Defector (2 page)

T
anner left without further explanation to fetch Kate. Our only directions were to head to Major’s office ASAP. In the hallway we almost bumped into a group of older agents deep in conversation, voices panicked and expressions strained. Word about another abduction must have already gotten around.

My stomach tightened. What had happened? Who was the newest victim?

When Alec and I stepped into Major’s office, I was surprised to find that Devon and Phil were already there. There was a moment of hesitation in their expressions. Even after living at headquarters for almost a week and seeing me pretty much every day, they still seemed to struggle with seeing me in my “real” body, and not as the person I’d pretended to be back during the Livingston mission. Devon’s blue eyes held mine briefly before his gaze quickly anchored somewhere else. It had been like this ever since he arrived at FEA headquarters, and I couldn’t really blame him. I couldn’t have forgiven him either if I’d been in his stead. I just wished he’d give me a chance to talk to him, but so far his evasive tactics had worked.

Phil occupied the second chair across from Major’s desk, and unlike Devon, he definitely wasn’t trying to avoid me. Quite the contrary, he stared at me with unmasked curiosity like I was a puzzle he needed to figure out. His eyes were a pale, watery blue, like the color had been washed away, and his hair was so light that it was almost white. Like the very first time I’d seen him, the sight of him gave me the creeps.

Someone cleared his throat, and I jumped. Major stood behind me, holding a tray with tea, the steam curling up from the cups in smoky spirals. The china had a blue, flowery pattern, which seemed at war with Major’s personality. The scent of bergamot flooded my nose. Earl Grey—Major’s favorite. I wondered why he didn’t let his secretary, Mrs. Finnigan, handle the tray, but realized she was probably still asleep. After all, Sunday was the only day everyone at headquarters didn’t have to work—at least on a usual Sunday.

Major’s dark eyes took in my crumpled clothes and unkempt hair, but he didn’t comment. He didn’t need to, his disapproval clear on his tanned face. “I’m glad you finally decided to join us,” he said neutrally as he strode past Alec and me and into his office, setting the tray down on his desk before handing a cup to each of us. “Sit,” he ordered in a clipped tone. Alec and I sank down on the glossy, black hardwood chairs across from Major’s desk, which was, as usual, spotless. Despite the dark wooden surface, not a fingerprint or a trace of dust could be seen.

“Major, what happened? Who is missing?” Alec asked, voice businesslike. This Alec—public Alec—was light-years away from the person I knew when we were alone.

Phil began sipping his tea casually, his eyes watching me from the side as if I was the morning entertainment. Why was he so fixated on me when there were much bigger things at hand?

Major sank heavily into his desk chair. “Agent Stevens.”

I let out a small sigh. I was glad it wasn’t someone I was close to, but I immediately felt bad for thinking like that. Stevens was a fellow agent, and who knew what he was currently going through? I’d met him a couple of times during my first mission, but I barely knew anything about him. I became acutely aware of the freezing temperature in the office as the cold from the linoleum floor seeped into my bare feet and spread through my body. Or maybe it was my anxiety that turned my blood into ice.

Who knew what his captors were putting him through? Or whom they were going to target next? Four agents had already been abducted, and the FEA had been incapable of stopping it. I shivered and began rubbing my arms for warmth.

Alec reached for my hand, and a wave of calm overcame me. I smiled gratefully. As long as Alec was at my side, everything would be fine. I don’t know how he did it, but his presence alone always managed to soothe my worries.

“Sir, what exactly happened in Livingston?” I asked, but Major raised his palm. “In a second, once everyone is here. I don’t want to tell the same story twice.” He drummed his fingers against his desk, then stopped abruptly when he felt my eyes on him. Major never showed nerves. Ever.

A knock sounded at the door, and a moment later Kate stepped in, freshly showered, blond hair still wet, and neatly dressed in clean clothes.

“Tanner briefed me on the situation,” she said in the same businesslike voice that Alec had used earlier. She settled herself into the only vacant chair—beside Alec. Her strange coppery eyes met mine for a second before I dropped my gaze. I didn’t want to make eye contact and thus allow her to read my mind. But she must have gotten a glimpse of last night, because her eyes narrowed slightly at me before she gave Alec a curt nod and smile and turned to Major.

