To Die for Love

TWO BETA. The first time she’d arrived there, it was ominous in the night. The sensation of just looking at the building in its locale had settled an instinctual loathing deep inside her. The feeling provoked a desire to flee. Back then, she’d been ignorant to so much, what the beta site really was, Olympus, even the true identity of the man in the driving seat. The experience proved humans did still have their primitive ability to recognize evil. In those early days of her quest, fleeing wasn’t an option. Maybe she’d have tried, backed off for a few days or weeks, but she’d always have wondered. If she’d been alone at least. Danny’s mission, Daire’s mission, to put her in front of her father in Beta’s control room would’ve prevented her retreating. He prevented her retreat. All those months ago, she’d been ignorant to her father’s identity too, and that he’d be at the end of the journey. Not that their first meeting in the control room was the end. It was just a step on the path she’d started in ignorance. Despite all she’d learned since then, clarity wasn’t any richer. Approaching the building again in the darkness, driving down the dirt road flanked by towering trees, she knew what was at the end this time. What awaited them. Yes, there was still fear and, in some ways, ignorance. At least some facts were concrete. Zeus and Poseidon would be there. Also known as Ulysses Sherwood and James Garrick, they were two of the three Olympus leaders. The third being her father who they’d left behind in Miami. Some of her fear was assuaged by her ally. The secret one. Her Heart. He’d never let anything grave happen to her even if it meant blowing his cover. It wasn’t her own safety that played on her mind, it was the safety of others. Literally every other living being on earth. She didn’t know what JARR would do if it was unleashed. Who would it threaten? Who might it kill? Would it start war or plague or nuclear winter? In their precious time together in the motel bathroom, she could’ve asked her Heart for information, but wasn’t sure he’d answer. In a selfish way, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. Either way, it was on her. Zeus might be the one pulling the strings, but it was her blood that would open the gates of hell, freeing the demons to swarm the earth. Unlike her first approach, there was more life to the building this time as it came into view. She couldn’t see lights, people, or movement, yet the aura around it was different. No longer stagnant and lifeless, it almost hummed with the intention of its purpose. Funny the structure should seem so optimistic while its replacement was being stocked hundreds of miles away. If only the compound could turn on those inside and deliver justice under the same secret shroud Olympus had cowered under since the loss of the alpha site. They came to a stop at the gates. Daire, in the driving seat, lowered his window and punched in a code to open them. He’d once told her if the wrong numbers were input, explosives would take any wannabe intruders off the board for good. If they did that, humanity would be spared the horror of what may come. The responsibility would be taken from her door. Except she didn’t want those in her vicinity to perish. More specifically, her Heart who’d taken such a burden onto his shoulders. Always believing everything was his responsibility, this situation was particularly cruel. Truly, he was the only one with the ability to discover the truth. Zeus trusted him, not out of any innate love or loyalty, more likely out of sheer desperation. Having been Olympus born and bred, the great Ares was the organization’s best hope for the future. If the principals were wiped from the board, Daire was the only hope of the institution continuing. If they weren’t, Zeus needed Daire to rally the men, to train, to fight, which was definitely a younger, more personable man’s game. They pulled onto the property and parked. Both rear doors were slammed in her face, so she assumed they wanted her to stay put. Not that she was eager to go inside the building. The men unloaded the kit and supplies, most of which hadn’t seen the light of day throughout their journey. Only after the directions were delegated did the back door open. Daire peeked inside. “Come on.” He stepped back to open the door further. Given the choice, she’d stay in the truck, having no great desire to return to the place she’d been held at gunpoint, betrayed, imprisoned, assaulted, and so much more. It was her role not to reveal Daire’s true motivation for being there, working for Zeus, so she couldn’t appear too compliant. She dawdled while exiting the vehicle, hooking her carpet bag higher on her forearm to smooth her hair and clothes as the others were piling inside. Some might consider leaving her alone with one man was reckless, that it lacked foresight and underestimated her. But this was the great Ares, she was hardly a match for his skill or awareness. They went inside, her just in front of him. He guided her with a hand on her upper arm, being far more forceful than her Heart would be. They went toward the back of the space, through a door beneath the stairs that led them up a new flight she didn’t remember from before. Up those stairs, through another door, swing a right. Leaving wouldn’t be easy in this warren of a vast building. That was probably exactly the point. With their failsafe measures waiting to take out anyone who tried to do Olympus harm, it was another kick that those intruders would be too lost to flee even if they did have time. The short corridor they reached was narrower than the others, the doors spaced further apart. Kind of like the guy loitering in the middle. Was he waiting for them? “Pandora,” Ares said behind her, his voice deep and indifferent. “This is Havers, he’ll be your shadow.” A new person. Had Daire picked him? Why couldn’t she be her Heart’s shadow? The answer to that was he was too important. Too busy being Zeus’s right-hand guy to worry about ferrying