Rachel stood and looked around the room. Her long brown hair and bright green eyes reflected the mid-day sun.
“Everyone has been accounted for,” she said. “Not everyone was chipped, which we can only guess is because the Horatius Group was interrupted too soon into the process.”
“What does that mean?” Major Carter asked.
She turned to look down the table at him, and Apollo drummed his fingers on the table impatiently. This meeting was already starting to piss him off.
“We hope it means that the programs weren’t fully operational. We have to believe that to be the case since the placement of these devices could have caused quite a bit of damage.”
“Or they were just waiting for the right opportunity,” Apollo mumbled.
Several heads turned toward him, including that of the doctor.
“True,” she said. The corner of her mouth twitched, a sure sign that she was about to rip him a new one. “They were complicated implantations, which made removal difficult, to say the least. There is always the chance that said devices could be used against us, and anyone carrying them could be a tool of the enemy.”
His hand involuntarily went to the corner of his eye and rubbed a little in irritation. Just below the skin, he could feel the hard ridge. He glared at Rachel. She knew exactly what she was saying and that it would piss him off.
“And what’s being done about these potential threats?” Sol chimed in, likely more to break up the pending fight than anything else.
Rachel held his eyes for a moment before turning to the blond-haired hybrid.
“We’re trying to work that out,” she sighed. “Paige has a few ideas, but I’d like to hold off on a decision before we explore all options.”
“Any news on her coming full time with us?” Titus asked, the hopeful sound hard to miss.
Apollo snorted. Just the mention of the new outsider pissed him off more. It was just another person he had to watch like a hawk. The nurse seemed to check out, but she was so resistant to joining them. That was twice as suspicious in his book.
Titus frowned at him from the end of the table and then turned back to Rachel.
“Paige is a tough one,” Rachel said and gave a wry smile. “But she’ll come around. She is great with the men and has been very understanding about the sensitivity the chips have caused.”
Her pointed stare at him was hard to miss, and his lips curled in agitation.
“We’ll trust whatever decision you come up with on the chips and leave the recruitment of the nurse in your hands. As always, you’ve been a far greater ally than anyone could have anticipated.”
Rachel nodded and took her place next to Marius. Unlike with her usually tough manner, bright red stained her cheeks.
Apollo had to look away. It had been like this for weeks now. Everyone kissing her ass like she was the new Messiah. Though there may have been a part of him that respected that she had risked herself to get information, they all had at some point. That made her their equal, and that was about all the ground he was willing to give her. That level of respect was more than he gave most.
“The security tech is coming in today,” Titus said to the group. “Apollo is taking point on this.”
No one seemed too surprised. Sol was busy managing repairing the walls and securing the front gate. Their new gate would be in any day, and they would finally have some assurance that no one was going to come crashing in again.
“Talk with the tech today about these chips,” Titus said. Apollo nodded. “But I want them in and out. The less they know about us, the better.”
Apollo frowned. That didn’t sound like his leader at all, at least the way he had been behaving. Actually, it sounded more like himself, not that he was going to complain.
“Why?” he asked.
Everyone looked between the two of them, likely uncertain if another fight would break out.
Honestly, Apollo wasn’t pissed. He just wanted to make sure he knew the big picture. It’d help him do his job better.
Major Carter broke the silence.
“I think we’d better tell them,” the older man sighed.
Titus nodded and leaned back in his chair, a tight expression on his face.
“As many of you know,” the major started and looked around the table. “Some of the Luna Lodge hybrids have been going on missions to find the Horatius Group, paid for by the government. This isn’t just about helping you all out. The Horatius Group, after all, appears to be involved in supplying dangerous materials and technologies to terrorist groups and rogue nations. Stopping them is an issue of international security.”
For some reason, Major Carter looked older to Apollo, like the past few weeks had aged him more than ever.
“We had assumed that the informants being used were from a trusted source, and up until this point, we’d had no reason to doubt this,” he said. Major Carter glanced over at Rem and then continued. “It is now clear that at least some of the informants are involved with the Horatius Group.”
