Caged (Talented Saga) (16 page)

“
Great! I was curious if I could ask you two a favor?” he asked conspiratorially.

“Sure, anything for you,”
I matched his sly tone.

“
I was hoping that you ladies might be able to get all the basic background information on a couple of students for me? Natalia, Director McDonough tells me that you have been working with Operative Latimore here to learn our Crypto system.”

“We would be happy to,”
I replied with false enthusiasm. I was more than a little dismayed that the task he was requesting wasn’t more interesting. After a week of sifting through personnel files, I wasn’t exactly eager to explore more.

“That won’t be a problem,” Penny agreed.

“Wonderful. I will have the list of names sent over in the morning. Natalia, if you could just come to gymnasium after you have the information, that would be great.” Before I could reply, someone caught his eye across the room.

“Senator
Bosica!” he called exuberantly to a man with neatly trimmed gray hair turning away from the bar. “Tomorrow, Natalia.” He winked over his shoulder to me as he retreated.

“Looks like Erik found a friend,” Penny snorted, pointing across the room to where Erik stood in deep conversation with Ursula.
She rested one perfectly-manicured hand on his arm as they spoke. Her navy cocktail dress clung tightly to every curve of her body, perfectly emphasizing her feminine assets. The white tips of her nails gripped Erik’s arm harder as he said something that made her laugh, and I noticed that the tiny flowers painted in the corners of her nails matched the color of her dress. Her closeness to him irritated me. I couldn’t hear what they were saying above the dull hum of the other conversations taking place throughout the room, but their body language suggested that they knew each other.

“Down, girl.”
Penny laughed, putting her hand on my arm. I’d absently taken several steps toward where Erik and Ursula were standing. “They’re just talking.”

“Sorry,” I mumbled.
“I just wish she’d stop touching him.”

“I wouldn’t worry, Tal. She’s not the one that he rushed to see this morning,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, you’re right,” I agreed, still unable to tear my gaze from the duo. “Wait, how did you know that he came to see me this morning?” I asked suspiciously.

Penny drained the rest of her wine glass.
“He told me. I saw him at the fair before you got there.” She smiled smugly, and I wondered how much of our encounter Erik had divulged.

My skin
tingled just thinking about the way he’d touched my cheeks and kissed my forehead.
“I’ve missed you so much,”
he’d said while he’d held me. My pulse kicked up a notch and I was slightly breathless, like I’d just sprinted up the stairs to my bedroom.

“So, rekindling my relationship with Erik is acceptable then?” I asked.

Penny shrugged, an amused smile tugging the corners of her mouth up. “Call me biased, but Erik never cheated on you.”

I gave a short, humorless laugh; she had a point.
Erik might be a flirt, and rumors of his conquests fueled the gossip mill at Headquarters, but he wasn’t the one that I’d caught with another girl.

Thankfully, Mac announced that dinner was to be served, and asked us to take our seats before I had a chance give Erik and Ursula any
more dirty looks. I found my place card between Janet and a Senator from New Hampshire, whom I’d met once or twice. He and I exchanged pleasantries, but he was much more interested in ogling the woman on his left. That suited me just fine; after witnessing Ursula throwing herself at Erik and contemplating my future with Donavon, I wasn’t in the mood for small talk.

Penny was seated directly across the table between Captain Alvarez and, to my dismay
,...Ursula. Penny kept trying to dodge the Captain’s wild hand gestures that accompanied his stories.

“You should have seen the look on the poor guy’s face when I morphed from the dog he was petting into a naked man!” he exclaimed loudly, throwing his head back as he
roared with laughter. As he did, his left hand sent Penny’s water flying off the table. The glass slowed its flight just enough for Penny to be able to catch it before water and ice ended up all over the unfortunate waiter standing behind the Captain. I guess that Ursula’s close proximity was lucky after all; Telekinesis came in handy on occasion.

The waiter gave Penny an appreciative smile as he wiped at the stray drops that had sloshed on the table and her arm.

“Nice catch, Penelope,” Janet laughed. For his part, Captain Alvarez seemed oblivious to the near-accident he’d caused.

Donavon and Erik were next to each other, several seats down on the other side of Janet.
Their unlucky seating assignments made me wonder who had made the seating chart.
At least Erik wasn’t sitting next to Ursula
, I thought. I decided to keep one ear on their not-so-friendly conversation. Then, I glanced around the long table, searching for Henri. To my utter astonishment, I saw him sitting between Griffin and Cadence. Guess she’d finagled an invite after all.

