Page 18 of He Is Jensen: Part One

“He changed? As in, his personality?”

“After that, he became a crazy fuck, but his twin brother, Caleb, is the leader of the Renegades, and he’s as honorable as they get.”

“Can he talk to the wolves, too?”

“No. And he’s terrified of the day he might somehow become like his brother.”

My brow furrows. “It’s as if something in his chemistry changed. I’ve read as much in the data on the transitions you’ve gone through as GTECHs, and it’s what we don’t know that’s scary. And yet, Julian still chose to peddle ICE, which has just as many unknowns. Our world is in trouble, and I’m not sure we can stop whatever is coming.”

“Julian doesn’t want to stop it. That’s the problem. We have half our population of GTECHs trying to rule the world as the entitled species, the ruling class.”

“Power and money are always the roots of destruction,” I conclude. “The wind thing is really interesting, though. I reallydon’t understand how it’s possible. It defies all scientific logic. Where does your body go?”

“It’s almost like we’re in another dimension, though that has no science behind it at all. It happens so fast that it might simply be too fast for the human eye to observe.”

“How far can you travel?”

“My limit is five hundred miles without a break. Then I have to stop and start again. We’re not all the same.”

“How do you tell it where you want to go?”

“It’s like flying a plane with your mind, is the only way I can describe it.”

“So, you just think it and it happens?”

“It’s more of a command.”

“You commandthe wind?” My tone is incredulous.

“Yes, but no one can do it the way Creed does. Creed, who you have not met, has a special bond with the wind, the same way Julian does with wolves.”

“How did you figure out you can travel with the wind if you have to command it to actually use it?”

“Creed. He has a special way with the wind. It talks to him, and, well, you can guess where that went.”

I blink several times, trying to process this. “Do you know how crazy this sounds?”

“Rubber-room crazy. Yes. I know.” He inhales and lets air trickle from his lips. “About our date—”

My hands fly up. “I told you—”

“I know you don’t want to talk about this, but I do. I’d been hacking illegally. I was cocky enough to think I could hack the government and get away with it. And I did, but they tracked me down. I was given an option. Prison, or enlist and my grandmother would be cared for. It was all rapid fire, and I wasn’t given time to consider my options.”

“Oh. I see. You—”

“Broke the law. I was desperate to care for my grandmother. And far from mature enough to understand that desperate is a bad place to operate from. I was looking forward to our date. I even wanted to ask them to give me that one night, but that wasn’t going to be an option. And then later, when I thought I’d come see you, I didn’t know how to tell you I was breaking the law; therefore, I was basically on military arrest.”

“But you are now?”

“It seems more important that you know that I didn’t dismiss you or forget you than it does hiding what I can’t change. It happened. It’s who I was then. It’s not who I am now.”

I consider him a long moment, and my heart squeezes over the way he cared for his grandmother and the way he’s described wanting to stay to see me again. “I think it is, but Jensen, I think that’s a good thing.”

“I’m not sure what that means, Layla.”

“You’re here, fourteen years later, risking your life for your country, just like you risked everything for your grandmother. I know you could have gotten out if you’d wanted to, but you stayed, and you’re here now fighting to save me and the world. That makes you a good man, Jensen. And I’m honestly lucky to have the chance to fight by your side, in my own way.”

Abruptly, the door to the apartment opens, and my heart lurches.

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