Tested (11 page)

His expression furrowed more. “Why did she give me a hard time?”

Missy laughed, wiping at the tears that had snuck out. Tyler watched the wet trails with a look of regret that made her close her eyes for a moment just to erase it from her vision. It hurt her to see that he was suffering for not remembering her.

Without opening her eyes, she replied, “because I think she knew you had a thing for me, and she’s super protective.”

He grunted. Missy opened her eyes to look at him again. “She does need to protect you from me.”

She smiled gently. “I know that, and she probably does too. She just knows how I am around men…normally.”

One brow lifted in question. “Normally?”

Missy shrugged, looking over his shoulder at the white, blank wall. “If you were anyone else, I wouldn’t even let you stand this close to me, never mind touch me.”

Both of his hands gripped her hips this time. She looked back at him in surprise.

“You let me touch you.”

She nodded. “I do.”

He smiled then and she could see the old Tyler instantly. It nearly broke her heart. “Then you also have a thing for me?”

Her breath rushed out of her on a startled laugh. “I don’t know about that.”

His smiled widened. “You do. You are mine and you know it.”

Oh, I’m starting to
, she thought, hope expanding in her chest. But she couldn’t really belong to someone who didn’t even know who she was. She needed to solve that problem before they could deal with their bigger issues.

“What do they give you Tyler?” she asked, changing the topic. “What are these treatments that make you stronger?”

He looked momentarily taken off guard by the swift change in subject, but recovered quickly. He took a small step back, letting his hands drop to his sides. “There is something in the food,” he said.

“The food? How do you know?”

He shrugged. “I can smell it. There is a chemical scent to the food they bring me.”

That was how they were administering the treatments? The blood drained from her face. God, she’d been delivering their dinners, never realizing what she was giving them.

“The man who used to be in the room beside mine realized this as well,” Tyler said. “He refused to eat the food until it smelled clean of anything.”

There was a possibility, Missy thought. “And what happened?”

His face darkened. “He starved to death. It was not pleasant.”

“Jesus,” she whispered in horror. “They just let him die like that?”

Tyler nodded. “He’d already been a couple of days into it when I was brought to this room. We spoke through the wall to each other. He didn’t last much longer than that. He wouldn’t even drink the water so it didn’t take long.”

Missy felt sick just thinking about it. What was wrong with these people? She looked up at Tyler. “Do you know why they brought you here? Have they ever said anything about what they’re training you for?”

“War,” he said simply. “They want us to attack some building and kill a man there. They’ve shown us all his picture.”

“Us who?” Missy asked.

“There is a group of us that they brought into a room,” he started but stilled, turning his head to the door slightly.

“What is it?” she asked softly.

“Someone is coming,” he said, moving in front of her. He walked back, forcing her to do the same, until her back met the wall, her front pressed against him. She couldn’t even see around his big body to see what was happening. A moment later she heard the slot in the door open and the scraping sound of a tray being pushed through.
Dinner time
, she thought, her stomach rolling.

CHAPTER TWELVE

“Is it just me, or is it unusually quiet around here?” Seamus said, stretching out on the sofa. Charlotte looked up at him just as the front door burst open.

Sam, Vi and Pixie walked in, their voices blending into one another’s as they spoke excitedly. Seamus sighed loudly.

“I spoke too soon,” he muttered.

Charlotte smiled at him before focusing on the girls. She couldn’t make out what they were talking about, but they smelled like a fire pit.

“Where have you been?” Lake asked, walking in from the kitchen.

“Please tell me you aren’t cooking in there,” Seamus all but groaned.

“It’s almost lunch,” she said in reply, which translated to “yes”. Charlotte could practically see him cringe.

“I think I’m still full from breakfast,” he said.

Lakes brows came together in puzzlement. “You hardly ate at breakfast,” she argued.

Charlotte stood up before Seamus said anything else. She didn’t want him to hurt Lake’s feelings. She knew how hard the other girl tried at cooking. “What’s going on?” she asked the newcomers, shifting the other two’s attention.

“Phoenix got attacked by a group of soldiers,” Sam said.

Charlotte’s entire body froze. Seamus sat up instantly, his face a mask of rage. She saw Bridgette and Roman enter the room from the kitchen just as she sensed Pete’s presence. He came to stand behind her, his body just inches from hers.

“What do you mean she got attacked?” he demanded.

“Those assholes set her up,” Sam said, practically spitting out the words.

“Who? What assholes?” Bridgette asked.

“She was in an area we normally monitor,” she explained.

“Soldiers blocked off either end of the street,” Vi said angrily. Charlotte couldn’t remember ever seeing the purple haired girl so upset by something. “Usually the citizens there would help us, but they were all gone.”

Roman stepped closer, his face pensive. “Gone?” he asked.

Vi nodded. “All of them. Every single shop was closed down and empty. The whole damn place set her up, those assholes!”

“Jesus,” Charlotte said, sitting down. It was one thing to have soldiers after you, that was something they were used to, but to have their own people turn on them? Especially considering the Archers were the ones who tried to make things better for the people of the western ghetto. They were fighting to help everyone, to create a better life for them, and those same people they fought for had simply sold them out.

“Ludwig must have found a way to buy them,” Roman said. “He normally just ignores the lowers, but he seems to have changed up his game.” He looked to Charlotte. They were the only two people in the room who truly understood Ludwig.

“He’s getting smarter,” she said to him, the rest of the room fading out. “He’s always relied on the soldiers, but he’s finally realized where the real power lies.”

“With the people,” Roman said, voicing her own thoughts. “The soldiers can’t find the rebels, but the citizens can.”

