Blacklisted (16 page)

Erik raked a hand through his hair. “I was never allowed here, though I fought and fought to gain an invitation. Funny that it took an A.I.R. arrest to get me in.” He gave me another of those swift kisses. For strength? It was almost as if he couldn't stop himself, as if he
had
to kiss me. Was compelled by a force greater than himself to do it.

I hoped he would never stop.

“Look around. I'm going to check the Onadyn and make sure the vials are sealed properly before you touch them.”

“Okay.”

He strode to a cabinet in back, opened the doors by cutting the ID wires and rehooking them. ID boxes were supposedly thief proof, but I'd seen him bypass many with ease.

I walked to the closest table and lifted one of the empty decanters. There was a blue crust on the rim. Careful not to actually touch it, I sniffed. There was a subtle hint of…jasmine? Orchid? Some type of flower, definitely.

“Have you ever tried Onadyn?” I asked, setting the bottle down.

“No,” Erik said. “Never.”

“Ever thought about it?”

Several seconds ticked by in silence. I glanced over at him. He had his back to me and was rummaging through a metal box. “Yeah,” he finally said. “Once or twice after I was kicked out of A.I.R. and faced a lifetime of imprisonment. I wasn't sure I could go on. I wasn't sure I
wanted
to go on.”

I lifted another glass, one with pink striations on the bottom. Glitter seemed to cake the inside of it, like a snow globe. “What stopped you?”

He shrugged. “Thoughts of death. Addiction. Most of all, thoughts of becoming sloppy and forgetting who I am, caring only about my next high.”

Before I could reply, a board creaked. The sound scared me and I froze, heart hammering. Erik didn't seem to notice or mind, so I forced myself to relax. “I don't understand why we're stealing from Silver's dad. We could have asked him and saved ourselves the trouble of breaking in.”

“He never would have given us what we needed and now that A.I.R.'s found me, I'm sure they've frozen my accounts. I wouldn't have been able to buy it.”

“But I thought Silver's dad was sympathetic to the cause.”

“He is, but only for his family. Everyone else has to pay. He's gotten used to his lifestyle, I guess.”

I pushed out a sigh. “Silver's cheating his dad, then. Can we trust him not to change his mind and tattle?”

“Yeah. It's, uh, not the first time he's had to go to such lengths.” A pause, then a happy
whoop
. “Found it!” He pocketed several small vials of clear liquid. I'd never done Onadyn, either, and didn't ever want to—for all the reasons he'd named.

“One day we might get a medal of honor for this,” I told him. Did I believe it? No. But it was a nice thought.

He tossed me a grin, the expression somehow sad.

“Well, it's possible,” I said, refusing to back down.

Several more vials found their way into his pockets. “So is this the wildest thing you've ever done?” he asked, changing the subject.

“Yes. No question. You?”

“Nah. Going back to high school tops the list for me. Those first few days, I was convinced someone was going to realize I wasn't who I said I was and I didn't belong there.”

Approaching him, I traced a fingertip over the tabletop. “But no one did.”

“Sometimes people only see what they want to see.” He paused a moment to look over at me.

“I certainly did.” Grinning, I closed the rest of the distance until I stood beside him. “Since you're stuffing them in your pockets, I'm going to assume the vials are sealed properly.”

“They are, but I still don't want you to handle them.” He closed the cabinet with a soft
click
, then turned toward me. “Ready?”

Clearly he still wanted to carry the bulk of the responsibility on his own shoulders. I, however, was having none of that.

“Nope,” I said. “Not quite yet.” Rising on my tiptoes, I planted a kiss on Erik's welcoming lips, just as he'd done to me several times. But I didn't embrace him. I jabbed a hand into his pocket and withdrew a fistful of the vials. I shoved them in my pockets, peering up at him and silently daring him to say something. “Now I'm ready. You're not doing this alone.”

He shook his head, but admiration glowed in his eyes. “You constantly amaze me,” he said, not trying to take them away.