“Now,” Major began, “as I said before, Agent Stevens has disappeared. All we know is that he didn’t give his usual status update and we couldn’t reach him by phone or e-mail. Given our experiences with previous disappearances of FEA agents, and the similar patterns of all recent events, I think it’s safe to say that Abel’s Army is involved.”

“But, sir, what makes you so sure? Do we know why Abel’s Army chose Agent Stevens? What is the deciding factor? What are the perceived reasons for the abductions?” Phil sounded like an analyst.

Kate’s eyes cut to me. I tensed. Why was she staring at me like that?

“Their main aim is to weaken us. The FEA is, and always has been, their enemy. So far they’ve abducted agents who weren’t living in headquarters and thus were an easy target. I believe, however, that their tactics might have changed. If they want to grow stronger as an organization, they’ll need reinforcement—Variants with useful talents. The mission in Livingston might have revealed five very interesting new Variations to them.” His gaze glided over us, and I sank deeper into my chair. If Abel’s Army really knew all about our talents, and I was almost certain they knew about mine, then we were all in danger. Alec squeezed my hand, and some of the tension left my chest.

Phil nodded, wide-eyed. His entire body was tense, the cup in his hand tipping precariously to the side. It was only a matter of time before he’d spill the hot liquid all over himself.

Devon’s fingers were turning white from their grip on the armrest. He hadn’t touched his tea yet. If his stomach felt anything like mine, he was probably afraid of regurgitating whatever he’d eaten for breakfast.

“I’ve been expecting their focus to shift, to target you. That’s why I made you join the FEA a couple of weeks before the agreed date,” Major said with a nod toward Devon and Phil. They tilted their heads in understanding, as if they, or I, knew what the hell that meant, as if we had the slightest clue what Abel’s Army was capable of.

“But still, if they were after us, then why take Agent Stevens?” Devon asked.

“He’d been tasked with guarding you while you were still in Livingston. He knew details about your Variations and your personal lives. He can give away important information about all five of you. He’s the first abducted agent who has a certain degree of insider knowledge that could potentially hurt us.” Major pressed his lips together in disapproval, as if he couldn’t believe Agent Stevens had dared to get caught.

“If he told them about your healing power”—he nodded toward Devon—“and about your capability to produce toxin”—he looked at Phil—“I’m sure Abel’s interest will be peaked. Your Variations are quite useful, after all,” Major said with an appreciative look. I wondered if they’d noticed Major’s choice of words.
Useful.
It was a term he loved to use.

Phil looked miserable. “But I can’t control my glands.” He stretched out his arms, gloved palms upward. “It’s not like I’m a biological weapon or anything.”

Major emptied his cup with a grimace. “The dose usually isn’t enough to kill a human, you’re right. At least, not a grown up. But with training and the right incentive, I’m quite sure that Abel’s Army could turn your Variation into something that’s worth being afraid of,” he said. My face must have shown my shock. Major gave me a pointed look. “That’s the problem with Abel’s Army. They wouldn’t hesitate to use your talents to kill and maim, while the FEA wants to teach you to control your Variations.”

“So you believe that we could be next,” Kate said, a hint of impatience in her voice.

“Given your involvement in the last mission and Abel’s interest in that case, I’ve come to that conclusion, yes. The Variations gathered in this room are too valuable for them to ignore. Appropriate security measures must be taken.”

“Alec should be safe, though, don’t you think?” Kate gave a delicate shrug. “After all, there’s nothing he can do that a machine can’t do in his stead. Strength isn’t
that
valuable.”

I couldn’t believe her audacity. Even in a situation like this, when agents were going missing and all of us were potential targets, she didn’t have anything better to do than continue to attack Alec. His fingers tensed in mine, but his face remained a stony mask.

“Alec is a very important asset,” Major said sharply.
Discussion over.
I smirked at Kate, but the expression on her face wasn’t the one I’d expected—not rebuffed, rather challenging. Kate had never defied Major openly. What the hell was going on?

“Until further notice, FEA headquarters will be on high alert.
You
will be on high alert. We have to take all necessary precautions to prevent another abduction from happening. Any kind of suspicious behavior must be reported immediately. Are we clear?”

