Page 33 of The Divide that Binds Us

“Unknowingly, ya, but the reaction was uncalled for.Your code is combat first, powers second, right?Why didn’t she follow that?Why didn’t Natasha follow that?”I retort.

Rebecca raises a hand and shakes her head.“Don’t.Just don’t, Commander.I’ll follow up on the incidents and email you once it’s—”

“SCREW ELITE!”Clyde roars from behind me.“NOTHING BUT A BUNCHA PANSIES PRETENDING TO BE IMPORTANT.”

“Clyde!”I hiss when I whip my head toward him.

He puckers his lips and slips further back into my Ultima group with a massive eye roll.

Rebecca smirks.“Heh, real classy, Ultima.Take care.”She snaps her fingers, and everyone moves swiftly in a fluid motion back to their respective vehicles.The Elites who were from the car behind us mutter obscenities and bump shoulders with us.Clyde’s growl rumbles to the front of my group.

“Rotten...SCUM!”he bellows.

Clyde is faster than my physical form, but someone else is quicker than both of us as he tries to grab an unsuspecting wavy blond Elite member.My teammates create a tornado of audible gasps around me as my attention slips away when I spot the flash of gold.

An invisible force blasts Clyde onto his back while gasping for air.His eyes dart everywhere as he slowly sits up.I kneel beside him, tempted to punch him in the throat for his recklessness, but...

That unknown power agitates my confidence and ignites my curiosity.

Everything is still as my eyes fix on the purple translucent force field surrounding the blond girl and second Elite member.Short black hair like a tsunami of crows, a warm fire glows under the brown hues of her radiant skin, golden eyes that could strangle the sun and light the universe.

“Rio, Rio, Rio!”someone whispers fiercely behind me—one of the twins.“Rio!That’s her!”

As I thought.

My body moves without thinking, leaving Clyde to help himself off the ground.I drift forward to come before the infamous purple bubble that stopped the twins in their tracks that fateful day.There’s an internal tug I want to ignore, but I’m locked in her presence.Something is different about this one.She’sdifferent.

She wears a grimace that leaks trouble but also pain.The kind of pain Natasha wore on her uniform when it was too late to realize.It’s evident when an Elite member dislikes Ultima, but there’s always a different expression when an Elite member was hurt by Ultima.Maybe multiple times, or maybe one devastating moment that altered the trajectory of their life.

Yet another threat to society.

“S-Sorry,” I mumble.

The girl blinks, breaking my own trance.“What?”

“Commander Rio!Is your team done antagonizing my members?”Rebecca chokes darkly, her lips curling up.Katarzyna touches my shoulder.Worry and shame wash her pale face.

“L-Let’s go.Don’t let your pride kill us today,” she whispers.I look back at Elite’s Commander bitterly.

“Yes.My apologies for my agent’s outburst.Consider us even,” I tell Rebecca.She nods, maintaining her cold smile as she snaps her fingers again for her team to resume leaving.

As we drift off our separate ways, I reflect on today’s events, curiosity polluting my thoughts.Most team members will have questions about the girl now that her identity is halfway revealed.

“Still gonna do date night here?”I ask Eric.

He gags.“Absolutely not.I’ve had enough Emerald for one day.”

With the truck the extra agents came in, we load the gem in the back.I open the rental car trunk, revealing Natasha Redly still unconscious.The members crowd around me.

“S-Sir!”Scotland gasps.“You had her this whole time?Wh-what are we gonna do with her?”

“The same thing we do to all the other Elites we capture,” I reply.

---