Child of Recklessness (Trials of Strength Book 2) Read online

  ‘Tough childhood,’ Jessica mused. ‘What age were you during this?’

  ‘Eight,’ Brian answered and waved her off, ‘but it wasn’t so bad. If I hadn’t worked on my skills, I might not have been able to help here. Plus, I used the money to replace the laptop I stole.’

  We slipped back into silence and I looked down at Alex. I kissed his forehead, and Anna flooded my mind.

  Don’t worry little guy, I’ll be bringing Momma home soon.

  The Deliberation

  Jessica held a conked out Alex as Brian and I lugged the crib from the conference room to the War Room. We placed it near one of the couches, and close to the row of Brian’s tech. Jess then placed my son back in his crib and looked at us expectantly. I glanced at Brian as he headed over to the computers and took his seat. His face hadn’t changed, it still looked as if something sour had made its home in his mouth, and the snarl that mirrored his father’s gave my heart a jolt.

  I could feel the guilt that tried to overtake me. The blame that was being silently fired my way. I didn’t fight it, but I didn’t let it overwhelm me like I had. Instead I waited as it ran its course. My whole dream sequence lingered in my mind, and I focused on the fact that Paul’s death had not been my fault, nor could I have changed the outcome. We were all in the position we were because of sick people playing God. And that was something I couldn’t help.

  But as sure as the heart that thumped in my body, I could fight. I might have been a victim, but I sure as hell wouldn’t take it lying down.

  ‘So how many assassin groups are there?’ I asked Jessica.

  She gave me a sideways glance and pursed her lips.

  ‘I’ve already told you more than I should have. Don’t push it,’ she replied.

  I held up my hands in surrender.

  ‘You know it’s funny,’ I chuckled. ‘Bonnie helped us, and then tried to kill us. You tried to kill us, and now you’re helping us; the world and its ways.’

  Jessica shrugged and walked over to Brian. I joined them, and Brian drew his eyes over my face with a snarl. I looked at Jessica who made a gun with her hand and aimed it at Brian’s head with a smirk. I shook my head, but smiled.

  ‘Brian-’ I said, but he cut me off.

  ‘Do you need something?’ he scoffed.

  ‘Yeah, could you please-’ I was interrupted again.

  ‘Because I’m worried that anything you plan is just going to lead to more death,’ Brian laughed humourlessly.

  I sighed and rubbed my forehead.

  ‘Could you-’ I started.

  ‘Are we going to be rushing into danger again?’ he said.

  ‘Alright,’ I snapped. ‘Cut the crap, are you going to help or sit there and waste my time? Because honestly, there’s gonna be no room for error and if you ruin this because of something that I didn’t do then get the hell out of the way.’

  Brian remained silent.

  ‘Can you check CCTV footage around Digilock? Find out what we’re up against?’ I asked.

  ‘Whatever,’ Brian shrugged and started typing. ‘What makes you think it won’t be the same as before, you know, empty?’

  ‘Because my father is likely no longer in control,’ I replied. ‘As soon as Hazel woke up I got the feeling she was the new top boss.’

  As Brian worked, Jessica and I travelled to the kitchen, where I gladly let her make two mugs of coffee. As the kettle made its way to boiling point, I thought about the ever increasing complications we were faced with. I felt in the dark, like I was in the middle of a huge mess I couldn’t see, so I made a list of our problems, and tried to simplify them.

  My father, creator of the drug that rocked our lives, enacted the experiment in Greystone to create me, to place me in the perfect state, emotionally, mentally and physically, so that I would accept his creation. If my thought mother was right, and the other missing part of accepting the drug was also a balance of morals, it would explain why only I, with my father’s care, had overcome the drug. When the townspeople in Greystone had changed into those monsters after being overdosed, their first thoughts would have been selfish, but understandable. They’d have wanted to save themselves. When I changed, my perception of the world had been altered, I wanted to help and protect the family I had fought side by side with, and I was ready to forfeit my life for them if needs asked it of me.

