The Fine Art Of Bullshit

(A/N): heh, this totally didn't take forever for no reason lol

(but seriously sorry for the wait hope you guys like it enjoy!)

"Can you not see she is exhausted?"

I woke up to Zadra screaming at the staff. I guess it's not the worst wake up call in the world.

"She has barely slept from her Op! She is battered and bruised! She is not some tool for you to employ! She is a child!"

I peeled myself off the carpet, grabbing the lip of the table to heave myself up. I more fell than sat in the chair behind me, my head full of fog as it pounded. Hot blood was smeared under my nose. But I could feel everything. Wiggle my toes. Wiggle my fingers. Open my eyes and understand where I was.

I was getting better at that.

The last of the memory was still echoing in my mind. How Zadra had screamed at Krel to run. How she'd detonated the grenade on purpose, destroying any trace he may have left behind.

But he still got away with the flash drive.

"She is also a member of our organization and was fully willing to offer her help," The man at the front rose to his feet. "Don't act like you can make demands of what we do with our Psi children!"

Zadra blew a hot breath out of her nose, but kept silent. When her eyes darted to me, I gave her a slight nod, signaling that I was fine. Utterly flushed with embarrassment. But fine.

For some irrational reason, I was suddenly wishing that Krel was here beside me. Sitting in the next chair over, just to be there. My eyes fell to the empty seat out of impulse, imagining him there to give me a small smile. One of the little encouragements he'd always give me, even if he never realized he did.

"Miss Tarron, do you need a minute?"

The sharp voice of the staff shook me from the stupor. My eyes darted from the empty chair, back into reality. I blinked, swallowing before taking the tissue Zadra handed me and wiping my nose. That's what I would focus on, the tissue. Zadra. Not the feeling of my chest caving in.

"I'm okay."

"What did you find?"

Everything seemed to go still, everyone leaning forward for the answer. A weight dropped over the room, a pressure over my shoulders beneath their gaze. Zadra and I locked eyes, the doubt in hers flickering to the surface. I narrowed my own to squash it.

"The other hacker was a woman," I said. "Tall, thin, maybe early forties. Dark, curly hair that was in two seperate buns on her head. And she wore red glasses."

She was also Miss Janeth, our old math teacher from Arcadia.

The man at the front looked to Zadra. "That sound familiar, agent?"

"Yes," Zadra slowly let herself relax, nodding with confidence. "Yes, it does. I'll be able to put together a report for you."

The woman gave her a tight smile. "Have it on my desk by tonight."

"Of course."

"The two of you are dismissed."

Zadra helped steady me on my feet with a hand on my elbow, guiding us out the door. As soon as we were out of earshot, she leaned forward and whispered:

"Meet in the gym during lunch."

I gave her a nod, and she whirled away down the hall.

Eli was in his room, laying on his bed while debating with his teammate that the Loch Ness monster had, in fact, been seen.

"We literally have pictures," He said.

"Yeah, but they're phonies."

"Okay, number one, it's called a hoax. And only one of them is! All the other ones are legit - oh hey, Aja."

The three other boys in the room instantly backed away from me, one even ducked behind the bunkbed.

I ignored them.

"Up for a walk?" I asked Eli.

He sat up. "Don't you wanna sleep? No offense, but you look like you were put through a grinder."

"I'll sleep when I'm dead," I nodded my head towards the hallway. "Come on."

With a sigh, he kicked himself to his feet and followed me out into the dorm halls. "What's up?" He asked. "You usually lay down after . . . you know. So what's wrong?"

"I was just wondering something," I replied. "If I told you the name of an Op, would you be able to tell me what it is?"

"Depends," He shrugged. "What's the name?"

"Lightning In A Bottle," I said. "And someone called the Professor. Ever heard of it?"

He jerked to a stop. When I looked over my shoulder, his eyes were wide with wariness.

"What?" I asked. "Have you heard of it?"

"Are you kidding?" He gaped. "Only, like, the highest profile Greens even know what it is. I've only heard rumors - it's like a whole new conspiracy."

"Then you're the perfect one to find what it is, no?"

He adjusted his glasses. "Maybe, I dunno. Some of the pieces are there, but I'll need more proof, maybe access to some old files . . ."

