The Avenger by Jo Robertson Read Free Book Online Page A

was.
    "Problem?"
    "No." Jack hesitated. "The Gant woman's on board."
    "Oh?"
    Did he detect curiosity in his mentor's voice? Jack considered again that contacting Olivia hinged on design rather than chance. "Are you surprised?"
    Warren chuckled. "Hell, nothing surprises me anymore."
    Jack heard the long draw of breath over the line, most likely the Judge sucking on one of his cigars. He had to ask. "Did you know?"
    "Know what?"
    "About the Gant woman." When dead air traveled the length of the line like something spiteful, he continued, "That she was the one. Back then. The one who started it all."
    "Is that going to be a problem?"
    "For me or for Invictus?"
    "Both."
    Another long pause while Jack collected his thoughts. Hating to admit a weakness, he dropped the subject. "I'm concerned about the Change. It's different this time."
    "The meds?"
    Jack thought about Olivia. That too. He sensed the sudden alertness over the line, knowing Warren weighed the potential danger of the special medications against the possibility of the aggression getting out of control."Yeah," Jack said at last. A small lie. And not entirely false.
    "How's that?"
    "I stopped the whites, started the red regime, but they're making me feel weird."
    "In what way?"
    "Headaches, olfactory mismatches." Jack paused and continued meaningfully. "Rough, angry, aggressive." He thought of Olivia again, all that she'd stirred up in him.
    "That's not good. The MM's will screw you royally." They both knew it wasn't the olfactory mismatches that were the real problem. "Supposedly Davis eliminated the side effects with the new batch of reds."
    Jack paused, mused again about the lusty intensity that being around Olivia brought out. "You need to send the Phens."
    When he'd first entered the Invictus program, his medications had been a serious complication. The medical team discovered Jack's body didn't work the same as the other agents, whose natural skills were enhanced with a variety of established drugs, including steroids, so Dr. Davis had concocted powerful cocktails tailored especially for Jack. The Phens were supposed to mitigate the aggression.
    And wasn't he the lucky one?
    "Are you sure?" the Judge asked.
    "Yeah." He paused again, suppressing a sigh. "The aggression's a bitch."
    Jack could almost hear the Judge calculating the odds, measuring an innocent's life against a completed mission. Collateral damage or a job well done.
    "Did you kill anyone?" the Judge asked finally.
    Jack tunneled his fingers through his damp hair. "Jesus Christ! No."
    "Hurt anyone?"
    He thought of the bruiser at the gym. "No one that matters."
    The Judge's voice over the line was calm and practical. "Then why do you need the Phens?"
    Jack's voice hardened before he clicked the disconnect button. "Just send the damn pills."
    Only afterward did he realize the Judge never answered his question about Olivia.
    #
    They met for breakfast because Olivia wouldn't agree to Jack coming to her house. He didn't blame her. She suggested a little mom and pop place near the capitol building. When he walked into the brightly lighted Country Kettle Restaurant a little after eight-thirty, Olivia was already seated at a booth by the window, gazing out at the crowded traffic on Tenth Street.
    Sunlight dappled dust motes through the wooded blinds and across the oiled tablecloth. Tension darkened Olivia's eyes to the color of primeval forests and she clenched her fists on the vinyl tablecloth, warily examining him as he sat opposite her.
    "What's wrong?" he asked after the waitress brought water and left menus.
    Olivia didn't answer immediately, but hunched her shoulders beneath the salmon-colored sweater set that complemented her dark hair. Jack noted her ringless fingers and the utilitarian watch on her left wrist.
    The waitress, a lanky, bleached blonde, whose black and white uniform strained against her breasts, returned to take their order. She pulled a pencil from behind her ear. "What can I get you