I'm Out Of Your League [Literally]

Varvatos woke me up early to say goodbye.

"Don't go anywhere he can get you alone," He whispered as he hugged me. "Be smart. Defend yourself in whatever way you must, my little warrior."

"I will," I promised.

"Both Zadra and Varvatos will see you soon," He said. "We will be here upon your return."

I nodded as I pulled back. It was strange to think that I would have to return. The risk of defecting alone brought enough danger, but coming back and hoping they'd forgive me in exchange for the cure?

Nerve-racking, to say the least.

Zeron was the last person to arrive at the parking garage to see Varvatos and Zadra off - and me, I guess. We were leaving minutes after they were, Eli already at my side as we said our goodbyes.

But the moment Zeron walked in, everyone in the space tensed. Varvatos kept a grip on my forearms from our hug, glowering over my shoulder.

"Relax, geezer," Zeron gave a light chuckle. "I'm here to wish you luck."

"Varvatos needs no such thing," Varvatos barked in reply. "Varvatos is a glorious warrior with honor above all! He does not need your wishes."

"Then perhaps I'll extend them to your precious granddaughter here," Zeron laid his blond eyes on me. "For her own mission. It's a simple Op, just disabling a small lab with a tactical team, but I'd say good wishes are in order." He gave me a cold grin. "After all, I've been assigned as her Minder."

I almost laughed at how smug he thought he was being, and judging by the grin Eli was trying to hide, so did he. Zeron thought he was so clever to sneak himself onto my Op. That he was one step ahead of us. Let's see who's smug when he's responsible for losing the best Orange the League has.

"Yes, Aja," Zadra raised a knowing eyebrow at me, a hint of a smile on her face. "Good luck on today's Op, and all the things that follow it."

I smiled back at her. "Not like I'll need it."

Hopefully.

Then they climbed into the black SUV, and disappeared down the road. Moment's later, we did the same thing.

The tactical Beta Team, Zeron, Eli, and I were driven off to the Los Angeles airport, where all ten of us were smuggled onto a cargo plane headed straight for Boston.

According to the League, the shipment that owns these planes had a long history with us. We've done higher profile Ops that work out in their favor, and in return, they grant us a ride or two when we could use one.

Eli and I took our seats beside wall, behind a mountain of plastic wrapped crates strapped to the floor. On the other side sat the Beta Team, laughing about something we couldn't hear over the hum of the engine. And Zeron sat comfortably in the cockpit, out of sight but - unfortunately - not out of mind.

Eli couldn't stop whispering about him, unable to get over the plan he was desperately trying to get through to the League. Using the information I gave them to blow 'nonessential' children sky high.

"The worst part is that it makes sense," He cringed, shaking his head. "Just like turning Psi kids into child soldiers. It's genius if you have no morals."

"The League has morals," I replied, careful to keep my voice down. "Or at least, they used to. They've just lost some of them along the way."

"Pretty soon they'll run out," Eli said. "Then strapping bombs to kids is gonna be their only option."

"There is another option." I didn't dare say what I meant out loud. The look in my eyes was enough for him to understand.

"But isn't it sad that this is what it takes for them to treat us like humans?" He asked. "They don't see us as people who have a disease, they see us like we are the disease."

I shifted against the frigid air, holding the small emergency blanket I'd been given tighter around me. As sickening as this discussion was, it was my own anxiety twisting my stomach into knots. I just wanted this freezing plane ride over. I wanted to get to Boston. I wanted to find my little brother.

And I wanted to do it now.

"Quit tapping," Eli put his hand on my shoe. "You're just gonna drive yourself crazy."

I sighed, leaning my head back against the wall. "Can't this plane go any faster?"

"Try to think of something else."

"Like what?" I whined.

"Like," He shifted in his own blanket. "Maybe, how weird it is we have to pay money to see other humans?"

"You mean like prostitution?"

He looked at me for a minute, then reached up to touch his frames. "Glasses, Aja," He said. "I'm talking about glasses."

We eventually fell asleep leaning on each other, doing what we could to ignore the constant jostling from turbulence. At first, I'd been set on staying awake and alert, knowing that Zeron was just around the corner in the cockpit. But after about fifty reminders from Eli that I'd barely even slept the night before, I decided it was better to sleep while I could.

