State of Alliance Read Online Free

me. I’m not just tired. I’m angry . Omega has crossed a line. Killing Angela, potentially killing my father…I have been fighting all this time for my friends and family. For the people that I care about. If they are gone, what am I supposed to do?
    Fight harder , a little voice says. Hit them back twice as hard .
    I step inside the elevator, exiting at the lobby. Morning sunlight is streaming through the glass windows, casting a heavenly glow on an otherwise gritty scene. Soldiers move around, rotating watches and patrols, acting with purpose and focus. I scan the crowds for familiar faces. There is nobody here that I recognize.
    I reach the lobby doors and step outside, coming face to face with a young woman in a National Guard uniform. Her dark, honeyed skin blends with black hair and eyes. I stop dead in my tracks, staring for a minute, and then a smile spreads across my face.
    “Sophia!”
    I throw my arms around her neck and embrace her. Sophia Rodriguez. The friend who helped me survive an Omega POW slave labor camp. The friendwho joined the National Guard and fought against Omega with me…and also the friend who claimed Chris was a traitor and refused to help me rescue him from Omega’s POW Holding Center in Los Angeles.
    My shock and surprise at seeing her here overcomes the anger I felt the last time we were in the same room.
    I pull away, noting Sophia’s pained expression.
    “It’s good to see you,” I say, my smile fading.
    She clears her throat.
    “You survived,” she replies. There is no smile on her face.
    “Yes. Operation Angel Pursuit was a success. We brought Chris back, Sophia. We did it!”
    She shakes her head, not meeting my gaze.
    “I was talking about the Capitol Building, actually,” she says.
    “Oh.” I blink. “Yeah, I was outside when the missile hit.”
    “Missile?”
    “Yeah. Chris says it was probably a cruise missile.” I shrug. “He’s right. Nobody could have gotten inside the Capitol and planted a bomb that big. There’s way too much security.”
    “Well. Chris would know. He always knows everything,” Sophia replies, and there is a note of sarcasm in her voice. “That’s why you rescued him from Los Angeles.”
    “Sophia, what is with you?” I demand. “Chris has never done anything to you, and neither have I.”
    She doesn’t answer.
    So I switch tactics.
    “Alexander Ramos is alive,” I say. “He was in Los Angeles. He’s here, now.”
    She stares at me, and for a brief moment, I see a flash of the old Sophia. The spunky, optimistic young woman who helped me survive enslavement and countless guerilla warfare shootouts. And then she says,
    “You’re lying.”
    “Am I? Go to Headquarters and see for yourself.”
    “But that’s impossible,” she replies, and this time, her tone is unsteady. “Alexander went MIA weeks ago.”
    “Well, he’s with us now.”
    “I would have known about this.”
    “No. You wouldn’t.” I fold my arms. “Because you chose Colonel Rivera and the National Guard overOperation Angel Pursuit.” I shrug. “That was your choice, and now I’m just telling you what you missed.”
    “If you’re lying, Cassidy-”
    “-I’ve never lied to you before,” I frown. “I’ve never done anything to hurt you, Sophia.”
    Her lower lip trembles.
    “I need to get to Headquarters,” she mutters.
    She pushes past me, leaving me alone on the sidewalk, staring after her. Dumbfounded by her behavior – and the shock of seeing her here – I barely remember how to move my legs and keep walking.
    Sophia will heal , I tell myself. She just needs time. The stress of warfare just affects people in different ways .
    The Headquarters Building has been moved from the Capitol to the Sacramento Convention Center. It is several blocks away, but walking in the cool morning air does a lot to clear my head.
    By the time I reach the Convention Center, I am alert and centered. The long, gray building is lined with glass walls and doors. A