CHAPTER 4

RETURN OF THE JADE COLUMBIA

"Rebecca… Rebecca! Get up!"

Cold hands slapping my face, dragging me back into consciousness.

My first thought was that it had just been a dream, a nightmare. I would wake up, in my bed, none of this would have happened. Celgro wouldn't have been paid by the government to create super-mitochondria, and JC wouldn't be alive.

I opened my eyes. I looked around. Phil was standing over me, poised to strike me again.

I flinched, I thought he was going to hit me. Only then did I notice that my hands were cuffed to the bed I was lying on. I craned my neck to look down - my feet were shackled as well. I froze.

"Hey, guys!" Phil called. "She's awake!"

In moments, the other four had joined us in the room. They all took seats in a semi-circle around me. I felt really vulnerable, cuffed in the middle. For a while, no-one spoke.

"Well, Bec," Matt said at last, "we meet again."

There were only two words in my mind. I spat them out with as much force as I could muster.

"How? Why?"

Matt stood up, walked over to me, and just stared at me. After a moment or two, he reached down and ran his hand along my hair, my cheek, my neck. I had the sickening feeling he could snap my neck in two, if he wanted to.

"I can't tell you how, Rebecca," he said slowly. "I can't tell you how we survived your treachery. You betrayed us, Bec, you know it. And now you're completely at our mercy. But I can tell you why we're here. We're here for the same reason you are. Project Stella."

I blinked. How did they know about Project Stella?

"Ah, I can see you're surprised. We haven't been sitting idly by this last year and a half, you know. We've been watching over everything. Watching over the NCA, all the rumours of genetic manipulation. We've been watching over you, and your little 7A friends. Yes, we know all about your new little group. We know everything you've been doing."

I managed to find my voice.

"Are you… going to kill me?"

He was surprised at my question. He smiled, although not too sincerely.

"No. Believe me, when this is over, we'll deal out what you deserve for betraying your friends. But for now, we wish to enlist your help."

"Help?"

"In stopping Project Stella."

There was a long pause. I still couldn't believe they were alive. I mean, I'd entertained the idea, in my mind, but I never fully believed it.

"Don't get us wrong, Bec. We still know which side we're on. We know our full capabilities. You don't. If I wanted to, I could have you screaming and begging for your life right now. You'd be begging to be killed, simply to escape the torture I could put you through."

His voice tightened. He was having trouble controlling his anger, I could tell. I shuddered.

"We know our power. And we know that very few deserve to have power like ours. This new threat, the super-mitochondria, it makes us redundant. Our power is nothing in comparison. You don't understand the power of super-mitochondria, oh no."

He bent down and started whispering in my ear, so only I could hear him.

"You have no idea how much I'd like to see you screaming in pain right now. I could do it, too. I have power the likes of which you've never seen. And I'm not the only person who wants to see you die slowly. But we have bigger fish to fry. And if it means co-operating with you and your little band of juveniles to do it, we will."

"Let me free. Let me go and I'll think about it."

"I think you're over-estimating our hospitality. We're willing to co-operate, even help you, I know you want to disband Project Stella nearly as much as we do. But don't think for a second we can't do it alone. You've got two choices. One, you help us stop Stella. Two, you don't leave this room alive."

I swallowed hard. There was no choice at all, really.

"I'll help you. But I need to talk to 7A, persuade them to help you. They won't, not unless I say so."

I had said the magic words. Instantly all five of them turned friendly. Buffy even offered me a smile.

"Well, that's what we were hoping to hear."

He concentrated for only a moment. The cuffs around my wrists and ankles melted like butter.

"You're free to go. From now, we're all working together, on the same side. You know how it all works, Bec. It's going to be just like old times. And once again, the Jade Columbia will reign supreme, just like we were trained to do."

I could practically see the stars in his eyes as he spoke. I hadn't moved, except to sit up. I was too frozen with fear. I knew that their cruel words were not empty, I had seen them at work. I had heard the screams of those they had tortured. Their threats were not to be taken lightly.

"Hey, Bec, what are you waiting for?"

It was Brett. Without me even noticing, Mike, Matt, Phil and Buffy had left the room. I shook my head to clear out the cobwebs.

"N-nothing."

"Well, then, get back to your place and get talking to 7A. Matt said he wants a group meeting, all ten of us, as soon as you can arrange it. He's completely serious about us working together. Just imagine that, the best team of yesterday and the best team of today, working together for one cause. We're unstoppable. Together we can take down Celgro, and the government. I know we can, Bec, I know we can."

"S-sure, I'll get going now."

As soon as I had the energy to leave the room, I knew where I was. I was in our old place, JC's old house, the one we had all lived in before everything all went wrong. I shook my head again. This was all so surreal. I could almost believe the last four years had never happened, and JC were together again, working on the side of good. Almost. Matt's threats still rang in my head.

I drove back to our house, my real house, the 7A house, in a daze, almost getting into several crashes on the way. Distractedly, I checked the clock on the dashboard. Almost six. How long had I been unconscious for? It had been just after three when I left the house. What had happened in between?

The house was quiet when I returned. Not just quiet, it was empty. No-one was home. Still trembling, I picked up the phone and called Larry's mobile.

"Bec! Hey! I've been wondering where you were. Tamara called me before, in hysterics, saying you'd just walked out and disappeared. Where are you?"

"I'm at home… where are you?"

"On the way home. Say, where's everyone else?"

"I don't know… listen, we need to have a serious talk."

"Uh-oh, sounds ominous. What about?"

"Are you sitting down?"

"Yeah, I'm driving down the Princes Freeway, so I kinda have to be."

"Well pull over then."

A couple of seconds later, I heard him pull over to the side of the road.

"Okay, what was so important that I had to focus on?"

Suddenly, childishly, I burst into tears.

"My god, Bec, what's happened?"

"I don't know how to say this… without sounding insane… but JC… they're alive…"

"What???"

"They're alive… I was at the shopping centre today… I saw Phil… and the rest… oh god, they're alive…"

My words were making no sense even to myself.

"Christ… those guys were listed as dead…"

"That's not all…"

"There's more?"

I related the story of what had happened, complete with death threats.

"They're insane."

"We have to help them, they seem on the level… at least, they did after I agreed to help them…"

"I don't like the sound of this, I don't."

"Neither do I… but do we have a choice?"

"No. You said it yourself, their threats are not to be taken lightly. I don't want you to end up dead, I couldn't live with myself if I let that happen to you."

I heard him take a deep breath.

"You said they want a meeting? All ten of us?"

"Yeah."

"When?"

"As soon as I can arrange it."

"Great, just great… I'll call the others, see where they are. Call JC, set the meeting for tomorrow morning, whatever time they want. I'll see you when I get home."

"Okay… bye."

No sooner had I hung up the phone than my mobile phone rang. It was Matt.

"Great, tomorrow morning it is. We'll be over at your place at ten, and we won't be late. See ya then, Becky!"

And just like that, he was gone.

I started at my mobile phone in disbelief. What on earth had I just gotten us into?