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  Should he have tried to do more research in the hours before he got there so he wouldn’t be so much in the dark?

  Perhaps, but then again, he always had liked working with the unknown.

  Chapter Three

  Good God, this place—this island—was huge. The carrier made its final pass around the mountain, and Kaiden was slack-jawed.

  It was a literal island. Man-made obviously, but it was a massive circular structure in Bellingham Bay. The Academy was almost its own small city.

  Around the island were a couple dozen smaller buildings. They all had a streamlined, militaristic design accented with modern flourishes or eccentric accompaniment. Silver, black, white, and blue were the main colors, but what appeared to be several dormitories had different color schemes.

  Kaiden guessed those were the buildings where the students stayed. Accommodations would be designated by the distinct colors on their jackets, whatever those entailed. He pondered whether he and the others who didn’t have those special rings also had their own dorm, or if they would all simply huddle together in a kennel.

  His gaze finally settled on the central structure which he assumed was the main building and titular Nexus Academy. A central monolith rose proudly at the front of the building, reaching into the sky and towering over the buildings around it. The cylindrical structure bore the same triangular crest engraved on his EI case.

  The rest of the building fanned out behind the monolith. It had the appearance of an opera hall—a large half-dome with various long wings jutting out from the back and sides. Ornate glass and mirrored surfaces circled the top like a reflective halo or crown above the pearl-white building, which was accented with blue and silver patterns.

  Kaiden had to admit he rather liked the look of it.

  He checked his fingers for stains or sticky substances. If some uppity professor saw him accidentally smudge the tiniest amount of wallpaper, his ass was likely grass, no questions asked.

  They finally descended the mountain and drove onto the long bridge that led to the entrance. It was roughly two miles from the land to the gates, and as they drove up, Kaiden could almost feel the grandeur that the designers had no doubt had in mind when they built this Goliath. He also figured a two-mile-plus-long bridge deterred fence-jumpers.

  He looked down to see if he could get a view of the water but was just barely able to see it from the edge of the window. He figured they had to be at least thirty feet in the air.

  The carrier pulled up behind the others and the caravan bisected into two rows of three, then the driver placed his palm onto a scanner on the dashboard and punched something into a tablet.

  The other passengers began chatting excitedly, and he heard a girl ask a proctor if they would see the whole thing or if only a portion of it would be open.

  It was a little difficult to ignore the peculiar phrasing of the question when he didn’t know what “it” was, but as he tried to get a better view of the walls surrounding the entrance to the island, he saw the faintest shimmer. As he watched, fascinated, the water of the bay splashed against something.

  That was enough for him to realize that there was some sort of shield in place. It must have taken some intricate and immaculate work to design it, since most fields produced at least some sort of haze or fractal impression once you got close enough.

  White blocks formed from the water and sky melded together and met to reveal a giant dome that covered the entire island.

  Kaiden straightened in his seat as he studied the barrier. Tech that focused on defense wasn’t a particular area of interest—not, at least, until he needed a way to breach it. But even with his casual knowledge, he could understand the power something like this had. If you dropped a nuclear bomb on the island while this thing was active, it was probably the city on the outskirts that had to worry. He doubted anyone beneath it would feel a thing. Maybe a slight shaking that interrupted their nap, while those on the outside would either be roasted alive or have to contend with the various effects and complications of mutation. He was pretty sure the only other place in the world that had something like this was the World Alliance headquarters.

  The carrier once again began to move, driving through a small opening that had been formed for them. He noticed that the entrance had no physical barrier, but he didn’t wonder why all that much, given the protective dome.

  He noticed that his carrier pulled away from the others, and the one carrying the Tsuna stayed behind them. He’d no sooner begun to wonder where they were headed than the proctor who had taken his info before he boarded walked down the aisle and addressed the initiates.

  “We are about to arrive at the resources office. Get used to the layout and services there, since I’m sure most of you will visit a lot,” he suggested, taking out his tablet. “For your sakes, I hope you do.”

  “Nice forbidding delivery,” Kaiden muttered, earning a chuckle from the guy behind him.

  “You have each been assigned a guidance counselor who will explain the practices of the Academy and the expectations you will be held to. They will offer you one last chance to back out when all matters have been explained.” He continued as the carrier began to slow, “However, in my opinion, if you have any remaining qualms at this point in time, you shouldn’t waste their time or yours. Simply thank the counselor for the opportunity and leave.”

  “Don’t you think you could have told us this before we boarded?” Kaiden asked aloud, causing the others to nod or giggle.

  “We’ve found that most of you punks like to talk that good shit right up to this point. As it turns out, the moment it gets real is when we activate the dome. We’ve had a few people realize they left their spine at the house after that,” the proctor retorted, and Kaiden shrugged his understanding.

  “On that note, let me say that the lot of you are special, at least to me,” he added. “I’ve been assigned to looking after the so-called special cases for a decade, and all of you got here by trial or circumstance. Perhaps you were able to make it through the wildcard competitions, or maybe you had that special something that caught one of our professors’ eyes. Either way, there is a difference between you and our ranked students.”

