The guard pointed at me with a leer. I spread out my arms, just like my team, but with a wry smile. Come and get me.
The scanner traveled from my head to my toe. Everyone in my team kept cool and gave the bodyguards fake grins. Inhaling and exhaling deeply, I cleared my thoughts. My heart rate shot up again when the muscle man stopped in front of me, tilted his head and squinted as if he could read something in my features.
Don’t look at him. Look away. But I couldn’t. Helix made me bold, and my cocky expression offered him a challenge.
Mitch took a step to me, calm and collected, coming to my aid. “Something wrong? Why don’t you ask Mr. Thorpe to come out and see the girls? Aren’t they beautiful? Don’t keep him waiting.”
The muscle man ignored Mitch and circled us, checking every inch of me, making me extremely uneasy. Hell, he might as well have sniffed me like a dog.
The muscle man stopped to check his scanner and then back to me. His nose twitched and his lips quivered. “This one has something. Hand search them all.”
They’d find my gadgets, and if they figured it out, I was done for. It was time to do what I was trained to do.
One of the men placed his hand on my neck and took his time running his other hand down to my hip. I held my breath, wanting to puke from his strong cigarette odor. Sometimes, Helix sucked. Knowing where his hands were headed next ... hell, no, he wasn’t going to touch me there.
“I can take it off for you. Want to see something that will knock you off your feet?” I asked in a breathy voice. I’d never flirted before, but Helix left me empowered and in control.
His eyes gleamed with lust and he gave me a nasty smirk. Holding his stare, I licked my lips with one seductive stroke to start the chemical reaction, then blew him a kiss. Smoke puffed out, engulfing his face, and he collapsed.
Don’t look at their faces. Don’t make eye contact.
Then, chaos.
I didn’t know if Mitch made the first move or if I had. The next man in front of me dropped, knocked out with two red lights beaming on his body. I had taken the Taser from the first man I’d gassed, then silenced the second man, but Mitch held a Taser, too. He must have taken it from another guard. I spun to see the rest of the guards on the floor, except one pressed a gun to Tamara’s head. Her eyes were wide with terror.
Mitch raised his hands. “Wait. Don’t shoot. We’ll put down our Tasers.”
The man pointed the gun at Mitch. “Who sent you?”
I needed to do something. What would I have done? “Tamara, remember what I said when you asked that question about what I should do if someone held us hostage? You can do it. You have it in you.”
I wasn’t allowed to mention the word Helix outside the ISAN compound, so it became my code word.
Tamara raised her lips into a knowing smile. Then, whack! Her head flew back. She jabbed the man’s eyes. Blood spewed down his nose. He howled in pain, no doubt alerting more guards. Tamara ducked and gave me the perfect shot to bring him down with a punch.
“Excellent guidance.” Mitch moved stealthily up the stairs.
“This way.” I initiated the blueprint. “Watch out!”
My team dispersed. Laser lights flashed down from the second level and across the foyer. I ducked, hiding behind a sofa. Thud. Thud. Thud.
The firing came quick, pelting the padding, cleaving through. Not just the sofa, but the marble floor, too. Chips from the debris flew like mini bullets, and dust coated the air which blocked my view. Yet with Helix, nothing stood in my way.
Stupid idiots. They couldn’t shoot a cow if one stood right in front of them.
As I crawled swiftly away from the demolished sofa, Taser pellets continued to rain down. I found my footing and shot back. I might have been outnumbered, but I was trained to aim with precision. In less than a minute, I had tased them all with my team’s help.
I led them up the stairs, Mitch at the end, watching my back. Footsteps echoed down the hallway. Not only did the blueprint appear, invisible to everyone else, but red dots inhabited the map. Each dot represented a body. I assumed having a double dose of the serum had caused the new effect.
I scanned through my blueprint, my mind searching, calculating the distance. “There are bodies in the room at the end of the hall, but we have to take two more turns, and more men are coming toward us.”
Sure enough, Taser lights flashed across my vision. I shot back and retreated to keep from being hit.
