The Empowered, page 38
“Okay. Fine.”
He turned to Winterfield. “Do we tell her?”
“Tell me what?”
Winterfield sighed again. “Don’t know if it would do any good.”
“What the hell do you want to tell me?”
Winterfield crossed his arms, raised an eyebrow. “The Hero Council and Support aren’t monolithic, Brandt. There are factions. If a different faction had seen you arguing with a known Support agent, or, worse, found out you’d been pulled in by the local police, it would compromise this operation in ways you are unaware of.”
Yeah, because I’m a freaking mushroom, I wanted to shout, but kept my mouth shut. “This is the first I’ve heard of factions. What kind? Like Red and Blue?”
“Nothing so trivial, Brandt. More like factions with different ideas about how things should be run. The other team has some secrets they will kill to protect, and they’d kill you, Empowered agent or no, if they thought you were about to uncover them.”
Secrets? Well, everyone had them. If there really were different factions inside of the Hero Council and its Support minion agency, of course they’d have secrets.
“This why you snatched me?”
“Not entirely. We needed an update, and you didn’t give one to Agent Sanchez when he asked, so we needed to pull you in immediately.”
“Something rattled Zhukova,” I guessed.
“We picked up indications that the other faction had become alerted to your activities.”
“You mean my cell’s actions.”
He nodded.
I started to ask why the hell this other “faction” would care, then it hit me.
“They don’t want to see the Scourge taken down?”
Winterfield chewed his lip. “Let’s just say they believe it is better to have a threat out in the open, then a hidden one.”
“That’s stupid.” I got off the bed and started pacing.
“There’s more to it than that,” Alex said. Winterfield shook his head, but Alex continued. “Some think we need to have an enemy to keep humanity focused.”
I stopped. “An enemy to keep the world focused? That’s crazy.”
“You never should have introduced her to the idea, Sanchez.” Winterfield wore a disappointed expression.
“Why, because I can see through bullshit when I find it?” Idiots. This other faction wanted the Scourge to stick around because they were useful in keeping people in line. The more I thought about it, the crazier it seemed, and yet, there was a ruthless logic to this nutty idea. It would be convenient to have an enemy.
“Meanwhile, Ellis is busily turning parts of the world into horror shows,” I said. I jabbed a finger at Winterfield. “Why doesn’t this other faction care about that?”
Winterfield didn’t answer.
But Alex spoke up. “We don’t know why.”
“But they do know about him, right? I mean, his company is huge, and he’s a celebrity billionaire. Everyone knows him.” Hell, Keisha would love to date him. She had terrible taste in dudes. Yeah, super rich and looks that made you want to unzip your pants for him, except that he was twisted evil.
“Of course they know who he is, Brandt. But we don’t know why they don’t see him as a threat.”
My guess was Winterfield had suspicions about why this other faction was cool with mega-star Brandon Ellis. He didn’t give me time to ask.
“We’re actually not just here for a visit.”
“Or a lecture,” I retorted.
“You really aren’t funny, Brandt. Zhukova wants to see you.”
“Of course the Wicked Witch of the Dungeon wants to see me. Fine, let’s go,” I said, with my best I-could-give-a-fuck attitude.
Alex looked surprised. Winterfield just looked disgusted. “False bravado much, Brandt?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Might as well get this over with.”
Zhukova waited in the conference room, fingers steepled, her eye staring cooly at me. I got the impression she was more than a little unhappy with me.
I smiled. I’d finally gotten under her skin.
“What is so amusing, Ms. Brandt?”
“Just happy you want to see me.” I dropped into a chair, and put my hands behind my head.
“In future, you will not require this agency to take extra measures to contact you,” she said. She looked like she’d been sucking on lemons for a week, her mouth was so puckered.
“I’m under cover, remember?”
“Agent Brandt, you serve at my discretion. If you fail to perform both professionally and to my satisfaction, as an agent in the field, I will have you reassigned. Or, returned to Special Corrections for parole violation.”
My skin went cold. “You can’t do that. I’ve done what you’ve asked. I took care of Mutter for you. I’ve met with the Inner Circle.”
“You’ve also allowed yourself to be distracted by outrage, and failed to continue to gather more information about the Scourge.”
“I met with them.”
She stared at me like a one-eyed lioness stalking a gazelle. “And you didn’t think to report this?”
“Okay, so I screwed up. Winterfield and Sanchez already raked me over the coals for that. I’m sorry, okay?”
Zhukova ignored the apology. “I want details on the meeting. Now.”
So I told her, telling her about the I-5 operation, then the mission to the Emerald Biologic lab on the coast, and what we had found there.
She asked me about Ashula. About Drake. She was especially interested in him, in Nefarious. She was obviously trying to ferret out which twin he was. Funny, I thought they were sure the bad one had survived, but it was obvious Zhukova wasn’t so sure.
I left out one thing.