  The bus had now come to a full stop, and the proctor tapped on his tablet and nodded to the driver, who opened the doors behind him. “The others who got here through schooling, connections, or other traditional channels have wanted this all their lives, or maybe their parents did. All of you, I’m guessing, either didn’t have the means, didn’t have a plan, and maybe didn’t even have a clue.”

  Got me there. Kaiden acknowledged another truth, though it didn’t bother him too much.

  “But you had an opportunity, and you at least had the smarts to seize it. What you do now is in your hands. If you ever have a moment of weakness or doubt, just remember the courage, willpower, or tenacity that brought you here in the first place, and you might find yourself with a leg up that others don’t have.”

  As he finished, the others on the bus began nodding and smiling in agreement. The proctor nodded in response and looked down at his tablet. “When I call your name, come to the front of the bus. I will give you the name of your counselor and send you off to them.”

  He began calling names alphabetically. Kaiden looked out the window on the other side of the bus. The building that awaited them was three stories tall, charcoal-colored with silver trim. He made a mental note to see if he could find a map of the campus or at least a pamphlet of the resources building. One thing he could apply from his previous life was that resources were always a good thing, no matter what their form, but guns, food, and warm bodies were preferred.

  “Kaiden Jericho,” the proctor announced. He stood and straightened his jacket. It was time to see where all this would lead.

  Kaiden examined the tiny plaques on each door, looking for his designated counselor.

  “I. Asimov…no. D. Webber…uh-uh. C. Lupus…that’s unfortunate. Ah.” He stopped in front of
a door that read ‘M. Vodello’ and knocked on the door.

  “Come in.” a wistful feminine voice called. The door slid into the wall, and Kaiden saw a surprisingly large room with plants near the window and hanging from the ceiling. He took a seat on a red leather chair in front of the counselor’s desk.

  She had tanned skin and long brown hair and wore a red suit with a light-green shirt underneath. After a minute or so, she finished typing something into her computer and then looked up and smiled at him. “Welcome. I’m Mya, and you must be Kaiden Jericho, correct?”

  “Ah no, completely different guy,” Kaiden joked, trying to ease himself into the formal setting.

  “Well then…” Her eyes flicked to him and away, a small smirk playing on her face. “I can deal with that. Chou?” Kaiden saw a small magenta orb appear from a circular device on the desk, a holographic preset of a pro-level EI.

  “Yes, madam?” the orb asked in a comically cliché French accent, glowing slightly with each word.

  “It appears that we have a troublemaker. Please be rid of him.” She waved a hand negligently toward Kaiden, her words not varying from a delighted tone despite the intended threat.

  “Understood, madam,” the sphere acknowledged and disappeared back into the device. Kaiden then heard a mechanical whir and click, and he looked up to see a double-barreled turret descend from a hidden spot on the ceiling. Uncomfortable flashbacks of the Dead-Eye with the cracked EI rushed through his head.

  “Sweet and salty Christ, lady! Yeah, yeah, I’m Kaiden. Turn it off!” Kaiden said in a sudden panic. He had a cold realization that he had no weapon on him. He’d really trusted these suits way too much. If Jake were there, he would smack the back of his neck hard enough to make a crater.

  She pointed to her eyes, which glimmered with the identifiable signs of operator contacts. “Just my fun way of greeting. I actually have your file and picture up in my optics.”

  “The gun is still pointing at me,” Kaiden grumbled, and tried swaying to the left so that the turret would be directed at them both.

  “Chou, deactivate defenses and bring up Nexus initiate presentation,” Mya requested.

  “At once, madam,” the artificial French voice stated. Kaiden noticed a magenta-colored light on the turret deactivate as the gun slid back into its hiding spot, allowing Kaiden to breathe easier and check to see if he felt any wetness on his lower half.

  The circular device lit up again, this time with a holographic display of his personal info—or at least what official info the government had that the techies back in the gang hadn’t tampered with. Alongside it were a number of screens the counselor flipped through.

  “So, Mr. Jericho, how long were you in a gang?” she asked nonchalantly.

  “Huh, never. Why ya sayin’ that?” he asked, trying to play dumb.

  “Honesty is one of the best traits a breathing person can have,” she mused, pointing to the spot the turret had dropped from.

  Dammit, this was a sting, wasn’t it? Kaiden’s breath hitched, and he cracked his knuckles beneath his crossed arms. He had to give them points. It was quite elaborate—the old promise of going to a prestigious academy, only to be bullet-riddled by a bubbly woman and her vaguely pink blob buddy.

  “Yeah, I was in a gang back in Texas. Didn’t do anything too bad, though,” Kaiden lied. It was the default option in this case—reveal the small pile of bones in your closet and hope to God they didn’t check the suspicious hole in the basement.

  “Well, good. That probably means you can actually handle yourself when you get started,” she said sweetly.

  That was not the reaction he was used to. He should have liked the oddly positive spin, but he somehow felt closer to death.

  “You’re okay with that? Does the Academy know?” he asked.

  “Of course. Your forgery was admirable. Or perhaps it was someone in your group’s handiwork? But if we fell for something as simple as that it wouldn’t make a very good impression, would it?” she stated, seemingly more to remind herself than convince him.

