by Jody Klaire
She was Miroslav’s best buddy from what I could tell. Jessie was razor sharp and I wondered why she’d been lumbered in my group.
After one session that left most of the group gasping for air, I spotted Miroslav loitering outside my office. Most of the kids had dragged their hinds back to the dorms to collapse, so seeing him of all people still standing caught my curiosity.
The closer I got, the more tension filled my body.
“You okay there?” I asked, checking that nobody was eavesdropping on me being nice.
Miroslav shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall. To anyone else it would be a show of attitude but to me it showed he felt faint. His fists would be balled up in his pockets, his legs crossed to stave off passing out.
“Come in and take a seat.” I led him by the arm into my office. I had one seat, so I sat him there and perched on the desk. “S’up?”
Miroslav tucked his long brown hair behind his ear. “It’s Jessie. I’m worried.”
“She getting picked on or somethin’?” Maybe this was what I’d need to talk to her about.
“She has a problem.”
I’d felt that. “She does?”
He studied his feminine hands. “She . . . I . . . we . . . They come to us for help.”
“Okay?”
Miroslav huffed out a breath. “We might have helped . . . too much.”
My stomach tightened. That sounded like a confession to something. My thought process powered through possibilities. Some were so terrible that I started to wonder about myself.
He pulled out a book from his pocket. I’d seen him with it a lot. He often wrote in it. He held it out to me.
I took it and thumbed through. It was full of sums and stuff. “You’re starting a secret geek club?”
Miroslav chuckled. His poster-boy grin slid into place. “It’s equations, answers to math problems, answers to all the tests.” He pointed to different pages. “We use it to help others when they are struggling. So they don’t . . .”
I knew he meant go missing. That sounded noble and sweet. “But?”
Miroslav sighed. “Jessie likes Kevin. He noticed how much she could do.” He tucked his hair back again. “He fooled her into helping him and showed it to the principal. They think it’s his work.”
Kevin was a scumbag. “Maybe the principal will know it ain’t his?”
Miroslav shook his head. “Jessie’s been doing his work for a long time. They think that he is a genius.” He met my eyes, his wide. “Those kind of kids go missing. The special ones get hurt. Jessie tried to warn Kevin but he won’t listen.”
Most would have been smarting that some doofus had stolen their limelight. “You’re worried ’bout her?”
Miroslav nodded. “Jessie saw her adopted parents being killed. She is terrified of armed men. It’s a weak point . . .”
What did that have to do with copied work? “You lost me.”
“She’s hurt, upset because of Kevin.” He took a breath. His heartbeat made mine speed up. He was panicking. Not good.
“Calm. I can help. Just tell me.” I kept my voice as soft as I could.
“Men visited yesterday. They were in the principal’s office. Jessie had to deliver a message . . . she saw them.” All said like this should illuminate me.
It didn’t.
“They had guns,” Miroslav blurted.
“Maybe they were just agents or cops?” They sounded like the cretins that Frei had described and were probably buyers.
“They did not look like police. Jessie kept saying that she needs to protect me . . . us.”
“What aren’t you saying?” My hand started to shake as I held onto the book. Miroslav was terrified.
“She doesn’t want to watch it happen again.”
I hated guns. I didn’t blame her.
“She is clever. Codes, entries, she has a brain for it. She writes it in her book.”
If it fell into the wrong hands that would not be good. It explained why Kevin, if he was the genius, had drawn Huber’s attention. Jessie was a potential thief.
“She burned her copies, right?”
Miroslav nodded. “But it is still in her head.”
“So she knows how to break in and she’s scared of guns . . .” A terrifying realization popped into my head. “And the men are here today?”
He bit his lip.
“Miroslav, where is she?”
“I begged her not to go. I was too scared to go after her.”
“You trust me with this?” I tapped the book. Frei needed it. She needed to know why.
“It is all up here.” He tapped his head.
“I’ll keep you safe, you hear me? I ain’t gonna let anything happen to you.”
Miroslav looked up at me with shock in his eyes. He gripped onto me and I hugged him. Dumb as it was, I felt connected to this kid as much as I had Jake Casey. Maybe it was some weird logic but I couldn’t fail him like I had Jake.
“You stay here. Drink water. Rest. I’ll go find her. She’s probably just hiding.”
He nodded.
I took the book, shoved it in my pocket, and strode to Frei’s building. I hoped Jessie was just hiding, but my instincts told me a whole other story.
I TRIED TO keep calm and not draw attention to myself as I entered the foyer of Frei’s building. Well, a collection of buildings more so, dotted all around a courtyard with a massive tower at the center.
I couldn’t figure out what the tower was for. It looked pointless. There was no door to get in. No reason for it to be there. It had no clock but it did have a platform up top. Seemed a strange thing to have but maybe it read the weather or something.
I could hear clanking and clattering so I followed the noise to a hall. Frei was hanging off a climbing wall, forcing her group to do it blindfolded, without ropes.
