Repercussion: The Clandestine Saga Book 3 (11 page)

              Elliott sighed.
"What's that?"

"Surely you were aware of the fifteen years of close observations?"
she asked, sarcastically.

"Oh, that,"
he replied, trying to sound nonchalant.
"Well, yeah, I kinda knew about that. And that's one of the main reasons why I really didn't like you at first--I mean, I thought perhaps his judgment was clouded by all of that--but yeah. He was watching you for a while... a little while."

"And you failed to mention this to me because...?"

"Oh, come on, kid,"
he shot back at her.
"Since when is it my place to tell you shit like that? He's gotta tell his own story, man, you know? I'm not his freaking babysitter--if you haven't noticed."

             
"Oh, I've noticed. He doesn't have one of those--he needs one. You should have seen him last night. I felt so sorry for Cale.... He promised he wouldn't interfere, and then that's all he did."

             
"Now that I know. He told me about that. He talked to Cale earlier today and apologized. I think it's fine. Besides, you got the marks, right?"
he reminded her.

"Yes,"
she admitted. And she and Aaron had taken them all out with little to no help from anyone else. Still, she was feeling pretty bad for her new friend. "
He's a good guy, Elliott,"
she sighed.
"He didn't deserve to be treated that way."

             
"I'm assuming you mean Cale, then?"

             
"Uh, yeah..."

"Does someone have a little crush on Mr. Hollywood?"

"Oh, stop. Maybe. A little,
" she finally admitted out loud for the first time to anyone, including herself.

             
"That complicates things a little bit, then, doesn't it?"
he asked.

             
"Hey, he broke up with me, I'll remind you!"
she replied.

             
"I know. I was there. I got the T-shirt for that one, kid. My point isn't that Aaron doesn't deserve for you to date someone else, my concern is for the good doctor. What's gonna happen when you and the boss man remember you were put on this Earth for each other? What happens to GQ then, hmm?"

             
"You sound very sure of yourself, Elliott. I'm not..."
she paused for a moment, not sure she wanted to say what she was thinking.
"I'm not convinced we're ever going to sort this out."

             
"Well, I am. I told you, if it's the last thing I do. Not that I'm planning on cashin' my check any time soon. But y'all will figure it out. I know you will. So, just keep that in mind before you go fillin' out your dance card,"
he stated matter-of-factly.

She laughed.
"You just hit about three centuries worth of slang there. Fine. I will keep that in mind,
"she said dismissively.
"Anything else going on?"

"Yeah, actually, a couple of things. We figured out that bullet had some sort of titanium amalgam in it and where it came from. So, Christian is trying to replicate it, and stop any further shipments,"
he explained to her.

             
"Wow,"
Cadence said, leaning back on her bed in a more relaxed state.
"That's interesting. How did Laura get ahold of it?"

             
"Her uncle, I guess,"
he replied.
"And, you'll never guess who she called today."

"Laura?"
Cadence asked. She was more shocked to hear that she had called anyone.
"I have no idea..."

             
"Eliza,"
he replied bluntly.

Cadence caught her breath.
"What? Why? What did she say? Why would she call her of all people?

"I don't know. I was in Aaron's office when Eliza came through on the IAC and reported it. She says Laura claims that she knows where Giovani is and that he's in her area. Said she'd call her back later today. But then, Aaron got a couple of calls from other Hunters and Guardians reporting him, too. So, we're working on it, but it sounds like he may be back in the country."

              Cadence didn't know what to say. She had been contemplating the idea of dropping everything and tracking either of those parties for most of the time she'd been on the road. Now, to hear they'd both popped up at the same time seemed remarkable. But then another thought occurred to her.
"But why would she want our help now? She didn't want it for a decade before."

             
"That's a great question, and we don't know. She asked for Eliza's help and no one else's. But she's gonna ask her when she calls back,"
he assured her.

             
"Is Aaron going to be in on that?"
she asked.

             
"Absolutely."

***

Laura Comer and Eliza Wrath were literally the last two people in the universe Aaron wanted to talk to. Yet, he spent much of the afternoon sitting in his office, waiting for them to both call, simultaneously. Just the thought of it was almost enough to make him sick. He did his best to concentrate on what Christian was explaining to him, but he was more than a little distracted.

              "We were able to track that shipment of titanium bullets and they were stopped at customs in Miami. So far so good with that. Now, we'll just need to figure out a way to get them ourselves. In the meantime, I'm continuing to work on making my own, but it's a lot more complicated than I thought," Christian was explaining.

"That does sound pretty complicated," Aaron agreed, attempting to stay focused on what Christian was telling him.

              "And then, there's the re-Transformation serum. Dr. Morrow said he hadn't had a lot of time to work on it in the last couple of decades because of the influx of ex-Guardians into the area. He said that it's been a difficult transition from managing a small population to the stifling numbers they're at now, you know?"

              "Uh, yeah, they've had a lot of people move to Roatan recently," Aaron chimed in, an attempt to show he was paying attention.

"Can you even imagine? All those Guardians, living communally, just hanging out, for hundreds of years?"

              Aaron nodded, dismissively. "I'm sure that must be challenging. Christian, all I really want to know is where are you in your experimentation, and how much longer do you think it's going to take? If we can break this, we'll be doing a lot of people a huge favor."

