Authors: Mia Hoddell
Kneeling down, he offered his hand to Cora but rolling her eyes, she ignored him.
What was with men and thinking women were incapable of doing things for themselves when it involved physical exertion?
Cora thought to herself as Jed shook his head in despair at her stubbornness.
As she raised her arms, she made sure she had her grip right and her hands were in a comfortable position. Then using all of her strength, she pressed her hands into the tiled floor and hauled herself up. Kicking a leg out to the side, she hooked it on the ledge and found her feet as she stood up.
Jed looked at her and then copying Cora’s previous action, rolled his eyes at her need to prove herself.
“What? You have a problem with girls who are stronger than you?” Cora raised her eyebrow, challenging him as she smirked.
“Just for the record, you’re not stronger than me but I’ll allow you to think that if it satisfies your ego.” He met Cora’s smirk with one of his own crooked grins.
Cora was about to answer him when Jed cut her off.
“Don’t bother, just move. We’re already running late and I don’t want to have to explain why, if I can help it.” Once again, Jed placed his hand on her back, guiding her along the platform and out into one of the larger rooms that connected all of the platforms.
“I didn’t know we had a time schedule to keep to. It wasn’t like you knew I was coming here. How are we late by the way? We haven’t stopped or dawdled.”
“Just get a move on,” Jed said, exasperated by all of her questions. He knew what she was doing and it was starting to irritate him that she was trying to pick up on a lie every time he spoke. He could understand why, but it didn’t mean he had to like it.
As they entered the room Cora was greeted by a gathering of people. Some were sitting on the floor, others stood over a few tables that were placed systematically around the room, studying something intently. It preoccupied them enough not to notice her and Jed entering. It was only as Jed guided her through did the crowd become aware of their presence, a few people glancing up. But within a moment what was a few turned into the entire room being distracted, heads and eyes turning to stare at them.
The room had fallen into a silence Jed had never heard before as they walked through.
Feeling uncomfortable and irritated, Cora blurted, “Why are they all staring?” She made sure that it was loud enough for everyone to hear as well.
“You’re not just anyone Cora, you’re important. They didn’t think I would be able to bring you in,’ he said a little too smug, then added, “And they have nothing better to do I guess.” Jed listed off the last point with his voice gaining in volume. The people took the hint and leading Cora to the entrance of another room everyone around them began working once more. Of course every so often they would take glances at her when they thought she wasn’t looking, but not much escaped Cora’s notice.
Jed signalled for Cora to pause outside of another doorway, only unlike the others, this one actually held a door.
“Just a word of warning: Our leader, well, she’s not the most tolerant woman around. She’s great at organising, planning and everything you would need to take down someone like Rogan, but she doesn’t like to be questioned. Just don’t try to irritate her, all right? I heard about the games you played with Rogan and Mayana isn’t like that.” Jed’s voice was almost a murmur as he gave the warning. He didn’t want to be overheard by the others or Mayana herself.
He waited for Cora to say something but as it became clear that she was not going to respond—something that put him on edge a bit—he took a deep breath while raising his hand to push the door open.
* * *
Noticing her door was beginning to open, Mayana crossed the small space with strong, purposeful strides. The phone she held to her ear crackled as her location changed and telling her caller to wait for a second she poked her head around the corner, frowning at Jed. With a shooing gesture, she saw the realisation on his face and pulling on the blonde headed girl she assumed to be the one they wanted, they backed off.
Shutting the door, Mayana resumed giving the caller her full attention.
“Continue,” she snapped into the handset only quieter, mindful of not speaking loudly. She moved to the other side of the large room and out of earshot.
“You will have only a two minute window to get in undetected while the guards change shifts. I can get as many as you need in but after that my roll ends. I will supply you with what you need, give you the entrances, exits, and camera blind spots but it’s up to you to finish this. In return you’re giving me half of everything.”
“Yes, I know what your terms are. Provide the information and half of everything will be yours.”
“And the girl?”
“Will die along with Rogan, you have my word.”
“She still believes that you need her for her ability?”
“I haven’t met her yet, she’s waiting for me. Get me the information on the house and we’ll talk again after my team has a plan in place,” Mayana ordered. As much as she despised her informants, they were the key to her being able to pull everything off. Before she got a response, and to show that she was the one in command, she hung up. Taking a deep breath, she cleared her mind of everything but the story she needed Cora to believe and pulling up a controlled steely smile, she went to open the door for them.
“Cora, it’s so great of you to join our cause! I knew you wouldn’t let me down, Jed.” Without realising, the smile on Mayana’s face had become more exaggerated as she stood to greet her new guest, although, Cora couldn’t help but see through the façade. It was showbiz, like someone would switch on for the cameras; slightly over the top and obviously fake. It was something that made Cora wary and put her on the defensive straight away.
“You’re lying,” Cora immediately called out. She had heard part of Mayana’s words distort and blur as she spoke. Cora wasn’t deliberately undermining her authority but she wanted to make it clear from the start that people would not get away with lying to her.
“I’m sorry?” Mayana’s face, stretched by a ponytail so tight it denied any frown lines to appear, looked no different except for the smile that faded slightly. It was like someone had turned a dimmer switch.
