Risk and Rebel's Guide Book

UNDER > EXCERPT

LASAR HQ

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Under knew many things that the rest of the LASAR agents did not. She had information that not even Team Alpha, not even Quiz, was privy to. And not because it had been given to her. Under had learned very early on that what Boss and Gray would give to her was as limited as what they'd give to the rest.

She also learned that she could take more without them ever having any idea.

That was how she ended up knowing that Boss' real name was Easton Tycho. 

How she learned Boss had a son.

How she learned that, those of them who had superpowers, had experienced a considerable amount of genetic engineering before their entry into the world. 

How there had been other genetic experiments who had ultimately failed, which she quickly learned translated to died. 

It was how Under learned that sometimes, Boss had taken them from adoption agencies. Other times, they'd found women willing to endure the genetic testing for money. 

What she learned about her fellow agents was another matter entirely. Early on Under determined that Team Charlie were two people she never wanted to spend extensive time around, no matter the reason. She refused to do mission work with them. She refused to do training with them. She knew what went on in their heads, unlike everyone else in the agency, and it was terrible. 

When the rivalry between Alpha and Charlie turned into full on enmity, Under was not surprised, nor was she perturbed. Aim and Gambler had black hearts and wicked minds. They were brimming with the desire to kill, and had been armed with the resources and abilities to do so. If most of the agents already had a hard time tapping into their humanity, Aim and Gambler's had flat out died long ago. 

Under couldn't take it. Couldn't take them.

Everyone else was different. Each of them had their own quirks, their own little mental signatures. Rage's mind was eerily silent, thus making his company soothing. Quiz's mind was constantly buzzing with a background feed of ones and zeroes running by, almost like a sidebar. Outlaw had a tendency of playing 'what in this room can I use to make a bomb,' when she got bored -- which was often -- and her thoughts were best distinguished by their leap-frogging from point A to point H to point X, all the way back to point C. Snag's mind moved the fastest out of any human being Under had ever, and would ever, encounter. It was a miracle that Under could understand any of it. 

Howler's thoughts were colored by a constant search for new ways to blend in. Low's mind seemed to work best in processing and identifying patterns, yet her essence was one of surprising warmth. Legion was the calm analytic of Bravo, drinking everything in without missing so much as a crack in a wall, while Sergeant's thoughts were quick and snappy, each clipped and determined with an incredible amount of assurance. And then there was Risk and Rebel. They were so in sync that if Under hadn't been a telepath herself, she would've sworn they were mentally linked. Their silent communication was seamless, and the way their minds worked was proof to her that they were the best to handle Charlie.

She was always confident in that. When the other agents grew wary of the tension between the two teams, she was unmoved, always at an inexplicable peace. Because at the end of the day, Under knew something that the rest of LASAR didn't.

This was a war that Aim and Gambler just couldn't win. They would never have what Risk and Rebel did -- the closeness, the fluidity. And without that . . . they were ultimately destined to lose. Over and over again. 

She was determined to remind herself of that until the end of her days.