Nate
The meeting place was an abandoned warehouse only a few blocks from the Spartans’ warehouse. Alissa and the other dregs waited in a parking lot a few streets away while I headed down the dark alleyway toward the building. I was wearing the communication device at my ear and the tracking device in my wrist, so I could contact them if I needed to, and they could find me if we somehow lost contact.
Was this where The Company operated from now? Interesting. Had they figured a city overrun by gang violence would be an easy place to set up their new facility? I imagined I was about to find out.
I knocked on the door, then stepped back at waited.
The door creaked open and a woman peered out at me. Then she stepped out and assessed me. I let my gaze rake over her in turn. She stood around five-eight or nine with her long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail at her nape. She was the same woman who’d been assisting The General that night we’d gone in and freed Tracker. She was dressed in plain jeans and a lightweight blue jacket. I’d expected an army of soldiers to be protecting her, but, surprisingly, she was alone.
She eyed me for a long moment, then nodded. “You’re a dreg. You’re The Healer.”
I eyed the woman curiously. “No soldiers to protect you? Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill you?”
She turned away, pulling the door open wide. “Come inside. Let’s talk.”
I hesitated, then followed. The building was mostly empty. Along the far wall was what appeared to be a lab-in-progress with tables filled with various lab equipment. I walked closer, checking it out. Rods, balances, beaker tongs, saucers, petri dishes, flasks, cylinders, funnels, utensils, test tubes, a burner…I’d seen it all before at the facility.
I turned back to the woman with a raised brow. “You’re setting up a meth lab in here?”
She rolled her eyes. “Hardly. This is where I plan to conduct future experiments.”
“Future experiments?” I scoffed. “You’re just like The General. Sick. Twisted.”
She made a face. “I am not sick. I’m trying to do good. Protect our country.”
I snorted. She was as wacked as The General. I waited, watching her. She stared back. Several moments of silence passed. Finally, she cleared her throat. “Like I said, I have a task for you. I need your help.”
“Help with what?”
“When you guys killed The General, you took away my legacy. The Company was supposed to go to me upon his death, but the other shareholders are trying to push me out. I have a different vision for the company than they do. I stole all my father’s research, so they tried to have me killed many times these past few weeks. What they want is not what my father—our father—would have wanted.”
I flinched. “He wasn’t my father.”
She sighed. “Whatever. You can deny it all you want. He was your father. And I’m going to see his dream come true.”
“The perfect solider?” The General and his sick attempts to create the perfect soldier still repulsed me. Always would. And I would never think of him as my father.
“Yes. The perfect soldier.”
I eyed her with disgust. “Were you the one who sent that soldier after Jacob a few weeks ago?”
“Yes. That was before I stole the Company’s information and they tried to have me killed. But I don’t need Jacob now. I have you.”
I snorted. She thought she had me. “And what is it you want with me?”
She met my gaze. “I want you to kill the other partners for me. Then I will be free to run the company my way. My father’s way.”
I choked out a disbelieving laugh. “You’re kidding me.”
“No. I need those bastards gone. They’re ruining everything.”
I shook my head back and forth. “Why don’t you just use one of the soldiers from the Company to do it for you? They’re trained killers. They’ll get it done.”
“I have no control over them anymore. They’re the ones who tried to kill me. The partners are running the show now. They want me dead. They want all the dregs dead. But I don’t want to kill you. I just want you to help me, and then I’ll help you.”
I eyed her, still disbelieving. “So you want to hire a mercenary to kill the other partners?”
“Yes. Then I can continue my research here, away from prying eyes. No one will know.”
I turned away. I was done with this conversation. “I want no part of this. You’re on your own, lady.”
“Stop!” Her voice trembled.
I slowly turned to find her pointing a gun at me.
“I got your number from Romeo, in case you haven’t figured that out yet. The Spartans aren’t my only allies. I’ve also aligned myself with the Sureños, the Rapsters, and the Black Dragons. You hear me? I have four gangs under my payroll now. The four most powerful gangs in this city.”
I eyed the gun in her hand. “Why are you telling me this? Why do I care if your allies are gangs?”
