During Ellery’s trial, I found out just how determined Delacourt was, and it
made one hell of an impression. Sitting in the courtroom, confused by my teammates’ mysterious absences, fuzzy from the painkillers still winging their way through my system, I endured question after brutal question, most asked by
Delacourt.
Maybe if I hadn’t been reeling from the shock of my discoveries, I would’ve
handled it better. But fearing an actual court-martial, or worse, being labeled mentally unstable, I stuck to my amnesia excuse like super glue.
The inquiry board’s frustration with my lack of answers at what had
happened to Flash was understandable. If I had been on the other side of the equation, I would have had a hard time believing me, too. So, when the case was
closed without a deeper probe, I didn’t push it.
Flash and Ortega were dead and buried. The rest of my team was reassigned
and scattered to the winds. No one was talking to me. A whitewashed report emerged, and I received a medical discharge, the Corp’s polite way of saying,
“you screwed up, but we don’t want people to know”. As soon as the doctor cleared me, I ran as fast and as far as I could, knowing for all intents and purposes, my career with the Corps was done.
Hindsight is twenty/twenty. Looking back, it wasn’t hard to recognize the
transparency of my alibi. Delacourt had to have guessed the truth, especially if
she ran a group of covert psychic teams. Not only did I have psychic abilities, but that horrific night, I discovered so did Flash. Pieces clicked together.
“Kayden?”
“Hmm?”
“Is Tag psychic?” My pulse raced as I waited for his answer.
He turned toward me. “You need to ask him.”
Not a denial. The sting of betrayal zipped through me. Why wouldn’t Tag
have told me?
Like you told him? A nasty voice perked up.
My stomach dropped as my world shifted. If half of the eight-person joint
team had been psychic, chances were good all of us were. Which meant our team had been one of the government’s little experimental units. My thoughts
stumbled to a halt. All that effort to hide something everyone seemed to know about? “The entire team was psychic.”
“Yes.”
“Were you working for PSY-IV at the time?”
He nodded.
“Just you?” I pushed.
He didn’t answer right away. “No.”
Kayden’s quiet answer left me grasping for mental footing. According to
him, PSY-IV monitored psychics, watched them, and recruited them. That meant
if they sent Kayden in to join my team, not only was he recruiting, but we were
under investigation as well. And if that was the case, it was because Delacourt thought there was a link between Ellery and the team. Considering the horrific outcome of our assignment, she might be right. But Kayden would not have been
sent in on his own, not to investigate, and not to recruit. Suspicion bloomed.
“Who else?”
“Flash.”
Confirmation hurt. Yet, I couldn’t let it go just yet. “Not Tag?”
“He was approached but hadn’t made a decision at the time to join the team.”
Stunned, I stared blindly at the innocuous folder in my lap. My mind
struggled with this new information as I tried not to acknowledge my growing sense of disillusionment. Had they considered me the leak? Neither my mentor,
