Kennedy nodded and turned to look out the back window. They weren’t in a neighborhood, but this was a wealthy residential part of town. The street stayed fairly quiet.
Every now and then, she glanced at her brace to check the time. After a few minutes went by, it seemed safe to assume Oz successfully managed to deactivate the alarm, just as he’d promised he could.
“Last night you said this was the right thing to do,” Nika mentioned aloud, keeping her attention locked on her end of the street. “Do you still believe that?”
“Yes.”
“Why do you think so?”
“What Ryder is doing is illegal. He’s not above the law because he has loads of money. Only government officials are permitted to communicate with other planets. We need to find out what he’s up to. This is the only way we can do that.”
A BMW drove by, heavy music blaring from its speakers. Nika waited until it was gone before she spoke again. “That may be true, but I’m doing this for my own personal reasons.”
“Totally valid personal reasons, if you ask me.” She didn’t feel any remorse for being there, didn’t feel bad about what they were doing. Not even a little. “Ryder deserves whatever is coming to him.”
“I don’t want him dead,” Nika said in a constricted voice. “I want so much more than that. I want to make him suffer. I want him tortured. I want…revenge.”
Kennedy pressed her lips together, unable to blame Nika for how she felt. She’d rather see Ryder caught and held accountable for his crimes. But if it were her, and it was her family he’d murdered, she’d probably feel the same way Nika did. She’d probably want to kill him too.
“I think we’re here for a reason, Nika. You’re here for personal reasons, but in doing so you could be keeping the world safe from whatever Ryder has planned. You could be saving billions of lives. Which means the lives of your family weren’t taken for nothing. You can bring them peace and stop an injustice at the same time.”
Nika looked like she was on the verge of tears. Upsetting her hadn’t been Kennedy’s intention, and she felt bad for mentioning her family.
Their screams fill my dreams at night.
She wondered if that’s what Nika was thinking about, if she kept reliving it inside her head.
Distant shouts caught their attention. Kennedy scanned the area to see where it was coming from.
“Oh my God,” Nika said, pointing. “Is that…”
“The gardener,” Kennedy filled in the rest. Her eyes grew wide at the sight of Oz frantically running towards the car, shouting at the top of his lungs. The guy chasing him held a hoe in the air, ready to clobber Oz with the thing as soon as he caught him.
Nika acted fast, hopping into the front seat. “Engine, start! Initiate manual drive!” She shifted the car around and across the lawn to the front gate.
The door swung open, and a breathless Oz jumped inside. “Go, go, go!” he said, slamming the door shut behind him. “That man is crazy! Tried to tell him who I was, but he didn’t believe me!”
The tires squealed as Nika reversed the car back onto the street. Kennedy tightened her fingers around her seatbelt, feeling her muscles stiffen. She wasn’t used to manual driving, much less the speedy getaway kind.
“Did you get the file?” Nika asked as soon as she turned the corner.
Kennedy caught one last glimpse of the gardener out the back window. In a fit, he threw his hoe down on the ground, did some enraged stomping, and pressed buttons on his brace. Calling the police, no doubt.
“I downloaded everything I could find to my brace. Didn’t have time to look through it though.”
“That’s okay. We can look at it when we get back to Eva’s.” She glanced at the rearview window. “You see anyone back there, Twelve?”
“The coast looks clear.”
Nika’s brow smoothed. She switched the car back to assisted drive, thank God. Experiencing Nika’s version of driving was not something Kennedy ever wanted to do again.
Once they were safely back on the freeway, she relaxed into her seat. So far, so good. Now all they had to do was sift through Ryder’s file to see what they could dig up on him.
“We did it, Nikki,” Oz said, looking at her from the passenger seat. His breathing had gone back to normal.
“Thanks, Oz.” She lifted her sunglasses, showing the sincerity in her eyes. “It means a lot.”
“I know what it means,” he said in a soft voice. He reached across the console, squeezing Nika’s hand. “I only hope you find something to nail him with.”
