What She Thought She Knew (Rachel Moore Mystery Book 1), стр. 37

The Phantom smiled wryly. "I've got nowhere to go, Seeker. Besides, I'm not stupid to try to escape when you've got a Guardian and an Assassin with you."

"You're very observant." I commented, nearly impressed.

The woman chuckled darkly. "I'm on my own. I've got enemies on both sides, so of course I've learned to be vigilant. Besides, your ranking system is very similar to that of the Phantoms."

I leaned forward in interest. "Do tell."

The woman crossed her legs. "We've got the same hierarchy system as you do. The only difference is that the ranks answer to one main authority. The leader prefers to keep his own eye on the progress of each individual agent."

Interesting, I thought.

Elvira used that moment as an opportunity to take out a data pad. "We found some Intel on the tests that were done here; care to elaborate?"

The Phantom rolled her shoulders. "I was head surgeon, so I know everything that's on that file. Our superiors ordered us to experiment on captured Seeker agents to see whether or not we could bring them over to our side without the need to clone them. That turned out to be a complete failure though."

"Explain." I said expectantly.

The woman glanced at me. "I'm not sure if you realize this, but every Seeker agent has a chip implanted in their bodies that releases Nano-bots whenever the body is affected, whether it be for reparation, or as the result from our experiment, create a brain hemorrhage."

My eyebrows shot up all the way in surprise. I wasn't aware that we had Nano-bots inside of us. "So cloning the individuals removed the risk of death."

The woman nodded. "Correct. It was ruthless, I'll admit, but my superiors wanted results."

"And then you implanted those test subjects within the Seekers," Elvira added.

"Yes…"

An awkward silence enveloped the small room.

I chuckled harshly. "You clever bastards," I commented bluntly. "You've fooled us."

A bitter smile formed on the Phantom woman's face. "Indeed we have. We've been among you for years."

I stared at her blankly, struggling to keep my cool.

The Seeker organization was in jeopardy, and it was impossible to tell who was friend or foe.

Predator grunted in frustration. "How can you sound so proud of that? Damn it Diana, I thought you were better than that."

Once again, Predator's behavior towards the Phantom confused me. How did he know her name?

Diana met Predator's gaze calmly. "I was raised by the Phantoms; how do you expect me to react?"

I narrowed my eyes at the Demolition's Expert like a predator who caught sight of its prey. "How do you two know each other?" I asked.

Predator tensed automatically, while the Phantom woman snorted at his reaction. "Grow a pair, Austin. I'm too tired to tell the story."

Predator sighed heavily, and met my gaze with a guarded look.

He coughed. "Just a fair warning: you will be shocked at what I have to say. Believe me, it was quite a slap to the face for me when I was first told about it." He exhaled shakily. "Two years ago, I was sent to a warehouse where there were reports of a bomb. As a Demolitions Expert, I was in charge of diffusing it." He paused again, and allowed Elvira and I to absorb the information before he continued. "The bomb was easily shut off, yet it didn't sit right with me. Not long afterwards, I was captured and sent to a facility similar to the one we investigated. "

Diana interrupted. "Warriors brought him in. He was one of the first we experimented on."

Predator nodded. "When I woke up, I found myself tied to an operation table where several of the Phantoms' surgeons were getting ready for the procedure."

"It was a miracle that he didn't die from a brain hemorrhage." Diana added.

I glanced at Predator who stared blankly at the woman. "Guess I was lucky." He replied quietly.

The Demolitions Expert exchanged an indecipherable message with the Phantom.

She nodded. "Indeed you were." She said.

"What was done to you?" Elvira asked after a moment.

Predator stared hard at the Combat Specialist. "They sawed off my arm and used its tissue cells to produce a clone. Once I was back in Seeker hands, I replaced it with an artificial arm that was coated in titanium alloys to give me some extra strength."

Elvira and I gasped as the shocking detail came to light.

For a man who went through all that torture, Predator really was quite a cheerful guy.

Regardless of our slight hysteria, the Demolitions Expert went on. "I don't know how or even why it happened, but Diana here nursed me back to health and eventually helped me escape. She said that with my experience at the facility, I would be a symbol of hope in this dark battle."

I raised an eyebrow as I stared at the former surgeon. "Why the change of heart? Why did you save Predator?"

The woman sighed. "Not every Phantom agent is evil as you believe. It's just that we have no choice but to follow our orders. I'm not proud of who I am, or what I've done. I participated in the creation of Predator's clone. I was in charge of his particular experiment, so I took the risk to fake Austin's death, and nursed him back to health."

Eventually Elvira gathered courage to raise the question I wanted to ask. "What happened to your clone?" Her blue eyes analyzed Predator's dark ones.

"I don't know." Predator replied, and sighed heavily. "All I know is that he's still out there, somewhere."

Diana turned to face Predator. "You've got to find him. The Phantoms have great plans in store for him."

Austin nodded and stared back gravely.

A strained silence suddenly overtook the room as we all reflected about the situation.

I eventually spoke.