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MAYA RAN, DESPERATE TO ESCAPE THE CREATOR’S BITTER BETRAYAL.
He never wanted her, never intended for her to join the Order.

Maya wasn’t anything more than a pawn, someone to lure the Assassin home, an object for her rage.

Bait.

She choked on the thought, her stomach clenching in violent revolt. She raced down the hall and into the stairwell, her mind and spirit broken.

Down two flights of stairs she ran, stopping at the dorms. She opened the heavy door and walked down the corridor, each step measured. Controlled. Fresh recruits passed her with a nod. They sensed her abilities, heard the rumors of her skills.

Not rumors
, she thought.
Fact
.

Maya considered herself stronger than LeMercier’s precious Assassin and it was time to prove it.

The recruits continued to pass her with respectful nods. They had no idea about the monster lurking just two flights above them. The Creator would think nothing of ending their lives to serve his Assassin. The recruits meant nothing more than a means to an end. They were expendable, like her.

How did I miss this?
Maya wondered.
You never wanted me
.

Anger filled her body. She opened the door to her room and locked herself inside.
You’ll pay
, she thought as the gravity of the Creator’s betrayal unfolded in her thoughts.
You’ll both pay.

The memory came quickly, the sound of her father’s screams when the walls rained down on top of him, the fear rank in the air as the entire west wing of the estate rattled and shook. At first, Maya thought it was an earthquake. But when she saw Dakota walking away from the building with LeMercier, she knew. She was to blame.

No one spoke of Dakota’s involvement in Maya’s father’s death. They all said he died a hero, saving LeMercier and Dakota from the falling stone as the building collapsed. Maya didn’t believe them.

LeMercier told her the truth eventually. And he promised vengeance.

Another lie.

Maya ran through a million scenarios in her head, playing out every possible consequence for every list of actions. She’d get only one chance to prove her worth to the Creator, one chance to exact her vengeance on the source of her anguish.

Dakota.

Noises poured through her concrete walls, emanating from the hallway. Evening practice was about to begin, hours of hand-to-hand combat followed by more hours perfecting psychic defense. The training was perfected by her.

Maya thought of the recruits. LeMercier’s numbers had more than doubled since her absence. He was readying an army, waging a war. The recruits were fresh and green. They needed a leader just as she’d needed Josh so long ago. With focus, they’d be unstoppable.

“Good,” she whispered as new scenarios engulfed her mind.

The recruits would help her if she asked. They’d do anything, desperate to show off their skills and curry favor with the Creator.

Maya inhaled a sharp breath and allowed a scene to unfold. She and her army would destroy Dakota. They’d kill David as she watched; torture him until Dakota begged for mercy—a mercy that would never be granted. Maya, alone, would prove her dominance and destroy the Creator’s precious Assassin.

Then LeMercier would finally understand the truth—

Maya is the true Assassin.

The Order needed her.

They would all
need
her.

Project Stargate 2.0

The Solomon Experiments

Dr. LeMercier’s Personal Journal –

Dec 29, 2002

Day 183:

The day I’ve awaited is here. She killed a human, someone she cared for—all without regret or remorse. And more, her actions solved two problems.

The others think she killed by mistake, driven by the uncontrollable emotions of a child. They believe she is not a killer. I know the truth, she lives to kill. Only to kill.

The deaths will serve us well. Not only will loyalties be assured through this act, no one will betray me now.

More, the assassination proved that psychic killers can be created. We will perfect this new art of war and unleash their abilities on the world. Our sons and daughters won’t have to be slaughtered in wars that never end, not any more. We can kill more effectively now, save American lives.

Dr. Tate fears permanent closure of the facility if news of the deaths get out. Christyn agrees. They are all so weak, so short-sighted. There can be no growth, no evolution, without loss of life. What we’ve witnessed here is the future. I will not allow our triumphs to be upstaged by their fear.

We’ve created the perfect weapons of mass destruction. Now, I need only targets and the world will be . . . saved. By me. My army.

A new world order is in my grasp.

I
WAKE BOUND TO A CHAIR IN THE LAB, DAVID BY MY SIDE
. His body is covered with a myriad of scrapes and bruises. Sun streams through the windows. We’ve been here all night.

“David,” I whisper.

There’s no answer.

