Chapter Three - Cora

I step into my room, feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt. This is it. I'm really leaving them. Well, they have already left me. But it's not the same.

I grab a small duffle bag from the bottom of my cupboard, sliding the doors sideways to get it. I ignore everything on the left side of the room, which is where my bed and desk lay, and grab handfuls of clothes from the cupboard. I change clothes into something warmer, seeing as the sun has almost completely set. I put on my favorite blue denim jeans and a plain white, cropped tee. A pull a brown jumper over my shoulders and change out of my blood-soaked socks. I rush to the bathroom next, grabbing a handful of sanitary products, such as my toothbrush and a comb. The last thing I get is my phone from the pocket of my school uniform, along with my headphones. Tonight, I'll blast away my thoughts with music. Or maybe stay up fixated on my favorite TV series. Either way, I don't think I can fall asleep. I don't want to fall asleep. 

Todori waits outside, just as he said. I sling the duffle bag over my shoulder and head to the elevator. I press the first floor button after Todori enters and we wait in an awkward silence the whole way down. We walk out of the hotel, again in silence. I hide my face in my brown jumper, pulling the hood over my head. Partly because I don't want Amie to see me walking out with a six-foot giant who isn't my dad, the other part is I forgot to wipe Mother's blood from my face. I shove my hands in the pockets of my jumper. Todori does the same with his coat. 

"There's a place near the center of the city that the Corps owns," Todori says when we exit the building. "It's where all the members stay. Think of it as a mini hotel. It's just around the corner from the office, so if a case suddenly pops up during the middle of the night, we're able to get there relatively fast. I'll take you there, now and that is where you'll stay until you decide to leave the agency." 

Todori walks on ahead. His strides are so long, I have to run a little just to catch up. The silence isn't awkward anymore, but rather terrifying. As we walk down the empty streets, only lit by streetlights and the glow of the buildings around us, I can't help but remember there's a murderer around here. 

"Todori?" I say, quickening my pace to keep up. My legs are long, but nowhere near as long as his. "Back at the apartment, you said that you had finally found an excuse to see my parents. What excuse was that, exactly?" 

"Oh, that. We – and by we, I mean I – have recently discovered the motivation behind the murders throughout the city. I was given orders to inform all employees, present and past. When your parents didn't answer my calls, I decided to come in person to tell them the news." 

My brows furrow. "Motivation? You've figured it out already?" 

Todori nods. "Yep. Each person who has died has been Disparate. So, we don't really have a serial killer on our hands, but a real cleaver assassin. There was a small-time organization a few years back – when I was about your age – that dedicated their lives to ridding the world of all Disparate. Fortunately it was run by a bunch of idiots who didn't know how to lead an organization properly, and we shut it down in about a week. It seems they've gathered back under a new leader and they're now ten times stronger than before. Not to worry, though. We'll shut it down just like we did before. The Disparate Corps is the safest place for a Disparate to be. After all, you do have me." 

We round a corner and onto a busy street, covered in fancy flashing lights and large clusters of people. Restaurants are crowded, despite the three murders today. Of course, they'd only know about one. I doubt my parents death would go public.

"Safest place? Tell that to my parents," I mumble, my words almost inaudible. I raise my voice as music blasts from speakers at a large pub. "Actually, now that I think about it, is it safe to be wandering the streets at night with a talented assassin roaming around looking for Disparate? I may be safe, but aren't you one?" 

Todori nods again. "I said this assassin is cleaver, not talented, don't mix my words. Also, your parents are both Disparate, so I doubt you'd be safe either. But not to worry, I'm one of the strongest the Corps has. It's gonna take a lot more than one assassin to kill me, no matter how experienced or talented they are. Also, your parents resigned from the Corps a few years ago, to focus on raising you, so technically, they were out of my protection." 

"Aren't you at least a little bit worried about this organization?" I ask as we leave the busy street, stepping onto one less crowded and flashy. "I know it was weak before, but if their new leader is stronger … I'm just saying, maybe don't underestimate them." 

Todori smiles softly, the corners of his thin lips turning upwards. "I feel old saying this but, back in the day, your parents were the best around. There wasn't a case they couldn't handle. But after seeing them dead … no. I'm not worried. More excited, really. There hasn't been much to do around here lately and now there's an organization dedicated to killing us. I think I'll finally be able to go to my full potential. And so will the others at the Corps. They've been getting assigned the easiest cases, I think they're losing their touch …" 

"How many of you are there, exactly?" 

"Well, in this city, we're the only organization, and we only have about thirteen full-time members. But there are heaps of others who go under different names scattered across the world. Here, we've got a few part-timers who usually only come in if we need the manpower. But that hasn't happened yet. They're usually older than us and have families and a whole other life they must attend to. We have a lot of younger people. Teens mostly. They've usually been orphaned or abandoned by their parents because of their Abilities. There's a few in the same boat as you, just in different cities." 

"You mean, there have been other killings outside the city?" 

"Multiple," Todori continues, his gaze fixed on the empty street ahead of us. "There was even a family of seven who lived on a farm several hours away from the city. The parents were those part-timers I was talking about. Everyone in the family had an Ability. One of the sons was only able to escape the massacre by hiding in the lake behind their house." 

