Catabolism - Part Two: Diplopia

Chapter Thirteen

It took all of three seconds for Taliah to call his bluff, which was about half a second longer than Leon expected. He stood silently, watching her face change from concealed apprehension, twisting into pointed suspicion. Brows furrowed, lips pursed, a challenge. Leon almost broke.

"And they say I'm dramatic," she grumbled, reaching behind her head, untangling her mussed up half-chignon out of its band.

"You are," he shot back, not moving, not breaking. She still did not trust him, not enough.

Her response was to shake out her hair. He had only seen it down when she was sleeping, and if she thought it was going to distract him, she was only a little right. She raked her fingers through her wind-swept, chestnut and white hair, clearly stalling. Wanting him to make the first move, which would give her time to consider her next move.

But she had come with him. That was a win. That meant something. Ulterior motives aside. He had spent nearly an hour just arguing with himself, weighing pros and cons. In the end, he caved, telling himself it was part of his job to get answers. How he got them was open to interpretation.

And one answer was right there, on the tip of a very secretive tongue. It was true that he did not want the BSAA possibly listening in, considering. And in his defense, he had a better chance of getting any answer like this. Just the two of them. Like before.

He sucked in a breath. "It was Ada, wasn't it?"

He noted how Taliah paused for half a beat, faltering as she pulled some of her hair back away from her face. Her eyes flicked up to him before dashing away.

"She killed Elliott, didn't she?"

He had suspected for a while. He could not think of anyone else who would go after Elliott, but also be able to slip in and out of the facility undetected. Well, mostly undetected. Elliott had been paranoid about a security breach for a reason. All of the employees had been cleared.

Taliah's pout shifted from suspicious to defiant, and even before she opened her mouth, Leon knew he had his answer.

"We're even now," was all she said, looking away to finish tying back her hair, smoothing down her wispy bangs. Even when she stilled, her eyes did not find him again.

That was not exactly what he expected to hear. "Meaning?" It was a struggle to keep the accusation out of his voice.

He saw her huff, shoulders dropping an inch. "It was our agreement. I saved her, she killed him." Her gaze hit him like a bullet. "Relax, I'm not trying to steal your girl."

Leon shook his head. That was not at all what was bothering him. It also was not the first time Taliah had alluded to their pseudo relationship, despite having already been told by him that it was beyond complicated.

Your girl. If that was true, then where was she?

Not the point, he reminded himself harshly. "I haven't heard from her since that night."

He remembered it perfectly, sitting in the cold, bone-deep pain radiating through his body. The silence, the worry, the guilt, the uselessness. And then, just when he was considering going back in himself, Ada came running through the tunnel. She grabbed him, pulled. Stared straight ahead.

We have to get away from here, she had said, not looking at him. It's set to blow.

What happened? he remembered asking, over and over. Where is she?

The explosions had begun by the time she spoke again. I'm sorry, she had said, voice tight and expression empty. I didn't get to her fast enough. She slipped away soon after, leaving him alone to deal with the aftermath.