“How did you know it was Yin’s finger?”

  “The ring was one his wife gave him when he became president. The mix of silver, platinum, and gold was set into waves. It served to remind him that time and decision making creates a ripple effect. He told me about it when I became the senator for A’Garve Province.”

  A knock on the door signaled the end of their conversation, and she called, “Enter,” the way he’d done before.

  McNally peered in. “Senator, I wondered if you’d like to come with me to meet with LV? I mean…” Her gaze moved between them both.

  “No, the timing is perfect. Then we can train immediately afterward.” Daniella rose and trailed her hand gently over Jonah’s shoulder as she passed him. “I’ll be back afterward. I’ve got my communicator.”

  He grunted, “I’ll contact you if you’re needed.”

  It wasn’t much, but he wasn’t stopping her. She’d take that as the first step. She followed McNally into the hall, the door sliding closed behind her.

  “The child didn’t have a good night, according to the general. It’s going to take a bit to gain her trust,” McNally informed her.

  “Maybe, but Dr. Windhower says there’s no tracker, unlike the others. I’m wondering what that means.” Daniella bit her lip, the worst of scenarios passing through her mind.

  They left the building and headed to the secure holding area they called The Brig. The construction was stone and metal, substantial and imposing even in the midst of the corps base.

  They submitted to the security procedures, handing over their hastily arranged official identification. The deference in the soldier’s action annoyed Daniella.

  “Don’t worry. You’re an asset, and they’ll treat you like spun glass until you prove you can protect yourself.” McNally’s words confirmed Daniella’s understanding of how the military world worked.

  They were ushered down a set of steps, the atmosphere closing in as a large chain-link gate opened before them. After passing through another checkpoint, a barred door stood between them and the cells.

  “For your safety, senator, we’ve restrained the child.”

  Daniella quirked an eyebrow. “How did that go?”

  The guard stared, and McNally rolled her eyes. “The senator needs to know if there were any casualties.”

  He cleared his throat and raised his left hand, which was covered in gauze. “I came out best, three bites. Doms took a blow to the leg, and it’s broken. Figgers has a concussion.”

  Daniella couldn’t understand how one small child, especially the angelic and slight-looking child they knew as LV-1, had almost taken them out. She opened her mouth, but McNally shook her head, quieting Daniella. “So, we’ll be careful then.”

  McNally secured her pistol in the lockbox, and Daniella submitted her communicator and the tiny stun device Jonah had given her. She then waited through the pat-down in silence and watched as they followed suit with McNally. She hissed as they touched the sites where she’d been injured.

  Finally satisfied, the guard rolled back the gate. He instructed another guard to take them to the cell where the child huddled, attached to a metal desk.

  She looked so small, and Daniella almost forgot the danger. She stepped within, but McNally grabbed her. “Sit down, senator.”

  Daniella took the first seat and lowered herself into it while McNally rounded the table and settled beside Daniella, hands clasped on the metal tabletop.

  “Advise your designation.”

  “I’m LV-1. The first of the LV designation.” The child answered with a sullen growl, and Daniella couldn’t control the curl of dismay at McNally’s questioning techniques.

  This wasn’t the charming child she remembered from the other day, and she started to rise.

  Once more, McNally shook her head, and with a tiny hiss of impatience, she resettled in her uncomfortable metal chair.

  “LV-1, you are being held as part of an investigation into the subversion of the senate, the murder of President Yin, subsequent attacks on—”

  “I didn’t do anything. That’s not my job!” The child tugged at her restraints, and Daniella stared at McNally, her face a cold mask of indifference.

  “McN—”

  “Not now, senator. Allow me to do my job.”

  Her teeth gritted together, nearly grinding down with fury, Daniella waited.

  “What is your job, LV-1?”

  “I’m to collect intelligence to relay back. Once I’m able, my body sufficiently matured, I’m scheduled for impregnation and will carry more of my kind.”