  But after escaping Greystone, almost all of our assumptions changed. Richard Bishop had left us alone for the most part, until his old bosses in government forced us into his hands. Along with the disk he’d given us, and the night my sister had killed me, everything about him came into question; especially my sister. My father may have created the drug that changed me, but I got the sense he wasn’t the leader of his group like he’d led me to believe, so that begged the question.

  Who the hell was, and what did they want?

  To top it off, the government wanted our heads. They used an order of assassins to target us, placing Bonnie in Greystone, sending both Danny, the man who had tried to run us over, and Jess, our new deadly ally, all of them with orders to snatch a sample of my blood and take us out of the picture and solve one of their problems.

  I latched onto the goals we’d always had. We needed to decimate my father’s group, and blackmail the government into leaving us alone.

  I sighed miserably as Jessica handed me my steaming mug.

  ‘Oh God,’ I said as I gulped my hot drink. ‘I forgot how good coffee is.’

  Jessica smiled.

  ‘I hope Brian isn’t going to stay like this,’ I whispered. ‘I understand what he’s going through, I really do, but he’s changed drastically.’

  ‘Give it time,’ Jess shrugged.

  We finished our coffee, and once we sat the mugs down, Brian, without so much as glance in our direction, raised his hand towards us and snapped his fingers. I was just going to let that go, but Jessica’s face darkened and she leapt over to Brian’s outstretched arm and grabbed his fingers. She bent them slightly and growled in his face.

  ‘Snap your fingers at me like I’m some dog again,’ Jessica snapped, ‘and I’ll shove those fingers so far up your arse they’ll be typing an apology from your stomach.’

  Brian’s face paled and his snarl vanished. He looked surprised, and his face sagged with regret.

  ‘Sorry,’ he whispered.

  Jessica let go and sorted her rumpled top before taking a stance next to Brian’s chair. I walked over and took up the other side.

  ‘What have you got?’ I asked.

  ‘Well, you were right,’ Brian said. ‘Take a look, I managed to find a camera that covers Digilock’s street, and catches a glimpse of the lobby.’

  We all stared at the screen, and my eyes widened. Inside and around the outside, Digilock was teeming with men dressed in black. Their imposing facades were made even more menacing by the guns they had strapped to their bodies. The place had beefed up security, and there was a mass of armed soldiers between us and Anna and Chris. I shook my head as I thought forward and planned.

  ‘Damn,’ I whispered.

  Brian laughed and I felt like socking him in the face.

  ‘Yep,’ he said. ‘How do you suppose we get through that? It’s not like we can call the authorities. If your Dad and his group have the same evidence we do, then that explains why the government aren’t kicking down their doors.’

  Brian was right, but I didn’t say so. In fact, something else he said flared in my mind. It sparked, like a parade of fireworks blooming inside my brain. I couldn’t think of any plan that would work, other than the one that wouldn’t. Brian was right about one thing. The police would steer well clear of the place, unless we gave them no choice but to attack. I wasn’t thinking of a partnership, but more a diversion. It was perfect.

  I started to pace under the gazes of Brian and Jess. They scrutinised me as I tapped my chin. If we forced the government’s hand, and pitted our enemies against one another, we could slip in, deal with Hazel and my fa
ther, and rescue Anna and Chris. We could do the one thing no one would expect.

  But we needed a way to force their hands. I stopped and ran my fists through my hair, taking deep breaths as my heart beat frantic. How could we pull it out of the bag? There had to be a way. Then it hit me. My picture, along with Anna and Chris’s, were plastered all over the media; we were public enemy number one. We were mass murderers and explosive pariahs. If we publicly declared Digilock as our next target, if we terrified the public with a fake attack, then our friends in power would have no choice.

  They would have to make their move.

  ‘Brian, um, do you have a laptop with a camera?’ I asked in a rush.

  Brian nodded and got up. He rifled through his things and came away with a small piece of equipment. He opened the lid and pointed with his eyebrows raised at the tiny, pinprick camera at the top of the laptop’s screen. I nodded and took the object from his hand and walked over to the kitchen counter. Both Brian and Jessica followed.

  ‘If I record something,’ I said, ‘can you black out the background and release it?’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Brian asked.

