Ionic Attraction

by D. R. Rosensteel

  He saw it.

  His lips tightened as he began to speak. “Your days will be divided between high school and the mission. Each morning, you will assemble here as agents of ORDER. When our business is complete, you’ll attend class with the finest teachers in the world.”

  Jane removed the rubber band from the folders Anna had brought in. Each folder held the profile of a HALO Agent.

  “First order of business,” Mr. Parker said. “We have a weapon to stop. But first, I want you to understand the people who are using it. Each of the Halo Agents is unique. And dangerous. Their profiles, Miss Lew.”

  “Yes, sir.” Jane opened the first profile and grimaced when she realized whose was on top. She held up the photo of a seventeen-year-old boy with a dark complexion, uncombed hair, and brilliant white teeth covered by enormous silver braces.

  “Is his bite as bad as it looks?” Zachary asked.

  “Worse.” Jane flipped the photo to him. “Benson Graham, Information Acquisition Specialist. He is as skilled with technology as he is with interrogation techniques. He can extract information from humans as easily as he can mine data from computers. You do not want to be in a room alone with him.”

  “Sounds like you’re speaking from experience,” Zachary said. “Bad date?”

  “Terrible date,” Jane said.

  Zachary grinned.

  He had no idea how closely he hit the mark.

  Jane continued. “Benson can find out anything about anything. And he has an eidetic memory. Once he acquires information, he never forgets it. He believes that knowledge is power. It’s his biggest weakness.”

  “I have an eidetic memory, too,” Zachary said. “How’s that a weakness?”

  “Benson doesn’t like to share. He loves secrets.”

  “So?”

  “Say he captures you and hooks you to his interrogation equipment.” Jane paused when her father’s eyes connected with hers. They were suddenly fierce, and his face had hardened. She knew he was thinking of her abduction.

  Without turning his gaze from Jane, he continued the explanation. “Benson will not inform his superiors that he has you until he has extracted everything that is useful. No matter how long it takes or how much pain he causes you. He wants to impress them. Even if you manage to escape, the experience will leave you scarred. Jane is correct. You do not want to be in a room alone with Benson Graham.”

  Jane turned away from her father’s glare. It took all her willpower to keep herself from screaming It’s not my fault!

  Zachary turned to Jane. He had an odd expression, as though an epiphany had just struck him. “When you said, ‘Say he captures you,’ you weren’t speaking figuratively, were you?”

  “No,” Jane said quietly.

  The color drained from Zachary’s face. His lower lip quivered. “You meant you. Benson tortured you.”

  “And we learned a valuable lesson because of it,” Jane said, trying her best to make it sound like no big deal. Zachary was obviously shaken. Did something happen in juvie that wasn’t in his record? “Our team will be in constant communication. We have the best tech available. If one of us is captured, the rest of the team will know it immediately. They see and hear everything. That’s how we work. And that is our advantage. Benson’s need to hoard knowledge will give us time for a rescue.”

  Zachary scowled at the tabletop, fists clenched. “When do we go in? I’m ready.”

  “I’m impressed, Mr. Keen. You made a connection that was not theoretical.” Jane’s father spoke before Jane had the chance. “However, you are ready when I decide, Zachary. We have an intense training schedule to complete before I will allow you inside HAVOC.”

  “I’ve been through the detention center’s own demented form of intense training.” Zachary’s fists opened. He glanced at Jane. “I’m ready. I can handle Benson Graham.”

  “You’ve had no prior contact with Benson. As you’ve correctly deduced, Miss Lew has.” Mr. Parker stood.

  “Sometimes it’s hard to see through people like him.” Zachary looked right at Jane. “It’s not your fault.”

  “Thank you.” Jane closed her eyes. Why couldn’t her father be so understanding? “I met him at a science fair. Benson was charming and sweet. I fell for it. We began to date.”

  “That’s enough, Jane,” Mr. Parker snapped. “They do not need these details.”

  “I don’t agree,” Jane said before her father could shut her down. “These details will help them to understand their enemy.”

