39

"How's this?"

"Perfect." Camille smiled at Sid and gave a nod of approval.

True to his word, Sid had come by the next day so they could go out. There was a park not far from the Ark and with the weather being so good, they had grabbed coffees from a store nearby and headed over. However, Sid had insisted on bringing a picnic since the weather was promising and had spent more than ten minutes trying to find the perfect spot where they had the benefits of the sun and shade but wouldn't be sitting on tree roots or stones. He had also insisted on them sitting away from other park visitors.

"You're being rather fussy about where we sit." Camille couldn't help but tease the male as he began to set up.

"Only the best for you, beautiful." Sid smirked and patted the spot beside him on the blanket.

Camille rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide the smile that stretched across her lips. Just being able to leave the apartment had Camille perking up but getting to go outside and do something normal like have a picnic really made a difference. The fresh air and sunshine had her feeling almost brand new. She settled down on the blanket next to Sid, watching as he carefully took containers from his bag and laid them out before following up with some bottles of water. Each container held something different. One had a small selection of sushi rolls while another had ciabatta buns that were still warm and several toppings. There was a salad resembling a rainbow and cupcakes that were loaded with frosting and filled the air with the scent of vanilla and sugar.

“I wish I could say I made all of this but I’m only responsible for the bread.” Sid smiled sheepishly.

“Don’t apologise.” Camille chuckled as she set her coffee cup down on the blanket. “I love that you did this for us.”

“Well I’m glad you like it.” Sid replied.

They ate whilst talking. Camille confessed she wanted to go back to work and that Jag hadn’t come home the night before. Sid had talked about his family, his tribe and life living on the coast on Draygon. The way he described it sounded like paradise with white sands, warm water and sunshine. The Khraal Tribe lived in the western province of the continent and shared the large coast line with forty other tribes. However that didn’t cause any issues or conflict amongst the coastal tribes as they believed they all descended from the same goddess and beast who had ruled over water and fertility. The western coast also benefited from the warmer temperatures and the water was at least five degrees warmer than anywhere else.

“We also have these rock pools where the stones store heat from the sun and then transfer it into the water trapped in the pool when night hits. They also glow.” Sid explained. “They’ve been used for ceremonies for thousands of cycles.”

“Wait, the stones glow?” Camille blinked in surprise.

Sid nodded. “It’s something to do with the moons. It’s really rather beautiful. I hope to show them to you one day.”

“I’d love that.” Camille confessed. “I need to know something though. Is it not weird that you…well the three of you, best friends, are well…”

“Let me jump in before you get tongue tied.” Sid chuckled. “Our situation is admittedly a little unusual because we met and became friends before we found you. We had a feeling that this would be a possibility, but we couldn’t be sure until we actually met you.”

“So, there was a chance not all three of you and I would have been…” Camille flailed her hands still not sure what to call the whole thing. “In a relationship?”

“You found the word finally.” Sid teased. “And yes, there was a chance that could have happened and that we might have never met the other males the goddesses blessed you to.”

“Do you honestly believe that this is all because of goddesses?”

Sid didn’t reply right away, yellow eyes looking off into the distance and he appeared to contemplate the question. He didn’t seem upset by it but Camille instantly regretting saying something. Religion was different for everyone. Camille couldn’t say she was a believer in a divine spirit or followed religion but just because she didn’t believe didn’t mean that others felt the same, even her three warriors. So what if they believed that all of this was because of higher powers? It didn’t change the fact that for whatever reason, the four of them were bound together.

“I think I like the stories.” Sid admitted finally, turning to look at Camille. “We grow up hearing the tales of the goddesses and the beasts. The elders tell them at ceremonies and our versions or holidays. They all hold significant meaning in our world but I know that it’s not that simple. Much like in your world, curious minds have evidenced where our true beginning was but, try as everyone does, we simply can’t work out why a female ends up with more than one male.”

“I suppose that’s the thing about love.” Camille smiled softly. “It can’t simply be explained.”

Sid’s smile brightened with that and he nodded softly. “I think that’s a beautiful way to look at it actually.”

He shifted slightly, bringing his body closer to Camille’s. Instantly her heartbeat spiked. The scent of Sid’s cologne, the heat from his body, the way his new marks seemed to glimmer in the sunlight and his eyes. Oh lord his eyes were on her flesh, burning with desire as he drank her in. Camille felt goose bumps run across her skin and she caught herself smiling at the male.

“I hate that you have to leave again so soon.” Camille finally admitted. “This has been so normal after everything and I feel like with everything going on, I haven’t been able to really get to know you.”

“Yeah things have been a bit wild.” Sid nodded. “But we still have today.”

Camille met Sid half way when he closed the gap between them. She let out a sigh of contentment as their mouths collided and she lay back when Sid gave her a gentle nudge

The moment Jag opened the email, his heart plummeted into his stomach like a dead weight.

