"It is you. I knew it!" Peter says, smiling widely. "It was when I saw how efficiently those zombies were nailed to that trolley-"
"Yes, Mr. Lynne, you have said that already," Janine says, obviously annoyed. "You started saying it before we boarded this train, and you've said something along those lines eight times since."
"To be fair, Janine, it really does need to be said," Paula says, sounding as if she's still having trouble believing it. "It's you."
"Yes, still me."
I stare at her, still just as shocked and awed and overjoyed as I was ten minutes ago when she took off that mask in that office. She's here. She's really here. After ten months of her being gone-no messages, no signals that she's even still alive-she's here.
"Alright, I have a question that isn't, 'Is it really you?'" Sam says, and Janine sighs.
"You can't imagine my relief."
"What have you been doing all this time? And... and... is it really you?"
"I have been cultivating a position, one that is of influence in all areas of the new UK." Her words are curt, clipped, intentional. I've missed it. "I cannot explain everything. Some of my work is top secret even now. The job's not finished yet, but I summoned you here because a matter has come to my attention that I need Abel's help."
"You summoned us?" I scoff in disbelief. "I mean, we're the ones who struggled through tunnels filled with blood, feces and viscera to get here to discuss... Selma's... contract..." I trail off as it dawns on me. Janine holds an almost smug look on her face as she waits for me to get the full picture. "Oh. In response to Pit Viper suddenly letting it be known that you were tracking down Selma, and you made sure to let us know that it is our Selma you're tracking. Right! You let it known so we would come, and your cover wouldn't be blown."
"Astute, Runner Five," She says with a nod. She then opens a door and steps out. "Now come along, all of you. We have a job to do. Follow me down this tunnel. We have a long way to go, and we must be on time."
"I'd follow you absolutely anywhere," Peter says, and she raises a brow at him before turning her gaze ahead.
"Run."
She takes off, and the rest of us are quick to follow. I don't ever think I've been more happy to have Janine tell me what to do. It just proves that it's her, really her. I almost want to cry out of happiness because this isn't a trick or a dream. Janine's actually back. Our leader has returned.
As we run down the tunnels, I see that these walls are clean, dry, and no zombies are in sight or earshot. It makes sense. Janine's always been one for tidiness, and those other tunnels are to keep others away. The outside has to look menacing, but these tunnels are like her office-clean, organized. It's all very Janine-like.
I'd hate for her to see the coms shack right now.
"So, how did you know we were working with Selma to begin with?" I ask.
"In order to stay on top in this job, I must have eyes and ears everywhere," She answers, and I frown at how vague it is.
"So you've known what's been going on in Abel this whole time?"
"Yes, for the most part. That pink rubber ring on your left hand is something I didn't get the pleasure of hearing about. Congratulations."
"Oh," I say in surprise. I look down at the ring on my finger, blushing slightly. "Yeah. Thanks."
"If you know about Selma, then did you know about Selma's GPS tags being turned off when she ran?" Paula asks, and I'm not surprised when she nods.
"I tried locate her myself, using different resources given to me through the contracts I'd taken out. I suspected it to be so, but I couldn't be completely sure of myself since I wasn't using the original equipment to locate the tags. I do have an estimated area I believe her to be in, but it's finding exactly where in the region she may be is the issue.
"While you didn't see them, those tunnels you went through to get here have cameras with speakers, and I was able to connect to your headset." She points to a small earpiece in her right ear. "I heard Miss Marsh confirm that the tags had been turned off. I also turned off the blockers I had up to cause your headcams to malfunction. Now they'll be perfectly clear for Mr. Yao."
I feel my face go bright red, remembering how I said that if were to like girls, I'd go for Janine.
She heard that. Oh God, kill me now.
I want to ask her more questions, but my embarrassment keeps me from doing so. I run in silence, leaving the others to process Janine's words as I grab my backpack strap.
The minutes pass by, the tunnel seeming to stretch out more and more with each step we take. I guess she wasn't kidding when she said we had a long way to go. With every minute that passes, I find myself wondering if our destination is even in London. She hasn't exactly told us our destination, or even given us a hint. I doubt she will reveal anything until we get there.
She hasn't told us what we may need to help her with either, but since she summoned us here using Selma's contract as bait, then I'm guessing it might have something to do with that.
But why did she take out a contract on Selma anyway? Why did she take out a contract on Abel runners? I know she needed to maintain her cover, but she actually sent a guy after us. Why would she do that?
