With Love And War- Book Five In The United Series

Chapter Twenty

Max's POV:

Oh gods. Leo is missing and I have no way of finding him. He's not a Garde, we can't track him with the tablet.

I start to really panic when I hear the hum of an engine rise into the air. I look out the window and see a big skimmer just starting to fly away. I look back at everyone else. We all know that Leo's there and that we have to get him back.

I sprint to the roof of the John Hancock and the skimmer is just starting to fly away.

"Max, I'm coming with you," I hear a male voice call from behind me. I turn around and see Jason walking up to me. I'm about to protest, knowing that he might get hurt, when he interrupts me.

"I know it'll be dangerous, but you might need a way out, and I can always fly," Jason reminds me. I look back at the skimmer that's now flying away. I bite my lip and look back at Jason.

"Okay, fine," I reply. Jason smiles then lifts himself into the air. I begin to fly as well and Jason and I fly to the skimmer. Jason keeps close to me just in case I lose my legacies and fall.

Before I know it, Jason and I land in the skimmer, breaking the window and killing the pilot. We put the skimmer on hover (I'm surprised a skimmer even has that) and rush out of the pilot's room. The skimmer isn't nearly as big as the Anubis, but it's still a lot bigger than most skimmers. It can hold all the Mogs we were fighting in the John Hancock, so yeah, it's pretty big.

Jason and I find the hall of cells and search each one but Leo isn't there. I start to panic again but Jason places his hand on my shoulder and I know that I have to stay calm if I want to find Leo. We run down the hall and that's when I hear a familiar hum of a machine. The sound makes me feel anxious and a bit scared, mostly because I know where it's from- it's from the machine Dr. Zakos used to experiment on me. I sprint to the room it's coming from and peek into it with Jason. Leo is there, strapped onto a chair, with the same machine used on me connected to it. I can tell Leo tried to burn his way out of the chair since the straps on his wrists are charred and black, but it didn't burn it completely. I look at the machine and see another doctor Mogadorian pressing a series of buttons on it. I can't let this happen to Leo, and I'm not going to.

I pull out a pistol I always have with me and cock it. I slowly rise and I'm about to kick the door open when Jason stops me.

"Wait, Max, look over there," Jason points to the other side of the room where the one and only Octavian is standing, smirking down at Leo. More rage builds up inside me when I realize that I can once again pretend to be Setrákus Ra.

"Jason, I'm going to pretend to be Setrákus Ra again, okay?" I tell Jason. He nods his head, looking determined.

"What should I do?" He asks, gripping his gold sword tightly. I look back at the room and am about to respond when Jason speaks up again. "You can pretend to have captured me."

I think about that for a second before nodding my head. Jason smiles at me.

"Okay, let's go," he tells me. He gives me his sword and I pull him up by the back of his shirt. Jason makes himself look weak and tired with an expression full of anger. I open the door and push Jason in and he lands on his knees on the ground. Octavian smirks and looks at me with amusement.

"Max?!" Leo exclaims, looking up at me with a confused and heartbroken face. This shatters me, seeing him like this- bruised and bloody and strapped to a chair, and now he probably thinks that I'm a traitor and turned Jason in.

"Oh, poor Valdez. You really don't know anything, do you?" Octavian taunts Leo. I feel like punching him right now but I know I can't without blowing my cover.

"Max, what are you doing?" Leo asks me, his voice cracking. I ignore him, trying my best to not look sad or heartbroken at the way Leo is talking to me, like I betrayed him and told him I never truly loved him.

"You told me Number Two has been captured, where is she?" Octavian asks me, looking slightly suspicious.

"I sent her and a few other Mogadorians to the Anubis to continue her testing," I answer bluntly. Octavian nods and looks at the Mogadorian scientist, who's glaring at me and slowly reaching for his pistol.

"No need for that, Doctor Anu. This isn't Number Two," Octavian explains. I glance at Leo and he looks confused.

"Then who is it?" Dr. Anu asks, his hand still inching towards his pistol on the table next to him.

"Answer that yourself," I reply, once again revealing the purple scar on my neck. Dr. Anu immediately understands.

"So sorry Beloved Leader, I thought you were-" He starts but I cut him off.

"That has happened before, no need to apologize for it," I tell him harshly then turn to the machine.

"How is it going?" I ask Octavian with a steely voice.

"Perfect, Beloved Leader. If this goes right, we'll be able to see exactly how Number Two was resurrected," Octavian answers, staring proudly at the machine in front of us.

"And how many are there?" I question, crossing my arms with Jason's sword still in my hands.

"Two, sir. Just this one and the one on the Anubis, which I assume they're using on Number Two right now," Octavian answers, looking smug.

"Wait, you aren't-" Leo starts, now staring at me with a look of pure hatred, which is honestly a lot worse than when he looked at me like I betrayed him.

"Jackson?" Octavian finishes for Leo, smirking down at him. "No, Valdez. Your girl is gone, and you'll never see her again. Get over it," Octavian barks.

Jason glances at me and slowly lifts himself to his hands and knees, flashing me one of those leader looks, like he's nonverbally ordering me to do something. His eyes flick towards Dr. Anu before focusing back at the floor. I secretly glance at the doctor and see that he's suspiciously glaring at Jason and I. He doesn't buy it. I catch Jason's eye again and his expression screams 'Prove it'. I lightly nod my head once and Jason slowly starts to lift himself to his feet.

"Hey-" Octavian starts as I just barely manage to bottle up any guilt and kick Jason's side hard. He falls onto his other side and quickly regains himself, jumping to his feet and almost tackling Octavian. I grab a fistful of his shirt and push him back, tripping him with my foot. He falls on his back again and I jump on top of him, grabbing his right arm, holding down his left arm with my knee, and lightly pushing my arm down on his throat. Jason fakes a scowl but has a satisfied and proud glint in his eyes. I climb off of him and take a step back.

"Cuff him to the chair," I order Octavian, pointing to an empty metal chair to the side of the room. Octavian nods and drags Jason to the chair, pulls out a pair of handcuffs, then cuffs one of Jason's wrists and the other to the chair. Jason glares at Octavian while he smirks down at him. I look back at Dr. Anu, thankfully now looking convinced, who's busy with the machine and Octavian is busy with Jason. I look back at Leo, who's now glaring at me with an ever fiercer gaze after I hit Jason. I wink at him and he gives me a confused look. I give him a quick smile before turning back to Octavian, who's taunting Jason about his capture.

"Give it a rest, Octavian," I bark at him. Octavian stops and gives Jason one last smirk before turning back to me.

"It's done," Dr. Anu calls. I look at him and the machine is whirring to life, lighting up and emitting a soft hum. I glance at Leo, who looks almost ready to be experimented on, but I'm not going to let that happen.

I shut my eyes tight, look down, and rub my temple with two of my fingers. Octavian notices what I'm doing and automatically starts getting worried, which disgusts me. I do not want Octavian being worried about me, thank you very much.

"Beloved Leader, what's wrong?" Octavian asks me with a worried tone.

"Nothing," I reply coldly but Octavian doesn't let it go, which is exactly what I need.

"I'll go find something to help you, Beloved Leader," Octavian promises and walks towards the door. Everything is perfect right now. There's only one more thing I need, and that's guts. I need the guts to kill Octavian.

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