The Enhanced

Chapter 18

"How do you know it'll work?"

"I don't," she admitted. "I've only ever read about it."

"When?" he asked. It wasn't like they had a variety of books laying about.

"Before," she answered simply, "I wanted to be a botanist. I remember what I read."

Alex watched her work for a moment longer and cleared his throat once he steeled himself. What a strange thing to be nervous about. He didn't know why this was so hard to ask of her.

"I have a favor to ask," Alex said when Aria stopped working to look at him. "With the raid that just happened, recruiting people into the Elites is important. I was hoping you'd help me recruit."

"Help you recruit?" Aria repeated. Her face was entirely devoid of emotion.

Alex waited nervously, unable to see what she might be thinking. She stared at him, eyes blank and dark. When he broke her gaze, it felt like he failed some sort of test.

"I cannot, in good conscience, help you recruit people into an organization I'm not a part of."

Alex felt like he was shrinking. "Won't you at least consider it?"

"You never answered my question last time. You told me you trusted the Elites, but you didn't tell me why you didn't want them to know about me."

"Things would speed up if we had more people."

"Speak plainly," she said. "What makes you think I can convince people to join the Elites?"

"You're a Siren."

"Do you want me to expose myself?"

"No! I just mean..."

"You can't even say it because you know what you're suggesting is appalling. Even if I was practiced enough, I wouldn't brainwash people into becoming cannon fodder."

Alex flinched.

Aria rose to her feet, holding a bowl filled with bits and pieces of who-knows-what against her hip. "I'm not a saint and I won't pretend to be. If you asked me to tell a Hunter to walk off a cliff, I would, but there are lines I won't cross."

"At least come with me. I won't ask you to step in, but I'd like it if you were there. I have a few people to meet today."

Maybe if Aria saw how the Enhanced were slipping through his fingers, she would understand. Maybe if she saw how difficult things were for the enhanced on their own, she'd be more inclined to convince them.

"Won't they be alarmed by a stranger?"

It wasn't like Aria needed to be seen in order to observe. He knew she could blend in. She wouldn't have survived on her own for so long if she couldn't.

"I think you should stay out of sight. If the recruitment is successful, it'll be a problem if someone asks about you later."

Aria dipped her head in a nod. "Alright, I'll come with you."

Of the four people Alex needed to meet, the first one was the most likely to join. It was a young man with pleentry of anger and a decent head on his shoulders. He didn't have anyone left to protect, but didn't have anything to lose either.

They agreed to meet somewhere outdoors. There was a spot beneath a nearby bridge quite a bit away from the city. The water was usually loud enough to make conversation impossible to overhear if someone tried to even drop and it was difficult to get there.

When Alex stepped into the agreed upon meeting place, he was met with nothing. There was nobody under the bridge other than himself and Aria, wherever she'd chosen to hide herself. He walked in a little further with a frown.

The kid was usually punctual.

When Alex passed by a pillar, he was met with a powerful blow to the head.

Alex staggered back, blinked blinking blood out of his eyes, stunned as a man aimed his gun at him. There was a badge on his hip and a smug look on his face.

Alex wasn't a fighter, but he didn't think of himself as an easy target. He had a decent center of balance. He was strong too, but at that moment, strength seemed meaningless.

"Don't move!" the officer snarled.

Aria seemed to shoot out from thin air, hurtling into the man like a bullet and knocking him clean off his feet. She went down with him, but so did the gun.

Alex made a grab for it and moved to check the perimeter to ensure that the man was alone. There was no sign of anyone else at all. He looked back in time to see Aria standing above the man, shifting her weight so her boot was crushing the man's windpipe. Her face was shrouded by her hair as she looked down at the man, but the man was terrified of whatever he saw.

"Please," he choked out, eyes bulging from their sockets.

"Close your eyes," she said, voice so sweet that Alex nearly fell into temptation himself.

When the officer shut his eyes, there was a silver flash of a blade. Blood spurted before Alex could make sense of what was happening.

He gasped without realizing.

Aria's eyes snapped in Alex's direction.

Alex's blood ran cold. His body seemed to freeze on its own, tensing under the unyielding gaze of something terrifying. He was prey, waiting for a larger, more frightening creature to tear him apart.

Aria straightened up without breaking eye contact. "Are you hurt?" she asked.

Alex swallowed. "I'm fine."

Aria started forward.

Alex jerked back without meaning to and Aria stopped in her tracks. "If my staying behind will only make things more difficult, I can leave. But I can help too, if you'd prefer that."

"You should go back," Alex said, hoping she couldn't see his fear. "It won't take me too long to clean this up. I think I'll cancel on the others. I'm sure you have things you'd rather be doing."

Aria's face twisted into an expression he couldn't recognize before it smoothed into a small smile. The edges of her mouth ripped into his chest, made his heart ache. When she spoke, her nonchalance did nothing to ease it. "Okay, I'll see you later."

She walked by him, keeping her distance.

As the sound of footsteps faded, Alex wiped at his eyes, unsure of why he was crying.

Author's Note

I'm building up to something, I swear.