Wired

by Francine Pascal

  Would she?

  Gaia’s erratic behavior had been getting under Jake’s skin lately, yeah, but the idea that she might possibly be interested in another guy was sending stabs of green fury to his stomach. Whatever might be going wrong with their relationship lately, he still cared enough to watch her back—literally—to keep an eye out for her. To come all the way over to the Rodkes’ place to check them out, to make sure they were on the level. There was no way his girlfriend, the one for whom he was doing all this, was interested in someone else. No way.

  He hated himself for it, but he had to ask. He cleared his throat in a vain attempt at casual. “So,” he began in what he hoped was a measured tone, “do you know where she went?”

  Liz blinked and dove for a Cheeto. “Uh, Chris, do you?”

  “No idea” Chris said, shrugging and crunching loudly on his snack. “Sorry.”

  Jake could barely restrain his temper, which was starting to simmer. There was no doubt in his mind that the two were being deliberately evasive. Something about their tone, their steadfast refusal to look him square in the eye, was off. “No idea at all. Huh. Well, is it possible that she went off with Skyler?” He hated to have to ask point-blank, but it didn’t seem like there was any way around it.

  Liz coughed. “Urn, maybe,” she said, sounding uncertain. Now Jake’s suspicions were in full red-flag mode. Even if she had gone off with Skyler, that wouldn’t necessarily have meant anything. But now, with the way Liz and Chris were acting, he had to assume the worst.

  “Maybe? What’s ‘maybe’? You didn’t see her leave or what?” He knew that he was being borderline aggressive and that he’d better watch it. Given that he was a guest in their home, he really couldn’t afford to push it too far. “Uh, Chris? Did you see her leave?”

  Chris finally turned from the TV to regard Jake steadily. “I have no idea, Jake, who she’s with. I mean, I saw her leave, but she’s a big girl. I didn’t ask her where she was going.”

  “Well, have you seen Skyler today?” Jake pressed, hoping that he wasn’t about to summarily wear out his welcome.

  “Yes, Skyler was here earlier. Then he left. He doesn’t live here, you know. I mean, he’s in school.” There was a definite edge creeping into Chris’s tone.

  “I know.”

  “Anyway, I have no idea if he’s with Gaia or if they were together at any point of the evening. I’m not, like, my brother’s keeper, you know.” He flashed another irritated look Jake’s way and rose, snapping off the television set. He strode off in the direction of the kitchen purposefully without another word.

  Jake wasn’t sure what to make of Chris’s random bout of bipolar disorder. He supposed there could be some bad blood between the brothers, hence the “not my brother’s keeper” crap. Conversely, Chris could have just been sick of the third degree. There was no way to tell. That whole exchange had definitely been bizarre. Well, that was what Oliver had asked for-a report on the bizarre. At least Jake had something bona fide to report now.

  “Just ignore him,” Liz said, her voice cutting into Jake’s internal monologue. “He forgot to take his medication today. Besides, he gets twitchy on the subject of Skyler. The competitive brother thing.” She beamed. “Somehow I miss that fun because I’m not only a girl, but the baby. Good stuff.”

  Jake smiled. Bingo. So Chris had brother issues. Interesting. “No, it’s cool. It’s my fault for prying. I figured he was annoyed with all my questions. But I haven’t seen Gaia all day, and she and I really need to talk. We had an argument yesterday, and things are a little strained.” Not that he was looking to get into it with Liz, but maybe that would help to explain his sense of urgency.

  “Hey, I get it. You want to find her. No big. It’s just that every now and then Chris pulls a diva trip. It’s got nothing to do with you.”

  Jake appreciated Liz’s efforts to smooth over the awkward moment, but there was something slightly off about the conversation. Liz’s bright red cheeks were like a barometer of guilt. She seemed like she wasn’t giving him the whole story any more than her brother had been. Jake was grateful that the conversation was being recorded for later scrutiny. He had the distinct feeling he was missing important bits of information.

  “Seriously, Liz, don’t worry about it,” Jake said. I was just going to stop by Starbucks and get a cup of coffee, maybe read. I’ll try her on her cell. But hey—do you mind if I use your bathroom quickly before I hit the road?”

