“Language!” Kenji says gleefully, grinning as he rips open a bag of potato chips.
“—and everyone around here still treats me like I’m a child.I’mnota child. Maybe you didn’t notice, but I grew up a long time ago. Maybe it’s time you stopped treating me like I don’t know how to wipe my own ass—”
“You didn’t grow up the way we did,” Warner says, deathly calm. “Your generation has been coddled. Untested. You didn’t have to grow up as fast as we did—”
“Shouldn’t have said that,” Kenji says under his breath.
“Are you joking?” I’m on my feet now. Livid. “I was six years old when I watched my friends get dragged into back alleys to have their organs ripped out. You know what’ll fuck you up? Watching adults terrorize children over and over again. You think I didn’t grow up as fast as you did? Who do you think buried the bodies? You think anyone cared to organize funerals for street kids? I was seven the first time I fired a gun.Seventhe first time I killed someone. You have no idea what kind of shit I’ve seen—”
“Aaaand he shouldn’t have said that,” Kenji mutters.
“Would you like an award for your troubles?” Warner says, rounding on me. “You think you’re the only one who had to watch people die? You think you’re the only one tainted by misery? What you’ve suffered is tragic, but it doesn’t come close to the levels of darkness we’ve had to endure—”
“Sweetheart,” Juliette says softly, and Warner immediately stills, his body tensing. “This isn’t the kind of competition any of us wants to win.”
Warner lowers his head, steadies his breath. “You’re going to be on your own,” he says, turning to face the wall. “You’ll be alone with her for long stretches of time. Only occasional surveillance, as promised. I need to be able to trust you.”
“Of course you can trust me,” I say angrily. “What kind of a bullshit thing is that to say?”
“James,” he says, a warning in his voice. “Don’t insult my intelligence.”
“She’s, like,really,reallybeautiful,” Kenji explains to Juliette in an undertone. He shoves some chips into his mouth. “James is very into her”—he crunches—“even though she killed him, and later threw up on him.”
Now Juliette does gasp. “Do I get to meet her?”
“No,” everyone shouts at the same time.
Juliette shrinks back, surprised.
“I’m sorry,” Warner says instantly. He blanches. “Forgive me, love. I didn’t mean to shout at you.”
She softens, beaming at him like he’s some kind of baby animal. Sometimes I think she sees Warner in a way literally no one else does. She seems to think he has no thorns at all.
“Okay, for real, though.” Kenji turns to look at her. “Why would we introduce you to the mercenary who definitely wants to kill you? None of us are going to meet her. She gets no access to any of us. That’s part of the reason why we decided Genius over here”—he nods at me—“needs to be the one to handle this mess.”
I exhale angrily. “Can we wrap this up, please? And for clarity,I am notintoher, and I am fully capable of doing my job. Just because I think she might be a complex human being doesn’t mean I’m into her.”
Warner shoots me a look.
“What?” I say. “I’m not.”
“Good,” he says darkly. “Then this won’t be a problem for you at all.”
James
Chapter 25
I’m breathing hard when I hit the button for the elevator, sweat slick down my chest, my shirt sticking to skin. I take a pull on my water bottle and mop my face with a towel. I’m still catching my breath. The gym is never quieter than it is before dawn—though you never can tell when you’re down here. Our HQ was constructed entirely underground.
The idea was heavily inspired by Omega Point, obviously. Point was the first underground headquarters, and Castle, the now-retired leader of the original resistance group, helped us transform his vision into a modern masterpiece. It took several years to meticulously build it out, but as far as I’m concerned, this is Winston and Alia’s greatest accomplishment. It’s like a small city down here, heavily fortified, extremely secure. Bonus: it has state-of-the-art fitness facilities, and they’re almost always empty. No one seems as excited about hitting the gym as me and Warner.
I tap the button again, sweat snaking down my collarbone.
Warner started training me not long after I moved in with him, and I loved it immediately. Something about the constant dopamine hits changed my brain chemistry. Usually he’s here to make me feel bad about my reps, but he wasn’t around this morning. It makes me wonder if everything is okay with Juliette.
The elevator finally dings,and I step inside.
I have to place my hand on the scanner in order to access my floor, but otherwise I make an effort not to lean on anything as the carriage ascends, containing my sweaty self until I can get in the shower. I glance at my watch, reminded in yet another small moment, of my brief stint on the Ark. They took all my things—including the watch off my wrist— and that one cost me a lot. The one I’m wearing now is less suitable for the gym and much simpler overall: traditional hour and minute hands, single complication, no tech. Not even a battery. You have to wear it so that it winds itself, otherwise the clock stops.
