Authors: Mia Hoddell
Rogan grinned at her. “I’ll tell Sully that…” It only lasted a moment. “Anyway, I don’t have to justify my choice of staff to you,” Rogan said, his voice becoming thick with authority.
Cora only shrugged, sensing Rogan was not in the mood to be tested.
See? I can shut up
, Cora thought, smiling smugly as she took in his arched eyebrows and questioning stare.
“I have two men I need testing so you’re just going to have to listen like last time.” He was leaning against the desk casually but his tone gave the impression he wasn’t to be messed with.
“Okay.”
At her response Rogan picked up the phone behind him and with a few curt words he ordered for the men to be brought in before slamming the handset down with a little too much force.
Cora heard the lock on the door opening and as she turned she saw two of Rogan’s men enter, tightly restraining two prisoners with their arms tied behind their backs with plastic ties. The men resisted and had to be forcibly dragged in backwards, their legs flailing around, trying to land a kick or loosen their grip but all they succeeded in was looking like a dying fish that was flapping uselessly on a dry beach.
As each man was spun round to face Rogan, Cora’s eyes moved to the first man’s face, who was closest. She had to hold back a gasp of shock. In front of her was Marc. His eye was blackened, his lip was split and he had a few other open cuts on his face that were oozing blood as they began to swell, but it was definitely Marc. Cora couldn’t understand how Rogan had caught hold of him so quickly but then again he had men everywhere so it wasn’t really a shock. What Cora was more worried about is where the next few minutes were going to take her.
The man who was violently thrown in behind Marc wasn’t someone Cora recognised, he could have been one of the others from Mayana’s camp but there had been too many faces to recall. He had the same injuries but as Cora noticed from his escape attempts they were less resistive—a fact Cora assumed had saved him a few less bruises and cuts.
Knowing Rogan would be displeased with their lack of control over the prisoners it had to be dealt with swiftly. The larger of the two men with a shaved head struck out and smashed his forearm round hard on to Marc’s face that rendered him semi-conscious. The loud crack made Cora wince. That demonstration was all that was needed for the second prisoner to lose all his fight. Following it with a sharp kick to the knees, Marc succumbed and fell to the floor, the second prisoner easily pushed down beside him.
They remained there, panting hard and Cora could see blood on their wrists where the ties had cut in. She didn’t realise how long she had been staring at Marc when Rogan cleared his throat to get their attention. He glanced across at Cora briefly, wondering what sort of effect his actions were having on her but her face only hinted at the shock she was feeling. Cora had learnt to control her emotions well and Rogan was in silent admiration that she was so good. He had expected an outburst of some sort but she was pretending to not even know the men. He didn’t know which to be more surprised at: how cold-hearted she appeared or her silence.
The guards who had brought the men in stepped back a few paces but they did not leave. Instead they stood, their hands clasped behind their back in a military-like pose.
“So nice of you to join us gentlemen. I do hope our hospitality lived up to your expectations,” Rogan said finally, his voice conveying anything but concern.
Instead of answering him, both men had their eyes fixed on Cora, silently begging her to do something. It was Marc’s baby blue eyes that held hers the longest, pleading for help but also accusing her at the same time.
Checking to make sure Rogan wasn’t looking, she gave a subtle shrug that was meant to say “what am I supposed to do?”
Before Marc could give away too much though, Rogan interrupted the wordless conversation. “So you two want to join my ranks do you?” Rogan asked condescendingly and Cora waited for their answer. She hoped they told the truth throughout the whole interrogation because she didn’t want to be the one to rat them out. But it was her life on the line, and she would always risk others’ to survive.
As both of them confirmed Rogan’s question, Cora flinched inwardly, waiting for the distortion of words. However none came and looking up at Rogan, she shook her head. He too seemed surprised but he masked it quickly, moving on with his next question.
“And why would that be?” He still had his arms folded casually as he leaned against the desk. He was deliberately leaving the question open and not elaborating so they had more to work for. It also meant they had more room to lie and in effect, slip up.
“Money. You know how tough times are, it’s hard to make a living out there,” Marc answered and the unrecognisable blond murmured his agreement.
This time Cora knew she was going to pick up on something. Unless Marc was really working for Rogan and was going to sell out Mayana’s alliance, she could see no reason for him to want to join. Just as she thought it, the words started to muffle, bending and twisting with falseness.
