Page 127 of Scarlet Wars
The realization cracked through me like lightning. I shot to my feet, pacing the narrow strip of floor, words spilling faster than I could catch them.
“There weretwowarrants. There had to be. First, the one those militants brought to my door, the one that labeled me a threat before I’d even done anything. And then this.”
I held up the paper, my fingers trembling so hard the seal blurred. “This one came later,afterthe president found out ten of his men were dead.AfterI killed them.”
“Emma,” Rachel said softly, “calm down.”
But calm was impossible. My heart was a drum in my chest, my thoughts jagged as glass.
“Which makes way more sense. Of course he’d sign off on something after that. I mean, who wouldn’t?”
I turned to Rachel, my questions quieter now, but heavier. “But then… Where’s the first one? And who the hell branded me a terrorist?”
She blinked, thinking. “There must be a record of it somewhere. Where do humans even keep arrest warrants?”
I paused, before settling back in the leather comfy chair. “There’s the Warrant Information System. It tracks the status of all federal warrants. It’s managed by the Department of Justice.”
Rachel raised an eyebrow, then let out a low chuckle. “Well, look at you. Guess that law degree’s still good for something.”
I snorted, leaning back and rubbing a hand over my jaw. “A lot less than I thought it would be when I started out.”
Rachel tilted her head, one brow raised, her fingers drumming lightly on the table. “So what now? You planning to hack into a federal database?”
I opened my mouth, but the answer never came, because the door slammed open so hard the walls rattled.
Sean barreled inside, breathless, hair sticking damp to his forehead, eyes wild. “You sent Jackson and James to Alberta?”His voice cracked like thunder, raw and furious. “Without backup?”
Rachel’s frown was immediate, her calm unshaken. “It is a simple recon mission,” she said evenly. “Our LiaPrism picked up translation we couldn’t identify.”
“Recon?” Sean roared, the word ricocheting off stone walls. He jabbed a finger at her, completely dismissing me like I wasn’t even in the room. “Jackson is not an Offensive!”
Rachel rose slowly, her height and composure radiating authority. “He’s out with the Leader of Cyclos, Sean. I’m confident it will be fine.”
“Fine?” Sean’s laugh exploded, harsh and jagged, shattering through the chamber like glass. “Fine?”
He surged across the room in three strides, the floor shaking with each step, then slammed both palms against the table so hard the wood groaned. He leaned forward, close enough for spit to fleck the surface, blazing like wildfire, every word torn out of him like it burned his throat.
“Well then, excuse me for bursting your little bubble,” he snarled, venom dripping from every syllable, “because they were fuckingkidnappedand are being held in thegodsdamn US!”
PART 3
THIRTY
EMMA
“Could it be the Chiefs?”
“Is there any news of them?”
“What if it were the Collabs?”
“Or Radicals?”
“Last I heard, they were setting up camp in South Africa.”
The War Room buzzed with restless voices, while the tension turned thick enough to choke on.
I locked my focus on Sean. My best friend. My betrayer.