I open my mouth to ask her just that, but Paula beats me to it.
"Alright, Janine, a question. How did you end up here? I mean, are you Pit Viper? Pit Viper's been trying to kill us, and... haven't you killed quite a few of Amelia's people? That's... unlike you."
"Oh, yes," She replies calmly, seeming not to notice our shocked looks. "I am Pit Viper. I run a team of female assassins."
"Bloody hell," Peter says in a strained voice. "Female... assassins? Hmm."
"We're quick, efficient, and deadly, and we only take on extremely legitimate targets. I vet each one personally."
"But the assassin that came after us was a man," I say, and she tsks.
"Because of our reputation, we do get copycats-people who get the tattoo and pretend to be Pit Viper. I believe Sigrid's hired quite a few of those, and one of them was sent after you. There's a new one following you, but I'll send my women to scare him off."
"And Amelia's people?" Paula asks, and Janine laughs.
"That was very amusing. I took every contract available on Ms. Spens. She sent me a rich supply of resources to buy them out, and we paid some of her people for intel on her so I could feed Sigrid some plausible lies about her plans. Ms. Spens is going to be so angry when she finds out." She sounds actually excited to see that moment come, but she composes herself quickly. "Come along, please. We can't afford to be late."
She says nothing more about where we're going, but I didn't really expect her to. This, whatever mission she has us on, is one she seems to want to keep secret until we arrive. I can only imagine what she's been doing with the information she's been getting, and how we'll use this to bring Sigrid down. We've gotten more and more pieces with each passing day, but I feel like finding Janine, knowing that Pit Viper is on our side and has always been, it has given us the whole damn box, or at least it feels like it.
Happiness swells in my chest, making it impossible not to smile. We don't get happy surprises very often, so it's nice to finally get unexpected good news. I can't wait to see everyone's faces once she returns...
That is, if she decides to return.
That thought sucks out all happiness from my mind. She may have revealed herself to us as Pit Viper, but that doesn't mean she'll come back to Abel with us. She seems to have done well for herself here, and while I know she could be at Abel and still be Pit Viper without anyone really knowing, she still may choose to primarily stay here and keep living in whatever place she and her assassins reside in.
I don't like the thought of that, and I'm sure everyone else would feel the same way if that is what Janine plans to do. I look at Peter. He's staring at Janine, absolutely star-struck. He'd be devastated if Janine decided not to come back to Abel.
But those thoughts leave my mind when the tunnels change. They're nicer than the brick ones we ran through earlier. They are clean and dry, but the tunnels have steel covering the brick, making them look better.
"These tunnels are nice," Peter says as he looks at Janine. "You didn't build them, did you?"
She shakes her head. "No. We're underneath the estate of Mr. Valmont, the CEO of Xia-Hifa Biologics, Ms. Spens' ex-husband."
My blood runs cold at hearing his name, and my steps falter. No one notices.
"And why are we underneath the private estate of the only remaining billionaire in, so far as we know, the world?" Paula asks.
I grab my backpack strap as I look ahead. At the end of the tunnel there are lockers, and then a door with a expensive-looking, high-tech keypad. The lockers seem oddly placed, but I can only guess Janine put these here and not Valmont.
"Because his staff have no idea what to do with a haddock mornay," She answers, and before I can ask her what the hell a haddock mornay is, she opens a locker and tosses coats and hats at us. They're chef uniforms. "Put these on while I open this door."
Confused, but curious, we obey, tossing our backpacks into the locker since they would look odd under the coats. We adjust the hats to they cover most of our headsets, but the headcam is uncovered so Sam can still see. As we do, Janine walks over to the door and quickly puts in the code numbers, and security system beeps a second later.
"Welcome back, V.P. Tomassy," A.N.N.I.E. says calmly, and I squeak and take a small step behind Paula, as if that will do anything to hide me from her.
"Wrong identification, A.N.N.I.E.," Janine replies calmly. "Try again."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Welcome back, Chef Anderson. We're so glad to have you."
"Chef Anderson?" Sam repeats in confusion.
"Just go with it. It's our cover." Janine whispers, before speaking aloud. "Hello, A.N.N.I.E.! I'm taking charge of the banquet tonight."
"Perfect timing, Chef Anderson. Mr. Valmont is entertaining the Minister tonight. We need your culinary genius more than ever. "
As Janine opens the door, she looks at us over her shoulder, beckoning us to follow her. "Ah. Team, the vital thing is that Valmont should not discover that we're in the building. He's in the Minister's pocket, but we can keep ourselves safe from him. Down this next tunnel quickly. Follow me."
