Connor
Several hours later, freshly showered and feeling revived, Connor left a napping Madison behind, easing his way out into the passageways that formed the back area of the club. He needed to find Flint.
With his injuries all healed up now, it was clear that the paste that stopped his healing could be overcome by his internal system, but if the damage was too great, it wouldn’t matter. He was vulnerable now.
If Connor was vulnerable, that meant he could no longer protect Maddy. He needed her out of the city, but in a way that wouldn’t attract attention. That meant she needed to go without him. He was too big, and any large male attracted attention these days.
“Flint,” he said, spotting the man about to turn and head up the stairs to his office.
The head of the Underground looked over his shoulder. Seeing Connor, he nodded, then motioned for him to join him in the office.
Taking the metal stairs two at a time, he slipped through the door before it barely had a chance to close behind the other man.
“What is it, Connor?” Flint asked.
He looked tired, the shifter noted. Large bags under his eyes, and his hair, almost always immaculate, was in disarray.
“Everything okay?” Connor asked instead with a frown.
“Yeah,” Flint answered, sitting back into the chair behind the desk. “Just lots to do these days with all the new developments going on.
Connor nodded, sitting in the small chair that sat on the other side of the desk.
“So, what can I do for you?”
He grimaced unhappily. “I need you to get Maddy out of the city.”
Flint blinked in confusion. “Isn’t that the plan?”
“Without me.”
“Uh, Connor. I can arrange for certain things to happen to help get people out. But the actual doing it, that’s your job. I can’t do that.”
He shook his head. “I’m not asking you to go along. Just find a way that a single woman could make it out of the city without needing to buy a ticket for a train or plane, and without driving. You can do that, right?”
The other man looked at Connor for a long while, then thought about it. “Yes, actually I think I could.” His eyes focused on the big shifter. “You realize it will be dangerous for her though, right? She won’t have you around to protect her if the Agency does somehow catch on.”
“I know,” Connor said firmly, convinced that this was the way it had to be. She would never stand a chance with him, especially not now that the Agency had seen his face, and could identify him on looks.
“What are you going to be doing instead?”
Connor set his face firmly. “I’m going Extremis hunting.”
“What?” Flint almost shouted, leaping from his seat.
“We need samples of this new serum,” he told Flint. “We can’t get that if I flee the city.”
“What the hell do you think is in there?” Flint asked, pointing at a small case on a shelf on the wall. “Extremis Serum that you captured two weeks ago, the vial of whatever it is they were going to inject you with, and the sample of green paste from your knife wound. What more samples do you want?”
Connor shook his head. “They’re doing something different, Flint. I can feel it. I’ve run into two Agents now, one of whom was as strong as I was. The other was much stronger. I don’t know how they’re doing it, but they’re refining the Extremis Serum, making it better.” He paused. “I think they might have captured an Alpha.”
Flint froze. “Why do you say that?”
“It’s the only thing that explains how they could make such quick advances in their Serum.” He paced back and forth. “When Ajax first came here from Genesis Valley, he fought a large number of the Extremis Agents. They were strong, but he could take them on and win. Hell, he did do that. Flint,” he said, putting his hands on the desk and looking across at the smaller man. “I would lose to the brute I faced the other day, and easily. It wouldn’t even be close.”
Connor shrugged. “It could be worse than we know,” he said softly.
“What do you mean?” Flint asked.
“They could have another shifter. What if they caught a shifter more powerful than a bear, and were able to derive the serum from their blood? They wouldn’t have to drain it of blood completely. They could just mix its blood with bear blood, and create something superior.” His eyes narrowed. “I have to find out,” he said, using his command tone, letting Flint know that this was going to happen no matter what.
“You’re going to be awfully exposed if you do this,” Flint said at last, sitting back into his chair.
Connor followed suit, sighing as he did. “I know Flint. I know.”
“You’ll have to use one of the outer safe houses. One that has no connection back to us. Only to you.”
Connor nodded. When he, Jared, and the rest of the Sentinel team had first arrived, one of their first jobs was to go out and create some safe houses that were only associated with them, not the Underground. The information was all compiled for everyone to use, but it just helped ensure that they would never be breached entirely. It was one of these places that Flint wanted him to use now.
It was more dangerous, because the Underground didn’t watch those places, and if he needed help, he would be all on his own. Flint was effectively giving him permission by disowning him. Connor didn’t like it, but he knew the Underground took priority over any one person. The organization had to be preserved above all else.
“I know, Flint. But it has to be done. What if they have formulas that prevent a shifter from being able to change? Or deny us our strength? If anyone is going to know this, it’s an Extremis Agent.” He shrugged. “It’s not like I’m going to be doing something stupid, like say, breaking into their headquarters.”
Flint glared at him, not impressed with the reminder of the ridiculous mission Ajax had undertaken upon his first journey to King City. Connor still couldn’t believe that he had managed to break into their headquarters and escape, without learning much more about them.
The only information he had managed to procure was that they had been founded by the Order, a group of rogue dragons who thought that they should be at the top of the pecking order, not the human governments of the world. The Order had been dealt with by other dragons already, but it seemed that offshoots like the Agency were determined to go ahead, despite the demise of their founders.
“I’ll make something happen,” Flint said. “But you have to tell Maddy.”
Connor nodded, suddenly hesitant about the whole plan. Arguing with Flint was one thing. He had done that before and would do it again. He was okay with doing that. But having to tell Maddy?
He swallowed nervously.