“Now what?” Brooke brushed her blonde wig out of her eyes.
“Who wants to give up their earrings?” I asked.
“I will.” Justine didn’t wait for anyone. She dodged to the side and threw one of her earrings. Justine jumped back just as the small bomb exploded.
The opponents scrambled.
When lights shot at me from behind, I ducked for cover.
“Where are you Preston?” Mitch spoke into the top button on his suit.
“We were under attack. We’re on our way.”
Preston’s voice projected clear and crisp in my ear, thanks to Helix.
The laser lights from behind me stopped, blazing in the other direction. Thank God for Preston and Roxy’s team. I launched forward again after stunning the second group of men. Then I veered to the left.
My steps quiet, I backed up against the wall from either side and ambushed another group with my team’s help. With the last group down, I was free to move ahead. Mr. Thorpe wouldn’t be alone, and he certainly wouldn’t be an easy target.
I parked my team around the bend of the hallway, told them to stay there, and only I moved ahead. Slowly, I crept forward down the long hall and tugged off one of my earrings. Then I tossed it in front of the door and shielded myself with my arms from the explosion as I dashed back to my team.
When the smoke cleared, smack in the center stood Mr. Thorpe, leaning back against his wooden desk. His smirk alone taunted me to dash through the door and kill him, but just as I tensed, Mitch placed his hand on my shoulder.
“This is too easy.” Mitch clenched his jaw, his eyes shifting in thought. “Who has the powder?”
“I do.” Brooke unzipped a side pocket on her pants and took out the compact.
“Throw some by the door when I say to. We’ll be right behind you.” Mitch guided Brooke to stand in front of him.
With a nod, Brooke rubbed off the powder with the brush from inside the case and cupped the loose granules in her hand.
“Welcome,” Mr. Thorpe said. “I may not be able to see you, but I know you’re there. Surrender now and no one will get hurt.”
Mr. Thorpe greeted us happily, as if we were old friends. I grimaced, not just from his bravado, but from the strong smell of cigar indicating he had recently enjoyed one.
“I’ll take my chances.” Mitch unloosed his tie, ready to use it as a weapon.
I stood behind him, Tasers aimed and ready.
“Do you know why your organization sent your team to kill me?”
“Shut up.” Mitch took a quick peek and turned to us. “Ready?”
A click. Then another click. My heightened senses picked up on multiple guns in Thorpe’s office. I swallowed, my heart thundering in my chest. Not Tasers, but guns. Oh God.
“They have guns.” Tamara shuddered.
“You’ve got this. Same as a Taser. Move faster. Just don’t get hit.” Mitch patted her shoulder as if we were playing a simple sport.
Tamara’s jaw dropped. His humor did not amuse her.
“You’ve got this all wrong.” Thorpe seemed desperate to be heard. “I believe in keeping the council number count at four. The person who sent you wants to be the only ruler. That person will have everyone killed.”
“Go.” Mitch gave the order, ignoring Thorpe.
Thorpe glared at the sight of us dashing down the hall toward him. “I warned you. Too bad you’ll all die today.”
His tone, confident as he appeared, did nothing to discourage my assertiveness.
&
nbsp; Brooke had charged down the hall first. I trailed right behind her, firing away with a Taser to keep the guards back. When she reached the door, she tossed the powder.
Mitch’s concern was warranted. Red laser lights appeared before my eyes, crisscrossing in countless directions. My team would’ve been fried to a crisp. Then the lasers disappeared. The smug you-can’t-touch-me attitude on Thorpe’s face blanched.
Bullets showered one after the other when I entered. I ducked from side to side, moving swiftly like a hummingbird. My pulse soared.
Good lord, how many men did he have?
One tried to grab me and missed. I jabbed him in the gut, knocking him back several feet, then I finished him with my Taser. Another guard advanced toward me. I rotated around him and snapped his neck.
Helix made me strong and brave, but the extra dosage Mitch had given me made me feel like Superwoman.
