Ains

I looked down at the street below me, before I looked at Caroline, who was sitting beside me. She looked nervous, her little hands gripping the side of the building we were sitting on top of so hard that the bumps where her fingers were connected to her hand had turned white, but her head was tilted back and her eyes were closed. I watched as the same wind that seemed to push her hair away from her face and I felt myself grin as I threw my head back, laughing into the wind.

Caroline opened her eyes and watched me. "What's with you?"

"Dad told me something cool," I told her, swinging my legs back and forth so that I could feel the win on them. It felt nice.

"Ains, don't," Caroline said and I felt her little fingers on my wrist, so hard that I wondered if I was going to have little purple marks on my arm, like the one I got when I hit my knee on Dad's coffee table. Reluctantly, I stopped swinging my legs. I liked the feel of it, but for some reason I liked the idea of Caroline being happy more. I would have to remember to ask Dad why.

Caroline let go of my arm and stood up, walking a few steps away from the edge of the roof. "What did he tell you?"

I was grinning as I twisted around so that I could look up at her. Caroline looked nervous with half my body dangling over the building the way it was, so I got up, walking towards her. The sinking sun was reflected in Caroline's bright blue eyes, and I felt myself grin wider as I looked down at her and said, "Dad said that KORPS is gonna be mine one day."

I got exactly the reaction I wanted – Caroline squealed happily and threw her arms around me, but before she could get anything else out the door across the roof opened and two men stepped out. One I immediately recognised as my father, while the other one took me a moment – it was Lucas Morgan, Caroline's dad.

Crying out my name, Dad yanked me into his arms roughly, but I didn't want to go with him. I wanted to be with Caroline.

Suddenly a memory sprung into my head, of Dad telling me that if he caught me doing the wrong thing again in the next week he'd keep me from seeing Caroline ever again.

That had been two days ago.

I yelled out for Caroline, and I heard her yell back, but then the door closed behind Dad and me. Screaming through my teeth, I tried my hardest to wriggle out of Dad's grip, but he was too strong. I didn't know how long he kept walking for before he set me down on my own two feet and proceeded to drag me along by my wrist.

"No!" I shouted, pushing against him as hard as I could. "No, I don't want to go with you! I want to see Caroline! I want to see – "

"Ainsworth!" Dad screamed, but I paid no attention to him, continuing to push against him and scream with everything I was worth. "No! I hate you! I hate you! Take me back! Take me back!"

Dad heaved me over his shoulder and I beat against his back with my fists.

Then the memory changed.

"Mitchell, what are you doing?"

Smiling, I looked to see Meghan Stark standing a few feet away from me. Meghan was one of the most beautiful human beings I'd ever come across in fourteen years – she was slim, with curly bouncy light brown hair that fell across her shoulders. She had hazel eyes that glittered with life, and she was smiling at me. Some days I lived for that smile.

She was still smiling as she pulled up a chair beside me, sitting so close that her arm rested against mine, peering at the computer screen. It showed the file of James Mitchell and I frowned at it. He looked an awful lot like my father had.

"Hey," Meghan said, punching my arm lightly. "What's with you?"

I forced a smiile, turning my head towards her. "It's nothing. I'm – "

"Hey, wait," Meghan said suddenly, and she was looking at the photo of the Mastermind before he was a voice in a computer. "James? What – "

"We're distantly related, I'm told," I said. Even being only distantly related to him was enough to make me feel sick.

"Huh," Meghan said quietly, and then she turned to look at me, smiling softly. I noticed, not for the first time, how soft her mouth looked. I imagined myself kissing her, wondering what it would be like and then . . . I was. I wasn't even aware that I'd made the choice to kiss her, or whether it was Meghan who kissed me, but one minute I was studying her soft lips and then the next her mouth was on mine. Her slender fingers gripped my arm as I tugged her closer, slipping one hand into her soft brown hair.

"James," Meghan whispered when we broke apart. I watched as she lifted her head and I saw Jake standing in the doorway, his brown hair sticking up at odd angles.

"If you're going to – "

"Jesus Christ," I said, turning to face him. "If you give me the big-brother talk about hurting your sister, I'm going to punch you in the throat."

"So violent," Jake said, but I could sense Meghan grinning behind me.


I woke up covered in sweat, curled up on a bench in an unfamiliar small room. For a moment I didn't know where I was or what was going on, but then a familiar voice asked, "Hungry?"

I stared at Camden for a moment, wondering how the hell he was alive, but then I remembered. I remembered Caroline and KORPS and vans. And I remembered that I was starving.

"It'd probably be a good idea to eat," Camden said, and I looked down at the tray he pushed across the floor. It had an apple, a bowl of rice and a water bottle on it.

I gave Camden an incredulous look. "Rice and water?"

Camdne gave me an apologetic look. "Just be glad you're getting fed. Some of us don't get that luxury."

I nodded and snatched up the apple, taking a bite out of it, studying him as I chewed. There was something different about Camden Augur. He wasn't the easy going boy with dark floppy hair and an ego the size of London. There was something darker about him, an underlying darkness that told me that although he wore the same face as the boy who'd been my best friend, the young man he'd grown into was very different.

