Ill-Fated (Ill-Fated Series Book 1)

by S. C. McMurray

  Rillian leaned back and crossed his arms. “Clever.”

  Evelyn glanced over her shoulder. “Sorry again for the trouble we caused you, Rodney, but we need to leave.”

  Rillian nodded. “I guess we’re going on foot.”

  They waved to Rodney and started for the door.

  Rodney stopped them. “Wait.” He reached into his pocket and produced a set of keys. “Either of you know how to drive a motorcycle?”

  “I can drive about anything,” Rillian answered.

  “Here.” Rodney tossed him the keys. “It’s parked around back.”

  Rillian flashed confusion. “Really?”

  “Yeah. The bike belongs to my step-dad and I hate that guy.”

  “Thanks!” Evelyn was so grateful that she walked up to Rodney and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

  Rodney’s face turned as red as the stop lights outside and his lips curled into a satisfied grin as Evelyn and Rillian waved goodbye.

  The bike was waiting for them around back just as Rodney said it would be. There were two helmets. Rillian tossed one to Evelyn and slipped the other on. He climbed on the bike and fired it up. He opened the visor of the helmet and looked at Evelyn curiously.

  “Jenny, huh?” He asked.

  She climbed on the bike behind him, rolled her eyes and laughed to herself. “Just drive.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  It was déjà vu. That’s what he was feeling as he let his head fall back against his standard issue cotton pillow. Everything in his apartment was standard issue – the stainless steel refrigerator, the tiny kitchen table, the two chairs, even the calendar on the wall. But it didn’t matter much to him, because standard issue was all he’d ever really known. He’d been in military school since the age of four, and the uniform gray and cold steel that was synonymous with UPA’s armed forces was home to him. He was sure he wouldn’t feel comfortable anywhere else. He never had when he’d stayed at his parent’s house during winter break.

  Adam reached over and grabbed the picture of the girl off his nightstand to look at it once again. It was the fugitive’s school picture taken earlier that year. She was pretty, but she was a criminal.

  Was he studying it or just admiring it?

  He wasn’t sure. He wondered what she’d done. She looked so innocent. But he knew that evil came in many faces.

  What about the déjà vu he felt every time he thought about the fugitive? That, he couldn’t explain and that bothered him. He had never seen the girl, never heard or read her name before First General Thatcher gave him the assignment, but in some strange way, he felt as if she was familiar to him somehow.

  He and his team had captured many fugitives and terrorists from all types of people. Why did this one give him pause?

  The phone on his nightstand lit up. He rolled over quickly and saw that it was Vega. He put the picture of the girl on the nightstand out of sight and pressed a button on the phone. A hologram of his chief interrogator emerged from the phone.

  “What is it, Vega?” Adam asked.

  “Sorry to wake you, sir, but Commander Farez is demanding the prisoners be taken to his prison.”

  Commander Farez, a brutal man with a despicable love for his authority, was the Warden of Forsythe Prison. He was also impatient and he knew that he had fresh meat ready to be delivered.

  “Did the prisoner tell you anything?”

  Bruce stepped into the picture. He was wiping blood off his hands with a towel. “She didn’t say much and I don’t think she even knows where the girl is.”

  “But we did get word that the fugitive and a male accomplice were spotted in Detroit.” Vega added.

  Adam sat up in bed and rubbed his chin for a moment then said, “Don’t interrogate the girl any longer. I have an idea.”

  “What about Commander Farez?” Vega asked.

  “Give him what he wants, except the fugitive’s parents.”

  Vega and Bruce saluted. “Yes, sir.”

  “Dismissed.”

  Adam lay back down in his bed. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep but to no avail. His thoughts drifted to the prisoner that Bruce and Vega had been interrogating. His gut wrenched with guilt. He knew that they had put her through hell, but it was nothing compared to what would happen to her once she arrived at Forsythe Prison and Commander Farez got a hold of her.

  An image of the fugitive appeared in his mind along with the feeling of déjà vu. He sighed and rolled over, knowing that he would eventually capture the fugitive and she would share the same fate as her friend.