She rappelled down the second she saw me, her eyes intense. “What is it?”
I fought to find my voice. I didn’t know why I was exhausted. I hadn’t walked that far. My breath came in gasps. I groaned. Jessie had asthma.
“Deep breaths,” Frei whispered, handing me her water. “Don’t pass out on me.”
The way my vision was darkening, I wondered if she might be right. “Miroslav, Jessie . . . genius . . . thief.” I bent over at the waist, Jessie was doing something strenuous and it was sucking the air from me.
“They are geniuses or thieves?” Frei whispered, leading me to a chair in the corner. She kept one eye on her students and dropped to her haunches.
“Miroslav’s a genius . . . Jessie’s a thief and . . . a . . . genius.” I rubbed my clammy hand over my face. Sitting down weren’t helping. “Jessie is scared of guns.” I wobbled. Frei’s strong hands held me upright, the talc tickling my nose.
I glanced at her group all climbing the wall, hoping they couldn’t hear me wheezing.
“Too busy focusing,” she said, her fingers on my wrist as she took my pulse. “It’s too fast.”
“Feels like it.” I was expecting it to smash its way out of my chest like in the cartoons. “Said she wants to protect Miroslav from men with . . . guns.”
Frei’s blue eyes flicked to and fro as she thought. I tried concentrating on her, hoping I could stay conscious that way.
Her hair was impeccable as always, spiky, white blonde. Her strong arms prominent in her fitted sleeveless vest. It was gray with Caprock Academy on it and her red shorts were the smallest I’d ever seen. They hugged her powerful lean legs.
Climbing was good for you by the look of it.
“Anything else?” I met her piercing eyes. She’d been repeating herself because she was peering at me, forehead wrinkled up in concern.
“This.” I handed her the book Miroslav had given me.
“This is advanced . . .” She frowned. “Codes?”
“Door locks.” I sucked in the air, wishing it would help me feel better. “She wants to save him from getting hurt. They think clever kids go missing.”
&
nbsp; Frei’s eyes widened. For a pale person, she glowed with a deep healthy tan. “You told—”
“No, I ain’t said nothing.”
Frei nodded. She got to her feet, glanced at her group, and pulled her phone from inside her shorts. I didn’t think she had the room in there.
She tapped her thumbs swiftly over the keys. “Letting Renee know. She’ll check her block.”
Dizziness washed over me and I gripped my head to stop it falling off. “Jessie ain’t in my block. I checked.”
She tapped the phone to her chin. “A couple of buyers are here today.”
I felt heat sear through my fingertips and dropped from the chair to the floor. Images shot before my eyes.
“Talk to me, what do you see?”
I gasped with the pain. “Rifle. Cold. High. Can’t breathe. Chest tight.” I felt the room sway. “Rope . . . harness . . . hurts . . . Fingers.”
Frei peered down at me. “Keep the kids inside.” She tapped away on her phone. “Stay indoors.”
I was on all fours, wondering how I could do anything useful as Frei powered toward the doorway. “Keep away from the windows.”
I glanced up at her. “Put armor on.”
Frei grinned. “She’s up the tower. The wind speed, that height, she’d have to be an elite sniper to hit me.”
It didn’t make me feel better. Bullets still hurt even if they were meant for the person they hit or not. “You won’t stand a chance.” I fought to right myself.
“You’d think you were worried, Samson.” Her smile was confused and lopsided as she cocked her head. “Just keep your side and I’ll go wrestle the genius with the gun.”
“I am worried,” I muttered after her. I stared up at the tower through the window. I hoped Jessie was intelligent enough not to fire, to realize that it was dumb letting off rounds in a place full of people.
Whatever the intention.
Chapter 22
RENEE’S RAPID FIRE heartbeat thudded in her ears as she hurried to lock the doors. Frei had told her to keep the situation from Owens but if gunfire started, she doubted that she could do much to stop the panic. At least if they were locked in, they couldn’t run into the path of the gunman.
She didn’t know who the shooter was but she hoped Frei would get to them before bullets started flying. After locking the main entrances and exits, she hurried back up to her office and pulled out a set of binoculars from her desk drawer. She was on the second floor, so she had the excuse of bird watching should anyone catch her. Failing that, she would feign paranoia about the rowdy thugs in Samson’s block.
Renee sighed a wistful sigh.
“Oh snap out of it,” she muttered to herself as she stared through the binoculars.
It was dinnertime, most of the kids were eating. Aeron’s block looked deserted, as did the quadrant. Opposite Renee’s block was a building much like her own but behind it was an odd collection of buildings that housed the two male skill captains. They were supposed to be ex-military. She’d seen some sights but doubted any army would let them in.
Her expectations of recruiting policy had been challenged over the years however. What police force hired a serial killer as a deputy? CIG had hired a master thief in Frei and an empath who had served time for manslaughter. Okay, so Aeron hadn’t been guilty, and Renee was responsible for Frei’s recruitment, but still.
