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“Grace Strader, meet Missakian Lakeside,” Lucas said.

Missakian gripped her hand, pressing the bones together. “Strader. Good meetin’ you,” he said with a strange dialect she couldn’t place.

“Okay, got it, you’re strong,” she said, pulling away her throbbing hand.

“Your father’s a legend up in our parts,” Missakian said, slapping her back.

She vaulted forward, coughing. “Where’s that?”

“Oregon region. East of P-town.”

“I take it you’re not from the city?”

“Nah, my peeps date back to pre-Repatterning days. Pure native blood.” He pounded his chest twice in the customary Outsider manner.

Grace nodded with respect. Missakian was the real deal. A true warrior. He could probably rip apart a person with his bare hands, debone them, and hang them up to dry without batting an eye. Blythe would have a good neck-and-neck around the track with this guy.

“Nice headband,” she said with a smile.

“Gotta keep my eyes free and clear to what’s comin’ from all sides,” he said.

Lucas approached and gave her a firm shake. “Good to have you on the team.” He wasn’t his usual friendly self. Maybe he was still upset about the tracking comment she had made during orientation. Or maybe he was establishing some boundaries.
Not a bad idea,
she thought.

“Congrats on team leader,” she said, trying to keep it professional.

“I’m surprised you didn’t request a team change,” he joked.

“That was an option?” she blurted, without thinking.

His smile faded.

She wished she had a little more reserve. Her filterless mouth could end up being a problem. Before she made the situation more uncomfortable, Blythe barreled through the door, inadvertently saving the day. She kept her distance from the others, arms folded across her chest, sizing up her teammates.

Lucas walked over and extended his hand. “Lucas West. This is Missakian Lakeside, and I think you already know Grace.”

“Oh, I know little Gracie. Has she mentioned she’s a fainter?” Blythe smirked and busted out laughing.

Grace wasn’t about to let Blythe get the upper hand at their first team meeting. “Be careful, Lucas. She bites.”

“And she’s only here because of special treatment. Living on her mommy and daddy’s credit line.” Blythe chuckled to herself. “You know she’s afraid of blood, right?” Blythe laughed some more, looking at Missakian for some peer support. He scooted away, adjusted his red headband, and kept quiet.

“Is there going to be a problem with you two?” Lucas asked.

Blythe had at least four inches on him, but she backed down, knowing her place in the pack. “I’m just having some fun. We’re like sisters. Same village,” Blythe said with a bent smile.

“Same village. Nothing like sisters,” Grace mumbled, rolling her eyes.

Lucas stood before the cadets and straightened up. “Let’s get one thing clear. We’re all here for one purpose: to ace our drills. We have one month to prove ourselves. We pull together as a team, we do well, and we graduate with honors. I don’t care where you’re from or what baggage you’re carrying. You leave that trash at the door when you enter the Delta training room. If this is a problem for any of you, you can leave. Now.” He shouted that last part for emphasis.

Grace inched back a bit, shocked and impressed with his sudden command of the room. The cadets glanced at each other and nodded respectfully. Leadership had been established.

“Absolutely, Lu—, I mean, sir.” Grace saluted him.

“Yes, sir,” Blythe said, following suit.

Missakian jumped into his lounger. “Let’s plug in and do this, sir.”

They took their seats in the loungers and connected to the system for their first team drill . . .

Inside the virtual, all four cadets stood at the edge of a forest. The sky was slate gray and the air had a bite to it. Grace looked around at the tall evergreens layering the mountains for miles and miles. She had never seen trees like that. “Where are we?” she asked.

“Pacific Northwest. Look, ten o’clock. Emerald Mountain.” Missakian said, pointing to an enormous structure that looked like a gleaming emerald.

“What in God’s name is that?” Grace asked.

“Yeah, what the hell is that?” Blythe squinted her eyes, taking stock of the thing.

“Y’all don’t know ’bout Emerald Mountain? Used to be the Seattle City Center.”

Adrenaline rushed through Grace’s body. She wondered why this was the first time she was hearing about Emerald Mountain. How could there be a city center nobody talked about?

