Wired, p.1
Wired, page 1
part #3 of Grounded Series
Wired
The Grounded Trilogy Book Three
G. P. Ching
Copyright © G.P. Ching 2015
Published by Carpe Luna, Ltd., PO Box 5932, Bloomington, IL 61704
www.carpeluna.com
All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author or publisher.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
First Edition: June 2015
Cover art by Christa Holland
www.paperandsage.com
v2.7
ISBN: 978-1-940675-18-3
Contents
Books by G.P. Ching
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Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Epilogue
The Soulkeepers (Excerpt)
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About the Author
Books by G.P. Ching
Acknowledgments
Books by G.P. Ching
The Soulkeepers Series
The Soulkeepers, Book 1
Weaving Destiny, Book 2
Return to Eden, Book 3
Soul Catcher, Book 4
Lost Eden, Book 5
The Last Soulkeeper, Book 6
* * *
The Grounded Trilogy
Grounded, Book 1
Charged, Book 2
Wired, Book 3
Soulkeepers Reborn
Wager’s Price
Hope’s Promise
Lucifer’s Pride
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Prologue
Trinity Pierce pushed her breakfast around her plate and smiled sweetly at her father. She hoped the happy act was convincing. It should be; she was an expert. If there was one thing she’d learned from living with the Red Dogs, it was how to fake a smile. Under the persona of Bella, she frequently feigned contentment among the pack, especially when the men in her life acted distressed. And at the moment, her father, Chancellor James Pierce, was clearly distressed. His upper lip curled and his bushy gray eyebrows plunged above his nose as he scrutinized her eating habits. Yep. Distressed. With a side of agitated.
“You’ve hardly touched your food,” he said.
“Just not hungry this morning.”
Her father’s mouth twisted with disappointment. “You’re too thin.”
“The people who held me prisoner didn’t feed me regularly. I don’t think they had a lot of food.” Straight-out lying was also something she learned from the Red Dogs. Actually, she ate well at the Kennel, as did everyone there, fresh food they killed or sometimes grew themselves. Even sewer rat tasted a hell of a lot better than this Crater City slop. She’d stayed thin in the Deadzone due to her workload, not the food.
“Thank goodness we saved you from those monsters. I shiver to think what you’ve been through these years.”
“Thank goodness.” She did her best not to sound sarcastic.
“I understand your condition is not your fault, but now that you’re home, with a little effort, it should be easy enough to rectify the deficiency.” He forked eggs into his clean-shaven maw.
“Deficiency?” Trinity was thin but not so much as to appear ill or weak. Her arms and legs still carried a healthy amount of muscle. The way her father talked it sounded like she was an embarrassment.
“You’ve been gone for some time. The current fashion is to carry a softer appearance. You don’t want to look like a laborer.” He chuckled. “The boys at the Ambassador’s Club will think I’m abusing you. I’ll make sure Cook knows you will require extra meals, and we’ll send Esther out to get a padded shaper for under your dresses.”
Trinity sighed over her uneaten breakfast. The dresses her father referred to were nothing like the ones she wore in the Deadzone. She didn’t mind the extra material, but his choice of style made it clear he still thought she was a little girl. She was nineteen and had lived with the Red Dogs for two years, since the day she’d run away from home following her mother’s death.
As rough as things could get with Sting, most of her time was spent doing as she pleased. She valued independence above all else. Now that she was found, or as the media called it—rescued, she had a schedule and social expectations, a chancellor father who was looking forward to introducing her to the Republic elite. Introductions that would occur at the Ambassador’s Club, a swanky social destination for government leaders and their families. Just thinking about the sons of dignitaries sizing her up for marriage potential made her claustrophobic.
For the thousandth time, Trinity regretted the night she’d been found. She should have followed Lydia and Ace and taken her chances escaping through the sewer. Being eaten alive by rats would be a better fate than slowly suffocating within her father’s tight grip. Not that she missed being owned by Sting. That part had always been an unfortunate side effect of her liberation. But in some ways it was more honest than this. Her relationship with her father was truthfully strained but outwardly affectionate. All about appearances.
“Eat, Trinity,” her father said, clearly exasperated with her. The doorbell chimed. Trinity released a held breath as her father’s scrutiny ebbed with the distraction of the bell and he turned his face toward the foyer. “Who in the name of the Republic?”
Trinity used the interruption to hide some of the rubbery eggs in her napkin.
“Esther!” her father boomed, calling for the housekeeper.