"Right," Christian replied. He'd always been known as the tech guy, but he had a background in chemistry and biology in his former life, as well, so he was more than happy to take on this assignment when Aaron had presented it to him a few months ago. "Well, Dr. Morrow said that his biggest issue had been isolating the correct promoter within the specific genes in each strand of DNA. So in order to carry out the process correctly, not only would it have to be isolated, but we would have to create modifier that would bond only to that particular promoter and essentially reverse its function."

              "And have you been able to do that?" Aaron asked, not really caring at this point what all of the steps were.

"I honestly believe so," Christian responded enthusiastically. "Dr. Morrow was so close. But the modifier he was using was missing a component. I believe my modifications to his modifier," he chuckled, "may actually work."

              "That's great," Aaron replied, nodding his head optimistically. "And when will you know?"

"Well, that's the thing. I've got what I'm calling a test batch right now that should be ready in a few days. But I'll have to run some trials on it, just to make sure. I would really hate to be wrong," he replied emphatically.

              Aaron asked, "And what would happen if you were wrong?"

"The subject would likely die," Christian replied, matter-of-factly.

              Aaron nodded. "That would be a problem."

"Definitely. So, I've got to figure out a way to test it. Which is tricky, because who am I going to test it on, you know?"

              "Right," Aaron agreed. "I can see why that's a problem."

              "But I believe I can use blood and tissue samples from Guardians willing to donate, and that should give me some sort of an indication as to the effectiveness of the serum."

             
"Aaron, she's on the line
." It was Eliza on the IAC.

              "I've got to talk to Eliza now," Aaron said, dismissively. Christian knew that he was expecting to hear from her and got up as quietly as he could to leave. "Keep me up to date, Christian," Aaron added as he was leaving.

Christian nodded his understanding before stepping out the door, shutting it quietly behind him.

              "All right, Laura," Eliza was saying, "you've got my attention. How exactly do you know where Giovani is?"

              "It doesn't matter how I know. I have my sources. What matters is whether or not you are willing to cooperate with us," came the sharp reply.

"Why would I want to work with you when I can just go find him myself?" Eliza shot back.

              "Two reasons," Laura replied, obviously expecting the question. "First of all, I already know exactly where he is. It will take you weeks to figure it out on your own--months even. By then, you know he'll be gone. Secondly, you need this."

              "I do?" Eliza scoffed. "How so?"

"Oh, come on," Laura sneered, "everyone knows why you have the position you do--because of all the other personal positions you assumed before. You're the laughing stock of your organization."

              Eliza was obviously pissed. "Hey, you can't talk to me like that! That's bullshit. I earned this promotion..."

             
"Calm down, Eliza. She's trying to piss you off, and it's working,"
Aaron said calmly.

              "I'm just stating the facts, Eliza. I'm giving you the chance to be the hero here. There's probably not another person in the universe who has any idea what it's like to be me--except for you."

"Don't compare yourself to me, Laura," Eliza said, having regained her cool somewhat. "I am nothing like you. You shot a teammate."

"Oh, come on, Eliza! You would have shot her, too, if you would have thought it would do any good."

Eliza took the opportunity to attempt to gain some information. "How did you know that would work anyway?" she asked, sneakily.

              Laura was ready for that question, though. "I had no idea. I picked those bullets up from some washed up Hunter on one of our many attempts to track Giovani down. I'm not even sure who gave them to me. I didn't know it wasn't going to bounce. I was trying to shoot above Cadence's shoulder and I missed."

"Don't call her bullshit right now,"
Aaron cautioned.

Eliza didn't listen. "You expect me to believe that? You had to have known what you were doing."

              "I don't care if you believe it or not, sister. Look, you want in on this? We can do it without you, but it would be a lot easier with your help and your equipment." Laura was beginning to sound impatient.

Seeming to consider her options, Eliza paused for a moment before asking, "What makes you think Aaron won't catch wind? He always knows everything ahead of time."

              As if it had been rehearsed, Laura replied, "Say he does? Then what? Is he going to tell you not to bring in Giovani? He'll probably ask you to try to double-cross me and my team and bring in all of us."

              "What if I do?" Eliza asked pointedly.

              "You won't. Because you wouldn't be able to. I have some contingencies, too. Maybe I don't know where those bullets came from, but I know what they are, and I know who has them. And I have friends you know nothing about."

"You're bluffing," Eliza replied after a moment.

              "Could be. But maybe I'm not. And maybe you'll be the one to find out first."

              "You don't even need a titanium bullet to kill me," Eliza shot back, trying to be smart.

"Oh, I know that," Laura responded, briskly.

              Eliza seemed to think again for a moment before asking another question she had been instructed to ask. "What if he wants in? What if he wants to cooperate with you, too?"

"He won't," Laura bated. "He's too unforgiving for that. He'll tell us all to go to hell before he'll want to help."

"I don't think that's true," Eliza said, sounding a bit confused. "I know it's important to him to bring Giovani in, and I'm sure he doesn't like the mar this team of renegades of yours has left on the face of the operation. If he decides to help, will you still cooperate?"

              Laura seemed to consider the question for a very long time before responding. "I'd consider it. But it would have to be on my terms. And my terms only. And I'd have to know he'd offer us sanctuary when it was over."