My mind replays the last of my memories. Maya’s death nearly in my grasp, losing consciousness. I pull against the metal binds holding me, unable to break free.

Maya escaped. I must find her. Finish what I’ve started.

“Don’t worry,” LeMercier’s voice settles on my thoughts. “Maya will find you soon enough. This time, you will fulfill your mission, soldier.” LeMercier’s voice scrapes through me. “Or David will be the next to die. All because you refuse to act.”

Chills cascade down my spice as his voice fades away.

“Don’t . . . listen . . . to him.” David voice is weak and thready.

“David?” I don’t know what’s happening.

Pain screams from my shoulder as a guard burrows his thumb into my wound. The agony sharpens my senses. “Stop,” I growl.

“Make them, Assassin.” LeMercier’s voice compels me to act.

Before I can release myself from the guards, more pain rips through my shoulder. I inhale my fury and swallow it down, unwilling to show them the depth of my torture.

LeMercier smiles. “Good, Dakota. You learn quickly.”

The guards leave me and go to David. They smash his head and I scream. “Stop it,” I yell. “Don’t hurt him.”

LeMercier’s eyes fill with fury. “You care for him,” he spits. “That is your weakness.”

“Caring for someone isn’t a weakness.” I glare at the guards, willing them to stand down. Their eyes meet mine and they laugh.

“It’s a weakness you get from Christyn.” Mom’s name sounds wrong on LeMercier’s tongue.

“I take after my parents,” I say and I square my shoulders in defiance.

LeMercier closes the distance to me, his hands clamped on my chin. He forces my face to his. “Yes you do.” His voice sends a trickle of fear through me.

“Stop!” David yells as the guard falls to the ground.

LeMercier spins toward David and pins him with his glare. A moment passes before David unleashes a feral scream.

“No!” In a moment, I’m free from my binds. I barrel into LeMercier, sending him backwards into a metal table. He laughs, “Your anger makes you stronger,” he says. “I shall have to unleash more of your rage, I see.”

“Don’t listen to hi—.” David’s words are cut off by another scream.

“Stop!” I say, afraid to move. “I’ll help you. Just leave him alone.”

LeMercier stares through me, his mind brushing against mine. My head tingles as random flashes of the past ten years float in and out of consciousness. I grit my teeth, struggling against his onslaught.

“Your mother has made you weak.”

“Leave my parents out of this.”

“You are less than what you were born to be, so much less. All because she took you from me.”

I shove him from my thoughts with a grunt and send his lamp crashing to the floor.

LeMercier steps closer. “You think you can scare me, Assassin?” His voice sounds more like a low growl. “I see your weakness now, one you did not have when I trained you.” His breath is hot against my face. “You hesitate when you should strike.” He pulls my face to his. “You are . . . broken.”

His words ignite a fresh rage. My mind clears all thoughts save one. Fresh waves of adrenaline surge through me, sending papers flying in every direction as the surfaces of his desk, his book cases, his files are cleared with a single thought. “I am not weak,” I say. “My parents have made me strong enough to face you.”

LeMercier’s death weighs heavily on my thoughts. Every instinct, every thought compels me to kill.

“Finally,” LeMercier says with a smile.

I fume, determined to end his smug expression.

“I guess there is more of your father in you than I realized.” His pride creeps under my skin and my stomach turns. LeMercier circles behind me, gluing me to where I stand. “I’m proud of you,” he says. “So very proud of my daughter.”

Daughter
.

The word rains down on me as everything grinds to a halt. LeMercier’s saccharine smile steals the oxygen from my lungs. My too-fast pulse roars in my ears. Flashes of my life before, my life here shatter around me.

Moments in the lab with LeMercier.

Mom’s near confession in her journal.

The skills, the nightmares that could have come from him.

I can’t breathe . . .

think . . .

feel . . .

Three men bind my hands as David is dragged from the room.

“I’d love to explore your rage a little more, but training is over for now.” With a wave of his hand, the guards drag me away.

I pull and push against their hold, force myself into their thoughts. Nothing works. There’s no escape.

I’M STILL STRUGGLING AGAINST THE GUARDS WHEN THEY PUSH ME INTO THE DARK ROOM
. I collide with the hard ground and my knees grind into the dirt. I scramble to my feet and rush the door. Too late. The heavy wood slams in my face, locking with a loud
clunk
.