The Lethal Agent (The Extraction Files Book 2) Read online

  Dr. Arrenstein had said to be gentle with her. So Theo would. He would let her take her time, go slowly. If they spent the entire year in the LRF as friends, he could live with that. He just had to make sure to keep some semblance of relationship intact. As Scholars, it wouldn’t be that hard to pretend. In fact, they wouldn’t even have to touch each other.

  More than once, his eyes moved to where she sat beside him, the lightness of her newly blonde hair, the curve of her shoulder in the blue body suit. How hadn’t he seen it before? Of course she was engineered. It was so obvious now that he knew the truth.

  When she caught his gaze, Mable asked, “Can’t sleep?”

  “No. You?”

  “No. Who is this?” She lifted a finger to her ear.

  Theo knew it in an instant. “Daisy Red.”

  Mable coughed out a sad laugh. “I guess I missed a few albums in the underground.”

  “You know them?”

  “Yeah. They’re not my favorite or anything, but totally decent.”

  Theo smiled. “Well, as a matter of fact, they are my favorite.”

  “You could do worse.” She smacked him with her elbow and nestled into her seat. She closed her eyes and rested, but Theo could see she didn’t sleep. Something still bothered her.

  The shuttle touched down on the lunar surface sometime around 0300. Theo nudged Mable, unsure if she was asleep, and the two walked bleary-eyed down the corridors and followed the signs for the LRF. Several passengers made their way to the exits for various surface colonies. A group of Craftsmen departed at the mining unit. By the time they reached the LRF, only a handful remained.

  Theo adjusted the strap of his bag across his chest before he pressed his hand to the scanner. The circular doorway spun away to reveal a blonde woman in a sleek violet dress and matching heels.

  “Good morning and welcome to the Lunar Research Facility. My name is Abigail Perch, Assistant Director. I’ll be escorting each of you to your quarters. Please follow me.”

  Theo recognized the name, one of the two recon team-members on the moon. She’d been awfully easy to find, he thought.

  The tablet in her hand directed her along the long corridor to the Personal Quarters sector of the facility. The other three members of the group were assigned tiny units in the Singles wing—men at one end and women at the other. She gave each of them a short speech about where to get food in the morning and in which direction to find their departments. With nothing resembling warmth, she dropped them off and moved on to the next.

  When only Theo and Mable remained, Abigail led them to the Couples wing and showed them their new home, PQ-415. It was impossibly small, half the size of his room at CPI. A bed folded out from the wall with a small table on each side. On the opposite wall, a modest closet sat between a pair of tiny desks. On the right of the entrance, a bathroom large enough to barely hold one of them.

  Theo couldn’t help but gape. How were they going to survive a year in such cramped quarters?

  To his surprise, Abigail entered the apartment with them and closed the door.

  As soon as the door settled into its track, her frost shattered as if struck with a hammer. In a heartbeat, she transformed. “I’m sorry about the rough entrance. I don’t usually do the tour. Scholars don’t care about pretense.” She shrugged and added, “Welcome to the moon.”

  “Thanks,” Theo began. “I’m Dr. Theo Kaufman, this is my wife Dr. Maggie Kaufman.” The sound of her new name felt strange on his tongue.

  “Good. You sounded like you meant it. Make sure you don’t slip.” Abigail strode past Theo and headed straight for Mable.

  “You’re Alex’s sister, aren’t you?” she asked pointedly.

  “Yeah, I am. You knew him?” Mable didn’t seem all that surprised.

  “Yeah, before—” Abigail stopped, unable to say the words. “You look just like him.”

  “Thanks.” Mable smiled, though she was too tired to really mean it. Theo could see her merely trying to be nice to their only friend here in the LRF.

  “I’ll let you get some sleep. Departments set their own work schedules. Theo, you’ll need to be at Robotics by 0830. Planetary Systems is a little more open. I’d plan to be there around 0800.” She turned to leave but stopped and said to Theo, “You should go with her the first day.”

  “Why?”

  Abigail smiled. “You’ll see.”