“I thought all the city centers were turned into open cities by now. Is it real? I mean, in the real world?” she asked.

“Ain’t seen it with my own eyes. But rumors say it still stands.”

“Sure is a big ol’ hunk of ugly, that’s for sure,” Blythe said.

“You ain’t never heard ’bout it, sir?” Missakian asked.

“No,” Lucas said, staring off toward the structure.

“They call it Emerald Mountain ’cause the reflection of the pines makes it look like a big ol’ emerald.”

Grace wasn’t feeling too good about this new discovery. “Are there people inside? Like how the other city centers used to be?”

“Nobody messes with it. The native folk livin’ around it protect the land. Could be empty as a drum, or swarming like a hornet’s nest.”

“Don’t you guys think we should find out?” Grace started walking toward the direction of Emerald Mountain.

“Grace, what are you doing? You need to wait for orders,” Lucas yelled.

“We can’t just hide in the woods. What if there are people inside that thing?” Grace continued walking until she stepped down onto something metal that shot up from the dirt and dug into her calf. The jagged claws ripped through her jumpsuit and tore into her muscle. She fell down and clutched her leg, trying to pry off the device, but it wouldn’t budge. A single shot rang out from some nearby bushes, piercing her left lung. She rolled backwards . . .

The program ended and Grace shot up, gasping for air.

A few moments later, Blythe sat up, frowning at Grace. “Nice work, Commando. Way to be a team player.”

Lucas woke up from the virtual and got out of his chair. “What were you thinking? You can’t just go off like that. We needed to assess the situation first, and you were supposed to wait for my orders.”

“I think we’re glossing over something more important—that emerald thing.” She looked at Missakian, who was adjusting his headband.

“Like I said, it just sits there. It’s probably empty.”

“
Probably
isn’t good enough. We should tell someone.”

“Why don’t you call your daddy?” Blythe goaded.

Grace jumped out of her chair and started toward Blythe. “Why don’t you go . . .”

“Grace, settle down!” Lucas yelled.

She stopped and turned to Lucas. “Sorry, sir. I’m just concerned.”

“That wasn’t part of this mission. Maybe it was programmed in there as a distraction, which obviously worked. And if there really are people in the actual emerald thing, whatever it’s called—if it really exists—someone would’ve seen activity by now. Your mother would know for sure. Same with your father.”

“Please don’t bring them into this,” she said.

“I’m just saying that it’s a non-issue. We’re supposed to be focusing on our drills and working together. You were out of line, and your mishap will reflect against the entire team. Your blatant disregard for chain of command was disrespectful and unacceptable.”

He was right. “My apologies, sir,” she said. “I’ll do better next time.”

“You screw this up for me, pansy-ass, and you’re toast.” Blythe got up and stormed out of the room. Missakian followed, leaving Lucas and Grace alone.

“I know there’s a lot pressure on you. People are expecting you to do well. Mega-mainframe mother and the General’s daughter.”

“This has nothing to do with them.” Grace didn’t understand why he wasn’t getting her point. She just wanted to do the right thing. She needed to figure out the deal with Emerald Mountain. “I gotta go,” she said, walking toward the door.

“We’re not finished here.”

Grace was now getting irritated with the whole chain of command thing.

He continued. “There’s an old cliché: there’s no
I
in team. And we’re a team. I know you think your personal goals are more important, but we need cooperation for the team to survive. We only have one month to prove our salt. And it’s my responsibility to ensure you know that.”

“I’ve been a little distracted these last couple of days. Nobody’s ever kissed me.” She immediately regretted her display of vulnerability.

He stared at her for a few moments, thinking. “I think it’s best if we keep things professional,” he finally said.

The blow knocked the air right out of her chest. She came forward without knowing where he stood, and now he had the upper hand. Like any sword fight, she held her stance—not backing down from her opponent.

She held out her hand and smiled. “Nothing but professional, sir.”

“We good?” he asked.

She nodded.

“All right, Strader, dismissed.”

