Chapter nineteen
He paused. It didn't look like he was done, so I probed. "And then what?"
"My dad made a deal with them. They wanted to hurt more Radiants. The only reason why the Strikers unit exists is because of my dad. Not the council. Like I said, Ify Chiwetel owed my dad a favor, so she agreed to let us take them under our wing. My dad was hell bent on protecting Radiants. That was his last resort. The media got a hold of the captured Radiants, so the government tried to play the victim. Kree Badmus didn't want to get caught being a damn tyrant, so he made up a damn excuse that the country was in debt. We're the number one producers of crude oil and biodegradable energy, so why the hell would we be broke? The public bought it and Ify helped to fire only public servants with Radiant children. They created the refinement facility as a way to control Radiants, without actually killing them. We do everything we can to save as much Radiants as we can. It's just been a mess since they attacked our Clandestine. They betrayed my dad."
"Oh God."
"It's been a whole mess. My dad had worked so hard for this. He has watched Radiants suffer for the past five decades and he wanted to find a way out. He was lucky to have billionaire parents. He sacrificed his whole life for Radiants. I don't blame him for not trusting people. He's been screwed over one too many times."
"What do you want to do? Are we still infiltrating the refinement facility?"
"I'm still working on it. I still have one more thing to do."
"What's that?"
Levi stated. His face was dark. "To figure out how the government snuffed us out."
.....
Kitan's nose flared. "What is this?" He glared at the bags of foodstuff that surrounded him. There were the ones Vikram Caden sent and we took them straight to Kitan's office.
Levi leaned against the wall. "What does it look like?"
Kiitan barked. "Your father sent this. He knows where we live. How could that happen?"
"Vikram Caden knows everything. I thought you would have figured that out by now."
Kiitan wagged his finger. "Don't taunt me. I know what your family does. I don't need favors from any Caden."
"That's ironic since you've been using us since the moment we came. Appreciate the gifts. Not everything has a motive."
Kiitan frowned. "My uncle won't like this."
Levi raised his eyebrow. "Too bad he isn't here to say otherwise."
Kiitan drew closer. "Don't cross me. This is my clan. Not yours."
"Undisputed. I do wonder if you're really mad at the foodstuff my father sent or be cause I got back with Tamar, despite how hard you tried."
I frowned. Levi had to be careful. Kiitan had quite the temper. I knew Levi was purposely trying to test him, but Kiitan didn't joke with his ego. "She was always yours. You were the idiot that broke up with her."
Levi smirked. "Good. Then you'd have no problem doing a favor for me, since you have no personal issues with me."
"Why would I help you? I already let you in voluntarily. I should be the one asking for favors."
Levi pondered. "Yes you should. It's a shame that I know one thing you wouldn't let the world know."
Kiitan tensed. Just like how Levi and I planned. I already knew all about the plan. It seemed to soften Kiitan. "What are you going on about?"
"Does your clan know that your birth father once worked with Kree Badmus to kill Radiants? You know them. The missing or possibly dead Radiants that you enjoy talking about. If they knew that your father's a cold blooded Radiant-hater and a cause to many of their fallen people, then maybe they'd rethink their loyalties to you."
Kiitan glared. "You're exactly like your father. Blackmailing and manipulating."
I was getting sick of keeping quiet and hearing him. We had no plans of resorting to blackmail, but we were at a dead end. We made sure not to ask about this from Vikram Caden. We feared what he would do with the information. Kitan's informants were our last options. I couldn't let us lose that. "Are you in or not?"
Kiitan gritted his teeth. "What do you want?"
"Good question. Information on the government. How they found us." I answered.
Kitan's face softened at me. "I can't believe you're a part of this."
"They took me away my family. The people in the Clandestine were also my family. They took them all. How would you feel if that happened to you?"
He didn't respond. I knew I struck a nerve.
Levi gave a smug smile. "That's just the first favor."
Kitan's eyes bulged. "There's more than one?"
"Of course there is."
Kiitan frowned. "What is it?"
I smirked "We're going to infiltrate the refinement facility, and you're going to help us."