  Mr. Parker’s face flushed, but he said nothing. He sat down.

  Jane took a deep breath. “It went well for a time, and I think Benson actually liked me at first.”

  He was very thoughtful and polite on their early dates. Brought flowers, held doors… She should have seen it coming, though. The signs were there. Is that what her father was talking about?

  “But after a while, I noticed he had a dark side. He was paranoid, convinced that everyone in the world had secrets. One day, he pressed me relentlessly about what I did with my days, but I couldn’t convince him that I was just an ordinary seventeen-year-old.”

  The most obvious sign was Benson’s eyes. That terrible image was burned into Jane’s mind. When Benson lost his temper, he had the glare of a ravenous wolf. Those eyes still caused her nightmares.

  “He became angry, so I broke up with him. That’s when I learned that he was a Halo Agent. He kidnapped me and connected me to an interrogation device he had just built. It was awful. I finally escaped and went to the police, but Mamont pulled a masterful cover-up. Now I have a restraining order against me. I’m not allowed within fifty feet of Benson.”

  Jane realized that her heart was pounding.

  “He kidnaps you and walks away protected.” Zachary threw his hands in the air. “Gotta love our justice system. Let me guess. His device didn’t leave any marks on you, so it was your word against his.”

  Jane shrugged. “None they could see.” But her father was right. The invisible ones were like raw welts.

  “What lies did they make up to get a restraining order against you?”

  “I broke Benson’s nose.”

  Zachary smirked. “And the judge fell for it? Did Mamont pay him off?”

  “Not for that.” Jane patted her fingers together and smiled. “I really did it.”

  Zachary’s mouth opened then shut. He sat quietly for a moment. “During your escape?”

  “During the capture.”

  “Oh.”

  “I dislocated his shoulder during the escape.”

  A huge grin broke across Zachary’s face. “Making unlikely connections isn’t your only gift, is it?”

  “I can make disconnections, too, when necessary.” Jane tilted her head and smiled back.

  “So I see,” Zachary said. “I’ll make sure I never make it necessary. My shoulders are happiest in their sockets.”

  His dark eyes connected with hers, and Jane felt herself being pulled into the vacuum of space. For just an instant, there was no one else in the room but Zachary and her. Then Zachary’s grin disappeared and he seemed very sad.

  Suddenly the room was full of people again. All of them—Mina, Anna, Michael, Nolan, even her father—sat open-mouthed and speechless, their full attention on Jane.

  “Jane?” Zachary broke the silence.

  “Yes?”

  “I’m sorry. About what Benson did. I know what that feels like.” His face was drawn.

  So. Something did happen to him in juvie. She started to speak, but her father interrupted. “Let’s move on to the other Halo Agents, Miss Lew.”

  “Yes, sir.” Had Zachary been tortured, too? A bit of intel missing from his profile. She could ponder that later. Jane flipped the next profile open and held up the photo of a girl. Orange hair in a seductive, side-swept bob. M
ildly freckled, ruddy skin, brilliant green eyes. “Grace O’Hanson. She’s a mathematician. Expert in analyzing patterns. Her job with HAVOC is building mathematical models around a criminal’s activity so she can predict who will be most useful to HAVOC. Professor Mamont doesn’t only recruit teen geniuses, he also collects criminals. They come in handy when he doesn’t want to get his hands dirty. Nolan, you and Mina will analyze her models so we can see what we’re dealing with.”

  “And the patterns we find in Grace’s models will be compared to…” Nolan held his hands up.

  “An international criminal database that ORDER has acquired,” Mina said. She ran her hands through her curly hair and adjusted her glasses. “The same database Grace uses. Her models are complex, but with your help I know we can break them. We have to get them first. Y’know? They’re hidden behind some serious firewalls on HAVOC’s system.”

  “Which brings up our next Halo Agent.” Jane opened another profile and held up the picture of a dark-skinned girl with bright eyes and a beautiful smile. “Christine Glance. Expert in counterintelligence. Her job is protecting HAVOC’s intel from hackers. Michael, you and Anna will have your hands full. She’s extremely good at keeping HAVOC’s system secure.”