  “I guess, but you’re all right with it? I wouldn’t think a place like this would be thrilled to have a felon in its midst.” Kaiden leaned back into his chair, scanning between the open doorway and the turret’s hiding hole.

  “If that was the case, I wouldn’t be employed here,” she replied.

  “Wait, what did you do?” he asked.

  “I was a part of the hacker collective, 9 Circulos. We broke into the servers of a weapons manufacturing company. Karna Munitions. The others were eventually caught, but I got the opportunity to train here.” She eased back in her seat, her eyes looking to the side as she seemed to wander into her memories. “They were trying to steal some files or get a delivery manifest or something, but I only wanted blueprints that I could blow-up into posters. Since I was the one who devised the scheme and got the rest in, I was offered a spot here as an SC like you.”

  “Huh, well, you just found your way onto my decent person list,” Kaiden said with a grin.

  “Glad to put you at ease, but I brought it up to tell you that upon acceptance, your criminal file will officially be wiped clear.” She smiled, her hands now folded in her lap.

  “Just like that? No other strings?” Kaiden asked, bewildered. She looked away and rolled her thumbs, and his mood soured. Of course, here comes the fine print.

  “Professor Sasha called me and gave a little info about how you got his recommendation. It seems that you are not familiar with how one gets into the Academy.” She flicked through a few screens before landing on the one she wanted and enlarged it.

  “I was told at the station that there’s some sort of contract?” Kaiden asked as he looked at the display, which showed several files to choose from.

  “Indeed. Every initiate, regardless of how they got here, is contracted to the Academy. It is through that contract that the initiate is allowed access to the Academy and all its classes and technology, along with room, board, and utilities. The student does not pay for these during their training. After graduation, this contract is transferred to a corporation or business that needs the skills and abilities of the graduate for all their accumulated incidentals, plus a fee. The graduate then works for that company until their debt is paid. It helps us continue our research and development and have positive cash flow at the same time.”

  “Wait…” Kaiden shook his head, thinking back to the first part of her explanation. “So I’ll be trained here at this so-called prestigious academy just to become a slave at the end of it all? What good is that?” He fumed. This sounded like a pyramid scheme where he knowingly agreed to be the sucker.

  “Of course not. A slave would not have an option,” she answered with a wink. “Furthermore, the value of the contract is dependent on the student: what they require during their years of training, and their set-up fee. What you do while training—the skills you accumulate, the drive you show, and your standing rank at the end of your studies—will provide a long list of options and many potential employers who would pay handsomely for you. Then, depending on how you negotiate with your employer about salary and how much you owe, you could pay off your debt quite quickly. Some have managed it in as little as a year.”

  Kaiden leaned forward and tapped his fingers on the desk. “How much would I have to pay?”

  “Well, since this includes all fees accrued throughout your potential three years here, plus set-up items—like an integration unit for your EI—over and above the physical training, I would guess a ballpark figure of around five million credits,” Mya summarized calmly.

  Kaiden could feel a sharp sting in his left arm. He wondered if the gun had been turned back on and had shot clean through him. Distracted now, he took a deep breath and checked his arm and chest. His quick examination showed no discernible holes, but his asshole tightened.

  “Doesn’t…seem…too…bad,” he replied. He tried to sound confident, but his voice had become ragged, and his teeth wouldn’t
unclench.

  “I should inform you that approximately one million of that is the slate-wiping add-on,” she teased, giving him what looked like a warm smile but which came across as mockery.

  She seriously needs to work on her friendly demeanor.

  “Nice…nice to know that even a place like this is willing to take bribes,” Kaiden quipped, trying to get his breathing back to normal.

  “We prefer to think of it as a cleaning fee,” Mya explained, now leaning back into her chair and tapping her thumbs to a cheery rhythm Kaiden struggled to focus on at that moment.

  He was conflicted. On the one hand, holy hell, that was a lot of credits. He had saved around two hundred and fifty thousand during his time with the Dead-Eyes. Jake always let him skim a bit more than most after a job, but this was ridiculous. He already had skills, and he already had other jobs lined up if Julio could get him those gigs he spoke of. Why did he need this?

  You ain’t gonna get shit that way. Those words rang in his mind. He remembered being in a small room, his guns on the table next to a medical bag. Jake was patching him up, wrapping his wounds tighter than necessary.

  “You ain’t keepin’ up with your training, you barely think about what your next move is, and I swear to God, you’re the sole reason we’re constantly low on meds.

  He remembered giving a smartass retort, causing Jake to press down on a wound on his knee. He tried to pay him back by headbutting him, but Jake grabbed him mid-lunge and then looked him straight in the eye. Look, Kai, you’re a talented little bastard. That’s why I take you along for the fights and the gigs, but you can’t keep thinking you can half-ass these things. You keep this up, and one day you’re gonna meet someone who actually gave a damn and worked their ass off, and you’re gonna realize all you could have been just before he kills your lights. Never settle.

  Mya’s voice pulled him out of his daze. “You can think on it more if you wish, but I have other things I need to discuss with you, so I’m going to—”