Joan Ascends

Chapter 7: Now the world can see the truth

The next morning, my muscles are as sore as if I've run a marathon, and I feel like I could sleep for about a thousand years. Instead, I force myself out of bed and slip from my parents' safe house before they wake up. I don't want them to see me today as I deteriorate further.

The streets are quiet in the early morning light, and I make my way to the closest entrance to the lab, a grate in a nearby alley. But when I reach it, two people are waiting for me.

"Don't shoot him," Jo says, seeing my eyes narrow at the man by her side.

Leo Beaker, Crew's former right-hand man, looks worse than I've ever seen him. His clothes are dirty, and there are dark rings under his eyes like he hasn't been sleeping. Good. I hope he's haunted by what he's done for as long as he walks the earth.

Even with him in a weakened state, I should be running for my life. Leo allied himself with a murderer, and stood by his side while innocent people were killed. He betrayed me and my friends. Elisabeth and Sacajawea are dead because of his actions. Not to mention the many Evolved that were killed on Crew's orders.

But strangely, no adrenaline floods my system. It's like my body still thinks this is the teacher who protected me from Headmaster Hunter and spent hours in the Bunker, helping me strategize ways to change the world and make it better. The man who carried me away from all the carnage on Day Zero, probably saving my life.

"What the hell are you doing with this psycho, Jo?"

"He wants to atone for what he did. And I think we should let him try."

My eyes swivel to Leo's face, and a flicker of the rage that's never far away from my mind makes me clench my fists tight so I don't try to kill him right here and now. "I'll never forgive you. None of us will."

"I know that, Joan," Leo says, his voice gravelly, like he hasn't been using it much. "I'm not asking for that. I want to be part of something good again. Give me a role. It can be the most dangerous or disgusting job you can think up. I'll clean the toilets or assassinate Lexi. Put me on a path and use me."

My head is shaking before Leo has finished speaking. "Everyone would be looking over their shoulders, waiting for your knife in our backs. Sun has considered the possibility that you'll take up Crew's mantle now that he's dead."

Jo comes closer, and when her eyes meet mine, I can see how much this all means to her. "There is no mantle to take up. Rob is in police custody. Joseph, Mary and Dennis fled Seattle, and I know they are on 'most wanted' lists all over the world. Soon they'll be apprehended too, unless they are killed first. Most of the rest of Crew's team were obeying more out of fear than anything else."

"Leo should go to jail for the rest of his life for his crimes. And that would be generous."

"I considered turning him in. But Lexi would simply retire him before he could leak any information that she wants to keep under wraps. And there's something else. Proof that his intentions are real."

"Okay..."

"I took your contact cam footage from Day Zero," Leo says. "I knew it could be useful."

Understanding passes through me like lightning. "You created that viral vid."

Leo nods.

Part of me wants to scream at him, since he is one of the key people responsible for the mess that happened that day. There would be no vid if he'd used his power to stop Crew, instead of aiding him.

"It's not nearly enough, Joan, I know," Jo hurries to says. "But it's a start. And Leo and I have been friends for a long time. I believe him when he says he didn't know everything Crew was planning, and that he wants to make things right now. Maybe you can't trust him, but you can trust me."