Disruption (24 page)

‘It’s smart.’

‘Yeah it is, you should sign up for an internship,’ I snapped, stomping ahead down the narrow dark tunnel towards the transit system.

Quentin grabbed my arm and pulled me to a halt. ‘I hate them, Maggie. Is that what you need to hear? That I loathe my own family? That I’ve been fed and raised on blood money? That I’ll never be able to look at them again without feeling physically ill? You think because I can acknowledge that my father is shrewd means I admire what he’s doing, that somehow I would consider a life that follows in his footsteps?’ His chest was moving rapidly and I knew his outburst was filled with raw anger. Anger towards his family, but also towards me.

I stepped back. ‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. You’re nothing like them.’

He shook his head, dropping his eyes to the ground. ‘Do you know how much I wish I was you? Even with everything you’ve been through, you have a father who was there for you. He gave you something to fight for and I know that you’ve missed him and fear for him. Hell, I know it’s ruined your family. But at least you can believe in him. You get to fight
for
your family. From here on out, I will only ever fight
against
mine.’

‘You don’t have to,’ I said softly. ‘You can take the permanent disruption and go back to the way things were. You can still have everything you ever wanted, Quin. Maybe … maybe you should.’ I realised in that moment that if that was what he chose, I would understand. I had forced him into this world through no choice of his own. If he wanted his former life, I wouldn’t stand in his way. I’d never bring him trouble. I’d do everything to protect him from afar. Even his brothers, if I could. Most of all, I realised that if he chose that path, I’d miss him forever but … I’d let him go.

He braced his hands on my shoulders. ‘I can never go back. I can never pretend to not know the things I know. I don’t
want
to.’

I nodded, unable to hold his eyes. ‘We should keep moving,’ I said.

His hands slipped from my shoulders and, instead of reaching out, instead of saying something more, I called Gus.

‘So?’ Gus answered.

‘We’re in.’

T
he airport had been a risk, but even with security cameras and heavily armed guards, it was still the smart choice. The alternative would have been to try to travel the entire distance to Mt Weather in the tunnels. The trip was over fifty miles. We never would’ve made the distance on the back of a transit pod without being spotted, not to mention it would’ve been near impossible to hold onto a pod at those speeds for so long.

It was going to be hard enough as it was.

Quentin was beside me as we neared the end of the narrow passageway that led away from the airport and towards the main transit paths. These tunnels looked newer and I assumed the additions had been made by M-Corp when they’d first taken over the underground facilities from the government. Eager to reach more familiar ground, I put a finger to my lips and gave Quentin a meaningful look. He nodded.

We stopped at the end of the tunnel, keeping close to the wall, and snuck a look around the corner. I could hear Quentin’s intake of breath the moment we spotted the two M-Corp guards standing a few metres away.

The security was expected. This wasn’t just any entry or exit point to the tunnels; this was the international airport – a gateway to the rest of the world. M-Corp would have cargo coming and going regularly and, though our intel told us nothing was scheduled for this time, we’d expected them to keep it manned.

Frankly, I was relieved there were only two.

The trick was to take them down without killing them.

I was confident that I was in close-enough range to get to them and make it happen. The danger would be if one of them pressed an alarm button or got a shot off before I could silence them.

Quentin broke through my thoughts when he took a step forwards, as if
he
was about to approach them.

I grabbed his arm and speared him with a steely look, my challenge clear. This was
my
territory. My call. He stared back at me and waited, no doubt considering all possible responses. Finally he stepped back, but refused to break eye contact as we continued our wordless argument.

My lungs filled with a deep silent breath, but I held my ground. There was no way he was going to take the lead out there. This was my job and I was not about to watch him get hurt.

Not after Sarah.

Especially not him.

I pulled my tranq gun out of my bag. It was loaded with a max dosage, much stronger than the one Gus had shot me with last night. It would keep the guards down for at least six hours, and hopefully that was all we’d need. Quentin’s jaw was clenched as he deciphered my plan – which he understood didn’t involve him – and he shook his head.

Feigning concentration, I kept my eyes down and on my weapon, attempting to ignore our ongoing negotiation.

Eventually though, I had to accept that I couldn’t do it alone without taking a chance. My hands went to my hips and I took a few silent breaths before leaning in and whispering, ‘Follow behind. Take down the first guy. Get his gun. Knock him out.
Don’t
kill him, it’ll activate his mortality zip.’ I grabbed his upper arm and squeezed. ‘… And
that
will be bad.’

All security personnel at M-Corp were fitted with alarms. A lot of normal people elected to be as well – it was one of the popular accessories. I could never figure out why. What was the point in having an alarm that was only activated once you were dead? Not like it could save you.

