“General Falx.”

“Good evening, Eva,” Fiori said with a grave look. “Good evening, Fenn.”

The confused boy didn’t answer.

“Is he going to be ok,” Fiori asked.

“He will, as soon as I pull the switch. You don’t have to worry about us, General.”

Fiori quickly noticed the bitterness in her voice. He wasn’t a foul. He knew just why.

“Your father is a great man. I am sure, one day, his dedication to Antarticum will be recognized.”

“My father is a coward. It is farfetched to call him a great man. But he is my father none the less. His sacrifices are my sacrifices. His success, my success. If Ted couldn’t do it for him. Who will?”

“Ted works in mysterious way.”

“Or Ted knows his real enemies.”

“I couldn’t be any closer to him,” Fiori answered with a smirk.

“Are you happy? How’s life at the top?”

“Unfortunately, I have no time to enjoy the view. And in case you are wondering, Benagher is doing well. He even went up a rank.”

“So, both of you are climbing, while I am left to rot in the slum of Nova Urbi. Am I supposed to be happy for you, General?”

“Eva, the work you have done, has been amazing. No one else could have done it.”

“Don’t bullshit me.”

“That boy needs you.”

“But I don’t need him!” she screamed.

The boy jumped and covered his ears with his hands.

“Eva, you do need him. We all do! You know that!”

“It is hard to care about humanity when your entire life fits between four red walls.”

“The four red walls won’t stand for ever. Here are the names. Do well! Make Ted happy. Make yourself indispensable. Show him that you belong at Project EDEN. Being successful is your way out.”

Eva took the piece of paper reluctantly. She unfolded it with shaking fingers. Two names were written:

Nova Edwards-North

Lance North

She had never heard of these people. She gave the paper back to the General.

“Where will we find them,” she asked, with a sudden sense of urgency. I need to get it done, she thought. I need to get it over with. She threw a quick glance at the boy. Still covering his ears, he was shivering.

“You’ll start with the first one. She’ll be in her office at the University. Make it look like a heart attack. No struggle, no trace left behind. I want you in and out as quickly as possible. Rex will be covering your tracks by hacking into the security system.”

“And the other one?”

“He’ll be at home. You’ll need to trick him to get close to him. He’s a strong guy. You won’t have a second chance. Once more, we want no trace left behind.”

“Of course, that’s why we were picked for the job.”

“Elijah could have done it, by himself. But these two weren’t a good match for him.”

“Elijah?”

“You’re not the only one with a Heighten Characteristic. I’m sure, you’ll get to meet him one day.”

Eva frowned.

“When do we go?” Eva asked, all business.

“Right now. Rex will take you. I’ll see you back here, when it is said and done.”

Eva watched Fiori as he walked out the room, then crouched next to the boy.

“Hey, it’s ok. I’m here with you.”

She hugged him tightly.

“Where am I? What is happening?”

“You and I are gonna go on an errand. First, we are going to go see a very mean lady. She’s the reason you and I are stuck in Nova Urbi.”

Eva grabbed Fenn’s face between her hands. The boy was whimpering. She rested her forehead against his. Then he felt it: the weird feeling of a dam being opened. A flow of memories washing over him. Emotions cascading from his heart. It was like someone had suddenly shed a light on his dark soul. He pulled away from Eva and fell to the ground.

“That rage in your heart, I felt it. Let’s go Fenn, it’s time to get revenge on the people who made us who we are.”

Eva really had no idea who her targets were, but anyone living outside the red walls of the orphanage was guilty of keeping her enslaved. She had no empathy left for anyone but herself. And today, she would finally be able to show Ted, and Dr. Bari, her commitment to them, to Project EDEN.

Holding hands, they walked down the hallway of Ortus University and headed straight for the Research Center on Life Design. Dressed in brand new cloths, their feet hurting from the stiff shoes, they closed in on their prey. Her hair had been neatly braided. A scarf wrapped around her neck hid her orphanage ink. His hair had been brushed to one side, covering his marked cheek. If it wasn’t for their age, they would have fitted right in. But, as they were, they looked like two lost children. And in many ways that was an accurate observation.

The first was Nova Edwards-North. Eva wondered what kind of person she was. She must have done some horrible things for her to end up on a kid’s hit list. Horrible things, or at the very least she must have angered Ted tremendously, she thought.

Eva gently knocked on the door. A tired voice welcomed her in. Inside, a middle-aged woman sat at her desk looking closely at a computer screen. The woman looked up and at the view of the children, smiled. Eva frowned.

“I wasn’t expecting such lovely guests today. We don’t often see healthy children around here. Can I help you?” the woman said with a caring voice.

“We were looking for our father,” Eva lied.

“Is that so? Who’s your father? Maybe I can help.”

“It’s ok, we’ll just keep looking. I must have had the office number wrong.”

“Of course!” she said, still smiling.

