Delete: Volume 3 (Shifter Series) (19 page)

I looked down. They’d bound me with the cuffs designed to stop a Shifter from using their powers. Who did they think I was? These things couldn’t stop me. Not if I wanted to get out of here.

The room was almost pitch-black, although I sensed shadows moving in the far darkness. Two men. Perhaps the ones who had brought me here. I could hear them breathing. I could also make out a shape next to me. Someone else slumped in a chair.

It smelt of river: damp, second-hand humanity. A cell beneath the Hub, I guessed. Perhaps even the same cell we’d interviewed George in.

I was about to ask them what they thought they were doing, when the bolt clunked and the door opened, creating a rectangle of white light so bright, I had to turn away from it. When I looked back, a figure was outlined in the doorway. A small man, with his arms held stiffly by his sides.

“Please remove the Commandant’s cuffs,” Vine said, stepping into the room. “And someone turn the light on.” He sounded tired, annoyed even.

The heavy-breathing man flicked the light switch, and the room was illuminated with a dull orange glow. It was much easier on the eyes than the light from the corridor outside. The figure next to me was Aubrey. Her head lay on her chest, her eyes closed.

“If you have hurt her…” I said, yanking on my restraints, leaving the threat unspoken.

“Calm yourself, Commandant Tyler. She is perfectly well. See, she is coming to.”

He was right. Aubrey stirred, a gentle groan escaping her lips. I watched as she went through the same process as I had, snapping her head up and trying to pull on her cuffs.

“Where am I? What’s going on?”

“You are safe, Captain Jones. Both you and Commandant Tyler are under my protection.”

Aubrey turned and saw me. Her face went from rage to relief. I tugged again at the cuffs, this time because I wanted to run to her and hold her. To tell her everything would be OK. But then something in her eyes changed. The shame and disgust she’d shown in the hospital returned and she rolled her head away from me.

I went slack in my chair, wanting all of this to be over with.

“Please remove their bonds,” Vine said again.

The soldier hesitated before reaching out to undo my cuffs. There’s a general rule when it comes to cuffing someone: you do not want to be around when they are let loose. He twisted the key and stepped away as the cuffs clanked to the floor.

I stood up, rubbing at my wrists and fixing him with what I hoped was my most terrifying stare. I was pretty sure I’d Forced Marie in the hospital. And this guy didn’t look half as smart as her. My mind flooded with all the images of things I would make him do.

He shuffled away, unhappy about having to turn his back to me to undo Aubrey’s cuffs. She sprang up and he leapt away to be clear of her reach.

“I apologise for this, Commandant. My men overreacted somewhat. But you did cause considerable damage to a government facility. Not to mention the damage to my men.”

I glanced at the two guards and was not unpleased to notice the beginnings of a black eye on one, while the other held his arm at an awkward angle.

“Would you care to explain?” Vine said.

“That facility, that abattoir,” I hissed, “is a disgrace. Do you know what goes on there, Minister? What Project Ganymede really is?”

“I had my suspicions, but Mr Abbott was kind enough to take care of the details so I didn’t have to…”

“Get your hands dirty? Is that it? Plausible deniability? Well, excuse me if I call bullshit on that. Because your hands are dirty. My hands are dirty. Everyone in this goddamn place is covered in filth. We are bathed in the blood of innocent children.”

Vine didn’t even flinch as I unloaded all my rage on him.

“You want to know how the men and women of the mighty Special Shifting Service have their power?” I said. “It’s stolen. Kids have their heads cut open and their brains sliced up. How’s that for dirty?”

“I see,” was all he said.

“That’s it? You find out that hundreds of children have been killed and all you can say is ‘I see’?”

“This war has forced us all to do terrible things, Commandant Tyler. I think you of all people understand that. After all, you ran the project after Abbott died.”

I reeled at this, almost crashing into the chair behind me. “I… what? No, I couldn’t have done.” There was no denying I’d known about the place. But to have been actually running it… it was too much to take in.

“Oh, I’m afraid so. I’ve been looking over all the paperwork on the project since I was alerted as to what had happened. And it is your signature on all the procedurals.”

