Disturbed by their quarreling, Sarina straightened up in her rearmost seat and pulled her eyes away from the passing landscape. As she shifted, her knee bumped against Jasper’s. He murmured a shy apology, closing his eyes to focus on the tunes trickling from his earphones.
Zoned out again? Typical DJ. Sarina smirked to herself, shifting her attention to the newsreader on the radio. The smirk withered on her lips as she caught the gist of what he was saying.
“…body was found near the entrance of the British Museum in London early this morning. The exact time of his death remains unclear. According to the Metropolitan police, the Traveler’s cause of death was a single gunshot to the head. No information on the suspect or suspects has been released….”
Sarina’s eyes went wide at the mention of the Traveler. The famous Australian rogue had always been in the top three list of Evolved she envied the most because, seriously, who wouldn’t want long-range teleportation?
Too bad he didn’t teleport himself away before they had a chance to kill him.
As the seconds passed and the news sank in, a sense of discomfort rooted in the pit of her stomach. Evolved didn’t get randomly murdered like this. Execution orders were in the Covenant’s domain, and she couldn’t imagine that any normal criminals committed the crime. Most normal people had a healthy respect for superpowers.
“Man, that sucks,” Sunny said. “I liked the Traveler. He did the coolest live streaming.”
“Yeah, it does,” Jasper agreed from his half-lidded daze. “Harmless Evolved getting shot makes you wonder what’s wrong with normal people.”
“Maybe someone hoped they would get his teleportation powers if they offed him.” Sunny picked up on what Gentleman had told them two days ago: powers transferred to a new host after an Evolved’s death.
“Regular people don’t know about powers bouncing back yet,” Ace said. “For now, Gentleman’s keeping Data’s analysis of transitions and surges under his hat. The rest of the world needs to know, but the timing’s gotta be right. We have to make sure the news goes to everyone at the same time.”
Sarina stayed out of the discussion. She sank back in her seat, gazing out the window and wishing they could pull over at a quaint roadside stand to buy some ice cream. She didn’t feel like talking about murders right now. She wanted to forget about the perils of Evolved life, if only for a few minutes. How nice it would have been to feel like a teenager on vacation for a while.
“Hey, Ace.” She tucked a strand of reddish blonde hair behind her ear. “Do we have time for lunch before we meet up with those rogues?”
“What we’re doing is way more important than lunching, Wondergirl,” he said.
“And did you forget we just ate?” Tess reminded her.
Sandwiches from a gas station don’t count, she pouted, drawing her knees up against the back of Sunny’s seat.
“We’ll see about grabbing a bite to eat after the meeting,” Ace assured her in an attempt to make up for Tess’s brash tone. “It shouldn’t take long. We’ll go in there, have a real nice chat, and hopefully get Tess the parts she needs from their scrapyard. Then we can go eat or whatever else you kiddies wanna do.”
“What I want to do is listen to One Direction,” Sunny grumbled.
Beside Sarina, Jasper removed his earphones and leaned over the back of Snow’s seat. “Here.” He offered the player to Sunny. “It’s not One Direction, but track forty-nine should be something Irish.”
“Techno?” Sunny peered down at the player before accepting it. “All your stuff is Techno. Don’t you ever listen to real music?”
Jasper’s eyes twinkled with amusement. “Sometimes.”
There were a few moments that were filled by the weatherman’s droning voice over the radio. Compared to reports of an Evolved murder, a rainy forecast was welcome news.
“Why do we need those parts again?” Sarina projected the question to the front of the station wagon. “I know Tess wants to upgrade the car, but why’s that so important exactly?”
“Because we owe Gentleman a favor. A big one,” Tess said from the driver’s seat. “Repaying the favor requires a little upgrade to this old girl.” She patted the steering wheel.
“What kind of upgrade?” Sarina asked, hoping it involved better air conditioning.
“We might need a satellite uplink,” Ace told her.
Tess shot him a look. “But we’re not sharing any more details yet. We don’t want you bending our ears about it for the next twenty kilometers, little Miss Worrymuch.”