  Chapter Eighteen

  It was nearing 1 AM when Rillian pulled the motorcycle to a stop in front a Cape Cod style house along Lansing’s 16th avenue. He climbed off but didn’t take off his helmet. Evelyn did the same and the two of them strolled up the stone walkway to the front door.

  Evelyn was unsure of what was going on. All Rillian had told her was that he knew a place they could go. When he’d said that, she’d pictured another sleazy hotel or abandoned house, not a beautiful home in an uppity cul-de-sac.

  Rillian rang the doorbell and moments later a middle-aged man in pajamas, with graying hair and a dark goatee appeared at the door.

  “What do you want?” He asked with annoyance. “This isn’t some fraternity initiation is it?”

  Without saying a word, Rillian took his helmet off.

  The man’s expression became very grave as he poked his head out and looked in both directions. He motioned for them to come in with a quick gesture and Rillian and Evelyn swiftly stepped inside. He shut and locked the door behind them.

  “You weren’t followed were you?” He asked as he peered out through the peep hole in the door.

  “No. It was a clean getaway.”

  He went to a nearby window and peered through the gap in the curtains. “Where are the others?”

  “They were captured by the Secret Service,” Rillian answered. “We are the only two that escaped.”

  The older man turned toward them and rubbed his hands together anxiously. “I knew something was wrong when Clive didn’t show up at my lecture today.” He looked at Evelyn with a curious look. “Is this the girl?”

  Rillian nodded. “Yes.”

  “Did you get her to Nicholai?”

  “Yes, but…” Rillian lowered his voice. “Dr. Larkin is dead.”

  The man cupped his chin. “Oh, dear.”

  At that moment, Evelyn felt that she should say something, since it was her he’d died for. “I’m sorry.”

  That was all she could muster but it seemed to be enough for the man, who accepted the apology with a nod of his head.

  “He was a friend and his loss is a great blow to our struggle. Pardon me,” the man interrupted himself. “Wwe haven’t been formally introduced.” He extended his hand to Evelyn. “My name is Edward Vander and you are?”

  Evelyn took his hand – it was clammy – and shook it. “Evelyn.”

  “Nice to meet you, Evelyn.”

  Suddenly a woman’s voice came from upstairs. “Who is it, Dr. Vander?”

  Vander sighed with embarrassment. “Just old friends of mine, Vanessa.”

  A leggy co-ed with blonde hair and a robe appeared at the top of the stairs. “Is everything alright?” she asked.

  Rillian perked up when he saw her and Evelyn felt a tinge of jealousy.

  “Everything is fine,” Vander said with annoyance. “I will be up there shortly.”

  The answer must have satisfied the young woman because she left as quickly as she’d appeared.

  Vander looked at Rillian and shrugged in only a way that another man would understand, then gestured with his arm. “Come, let’s talk over drinks.”

  They followed Vander to the kitchen and as they passed the stairs Rillian looked up longingly and smiled. “I should have been a professor.”

  Evelyn couldn’t resist the urge to punch him on the arm.

  They sat on stools at the island in the middle of the kitchen
as Vander poured a generous amount of brownish liquid into three glasses. He handed a glass to Evelyn and another to Rillian. Evelyn took a drink. It burned going down and she didn’t like it.

  Vander paced the floor like a nervous wreck. “So, Rillian, tell me what happened,” he said.

  Rillian took a long drink then said, “We arrived at Dr. Larkin’s cabin on Lake Michigan last night and not an hour after we arrived, the SS showed up.” He glanced over at Evelyn. “She and I were lucky, we happened to be away from the cabin when they arrived.”

  “And my friend Clive, is he alright?”

  “As far as I know.”

  Evelyn’s stomach lurched as she suddenly pictured Clive screaming in agony as they tortured him for information about her.

  “Did you speak with Dr. Larkin? Did he give you any indication of what you are to do next?”

  Rillian looked at Evelyn then back at Vander. “Only she can answer that.”

