Tethered Souls | Books 1, 2, and 3

{Book Two} 105 | Projects

∞ The Tethered Ones ∞

Chapter 35

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• Amir •

Out of all the people who could have lost their memories, Amir felt that Sam didn't deserve it. He knew what it was like to have a void in his mind and move forward, even though he struggled with it himself.

He was saddened by the thought of Sarah's father not knowing who she was, and he understood that Sam needed to be rescued, too.

"What do you think, General?" Luna asked, her eyes shifting to him. "Is it possible that they've erased every ounce of Sarah's existence from Sam's mind?"

"I can't answer that." Davenport dropped his hand to his knee. "I haven't seen anyone from BARDA since you two escaped the hospital. Obviously, I'm not with them. I'm here—watching a live-action soap opera."

Luna's lips curled as she snarled. "You can be such a prick."

"And you can be stuck up," he shot back.

Amir growled, balling his fists.

"Back to more important topics, the organization is much harder to deal with." She folded her arms over her chest, pursing her lips. "Sam is compromised."

"Defective, Origin, or Trojan, they won't stand a chance against me," Amir stated. He sounded a bit arrogant and full of himself, but it was the truth. "Or you," he added, meeting her gaze.

Luna blinked, and then said, "I'll uproot trees and break their bodies with the curl of my hand. Nobody would want to mess with me."

Her words struck a chord with him. He didn't want to think of Luna as dangerous, but he knew she could become lethal if the time came for it.

"They won't stand a chance against me if I somehow learned to access those abilities . . . and control my emotions at the same time. I'll try not to kill anybody in the process," she said. "Including you."

"That's . . . very reassuring," Amir murmured.

Her eyes narrowed. "I'm just saying, I know how to defend myself."

"I know, Moon. I'm not worried."

"You should be," Davenport commented. "She can unravel from the slightest emotion. You'd want to take cover."

Man, this guy was terrible at giving motivational speeches.

"Their latest achievements are their controlled assassins. Humanity won't stand a chance against them, and the Defectives will slowly be seen as the good guys. They still have their free will. But this other group who responds to their c—"

"If you say commander, I will bring your house down," Luna warned.

"Creator," Davenport answered. "They see the organization as their creator. Their lord."

A ripple of heat exploded into the air as Amir fumed, "They are not lords."

"To most Origins who are Trojans now, they are. If Alisha commands them to do their bidding, they do so without question. If they're commanded to kill, they'll slaughter without hesitation. If they're told to burn a building with people inside it, they'll do it with no remorse. They're programmed to serve their leader."

Amir froze, hoping things couldn't get any worse than that.

"I learned about these projects around Independence Day. Alisha introduced the Omega Project as the answer to any future conflict and a way to keep the cooperating Tethered Souls in line so humanity would have protectors." His breath stilled. "In the beginning their intentions were admirable, but along the way, they lost themselves."