Thick as Thieves 2: Under Your Command

Chapter 21

"Michael, how the hell do you know all this?" Jim demanded. He and Mira were standing over him as he sat on the couch, next to Elisabeth. He'd told them everything Lucas had said in their brief conversation. "I have your device. How did they get in contact with you?"

Michael looked sheepishly at his hands. Above him, Mira laughed spitefully.

"Still keeping secrets?" she said derisively. "Always the bad boy."

"Shut it, Mira," he mumbled in reply. "It's just..it's not my secret to tell."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Jim scoffed.

"Mark," a female voice came from behind Michael. He turned to see Maddy standing from her bedroom door. "Mark had a device too."

"Reynolds? And why would Reynolds have a device?" demanded Jim. The room was silent. "Does someone want to fill me in here?"

"Because he was working for them too," Maddy admitted sadly. "A long time ago, years before we got here. He was one of them."

"What?" Jim looked furious. "And you're just telling me this now?"

"Sweetheart, is that why you broke the engagement off?" Elisabeth asked. Maddy nodded her head, frowning.

"Did you know about this?" Jim turned to Mira, who looked just as surprised as he did.

"No. He wasn't an ally when I got here. As far as I knew, we were on our own. Except for Lucas."

"I'm gonna need to speak to him. Now," Jim almost shouted.

"I'll get him," Elisabeth offered helpfully.

Ten minutes later, she returned with a bewildered looking Reynolds. Elisabeth set him down on the couch next to Michael whilst Maddy watched from a distance. The questions started immediately. Reynolds looked overwhelmed. Michael caught him locking eyes with Maddy. He recognised the shame and misery in his gaze.

"Alright, I'll tell you everything," Reynolds snapped, his chest rising and falling rapidly. He must have known it was over. The whole room went silent, staring at Reynolds intently, particularly young Maddy who looked on, her face filled with hurt and confusion.

"My family..." he began timidly. "We didn't have a lot of money when I was growing up so we lived in a pretty basic apartment. It didn't have all the latest filters it should have, so it was cheap. But when I was twelve years old, my dad got sick from the pollution. He died pretty soon after that and then my mom got too sick to work, so she lost her job and couldn't afford the rent." He risked a look at the small crowd around him. Their expressions had eased slightly. He continued: "Our landlord kicked us out. We lived on the streets for a couple years, so she didn't last long. She developed respiratory problems. Then she died too." He sighed miserably. "I was on my own for a bit. I'm not proud of what I did to get by, but I did. I took care of myself. Then they approached me."

"EdenCorp," Jim said.

Mark nodded. "They found me and told me they could house me, feed me, give me clean air. As long as I did something for them. I was a kid with nowhere else to go, how was I going to turn down an offer like that?"

"Sounds a bit like my story," Mira said under her breath. "They seek you out when you're most vulnerable, promise you the world, then screw you over."

"Well," Mark continued. "I agreed, obviously. I lived at their Headquarters. They gave me all this training, all this education. I joined the military, then they ensured I got assigned to Terra Nova. Nichol, she gave me the device. She said she would contact me when I made it through. I gave her information on the colony. I went out and explored, told her about the Badlands and what I found there...But then I changed my mind. I got rid of the device and I never heard from her again. Until Michael came back."