Esther emerged from one of the bedrooms, dusting cloth in hand. She was undoubtedly cleaning an already clean room. Trinity’s father had an unnatural obsession with cleanliness and organization. Everything must be kept in its place. Everything and everyone. He could have answered the door himself or asked Trinity to do it. But he didn’t. Instead he used the opportunity to reinforce Esther’s lower rank and position. Trinity hated that about him. Undoubtedly, he thought about her in the same way. Daughter or not, she had her place too.
Esther waved her hands in the air. “I will get it, Mr. Pierce.” She jogged down the main hall to answer the door.
“Good morning, Dr. Konrad.” Esther cleared her throat. “Chancellor Pierce is not currently receiving guests. Can I give the chancellor a message for you? Or perhaps make an appointment for later in the week?”
Trinity wasn’t sure whom Dr. Konrad was, but Esther was right to put him off. Her father hated to be disturbed during meals. In fact, he looked quite peeved at the arrival of this visitor as he returned to eating his eggs.
“He must see me,” came a gruff voice. The shuffle of feet echoed from the foyer.
“Dr. Konrad, please!” Esther was a ninety-pound Asian woman with a dust rag. Not exactly high security.
The man charged into the room from the foyer, Esther trailing behind as if she could somehow retract him by force of will. So this was Dr. Konrad. He was stern, with a yellowing, sickly complexion. He didn’t look like a doctor. He looked like a patient, one with an unsuccessful treatment. The last time Trinity saw someone as thin and yellow, they were smoking Slip, the addictive byproduct of artificial meat production. She’d met plenty of Deadzoners addicted to smoking the stuff. All of them yellow like Konrad. All of them with one foot in the grave.
“Konrad,” Chancellor Pierce said by way of greeting. He dismissed Esther, his thick lips descending into a scowl. The skin around his eyes wrinkled in annoyance. “Is there a reason you are intruding on our family meal?”
“I need a military unit to apprehend the four criminals who terrorized my lab. The commander is telling me I have to get special permission from you.”
“He’s right. You do.”
Konrad’s eyes widened incredulously. “They forced me to inhale toxic gas. I only survived because I’ve worked with the chemical before and built up a tolerance. I’m sure you’ve been briefed on the attack and escape!”
“Yes. Lydia Lane and Korwin Stuart. I was briefed. Unfortunately, I was not briefed about their original capture. Nor was I informed of the purported torture you inflicted on them and others in that lab of yours.”
Trinity’s stomach kicked when she heard the name Lydia. It was an unusual name, and her mind went immediately to the Lydia and Ace who’d evaded the Green Republic raid on the Red Dog Kennel. They’d escaped into the sewer. Of course, none of the Red Dogs used their real names. Still, the coincidence unsettled h
“About that,” Konrad said. “I planned to inform you as soon as I dealt with the immediate threat.”
“Don’t be absurd. According to my sources, we spoke on the phone while Lydia and Korwin were in your detainment. Not only did you conveniently forget to tell me of their presence but you mobilized troops upon their escape without permission or funding.”
“It is my right to do so as the director of military science and technology. They are byproducts of the Operation Source Code experiment and are absolutely lethal. They cannot be underestimated.”
Pierce bared his teeth. “Yes. We learned that, didn’t we, when we had to bury six of the men involved in the skirmish. Talk about a political black eye.” He pointed a finger at Konrad’s face. “You didn’t follow procedure, Emile. Frankly, I’m concerned you are abusing your power and circumventing the system. You don’t respect my authority.”
“Of course I do, sir,” Konrad said in an insincere and condescending tone. “I simply wish to avoid any embarrassment to you. By taking responsibility, I merely sought to insulate you from the brutal and dangerous realities of my position.”
“Cut the bullshit, Konrad. I was fighting in the Great Rebellion while you were pushing a writing utensil at that university of yours. I’ve made my decision; your position has been temporarily revoked, and there will be an inquiry into your office.”
“I received no notice of this!” Konrad said through thin, drawn lips. “You can’t do this. I know where the fugitives are hiding. Now is the time to strike! You must authorize my use of force to hunt down and apprehend Lydia and Korwin.”
Chancellor Pierce held up one finger. “First, I’m notifying you now. It’s all the notice you deserve after the stunt you pulled. Second, if you know where the fugitives are, why didn’t you mention it before now? It’s been weeks since the incident.”
“I was recovering,” Konrad squeaked. “I wasn’t strong enough.”
“Well? Now that you are strong enough, where do you believe they are hiding?”
“The Outlands.”
Her father scoffed. “We’ve had people stationed in Willow’s Province for months. They would have detected any rebel activity in that sector.”
“I didn’t say Willow’s Province. I said the Outlands.”
Pierce chuckled. “If you’re right, I hardly see the problem. The radiation levels in the area will kill them off eventually. They might already be dead.”