  AIDA

  LRF-PS-101

  SEPTEMBER 12, 2232

  “Good morning, Dr. Perkins.” A container of flatbread and grapes appeared on her desk beside her tablet.

  “Good morning, Dr. Hill.” She popped off the lid and dove into her breakfast. At least, for the time being, it saved her from talking to Calvin, from making any kind of decision.

  “Ready for your new researcher today?”

  No, she’d completely forgotten.

  “What’s her name?” Aida searched through her ecomms for the file.

  “Dr. Maggie Kaufman, I believe.” Calvin reached into the container and selected a red grape before popping it into his mouth.

  Aida just about spat out her food. “What?”

  “That’s what the file said. She’s waiting outside.” Aida lunged out of her chair, all but tossing the container onto her desk. How had she not heard about this?

  Oh, that’s right. She was too busy cheating on her husband and saving the human race.

  Aida should have noticed. She should have been on top of this. She raced to the department doors and saw the entry notification.

  When the door spun open, a young Scholar woman stood beside her younger brother. He stood tall, taller than even their parents could have hoped. His mocha skin was the same as hers. His grey eyes were a dead match.

  It could be no one else.

  Tears welled up in an instant. “Theo?” she managed in disbelief.

  “Aida?” he asked, mirroring her confusion. Clearly, he hadn’t known either.

  Without meaning to, Aida rushed forward and wrapped her arms around him. She hadn’t seen him in seven years—since before her time at the Scholar Academy. He had been little then, still a boy. Now, a man stood before her, so vastly different yet entirely the same. He felt huge under her arms.

  “You know her?” the woman asked. His wife. Aida’s sister-in-law.

  “Come on, let’s move this into my office,” Calvin said behind her, the cool voice of reason. If anyone happened to notice them in the corridor, questions would surely be raised.

  Aida released her brother and dabbed at her wet cheeks on her way into Calvin’s office. It was cramped with the four of them, but they made do. Theo stood behind the chair where his wife sat. Calvin offered Aida the chair behind his desk.

  “What are you doing here?” Aida asked the obvious question once the door closed.

  Rather than Theo, his wife answered. “I’m your new junior researcher,” Maggie explained. “Ms. Perch said Theo should walk me to work this morning. I guess now we know why.” She spoke like this was all a game, as if none of it was serious to her.

  Aida looked to Theo to explain it himself. “I’m filling the junior position in the Robotics department.”

  “He’s Dr. Fobbs’s replacement,” Calvin offered.

  “But, you’re not old enough, you’re—” Aida did the math in her head. “You’re seventeen. You should have only arrived at the Academy. How could—”

  Theo grappled for an answer.

  Calvin filled the silence. “Both Theo and Maggie are in an advanced program for Scholars. They’ve completed some pretty unique training and were hand-selected for positions in the LRF. We’re lucky to have them both.”

  Aida looked back and forth between them. Why was Calvin so quick to defend them? How did he know so much about them when she’d barely heard a thing? Had she been that distracted?

  Then Calvin held out his hand to the young woman. “Please excuse my manners, I’m Dr. Calvin Hill, planetary systems researcher under Dr. Perkins. It�
��s a pleasure to meet you, Maggie. You know, you remind me of someone.”

  She shook his hand and replied, “Ms. Perch said I look like my brother Alex.”

  Calvin froze mid-shake. The blood drained from his face. “Well, then you’re very lucky.” He caught himself in a heartbeat and extended a hand to Theo. “Dr. Calvin Hill, a pleasure to meet you, Theo.”

  Aida understood none of it. How could her brother be here? Aida crossed her arms as she tried to process so much information in a short time.

  Theo crossed behind his wife and crouched beside Aida. Grey eyes that matched her own looked up at her as he said, “I have to report to Robotics in a few minutes, but I’d like to see you later. Will you have some time?” He looked so much older than she remembered. Aida only nodded. She would have to get to know her brother all over again.

  “Why don’t we all have dinner? We could use some time to get acquainted. How about my apartment, PQ-387 at 1800?” Calvin offered with a smile to the young couple.

