Talented (22 page)

My thoughts were confirmed when two men rounded the corner at the end of the corridor that we were walking down.  The hallways were too narrow to hope that we would go unnoticed, even if we flattened ourselves against the concrete walls.

“
Erik, take the left.  I’ll take the right.  Talia, move on to the target,”
Henri ordered.

The men didn’t see us until it was too late.  Henri and Erik attacked in unison, catching their prey by surprise.  I ran through the middle of the fights and continued on to where we’d seen the red outline on the scan, indicating the target.  I found the room easily and turned the knob, but it didn’t budge.  Putting my other hand on the door, I envisioned the locking mechanism.  I mentally disengaged all of the bolts and felt the knob turn in my hand.  I breathed a sigh of relief, and pushed the door open.

A short, balding man sat behind a large table full of vials and contraptions all holding different colored liquids.  He looked directly at me, and dropped the vial that he was holding in his hand.  I didn’t know how many more might be in the building, but I didn’t want to take the chance, so I froze the vial to suspend it in mid-air, before it could shatter on the floor.  The guy could see me, but was having a hard time focusing on me since the suit and face paint were obscuring my appearance.

I moved slower than I should have towards him, reaching for one of the knives in my belt.

“Toxic, right?” the man stuttered.

I didn’t respond; I couldn’t have formulated words if my life depended on it.  My tongue felt thick and heavy, filling the small space between my tightly clenched jaws, and a sour taste ran down the back of my throat.  I continued towards him.  He backed away as I advanced, knocking over vials as he went.  I wasn’t fast enough to mentally catch all of them before they hit the
ground.  So much for not attracting attention.  He continued to retreat until his back slammed into the far wall of the room.  I quickened my pace, until I was standing over top of him.  He fell to his knees by my feet, holding up his hands to shield himself.  My reflexes took over and I pounced, pressing my knife to his throat.

“No, please, no,” the man begged.

I reached with my free hand into my belt and grabbed the syringe holding the poison.  I gripped the syringe so hard that I could feel the skin over my knuckles go tight.  The same panic that had seized me outside took over my body again.  My chest heaved in and out, as I tried to catch my breath.  I felt a burning sensation in the corners of my eyes, and willed myself not to cry.

Noting my hesitation the man started to get up.  I pushed the tip of the knife harder against the pale skin of his neck, penetrating the flesh and drawing blood.  I closed my eyes and shook my head, trying to erase my misgivings.  The man shrank back even further, pressing himself into the wall.  A large hand closed around mine, the one holding the syringe.  The hand forced the syringe into the man’s bulging blue vein, and depressed the plunger.  I watched in horror as the man’s dark brown eyes dulled and then rolled back as he slumped to the floor.

The hand holding mine pried my fingers away from the syringe, that I was still holding.

”Let go, Tal.”

I collapsed back against the person attached to the hand – Erik.  He wrapped his arms around me, holding me to his chest for a brief second before releasing me, to reach in his pack.  I fell to my knees next to the man’s lifeless form.  Erik pulled out a small scanner, similar to the one that Henri had used to image my body when I got stabbed.  He scanned the man’s body, and the scanner gave a barely-perceptible beep.

“
He’s dead,”
Erik confirmed.

I couldn’t move.  I stared down at the dead man’s body, opened mouthed.  I felt the burning sensation behind my eyes again.

“
We need to go now, Natalia,”
Erik said firmly, pulling me to my feet.  He wrapped his arm around my waist and gently pulled me to the door.  Henri was standing guard outside.  We sprinted out of the building, the same way that we’d come in, with Henri in the lead.  We didn’t slow our pace until we reached the edge of the woods.

Henri and Erik quickly shed their weapons and packs, and morphed into two large birds. As if on auto-pilot, I mindlessly strapped their weapons to my body and the packs to Henri’s back.  When I was confident that everything was secure, I climbed on to Erik’s back, in the space between his wings, and wrapped my arms securely around his neck.  I closed my eyes as the two large birds took off into the now-dark night sky.

