Page 85 of Erase Me
“Nadine.Can I ask you a question?”
She came on the line, only herself.“What is it?”
“Can we come to the house?Can I bring Reed there?I understand if you’d prefer not to,” I added quickly.“I know Xander can make arrangements to have Judy meet Reed somewhere other than at your house and?—”
“You’ve been with him all night,” Nadine interrupted me.“Through all the danger.Do you trust him?”
I stared at Reed’s back, and my heart went out to him.I understood what he was going through at this moment.Impatient to see his mother again, but also knowing that this meeting didn’t hold any promises.Before tonight, the future was as he knew it and as he lived it.Now it was an unknown entity, filled with new adventures.But new dangers, as well.
At that moment, Reed turned around and our eyes met.
“Yes, I trust him,” I told Nadine.
“Then bring him to the house.Xander is sending a car for you two.”
ChapterTwenty-Seven
Reed
July 2079
As I stoodon the corner of 5th and Broadway in the heart of Los Angeles, the neon lights painted the night in hues of electric blue and crimson.The city buzzed around me, a cacophony of voices and machines intermingling in the humidity.The aroma of street food wafted through the air, tantalizing my senses.The competing rhythm of music echoed from nearby clubs, the driving bass of the nearest one reverberating in my chest like a second heartbeat.
I checked the time for what felt like the hundredth time.I shifted nervously, scanning the crowd for her familiar figure.
She was late.No, I was early.I was so wound up to hear how she’d made out today that I couldn’t wait around our apartment as she’d asked me to do.I had to come out here and greet her as she exited Division headquarters.
The holographic billboards overhead flickered and changed, casting wavering images on the pavement.I glanced up, momentarily captivated by the dazzling display, but my attention quickly returned to the door I knew she’d be coming out of.
Rules had been broken, and false statements were filed upon my return.My account of what happened in San Clemente in 2023 was unexceptional as far as the books were concerned.Del Volpe and Nadine Finley were taken care of.Vaughn, my handler, had gone rogue, and he too had to be eliminated.There was nothing in the report about Avalie, nothing about meeting Judy.I brought back Avalie’s issued weapons and erased any record of her borrowing them.She’d never traveled back in time.
Officially, this last jump was no different than any other I’d made in my decade-long line of assignments as an Assassin in the Quantum Commuter Division.
This is what, as Avalie said, being part of the family of the founders of the company did for me.No one questioned any of it.My report was accepted as fact.Period.
And I had a new girlfriend.Avalie Briar had just finished her basic training.Tonight, I waited for her as she received her Division placement.
Both of us recognized the significance of this, particularly with regard to her future well-being, given that she shared Nadine’s mutations.In this fresh iteration of time, my mother’s cancer had been cured.Judy attributed this to her decision to place herself among the initial subjects in the laboratory time trials.The repetitive disassembly and reassembly of human matter played a crucial role in the treatment.However, Avalie was hesitant to be subjected to laboratory experimentation.She preferred to get involved in the active program.And now I wondered what sector.
Where an agent was placed within the organization wasn’t influenced by the individual’s choice, background, or recommendations alone.Instead, the decision was meticulously determined after a process of heavy psychological and physical profiling.Every aspect of an agent’s personality, aptitude, strengths, and weaknesses were scrutinized and analyzed to determine the best fit for their skills within the organization.
This rigorous procedure ensured that each member was assigned to a section where they could excel and contribute most effectively to the overarching goals of the Quantum Commuters.It was a system designed to maximize success, ensuring that the right person was in the right place at the right time, minimizing potential risks and optimizing mission outcomes.
Unfortunately, all of this meant that I had no control over the outcome.I knew how dangerous the jobs we did were, across the organization.No matter how prepared an agent was, the risks were always high.
And now, all I could do was wait.
Massaging the tension in my neck, I checked the time again.As the minutes stretched into what felt like an eternity, the activity in the street began to lessen.Still, I remained rooted to the spot, my eyes never straying far from the building door.
And then, like a mirage materializing from the depths of my longing, I saw her.She stepped out of the door and passed through the crowd.Her short dark hair caught the neon light, shimmering like gold.A smile tugged at the corners of my lips as she drew nearer, her presence filling the space between us like a promise fulfilled.
She reached out, her hand finding mine, and suddenly, everything else faded away.At that moment, there was only Avalie and the overwhelming certainty that no matter what the future held, we would face it together.
“I’m sorry it took so long,” she said, her voice soft.
I shook my head, unable to contain the surge of emotion welling within me.
“It doesn't matter.”I gathered her in my arms for a moment before letting go.“Tell me what happened.”