Eva and Fenn didn’t move. Eva started fiddling with the hem of her skirt.

“Is everything alright?” the woman asked.

Eva pulled Fenn closer to her and squeezed his hand tightly. Instantly, Fenn seemed to wake up from a long dream. The boy’s behavior peeked the woman’s attention. She slowly got up and walked around her desk.

“You know what you have to do,” Eva whispered almost inaudibly to Fenn’s ear. “Just like we practiced with Fiori, you make her heart stop, and we can get out of Nova Urbi. Together.”

“Is everything alright,” the woman asked again. “Do I know you? Do I know your father? What’s your name little boy?”

Fenn slowly raised his head. His eyes were burning with anger. He tucked his hair behind his ear uncovering his mark. Eva still held his hand tightly; afraid he might let his emotion consume him.

“You look familiar. That mark? You’re from Nova Urbi! Both of you!” Nova Edwards-North exclaimed. The woman took a step back, panic showing on her face. “Who did you say your father was again?”

“I didn’t tell you his name,” Eva said with utmost composure.

“I have no father,” Fenn screamed as he leaped forward and grabbed the woman by the throat.

There was no struggle, just anger. Fenn let out all his rage as he recklessly sucked away the woman’s energy. The woman laid lifeless with a look of surprise lingering on her face yet Fenn, on top of her, wouldn’t let go.

“It’s done,” Eva said, looking at the poor woman. She grappled Fenn from the body and held her hand to his cheek. “It’s done. You did well. You did very well. But we can’t leave traces. It has to look natural.”

The little boy was breathing hard. Eva could feel his frantic heartbeat.

“Look at me. You need to calm down. Breath in, breath out. Slowly,” Eva instructed her comrade. “You have so much anger. So much pain. You need to learn to control it. I won’t always be there to do it for you. Take a deep breath. It’s ok. You’re ok. We did well. Fiori will be please. Dr. Bari will be please. Maybe even Ted…”

“Does it mean we don’t have to go back to Nova Urbi?” the boy said still trying to catch his breath.

Eva put on her best smile and brushed away a strand of the boy’s hair: “I am sure we will never have to go back. But before we go, help me out! We need to bring her back behind her desk. Her death has to look natural. It would be a bad thing if anyone found out what you did.”

Fenn’s brow furrowed: “This woman was bad. What I did was good.”

“Of course, it was,” Eva quickly retorted, aware of her faux pas.

Before leaving the woman’s office, Eva peeked at the computer’s screen on the desk. It was some sort of a medical scan like the one she had seen while living with the Weatherspoons. She couldn’t quite tell what she was looking at, except for a name. At the top right corner was written Elijah Dáire Edwards-North. Her finger lingered on the E and slowly made its way to the D. Her gaze fell on the next E and with the N it suddenly all made sense. EDEN, she thought. Did this woman work for Project EDEN? Did she work for Ted?

Eva looked at the dead woman’s face. She tried to remember. Had she ever seen her at Senex Centralis? At Project EDEN? At one of Ted’s party? No, she was sure she had never seen that woman. Yet the woman seemed to have recognized Fenn. “Elijah Dáire Edwards-North,” she whispered to herself. “I’ll make sure to ask Fiori who you were.”

With the satisfaction of a job well done, both kids made their way out of Ortus University. As promised, Rex was there waiting for them. He had, all at once, on his face, the relieved look of a caring father and the anguished expression of a loving mother. The children climbed in the back seat without saying a word. Rex decided not to break this silence. There was nothing, anyway, he could tell these kids. They had just committed murder; no words could amend that. Rex drove the car to the next location with a heavy heart. It had been hard to see them go towards their first crime; it would be even harder to let them strike twice. Kidnapping them, came to his mind. Taking them away from Ted, away from this. But he knew better. It wasn’t the time yet. It wasn’t for him to make the decision. He bit his bottom lip and carried on with the order.

They arrived at their destination. A townhouse undistinguishable from the others: white façade, flowers, cozy looking apartments. It was getting late; few were the pedestrians left on the sidewalks. Eva grabbed Fenn by the wrist and pulled him out of the car. Without looking back, she let Rex know they needed no more than five minutes.

They entered the building and reached the last floor. On the door, a sticker announced they had reached their target:

Welcome to the residence of Nova Edwards-North & Lance North

Eva took a deep breath and pushed the door open. It was unlocked. Behind her, Fenn whispered: “I don’t want to do this anymore.” His face was pale, he looked about ready to pass out. His rage and anger had left him, he was now a pale ghost looking for a rest.

“One more time, please!” she whispered to her companion. “This man is the reason we are stuck in Nova Urbi. If we kill him… I am sure we will never have to go back to the orphanage.”

The lie had a bitter taste in Eva’s mouth. Patience, she told herself.