They didn't tell me how cold it would be in Boston.

Or how . . . rugged it would be.

Boston is one of those towns that's put up on a kind of pedestal. All these accomplished people were born there. All these famous battles happened there. All these schools took up residency there. It housed a unique kind of history. But that didn't make it any less broken.

The red brick buildings were standing with windows bashed in a scorch marks across the red. Grand town halls were locked and boarded shut. Almost every road was jam packed with cars and bikes, all inching forward to their destination.

And every other open space was filled with tents. All colors, shapes, and sizes. Some were even just sheets, set up like blanket forts to keep out the December weather. But some had even less, nothing but a sleeping bag and wall to lean on in defense of the snow.

I leaned closer to one of the windows on the ambulance door to watch them. A hospital near our landing port gifted us the vehicle in exchange for the Leda Corp supplies we had dropped off.

Just seeing the emblem on the crates, an elegant golden swan, made something in my gut lurch. But that was nothing compared to what it did to Eli. He'd all but blanked out as he stared at it, some horror story I will never understand playing behind his eyes.

After all, it was Leda Corp's program that had given him his scars in Caledonia.

I'd wanted to say something to him in that moment, but I knew there was nothing I could say that would make that look disappear. That would make those scars disappear. So I rested my hand on his shoulder instead, a gentle reminder that he wasn't alone.

"I don't understand," I whispered, my breath fogging up the glass. "Why are so many people out there?"

"A lot of people lost their homes when the market crashed," Eli replied from the bench on the wall of ambulance. "The government couldn't pay off its debt, which then meant people couldn't get jobs, which then meant they couldn't afford to keep what was theirs. It's like a domino effect."

"But if everyone everywhere was like this," I said. "Why couldn't the banks have just let them stay until things became stable? Isn't there something we should do to help?"

"Because that's not how the world works," Zeron snapped from the driver's seat. "Get over it."

He was wearing an EMT uniform, enjoying himself a little too much as he blew out our sirens on anyone who didn't get out of our way fast enough. Eli was wearing an EMT overcoat, with a matching cap hanging over his eyes.

I, on the other hand, was wearing the coat the League had provided for me in my backpack. They always gave us the basic necessities for Ops in our packs. So the second we were off the plane and under the sleet, I pulled the coat out of mine.

And of course, it was neon blue.

Sparkling. Glow-in-the-dark. Eye-wateringly-loud. Blue.

"Nice touch, isn't it?" Zeron had said over my shoulder. "It's the latest model issued. All new patterns and fabrics to provide as much warmth with as little weight as possible. A little gift from yours truly. I even got one for your friend."

Eli had given him an uneasy look. "Yeah . . . I'm good with just the EMT jacket - but thanks."

I felt like screaming every time I looked down at it. Zeron may as well have stuck a tracker to my forehead. With this thing on, I could be seen for miles. Especially with everything covered in stark, white snow.

Who in the hell even let him give two Psi kids this kind of attire for a stealth mission?

But it's not like I had much choice when it's between wearing this or getting frostbite. It was comfortable at least. And incredibly warm.

It almost made me sad that I'd eventually have to ditch it.

Eli was still giving me cringing looks of pity in the back of the ambulance. The material was literally glowing in the dim light of the vehicle, like something radioactive. Instead of just being treated like an alien, now I actually looked like one.

I had to keep low to the wall to avoid any of it showing out the window.

Of course, Eli had tried offering his condolences when I'd first put it on, but I stopped him. "Not a word, Pepperjack," I'd hissed. "Not a word."

"I was just gonna say you look like this one cosplayer I saw -"

"Not." I had gritted my teeth. "A. Word."

Behind us, Zeron was smirking as he'd climbed into the driver's seat, looking so proud of himself to have me so perfectly trapped. Practically tied with a bow to be handed over to Morando.

We'll see how smug he is when this is over.

Thankfully, though, the Beta Team didn't have the opportunity to witness me become a neon sign. We'd split up at the landing port, the Beta Team dressing in ragged clothes, Red Socks hats, and coats thick enough to conceal the weapons tucked underneath; then jumping in the back of an old pickup truck.

They would be driving straight to the lab in Harvard's medical school, while we would be driving straight to a professor's home in Cambridge. Zeron called it a two pronged, simultaneous assault. The Beta Team would destroy the lab while we "pulled" the professor in charge of said lab in for questioning.