  “Thanks, that would be great,” Theo answered as he stood. Then to his wife, he added, “See you there?” His gaze lingered on her too long.

  “Yeah, 1800. See you there,” she replied.

  Again, Theo hesitated, his eyes watching her carefully, as if he was afraid to leave her alone here. Then he took a sharp breath and walked out the door.

  “We’re excited to have you here, Dr. Kaufman. We’ve been short-handed for far too long. If it’s all right with you, we’ll get some offices rearranged, and then we can update you on the current progress of 196.” Calvin turned to Aida and rubbed her arms with his palms. “Would you like to move your things into PS-100?”

  Dr. Parr’s office? “No. I don’t think that’s appropriate.”

  “I think you’re the most qualified candidate. That office is the largest, designed for the lead of the department. You’re the Lead. I’ll move your things if you like.”

  “No, I don’t want that office. I’m not moving.” That was that. She was finished discussing it.

  “Would you feel negatively if our new junior researcher occupied that office instead?” Calvin looked up at her with kind eyes, the light catching the green.

  No. That would be worse. This young woman—this pretty young Scholar who Aida had never seen but knew Calvin and Theo so well—she wouldn’t have Dr. Parr’s office. It made her shiver to think of it.

  Aida stood and said, “I’ll move my things. She can have my office. Get her up to speed.”

  DASIA

  CPI-RQ-01

  SEPTEMBER 12, 2232

  Dasia lay across Osip’s bed as he searched through the matrix, looking for the pattern Mable had suggested. At the bottom of the screen, Mable’s chart sat miniaturized, waiting for Osip to add his notes or form a new connection.

  It was slow, mind-numbing work. They had to take turns.

  Thankfully, it was Osip’s turn to sift through the files. Dasia lay like a starfish on his sheets, the comforter piled somewhere on the floor. He wasn’t one for making the bed.

  “Okay, question D,” Osip said without turning.

  “Shoot.”

  “This one is a Craftsman, that’s what you were right?”

  “Yeah, so?”

  “Okay, so Craftsmans are—”

  “Craftsmen,” she corrected.

  “Yeah, those guys. They’re, like, the bottom right?”

  Dasia propped herself up on her elbows. “They’re the foundation, supposedly. Like Artisans and Scholars are specialized, they preserve the human experience and all that. Why?”

  “Well, most of these are Scholars. Like ninety percent. Then there are a few Craftsmen,” he said with intended emphasis. “But there are no Artisans. Zero. If they’re so important like Scholars, how come bugs don’t infect them?”

  “Maybe whoever sends them is really into art?” Dasia suggested. She didn’t really have a good answer.

  “Okay, so, we’re looking for a sinister bad guy with an army of brain-eating bugs who hates science and sometimes foundation-people but really, really loves art?” Osip turned and cocked his mischievous smile at her.

  Dasia couldn’t help but laugh at him. “Something like that. And who knows, maybe it’s a bad girl.” She wiggled her eyebrows at him.

  “I would say this is a ridiculous theory, but there really are a lot of connections.” He pulled up the chart.

  Dasia rolled onto her side and propped her cheek on her fist. “You got a lot done already.” There were two-dozen new additions glowing light green.

  “That’s extra impressive considering you were here distracting me the whole time.”

  “What? I did no such thing!”

  “Uh, look at you. Even with that blonde mess on your head, you can’t help but be anything except distracting. It’s really quite the gift,” he teased.

  “If I had a vale for every time you told me how you hate my hair—”

  “Then you’d have one more. And I don’t hate it. I just liked you the way you were.”

  Dasia thought back to how she’d been before—sad, always crying. Her thoughts were distracted by the simultaneous meep-meep-meep from their tablets.

  Osip saw it first. “Dr. A.” He reached a hand out to help her off the bed. “Guy sure knows how to ruin a moment.” Osip laughed and shook his head.

  “Were we having a moment?” Dasia asked with a nonchalance she didn’t feel. She flipped her new, longer hair over her shoulder, put her hand into his, and slid off the bed.