  Michael raised an eyebrow and turned to Anna. “We’ll see.”

  Anna smiled shyly and extended a fist bump to Michael. Jane could see that they would work well together.

  Zachary patted his brother on the back. “Mikey can handle anything HAVOC throws at him.”

  “What about you?” Jane tapped her fingers on the profile of Piper Dane, probably the most dangerous of the Halo Agents.

  “What about me?” Zachary growled. “I can handle Benson. Just give me a chance.”

  “Benson’s not your target.” Jane slid the profile to him. “She is.”

  Zachary opened the folder and pulled out the photo. Suddenly, the anger left his face.

  “Is something wrong?” Jane asked.

  “Yeah.” Zachary looked up from the picture. “I know her.”

  Chapter Nine

  Zach

  But he wanted to forget her. She reminded Zach of the year he’d lost. The year of torture.

  As quickly as it had left him, his anger began sizzling again. Benson Graham… What sort of agony had he put Jane through? She didn’t deserve that. He knew what torture felt like, how nobody in positions of authority believes you. No marks, no proof. This Benson dude needed a taste of his own medicine. The idea was tempting. More than tempting. If the mission brought them face-to-face—but what about this last profile? There had to be a mistake.

  “Her name is Piper,” Zach said. “Piper Dane.”

  Jane’s eyes widened. She abruptly slid her chair back and stood, then just as abruptly sat back down. Jane threw a questioning glance at Parker, who shrugged. She snapped her gaze to Zach. “How do you know her?”

  “Juvie. She was part of some group who visited prisoners. Some rehab group. You’re serious? She’s a Halo Agent?”

  “Will she recognize you?”

  “Probably,” Zach said. “I talked to her.”

  “Dane made contact.” Jane turned to face Parker squarely. “This is not in the profile. How did we miss it?”

  Zach thumbed through the folder and shook his head. “Says she’s a psychoanalysis expert and very convincing liar. Her job with HAVOC is recruitment.”

  “Dane’s cover is working for charitable organizations,” Jane said. “Soup kitchens. Shelters. Visiting prisoners at the Detention Center sounds like charity, but it may also be part of her recruitment plan. Did she visit anyone other than you?”

  Zach nodded. “She was in every month. She’d meet with different inmates in the common room.”

  “What did she talk about?” Jane asked.

  “Pep talks, mostly. How to cope. Read some poetry.” Zach held up the profile. “This thing says she’s a liar. I never got that impression.”

  “That’s because she’s very good at it,” Jane said.

  “During the whole time I was in juvie, she’s the only person who was ever nice to me. So how does she fit into this mission?”

  “She’s our way inside HAVOC,” Jane said. “You’re going to let her recruit you.”

  “What will I say to her?” Zach almost laughed at the thought. “Hello, my name is Zach. You might remember me from juvie. I was wondering if you could direct me to a terrorist organization called HAVOC?”

  “Our plan is a bit subtler than that,” Parker said.

  “Okay?”

  “I’ll explain when we return to this room.” Parker shoved back his chair and stood. “But at the moment, you have classes to attend. Between classes, I would like each of you to go off with your partner, get to know each other, and discuss your part of the mission. Anna, please take Michael to the computer room and get him acquainted with LYDIA. I would like your plan for breaking HAVOC’s firewall. Mina, take Nolan on a tour of our IT labs and show him the equipment the two of you will be using. Formulate a plan for analyzing Grace O’Hanson’s mathematical models once Anna and Michael acquire them. And, Jane, please escort Zachary to his first self-defense lesson. I want a full assessment.”

  “Self-defense?” That threw Zach for a loop. “Why do I need self-defense lessons?”

  “A precaution.”

  “I trained myself in juvie. I can fight. That’s how I survived.”

  “You will be on the inside, Zachary.” Parker’s face became stern. “I like to have my agents fully prepared. ORDER has its own defense system derived from Krav Maga and several other combat forms. It is fast to learn and extremely efficient. I think you will find Jane to be a remarkable instructor. Now go. All of you. Report back at the end of the day.”

