Sleepers Part 1

Seekers Episode VI

Chapter 6

The sun warmed the surface of her skin, and the air was sweetly scented. Probably because they had spent all their time inside the compound training as a pair for so long. It had only been a couple months, but it seemed more like forever when missions were not available.

Today was their test run. A simple information retrieval. It rankled that they wouldn’t be ending a life or two. She understood that the organization didn’t trust their dynamic. After years of being unable to work together, why should Mr. King believe they could start now. He needed proof before they would be handed anything fun. She would have to bear with it until Forrest felt they could work as a successful duo. How ironic that the man she didn’t trust had to sell to the others that she and Levi could be trusted. They all had a job to do. Glancing at Levi from the side of her eye, she let out a controlled breath. She was sure Levi could do his part, but she wasn’t so sure she could. He wouldn’t slip up. She knew herself well enough that she was aware of her own lack of composure under excitement.

Looking away from him, she concentrated on the road ahead of them. She was certain that Forrest had given Levi a directive to end her if she stepped out of line. He would do it too, without a second thought. It wasn’t a simple retrieval mission for her, but her very survival depended on things going uneventfully.

* *

The flipping of the zippo had pulled her attention away from her mother’s notes again. Jacob was bored and looking for a distraction. She didn’t understand why she was always his preferred person to entertain himself with. She supposed it was partially her fault. After all, she had been the one that had told him about Remi and David. Since then, he had been distancing himself from the two of them. David had seemed to be little affected by it. Remi, on the other hand, was different. As more time went by, Remi’s distress grew with each passing day.

She wouldn’t have noticed if it wasn’t for Jacob’s newfound attachment to her. He was making it more difficult to get through her mother’s incomplete words. Normally, it would have her undivided attention for weeks. At least until she had figured out what parts were missing that she needed to search for. She had tried to impress upon him the importance of what she was doing but he didn’t seem to be all that interested in it.

“What is it, Jacob? I’m busy.”

“I have a surprise for you.”

“Not now.” She knew that getting stern with him could have the opposite effect. He often did exactly what everyone told him not to.

“But you’ll like it.” His teasing tone assured her he wasn’t going anywhere until she gave him her attention. Closing the binder, she turned her chair to him fully.

“Alright. What do you have?” The smile that pulled at his lips once he had her attention could only grace the face of a born killer. It was the appearance of a predator that had caught his prey. She humored him. Being underestimated could work in her favor later.

“I found it.” He didn’t elaborate. Simply waited her out.

“Okay Jacob. You found what?”

“Astrid’s hidden base. I went through their room and found where they had gotten the documents in that folder.”

***

The warehouse was abandoned and worn down. It was a haunting building, like all the others in the area, and completely indistinguishable from them. It was an area that had once been a thriving business. Who knew what the circumstances for the closure had been? All she knew was that it had been a business situation in the middle of a busy district. It still sat in the middle of that district. The world bustled around outside the chain-link fence with the no trespassing signs. Life went on outside that barrier even if the business that sat within it didn’t.

It didn’t matter now that it sat there empty and forgotten. Avoided by everyone as if it was a jinxed place. The property never sold once it went under, and nothing was ever done with it other than precautions put up to keep out people. A way for the owner to prevent accidents from occurring. It was the perfect place for someone who didn’t want to be found to hide. Not that the organization hadn’t found her eventually. The thought of what had followed the capture brought a smile to her face. It had been the first time she had been seen as a tool to use and not the unstable child they had all thought her to be. It had been the beginning of her solo assignments.

A heavy chain falling to the pavement drew her out of her memories. Levi had cut it loose to access the door. It was broad daylight outside. Silence had little to do with what they were supposed to be there for. Years of following orders in the dark of the night had left her cringing at the noise they created now. The tasks were not the same, but training was training.

She steadied herself against the possibility of the door creating a ruckus. It was rusted and looked to not have been used in decades. To her surprise, it made not a noise. Opening with ease. The façade was a ruse to any who saw it. If she had any doubts if they were in the correct place they had abated. Levi barely waited for her to join him before he entered it.

***

“Did you hear that?” Jacob turned to look back, almost laughing at her.

“I didn’t hear anything, Cora. Are you sure that you’re not just spooked by this place?”

“Superstitions are for those who care to believe in them.” He had opened his mouth to respond when voices carried to them from somewhere inside the building.