"Do what you have to," I said. "I'm going to go . . . rest."

"But," He stabbed a thumb over his shoulder. "Lunch is in five minutes. You're not hungry?"

"Not this time."

I continued down the hall but Eli caught my arm.

"You sure you're okay? You look really pale," He looked down at my hands. "You're shaking."

I swallowed, pulling my arm back. "We'll talk later." Then I walked away.

With everyone in the artium for lunch, it wasn't hard to sneak down to the gym. The room was empty when I arrived, only dimly lit by the emergency light. I made my way across the mats, craning my neck as I scanned the room for Zadra.

Then she grabbed me.

One hand over my mouth and one arm around my torso as she lifted me off the ground and whisked me towards the locked closet that disguised the elevator. I let out a muffled cry, kicking my legs as she dragged me forward. My back hit the elevator wall when she threw me in, the doors sliding closed when she slammed her hand over the emergency button.

The elevator locked in place, red emergency lights washing over us in the dark. Varvatos was standing in the corner across from me, leaning on his cane as he waited.

"Really?" I steadied myself on my feet. "You two couldn't have given me a warning?"

"Are you hurt?" Zadra asked.

I straightened my jacket. "No."

She smacked the back of my head. "Then toughen up."

"What is going on?" I looked back and forth between her and Varvatos. "What happened in Philadelphia?"

"Do you know the details of Zadra's mission?" Varvatos asked.

"You were deep cover at Leda Corp, looking for the research Morando had commissioned on Psi," I said. "That was the intel you were looking for. Whatever Morando had discovered."

"Yes," She replied. "That was my original objective."

"So what the hell happened? I did everything to make sure Krel would stay out of this -"

"As did we," Varvatos cut in. "Believe Varvatos, we are just as surprised as you are."

I ran both hands down my face, as though I scrub the frustration away. "Why was he even there? What could he do with the research you were looking for?"

"Well for one," Varvatos adjusted his cane. "He could find your mother and father."

The words died in my throat. I was too frozen to breathe.

"W-what?"

"That's why he was there, Aja," Zadra said. "He was looking for your parents."

"That - that doesn't make any sense," I choked. "How could Leda Corp's research -"

"Remember the rumor Morando spread about your parents?" She cut me off, folding her arms. "Where they found a cure but destroyed it when denied control over the nation?"

My voice was hoarse. "You mean they actually . . ."

She nodded.

I had to lean on the wall for support.

"It is rudimentary," Varvatos said. "And still experimental. But yes, it exists. Fialkov and Coranda were key in discovering it. We believe Krel was following some kind of history they'd left behind before going into hiding. He didn't understand what he'd stumbled upon until it was too late."

I was barely listening, raking my fingers through my hair. It was real. It was possible. Psi could be cured.

I shook my head. "Why would Morando hide the cure?"

"Because that is not all that was discovered," Zadra said. "The research contains proof that Morando himself is responsible for the disease."

"How long have you known this?"

"Eighteen hours," She said. "I found out when I found the research, just before Krel downloaded and deleted it."

"Did you tell the senior staff?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Why do you think?" Varvatos snapped. "The League has been trying to replicate this kind of research for years! They will do anything to get it once they know it exists."

"They'll kill Krel," I whispered.

"Or worse," Zadra said. "For all the trouble he's caused."

"What do we do?"

"First of all, we need that intel -"

"First of all," I cut her off. "We need to make sure Krel is safe."

"And you think he's safe carrying around the most valuable, classified information on the continent?" Zadra snapped.

"If he is discovered," Varvatos said. "It will be all glorious dismemberment!"

"I get it, I get it," I spread my hands. "But if we're not going to tell the League, what are we doing with the intel?"

"We will tell the League," Zadra said. "When the time is right."

"Zeron and other agents just as dishonorable are trying to change what little refuge the League offers," Varvatos said. "Their unjust and destructive ways seem like the only option. This intel is a currency, we can use it to buy back the staff -"

"To get the League back to what it started as," I finished for him. "If we have the cure, we can sway them to our side. We can finish what Mama and Papa started."

"Exactly."

