Revival (The Variant Series, Book 1) (29 page)

And she was rather attached to her left butt-cheek. She’d rather not part with any of it.

“You look nervous,” said Declan. “Maybe giving you a gun isn’t such a good idea.”

“Are you kidding?” she said. “It’s a
terrible
idea. But I’m fine. Honest.”

“Just,
please
,” he said. “Remember what I’ve told you. And
don’t
take off that safety until you’re ready to use it.”

Alex created a small sphere of electricity in her hand, just to test her strength, and then dispersed it. “Hopefully I won’t
need
to use it—I think I’ve still got a few hours before I’ll lose my jumping ability. Besides. I have a much more powerful weapon at my disposal.”

“The spheres?”

“My brain.”

“Oh,” he said, cracking a smile. “I’ll be sure to add that to our list of assets for next time.”

“Smartass.”

“Always.”

“You should be more careful what you say to me, Decks. I
am
armed, you know. And it’s never wise to piss off a girl capable of first electrocuting you, and then
shooting you, and then dropping you in a lake. It’s only asking for trouble.”

“Yeah, well,” he said. “I trust you not to kill, maim, or drown me without just provocation. Now c’mere.”

“Why?”

“We need to do one last thing before we go.”

“Oh?” said Alex, taking a step closer. “What’s that?”

Declan reached out, took both of her hands in his, and drew her toward him. The current flowing between them grew stronger.

“Figured you could use the pick-me-up,” he said softly, a roguish grin on his face.

The long list of reasons Alex had conjured to ensure that she stayed away from the caustic, self-assured and insufferable blonde that now held her captive by his gaze, had been utterly forgotten. All the arguments she’d had with herself over the course of the last three days had faded to nothing under the weight of those hazel eyes.

The lamp on the bedside table flickered.

Declan’s gaze slid down to focus on her mouth and Alex’s heart started beating double-time.

She took another step closer… Just as the sound of a creaking floorboard reached them from the hallway.

Declan’s attention shifted to the open bedroom door—and they jumped.

They landed in a wooded area in the dark of night.

He dropped her hands.

Whatever moment they’d been heading toward back at the cabin, they’d left behind them when they jumped. Declan glanced around, finally fixing his attention on a glaring white light that was shining from the other side of a nearby hill. He started toward it.

Alex followed, tripping clumsily over fallen branches and pitfalls in the darkened forest.

“Saranac Lake,” said Declan, over his shoulder.

“What?”

“It’s where we jumped to. I figured you were about to ask where we were,” he said. “You usually do.”

She didn’t say anything, just kept following him through the black.

When they reached the crest of the hill he pulled her down beside him. They knelt there in the underbrush, taking in the scene below.

The compound was surrounded on all sides by a ten-foot-high fence topped with razor wire, with only a small yard standing between the fence and the metal-sided building. A single watchtower loomed by the front gate. From this height and vantage point, Declan and Alex could see down into the darkened tower. A single guard sat in the enclosure, his feet propped up in a square cutout window, watching something on a mini-television.

In the yard below, a second guard appeared to be walking in a perpetual circle that took him through the yard and around the exterior of the metal building.

Most interesting to Alex, however, was the sight of her aunt and her friends all seated in the yard at the front of the building. All eight of them appeared unharmed.

“Something’s not right,” said Declan after the guard finished another lap around the complex. “There are only two guards watching them. Even if they had used a pulse to knock out your Aunt’s ability to jump
before
… there’s power in the facility. All she would have to do is take some from those floodlights, grab the others, and
jump
. So
why hasn’t she
? What’s stopping her?”

“Maybe they did something else to her,” said Alex, suddenly frightened for her aunt. “Something that took her power away.”

Declan shook his head. “I don’t think so. They have plenty of methods for disabling other types of Variants, but for Jumpers, they only ever use a pulse. I don’t know what else they could have used on her.”

Alex examined the group more closely. They didn’t
look
afraid. Some of them, like Brandt and Aiden, simply looked bored. Others, like Grayson and Nate, looked decidedly
pissed
about something.