Sarina frowned at the back of Sunny’s seat. I wish I could be carefree, she mused for what must have been the millionth time in the seventeen years of her life. Her junkie mother and a string of bad foster homes had sucked the carefree right out of her.
Jasper looked over at her and caught her eye, flashing her a small peace sign. The gesture, so simple and innocent, made her smile.
At least I haven’t fallen down the cynical rabbit hole like so many others, she thought, recalling the dozens of addicts and dealers who constantly acted pissed off over something or other. She rolled Tess’s words over in her mind. “If we’re about to do a big favor for someone, shouldn’t we all get to hear the details so we can decide together?” she asked.
“We owe Gentleman a favor, Missy. We don’t have much choice,” Ace said.
“You can feel free to leave if you don’t like it,” Tess grumbled loud enough for Sarina to hear. “It’s not like you’re helping much or anything.”
Sarina opened her mouth to point out that she never asked to be dragged to France. But before she could form the words, Ace shot Tess a hard look, putting an end to the squabbling.
Sarina decided to keep her mouth shut. What’s Mom always saying? The wiser head gives in. The thought of her adoptive mother made her turn her face to the window. Think about something else, she willed herself in an attempt to stave off the homesickness. Anything else. From the corner of her eye, she watched the back of Sunny’s head sway to the beat from Jasper’s music player.
When she felt a hand squeeze her forearm, she glanced over at Jasper and noticed his eyes were now clouded over. She flashed him a weak smile, hoping he knew they still had an understanding. If it ever feels like you’re in danger here, I’ll pack my bag, too, he told her when they were back in Paris.
“I’ve never been to a French scrapyard before,” she said, easing the tension in the back seat.
“You should wear the player I gave you.” Jasper pointed a finger to his ear. “Just in case. If you believe the British comedy shows, people who live at scrapyards are crazy.” He twirled his finger beside his ear while crossing his eyes.
You don’t have to look out for me. I’m a big girl. Sarina wasn’t in the mood for jokes, but she dug out the player because he was a nice guy.
“Remember, the last track is the powered one,” he told her. “Number seven.”
“I know.”
It was too important to forget. After all, the last track on her player was the one that had brought out her powers in the military barracks basement. Try as she might, Jasper’s music was the only way to awaken her powers since then.
“Thanks, Jasper,” she said.
“No problem.” He cleared his throat before addressing the front of the wagon. “She’s right, Ace. We need to keep the group on the same page. Otherwise, we’re not much of a team.”
“Don’t worry, we’re all gonna have a chat later, mate,” Ace assured Jasper. “Besides, we’re here.”
True enough, Tess pulled the station wagon to a stop in front of what looked to be an abandoned scrapyard. Beyond the car windows was a boxy run-down office building surrounded by mountainous heaps of junk and a wire fence of close to ten feet to ward off intruders. Several of the building’s front windows had been smashed, leaving countless shards of glass strewn across the gravel parking lot.
Does anyone actually live here? Sarina wondered, incredulous.
“You guys h
ave been here before, right?” Jasper asked, almost as if he had read her mind.
“Yeah, a month or so ago.” Sunny pulled the earbuds from his ears. “But I don’t remember any broken windows back then.”
“It looks a little … rough,” Sarina said, searching for the nicest description possible.
“They don’t care what it looks like up here,” Tess told her. “The real lair’s underground. Come on.” She yanked the car key from the ignition and opened the door as her other hand grabbed a small metal suitcase from the gap between the front seats. It looked compact, heavy, and expensive. The kind of suitcase jewelers used to carry samples to valued clients.
Sarina opened the rear door and caught a whiff of the scrapyard’s distinct smell before she even got out of the vehicle. The warm summer air was ripe with various flavors of decomposition mixed with old oil and a faint trace of something chemical. There was more than scrap metal here. Considering the state the office was in, Sarina wouldn’t have been surprised if people dumped all kinds of hazardous waste there. She cupped a hand over her mouth and nose, and lowered it. She didn’t want to stand out as the snooty princess.
“Now let’s see where Trashcan and Plentiful are hiding,” Tess said as she and Ace closed the wagon’s front car doors in unison.
