thirty-two

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Emily wasn't sure what to make of it. After all, she'd been with Victoria when the girl left The Acropolis with Apex. All evidence pointed to her being a traitor. But her most recent actions suggested otherwise.

Trying to make sense of it only made her head hurt.

Once they were out of their cuffs, Victoria explained everything to them

After the failed assault on the Nexxus Laboratory, she developed a scheme to get in close to Kane and take him down from the outside. Apparently, she tried bringing it up to her father, but he never took the time to listen to her.

Emily thought back to meeting they all had after they returned from their botched mission in Canada. She remembered Victoria tried saying something but was shut down before she got the chance.

The girl eventually grew tired of waiting around and acted on her plan alone. Her objective was to gain Kismet's trust, which was why she revealed the location of The Acropolis and helped them reacquire their Primonium. The plan proved to be successful, as Kane supposedly accepted her into her ranks after Apex brought her to their base.

Unfortunately, she never found an opening to send Atlas the coordinates to Kane's headquarters. Had Emily and her friends not visited the man's old lab in New York, her entire plan would've been useless.

Though, Emily couldn't fault the girl for trying. She took initiative. Had she not acted as a double-agent, they all would've still been stuck in those Prime-nullifying handcuffs and Kane would've won anyways, So, in a way, her strategy did work. Just not in the way she intended.

Emily rubbed her wrists, the skin puffy and agitated. She whistled for good measure. The high-pitched noise caused everyone to plug their ears for a few seconds. She grinned.

Her abilities were back.

After Victoria finished explaining, Oscar wrapped her into a hug. The girl stiffened up, her arms stuck to her sides as the boy held her tight.

''I knew you weren't a traitor,'' he said, his head buried in the crook of her neck.

Emily blew air from her nose. ''Yeah, right. Weren't you the main one calling her a traitor just a few minutes ago?''

Oscar let go of Victoria and rubbed the back of his neck, a blush creeping upon his cheeks. ''Yeah, about that....''

Victoria huffed, seemingly annoyed. Though, she looked like she wanted to smile at him. Emily stifled a laugh as she looked at her and Oscar. She had to admit it, the two of them would be cute together.

''Your plan was pretty lucky,'' Chase said. ''And risky.'' He didn't seem as convinced as everyone else. He regarded her with caution, his blue eyes steely. Stella urged him to ease up.

''If your gig as an Atlas agent doesn't work out,'' Theo said, ''you could always be an actress.''

Victoria snorted. ''I'll think about it.''

''This is a nice little reunion and all, but can we get out of here now?'' Cutter gestured towards the door. ''We've still got a job to do.''

Victoria nodded. ''He's right. We've got about half an hour before the Asclepius is ready. We need to stop Kane before he can start the launch sequence. With the amount of Primonium he's collected, it's enough to wipe out millions of people.''

That stunned the room. Emily shook her head in disbelief. Millions. That's how lives were potentially at stake.

''We've gotta take that machine down,'' Chase said. ''We don't need anyone else dying today.'' He dropped his hand onto Cutter's shoulder. He and Precision wore pensive expressions, their gazes dark and their jaws taut. ''Blackbird didn't die in vain. We'll finish this mission. For her.''

Red Skies | The Prime Archives #1 ✓Where stories live. Discover now