I delivered a roundhouse kick, connecting with the man who came charging at me, and knocked him out cold. Pivoting to my left, I threw myself back when a bullet whooshed by, inches from my neck.
A guard socked my face. I thumped on the marble floor, blood spewing from my lip. Sucking hot liquid from my mouth, anger flaring inside me, I pounced on him.
I felt no pain. I had no fear. I had become invincible. And though impossible, the guards seemed to move in slow motion as the sounds of fists upon flesh, bones snapping, groans, and curses trickled through my ears.
Mitch proved to be smooth and skillful, too. He had no problem taking down the bigger men. He squeezed his tie around a bodyguard’s neck, chocking the life out of him and using him as an anchor, and kicked the men coming at him from both sides, one after the other. Bodies surrounded him in various states of agony.
I tried to fight my way to Mr. Thorpe, but like Russ had said, Thorpe had countless bodyguards surrounding him.
Tamara struggled with two men. I flipped over bullets to get to her and I knocked down the guy nearest to me. When he fell flat on his back, I elbowed him in the chest while Tamara kicked the remaining man in the groin.
“Thanks,” Tamara said.
Tamara and I stood back to back, panting, and I advanced in a defensive position the way Lydia had taught me.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Justine escape a bodyguard’s hold and punch him hard in the face. Blood jetted out of his nose as he dropped. Justine proved once again she was the strongest when she moved Thorpe’s desk and knocked down a group of men as if they were bowling pins.
Brooke had told me she was extra sensitive to vibrations, and she could hear the sound of movement before the contact. Before the bullets touched Brooke, she fired back and hit them in time to counteract the direction, sending it right back to the person that fired it.
We needed to be off his property soon. Mr. Thorpe slid his hand under his desk when I entered, probably signaling for more help.
All the guards were down, except the ones near Thorpe. The few men remaining built a wall around him with their bodies. Thorpe huddled in the corner like a coward with a gun in his hand. He slid up the wall to stand and pointed the gun at me, glaring with anger and determination.
I snarled right back, smearing the blood that trickled down my forehead from a bullet nick. Pointing at him, I mouthed, “You’re dead.”
When my team surrounded me, I gasped at blood on their arms, torn fabrics, bruised faces, and the countless bodies spread about the room, dead or injured. I didn’t dare look at my injuries. Blood dripped from Justine’s arm at her side. Like the Mental Mission. But real. This was real.
Eliminate Thorpe. Home free. Such an easy kill.
A triumphant smirk tugged my lips as I pointed my Taser and pulled the trigger.
“Put your Tasers down,” a voice said behind me.
I gasped, whirling. My heart ricocheted in my chest, victory fading right before my eyes.
A group of men held Roxy’s team hostage with knives at their throats.
Thorpe’s trepidation turned into a triumphant grin. He moved closer to the window along with his bodyguards. I didn’t know what would happen if I failed an assignment, but I didn’t want to find out.
“Put them down,” another one said.
Roxy cried out. The man holding her hostage nicked her neck.
When Mitch placed his Taser down, I followed.
“You should have run when you had the chance.” Thorpe pushed through his bodyguards protecting him, exposing his body like a fool. “It’s too bad. You’re much prettier than last Wednesday’s girls.” He pointed the gun at Mitch, edging closer to him. “I’m going to kill you all.”
Arrogant bastard. Not if I kill you first.
A tiny piece of me had wondered if ISAN had made the wrong decision to terminate Thorpe, but when he ordered us dead, I felt nothing for him. If he was a decent human being, he would have us locked up for trying to assassinate him instead of having us killed. He deserved his punishment.
I hissed and bared my teeth. “I’m going to kill you.”
Mr. Thorpe let out a sardonic chuckle, halting momentarily.
I took this moment of opportunity, praying my team would understand my message. “You know why I love my boots and my earrings? Women’s accessories are such great inventions. Now.”
I snatched off my last earring and flung it in front of the men holding the hostages. The smoke caused disorder. My team had done the same and more smoke filled the room in sections. Bullets whizzed by my ear. With my heightened sensation, I sensed the direction they flew and I dodged them with ease.
