Page 84 of The Program

‘I’ve always been a rebel. Nothing new there,’ Cadmus interjected, the comment causing a chorus of scoffs and snorts.

‘Right. You’re a real bad boy,’ Henrik teased, nudging him with an elbow.

Cadmus frowned at his friend. ‘I can be bad if I want to,’ he protested.

‘You can do whatever you want without any consequences because your daddy is rich and influential,’ Dorian deadpanned. ‘You won’t get out ofthis onescot-free, Cad.’

Cadmus pouted in response, his lower lip jutting out in a way that made me want to bite it. But there was a seriousness to the tension in his shoulders that let me know he had not only taken Dorian’s admonishment in stride butlistened.

I had a feeling there was more to Cadmus than met the eye. While his entitlement was genuine and nurtured by the way he was raised, he had a lot more substance to him that he covered up with that rich-boy mask. And I was suddenly certain that itwasa mask. Like recognised like, after all, and though the circumstances of our upbringings were vastly different, I was well-versed in picking out the lies from the truths. A part of me wanted to rip the mask right off to get to the man underneath, but I didn’t know how well that would go over.

It would have to wait, regardless.

The door dinged as it slid open, revealing an array of weapons pointed directly at us. Quickly, I reformed the shield to surround us and pushed at them again. It was like moving through water, the current pushing back against us, but we made it through to the exit the same way we’d made it to the elevators: lots of pushing, a few crushed bodies and all of us in one piece.

It was when I opened the door to the station proper that thingsreallywent to shit.

CHAPTER 31

ARTEMIS

Imoved forward to stand between the military and my group while also allowing them enough room to push the carts full of children through the door. It was a tight fit, only allowing one through at a time, but they all halted at the sight before them.

My shield was still up, but I knew it wouldn’t remain that way for long. Demari was front and centre, and despite being surrounded by quite the extensive protection detail, he still managed to look imposing and nightmare-inducing as he held aloft a small device I had no doubt would cause me trouble.

But it was the people surrounding him that got my attention. Right beside him stood a woman, tall and slightly overweight, she wore a matching lab-coat with The Program’s logo on the breast pocket. That and her place beside Demari denoted her station within The Program’s ranks. I didn’t know who she was, which pissed me off since I’d dug deep into The Program’s staff. It meant she was higher up than even Demari to avoid being in the system, and an even bigger problem if I didn’t kill her now. But as she stared us down, her confidence unwavering, her position was clear: she was not to be messed with.

Yet, it was the woman standing on Demari’s other side as part of his protection detail that stopped me in my tracks, and the sharp inhalations of shock and betrayal that sounded from behind me were well deserved. Because the woman was First Lieutenant Jorna Kalsur, the captain’s right-hand woman, friend to both him and Adara, and Markus Fletcher’s lover.

And suddenly, Nova Station’s fall to the enemy made a lot more sense.

In front of the army yet still slightly behind Demari and Co. stood Colonel Granger, her face pinched and her stance brimming with tension. Behind her stood our old instructors from The Carina. Corporals Gwym, Hum’Rit and Stanson stood side-by-side, a company of soldiers at their backs. Combined with the army of guards mixed in amongst them, this was going to be one hell of a fight.

And fight we would have to do, because Demari chose that moment to aim his little device right at me and pressed the button. Immediately, my shield quivered, stuttered, then collapsed.

I rushed to encase myself in the metal skin, taking up a defensive stance. I was pleased when it extended to cover Bal, too, the relief almost bowling me off my feet. If he thought taking down the barrier between us with an army at his back would save him, he could think again.

‘Stand down, Subject A-173,’ Demari demanded, but his words seemed to strike a chord within my old instructors. Being addressed with an identification number over my name was a bold choice, an ugly insight into the way they treated their subjects. To them, we weren’t people with thoughts and feelings, wants, needs and desires. We were nothing more than cattle, only to exist for their nefarious purposes.

So when I caught Gwym, Hum’Rit and Stanson’s uneasy shift in their stances, I latched onto it. My eyes met Stanson’s as he took in the way I cradled Bal against my chest, the protective covering over him as well as myself; the way I crouched defensively in front of my friends and the carts, though I wondered if he was aware what was in them.

Which gave me an idea…

‘Demari,’ I called out loud enough for my voice to echo, needing them all to hear. ‘Let me take the children and go. There doesn’t need to be any more bloodshed.’

His response got an even greater reaction from my old instructors that travelled through the soldiers behind them in a wave of confusion and discomfort. ‘The offspring are property of The Program, as are you. You are not permitted to remove them from the premises.’

I kept talking, needing to fan the flames of the burgeoning unrest. ‘These children are innocent and cannot consent to your experiments andprocedures. In fact, I was never given the option to consent, either. In case you haven’t caught on yet,I do not consent.Let us pass, Demari.’

Whispers started up amongst the crowd, a few of the soldiers even backing up a few steps as if they were debating abandoning their posts. Good. I didn’t want to kill them if I didn’t have to, but I would do whatever it took to get my friends and these children to safety.

Demari, still intently focused on me, missed the reaction picking up behind him. ‘If you continue to disobey orders, The Program will be forced to decommission you, Subject A-173.’

‘Decommission…’

‘She never consented…’

‘This is wrong…’

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