The day you set foot on Vault, you lost
every single right and privilege you’ve ever known. In case you
haven’t noticed, you are locked inside a cell. The reason for that
is because the council needs you to learn obedience and humility,
both of which are obviously difficult concepts for you.

“
Look, I get it, okay?
Believe me, I really do. I’ve read your file. Your entire life,
you’ve been given leeway because you’re special. Your gifts give
you value to those in charge—way more than any other Talent on
UNITED’s payroll. But in here, you’re just like every other
criminal. The sooner you accept that, the easier the rest of your
time on Vault will be.”

His speech left me torn between attacking
Yocum and dissolving into a sobbing mess. Everything he’d said was
true, and it hit me hard.

Both as a TOXIC operative and a UNITED
agent, those in power had made allowances for my outbursts,
attitude, and impetuous nature. I’d been granted special treatment
because of my abilities. I wasn’t blind to that fact; my only worth
to all of them was the power I wielded. And yes, following the
rules had never been an area in which I excelled. Insubordination
was the reason I was currently locked inside a tin can.

But Yocum was wrong about me losing all my
rights the day I came to Vault. I’d lost them before I’d ever heard
of the Isle of Exile. Possibly never even possessed them at all.
Because I’d forfeited any semblance of freedom the day I’d joined
TOXIC’s ranks. From there, it had just gone downhill. And every
time I thought I’d hit rock bottom, the world had shown me how much
lower I could fall.

Seeing the tears shimmering in my eyes,
Yocum’s expression softened.

“
Shit. Please don’t cry,
Talia,” he said quickly. “Look, since the Councilwoman permits you
updates on Agent Kelley…he wasn’t seriously injured in the attack.
That’s all I’m saying, though.”

Using my powers to compel the rest of the
story out of the guard would have been easy, but Victoria was
right; I needed to be much more careful about using my abilities on
Vault. I still would if I needed to, but the sight of me upset
seemed to be effectively melting Nicci’s icy resistance. Even
though the tears were genuine, I wasn’t above using them to my
advantage. Especially not when it came to Erik. So, I let the
waterworks flow, sniffing noisily for good measure.

“
Please, will you just tell
me what happened?” I asked in a small voice, a little afraid I was
going overboard with the pathetic act.

Yocum’s jaw was set in a hard line.
“Seriously? I just told you that I’ve read your file, Talia. You’re
a trained assassin, you’re battle-tested, and you have a reputation
for meeting a fight head-on. A few harsh words don’t result in
tears for a girl like you.”

Ugh.

Okay, the superfluous sniffles might have
been overboard. I probably should’ve gone with manipulation.

“
How would you feel if it
was your wife?” I asked, switching tactics. “Or one of your
children? You’d want to know.”

Yocum sighed. “Of course I would.”

I stared at him pointedly, letting the guard
wage his internal debate in silence.

The emotions pouring off of Yocum were
conflicted. Despite his lecture, my guard did feel bad for me.
Plus, my comment about his family had hit home.

“
Fine,” he relented after
several long moments of contemplation. “But you’d better not let on
that you know anything, even with Victoria.”

“
I won’t, I swear,” I
quickly promised.

“
Like I said, Agent Kelley
wasn’t seriously hurt.” Yocum paused as he scrolled through the
messages on his communicator. “Looks like he’s got a concussion,
some scrapes and bruises, and a couple of stitches—nothing
life-threatening.”

“
That’s good news, I
guess,” I replied, careful to keep the anxiety out of my
voice.

Just then, Yocum’s communicator buzzed.
Since he had the exact same comm that I did before being tossed in
a cell, I knew it meant he had a new message. After a few taps of
his thumb, Yocum’s expression turned grim again.

“
What is it?” I
demanded.

“
I’m sure it’s just a
precaution,” the guard hedged.

“
What is it?” I repeated.
Since his hesitancy to share was obvious, I threw caution to the
wind and put the slightest bit of compulsion behind my
words.

“
UNITED is sending a
specialist to New York—a neuro-talent medical expert,” Yocum
replied automatically. “The alert doesn’t say why, just that the
doctor and his team have been dispatched to the base where they’re
treating Agent Kelley.” Yocum looked up, clearly
confused.

That made two of us. A concussion wasn’t
serious enough to warrant a specialist. Unless Erik’s brain was
hemorrhaging. Tamping down the panic that was simmering within me,
I locked eyes with Yocum’s watery gaze.

“
Tell me about the attack,”
I said, keeping the command light and using just enough authority
to ensure compliance. Though I wasn’t overly concerned with the
personal consequences—Erik was worth whatever the Vault guards did
to me—the ramifications for Yocum kept me from launching a
full-scale invasion into his mind. If my non-dormant abilities were
exposed to anyone other than my three cohorts, they’d all go down
with me.

“
The official statement
says that Agent Kelley and his protective detail were en route from
the transport helicopter to the stage when a crowd member slipped
through the barriers and assaulted him,” Yocum began, reading the
info from his communicator. “From both eyewitness statements and
footage shot by the news crews covering the event, it appears as
though the assailant detonated an explosive. They’re not sure
though, because what would’ve been the blast radius was quite
small. If it was an explosion, it was a relatively weak one. Only
Agent Kelley and those closest to him at the time were wounded.”
Yocum glanced up. “Agent Penelope Crane…is that your friend
Penny?”

I nodded, suddenly unable to find words. My
best friend was almost as impossible to live without as Erik—I
wouldn’t be able to handle it if she’d been seriously hurt.

“
Agent Crane is on the list
of those without injuries—she’s fine,” Yocum announced.

I sagged with relief. My best friend had
been trained as a Brain, so she wasn’t exactly tough physically.
Though cuts, scrapes, and even broken bones were not a big deal for
Erik and me, they were for Penny. Even though she no longer stayed
at home base behind a computer, Penny still hadn’t adapted to
handle physical pain the way Erik and I did.

In the midst of my relief, something
occurred to me.

“
Wait, go back. UNITED has
already taken witness statements? And reviewed videos of the
attack?” I asked.

Yocum consulted his communicator again,
nodding as he read. “Looks like the agents with your boyfriend have
been interviewed, but investigators are still talking to the
civilians.”

“
Then why don’t they know
for sure whether an explosive was involved? I mean, it seems pretty
cut and dry.”

“
There was definitely an
explosion of some sort,” Yocum confirmed, nodding readily. He
hesitated before continuing. I was about to force him to keep
talking, but it proved unnecessary. Yocum was so clearly baffled by
the reports that he wanted to discuss the attack with someone, if
only to garner a better understanding of what actually transpired.
“The confusion is because no bomb fragments have been recovered.
And not one of the victims was hit by shrapnel.”

“
Interesting,” I mused.
“What about the attacker? Is he dead? Have they examined the
remains?”

Yocum shook his head, disbelief coloring his
expression.

“
The reports say the
assailant was a child, a little girl. She was killed by the
explosion.”

I gasped audibly. “That’s terrible. Why the
hell would a little girl want to hurt Erik? Obviously someone put
her up to it. But how could anyone do that to a kid?”

My thoughts turned to Alex, which just made
the sadness multiply within me. What kind of evil was behind the
attack that they would sacrifice an innocent child?

Shrugging, Yocum replied, “You might not
feel that way once you hear the rest of the report. The
investigating agents believe the child may have used her mind to
blow herself up.” He paused, looking up at me with sorrow in his
eyes as he connected the dots. “If she did in fact blow herself up,
she wasn’t an innocent pawn. A pawn maybe, but one fully aware of
what she was doing.”