Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
She grinned, then her eyes darted back to the laptop. A small envelope had appeared and then faded. A new email.
“Who are you emailing?” I asked casually, but a feeling of concern wormed its way into my brain. I couldn’t stand the thought of Holly doing something without telling me.
She kept staring at the laptop before finally turning to me. Tears sprang into her eyes.
“Holly, what’s wrong?”
Her gaze dropped to her lap where she was wringing her hands. “It’s…” She began, then sighed deeply. “… it’s just my parents. My mom emailed me to say that Dad lost his job. She’s taken on a part-time job but she can’t really do more. Someone has to take care of my brothers and sister. Noah has been sick a lot. His medicine is expensive.” Holly had two younger brothers and a younger sister, and her parents had always struggled to make ends meet.
“I’m sure he’ll find a new job soon,” I assured her.
“I should be there to help them. It’ll still be a couple of years before I’ll really earn decent money as an agent.”
That gave me pause. Somehow being with the FEA always felt more like a way of living—thus far, it had been school more than a job, but Holly was right. As full-fledged agents, we’d get paid really good money for our work. So far, our payment had been more like an allowance. Though, I had gotten a pay raise because of my first real mission. I’d forgotten to mention it to Holly so far and didn’t think now was the best time either.
“I could give you money. I’ve put away a decent amount.”
“No,” Holly said immediately. “I need more than that.”
“Maybe you can ask Major if he can help out. I mean, we’re practically doing this agent-trainee thing full-time, so we might as well get paid better for it.”
“I don’t think Major would agree. I mentioned it once, but I got the feeling that he’d prefer that I break ties with them.”
“Are you sure? That sounds so callous.”
“You know he doesn’t care all that much about normal people. And look around, most FEA agents are either orphans or were abandoned by their parents. I’m pretty much the only one who stays in contact with their family, except for Kate and the few others with Variant parents.”
She had a point.
“Maybe you could ask Major again? Or I could ask Alec to talk to him. Major listens to Alec.”
Holly shook her head hastily. “No, no. I’ll have to figure out another way. I wish I could live with them for a while to help take care of my siblings so my mom can work full time. But Major would never agree.”
The FEA took us away from our families. Major seemed to think it was the duty of every parent to hand their child over with pride. But if he expected us to serve the FEA, he should at least make sure our families were doing okay. I wondered if parents had ever refused to send their child to the FEA, but somehow I already knew the answer. I didn’t think Major knew the meaning of ‘no’.
That night Holly, Alec, Tanner, and I sat around a table in the common room, playing poker. Holly already looked much more cheerful, thanks to Tanner’s jokes. Seeing them sitting beside each other: he with his green mohawk and his septum piercing, and she with her fiery red pixie-cut hair, they looked so cute together. I knew their admiration was mutual, but apart from an awkward kiss months ago, they’d yet to make a move. I wasn’t sure what their problem was.
Meanwhile, Alec kept touching my hand, my knee, my thigh beneath the table whenever he didn’t need to put down a card. It seemed like he couldn’t stop touching me, and it made me ridiculously happy.
“So what’s really the deal with Abel’s Army?” Holly asked as she dealt out cards.
“What do you mean?” Tanner asked distractedly as he sorted his hand. “I thought you knew the gist already. They broke off with FEA decades ago and are doing their own thing. Mainly illegal stuff.”
“Yeah, but what exactly are they doing?”
“They’re working for the highest bidder. The Russian, Italian, Chinese mafia, international terrorists—whoever pays the most,” Alec replied with an intense look at his cards. But something told me the cards weren’t why he’d tensed.
“But if they work for all kinds of gangsters, how can they keep Variants a secret? If they care about money so much, wouldn’t someone have bribed or blackmailed them and sold the knowledge to a newspaper or TV station?” I said.
Alec popped a few chips into his mouth, considering how much he should tell us. “You should know that what I’m telling you now are only rumors. I don’t know for sure but I heard that Abel’s Army has a Variant in their rows who can alter or even remove memories. The ability to instantaneously brainwash someone.”