  Hot lava-like bile rose in Daniella’s throat, scouring her with bitterness.

  A hand clamped on hers. Daniella turned with a jerk of her head toward McNally who radiated both understanding and weariness.

  “Is that what you want, LV-1?” McNally turned back to the child, her tone remote.

  “It’s what I was made for.”

  The child’s total acceptance was too much, and Daniella couldn’t keep silent any longer. “But you weren’t, LV. You’re a child. You’re—”

  “You’re overly emotional. Just like they warned us. Human women rely on emotions and fears. We’re stronger. Faster. We’re the fighters and protectors. Your weaknesses make you a target.” Rote words rolled off the child’s tongue, and they left Daniella reeling.

  “When are you due to reach maturity, LV?”

  “Two years three months is the estimated time to total physical maturity, making me suitable for the first round of genetic implantation.” The tiny tremor in the girl’s final words was the trigger, it seemed, for McNally to sigh, slump back in her chair, and shake her head.

  “Is that what you want though? I mean, if you had the choice, wouldn’t you rather be someone other than a designation maturational container?” McNally sneered, and Daniella frowned. This wasn’t the McNally she’d seen in action. Where were the empathy and understanding?

  Wisely, she remained quiet as the girl shot up in her seat. “That’s what I was bred for. It’s what they’ve prepared me for over the last years. I don’t have the choices—”

  “Bullshit!” McNally’s bellow echoed, and the child stilled, eyes growing round as her mouth dropped open. “You can be more than what they told you. You can have choices and options like the rest of our people.”

  The girl leaned forward. “No. Because I’m cyber-enhanced. Cybes don’t get to choose. They don’t—”

  Unable to listen anymore, Daniella cleared her throat. “That’s not true. My brother, Michael—the doctor at the holding facility—he and his wife, Clarissa, are both cybes. They have options and choices. They earned that right, and so can you.”

  The way the young girl wrinkled her brow betrayed her skepticism.

  Daniella plowed on. “You children don’t just have to buy into the future that someone pre-determined for you. You can have choices too. You can make your future.”

  Deep emotional hunger flared in the girl’s eyes. A flash that lasted for seconds then guttered out. “No. The others will have to pay. I won’t leave them to that.” She set her lips tight, eyes narrowed.

  McNally took her hand. “We’re going to go. You need to follow the instructions given to you by the men. You’re a prisoner of war and have certain entitlements and responsibilities.”

  Under the lights, the girl’s eyes glinted. “Oh, yes.”

  McNally bared her teeth. “Not talking about escape. They’ll return you to your cell.”

  The girl grimaced. “Nothing to do there.”

  Daniella cocked her head. “What would you like to do?” The minute she’d spoken, she regretted the action.

  “School. I want an education.” The words, spoken quietly, ricocheted.

  “Fine. I can arrange that for you.”

  LV’s mouth dropped open, shock creeping over her features. “You can do that?”

  “I’m a senator. I can make many things happen.”

  At McNally’s signal, she rose and left the cell, clamping down on her reactions until they were beyond the building.

  “You did well, senator. There was a lot of information that wasn’t palatable, but you handled yourself nicely.”

  Daniella didn’t reply. She thought she’d seen it all when Clarissa had appeared on the scene. Obviously, she hadn’t. The knowledge continued to gnaw at her as they hurried to the offices where Jonah waited.

  Chapter 16

  Jonah watched as Daniella tottered from the building, her face a stark and icy white. He slid out of the vehicle, but Michael stopped him before he could reach the woman slowly making her way in his direction.

  “No. She needs to hold her own in front of the men and women here.”

  Jonah growled deep in his throat but stopped and waited. He knew the minute she saw him, the glassy look in her eyes melting into distress.

  She reached out, then curled her hands into fists. “Jonah?”

  The tightness in his gut turned to concrete. “What happened?”