“Me, too.”
Apprehension consumed the car, leaving Kennedy wondering what they would find when they got back to the house. The fact that Ryder was communicating with outside worlds was eerie in the sense that there had to be some ulterior motive. Not for one second did she believe he was simply curious about extraterrestrial life.
Interplanetary communication was still sort of a taboo topic. Unless the government was involved, it didn’t happen. Olympus was the only place where aliens were permitted, but she hadn’t had much interaction with them since moving there. A Nonan council member had visited their classroom a handful of times for Culture Studies. His name was Frohan, and he spoke English fairly well after years of dealing with humans. To this day, that was the only alien she had met in person.
“What’s going on here?” Nika asked, signaling their car to slow.
Kennedy looked out the front window, trying to see over the bank of snow that lined both sides of the road. They were pulling up to Eva’s house. Black cars surrounded the place. Her heart stopped when she saw the men in suits gathered around the porch. Obviously agents—they had to be DOE.
Nika looked back at Kennedy, wearing a murderous expression. “If you’re behind this—”
“It wasn’t me!” she said, before she was blamed for something she didn’t do. “I swear to God, Nika, I’m not responsible for this. They must have tracked me somehow.”
She leaned forward in her seat, looking out on the scene that encircled Eva’s home. Blonde hair caught her attention. Her eyes zoomed in on the sharp features beneath a dark pair of sunglasses. “It’s Phoenix.” Her jaw dropped at the sight of him. “I can’t believe he actually found me.”
“What’s he doing here?” Nika asked sharply.
“I-I don’t know.” Kennedy felt her shoulders droop. She didn’t understand how this could happen, how could he do this. “He may have talked to my android. She found your aunt’s address for me, and she was the only one who knew where I was going. But…” In her heart, she knew Matilda wouldn’t betray her. “She’s loyal to me. She wouldn’t just give that information to him.”
Nika threw her fists against the dash, cursing. Their car had already been spotted, and several agents were treading through the snow to get to them.
Oz looked down at Kennedy’s wrist. “Is there a tracker in your brace?”
“Yes, it’s linked to my android. I disabled my homing device though.”
“Let me see.”
She unsnapped the clasp and handed it to him. He punched in a few buttons, searching for something. “Ah, yep. Here it is. You’re being tracked, but it’s not through the homing device. Where did you get this?”
Kennedy narrowed her eyes on Phoenix, who was busy talking to an agent. “He gave it to me.”
Oz handed it back to her. “There’s your answer.”
A slow, dark haze disrupted her line of vision. It was official, she wanted Phoenix dead. She would kill him herself, if she had to. Snow was everywhere. There had to be a way to manipulate it.
There wasn’t much they could do at this point either. Agents had spotted them as soon as they pulled up, and they were already treading towards their vehicle. They could try to run, but probably wouldn’t succeed, plus Nika would have to leave her aunt behind, and Kennedy doubted she’d be okay with doing that.
Nika climbed out the door and drew her hands up over her head. A blast of air cam
e out of nowhere, shaking the car. It knocked the agents off their feet, tumbling into the snow. Apparently this was Nika’s way of letting them know she wasn’t happy with the situation.
“What. Just. Happened.”
Oh right.
Oz.
Kennedy cleared her throat, feeling a little uncomfortable. She’d never been in this situation before, never had to explain the things they could do. So far she’d been the only one who needed explanations, and boy how she remembered listening to those all too clearly. No explanation could overcome the shock of seeing someone manipulate an element. “So, um. Yeah. There is a reason why we’re keepers. They don’t pick your average Joe for this kind of position.”
Oz lifted a shaky hand and pointed it towards the scene unfolding outside of the car. “Wind. It was like a massive wind.
She had been in his shoes not long ago. Watching Alanna freeze water right before her eyes, and then watching Colton melt it back down hadn’t been an easy thing to process.
