Betrayal: Book 3 of the Guardians Saga

Ch. 8.1 From Implosion to Explosion

Brockner had lost his crisp, secure look as he ran after Gabe on the oak lined sidewalk. His greasy, unkempt hair, his sweat-stained suit, his nervous twitches, all spoke of urgency.

Gabe drew his sword and watched dispassionately as the man leaned against a black cast iron fence and tried to catch his breath. Brockner held up his hands to show they were empty.

Rile watched from farther away because his eavesdropping had always served him well.

"I know you don't trust me, but at least hear me out." Brockner swallowed hard and gulped in more air. "You and your friends are in terrible danger. We all are."

He shook his head and briefly leaned his forehead in despair against the wall. Then he shook himself and straightened. His eyes had lost none of their desperation. "Now that Alex has been restored to her full potential, we have to stop her."

"We? I don't trust Alex but I certainly don't trust you." Gabe pointed his sword at him.

"I don't blame you. You can't help the way you feel about her."

Gabe moved away from the man, unwilling to face any discussion of his relationship with Alex.

"I never would have hurt your friend or your brother. I was testing Alex, to see just what powers and what part of her personality and memories had been restored. We built the perfect agent. Too perfect. We gave her the ability to stun, to kill, to inflict agonizing pain . . . if only we had stopped there. But we thought that greatest achievement of all was the ability to inspire love and devotion in whomever she chooses. It's perfect, don't you see?

"If you can't threaten or torture the information you need out of someone, simply make them fall senselessly in love with you. Then you have all the information you ever wanted. Every secret, every rumor will be spilled out in the heat of passion. And in case you need it, you have an ally, an insider to help you destroy whatever you wish. Can't you understand that you're just another victim?"

"Why should I believe you?" Gabe asked.

Brockner knew that seeing beneath the surface was the real key to control. The creature already believed the worst about Alex and wanted to be proven wrong. But he was here alone. There was no one here to reassure him, no brother to point out his lover's loyalty or to correctly interpret her actions.

There was only Brockner, who planned to twist him until he jumped through hoops of betrayal.

"Here, please listen to this. It's only a sample. She'd kill me if she knew I had recorded this. She may anyway, though. I know the truth about her." Brockner looked nervously over his shoulder as he pulled out a small electronic device. He pushed the play button and held it out for him but Gabe made no move to touch it.

"I've played this freak for long enough and I'm tired of it," Alex's voice, the same ugly, hard voice he had heard when he watched her in that building, sidled out of the machine. "When are you going to take care of them? I've got better things to do than play Beauty and the Beast. Is something wrong?" There was screeching before it went silent.

"I had to stop recording before she could suspect. I know it must be hard for you to accept."

"It was all a lie." Gabe said, almost inaudible, but Brockner didn't have to hear him well to know what he was saying.

Brockner's excellently trained face showed no sign of his thoughts. "Look, no one likes being used. It's . . . well, it's humiliating to have been shown up as some kind of trusting idiot."

"Shut up." Gabe snatched the device and dashed away.

Brockner concealed his smile by habit. He knew to never let them know what's going on beneath your surface.