The Youth Division

Chapter 9

9.

My body ached. Mira looked at me worried. "You ok?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

"Josh, about the club..."

"What about it?"

She looked nervous. "Those things I said...were-"

Raven burst in the room. "JOSH! VIKKI IS GOING TO YOUR MOTHERLAND!!"

Viktoria is going to Canada? Why? "Why is Viktoria going to Canada?"

"You might want to see this."

She showed me hacked text messages from Wei and Viktoria's phone. It was texts from Jesse. 15 minutes after the incident last night. It read;

"You coming?"

"On my way."

"You better."

"OK! The plane le-

aves tomorrow at

6 right?"

"Yup. See you there."

They were leaving in two hours. We need to get on that flight. "Jason-"

"Already bought the tickets, mate."

I smiled. Mitch walked into the room with a lot of bombs. "Is this enough, J?"

"Plenty. Josh, get suited up. We leave in 10."

***---__+__---***

We boarded the plane on schedule. Viktoria was, sure enough, there. We sat three rows behind her. I looked to Pyra, and she looked furious. She hated taking off, and that's why she slept the entire way there. She was pissed because she couldn't sleep. I gave her a mint so she could stop her ears from popping. She smiled. "Sir, would you like a drink?" I turn my head. It was Jesse. I turn for my gun. He put up his hands. "Wait, wait!"

"Tell me one good reason I shouldn't shoot you right now."

He pointed to his head. "Viktoria programmed me to be hostile towards attackers, e.g. you. But I reverse engineered it so that I'm passive to everyone, but can still kill people. Like her."

I knew it. When the shootout happened with Brayden, Jesse was not himself. He was usually a very nice kid. Jess and I were friends in high school, before I had any affiliation with secrets and spies. He was the nicest kid in the school. But then he shot 12 people and got away, right after missing a week of school. That week must have been Nacht re-programming him. I forgot to mention, his entire brain is cybernetic. Programmable. Corruptible. "How can I trust you?"

"Your favourite colour is red, you liked 7 girls in high school, and I was the first one to read your book."

"True, but what's my favourite saying?"

He thought for a moment. "Sic Parvis Magna."

It was Jesse. "Greatness from small beginnings!"

I shook his hand. He turned to me. "So how are you going to assassinate Viktoria?"

I flashed my silenced UMP .45. He awed. But a large explosion interrupted our scheming. The engine blew out. I forgot that we were airborne and over the Pacific Ocean. Viktoria stood up and looked at me. "See you later, hot stuff." She winked and hopped out the side of the plane. I threw up on the inside. "Jesse, please tell me that you can fly a plane."