“And they’re actually giving in to him,” Pete said, rubbing a hand down his face. “This is a major problem.”

“I’d say,” Sam said. “Who the hell can we trust, if our own people are willing to sell us out?”

“How long until they find us here?” Bridgette added.

“Christ, does it ever stop?” Seamus said, letting his head fall back on the couch. “So now we’re fighting to help people who have no problem throwing us to the wolves. Great. Just bloody great.”

“Just because some of them did, doesn’t mean they all will,” Lake argued. “We all know there are plenty of people out there that are counting on us and supporting what we do. We can’t just give up because of a few.”

“A few?” Sam said, her eyes burning. “It was the whole bloody street, Lake! That’s not a few. It’s easy for you to keep your faith when you weren’t the one who had to see Phoenix. They beat her bad, and would have killed her if we hadn’t intervened.”

“How did you stop it?” asked Charlotte.

Sam threw her arm around Pixie’s shoulders. “Our girl here set off quite a show while Trent went in and grabbed her.”

The door opened again and Garrett walked in, his hair blown wildly from the wind. He froze as all heads turned toward him. “What?” he said, looking from face to face. “What’d I do?”

“Where have you been?” Pete asked.

“I went with them,” he said, motioning to the girls, “but I got lost coming back.”

“Figures,” Seamus muttered.

“Oy, what’s that supposed to mean?” Garrett said, stepping further into the room.

“It means I’m surprised you make it down to the kitchen every morning, with your sense of direction,” he said, “or lack thereof.”

Pete’s youngest brother shrugged it off. “Whatever. I learned some interesting news from that Cal guy Phoenix was talking about the other day,” he told them. “Turns out he saw another van going around and taking people off the street, but it’s not the same one as before.”

“How does he know?” Roman asked.

“Well, for one it was black. And for another, he tried following it, but said they went in the complete opposite direction as the other one.”

“Fantastic,” Seamus said sarcastically. “More players on a board that is getting pretty crowded in my opinion.”

“It could be the General still,” Pete said. “We have no proof that says otherwise, aside from the direction they were driving. Who else could it be?”

“If Trent got Phoenix,” Bridgette said suddenly, “where are they?”

“Sir?” Xavier called out, his eyes slowly adjusting to the dim lighting in Ludwig Tennebris’ office. The heavy drapes were pulled shut against the day, the only light provided by the large fire roaring in the hearth. The leader of the New World sat in front of the flames, his eyes staring unseeing into the orange glow.

Ever since Weapon X had mysteriously disappeared, and then Roman Adamson soon afterward, their leader had retreated further and further into his own space. Some of the soldiers worried about him, noticing a difference in the usually charismatic leader. Others insisted there was nothing wrong with him.

Few actually had the clearance to speak directly with him so they didn’t see him the way Xavier had been over the past few days. He was getting worse, Xavier decided. Orders were still being given, and things were slowly moving forward, but it was different than it had been before. Xavier missed Roman, and wished he was here to talk some sense into Ludwig. No one knew what had happened to him, but after the day he’d vanished from the hospital room, Ludwig hadn’t come out of his office until two days later stinking like alcohol, eyes bloodshot, heavy bags beneath them.

Xavier had been doing his best to fill in the role Roman had disserted, but it was becoming increasingly difficult the less direction he received. The soldiers were focused on finding these rebels even more now that Sal, their main arms dealer, had left again and was no longer looking over all their shoulders. So far they hadn’t come up with much. Despite the fact that he’d grown up with most of the men they were hunting, Xavier knew that it was time for drastic measures, and enough of these little schemes to draw the resistance out.

“Sir,” he called out again, moving closer.

Slowly Ludwig’s head turned in his direction, his eyes blinking a few times as though he’d forgotten where he was.

“What news?” he asked, his voice just as strong and focused as it always was. Xavier admired the way their leader could pull himself together so quickly. Or, at least, appeared to. There was still a slight gleam to his eye that seemed distant and removed.

“We had one of the rebels from the gathering cornered this afternoon in the western ghetto,” he replied.

Ludwig nodded. “So that is where they’re hiding,” he said, confirming their suspicions.

“It would appear so, sir,” Xavier said.

His leader rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his gaze looking over Xavier’s shoulder at the empty space there. “Which one was it?” he seemed to ask hesitantly.

“She had bright red hair,” answered Xavier.

“And she was alone?”

He nodded.

“Where is she now?”

Xavier shifted uneasily, his mouth suddenly uncomfortably dry. “Well, that is the problem, sir. We lost her.”

Ludwig’s gaze snapped back to him, one eyebrow raised in disbelief. “You lost her,” he repeated, more as a statement than a question.

Xavier cleared his throat. “Yes, sir. Our men had her but they were distracted by a series of explosions. When they returned, she was gone.”

“A series of explosions?” An incredulous laugh escaped him. He stood up, walking over to his desk, chuckling the entire time. “What’s next I wonder?” He looked up and Xavier saw the spark of anger in his expression now. It wasn’t something he liked to face and once more found himself wishing for Roman’s return. “These rebels so easily manipulate my men –
my men!
An army of
trained
men are being outwitted by a God damn group of girls!”

Xavier took an unconscious step backward. “W-we don’t know for a fact that they are all women,” he argued uselessly.

“It doesn’t matter!” he yelled. “I sent you out to retrieve one of them to bring back to me, and not only have you failed, but you’ve managed to allow a section of the ghetto to be destroyed without my consent. How do you think that makes me look to the rest of the citizens of the western ghetto? Their little band of heroes continue to get one up on the men of the NWO. If that keeps happening, who do you think they will put all their faith in?”