  “They’re using them. The girls are meant to be walking, talking incubators for their next generation of warriors. That’s after they serve their purpose as fighters. How can they do that?”

  He sucked in a shuddering breath, feeling the emotional turmoil that rolled off her in thick waves. It didn’t surprise him. Perhaps on some intuitive level, he’d already guessed that the children were dispensable, and that through the genetic manipulation, they could be replaced in short order, an army of replaceable drones, completely lacking in empathy.

  “Jonah?” Her voice faltered.

  “I guess I already worked that out, senator.”

  “But they’re children.” A tiny, diamond-like tear fell from her lashes and rolled down her cheek. She didn’t wipe it away. Instead, she let him see the level of horror and disgust that wove itself around her.

  “Not to them. The ones running this plot placed orders for a mass delivery of emotionless warriors. We need to stop thinking of them as children, because they won’t be thinking of us as humans, only as combatants.”

  Daniella reared away from his harsh reminder. “I can’t—”

  “If you don’t, the war is won by them before we even began taking up arms. They kill. You’ve already seen their handiwork, senator. We have to be strong.” He allowed his voice to harden, becoming an effective weapon, like a hammer. The words slammed into her, and she stepped back, her arms winding around her body.

  Daniella bit her lip, blinked once, then again. “I’m not sure I can.” She shuddered and exhaled, but she steadied, sliding her arms down so that they lay at her sides, fists curled tight then released.

  He grunted, and she reached out to him, gripped onto his wrist. “This is who I am, Jonah. I may be a senator, but I’m also a woman. I feel things deeply, and this… It hits me hard, right here!” She hit her chest, and he couldn’t fault the emotions she shared.

  Michael sighed. “Daniella, war is never simple. So few things we do or see are black and white, and the tones are even harder to read in this kind of situation. Jonah is trying to explain that we have to think differently. It doesn’t make us wrong or bad. Just aware and realistic. Millions of people will rely on us to protect them, our way of life, and the democracy you swore to uphold. We can’t do that if we aren’t able to separate ourselves from these emotions, no matter how unpalatable it is. He’s not a monster by acting the way he is, and neither are you.”

  Daniella glared at her brother, her bottom lip quivering. “I’ll try. But it’s still wrong. Morally and ethically.”

  Jonah couldn’t disagree with her. He understood the internal tussle that gnawed at her, but there wasn’t an option. “We need to debrief and find out what else you managed to—”

  “The senator handled herself well in there, Jonah.”

  Jonah concentrated on Agent McNally who’d sidled up beside Daniella, her gaze steady, as if she willed him to cut the senator some slack. He couldn’t. Not yet, and not here. Michael was right. She had to be seen as reliable, because she was effectively the head of the democratically elected senate now. She hadn’t merely rolled over and handed control like Gravely. So, she’d have to suck it up and soldier on. He needed her strength to create a united front. A rallying point. They all had a job to do, and none was simple or straightforward now.

  “I understand that. The senator needs to debrief, then you’re taking her out for practice, yes?”

  A dangerous glint appeared in McNally’s eyes. One he knew well. She was about to raise objections. That couldn’t happen. Not here in front of anyone to see. He’d talk to her about this, he promised himself. Settle the anger that brewed and bubbled.

  Jonah slid his hand down, so he held the senator’s, and turned to her. Willed her to understand. “We need to get the information. From both of you. It could make a difference in how we go forward. The truth is, we know so little, and that’s only what the team has gleaned so far.”

  Daniella’s nod had the tension that had wound tight inside him releasing. “I understand. McNally, we should head back to…” Her gaze wavered from the woman back to him. “…the office?”

  “It seems the most logical place. I’m having people set up debriefing rooms as we speak, but they won’t be ready for a day or two. And it’s probably better that we do it in the most secure location. Come on. We’ll drive over there.”

  He urged Daniella forward, and she climbed into the back of the vehicle, folding her hands in her lap, head high, and the spunk he’d previously admired was in full force. He mastered the smile and climbed into the vehicle beside her as McNally took the other front seat.

