Tekgrrl

by A. J. Menden

  Paul leaned close to whisper in my ear. “Yeah, well, would the old Paul say your butt looks fine in those jeans?”

  I know I turned red, and so I tried to concentrate on Wesley.

  “There’s been a development,” Wes was saying, addressing all of us. “As some of you may or may not know, I’ve hired Cyrus to do a bit of an investigation on the members of the American Agents. He’s uncovered something that I thought needed to be brought to your attention. Cyrus?”

  The Virus turned his laptop around so we could see the pictures there. “Half of these people were low-level heroes, graduates of that school you all attended but who never really joined any teams or did anything of importance. But these four…” He pointed out two of the men and two of the women. “They’re a bit shady.”

  “They’re criminals?” Luke looked aghast.

  “Not exactly, but they hang around questionable people,” Cyrus said.

  “They’ve been seen with known associates of the Dragon,” Wesley said softly.

  The room settled into horrified silence as Cyrus changed the pictures on the screen to what looked like surveillance photos of Simon’s four team members speaking with people wearing the Dragon’s mark.

  “Those team members are not tattooed with the Dragon’s symbol that we can tell, but it could be somewhere hidden. Or it could be the Dragon’s cult only marks magic users. Who knows? We’re still learning about them.” Wesley looked at us. “The question is, what do we do with this information? Do we go to the authorities, or do we investigate it ourselves?”

  “I say we go to the authorities—or the media,” Luke said. “People need to know about this.”

  “But we don’t have anything concrete yet,” Paul said. “They could have been trying to infiltrate the Dragon’s cult for all we know. That’s all we need, to blow a sting operation and give Simon more ammunition against us.”

  “I don’t know,” Kate said. “We have known associates of criminals working for the government in positions of power. That’s awful. We have a responsibility to warn the people before something bad happens. Just in case.”

  “Washington, DC, is full of known associates of shady people,” Selena remarked.

  “I don’t want anyone hurt on our watch because we didn’t speak up,” Toby said. “Especially since it has to do with the Dragon.” He cast Wesley and Lainey a look.

  “What good’s it going to do to tell anyone when all we have is grainy surveillance photos?” I asked. “It’s just going to look like a smoke screen or sour grapes coming from us, a bunch of renegade ex-media dolls. Who’s going to believe us?”

  I could tell from the looks on their faces that I had a valid point.

  “Forrest will,” Toby suggested.

  “Well, maybe now’s the time to contact him,” I said, turning to look directly at Paul.

  He ran a hand over his head. “They already said they didn’t need our help. Who are we to interfere?” he asked.

  I stared at him. “Who are you, and what have you done to Paul Christian?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe being hauled in front of the government to defend ourselves and our methods, and then being treated like a criminal by Simon Leasure brings out my inner rebel,” he replied.

  I laughed and then said, “It’s nice that you’re channeling your inner teenager, Paul, it’s a fun new side of you, but come on; you know as well as I do that we can’t turn our backs on the world.”

  “Well,” Lainey said, “I’d like to keep an eye on it ourselves for now. Besides, if Cyrus found out, the news media will likely find out.”

  The Virus shot her a nasty look. “It took me a lot of time to track all that down! I only make it look easy, damn it!”

  I turned back to Paul. “I think we need to put a bug in someone’s ear about it. The Dragon and his people are not just our problem; he wants to start the apocalypse. That’s going to be everyone’s problem if he gets out and gets his wish.”

  “He won’t,” Lainey said sharply.

  I winced. “I didn’t mean he would get it with Emily; I just meant in case he finds another way to start the end of the world.”

  Wesley nodded. “I think Mindy is right: We need to make someone else aware of this. What do you think, Paul?”

  “Oh, Mindy’s full of bright ideas,” Paul replied, but I could tell it was a teasing remark.

  “Spoken like a true surly teenager,” I responded.

  “You should know.”

  “I haven’t been a teenager in years.”

