Evolution - The Oasis Project Book 3

Thirty-Five - Linkin

Going from Australia to Russia was a shock to my system. We went from tank tops and shorts to a foot of snow as we drove away from the airport. "And here I complained about China," Nita shivered. Heaters were slowly warming up the car, but evidently not fast enough for her. "How did you survive Alaska?"

"I don't think I did." There was an awkward pause when I realized she was asking about the weather, not the emotional toll. "Layers," I slowly corrected myself.

Nita ran her hands along her arms even though she was already wearing a parka. "It doesn't help."

"The clothes were also in the cold vehicle. It'll get better. Just have patience."

I drove down familiar roads and into the small, remote town. "How do you know where you're going?" Nita asked after she flicked through the radio and deemed there was nothing good on.

I found a place to park and turned the car off. It was still cold. "I worked for the Russian mob." I opened my door and glanced back at a pair of shocked blue eyes. "Did work for. They aren't all bad people."

"They're the mob!" Nita said a little too loudly as she got out of the car and onto the icy sidewalk. "Are we meeting them now?" She almost sounded scared.

I paused and glanced to the bakery we stood in front of. "Well, they do own this place, but no. I'm using the phone to call Doctor A and set up a meeting."

"That somehow seems worse." She sighed, but walked into the warm, sweet smelling bakery as I held the door open for her.

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With a cup of coffee in my hands and a blueberry muffin in front of me, it was almost easy to forget what Nita and I were waiting for. "Are you alright?"  I asked after watching her hands tremble ever since I had hung up the phone.

Her gaze stayed on her steaming cup of her tea. "You said she knew it was you calling?" I nodded. "How?"  I knew she would regret chickening out of calling Doctor A herself.

"I didn't really ask," I admitted. "Guess there can't be that many people who know her personal number."

"How do you know her cell?"

I didn't reply, simply stared at her as she brought her tea cup to her lips.

"Oh, right. Bad question. I'm sorry."

I shrugged and picked off another piece of my muffin. "It's fine." It was strange sitting across a table from the woman I had just released from handcuffs and forced to come to Russia with me only thirty hours ago. We weren't friends – I had to keep reminding myself that. She was a traitor, a scientist, and part of me still blamed her for Jaysen's death all those years ago. "Do you think you would have worked on me at Dell Island?" I couldn't stop myself from asking.

Nita looked me over as if she was actually considering the question. "Probably not."

That was the end of the conversation. I went back to ignoring the messages from Four asking for a report. We had worked out a system: looking up was yes, down was no, and rolling my eyes was unhelpful.

"Linkin!" It was Nita snapping my name, her eyes flickering to the front door.

I didn't have to look up to know what had her so panicked. "Relax." I said under my breath as a gust of cold air rushed in as Doctor A stepped into the bakery.

Her heels clicked on the ground as she walked directly over to our table, sitting down without hesitation. "Nita, Valentina."

"Two," I quickly corrected her as I looked up.

She smirked and nodded. "So I hear, but I'm going to call you Valentina until you prove your worth." I nodded respectfully and folded my hands together on the table. Doctor A raised a brow, but flicked her hand anyways, motioning her two men to pat me down.

"I'm carrying." Evidently honesty was the best policy because she seemed pleasantly surprised. Nita stayed quiet and let me do the talking, as planned. "Tucked into my back." I lifted my shoulders and leaned forward so they could take it from me. "I may have stole it to protect Nita. I didn't want a repeat of Egypt." I did my best to push the guilt over Emma's death to grant me my freedom back down. I didn't have time to deal with those repressed emotions.

"No," Doctor A said with a frown. "I don't think any of us do." She took her time to examine my robotic expression as she searched for my lies. "Why did you come back?"

My eyes glanced to Nita who stared back at me. "She was escaping during the attack on China. Evidently Celestia helped her get out of the massacre inside. They ran into me. I shot Celestia and before I could kill Nita, she triggered my body word to make me loyal again."

Doctor A looked to Nita with a raised brow. 'It's true. I don't know what happened to Celestia. Last time I saw her, she was gasping for her breath." She was a good liar, though every word she said was true. "I'm sorry. I panicked and didn't know what to do."

"It took me a few days to get back to myself. Once I was recovered, I was weak." I quickly took over for Nita. "Once I was strong and knew I could protect us, I started to search for a base. China was destroyed and Russia was hidden from me so–"

"Enough." Doctor A cut me off. "I've heard enough." I watched as she flicked her wrist and the men who took my gun, forced a black bag over my head. Seconds later, I felt my consciousness slipping completely. We were in.