The Restored Girl

Chapter 10: Group C and D

RHEA'S POV
After the Junior Fight and after I've taken a quick shower, I wear combat pants and a black turtleneck top before heading down to where I know Group C and D will be conducting some exercise.

Though I don't wear my hood anymore, I still take care to wear clothing that will cover my skin. I'm still not all that comfortable with people touching me and physical contact and all, and I wonder in the back of my mind if I ever will be.

Their training facility is different from the one I train in with the Juniors and the others, but it's similar.

I enter and see most of them doing runs, and some fighting one another with bo staffs. My eyes scan the room for Andrew or maybe even Tessa.

"Rhea!"

I turn and see Teresa coming up to me, dressed in a white lab coat over her jeans and shirt.

I give her a nod of acknowledgement. "Hey, Teresa. This place treating you well?"

Teresa chuckles, holding her clipboard in her hand. "Better than WICKED did, I suppose. What brings you here?"

"Andrew and Tessa," I say, scanning the groups of fourteen year olds to sixteen year olds. "I require a favour from them. And the rest of the two groups."

Teresa's eyes narrow. "You want them to take out the other WICKED facilities, don't you?"

I nod. "They're already evacuated. There's no one inside. All they'll have to do is place the bombs. We'll have a master switch, so they'll all go off at the same time. The kids won't be in any harm at all."

"What if there's people nearby?" Teresa asks.

I shake my head. "No one goes near the facilities. When they were closed down, WICKED set up barriers around the facilities to prevent people from getting in and stealing equipment or things like that. The barriers keeps out Cranks, too."

Teresa nods, and points at two people sitting on a bench drinking water. "There's your guys. I heard about Junior Fight, by the way. Congrats," she smiles at me.

"Thanks," I tell her, before walking over to Andrew and Tessa, steering clear of the other teenagers that are training.

"Andrew!" I call.

He turns to the sound of my voice and waves at me. Tessa grins at me, saying, "Rhea. Thought you forgot about us."

I go over and sit beside Andrew on the bench. "Not exactly," I say, "but I need your help."

Andrew's eyes widen, intrigued. "Go on."

I tell them of what our plan is, and of what I need them to do.

"How will we fly the bergs?" Andrew asks, when I'm done speaking.

"Maria and June," I reply instantly. "They both learned from Brenda. And I think maybe Teresa could help as well. You'll need to split up into three teams, though. And I want you two to be the leaders, as well as someone else you trust."

Tessa looks rather honoured. "Of course," she says quickly, "I'll get my team and instruct them on what to do."

I nod, glad for their compliance. "As you know, there's seven WICKED facilities. One in Denver, which is the only one currently operating, and one in the other continents of the world. The one we're in now shouldn't be a problem, so that leaves five for you to tackle."

"Not a problem," Andrew says, and I can see that gleam in his eye that no doubt means he's planning already. "Mine and Tessa's team can take two each. I'll probably take Africa and Asia. Tessa can take Europe. The last team can take the other one at South America."

I nod, proud of my brother. He's managed to keep himself grounded during this time, especially after learning who his mother really was. "Good. So long as you manage to accomplish the Mission, it's fine."

"Well what about this facility?" Tessa asks.

I sigh. "In order to make a statement, all WICKED facilities must be brought down. We'll evacuate the Seniors and everyone else from here. Let one team place bombs around before making their trip."

"Who has the kill switch?" Andrew questions.

I shake my head. "I can't tell you."

He nods in understanding before stretching out a hand. "You have my word, Rhea. We won't fail in this Mission."

I nod, taking his hand and shaking it. "I trust the two of you. Remember, place the bombs and get out of there."

"But where should we go?" Tessa's brow furrows.

"The new safe zone," I say softly, "where we plan to evacuate the seniors to. There's an island nearby that's practically empty. There are facilities built there, but WICKED stopped people from going there when the Flare spiked over here. It's an isolated place, closed off from any Cranks. You'll go there."

I pull a map out of my pocket and point to the island that I had circled with a red pen. "Remember, make sure there's no one in the buildings."

Andrew nods. "You can count on us."

I stand, glad to have gotten one thing out of the way. "Great. Now I'd better go and talk to Teresa, Maria and June." I hesitate, then meet Andrew's blue eyes. "Be safe, alright."

Andrew gives me a slight smile. "Only if you are."

~

"Count us in," Maria says the moment I tell her of what we're doing.

"Yeah, we've been aching to have some fun," June laughs. "We started going to training sessions with the rest earlier. It's been a while since we trained like that."

I'm reminded that Maria was once a Runner and June used to be a Fighter alongside Quill.

"Great," I tell them. "I'll need to hand you maps, of course, but I'm pretty sure that the berg can set all the destinations by itself."

Maria laughs, "WICKED is finally going to be taken down. Thanks for letting us have a part to play in it, Rhea."

"Anytime," I tell them, before leaving their room.