“I said you’re lying. You didn’t think Jed was going to succeed. You thought he would fail.”
Cora glanced across at Jed and although she could see the slight hurt in his eyes, he was more focused on glaring at her. She guessed he was trying to remind her of his warning, but Cora had never been one to pretend. She wanted to test her boundaries. She wanted to know how far she could push Mayana and she wanted to see how in control she was.
The woman who stood before her looked exactly like the drill-sergeant Jed had portrayed her as. Her black hair was slicked back perfectly, her eyes cruel and fixing. The tight fitting camouflage green T-shirt, black cargo pants, and thick combat boots gave a military impression and the minimal makeup and paler skin gave Cora an idea that she was more worried about her organisation than her appearance while working long hours underground. She was one of the only people Cora had met that appeared like they could take on Rogan and win, but that didn’t mean she admired her.
Covering up her shock, Mayana recovered quickly, reminding herself that Cora was soon to be her secret weapon against Rogan. “Well, they said you were good. At least I have proof now. I admire your determination as well. However, here we don’t stand for disrespect of leadership.” Mayana pulled herself up to her full height, trying to intimidate Cora into submission but Cora did likewise. She refused to back down just because a woman she had never met said she was in charge.
“When someone earns my respect, I’ll give it them,” Cora countered defiantly. She had not escaped Rogan’s clutches just to be controlled or used by another person.
A small smile tugged at Mayana’s lips at Cora’s attitude. She liked the girl already and could see her fitting in perfectly. It was also obvious why Rogan had such a hard time finding, controlling, and keeping her. There was something about Cora that refused to quit and that steely determination was the key to everything. But, part of her—the smart and forward thinking part—was telling her not to get too attached.
“You’ll fit in well here I think,” Mayana said, glancing at Jed as if the two of them shared a secret. Cora missed the look but their pause was all it took for Cora’s defences to trigger as she sensed something definitely wasn’t right between the two of them.
“So what am I meant to be doing?” Cora asked but what she wanted to know really was her limits and expectations.
“For now it’s enough that you have chosen to side with us. Just take the time to familiarise yourself with our headquarters, transport network, and the people in our alliance. Jed will come and find you once I’ve finished with him, so just go have a wander.”
Cora looked at her suspiciously, she was now certain Mayana was hiding something and Cora vowed she would find out what. She didn’t care about the others around her; she only cared about her survival. Unsure of whether to leave, Cora looked between Mayana and the door.
“Just don’t leave this station, all right? It’s a labyrinth down here and easy to get lost with little chance of us finding you if you did.”
She was lying on the last sentence. Cora could hear it, but instead of calling her on it she nodded. If she wanted information, she was going to have to seem like she was playing along…at least for a while.
As Mayana and Jed watched the door shut behind Cora they waited a few moments before speaking just in case she was within hearing distance.
“I thought you were going to tell her?” Jed asked, deliberately keeping his voice to a whisper. His face was covered with a mask of confusion and a hint of anger as he spoke.
“The time isn’t right. She has to be devoted to the cause first or it will just send her running. I can’t afford to lose her when I’ve only just gained her. You heard what she said; people earn her respect and that most certainly means her trust too. Betray that small spark of trust now and you can forget ruling over Rogan’s territory,” Mayana hissed, annoyed that Jed was so blind to the girl’s loyalty issues.
“She deserves to know everything first…so she knows what she’s signing up for.”
“No, she doesn’t deserve to know anything. If there is any chance it will ruin my plan then she will never find out. Only I will decide when to tell her, so you had better keep that in mind. Do not make the mistake of thinking you are irreplaceable, Jed.”
Jed nodded still not totally convinced Mayana’s choice was the right one but he had no power to overrule her. And if he did? Well his life would be even more insufferable.
“For now your job is to convince her that her rightful place is within our group. Convince her to join and commit her heart and soul to our cause because I need her to be there.”
What Jed and Mayana didn’t realise was that Cora had not moved away from the door. It was obvious by the way she had been kicked out that she was going to be the topic of conversation. Discreetly, she had kept her ear pressed to the wood throughout the entire exchange. And what they had said only left her with more questions than she had started out with.
Why was she needed to be somewhere and where was the place?
Why was she so important?
What couldn’t she know?
What were they keeping from her?
The list went on and on and if Cora had no reason to trust them before, their conversation just served as a reminder to never allow herself to trust them.
She had thought they wanted her for her ability but that didn’t make sense considering Cora knew all about that. As she mulled it over, a tap on her shoulder made her jump. She had been so engrossed in her own thoughts that her awareness of what was going on around her had faltered. She hadn’t heard anyone creeping up on her.
“You know it’s rude to spy on other people’s conversations, right?”
Cora turned to face a sandy haired man with an angry stare. He had worn a laid-back smile that proved he didn’t fear her and his eyes sparkled with humour at her reaction. His jaw was chiselled and coated in a thin layer of stubble that he reached up to stroke as he waited for her response.