“Thank you,” I said primly.

“You're very welcome,” he said, mimicking my tone.

We shared a laugh.

We left the lab then and descended the staircase. I could hear the vials clanging together every time Erik moved. My dress was so tight the vials had no wiggle room and remained in place.

“I can't believe I'm doing this,” I said when we reached the front entrance. “Where are the Outers staying anyway? The ones who need the Onadyn?”

“Southern District on Main. The Offworlder Apartments, which should have collapsed years ago. I'm sorry, but we've got a long hike ahead of us.”

“I'll live.”

He pried the double doors apart, rather than mess with the ID box and code again. “You're—”

“Caught,” a woman said just in front of us. It was Phoenix. Wisps of brown hair whipped around her smug features. She aimed a pyre-gun at Erik's chest. “You're caught.”

In the ensuing seconds that seemed to take an eternity to tick by, chaos erupted. Erik had
his
gun aimed at Phoenix before I could draw in a panicked breath. Other A.I.R. agents surrounded us, a thousand it seemed, weapons poised and ready to fire.

Death had never seemed closer.

“We can't thank you enough for showing us the lab's location,” Cara said, stepping forward until she stood beside Phoenix. She appeared just as smug as her coworker.

I grit my teeth.

“You didn't follow us here,” Erik said stiffly. He held the gun steady, seemingly unimpressed by the agents and the weapons they'd trained on him. “How did you find us?”

There was a man standing on Phoenix's other side and he laughed, drawing attention to himself. “I just got into town, haven't been briefed because I've been too busy fighting Morevvs, but even I can tell you the answer to that.”

“Ryan,” Erik said, shoulders tensing. The name was spat out, as if it was the darkest curse. He inched forward, scooting me behind him as best he could so that I was out of the line of fire.

Ryan was obviously a few years older than Erik. He had dark hair and eyes so blue they sparkled. He was handsome and muscled and wore all black. And he was grinning like it was Christmas and he'd gotten exactly what he wanted from Santa. “If I know my girl, she pegged you with a GPS chip.”

Erik growled low in his throat.

“Yep. That's exactly what I did.” As unconcerned as Erik had first seemed, Phoenix unsheathed a blade and reached around him. She stabbed the silver tip into one of the welts on his upper back.

He didn't move, didn't show any reaction, though it had to have hurt.

When she pulled away, there was blood on her hand and on the knife and a tiny black dot on the tip of her index finger. “That's why we whipped you. That, and you deserve a little punishment for what you've put us through. There was a sedative on the whip. You passed out and we were then able to inject the chip without your knowledge. And you never suspected, because you simply assumed your back hurt from the whipping.”

“You—you—”

“Outsmarted you,” Phoenix interjected.

My hands tightened into fists, but I forced myself to relax, to touch his back in comfort. He, too, relaxed.

“There'll be no escaping this time,” Phoenix said, scowling. I guess she hadn't gotten the reaction she wanted. “And guess what? There'll be no help from your Morevv buddies, either. We've got them surrounded, too. And they're going to pay. They injured Bradley.”

Shanel
, I thought. Silver. No, no, no. Were they okay?

“Now, why don't you drop the gun,” Ryan said, losing his smile. “I don't want to kill you, but we both know I'll do it in a heartbeat. You do
not
hold a gun on Phoenix. Ever.”

Erik didn't drop his gun, but he did raise his free hand as if he meant to give up. I knew he had a knife strapped to his wrist, so the action would arm him further, not leave him vulnerable. Still. Defeat pressed heavily on my shoulders.

Defeat?
That's the old Camille
. The new-and-improved Camille did not give up, did not back down. I'd come too far to be captured now.
You have weapons, too. Remember? You aren't helpless
.

“You, too, Camille,” Phoenix said, perhaps sensing what I meant to do next. “Hands up.”

I didn't move. Not yet, not yet…
Oh God. Oh God. Can't believe you're doing this, can't believe you're even thinking it
.