  Vander took a sip of his drink then looked at Evelyn with expectant eyes. Evelyn felt an immense pressure pressing down on her, like the whole SPC was waiting for her reply. She wasn’t ready to tell him everything yet.

  She took a breath and answered, “We talked a little bit, but he was so sick we had to stop so he could rest.”

  Vander leaned in. “What did he say?”

  Evelyn bit her lip. Something about his earnestness didn’t sit well. She glanced over at Rillian but he looked as interested in what she was going to say as Vander.

  “He..he told me to be a good person.”

  It wasn’t a complete lie. Dr. Larkin did insinuate that, among other things.

  Vander creased his forehead. “That’s it? He sent for you, just to tell you that?”

  “We didn’t get to finish our conversation.”

  “And now you never will,” he added disappointedly.

  Evelyn got the impression that Vander knew more than he was letting on. “What did you want him to tell me?” she asked in an attempt to pry something out of him.

  Vander seemingly ignored her question as he began to pace the floor. After a moment he said, “All his secrets died with him.”

  “What do you mean?” Rillian asked.

  Vander stopped, downed the rest of his drink and sat the empty glass down on the table.

  “Pardon me if I seem a bit aggravated but the game we are playing is growing more and more dangerous by the hour. Our organization, or resistance movement, or insurgency, whatever we call ourselves, is on the brink of disaster. The chief members of our organization all know that Dr. Nicolai had worked for the Unionist Party prior to joining the resistance. We also know that he was guarding something we believe would help us turn the tide in our favor. For years, there was nothing, then Nicolai sends for a girl.” He glanced over at Evelyn. “And now that he is dead, this is all we know.”

  The pressure Evelyn had been feeling increased and she felt her chest tighten up.

  “What were you hoping for?” Rillian asked.

  Vander placed his palm on his chest. “Me personally, I want a career where I don’t have to spout the Party‘s interpretation of things. Where I really have academic freedom, like my grandfather had when he taught at my university.”

  “No offense, Doc,” Rillian pointed toward the ceiling, “but the academic life doesn’t seem that bad to me.”

  Vander sighed, “Sadly, I am a slave to my ideals and they prevent me from finding contentment in this lifestyle.”

  “I think I could find contentment in a place like this,” Rillian said. “As long as I had the right girl.”

  Evelyn sighed to herself. She knew he was thinking about the leggy co-ed.

  “That is where you and I differ, young man,” Vander responded. “I hate being just another cog in the Party’s indoctrination machine. I want the freedom to investigate, to find my own answers. Not to just repeat the answers they give me.” Vander looked pensive for a moment. “I know that you probably disagree with me or consider what I have said foolish, but it is what I want. And a man should be allowed to try to get what he wants as long as it’s morally acceptable.”

  Rillian lifted his drink. “That, I do agree with.” Then downed the rest of his drink.

  “Would you like another?” Vander asked Rillian.

  Rillian nodded and Vander went to work pouring him another glass. “And what do you two plan to do next?”

  “We are going to save our friends.” Evelyn said, piping in.

  Vander seemed surprised by her boldness, he looked at her curiously. “Do you know where they are?”

  “They are with the SS.” Evelyn answered.

  “The most dangerous people in the country.” He gave Rillian his drink, then folded his hands behind his back. “You sure that is a good idea?”

  “I can’t let them die for my sake.”

  “Your sake?” He asked.

  Evelyn glanced at Rillian, he nodded his approval and Evelyn began her confession. “I am Dr. Larkin’s secret. The SS were after me, not them. Rillian and I managed to escape because I went outside to try to wrap my mind around what Dr. Larkin told me.”

  Vander’s eyes widened. “What did he tell you?”

  “That I am the first of my kind and that I have the power to change the world.” She paused. “I don’t know what that means exactly. All I know is that everything I knew about my life was a lie.” She thought of her parents and clutched at the locket through her shirt. Vander followed her fingers with his eyes.

  “What is that you have around your neck?”