I collapsed into the chair and covered my face. I sensed him there, in the back of my mind, smiling.

“Scott,” Aubrey said. “He’s lying. Tell me he’s lying.”

I looked up at her, unable to find the words. How could I explain that it wasn’t me? I shook my head.

“It certainly looks like your signature on these forms, requesting that the pass mark be changed.” Vine held a piece of paper towards me.

Aubrey snatched it away and read it in shaking hands. “Why would you do that? Why would
anyone
do that? Not if they knew… ” She crumpled it up into a ball and let it fall to the floor. “Are you charging us?” she said in a flat, dead voice.

“No, of course not, Captain Jones. You are dismissed.”

She looked at me, confused and scared, and then ran out of the room. I went to follow when a large hand stopped me. The soldier with the emerging black eye smiled.

“I would like a few more words with you, Commandant,” Vine said. He pulled down the edges of his jacket, attempting to straighten the crinkles and failing.

I gazed out the door, listening to Aubrey’s hurried footsteps get gradually quieter. Would she ever forgive me? Would I ever let her? Was it possible that he would have raised the pass grade, sending even more kids into the programme? Was he really so willing to sacrifice so much?

“Commandant?” Vine’s voice snapped me back to the room.

“Yes,” I said.

“Leave us, please.” The two soldiers looked uncertain. Vine sighed. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”

They stomped out of the room, slamming the door shut behind them.

I waited for what Vine had to say. Was he going to fire me? Can you even fire people from the military?

“I am worried about you, Scott,” he said. I noted the switch to my first name. But rather than reassuring me, the intimacy of it unsettled me. Now we were alone, his tone had changed. “I need to know that you are still focused on what matters.”

“And what is that? Because I don’t think I know anymore.”

“Winning this war.”

“Don’t you mean ending it?” I said.

“No,” he said, the strained kindness in his voice totally gone. “I do not. We must win this war, Scott. Win it at all costs.”

“But then we become as bad as those we’re fighting,”

“Oh, we passed that point long ago. Don’t look at me like that, Scott. I thought you understood better than any that there is no black or white in war. There is only victory or defeat. None of us are going to come out the other side of this war clean and without sin. You did what you did for the greater good.”

I laughed bitterly at his twisted use of the ARES motto. “Don’t try and excuse what I did. I can’t.”

“You will find a way. We all find a way.”

“And if I can’t? If I don’t want to?” I said.

“Then you bury it deep down inside you and you get on with your job,” Vine said, grabbing hold of my arm, his bony fingers digging painfully into my flesh. “You swore an oath, Commandant Tyler,” he said, still keeping his voice low. “To protect this country with your life. Your life!” His fingers dug in deeper. “And everything that comes with it, including your soul. So you can drop this childish pretence of a conscience and continue to do your duty.” He finally let go of my arm.

I rubbed at where his grip was sure to leave bruises, suddenly afraid of the rage within this quiet man.

“Everything stands on a knife’s edge,” Vine said, neatening his cuffs. “Tomorrow, the Emperor of China is coming here to sign a treaty of accord. With China as our ally, we will be unstoppable.”

I wondered if Tzen knew that Vine wasn’t planning on signing the treaty, not to bring about peace but to ensure that Britain came out of this war on top.

Vine continued, “And do you know why he is choosing to come here, to the Hub?”

I shook my head.

“Because he has heard about you. Our super Shifter. He wants to meet you, Commandant. He believes the future of our accord lies with you. I believe he wants you to rule this country as he rules his.”

“I don’t want to rule. I just want to go home.”

Vine ran his tongue over his teeth, making a soft squelching noise. “I am very reassured to hear this. And I suggest you make that quite clear to the Emperor when you meet tomorrow. There might be unfortunate consequences if he wasn’t to understand that.”

“You’re talking to
me
about consequences?” I said with a laugh. I realised what was going on here. Vine wanted the job of ruling for himself. Minister of Defence wasn’t enough for him. He wanted to be Prime Minister. “You have no idea who you are dealing with.”

