Revolutionary Read online

  He was definitely right. Speaking of, “Have you heard any more about how this is going to progress? Has Councilman Douche been forthcoming?”

  Commander James shot me a withering look and mental, Watch what you say around people you don’t know, as he shook his head and answered with a curt, “We’re to speak this evening, actually. My request. We need to know what to be prepared for. I won’t let him keep us in the dark. It will only increase the problems he created with his last announcement.”

  I couldn't argue with that. We were using every enforcer we had, every day, to stay on top of all the incidents that had become like a plague, spreading with the fear of what was to come. Fear made people stupid. To be fair, those anxious for freedom weren't any better and often contributed to the melee, if not outright instigating it. I sincerely hoped that things would settle once their worries we're allayed. I, for one, couldn't wait. I had so many things I wanted to see and do.

  That reminded me that I needed to sit down with Holden and discuss where we wanted to go, what we wanted to see. I was torn between seeing an ocean and a real-life lion as my first “to-do”.

  When the commander released us for the day, Jade and I made our way back toward the farmhouse to clean up. I figured I should be the one to make dinner, seeing as she'd been kind enough to do it last night.

  “So, what sounds good for food?” I asked as we tromped up the back stairs and pulled open the screen door. I waved Jade through with a grand gesture.

  “That's all you, girl,” she called as she released her golden hair from its ponytail high on her head and combed her hand through the tresses. “I'm going to soak in the bath until you tell me whatever you made is ready to be eaten.”

  “Stay awake. I'm so not fishing your naked ass out of the tub just so you can eat a hot meal. If you don't come when called? Well then, maybe I'll just send in Trent… or Steve.”

  “Put that evil smirk away. You'll not get to play tonight. I'm starved.” With a flick of her wrist, she dismissed me and began up the stairs to gather whatever she needed for her tub time downstairs, but then paused about halfway up.

  Catching wind of what she’d just thought of, I beat her to the punch. “Yes.”

  “Yes? Really?!” Jade squealed with shocked excitement. “I mean, I figured, what with your emotional state this morning, but you know, I wanted to be a good bestie and keep the public dishing to a minimum.” She’d moved quickly back down the stairs to stand toe-to-toe with me. Grabbing my arms and attempting to shake me like a ragdoll, her luminescent green eyes stared up at me from several inches below and seemed too eager to hear all the girly details. “Tell me now!” She shook again when I hadn’t yet spoken.

  “Geez, I’m going to get whiplash. Can’t talk if I crack my neck. Owww…” I moaned dramatically. She only rolled her eyes at me before delivering one final thrust and releasing me. A raised eyebrow and puckered lips accompanied an impatient hand-roll telling me to “go on”.

  “What? We did. Now you know.”

  “Girl, I will strangle you if you don’t give me something. I feel those tingles bubbling up in your emotional state. This is probably the only time I will accept them in my presence. So, tell me. How was it? Are you glad you waited? I didn’t hear you, in case you were worried about that.”

  I definitely had been. It was a big reason I had kept putting intimacy off. Or so I told myself. Maybe I just hadn’t been ready until then. “I am.”

  “You are what?” Jade pressed.

  “I’m glad we didn’t jump into bed sooner. We let our feelings grow, knew it was more than just teenage hormones driving us to be together. I love him, Jade,” I admitted quietly.

  “Yeah, I felt that. I knew you guys were real. Congrats, Nat. I’m so happy you found your match.” Her smile was genuine but sad. She felt like she’d been on her way to that with Dane. She’d had the potential to have a lifelong partner who would always love and protect her. But, he’d been stolen away before she’d had the chance to find out.

  Jade had done her best to keep her grief from the team, but there had been—and were still—times when I noticed her puffy eyes or heard her muffled sobs. Sometimes, I forced myself upon her with hugs and commiseration, and other times, I knew she needed to be alone with her sorrow.