The collection of Titan’s Hero Council jumpsuits. I guess Mister Hero Council President for Life wanted to show the flag to the Emerald Biologic eggheads that were coming up with new and horrible ways to abuse children, but the last thing I wanted to do was scare off Zhukova and Support, and make them pull me out. Winterfield had told me about there being two factions, but which was which? What if Titan ran their faction, so Zhukova and Winterfield didn’t want Ellis to stop his work? Or what if they didn’t want to stop his work now, for whatever bullshit wheels-within-wheels reason they might have. The whole thing made my head spin.
Ellis had to be stopped. Now.
“Do you have any physical evidence?” Zhukova asked.
I licked my lips. Thought about lying, but she’d probably see right through it.
“I took pictures. The Inner Circle has them now.” I paused. I wanted Emerald Biologic destroyed. And it seemed like Ashula and Drake did now, too.
“What was their reaction?”
“Appalled. Horrified. Like any one should be.”
She ignored that, instead tapped her fingers on the desktop. “Do they want to take action against Emerald Biologic or Ellis?”
Here it was.
“They said they wanted to gather more information.”
A tight smile came out to play on her lips, finally. “I see.” Zhukova steepled her fingers again. Nodded to herself. “Very well. This is most useful. You are to continue embedded in the Scourge criminal organization. You will keep us apprised of your activities. You will respond to being called in immediately. Is that understood?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Ice queen needed to be obeyed. Got it.
“Dismissed.”
Just like that, she was done with me.
Winterfield and Alex escorted me out.
They ran me through contact procedures again in my cell, I mean, room. Then it was the crapsuit and time be cut off from the world again.
I missed my family. Yeah, I know Zhukova would pass bricks if she knew I was going to see them, and Winterfield would probably get an ulcer over it, but tough.
I wasn’t going to call. I was going to do what I wanted to do for once.
I showed up that night. I parked a block away, and walked up to the house. The fall air was crisp and smoky.
Ruth’s Ford Galactic wasn’t parked outside. I peered in the garage windows. Her garage wasn’t full of crap like most people’s, so she could park the car there. It was gone.
There was a light in the living room window, and the TV was on.
I knocked gently on the screen door. The metal rattled softly.
The outdoor light came on. I heard the deadbolt get thrown back. Ava stood there, staring at me like she’d seen a ghost.
“You aren’t supposed to be here,” she said.
“But here I am, sis.”
Her hair was different, short in the back, bangs in the front. She looked like me when I was her age.
“Why are you here?” she asked me.
“I want to see you and Ella. Are you going to let me in, or do we have to have this conversation on the porch?”
Ava crossed her arms. “Ruth says you can’t be here.”
“But she’s not here right now, is she?”
“She’s off seeing a sick friend.”
I rocked back on the balls of my feet. “I won’t be here for long. Just a few minutes.”
Ava sighed, opened the door. The living room smelled of mint.
There were mint plants by the window.
“Science experiment?” I asked Ava.
“Very funny, Mat. No, I thought it might help Ella.”
My stomach twisted. “How is she?”
Ava stared at her socks. She never wore shoes inside. These socks had cartoon otters stitched on them. Otters were her favorite animal.
She bit her lip. “Not good.”
“She still missing school?”
Ava’s eyes filled with tears. “She hasn’t been in two weeks.”
Two weeks. Ella lived for school.
“Let me see her.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea or not, Mat.”
I clenched my jaw. “Why not?”
“Because you’ll get angry.”
I forced myself not to snap at Ava for saying that. “Why?”
She looked back down at her feet. “Because I would if I were you.”
Ella’s bed was canopied, a big white thing, like you’d find in a fairy tale.
Ruth had gotten it from the estate of a friend of hers. Ava called it Ella’s princess bed. They each had their own room. Ava was like me, she didn’t really care about furniture or fashion.
Ella was the princess twin.
There were mint plants on the windowsill. Mint smell filled the room. Water colors covered the walls—Ella liked to paint. A ceramic painted unicorn stood on her night stand, next to a glow-in-the-dark penguin. Ella loved penguins and unicorns.
On the wall was her favorite cartoon character, Princess Warrior. Princess Warrior was a teenaged girl wearing Arabian Nights-style pantaloons, a veiled turban, and shoes with curled-up toes.
My heart froze when I saw Ella. She wasn’t Princess Warrior. No, she looked like a princess in a fairy tale, wearing a dress, lying on top of the sheets. It was her favorite, a thin, strap-less summer dress. Old-fashioned, but she loved it.
Her eyes were closed, like she was waiting for Prince Charming. Her long hair spread out around her like wings.
It was then I saw the sweat slathering her face, and pitting her dress.
Ava watched me as it all hit home.
My gut twisted. I clenched my fists.
“Hasn’t she been to the doctor?” I went over to her. “She is really sick. Like she has the flu. Or something worse.”
Ava wouldn’t look me in the eye.
“What is it? Why hasn’t she gone to the doctor by now?”
“Ruth still says no.”
“Why?” That didn’t make any sense.
“She said it wasn’t anything they could help her with.”
I touched Ella’s arm. It was hot, sweaty. Ella didn’t move. Her breath was slow.
I bent down. “Hey, sis. It’s me, Mat.”
Her eyes fluttered, half opened.
“Mat.” She smiled. “I’m so glad you are okay. I’ve been worried about you.”
“I’m fine. But what about you? You should see a doctor.”