She lifted her chin. “Because I need your complete cooperation. I know all about you, Nate. You’re The Healer. I know what you can do. I know about all the dregs and what they can do. That information I texted you? That was just a tiny piece of your file. I have complete records for each one of you, from the day you were born, to the day you escaped the facility. I have all my father’s notes and test results and medical records on every one of you. I know things about you that you don’t. Things you would probably like to know. Things about your past. Your families.” She paused. “I also have information that could destroy each of you. Put you away behind bars for life. All I have to do is release this information to the FBI, and your lives will be over. Right now, the only bounties on your heads are the ones my father released, and not many people care about them anymore, because my father is dead. But if I release this information about the dregs, every law enforcement agency in the country will be hunting you. You won’t last long. If you aren’t killed outright, then you’ll spend the rest of your lives behind bars.”
I rubbed a hand over my face. I could easily guess at some of the information in The General’s records. He’d probably kept detailed information about all our missions, about all the people he’d had us kill. I had assumed he’d already released this information, but it made sense now that he hadn’t. Releasing that information would have made the world privy to what he’d done, what he’d forced us to do. His corruptness would be known, and he himself would have been locked away. But now that he was dead, that information couldn’t hurt him, but it could hurt The Company. It could hurt whomever had hired The Company to use us to do their dirty deeds.
“If you do this for me,” the woman went on, “I will destroy all the information that could ruin you. I will erase all the data about your missions. And the dregs will be free men. You won’t have to hide anymore.”
I scoffed. I didn’t trust her for a second. “If I murder these men for you, then every law enforcement agency in the country will be hunting me, anyway. So how does your deal benefit me? Either way, I’m fucked. And while we’re on this ridiculous subject, why don’t you just have the gangs do it for you? If you’ve got four powerful gangs under your employ, then why do you need a dreg?”
“Because the gangs are criminals. They’re messy. And they don’t know the meaning of the word ‘loyal’. They’re easily bought. Nor do they have the skills or the superior training that the dregs do. They don’t have the ability to sneak in and get close enough to a state senator or a CEO of a multi-million dollar company to take him out. You do. The dregs know how to quietly complete a mission without leaving any evidence behind. The gangs are messy killers. Sloppy. They’ll leave a trail leading right back to me. And I’m not going to jail. I’m just a scientist. I’m not a killer.”
She paused again, her gaze narrowing on me. “The only way you’d get blamed for the murders would be if you were dumb enough to get caught. You think I’m going to put myself and my company at risk by admitting I hired you to kill someone? If you’re as good as your records say you are, then you should be able to easily pull this off. I get the company I want, to run as I see fit, to continue my father’s dream, and you get your freedom. It’ll be a win-win situation for everyone.”
I contemplated her for a moment. My intuitiveness told me she was being honest, that she really believed what she was saying.
“I want to see the rest of my file.”
She nodded, then pulled her phone from her jacket pocket and swiped the screen. She scrolled through something before handing me the phone.
I took the phone from her and read the document on the screen. The first page was the same one she’d texted to me. I skimmed through it again, noting it was more complete than the screenshot she’d sent earlier.
I glanced at the woman and took a guess. “You’re…Darcy?”
“Yes.”
Which made her my half-sister like I’d originally believed. I found a certain amount of relief knowing she wasn’t my full sister. If she was as twisted as The General, then I really wanted no association with her.
“Where’s my other sister? My real sister, Katie?”
Darcy smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I’ll tell you that if you agree to help me.” She reached for her phone.
I held it up out of her reach. “Answer my question. Where is my sister?”
She sighed. Then motioned to her phone again. “There’s more. Check it out.”
I eyed her warily, then lowered the phone and read more of the words on the screen. The next page was a list of drugs that had been administered to me—hundreds of them—and the test results of each injection. Most of the drugs I’d never heard of before, but a few of them sounded familiar.
The page after that was a list of different animal DNA that had been injected into me. Leopard, for superior night vision. Gorilla, for strength. Wolf, for cunning and endurance. Cougar, for extreme athletic ability. Chameleon, for interchangeability. Shark, for bloodlust. Hyena, for tenacity. The list went on and on…
All the dregs had the leopard’s superior night vision. We all also had a strength far superior to a normal man—from the gorilla? We were all very adaptable—the chameleon’s interchangeability?—which enabled us to adjust to any situation or environment. We all had extreme athletic abilities, and each possessed an endurance far greater than a regular human (the cougar and the wolf?). Some of us were tenacious—Luke and Tony, in particular—courtesy of the hyena, and Tony sometimes went into a bloodlust during a mission (the shark?). That’s where we’d all gotten those traits?
Bile threatened its way up my throat. I swallowed hard, forcing it back. I’d known I had animal DNA in me, and I would never forget the numerous drugs that had been pumped into my system, but seeing it all in writing made everything more real. How human was I really?
