Chapter 120 Chapter 120
Chapter 120 Chapter 120
Jax sat at the table with the note from Helena spread out in front of him. He had read it twenty times. His fingers were flat on the paper. The edges were curled from being folded and unfolded.
Elena came in from behind him. Her face was still damp from washing it. Her hair was wet. She sat down across from him. The chair scraped against the floor.
"Any news?" she asked.
Jax shook his head. "Rina's still going through the files."
She nodded. "Marcus Cain?"
"Nothing."
"He's hiding."
"Or dead."
"He's not dead. People like him don't die."
Jax widened his eyes and blew out air from his mouth. He didn't answer. He looked at the note again.
Elena leaned forward. "What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking about what Helena said. 'I'm not done yet.'"
"You don't believe her."
"I really don't know. I don't know what to believe anymore."
Rina came in. She was holding a tablet she found in one of the rooms. Her face was pale. Her eyes were red. She hadn't slept.
"I found something," she said.
She set the tablet on the table. On the screen was a file. A name. A photo.
"Anya Thorne."
Jax looked at the photo. A woman with dark hair. Pale skin. Empty eyes. She looked like her mother. Same sharp cheekbones. Same cold stare.
"Elise's daughter," Rina said. "She uploaded her mother's consciousness into herself. Both minds are active. Both are fighting for control."
Elena leaned closer. "Where is she now?"
Rina scrolled down. "Unknown. But there's a pattern. She's been moving. Europe. Asia. South America. Always one step ahead."
"Of us?"
"Of everyone."
Jax stared at the screen. "What about Marcus Cain? Any connection?"
Rina nodded. "She's been looking for him. Same as us."
"Why?"
“That, I can't tell.”
The room was quiet.
Caiman came in from the bedroom. His face was pale. He looked really exhausted. He leaned against the doorframe. His breathing was heavy.
"Because she wants what he has," he said.
Everyone looked at him.
"Marcus Cain found a way to transfer his consciousness without losing himself. He's the only one who did it successfully. Anya needs to know how."
"Before her two minds tear each other apart," Elena said.
Caiman nodded. He walked to the table and sat down.
Jax stood up. “How did you know that?”
“I found it in one of the files not quite long ago.”
"Interesting. There, we have it. Let's find her first."
The search took three days.
Rina worked through every file. Her eyes wanted to give up but she didn't let them. Her hands were shaking. She drank coffee that had gone cold hours ago so she didn't sleep.
"I can't find her," she said. Her voice was hoarse. "She's too good at hiding."
Elena looked at the map on the wall. "She has to surface somewhere."
"Not if she has people helping her."
"Who?"
"The same people who helped her mother. Phoenix sympathizers. People who still believe in the cause."
Jax walked to the table and placed his hand on it. "There has to be something."
"There is. But it's not Anya."
Rina pulled up a file. A name. A location.
"Marcus Cain's last known location. Before he disappeared."
Elena leaned closer. "Where?"
"Seoul. Six months ago. He was seen at a private clinic."
"For what?"
"Anti-aging treatments. He was trying to slow down the deterioration I guess."
Jax looked at the date. "Six months ago. Long before the reset. It can't be anti-aging then."
"The reset would have killed him."
"He's dead."
Rina shook her head. "No. He's not dead. He's hiding."
"Where?"
Rina zoomed in on the map. "Unknown. But there's a pattern. The clinic in Seoul was owned by a shell company. That shell company owns another clinic. In Perth. Australia."
Elena looked up. "Australia?"
"It's a private medical facility. Off the grid. It's been running for years."
Jax stared at the map. "We need to get there."
"We can't. Not yet. The weather is too bad. We're stuck here for at least a week."
Caiman's voice was low. "Then, let’s wait."
Jax didn't answer. His thoughts were still whirling evident by his grimace.
Rina was still scrolling. Then, she stopped. Her face changed to a surprising look.
"What is it?" Elena asked.
Rina turned the tablet around. "Anya sent a message."
Jax read it.
"You're looking for Marcus Cain. I'm looking for Marcus Cain. Don't get in my way."
Elena read it. "She knows we're looking."
"She knows everything."
Jax's hand tightened. "How?"
Rina shook her head. "I don't know. She has access to the same networks we do. Maybe better."
Caiman moved to the table. "Then, lets block her."
"Block her how?"
"Cut her off. Make her blind."
Rina looked at him. "That's not how this works."
"Then figure out how it works."
Rina stared at him. Then she turned back to her tablet. Her fingers moved across the screen.
The tablet pinged again.
Rina looked at it. Her face went pale.
"Anya again."
She turned the tablet around.
A video was playing. Anya's face filled the screen. She was in a dark room. Her eyes were wide. Her voice was two voices. One high. One low. They spoke at the same time.
"You've been very busy," she said.
Jax stepped forward. "Where are you?"
"That doesn't matter. What matters is that you're getting too close."
"To what?"
"To him. To Marcus Cain. To everything."
Elena moved next to Jax. "We just want to talk to him."
"No. You want to kill him."
"We want to stop him."
Anya laughed. It was high and broken. "Stop him? He's already dead. The reset killed him. The only thing keeping him alive is the machines."
"Then, why are you looking for him?"
Anya's face changed. Her eyes narrowed. Her voice dropped.
"Because he has something I need."
"What?"
"Answers."
Jax stepped closer. "Answers about what?"
Anya smiled. It was thin. Cold.
"About how to separate a mind from a body. How to move consciousness without destroying it. How to become two people again."
Elena shook her head. "That's not possible."
"Marcus Cain did it."
"He's the only one."
"Then he's the only one who can help me."
Rina stepped forward. "We can help you."
Anya laughed. "You can't help me. You don't even understand what I am."
"Then explain it to us."
Anya stared at her. Her eyes were wet. Her voice cracked.
"I'm not one person. I'm two. My mother and I. And we're fighting. Every day. Every hour. Every second."
Elena's voice was quiet. "We can help you."
"No. You can't. And you won't."
The video was cut off.
The screen went dark.
Jax stared at it.
Rina looked at him. "What do we do?"
Jax didn't answer.
Caiman walked to the door. His boots echoed. "We will find Marcus Cain first."
Elena turned to him. "And then?"
Caiman looked back. "And then we use him to stop her."
Jax looked at the dark screen.
"We will find him first then. Before she does. She is already mad," he said.
The tablet pinged again.
Rina looked at it. She took a deep breath. "It's her again."
"What does she want?"
Rina read the message.
"You're looking for Marcus Cain. I found him first. Come to Perth if you want to see him alive. Come alone."
Jax read it. His hand tightened.
"It's a trap," Elena said. “Why do I have a feeling that Helena is involved with this? We have given her too many chances. Chances that we wouldn't give another yet, she doesn't want to back down.”
"I know."
"Then why are you going?"
Jax looked at her.
"Because if I don't, she'll kill him. And we'll never know the truth."
Elena shook her head. "You can't go alone."
"I have to."
"No, you don't."
Rina stepped forward. "We go together or we don't go at all."
Jax looked at her. At Caiman. At Elena.
"Okay," he said. "We go together."
They packed in silence.
Rina gathered her equipment. Caiman checked his weapons. Elena packed food and water. Jax stood by the door.
The wind was still howling. The ice was still white.
Rina looked at the weather report. "The storm is supposed to break in six hours. We leave then."
Jax nodded.
Caiman walked
to the door. He stood next to Jax.
"You think she's really there?" he asked.
"Anya?"
"No. Marcus Cain."
Jax looked at the ice and squinted his eyes.
"I don't know. All I know is Marcus Cain and Anya are the only stumbling block we have now on the path of our victory. We need to get it out.”