I had yet to master riding Erik’s giant bird form, but I was consistently staying on in practices so I wasn’t really scared flying the distance back to the hover plane.  I was in such a state of shock, that I don’t think I would’ve cared if I did fall off.

The two giant birds touched down in the clearing, near the waiting craft.  I jumped off of Erik’s back before his talons struck the ground, and ran up the gangplank before either could morph back.  I climbed into my seat.  I fumbled with the buckles, trying and failing to fit all of the pieces in to the right parts.  I screamed in frustration when I failed for the third time.

“I got it, Tal,” Erik said gently, taking the buckles out of my hands.  He deftly fastened the buckles and then got up, returning a moment later with chemi wipes.  He gently cleaned the streaked paint off my face, wiping away the silently falling tears with his thumb before he stood.  When he finished, he got up and went to clean himself up.

“You did really well, Natalia,” Henri said, taking Erik’s place next to my chair.

“Thanks,” I sniffed.

“I know how hard it is the first time.  I’d like to tell you that it gets easier, but it doesn’t,” he continued sadly.

I nodded like I understood.  He reached out and squeezed my hand, before getting up to take his seat.  I tucked my knees up against my chest and rested my head on top.  I closed my eyes, but I couldn’t manage to fall asleep.

The ride back to Headquarters was just as silent as the ride out, but the mood on the hover plane was different.  Instead of the stress and tension, the ride back was filled with sadness and remorse.  Both Henri and Erik kept stealing not-so-discreet glances in my direction.

When we arrived back at Headquarters, I went straight to my room.  Erik, Penny, and Henri all made excuses to knock on my door, but I ignored all of them.

For the first time since our fight, I wanted to reach out to Donavon.  Up until now I’d felt a barrage of emotions towards him, mostly anger and pain, but this was the first time I actually missed him.  I lost track of the number of times I opened my mind to seek out Donavon, and it took every ounce of restraint that I could muster to keep me from actually calling out to him.  Erik or Penny or even Henri would have come to sit with me, but it wasn’t the same.  Despite everything, I yearned for the comfort that only Donavon could provide.

I barely slept the night that we got back.  I sat in my big bed, clutching an overstuffed purple pillow filled with goose feathers, staring mindlessly out of my huge window at the grounds below.  The next morning, I woke up more depressed than when I went to sleep, made worse when I realized that it was the beginning of the Festivis Holiday.

The Nation came together every May 13
th
to celebrate Festivis Day – the day that the government had halted the Coalition’s rebellion.  I wasn’t really sure about celebrating a holiday that marked the split of a country, but I that think I might be the only person who viewed it that way.  Officially, the government declared that Festivis signified the commitment of the lasting states to remain unified.  Given how tenuous the government’s hold on some of those states was, I hoped that the celebrations served as a reminder of how great a nation we could be, if we stayed unified.

All of the Operatives not training for an active mission were permitted to leave Headquarters.   Ordinarily, I would have spent the holiday with Mac, Gretchen, and Donavon, but despite my moment of weakness the previous night, I wasn’t ready to see Donavon, let alone stay in the same house as him.  Gretchen had sent me message after message, begging me to come home, but I didn’t return any of them.  Mac had come to see me several times since the incident with Donavon, and passed on more of Gretchen’s pleading.  I’d told him that I thought it best if I stayed at Headquarters.  Mac had assured me that he understood and of course the decision was mine.

My communicator began buzzing early that morning.  I groaned, and reached out in its general direction.  Mac’s name flashed across the display screen.  I considered not answering, but I knew that he was aware that I was back from my mission, and would likely call until I answered.  I fumbled around with the buttons until I finally found the right one.

“Hi, Mac,” I
croaked, as Mac’s holographic face appeared.