She shook her head. “I asked Ruth to keep me home.”
“Why? Why would you do that?” And why would Ruth go along with her granddaughter’s crazy wish when she was so sick?
“Because I’m not sick.” Her eyes closed.
I looked at Ava. She shook her head. “Ruth said it was something Ella was born with, and that it would pass.”
“I’m a butterfly in my chrysalis,” Ella murmured, sounding like a crazy old lady.
“She’s delirious, “ I hissed to Ava.
“No, she really believes that.”
I knelt beside the bed, squeezed Ella’s arm.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I’m becoming like you.” She smiled and fell asleep.
Becoming like me. Empowered?
Ava and me left Ella smiling her sleeping smile and went outside. Ruth was supposed to be home soon. I’d better scram or else I’d start a huge fight with her.
Empowered? But that didn’t make any sense. You weren’t sick for weeks when you became Empowered. That’s not how it worked. And it wasn’t genetic. The odds of two sisters both becoming Empowered had to be astronomical.
Why had Ruth let Ella believe that?
“I don’t understand what the hell Ruth is doing,” I said when Ava and I were outside, on the sidewalk. You could just see the stars above the gathering mist.
“I’ve never seen her so certain she’s doing the right thing,” Ava said, suddenly sounding older. She wasn’t angry like me, she just seemed resigned.
I wanted to hug her, hold her close. But I didn’t.
The hell of it was, who could I talk to about Ella? Not Support. They didn’t have time for family stuff, and besides, Winterfield would rake me over the coals for seeing my family.
When my assignment finished, then things would be different.
Ava laid a hand on my shoulder. “Ella told me you were doing what you are doing to help us. That you are why we have this house, why Ruth has her treatment, why we are in the school we are in.”
Her eyes glistened.
I had to leave. Right away, before she said anything else.
I swallowed. “I have to go.” I turned and half ran down the sidewalk, away from my sister. Big, bad, angry Mat Brandt, scurrying off like a coward. But what choice did I have? I couldn’t let her say if she thought I wasn’t a crook.
I slammed the Dasher’s door so hard it stuck.
I drove off into the gathering fog.
18
Two days later, Friday, my necklace vibrated softly against my skin, waking me up before dawn. Ashula loved to contact me before sunup.
She told me to meet at a place in North Portland, and come by myself.
I got up, being as quiet as I could, dressed, and was halfway out the door when Keisha came after me, still in her sweats and t-shirt, hair all frizzy.
“Where are you going so early?”
“Out.”
I turned to head down the walk. Her hand grabbed my shoulder.
“Not so fast, Mat. You’ve been keeping us out of the loop.”
“What makes you think it’s Scourge business?” I kept my voice low. Wouldn’t want her to worry that Grunge Dude Alex was listening. He probably wasn’t even in the other unit.
She followed me out to the curb.
“Damn right we know it’s Scourge business.”
I whirled around. Her eyes widened.
“Fine, it’s that,” I said.
Mushrooms, I was treating them just like I hated being treated.
“Listen. Be ready. I may need you guys on very short notice.”
She nodded, suddenly looking worried.
I put my hand on her shoulder. “Stick around the place. Call Simon and have him join you.”
I didn’t look back when I drove off.
The meeting place was an old power station in north Portland. Looked like the kind of place you’d get murdered in when you weren’t looking. Ashula waited for me on the steps. There was no sign of Nefarious.
“You will recall he wanted more information,” she said. The sun was up, and everything was gray and gloomy as all hell.
“Yeah,” I said, “I remember.”
“Well, we are about to obtain it, and need your help.”
I listened as she told me the plan.
The private airstrip was east of Portland, a little stop for the rich and powerful, in the shadow of Mt. Hood.
There was a line of hangars, and a limousine waiting on the tarmac.
Security had been a cinch to take care of. Stunners were a criminal’s best friend. The hangar’s door was closed, but unlocked. Outside, I couldn’t hear the idling trucks, but they were inside, all three of them.
The limousine was a sleek Lincoln Imperator, with tinted windows. Must be waiting to pick up the Emerald Biologic vice president of operations.
I smiled to myself. Bastard wouldn’t know what hit him.
Across the tarmac, next to a maintenance shed, our fast helper crouched. He wore a fire retardant bodysuit. They didn’t tell me his name. There was an open crate next to him.
I’d asked Ashula what was in it. She’d just smiled and said, “Treats for our guests.”
Nefarious sat behind the wheel in the limousine. He was the last person the VP would expect to be driving the limo.
I kept having to keep myself from laughing. What can I say—the whole thing was hilarious. Finally, I was going to get my hands on one of these bastards.
It was twilight when the Learjet arrived, coming in low from the west, running lights on. It circled the field. The tower had another Scourge member whose power was to impersonate others. He couldn’t change his appearance, but he could take on their voice, attitude, and body language, so he’d seem familiar.
Perfect for a little job like this.
The plane dropped toward the runaway, wheels out. The wheel bumped against the tarmac. The plane’s engines revved as they reversed thrust, and the jet taxied toward us.
Ashula raised her wrist comm. “Now!”
