Prodigy Eternal (book 2)

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Alex and Milo entered the restaurant holding hands. Everyone except for Aris was happy to see the two of them together. Despite the pain, he was willing to accept their relationship now, especially since he had had his chance with her.

“I take it you heard the good news,” Curik said.

“What good news?” Milo asked.

“Mara’s alive!”

“What?” Alex said astonishingly.

“We’ve been tracking her movement — she seems to be heading back to Megalopolis.”

“What are you talking about?”

“There’s a way to track first gen accountability chips. Your friend Link showed us how to do it.”

“I know about the tracking,” Alex said. “I’m more concerned with how you’ve determined she’s alive.”

“See for yourself,” Curik said, holding out his access pod.

Alex and Milo leaned in. The tracker showed that Mara was almost in an entirely different region of the world. Alex studied the pod for a moment, trying to process this new information. Only one conclusion made sense.

“She seems to be moving very fast,” Milo said. “When I checked earlier, her location said she was in the ocean, and I just assumed the worst. And it’s not like she’s in the belly of a fish since the speed and distance is more consistent with a—”

“Submarine,” Alex said, completing his sentence.

“Obviously you guys are free to do whatever you want,” Curik said, “and I won’t hold anything against you, but I’m going after her. I don’t care if I have to burn that entire city to the ground — I’m getting Mara back.”

Curik exuded a commanding confidence that made everyone rally for his cause.

“Count us in,” Milo said, answering for anyone who wished to be included. About two dozen faces stared back at Curik, nodding in agreement.

“This mission will be dangerous,” Curik said. “Some of us may not survive. But this man is evil, and we are the only ones who can stop him.”

“We’d better act fast,” Milo interjected, “because in a few days when he wins the election, our mission will not only become exponentially more difficult, but also much more complicated. Any attempt on assassinating a Leader is the highest form of treason.”

“Maybe it won’t have to come to that,” Curik suggested, staring at Alex. “Perhaps we ought to consider a more tactful approach.”

After lunch, everyone separated into small groups and began discussing the mission. Milo meandered through the small crowd and found Aris.

“Hey, man,” Milo said. “I just wanted to say thanks for saving me last night.”

“You’re welcome,” Aris said.

“Can we be friends?”

Aris took a moment to respond, but finally cracked a smile. “Yeah, we can be friends.”