“Hello, Natalia,” Mac sounded slightly disapproving.  I hoped that it was because I was still in bed, and not because he’d that learned I cried during my assignment.  Mac didn’t approve of crying.

“Happy Festivis, Mac,” I mumbled into my pillow.

“Yes, Happy Festivis.  There will be lots of parades and celebrations going on in the District over the next couple of days, I’ve arranged for both you and Penelope to attend any that you wish.  Please don’t overdo it; no other Pledges have been afforded the same privileges.”

“Thanks, Mac,” I replied, brightening slightly as I propped myself up on my elbow.  “Tell Gretchen that I said hi and I will see her at my graduation.”

“Yes, I will . . . Speaking of graduation, I heard that you completed your first Kill Mission yesterday.”

Oh no, here came the lecture.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I said quickly.

“Natalia, you knew that this was part of the job,” Mac said flatly.  Guess he had heard about my breakdown.

“I know,” I replied tightly, gritting my teeth.

“You’d better get used to it, and fast.  You graduate very soon.  Once you are a full Hunter, Kill Missions will be more prevalent.”

“I know,” I repeated, an edge to my voice.

“Do you still want to be a Hunter, Natalia?” Mac demanded.

“Of course I do!” I exclaimed, scrambling into a sitting position.

“Good.  Start acting like it,” he retorted bitterly.  I sighed.  His words were laced with unspoken innuendo.  I had chosen to be a Hunter.  I’d worked towards this goal every day since I went to the McDonough School.  I knew what the Hunters did before I came here, I’d just been unprepared for the difference between knowing what Hunters did, and actually doing it.  Now I knew.  I just had to get used it.

“Your solo mission is just around the corner,” he continued.  “It is supposed to
be a formality, but if you do not perform well, you will not become a Hunter.  Nothing that I can do will change that.”

I don’t know if he meant it as a threat, but that’s how I interpreted it.  I winced.  I’d never really considered not becoming a Hunter.  That was not an option.

I’d chosen the Hunters because that was the only chance I’d have to find the man responsible for my parents’ deaths.  Most mental Talents work in psychic interrogation, but I knew that would never be enough for me.  I didn’t want to interrogate the man who ordered my parent’s execution.  I wanted to hunt him down; I wanted to kill him.  The realization hit me hard.  I guess I did have a killer inside me.

A myriad of excuses for Mac were on the tip of my tongue, but Mac didn’t want excuses.  Mac wanted results.  Besides, he already knew that I’d been distracted after the incident with Donavon – I think that was kind of the point of this phone call.

“I understand,” I said instead.

“I hope that you do.  I hope that you’re taking your position seriously.”

“I am,” I protested, louder than I meant to.

“Good, because if you fail your solo mission, I won’t be able to save you,” he warned.

“I’m not asking you to,” I replied coldly.

“Enjoy the holiday,” Mac said, letting me know that the conversation was over.

“Whatever,” I spat back.

“Goodbye, Natalia.”  My communicator made a loud buzzing noise, and then Mac’s holographic image disappeared.

I screamed in frustration, rolling over on to my back.  I pounded my fist against the mattress.  It was childish, but I was furious – mostly with myself.  I needed to be more focused.  I needed to become fore desensitized to what we were doing.  Toxic was important, and what we were doing was important.  The Coalition killed my parents.  They deserved anything that came their way.  I pounded the mattress with my fist again, this time in determination.  I climbed out of bed and headed to my bathroom, vowing that I’d be stronger, next time.  Next time, I wouldn’t falter.  Next time, Erik wouldn’t have to do it for me.

Chapter Twenty-Five

There was an insistent pounding on my door when I exited the bathroom a short while later.  I pulled the tie on my fluffy bathrobe a little tighter, as I opened my mind.  It was Penny. 
Should’ve guessed.  I mentally forced the door open, and Penny’s lanky form tumbled through, red hair first.

“Hey!” she exclaimed.

“Hey, Penny,” I smiled.

“I just heard,” she said excitedly.