Or brain scrambling. Whatever the staff decided once we got him back to HQ. But I guess we wouldn't get him back to HQ this time.

Congratulations bastard, I thought. It's your lucky day.

"Get your comms on," He snapped at us. "We're almost there."

I pulled the listening device from my pocket, pushing it into my ear as Eli did the same. We exchanged a glance, me catching the nerves twitching behind his eyes. When he looked back at Zeron, they burst like fireworks.

I put my hand on his bouncing knee, trying to shoot confidence into him that way. It was the best I could do for now.

"This is Leader in position," The comms in our ears burst to life. "Ready to commence Op at twenty-two thirty. What is your status, Minder?"

That was Barton talking, the head of the Beta Team and, consequently, head of the Op.

"Five minutes out from the Goose's nest," Zeron replied.

The nerves in my stomach were suddenly set on fire. We were almost there. Eli's knee began bouncing again.

"Are we connected to Home Front?"

"Home Front here," The agent monitoring the Op from HQ said. "Line is secure, tracking both units now. Okay to proceed at twenty-two thirty. Satellite feed shows minimum interference at Target Two."

The ambulance came to a smooth stop a short distance from the professor's pleasant little white house with a worn picket fence. Zeron unhooked his seatbelt and stood, stretching slightly as he climbed into the back.

"We're in position," He said, pressing a hand to his ear. His eyes slid over to me, barely concealing the smugness there. I glared back, raising an eyebrow as a dare.

Go ahead, my mind hissed. Try laying one finger on me and see what happens.

"You have the all clear," The HQ agent said. "Goose Egg is a go."

"Roger," Barton replied, Zeron echoing him.

"Don't say a word," Zeron barked at Eli. "Don't fidget. And follow my lead exactly. Then get your ass back here, understand?"

Eli managed to nod.

Zeron turned to me. "You know what to do?"

I met his blond eyes straight on. "I do."

"Then get out of my way."

I stepped to side, sliding onto the bench beside Eli as we watched Zeron push the ambulance doors open. A cold rush of air came over us, the late evening sky giving only the mutest of oranges for light. I hugged my coat tighter around me, Eli huddling at my side to escape the snow blowing in.

Zeron had to jump to the ground before pulling out the gurney, along with the duffel bag resting on top of it. In that tiny moment - that split second of his attention off of us - I felt Eli's hand slide under the hem of my shirt, along with the serrator it was holding.

This Op did not classify as dangerous enough for Psi kids to carry weapons, therefore, we'd been barred from bringing them. It wasn't an easy rule to get around, but after some finagling last night, Eli picking the weapon's closet lock, and me mind melding an agent into thinking he never saw us, we managed to get a hold of my serrator.

He'd had it on him the whole time, smuggling it under his sweater the entire plane and ambulance ride - so it was warm when he hooked the hand grip onto my waistband. Then his hand came up to pat me on the back, making the motion as natural as possible. Moving passed me, he hopped out to help Zeron steady the gurney.

He gave me a small salute and a smaller smile before he slammed the doors shut. I returned it. There were no nerves now, only action. We had a job to do and people to protect. And no one - especially not the almighty 'Alpha' Zeron - was going to stop us.

The porch light flickered on as they arrived at the door, Eli bent over the golden knob to pick it.

They disappeared inside, the porch light switching off.

Shrugging out of my glow-coat, I pulled the Swiss-Army knife I'd smuggled in my boot and ran my fingers along the seam until I felt a hard bud.

The tracker.

I slid the knife along the fabric, snapping the stitches and pulling at the wire. It was tangled in deep, forcing me to maneuver carefully with it to make sure I didn't accidentally disable it and alert Zeron that I had removed it. When it finally broke free, I opened the doors and tossed it out into the snow.

"We're inside," Zeron's voice crackled in my ear. "Status Leader?"

"On schedule, Minder."

Then I tugged off the black, knitted hat I'd been given and did the same thing, throwing away the tracker like the piece of garbage that it was.

Everything was so calm as I did it. So quiet and still. Certain. For once, I liked it.

Eli opened the ambulance doors just as I pulled the coat back on. We locked eyes for a split second, then I threw him the knife and he caught it out of the air.