“Well standing here hypothesizing isn’t going to help them,” said Alex. “I say we jump over there, grab the others, and jump back to the cabin.”

“It’s too easy,” said Declan. “This whole thing feels
wrong
.”

“Do you have any other ideas?”

Declan frowned. “We’ll need to take out the guard in the tower.”

Alex stared down at her hands in the black. She had an idea, but she was frightened that it might not work the way she wanted it to.

“I think I should go,” she said. “I have something I want to try.”

“No way, Lex. I can handle it.”

Maybe he was right. Alex wasn’t really sure her plan would work, anyway… And Declan
was
trained for this sort of thing.

In the yard below, Kenzie and Brian were sitting off to one side. She couldn’t quite see Kenzie’s face, but she could see Brian’s clearly. He was crying, although he seemed to be trying his best to hide it from the others. He wasn’t doing a very good job of it, though, because his sister had taken notice.

After watching Kenzie reach over and hug the boy tightly, Alex got to her feet.

“Alex?” said Declan. “What are you doing?”

Alex materialized in the cramped watch tower behind the guard. He whipped around to face her, reaching for his holster. Alex was faster. She placed her hand on his chest—and sent a surge of electricity cascading through her palm.

The man fell from his chair and lay sprawled on the ground.

Cassie had only been half right, earlier, when she’d said that Alex had no backbone.

When it came to defending
herself
? To fighting for what
she
deserved?

Alex was a coward. Every time.

But when it came to defending her family and friends? To fighting for the people she cared about?

Well, in those all-important moments Alex was a true force to be reckoned with.

She knelt beside the fallen guard, checking for a pulse. Strong and steady. He was merely out cold.

Alex smiled and jumped back to Declan’s side in the forest.

“What did you just do?” he hissed. “I told you not to—”

“It’s
okay
, Declan. Calm down! I just knocked him out.”

“How? Those spheres would have blown him to bits!”

She wiggled her fingers in the dim light. “I electrocuted him. Knocked the poor guy out like a light.”

“You… We can
do
that?” he asked, a hint of awe in his tone.

She smiled. “So, what now, Decks? He won’t be out for long.”

Declan shook his head slowly in amusement, then returned his attention to the compound below.

The guard’s circuitous pacing had led him around the side of the building. They had maybe thirty seconds before he reappeared.

“Alright,” he said, taking her hand. “Let’s go.”

They jumped, but as they started to reappear an unyielding pressure pushed against them, forcing them to materialize a few feet from where Declan had intended.

“Decks! Alex!” Kenzie said, jumping to her feet.

Declan glanced at the empty space behind him where he’d intended to reappear. “Well, that was weird.”

“What just happened?” asked Alex

“It’s like something was there,” said Declan. “We’ll figure it out later, right now it’s time we got you guys out of here. Come on. Before that guard comes back.”

No one moved to get up.

“We can’t, Decks,” said Brian.

“What?” said Declan. “Why not?”

A tremor rippled through the air, encircling their group. The sight reminded Alex of the rippling waves of heat that hover above scorching blacktops during the middle of summer. The mirage shuddered violently, and in the next instant, fourteen Agents armed with assault rifles shimmered into view.

They were surrounded.

“
That’s
why not,” said Aiden. He nodded toward the massive man that had his rifle trained on Declan. The Agent had a shaved head and every patch of skin visible below his chin was covered in tattoos. Alex was fairly certain he’d be able to bench-press half of Bay View High’s varsity football team with each massive arm, if put to the test. “His name’s Dimitri. He’s from Vladivostok. Two guesses what
he
can do.”

Declan, impudent to the last, grinned up at the giant Russian. “Playing hide and go seek with you as a kid must have been a real bitch.”

Dimitri only smiled.

“Miss Parker and Mr. O’Connell,” said a woman’s voice. “Welcome.”

The wall of Agents parted, allowing a petite woman with short gray hair, dressed smartly in a gray pantsuit and pumps, to enter the circle.