Sharp plastic projected out from my right heel with a stomp of my foot. I grabbed the small daggers out of my boots and leaped off the floor to slice across the neck of the bodyguard coming for me. Blood dripped on the floor, pungent metallic scent stung my nostrils. Then I flipped over backward to see Preston’s team. It was about time. When more came at me, I became a slicing machine.
I hadn’t wanted it to get to that point, to shed blood, but I had no choice. Desperate situations called for desperate actions. I’d intended to kill only Mr. Thorpe, but my plan had changed. My superiors had often told me sometimes I would have to change the course because things could go wrong. I believed them now.
A gun fired and Roxy screamed. My heart stopped, muscles rigid. Roxy’s deafening cry became unbearable with my heightened sensation. I whirled to see Faya bleeding on the floor. Then another one of Roxy’s girls went down, and then another.
My heart and stomach crashed in the center together, and the urge to vomit came strong. Shocked to see blood on ISAN girls, I took a few seconds to register what had happened. A teammate dying was a possibility. I knew that. Seeing it firsthand was something else.
When the bodyguard with the gun directed the weapon at Roxy, something dangerous ignited in me knowing my team would be next. This foreign existence in my core wanted blood. It wanted death. It wanted destruction. I became a monster. Helix transformed me into a shallow shell to servitude—a perfect model of ISAN assassin.
I pulled my gun from the side of my boot and took aim. The bodyguard who had shot Roxy’s team went down first, followed by the others.
Don’t look at their faces. Don’t make eye contact. But I did look at their faces, and I did make eye contact.
Each guard held my foster father’s cruel face, his steel malevolent eyes. I saw the man who ripped the happiness out of my soul, who towered over me into submission, and molded me into a terrified little girl. For a heartbeat I froze, knees buckling, heart palpitating with trepidation and regret. I became that little girl. A rat, he had called me, and beat me until I stopped crying from missing my mother.
No more. No more. I am no longer that petrified girl.
Then, one after the other, as hunger for revenge drove me, as if each of the men was him, I shot them until they were all down.
I spun toward Thorpe, open and exposed with no guards around him, and I fired at him. Stupid fool. Surprisingly, he managed to dodge my bullet. Then Th
orpe pointed his gun at me when I jumped on the desk, and leaped into the air for him.
Two gunshots whiffed past me. At the same time, the bullet tore through skin, muscle, and bone. As my body slammed into his, shattering glass crashed in my ears as pain wrenched through me. I flew out the window.
I didn’t know which one of us had been shot.
In the darkness, a faint light illuminates. A woman with brown hair appears in the glow. The light blocks my view of her face, even as she stands a touch away from me. She caresses my cheek like a mother would her child’s. In that contact she feels familiar, and her scent of gardenias soothes me. I lift my hand to cover hers.
“Mom?” My heart expands with joy, but she slowly fades.
No, no, no. Mom. Come back. My chest caves as a sob shudders out of me from missing her.
“Is she okay?” Brooke’s panicked voice hummed in my ear.
At first, I had no idea what had happened, or why Brooke spoke with such concern, until I recalled crashing into Mr. Thorpe.
Someone shifted my body. Pain sliced down my leg and traveled to my head. Then I felt nothing. I wanted to open my eyes to see the damage from the fall, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t. Blackness took me again.
I am four years old. Skipping down the hallway of a building, I come across a door. Two voices murmur on the other side. I swing it open and peer in to see my mother stroking my face.
“You can’t do this to her. It will change her,” my mother begs.
“I have no choice.” The man wears a white lab coat. I squint to identify him, but to no avail.
“Everyone has a choice,” she cries. “This is all your fault. I’m her mother. I forbid this.”
“It has already been done. This is the only way to ensure her safety. I can’t keep her safe if I’m gone.”
The man’s face whips to the left. He doesn’t say a word. He stands there while my mother slaps him again.