  “But surly…”

  “Leave her alone, Paul,” Toby said, coming to my rescue. “Just because she has a good idea that you didn’t come up with, you’re hassling her and going to be unwilling to do it?” Little did he realize the sparks flying between me and Paul were delicious.

  “I think given that this is the Dragon, we should move forward on this,” Wesley decided. “Toby, let’s see about contacting your boyfriend.”

  “Hassler,” I remarked sotto voce to Paul.

  “Surly teenager,” he replied.

  “That makes you a cradle robber.”

  “Don’t remind me,” he said, and then in a louder voice: “Hello, Lainey.”

  I turned to see my friend. “Hey! Are you okay? I’m sure this possible Dragon connection is stressful for you.”

  She nodded. “I’m saving up my worry until we know something concrete. But you’d better believe Wesley and I are going to check it out thoroughly. Are you okay? Wesley told me about the trouble last night.”

  “It’s creepy but I’m dealing,” I said, not wanting the chilly reminder of the voice. “Paul and Wesley are going to have me train more to block it.”

  “And I’ll help out any way I can,” Lainey offered.

  “I know you will,” I said, giving her a hug.

  Paul touched my arm and cleared his throat. “I’m just going to go back to work. I think Luke’s going to plan a meditation exercise with you after this, so I’ll see you later.”

  “See how much power the shocker’s getting,” I suggested.

  “You want me to shock myself?” he asked.

  “Will you?”

  “I think I’ll find other means, thanks,” he said. “I’ll see you later.”

  Turning back to Lainey, I saw a strange look on her face. “What?”

  She was staring after Paul. “I think you two have been working too much together.”

  My heart sped up. “Why do you say that?”

  “You’re establishing a rapport. It’s kind of freaky.” She smiled. “You’re teasing each other almost like…”

  “Like what?” If Lainey figured out what was going on with me and Paul, would she understand when I didn’t even understand it myself?

  “Like friends,” she finished. “It’s weird. In a way, I always expected you two to be friends. I mean, you’re both supersmart and both scientists, but I know Paul’s usually so uptight…”

  “And I’m not.”

  “No, but I think some of your laxness is rubbing off on him,” she observed. “Toby said you two were getting along on patrol too.”

  I shrugged. “He’s trying to help me learn to control these powers, and we’re working on our tech together. We were destined either to become friends or to kill each other.” Or to stick tongues down each other’s throats.

  “Well, I think it’s helping relieve a bit of the stress on the team,” Lainey admitted. “Whatever you’re doing, keep it up.”

  I inwardly grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”

  Luke walked up. “Hey, Mindy, sorry I’ve been kinda distracted lately. I know we discussed training together more.”

  I turned my attention to him. “That’s okay, Luke, I understand. Training’s kind of been the last thing on everyone’s mind.”

  “Well, I think we’re going to start up again. Paul asked me to start some meditation exercises with you today. Are you ready?”

  “As I’ll ever be,” I said.


  “Well, why don’t you meet me in my room and we’ll get started?”

  “Sure, just give me a minute,” I said.

  Lainey nudged me as he walked off. “Bet those are words you’ve been dreaming of your whole life.”

  “Yeah,” I said. But somehow being alone with Luke in his room didn’t hold the appeal it once had.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  “Now try it again. Clear your mind of all thoughts.”

  I was sitting cross-legged on the floor of Luke and Selena’s room, facing Luke and feeling ridiculous. We had been working on this for what seemed like hours and my back was killing me. Clear my mind of all thoughts? That wasn’t happening anytime soon. I had too many, the number one thought being: Why am I sitting here all alone in a room with a bed and Luke, and instead of being overjoyed I’m wishing I were with Paul, the two of us working and teasing each other, perhaps sneaking a kiss in here and there?

  “Mindy, you’re not concentrating on pushing all the noise out of your head.” Luke was giving me a knowing smile. “You’re off, lost in your thoughts.”

  I shook my head. “Sorry. It’s just hard to wrap my mind around this think-of-nothing concept.”