“Who?” Sarina asked.
“Trashcan and Plentiful,” Sunny told her, emerging from the car to stand beside her. “One is a Technician, and the other is a lady Transmuter who can multiply and reshape any kind of material.”
“They sound like a perfect match,” Jasper joked from over the wagon’s roof line.
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Tess stepped ahead, cutting across the small parking lot with determined strides.
“Aye aye, captain,” Ace mocked, falling into step behind the team. Sarina followed, as did Jasper and Sunny.
“I stay,” said a young female voice Sarina didn’t recognize. The five Nameless stopped in their tracks, heads turning. Sarina was caught so off guard, she winced at the sound.
Oh, it’s that other girl, she realized after a moment, feeling stupid for not remembering her name. She was hard to remember sometimes, and so easy to overlook. The white-haired girl hadn’t said a word during the whole trip, and Sarina had almost forgotten she existed. Must be something about her power.
“Can’t stay behind this time, Snow,” Ace said. “We need everyone with Sunny. We’re traveling incognito, remember?”
Sunny shrugged. “Does it matter? No one even knows that she transitioned. Well, um, no one except us.”
“The boy’s got a point,” Tess agreed. “No one’s going to check up on her, and I don’t think this place sees any tourists.”
“You really wanna stay, Snow?” Ace asked the alabaster girl.
Snow nodded.
“We’re gonna be in there awhile,” Ace grumbled. “We’re asking a favor from a couple of rogues who don’t need anything we can offer, but we’re betting the farm in hopes they’re gonna give in to Tess’s charm.” He cast an irritated look at the redhead while making his point.
Tess stared back at him, shifting her metal suitcase from one hand to the other. “You’ll just have to get over it already.”
“I stay,” Snow said in her jolting Asian accent, a distant look to her face. “Is better here. Safer.” The wind flapped the fringes of her white doll’s dress around her ankles. Those six words were the most Sarina ever heard her speak in the entire three days since she met her.
She’s shy. Sarina remembered the first thing that she had been told about Snow: the Revoker wasn’t fond of strangers.
“If she wants to stay, let her,” Tess told Ace. “Better chances of pulling this off.”
After a moment of consideration, Ace gave in. “All right, Snow. But you’re staying in the car, is that clear? Doors locked, windows up.”
In regular Snow fashion, the girl didn’t respond—not even a nod. She pulled on one of the station wagon’s door handles, and disappeared inside the vehicle. A moment later, the car door locked.
“All right, let’s move,” Tess said. She took the lead, and marched to the ramshackle office. The others followed wordlessly.
After a few steps, Ace glanced over his shoulder. “Pick anything up yet, kid?” he asked Sunny.
“Nope,” the boy chirped. “Not a peep, not even a butt scratch.”
Sarina suppressed a smile. Note to self: no bum jokes.
“Kidding,” Sunny backtracked, holding up his hands. “They’re moving. I think there’s three of them, all underground, but I’m not sure yet. Something about the place makes it hard to hear.”
“Roger,” Ace said. With a couple of long-legged strides he caught up to Tess and said something to her under his breath. She nodded, prompting the group to get moving.
When the Nameless arrived at the rundown office building, Ace was first to step up to the main entrance. He lifted the door off the one hinge it was still partially attached to, and tossed it aside. The door landed on the ground with a clatter, stirring up a small cloud of dust. He stepped over the threshold and motioned for the others to follow him.
Waving away the dust in front of her face, Sarina took a tentative step inside the small space which looked like it had been deserted for a while. Multiple layers of artless graffiti covered the cement walls. There was one small section where it looked like someone had tried to scrub the paint off, but had given up halfway through.
Sarina took another step inside and inadvertently knocked over a beer bottle that had been left by the door. Tess shot her an irritated look as it skittered across the floor with a clamor.
Sarina winced. “Sorry,” she whispered.
Dozens of empty bottles and beer cans littered the small office space, and cigarette butts covered the floor. A length of pink latex suspiciously resembling a used condom was stuck to the side of the reception desk.