Cadence looked pleased with her fortune at being seated next to Henri, and she was taking the opportunity to talk his ear off.
I concentrated all of my strength towards my sense of hearing, and was able to hone in on their conversation. She was attempting to flirt with him in hopes he’d put in a good word for her with Captain Alvarez.
Lost cause, Cadence
, I thought. Flirting with a guy who has a boyfriend was unlikely to yield positive results.

“How are you feeling after last night, Natalia?” Janet asked quietly, drawing me out of Henri and Cadence’s conversation.

“Not too bad. Worried about Ernest,” I admitted.

“I’m sure that he will regain his memories,” she said.
She smiled when she spoke, but the expression failed to reach her eyes. Janet didn’t really believe that Ernest would ever regain his memories – she just said so to make me feel better. While I appreciated her attempt, the confirmation that Ernest was unlikely to get better further deflated my mood.

“I hope so,” I whispered as a waiter placed a plate full of food in front of me.

Dinner consisted of a Cornish hen stuffed with wild mushroom rice and green beans on the side. I picked at my hen and tried to pay attention to what was going on around me, but found my mind constantly wandering.

Would Ernest ever be whole again?
Could he regain his memory on his own? Did I want to get back together with Donavon? If so, why did Erik’s presence affect me so much? If it had been Donavon that Ursula was fawning all over, would I have reacted the same way? Erik said that he missed me, but did that mean he still wanted to be with me? Would I ever come home early from a mission to find Erik in bed with another girl?

My inner musings left me with more questions than answers.

“That fork is real gold, dear,” Janet said gently as she closed her hand around my fist.

“Huh?” I looked down, confused, at our hands and found the gold fork wrapped tightly in my fist.
I was grinding it into the plate. I guess I’d gotten myself a little worked up.

“Excuse me, miss?
Are you still eating?” I looked up and recognized one of the waiters from the meat carving stations. I released the fork hastily, as though it were on fire. Nodding my head, to too embarrassed to speak, I felt the heat creep up my neck and color my cheeks.

The waiter replaced my picked over hen with piece of pumpkin cheesecake topped with cinnamon ice cream.
Managing to choke out a “thank you,” I dug into my dessert.

Dessert was a long, drawn out affair, complete with coffee drinks heavily laden with bourbon.
I tried my hardest to keep a pleasant look pasted on my face even though I desperately wanted nothing more than to get out of the opulent room. Not a moment too soon, Mac finally stood and thanked everyone for coming inviting those who were interested to stay for a nightcap. I quickly said goodbye to Janet and bee-lined for the exit.

I made it as far as the door before I felt Erik’s hand on my shoulder.

“Walk you back to your dorm?” he asked hopefully.

I glanced around, looking for Penny.
In my haste to leave, I’d temporarily forgotten about her, but now I thought that I should really tell her I was leaving.

“Donavon is occupied being the Director’s son,” Erik continued coolly.

“I wasn’t looking for Donavon,” I snapped.

For his part, Erik appeared nonplussed by my annoyance at his having drawn the logical conclusion.
He offered me his arm. I hesitated briefly before looping my own underneath his crooked elbow. A grin lit his face as we exited the building together.

“Are you coming tomorrow to show all those Hunter-wannabes how it’s done?” he teased as we walked across the damp grass.

“I would love to, but I’m not sure if Dr. Thistler would like that. She seems to think that physical stressors bring on the seizures.” I rolled my eyes to indicate how absurd I found the notion.

“Are they any closer to finding a cure?”

“According to Dr. Thistler, every day they get a little closer.”

“Well, don’t worry about being replaced – you’ll always be my partner.”
He winked down at me and stomach dropped as I read way too much into his words. The way his body brushed against mine while we walked made me always want to be his partner – just not his Hunting partner.

“Sure about that?
Earlier tonight, it looked like you’d found yourself a new Telekinetic.” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. I hadn’t meant to bring up watching him with Ursula.

“Jealous much?”
Erik laughed.

“No,” I snapped.
“I just noticed that you two were awfully friendly.”

Erik’s laughter died in his throat.
“I’ve known Ursula for a long time. We have a close mutual friend. Sometimes, we all meet up in the city,” he said awkwardly, taken aback by the intensity of my accusations. He wasn’t the only one. I hadn’t meant to get so angry, but seeing Ursula touch him infuriated me, and Erik making light of the situation didn’t help.