Konrad’s eyes shifted from side to side. “I have reason to believe that Korwin’s and Lydia’s electrokenisis makes them immune to radiation.”
“Reasons to believe… What reasons?” Pierce asked skeptically.
Konrad fidgeted and licked his lips. “The girl said as much. I don’t think she was lying. Other members of the Liberty Party are helping her. David Snow and Laura Fawn are responsible for their escape. They’re still alive, and I believe they’ve done something to counteract the radiation in the Outlands. They’ve been hiding there. The Liberty Party was behind the attempt to steal the specimens from Stuart Manor. I’m sure of it.”
Pierce shook his head. “You are even sicker than you look. David Snow is dead. We found his remains in the explosion at CGEF. DNA evidence, Konrad. The poison you inhaled is playing tricks with your brain.”
Konrad huffed. He held up one hand. “I am fully in control of my faculties. I can prove I’m right. Give me a small military contingent to investigate the area and I will show you David Snow is still alive.”
One of Pierce’s meaty fists landed on the table, rattling the dishes. Trinity sat up straighter, her stomach clenching at the violent outburst. “Am I speaking to myself?” Pierce asked. “What evidence do you have that could possibly be strong enough to induce me to put more human lives at risk to search an area where we already have flasher drones safely doing the exact same thing?”
Konrad thrust his hands into the pockets of his lab coat and shook his head. “The flashers are useless. They relay too much information. Every time the wind blows it sets them off. The analysts are weeks behind—”
Face red, Pierce pointed a finger at the doctor. “The evidence, Konrad.”
“The girl told me as much when I interrogated her!”
“Did you drug her to tell the truth?”
“The drugs don’t work on her composition.”
“Obviously a lie then. She chose the one place we can’t thoroughly search without injuring our troops. That was her intention. It was a poison pill, Emile. We both know there’s nothing alive out there.”
Trinity cleared her throat and put on her sweetest, most curious expression. “Excuse me, Daddy, do you have a picture of the girl, Lydia? The name is familiar to me.”
Her father did a double take, his face softening. Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved his phone and tapped the screen. Holding it up, he showed her a security photo. “Have you heard of them, sweetheart?”
Trinity stared at the picture. It was Lydia and Ace, real name Korwin. Was it possible they’d escaped to the Outlands? Images of the sketchpad she’d seen Lydia holding in Ace’s room came back to her. The drawing depicted strange clothing and surroundings. For a long time she’d suspected the two had known each other before the Kennel. Not to mention, she’d seen both of them exhibit electrokinetic powers, although she’d assumed they were simple scampers. Ace was Korwin. Lydia was Lydia. Her friends were the products of Dr. Konrad’s experiment.
“I knew them,” Trinity said.
Pierce adjusted himself in his chair. “What’s that, honey?”
“I knew Korwin and Lydia. They lived in the Deadzone with me. They were Red Dogs. I didn’t know their history at the time.”
Konrad lurched forward and grabbed her by the shoulders. “How did they get there? Where are they now?”
“Unhand my daughter!” Pierce said, standing.
Konrad lowered his arms but held her within the grasp of his intense stare.
She looked him in the eye and lied like a pro. “Lydia’s been a Red Dog forever, since she was a baby. She never lived in the Outlands as far as I know. She left for a while to be part of some political movement and came back with Korwin. They said something about the group they were part of being eliminated. They called the Red Dogs home after that.”
Konrad’s mouth dropped open. “You must be mistaken. It can’t be the same girl. A different Lydia.”
“No. That’s the one,” she said, pointing to the picture. “She could shoot lightning from her hands. Everybody got used to it after a while. She’s probably returned there. The Deadzone was home for her.”
Pierce grinned. “There you have it, Konrad. We will search the Deadzone.”
“With all due respect, Officer Reynolds and his team have scoured the Deadzone for weeks. She’s not there.” Konrad pressed the tips of his bony fingers together. “My assistant pursued Lydia and Korwin after they escaped my lab. He was found dead just a few miles from the border of the Outlands. He was”—Konrad’s eyes shifted to the side—“electrocuted. It had to be them.”
“Your assistant?” Pierce raised his eyebrows. “What type of assistant attempts to apprehend dangerous fugitives on his own?”
Konrad took a step back. “One who is familiar with Operation Source Code.”
Pierce rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I did not approve a special assistant for that purpose.”
“Give me a few men. I’ll prove I’m right.”
Pierce groaned. “Listen to me carefully. If Lydia was living in the Deadzone until recently as my daughter suggests, that means the Liberty Party is scattered.”
