Omega by Lizzy Ford

because I
liked her better than Niko. I had no idea either way.
    The two had still been
fighting about something that didn’t matter to me when I left. They
argued about everything. I didn’t even have to be subtle – just walked
out.
    Herakles would tell me to evaluate
everything I could about the compound. So far, I’d figured out I
wasn’t going over the gates. I had no clue whether the sewer system
was an option. The only thing Dosy had been able to find out was
that Herakles was in the east wing, which wasn’t visible from the
street.
    Official visitors entered the gates on foot
and by car. Their identifications were scanned, and they, their
belongings and vehicles were searched. My eyes followed the walls
down the block. I stood, grabbing my coffee to walk the perimeter
and see what other gates were present.
    Half an hour later, I was forced to admit
there was one way in and out of the compound. I returned to the
café and sat with another coffee, toying with the red cord around
my wrist.
    “ You little
shit.”
    I looked up to see Niko at my table. He sat
down without waiting for an invitation.
    “ You all clearly had some
things to work out,” I replied.
    “ When you meet that
special someone who turns out not to be as interested in you as you
are them, then you’ll understand.”
    “ I doubt it. Herakles told
me never to let any boy derail me from my goals, and I won’t.” It
had been easy, if frustrating, to let go of the boys the nymphs
stole. I wasn’t letting anyone near my heart, because Herakles said
that’s when bad things happened.
    “ You think it’s a choice
to fall in love, to have a kid you aren’t expecting,” Niko
observed.
    “ Everything in life is a
choice.”
    “ No, kid. It’s not.” He
was amused. “But I do hope to see the look on your face when you
realize that.”
    “ Whatever. Are we gonna do
this?” It was hard to talk to him when I wanted to explode about
the priests.
    “ Do what? ”
    I pointed towards SISA building. Niko looked
briefly.
    “ Let’s get something
straight. You’re insane to want to go to the one place you should
never want to be,” he replied.
    “ You know why you’re here
right now? Because you murdered everyone else who could help me,” I
shot back.
    “ Shut up, kid. I was going
to tell you, Dosy sent me down here to dissuade you, but I have a
different idea.”
    I waited, surprised to sense he was on my
side. And irked he didn’t even blink when I mentioned the
priests.
    “ There’s only one way into
that place,” he continued. “We need to be invited.”
    “ What does that
entail?”
    “ A mercenary bounty hunter
claiming to have the real Oracle in tow might warrant an
invite.”
    I brightened. “That’s brilliant, Niko! Let’s
do that!”
    He eyed me. “Does anything penetrate that
thick skull of yours? Like how dangerous this is, how small the
chances are they’ll let you leave? What they might do to you?”
    “ Can’t be worse than what
you might do to me.”
    “ You have no idea how big
of a favor I did those priests. They didn’t even pay
me.”
    What an asshole.
“ Herakles will fix everything,” I said,
missing my friend even more.
    “ We don’t even know where
he is.”
    “ Yes we do. The east
wing.”
    “ You’re not getting it.”
Niko sighed and studied me. “You might get in but you won’t get
out.”
    Maybe he was right. But why did I want to
leave if Herakles was trapped and being tortured? My world – except
him – was crashing and burning. I was trying not to face that
reality and holding out for Herakles to fix things. I didn’t care
what happened to me if it meant he was gone.
    I didn’t tell Niko any of this. It was
obvious he thought I was insane. To discuss what I felt made it
more real. It was easier for me to push away my emotions and put
all my faith in the man sitting in a cell somewhere in the east
wing of SISA headquarters.
    Herakles had spent over a decade taking care
of me. For