"This organization seems a lot stronger than they were before. Yet, you don't seem a little bit worried. How? How are you so relaxed?" I bury my face in my jumper, zipping it up as far as it will go. It covers up to my nose, but this is enough to protect the emotions on my from showing up clearly. "My parents are dead. Despite you saying how much they meant to you, you don't seem very shaken." 

Todori sighs and I squeeze my eyes shut. How much they meant to you. I've already accepted the fact they're no longer alive. 

"I'm not worried for my sake. I know I can handle myself. But it's people like you, who may not have an Ability, but associate with people who do, or people who don't even know they're Disparate, or people who do know, they just can't use it properly, that I'm worried for. There are approximately one hundred and fifty Disparate in this city alone. We can't save them all. I know this. Being worried and scared only holds you back. It only stops you from saving everyone. But if I'm not worried, I can still save at least a few, right? Tell me Cora, are you scared?" 

We bask in the silence for a few minutes, letting the moment roll over. It was wrong of me to assume he didn't care for my parents, but that doesn't mean I'll apologize. "It's comforting being around someone so confident. But yes, I am scared. So, to distract me, would you tell me more about my parents? Just a little? They kept their whole past a secret from me. I'd like to know why they did that, but you couldn't answer that. So I'll settle for what they were like back then." 

"This is just a guess, of course," Todori says, as we round another corner, "but I assume your parents didn't want you to be involved with the Corps unless you absolutely had to. It's not easy doing what we do. It's rather quite dangerous. I think they just wanted to keep you safe." 

Todori looks across at me and runs a hand through his golden hair. "Your parents used to co-lead the Corps before the current boss did. They were the brains as well as the brawn. The current boss, Marcus, and your parents would even get called away overseas for cases in foreign countries, that their own agencies couldn't handle. The boss sounded rather upset when I told him the news about your parent's deaths. They were all partners for almost fifteen years. Odette and Lance only retired about three years ago and they had been part-timers two years prior to that. But hey, don't get upset they didn't tell you. The Corps has a strict policy about sharing this kind of information, even if they were retired." 

"I'm not mad," how could I be? They're dead. There's no point in yelling at a corpse. 

"Good, good. Only a few more blocks to go now," Todori's face lights up, as if he's just remembered something. Nobody knows when exactly a Disparate's Ability develops, it kind of just appears out of thin air. So, it might be a while before yours shows itself, too." 

I scoff and bury my head deeper into my jumper. "You seem pretty confident that I'll have one." 

"I am one hundred percent confident you'll get one," Todori says, a small grin playing on his lips. "But you'll still be expected to do some work around the Corps even before your Ability develops. Knowing your parents, I assume they put you through self-defense classes?" 

I nod. "Twice a week, ever since I could walk. I'm pretty fast, too, if that helps any. I've been to states a few times for track events." 

Todori nods and his eyes roll back in his head, looking at the sky. He frowns slightly, not being able to see the stars through all these lights in the street. "I'm currently tracking down one of the employees of this new organization that killed your parents. His name is Harrison Loft and he's Non-Disparate, but he's held pretty high in the rankings from what I hear. He knows a lot about the organization's classified information, including the whereabouts of their base, and who's next on their kill list. He also knows about their boss well, although I do have my suspicions about who it is." 

"Oh? Who do you think it is?" 

"It's only a suspicion, but I'll tell you later," Todori lowers his gaze, fixating again on the road ahead of us. "You can either help me catch this guy and interrogate him, or you can be assigned your own case. I'd rather you helped me, cause you're new to this and I'm your new … guardian of sorts. But it's up to you," I open my mouth to speak, but Todori raises a hand to silence me, "no need to tell me now, we have all of tomorrow." 

"Will this man," I swallow hard. "Will this man know who killed my parents?" 

Todori looks at me out of the corner of his soft, grey eyes. A smile plays on his thin lips, once again. "He should." 

I speak with passion and no ounce of hesitation. "Then I'll help you. There's no need to think about it. You can also teach me a few tricks along the way, sound good?" 

"Sounds good," Todori repeats. He stops walking and turns, facing the doorway of a narrow, three-story building made of bricks. It looks ancient, all light drained from the structure. The soft glow of lamps shine from the highest windows. Of course people are still awake. I forget it's only close to six. With all that's happened today, I feel like I could collapse at any moment. I still don't want to sleep, but with the weight of today's events heavy on my shoulders, I fear I have no choice but to succumb. 

"This is the apartment building you will be staying at. Your room will be on the second floor, with our more recent recruits. Mine's on the third, with the others who have been at the Corps a bit longer," Todori steps forward, aiming straight for the plain-looking door. He opens it and steps aside, letting me walk through first. It's plain inside, just the outside. Warm, soft yellow light filters out from long beams on the roof and small lamps. Straight ahead is a new-looking staircase, with carpet the same light grey as my home. To my right is a small, open room with several dark leather couches and small tables in between for storing beverages or books.

Todori passes me, walking up the stairs.

I follow in silence.