She left the Delta training room and continued speed walking down the hall until she was able to force down a complete breath. She hadn’t expected Lucas to snub her with such confidence. Why did she even care? He was just another know-it-all Insider, and she was an idiot for thinking it was anything more. She needed to forget about the whole thing and refocus. First, she needed to find out if there was a city center in Seattle that may or may not contain human life. The best person to talk to would be her mother. She braced herself and took a transporter to the lab.

When she chimed the lab, Sam came to the entrance and stood there, blocking her from getting inside.

“Is my mother around?” She looked over his shoulder, not sure why he was keeping her out.

“Not at the moment. She’s with Director Faraday.”

“I need to talk to her.”

“What do you need?”

Grace noticed one of the old journals in Sam’s lab coat pocket.

“What are you doing with that?” she asked, reaching for the journal.

He knocked her hand away and stepped back a few inches, tucking the journal deeper down. “I’m doing some research.”

“On what?” Grace started to get an itch in the back of her throat, sensing something wasn’t right.

Sam asked again, “What do you need?”

She was bordering on desperation and wanted to get to the bottom of the mystery about the Seattle City Center, so she blurted, “Do you know about Emerald Mountain?”

He looked confounded, or confused, or something. She wasn’t quite sure.

“Emerald what?”

“It’s the city center up in Seattle. I saw it in a virtual.”

“Programmers like to use realistic backdrops. Makes the virtual more authentic.”

“I know that.” She was getting frustrated. “But if it really exists, there could be people living inside.”

“It exists. But it’s a dead cell. Multiple transmissions have been sent, but there’s never been any response. We would’ve detected activity if it were operational. Nothing has ever come up on our radar.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s empty.”

“Odds are it is.” He started to edge her out into the hallway. “I have to get back to work.”

“What if there are people in there who need help?”

“Don’t you have more important things to focus on? Like graduating from the academy?”

“Graduating is important, but if there are people who need help, that’s priority number one,” she said, resisting the urge to punch him in the throat.

“You’re wasting your time. You should get back to your studies.”

“Just make sure you tell my mom I came by.”

11

AVA SAT IN Director Faraday’s office, located on the top floor of the academy. He sat behind his desk of crystal panels, monitoring every nook and cranny of the campus. Ava waited for the director to finish up whatever he was observing. He was wasting valuable time.

“Your daughter is an interesting case study,” he said.

“Sir?”

Director Faraday smiled as he pulled up a hologram, revealing footage of Grace during her tryouts. The images showed her duel with Sam, the part where she stood over him with her sword pointing into his chest.

“She has a lot of spirit, sir,” Ava said proudly.

“Yes, I can see that. Does quite well in combat.”

“She’s been training with her father for years.”

He sat back and remained quiet. The atmosphere grew still, and Ava sensed the climate change. “Sir, I’m not sure why you brought me here.” She already knew why she was in his office; she had broken the rules.

Director Faraday pulled up another screen that displayed Ava in the lab, hooked into the mainframe, and Sam behind a monitor.

“Ms. Atwood has pointed out a slight discrepancy in our process here at the academy. I recall clearly instructing you to hold off with regards to conducting searches until you and your assistant have been fully trained. This equipment is quite powerful—and for someone not familiar with the capabilities, it could be detrimental. I didn’t bring you up here to fry your brain.”

“Sir, every day we wait, we’re losing precious time. Morray’s trail is fading. We’re at a critical point, and I need to move forward. I’ve never been this close to locating him.”

“Yes, I’ve heard all about the digital footprint your daughter supposedly tracked down. After further considering the matter, Ms. Atwood postulates it was probably just a glitch.”

“I don’t agree with Ms. Atwood, Director. And honestly, her backpedaling confuses me. She saw how Grace was able to move through the mainframe, as well as what she discovered. It was unlike anything I’ve found in my searches. During my most recent search I was able to manipulate the coding, the same way Grace had done during tryouts. This is highly atypical. Something has changed inside the mainframe.”

“This tells me very little.”

“It proves that someone has instigated those changes. Since the only people who have been able to interact with the coding have been Grace and me, I believe it has something to do with our DNA. The one person who could reprogram the architecture is Dickson. After all, he created the mainframe.”