  Chapter 17

  The day passed into the night, the reds and oranges covering the sky like paint on a canvas. The glass of water Daniella held in her hand was a far cry from the chilled white wine she craved, along with the scents and tranquility of her home.

  Given the way the children had destroyed the hospital, Daniella seriously doubted there’d be much left of her house, and a tug of sadness weighed her down.

  “So much lost already, and this war has barely begun.” The words flittered away on the breeze as she looked out over the base.

  The plastic chair bit into the skin of her thighs, and Daniella shifted as the door to the accommodation unit swung open with a squeak. Unable to help herself, she spun to see Jonah wander out of their room.

  “I wanted to see if you’d like a cup of tea.”

  He’d walked wide circles around her since this morning after the debriefing and session with LV-1.

  “I’d prefer a cold, white chardonnay or similar.”

  He grinned. “None here. I could maybe head over to the Officer’s Club and see what they have on hand…”

  Daniella shook her head. “While it would be nice, I guess I need to get my head cleared and in the game. I’m just trying to come to terms with what I’ve seen and heard in the last forty-eight hours.”

  He advanced. “Mind if I sit with you?”

  Daniella waved her hand. “Please.” They needed to clear the air and find some kind of balance if they could hope for any sort of long-term relationship, and she couldn’t help the tiny shimmer of hope that what lay between them might have some permanence attached.

  “Thanks.” He hunkered down onto the step and settled beside the chair, staring out over the carpark below. Empty now as the members of the unit had retired to eat in the mess. “I know this morning was difficult.”

  She shrugged. “I understood, you know, after we talked. I can’t afford the luxury of feeling hurt or…” No word came to mind to describe the emotions she’d felt. “I guess I need to harden up if I’m going to assume the mantle of authority. It’s just Yin never involved me in that stuff. He always said there was time. Now he’s gone, and I have to step up. It’s a huge thing, Jonah. It frightens me. So much responsibility, and what if I mess it up?”

  “Then you admit it, and we move on. There aren’t a lot of options now. They’re relying on you. On us, senator.” He turned and captured her gaze.

  She laughed, even though she felt amazed at the ability to deal with what he said with mirth. “Which us, Jonah? Me and the army? Me and the unit? Me and…” She gulped then dove into the question that had played with her thoughts for hours. “Me and you?”

  Trepidation and hunger burned inside her, warring for supremacy. She knew they both were dealing with heavy loads. He would be heading up the team in control of hunting down information and dealing with the threat as well as coordinating their army. And she needed to begin cobbling together some semblance of a senate in waiting.

  Daniella would become the face of the resistance, find the right people to assume critical positions when this war was over, and when the time to rebuild came they would move into place. And yet…

  Jonah slid a soft hand onto her knee, anchoring her and offering support when she most needed it, keeping her grounded. “All of them. But the last one? That’s the one I want to work most. Right now, though, we need to focus on the big picture. But when we finally get through this—”

  “If, Jonah. There are no guarantees, as you keep reminding me.” The words tasted sour in her mouth, but shying away from reality wouldn’t help anyone survive.

  He cocked his head. “That’s true, but we also need to do more than just hope. We need to keep our nerve, to believe in what we’re doing, otherwise we’ve let them win before we start.”

  She sighed and looked back out over the carpark. “I hope we can defeat them. I feel like they’ve had time to prepare, time to build their defenses, and we’re just playing catch up. Things are grim to my way of thinking.”

  He grunted. “Perhaps, but we’ve got the people on our side. During the war, I was always amazed at what everyday people are capable of when called to defend what they hold dear. They’ll come together again because they believe in what they’re doing. It’s just going to take time. We need to present the truth, let the people realize that they’ve been duped. We need time and commitment. Belief. That’s what you bring to the table first off. The rest will fall into place.”