My eyes glanced down at his arms, which were now uncovered – he was wearing a tight red t-shirt and black cargo pants – and let out a strangled moan of surprise and horror. Camden smiled grimly, sitting back. "Not pretty, are they?"

I washed down the bile that had risen in my throat with some of the water. "Is that from the fire?"

Camden nodded. "Hurt like hell, but at least now I can use my sexy scars as pickup lines."

I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing, My nerves were frayed and I was scared and I didn't like being locked up like a zoo animal – I'd never liked zoos to begin with – and the only options I had left were to scream or to laugh and laughing was a lot less painful on my throat.

Camden cracked a grin, but when I had calmed down it was gone. "I need to ask you something."

I flicked my eyes up to Camden as I took another drink of the water and he promptly asked, "How's Vanessa?"

I almost choked on the water. "Uh . . ."

I visibly saw his face drop and I felt a surge of guilt spring up inside me as he murmured, "She has a boyfriend?"

I nodded. Did I really have to be the one to tell him this? "You couldn't have seriously expected her to wait. It was Care you sent the dreams to, not Ness. Vanessa thought you were dead and she moved on."

"Like she was supposed to," Camden said, and he laughed bitterly. "A lot easier in theory than in reality."

I looked down. It occurred to me suddenly that I'd been selfish over the past couple of months, thinking only of the girl I loved. From the moment Caroline had that first dream about Camden, when he'd told her about when I told him I was in love with her, I'd thought only of me and Care. I hadn't given a minute's consideration to what it would mean for Camden himself, Vanessa, or Jase.

"Is he good to her?"

I nodded and muttered, "Surprisingly," as an afterthought. I'd thought I'd been quiet enough for him not to hear me, but apparently not.

"Why is that surprising?" Camden asked, leaning forward on his elbows.

I bit my lip and began debating whether or not to tell him about Jase, but then something beeped and he cursed, getting up. "Come on, Mitchell."

I walked towards him. "What's going on?"

Camden didn't answer as he clapped handcuffs over my wrists. I frowned at him as he opened the door. "What's happening, Camden?"

Camden sighed and fixed a pair of pained hazel eyes on me. "I'm sorry, Ains."

"God, what?"

Camden sighed. "Going to see an old friend of yours, apparently."

I frowned. "Care?"

Camden shook his head and gestured down the corridor. "Trust me, I can't tell you here. You'll need to see for yourself."


I glared up at my aunt as Camden shoved me down into the chair, tying my hands securely behind my back. His hands were rough and I made a big show of struggling against him while keeping my eyes fixed and glowering at Evelyn Mitchell.

"Get off me, you prick," I hissed at Camden and he shoved at the back of my chair. As soon as we'd entered the room, Camden had put on a front – I knew it was a front because I knew Camden Augur and I knew a front when I saw one – of a cruel, bloodthirsty agent who was here just because he liked inflicting pain. The perfect foot soldier.

It scared me a little, just how well he did it.

"Keep your mouth shut," Camden snarled as he backed away from me, but I pretended to pay no attention to him as I glared up at my father's sister.

Evelyn Mitchell – unlike my father, my aunt had clearly always been a bad person – pulled up a chair and sat down. "Ainsworth."

"What do you want?"

"You know what I want. From the moment you found out about James, you knew that we would come for you one day and what we would want." She sat back in her chair, crossing one leg over the other and smirking as she clasped her hands in her lap. "So. What do I want, Ainsworth?"

I met her gaze steadily. "You want me to agree to take over KORPS when the Mastermind dies."

"Your father – "

"HE IS NOT MY FATHER!" I screamed, straining towards her as much as my bonds would allow. "MY FATHER DIED WHEN I WAS SIX!" I took a deep breath to calm myself. "How is the motherboard, anyway?"

From a computer on the side of the room, a man's voice said, "I am well, my son."

I felt sick as the words 'my son' rattled around in my head, but I felt myself grin across at the screen embedded into the wall. "You're dying." I turned to my aunt, who no longer looked so smug. "And you don't know why."

Her lips were pursed. "We've got all our best scientists on it."

"But you know it's no use." I pressed. "That's why you're bothering with me, the MI9 brat who wants nothing to do with you. Because you know that if the Mastermind dies without a leader to take his place, your whole regime will collapse." I grinned, sitting back in my chair. "This suddenly got a whole lot better. This way I get a front row seat to watch KORPS burn – "

She slapped me across the face, but I just smirked up at her. Evelyn Mitchell was not the kind of person who told you if you were right; instead she lashed out violently. This was how I knew I was right.

Evelyn stood, her eyes cold as she turned to Camden and barked, "Bring in the girl!"

"But Crime Minister – "

"Do it."

Camden's expression faltered only a little, showing regret just long enough for me to pick up on it. "Karen?"

"Karen." The Crime Minister confirmed, and Camden stalked off, acting cruel once again. While we waited, I puzzled over this 'Karen'. I'd never met any Karens in my life. Who was she and why was she supposed to sway me?

The moment Camden stepped back into the room, prodding a girl along in front of him by the barrel of a gun pressed between her shoulder blades, I realised.