  “Well, you don’t have to think of nothing, but you need to learn how to clear your mind of unwanted thoughts. Concentrate only on the thoughts you want. Like, picture a beach, or a park, or a quiet room, somewhere serene, and concentrate on making that picture more and more real until you can smell the ocean and taste the salt in the air.”

  I closed my eyes and concentrated. Right. The ocean. The blue waves, the color of Paul’s eyes…

  Yikes. Don’t think about Paul! I told myself. An unwanted thought.

  So…the ocean, the blue waves, the salty sea air and the taste of it on my lips. The taste of Paul’s kisses…

  Stop it!

  “It will come to you. Don’t worry, Mindy,” Luke was saying, watching my discomfort.

  “I just…have a lot on my mind lately,” I finished.

  Luke nodded. “Don’t we all.”

  “I just keep thinking about Paul—er, how I should be helping Paul right now instead of sitting on the floor trying to connect to my inner child or something. No offense, Luke.”

  Luke frowned. “Yeah, Paul. You two seem like you’re getting along well.”

  “As I told Lainey, it was that or kill each other. We need each other’s expertise to help rebuild.”

  “It’s just a bit strange,” Luke said, giving me an embarrassed smile. “I got used to you…being there.”

  I stared at him. “Pardon me?”

  “You know, when you had your crush on me, you were always following me around. I got used to you being there. Even when I was with Kate for that brief period, you were always there, like my little sidekick.”

  “Gee, thanks.” I tried really hard not to be insulted.

  “I mean it as a compliment, you know. Like, backup,” Luke said. “And I hate to sound like, well, Simon, but I couldn’t help but be flattered. It is a bit of an ego boost to have someone think you’re so cool, you know?”

  “Uh-huh.” I was starting to feel sick to my stomach.

  “But then I started dating Selena and things fell apart between us, and suddenly I turned around and you weren’t there anymore.”

  “Things didn’t fall apart between us. We’re still friends,” I said. “Just like I promised at Wesley and Lainey’s reception. I simply moved on, and I don’t feel the need to keep trying to grab your attention. But all the ‘we’ there ever was…that hasn’t changed.”

  He shook his head. “I’m sounding like a complete jackass now, I know, but what I’m trying to say, very poorly, is that I miss you, Mindy.”

  I knew I should say, I miss you too, but the words stuck in my throat. “That’s nice,” I said instead. “But I’m still here, Luke. It’s not like I left the team or anything. We still live together and work together every day.”

  “No, I know, but you’re spending all that time working with Paul on those inventions, and even patrolling together now—”

  “Toby went with us,” I inserted quickly, defensively.

  “—when you used to go patrolling and work out with me,” Luke finished. “I know we had Selena come along all the time, and maybe that made you feel awkward.”

  “Three’s a crowd,” I admitted.

  He sighed. “Look, this is totally my own hang-up, but I can’t help but feel a bit, I don’t know, jealous.” He was flushing. “I know it’s arrogant and stupid, but it’s how I feel.”

  I was shell-shocked. Luke was jealous of Paul? Over me? And he didn’t even know all of the making out that had been happening lately!

  “And I know you’re over that schoolgirl crush on me, you’ve made that clear, but I’ve got to come clean about something.” Luke took a deep breath. “The night of Lainey and Wesley’s reception, when you told me you were over me, I was getting ready to tell you that we should try to take our relationship to the next level. That we should give dating a try.”

  My mouth fell open. “No freaking way.”

  He nodded. “You’re gorgeous, Mindy. You know you are, and like I said, it was flattering you were so into me. That fight with the Dragon, when you got hurt, I realized how much your friendship meant. And I don’t know how well we would have worked out, we have next to nothing in common except the team, but I was willing to give it a shot.” He glanced up at me and then said, “I’m still willing to give it a shot.”

  My head was spinning, and I felt like I was going to pass out. I stared at him in horror.

  Luke looked worried. “And I’m freaking you out now, aren’t I?”