An uncomfortable silence fell between us.

“How do you like being back at school?” Erik asked finally, breaking the mounting tension.

“Eh, it’s okay.
I can’t wait to get out of here.” I choked over the lump that had formed in my throat, thinking about Erik with another girl.

“Really?” he gave me a skeptical look.

“You think that I’d rather be here twiddling my thumbs than out there with you guys doing something that matters?” I asked, not quite sure what he was implying.

“No, it’s just ...I don’t know.
Never mind,” he mumbled.

“It’s just what?” I demanded.
He didn’t answer. Mentally, I reached out to him. Anger clouded my mind like a haze. “You think that I’m here playing house with Donavon?” I said incredulously, releasing my grip on his arm and coming just short of actually shoving it away.

“When you left, you two weren’t even on speaking terms,” he mumbled.
“And now you two seem awfully chummy. I mean he was in your room when I came over tonight. And he was pissed when he realized that I’d come to see you this morning.” I could tell that he regretted bringing up this topic before the words even left his mouth.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but Donavon and I are friends.
I’ve been going through a really traumatizing ordeal and he’s been here for me!!” I was practically shouting. “I don’t have time to worry about dating Donavon, or you for that matter. He at least understands that.”

“Hey, I never said I was looking to date you, Talia. I’m just looking out for you because I thought we were friends, too.”
Erik’s temper flared as he hurled the angry words in my direction. The word “friend” stung as though he’d physically slapped me across the face.

“Fine!”
I yelled, my voice wavering with the effort of keeping my tears at bay.

“Fine,” he shot back.

Kicking off my shoes without bothering to pick them up, I took off at a dead sprint for my room. When I got within several feet of the door, it burst open, and I flew through without missing a beat. I took the stairs three at a time and heard the door to my room fly open, slamming against the doorjamb as I rounded the corner. As soon as the door banged shut behind me, and I heard the lock engage, I collapsed to the floor in a pile of damp red silk. Tears of humiliation burned the backs of my eyes before streaking ugly black mascara rivers down my flushed cheeks.

Chapter Fifteen

The next morning, I woke with eyes so swollen that I couldn’t for a second trick myself into believing that the previous night had been a bad dream.
My ruined dress was lying in a crumbled heap on the floor of my bathroom. I kicked it aside as I rummaged through my medicine cabinet, trying to find the cream that Gretchen ordered for me in the city. I found it and rubbed the cream all over my eyes, cringing against the burning sensation that accompanied the reduction in swelling.

After a long, hot shower, I dressed in jeans and a thick black sweater.
As promised, Captain Alvarez had sent a list of names to my portable communicator. Grabbing the device from my desk, I set off for the Crypto Building.

Penny was already seated in her usual chair with a large cup of coffee when I arrived.
As per usual, Gemma occupied one of the other chairs in the room. Both appeared to be analyzing information on half a dozen computers at the same time. I watched silently as four sets of fingers flew across keyboards as random numbers and letters scrolled downs the screens of each of the individual monitors. I marveled at their ability to process the data simultaneously.

“Hey,” Penny called without turning around.

“Morning,” I greeted her. “Hey Gemma,” I said to the other girl. She smiled shyly before returning to her work.

“You ran out pretty fast last night,” Penny declared, still facing the computers.

“I was tired,” I replied quietly.

“So tired that you needed Erik to help you home?” she teased.

I knew that she was curious, but the last thing that I wanted right then was to rehash my fight with Erik and the accusations leading up to it. Penny would think that I was nuts. I was starting to think that I was a little nuts myself. Last night, I’d felt justified in my actions, but today with no alcohol clouding my judgment, the harsh daylight illuminated just how ridiculous I’d acted. I’d gone into a jealous rage over seeing a guy who wasn’t my boyfriend standing too close to a girl that he’d known longer than he’d known me. Then, when he’d called me on it, I practically bit his head off. I was just this side of sanity. If we didn’t find the spy soon, I was going to end up in a padded cell.

Penny pressed a key, halting all of the text scrolling across the screens, and swiveled her chair around to face me.
Her bright green eyes urged me for more details, but the light dimmed when she saw my distraught expression. Her devilish smile contorted into a sympathetic grimace.

“What happened, Tal?” she asked gently.

“Erik didn’t exactly walk me home,” I mumbled, looking at my feet.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.

“We got in a fight about Donavon and Ursula, and then, somehow, it evolved into something else altogether.”

