Adrenaline

Chapter 3

Although Carson Silver remains impassive, there's a tension to his jaw that sets me on edge, instinct begging me to take the necessary steps towards Alec and drag him out of the door.

"Yes?" Superiority laces through his tone, and I force myself to shake off the instinctual resistance to being looked down on.

Alec won't appreciate being snapped at like a incompetent child, that's for damn sure, yet all I can do is trace my thumb over the tips of my fingers and hope he has the sense not to bite back.

"Does this not seem unnecessary, Mr. Silvers? It's almost like forcing a small, volatile pride of lions, to protect a bigger, more condensed pride. Pointless, no?"

Tilting his head, Alec clenches his fists behind his back as Carson lifts his chin, a dull, hollow laugh echoing in the air around him. It's cold, and detached and empty and wrong. Carson Silvers mental stability seems to be holding on by a very thin thread, an agitated, restless edge to his movements that reminds me of a pigeon on crack.

The man - who I can only assume is Carson's son - looks on with concealed disinterest. There's no impatience, nor any wild shine to his eyes. A blank slate, an unreadable book, and entirely too closed off for me to find a chink in his armour. I don't like it.

There's a certain arrogance to him; an atmosphere that implies there is no need to try because he will be better, stronger, faster. I had gotten too comfortable at the top of the food chain, and he served as a cold reminder. Something about him has my temper flaring, exposing one of my only detectable weaknesses. Temperamental assassins are unpredictable, and unpredictable never gets hired.

"The Academy is used for training purposes, Mr..."

It's obvious Carson is well-aware of our surname, the way his lips quirk upward for a split-second gives it away. He wants to rile Alec, push him over the edge with this irritating charade of superiority, test the limits of his ability to remain calm and collected under patronising scrutiny.

"Alec Rose," then, after a brief moment, "Sir."

"Mr. Rose, as I said: The Academy is a training ground. We have rejects from the armed forces, children barely pushing double digits driven by vengeance, trauma victims desperate to become the hunter and no longer the hunted. Can you imagine the chaos if they were to be released onto the streets? They have no direction in life, no purpose but to kill and maim and hurt anyone who gets in their way. We do not tolerate savages within these walls. They are taught, trained, pushed into a life that is sustainable, profitable even. However, you must not forget, that these are just people until we make them more. Until they reach their full potential they are nothing. Unequipped to protect themselves, never mind each other. So no, Alec. You would not be the lions protecting the pride. You are the lions protecting the sheep. Do we understand each other?"

"Yes, Sir." Nodding once in understanding, Alec steps back slightly as a sign of respect which seems to appease Mr. Silvers who casts his gaze over the rest of the group, lingering for a moment on my face before throwing a glance back to Alec. He's recognised that we're twins.

"That one is going to get himself killed." Autumn's hushed whisper is barely audible yet my breath still hitches slightly, unnoticeable to most, startlingly obvious to me. Alec will never leave me. Alec can't ever leave me. If something happened to him, there would be no point in my heart continuing to beat, or my lungs fighting to contract. There is no me without him.

If joining The Academy signed Alec's death warrant, mine would follow immediately behind, happier to be dead than alone.

"Didn't you arrive with him? Athena?" I'm fairly certain it is Kara who nudges me. I don't see her, but given the height difference between her and Autumn, it's was a fair assumption.