Hank glances at his tablet. Homework! For tomorrow? Is she for real? He turns to Seb. “What a bust! Man, I screwed up big time.”
Seb gives him a strained smile. “It’s just an exercise, Hank. Just a test to try and—”
“Yeah, well I flunked it,” Hank interrupts. “Same as always.” He shoves his tablet into his bag and stands up, throwing the bag’s straps over his shoulder. “I’m getting out of here.”
Seb starts gathering his things. “Hold up for a second. I’ll come with you.”
But Hank doesn’t wait. “I’ll catch you later,” he says as he walks away, then he heads for the exit, his head down, his hands deep in his pockets and his shoulders back. And everyone gets out of his way as he marches across the room and barges out the door.
In the corridor, Hank slows his pace, but he doesn’t look up, doesn’t stop. He keeps walking until he’s outside, then he steers clear of the main path and follows a narrow paved walkway that leads around the side of the building. He needs to be away from people, and this route will quickly take him out of sight.
Stupid, goddamned test! he thinks. Waste of goddamned time. What the hell kind of lesson was that anyway? Supposed to be a psychology class, wasn’t it? He glances ahead, noticing a dark hedge, an open gateway. This must be the garden he saw from the cafeteria; the same one he can see from his window. It looks quiet, so he cuts across the carefully manicured grass and walks in through the garden gate.
Beyond the artificially neat hedge, the garden is almost untamed: a carefree jumble of shrubs and flowerbeds, with narrow paths meandering lazily in all directions. Most of the flower beds look empty apart from the scattered clumps of short bare branches: some sort of plant pruned back for the winter. But there are evergreens too, and the edge of the small lake is softened by the slender, yellowing stalks of dry reeds.
Hank stands still and draws a deep breath, and the cool freshness of the calm air tastes sweet. This place is an oasis of tranquility, a million miles removed from the glass and steel buildings he walked away from. The garden doesn’t belong here; its strange, rambling wildness is at odds with everything around it. It doesn’t even match the austere formality of Northridge House. The garden has been here forever and intends to stay put, whatever may happen in the world beyond its hedgerows.
Hank crosses the path and sits down on an old wooden bench. The seat is flecked with moss and the wood is damp, but so what? Hank exhales noisily and stares out across the lake’s still surface.
Northridge isn’t supposed to be like high school, it’s supposed to be different: his big break, a chance for a fresh start. But here I go, on the first full day, diving head first into the same old crap, he thinks. I let Winslett get under my skin, then I stormed out of the place, just like I used to.
Hank shakes his head slowly. The worst thing is, he snapped at Seb, and that just wasn’t fair. He only met Seb a short while ago, but already it’s like they’ve known each other for years. Seb’s been a good friend, an ally, and if Hank’s going to make it at Northridge, he’s going to need someone on his side. And he has to make it here—whatever it takes. After everything I’ve done to get this far, I can’t blow it now, he tells himself. I have to do better than that—I have to be better than that. He sits back and looks up into the sky. And he hears something.
A man’s voice, hushed and urgent, filters through the hedge to his right. Hank turns around, but he can see no one. Whoever the man is, he’s completely hidden behind the dense foliage.
Hank frowns, and his mind goes back to the person he saw creeping into the garden the night before. Probably none of my business, he thinks. Maybe people come out here to be alone—that’s what I did.
Hank stands up quietly, but before he can walk away, he hears a growl of frustration and the man’s voice is suddenly loud:
“I tried, Samantha! I called you last night. I called and called, but you didn’t pick up, goddammit! So what the hell was I supposed to do?”
Hank freezes to the spot, his mind racing. This must be the man he spotted from his bedroom window, but there could be any number of good reasons to make a private phone call at night: a medical emergency, a time zone difference, or even something mundane like a friend who works nights. Sounds more like a fight with a girlfriend, Hank thinks. But why call from outdoors?
The man’s voice cuts into his thoughts: “No! I did everything you said, Samantha, but I can’t go through with this—not anymore. I just can’t!”