And once again we go down the tunnels. It's a bit harder to run while wearing this chef uniform. The coat is long and uncomfortable, and my hat keeps falling off. Janine seems to have no problem with this, and I can't help but wonder if that's because Janine is Janine, or because Janine has done this before. It's probably a combination of both.
But as we go down the tunnels, twisting and turning with our footsteps bouncing off the steel walls, I see another door. This one has no keypad, which makes me feel a little better knowing I won't have to hear A.N.N.I.E.'s voice again. But even if I don't hear her, that doesn't mean she's not watching us, watching me.
Janine said she had eyes and ears everywhere, giving her intel about different things, including what's going on at Abel. Does she know what happened at the Manor House? Does she know about the Glass Protocol?
Reaching the door and opening it, we are met with a long hallway with stairs leading upward. I almost feel bad for dirtying the polished hardwood floors as we walk across them, but I suppose it would be better to get these floors dirty than the floors upstairs where there are more people. I doubt chefs come to work with dirty shoes, so hopefully by the time we get upstairs we'll no longer be tracking grime everywhere.
The air smells fresh and clean, quite different than what we were smelling earlier when we were coming to meet Pit Viper. I sneeze at the scent of strong cleaners and air fresheners, my face scrunching up as I smell lemon and jasmine and sage all combining together. It doesn't smell bad, but it's so strong. I suppose it's because I haven't smelt air freshener in so long that it smells that way. Is this what the richest people in the apocalypse get to have? Fresh smelling houses and polished floors and banquets?
I remember the airships Sigrid used for her parties, and I suppose this is like that. When we reach the top of the stairs, I can hear faint piano music from a few halls down. Janine doesn't lead us towards the music, but away from it.
"Okay, so you're in Valmont's estate," Sam says, "and Janine, you pretended to be a chef to get past Valmont's security, right? Now what are you going to do? Ninja assassin action adventure spying?"
"First of all, we prepare the soufflés and the haddock mornay."
Paula frowns. "Wait, being a chef isn't a cover?"
"A cover only works if it is believable," She replies matter-of-factly. "It was instantly clear to me that liberating Abel would not be enough to keep us safe. There was bound to be a standoff and militarization. So I needed to find out how Sigrid's power base operates. On the Minister's airship, I overheard her say that she would loan Valmont some of her kitchen staff in exchange for a shipment of batteries and other vital supplies."
"How does he have all the batteries and other vital supplies? That's what I want to know," Peter says.
"A very good question, Mr. Lynne, and one I intend to learn the answer to. In the chaos of the airships, I quickly disposed of the original chef by knocking her out and leaving her in an airship bound for the Hebrides. I came to work for Mr. Valmont's kitchens to learn more about this vital Ministry ally."
"Aha! And then you let other people do the cooking while you learned about Valmont's organization," Sam says excitedly. "Clever."
"No, Mr. Yao. I taught myself to cook. It's not difficult," She says nonchalantly. "It simply demands precision, timing, and meticulous attention to detail, along with natural leadership, qualities I possess in abundance. When we enter the kitchen, each of you will behave as if you are my new sous-chefs. Obey my commands exactly."
I nod, mostly because, even though I do cook in Abel's kitchens, most of those foods are simple like breads and casseroles and stews. The most I know about professional cooking is the memes that used to be posted about Gordan Ramsey before the apocalypse.
"For example, Five, you will run through the kitchen to the courtyard to bring wood to smoke the ballotine of rabbit."
"Oh, I missed taking orders from you," Paula says.
"Very good. Welcome to my kitchen." She pushes open the doors, and I'm met with the smell of dozens of different foods, most I didn't even think you could get anymore. There are clatters of pans, sizzling sounds of food being cooked, and the chatter between the other workers as they quickly move about.
I am so stealing some of this cookware if I get the chance.
"All of you!" Janine snaps. "This kitchen is a disgrace! Your worktops are filthy, your plating is disgusting, and service is in less than an hour! All of you, step to it!"
"Yes, chef!" A chorus of voices say, and Janine looks at me and nods.
"Run," She says, and I take off.
•
"Well done, Sous-chef Five," Janine praises. "These cedarwood shavings will set off the rabbit perfectly. Mr. Lynne-yes, those limes will do for the salmon ceviche, I suppose. Have Dr. Cohen whip a mayonnaise with tarragon-no, saffron, chili and sumac to give it more kick."