Instantly Cora picked up on the lie but she didn’t call it out straight away. She didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t show Rogan disloyalty and remain free but she also didn’t want to sell out Marc now that she had joined them—even if he happened to irritate her.
Looking up, she avoided Marc’s eyes. She didn’t want to see the pleading expression or she wouldn’t survive the meeting. Instead she met Rogan’s with a steely look, trying to cover her anguish with annoyance.
“He’s lying.” It was meant to come out strong and confident but in reality, it was just a murmur. Cora tried to resist the urge to hang her head in shame and in the end she settled for keeping her eyes either locked on the floor or a spot on the wall right above the guards’ heads.
“Well as you can see, it’s impossible to lie to me, so I advise you start telling the truth if you don’t want this to end unpleasantly—not that I’m saying it’s going to end well for you anyway.” He paused, giving his words a minute to sink in. “So I’ll ask again. Why do you want to join my ranks?”
“We already told you, money. She’s the one who’s lying.” Marc jerked his head towards Cora, his eyes full of malice at her betrayal.
“So you two just happen to both need money and come to me? It doesn’t have anything to do with a group of people who let’s see...happen to want to kill me and bring down my business?”
Marc’s jaw snapped shut at Rogan’s accusation. Whether he meant to or not, Rogan had hit the bullseye first time and the guys didn’t know how to get out of it. They assumed they could be evasive and that he wouldn’t know, but obviously he was more aware than they’d first imagined.
They had remained silent for too long.
“Well? What is it? Are you looking for money or are you joining to spy on me and aid your own cause from the inside?” Rogan was careful to phrase the questions so they focused on specific details. Cora knew he must have learnt how to avoid getting a false reading when her mum worked for him doing the same thing. By narrowing down and pinpointing the questions to a certain answer, the suspects could not escape the question and avoid her skill.
“Money,” Marc stated stubbornly, his head held high as he answered.
Cora automatically picked up on the lie even though she wasn’t really listening in the first place.
“Lie,” she called out without raising her head to meet anyone’s gaze. She knew what she was doing and what their fate was going to be, but she had to protect herself.
“He’s got you well trained, hasn’t he? You’re the one who’s lying—” Marc spat but Rogan interrupted him, losing his temper for the first time in the interrogation.
“You will not say anything other than to answer my questions. You should be appreciative to Cora, she’s saving you a whole lot of grief to extract the truth. In fact, I think you’ve already forgotten,” he threatened and nodded to his men behind. Immediately each delivered a sharp kick into the two men’s ribs then followed it with a fist and elbow to the back of their heads that sent them sprawling to the floor.
“Do you have to do that with me here?” Cora shouted intervening.
That took Rogan aback. He thought for a moment and Cora didn’t know if she had overstepped. Then genuinely contrite, he apologised. “Yeah I’m sorry, Cora, there was no need for you to see that.” Turning back to the two men grunting in pain. “Don’t insult her or anyone in my employment, understand? I don’t think either of you have grasped the concept that your lives are meaningless and you continuing to breathe depends on the mood I am in so don’t piss me off because right now, I don’t see much reason to keep you around.”
That demonstration of Rogan’s power had silenced Marc as blood dripped from his mouth.
Rogan looked over towards Cora but if he was looking for thanks he was going to be disappointed. Cora was neither thankful nor appreciative of the over-protective fist he had just wielded. If anything she was irritated by his defence, it allied herself with him without her consent, proving Marc right. She wasn’t going to call him on it though, that would have been putting herself in considerable danger.
“So who’s in charge? Who wants to take me down? And how much do you know?
“Not a lot, it’s need to know, she keeps it tight,” the other man muttered and Rogan took Cora’s silence as he was being truthful.
“So your leader’s a woman?” Rogan raised his eyebrow and instantly, the man realised his mistake; he had given way information he hadn’t meant to.
Nodding, he didn’t want to confirm the truth out loud.
“You must answer verbally,” Rogan pressed.
“Yes,” he muttered and Cora didn’t need to bother checking, she already knew Mayana was female.
“Good, you’re learning. Who is she? Give me a name.”
The men shifted nervously on their knees and so did Cora. There was a difference between informing on two men instead of a whole alliance.
Marc was the one to answer. “Anna, she’s called Anna.” As he spoke, he gave Cora a meaningful look, hoping she would bend the truth slightly.
“Anna who?”
“Need to know, she never revealed that.”
