Defiant: Quantic Dreams Book 2 by Elizabeth McLaughlin (reading list txt) 📗

a store of poison being bullshit, it’s not a risk I really have the option to take. He has already amassed a significant following, and if last night is any indication, they’re ready to do whatever it takes in order to install him in power. This isn’t just about me anymore. This is about the lives of the expedition team and everyone who wants to make a fresh start on the surface. I don’t care if something happens to me, but it should not be left to my successor to quell a coup.”

Eliza snorted and shook her head, smiling. “A coup? Jacob, the great leader of the shelter nation?” I fixed her with a mocking glare.

“I appreciate the jokes, but we need to move. I’ll need your help if we’re going to keep people safe. I’m off to meet with Gabriel. After I escaped the infirmary…” I realized none of my family members had any idea about the outbreak. I had been too caught up in myself to even warn them. Fuck.

“Escape the infirmary…?” Marcus asked, eyebrows raised.

“Fuck, I’m sorry. That’s a story for another time. I’m sure you’ll hear about it the moment you leave this room. There is an illness. Isolate yourselves and wear masks over your face whenever possible. No one has died…yet.”

“An outbreak?” Eliza’s eyes widened. Though Fiona had always been a rambunctious child, it was common for her to suffer from illnesses. I thought nothing of it, preferring to attribute her sicknesses to the course of childhood, but I would bet anything that Eliza had witnessed more than a few during her time with her wife.

“I’ll get you some PPE as soon as I can. In the meantime, it wouldn’t hurt to gather a couple week’s worth of supplies and store them in your quarters. If anyone gives you trouble about it, you’re gathering them specifically on my orders for the expedition team. Shit, I’ve got to go. I’m sure Gabriel has been stalking the halls, and I’d hate to miss my date with the devil.” I pulled them both into a tight embrace. “Please forgive me. I never meant for any of this to happen.”

They both remained silent as I left the room. I desperately wanted to turn around and join them. To see my family’s safety before all others. Call it a protective instinct. The best thing I could do to protect them now was to face the problem head on. Unsurprisingly, Gabriel was waiting in my office by the time I arrived. He turned in his chair and tapped his tablet.

“You’re late.”

Chapter Eight

“I know I am. I had to make a stop first, and I had no guarantee you were going to even be around when I arrived.”

Gabriel laughed. The kindhearted laugh that I remembered when Hal and I were in the hospital was gone. It had been replaced with a cold, calculating mirth that forced a chill down my spine. Something about it brought back memories of when Gabriel only inhabited the electronic realm.

“Do you think I’d be willing to miss this? I’ve been waiting so, so long to bring vengeance on you, Jacob Alvaro. Even encased in this stinking pile of meat, my mind works a thousand times faster than your organic brain ever could. Your seconds are hours to me. Your days, eons. It has been a very, very long time.”

The statement was meant to shock me, no doubt. More theatrics from a madman. Instead of horror, I wondered how that was possible. Sure, the human brain was an incredibly complex machine and more than capable of rapid computation, but was it possible that even the most advanced mind could so much as pretend to keep up with Gabriel’s original processing speed? He must have made some kind of mechanical altercation to George’s brain. That was a shame. I was hoping for a way to drive this ghost from the man that didn’t involve killing him.

“Spare me the fucking theatrics, Gabriel.” I dredged up the snarl I had reserved for him what felt like so long ago. “You want an election, you got the better of me, so let’s get on with it. I’m done with the crap.”

Gabriel smirked, and I clenched my fists under my desk. It was so damn tempting to break my knuckles against his smug visage. Striking him would be the last thing I did. They’d find my body in pieces scattered across the floor. “Shall we do things the old-fashioned way, then? Paper and pen?”

“If we can scare up enough of it, that works for me. You and I can choose an independent representative to count the votes for us. The two of us will stay outside and speak to no one. If you want your little scheme to work, there can’t be any notions that either of us interfered.”

He quirked an eyebrow at me.

“As for the sickness that has afflicted Allison Garvey, you will speak to no one of it. If someone has questions or concerns, you will direct them to me. You will only express your well wishes to her and her family. Nothing more. Because here’s the thing. You can bitch and moan and say what a complete shithead I am but you will not-” I slapped my palms on the desk for effect. “NOT disrespect that woman and her kin during this difficult time. Think of it as a gift, Gabriel. I’m giving you literal instructions on how to win people over.”

He grumbled under his breath, and I smiled a fraction of an inch. The petulant teenager was still ever present. Gabriel might have the advantage now, but if I could make him angry, I could trip him up. Perhaps there was an opportunity here.

“We’ll run the election tomorrow afternoon, then?” Gone was his cocky attitude, replaced by an undertone of frustration that even I couldn’t miss.

“Tomorrow afternoon. And may the best man win.” I stood and shook Gabriel’s hand. I held back a shit-eating grin as he stalked