“My intentions?”
“You’re 17th Company Leader, Rhett Hays, M499. You work for Williams and this is your first experience off Facility grounds. You have three dozen soldiers two clicks north of here, though you’re just the first group to arrive. More are coming. What I don’t know—what isn’t clear—are your personal intentions.”
“My intentions are now and will always be to take care of those I lead.”
“How poetic, but you’re going to have to be a lot more specific, Hays.”
Meg sensed Valen’s thoughts before the soldier even made a move. The edgy female was calculating.
“Stop and think about how you’d feel, Valen Springer, knowing it was because of you that your leader was dead.” Meg’s eyes never left the blade she held at Rhett’s throat, but she spoke directly to the soldier who had been reaching for the M9 at her back.
“You may want to tell her to stand down. She’s about to do something monumentally stupid,” Meg whispered into Rhett’s ear.
“Valen, back off! That’s an order!” Rhett barked.
The girl’s eyes were saucer-wide as she quickly put her hands up and stepped back.
Harley was floored at what was happening—feeling completely out of the loop—but he mimicked Valen’s moves exactly while keeping a wary eye on the leader of the Originals.
“As I was saying, what are your intentions?”
“My intentions are different from my orders, Miss Winter.” Rhett kept his eyes forward as he spoke. “Yes, I am everything you said—right down to the Metanumber inked into my arm, and while we may be very different in our experiences, we’re both leaders determined to do what’s best for our people.”
Meg stayed silent allowing him time to either endear himself or hang himself with his words.
“I need to determine what kind of leader you are; what kind of person you are. I’ll report my observations to the others and let them make their decisions.”
“What decisions, exactly?” Meg prodded.
“Williams has ordered me to work with Senator Arkdone’s people. The objective is to—” He swallowed hard against the blade that slipped tighter against his throat. “—terminate the Original Three and the faction known as The Winter Family—no one will be left alive.”
“I cannot tell you how many times those two bloodthirsty monsters have tried to ‘terminate’ us and lost. What makes this time any different?”
“The alliance between the metamonarchs and the metahumans—the sheer numbers and firepower—are meant to assure victory.”
“So what difference is it to you what kind of person I am?” Meg redirected the topic as she eased up on the knife, giving him room to breathe.
“For years now my Company and I have been watching the Director. The older we got, the more responsibilities we were given at the Facility, the more access we gained to classified materials.”
“Go on,” Meg urged.
“We uncovered sickening truths—both past and present. Things we innately knew were wrong. Williams led the way for his scientists like Dr. Chaunders to perform experiments on orphaned and unwanted children. Drugs, serums, surgeries—” Rhett’s voice caught in his throat for a moment. “He didn’t stop with children, Miss. Winter. He acquires infants, too. Hell, recently he was toying with embryos, working on a crossbreed.”
Meg flinched. The embryos were hers. Just another reason to despise the man who surgically harvested eggs from her ovaries against her will. She moved the knife away from Rhett’s neck and stepped back from him. Slowly Rhett stood and turned to face her.
“It’s abundantly clear Williams has no regard for life—not human, not meta, not even for his own daughter.” Rhett braced himself, realizing his last words may have gone too far.
Meg stood silent, her chin lifted defiantly.
“What I’m saying, Miss Winter, is that I think we’ve been following the wrong leader.” Rhett paused, realizing this was the first time he had admitted those thoughts aloud. “But until now, our options were limited.”
Meg kept her eyes on Rhett, but reached out to sense what the other two soldiers were feeling. They agreed completely with what he was saying, though they were still wary of her.
Rhett continued, “Listen, I knew of Creed Young. He’s not just a good soldier, but a good man. What he did at his Retribution Match against his brother is legendary.”