Infiltration Chapter 1

The world around me slows as I digest the news. Heaviness in my chest threatens to drag me under. My eyes burn and my vision blurs. I blink rapidly a few times to fight off the anguish, the tears.

Enid has no such reservations. Tears roll silently down her pale cheeks, but she doesn’t make a sound. I can see it on her face: the news has broken her. I can’t bear facing her grief. It would be the end of me, my final undoing.

The call for us to report to the Department of Security building had created a pit in my stomach that slowly grew larger the closer we drove to the building. I tried to tell myself that the team was back, and they just wanted me there to greet my kids. Enid and me.

I knew better, but I couldn’t accept what the truth may be. Now, I can’t think straight. I can’t imagine the next step forward. I can barely breathe.

“Ugene?” Bianca furrows her brows. How can she be so calm? I want to punch her. Not that it’s her fault.

I did this. I proposed Project Restoration. I set up the parameters for selection. I knew Gavin, at least, would be selected—though I had expected him to refuse. He hates change.

Now he’s gone. A lump lodges in my throat. I fight to force it down, but it only makes matters worse.

And Paige. I didn’t think her performance in the Specialist program was anything exceptional. But after her selection, I reviewed her records, stunned to see how high her performance scores were. I didn’t expect them to choose her. And once they did, nothing I said or did would have stopped her. She’s too stubborn.

Enid fights off a sob, gripping the arms of her chair until her knuckles turn white. I reach over and wrap my hand over hers. She jerks it away, and my heart breaks all over again.

The meeting room is warm, inviting, and makes me sick to my stomach. Across the conference table, Doctor Adams slouches in his seat, fidgeting with his hands on the tabletop. Harper won’t stop crying and hugging herself. The sound grates on my nerves. I clench my jaw. What does she have to grieve over? These are my children! The thought isn’t fair, but I can’t help my anger.

Miller leans forward in the chair beside me, eyeing Bianca, then Levi, who stands on the other side, behind the remaining two team members. “So, what’s the next step?” Miller asks.

Bianca and Levi exchange glances I can read all too easily.

“Nothing.” The bitter anger in my voice makes Bianca flinch.

Miller scoffs, shaking his head. His blond locks wave with the motion. He needs a haircut. “Bullshit,” he snaps. “Put together another team. Send them to the last known location and have them search from there. We know where that signal came from. We know where we need to go. Covert ops, right? You have it. Send it out and get those kids home.”

An argument ensues. I can’t seem to focus on their words. Instead, I watch Doctor Adams. I don’t know what I’m looking for—if I’m even looking for anything at all. My stare makes him shift uneasily in his seat.

Their report fills me with both hope and grief. Easton sent a message to the two of them while they were guarding the truck. About the Haven, and a warning about the Kingdom and what they wanted—girls like Paige and boys like Gavin. The next morning, Easton reported they were under attack. He did everything by the book: coordinating a rendezvous, setting a limit, sending survivors back once that limit passed no matter what. We don’t know anything beyond that. Except that no one made the rendezvous. Harper and Doctor Adams waited an extra day, and all they found was Olivia’s body.

Paige and Gavin could be dead, along with Easton. Or they could be captive.

“You don’t know shit!” Miller surges to his feet, startling me. The lights in the room flicker, a sign of Miller’s barely contained rage.

Enid startles, raising her gaze for the first time since they told us the news.

Miller slams his fist against the tabletop. Sparks fly out of the nearby outlets. He stabs an accusatory finger at Bianca and Levi. “They could be on their way back on foot, for all we know! They could have escaped!”

Levi flinches. I should be angry—I’m glad Miller is thinking straight because I certainly can’t—but I can’t blame Levi or Bianca, either. Their hands are tied. And they love my kids just as much as Miller does. This isn’t easy for any of us.

“Sit down, Miller,” I say, my voice empty of emotion.

He waves a hand in their direction, turning his fierce blue-gray eyes on me. “You’re just going to sit there and let this go?”

Enid pulls her arms tighter to her sides but says nothing. What could we say or do?

“We are working on a plan of action,” Levi reassures us. “But we have to pass it through the Council of Representatives. The truth is, we have no clue what the Kingdom is capable of. But if they seek Powers, then we have to assume their force is formidable. We can’t just launch a rescue mission without examining the potential dangers to the entire city.”

“We love those kids. We care about them,” Bianca reassures us, “and we will do everything we can to bring them home.”

Miller snorts, crossing his arms. “What a crock of fucking bureaucratic bullshit.” Then he snatches his jacket off the back of the chair and storms toward the door.

Enid rises and follows him out like a wraith. I rise as well, but watching my wife turn inward without a single response makes my legs weak. I have to be the strong one. I must help her through this.

Bianca edges cautiously toward me, as if afraid I will lash out. Funny. She’s the one with unfathomable strength. “Ugene, I promise we will figure something out. And I will organize a team to listen to the radio waves for any signs of s—” She chokes on the last word.

I clench my fists. “Say it.”

She pales.

“Say it, Bianca. Say survivors.”

Her jaw slackens as if she wants to comply, but she can’t get the word out. Agony shines in her copper eyes. She and Paige were—are—close. How can she just stand there and act so clinically about this?

I shake my head in disgust and storm out of the room.

I can’t deal with this right now.

I have to get my kids back.

Somehow.