Chapter One
Light filtered in from the glass high in the ceiling of the old federal building, offering sun to the plants filling the atrium. It provided a nice touch of life in the building and gave it a little sense of style. Jill liked it for that reason, unlike many of her colleagues who passed through the guarded doors.
Sure, the plumbing was shit, and parking in D.C. was insane, but the building itself carried a history that others could never claim. It was the place where senators made deals, where they thought up the laws that governed their country and made it what it was. She could almost smell the history as it seeped through the walls. Any journalist who cared about understanding the country needed to at least understand a little about the building.
A small frown appeared on Jill’s face. The building was also the place where deals were made that could send the country on the wrong path. More than a few deals were cooking there that might harm the country and spread injustice, but there was one in particular concerning Jill.
As she stood there with several other reporters waiting for a senator to emerge, those thoughts about law and justice bounced around her mind.
“You sure we should be doing this?” her cameraman Frank said.
Jill turned around to flash the man a smile. “Sure. Got to go where the news is, right? This is going to be a huge news story.”
They’d been together now for about five years, and there was no other person she trusted more at her side, especially since he hadn’t run off screaming when they’d both almost lost their lives together.
“The boss said he wanted another puff piece,” Frank said, shaking his head. “This doesn’t seem very puff to me.”
Jill looked around. Several big-name journalists stood around them. Not that she wasn’t a big name herself. They would be hard pressed to find a person that didn’t know the name Jill Hope, but it wasn’t because they knew her from her investigative reporting.
That was something new, born out of trauma, but something she hoped to turn into something good for both herself and others.
By trade, Jill was not a field reporter. Even when she was on location, she was about as far from danger as a person could get. That’s how things had been her entire career until an incident about six months before.
She’d been on assignment trying to dig up anything on the Luna Lodge hybrids when she’d gotten a tip. Lord, how she wished she’d looked into the tip just a bit more and used those skills she hadn’t bothered to use since journalism school.
Of course, maybe the problem was that Jill wanted to believe the tip. She’d been obsessed with the genetically engineered hybrids of Luna Lodge and proving they were a menace to the town around them and even the country. A little sloppiness in search of the truth hadn’t bothered her.
Unfortunately, the tip had ultimately been from Reverend John, a crazy zealot who was out to eradicate the hybrids, and she’d been no more than a tool he could use in his murderous quest.
It wasn’t until then that she saw the hybrids for what they truly were: just people, people trying their best to live their lives in peace.
Sure, they were trained and superhuman in some ways, but so were a lot of men in the military. Navy SEALs jumped from planes eleven miles up, held their breath for two to three minutes, and could swim 350 feet below water. If that wasn’t super human, then what was?
Jill had taken a long, hard look at the role she’d played in the war against hybrids and found herself disgusted. She’d helped persecute good men just trying to live their lives. From that moment forward, she decided that she would be the voice they didn’t have.
Titus, the leader of the hybrids at the time, was cautious of her proposal, but over time, he’d warmed to the idea of it. Until the bombing.
The suicide bombing at Luna Lodge changed everything. Even though the hybrids were the target and main victims, the bombing convinced people that the hybrids were a threat. Now that Titus and many of his people had fled, escaping the government’s watch, they were in even more danger from the American government, even if there were still a lot of questions about what had happened, and the government was keeping the news to a minimum on the subject.
“Just keep in mind that the boss has been getting really friendly with Kurt,” Frank said, pulling Jill from her thoughts.
She sneered. The lowlife piece of shit Kurt had been eyeing her job for the last month. With the ratings declines she’d suffered, it was clear that some of her fans hadn’t been quite as loyal as she’d thought. They wanted sensationalism and deadly hybrids, not nuanced presentations of a complex and suffering group of men.
“Kurt has no personality,” Jill huffed. He couldn’t keep a one-year-old entertained.
Frank placed a hand on her shoulder. “He’s like a cold fish, but he does know how to play the system.” He stared into her eyes. She could see the worry etched there. “Look, I was there, too. I get it. I really do.”
Jill shook off his hand and straightened her blazer. He might have been there with her, but Frank clearly didn’t get it. Something about what had happened with the hybrids rocked her to her very core. She felt their pain in a way she never thought possible.
