Resist: Engineered Rebel, #2

By L.C. Mawson

They've won their first battle, but the war has just begun...

Now that Alex and her team have a base to work from, they have to turn their focus to defeating the Enhanced for good. The problem? Alex has no idea how to go about it, and she's not even sure why she should be in charge of it...

But the Enhanced won't just leave them be, and if they want a chance to beat them, Alex will have to face her fears.

• Language: English
• Publisher: L.C. Mawson
• Release date: Feb 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386123828

Book preview

Chapter One

Alex

P lease tell me someone has eyes on this guy, Alex muttered into her coffee as she sat opposite her brother outside a small French cafe.

Gus gave her an understanding smile. He knew how important it was that they recover this recruit.

It had been a year since they had escaped from the Enhanced and set up their own base of operations. They had always planned to bring on others. After all, if they had seen a need to escape, surely they wouldn’t be the only ones. And while some might have stayed behind out of fear that Alex’s venture was doomed to failure, the longer they managed to stay out of the clutches of the Enhanced, the higher the chances that others would start to see the potential in their cause - the hope that it brought - and join up.

Alex hadn’t meant for a year to pass before they brought anyone on, but time had turned out to be a fickle thing. Especially when she was trying to juggle reinforcing their defences, keeping an eye out for any sign that the Enhanced were planning to attack, making sure that the rest of the team was working well together, and trying to figure out exactly where they were planning to go.

After all, staying holed up in an old Enhanced base was fine for now, but that couldn’t be the rest of their lives. They were all there because they wanted something more.

Something that was a million miles away, Alex had to admit to herself. But the first step was helping the few Enhanced that they had managed to contact - who they trusted - to escape from the others.

Which meant that this mission had to go smoothly.

And no one seeing their new recruit - Syn - when he was more than five minutes late to their rendezvous wasn’t anything close to smooth.

"Got him, Alex finally heard Jan say over the comms, prompting Alex to breathe a sigh of relief. He’s heading right for you."

Keep an eye out in case he was followed. I’ve got a bad feeling about this...

"You know that the rest of us have seen Star Wars, right? You’re going to have to try harder than that to sound badass now that the rest of us are catching up with your knowledge of pop culture."

I wasn’t- Alex cut herself off, not wanting to draw attention to herself because she was having an argument about Star Wars. Never mind.

Gus nodded to her four o’clock, and Alex turned to see Syn approaching.

He looked older than she remembered, and she had to remind herself that she hadn’t seen any of the Enhanced, outside of her team, in years.

Well, except for the ones that had tried to kill her, but they were usually ten to twenty years older, and far from likely to join her. The two prisoners who had been locked up in their base for over a year now attested to that much.

The Enhanced only sent those whose loyalty could be assured against her - probably to stop anyone from joining her mid-battle - and that meant only those who were old enough to remember the war with the magical beings. Who remembered the heavy losses that had initially prompted their lack of restrictions. And acceptance of torture...

What took you? Alex asked, getting to her feet as soon as Syn was close, striding away from the cafe.

Gus followed close behind as Syn dropped into step beside her.

My monitor dropped by for an unannounced visit, he explained as they moved quickly. It took me a while to shake her.

Oh? And how did you manage that?

I pretended I was going on a date. I pleaded with her not to tell the others, and she agreed to let the infraction slide. Hopefully, she won’t think that I admitted to a smaller crime to hide a much bigger one.

Alex frowned. Even if she bought it, I wouldn’t be surprised if she decided to follow you to see how attached you really are.

Syn raised an eyebrow. Everyone knows that most Enhanced have trysts while away from the base. No one really bothers about that rule.

Are you sure? Gus asked him from behind. Breaking that rule, and falling in love, was what caused Alex to leave the Enhanced in the first place. And if she hadn’t left, the rest of us likely wouldn’t have followed. If I were them, I would consider breaking that rule to be the largest indicator of someone being likely to turn traitor.

Syn frowned. I didn’t say I was in love with this imaginary person, just that I was going to see them.

Alex nodded. But you also pleaded with your monitor to let you go and to not tell the others, instead of saying that you would blow them off. They will probably consider that a tip-off that this is more than just a tryst, which means that you likely have a tail. Jan? she asked, knowing that the other woman had been listening in to the entire conversation, do you see anything?

Not yet, but that just means she’s good at hiding.

Okay, then we’d better make sure to lose them before heading back home. Tell everyone we’re going through the asteroid field.

Syn raised an eyebrow. We’re what?

It’s a reference, Gus told him. I’ll explain it to you later.

It means we have to go, Alex said, refusing to elaborate. That would make using the code utterly pointless.

She took off towards her bike, glad that Syn had brought his own.

Gus took Syn’s bike before he could, however, nodding for the new recruit to take his.

While they were standard, Enhanced issue, the monitor might have done something to track Syn’s.

Gus would jam any tracking devices, but a small detail, like a dot of reflective paint, that cameras could pick up and use to identify the bike? They didn’t have time to check for that.

Follow me, Alex told Syn as she put her helmet on. She gave him a moment to catch up before driving off, hoping that he was quick-witted enough to keep up. Thankfully, Enhanced were bred for their brains as well as their brawn, and they were more than used to following orders.

Alex drove through the streets as quickly as she could without drawing the attention of local law enforcement, weaving through the streets to make it difficult for anyone attempting to follow.

