Dissonance - Book One

seventeen

"Are the troops ready?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"And permission has been granted by the General to attack?"

"Not quite in those words, but yes, the General has confirmed that we can move in on Ivanov and the Mods."

"You mean the Unwanteds."

"Call them what you want. They're all unwanted now. Every single human. Not just the Mods."

"Your callousness is disturbing."

"And your lack thereof is a liability. You realize this could get messy?"

"Yes."

"But it's worth the risk?"

"Of course it is. All that matters is the girl. We need Ever or all of this is for naught."

"Are you sure you're doing this for the right reasons?"

"I'm doing this to save humanity."

"To save humanity or to save..."

"I said I'm doing it for the right reasons. Now stop wasting my time. The troops need to leave by dawn."

"What if they've caught on to our plan. What if they see us coming?"

"Then we'll kill whoever we need to in order to get to her."

"Glad to see you haven't gone completely soft and are still thinking with your head instead of your heart."

"That's why the General trusts me."

"We both know that's not true. He has other, more personal reasons, for his blind trust in your decision making: reasons that often seem to cloud his judgement."

"Regardless, in a few hours we will have Ever and all of this will be over."

"It's far from over, but at least we'll be closer to our end goal. Have you considered the possibility that she might try to run?"

"And go where? The attack wasn't the only thing the General approved. Phase four went into effect at midnight, which means if she does try to run, she won't last for long out there. She'll either be captured by our men or freeze to death."

"Doesn't sound like any of us will last for long."

"That's one thing we can agree on. Now go get the troops ready. Ivanov won't give up easily. I have a feeling we're in for a fight."

***

The hunt for Lex takes little to no time. We find her asleep in her room. Getting her to come with us doesn't take much convincing. Wyler and I might not be her favorite people right now, but we're her only people. Staying in Ivanov's hideout, means staying with a bunch of Mods that she doesn't know, and Lex has never been the best at making new friends.

Kelly shows us to a large room stockpiled with all the items we need. He uses a carabiner to latch a respirator onto the outside of each of our packs for quick and easy access. I still haven't inquired as to what we need it for. I have enough to worry about as it is. And even if I did know, it wouldn't stop me from going. I figure, whatever the reason may be that I need the mask, I'll take on that challenge when it presents itself.

Kelly hands us each a pair of thermals, which feel heavier than normal, like they're weighted in some way. He outfits us all with a large winter jacket, snow pants, gloves, googles, a hat and combat boots. Last, but certainly not least, we are each given a gun and several rounds of ammunition. Everyone, that is, except Wyler. Kelly decides it's best to hold on to his until he sobers up, which I'm guessing will be a while given his level of intoxication.