Sounds serious, Hank thinks. Maybe I should see if he’s OK. But before Hank can decide what to do, the man speaks again, and this time his voice is strained and hoarse, thick with repressed rage:
“Don’t lecture me, Samantha, or I swear to God…I’ll…I’ll hang up and I’ll never talk to you again. Never. It’s easy for you goddammit, but it’s my ass on the line. Just me. And I can’t…I can’t do this anymore. I don’t know what’s happening to me. I had to hurt someone, Samantha, and whatever way you try to twist it, I never agreed to that.”
Hank stands tall, his fingers forming fists. This is no lovers’ quarrel he’s overhearing, but something much more disturbing. He needs to find out who’s making that call, and there’s only one way to do it.
Hank takes a step toward the hedge, planting his feet carefully, making sure the gravel doesn’t grate against his shoes. The man is speaking quietly now, his voice little more than a murmur, and there are long pauses as though he’s listening. Keep talking, buddy, Hank thinks. Stay on the line just a few seconds more. Hank is close now. A couple more steps and he’ll be able to peek around the corner of the hedge and see the mysterious caller with his own eyes.
“Hey! There you are!”
The shout runs through Hank like a hot knife, and he wheels around, his eyes wide, his heart leaping in his chest. Noah is walking up the path toward him, his hand raised in a friendly wave. On the other side of the hedge, the voice stops, then there’s the crunch and clatter of rapid footsteps as the unseen man runs away.
Hank darts forward, but when he looks around the hedge, his shoulders slump. There’s no trace of the man, only a confusion of paths weaving their way between the dark hedges and the thick clumps of shrubs. And rising in the distance, the steep bank leading to the open countryside. I should go after him, Hank thinks. But where would I even start? Hank grinds his teeth together. There’s nothing he can do. He just missed his chance.
Noah keeps walking, oblivious to the look on Hank’s face. “We’ve been looking for you all over the place, Hank. It’s almost time to go to the next session.”
Hank takes a breath. Should he tell Noah what he just heard? Or would it be weird to admit he was listening in to someone’s call? How would Noah react to that? He’s a little too earnest, Hank thinks, a little too hard to know. So Hank says nothing, and he makes his expression empty as he watches Noah approach.
Noah comes to a halt and gives Hank a meaningful look. “What’s up? You don’t want to be late, do you?”
Hank lets out a snort. “No, sir. We can’t have that. Not when the last class was such a bundle of laughs.”
Noah chortles. “Seb said you were pretty mad about that.”
“Yeah? Did he…did he tell you why?”
“You should’ve stuck around, Hank—you missed the best part.” Noah laughs again and the sound grates on Hank’s ears.
“Go ahead, Noah. Why don’t you share the joke?”
“All right.” Noah makes a show of adopting a serious expression. “After you left the class, everybody started talking, and guess what? In that simulation, every single one of us was the gold commander.”
Hank’s scowl falls away and he stares blankly at Noah.
“Get it?” Noah continues. “We weren’t playing the same game. We were all playing our own version, and each one of us thought we were the only one with ultimate responsibility.”
“But that’s not what she said,” Hank splutters. “And the instructions—”
�
��That was deliberate,” Noah cuts in. “It was all part of the exercise. It was a psychology class, right? The exercise wasn’t about terrorists, it was about us. It was about questioning everything, about how easy it is to manipulate people.”
“It makes no difference,” Hank says. “I still screwed up.”
Again, Noah laughs. “No, man. We all screwed up. It didn’t matter what we did or where we sent the cops. The disaster always happened somewhere else. We couldn’t beat it.”
Hank closes his eyes and pictures the ground swallowing him up. How could I be such an idiot? Of course, the whole thing was a setup. He should’ve known there was something strange going on when Winslett specifically told them not to discuss their roles. He should at least have been suspicious, but instead, he snapped up Winslett’s bait: hook, line and sinker.
“Don’t sweat it,” Noah says. “We were all taken in.”
Hank opens his eyes. “Everybody?”
Noah nods. “Without exception.”
“I’ll bet I was the only one to storm out the room, though.”
Noah shrugs. “Maybe, but so what? Winslett had already left by then, and no one else is going to say anything. Well, no one worth listening to, anyhow.” He gives Hank a grin. “And you’ve got to admit, when you think how easily she fooled us, it is kind of funny.”
