Defector (5 page)

M
y hands were sweaty when I stepped into Major’s office the next morning to meet Senator Pollard. It felt more like an assessment than a meeting.

I was surprised to see Summers leaning against the wall beside the glass cabinet, her sinewy arms crossed in front of her chest. As usual, she was dressed in all black: black muscle shirt, tight leather pants, and combat boots with steel toe caps. She gave me a curt nod. Her ash-blond hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail. It looked as if a brush hadn’t come near her for days. Sometimes I wondered if Summers deliberately dressed like a man so that people would show her more respect. Or maybe she just hated makeup and other girly things. I supposed she was involved in the mission because of Holly. After all, it was her evaluation that had convinced Major that Holly was ready for the field.

Major stood in front of his floor-to-ceiling window, his back turned to the man in the chair across from his desk. The door fell shut behind my back with an audible thud. I winced. Major turned, his face lined with a deep frown. The senator twisted in his chair to look at me. He was the epitome of a successful politician. Every detail of his appearance was perfect, from his black designer suit with thin pinstripes, his light blue tie, his neatly smoothed-back gray hair, and his attractive, clean-shaven face. Nothing was out of line. Even his high-wattage smile looked like it took weeks to perfect in the mirror.

“So that’s her?” he asked in a voice even smoother than his outward appearance. His smile twisted and suddenly turned cruel. I was pretty sure that was his behind-closed-doors smile. “That tiny slip of a girl? You’re losing your touch, my friend.” He let out a superior laugh while watching me the way one would regard a bothersome fly. I was stunned into silence and glanced at Major. Was that man for real? It seemed his perfect appearance was trying to overcompensate for his ugly persona. What a douche.

Summers straightened, her square jaw tightening. Her leather pants squeaked as her legs moved.

Pollard looked at me, blue eyes no longer amused but calculating. “You, come here.”

The annoyance must have shown on my face, because he let out a deep laugh. “Oh-ho-ho, a firecracker,” he whistled. He glanced at Summers as if he thought she’d agree with him, but from the look on her face, she would have liked to crush him under her black boots.

I walked up to him without a word, rearranging my face into a smile. Nothing I wanted to say would have improved my situation. Not that I thought I’d have gotten in trouble with Major. Whatever insult I might have chosen, I was sure he had a worse word in mind for the senator. But this was about professionalism. In future missions, I’d often work with people I didn’t like or who would be rude to me. The trick was to remain above the fray.

“So you’re the one they’re all salivating over?” He didn’t even try to hide his doubt and amusement. His hands were smooth, with the skin of someone who’d always had other people to do his work, and neat nails as if he’d had a manicure recently. When he reached out to touch my arm, it still took all my willpower not to flinch. He was rude and slimy and I didn’t want him anywhere near me. The second his skin came into contact with mine, I could feel my body absorb his data, incorporate it somehow into my memory and DNA. “This little girl is supposed to take my place, huh?” His eyes burned into mine, never wavering.

I bristled but stopped myself from saying something. I returned his gaze. I wouldn’t let that man intimidate me.

“She’s more than capable,” Major said through gritted teeth. His expression made it plainly clear how little he thought of the man in front of him. But I thought that went both ways. There wasn’t any love lost between them.

“Then get on with it, missy. Show me what you got,” he said in a deep southern drawl, all charm and smile. He seemed to find himself very funny.

Since he’d already touched me, I’d already collected the DNA I needed to shift into his form. But then I hesitated. I had a better idea. I let the familiar rippling sensation wash over me, felt my bones grow and shift, saw my skin darken to caramel. The man let out a whistle. “Holy moly. Not bad.” He glanced between Major and me. “I couldn’t tell who’s the real one.”

A self-satisfied smile tugged at my lips, but it died when I noticed the look on Major’s face. His lips were set in a hard line, eyes burning with anger. He’d never said as much, but apparently changing into him was off-limits. I glanced at Summers for help, but her face didn’t give anything away.

“You know, Antonio,” Senator Pollard said snidely. Major tensed at the use of his first name. Only Martha was allowed to call him that. “She actually manages to make you look better. I guess that’s because she isn’t so tense and stuck up.”