Quentin nodded, still looking unhappy. Without further delay, I turned the corner, gun low by my side. I moved steadily but fast. It took the guards a couple of seconds to see me, a couple more to realise I was a threat. By then I’d already raised my arm and shot the first guy in the neck – one of the only unprotected areas – with a tranq.

They both raised their weapons. There wasn’t enough time for me to aim and shoot at the second guard, but I was close enough now. Behind me, Quentin barrelled towards the first guard, knocking him to the ground. I threw a right hook at the second guard’s face, followed by a right elbow jab, utilising his momentarily stunned state to grab his gun and throw it far away.

That was all I had time for before I copped a heavy fist to my left temple. I stumbled back, but recovered and ducked the second swing, stepping close to the guard and delivering a hard and sharp knee to his groin. He bent over and before his hand could make contact with his radio, I grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulled him down while my knee smacked hard into his nose.

He dropped to his knees. Still in motion, I stepped back and spun around, leg out. My foot collided with the side of his head and he went down.

I reached forwards to check his pulse. Still beating. Then I shot him with a tranq and turned around to see Quentin standing over the first guard – who was well and truly out – his arms crossed over his chest, his eyebrows raised.

‘Don’t think I didn’t note that you gave me the semi-conscious one.’

I shrugged. ‘I’m a better fighter.’

‘Matter of opinion, really.’

‘No. It’s a fact.’

He groaned. ‘You really are trying to emasculate me here, aren’t you?’

I smiled briefly. ‘Not at all. Now help me move them around the corner so we can get home in time for you to bake a pie.’

‘Yes, ma’am,’ he mumbled while my smile widened.

We waited in the shadows for a transit pod. Quentin had listened intently to my instructions on how to jump on a pod in motion.

The first pod to speed by was occupied. I only just managed to pull Quentin back before he started running beside it. He missed the second pod, his hand slipping at the last minute, and he landed roughly on his knees.

He wasn’t happy with his failure. ‘I suppose you got it first go?’ he accused, wiping at the blood on his elbow.

I shrugged a shoulder, heading back to my position by the tracks. He took that for a yes. Truth was, it took me several failed attempts and two broken fingers, but that information wouldn’t help him right now. He had to believe he could do it.

We waited for the next pod, Quentin beginning before me, my place about fifty metres further down the tunnel. That way, if he made a successful jump, it was easy for me to follow.

Third go was the charm. I watched him sprint. Even in the dark it was an impressive show. Quentin was fast and his strength shone through in his ability to control the speed. I didn’t give him enough credit. He leaped into the air like a cougar and, though he grappled, once he got that first hold, I knew he wouldn’t be letting go. I started to run. When I made the leap, Quentin’s hand gripped mine and he pulled me into place.

Another display of his strength.

It was crazy, but riding that pod, jammed up next to him, taking chances with our lives with no guarantee of any reward … I felt safe. It hit me as a persistent ache in my chest, why being with him was so important.

He’d said as much to me earlier, but I hadn’t really absorbed the words. But for the first time since my father was taken, I wasn’t alone.

We settled in for a ride that would take about fifteen minutes and watched the junction signs flash by. This was the furthest I’d ventured into the tunnels, by far. It was also the longest stretch I’d travelled. Watching so many junctions speed by, knowing that within each was a community of imprisoned negs, made me sick to my stomach.

Judging by the disgust on Quentin’s face, he felt the same. And the ache in my chest increased.

The junction numbers counted downwards. After passing Junction 5, we were both on high alert.

At Junction 3, we jumped. Me first, then Quentin.

I dusted myself off from the roll. Quentin had landed with a light jog. Show-off.

Following the map we’d memorised, we turned off the wider path and entered a complex route of smaller tunnels. The tunnels were only wide enough for two people to pass by one another at a squeeze.

We moved methodically, keeping track of where we’d been and taking corners cautiously to ensure there were no more guards waiting. The advantage of using this smaller maze of tunnels was that they appeared relatively unused; they seemed to be maintenance tunnels.

Nearing the target area, I checked the time. We’d been on the move for hours and it was approaching midnight. The lab should be deserted. I couldn’t help but feel a small glimmer of hope that this might all work out.

But when we spotted the entryway into the ‘Development and New Projects Lab’, Quentin gently pulled me back.

‘Mags,’ he said, his voice strained. Desolate.

I looked him over, worried he’d been hurt back with the guards. ‘What’s wrong?’ I asked, trying to stop myself from panicking.

