G I G I

We returned to the compound with low hopes. A few of the members of our team had tried to start up a conversation about what had happened in the ONNT building, but their attempts fell flat.

The counsel thought that Delphinium was paranoid. They thought that she'd perhaps ensnared the rest of us in her delusional beliefs that Imperium was back.

Delphinium did what she could, but as I was learning more and more about who she really was, it made sense that the counsel wouldn't be jumping at the opportunity to trust her. She apparently did not have the most squeaky clean criminal record either, which certainly didn't help.

I should have spoken up. I should have said something. I should have stood up for myself. A few times I almost jumped into the conversation, but my old ways stopped me. Keep your head down, don't look anyone in the eye and don't let the others know what you're feeling.

I closed my eyes. If I was going to avenge my mother, I was going to have to overcome my old tendencies. That prison they'd kept me in for years had almost ruined my mind.

Almost. But not completely.

I could still change. And I would, for my mother. If not for my sake, then for my poor mother's.

My mother.

My heart ached at the thought of the only person in my life that had truly cared about me. And now she was gone. Gone, gone, gone. I hadn't even said goodbye.

I let my eyes flick back open. The counsel might not believe that Imperium was back, but everyone on the team could. If they didn't, I would convince them. I couldn't take Imperium on alone.

So I went downstairs to my team and found them all sitting in the living room talking. Even Arlo was there, despite the fact that he normally showed almost no interest in what we discussed. Apparently, they'd started without me.

"Ah Gigi, there you are," Finn spoke and gestured for me to sit in the empty seat beside him. "We're just deciding what to do next."

They hadn't even bothered to tell me. I knew that I didn't come off as the most brave out of all of them. I certainly wasn't. But they didn't know the full extent of my power, or what I'd gone through that made me this way. They couldn't know or they'd believe what everyone else thought: that my mind had left me. That I was crazy.

So here I was, stuck in my mind and body. Weak. Tortured. Alone. Alone. Alone.

"So the counsel clearly believes that Imperium is not back," Finn said. "What do we do?"

"We change their minds," Delphinium spoke, her voice strong. "They need to believe us so that they'll be on our side in the inevitable war against Imperium."

"Why are you so sure that they're back? As much as I dislike the ONNT, they seemed to have a point," Kane said firmly, to which everyone stared at him pointedly.

Arlo sighed under his breath, "And suddenly, I'm not the craziest one here."

"Kane, man, are you blind? The armed fortress was right in front of our faces," Jaxon said matter-of-factly. "That was enough reason for me, even before those soldiers attacked us."

"No, I mean, what if it was Hundsen who hired those men to attack us? It wouldn't be the first time. There was no proof that those men were with Imperium."

"Do you think that the fortress just magically rebuilt itself?" Delphinium asked, giving him a scathing look.

Kane shook his head. "Remember what the counsel said? The Romanian government has control over that land, including the fortress. They rebuilt the fortress as a government stronghold."

Delphinium got to her feet at alarming speed. "I spent almost three years imprisoned there. I attacked targets for them. I spied for them. I murdered for them. Is my word not enough?"

"Delphinium, I'm just stating all the possible reasons that we were attacked. And maybe we don't want to write off the ONNT's explanation just yet." Kane spoke seriously, as always, not put off by Delphinium's intimidation.

Jaxon turned to Jake, who was silent in the corner. "You know Hundsen better than any of us. Could this have been him?"

Jake glanced at Delphinium, watching her reaction. "It could have been. There's been no trace of him ever since Peterson burned down his lair. Even I haven't been able to find him."

"See?" Kane said to Delphinium, though not unkindly. "I just don't want another situation like the one we had when trying to find the terrorist the first time."

"We don't," I spoke up, surprising everyone, including myself. "Now, we have an indication as to who attacked us. Delphinium knows these people. I say we should trust her."

The assassin's light blue eyes met my gaze and I knew that she was grateful that at least one person had agreed. I knew what it was like to need confirmation that you weren't acting crazy.

"But for the rest of you that don't believe that they're back, we need proof," Delphinium said, taking a few steps around the room as she addressed us all. "The counsel said that the Romanian government was taking control of the operation. I say that we start there."

"You think that there's foul play involving the Romanian government?" Jaxon asked, thinking about what she'd suggested.

"Yes," she answered. "I think that everything is not as neat and tidy as the ONNT believes it is."

"We should get Hunt to converse with their government officials," Riley suggested with a half-shrug. "Maybe he can arrange a meeting."

Finn nodded. "That's a good idea. I'll go call him and try to convince him to speak with the Romanians." He left the room promptly.

"How are we going to find out if there's been any government involvement with Imperium? We can't just straight up ask the Romanian officials if they're committing an international crime by aiding terrorists. That's not exactly polite."

"Polite, my ass," Riley retorted. "If the wellbeing of the world rests on this, we should be ready to do whatever it takes."

"Even if we did," Kane added, "There's no saying if they'll tell the truth. They could always lie and tell us that there's been no involvement when there really has."

"Let me take care of that," Jaxon replied, cracking his knuckles and looking very ready to hit someone.

"They'll talk to us," Delphinium spoke firmly. "We'll make sure they do."

From there, everyone went their own separate ways. Delphinium began to go to the training room downstairs. Jake, looking as though he'd wanted to leave for a long time now, took the keys to the car Hunt had allowed us and left. Arlo went back to twiddling his thumbs, sprawled out in an armchair. Jaxon went back to his room, most likely creating more weapons of his own design.

I watched as Riley turned to Kane and told him, "You're lucky that you're cute, because what you said was idiotic. I thought Delphinium was going to kill you."

Kane shrugged. "She can try. I just don't want to make the same mistake we made the first time."

Riley muttered a word of agreement as they left the room together. I dropped down into a chair opposite the fireplace and crossed my arms. The meeting hadn't gone as well as I'd hoped; it seemed that half of our team wasn't even convinced that it was Imperium that attacked us.

But that was okay, as long as they believed in the end, after we'd gotten the truth from the Romanian government. We had to fight Imperium together or we'd never stand a chance.