Gus and Syn drove alongside and behind her, keeping it difficult for anyone watching to keep track of which bike was which. The idea was confusion, more than anything else, and the ‘asteroid field’ of the narrow alleyways they were driving through, filled with parked cars and bikes, would ideally help in that endeavour.

After a while, another two bikes came alongside them. Jan and Mia. Another layer of confusion.

They rode with them long enough to create confusion, before driving off together, leaving anyone following them to wonder which half of the group Syn was in.

Of course, it wasn’t long before Alex heard over her helmet radio, We’re clear, but you’ve got a tail.

Alex cursed under her breath at Jan’s words. If they were the only ones being followed, it might be because Syn’s bike did have some kind of identifier.

Time to split again, Alex said, and Gus rode off on his own, with Syn’s bike.

If they were following him, that would leave Alex clear to take Syn back to the base while the others attempted to lose the tail.

Still, the thought of her brother heading off alone didn’t sit well with her.

"The tail stuck with Gus," Jan told her and Alex didn’t know whether to be relieved or not.

She and Syn were in the clear, but Gus was on his own...

Jan, if you have eyes on Gus and Syn’s monitor, can you try and help him lose the monitor so that we’re all free to get back?

"Don’t worry, I’ve got him," Jan said, and Alex nodded before focusing on getting Syn back to the base now that they were free and clear.

ALEX STAYED BY THE garage door after she and Syn arrived back at the base, watching the security monitor on the wall for any sign of either the others returning or Syn’s monitor finding them.

Syn stayed by her side, glancing around the garage curiously, but otherwise staying put. Probably because he didn’t want to wander the base without Alex to show him around.

Not to mention, he probably thought of himself as a guest, not someone who lived there.

Not yet.

That would come with time. Or at least, Alex hoped it would.

Mostly, she just hoped this entire venture would turn out to have been worth it. That it would turn out to be a success.

If they couldn’t gain new recruits, they would have no chance against the rest of the Enhanced.

Eventually, the sensors on the outer perimeter beeped with two signals, both detected as friendly.

Alex frowned. It could only be her team if the sensors picked them up as friendly, but there had been three of them...

She waited for a third beep right up until the two bikes rode into the garage.

Alex let out a breath of relief as she realised that two people were riding just one of the bikes, though that relief swiftly vanished as she realised that the passenger was strapped to the driver, blood dripping from beneath their clothing.

The driver took off his helmet to reveal Gus, just as Mia did the same on the other bike.

Jan, Alex managed, her throat tight as she rushed forward to her friend.

She’ll live, Gus assured her quickly as he helped to unstrap Jan and get her helmet off. She was out cold.

What happened to her? Alex asked as Gus picked Jan up and carried her through towards the infirmary.

Mia apparently decided that she would be of no help and headed off towards the common areas, but Syn continued to follow Alex like a lost puppy, though he gave her and Gus more than enough space to not be in their way.

We couldn’t shake Syn’s monitor, Gus explained. Jan tried to create a distraction... I say ‘tried’, it worked, it just... Well, she blew up her bike. If she wasn’t Enhanced...

Alex found her throat closing up as her stomach knotted.

If Jan had been a normal Human, if she hadn’t been genetically engineered, she would be dead.

And Alex couldn’t help but wonder just how close she came, even with her enhancements.

As they arrived in the infirmary, Gus put Jan down and started to remove her clothing. The Enhanced weren’t prudish around each other - that would only get in the way of their job - and Gus was trained as a medic. Still, Alex hated how vulnerable Jan looked as Gus stripped her down to her vest top and knickers, leaving the bruises and cuts more than visible.

Gus groaned as he looked over the damage. This is going to take some work... He glanced back up at Alex. Next time we recruit someone, maybe we should try one of the doctors who looked after us. Her body will do most of the work for me here, but this is still approaching the limits of my skills.

Alex frowned at his words, though her gaze still didn’t leave Jan. I hadn’t planned on working with anyone but the rest of the Enhanced. Those doctors are the ones who did this to us, remember? They’re the ones with all of the power here.

Not all of them will be calling the shots, Gus argued. And... I don’t know about you, Alex, but I’m not comfortable with how little we know about exactly what we are and how our powers work. I mean, what about us means that we can block magic? I’d sure as hell like to know.

Alex’s frown deepened. I... I guess I never really cared.

Well, I do.

Before either of them could argue further, Syn stepped forward. Actually, I might be able to help there.

Alex turned to him and raised an eyebrow.

One of the scientists found out about my plan to escape, he explained before taking a USB stick from his pocket. I thought she was going to tell the others, but she didn’t. She agreed to keep my secret and gave me this to pass to you. Maybe it has what you need?

Alex eyed it warily. Or maybe it’s carrying a virus that will shut down our systems...

Gus glared at her. We have safeguards to prevent that. Maybe you should go and check. As soon as I’ve finished setting up Jan’s IV, there will be nothing else either of us can do here.

Alex looked back to Jan, who seemed incredibly small and fragile on the infirmary bed. The last thing she wanted was to leave her, but she knew that she wasn’t going to wake up anytime soon and the idea of being alone with her thoughts made Alex shiver, despite the warmth of the room.

So, she nodded before taking the USB from Syn and heading to the intelligence room.

Chapter Two

Gus

Gus gave Syn a reassuring smile as Alex stormed out of the room.

"Sorry about