Salient Secret 2

12

Vada

Fortunately, very very fortunately, our mind inhibitors act as trackers too. I'm in the concrete box under the training room, rummaging through the computer. Cassian deals with everything technical, so this is unfamiliar territory for me. At last, I manage to pull up a map with little dots showing where they are. 

Shit. 

My thoughts are scrambled all over the place, I take a deep breathe and try to figure this all out.

Of course they're in L.A. How on earth did Salutis manage to break in without setting off the alarms and manage to kidnap the four most powerful people in the world? It finally clicks in my head, Salutis didn't break in, Palmer did. The alarms only go off when there's forced entry, but who needs that when you have Palmer. That means the others were with her, they were here. Probably in my room...they could've found me. However, they are a bunch of wusses for coming in the middle of the night when everyone is asleep. They know they don't stand  a chance if they were awake. Wait a minute...when they wake up they can easily get out. Unless...they keep them sedated.

"Uh oh," Palmer. I need to get them out of there before she figures out how to break through the inhibitors. 

Good news: The base is destroyed, they seem to be at a motel, which will be very easy to get in and out of.

Bad news: It's one against three. That should be easy though right? I mean, I have been training and fighting in the field for years now.  But then again, they have too. 

Dammit. 

Avery focus. NO. Vada focus.

You need to get your team out now. 

Kai 

"We can't keep doing this to them forever," Savannah argues after injecting them all with tranquilizer.

"For now we have to," I respond. 

"We need a plan for when the other one comes," Palmer says standing up from the bed.

"It's three against one," Enzo is evidently feeling cocky. 

"We can't touch her. She can walk through all of us," Palmer differs.

"What if we don't have to fight her, we use these as leverage. When she comes, we threaten to inject them with poison unless she tells us where Avery is," Savannah suggests. 

"We're not injecting them with poison," I say unbending, leaving no room for a debate. 

"She wasn't willing to  let a couple of strangers die in an explosion, she made sure all of you got out safely. I'd bet anything she's not willing to be the reason for her friends dying. I will even put water in the syringe with food colouring and call it poison. That's how confident I am," Savannah says.  

"Savannah is right," Enzo says gazing at me. 

"Okay then, it's settled," I'll do anything to find Avery. 

Vada 

I'm standing in the cold air, right outside the door of the room they're in. Thankfully, I won't have to fight them because of the suits intangibility feature. I plan to walk in as one and leave with four. No one messes with my team. 

I walk through the door, the lights are off so I switch them on.  There's two beds with side table in between them. It's a small room and  there is no sign of anyone. 

"Hi there," Kai says arrogantly leaning on the door frame of the bathroom. As I start walking towards him, his words make me stop dead in my tracks, "One more step and your friends get injected with poison." 

"Lose the hologram and stand down," Enzo voice is coming from behind me, how did I miss that?

"Lose the silent act too, to save your friends you're going to have to talk," some girl says emerging from behind Kai, followed by Cassian, Tanith, and  Rik all floating in with blue serums being held to their throat, by yours truly, Palmer. Where the hell is Imelda? I take a deep breath, become tangible and put my hands in the air to show I'm surrendering.

"Thanks sweetheart. If you try to escape, the other girl immediately gets this deadly poison plunged right into her neck. Have a seat," When Kai says that I notice the ring he is wearing, and how none of my team members have theirs on. Bloody thieves. I sit down on the chair behind me and Enzo stands in front of me. 

"Where is Avery Shaw?" he asks but I just look at him. 

"Honey this is going to get real ugly if you don't start talking," he says flashing his powers. 

"Easy," Kai says to  Lorenzo and then continues, "We're not going to hurt you. But we will start injecting your friends one by one if you don't tell us where Avery is." Just as I thought he was going to be the good cop here, he surprises me and plays devil cop. The Kai I knew would never do that to anyone, but then again, we've all changed. 

"Just tell us where Avery is and we will let you all go. And that's us being pretty generous considering you blew up all our bases and killed our people," who is this girl? We didn't kill any of their people.  What is she talking about?

"Kai, she's  not going to talk. Let me give her some incentive," Palmer says then shoots a syringe right into Taniths neck, without thinking, I stand up and try to rush towards her but Lorenzo pushes me back down. 

"She will only push the poison into her neck if you don't tell us where Avery Shaw is right now," Enzo says while bending so that we're face to face. When I  don't say anything Palmer says, "Alright, have it your way." I can't let that happen to Tanith. 

"OKAY!" I shout just as she is about to push it in. 

"Take it out of her neck," I demand. 

"Tell us where Avery is," Kai counter argues. 

"Take it out of her neck and I'll tell you," Kai nods at  Palmer and she slowly takes it out but keeps half an inch gap between the syringe and her neck. 

"Tell us now," Enzo barks. 

Kai

This girl looks around the room, takes a deep breath and starts lifting her hands to remove the hood. She slowly pushes it back off her head, revealing hair that resembles a light storm, that matches her grey eyes, in a ponytail. She then reaches behind her head and unclips the mask covering two thirds of her face. We're all standing here wondering the same thing, why does she have to uncover her face to tell us where Avery is? 

When her masks comes off, it takes me a minute but then I realize that she looks oddly familiar, my heart stops...it can't be. Her words confirm the thought I refused to believe, "It's me. Avery."