Sarina looked away from it. Whoever lives here, I don’t think I want to meet them.
“Not a great first impression, huh?” Jasper joked, coming up beside her.
She wrinkled her nose, saying nothing.
“Up there,” Tess told Ace with a flick of her fingers.
Sarina followed the indicated direction with her eyes and spotted a small camera on top of a dirty empty shelf. Its lens was pointed at the vacant door frame they just stepped through.
“Come on, Trashcan,” Ace said to the camera. “Been a long drive. Don’t keep us waiting.”
Sarina held her breath, not sure what to expect. She turned her eyes to the doorway in anticipation, but no one appeared. Thirty seconds passed. A minute. Still, nothing happened.
“See?” Ace muttered to Tess. “Wild goose chase.”
Can we leave, then? I don’t like it here.
Sarina turned to Ace. She was about to voice her thoughts when she noticed a ripple on the oddly colored wall section. It originated from the center, where the graffiti had been warped beyond recognition, spreading outward as if the concrete had been liquefied. She instinctively took a step back from the wall.
A wet bubbling sound filled the air, punctuated by dry rasps that sounded almost like a hacking cough. The blurred colors parted to reveal a gaping hole at the center of the wall.
“Whoa. Cool,” Jasper murmured.
Through the portal came a grungy looking woman with platinum blonde hair cropped right above her ears. She wore stained jeans overalls coupled with a camouflage tank top. The woman had to be in her thirties, Sarina estimated—her face was still smooth, but with a mature edge to it. Her skin had the pasty pallor of someone who wasn’t eating well.
Sunny was first to greet the newcomer. “Hi, Plentiful.”
The Transmuter ignored him, fixing her eyes instead on Sarina and Jasper. The look she gave them was hard and appraising. It wasn’t exactly hostile, but halfway there.
“So these are the new recruits,” the woman drawled in German-accented English. “I don’t know them. Why should I trust t
hem?”
Ace’s expression hardened. “I trust them. What kind of outfit do you think I’m running?”
“Well, if they don’t behave … we got guns, just in case,” Plentiful countered.
“As do we,” Ace said. He adjusted the drape of his jacket to reveal the two gun holsters attached to his belt.
The German rogue shrugged. Her nose piercing glinted in the sunlight streaming through the open doorway. “Well, we’ll know soon enough. Come on down,” she said, pointing at the rippling gap in the wall.
Can’t we talk this through like normal people? Sarina glanced at the open doorway. She didn’t have any desire to follow the unfriendly woman, but Tess was already stepping through the wall portal with Sunny at her heels.
Ace gestured for Sarina to go next. She hesitated, her eyes seeking Jasper for reassurance. How do we know we can trust these people? she wanted to ask him, but she didn’t. It would have been too rude to ask when everyone could overhear.
Noticing her hesitation, Jasper gave her an encouraging nod.
If Jasper thinks it’s okay, it must be fine, Sarina decided. Bracing herself for whatever awaited her on the other side, she stepped through the gap in the wall. A gloomy, windowless antechamber was on the other side. Sarina found herself next to Sunny, Tess, and a hole in the floor. A set of stone steps led down to an underground level. At least the steps were illuminated by a light source from below, Sarina noted.
“This is some hideout,” Jasper mused as he caught up with her.
“Yeah,” Sarina replied. “It’s safe, I guess. You wouldn’t even find the entrance if you didn’t know where to look.”
A few seconds later Plentiful climbed through the gap in the wall, closed it with a wave of her hand, and gestured for the Nameless to head down the stairs.
“Right,” Ace muttered, leading the way. Tess followed, with Sarina, Jasper, and Sunny bringing up the rear.
“Go on, I’ll be right there,” Plentiful told them. She hung behind, perhaps to seal the gap in the floor.
We can’t get out unless they let us. Sarina suppressed her flight instinct and slowly descended the stone steps into a corridor lined with rutted and uneven metal walls. Three naked light bulbs hung from the low ceiling, flooding the corridor with their bright yellowish light.
Superluminary (Powered Destinies Book 1) Page 42