  ‘Can you put this on the web, for everyone to see, but make sure it can’t be traced back here?’ I pushed.

  ‘Yeah, why?’ he asked.

  I ignored him for the moment and booted up the laptop.

  ‘Lucas, sunshine, mind sharing with the class?’ Jessica sidled up beside me.

  ‘Brian’s right,’ I chuckled. ‘I am going to rush in their without a second thought.’

  Brian scoffed and shook his head incredulous before he said, ‘What the hell is your problem? Don’t you think?’

  But Jessica raised her hand to stop him.

  ‘How does that sound?’ I asked her as I signed into a guest profile, ‘you and I, blasting our way in through the front doors?’

  Jessica smiled widely.

  ‘I’d say that’s my kind of party,’ she replied.

  ‘Hello, been there, tried that, Lucas died,’ Brian spat as he crossed his arms.

  I smirked and turned to face them triumphantly.

  ‘I rushed in like an idiot before,’ I stated. ‘This time we’ll be rushing in smart.

  ‘This time, we’ll be rushing in with an army.’

  The Attack

  Brian wheeled over his chair grudgingly and let me use it as I opened the camera program on the laptop. Jessica brewed more coffee, and watched me with a smirk. I’d filled them in on what I planned to do, and while Brian was apprehensive - although anything either Jessica or I said was met with the same disdain he showed - Jessica was on cloud nine. Our mission was her kind of deal, action, life or death, impossible odds of success. She absolutely loved it, and she wasn’t even getting paid.

  The camera was ready, and I downed half my scolding cup of caffeine with a grimace and a sigh. I flexed my arms and cracked my fingers. I knew what I had to do, but panic still itched its way under my skin.

  ‘Do you know what you’re going to say?’ Jessica asked.

  I shrugged and shook my head.

  ‘I’m just gonna wing it,’ I replied.

  ‘Be bad,’ she said and winked, ‘be me.’

  Emulating Jessica seemed like the way to go, but I inwardly grumbled. For me, being a murdering, cold-hearted woman was going to be difficult. I made myself comfortable, gulped the rest of my coffee, and then hit the camera’s record button.

  ‘Um, hi, arseholes,’ I started and glanced at Jessica for approval. She shook her head and sighed. ‘Okay, I’ll keep this simple. You might know us from, you know, mass murdering a small town and blowing shit up, but here’s the deal: We are not happy at the way we’re being portrayed. We have our next target,’ Brian would edit in a picture and address of Digilock’s building, ‘and unless your puny authorities can stop us, the place will go boom.

  ‘Much love, you know who.’

  I clicked the save button and gave Brian back his chair. He stared at me sceptically as he rolled back over to his desktop computers, the laptop in his hands. I turned to Jessica who was doing her best to suppress a bout of laughter. She finished her coffee while shaking her head, and placed the dish in the sink.

  ‘Bravo,’ Jess chuckled and mock clapped her hands, ‘I bet everyone’s shaking in their boots.’

  ‘Alright, smart arse,’ I retorted, ‘let’s just get ready to move, okay?’

  ‘Lead the way tough guy,’ she replied.

  While Brian worked on the video, Jess and I made our way into his, and formerly Paul’s, room. I pinched my nose as the smell of death smacked me like a heat wave. Jessica ignored it, and wandered over to the tables of weapons. I followed as my eyes darted around the room in search of Paul’s corpse, but it was nowhere to be found.

  Thank God.

  Grabbing a long black shoulder bag, Jessica started stocking up with weaponry. She picked up a large weapon with a scope, and nodded admiringly. She placed it in her bag, and threw in boxes of ammunition. We’d had the discussion of weapons before I had made the video. I was desperate not have anyone killed, but surprisingly, both Brian and Jessica had agreed that the only way we were going to get five feet into the place was to raise as much hell as possible, and to remove as many players as we could.

  I had grumbled, but agreed. I made my own decision however not to be the one killing. I grabbed a holster and fitted a lonely tranquilizer gun into it. Jessica zipped up the bag and pulled it over her shoulder. It criss-crossed her chest and she turned and waited for me.

  ‘You ready?’ she asked.

  ‘You remember what you have to do?’ I replied.