It had barely been twenty-four hours from when the sweep of known channels used by EFHA began before they had their first hit. On top of that, Kal had confirmed he was close to opening the deleted employment files from the LA Ark. It seemed after being given the run around, they were finally making headway in locating their mole and tracking down the EFHA cell that was behind the bombings. It wouldn’t give them the man they were after who was apparently the mastermind behind everything but this would cripple him for now.

However this email changed everything.

Grabbing his phone, he fired a message to Sid and Kal to meet him at his place and made it clear it was emergency. They had been lucky so far. The Ark had been impenetrable but their luck appeared to have run out and there had been no way for them to stop this type of theft.

Firewalls didn’t work on cameras after all.

“This better be good.” Sid sighed when he appeared, Emma following after him.

“Not really.” Jag frowned. “Kal is on his way. It’s work.”

“I’ll give you guys privacy and just go freshen up.” Emma smiled softly but her eyes were filled with worry.

Jag watched the female slip away to her room before he turned to Sid, holding out his tablet showing the email he had received. He could see the instant confusion in Sid’s eyes as he read the email only for a dark cloud shadow his features when he got to the end.

“Well, fuck!” Sid muttered. “And this was found on the dark web?”

Jag nodded. “The link was posted last night but it’s already been accessed thousands of times. Data is still light but it’s been opened all over the world and the live feed is coming from within this compound. There’s more. Videos have also been uploaded from previous events.”

“How?” Sid ran his hands through his hair tugging his bottom lip through his lips. “We have security everywhere. How did it not trigger an alarm?”

“I don’t know.” Jag sighed, glancing up when the apartment door slid open.

“”Thank the moons you’re both here.” Kal rushed in, features drawn in alarm. “Where’s Emma?”

“In her room, why?” Sid frowned.

“I got those deleted files back.” Kal explained in a grim tone and brought up one of the files on his tablet, sharing it with Jag’s. “Emma was in one of the files. Except her name isn’t Emma, it’s Camille Munroe.”

Sure enough, a photo of Emma was attached to the file but instead it showed her name as Camille Munroe and that she had worked at the LA Lark for a few months. The photo wasn’t recent though. In it their female had long hair that was a light brown and fell in waves to frame her perfect face and slender neck. Jag couldn’t help but notice the sadness in her eyes as well. It was the same sadness that he recalled seeing the first time they spoke. It was Emma but not the Emma they knew. This was a timid mouse compared to the feisty kitten he had fallen in love with. It didn’t make sense. Emma had said she had moved from Colorado. She never mentioned anything about LA and Charlotte had never said anything. Things weren’t making sense and Jag couldn’t shake the feeling that they were missing something.

“Well that’s something we can figure out.” Sid interjected. “This live camera feed is more urgent. It’s a breach. We need to find it and shut it down.”

“It could be anywhere.” Jag pointed out. “We could be looking for weeks.”

“What if we click on the link?” Kal offered with a shrug. “We might be able to identify the location via images.”

“And risk another security breach when malware gets into the system?” Sid looked at Kal as if he had just grown a second head.

“You almost sounded like you knew what you were talking about.” Kal teased. “It’s too late for that. This feed is live. That means it’s using wi-fi already. Someone was able to gain access to it. The only way to stop it now is the break the signal.”

“And we can’t do that if we don’t know where the device is.” Jag sighed. “Do it.”

Kal certainly didn’t need to be told twice and clicked the link. The feed came up immediately, showing a very clear picture of what appeared to be a bedroom. The image jolted slightly as if it was a handheld camera but it didn’t take away from the image of the room. Sunlight was pouring in from the large windows, pooling over a lightly decorated by comfortable looking room. Based on the style of lighting, windows and doors, it was easy to determine it was indeed inside the Ark, but a bedroom seemed like an unusual place to store a secret camera. A dresser to one side was covered in vases filled with flowers and get well cards were dotted amongst them.

“Why does that look familiar?” Kal asked.

And it wasn’t just Kal who noticed a familiarity in the room. Jag felt dread stirring in the back of his mind, its icy fingers curling around his heard and slowly squeezing.

They didn’t have to wait long to find out. The camera moved as if someone was walking before the camera faced a mirror. Only it wasn’t a camera that stared back. It was Emma’s reflection in the mirror. She was stood in just a pair of black panties exposing her golden flesh to all those who could see it. There were scars and freckles on her body but she seemed uninterested in them as she combed her hair and wiped her face with cotton wool pad. She seemed happy and oblivious to the fact that people could see what she was doing.

Emma was the camera.

The sight of their innocent young Emma had Jag’s blood running cold. It suddenly all made sense. The headaches, the bleeding, the fact that EFHA was able to stay one step ahead. She didn’t look the type to betray them, not consciously anyway. That didn’t mean she wasn’t working for the other side though. Jag wanted to believe that she wasn’t doing it willingly but he knew there was a small chance this had all been an act.

“Call the infirmary and get Yas to meet us on level B, medical wing.” Jag looked at Kal but didn’t wait for a reply. “Sid, you’re with me.”

“What are you going to do?” Sid asked warily.

Jag moved to his desk to grab something from a locked compartment, amber eyes dark with determination. “I’m going to do exactly what we need to do. Take down the feed.”