Cassius by Stevens, Madison (chromebook ebook reader txt) 📕

“I’m one of the few people here who can do anything about it.” CJ offered her a cocky smile. “And I’m a hybrid. The risks aren’t the same.”

“In obstacle courses, especially the ones influenced by ASTC, you see a lot of good athletes screw up, and it’s just them against the course, not other people.” Kendra shook her head. “It doesn’t matter how well-trained you are or how fit you are. Things can always go wrong.”

CJ considered her words. He’d like to lie and tell her nothing could possibly go wrong, but she was right. Taking anything for granted at this point was the first step toward getting surprised and killed.

“Then you can help me.” He gestured toward the top of a climbing wall peeking out above the temporary structures. “You’re still the person most likely to spot something that doesn’t belong at an event like this.” He smiled, as much as for his own benefit as hers. “Try and keep an eye out for anything strange. You can call me if you come across anything that feels wrong, just don’t use the words Ouroboros or hybrid. Until then, I need to meet up with my partner and figure out our next move. But whatever else you do, you need to pull out of the race.”

Kendra nodded. “I’m going to take one last spin around the obstacles, then go to the registration table and withdraw from the race.” She placed a hand on his arm. “But remember what I said. I want you to be careful.”

CJ pulled out his phone to text Julius. “I will, and now I can concentrate on the job without worrying about you.”

* * *

Ten minutes later, CJ and Julius stood on the far side of the course, closer to the main building. They were crouched past stacked boxes of water bottles and Gatorade.

CJ couldn’t get Kendra off his mind. They needed to finish up this mission as soon as possible and eliminate any possible risk to her. He didn’t care how many Ouroboros mercenaries he needed to tear through. But before then, he needed to make sure his partner understood the situation. The last thing either of them needed was more surprises.

“I told her,” CJ said after they’d finished verifying no one else was nearby with one last visual sweep.

Julius scoffed. “Of course you did.”

“She took it well.” CJ shrugged. “She accepted it without much question. And she agreed to not race.”

“Well, that’s done and over.” Julius furrowed his brow. “But it doesn’t help us figure out our mission. I can’t get close to any of the obstacles now, but I’ve spotted more of those devices. They’re not at every obstacle from what I can tell, but knowing they are there doesn’t do anything about answering why they are there.”

“Maybe we should have tried better to smuggle our guns in,” CJ said. “Or hopped the fence. They don’t have total coverage. This is a race, not a military base.”

Julius shook his head. “They were funneling people through the metal detectors, and I’ve already seen people escorted out of the race who didn’t have the entry bracelets. It’s not worth the trouble for recon. This is a well-secured event, and they’re probably on heightened alert after what happened the other night.”

“But this might not just be recon anymore.” CJ frowned. “And that means we need to take more chances.”

Julius chuckled. “Don’t worry. Your Vestal isn’t doing the race anymore, which means whatever those devices are won’t bother her, and they won’t make a big scene in public. As annoyed as I am about you telling her, you might have messed up their plan by getting her to pull out of the race.”

CJ looked over his shoulder and then craned his neck upward, Kendra’s earlier missile comment bothering him. He didn’t doubt Julius’s logic. Making a big public show of hurting innocent people would doom Ouroboros in a way that twelve angry hybrids working mostly alone couldn’t.

But they weren’t there to take in a race. The devices could be nothing, or they could be key to the plan. Too many unknowns remained.

“We need to get into the main building and check things out,” CJ said. “We can’t poke around the edges and figure this out.”

Julius nodded. “Agreed. The building isn’t choked with thousands of innocent people, either. It’ll make it easier if we need to bust some heads.”

CJ stood and made his way around stacks of boxes. “The best bet is to wait until the competition starts. Everyone’s attention will be focused on the race.”

“Huh. That’s actually a good plan.” Julius looked surprised.

“I’m not a complete meathead.”

“Not a complete one, sure.” Julius chuckled. “Okay, then we’ll hit up the building once the race begins. Until then, we keep our heads down and look for anything else suspicious.”

CJ pulled out his phone. “I’m just going to check on Kendra.”

Julius rolled his eyes. “You should probably send her back to her hotel. It’ll be better if you don’t have any distractions once we hit the target.”

CJ eyed his phone and slipped it back into his pocket. “I’ll give her a little more time and then bother her. Don’t want to seem needy.”

“Too late. For now, let’s head back toward the front gate. We don’t want anyone to spot us lurking around the building.”

Chapter Eighteen

The heavy revelations should have upset Kendra, but she found herself relieved. She couldn’t stop smiling.

Everything made sense now, her longing, her instant attraction. At the end of the rainbow, there really was something for her. Most people went their whole lives without knowing if they’d found their soulmate, but she’d bumped into hers at the park.

Was that fate? She wasn’t sure before, but now she found it hard to not believe. Of all the people in the world, she’d found her hybrid. The world was a kind place.

Kind, perhaps, but not always safe, given what CJ had told her about Ouroboros, but the mysterious organization didn’t