  Loop number two. Zach turned to Jane. “You know Krav Maga?”

  She smiled and slid out of her chair. “A little. Let’s go.”

  Zach didn’t know whether to laugh or be worried. Krav Maga? Pretty deadly stuff. But his fighting skills were well tested.

  He followed Jane and the others out of the War Room. His brothers boarded the hovervator with Anna and Mina, but Jane kept walking. How was she going to teach him self-defense? Maybe he would teach her. Zach’s juvie fights were real, not textbook. And Jane was so small. He’d have to take it easy on her. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her. Too bad Benson wasn’t there to practice on. Then Jane would see what Zach was really capable of.

  “Right in here,” Jane said, motioning to a door at the end of the hallway.

  Zach followed Jane inside, and—what the—? “This doesn’t look like a dojo.”

  The ten-by-ten room was like an empty walk-in closet. There was no equipment. No ring. No mats. No weapons. Not even a heavy bag. Just two big chairs and they looked way too comfy. “Are we in the right place?”

  “We have ninety minutes before our class starts. I thought I’d show you this first.” Jane patted one of the chairs, motioning Zach to have a seat, and she sat in the other one. Zach shrugged and plopped down. As he sank into the plush padding, the floor began to glimmer.

  “What is this?” Zach picked up his feet. Suddenly, a hologram of himself materialized on the floor with a surprised expression on its face.

  “The latest in combat training,” Jane said. She leaned back into her seat and her holo appeared on the floor next to Zach’s. “Virtual reality. We can train as hard as we like, and nobody gets hurt.”

  Zach’s holo wore black sweats and a T-shirt, but Jane’s holo was dressed in yoga pants and a sports bra. “Wow. Your holo works out.”

  “Lean back against the headrest and relax,” Jane said, ignoring his compliment. “The sensors will pick up your brainwaves.”

  Zach leaned back and closed his eyes. Suddenly he became his hologram. He could actually feel the fabric of his black sweats. And Jane’s holo�
�it was so lifelike. Those abs. She smiled at him. He reached out to touch her arm, expecting his hand to go through, but it stopped when he contacted her bicep. Her skin was warm. “You’re real.”

  “No, I’m a hologram.” Jane laughed. “Like I said, this is the latest in high-tech combat training. Let me show you.”

  Jane’s holo dropped to the floor, and Zach was still trying to figure out what was going on when his feet flew out from under him. He landed flat on his back, the wind knocked out of him. Jane stood, grinning above him.

  “Aren’t you supposed to ring a bell first or something?” Zach gasped for breath and pulled himself to his feet. “I thought you said nobody gets hurt. That hurt.”

  “The simulation is very realistic,” Jane said. “But you are actually sitting in your chair, totally uninjured.”

  “Tell that to my spleen.” Zach winced as he rubbed his back.

  “The pain you feel is simulated. We can’t hurt each other for real.”

  “Could have fooled me. I was in a lot of fights in juvie, and they felt exactly like this.”

  Jane chuckled. “Go ahead. Attack me.”

  “I don’t… No. I don’t ‘attack’ girls.”

  “Zachary, we’re in a simulated environment. You’re fighting a hologram. You can’t hurt me.”

  “Do I have to?”

  “Yes. It’s perfectly safe.”

  Zach lunged halfheartedly at her, planning to take her down without hurting her, but the girl moved like lightning. She dodged, hooked her elbow in his, and spun him into midair. Zach’s back slammed the floor, knocking the breath out of him again.

  “Not buying the perfectly safe thing,” he moaned. “I think you broke me.”

  Jane held out a hand to help him to his feet. “Come on, you have to take this seriously. Pretend you’re still in juvie and I’m one of the inmates who bullied you.”

  Zach sighed. He reached for Jane’s hand. She helped him up but quickly spun behind him, locking her arm around his throat, bending him backward. Her elbow tightened as she pulled him into a choke hold. This girl was relentless. Zach decided to do what she asked.