“You follow someone whose name you don’t even know?” Rogan spat incredulous. “How dumb are you?” Luckily his exasperation had distracted him from confirming with Cora whether it was the truth, even though she had made up her mind to take the risk on that lie.
“And why does this woman want to destroy me?”
“We don’t know.”
“Then why are you following her?”
“Because we have the same desire.”
“And that would be to kill me?”
“…Yes.”
“Do you know anything that could help me find this woman? Anything that could reveal what she wants?”
“No, she doesn’t stay in one place long. She will already have been notified you have us and moved on.”
“I see, well I guess that makes you both useless to me then,” Rogan said when Cora didn’t pick up any lies.
Lifting his gaze from Marc’s he looked over their shoulder to his men who were still stood over them.
“Cell four. You know what to do, no mess and no screw-ups.”
The men nodded in understanding and Cora’s heart sank. She knew what Rogan had ordered and she knew she had played a part in it. She had sold so many people out to survive but never before had she sentenced someone to death.
As the men were dragged from the room, Rogan reached over his desk to activate the button on the remote that removed the painting to reveal the TV again.
“You’ll want to see this Cora,” Rogan stated, flicking it on to reveal an empty cell.
“Why? You just apologised,” she protested.
“That was real. This is just TV.”
Before long the guards walked into shot, pulling Marc and the other man whose name Cora still didn’t know into line. Forcing them to their knees, they placed them with their backs facing the camera and took up their positions behind them.
Cora saw them reach for their guns slowly and that was all she could take. Turning her head from the screen she refused to witness the actions she had helped cause. Of course part of her was saying Rogan would have killed them without her answers. He knew a lot more than the alliance thought he did and that worry combined with the guilt Cora couldn’t help but feel.
She didn’t look up until Rogan spoke again. However, when she did, she kept her head angled away from the screen just in case.
“You may go back to your flat now,” he said dismissively and without answering Cora rose from her seat under the window and turned to leave.
As she had her hand on the handle, she heard Rogan call out from behind her.
“Oh and Cora? Don’t think I don’t know where your little walk took you. If I were you I would keep to yourself from now on or you may find yourself in a similar situation.” By his stern expression, the threat was implicit.
As Cora left Rogan’s office, she couldn’t purge the guilt from her mind. Marc may have come on a bit too strong the first, and only, time she got to talk to him but she didn’t think he deserved to die. He hadn’t seemed that repulsive and yet Cora couldn’t risk helping him out a little.
Of course, in her heart she knew Rogan would have been able to tell she was lying. Rogan never asked questions he didn’t already know the answer to and because of that she had been trapped. However, what she really didn’t understand was why Rogan had wanted her to watch a live execution. The only reason that came to mind was as a warning. Maybe he was hoping for her to deliver a message, or maybe it was to scare her and bring her into line. But Cora couldn’t understand why he would kill her when she had an ability he needed.
She had declined the ride he offered, wanting to clear her head and walk. Thankfully, Rogan had allowed it when the driver radioed in, so shuffling along the empty streets Cora kicked the odd lump of rubble that crossed her path before following it and allowing it to decide her route.
The other thing that worried her was that Rogan was clearly aware of her meeting with Mayana. She didn’t know how she was going to see them again but after what she had just witnessed there was no doubt in her mind Rogan needed to be stopped.
Slipping her phone from her pocket she dialled Jed’s number, hoping to get a response. But as she had expected, the answering machine kicked in instantly which only led Cora to believe one thing…he was in the underground again.
Ignoring Marc’s words that Mayana would have moved on, Cora clung to the hope that Jed had been telling the truth about how to always find the base. So, making sure she wasn’t being followed—something she highly doubted—she made sure to cover her tracks as best as possible and headed for the nearest tube entrance.
The rock she had been kicking followed her all the way along the dirty paths. At times it rolled into the road and finding it weirdly therapeutic, Cora followed it, not ready to give it up yet. It didn’t matter where it rolled really, everywhere was empty and even the roads held no moving cars. The only sight Cora saw was two of Rogan’s men struggling to haul another man, who was fighting them, back to the mansion. Obviously he owed Rogan something.
Keeping her eyes on the ground, Cora only looked up to make necessary course adjustments before pulling back her foot and releasing the stone another fifteen metres in front of her. It skipped and clicked against the rough surface, the cracks in the road making it bounce around uncontrollably.
As the stone slowed, losing its momentum, Cora found herself staring at a shiny pair of black combat boots. The rock had hit the toe and stopped right at the person’s feet.