“How do you know this?” Apollo asked. He couldn’t even muster the anger something like this should have caused. Just one more case of them getting fucked over by the government that was supposed to be protecting them.
“I had some people I know do some digging,” Major Carter said. “It didn’t go far, but a few lines traced back to Woods.”
Apollo’s fists tightened under the table, and he ground his teeth. Knowing that the corrupt congressman was behind a part of this made his stomach turn, mainly because they all knew of his ties to the Horatius Group. Woods had been more than willing to show his loyalty to Romulus, the leader of the Glycons, a mutated group of hybrids.
“Well, don’t we have money now thanks to Rem?” Rachel piped up. “You can just stop taking on missions.”
Titus shook his head. “It’s not that simple. If they know that we know, it could put us in even more danger. It would be best if we could use this and make it work for us.” He stood and leaned over on the table. His dark stare pierced through the group. “They know all about our behaviors, and we need to know how that’s happening. They have been able to stay ahead of us at every turn. If we can figure out why, we might be able to do the same to them.”
Apollo thought about it for a moment. His leader’s plan made sense. There was risk involved, but as was pointed out, there was risk either way. They needed to get some sort of advantage over the Horatius Group.
“Just another reason we need that security up pronto,” Sol said and looked down the table at Apollo.
He gave a curt nod. It wasn’t like he was going to mess around with this. They were all on the same page. A rare satisfaction filled him.
“Are we sure about this…” he asked and looked down at the paper in front of him. “Hart guy?”
“No,” Titus said. “That’s why I need you to watch him closely. We can’t afford to have any more slip-ups.”
“Maybe we should just have Marius do it,” Apollo said and looked at the hybrid across from him. “You’re good with this stuff.”
Marius shook his head. “I’m good with numbers and charts. This is going to require rewiring and programming.” He held up his hands. “Not my thing.”
Apollo sighed. There didn’t seem to be much choice.
“I’ll say this, there’s not much out there about this guy. No real school records, and he claims to be self-taught, but all his past clients check out,” Titus said. “This guy, at least, seems like the real deal.”
Apollo nodded but didn’t trust what he was being told. Doctor Fisher had checked out, and look where that had gotten them.
“Once you’re certain we can trust him,” Rachel cut in. “Bring him to my office. We might be able to find out what these chips are doing if someone can read the programing.”
His muscles tensed at the thought of the chip. Having something like that inside his body was bad enough, but not knowing what it was doing, well, it was enough to drive him crazy.
“One last thing before we go,” Titus said, cutting into the worry that ate at Apollo. He turned to look at his leader. “Jenna and Rem have been doing research on possible links to our history, but with so few to help, they haven’t made much headway.”
Several of the men in the room shifted in their seats. Apollo didn’t blame them. They had just finished talking about not trusting people, and then they accepted a known traitor like Rem right into their fold. The choice didn’t seem very smart to Apollo, and he knew that many of the younger men Rem worked with weren’t thrilled.
Still, he supposed they needed to learn from him, and this was the best way to get that information. And from the looks Jenna was giving him, at least somebody trustworthy wasn’t afraid to shoot his ass if he stepped out of line.
He resisted a snort. The little secretary was the only one around there that had any real balls.
“We need any and all information,” Titus continued. “If you have names or details of your time before, please see Jenna.”
That’s how they thought about their lives now, the time before Luna Lodge and the time after. Their lives were so divided by their tainted pasts.
“That’s it for now,” Titus said and stood. “I’ll let you get to your tasks.”
Apollo stood and started toward the door but stopped when Rachel placed a hand on his shoulder.
“I’d like to talk to you if you have time,” she said quietly.
Several of the men were still near, and despite her trying to be discreet, several turned and shot him an odd stare. It wasn’t common knowledge yet. Apollo supposed he should have been thankful that she didn’t expose him to the group. The fact that his chip was complicated still wasn’t something he had processed fully. In fact, that he was the only complicated case in the group only seemed to annoy him more.