  “Of course not” she replied. “It’s the least we can do.” She pointed in the vague direction of a long hallway. “It’s down there. Have a field day.”

  Jake grinned, the first true smile to spread across his face since he’d arrived. “Oh, I will,” he said.

  Pay dirt, Jake thought, making his way down the hall as slowly as he could without being conspicuous. He figured this to be his one opportunity to get the lay of the land, and he wasn’t going to blow it. The corridor was very narrow but long, with elegant moldings and a polished but much-trafficked hardwood floor. The Rodkes had money, that was obvious, but if their home decor was any indication, they were fairly unpretentious. To his left Jake passed a door that was slightly ajar. Through it he could see a small sitting room decorated in soft washes of blue and beyond that a doorway and a sturdy, expensive-looking mahogany bed. Clearly the master bedroom suite. He paused, wanting more than anything to storm in and survey the scene. He remembered, though, that Liz said she’d been out with her mother and assumed that if Liz was home, then Mrs. Rodke was as well. He couldn’t risk her catching him snooping. The master bedroom was a washout, then.

  The next door down the hall was shut completely. Through it Jake could hear the impassioned strains of eighties melancholy alt rock. Chris’s room, obviously, and it sounded like he was in it, sulking. Probably thanks to his touchy conversation with Jake. Nice one, Montone. Great undercover technique. Way to win people over. Another pass.

  He rounded a quick corner, quickly scanning the bookshelf nestled into the turn: Frances Hodgson Burnett: The Complete Boxed Set, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Peter Pan, Just So Stories… Someone in the apartment collected classics, and from the looks of them, old ones. Jake was impressed: the books inside the dusty, crumbling covers had to be worth a fortune. He pegged Liz as the reader. Although Chris definitely had a sensitive side, if the acoustic whine was any indication.

  Two more doors lay before him unexplored: one stood directly in front of him and was most probably the bathroom, if he had to guess. That left the one to his right, which was closed completely. He placed his ear to the wood: silence. Probably not a bedroom, then—and if it was a bedroom, it was empty. Maybe Liz’s, since he knew she was in the living room? He ached to open the door and decided to risk it.

  Leaning forward, he grasped the doorknob firmly. He sucked in his breath and turned the knob as slowly as he could, not daring to exhale.

  With a soft click, the knob yielded. Home free, Jake thought gleefully, pulling the door open, again painfully slowly.

  Crreeeak.

  Jake stiffened and leapt back from the door as quickly and silently as he could. He paused, alert. Had anyone heard that?

  “Jake? Did you miss the bathroom?” he could hear Liz call to him from the living room. “If you’re staring into a linen closet, the bathroom is the door straight ahead. Keep going.”

  He cleared his throat. “Uh, thanks! Yeah, I took a wrong turn here.”

  He rushed into the bathroom and closed the door forcefully behind him. Damn. Busted! And for what? A linen closet! Some spy. The trip hadn’t been very illuminating, that was for sure.

  He reached for a box of tissues and wiped one across his forehead. He hadn’t realized how anxious he’d been tiptoeing down the hall. He paused to regroup quickly. He was fast losing his cool, and he couldn’t let that happen.

  Okay, he thought, taking stock of the situation. I’ve pissed off two of my top suspects and almost been caught snooping through their apartment They�
�re probably pretty suspicious of me—Chris definitely is.

  What do I have to show for my efforts?

  Nothing Nada. Zip. Zilch.

  Okay, than’s not quite true. I learned that Gaia stopped by, but she’s not here anymore. That she may or may not have gone off with Skyler Rodke, for reasons unknown. That’s got to be important—to Oliver and to me.

  And Chris. Chris is jealous of Skyler. I have no idea why—since it’s not like they’re competing over chicks or anything like that—but it’s definitely there. Some serious Cain-and-Abel shit going on.

  Unless, of course, Chris just hates me. Also a possibility.

  Beyond that, though, Jake wasn’t even sure the little mission had been worth his while. He sighed, smoothed a thick curl off his forehead, and leaned toward the sink, preparing to splash some water on his face before he left.

