Page 105 of Gates of Tartarus

“You’re not fucking sorry, Smith. And don’t act like we’re friends,” I bite out, harsh and exhausted. “Let’s just get through this shit and then you can leave.”

There’s a moment of silence, and then I hear him sigh.

“Okay, Reed. Can we just go through what happened please?”

I shrug painfully, eyes still closed. “I alreadytoldyou. She said, ‘you’re not with Gaia, are you?’ and then said ‘thank God’.”

No one speaks for a long moment, confusion washing over me, and I groan. “Christ, is Gemma here? My brain is fracturing…”

There’s a muffled sound of movement, and I feel her small hand grab mine. “Sorry, Kai,” she croaks, voice sandpaper and sleep. “I’m... Iamtrying.”

I don’t respond, flinching slightly as I feel her near me, and she gulps audibly before looking away from me, hand still holding mine.

“Well, what the fuck?” Walker says, frustration lacing every word. “Fucking Gaia?”

“I don’t know,” Smith says slowly. “I can’t... It doesn’t make any sense. Cole has been helping us almost from day one.”

“It doesn’t have to be Cole,” Tanaka replies. “If someone lured those women in under the pretense of a Gaia Foundation event… or if Kronos has a plant in Gaia?”

“Maybe her assistant? What’s her name? That Fallon woman?... run checks…”

I’m pretty sure I drift in and out of sleep for a little, catching small pieces of conversations but unable to reply or open my eyes enough to see what’s happening. Gemma has fallen asleep beside me in her chair, hand still holding mine, and I want to extricate my fingers from hers, knowing logically that she can’t block in her sleep, but afraid of what will happen if I let go. The fog in my brain is so thick and heavy that emotion can’t push it away in any case. It all slides off me like rain, small amounts sinking into my skin, but most dripping off into puddles on the floor. The greyness is almost tangible and feels suffocating – an emptiness where before it was overly full, and the hollow darkness is so gaping and abraded it hurts. Until now I’ve only felt pain from too much emotion, the overflow burning through my veins like fire, leaving raw violence in its wake.

But this, this is a beast with sharp fangs, ravenously hungry and unable to fill its belly. It’s cold, licks of freezing ice greying my skin, glacial rivers of blue running along my pale arms. It’s an arctic desert, nothing but silent emptiness, as deep as I can reach and as far as I can see, and I realize that there’s nothing left to feel. Extracting my hand from Gemma’s now flaccid grip, I slowly open my eyes to the dim light of the room and watch the strange interaction between Tanaka, Smith, and Walker.

They’re all angry and cautious at the same time, faces dark with restrained, chaotic energy. But I can’t feel any of it. I sigh, exhaustion written in my bones, the marrow filling me, as Smith says, “But why leave all the women there, just buried? It makes no sense.”

“They were planning on coming back.”

Six eyes focus on me with sudden, laser-like attention.

“What?” Smith asks.

“How... you okay, Kai?” Walker asks quietly, and I look at him, eyes empty.

“I’m fine,” I say flatly, and concern lines his face as he moves toward me. I shake my head infinitesimally and continue. “The women Icouldget a read on… I mean, not many obviously, but they were worried. But not because they were left there to die. They were worried about what would happen when the people returned. I don’t know. I think it was a false trail or something. Like they somehow found out we were going to move in, and didn’t have the time or ability to move that many people. So they left them, were waiting for us to go in, do a quick search, and leave, and then they’d come back.”

The words aren’t making as much sense coming out of my mouth as they make in my head, but even there, they won’t connect the way I want them to, won’t line up like I need them to.

Smith pauses, taking a deep breath, and lets it out slowly. “We were meant to move in on Saturday night. We delayed... we got delayed because we were waiting on you…”

I try to sit up but fall back with a pained groan. “Don’t you fucking blame this on me,” I snap out, a tiny match strike of anger flaring inside me before the darkness swallows it, and the emotion drifts mercifully away.

Smith startles back. “No. Kai… Reed. That’s not what I... Christ,” he says, rubbing his face.

I shrug slightly. “Doesn't matter. None of it matters.”

Hideo moves forward for the first time, worry and aching sadness battling on his face. “Kai… are you... what’s going on?”

I stare at him blankly, then look back at Smith. “I think it was a set up,” I say. “It was one of two things. Either a bomb meant to go off in my head, which, success. Right? Your pet psychic taken off the table.” I point feebly at my head. “Because this shit? It’sfucked up.”

Smith frowns, but I keep talking. “Or a decoy, meant for us to do a sweep, not find anything, and leave. After which they could return to their victims. I don’t think they meant to waste their ‘stock’,” I say bitterly. “I think it was a series of unfortunate events. We found out about the location unexpectedly – they were seen and had to cover – they didn’t have enough time to move; we got delayed in our sweep; they couldn’t return…”

“But Gaia…” Walker asks gently, and because it’s him asking, and no one else, I make an effort to answer.

“I don’t know,” I reply quietly. “I don’t know. I’ve never gotten a good read off Elizabeth, but everything Ihavegotten…” I shrug. “And Maelasawher being threatened. And she made that report about being attacked. The video from the street cam backs her up…”

“So we’re looking at Kronos posing as Gaia or someone having infiltrated Gaia.” Smith’s voice is flat, and he doesn’t look at any of us. “So we need to warn her. Tanaka, can you reach out? And we need to start questioning the victims. Walker?”