Cloud Invasion: R-D 2 (R-D #2)(11)

Chapter 3

Corinne

It took Auggie half an hour after he got back to the mountain to figure out I had a new, separate suite. He banged on the door after that.

I went to let him in.

"What the hell is this?" Auggie flung out an arm, encompassing my new digs.

"My suite. What else would it be?" At least this one had a wall of windows, all camouflaged on the outside so nobody would realize there was anything except rock there.

"You did this?" He blinked at our surroundings.

"I did this. Tell Rafe he can kiss my ass for calling me delusional, too. Want coffee?" I headed toward the kitchen.

"Corinne, you can't just haul off and do everything you want," Auggie walked behind me as I strode toward the kitchen.

"Really? Seems to me Rafe got what he wanted, last night," I snapped, shoving a pod into the coffeemaker. "A whole bunch of folks in Crimea are still alive today. I guess that's what they want, too. I'm sorry Colonel August Hunter didn't get exactly what he wanted, last night." I jerked a cabinet door open and pulled a cup off a shelf. Slamming it under the brewer, I hit the button to make coffee.

"Corinne, look. I don't know how hard that was for you," Auggie attempted to placate me. "I have no idea. Rafe won't talk to me. Laci is terrified. Marcus is still in shock. James, well, James thinks that was the coolest thing he's ever seen."

"Uh-huh." I handed the cup of coffee to Auggie.

"Cori, we have to talk about what you did last night. About how it was done. How long you knew you could do that. What else might be possible."

"No."

"No?"

"I don't want to be used," I said. "The President has good intentions, but she won't be able to help herself."

"Okaaay," Auggie seated himself at my kitchen island. "What do you want from me, then?"

"I want you to trust me. To believe me when I tell you something. That's what I want."

"Is that what you wanted from Rafe last night? For him to believe you when you said you'd destroy the bunker?"

"Yes. Look, I realize I overreacted-I'll admit that. But he didn't give me the benefit of the doubt. I don't know why that bothered me so much, but it did."

"Tell me," he said, making himself comfortable on the barstool, "do you know why things are so different this time?"

"It's a natural progression," I said. "That's all I feel comfortable saying right now. I hope it doesn't go any farther than you and Leo."

"The suite is nice," Auggie said and sipped his coffee.

"It's what I wanted," I replied.

"I can see that. The rugs are nice."

"Wool, power dyed and woven," I said.

"Power dyed and woven?"

"It means I used energy to do it, instead of people."

"Corinne, I almost spit a mouthful of coffee across your floor."

"I'd clean it up if you did."

"The windows are very nice. I assume they're invisible from the outside?"

"Even with the lights on," I agreed.

"Fantastic." He drank more coffee.

"Want a burrito?" I asked.

"You cooking?"

"No, I was thinking about going to Texas to get one."

"Cori, please stay here. You'll give me a heart attack if you don't."

The knock on my door almost gave both of us a heart attack. I left Auggie in the kitchen and went to let Rafe and James in.

"Nice. Very nice," Rafe said as he followed me to the kitchen.

"Before you ask," I held up a hand, "I think it was low blood sugar. Too much energy expended and not enough reserves."

"I accept your apology," Rafe said.

"Good."

He and James helped themselves to coffee before finding the food in the fridge; I'd transferred it there after completing my new home. That resulted in a flurry of microwaving, after which they sat down to a nice meal.

"Did you pay for this?" Auggie asked.

"I did. And the stuff we didn't get to eat, too, plus a nice tip and a promise to never go back there again."

"I'll fix that," Auggie grumped. "This chicken is good."

"Suit yourself," I shrugged.

*

Notes-Colonel Hunter

I left Corinne's new suite when the call came from the President.

It wasn't good news.

"What do you mean, they escaped?" Making sense of what Madam President shouted over the phone was impossible-for at least the first ten seconds. All I could understand initially was the word "escaped."

"Sixteen survivors that we had in quarantine escaped," she slowed her speech and calmed her temper. "We had them locked in and cared for. They all got out. I need you, Farrell and anybody else who might help with this mess. Please tell me Corinne can help. This is disastrous."

"Why?" I asked. "Why is this disastrous?"

"Because they're not human, and some of them-some of them defy explanation."

It angered me that she'd left us out of that loop from the beginning-that she'd taken control and hidden the survivors away. At first, I imagined it was to keep them away from the general population until they could be reintroduced into it without revealing the drug or the Program.