Start believing
, I thought, eyes narrowing as determination rushed through me, strengthening me.

“Dragging innocent girls down with you.” Ryan
tsk
ed under his tongue. “Sinking lower every day. Troy, is it? That the new last name you gave yourself? Funny. Troy was defeated, too.”

“Like you have room to talk about dragging innocent girls into the gutter,” Erik snarled. His finger twitched on the trigger. “You started dating Phoenix when she was your student. How depraved is that?”

Anger darkened Ryan's features, not hot enough to be classified as rage, but hot all the same. “Don't bring Phoenix into this.”

“Don't bring Camille into it, either. She's done nothing wrong.”

“Then why are Onadyn vials sticking out of her dress pockets?” Cara demanded, no longer content to remain in the background.

The agent named Kitten stepped into my line of vision, at the corner of my eye. I could see that she was programming her gun and aiming at Erik.

Act now, Robins. You won't have another opportunity
.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I kicked up one leg and my boot banged into Phoenix's wrist. The action startled her and knocked the gun out of her hand. With barely a pause, I spun and grabbed hold of Erik.

Everything that followed seemed to happen in slow motion, but I knew—logically, at least—that everything was moving quickly. I jerked Erik past the front door. His reflexes were stellar and he knew exactly what I wanted him to do without being told. He slammed the door closed.

Pop. Whiz
.

Pop. Whiz
.

Sizzle. Sizzle
.

Agents fired, some using pyre-fire, some using bullets. The bullets created gouges and the fire melted bits of the metal.

“Run, Camille,” Erik shouted. I expected him to grab me and leap into a sprint. He didn't. He walked backward, his gun now trained on the door as he waited for A.I.R. to break through. A knife rested in his other hand, like I'd suspected.

For the first time, I noticed that there weren't any windows.

I remained in place. Behind me, I could hear footsteps and knew A.I.R. was closing in, blocking every possible avenue of escape. “They're everywhere! We have to leave.” Panic rolled through me, thick and oppressive. Almost debilitating. Almost. “Now! Come on!”

“Damn it, Camille. Listen to me this time and run. Hide. If they take both of us, we're lost. The cause is lost; Outers will die.”

“No.”

“Houses like this are made to withstand attack, but it won't hold out much longer. You have to go. Now.”

“I can't.” I shook my head. “I can't leave you. I won't.”

“Take the Onadyn and run, damn it.” He didn't face me, but continued to face the door. Waiting…“I'm begging you! I've worked too hard for those kids to die now.”

Run
.

Stay. Don't be a coward. Help him!

No, you have to run. You have to save those kids
.

Ohmygod, I couldn't decide. Didn't know what to do. I moved, stopped, moved, stopped. Unsure. So unsure. What a horrible decision to make—and not a lot of time to make it. Save the Outers or try and save Erik. If it were just me, I'd leave. Right now. No hesitation. But Erik…

“I'll stay and hold them off and
you
take the drugs.” He'd do better at evading capture. And I, well, I'd survived A.I.R. once. I could do it again. And if I didn't, I will have gone down with a fight.

“Camille.” My name was a curse, a prayer, an ache. “You know that won't work. They'll have you pinned in minutes and be after me immediately after. I can hold them off longer, giving you the needed time. Just go!”

“Erik. Please. I can't leave you,” I whispered brokenly.

Growling low in his throat, he spun toward me and fired a shot at my feet. I jumped. Yellow beams sizzled at the ground where I'd stood. “Stop! What are you doing?”

“Go!”

Still I held firm. “You'll be able to hide better and—”

“They might kill you this time, Camille. Now do you understand? I'd rather the Outers die than you. Understand?” He fired another shot, this one closer. “Go! Help them and stay low.”

“Erik.”

“Go!” Another shot.

I jumped away from it, never taking my gaze from him. An eternity passed while I gazed into his dark eyes. A mere second.

“Go.”