Frustrated by the end to her little game, Cora raised her head to glare at the man. But when her eyes met his, she felt her anger grow even more.
Wearing all black, the man’s head was shaved and he had a scar down the left side of his mouth that crinkled horribly as he snarled at her. There was no doubt he belonged to Rogan. He had that kind of hardness about him.
“The boss was curious as to where you think you’re going.”
Cora was obviously expected to reply, but he hadn’t asked a question outright, so she assumed the right to remain silent. She was curious how Rogan seemed to be able to monitor her every move though. She was sure that no one had even been following her. The man standing in front of her said differently.
“How’d you know where I was?” she asked knowing it was a long shot.
“Boss told me. He also told me that I should escort you back to your flat immediately.”
Cora laughed at the thought of the man escorting her anywhere. If there was one reputation she had, it was refusing to obey orders. Obviously the man had not heard about her.
“Oh really, and how do you plan to do that?” Cora cocked her head to the side in question, her face frozen in a disbelieving look.
“I’ve been told to use any means necessary,” he replied stiffly, his hand moving to his gun. It was like he had been programmed to say a certain thing and like the stooge he was, he read from the script exactly. Cora doubted he could think for himself and she doubted he would be able to comprehend what was going on if she deviated from the version of events he was expecting.
Cora knew Rogan’s men weren’t stupid, but they all had a habit of underestimating her—something that worked in her favour.
“Come get me then because there’s no way I’m walking around with you willingly,” Cora taunted, trying to coax him towards her. After realising she had left her bag that contained both of her guns in her flat, she knew she was going to have to use her wit to out manoeuvre him. That or just take him by surprise.
She could see the guy considering his options but it didn’t take long for him to reach the same decision Cora had. The only way he was going to succeed in his task was by force. Taking a step towards her, he ordered his feet to move quickly, hoping not to give her the chance to run.
Instead of fleeing like he expected, Cora planted herself firmly on the ground. Widening her stance she made sure her weight was distributed evenly so she would remain on her feet.
Before he could get too close, Cora attacked.
Bringing her hand back, she pushed it forward with all the strength she could muster. Throwing her whole body behind it, the palm of her hand collided with the man’s nose. Forcing his head backwards, his nose crunched under the force and before he had time to react Cora’s foot was already swinging up between his legs. She could feel her phone slipping from her back pocket but ignoring it, she carried on, not wanting to miss the chance she had been given. It would have been an illegal move had she been fighting in a gym, however in street fights all parts of the body were fair game, especially eyes, throat and groin.
The man didn’t know which part of his body hurt most. He howled in pain as his hands hovered mid-body, confused as to what to clutch at first. Tears leaked from his eyes as blood streamed from his broken nose.
Not needing to be told twice, Cora turned, picking up the two halves of her phone that had fallen apart when it hit the ground, and ran. She would have preferred the man unconscious but she knew he wouldn’t be following her anytime soon.
Sprinting she didn’t look back. She couldn’t hear any footsteps following her so taking a sharp right she stuck with her original plan to head for the nearest tube station entrance. If all else failed, she could hide in the dark until she could either get hold of Jed or enough time had passed for her to think it was safe.
The light started to fade behind her so as she descended the broken escalator, she fumbled to put the case and battery back together. Needing at least a small amount of light, Cora paused, calming her breathing enough to focus on the task at hand.
Taking the battery back out as she had been trying to put it in the wrong way, she lifted it up to turn it around. However, as she was about to put it back in, a red light no bigger than a pin head, caught her attention.
It can’t be
, she thought as she brought her hand up to touch the plastic little square, no bigger than a SIM card that was attached to the bulb. Her instincts were in overdrive, telling her to destroy it. Cora didn’t have a lot of knowledge about the inside of phones but she knew one thing for certain: they weren’t meant to conceal red lights that continued to light up even when the battery wasn’t in it.
Slowly moving her free hand up to the phone she hooked her nail under the piece of flimsy plastic, pulling it off the phone with a snap. Moving the object up to her face she inspected it and without a second thought, she squeezed her fingers together watching it snap in two with a satisfying crack. The bulb faded to black and to be on the safe side Cora crouched down, placing the tracking device under her shoe and grinding it into the step.
It was the only thing she assumed it could be and it would seem the mostly likely option considering Rogan had been able to track her since leaving the mansion on that first day under his employment.
