Breed

Chapter Sixteen

Roxy had never flown in a helicopter before. Watching cities fly past beneath as the sun began to set was an entirely new experience.

She still wasn't sure how to feel about Mikaela. Something about her rubbed Rox the wrong way, but especially now, on the same mission together, it was hard not to feel a shared purpose with the other girl.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, and Mikaela perked up. "I know I've been kind of a bitch. I think... I like being the go-to person, and it seems like you've been stepping on my toes a lot, lately. But that really doesn't excuse it, either. And I'd rather bury the hatchet here, than keep sniping."

"Yeah," Mikaela said. "And I'm sorry, too. I was so wrapped up in being new, I never really stopped to ask what me coming here meant for those who were already here. And if I'm honest..."

"No, you should definitely lie to me," Rox deadpanned.

She smiled. "It sucks that you've got so much of your shit together. I'm four years older than you, or thereabouts. And we're both in practically the same boat. It's definitely intimidating, knowing that someone who can't even drink yet is basically my equal."

"Or vote," Rox said.

"You enjoy twisting the knife, don't you?"

"Immensely." she said with a grin.

"It's there," Kean said from the front of the chopper.

"You sure?" Linc asked. "Because it's a thoroughly nondescript warehouse in a sea of thoroughly nondescript warehouses. Of particular note, most nondescript warehouses aren't reinforced for helicopter landings."

"It's the correct building, and yes, they have reinforced the roof for transports such as ours. Useful for completing the disappearance of a prisoner."

"And they know we're coming?"

"Yes. They won't be welcoming us with open arms, but they also want be welcoming us with firearms, either."

"You really know how to set a guy's mind at ease," Linc said, and started their descent. The wind buffeted their helicopter as it neared the roof, which shook as it touched down. Immediately, men with assault rifles and riot gear ran towards them.

"I thought you said they wouldn't be welcoming us with firearms," Linc said.

"I said they wouldn't be firing them, not that they wouldn't be wearing them. It's a show of force- an attempt at intimidation."

"I don't like bullies."

"I'm aware. And that's why you'll be staying with the helicopter. I wouldn't put it past them to tamper with it, for one. And for another, it removes you from a temptation to start swinging. Ladies? We're needed inside."

Rox and Mikaela followed Kean out of the helicopter. An overzealous officer pointed his rifle at them as they passed. Kean melted him with a glare. "They're students, not terrorists. Show a modicum of restraint."

They passed through a set of doors. Inside, it looked like any other office building, completely nondescript on the inside as well as on the out. But that made a degree of sense. It wasn't likely the city was going to allocate a large budget for redecorating their black prison sites.

"They let us in," Mikaela said breathlessly.

"Yes. I find things tend to fall into place around Miss Molina," he said, and smiled at Rox.

A man with short, dirty blond hair and a disheveled suit and tie was waiting for them on the other side. "Dr. Kean," he said curtly, "if you'll follow me."

"Yes. I was hoping to send one of the students I brought with me to meet with Mohammad. Simply to try to calm him down. The boy has been through quite a lot."

"Sure. They'll have to go through the metal detectors, and a pat down."

"Of course. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that your officers are twitchy."

"No one's supposed to know about this facility, let alone land a helicopter on top of it."

"And you don't think the very existence of such a facility flies in the face of the public's trust? Shouldn't it be the rest of us made twitchy by this development?"

"Hey, I think we all get to act twitchy on this one."

"Yes, but your men were pointing automatic weapons in the faces of college students. That's the problem with treating our kind as something monstrous. Those foolish enough to believe the propaganda will treat us as you would monsters."

"I'll give them a talking to."

"I appreciate the gesture. But it's a futile one. It's the fear that's been mongered into the boy that's at issue, not that he acted on it."

"Yeah, well, I don't control the evening news, though god knows I wish I did."

"While it's true enough that no one of us can control things, it does not absolve us of our place in the machine, or the evil that machine does."

"These are the holding cells." Their guide stopped in front of an officer in a blue uniform. "One of the girls is going to go in to see Mohammad. Put her through the usual screening." She nodded her head.

"Mikaela, if you would," Kean said. Mikaela's eyes became wide. She had assumed Rox was here to visit him, since she was closer to the boy's age, and had more experience dealing with orienting new students. He sensed her hesitation. "It's why I asked you along. You're still new, still have that wide-eyed view of our world. Mahmoud has been through quite the ordeal, already. You're a friendly face, who understands what it's like to be thrust quite abruptly into a new world. And I need Roxy myself, at the moment. We may need all the luck we can get. Just listen," he said finally. "I have every faith in you."