“You mean they leaked information about Flora and other shifters who might have extra-sensory powers, putting them in danger of their lives, and accepted bribes for it?” Krystle snapped.
“Well, yes, but they’ve all been arrested now,” Ameera said quickly in her peppy, rah-rah cheerleader voice. “And TerraDyne has been shut down completely, and the CEO and employees are facing trial.”
“You didn’t come all this way to tell me that,” Flora said to her. “You could have called me on the phone.”
Ameera glanced uneasily at the other representatives. “I hope you understand that the council itself knew nothing of what these people were planning,” she said. “If you had come to me and told me what you’d heard, we would have launched an investigation immediately.”
“That’s probably true.” Flora shrugged. “Not that it makes me feel much better. A member of your organization told TerraDyne that I had entered the Badlands. And then TerraDyne contacted Ruben, a corrupt criminal tyrant, and offered him money to find me. And he kidnapped a friend of mine, and me, and we nearly died because of it.”
“And that was unforgiveable,” Ameera said, nodding vigorously. “They’ll be in prison for the rest of their lives. Oh, and by the way, the Wilkinsons and Loren Haig are also facing criminal charges, and all the money they received from TerraDyne has been confiscated.”
“Yay?” Flora raised an eyebrow.
“You know, I’m just going to jump in here,” Krystle said. “Are you trying to sell yourselves on what a great, benevolent entity you are? You people do the bare minimum of checking in on juvenile shifters. You make sure that we’re not dead or visibly injured, and that’s it. I was in and out of foster care organizations for years, staying with abusive families, and when I told you people about it, you never did a thing for me. Why do you think I left it all behind and came to the Badlands?”
Ameera cleared her throat, looked at Mr. Drake again, then smiled brightly at Krystle. Her smile was starting to fray around the edges, however.
“Of course, it wasn’t me you reported to,” she said. “But I think it’s quite likely that one of my colleagues felt you were perhaps a teenager rebelling against following the rules. You weren’t in any actual danger. We at the council are always concerned with the welfare of shifters, as well as maintaining peaceful human-shifter relations.”
She glanced appealingly at Flora. “And I’m sure that you are concerned with the welfare of the shifter race as well.”
“Whatever you’re selling, please cut to the chase,” Flora said coolly. She struggled to stifle a grin of triumph. She was being rude and disrespectful – and it felt great.
An offended look crossed Ameera’s face. Outside the borders of the Badlands, she was treated with deference. Here she had no power.
Now her smile was positively pained.
“You and your cousin apparently have a fascinating genetic skill which is very unusual and potentially of enormous value. It could benefit all mankind. It could benefit America.”
“Yeah, well, America seems to have survived just fine without it so far,” Krystle said.
Ameera winced and forged on. “If you were willing to, voluntarily of course, accompany us out of the Badlands today, we would waive the thirty days in detention requirement, just for you. And we would pay you handsomely to participate in an entirely voluntary scientific study of your powers. I mean salaries in the six figures. Housing provided free. Security. Safety.”
She glanced around their surroundings with her lip curled in disdain. “After all, you don’t want to stayhere.” She flicked a horrified glance at Finn and Liam. “Withthese kindsof people.”
Finn let out a low, rumbling growl.
“That’s my mate you’re talking about,” Flora snapped.
“Well, I suppose he could come too,” Ameera said doubtfully. Mr. Drake looked appalled at the notion.
Flora raised an eyebrow. “My mate’s family is here. My friends are, too. And I made a promise to some people here that I would stay here and look out for their welfare, and I keep my promises.”
“And I’d rather use my fire-starting powers on myself than have anything to do with you,” Krystle said.
“Well. I can see our generosity is not appreciated here. This trip was a complete waste of our time,” Mr. Drake said huffily, and stood up to leave. The squad of Enforcers did the same, looking enormously relieved.
“If you ever change your mind…”Ameera said as they headed for the door. Then she saw the looks on Krystle and Flora’s faces. “You won’t, will you? Well, the offer is always there,” she said, and followed the rest of the council crew out the door.
