Cardinal

Chapter 13

"Hey, darling. How have you been? Sit, sit!" Bath urges as I sit on a dusty chair in his office. 

He likely knows more than me at this point and decide I needed to be honest with everything. 

"I'm having a hard time keeping this from them, Bath. I'm not sure I can do it anymore without causing more damage to my unit. The links are...straining me." 

I know he hears the desperation in my voice. The unit, specifically, the links, are my priority. I make sure he knows that. 

"I don't think I have to remind you of the grave situation you're in. What we're all in. The fewer people know, the better. Only Alfonso, you, and I are privy to the situation. None of the magistrates have been enlightened with this information either."

I close my eyes, trying to reign in my emotions, my curse rummaging around my body, looking for a source to latch on to. 

"There's a mole, in the magistrate..." He whispers, looking around like somebody's going to hear our conversation. Though, I'm sure this room is built like a bunker and could probably survive a nuclear attack. I don't think Bath will allow anyone to bug this room. 

I shake off his crazy vibes and get back to the topic at hand. The truth. 

"Why am I back? Why did Uncle Brutus let my links find me, Bath? They're in danger with me here! I can't live with myself if something happened to them. I can't! This is all because of me." 

"Do not blame this on yourself, Lily. You were targeted by evil because of your unique powers. You're not responsible for other people's actions. Remember that well." He tells me sternly, all the signs of the mad, odd scientist gone. Dad mode is in place. Like Jekyll and Hyde. 

I also don't point out that he forgets my name is not Lily. Crazy bastard. 

 "We'll bring them down and stop this madness! So many people, so many innocent lives, gone, for what? Power, greed! The monstrosity!" He enunciates his last word with a slam of his fist on the table. 

"You're getting stronger. I can feel it, Lily. You need training. I suggested to Brutus to have you come back, despite his reluctance. There's no one else who can train you besides Alfonso. You'll be a weapon untrained if Mortem gets their hands on you. I left a trail of crumbs for your links to find you. They were getting pretty insistent now anyways. This was the last choice." 

So, running was moot. Escape is not a choice now. Bath wanted me here. Got it. I'm trying to process this in my head. I should have known the only person who had this much pull to take me out of hiding was Bath. 

"We can discuss more later, but for now, let's talk about your training and classes." He announces a little too excitedly. 

I don't like his excitement. This means trouble for me. He looks through the stack of paper on his desk and gingerly removes a file in the middle of the five-foot stack. 

He rifles through the papers there and starts to whisper about my records. Oh, no here we go, my aptitude test scores. 

"You've always been proficient with weaponry since you were 10. You could shoot a bullet through a half a centimeter hole in the wall 100 yards away. Don't think I forgot about that! You've got your fathers to thank for that. May their souls rest in peace." He softly says the last part. 

It leaves an ache in my heart knowing that I'll never see them again and I quickly tap down the emotions running to the surface. I need to stop letting grief rule me and focus at this task. 

"...Battle strategies were your strength in your aptitude. Hmm. We're putting you on the merc team. Yes, yes. Brilliant! You'll follow the merc team training." Bath says with a giddy tone, excitement clear as day. 

I don't mirror his excitement. Quite the opposite. I'm screwed. 

Fuck me. Mercenary team. The elite of the elite. Basically muscle and the military force of the gifted. Hired on by non-gifted for professional work. Used by the magistrate for things that rhyme with filling. 

Low-level physicals weren't even eligible for the merc team. Their gifts wouldn't even touch the other merc's gifts. 

Mercenary work was how the gifted made their money. About 80% of the gifteds' income largely flowed from the private sector of the different countries' governments and their covert dealings. We chose to do things in secrecy and not reveal the lovely genetic abnormality that gave us more power and more advantages than the Homo Sapiens. Therefore, most of the work we do and most of our income came from Team-A type of shit. You make more money when you do things discreetly. 

Government secret wars, weapons trading/selling, intelligence operations, assassinations, etc. 

Yeah, the gifted's moral compass was slightly skewed. However, there is a different moral compass for a society to function where almost everyone has an advantage. 

I'm largely freaking out in my head at this news. Sweat beads in my forehead in apprehension.

I have never nor will I ever be physically inclined. I wasn't obese but I wasn't skinny either. Definitely not fit enough to survive whatever training the merc team does. 

Merc team training was hard, grueling work...which probably explains why my links were jacked. They were a merc team. Fuck me. How did I not put this together before? 

"I can't walk in a straight line, Bath. I'm literally physically inept. Can't I be trained with the interrogation team or better yet, the academics? I swear I'm a good student."

I'm desperate at this point. My fathers and my mother were a merc team, but they focused more on the interrogation part of it, as my mother's unique gift could basically seek the truth without resulting in more...deadly measures. 

He rolls his eyes and puffs in disbelief at my protest. 

"My girl. The interrogation team will not prepare you for an attack from the enemy. With your gifts, you need to train with Alfonso. He'll keep you safe. You can keep yourself safe. You can keep your links safe..." He rattles off more bullshit reasons on why I should be on the merc team.

"This means that my links will find out about my gift, Bath." I look at him with wide eyes. 

He taps his chin, looking as nonchalant as ever while deciding on my new reality. 

"Hm, I guess we have no choice. Times are dire. We'll have to let them in the fold, Lily."  

I'm not ready for them to see me as a monster yet.