  As he reached for the tap, though, he caught sight of something that gave him pause.

  It was a rubber band. A basic, red rubber band. The type the mailman wrapped around your snail mail once upon a time. There was nothing of note about it. Jake wouldn’t have thought twice about the rubber band if it weren’t for one thing:

  It had golden-colored strands of hair entangled in it.

  The only person who had long blond hair in the Rodke home was Liz. And Jake couldn’t imagine Liz using a rubber band in her luxurious hair. Most girls—even lower-maintenance girls—wore elastics. Stuff that was made for hair and wouldn’t damage it or rip half of it out at the roots every time you went to tie a ponytail. Besides, Liz’s hair was shorter than Gaia’s. The hairs in this rubber band were definitely Gaia-length hairs.

  It couldn’t have belonged to a girlfriend of Chris’s since he didn’t date girls. Jake supposed the hair could have belonged to a girlfriend of Chris’s, but somehow that explanation didn’t sit right with him. And even if Mrs.—or Mr.—Rodke had long blond hair… well, they also had their own bathroom, didn’t they?

  It was Gaia’s rubber band. It was Gaia’s hair. No question about it.

  Jake flashed back in his mind to the fight in the park the other night: the Droogs had ripped some of Gaia’s hair straight from her scalp. His nerves began to tingle. What was going on here? Was someone after Gaia’s hair? And why? Did this have anything to do with DNA research?

  He shivered. It was a definite possibility. And suddenly all of Oliver’s suppositions and theories seemed ominously plausible.

  Jake knew Gaia. If she had put her hair up, she wasn’t likely to take it down later in the day. She was a no-muss, no-fuss kind of girl, and if she could have gotten away with not brushing her hair ever, she most certainly would have. So not only had she stopped by, but she had stopped in the bathroom—okay, not so weird—and spontaneously taken her hair down, only to follow Skyler somewhere?

  No freakin’ way

  His heart pounding, Jake ran his hands under the stream of cold water, finally dousing his face with a refreshing blast of water. He buried his face in a hand towel and breezed back to the front door at near-breakneck speed.

  “You found it?” Liz called to him.

  “Yeah, yeah. I found it,” he called back, careful not to sound as eager and out of breath as he was feeling. “I’ve, uh, gotta run. I’m going to try to find Gaia.” He slipped through the front door, feeling ready to burst.

  “Sure, tell her hi. Tell her I’m sorry I missed her,” Liz replied, her voice echoing in the front hall of the apartment.

  But the door swung loudly. Jake was already gone.

  Memo

  From: J

  To: O

  Re: Recon

  Trip to the Rodkes’ was cool. Two things:

  1. Chris is deadly competitive with his brother. Worth looking into?

  Think Gaia came by looking for Liz and may have left with the oldest brother, Skyler. Neither Liz nor Chris could confirm—both acted nervous and suspicious on the topic. Not sure why.

  2. Found hair band in bathroom that looked like one Gaia would use: long strands of hair still in the band. The Droogs grabbed some of her hair the other day. Could this be related? I’m no scientist, but I’d guess “they” could do DNA research with a strand of hair.

  Oliver, what’s going on?

  Memo

  From: Oliver

  To: Jake

  Re: Re: Recon

  Excellent work, my boy. Sibling rivalries are never insignificant, and one of the first rules of espionage is: trust your instincts. If you feel someone is being cagey, he or she most likely is.

  Indeed, it sounds as though someone is after Gaia’s hair. Further proof of the DNA theory and most interesting. Allow me to research further. I will let you know what I discover once I’ve done more work.

  In the meantime, Gaia is not to be informed of our suspicions. It would only make her unduly nervous. For now, consider it our little secret.

  abrasive and sartorially challenged

  She knew how absurd it sounded“My father works for the CIA” was like a lie a young child would tell.

  JAKE

  I hate to say, “I told you so.”

  I hate to say it, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t.