“Oh, I think I am perfectly aware of who you are, Tyler. It seems recently that it is you who has forgotten. I think I know more about you than you know about yourself. Like your dealings with the Red Hand. Who do you think sanctioned that? Did you think you were working alone, Tyler?”

I felt the blood draining from my head, and the sound of Vine’s voice became muffled and distant.

“I sent you to them. You are nothing but a pawn, Commandant. A powerful one, but a pawn nonetheless.”

“Maybe,” I said, slowly recovering. “But you know what happens when a pawn crosses over to the other side, Minister?”

Vine swallowed hard. “Defection, Commandant? You don’t have it in you.”

I stepped closer to him. “Push me, Vine, and you will see what I have in me.”

He didn’t flinch, but having someone within his personal space, breathing into his face, was clearly making him uncomfortable. “I hear your name whispered in these corridors. Scott Tyler.” He said my name in more of a hiss than a whisper. “The men and women of this division call on your name as they would a saint. You give them courage. With their powers, they could rebel at any point. Change their choices to join S3. Alter their past to ensure their individual survival. But with you at the head, they make the right choices. With you as their leader, they choose to protect the country over themselves. Do you know why that is?”

I wasn’t going to tell him that there was no mystery to that. It was simply because I Fixed them, not giving them any choices. Like I’d done with Cooper. The idea that the soldiers in this unit took strength from that, that they thought I gave them courage rather taking away their freedom, sickened me.

“You are a symbol, Scott. That is why we have not placed you in the Igloo, where we know you could do plenty of good.”

He was threatening me. Toe the line or end up like Benjo. Challenge his position and he would destroy me. I was seeing now why this man had risen to power. Manipulation came as naturally to him as it had Frankie.

“But perhaps your sister…” He stepped away, leaving the sentence hanging. Another warning. Threat upon threat.

“Where is she?”

“Oh, she is quite safe. She is here at the Hub, where she will sit the test again. And this time, I suggest she doesn’t fail. Will that suffice?”

I was starting to understand: the key to victory was compromise. “For now,” I said. “But after the war is over…”

“We will have no need of adult Shifters, I can assure you. We will close Project Ganymede. You have my word.”

He stretched out his hand to me. I took it and we shook, his cold, dry hand closing over my hot, clammy one.

“And my sister?”

“Will no doubt become as valuable a member of the S3 as you have,” he said.

“And you won’t put her in the Igloo, I have your word?” I said.

“Once the treaty is signed, we may find we have no need of the Igloo, either. As long as we still have our super Shifter.”

I nodded. I would do what he asked. I would play along and tell Emperor Tzen what he needed to hear. I would pretend to be the dutiful solider. Because I knew something he didn’t. As soon as I was out of here, I was going to find Aubrey and do what I should done days ago: make sure this war had never started in the first place.

He let go of my hand and knocked on the door. It opened and the two guards peered in, ready to jump to the defence of the Minister if needed.

“Escort Commandant Tyler to his apartment, please.” Vine said. “Ensure no harm comes to him.”

I knew what that meant. It meant they were to watch me. To make sure I stayed true to my word.

I followed Vine out of the cell and smiled at the men. Let’s see if they could keep up.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

It took me three Shifts to shake off my escort. Which was almost disappointing. I was bubbling with so much rage and bitterness, I could do with a fight. But I had to see Aubrey first. The look she’d given me as she’d walked out of the cell burned into my heart. It was the same way she’d looked at me another time, when she’d seen me kissing another girl, only a thousand times worse.

Then, it had taken me days to explain that Frankie had Forced me, for Aubrey to even think about forgiving me. I had no idea what it would take now. Not to mention the fact I had no idea where to find her.

I asked the few people still on duty this late if they’d seen her, and they shrugged, noncommittal. There was someone I was sure would know where she was.

“Zac?” I said, after he picked up.

A croaky voice answered. “It is 2am, Scott. What the hell?”

“Where are Aubrey’s bunks?”

There was a pause. And a sigh. “What have you done?” he said.

“Nothing, I mean… something. But I have to explain to her.”

“Is it something to do with why you took off from the party? Did you two hook up?” He sounded delighted.

“No. It’s not like that. But I screwed up, Zac. Really bad.”