“They wouldn’t even make a dent in Sovereign and they’d die trying,” I said. “It was the right call.”
“What about all those Century mercs?” Reed asked.
“We’re bailing out anyway,” Scott said, “so who cares if they burn down the installation of the government that’s about to turn on us like we’re dogs?” He sounded thoroughly disgusted. “Let them torch the place. Again.”
“It is never pleasant when a government turns against you,” Janus said, shaking his head. “Having seen this before several times, I would recommend picking a good non-extradition treaty country and offering your services if necessary.”
“And now we’re fugitives,” Scott said, shaking his head. “We just went to the fricking wall to save the world from the greatest threat ever—”
“Not ever,” Janus clarified.
“—in modern times,” Scott amended.
“Not really,” Janus said. “There was—”
“Whatever, it was a big damned threat!” Scott said, smacking the table with his palm. “I didn’t see anyone else stepping up to do battle with a hundred of the nastiest metas on the planet, and we got the job done! These guys killed all of Omega, all of Alpha, changed the course of the meta world.” He slumped in his chair, rage spent. “If there were bigger threats than this, I don’t even want to know about them.”
“It is best you don’t,” Janus agreed, “if you ever wish to sleep at night again.”
“He’s right, though,” Reed said, shaking his head, almost scoffing. “This is a ton of bullshit. We do the work, and now we’re going to be the pariahs who get all the blame. ‘Oh, what a piece of work is man.’ Shakespeare nailed it.”
“What are you going to do, Sienna?” Ariadne asked me.
“I’ve still got Sovereign to deal with,” I said.
“Oh, screw this,” Reed said to me. “Let’s just go. Pick a place, somewhere without an extradition treaty, like Janus said, and let’s just run for it.”
“Preferably somewhere with a beach,” Scott said.
“I know several governments around the world who would gladly make accommodations for metas of our power,” Janus said to me, and it held the air of an invitation.
“I’ll think about it,” I said quietly.
“You cannot be serious,” Reed said, looking at me in disbelief. “Sienna, you do not deserve what’s about to happen to you—”
“Deserve?” There was some bitterness in my voice. “I hear a lot of talk about people ‘deserving’ this or that, or not deserving some dire fate that befalls them.” I let out a scoffing noise. “Well, so what? Does the cute, fluffy bunny deserve to live?” I smacked my hand against the table, causing all of them to jump. “It doesn’t matter, because when the hawk swoops down, he becomes dinner. So tell me, please, what I deserve.” I leaned back in my chair and straightened the dress I still wore.
There was a moment’s silence and then Reed spoke. “You saw that YouTube video of the bunny getting snuffed after that family released it, huh?”
I stared back at him. “It hurt my soul, I’ll admit. But it’s a good lesson. ‘Deserve’ is irrelevant when we’re talking about what happens to us.” I let out my breath slowly. “But I think there’s a reasonable debate that could be had over whether I deserve punishment for all the people I’ve killed.”
Reed looked like he’d been hit in the face. “No. No. You don’t.”
“Reed,” I said. “It’s okay.”
“Sienna …” Scott said warningly and then stopped.
“I’ve got Sovereign to attend to,” I said and stood up. I pushed my chair back as I did. “You all should get out of here. I hope you all saved your money over the years, because it’s looking like a Rainy Day Fund could come in really handy about now.”
“I’m not leaving without you,” Reed said, and he stood too.
“There’s nothing left for you to do but go to jail,” I said gently. I turned to Scott. “You, too.”
“Maybe we should all go together,” Scott said, and he stood as well. “Make a stand. Tell our story.”
“One voice or seven is not going to make a difference.” I shook my head. “I think you all know that. And with the exception of Kat, us going to prison together wouldn’t do anything.”
Kat frowned, her pretty face crumpling. “Why would me going to jail with you make a difference?”