“Heard?  About what?”  How I cried like a little girl during a mission?  Yeah, I need have to hear about that, I was there.

“The Director gave us permission to attend the Festivis celebrations in the city!” Penny could barely contain her enthusiasm.

“Oh right, Mac mentioned that.”  Before Mac had lectured me about my dedication to becoming a Hunter, I’d been really excited about attending the celebrations as well, but now it didn’t seem so important.

“We totally have to find our most city girl looking outfits!” Penny seemed immune to my indifference.

“I’m not really sure I’m up for going,” I started.  Penny’s face fell, and her bright green eyes clouded with disappointment.

“We don’t have to dress up,” she offered, looking hopeful.

“It’s not the dressing up, Penny,” I assured her.

“Then what is it?  I’ve always wanted to attend Festivis Day celebrations,” Penny pleaded.  “At the orphanage we were only allowed to watch the parade go by, but they never let us leave to take part in any of the activities.”

“I’m sure that some of the other Cryptos are going, right? Why don’t you go with them?”

“Because I want to go with
you
!” she gave me one of her big toothy smiles and batted her eyelashes, exaggeratedly at me.

“I don’t know, Penny. . .”

“I
promise
that it’ll be fun,” she could tell my resolve was weakening and she pounced on the opportunity.  “If you aren’t having fun, you can just tell me and we’ll come straight back,” she promised.

It wasn’t like I was going to train today anyway, so I nodded, “Deal.”

Penny’s fervor was contagious, and before long I was almost as amped to go as she was.  Penny took a quick inventory of my closet, and dismissed all of my day-to-day clothes as too boring.  She pulled out the silk garment bags that contained my most recent gifts from Gretchen, and littered their contents across my bed.  I could practically see the wheels turning in her overly-analytical Crypto head, as she ran her fingers over the fabrics.

Finally, Penny held up a long, sleeveless dark green dress made of chiffon.  The straps of the dress fastened over the shoulders, with two large interlocking gold hoops on each side.  The dress was cut in a deep V in the front and back, and a thin slip of a light green see-through material was all that prevented my skin from exposure.  The waist of the dress was cinched with a wide belt that was the same lighter green shade as the slip and was embroidered with gold and dark green flowers.  The skirt of the dress was floor
length, full and flowy.  A small gold hook was sewn into one side of the skirt, so that I could hold the bottom of the dress off the ground when I walked.

“This is amazing!” she squealed.  “You
are going to look amazing in it!”

“Thanks, it was a present from Gretchen.  I think she always wanted a daughter,” I mumbled, embarrassed.

“Now we just need to decide on your makeup.”  She scrutinized my features and I suddenly felt very self-conscious under her intense gaze.  “Stay right here.  I’ll be right back,” with that Penny was out the door.  She was only gone for a couple of minutes, but when she returned her arms were laden with garment bags of her own, and huge boxes that I had a feeling contained makeup.

Penny dumped all the stuff on my bed, and pulled one of the chairs from my breakfast set into the middle of the room.

“Sit,” she ordered, her eyes glittering with excitement.

I obediently sat in the purple plastic chair and closed my eyes, giving my appearance over to Penny.  While I still wasn’t fully committed to the idea of going into the city, I began to warm to the idea.  After the nightmare mission, maybe blowing off a little steam would be good for me.  Maybe, dare I hope, I would even have a good time.  Celebrating Festivis Day in the city with Penny had to be better than the alternative – wallowing in my own self-pity.

For the next hour or so I opened my eyes when Penny said open, I puckered my lips when Penny said to pucker, I tilted my head when Penny said to tilt, and I tried not to flinch while Penny tugged and wound my hair around my head.

“Done!” she announced proudly, after she zipped up my dress.

“Can I look in the mirror now?” I asked, although I wasn’t sure that I really wanted to.  If Penny’s makeup was any indication of what she found attractive, and I kind of assumed it was, then I probably looked ridiculous.