Penny studied me intently, almost as if she was willing me to tell her more, but I really didn’t need her confirmation that I was losing it.

Penny slid a smile into place, but the gesture didn’t reach her worried eyes.

“So, want to plug this communicator in for me so I can get the info the Captain wants?”
I asked, desperately wanting to change the subject.

“Hand it over.”
She held out her hand with mock impatience and a half eye roll. I gave her a broad smile and gratefully handed her the electronic device.

Penny attached my portable communicator to one of the computers not currently being used.
Again, I watched in awe as her fingers flew across the keys, entering information too fast for me to follow. Several times, she told me to hold either my thumb or my eye up to a scanner mounted next to the computer. I obediently complied and after what seemed like an excessive amount of typing, she told me that I was all ready to begin.

Taking a seat in my own swivel chair, I set to work.
I spend the next several hours sifting through files on the designated students, downloading and organizing only the pertinent data for each individual. I probably could have just asked Penny, in my special suggestive manner, to do this for me, but I never used my Talents on her. After all, she was the only real friend that I had. My resolve began to waiver the longer that I had to stare at the screen.

“Done!”
I announced happily. My eyes ached with fatigue and it took me a minute to uncross my vision.

“Got everything you need?” Penny asked.

“Yup, so if you could just disconnect this thing for me, I’ll be on my way.”

Penny deftly disconnected my portable communicator and handed it to me.

“See you at dinner?” she asked.

“You got it.”
I gave a small wave to Gemma and set off.

My next stop was Medical.
I walked through the sliding glass doors and the receptionist on duty waved me back immediately.

“Room five, Ms. Lyons,” she said pleasantly.
Nodding, I continued on through the double doors to room five. The receptionist must have buzzed Dr. Thistler immediately because I’d just managed to jump up on the exam table when she walked through the door.

“Hi, Natalia.
How are we feeling today?”

I hated when she said “we”, like she was somehow part of me.

“Same as yesterday,” I mumbled. Sometimes, I wondered why she bothered asking; if I was feeling anything less than “fine” she’d know because I would’ve been whisked into Medical, convulsing. Her only response was a smile. Pulling my sweater over my head, I waited anxiously as she filled the syringe with the thick liquid out of a bottle from her coat pocket. I gritted my teeth as she plunged the tip of the needle into my arm and depressed the plunger.

The chemicals burned as they entered my bloodstream, and I sighed.
The annoyance of receiving daily injections was a small price compared to the calming relief that the medicine provided me. As soon as she removed the injection needle, she replaced it with the one that would draw a sample of my blood. I watched as the syringe filled with my red liquid.

“All set,” she said, taping a small piece of gauze in the crook of my elbow.

“Thanks,” I muttered, and eased myself off of the exam table to head for the door.

“Dr. Thistler?”
I asked, hesitating before I crossed the threshold.

“Hmmm?” she answered distractedly, making notations on her electronic pad.

“How’s Ernest today?” I asked quietly.

“Same as yesterday, dear,” she replied without looking up.

“Oh, okay. Well, thanks.” I wasn’t really sure what I’d expected to hear, but I’d hoped for a more positive response – something like, “he’s great” or “he’s regained his memory.” No such luck.

In the hallway just outside the door to room five, I paused.
Closing my eyes, I swallowed my guilt. I had to see him. I had to know if he was really in as bad a shape as Dr. Thistler said. Surely not. I could understand him being confused or dazed, but the way that Dr. Thistler saw it in her mind, Ernest appeared comatose.

Quickly, I glanced to my left and my right.
The hallway was empty. I opened my mind and searched for active brains. I could feel Dr. Thistler’s behind me, but she was too busy logging my visit in her files. I could feel activity throughout the entire complex and decided to keep my mind open as I turned and walked to my right.

Winding my way through the corridors of the Medical facility, I searched in vain for Ernest.
I was convinced that I’d be able to track him through his mind, but I couldn’t seem to get a handle on it. Deeper and deeper I traveled into the bowels of the Medical building, scanning my palm at various locations to gain access to the more secure areas. I was definitely leaving a trail behind me – sloppy for a Hunter.

At last, I reached a door labeled Psychiatric.
I took a deep calming breath; I knew that Ernest was behind that door. I still couldn’t feel his mind, but I knew in my heart that he was there. Holding one shaky palm up to the scanner, I waited, a small part of me hoping that I wouldn’t be granted access. The light on the scanner turned green, and I heard the lock on the door disengage. Dread weighed me down like a wet blanket as I pulled the door open and entered the Psychiatric Ward.