“Let me be the first to tell you, buddy, you’re gonna need some time to digest this. We’ll talk more later.” Kennedy opened the door and jumped out, Oz still mumbling shock-induced ramblings behind her.
She hurried towards the house, hearing the sound of Nika screeching. Eva was there on the porch, a troubled look pulling her mouth into a frown.
“Kennedy, there you are,” called a familiar voice from behind. “Wait up just a moment.”
She spun around, looking through the crowd. A man in a military uniform pushed through, trying to catch up to her. She didn’t know him very well, but recognized him from Level 3. It was General Vickard’s son. He’d been promoted to sergeant since the last time they spoke so she rarely saw him around anymore.
“Hey, Deacon. What’s going on?”
He rested a hand on her arm, steering her to the side. “We need some information. The woman who lives here isn’t talking, and by the sound of it, Miss Orlov isn’t being cooperative either.” He tilted his head at the sound of Nika’s raised voice. “Do you mind answering a few questions for me?”
“Look, I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m not answering anyone’s questions until I figure out what the hell is going on. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Professor Mason promised me time to convince Nika to come back on her own. No one has the right to force her.”
“I’m afraid that’s not true,” said another voice.
Dr. Sigly appeared out of nowhere, a small briefcase in her hands. Kennedy almost groaned at the sight of her.
“Dominika is a ward of the military. Her residence is unique, considering her position, but she doesn’t have the right to choose her own residence. Professor Mason should have known better than to tell you otherwise.”
How could that be? Nika was an adult. She had turned eighteen earlier this year. “Are you saying all the keepers are wards of the military?”
If that was the case, there was going to be a problem. This was supposed to be a job, not slavery.
“The military has custody over you, Miss Mitchell. You’re still a minor, but no, the keepers over eighteen are not wards of the military.” She placed a hand on her briefcase. “Dominika’s circumstances are different. She has a long history of mental illness.”
Kennedy rolled her eyes. For God’s sake, she knew people called Nika a psycho behind her back, but she didn’t think they labeled her one officially as well. “She is not crazy, okay? She’s…eccentric.” The image of Nika biting her trainer’s leg popped into her head. Eccentric could be a tad bit of an understatement “And a little violent too,” she allowed. “But definitely not crazy.”
“Those are things only a qualified medical professional can determine.”
“And who is her doctor? Let me guess—you?”
“Yes.”
Kennedy couldn’t help but roll her eyes. That woman shouldn’t be allowed to treat patients, let alone be an authority on anyone’s mental health.
“I’m sorry this didn’t turn out how you expected, Miss Mitchell. Unfortunately, that’s the way it has to be.” Dr. Sigly nodded once to Deacon, then left them, disappearing into a heavily tinted SUV.
Deacon scratched his chin, looking uncomfortable. “Look, I can see you’re pissed. If you want, I can tell my commander there was no time to brief you.”
She wasn’t pissed. She was levels of anger beyond pissed, but none of this was Deacon’s fault. He was just doing his job. “No,” she sighed. “Go ahead and ask your questions.”
Behind them, Nika’s screams grew louder. Kennedy turned to see them stuffing her into the back of one of their vehicles. She was kicking and screaming and throwing around spontaneous gusts of wind. It looked like it was taking an army of DOE agents to subdue her. Oz was there too, looking frantic. The enormity of what he saw back in the car had left his face. “Get your damned hands off her!” he shouted as he took a swing at one of the agents.
They didn’t show Oz the same amount of patience. They jolted him with a Taser, rendering him limp. He fell onto the snow, motionless.
“Sorry, Deacon, I gotta go.”
She sped towards the car they had placed Nika into, unsure of what to do. All she knew was she needed to put a stop to this before it got any worse. How she was supposed to accomplish that, she had no idea.
A hand clamped onto her arm from behind, swinging her around. Phoenix was there, pulling her towards him. “Thank God, you’re okay,” he breathed.