Happy that it was destroyed, Cora quickly put her phone back together and switched it on to use as a torch. The light it emitted was pathetic at best but it was enough for her to read the signs and find the right platform. She just hoped the battery would last long enough for her to find Jed and the rest of the alliance.
Surprisingly, the blackness felt reassuring to Cora as she moved deeper into the tunnel. The darkness that surrounded her acted like a cocoon, concealing her from everything else. It was easy for every sound she made to reverberate through so she trod lightly—anyone following her would be easily detectable, a fact Cora found solace in—as she kept her phone pointed at the floor to make sure she didn’t trip over any detritus that had been dumped.
She kept moving at a steady pace, unsure as to how far she actually had to travel. The light from her phone soon started to fade, and as she turned the screen round to face her, the battery icon in the top right-hand corner was flashing urgently at her.
Cursing under her breath, Cora used the last of the battery to guide herself to the wall and reluctantly put her hand against it. Beneath her fingers the wall was cold, damp and slightly slimy with algae that had coated it. Cora thought it best not to question what it truly was as she started to move forward once more. Her right hand never left the wall, keeping her senses aware while her right-hand still clutched the phone. She hadn’t wanted to risk fumbling for a pocket to put it away.
Wary that people may be following her, Cora moved as quickly as she could in the darkness, wanting to find the others as quickly as possible. However the voices confronted her from further down the tunnel sooner than she expected.
Cora was about to make her presence known when Jed’s voice stopped her.
“Don’t you think she has the right to know? I mean, think about what you’re going to do to her and what will happen when she finds out the truth.”
“Cora will not find out,” a woman who Cora assumed was Mayana replied curtly.
At the mention of her name, Cora reverted back to her slow steps as she crept closer. She wanted to make sure she heard everything they had to say but she didn’t want to be detected. There was a faint glow coming from around the corner but it was too dull to be a platform and that fact led Cora’s curiosity to lead her closer still.
Jed and Mayana had travelled away from the group for a reason and Cora intended to find out why as she sat back to listen.
“What? She won’t find out that you’re really just using her? That you don’t care about her well-being at all? She’s smart Mayana, you know she is. Don’t think you can keep something like that from her for long.” Jed slouched against the tunnel wall, frustrated at being stuck in the middle of Mayana’s crazy plan. He knew he had chosen sides when he accepted her offer but nowhere in the contract for her mini mafia did it state he had to lie and betray a girl who didn’t know what she was getting herself into.
“Of course she’s smart, she has to get it from somewhere and it certainly wasn’t that waste-of-space mother of hers,” Mayana spat and Cora almost ran around the corner to challenge her.
Cora couldn’t understand what Mayana meant by her statement but one thing was clear to her: there were many people who knew more about her history than she did. That fact was starting to irritate Cora.
“Mayana just think about what you are trying to get her to do will you. What would you think if the roles were reversed?” Jed sighed, exasperated. In truth he didn’t really know why he was fighting Cora’s corner, but something deep within him felt the urge to protect her. Cora didn’t know what Mayana wanted to do to her and she deserved to hear the truth before she decided anything. In the end that’s what was driving him to pursue the argument with Mayana.
“Why are you bothering, Jed? You don’t have feelings for her, do you? Because you know this isn’t going to end well for her.” Mayana took on a sneering and sinister tone as she moved closer to read Jed’s expression.
His eyes were narrowed and his face hardened in response. “Of course I don’t have feelings for her. I want Rogan to die as much as the next person in here but I don’t agree with what you are planning.”
“And why is that?” she asked slowly, as if considering every word before it left her mouth.
“Are you kidding me? You seriously cannot see what is wrong with your plan?” Jed asked incredulously, his voice increasing in volume along with his frustration.
Cora could see the shadows flickering ominously on the walls as he threw his arms up into the air to emphasise his words. She could not see his face though and she was still no clearer on what they were talking about. All she knew was they were both being truthful. She had already assumed Mayana wanted her for some reason. That wasn’t what was bothering her. The real reason her mind was spinning was that it felt like there was something deeper going on and for some reason everyone but her was in on the secret.
“Rogan must fall Jed and she is the only weapon we have. We all know Kirby isn’t up to the job of succeeding Rogan. Even he knows that. Why do you think everything has been left to her should he die? He will do anything to get her back and if not we must make sure she is controllable so that when Rogan falls, she will do as we say.”