Both stilled their movements. They listened intently, hoping that whoever it was would leave. Unfortunately, the voices began drawing closer to the room they were in. Jacob quickly gathered up the bag they had placed the more interesting papers in. Handing it to her, he pulled her over to the open window.

“Get out of here.”

“What are you doing? We should both leave.” He shook his head, knowing that they didn’t have time to both get away before they were discovered. The sound of the voices was just on the other side of the closed office door.

“Go.” He didn’t give her any time to argue as he maneuvered her out of the opening. He didn’t wait to see if she took off. Instead, he disappeared away from the window, leaving her to decide to stick around and help if he ran into trouble or to get out of there. If she stayed, not only was she putting herself in danger, but she ran the risk of losing her mother’s research.

***

“Well, isn’t this interesting?” She didn’t know who the guy was that they had just caught going through the desk. They had been sent to go through Astrid’s base once the organization had found it. The scientist hadn’t given them anything, no matter what was done to make her talk. Staring down Levi’s twin made it clear she had been up to more than GenLife had guessed.

There were no stasis tanks in the building, which made the young man’s appearance one of the best things she and Levi could have discovered. Forget hanging around and searching through boring old files. They needed to take him back to the compound before he could make an escape.

“So, there’s one of me, but do you have a pair?” She turned to the other occupant of the room who, at this point, had sat upon the dusty desk with ease.

“Ah you mean her.” He had pointed directly at her, not trying to hide anything. “She didn’t make it past our childhood. She was a bit out of control. She had to be irradicated before she gave us both away.” He shrugged his shoulders as if it was not a big deal. It got under her skin, however.

“What’s your name?” Her tone was anything but saccharine. It didn’t faze him. If anything, it seemed to egg him on more. He openly leered at her. Smirking after giving her a thorough once over.

“If you’re looking to upgrade, sweetheart, I’m not opposed.” Levi snorted beside her.

“Okay Romeo, you’re coming in with us.”

“What are you jealous that she might prefer me over you?” Levi laughed outright at that.

“You know what? If you prove to pass the examination, you’re welcome to pursue Amy all you want.”

“Fair enough, but we’ll play it by ear.” He actually winked at her as he walked past her to follow Levi out. She wasn’t sure how to feel about the whole thing now. While she expected that they had got more than the organization had anticipated, she was basically an object for Levi and Levi 2.0 to decide things for. She didn’t appreciate it. The situation had some merit. If he ended up proving to be better than the pair that she had, she now had another option.

***

She stood across the street, hidden from sight. Nothing happened for some time, and she had almost thought that all was clear. She was ready to head back in to check into the situation when three people emerged from the fence. Once she got a look at the other two, it became clear how complicated a simple outing had become. Jacob was in real danger. She ran through multiple options to get him out of their company. Even if she managed it, they would still know of his existence. The information would still be given to Genlife. The only option she could see was to remove the threat permanently.

She watched them waiting for the perfect moment to act. Her clone was ahead of Jacob and his clone, who was bringing up the rear. She saw her opportunity. She slowly moved out of her spot, reaching into her pocket. Jacob noticed her from the corner of his eye. He shook his head as subtly as possible. She froze, confusion clouding her features. It was a costly moment. Jacob’s motions had attracted the attention of his clone. He had slowed down as his gaze fell on her. Her eyes met his and it was clear she had given herself away. He didn’t make a move in her direction but simply looked back and forth between Jacob and her. She could only hope that her physical changes were enough that he couldn’t tell who she was.

She was about to head in the opposite direction to lose herself in the crowd of people. Before she could take a step, a grey vehicle pulled to a stop beside her. The windows were tinted, making it hard to see the occupants, but it gave her the window she needed to escape due to the object that now obscured her. The driver’s window rolled down.

“Cora, hurry up and get in.” A stranger luring her into his car would have had her walking away. Too bad the man behind the wheel was David’s clone. She didn’t think further. Getting in the back, she had barely closed the door behind her before he was pulling back into traffic. She watched from the window as yet another David clone approached the trio. The driver of her escape route was obviously not working for GenLife. She understood she could still have just put herself in an equally dangerous situation.

“Hello dear. My name is Eden. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. We have much to talk about.” The owner of the voice came from the passenger seat that she had ignored in favor of observing Jacob’s situation. She had been foolish to do so.