“Of course!
  You’re totally going to love it!”

I grimaced.  Somehow I doubted that, but for Penny’s sake, I’d have to pretend.

I was shuffling my way towards the bathroom, trying not to step on the hem of my dress, when I heard a knock at the door.  I looked at Penny, alarmed.  She gave me a quizzical look in return.

“I don’t want anybody to see me like this,” I mouthed.

Penny rolled her eyes and moved towards the door.  I knew before she opened it that Erik was on the other side.  He was dressed from head to toe in black, making his turquoise eyes shine like two small, perfectly matched gems.  His black dress pants fit perfectly, the black leathery belt threaded through the loops looked shiny and new, and his black dress shirt gave off a slight shine when the light hit it.  His ensemble was completed with a black dress jacket.

“You girls almost . . .” Erik trailed off when he saw me standing in the middle of the room.  “Tal, you look . . .”

“Ridiculous?” I finished for him.

“No, no, you don’t look ridiculous.  You look amazing,” his eyes traveled the length of my body slowly, leaving me feeling flushed and oddly thirsty.  The memory of Erik’s hand brushing my stomach to put on my bandages suddenly invaded my consciousness, and the same tingling sensation that captivated me then washed over me ten-fold now.  I let out a shaky breath, silently praying Erik that hadn’t felt it too.

“Thanks,” I mumbled, reaching up to smooth my hair self-consciously.  I pulled my hand away in horror when I felt feathers covering one side of my head.  Blood rushed to my cheeks, but thankfully Penny had put so much makeup on my face that I didn’t think either of them could tell.

“I just need to get myself ready, we’ll only be a minute,” Penny said to Erik.

“Are you going with us?” I asked, confused.

“Who’d you think was going to drive you?” he smirked.  I hadn’t really thought about it.  Any Operative who hadn’t left the compound for the holiday would be going to the city celebrations, and all the Pledges that were still here would likely be trying to sneak into the city.  I guess I’d just figured that we’d beg a ride off one of them.

“Thanks,” I smiled at Erik.

“No problem.  I’ll wait downstairs with Harris and Henri, just come down when you’re ready,” Erik made no move to leave, instead staring at me with a glint in his eye that made my head spin.

“The sooner you leave, the sooner Penny can get dressed,” I said, trying to keep my voice even.

“Right,” he spun on his heel and strolled to the door.  Once he was gone I let out a breath that I hadn’t realized I was holding, and felt the circulation return to my extremities as the pounding in my heart quieted.

Penny gave me a knowing look, but kept her mouth shut for once.  She hurried into the bathroom and, in record time, applied smoky gray and black shadows with flecks of gold over her eyelids and blood red gloss on her thin lips.

She held up three simple dresses for me to choose from.  They were all the same basic style, one-shouldered sheaths that hung to the middle of her calf, one in black, one in electric blue and one in lemon yellow.  I saw her glance enviously towards the rest of my elaborately-styled dresses strewn about on my bed.  I wanted to offer her one, but given our considerable height difference, they would never fit her.  Instead, I pointed to the electric-blue one and watched as she slipped it over her head.

I smiled, “You look beautiful.”

She returned my smile, “We’d better go before the cavalry returns.”

I quickly programmed a request for room maintenance, to clean the mess that Penny and I’d left behind, as we scurried out the door.

As Penny pushed the down button for the elevator, I glimpsed my reflection for the first time in the metal doors.  Penny had smoothed my curls into a sleek bun, on one side of my neck.  I did indeed have gold feathers decorating the opposite side.  She had dusted green and gold shadows over my eyelids, and a pink blush on my cheeks.  She’d informed me, with a smirk, that the blush was called First Kiss.  The pale pink gloss on my lips added very little color, but a whole lot of shine.  I smiled at my reflection.  I definitely looked like a city girl.