  Jessica nodded.

  ‘Don’t worry, I won’t let you down,’ she said.

  ‘Because I have a feeling my arse will be black and blue once the night is over,’ I emphasised.

  We made our way back to Brian, who spun to face us. He’d finished with the video, and as an added benefit of caution, he had distorted my face and voice along with the background. When the video was viewed, they’d know who it was, but when and if we managed to blackmail the government, we knew not to throw ourselves into something hard to correct.

  I entered mine and Anna's bedroom and passed into the bathroom before we headed out. I washed my hands and splashed cold water on my face. I exited the toilet, and as I marched back through the room, something caught my eye. I turned back to the dresser beside the double bed and stared at the small, delicately wrapped package on top. It was the gift Anna had gotten me, still untouched after the disaster of that night.

  I slouched over and picked up the present. My heart pained with longing as I peeled off the paper, and a small action figure fell into my palm along with a handwritten note. The toy’s face smiled up at me, and the figure had his arms on his sides and an ‘S’ on his chest. I unfolded the note, and read Anna’s loving message.

  To remind you of how I think of you,

  You’re my superhero.

  Love,

  Anna.

  I fought back the tears and swallowed away the lump in my throat.

  I’m coming for you, Anna. I’m coming.

  I made my way back into the main room and we all stood uncomfortably. Brian bit his lip and Jessica crossed and uncrossed her arms. My gaze passed between Alex and Brian, and although I wished I hadn’t needed to say it, I did.

  ‘You know what I’m going to say,’ I said, ‘anything happens to him…’

  ‘I’ll keep him safe,’ Brian stated. ‘I swear.’

  Jessica pulled out her sniper rifle and pulled on some sort of latch. The gun clicked as it loaded, and Brian jumped in his chair, his eyes fascinated by his shoes. I looked over at Jess who shrugged and mouthed ‘What?’ before she replaced the gun in her bag.

  ‘Do it,’ I told Brian.

  He swivelled back around and clicked a single button on his keyboard. The video was up and we were ready to go. I drew a deep breath, and kissed Alex on his forehead. I realised as Jessica and I filed i
nto the elevator and the doors clunked closed that my earlier statement to myself had changed slightly. I had told myself I was ready to die, and as pointed out by my mind’s representation of my mother, I had wanted to. I didn’t anymore. While I accepted it was entirely possible I wouldn’t come back, I knew with all my heart that I would fight like hell. I would fight for Anna, and I would fight to bring us both back to our son.

  *

  ‘How’s it going?’ I said to Brian through the phone at my ear.

  I heard the rattle of keys and a chuckle.

  ‘The video’s already got a few thousand views, and it’s only been a couple of hours, plus it’s past midnight,’ Brian replied. ‘Someone’s keen to have it removed though, the video keeps being removed from the web, but people are sharing it too fast for whoever’s fighting me. Most major media outlets are already running with the story.’

  Jessica and I had set up a temporary base in an alley within view of Digilock. It reeked of old bodily fluids, and I crinkled my nose at the smell. The stars in the sky were blanked out by heavy black clouds, and the ground was wet with rain. We’d been given a brief respite from the showers and I turned to Jessica and gave her the thumbs up before I returned my attention to Brian.

  ‘I’m keeping an eye on the police chatter,’ Brian continued, ‘I’ll text when, and if they move. Do you guys have any sort of plan?’

  ‘Raise a little hell and hope for the best.’ I replied with a smile.

  ‘The best being the enemy cavalry coming to your aid?’ Brian’s sarcastic response came back. ‘Yeah, because nothing could go wrong with that plan.’

  ‘Just keep us posted,’ I said sourly, and punched the hang up button.

  I peeked round the corner of the massive bin Jessica and I had taken cover behind. Jess stood with her long sniper rifle in hand, and she watched the black-cladded men through the scope. I watched her carefully and noticed how little running into a life or death situation bothered her. She was calm and in complete control, while I on the other hand, couldn’t stop my traitorous hands from shaking. I never shook when I had my abilities, and part of me longed for them to return, especially when I needed them the most. Maybe they would never come back to me.