She placed both hands on his chest and shoved as hard as she could. “How dare you,” she spat, shoving him again and stepping out of his grip. “Don’t touch me. Ever. Again.”
Being in Phoenix’s presence made her feel like she was on the brink of losing it. Her whole body trembled, wanting to scream and cry at the same time. This morning she resolved to forgive him, had wanted to forgive him, and still wished she could. And it was his stupid fault she couldn’t. Why did he have to go and do something like this?
She ripped the brace off her arm and threw it at his feet. “A tracker, Phoenix? Really?”
Whereas he seemed relieved to see her a moment ago, he transformed into someone detached and cold.
“I didn’t think I’d actually have to use it,” he said. “You gave me no choice.”
Good grief, it almost sounded like he was blaming her. She nearly choked on that one. “Mason gave me approval to be here. Who are you to say I can’t be?”
“He didn’t give you approval to chase after Maxwell Ryder.”
She wondered how he found out so quickly. It didn’t matter though. She would defend herself. “He didn’t tell me not to go after him either.”
It wasn’t much of an argument. Whatever. That was all she had at the moment.
“Your decisions were reckless, Kennedy. You put yourself and others in danger so you could fulfill Dominika’s fantasies of revenge. And yes, we know how she blames Ryder for murdering her family. The simple truth is that there’s never been any hard evidence to back up that claim.”
Kennedy gaped at him, unable to believe he could say something so ridiculous. “The facts alone are suspicious enough to call for an investigation. He bought Penelope Little’s land. The man on the bike worked for Ryder Industries—the same man who tried to blow you up. His own son hates him. On top of that, Nika believes he’s responsible for the deaths of her family. How can all of that not be incriminating?”
“I know how it looks, but it’s not enough.” Phoenix ran his hands through his hair, his hard resolve beginning to shatter. “Look you don’t know what you’re dealing with here. The man develops more technology for the government than all other companies combined. His name carries around as much weight as a high commissioner or a president. Everyone is too scared to incriminate him for anything. What you did was stupid, Kennedy. More importantly, it could’ve gotten you killed.”
“Gee, thanks,” she said, scowling at him. “Good thing I don’t really care what you think.”
She started to turn away,
only to come face to face with two DOE agents. “We’ll escort you to your car, Miss Mitchell.”
No way was this happening.
For a moment, she stared at the snow, trying to create a few giant snowballs to knock these guys around with, but it wouldn’t budge in its frozen state. Russia was such a useless country.
She shot back an evil glare at Phoenix, arching a brow. “Seriously?”
“Get in the car,” he said stiffly. “Or I’ll put you there myself.”
Shaking her head, she let the men take her by the arms and lead her to another one of the black SUVs. First chance she got, she was going to have it out with Mason.
“Kennedy,” someone gasped.
She glanced up to see Eva helping Oz to his feet, the effects of the jolt wearing off.
“They’re holding my brace as evidence.”
Oh God—Ryder’s files.
She tried to shrug away from the agents, but they continued steering her away. “I’ll get it back,” she called over her shoulder. “I promise.”
Phoenix followed her into the back seat. He closed the door behind them, gave some directives to the driver and they were headed away before she knew what hit her.
Everything was spinning out of control while she was stuck, powerless, in the middle of it all. Adding Phoenix into the mix didn’t help. Sitting beside him felt like sitting on a chair of thorns. There was a time when he had been her anchor, the one person who could calm her and help her to deal with the things that were impossible to deal with. But those days were gone. Now he was the catalyst of everything gone wrong.
“They took Oz’s brace,” she said, because she needed to say something, and that was the most important thing on her mind.
“I know.”
The driver turned onto the main road. Phoenix shifted in his seat as he stared out his window.
“I want it back.”
“They’ll give it back after searching it.”
“We went through too much to get some of the files on there. I want to search it first.” She looked at him, hoping that he would give her this one thing. “Please, Phoenix.”
“I wish I could, but it’s out of my hands.”
Center of the Universe (Twelfth Keeper) Page 20