I, Cassandra

08 | RYAN MADDOX

'You've been brought to Alpha VII,' Akron answers, watching me for a reaction. I give him none. He tilts his head towards the apartment's interior. 'This is—was—Henrik's home.'

I glance around, my interest deepening. I'm certain now, whatever the executive order has financed me into, I'm worth a lot. Much more than Akron is letting on. Alpha VII is for the elite of the elite—even Akron isn't good enough to be here. I realise he's only here because of me, to debrief me as my commanding officer. I keep my expression bland. 'It's been sixteen years since Henrik disappeared. I'm surprised they didn't give this place to someone else.'

'A-Seven has been maintaining it in case he turned up again,' Akron says, but he looks away, feigning interest in the visual of the Nordic snowstorm sweeping past the dining area. A white-capped wave breaks against the rocky shore. It's beautiful. Envy slices into me. Life isn't bad in Omega V, but it's nothing like this. This is a whole other thing, and compared to the exclusion zones, like the one where I found Blue, this is a fantasy. My heart clenches, regret, then remorse strike me in quick succession. No, not Blue. Cassandra. The Oracle. The one who drugged me, learned about my next mission, and kissed me goodbye, knowing all my men would die.

'Given the recent developments, this property has now come under the jurisdiction of A-Seven's authority. It has been reserved for a new resident.' He looks back at me, bland. 'Cassandra Vallis.'

I blink. 'I don't understand.' I say, and mean it. He just convinced me she is the enemy; the reason all my men died, and now she gets a free ticket into Alpha VII? It makes no sense.

Akron smiles, close-lipped, tight. He nods at the closed doors. 'Until Genesis II goes live, this will be where she will stay. She doesn't get past these doors. The whole floor has been secured for mission purposes.'

'But why here and not back at headquarters at O-Five?' I ask.

'Because Genesis II is here. And there are too many other players looking for her, lower down the chain. There is too much risk she might be taken out from under our noses. Orders are to get her here, alive, using deep covert.' He lifts his hand, stopping me from asking whose orders. 'A-Seven calls the shots now. I am the only officer outside of A-Seven who knows about Vallis and her connection to Genesis II.'

'And you know all this because—?' I ask, but feel like I am starting to see the picture, at least the outline of it.

'Because of your memories,' Akron says, flat. 'As your CO, I have to read them and submit a report. Elites were in my office within ten minutes of me seeing Vallis. You know they can see everything in our systems. Facial recognition caught it.'

'So you're a security risk now?' I scoff.

He doesn't meet my eyes. 'I've been reassigned.'

'To?'

'For now, debriefing you,' he says, and opens the door. Two Elites—A-Seven's private military personnel, the majority of them repurposed from what was left of Israel's Defense Force—sit at a glass smartdesk in a wide, plush-carpeted, neutral-toned corridor, the desk's surface covered with screens flicking from one image to another. Both men wear wireless earpieces. I lean forward, discreet, to see what's on the screens. Upside-down views of the interior of Henrik's apartment scroll past: the bedroom where I woke up, the toilets, the showers, the kitchen, dining room, another bedroom, behind the bar, the front door, everywhere. I'm certain they have listened to our entire conversation.

Akron salutes them. I don't, determined to exploit what few perks there are of being a machine. Without looking up, one of the Elites slides from his seat, turns his back to us and walks down the corridor, ignoring us. Akron's humiliation is tangible. I almost feel sorry for him. Almost. Outside of A-Seven, he's someone, but in here, he's nothing. Just like me. One point for the droid. I follow after Akron and our black-bereted escort.