The Pyramid Chronicles: Fortuna Guard (#2)

Chapter Forty-Two: Headquarters

Scorpion's headquarters disappeared in a fiery explosion beneath the jetchopper. Ash felt nothing but hollow as he watched through the window. Another place he'd called home was now gone.

Ash was vaguely aware of conversation between the other altered in the chopper. Vaguely aware of the trees becoming a blur below, of the unfamiliar path they were taking through the sky. Vaguely aware of the ache in his head.

Raveena was supposed to be dead.

But she was alive, and she was working for the Fortuna Guard. The enemy. Why did she say that Claudia shot her? It had been a rogue soldier at an old Scorpion building that killed her. Or tried to. But the idea of a ten-year-old girl surviving a gunshot to the chest without help was...unbelievable. Raveena had healing abilities, sure, but she wasn't that powerful.

Unless they'd all underestimated her.

"I don't suppose you know where we're going, do you?"

Ash glanced at Willow as she sat down next to him. "Didn't realize you were in here," he mumbled.

"Got on early and stuck to a dark corner. All that fighting was pointless, seeing as how we lost the building and most of our data, anyway." Willow's arms folded. "And I'll take that as a no."

"The only other Scorpion building I know of is the lab, but I don't think that's big enough to hold all of us," Ash told her. "Usually when this kind of thing happens, we go somewhere temporarily while Claudia finds us a new building. But we didn't have as many altered in the past."

Willow was quiet for a moment before changing the subject. "I heard you ran into Raveena. And that she's your sister."

"Seth tell you that?"

"Yeah, he's been blabbing to everyone that she's back from the dead. I guess she used to be with Scorpion, too?"

Ash nodded. "Claudia took us in after our parents...died." But after what he'd seen today, he wasn't sure what the real story was anymore.

"Do you believe that?" Willow asked.

Ash's eyes narrowed. "Why do you care? Don't you work in the lab?"

"I do. And I'm trying to get information on some tech that Claudia..." Willow trailed off and shook her head. "All I'm saying is, if you feel like there's something weird going on with your memories, I might be able to help you figure it out."

That piqued Ash's interest, but Willow was one of the last people he trusted. "Do you actually care about helping me, or do you just want to get your hands on weird tech that Claudia may or may not have?" The question came out a little snappier than he'd intended.

Willow raised an eyebrow. "Does it matter?"

Ash turned to stare back out the window. Rain pounded against the glass, obscuring his view of the world below. "Let's talk later."

"Okay." Willow rose and walked away, leaving him alone again.

Ash slid a hand into his backpack to assess what he'd grabbed in the rush. He had some clothes, his phone, and—

His fingers brushed against another device. Eric's old phone. It had died a while ago, but Ash pulled it out anyway to stare at the black screen. After a long moment, he tossed it back in.

The minutes blurred together. The rain faded gradually. By the time the jet slowed down, the landscape below had become clear. They flew over mountains, then desert, and then the ocean rolled into view. The jet descended toward a white building sitting above a rocky beach, right at the edge of a dark cliff.

The aircraft shifted into a helicopter and touched down on the building's roof. Other Scorpion choppers were already parked, and Claudia stood in the center of them all, monitoring the arrivals. When Ash opened the door, she hurried over.

Her attention was directed not at Ash, but Willow, who stepped out behind him. "Willow, the Director wants to see you right away," Claudia said. She glanced toward the door that led into the building. "He's waiting just inside."

Willow nodded and headed in. Claudia followed at a slower pace.

"Did we round up all the altered?" Ash asked as he fell into step next to her. "I think everyone got out of the building, but—"

"I don't know," Claudia snapped. "I've been very busy. I'm not your mother, I don't have time to take roll call."

Ash halted. Claudia didn't notice. Or didn't care. She continued toward the door, leaving him to rush to catch up.

"Where are we?" Ash asked, glancing around. He noticed that while most of the choppers bore Scorpion's logo, a few only displayed a plain twelve-pointed star.

A thin smile touched Claudia's lips. "Welcome to Zodiac."