  This time, I couldn’t hold back the hug that I wrapped her up in, resting my cheek atop her golden head and squeezing her to me. “I love you, Jade. I will always love you. I know it’s not the same thing, but you’ll always have me.” I knew my shirt didn’t smell great, but she didn’t complain like she normally would, and when I heard muffled sniffling and felt her grab the back of my shirt up into her fists and pull me to her just a little tighter, I didn’t make a snarky comment about her crying. She needed this. We needed this.

  After another moment, Jade pulled away and dabbed under her eyes. “I thought allergies came in Spring, not Fall. Stupid allergies.” We let the lie stand, and Jade once again went on her way toward her spa time. I think she needed it just that little bit more after our chat.

  “I’ll let you know when dinner’s ready, though I have no idea what it’s going to be. Ye be warned,” I joked, allowing us both to pull out of the morose mood just a little.

  “Now, I’m scared,” she laughed from the top of the stairs before disappearing down the hall that led to the bedrooms.

  I had one of my speakers downstairs for just such cooking occasions, so I picked a playlist that I could get lost in. A song about a boy hitting on a girl belted from the little player. His words about how she was the last good thing about that part of town were sung to a consuming melody I could dance around to. Good thing I was all alone. No one needed to see my pathetic dance moves.

  Of course, there was nothing in the fridge by way of solid meal options for several people, so I had to get creative. Hopefully it wouldn't go awry, and if it did, then there was always pizza. In fact… I pulled out my dated phone and shot a quick message to Holden.

  Me: You in the downtown area by chance?

  After only a moment, my phone pinged with a return message.

  Holden: I am.

  Me: Awesome. Don’t suppose you wanna grab some pizzas for dinner? *puppy dog eyes*

  Holden: For you? Anything. Though I may need some form of payment…

  Me: I’m sure your uncle can reimburse you. *wink wink*

  Holden: That’s just wrong.

  Me: Ha! Yet you still love me.

  Holden: I’m just as baffled as you are.

  Me: *gasp*

  Holden: Will 3 larges do? Pepperoni, Supreme, and Hawaiian?

  Me: You’re the best, my love.

  Holden: Remember that later.

  No sooner had I received the last message from Holden than that cresting tone of the comm began its duty call. I wondered what it was this time. Another Sage versus Primal cage match? Someone running out on a bill? Time to meet more prospective recruits? Oh! Maybe it was a powwow about how Brielle just would not fit…

  “My heart… boom, boom, boom,” I muttered, my fingers tapping wildly against my thigh in time to the tune. The beauty of everything passing my window was enhanced by the wistful melodies winding through my single headphone as the team, packed into the squad van that I was beginning to call “Ironsides”, rolled toward the checkpoint, the only viable point to leave Minefield.

  I had mixed emotions about going back. The last time I'd been there, we had been in pursuit of a rabid Sage illusionist with a penchant for hurting people. Two enforcers had died that day, bled out on the ground, and we could do nothing to save them.

  I couldn't save them. Just like I couldn't save Dane. Suddenly, the scenery didn't seem so beautiful; it seemed spoiled. Tainted.

  Again, Holden proved that he didn't need telepathy to know my mind. As Devlin pulled the van into a parking spot to the side of the gates, a large, calloused hand stole mine from my lap and wrapped it protectively, worry peppering his thoughts.

  “I'm fine,” I as
sured him, hoping my smile was convincing.

  Commander James stood talking to a uniformed soldier a few paces away. Both men had adopted a very rigid but relaxed stance, their conversation unhindered by our arrival and subsequent exiting of Ironsides.

  “They've allowed for your team to meet with City Police Department, give you their intel and guidance.”

  The six of us stopped short of invading the conversation but were close enough to hear what was said. The resulting thoughts were rushing through my head at breakneck speeds, my own included. Man, if that kept up, I'd definitely need my tunes to keep me from a migraine. Seeing as they seemed to want us to help solve… something… out there, I assumed I couldn't afford to have ice picks stabbing my brain and eyes like a two-year-old playing the bongos.

  The specifics eluded me. Both men were guarding their thoughts admirably.

