The Unknown

EIGHTEEN | release.

Tess was bound with metal cuffs that enclosed her hands and feet, rendering her immobile. She'd woken up in a conference room, propped upright in a leather chair. The walls were bare beige and there were no windows.

Several dull minutes later, a door opened behind her. She heard someone's breath.

"Oh joy, you're awake." It was the man from the screen, his voice dry and sardonic. He stepped into her line of sight and plopped a Manila folder on the table.

It felt odd that he was really here before her. He was shorter than she'd imagined from the large screen—almost her height. His hair was gray and slicked back against his scalp, but he looked younger in person.

He stepped forward and she instinctively stiffened, bracing herself.

"Relax." Surprisingly, his voice was the softest and warmest she'd ever heard it. She couldn't help but think of Van and his confusing shifts between coldness and sympathy.

He shone a flashlight into each of her eyes, staring intently at her face. She held his gaze, waiting for him to say something.

"Are you a good liar?" he asked.

She snorted.

He stepped back and sat casually on the table, legs crossed. "They want you to go undercover. Work for us from the inside."

"Where's Kyle?" Worry was stirring in her gut, but it didn't reach her voice.

"That's the fun twist." He rubbed his hands together with exaggerated excitement. "He stays here. You do everything we say, or we'll take your boyfriend and...well, I'll leave that to your imagination, but it won't be pretty." He gave one of his evil, lopsided smiles.

Her hands in their cuffs almost shook with fury, itching to reach out and strangle him.

"So, the plan is that you go back to your kind and avoid detection. You'll be our spy and relay us locations, plans—anything useful. We'll tell you what else to do." He gave another sick grin. "We implanted a discreet earpiece while you were unconscious."

She fought the urge to spit at him, already worried about how her actions might impact Kyle.

A thought occurred to her. "Why me? Why not let him out?"

"It was a committee vote. A narrow majority wanted to send you out and keep him. I'd have done the opposite."

"Why?"

"You're a bit infamous here for your daring escape with several other prisoners, and for your part in freeing the subjects from the basement. I'd like to keep you here and make you pay." He laughed. "But, lucky for you, it's not up to me."

She stared at him defiantly, letting the disgust spill onto her face. "There's one problem with your little plan. Kyle and I basically betrayed our own kind. I'm not sure they'll trust me or take me back."

He stared at her. "It's up to you to make it work. If you don't, you can guess what'll happen to your boy. If you want, tell them you realized how evil we are and that you want to destroy us. The truth, basically. Convince them you're really on their side. We'll be listening in to everything you say, so we'll know if you fail."

A chill ran through her like a wave of icy static.

Two armored guards entered the room and unlocked the cuffs from her feet. They roughly grabbed her arms and forced her upright. She shook them off, hands still cuffed.

"We're letting you out," the man stated. He walked ahead, the two guards prodding Tess forward down a long hall. "According to our intel, your group is stationed in the suburbs, near the riverbank. We've arranged a driver to take you there. You're to go straight to them, ask for their forgiveness and regain their trust. That's your first mission."

As they walked, she stared daggers at the back of his head.

They boarded a large elevator. She felt it move, her stomach dropping.

The man faced forward, never looking at her as he spoke. "The drive will take half an hour, and your cuffs are timed to release in forty minutes. Good luck."

He stayed behind in the elevator as the guards prodded her through a doorway and into the night. The car was waiting feet from the entrance. The guards roughly grabbed her arms and shoved her into the back seat.

Inside, it looked like a cop car, with a metal divider between her and the front seats. There were metal bars on the windows. There was no handle to open the door from within, only on the outside.

The car began to roll forward, the silent driver taking off.

"Testing, 1, 2."

Tess jolted with surprise. The man's voice was in her ear, disembodied.

"Can you hear me? Respond now."

"Yes," she said begrudgingly. It was sinking in that she'd have to comply with his every demand, considering Kyle was still in their grip. She was dead set against putting him at risk.

She sunk into her seat. It felt like she was suffocating, drowning. She would no longer have free will or privacy. Her choices wouldn't be hers.

"Good. I can hear everything you hear and give you instructions at any time. Follow them. You won't like the alternative."

She watched the city whizz by out the darkly tinted windows. There were endless suburban homes with manicured lawns. Some had lights on, and she could see glimpses of families together inside. Her heart ached.

"Sometimes it might be someone other than me in your ear, since I can't monitor you day and night."

"Whatever," she said.

There was silence. "I hope you understand the gravity of this. This could be the beginning of the end of this war, no matter who wins. You're at the heart of it."