When All Else Fails (A Push of a Button Novella)

Chapter Thirteen

CORENTIN CROSSED HIS arms and stared at Seb. The older man's hard stare made him wish he could bury himself in the sand. He stared at the floor. Turned out, the Dane Corentin had mentioned was in fact the same Dane he knew, and it turned out that before Corentin had been defected from the Supremacy, Dane had been his protégé.

"He's our best shot, Sebastian. If we're going to do this, we're going to do it right. Dane's always been a bit wild, but he's the best they've got. I should know. I trained him." Corentin shook his head. "You're going to have to set your differences aside."

"I don't think Dane will work with me." He crossed his arms with a glower. "He's part of the reason I'm on the run."

Corentin cocked his head to the side. "What did you do to the boy? He's not exactly prone to wild fits of passion."

"It was over a girl."

"Vivian McGayen." Corentin laughed sharply. "Well, that's no surprise. She's the only thing that keeps him from going cold, from becoming the perfect agent. She's his only flaw, if you're in the camp that considers love a flaw."

"Yes, well... She fell in love with me, and he wanted me dead because of it."

"Well, not exactly. You were his assignment. The fact that you're alive means he didn't do his job."

"What?"

"Did you really think Vivian was his only goal?" Corentin sighed and shook his head. "You were his assignment, and he was supposed to pull the plug if you got too far. Running you off? That was mercy. But I think I can guess why."

"Why?"

Corentin shrugged. "He loves Vivian more than anything. More than his place in the Supremacy. He'd kill for her, but he'd also let someone live if it meant making her happy. You have her to thank for being alive right now."

He shoved his hands in his pockets and bowed his head. That perspective hadn't occurred before. He was still alive because of Vivian's sacrifice. She'd given herself over to a man she was terrified of and wanted to escape, all so she could save him. He blinked back tears. Maybe he was angry at Dane, but he knew one thing for sure. However furious Dane was with the two of them, there was no denying the way he handled Vivian. She mattered to him, and he wouldn't really hurt her, not intentionally, at least. On that, at least, they could agree.

And what was done was done. There was something more at stake here than his life or Vivian's, more at stake than what they wanted or thought they needed. He'd lost Vivian, at least for now, and if he refused to work with Dane, he would be the reason this chance to finally change things, one way or another, was lost. He swallowed back the lump in his throat. "All right. What makes you think Dane would turn on the Supremacy?"

"He was loyal to me. He never said anything to the other agents or to his new handler. I know he kept it to himself because his new handler came to talk to me. Wanted to know if he could trust Dane to do his job. I told him what he wanted to hear. Don't know if he believed me or not."

"And this proves Dane's loyalty how?"

"He's been to visit. And the last time he got in touch, it was to tell me the Supremacy had stabbed him in the back. I imagine he discovered that his new handler was one of the Supreme Ones who wanted Vivian McGayen wiped before being married off to him."

"What would he care?" Seb crossed his arms.

"It's dangerous to wipe an entire mind and replace the memories. They've already done it to her once. The danger of doing it a second time is exponentially higher." Corentin sat down at the kitchen table with a sigh. "Dane's ruthless and efficient, but his soft spot is the girl. He'd never allow that. The only reason he agreed to cooperate, even as a child, was on the agreement that we wouldn't do a full wipe. Only a wipe of the false memories and a reload of the real ones."

Well, that shed a lot more light on the situation. "So as long as Viv insists on siding with us against the Supremacy, he won't stab us in the back. And even if she wanted to side with the Supremacy, he wouldn't let her because he knows what they'll do."

"Precisely."

He turned away from Corentin, drumming his fingers against the side of his leg. So their best bet was to find Dane and Vivian. But it wouldn't be so they could stage a rescue. He'd have to work with the man, knowing full well that Dane would be the one to take Viv away from him yet again when this was all over. Whether they succeeded or failed, he wouldn't have Viv back. He wasn't so sure he could live with that. But what other choice was there? The Father had led him here, to Corentin, for a reason, and it wasn't so he could have another chance at a relationship that never actually moved past friendship.

It could've.

But it hadn't. That isn't why you're here, a gentle voice seemed to whisper in his heart. You're here to be the spark. To be the difference, the seed that allows a miracle to grow. Don't let revenge cloud your judgment. He sighed and hung his head. This was their only chance. And it was time he took this step of faith. Probably, at some point in the future when he and Viv met again, he'd struggle with this choice. He'd want to go back on it, to change his mind. He had no doubt that he'd try to convince her to find a way to end whatever Dane was forcing between them. But in the end, the sacrifice he would make in letting her go had to happen. This was about to become the beginning of a war, and war meant everyone lost. This was his price to pay. He turned to Corentin with a nod. "Let's go find him then."