Sam hums in thought. "Janine, this really isn't a cover, is it? You clearly actually really care about that salmon ceviche."
"Mr. Yao, if a job's worth doing, it's worth doing to the highest and most exacting standards. That is how we derive personal pride and satisfaction in life," She says lowly, as to not draw attention from the other chefs. They're too busy running around to notice her anyway. I think they're too scared to look at her since she might start yelling at them again.
"Yeah. Yeah, I have that attitude towards my Demons and Darkness figurines."
"You don't, though," Paula says, trying to whip the mayonnaise like Janine said. "Your Yargrov the Mountain is clearly a Valdac the Destroyer with two extra arms glued on from a forest troll you trod on."
"Yeah, that's true, actually." He laughs sheepishly, and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling. "My philosophy is, if a job's worth doing, it's worth spending a bit of time on, then getting on to something else."
"And that is exactly why I'm doing most of our wedding planning," I say with a laugh.
"Hey! Janine, now that we know that you're still, you know, not dead and you're not hiding from us anymore, you're going to come to my and Callista's wedding, right?"
I look at her curiously, and she purses her lips. "That is another topic of discussion for another time, Mr. Yao. But, what you said before about your philosophy is, coincidentally, what Five and I are about to do. Dr. Cohen, once you finish with the mayonnaise, you will take charge of the soufflé station. Mr. Lynne..." She falters when Peter looks at her, wide eyed and waiting. "We'll talk later. For now, roast celeriac, 1.4 centimeter dice, please."
"Yes, ma'am," He says immediately.
Janine turns back to me. "Runner Five, we're going to rescue your contact, Selma, and we will need resources only available here. We will take the service stairs to the eighth floor. With me."
She maneuvers between the people bustling about with ease, and I do my best to follow. Down one hallway, then another, then a turn and another hallway, then we finally reach the stairs. I'm tempted to shed this damn coat. It's so hard to climb with it on. Janine, of course, has no problem with climbing the stairs and keeps craning her neck to tell me to quicken my pace. I hope she doesn't think I've gotten slower during the months in her absence. It's just this stupidly long coat that goes past my knees!
We pass a few people as we head up the stairs, all them workers. Some open their mouths to speak to me, probably wondering who I am, but they stop instantly when they realize who I'm with. It seems that Janine has made a reputation for herself, and I have a feeling that she is the new Gordan Ramsey of sorts. I don't tell her that, of course, but I make a mental note to joke about it with Sam once we get back to Abel. I'm sure he'd find it funny.
We reach the eighth floor, and I'm glad my t-shirt has soaked up the perspiration and kept it from showing on my coat. I'm sure that would look unprofessional to anyone who saw me pass by. We head into a hallway, and Janine opens the first door on the right. If we weren't in such a hurry, I'd stop to inspect the handles to see if they are real silver or not.
"Wow," Sam says as I look around at the tall, lavish bookcases and plush, burgundy colored furniture that adorns the room. "That office is swish. What is this building, anyway?"
"Mr. Valmont operates from a series of Xia-Hifa buildings across the United Kingdom-buildings that weren't in use before the apocalypse," Janine answers. "They're placed strategically, although it's taken me a long time to work out his strategy. They're not near to transport links or worker hubs. This one, a few miles outside London, is the only one located anywhere near a population center."
"So... what's the pattern?"
"Reliable off-grid power sources."
"Oh, he's devious."
She nods. "He is, Mr. Yao. I am convinced that it is Valmont's support which has enabled the Minister to maintain her power base in the country. This mansion, the size of a large hotel, is sited on top of a deep geothermal well drilled at taxpayers' expense and abandoned as a failure several years ago."
"Oh, yeah. Now I remember. Like that one at Fossey Head. Didn't they make a volcano down there?"
"You exaggerate as ever, Mr. Yao." She rolls her eyes and I giggle quietly. "I have found evidence that Valmont deliberately scuppered the geothermal well at Fossey Head so the project would be discredited. He took a tax write-off on it, and no one asked if this second well was still operational."
"Spoiler-it's still working, isn't it?"
"It is. As are several other experimental power facilities around the country, each connected to one of Valmont's properties."
I'm beginning to see why Amelia is so afraid of this man. He sounds more devious than her.
"What's it supposed to be powering?" I ask, and a small smile graces her lips.
"My contact might be able to answer that." She pauses when a loud beep fills the room. "Hello, A.N.N.I.E. Are we safe to talk?"