He should have been grateful, and yet he wasn’t. Instead, he felt irritation. Like she held it over him to use at any moment. He tried hard to bury the feelings, but trust was a scarce commodity given recent events.
His mouth formed a hard line, as he stared at her, Marius close at hand.
“Not here,” Apollo said finally and glanced at the clock. There was still twenty minutes before the tech was scheduled to show, but he didn’t feel like doing this shit now. “I’ll come in later. Lots going on right now,” he said and pushed past. Before stepping out the door, he glanced over his shoulder. “And not with the muscle around.”
He could hear the rumble from Marius as he made his way down the hall and chuckled. From numbers to muscle. They really were an odd bunch.
Chapter Three
Val sat in the cafe and sipped her hot cocoa. It was cold outside, and the idea of coffee made her stomach sour. The place was fairly slow, and she was grateful. There was a smattering of couples in the booths and a few at the counter. They ate quietly, and she became the invisible woman she knew she could be.
She’d spent all this time planning for today, and now that the time had come, she didn’t even know if she could go through with what she needed to do. Working for the Luna Lodge hybrids could prove to be very dangerous. It wasn’t like their facility was the safest place, and their enemies only seemed to be mounting. But it wasn’t like she had much of a choice.
Of course, that’s why they were going to hire her. Well, she’d helped with that a little by slipping into their system undetected and figuring out what sites they were using, so she could target those sites for advertising. She had to do what needed to be done in order to get in. And, in the grand scheme of things, it was one of the less illegal acts she’d committed over the years.
She wrapped her hands tight around the mug to stop the trembling that usually came from thinking about her darker days. It wasn’t something she liked to dwell on, and she certainly wasn’t going to start today. No, today she was on a mission to finally be able to silence the call.
Her eyes found the TV in the corner. The picture paused and distorted for a second, but no one seemed to mind. They needed to invest in some cable TV in her opinion.
“Another cup?” the friendly waitress asked.
Val shook her head and smiled. “I’ve got an appointment soon.”
Being a small town, the woman leaned down and grinned, waiting for the bit of gossip that would likely make her day.
“You applying for a job in town?” she asked excitedly.
Val chewed the inside of her cheek, wondering whether to tell or not to tell. She sighed and gave in. It likely wouldn’t matter in the end.
“I’m going to the Lodge,” she said quietly.
All movement in the place came to a standstill. The room grew so quiet she could hear herself breathe. Every eye was suddenly on her and a chill rippled down her spine. The eerie light from the distorted TV only added to the mood.
“Oh, you don’t want to go there,” the waitress said. Her face had become so pale that Val could see each and every freckle on her face. Her eyes glassed over slightly, and Val wondered if she was going to be ill.
“It’s okay,” she said and waved off her concern. “They know I’m coming.”
“That place is evil,” the waitress whispered. “They brought a blackness to this town.”
Val frowned. That was pretty dark for a coffee shop waitress.
“Maybe it’s just a reflection of the people who hate them,” she offered. She’d never really been much of a crusader, but it seemed a bit much to her to call the place evil.
The woman shook her head vigorously and stepped back.
“That’s what they do,” she mumbled. “They take them and keep them there. Those things aren’t even people. You know that, right? They are animals pretending to be people.”
The girl continued to talk quietly to herself, and Val let the odd feelings roll over her as she tried to sort out the woman’s intentions. Her mannerisms were weird and creeped Val out.
“Well, I’m just going to—”
Without warning, the waitress’s finger shot out, and she pointed directly at Val’s face. Several other patrons nearby watched with solemn expressions.
“Go there, and you will never leave,” the waitress declared loudly, her voice dark and full of menace.
Val could feel it, the violence in the room. The weight of their emotions started smothering her. She had to get out before the feelings overtook everything else, overtook her.