  Gaia can go on all she wants about how her uncle wronged her relentlessly in the past, how his crimes were unforgivable, how she doesn’t want him in her life anymore. That’s fine. Or it’s not fine, actually, given what I now know, but I’ll accept it since I have to. But the truth of the matter is that Oliver was right. Oliver suspected that Gaia was, once again, in danger, and he put me on the case. And guess what? I found something! Circumstantial evidence, maybe, but evidence no less that is proof positive someone is after Gaia. And whoever it is, they’re closing in fast. So I don’t want to waste time with “I told you so’s,” because to be honest, I’m too busy worrying about Gaia.

  It’s a funny thing: When I first met Gaia, she was on fire—she was full of life and energy, even if that energy was mainly negative and mainly directed at me. I loved it. I had never met another girl like her: strong, confident, aggressive, and totally unconcerned with what other people thought of her. Capable, smart, and gorgeous, too. She was completely unique.

  But lately Gaia’s been a different person, it’s like she’s had an attack of multiple personality disorder or something. She second-guesses everything I say, she hesitates before taking action, and worst of all… she ran from that fight in the park the other night. Gaia would never run from a fight, At least, old Gaia wouldn’t. It’s like she’s lost her edge. Her fire. Her uniqueness.

  Yet… this new Gaia needs me in a way that old Gaia didn’t. She wants constant reassurance, just like any other girl. And more than that, she actually genuinely needs physical protection as well. Now I have a chance to play hero, to team with the original super-agent mastermind, to keep guard over the woman I love. Cheesy, I know. But I love it.

  I had my doubts about new Gaia. I was afraid that her insecurities would drive us apart. But her vulnerability may just be what keeps us together.

  Oliver was right. Someone is after her.

  I told her so.

  Sudden Surge

  JAKE SNAPPED HIS LAPTOP SHUT and ran his fingers through his hair, rumpling it farther than it already had been. It had been a very long day, and he had been disheartened to read Oliver’s memo requesting that he keep his discovery at the Rodkes’ apartment a secret from Gaia.

  True, Jake hadn’t been too bothered by following Gaia around and reporting back to her uncle. But the me-and-my-shadow thing was a means to an end—and now he was at the beginning of the end. He had concrete proof: something fishy was going on with the Rodkes. And given that Liz Rodke was Gaia’s de facto bestest friend, that “something fishy” could escalate to “something life-threatening” downright quickly.

  He didn’t want to wait.

  He knew what Oliver would say; in fact, Oliver had said it. Oliver thought they should sit tight. But Jake didn’t think he could.

  He was experie
ncing a sudden surge of protectiveness toward Gaia in her vulnerable state, and it was clouding his ability to be impartial. Seeing the hair band in the Rodkes’ bathroom had awakened a primal sense of jealousy, possessiveness, and defensiveness that he wouldn’t have even guessed lay within him. Whatever their agenda, the Rodkes or the people with whom they were collaborating were not going to get their hands on Gaia if he had anything to say about it.

  Feeling certain about his responsibility toward Gaia somehow had the effect of reinstating Jake’s faith in their relationship. They’d been on shaky ground lately, but his emotions were running high right now, and at this exact moment he was willing to do whatever it took to set them back on the right track and to take care of her.

  Jake wasn’t a fool. He knew that defying Oliver wasn’t the brightest move for a sleuth in training. But for some inexplicable reason, that didn’t matter to him right now. The only thing that mattered was Gaia. Reaching out to Gaia, reconnecting with Gaia.

  Warning Gaia.

  With a heavy sigh—keeping in mind that Oliver had outright told him not to say anything about their suspicions—Jake picked up his cordless and dialed Gaia’s cell phone. He waited for Gaia to pick up.

  And waited.

  He wasn’t deterred by the fact that she didn’t answer right away, knowing that her phone could easily be buried at the bottom of her bag. But the fact that it continued to ring rather than being sent straight to voice mail was an indication that she was deliberately avoiding it. He knew Gaia wasn’t nuts about advanced technology—she was practically the last girl in New York City to even get a cell phone, for chrissake—but he couldn’t believe that she wasn’t answering his call. Especially since she’d been so needy of his attention lately.

  He hung up the cordless and tossed it aside in frustration. What was going on with Gaia, anyway?