Hank purses his lips, but when he looks at Noah’s expression, he has to crack a smile. “OK, you win.” He allows himself a quiet chuckle.
“I guess that’s why she called it tactical awareness,” Noah says.
Hank raises an eyebrow.
“Look at it this way,” Noah says, “if she wanted to show us who’s boss, I’d say her tactic worked, wouldn’t you?”
“You got that right,” Hank says.
Noah pulls out his phone and checks the screen. “We’d better move. The next class starts in one minute and I’ve got to get over to the tech block.”
“Yeah?” Hank takes out his own phone and pulls up his timetable. “Hey, looks like I’m headed that way too. Cybersecurity.”
“Same as me.” Noah taps Hank on the arm. “Come on, let’s go.”
But Hank stays put. “Man, after the psychology lesson we just had, I hate to think what we’ll be up against in cybersecurity.”
“I don’t know,” Noah says, “but it’s got to be better than hanging around in this dump.”
“Yeah, maybe.” Hank takes a look around the garden. A few minutes ago it felt like a haven; now it’s just desolate and unkempt. The empty flowerbeds, the bare shrubs, and even the moss-stained, moldering bench, are neglected and forgotten. Small wonder no one came out here. Well, almost no one. “It’s weird, but a minute ago I heard someone—” Hank starts, but Noah is already walking away.
“I’m out of here, Hank. Let’s go.”
“Yeah, all right.” Hank hurries after Noah, and together, they head out through the garden gate.
CHAPTER 38
WHERE THE HELL IS EVERYBODY? Sanjay stands still and scans the clearing. She dumped the Rhombus avatar and logged into the jungle combat scenario at least half an hour ago, and there’s still no sign of Sue Derrick and her Beta Program buddies. She’s making me wait on purpose, Sanjay tells herself. She wants to prove a point and show me who’s in charge. Pathetic. She checks her UI, running through her inventory and her settings, and the ritual slows her racing heart. She lets out a long breath and stretches her arms, flexing her muscles, admiring her svelte physique.
After playing the part of Rhombus and walking around in Marcus’s ungainly avatar, she’s as light as a feather. “It’s good to be Sanjay again,” she whispers. “Now I can do anything—anything I want.” And she smiles. Her energy and fitness levels are high, and best of all, she has full access to the AGILE mod; with that advantage, she’s more than a match for anything the Beta Program might throw at her.
Sanjay recalls her last meeting with Sue Derrick, picturing her arrogant expression, her condescending tone. She’s going to feel pretty stupid when my plan succeeds, Sanjay thinks. I hope I get to see her face when she realizes she underestimated me every step of the way. But what’s this? A message flashes onto her UI:
CPT. DERRICK TO SANJAY – TRANSFER TO TEAM BRIEFING IMMEDIATELY
FOLLOW THIS LINK: RP-001
This is what she’s been waiting for, but when she selects the link, a notification appears:
WARNING: UNABLE TO CONFIRM DESTINATION– LINK ENCRYPTED
APPROVAL NEEDED
Sanjay reads the warning three times, her frown deepening. “Why would she do that? We’re supposed to be on the same team.” She growls under her breath. More power games. Sue Derrick throwing her weight about, making me jump through hoops just for the hell of it. But still, Sanjay hesitates. The link could take her anywhere, put her at Derrick’s mercy. It could so easily be a trap. But it could be just a security precaution, or even a test of courage: a final hurdle placed deliberately in her path to the Beta Program.
I should just take the chance, she thinks. But there’s one more thing she can do. Sanjay activates her malware scanner and sets it to interrogate the link. If she’s lucky, she’ll be able to break the encryption and trace the link back to its origins. In a minute or two, she’ll know whether it can be done.
But that’s time she doesn’t have. Another message appears directly beneath Derrick’s instruction:
THIS LINK WILL EXPIRE IN TEN SECONDS
WARNING: REJECT LINK AND STAY SAFE OR ACCEPT AT OWN RISK
Immediately, the countdown begins. If she doesn’t take a leap into the dark, she’s blown it—for good. Accept link, she thinks, and the jungle around her blurs into a whirl of light and color.