I didn’t want to know any of this stuff. But I felt compelled to read on.
I scrolled through the screen to the next page. This one listed all the different torture techniques that had been inflicted on me. That wasn’t something I would ever forget, so I quickly scanned to the next screen.
This one was a detailed list of missions I’d been sent out on, the purpose of each assignment, and whether or not I’d achieved the goal of each mission. I hadn’t failed any of my assignments. We’d been trained to complete the mission no matter the cost. Some of our missions had been to locate and kill the target. Others had been to extract information or deliver information to someone else. Other assignments had been to kidnap and interrogate the enemy and sometimes trade persons for information or other persons. We’d also had to take out any resistance or interference on each mission. My unit had performed all missions satisfactorily. We’d been successful soldiers. Slaves. Drugged and brain-washed into doing whatever The General commanded.
Killers. Monsters. Beasts.
Only part human.
I didn’t want to read anymore. But I might need Darcy’s phone and the information on it as leverage. I turned toward the door.
“Hey!” She grabbed my arm. “You can’t take my phone. I need it.” She held her hand out, waiting for me to hand her phone back.
I shook my head. “I’m keeping the phone to make sure you don’t fuck me over.”
Her eyes, which I noticed were gray like Tracker’s—like The General’s—narrowed on me. “Does that mean you are going to help me?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I need time to think about this. Time to talk to the other dregs.”
She lifted her chin. “If you don’t help me,” she threatened, “I will release all your information to the FBI.”
What didn’t that surprise me? I glanced back at her phone. “Is the information about the other dregs on here, too?”
She shook her head. “No. When Romeo gave me your number, I sent your file to my phone so I could have proof for you. If the other dregs want their files, then you’re all going to have to cooperate.”
Goddammit. She didn’t give me much choice here. I needed to talk to the others. She had to know had badly we all wanted our freedom. But would she uphold her end of the deal? Or would she make sure we all went to prison?
“Please.” Her hand tightened around my arm. “I know my father—our father—could be a cruel man and that he did despicable things to you. But if I’m running the company, I promise that will change.”
Oh, so now she was being nice, after threatening me a moment ago?
I thrust her phone back at her. I didn’t want to see any more of my file. I didn’t need to be reminded of my time with The Company.
“How so? What are you going to do that will be different?”
She stuffed the phone back in her pocket and lifted her chin. “Everyone who works for me will be volunteers. I won’t force anyone the way my father forced you. And if anyone wants to quit for any reason, I’ll let them leave. It will be totally voluntary. All of it. I already have some volunteers lined up.”
I wasn’t sure if I believed her. “And my sister, Katie?”
“If you do what I ask, then I promise I will tell you where she is. I promise I will release all the dregs’ information to them. I will destroy the files I have, and you guys will be the only ones who have your files. It will be up to you to do what you want with your files.”
Our gazes locked. Could I trust her? Would she do what she said?
“I need the names and information of the shareholders you want taken care of.”
She walked over to a desk in the corner where several manila files were stacked on the edge of the desk. She picked up the files and came back to me, holding them out.
“Here’s everything you need. It won’t be easy, as some of these guys are high-up in the government, but don’t let that stop you. None of them are good men. They’re evil, every last one of them. They’ve tried to have me killed multiple times already. But I know the dregs can handle it. This is a job that was meant for you guys.”
I took the files from her. Four total. Four people she wanted us to eliminate. I didn’t open the files. Not yet. I needed to discuss this with the other dregs.
“I promise I won’t screw you over.” Her gaze was earnest as it met mine. “I really need your help. I’ll tell you what. Go home. Think about it for a day or so. I’ll call you and you can give me your decision then. You will decide your fate, Nate.”
I turned away with the files. She wasn’t really giving me much choice. I either did what she wanted, or she released the information about all our missions to the FBI. I didn’t want to be a fugitive for the rest of my life.
Her final words ringing in my ears, I strode out of the building.
You will decide your fate, Nate.
Fuck yeah, I would.
But I hadn’t imagined it would ever come down to this. That I—and the other dregs—would have to kill four men in cold blood to earn our freedom. We would have to become snipers, mercenaries, something we’d never wanted to be in the first place. But something we’d sometimes had to do as soldiers for The Company. It was one of the things we’d been trained to do.
Kill.
You will decide your fate, Nate.
But what would that fate be?