Erik, Henri and Harris were waiting for us in the lobby when we emerged from the elevator.  I hadn’t seen Harris since my fight with Donavon, and I had no idea what he thought of me; he was, after all, one of Donavon’s best friends.

I gave the boys a tight smile and busied myself with fastening the hook on skirt of my dress to the thin gold bracelet fastened around my wrist.

“We’re ready to have a totally awesome time!” Penny announced in greeting.

“Good, let’s get going,” Henri laughed at her enthusiasm.

Penny and I followed the boys through the apartment lobby and out into the cool day.  To my surprise, Erik fell back and offered me his arm, as I hobbled unsteadily on the wooden shoes designed to be worn with the dress.  Penny shot me a not-so-subtle look before hurrying forward to catch up with Henri and Harris.

“How
ya doing after yesterday?” Erik asked, in a quiet voice.

“Better,” I lied.  My earlier conversation with Mac may have confirmed that I had a killer instinct lurking somewhere deep within, but every time I thought about the man in the laboratory on his knees, begging for his life I felt disgusted with myself.  I wasn’t sure if there was valor in revenge but I did know that there was nothing heroic about what we’d done yesterday.   I tried to remedy that by pushing those thoughts to the darkest, cobweb laden corner of my mind.

“Good,” he answered, with an easy smile.  There was no doubt in my mind that he knew I was lying.  “You’re going to love the city celebrations,” he said, changing the subject.  “The floats in the parade are awesome and the street vendors sell great food, you’re seriously going to love it.”

I’d never seen Erik so animated before.  I’d felt his thrill, his fear, his anxiety, and even his self-loathing after he
plunged the needle in the scientist’s neck, but never genuine happiness.  I smiled, letting his exuberance become my own, my mood lifting until I too wanted nothing more than to celebrate Festivis.  I listened intently as he babbled on about the festivities during the entire walk to the hangar and for most of the ride into the city.

The city celebration was everything that he’d promised and more.  The streets had been shut down to vehicles, leaving street vendors plenty of room to set up.

Our small group, plus Frederick, who had met us at the Toxic’s city hover hangar, made it’s from one street vendor to the next, stopping to sample the delicacies.  I ate pork and pineapple skewers from one, and a caribou dog wrapped in a cornbread bun from the next.  Penny and I split candied plums and spiced apples from a dessert vendor, and cashew and pistachio crisps from a nut vendor.  Erik insisted that I try a bite of his black bear and bean burrito, and despite the feeling that my stomach had already stretched beyond its capacity, I ate half.

The exotic food vendors were only outdone by the performers dancing through the streets, and the elaborate floats.  Each float held a small group of representatives from each state.  Even the representatives from the smaller, and usually poorer, states were dressed in their finest silks and satins, with brightly colored jewels adorning their bodies and elaborate head toppers.  I marveled as the street performers flipped and tumbled through the air, twirling fire batons and sharp swords.

The atmosphere in the nation’s capital was lively and energetic.  Residents from cities all over the country had come to D.C. to celebrate Festivis.  People toasted each other in the streets, randomly hugged and kissed strangers, and broke into off-key verses of the National Anthem.

The mood was infectious.  I was careful not to drink too much of the burning, brown liquor that a drink vendor handed me when we walked by, but the couple of sips that I had spread warmth and happiness through me.  Before I knew it, I was dancing and singing off-key with the rest of the celebrators.  I wasn’t the only one who appeared to be enjoying myself; Erik refused to dance with me, but he hooted and hollered as Penny and I danced circles around him.  Henri and Frederick were holding hands and singing at the top of their lungs to the District’s state song, which was blasting out of speakers mounted on the buildings.  I’d seen Henri relax, and even joke with Erik, but I’d never seen him really enjoy himself before now.  Harris drank several cups of the brown liquor, and kept making excuses to touch Penny’s arm or lean in closer than necessary to whisper in her ear, sending her into a fit of giggles.  Penny was basking in Harris’s attention, and I loved seeing her so happy.