  Osip pulled her along and down the hall as she pretended she didn’t want to go with him. At the elevator, he spun her against his side as they waited to arrive one floor up.

  They were both surprised to see Georgie already sitting on the couch in Dr. Arrenstein’s office. Jane stood by the door staring at her feet. She looked up at them as they entered and sat beside Georgie.

  “Thanks for coming, you two,” Dr. Arrenstein started. He smoothed a hand over his suit jacket.

  Dasia felt her nerves rise up. Bad news was coming.

  “I’ve asked you here because we’ll be reassigning the teams. Osip, you’ll work with Georgie, and Dasia, you’ll be with Jane. These changes are effective immediately and are non-negotiable.” He looked at his hands in his lap as he spoke.

  “But—” Osip started.

  Dr. Arrenstein looked up at him. “Non-negotiable.”

  “Anything else, Dr. A?” Osip asked, trying to sound like it didn’t bother him.

  “You’re free to go. Head downstairs and get started. Dasia, can I have a word?”

  Jane darted out the door before he’d even finished his sentence. Georgie trudged behind her.

  Osip sat with his hands clasped, elbows resting on the knees of his dress slacks as he tried to process the new arrangements.

  “Go on. I’ll send her down in a minute,” Dr. Arrenstein prompted him.

  Dasia couldn’t figure out why Dr. Arrenstein wanted to see her alone. Her heart thumped in her chest as she watched Osip leave, his eyes on her as he crossed to room.

  Then, it was the two of them. Dasia and the strange Dr. Arrenstein. She didn’t know what to say.

  “I know you’ve had a rough time of it lately, but I wanted you to know that I wouldn’t do this unless it was the only option. I know you and Osip have become close.”

  “What makes you think that?” She blinked in disbelief.

  Dr. Arrenstein half-smiled. “I’ve been doing this a long time.”

  “Then why are you splitting us up?” It was a fair enough question. Mable and Theo stayed together even after his near-fatal stunt. Neither Osip nor Dasia had committed any such nonsense. There was no reason to split them.

  “Jane is refusing to work with Georgie.”

  “That sounds like her problem.”

  “You’re right. It is her problem, but if I don’t get her working soon, I can’t justify her position here any longer. I was hoping you might be able to get through to her, you know, girl to gir
l.” Dasia knew what happened to recruits that fell short. They all did. They’d been warned.

  Jane refusing to work with her assigned partner was her own issue. Now Dasia was paying the price for someone else’s laziness. “Great, let me go get my hairbrush, and then we can gossip and have pillow fights.”

  Dr. Arrenstein leaned his head back and laughed. “You’ve been spending far too much time with Maggie.”

  Dasia stood to leave. “Is that why you sent her away, too?”

  His smile faded in an instant, gone as fast as it had come. He cleared his throat before he said, “No, of course not.” He tucked his hands in his pockets. “I know you’ve lost people. I know it’s hard to make new friendships and even harder to lose them. But I need Jane on track. If I leave her with Georgie, I’ll have to terminate her.”

  Jane? The beautiful Scholar Jane? In a prison nation?

  She would never survive.

  Dasia could see the sense of it. She didn’t like it, but she understood. She nodded her acceptance and left, though she didn’t get very far.

  Osip waited in the corridor. “Are you okay? If you don’t want to be with her, I can tell him—”

  Dasia shook her head. “I’m okay.”

  He looked her up and down. “You are? Because I’m pretty fucking pissed,” he said less than quietly, only feet from Dr. Arrenstein’s door. “He has no right to split us up. We work great together, and we keep to ourselves. That’s exactly what he wants. What a prick.”

  Dasia had never heard him curse, or even seen him angry. She’d seen him upset and hurt and disappointed, but never angry.

  All because of her.

  It brought a smile to her face. “I have to go. I’ll come see you later, okay?” She planted a kiss on his cheek so he would know she was serious.

  Osip gave in and walked her down to the second floor, only leaving her at Jane’s door when she insisted and pushed him away. They knocked together, her at Jane’s and him at Georgie’s.

  Only Georgie’s door opened.