Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Collin, Amon, and I are all looking at each other as Penny finishes. Amon blinks. “I’m sorry, Penny. What the fuck does that even mean?”
“It’s very complicated, Amon. But what I’m getting at is that Shep is a part of this program.”
Amon looks at me, his brow all furrowed. “You’ve got a brain implant?”
Before I can answer, Penny says, “No. He doesn’t. And we know this for sure because we scanned his brain last weekend.”
“So,” Collin says, “it’s the other thing. The entanglement.”
“That’s right, Collin,” Penny says. “He and his partner were one of the first to go through the program. I won’t go into details about the principles behind the science, mostly because I don’t understand it myself. But the takeaway is that… well… it didn’t work. Shep can fill you in on the specifics of that because I don’t know, to be honest. What I do know is that evidence of the procedure he went through is still in his brain. That’s what they found, Shep. Proof that you were a part of that program.”
All of us go silent for a moment. Thinking.
Then Collin asks the obvious. “Penny, do you have any information about my sister, Olive?”
Penny blows out a long breath and doesn’t immediately answer. I get a bad feeling in my stomach, even though I already know what she’s gonna say. But still, when it comes out, I’m floored. Because she says, “Collin, I’m sure there’s a reason for this question and I’m sure you’ve already got your suspicions, so I’m just going to cut to the chase. Olive and her partner were the first successful results of this entanglement program and they were both released into full active duty about six months ago.”
21 - Olive
Isit up in bed, the memories of sex with Brose still fresh in my head, but I’m not in our room at the estate. I’m in Collin’s house. In his guest room.
I just sit there in bed like this, propped up and looking at the window, trying to put the dream behind me. Not because I was afraid, though it was a bit frightening, but because it was so real.
I felt him.
I heard him.
It was real.
So real, I start looking around for Brose.
Did he follow me here? Shep is gone, so maybe Brose somehow broke in?
It’s a ludicrous idea. I’m in the Edge Security compound. He would never be able to sneak in here.
It was just a dream.
I get up out of bed, reaching for my pants, which are strewn on the floor, and pull them back on.
What just happened?
I don’t know.
But then I remember something.
My vow. My promise. My reason for living.
My mission is him and his mission is me.
And then the next part. The part he didn’t need to remind me of in that dream.
He thinks for me, I act for him.
“Brose,” I say, whispering his name out loud. “Where are you?”
Voices from outside startle me back into reality and I go completely still, listening.
Collin, Shep, Amon. And then another voice. They’re on speakerphone with someone. I carefully walk over to the bedroom door, which isn’t fully closed, and tap it open so I can peek into the living room down the hallway.
They’re outside, not in here, so I creep out, trying to hear what they are saying. Whoever the woman is they are talking to, she says my name.
I walk faster, all the way over to the front door, and press my ear into the crack between the door and the wall.
“Who is this partner?” Collin is asking.
There’s a pause, and then the woman on the phone says, “I don’t have confirmation yet, but this came from a trusted source. His name is Ambrose Sinclair.”
Brose! This woman just told my brother my biggest secret! We’ve been made! Our cover is blown, the mission is bust, and… and… well, I don’t know what happens next, but Brose put everything on the line for this mission. He put everything on the line for me.
And I fucked it all up—again—by running to my brother. That’s what my dream was about. You ran right to him, Olive, Brose said. Everyone’s unhappy.
CORE is gonna take us out of service. Our first real mission and we’ve blown it. It’s over. And I did that.
“Ambrose Sinclair,” Collin says, snapping me back into the conversation outside. His voice is low and threatening. “Where might I find this Ambrose Sinclair?”
“Oh, shit!” I say. “He’s mad. He’s gonna kill him!”
“No, he’s not, Olive.” I startle, looking over to my right, and find Brose sitting in a chair. “Your brother hasn’t got a chance in hell of killing me now.”
I… I’m so confused. I don’t know what to think. “Brose?” I whisper. Then I blink a few times, trying to clear my head. “Am I still dreaming?”
“Don’t be silly,” he says. “Look at yourself. You’re not in bed. You’re here. You’re walking around. You’re real, Olive.”