Project Jamboree

Chapter Four

-Natasha's PoV-

"You promised you wouldn't get caught," I whispered.

"Leda Corp isn't in the promise-keeping business," Cole reminded me.

I asked, "Why did you lie?" My eyes darted around the room, my version of a typical red's twitch. Cole patiently waited for them to settle on him before responding.

"About what?"

"The flashdrive," I said, "You and Ruby were lying."

He looked at me like I was crazy. I was a red, so definitely crazy, but not this time. I wasn't wrong about this and we both knew it.

"Not here," he nodded to the little black eyes in the ceiling, watching us wherever we went. Security cameras. There were more here than there had been in Thurmond.

We walked to the locker rooms, where Cole turned a shower on to drown out all other noise. Ruby entered as well, wondering what was going on.

"I assume you two have met," Cole said.

Ruby looked between the two of us, "We've been in the same unit for the last 6 months. Yeah, we've met." There was almost bitterness in her voice, but she was clearly trying to stay calm.

We'd been in the same unit for a while, but Ruby kept herself distanced, like she expected us all to drop dead and didn't want to be collateral damage. I didn't like speaking to people I didn't know well, and it killed me to make an exception.

"Why did you lie?" I asked again.

"I thought you were mute," Ruby muttered, "I quite honestly thought you had no tongue."

I bit down on the urge to snap back, to punch her, or to set something on fire. Now was not the time, "Who are you protecting?"

"My brother. Liam," Cole said, "I told him to meet me at the house so I could check he was okay or to send him back to mom and Harry. The idiot got followed by a skip tracer. They raided the house, arrested me for helping a kid. Liam escaped."

"And he has the flashdrive," I guessed. Cole nodded, "Good job. You failed your mission and nearly got your little brother killed."

Ruby glared at me, "I think I liked it better when you didn't talk." Again, I caught the flames before they could rise up. She knew Liam, otherwise she wouldn't have protected him. I wondered how, and why she wanted to help. And if it had anything to do with why she distanced herself from us.

"Technically my little brother nearly got me killed," Cole sighed, "So he's still on the run with no clue where mom and Harry are, and he still has the flashdrive."

"So what do we do?" Ruby asked.

My eyes darted around the room. It was an impulse, a reflex. I couldn't prevent the twitch if I wanted to, but it came in useful when I was looking for anyone listening. They waited for my eyes to settle before continuing.

"I'm going to get you a mission," Cole said, "I know you want to keep Lee safe just as much as I do, so you're going to have to find a way to get rid of your Minder. Be creative, or they'll call you a deserter and Vida will kill you."

When Vida and Ruby first met, Vida had made it quite clear that if Ruby tried to abandon them, she would pay for it. Mainly for hurting Cate.

"When?"

"As soon as possible," Cole replied. When Cole left, I followed, leaving Ruby behind. He asked, "What?"

I quietly stated, "I want in."