With a violent shudder, I hastily changed back to myself. I didn’t want to give Senator Pollard any more reason to provoke Major, who already looked close to exploding.

“As you can see, Tessa is the perfect agent for the job,” Major said curtly. “She’ll make sure this mission is a success.”

“She’d better. Some people would love to see her fail and have your trust in her be thrown in your face.” His cold eyes settled on me. “You’re being watched.”

I didn’t dare ask what that meant, and Major’s scowl made it clear he wouldn’t tell me. And maybe it was for the best. It would only distract me from the mission. Major dismissed me with a nod, but as I stepped out of the office, Senator Pollard’s words made me pause. I slowly closed the door behind me, stopping to listen to as much of their conversation as I could. “Someone has stolen the files about the FEA prison.” I was glad that the senator saw no reason to keep his voice down. I held my breath and pressed my ear against the door.

“Why has no one informed me of this before?” Major demanded.

“I suppose they think it’s my concern.”

“Your concern? You haven’t been there once in all these years. If you had any sense at all, you wouldn’t have kept sensitive information in a building full of non-Variants. This is FEA business.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, my friend. You can’t just build a prison and think the FBI and federal government won’t keep an eye on it. You’re given a lot of leeway with your decisions, but we have to at least pretend to work under federal laws.”

“You don’t realize the consequences of your incompetence.”

“And you are a drama queen.” I had to stifle a gasp. But Senator Pollard continued as if he hadn’t just insulted Major. “What can they do with a file? So what if they know who’s been locked up in our prison?”

I heard some rustling, and the door opened. I stumbled back, but it was too late. Summers had seen me. She slipped the door shut behind her and cocked a blond eyebrow. “Poking your nose into things that aren’t your business?”

I was about to reply, but she didn’t give me the chance. “Curiosity killed the cat. Some things better stay a secret,
believe me
,” she added, then she strode down the corridor.

Was she talking about Alec’s secret Variation? Or were there more secrets—even darker secrets—I didn’t know?

T
anner was the one who brought me the clothes I was to wear as Senator Pollard: a dark gray suit, a white shirt, and a red tie, as well as white cotton briefs and an undershirt. I hadn’t considered that I’d have to wear his underwear, too.

Tanner leaned against the doorframe, twisting his septum piercing. His expression was too serious.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“I need to talk to you,” he said. “About Alec.”

Dread settled in the pit of my stomach. That was the last thing I wanted to talk about.

“Can it wait until later? I need to change.” I couldn’t even look him in the eyes. He was Alec’s best friend. He’d probably been in on his secret from the start. I knew which side he was on.

“I won’t take long.” He moved closer, but then he thought better of it and stopped in the middle of the room. He looked uneasy, as if what he was going to say next was way out of his comfort zone. “Alec loves you. You know that, right?”

Of course I knew. Alec had said the words to me, but hearing Tanner say them made them seem more real. “Love isn’t the problem,” I said quietly. I glanced at the photo of Alec and me on my nightstand. Why did things have to go wrong so fast? There had been a time in my life when I’d thought Alec admitting his love for me would make me the happiest person alive.

“All you need is love. Want me to sing the song?” he joked. But the grin died on his lips when he saw my expression. “Not a good day to make jokes, eh?”

I shook my head. I stared down at the clothes clutched in my hands.

“Alec’s beating himself up because of the whole thing,” Tanner said. He was rubbing his checkered sneakers over the floor, back and forth, back and forth. I focused on them instead of his face. “He wanted to tell you. But things aren’t that easy when Major is involved.”

I raised my head. “So you know about his Dual Variation?”

Tanner hesitated, his dark eyes cornered. “Yeah, but—”

“Did he tell you?”

Tanner gripped his mohawk. “Jeez, Tessa, I’m making a mess of things.”

“So he told you but not me?”

“It’s complicated.”

I pointed a finger at him. “Oh no, not you too. I’ve heard those words so often, and I’m sick of it.”

“Alec was worried about how you’d react if you found out. But believe me, he wanted to tell you.”

“Did he send you to talk to me?” I demanded.