A man arrived in the hallway half asleep. He had heard the door open. He wasn’t expecting anyone. Certainly not his wife. She never came home until the early hours of the morning, obsess by her work, obsess by her research: finding a way that could have saved her children. Ever since the twins had been taken away from them, the guilt, the shame and the anger had consumed the person he had married. If finding his wife at the door would have surprised him, finding two kids was just as confusing.

“Excuse me, I think you have the wrong house…” he said with a yawn.

“Lance North?” Eva asked in a sweet voice.

“Yes, that’s me,” the man answered still puzzled by their sudden appearance.

Eva was about to talk again when Fenn cut her off.

“Why are you keeping us at Nova Urbi! What have we ever done to you?”

The man winced.

“I think you have me mistaken. I have nothing to do with Nova Urbi… My wife…”

“Your wife is dead,” Fenn screamed.

Eva had been worried about him a few minutes earlier, but she was glad to see the fire had been rekindled.

“Do it! Fenn,” she commanded him.

Fenn pounced on the man. The surprised attack knocked him off his feet. He fell to the ground, but he was bigger and much stronger than the little boy. He quickly got back on his feet and took a stance.

“Who are you? And what do you want! I am going to call the police…”

Fenn was quick enough to grab the man’s wrist just as he reached for the phone. There was no struggle this time. Fenn had a firm grip and the transfer of energy had already begun. The man fell to his knee.

Eva had a sight of relief. But not for long.

Fenn let go of the man’s hand before his job was complete and pushed the limb body to the ground. Holding the man’s face between his hands he asked again:

“Why are you keeping us at Nova Urbi! What have we ever done to you?”

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” the man coughed up.

Eva seized her opportunity.

“Who is Elijah?” She questioned.

“Elijah?” the man mumbled.

“Elijah Dáire Edwards-North. Who is he to you?”

“He’s my son. He died shortly after birth,” the man barely managed to say.

Fenn had reached a boiling point. He didn’t care about Eva’s questions. He had been told this man was the reason for his suffering. He wanted to make this man pay. Fenn grabbed the closes thing he could find, a woman’s pump and started hitting the defenceless man.

Eva watched him, dumbstruck. Fenn was sitting on top of their target, furiously stabbing him with the shoe’s heel. What she was witnessing was both scary and marvellous. She watched the little boy take out years of repressed pain and anger. A tinge of jealousy, as she envied Fenn’s emotional freedom. She too wanted to let her anger, rage and despair pour out of her body, but she couldn’t. She grabbed her accomplice by the back of his collar and vigorously pulled him back. His shirt covered in blood; the young boy still held on to the shoe.

“Enough!” Eva screamed, distressed by the bloody scene. “Enough!” she screamed again, and tightly pressed her lips together. She was upset and didn’t know what to do. “No trace left behind!” she scolded the little boy as he giggled.

Eva had to close her eyes for a second. The boy kept laughing. It was a joyous laugh.

“Enough,” she said again.

“Eva, he is dead! I killed him! I killed him! We never have to go back to Nova Urbi,” the boy exclaimed with such cheerfulness.

Eva couldn’t take her eyes of the boy’s bloody hands.

“It was supposed to look like a heart attack, not a massacre!”

“It doesn’t matter Eva; the bad man is dead.”

“We don’t even know if he was a bad man,” the girl admitted.

“He’s the reason we are in Nova Urbi. Of course, he’s a bad man!”

Eva pressed her lips together firmly again, as she tried to come up with a quick solution to their predicament.

“Don’t touch anything, Fenn. Your fingerprints are already all over,” the girl said defeated.

Eva took off her scarf and handed it to the boy: “Here, wipe your hands. Clean. Don’t touch anything.”

She watched the boy dutifully wipe his hands with a confused look. He handed back the scarf. Carefully, Eva took it and wrapped the shoe in it.

“Quick, let’s go, there’s nothing left for us here,” Eva said with a hint of panic in her voice.

They both rushed out of the building. Rex hadn’t left his spot.

“We’re done,” Eva quickly shrieked before sinking in the back seat.

Rex threw a quick look at the pair through his rear-view mirror. Eva was visibly upset but Fenn had an uncanny smile on his face. There was blood on his shirt. The boy’s hair was messy, a pearl of sweat running from his hairline. He was panting like an animal.

Rex frowned as he threw one last look at the building where the Edwards-North lived and drove away.

It wasn’t until they arrived at the gate of a tall, impressive building standing alone in the countryside, that the silence broke in the car.

“What is this place?” Eva asked.

“The headquarter of Project Eden,” Rex announced.

“What are we doing here,” Eva asked, her voice resounding with hope.

“They want to talk with you,” Rex answered before falling quiet again.

Eva frowned, there was something ominous in his tone. She rested one hand on Fenn’s cheek and quickly erased his recollection of the past 24 hours. His breathing slowly calmed down, and exhausted, the boy fell into a peaceful sleep. She flipped the switch and allowed him to regain his dull dormant life.