The Girl Who Kicked Ass (Death Fields 3)

“I’ve been practicing.”

“I’m sure you have. But that’s not what’s going on, is it?” I walk over to him and lift up the hem of his shirt. Muscles that I’m sure weren’t there two weeks ago ladder up his stomach. I look in his eyes, terrified I’ll find the worst, but they’re clear, and other than redness and sweat from physical exertion, he looks fine. “They gave you something—not quite Hybrid, but something.”

“I don’t know what it was. It could have been any variation of the vaccines they tested—or maybe the cumulation of them all?” He wipes his hands on a rag he picks up off a bench. “Are you scared?”

“You saved me and you’re my friend.” I shake my head. “No, I’m not scared, although I do think we have to be careful.”

“I don’t have any urges to hurt anyone or any sense of following alternate directions. None of that hive mentality the Hybrids seem ruled by.”

“Something clicked it on that night, though. If it wasn’t the other Hybrids then what was it?” I’ve wanted to ask that question for weeks.

He tugs at his gloves and looks away. “You were in danger and I was scared.”

“Paul…”

He smiles at me. “You came back for me. It may have been a fluke but it counts with me. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

“Thank you. I feel the same way.”

He looks around the room. “I don’t carry the rage, but I do have a huge amount of energy—like I’m bursting out of my skin sometimes, you know? I just want to get out there and do something. ”

“Good. You know, we should probably talk to Cole about this. Let him do some tests.”

He holds up his hands. “No tests. I can’t.”

Now he looks panicked and I get it. “Okay, no tests, but you should start working out with Davis. He can help you control some of that energy. He’s good at training—one of the best.”

That idea pleases him. Probably more the idea of being strong now and not left at the mercy of Jane and her minions. I don’t blame him. Being vulnerable sucks.

“Shouldn’t you be in bed?” he asks. “No offense, but you look like crap.”

“Thanks a lot,” I laugh, punching him in the arm. It’s solid as a rock and I instantly regret it. “Yeah, I need to get to bed. We’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

“We do?”

“Yep. Get ready.”

Chapter 7

“So you want us to become terrorists?”

Jude doesn’t sound completely opposed to the idea, even though everyone else looks at me with skepticism. Well, not Davis. He just has that stone-faced, soldier expression on. I’m sure it’s not the first time he’s been asked to do something like this.

“Terrorist is a strong word,” I argue. “Here’s the thing: Erwin suggested this to me weeks ago and I didn’t get it, but after everything we went through yesterday I realize he’s right. The only way to take Jane down is from the inside.”

“So you want us to go in and sabotage her holdings?” Jude asks, apparently the spokesperson for the group now. A quick glance at Cole makes me unsure he’s even listening.

“The clinics, the camps, her vehicles, her workers and soldiers. We’ll stop supply runs. Steal their food and ammunition. Cut the generators. If Jane’s facilities are no longer functioning we can get to survivors first. Vaccinate them. Get them away from Jane before she has a chance to turn them into Hybrids.”

“And the Fort?” Cole asks. Ah. Apparently he is listening.

I rest my elbows on the table. Erwin gave us use of a conference room with a large window that makes the room bright enough to see one another without the generated lights. “Eventually, yes.”

“I like it,” Davis says. “We go in fast and get out. A team diverts survivors and brings them back here. We create our own army.”

I smile, relieved to have someone understand. “Yes. Exactly.”

Paul raises his hand. “And Erwin has infrastructure to handle the inflow of survivors?”