Grayson and the others finally stood.

“I believe I made you a promise, Jonathan,” she said. “Cil? You can take Brian, Cassandra and Mackenzie home now. You can go too, Carson. You’ll see no more trouble from the Agency. We thank you for your cooperation.”

“
Cooperation
,” said Brandt. “That’s a laugh.”

“I’m not leaving without my niece,” said Cil angrily.

“Cil, it’s alright,” said Grayson. “I’ll take care of her. You have my word. Please, take the children back to the cabin and wait for us. We’ll be there soon.”

Cil looked to Alex.

“It’s alright, Aunt Cil,” she said. “Please… Just get them out of here.”

After a long moment, her aunt took hold of the others and jumped, but she was definitely
not
happy to do it.

“Why don’t you let the others go, too?” asked Alex.

“Leverage,” said Aiden. “That’s right, isn’t it? Alex jumps and you shoot the rest of us? Isn’t that how it works?”

An almost paralyzing fear gripped her.

They were well, and truly,
stuck
.

Realizing that there was no possible way of escaping this place that didn’t involve someone ending up in a body bag, Alex decided to do the only thing she could do: offer herself in trade for the others.

“It’s me you want, right?” she said slowly. “I’ll stay—
willingly
—just so long as you let them go.”

The offer hadn’t worked on Masterson, but she prayed that the Agency would be more inclined to negotiate. She simply hoped that Ozzie had been right about Grayson and his family being untouchable.

“Alex, wait,” said Grayson. “Just give me a moment to talk to Director Carter before you agree to anything. She’s a reasonable woman.” His words carried a bitter edge. “I’m sure we can figure something out.”

Director
Carter? So this was the woman behind the Agency?

Alex had been expecting someone… taller.

“I really don’t think so, Jonathan,” said the Director. “You know her best option is to come with us willingly. The Agency can protect her. We aren’t the bad guys, no matter how hard you try to make us out to be. What I’m offering Alexandra is a chance at a
better
life.”

“What?” Alex asked, confused. “What do you mean, you want to give me a ‘better life?’ Are you arresting me?”

“No, child.” The Director laughed. “We’re not
arresting
you. You’ll simply become a… a ward of the state, in a manner of speaking. You’ll come to live and work at the Agency. We’ll be your new home.”

Grayson scowled. “For heaven’s sake, Dana. You can’t just
take
her.”

“We can,” she said sternly. “And we will. The blood running in that girl’s veins is the last
undamaged
resource of VX-2 in existence. That makes her Agency property, Jonathan, whether you like it or not. Now, we’re not heartless. We could put her down and eliminate the threat, but we
won’t
. We have every intention of training her as an operative and teaching her to control her gifts. We’ll be giving her a better life.”

There was that phrase again.

“Will you listen to yourself?” said Grayson. “How could that
possibly
be a better life than the one she’s got? You’ll be taking away her freedom, not to mention her future. And for what? For the chance of training her as a
weapon
to be used at your disposal?”

“We can protect the girl, Jonathan. It’s what Nora and James would have wanted—for her to be
safe
. Not just from Masterson… She also needs to be protected from the world. Do you know what the extremists would do to her if they knew what she was and what she was capable of? If they
knew
there was another like Samuel?
We
can keep her safe. The Agency is the best choice she has.”

“That’s not a choice that’s a jail sentence. Cil and I can keep her safer than you lot could ever hope to. Alex has the right to be with the people she cares about. To take her away from the life she’s built in Florida is tantamount to—”

“It’s not that simple, Grayson, and you know it. Alex isn’t the only one who needs protection. We also need to protect the
world
from
Alex
. You know she’s far too powerful to be allowed to live amongst the norms while she’s still learning what she can do… She might hurt someone.
She’s only a child
.”

Alex bristled at that. She’d be seventeen next month and was more responsible than a lot of the adults she knew. The events of her life had forced her to grow up faster than most.

To be labeled a child felt like an insult.