her around. Still, her Heart might’ve given her a heads up about this Havers. “Pandora,” Havers said in greeting. “Do you have to do that?” she asked, wincing. “Does he have to do that?” Ares opened the central door. “Yes,” he said, entering the room. “Your fingerprint is in the system.” “At the lowest security level no doubt,” she said, following him in with Havers at her back. She expected the same setup as her time imprisoned there. The room was around the same size, but had a desk, couch, and a much wider bed, though it was connected to the wall like last time. “Closet, restroom,” Ares said, pointing to the opening in the opposite wall. “Everything’s been provided.” “Except freedom,” she muttered. “Havers,” Ares said before starting toward the door again. Hit with a sudden panic, she opened her mouth ready to appeal to him. What could she say? Nothing. He was supposed to be the bastard who’d betrayed her. How could she call out to him for reassurance? Watching him go without another word, she feared when she may, or may not, see him again. “We work to a strict routine around here,” Havers said. He didn’t seem as letchy as the guys in the back of the truck. Young, he did have an obvious air of military discipline around him. Was that from his history or had Olympus drummed it into him already? “How long have you stayed here?” she asked. With a blink of surprise, his expression faltered. “Uh, we… uh… We start the day with a run, outside, sometimes it’s grueling.” “Yeah, I won’t be running,” she said. “Just wake me up in time for coffee.” “You… have to come with us.” “No, I don’t,” she said, smiling as she took her carpet bag over to the bed. “Can I assume these are fresh sheets?” “Yes.” “This is a nice room,” she said. “Nicer than the last time I was here. I don’t remember you. Were you around then?” “I’m not really… supposed to answer questions.” She liked him. In the same kind of cute way she liked Zip and Milo. Her smile faltered. Were they in the building? “I want to see the others. The other prisoners.” “I can request—” “Thank you. “But I don’t know if they’ll allow—” “Let’s not say ‘they.’ Let’s say what we mean. Zeus. You don’t know if Zeus will allow me to see them. Probably not. He’s sick like that.” She looked at him. “Have you figured out the guy you’re working for is a depraved individual so caught up in his own hubris that he can’t see straight?” “I…” Man, her Heart had picked the right guard. Throwing him off-balance was easy, he was completely unthreatening. It wouldn’t be difficult to broker an alliance with him. To worm her way in enough that he might think twice about pulling the trigger if the moment, or Zeus, called for it. “What’s your first name?” “We go by our last names.” “I know,” she said, sitting on the bed. “Doesn’t mean we can’t get to know each other. As you’ve probably figured out, I’m not Olympus.” Shaking her hair from her face, she tipped her head back. “What do you know about me?” “You’re Pandora.” “And?” “You’re not to be trusted.” She laughed. “Oh, someone’s a comedian. Who told you that? Zeus? Ares?” “Everyone,” he said, his expression hardening. “You have an ulterior motive.” “Yeah, uh huh.” She played along while mocking the whole concept. “Yeah, I want to live. Ridiculous of me, right?” She exhaled. “You know, I feel sorry for you. Olympus it… I bet you were sold on the greater good too. Your country needs you. It’s bullshit, Havers. And it always will be while Zeus sits at the top.” “You don’t know—” “What?” she asked, resting the heels of her hands on the bed behind her. “I don’t know Zeus? He had me kidn*pped and dragged across an ocean. I lived with him for weeks. I know Zeus. Or is it Ares? You think I don’t know him?” Her snicker was ironic. “Believe me when I say, I know every intimate secret about the man you work under… ‘cause I did the same thing for too long.” Deliberately leaving that ambiguous, she didn’t mind if the operative thought she’d once been an agent herself. And if he took it the other way, well, it was the truth. She’d been under Daire plenty and would take the role again in a snap if offered. Would she have to show her Heart resentment and hatred if they were in the same space? That wouldn’t be easy. What would she gain by being bitter even if he was the lying betrayer for real? All that would achieve was showing everyone he could get to her, that he was still her weak point. Maybe just keeping things casual and indifferent would be the better way to go. “I know Olympus way better than I ever wanted to,” she said. “You probably have questions… that others haven’t answered for you.” His shoulders went back. “My loyalty is to Olympus. To Zeus.” Curiosity tilted her head. “Have you ever had one on one time with him?” she asked and received no response. “Have you ever even met him?” When Havers didn’t reply again, she laughed. “Wow, he’s the man behind the curtain… I suppose it’s a reprieve for you and for him. Maybe he’s finally figured out that he’s just not a people person.” “At Olympus, we work as a team.” Yeah, right, Zeus didn’t know the meaning of the word. Dictatorship. Yeah, he knew what that word meant. Repression. Persecution. These were much more familiar to him. “Word to the wise…” Boosting herself off the bed, she snagged her bag. “I might despise him and everything he stands for, but if you want to pledge your allegiance to something, pledge it to Ares. He, at least, won’t leave you in the dust for scraps. Zeus is an egomaniac who believes the world exists only to cater to his desires. Spread the word, he’ll desert you all. You mean nothing to him.” Wandering in the direction of the bathroom, she was ready to wash off the day. “Pandora—” “I’ll pass on the run,” she said, pausing in the closet doorway. “Just wake me when the coffee’s ready.” Havers was new. To Olympus and to her. If Harry was at the top, if Daire was, maybe the kid would have a chance of fighting for what he believed in. So long as he worked under Zeus, he’d be a puppet, and an expendable one at that.