Being a reporter meant she could detach herself from the story. It’s what made it easier for her to ask the hard questions. After being around the hybrids, it just wasn’t possible. As strange as it might seem, she felt like they were her people now, like some sort of connection bound them together.
“He’s here,” Frank said quietly.
The reporters around her quickly moved into position.
Jill’s stomach rolled as Senator Woods stepped past a giant sign reading: NO UNAUTHORIZED PERSONNEL PAST THIS POINT. He waved happily to the press, his gaze scanning the crowd. She could tell instantly when his eyes landed on her. The smile wavered for just a moment.
She almost snorted.
“Senator Woods!” the reporter next to her shouted. “How’s the new hybrid control bill shaping up? Will it be ready by the end of the year?”
He stopped and nodded to the man. “We are fully confident that we will have all the votes necessary to have it passed by the end of the year.”
Another reporter pushed in closer to her. Being short wasn’t doing her any favors as she took an elbow directly in the breast.
“What do you hope to accomplish with this bill?” the boob elbower asked.
Senator Woods cleared his throat as he glanced in her direction. It was clear he wasn’t thrilled to be caught so close to her.
Good. She wanted him to be nervous.
“This bill finally places the US government fully and completely in charge of the hybrids. Not only for their protection, which they clearly need after the bombing, but to protect the American people. The community around them has been placed in danger many times now, and it’s been demonstrated they have neither the means or the inclination to help those people.” He shook his head. “It’s only unfortunate that it took this tragedy that cost the lives of both hybrids and men and women in uniform to convince many of my colleagues of the necessity of this measure.”
Anger surged through her. The pompous windbag had said all she was going to allow.
Jill pushed between elbow guy and Pushy McGee. “Is it true that your people are in contact with the Russian government to house the hybrids once the deal goes through?”
The senator’s sharp brown eyes narrowed as he stared at her briefly before a forced smile.
“We’re in talks with a number of countries for a solution. But nothing will be finalized until the bill is passed.” He shrugged. “The process will proceed above-board and transparently.”
The two reporters from before tried to push her out again, but Jill had enough, she stepped down hard with her spiked heel on Mr. Elbow’s foot. He yelped and jumped quickly out of the way.
“In fact, Senator,” Jill began, “haven’t you already started construction on a housing camp in Russia for the hybrids? A walled-off place where you can keep a concentrated group of them?” A small smirk came to her face. Not a direct reference, but he would get her point.
He stared at her. The other reporters around had moved out of the way slightly, clearly waiting to see his response.
“April, was that your name?” he said.
Jill frowned. He knew her name. “Jill Hope, actually.”
Woods shrugged. “Well, Jill, I don’t much remember you on the nightly news. Maybe you should stick to pieces on hair or fashion or whatever it is you normally do and leave the real reporting to the professionals.”
Her face flamed at the comment. Several of the people around her snickered loudly, the weight of her question now forgotten under the not-so-subtle jab.
Woods stepped back and raised a hand. “No more questions for today,” he said. “I’ve got a date with the missus that I’ll be in big trouble if I’m late for it.”
Several of the reporters around her laughed politely.
Jill glared as Woods retreated out the door. The smug prick had not only avoided her questions successfully but had managed to humiliate her in front of her colleagues. She was aware that many had no respect for her, but she wasn’t there to impress them. She was there to make it a better world for the hybrids.
“What are you going to turn into Evan?” Frank asked.
Jill winced. Evan, their boss, hadn’t even approved their outing today. In fact, she was fairly certain if he knew ahead of time what she was up to, he would have told her no, flat-out. That’s why she hadn’t asked.
She shook her head. “I don’t know.”
Frank gave her a sad look and nodded. He wasn’t going to take the fall in this. It was all her. “Let’s pack up and get out of here. Maybe some dinner will clear your head.”
Jill nodded. He was right. They just needed something to eat and a good night’s sleep. Surely something would come to mind. It had to, or her ass was grass.
“I’ll help you pack,” she said. “Maybe we can hit the Greek place down the road.”
Frank grinned. “Are you trying to seduce me? You know lemon potatoes are my weakness.”
Jill laughed. She was already starting to feel less shitty.