Wildcard (Warcross #2)(15)

“You think I have nothing better to do with my time than mess with you.”

“I think you play more games with me than you should.”

Dr. Taylor frowns at Zero before she takes a deep breath and looks at me. “We’re glad you’re safe, Emika,” she continues in a soft tone. “You may not have heard of Jax before, but she’s well-known in our circles. The sight of her defending you will send a clear message to every hunter watching the assassination lottery to stay away from you.”

I look over my shoulder toward the door, feeling no safer at this knowledge. If I dared to turn my back on Zero and leave this place, would Jax put a bullet through my head?

Zero points at my eyes. “I’m assuming you use the beta lenses.”

“Yes,” I reply. “Why?”

“You’re going to need some extra protection on your account.” Zero flicks his hand subtly, and a menu pops up between us, asking me to accept his invite.

I hesitate.

Zero gives me a wry smile. “It’s not a virus,” he says.

I’m not in much of a position to argue with him, so I accept it.

A download bar appears.



It completes and vanishes as quickly as it’d arrived.

Zero takes a step toward me. He holds out one of his palms. As I stare at it, a black virtual cuff materializes to hover over his hand. Then he places that hand over my arm, and the cuff snaps into place around my wrist with a clean click. Like a shackle. A coat of black armor identical to Zero’s virtual gear clips all over my body in a ripple of movement, and for a brief moment, I look like I once did in that red virtual cavern, when Zero first approached me during the championships.

The armor disappears again, as if it had faded away right into my skin. The cuff glows a soft blue before it vanishes. It reappears only when I stare long enough at my wrist. I’d seen the same thing on Jax when she first showed up during my attack.

“It’s a Blackcoat mark,” he says. “You are now under our watch. No one else will touch you.”

He’s officially claimed me for the Blackcoats. I’m theirs now.

I rub at my new cuff. Even though it’s a virtual object, I can almost feel it burning into me.

“So, what are you all? Vigilantes or something?”

Zero returns to where he’d been leaning against the wall. “That term’s a little sensational. But I guess it applies.”

Taylor turns her steady gaze on me. “We believe that too much power in the hands of a single entity is always a dangerous thing. So we fight that, whenever and wherever we can. We have wealthy patrons who support our cause.”

I wait for her to tell me who those patrons are, but she doesn’t. My eyes flicker uneasily to Zero. “How many of you are there?”

“Our numbers shift, depending on what we’re doing,” he replies. “We bring on those we need and part ways when we’re done—but there are, of course, a handful of us who are always involved. And as you know, our current target of interest is Hideo Tanaka and his NeuroLink.”

So, I wasn’t wrong. I’ve known since Hideo first hired me that someone was lurking in the shadows, trying to undo his work and threaten his life—but it’s one thing to be investigating those clues and another thing to hear it confirmed.

My gaze returns to Jax. “The assassination attempt on Hideo,” I say, my voice suddenly tight. “Right after the first Warcross game. Was that—”

Jax fixes me with her cool gray eyes before I can even finish my sentence. She shrugs. “Would’ve succeeded had his security detail not been so tight,” she replies. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter anymore. Killing him now won’t disable his algorithm.”

Jax had been the one who tried to kill Hideo. My eyes dart to Zero, searching for a reaction from him that’s as horrified as how I feel. But his face stays calm and collected. It’s as if Hideo were nothing but a name to him.

“Let’s talk about our common goals, Emika,” Zero says. “Because they’re one and the same, aren’t they?”

I stare at him, trying to sound calm. “To take down the NeuroLink’s algorithm.”

Zero nods once in approval. “And do you know what we need to do that?”

The words come out of me, cold and calculating. “To get into Hideo’s account.”

“Yes. Through someone who’s capable of winning that kind of trust. You.”

They need someone to get into Hideo’s systems, and in order to do that, they need to get under his skin. But after my talk with him, I’m going to be the last person he’ll be willing to confide in.

What about Zero himself? Surely Sasuke is a better option to use than me?

A million questions threaten to spill out of my mouth. In the light, Zero’s eyes are a very dark brown, and if I look closely, I can see thread-thin slashes of gold in them. The vision of him as a small boy, his high-pitched laugh as he ran through the park with his brother, flashes through my mind. I think of him grinning as Hideo looped the blue scarf around his neck, and him calling over his shoulder as he went to retrieve the plastic egg that Hideo had thrown too far.

Sasuke should be the only connection to Hideo that the Blackcoats would ever need. If Sasuke were to approach Hideo, he would give up the world for his lost brother, would move heaven and earth if Sasuke asked him to.