“Okay,” I said. Tears burned my eyes as I inched backward. They were different than any I'd shed before. They weren't born of fear; they weren't born of upset. They were born of hope and desperation. “Okay.”
You're leaving him? Coward!

No, not a coward. I was giving up something I loved to save others. Leaving him was the right choice—not the best, not something I wanted. It was tearing me up inside, but it would save those aliens. Still, the tears flowed freely down my cheeks.

Just then, the front door burst open, as did several of the windows in the upstairs rooms. Erik tore his focus from me and fired at the agents who were even now pounding their way inside. No, he wasn't aiming at them, I realized, plastering myself against the wall, trembling, crying harder, because he didn't really want to hurt or kill them. He was aiming
toward
them, trying to keep them back and buy the promised time.

More footsteps echoed behind me.

Using the shadows to my advantage, I scrambled toward the back of the house. Agents seemed to be everywhere, like flies, buzzing in every direction. They were black slashes of lethal power. Menacing death wielders.

How was I going to get out of here undetected?

A few seconds later, several of the agents spotted me and rushed for me. I remained in place, unsure what to do. Weapon…I had a weapon, right? I was just reaching into my boot, fingers curling around the hilt of a blade, when the first agent reached me. He backhanded me across the face and I cried out. I flew to the ground, knife forgotten, blood already trickling from my mouth.

Still in his line of sight, Erik witnessed the entire thing. He roared a loud, high-pitched, piercing animal sound. An amber beam erupted.

The guy who'd hit me fell to the ground beside me, a blackened hole sizzling in his chest. He didn't move. Dead. He was dead. I glanced up, wide-eyed, to see Erik's gun smoking. He'd killed him. For me. He hadn't killed for himself, but he'd killed for me.

He fired at the others as they surged forward, forgetting me in their haste to stop Erik. When they reached him, they jumped on him, knocking him down, hitting and kicking him.

“No,” I screamed, shoving to my feet.
No!

Boom!

An explosion rocked the entire house, throwing me onto my butt. Plumes of smoke wafted through the air, thicker than before. Rocks and timber rained. Erik, I suspected, had somehow created this distraction for me. I couldn't leave, though. Not until I knew he was okay.

I once again pushed to shaky legs and glanced around, my eyes burning and watering. My nostrils stung. People were lying on the ground, moaning. Other were silent, unconscious or dead.

“Erik?” I coughed. “Erik?”

No response.

“Erik!” Pure, undiluted panic filled me. I didn't see him. Where was he? My gaze landed outside, past the entrance that had been destroyed by the blast. I gasped, both relieved and horrified. Phoenix, Ryan, Cara, and Kitten had Erik pinned to the ground. But he was still fighting. With all of his strength, he was still fighting, his body bucking. His limbs flailing.

I wanted so badly to go to him. To help him. To do something, anything, to save him. He'd shown me some basics today, but I knew deep down such moves would never defeat these people. If I tried, I'd be captured, too. I knew it. He knew it, that's why he'd told me to run. There was no denying it, no fooling myself. These agents were highly trained and by their sheer number they soon managed to subdue Erik completely.

I couldn't help him and help the Outers who needed the Onadyn I carried.

Once again I was faced with a choice. I'd thought I'd made it, thought I was prepared to run, but seeing Erik so helpless…

I could let the aliens die or try and free Erik with no guarantee that I'd succeed, perhaps destroying this opportunity he'd given me.
Evade capture now and you can fight to get him released later
.

But I can't leave him behind. Not like this
.

You have to. You have to remain free, so you can rescue him and Silver and Shanel. He knew this would happen
.

Unsure, I bit my bottom lip.

Erik wants you to leave. Think of all he's done for you. Now you must do this for him
.

That finally convinced me. More than anything, Erik wanted those Outers saved. He'd given up his life and his career for them. And now, I would give up my own desires for them. No, for him. For Erik.

Blinking back my tears, I spun on my heel and ran. Just ran.