  Commander James twisted to face our fidgeting group and waved us forward—an explicit invitation to join the men and the conversation. Introductions were made, hands were shook, and missions were shared. The uniformed man was the commander of the military base situated outside Minefield.

  He and our commander definitely had a history, but I was hazy on the details. Most importantly, we learned that we were indeed expected to leave Minefield—a once thought impossible situation—and help some ninny enforcement officers in a larger city several hundred miles away in understanding and working with Enhanced.

  While we'd been told that “day trips” beyond the walls of Minefield would be allowed for a couple of weeks now, we were the first to actually be granted leave, at least, to the best of my knowledge. Via my telepathy, I learned that they’d chosen us as the test group because we were some of the most responsible residents and because we could contribute to a case the local law enforcement peeps were having trouble with. Typical.

  We were the first to experience the way they were attempting to acclimate Enhanced and Non-Enhanced. In small doses, each returning to their respective corners before things could go awry. It was like a test phase, a way for the government to keep tabs on the Enhanced and to monitor integration efforts. Bonus if we could help the ninnies out of a jam in the process.

  “Team, this is Commander Rogers. He is the head of the military base situated outside Minefield. You will be escorted into the city by a hand-selected group of his soldiers. They will act as a secondary line between you and anyone who could be deemed a threat while en route. Once you arrive, you will be provided with a local detail.” Commander James nodded at the older man standing next to him.

  I picked up on the fact that this Commander Rogers was someone that our commander respected, someone that he’d had a lot of contact with. I remembered the conversation we’d had a while back when he had shown me the challenge coin he’d received from his exploits outside our walls many years before. Which reminded me… “Commander? Do you happen to have had any more challenge coins minted? I’d love to have the option to bestow someone worthy of my respect with one.” I rubbed my fingers across the face of my coin hanging around my neck.

  “Travis, you made an emblem? Gave your team a proper name?” The uniformed man’s watery-blue eyes twinkled as he inquired. His thoughts pegged him as genuinely interested, excited even. I decided that I liked this man. I felt like he could be depended on and actually liked us. It didn’t hurt that my commander seemed to greatly respect the man, may even be friends with him.

  He moved to stand squarely before me, his green fatigues fitting a little loosely, cap pulled down low on his forehead with graying shorn hair peeking from around his ears. “May I?” he asked, indicating the necklace that I’d yet to release from my grip.

  “Here.” Commander James pulled a silver coin from a pocket and handed it over to the other commander with pinched brows and nervous thoughts. My commander really cared what the man thought. I wondered if I could finally find out just what Commander James’ ability was. Maybe he would fill me in. Definitely something to think about, I mused as Commander Rogers inspected the coin intently. The whole team was in a semicircle, standing shoulder-to-shoulder, not allowing anyone from behind to peep through the wall of people. Not that anyone was there or interested.

  “Well done, Commander James. I do believe that they have indeed taken to calling your unit the ‘Enhanced Enforcement Agency.’ Was this your inspiration for the name? Your symbol, with the eagle head, sword, and scales—I like it. The DNA strand pulls it all together.” He moved to give the coin back to Commander James, but our leader waved him off with a gruff “Please, keep it.”

  A small nod and quirk of lips preceded Commander Rogers’ response. “Thank you.”

  Hands began flying as Holden signed at his uncle. Where are ours? We may well want to give one to someone on the outside, too.

  Clearing his throat, Commander James dived back into the pocket he’d pulled the coin from. Metallic tinkling sounded as several more of the large disks were extracted. “I took the liberty of having an order placed. There are enough for each of you,” he explained as he passed a coin to each of us.

  “What if I want to keep mine?”

  “Then, by all means,” he answered with a stoic appearance. Inside, he liked that we all wanted his creation and were proud to be EEA. I was right there with him, to be honest. I felt like we were official, like it was cemented between us. A bond.

  “What if I want mine but also find a worthy Non-Enhanced on this mission?” Steve inquired seriously. Everyone else nodded thoughtfully at the surprisingly-sentimental question, agreeing silently.