He took a deep breath as if steeling himself. ‘I was just thinking,
have been
thinking for a while now, maybe … maybe we should just forget about the disruption.’

My mouth fell open as his words sunk in. Was he turning his back on our deal? On us? Or was he just afraid?

‘I still have to break into the lab either way. The cell that Gus and I think Dad’s in can only be accessed through the lab,’ I said, closing my eyes and gritting my teeth. I didn’t know what we were going to find in there, but from everything I’d heard, this lab, above all others, meant pain and suffering for its captives. And my father was in there somewhere. I looked back at Quentin warily. ‘This is what you came down here for.’ I couldn’t make sense of it. This meant everything to him. This meant he could have a normal life.

‘No, it’s not. I came down here for you.’ His eyes locked with mine and the connection between us drew me to him. Damn it, I was on the verge of throwing myself at him. I shook my head.

I couldn’t let him do this.

I was too close.

If he walked out of here without the disruption he believed would cure him, he might do something rash and expose himself before I could make him understand. There was a small part of me that still hoped he might never need to know the truth. That maybe he’d be fine. But in my heart I had already realised that wasn’t true.

I took a deep breath and struggled to find a way through my tangled web. ‘You need this, Quin. Your family and friends, hell, the
world
won’t accept you any other way and you know it. You deserve a shot at a normal life and I promise you,’ I grabbed his hands, unable to stop myself, ‘I
promise
you’ll have it. Let’s get the disruption so at least you have it and know you have the control.’

He released one of my hands to run his own through his hair. ‘But what if … what if I activate the adjustment and we … What if
we
don’t rate well, Mags? Eventually the
world
you are talking about will find out if we’re not compatible. It’s more important to me that
we
are okay than how I rate with anyone else. And right now, everyone believes we’re a high match.’

His words could not have shocked me more. My voice shook as I spoke. ‘You don’t want the disruption because … of me?’

‘Not if it means having to give you up.’ His expression was resolute.

‘I love you.’ Eyes wide, I slapped a hand over my mouth. But I was too late. The words were out. God knows they were true, but I’d never intended on saying them, not now,
not
like this.

Quentin smiled softly, his eyes warming as the words sunk in. His hand cupped the side of my face. ‘Since the moment I first turned on my Phera-tech, I was sure I would never hear those words from another person,’ he whispered.

There was a part of me that wanted to silently back up and away from this conversation, or better yet, run down the tunnel with my arms flailing wildly as I screamed in panic. Another part of me wanted to tell him everything. But I was too aware of the risk. I could be minutes away from finding Dad. I had to hold out until we were clear of the tunnels.

Still, I needed to give him something to believe in.

So instead of running, I leaned into him and kissed him. It was gentle to start. A promise on my lips. But the tension and passion that had been building between us for weeks quickly devoured any attempts to be restrained and instead insisted on something altogether more … hellcat-like.

Tucked in the dark corners of his father’s underground empire, Quentin’s hands were in my hair as mine hooked under his arms and held tight. His lips were as full as they’d always seemed and he knew exactly how to use them. In fact, I suspected they had some kind of magical quality since everything he did with his lips seemed to ignite every part of my body that he wasn’t touching. I was lost to him.

Nothing had ever felt so … real.

A cry fell from my lips and he understood, pulling me tighter. Closer to the brink of no return.

It had only been seconds, but I mustered my own supernatural strength and pulled myself away, catching my ragged breath and wild thoughts.

‘We’re going in there to get your disruption and when we get out I’m going to tell you something …’ I swallowed the tight lump in my throat. ‘… that will change everything.’ Although for
us
, it would mean the end. ‘I promise you will never doubt yourself again after tomorrow.’ His brow furrowed and, feeling bold, I reached out and skimmed my fingers over it. ‘And you and I will rate … better than you could imagine.’

‘How can you be so sure?’ he asked.

Because I’d seen it.

I’d always known.

Because somehow we were the perfect yin and yang –his light to my dark. His truth to my lies. His sacrifices to my selfishness.

I glanced at the lab entrance then back to Quentin. We had to keep moving. ‘Just trust me tonight. I’ll tell you everything tomorrow.’

He nodded, all too accepting. He pulled my hand down from the side of his face to his lips and kissed the inside of my palm. ‘I love you too.’

I smiled. I was so screwed. ‘If you tell me that tomorrow, I’ll believe you.’

He stepped in closer, his hand drawing its way firmly around my neck. ‘No, Mags, doesn’t work like that,’ he growled. ‘I’ve already told you those words belong to you. I put them out there so that I could be sure. So that no matter what, I’d
know
that you know. Period.’