Page 142 of Us Defiant Few

Her thoughts went haywire, realizing why the Governor had singled her out in Apollo. Why his blue eyes had followed her everywhere she went. Why she had visions of a sprawling world before the Great Collapse.

She was seeing his memories.

She was and would always be connected to him.

“Khalani.”

For him to perish, was she the one who had to die?

“Khalani!” The warm voice cut through the fog. “Look at Winnie.”

Her head slowly swiveled. If the ropes weren’t holding her, she’d have fallen over.

She wouldn’t have even cared.

“Don’t listen to it,” Winnie rasped. “You’re nothing like it. You’re human just like the rest of us. What happened to you as a baby doesn’t determine your future. Alan can’t control you.”

Winnie spoke with pure conviction, staring at Khalani in ways only a mother could. But the moment was broken apart by the Governor speaking.

“Precisely right. Despite my code embedded in her brain, and no matter how hard I tried, it was impossible for me to control her actions,” Alan seethed. “Which brings me to my final hypothesis.”

The Governor nodded at one of the guards, who quickly left the room. Khalani felt the others’ gazes on her, but she couldn’t look back and see her face reflected in their eyes.

She’d rather take the knife out of Brock’s hand and saw her own brain out.

Alan can’t control you.

You’re human like the rest of us.

Winnie’s words played repeatedly in her mind, like a raft in a distant sea. But then, Takeshi slammed the doors open, reminding her that no matter how far the pit goes, it can always go deeper.

Takeshi wore his black Captain uniform, his black hair rough and messy, like he hadn’t slept in days. His magnetic eyes swept over the room, pausing on her briefly, before centering on the Governor.

“You wanted to see me, sir?”

“Ah, yes. Come here, Captain Steele.”

Takeshi swiftly obeyed the instruction, coming to stand by the Governor’s side. He folded his hands behind his back, emotionlessly staring at the blank wall behind them.

Alexander observed him with a calculating eye, continuing his story. “When more protests erupted in Apollo, I realized that I needed stronger soldiers to maintain order. I decided to open a new training program for guards, and young Takeshi Steele was one of the best students.”

Alexander clapped him on the back, but Takeshi hardly moved, hardly listened. Like he was present physically, but his brain had been wiped entirely.

“Before graduation, all the students underwent final testing. They thought they were being put under anesthesia for neurological examination, but the medical team made them faster. Stronger. They enhanced their muscles, durability, and bone density. And when they inserted the neuro chip, they created a super-soldier.”

A super-soldier.

They stared at Takeshi as he stood tall and mighty beside the Governor. He had always been stronger and more lethal than anyone, able to rip heads off and fight a dozen men without flinching. She’d thought it strange before, but never questioned it, assuming Takeshi was born like that.

But the truth was worse.

They’d made him into their weapon of death.

“That can’t be true.” Serene’s voice rang out. “They removed his chip in Hermes.”

“You’re right.” The Governor grinned. “But they didn’t know about the cybernetic implant in his spine that we inserted when he was younger. The one that allows me to see and hear everything he does. Control his motor movements when necessary.”

Khalani heaved in ragged breaths. Time itself stood still as the memories rushed back.