  “Well, then… I guess I’ll need to give you another when you return.”

  “Deal,” Devlin interjected with a grin.

  “Now then, I should introduce you to the team tasked with your safety in transit,” Commander Rogers said, pulling us all back to the reason we were congregated at the barred gates that exiled Minefield. It was surreal. Those gates, which had been forever barricaded, would now be opening, allowing me and my teammates to exit.

  It was about to get real.

  CHAPTER 12

  The ride out of town was both exciting and terrifying. We were no longer in Ironsides but in a true iron beast, having moved to the military vehicles that our “escorts” provided, drove, and surrounded us in. Because we couldn’t all fit in one vehicle, we’d been split between two. Luckily, I was in the one with Holden. Devlin was our third. Steve, Jade, and Trent were in the other vehicle, which was trailing ours.

  Thank God I’d brought my headphones. Our military escorts were thinking very loudly from their spots around the Humvee. Devlin and Holden had plenty of their own mental discussions happening, so I got lost in my music once again, staring out the windows and watching the sparse desert landscape speed past. It was beautifully barren, lit only intermittently by scrub bushes and prickly plants. Vibrant green contrasted against the beige sands, which blew in the wind enough to create little vortexes of dirt and dust. They reminded me of that crazy cartoon character who was a literal tornado when he was wound up, the way he couldn’t speak coherently, just spit and jabbered nonsense snarly sounds. It was kind of like Primals when they flipped, actually. A chuckle escaped me.

  Of course, Holden noticed. What are you laughing about over there? Giddy that you finally got what you wanted? He wanted to reach out and wrap the end of my ponytail-clad hair around his fingers but refrained. We didn’t need to be showing public displays of affection in front of our babysitters. They were already leery enough. I, we, needed to keep our guards up. Who knew what they would do? This intermingling was new to all of us.

  Deciding I should answer Holden, I pulled an earbud free and pointed to the dirt devil currently swirling in the distance off to the north. “Those dirt devils reminded me of that cartoon beast-devil-thing that would spit and move about like a tornado—”

  “What are you talking about, girl?” the soldier closest to me almost sneered. He must not have received much information about the lot of us, or else he had
n’t paid any attention. I was inclined to think it was the latter, which was not very smart for a soldier tasked with escorting Enhanced with especially-potent gifts. He’d learn soon enough. I’d make sure to teach him the error of his ways…

  “I was answering Holden’s question.” The rest of the vehicle’s occupants were now turned toward me questioningly. “You may want to pay attention to your C.O. the next time he gives you an assignment regarding Enhanced. It would do you good to be aware.” I used my best chiding mother voice on him, unable to help antagonizing.

  “I know my mission, girl.” The soldier, whose name was “Perez” if the name tag on his left breast was accurate, bristled at my accusation. “I don’t need to listen to you. Only watch and keep you out of trouble.”

  “Ah, but how can you keep yourself out of trouble if you aren’t aware of the particulars?” I parried.

  “I know you’re a telepath,” the man sneered.

  “Very good!” I clapped him on the shoulder, causing him to recoil from my touch. I figured he would. He was one who was not happy about this assignment, not happy about the Enhanced being released from our exile. “What about this handsome fellow?” I pointed at Holden, giving Perez a challenging expression.

  Nat, probably best not to antagonize them.

  I nodded that I’d heard Holden but kept my eyes on Perez. His dark orbs squinted daggers at me in return. “Well? What are his particulars?”

  “Nat,” Devlin piped up as he, too, felt the tension ratchet up in the confined space. The rest of the soldiers were keeping verbally quiet, but their minds volleyed between tension and interest. They just weren’t sure what was going to happen but were ready to step up if needed for any reason.

  They were all armed to the teeth. I needed to remember that.

  “That’s Holden, twenty-one years old, mute, and shape-changer,” Perez gloated his knowledge, feeling as though he’d proved me wrong about paying attention. Admittedly, so far, he had.