"Hello, Janine!" A.N.N.I.E. says cheerfully, before pausing. "Oh. Um, I didn't know you'd be bringing Runner-Employee-Runner-"
The system whirs.
"Oh. Employee Five. We must talk about your termination."
I gulp as the system whirs again.
"Janine, a subroutine I thought I deleted is trying to reactivate. I'll take some time to remove it. You need to head to room G15 on the fourth floor. Please hurry. This subroutine is problematic."
•
"A.N.N.I.E., can you talk now?" Janine asks as I close the door, my hands fiddling with my coat since I left my backpack in the lockers.
"I sure can!" She says enthusiastically. "So sorry about that. I have this whole situation going on, you know. Part of me has a whole other set of priorities and has really taken against Runner Five here. Actually, I thought I was winning against me, but something happened a little while ago, and I got much stronger. I can hardly fight me sometimes now."
My stomach turns as she laughs.
"We're at a bit of a standoff right now. There are places where I have areas of concern and there are bits where I have them. And bits where we're at war. Sorry. It's more complicated than it sounds."
Janine blinks, as if to take it in, but she doesn't question it. "A.N.N.I.E., first thing's first. Are we safe here? Is there any chance Valmont could discover us?"
"He and the Minister are in deep conversation in his private sitting room. You're safe for now. Three weeks ago, the Minister sent word that two of our employees had been confirmed as operatives with the Laundry. They are discussing... how helpful Mr. Valmont was in removing those traitors."
Janine pauses, and I close my eyes, hating that two more people have lost their lives for standing up against Sigrid. "Ah, I see. Yes. Well, in the meantime, A.N.N.I.E., you have the most sophisticated tracking devices in the new UK. Someone we need to find is in the region of Westcoat Moores. What would you need to pinpoint them more accurately then that?"
"Westcoat Moores? Wow, dangerous spot. Okay, I have a couple of little things I could try. I don't suppose you've got any of their DNA, have you?"
"Hang on. Just a sec," Sam pipes up. "Okay, A.N.N.I.E.? Now, I presume you can hear me?"
"Certainly can! X-ray, hearing. Alright, sport?"
"Sport?"
"I'm trying a thing," She says with a laugh. "To sound more, you know, human."
"Right," He says, dragging out the word. He sounds just as uneased as I feel. "Okay, so it's not that I don't trust Janine's judgment, but Janine... you've been away for awhile, and since you left, we've seen A.N.N.I.E. again. And A.N.N.I.E., you keep going on about that Glass Protocol that you've done to Five."
There's a beat of silence, then two.
"Do I? I don't remember doing Project Glass on you, Five." A.N.N.I.E. goes silent for another second. "No, no, it's fine. I've checked. I have no access to Project Glass anymore. You'll have nothing to worry about, Five. Nothing at all. Nothing whatsoever... Oh. Apart from the fact that Mr. Valmont is just outside the door. Sorry! Project Glass. I got flustered. Sorry!"
The door opens, and in steps a tall man-one I hoped I'd never have the pleasure of meeting in person. He's a lot like I pictured him-fair skinned with light brown hair and deep brown eyes. He's wearing a navy blue suit, a gold wristwatch and leather shoes.
I'd think him handsome if I wasn't terrified.
"Oh, crap," Sam says, his voice just a whisper.
"Oh. Mr. Valmont, sir," A.N.N.I.E. says calmly. "These two sous-chefs were just requesting extra supplies to be delivered next week."
Janine bows her head slightly, and I do the same, too anxious to meet his eyes. My body tenses as I ready myself to run.
"We're just leaving, sir. Everything is in order," Janine says, and we both step forward, ready to go around him to leave the room. He holds out his hand to stop us.
"Stop!" He says, his voice loud and serious. "I know who you are."
Sam curses in Chinese.
I tense, my muscles coiling as I take in a deep breath. I look up at him, panicked and readying myself to attack him, praying to God I can land a hit before he commands A.N.N.I.E. to do something terrible to me and Janine.
Valmont holds up his hands at seeing my face.
"No, no, calm down. Calm down. It's fine. I'm just so glad to meet you, Janine De Luca, Runner Five. I'm one of your biggest fans." His lips curl into a smile that makes my heart stop in my chest and ice flood my veins.
"We're going to have so much fun."
A/N: Here you go, guys! Another cliffhanger. Still, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please be sure to vote and comment! Thank you and have a blessed day!