bay looked like a tornado had hit it. Gauze rolls and medical supplies were littered everywhere while the kid’s jumpsuit was balled up in a corner.
Cemented to the wall, I stayed out of the way as the mayhem unfolded. Saylor stood next to me after helping bandage Decker’s injured arms. Clay fiddled with a mysterious contraption. And Reed had donned welding gloves to assess the new addition to the Breakpoint.
Lying on one of the patient beds, the kid was wrapped in an oversized medical gown. Reed’s gift of sedation had finally calmed his groans. With the Breakpoint shut down for the security upgrades, the Med Unit had been cleared out since all missions were supposed to be postponed. That left us to rely on Reed’s basic medical training.
“How did this happen?” Clay looked between the three of us. “I want answers now.”
I hesitated, not knowing what to say without throwing Saylor and me completely under the bus. We were so screwed.
“I was scouting out a potential Supply Site,” Decker said, “but I wasn’t aware these two were following me.”
Wait. Dirt-Wad says what? Was Decker actually covering for us? Was the world ending? Although I felt positive Saylor was the only reason behind this burst of kindness.
“What the hell were you thinking, Decker?” Clay asked. “Infiltrating a potential Supply Site by yourself is bad enough, but to let a Trainee and a Neutral follow you into a dangerous field situation is inexcusable.”
Holy crap.
Neut equaled Neutral. So, it hadn’t been an insult after all—well, mostly. I was pretty sure Decker had intended it as one.
“How did you even find that site?” Clay fumed as I shared a look with Saylor. “And that isn’t even the worst offense on the list. You know the potential complications of extracting an Elementum at this kid’s age. You better pray that—”
“That wasn’t him.” I stepped forward as Clay turned his fierce stare on me. “Decker had nothing to do with going after the kid. That was all me.”
Back at the Supply Site, rescuing the kid had seemed so cut and dry, but ever since we arrived at the Breakpoint everyone was acting like it wasn’t. How could saving him from the Clinic be a bad thing?
Clay looked back at Decker. “Is that true?”
Decker nodded.
After a tense moment, Clay shook his head. “That doesn’t excuse the mess we’re in, and I still want to know how you two snuck out.” He looked at Saylor. “I’m betting its thanks to the Troublesome-Trainee over there, and after the incident a few weeks ago, Saylor how could you be so reckless? I should just send all of you back to the compound.”
Saylor stiffened.
As I opened my mouth to intervene, Clay sliced the hand holding the mysterious instrument through the air. “Actually, save it. Anything you two say right now will only be rocks to the mudslide.” He exhaled roughly. “First things first, we need to get the kid taken care of and settled. Then we’ll talk about the details and consequences.”
Not waiting for a response, Clay turned away and focused on the kid.
“What incident?” I whispered to Saylor.
“Oh, it happened before we arrived for our second field-training session.” Saylor leaned toward me. “But apparently an experienced Striker and his son were only a few blocks away from the Breakpoint when they were attacked by a Recall Team. The Striker ended up dying from his injuries, and the kid was captured.”
Decker’s comment rushed back to me. I can’t be the only one who finds the timing of her and her aunt’s arrival a little too convenient. “No wonder Decker and Kaden have been so on edge about our arrival.”
“Try not to take it too personally.” Saylor said in a low voice. “It’s brought up a lot of emotions for both of them.”
“What do you mean?”
“Decker was only extracted from the Clinic about a year ago.” Saylor fidgeted with her gear rings. “And I mean, most Elementums don’t talk about their time in the Clinic, but I believe he must’ve lost someone either when he went in or while he was on the inside.”
A tidal wave of remorse engulfed me for the comment I’d made yesterday.
“Which definitely explains his, um, rough personality,” she said. “As for Kaden, I don’t know much, but I heard he lost someone to the Clinic about two years ago. That’s why he’s so driven—like he’s always training. So, he can put an end to the Clinic.”
My heart sank for both of them as I gripped my sun charm. I understood the agonizing pain of loss. And only recently finding out I had someone to blame…
“But Kaden can get edgy when things upset that drive,” Saylor said, then quickly amended. “Not that that’s your fault. You guys only showed up to get help.”
But it was my fault.
Yes, we were only seeking help. But it all led back to that damn firewall. And even though I didn’t want to take it back, it was still my choice that had sent ripples of upheaval through the Breakpoint. Just like today’s mess.
“I want to remove the tracker first.” Reed shifted the wand of what looked like a portable ultrasound over the kid’s forearm, and a dark oblong mass came into view.
I frowned. “Is that a GPS tracking implant?”
Saylor nodded. “The Clinic embeds them in all their subjects. But don’t worry, Arc has signal jammers installed everywhere. It won’t last indefinitely, but it’ll give us enough time to remove and deactivate it.”
“You can handle this, right?” Clay asked as he clicked another part of the mysterious metal instrument into place. On closer inspection, it resembled what I imagined the lovechild of a futuristic blaster and a syringe looked like. With a long metal trigger and a sturdy looped handle, the main body of the device was tipped with a plunger at one end and a broad hollow needle at the other that made my knees go weak.
“I’ve seen Raine do it.” Reed swallowed hard. “Once.”
“Don’t think about it like that.” Clay softened his voice. “Just remember, this kid is out and you’re doing your best.” Then he handed over the instrument to Reed.
“Right.” Reed twisted the needle-of-nightmares into place and positioned it over the kid’s forearm.
Not trusting myself to stay calm, I slipped out into the hall. Using the wall for support, I squeezed my eyes shut and breathed in the eucalyptus and citrus scent to help settle my racing mind.
What kind of monster did that to a kid? Tagging and tracking him like some kind of wild animal. I hated to think of how close we’d come to sharing a similar fate. That could easily have been one of us lying in there—or worse. Because if that’s what the Clinic did to someone they considered a valuable asset, then what would they have done to me?
Cannon fodder sounded accurate.
A clatter of plastic meeting concrete drew my attention down the hall. Before I knew what I was doing, my feet were moving. The room next door was empty, and it wasn’t until three doors later that I found the source of the noise.
The door was ajar, and the light was on. I peeked inside the treatment room, and then my brain sort of short-circuited. Sometime during all the disarray of getting the kid into the medical bay, Kaden had vanished. But I found him now. However, that’s not what halted me in my tracks.
No, it was the full display of bronze skin.