Climbing in, he pulled the second glow-coat out of his own pack and cut the tracker out of it then shoved it back in his pack. Making his way up to the front, he pulled out the fine tools he'd smuggled under the waistband of his pants and disappeared under the steering wheel, getting to work.

"Target acquired. Princess, is the perimeter clear?"

I pulled my serrator out from behind me, standing tall before the doors of the ambulance as I put my hand to my ear. "Yes."

The doors opened, Zeron dragging an incapacitated man behind him on the gurney. By the time he looked up at me, my serrator was already level with his eyes.

It took about three seconds for the shock to pass, his face coloring with rage. His hands curled to fists, reaching for a Calm Control device that wasn't there. I grinned.

A low growl ripped from his throat. "Princess -"

"Hey, Alpha," I said, savoring every word. "I have a question for you."

"Princess, keep all non-Op transmissions off the line," came Barton's voice.

Zeron's nostrils flared. "Where in the hell did you get that -"

"Did you know their names?" I asked, taking a step forward.

"Princess," The woman back at HQ sounded just as irritated. "Please cease your -"

"What are you talking about?" Zeron spat. "Barton, get your team over here. Princess has somehow gotten a hold of a serrator."

"She what?"

"The children you killed," I took another step, forcing Zeron back. "Remember? The night before we met. You broke them out of a camp just to blow out their brains. That girl was pleading for her life, and that boy - you didn't even give him a chance to wake up."

"Minder, what is going on over there?"

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about!" He barked. "Leader, get your team here now!"

"We can't just turn around -"

"Look, I just want to know their names," I hopped out of the ambulance, forcing Zeron back another step. "I want to know if you bothered to ask before you put a bullet through their heads."

"Minder!" The woman called. "Status!"

Zeron was trembling with rage, vibrating with it. "You better put that thing down or so help me -"

"Actually," I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. "Do you know the names of any of the children you've killed? The ones you dragged down to that basement below the gym? What did you call it again? 'The place no one can hear you scream'?"

"Minder, what is she talking about?"

"Princess has smuggled a weapon onto this Op!" Zeron screamed into his comm. "I need someone over here to get her under control!"

"Princess," The woman didn't sound irritated anymore. She sounded alert. "Disarm immediately or we will be forced to -"

"But you knew my brother's name, didn't you?" I felt the hot anger spread through my chest. And I let it take over. "Of course, you never killed him. He tried to expose you for the monster you are. He even tried to warn the kids you targeted." I felt a fire light behind my eyes. "And you tortured him for it."

"Alpha, what the hell -"

"She's lying!" He roared. "I don't know what she's talking about! All of it! It's a lie!"

"But once Morando slapped a price on our heads," I held the gun steady. "You were willing to do just about anything to hand us over. Is that why you tortured me for Krel's location?"

"Princess," The woman sounded furious now. "Disarm immediately. Minder, return to the rendezvous point now -"

"Alpha, you better hope I did not just hear her correctly."

"Stop lying, goddammit!" He threw out his fists, stomping his feet like he wanted to charge. "When I get Calm Control, your brain will leak out your ears!"

"Princess, if you do not heed the instructions -"

I ripped the comm out of my ear, throwing it into the snow and stomping it flat. Behind me, the ambulance roared to life.

"What the -" Zeron's wide eyes flew over my shoulder. "Is Cryptid - the hell did he - Leader! I need assistance! These kids are hijacking my Op! When we get back to HQ -"

"We're not going back to HQ," Eli appeared behind me, standing in the doorway of the ambulance.

"What?" He almost laughed. "You think you're leaving? You think you can make it two days out there without the League?"

"I think we can make it far longer than that," I took another step forward. "But don't worry, we'll be back. And when we do, you better hope you're not there to see it."

A cocky chuckle pulled out of him, a final grab at intimidation. "What will you do? Shoot me? And get your pretty-princess hands dirty?"

My eyes went dark. "You tortured my brother," I said. "And for it, I should kill you."

The serrator was hot in my hands. The ambulance was humming along with my rapid heartbeat. And Zeron's eyes were throwing everything he could at me, trying to melt through the armor I had clad around myself.

The armor people like him had given me.

I smiled. "But I won't."

Lowering the barrel of my serrator, I leveled it with his left foot, and pulled the trigger.