Page 9 of Captive Beta
I watch as one of the guards picks something up from the ground, holding it up to the other. It’s a piece of black plastic. With a hard voice, he taps the piece against the back of the car, cursing. Someone must have crashed into the car, breaking it, which he’s complaining about.
I’m so used to making sure nobody spots me that I nearly took the guards out, out of habit. If I’d done that, it would have put more attention on us, not less.
I want to apologise to Mathew, but he gives me a quick smile and nods to the rest of the team, who are waiting to progress.
The guards have left the parking area and the hole in the fence is now big enough for us to get through. The next guards should be here in five minutes, so we have to get through before they’re here.
Mathew raises his eyebrows at me and I nod. Yes, we should get a move on. We’re here for a reason and the sooner we’re done, the sooner we can go back home.
“First phase complete.” Mathew’s voice is quiet and then he starts moving, confident strides towards the fence.
I wait for the rest of the team to follow him, before I slip through the fence too, nodding to the two people who are staying here to make sure nobody notices what we just did.
They nod back, faces determined, and take up their positions.
I follow the rest of the team, my eyes shooting over the parking lot and then they land on Mathew. He’s easy to spot, not because he’s taller than the rest or because he wears anything different, but because of the way he moves, so comfortable, so confident, like he already knows this mission will be a success and doing it is only a formality.
It calms me down too. We can do this. I might not be used to working in a team, but I know the plan, I know what’s expected of me, and that’s good enough. If this is how all missions go, I think that being part of a team isn’t so bad.
So far, so good.
The team waits, hiding in the shadows of a greenhouse where they’re growing the plants we’re here for. Well, we’re here for the seeds, much easier to transport than full plants.
The flowers’ scent is only a simple floral fragrance, nothing like Mathew and Vera’s pheromones, which would be a combination of wisteria and honey. But at the same time, my brain reacts like it is, like I’m smelling my Omegas’ pheromones right now. It’s a strange experience, I’m not sure if I like it.
I shake my head, trying to ignore the flowers.
I need to focus. I need to focus, or we might get in trouble.
And I don’t want to be the reason this all goes to hell.
5
Vera
I should have put on a dress that wasn’t this poofy. I thought that this would be fine, I can move in it really well and nobody will notice that I’m wearing any weapons on me. But a skirt half this volume would have accomplished that too and it wouldn’t have been this bothersome to squeeze between trashcans, walls and cars.
At least the cars will be cleaner, unlike my dress…
As I was walking past the restaurants and cafes with Jorge, listening to his words as he finally seemed to start to relax, I caught a sliver of a caramel scent that immediately caught my attention.
First, I thought it came from one of the restaurants, where people were eating some extravagant creation of ice cream, caramel, wafers and chocolate, all piled up high. It looked good, even though it would be way too much for me, too much even for Jorge and me to finish together.
Then, I caught the scent again.
It didn’t come from the restaurant, it was someone’s pheromones. Someone I had to find. I couldn’t let them go.
The second time, I noticed something else about them too, they had a note of bitterness, like caramel that got burned. That wasn’t right.
It pulled on something deep inside me, a connection I didn’t know was there before, but it was there now, as clear as day. I had to find the person these pheromones belonged to. I had to. They were mine and they were in trouble. I had to protect them before anything else happened.
On instinct, I slipped away from Jorge. Miles would look after him, so he’d be safe.
I couldn’t bring them with me, not if I didn’t know what I would find. Miles could probably hold his own in most situations, but Jorge isn’t like that. So, it’s better to keep him out of danger as much as possible.
I’ll find a way to contact them once I know more, but not yet.
The voices a couple of cars ahead of me start moving again, moving away, and I carefully follow them, making sure to stay out of view, but between their voices and the bitter caramel pheromones, I don’t need to be too close to track them.
