KOPANO OKEKE
TOP SECRET WATCHTOWER FACILITY—LOCATION UNKNOWN
KOPANO CAME AWAKE SLOWLY. HIS EARS RANG AND his head pounded, a vague coppery taste bitter on his tongue. When he opened his eyes he expected to find himself back in his cell, but he was still on the cold floor of the control room. Karen Walker still sat at the table as before, although now she was reading a newspaper.
“How . . . what . . . ?” he mumbled, unable to form a coherent thought as he propped himself up on his elbows. Next to him, Ran moaned. She too had been taken down.
“Good, you’re awake,” Walker said, folding up her newspaper.
“What did you do to us?”
She tapped the side of her head where Kopano’s and Ran’s bandages were. “An Inhibitor chip has been surgically implanted into your skulls,” she said matter-of-factly. “If I hit the panic button on my phone, a temporarily debilitating shock will be administered to your nervous system. If—”
Kopano was still rubbing the side of his head in disbelief when Ran reached out with her telekinesis and yanked the phone away from Walker. She was on the floor, half leaning against the wall, yet even in that compromised position her glare was pure murder.
“Let us out of here,” Ran growled.
The device in her hand let out a series of shrill beeps. Walker cringed sympathetically.
“I wish you’d have let me finish talking,” she said.
Another explosion of white light. This time, Kopano managed to howl before he passed out.
Thirty minutes went by. When Kopano woke up again he was still on the floor, but his head felt even worse than before, like it had been wedged in a vise and then dropped to the bottom of the ocean. Ran was next to him, awake first this time, dark circles around her eyes. Walker had her phone back.
“As I was trying to say,” Walker continued patiently, “the Inhibitors will also issue a shock if the controller ever leaves my immediate radius. There’s also an electric fence setting where they will shock you for going too far away from me. I’d rather not have to use that one, but will if you run. My controller here is not unique, there are others. Destroying it will get you nowhere.”
This was not what Kopano had pictured when he dreamed of being in Earth Garde. He sniffed loudly, then covered his face with his hands so this evil woman couldn’t see how close to tears he was.
“You’re torturing us,” he murmured.
“No, I was against this part,” Walker replied. Kopano was surprised at the tenderness in her voice. “Now that you understand your situation, I hope to never use the Inhibitors again. Really.”
“So long as we do what you say,” Ran said darkly.
Walker met Ran’s gaze briefly, then looked away. “No. You have an option. If you decide you’d rather not work with me, you can return to your cell. You’ll be taken care of until such a time that Earth Garde decides you’re no longer dangerous.”
“Dangerous?” Kopano exclaimed. “How are we dangerous?”
“To humans. To your classmates. To the public image of Earth Garde. Take your pick.” Walker pointed out the door. “That’s the choice. A detainment of indeterminate length or you work for me and Operation Watchtower.”
Ran simply glowered, but Kopano took the bait. “What’s—what’s that?”
“Watchtower is a joint venture among a number of the world’s covert intelligence agencies—the CIA, Mossad, MI6, others—that operates on a need-to-know basis within Earth Garde. You would be among our first recruits.”
“This is not a recruitment,” Ran said. “This is coercion.”
Kopano shot her a look. Obviously their situation beyond sucked—he didn’t even want to think about how someone had drilled a microchip into his head—but there was no way he would go back in that cell. Not when this spy lady was offering them a way out.
“Why us?” he asked, his voice hitching higher than he would’ve liked. “What did we do wrong? Is this because of the Harvesters?”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Walker replied, softening her voice. “Your reports from the Academy are all glowing. I know it might not seem like it, but being selected for Watchtower shows the confidence that Earth Garde has in you. As for the Harvesters, everyone that matters knows that what happened was a matter of self-defense.”
“Then why don’t they say something?” Kopano asked, his eyes widening. “Defend us. The news, they call us monsters . . .”
“Unfortunately, taking a public stand would require Earth Garde to admit certain uncomfortable truths. I hate to say it, but image matters with you people. The Academy’s reputation is already tarnished by your actions—justified or not. The whole Earth Garde program would take a hit if the public knew you were out there fighting a rogue Garde mind controller. It would be chaos.”
Ran and Kopano exchanged a look.
“You know about him,” Ran stated.
“Then . . . do you know about his bosses?” Kopano asked.
“We don’t think he has a boss anymore,” Walker replied. “You’ve seen the way the public has reacted to the footage of you two. Imagine the terror if they knew there were threats out there beyond Earth Garde’s control. We can’t afford for the world to lose faith in Earth Garde.”
Kopano nodded slowly in reluctant agreement, but Ran spoke up again, her voice sharp.
“What about our faith in Earth Garde? Does what we think not matter?”
“I know this hasn’t been the best introduction, Ran, but what we’re doing here is for your own good. This way, Earth Garde can tell the world that you’ve been disciplined and transferred somewhere secure. And, in the meantime, you can do good work for Watchtower, an organization that prefers its operatives stay out of the public eye. Once you complete your first mission, show my bosses that you’re not a risk to world security, I’ll get those Inhibitors out of you.”
“What’s the missi—?” Kopano asked.
“No,” Ran interrupted. “I have been very clear with Greger. I will not let my Legacy be militarized. I choose the cell.”
Kopano stared at her. “Ran, you don’t mean it!”
“I thought you might be a hard sell,” Walker said. She hit a button on her phone and Kopano cringed, expecting a shock. Instead, the security monitors all switched over to a grainy photograph of a young man that made Kopano wince yet again. “But this mission is truly for the greater good, Ran. We are going to bring him to justice. Make sure he never hurts anyone again.”
Einar. On every screen.
“Does that change your mind?” Walker asked.