“I thought the R & D department was under investigation after the stunt you pulled, and yet here you are.” I smirked. “Guess you passed the loyalty test.”
“Yes, I did,” she answered coolly, her bob tilted to the left with her head as she began fiddling around in the case. “Unlike Dot and Pete. But then, I’ve always been loyal.”
Dot and Pete. Those two had run from the Sect. But had they run because they were guilty? Or because they were scared?
Mellie used a pad to clean the area around my neck. And not for the first time.
“You were the one who injected me with that mind-control crap.”
She laughed a little at my limited technical vocabulary, but it didn’t deter me. I peered up at the bodyguard by the door, who stared down at the both of us through his thick shades.
“Tell me the truth,” I said. “Did Dot tell you to do all that?”
“Dot’s a brilliant mind in her field,” Mellie replied. “She also needs help remembering what day it is. You really think that’s the kind of player you want on board for a conspiracy?”
“But you are, right?” I flinched at her touch, the wetness of the alcohol pad picking up the chill from the room. “They had nothing to do with it, did they?” A wave of relief washed over me, but it was short-lived. Mellie pulled out the inoculation gun from the briefcase. I eyed the pen-like device as Mellie checked its contents, then turned my attention to the agent standing at the door. “So who do you take your orders from?”
He didn’t answer.
“Don’t worry.” Mellie flicked the gun with her finger. “We’ll take you to see him soon enough.”
“You really think so, don’t you?” I gave her a generous smile as she lifted her arm. “Poor you.”
A crash. It was from Chae Rin’s room. Mellie turned around sharply, her eyes wide as the commotion began. Without wasting another second, I took advantage of her distraction, punching her as hard as I could across the face, knocking her out. “I really don’t feel sorry for that,” I said, jumping to my feet with the syringe in hand.
I was fast, too fast for the agent to overcome his shock as he reached for his gun. I kicked the weapon out of his hand, ducking his swing. He managed to grab my neck as I straightened back up, but he’d left his exposed.
This was my chance.
I jammed the syringe into his neck. Only one shot—and this shot hit its mark. He sputtered and gasped, letting me go as I squeezed the pump. Even with the chemicals coursing into his system, he still had enough strength to continue attacking before the effects set in. And while his next punch was less focused, I couldn’t afford to be hit. Taking advantage of his sluggishness, I cracked his kneecap with another hit, and when he doubled over in pain, I gave him a swift uppercut. My powers weren’t back yet, so the impact battered my knuckles, but the attack did the trick. He fell back through the door, hitting the ground with a satisfying thud.
“I’ve had just about enough of the Sect’s bullshit,” I said, striding out the door after him as he moaned and struggled to get up. “We’re done with you.” One kick to the head and he was out cold.
Lake and Chae Rin had come out at the same time to watch me deliver the final blow.
“Damn, kid,” Chae Rin said, “you’re—”
“Search their pockets,” I said, crouching down over the agent’s unconscious body. “They use a keycard to get into the interrogation cell.”
They didn’t waste any time, disappearing back inside their cells to search for what we needed. This agent’s pockets were empty. So were Mellie’s.
“Found one!” Lake said, and she ran out into the hall with the same little white keycard Brendan had used to get inside.
Grabbing it from her, I swiped the pad. The door opened.
Tears were swelling in my eyes before I even saw the blood wetting Belle’s blond hair and dripping down her stomach. Her T-shirt was discarded on the floor, so I could see all the cuts he’d made on her stomach, the holes, the burns. I thought, if anyone, Belle would be strong enough to take it. But mingled with the sweat and blood were tears staining her cheeks. For me, it was three hours of her silence. In reality, it was just that I couldn’t hear her screaming.
The Surgeon didn’t seem to care as we ran across the deep, white cell to get to her. He didn’t put up a fight, either. Brendan was right about him. He wasn’t a Sect agent in the sense of duty. He’d already gotten what he wanted. Stepping back, he put up his hands in surrender as a crying Lake helped to unstrap Belle from the operating table.
“You learn a lot when you’re inside someone,” he said suddenly. “This one . . . has a lot of pain. She told me many things.”
I grabbed his bloody scalpel off the table.
“I don’t think you’re capable of that.” His eyes were serene as he watched me approach him, half his expression obscured behind his mask. “But she is capable of many things under the right circumstances. Or so I’ve learned. Especially now. You don’t know what torture can do to someone.”
“Maia!”
Only after Chae Rin’s cry did I realize that I’d already raised the scalpel above my head.
“We have to go,” she said. Lake and Chae Rin had helped Belle put her shirt back on. One of Belle’s arms was around each of their necks.
They were right. Besides, June wouldn’t have wanted to see me like this. I lowered my hand, dropping the scalpel, but the Surgeon had one last thing to say.
“I think you’ll be surprised soon, little one.”
A hard punch in the face was all it took to shut him up. He went down hard, unconscious.
“Let’s go,” I told them.
We dragged the unconscious bodies into our cells and shut the door behind them before we took off. With Belle disabled, we had to march up the long, dark stairwell slowly, but with each step, I felt my power stir up inside me. Our magic was coming back. Which was good, because we were going to have to fight our way through security.
Up the stairs, through the corridors. They were shooting at us the moment the door slid open. We ducked behind a corner as the bullets whizzed over our heads. Belle was groaning from the impact, covering her head feebly with shaking hands.
“Someone do something!” I said, trying to call forth fire, but while I felt the energy swell inside of me, it wasn’t powerful enough to even make my fingers spark.
“Trap and release, trap and release, trap and release,” Lake muttered furiously under her breath before she let out a cry. “Ugh, I’m tired of all you people!”
A spontaneous burst of wind funneled through the room and crashed into the security. I got to my feet in time to see their bodies smashing against walls, landing at odd positions across the room, their weapons flying several feet away from them.
Lake blinked. “I guess my powers are coming back.”
“Well, you were always better at it than us.” Chae Rin picked Belle’s arm up again. “Let’s go. Come on, Ice Princess, heal fast. We can’t carry you around forever.”