“When someone is talking about you, I don’t consider it spying.” She tried to make it obvious that she didn’t appreciate his unwelcome presence in her voice but he didn’t take the hint.
“I’m Marc.” He held out a hand in front of him eagerly.
Cora just looked down at the hand and then back at his face. She repeated the action a few times, her eyebrow arched in question as if she were really asking, “you don’t expect me to touch that do you?” with her eyes.
The fourth time she looked at Marc’s face she saw a flicker of embarrassment in his eyes as he pulled back his hand, rubbing his fingers against his palm in an uneasy gesture.
“So you are?”
Seriously? Is this guy still not deterred?
Cora thought.
“I’m new and I don’t know if I’m staying yet,” Cora said flippantly, moving away from the door in case Mayana and Jed finished talking. Marc had caused her to maybe miss vital information and now she was going to exact a little revenge for his distraction.
“I kind of figured that out. I meant, can I get your name?” He smiled gently, a slight laugh in his words that was meant to placate her.
“I know what you meant. I was deliberately ignoring your question. I don’t go handing out information about myself to people I have never met before. It’s a bad habit to get into.”
Cora started to walk away from the door, sensing that Marc wasn’t going to leave her alone anytime soon and she didn’t want to give away that she had been eavesdropping.
“I was only trying to be friendly…you know, because you’re new and all. You don’t have to get all snappy. If you don’t want to tell me your name, then that’s fine. Want me to introduce you to the rest of the group?” He sounded a little disheartened by her attitude and spoke with a quick pace as if backtracking so he could find a way out of the situation he had created for himself.
“No, I’m good for now.” Cora’s voice was just as hard as before.
Marc shrugged but her words had stung; something Cora noticed in his eyes. Years of detecting lies had led Cora to focus on a person’s eyes out of habit and as she saw the effect her words had on him, causing his gaze to fall away.
She sighed. “Thanks for the offer, though. If I ever need introductions, you’ll be the first guy I come to.” It wasn’t much of a consolation, a real apology would have ended with her giving him a name but she wasn’t
that
affected by him. Cora knew it probably wasn’t best to get off on the wrong foot with someone who she could potentially be fighting with so that is what made her give in.
Nodding at Cora, Marc’s face showed it all. He doubted her words and was just using the escape route she had given him to leave. When he was not even three steps away from her, Cora heard a shout coming from Mayana’s room behind her.
“Cora, come on! I have to show you around,” Jed called out and she muttered something very unflattering under her breath.
She turned to glance over her shoulder at him but that wasn’t before she caught Marc looking back at her, a smug expression plastered over his face. He knew everyone in the tunnels by name and face, having been a part of the alliance from the start but he had never heard of a Cora before. Also, the way she flinched at the name and directed her anger at Jed made it obvious he was referring to her.
Marc now had a name, but what he was going to do with it he didn’t know. All he was feeling was victorious. He had won a bet he had taken with the other guys, even if they were technically right and he hadn’t got anywhere with Cora. Winning the bet now gave him control over their latest mission to infiltrate Rogan’s empire which was something he wanted.
He walked back to the other guys pleased, sending Jed a silent thank you. Cora was going to be fun to have around but was also going to be torturous for all of the men’s egos.
Turning around to face Jed, Cora assumed the fake smile she gave people when she was trying to be pleasant. All she really wanted to do was punch him, or maybe shoot him—it was a close call. However, after battling with her instincts she walked over to him, trying not to appear as tense as she felt.
“What is there to show me? I’ve been in the underground before. It’s just a load of tunnels, platforms and stations…a big maze,” she stated, not the least bit impressed.
“Just follow me and keep your mouth shut for now, I’m trying to help you here.”
That took Cora aback and she stared at him with disbelief, even though she heard nothing to doubt in his words. Jed had not led her wrong so far, even if the conversation with Mayana was suspicious. Nodding, she motioned for him to lead the way and she swore she saw a little relief in his face as he let out a deep breath.
It was becoming a bit of a habit that, as Jed guided her around the tunnels, his hand remained on her back but Cora wasn’t going to question it until they were out of earshot of the rest of them.
“So what are you helping me with?” she inquired, turning to face him as they made their way back to the platform they arrived at. It also conveniently removed his hand from her back as she spun.
“You’re not that blind, Cora.”
She wished he would just spit whatever he wanted to say out. “Maybe, maybe not.” She shrugged indifferently, deliberately provoking him.
“Why are you so confrontational all the time?” Jed asked, deliberately being antagonistic.
“I am not confrontational! What makes you say that?”
Cora’s outburst had Jed trying to stifle a laugh and his desire to point out the obvious. It became too much for him and letting it out Cora stood there, irritated by his actions.
“What’s so funny?” she demanded.
“Really? So you don’t think you’re confrontational?”
Cora bit her tongue. She was not going to let him provoke her into proving him right. It was difficult and many retorts were forming on the tip of her tongue but she refrained.
“Hey, I think she’s learning,” Jed teased and Cora swatted him playfully—it may have been slightly harder than necessary though.
“So come on, what were you saving me from?”
“Are you honestly telling me you didn’t notice the way all of the guys in that room were staring at you?”