Tanner snorted. “Alec? Please. You know him. He tries to deal with stuff on his own. He’d probably kick my ass if he found out I was here.”

“I really need to change into Pollard now,” I said.

Tanner nodded and moved toward the door. His hand on the handle, he turned to me once more. “You two need each other. You should give him another chance. Everyone makes mistakes.”

“Believe me, I know. And I never said I wouldn’t give him another chance. But I’m upset, and I really need to focus.”

Tanner hesitated as if there was more to say, but then he slipped out and closed the door without a sound. I stared at the white surface for a moment, trying to calm my raging emotions before I started undressing. How was I supposed to focus now?

I didn’t bother to put Senator Pollard’s clothes on, since they would have been too big for my current body.

My transformation started off slow because I was distracted, the rippling decreasing to a gentle tremble. But I returned my focus, and within seconds I had changed into Senator Pollard.

Holly came out of our bathroom, and her eyes widened as her gaze traveled over the foreign body. “Oh my God,” she breathed, flushing pink.

It took me a moment to realize why she was reacting like that. I stood naked before her—in Senator Pollard’s body. There wasn’t any part of it that was covered. Laughing, I staggered toward the pile of clothes and thrust my legs into his underpants.

Holly helped me get dressed. I jammed the hem of the shirt in my zipper three times before she stuffed the fabric back into the trousers and zipped me up. She didn’t stop giggling.

“I hope you don’t have a laughing fit during the mission. I think people might get suspicious if the empty air starts to make a sound,” I said. It was meant as a joke, but I regretted the words when I saw the anxiety on Holly’s face. This was her first mission, and her Variation hadn’t exactly been reliable in the past. I put a heavy, long-fingered hand on Holly’s shoulder. “Everything will be fine,” I told her in Senator Pollard’s deep voice. “Alec is there. He won’t let you fail. If things get tough, he’ll just use his freaky Variation to manipulate your emotions.” I could almost taste the bitterness on my tongue.

Holly peered at the hand on her shoulder with a little frown before she burst into laughter once again. “I’m sorry. This is just too absurd.”

“I know,” I said with a smile, glad that her dark mood had disappeared. When the suit was in place, Holly and I headed for the heliport.

Major and Alec were already waiting for us. “I’d like a word with you, Tessa,” Major said, walking away from Holly and Alec, and leaving me no other choice but to hurry after him. He stopped abruptly, and I almost ran into his back. It was the first time that I had to look down on him; Pollard was quite a bit taller than Major. “Listen, if it was up to me, you wouldn’t be part of this,” he said. “We still don’t know enough about the threat, much less if the attackers will strike today. I don’t like the thought of being in the dark like this. And I don’t think this is a good time for you to leave headquarters.”

I nodded, though I didn’t understand his reasoning. Why was he telling me this if I still needed to go?

“But you think Abel’s Army has something to do with the death threats?” I asked.

Major frowned. “I don’t see why they’d bother with Senator Pollard, unless they misjudge his importance. It’s not like his advisory role in matters of organized crime is stopping anyone, and even his involvement with us isn’t worth mentioning. I think there’s more at play here. And frankly, I don’t trust Senator Pollard.”

That surprised me.

Major glanced at his watch. “It’s time to set out. We don’t want you to be late,” he said. “Alec will make sure that nobody’s up to something, especially the security staff.”

“You mean by reading and manipulating their emotions?” I wasn’t sure why I’d said it.

Major’s eyes snapped to Alec, as if he thought he might have revealed his secret to me. “He didn’t tell me,” I murmured. “I figured it out by myself.” This would have been my chance to get Kate in serious trouble, but for once she wasn’t the one I was angry with. Without her, I’d still be in the dark. I supposed I should be grateful to her, even if her reasons for telling me weren’t innocent.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.

Major raised his eyebrows. “There was no reason to. But we’ll discuss this further once you’re back from the mission.”

“It’s time!” Alec shouted, pointing at his watch, before he boarded the helicopter. The blades began rotating. I hurried toward Holly, and together we climbed inside. Major gave a nod before he closed the door and backed away. Then we lifted off—toward my second mission.