  The truth was I was more than freaked out, and not just by the utter shock of Luke’s words. What was most freaky was my reaction to them. A few weeks back those words would have put me on cloud nine. I would have felt like I’d won the lottery or finally gotten my heart’s desire. Luke Harmon wanted to be with me!

  But now I couldn’t help but wonder: If he had discovered he had feelings for me after the Dragon incident, why had he never made a move on me in all of those months before I finally decided enough was enough? Why had he never shown any interest when I was still hanging around him like a groupie? I couldn’t help but wonder if he was simply missing my attention and wanted me fawning over him full-time again.

  “I’m no more freaked out than you were when I had a crush on you,” I said softly. “I’m flattered, Luke, really. But you’re with Selena now.”

  “I know,” he said. “And Selena’s great. She really is. She’s a really great person.”

  “She’s better suited for you,” I reminded him. “Better than me.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know about that. She’s great, but I don’t see myself with her for the rest of my life.”

  Ouch. Poor Selena! Was our team turning into a soap opera?

  “Look, I know I’m making a fool out of myself here, but I wanted to clear the air. Kind of like you did the night of the reception. So it’s all out in the open and there are no hidden secrets between us.”

  I nodded. “I understand. And I do value your friendship, Luke. I told you that before.”

  He smiled. “It must be some sort of weird karma that we never had feelings for each other at the same time.”

  I gave him a sad smile. “I think it’s the universe trying to tell us something: That we wouldn’t work out and we’re better suited as friends.”

  “You’re probably right,” he said.

  I stood up. I had to get out of the room. “Look, I really should probably go help Paul with the new Shocker. I made him promise to test it, and if I’m not there to help him…”

  “He’s going to get upset.” Luke nodded in understanding. “Let me know if I can help you any more with the meditation thing, Mindy. You just need to try to remember to focus your thoughts on what you want and block out the rest.”

  There were all sorts of thoughts flooding my head, and n
one of them could focus. “Thanks, Luke.” I turned and left the room, shutting the door behind me.

  Paul looked up as I walked in. “Do you feel more centered now?” he asked. He wore a semisarcastic grin.

  I made a face at him. “Ha-ha. So funny.” I picked up my Shocker. “How did it do?”

  “Good. I tested it on Cyrus.”

  I looked up. “Did you really?”

  “He volunteered.” At seeing the look of absolute shock on my face, he broke out into a grin.

  I threw his pillow at him. “You’ve turned into such a smart-ass.”

  “As opposed to a dumb one.” He tossed the pillow back to me and I plopped it back on his bed, eyeing him. Never had I been more aware that we were in a bedroom than at that moment. “So, how’d the training go?”

  I shrugged, watching him. “Blah, blah, blah, centered chakras, blah, blah, blah, go to your happy place. You know. All the usual stuff.”

  “Doesn’t sound like you were too impressed.” Paul went back to work.

  “Yeah, well.” I sat down on the edge of the bed. I had to see him to see how he reacted. “But some rather enlightening things came into play.”

  “How’s that?” Paul kept his head down.

  “Luke told me he’s jealous that I’m spending more time with you now than him.”

  Paul’s eyes flashed up to meet mine, and I saw shock. And was that pain in there too?

  “What?” he asked.

  I nodded. “And that he misses me hanging around him all the time. That he’s had feelings for me since the Dragon fight when I was injured, but just never said anything. And he pretty much said he’d dump Selena for me.”

  Paul had his head down again, but I noticed his hands shook as he picked up a tool. “Well,” he said after a long moment, and his voice sounded heavy and dead to my ears. “You must be in seventh heaven. You’ve finally gotten what you’ve always wanted, the love and devotion of Luke Harmon. Congratulations.”

  I could tell it all in that moment. He was sad. He was jealous. He was hurt.

  In contrast, I might not be able to identify how I felt about Paul. Or it might just be that I wasn’t ready to identify how I felt about Paul, considering how quickly the feelings had overtaken me. But they were there and real; I was sure of that. It was nothing like what I’d felt for Luke, but something more and much stronger.