"What's Zeron planning?" I asked. "I overheard something about it this morning. Something about 'making a big statement'." I used my fingers to make air quotes.

Zadra and Varvatos exchanged an uneasy glance.

"What is it?" I leveled my eyes with them. "I'm a big girl. I can handle it."

A moment of hesitation, then Zadra nodded to him.

"Zeron wishes to use the information you provided on the rehabilitation camps to send children in with explosives strapped to them," Varvatos said. "'Nonessential' children would be handed over to PSFs, then the bombs would be detonated while inside camps. He, and all the others on his side, believe it would be enough for PSFs to abandon their post."

He might as well have punched me in the face. I barely even heard the last part, the static in my mind burning everything away.

"There is still time," Zadra leaned forward, giving me a hopeful look. "The staff is not fully convinced, but there's no telling how long they will remain that way. You bought us time with your lie, but it will not last forever."

"We need to find Krel," I swallowed. "Him and the flash drive."

"Which leads us to the next problem," Zadra pursed her lips. "Varvatos and I are being transferred."

"What?" I gaped. "Where?"

"Alaska," Varvatos grimaced. "Tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow morning - but, without you guys," I managed, "what's stopping Zeron from trading me to Morando?"

"You are, my princess," Varvatos said. "Because you are leaving, too."

"What are you talking about?"

"There's an Op in Boston that leaves tomorrow morning as well," Zadra said. "We've arranged for you to be on it. The folder should be in your locker by the time you get back upstairs."

"Then I'll make a run for it," I said. "And track down my little brother."

"There are coordinates Zadra can send to your Chatter," Varvatos added. "Krel sent up a signal just after he obtained the intel. He knows he needs us to come find him."

I nodded, feeling a steely determination fill me. I could do this. I was ready.

"Now go eat," Zadra said. "And get some rest. You're going to need it."

That night, I asked Eli to meet me up on the roof. He could tell something was amiss when I arrived - and not just because of the red Op folder tucked under my arm. It was like his superpower, to be able to tell when things weren't quite right. Suspicion was his sixth sense.

"So you wanna tell me why you're holding an Op folder?" He kicked back on one of the deck chairs. "We just got back."

I shrugged. "I'm eager for the adventure."

He looked at me for a minute. "Don't you ever get tired?"

I shrugged again.

"You're literally covered in bruises," He said. "Remember what Bagdwella said? How we're supposed to let ourselves rest? Are you sure you're up for another one?"

I lifted my chin. "Yes, I'm sure. And I'm the only Psi kid assigned, so I thought I'd offer you the opportunity to join me."

That was how it worked with Ops. If there was only one Psi kid going, they were given the option of bringing another kid of their choice. Of course, none of it was required.

But I think I could convince Eli to join me.

"I don't know, Aja," He winced a little. "We just got back - from a four day Op in Nebraska. I had to have three blisters drained this morning. And you don't even want to know what happened with the splinters on my butt."

"You're right," I cringed. "I don't want to know."

"I guess what I'm trying to say is," He tucked his feet under himself. "I think we should give ourselves a little break, you know? You especially. We've had plenty of - uh - adventures in the past month. Don't you want some time to, I don't know, breathe?"

"At least look at the folder," I said, holding it out for him. "Who knows? You might change your mind."

He squinted his eyes at me, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Is there something else you wanna tell me?"

I waved the folder in front of him. "One look wouldn't hurt."

"Fine," He muttered, finally swiping it from my hands and opening it across his lap.

As soon as his did, I reached over and laid my hand over his, entering his mind like a hot knife going into butter. I showed him everything Zadra and Varvatos had shown me. The memories. The conversation. The danger Zeron was ushering in. The half-terrified, half-determined look on Krel's face when he'd come to face Zadra.

Then I showed him the steely determination in my core. How I wasn't about to back down because I was tired or sore. I was doing this, with or without him.

Preferably with, I added.

I pulled back, watching his eyes stare blankly at the pages while his mind recovered.

"So, Cryptid," I folded my arms. "What do you think?"

He continued scanning the folder for a minute, his eyes growing as bright and eager as ever when he looked up at me. "We'll need a plan."

"We've got all night," I replied. "Let's plan."