  Evelyn looked down. “It’s a locket my father gave me.”

  “May I see it?” Evelyn pulled it out from beneath the collar of her shirt and popped it open. Vander leaned forward so that he could see. “They are your parents.”

  “Yes, we think that the SS have them too.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” He said without taking his eyes off the locket. Something about it intrigued him. “May I examine your locket?”

  Evelyn was perplexed by Vander’s interest in it but she consented anyway, undoing the chain of the locket and handing it to him. He held it gently in his fingertips and squinted at it for a moment. Evelyn could see the wheels of his mind spinning behind his eyes. “Your father gave you this?” he asked.

  Evelyn nodded. “Yes.”

  Vander read the inscription aloud, “When you are lost, you will find that we are never far away.” He snapped it shut. “Did you know that this locket is older than your father?”

  “What? He gave it to me on my birthday a couple of weeks ago.”

  “And your father knew exactly what he was doing, when he gave you this.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “This locket isn’t just any locket. It’s a diamond locket and they haven’t been produced for years."

  “So it’s an antique.” Rillian said, nonchalantly. “Big deal.”

  “It’s not its age that I find interesting. It’s its purpose.”

  “What do you mean, purpose?” Evelyn asked.

  Vander held the locket out in the palm of his hand. “As you probably know, the Party strictly forbids soldiers who are serving abroad to tell anyone where they are serving. Well, this locket was used by soldiers to circumvent that rule.” He pointed to the picture of Evelyn’s family. “Behind the picture is a tiny device that broadcasts a signal that is linked directly to another device. Since families could go months without hearing from their loved ones overseas, soldiers wore these so that at the very least their family members back home could keep track of them.”

  “Interesting…” Rillian confessed.

  “The Party put an end to it once they discovered their real purpose.”

  “And that is why soldiers can’t wear jewelry, not even wedding rings,” Rillian added.

  “Precisely.”

  Evelyn felt a tinge of excitement, like a spark inside her. “You said that my father knew what he was doing when he gave me this?”

  “Yes.
”

  Rillian turned to Evelyn. “So he could find you, if he needed to.”

  “Or,” said Vander, “so she could find him.”

  “Are you saying that my father knew this might happen?”

  “He must have known it was a possibility. And there is only one way to find out.”

  Rillian interrupted. “See if it works.”

  Evelyn’s heart leapt. “Can you do that?”

  Vander smiled smugly as he set the locket on the island before her. “I’m an archeologist with an advanced degree in retrotechnology. I can do it.”

  “Will you?”

  “Yes, if you do something for me.”

  Evelyn thought about the leggy co-ed upstairs and her skin began to crawl. She said in resignation, “What do you want?”

  “I want a sample of your blood.”

  Evelyn let out a sigh of relief. “That’s it?”

  “Why?” Rillian asked.

  “The reasons are my own.”

  Rillian leered at him and Vander retreated some. “No need to worry, they are purely scientific,” he said defensively, “I can assure you.”

  Rillian looked at Evelyn. “Are you alright with this?”

  Evelyn answered without hesitation. “If it means finding my father and maybe our friends, then yes.”

  Vander clapped his hands together. “Then it is settled.” He swiped the locket off the island. “I will return in a few minutes. You are welcome to anything in the kitchen.”

  Vander disappeared up the stairs and Rillian went to the refrigerator. Evelyn shifted uneasily on her seat. “Why do you think he wants a sample of my blood?”

  “He wants to know what’s so special about you.” Rillian answered as he grabbed some deli meat from a drawer.

  “Me, special?” Evelyn said pointedly, “I’m not a leggy co-ed.”

  Rillian turned around. “What’s that supposed to mean?

  Evelyn shrugged her shoulders.

  “Seriously, Evelyn.”

  “I heard your comment about finding contentment in a place like this with the right girl.”

  Rillian shook his head. “You don’t get it, do you, Evelyn? I wasn’t talking about some co-ed.” He paused, his hard face softened. “I was talking about you.”