In a heartbeat, a new scene springs into life around her. That was fast, Sanjay thinks, and she holds her weapon tight, ready for anything.
“Sanjay, what took you so long?” someone calls.
Sanjay turns around. Six people stand in front of her: five players arranged in an orderly semicircle with Sue Derrick at the center. All of them are staring, cold-eyed at Sanjay, but from the sneer on Sue’s face, she must’ve been the one to call out. Sanjay steps forward. “I was just running through an equipment check, that’s all. But I’m here now, so let’s get started.”
“That’s exactly what we were trying to do,” Sue says. “So if you’re ready at long last, we’ll run through an overview of the mission. As always, I’ll send everyone the details after the briefing and you can read them yourselves. But you should all have the mission map already.” She pauses, looking around the group. “Everyone got it?”
There’s a chorus of agreement from the group, and Sanjay hurriedly retrieves the correct file and pulls it onto her UI. “Got it.”
“Good,” Sue goes on. “It’s a simple mission, with a simple objective. I’ve sent twelve members of the Beta Program ahead, and they’ve been given the task of defending the ruined temple to the north of our position. I’ve left it totally up to them to formulate their own strategy. Our goal is to use any and all means to take possession of the temple. And we have one hour to complete our mission. It’s as straightforward as that. Does anyone have any questions at this point?”
“Just one,” Sanjay says. “It looks as though you’re planning to cross the river by the rope bridge. Correct?”
“Absolutely,” Sue says. “It’s the only way to get near without trekking for miles through the jungle.” She flashes Sanjay a superior smile. “Why—do you have a problem with my strategy?”
Sanjay shakes her head slowly. “I don’t like it. The gorge is deep and too hard to climb in the time frame, and the river’s too wide and too fast to cross without a raft anyway, so the defenders will know exactly the route you’re planning to use. They’ll be ready for you. And the rope bridge is a bottleneck. We’ll be slow and exposed. It’s a classic place for an ambush. We’ll never make it to the other side.”
“You’ve got a lot to learn about tactics, Sanjay,” Sue says. “You’re
forgetting something very important. The rope bridge is a double-edged sword. We can predict that they will attempt to defend it and that gives us an advantage. If we approach it correctly, we can take out their first line of defense and then cross the bridge in safety.”
“And how exactly will we do that?” Sanjay asks. “That’s the worst plan I’ve ever heard.” She looks around the group. “Don’t any of you have questions about this?”
But no one says a word. Every jaw is clenched, every eye glints with cold malice.
“Sanjay, if you want to be part of this program, then you’re going to have to adopt the same discipline as the rest of us,” Sue says. “In the Beta Program, we follow the chain of command. We earn our ranks according to our performance within the program, and as a captain, I’m the ranking officer.”
“So we have to do what we’re told, huh?” Sanjay snaps.
Sue audibly inhales, flaring her nostrils. “No, Sanjay. You’re free to leave anytime. No one asked you to be here. And if you want to have the slightest chance of staying on the program, then you need to play by our rules. If we do things a certain way, it’s for a damned good reason. We have protocols that we follow, and we do not make exceptions. So this is your last chance—are you ready to play your part, or do you want to leave now? It’s up to you.”
Sanjay looks Sue in the eye. “All right. If that’s the way you want it. We’ll play it your way.”
“Play? For God’s sake, this isn’t a game, Sanjay.” A flush of color blossoms in Sue’s cheeks and she raises her voice. “We’re doing important work here. It doesn’t matter whether we take the temple or not. Eileen didn’t give us elevated privileges just so we could run around taking shots at each other.”
Sanjay furrows her brow. “Privileges?”
“Did Marcus explain nothing to you?”
A flicker of uncertainty flutters in Sanjay’s stomach. She should’ve kept her mouth closed. Sue’s already against her, and now she’ll be suspicious. But it’s not too late to turn this around. She pouts and gives Sue a defiant look. “Marcus said a lot of stuff. I tuned out. I got tired of him hitting on me.”
The Trust (The Downlode Heroes Book 2) Page 29