In the first room on my right, I felt
an emptiness, a void the size of the Grand Canyon. My feet were forcing me forward before I could register the fact that they were taking me into Ernest’s room. I saw him immediately. He was propped up in a large bed. There was a leather belt secured around his middle, keeping him upright. I was barely able to suppress the gasp that rose in my throat. Tears of shame welled in the corners of my eyes.

Ernest stared dully in my direction, but his expression was vacant and unfocused.
I stood paralyzed in place, the soles of my shoes feeling heavy, as though I’d stepped in wet cement. One of Ernest’s eyes began to twitch, and he made a soft gurgling noise, deep in his throat. I swallowed hard and swiped his mind. I didn’t bother to suppress the sob that clawed at my windpipe this time. Ernest’s mind was empty. Not confused, not dazed. Empty. I sunk to my knees, my fists balled at my sides as hot tears ran down my face and splashed the linoleum floor. Wrapping my arms around myself, my body began to shake.

“Natalia, I told you that this was not a good idea,” Dr. Thistler’s voice sounded behind me.

Her white lab coat clad form swam when I turned to look up at her. Dr. Thistler grabbed my upper arm and pulled me to my feet with a strength that I hadn’t believed she possessed.

“Can I put the memories back?” I stammered hopefully.
Maybe I could make this right.

“No, Natalia,” she replied gently.
“It’s too much of a risk.”

“To who?”
I asked, already knowing the answer.

“To you,” she responded as if the answer were obvious.
The answer had been obvious; I’d just needed to hear her say it.

“I don’t care!” I insisted. “This is
all my fault, I’m a monster.”

“No,” she said firmly.
“No, you are not. And you are much too valuable to this organization to risk a memory re-implementation.”

“What about Ernest?
Wasn’t he valuable?” I demanded.

Dr. Thistler gave a weary sigh, and then gently led me from Ernest’s room.
Her non-response brought to mind the words that Ian Crane had thrown at me in Nevada, “
You have no idea what your Agency does to innocent people,”
he’d said. Maybe I hadn’t known then what Toxic did to innocent people, but I was starting to realize it now.

Crane had told me that my parents’ deaths were a consequence of war; was Ernest’s condition now a consequence of war, too?
Could I be so callous as to accept that notion? Once again, I was left with more questions than answers. Worst of all, I was starting to wonder how much of what Crane had told me was true.

I desperately wanted to go back to my room and pull the blankets over my head, form a barrier against the outside world, but instead I walked numbly from the Medical building to the Arena to meet Captain Alvarez.
I couldn’t erase the image of Ernest and his blank stare from my fragile psyche. Ernest’s condition was considered an acceptable risk of psychic interrogation, but it wasn’t a risk that I wanted to be part of.

I was still distracted when I reached the Arena, so distracted in fact that when I rounded a corner, I ran smack into another person.
To top it off, that person was Erik.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, sidestepping around him.

“Tal, wait.” He grabbed my upper arm. “I’m so sorry about last night –”

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” I said, cutting him off.
After witnessing the fruits of the destructive side of my Talent, my embarrassment over what had happened with Erik seemed trivial.

“No, you were right, Talia.
It is none of my business what does or does not go on between you and Donavon. We’re just friends after all ...”

“Right, just friends,” I muttered.
I hated the part of me that felt the deep bite of disappointment at his calling us “just friends.”

“So, we’re good?” he asked

“We’re good.” I smiled tightly.

“Want to help us with the demonstration?” he asked hopefully.
I was about to say “no,” Dr. Thistler had said that I wasn’t supposed to physically exert myself, but instead, I agreed. I decided that what I needed, more than hiding myself under my covers, was a distraction. Erik gave me a big smile and squeezed my shoulder in a buddy-buddy kind of way that he would’ve done to Henri as he walked away. My mood plummeted so fast that the splat when it hit the ground could’ve been audible.

Making my way to Captain Alvarez, I linked our communicators like Penny had shown me, so that I could transfer a copy of the information that I’d downloaded.
Then I found Erik and Henri and changed from my own clothes into an adapti-suit that zipped up to my neck. I plaited my dark curls into two thick braids, then wrapped a black-and-white bandana over them and tied it securely at the base of my skull. Henri had dressed to match.