“Clear,” we echoed as one. I wondered if the others were as confused about the meaning of suspicious behavior as I was. Everyone began rising from their chairs. Alec didn’t look half as freaked out as I felt. He even managed a smile for me, even though he usually kept our romantic interaction to a bare minimum.

“Alec, Kate,” Major’s voice lashed through the room like a whip. “A word with you.” I hesitated and glanced at Alec, Kate, and Major. None of them gave anything away. Alec released my hand with an apologetic smile. “See you later?”

I nodded and, with a last glance at him, left the room and closed the door behind me.

• • •

When I arrived back at my room, Holly was awake and reading an e-mail on our shared computer. But as soon as she heard me, she quickly clicked the browser window shut before I’d even closed the door—before I could catch a glimpse at what she’d been reading. Holly and I didn’t keep secrets from each other. “Hey,” she said without turning around. Her voice was too high.
Strange.

I walked up to her slowly, hoping to catch a glimpse of something on her screen that would give me a clue. But her desktop background—a photo of us in front of the Christmas tree in the common room, wearing red Santa hats and huge grins—was the only thing greeting me. “Everything okay?” I asked, touching her shoulder. She tensed, then put her hand over mine and turned around in her chair, giving me a smile. “Sure.”

I searched her face for any kind of a sign, but it didn’t give anything away. It was Holly’s cheery face, the same face that had brought me through many dark moments. Maybe all this high-alert talk from Major had turned my brain cells to mush. Holly was the one person besides Alec I could trust completely. End of story.

I sank down on the bed, and a moment later Holly joined me. “Hey, you, why the gloom face?”

I put my head down on her shoulder and told her what I’d heard about Stevens and about Major’s suspicions. “Oh, wow, I suppose it’s a good thing that I keep messing up with my Variation. At least that means I’m not valuable enough to be a target,” she said with a laugh. But even that sounded off. I raised my head. “Holly, I don’t know what I’d do if . . .” I swallowed. Even thinking about it made me all choked up. “If something happened to you.”

She blinked quickly, then hugged me. “Oh, please. I’m safe. You heard what Major said. Only useful Variants should be worried. I still can’t get my invisibility under control.” She pulled back and changed the topic. “So! You spent the night with Alec?”

“Just sleeping. Nothing happened,” I snapped back, feeling a blush creep up my neck.

She grinned, then her eyes darted back to her laptop. A small envelope had appeared and then faded. A new e-mail.

“Who are you e-mailing?” I asked casually, but a feeling of concern wormed its way into my brain. I couldn’t stand the thought of Holly doing something without telling me.

She kept staring at her laptop before finally turning to me. Tears sprang into her eyes.

“Holly, what’s wrong?”

Her gaze dropped to her lap, where she was wringing her hands. “It’s . . .” she began, then sighed deeply. “It’s just my parents. My mom e-mailed me to say that Dad lost his job. She’s taken on a part-time job, but she can’t really do more. Someone has to take care of my brothers and sister. Noah has been sick a lot. His medicine is expensive.” Holly had two younger brothers and a younger sister, and her parents had always struggled to make ends meet.

“I’m sure he’ll find a new job soon,” I assured her.

“I should be there to help them. It’ll still be a couple of years before I’ll really earn money as an agent.”

That gave me pause. Somehow, being with the FEA had felt more like a way of living than a job, but Holly was right: As full-fledged agents, we’d get paid for our work.

“Maybe you can ask Major if he can help out. I mean, we’re practically doing this agent-trainee thing full-time, so we might as well get paid for it.”

“I don’t think Major would agree. I mentioned it once, but I got the feeling that he’d prefer that I break ties with them.”

“Are you sure? That sounds so callous.”

“You know he doesn’t care all that much about normal people. And look around: Most FEA agents are either orphans or were abandoned by their parents. I’m pretty much the only one who stays in contact with family, except for Kate and the few others with Variant parents.” She had a point.

“Maybe you could ask Major again? Or I could ask Alec to talk to him. Major listens to Alec.”

Holly shook her head hastily. “No, no. I’ll have to figure out another way. I wish I could live with them for a while to help take care of my siblings, so my Mom can work full-time. But Major would never agree.”