She looked at the main block to her right where the principal and senior staff were housed. It was all quiet. Her cell buzzed and she whipped it off her belt. From Frei:
Kid up tower. Shooter Protocol. No heroics.
Renee glanced at the amount of windows each building had and checked her watch. The kids would be out in ten or so minutes. Could the shooter hit them from the tower?
She put the binoculars to her eyes once more. Frei’s block sat behind Aeron’s. A high tower in the center. It didn’t seem to have any useful purpose. She’d expected it to be a clock tower or a wind turbine but it wasn’t. Even with all her military knowledge, she couldn’t figure out its use. She just hoped that Frei had and she would get to the kid before they did something stupid.
IT HAD BEEN a long time since Ursula had performed any kind of locksmith activities. She was surprised to find how easily it came back to her. In spite of the fact she was climbing a smooth wall without a safety rope and only suckers on her hands and feet, she wasn’t worried in the slightest.
It felt good to be doing something active again. It felt good to be doing something other than watching on from a command role. She missed the challenges at times. She’d paid a high price to cut her ties and search for Renee. A high price for freedom. Well, if freedom existed for her. She was free to sit at a desk and watch everyone else have fun.
The climb would take her far shorter a time than anyone else. She was impressed the kid had made it to the top at all. Most couldn’t figure out how to get up there. The rest didn’t have the strength. It wasn’t for the faint hearted and judging by Aeron’s struggle for breath, the kid’s asthma had been an extra weight on her back.
She hoped she’d brought her pump.
Keeping her focus on the wall, Ursula hoped that Renee would do as she was told and not go looking for Aeron. Funny how Renee defied herself when it came to Aeron.
Renee had never been one for feelings. Commander Black was all duty. It was why they’d got on when they met. The intensity, the need to fight for the cause. That, and Renee was like a pest of a kid sister.
Ursula smiled, thinking about how they first met. Huber had sent her after a priceless piece of jewelry that just happened to be in the possession of one of his rivals.
A well placed sleeping draught, a bypassed system, and Ursula stood with her prize in hand, waving it toward the snoring shape in the four poster bed.
At least she did until a blonde with intense gray eyes stepped out from the shadow, her pistol raised.
“Who are you?” The language was German but the underlying lilt said that the blonde was not a native.
“I will ask the same of you.” Ursula glanced around the room. No one had been in or out since she tapped the door. It meant the blonde had retired to the room with Huber’s rival, Hartmann. Interesting.
“I’m the one with the gun, I ask the questions.” She raised it, holding the pistol like a soldier or a police officer. Either way, she wasn’t a slave and she was too slight to be a bodyguard.
“I didn’t think she was into blondes.” Ursula flashed a grin and nodded at the sleeping Hartmann. Good thing she snored loudly. The thought of her waking was enough to make Ursula shiver. “You look a little too . . . high class for her.”
The blonde’s eyes flickered for a moment, then hardened. “Who are you?”
“Who’s to say I’m not another of her friends?” No way, not ever, the thought was enough to make her sick but the blonde didn’t know that.
“She told me there’s no one.”
“You believe a criminal like her?” She was sure the blonde was stalling. There was no way that anyone would be that gullible.
“A what?” The shocked tone made Ursula cover her mouth to hide her laughter. The blonde looked serious. “What evidence do you have?”
“Evidence?” Ursula frowned. “Sind Sie Polizistin?”
The blonde flinched.
Ursula fought back the groan. “You are a police officer?” There was stupid then there was this woman.
“Not exactly.” Now the accent was distinctly North American.
“Take some advice. No one will arrest her and, even if they did, no one would convict her.” Ursula didn’t know why she was lingering. It wasn’t her problem. She had her prize. Huber would be happy and she could go lie on a beach for a week. “Do yourself a favor and run before your . . . charm . . . wears off. You don’t want to see her hidden depths.”
“Lilia said I’d find a true ally in the heart . . . or her heart . . .” The blonde was muttering to herself more than to Ursula. “It’s important. She saw h
er. I have to stay.”
Who was Lilia and what was she drinking? “Good luck. Hartmann has nothing close to a heart.”
The blonde put her hand on her hip and wiggled the gun about. “Who are you and Wassind sie?”
“Freut mich.” Ursula bowed low and flashed a charming grin. “I am a locksmith. Locks to my many admirers.”
“A what?” The snoring stopped. Ursula tensed. The blonde glanced back. Ursula side-stepped the gun and was up the rope before she heard the startled. “Hey!”
“Would love to stay and chat but I don’t do group bonding.” She pulled up the rope, replaced the grate, and crawled out into the adjoining room. She had more pressing things than worry about some crazy blonde. No, the open window and her exit were waiting for her.
Ursula chuckled at the thought as she climbed. She was around the back of the tower so the kid wouldn’t see her from the balcony. Her mind was drawn back to Renee. She’d been a pest. She’d tracked Ursula down. Hounded her. Followed and harassed her the whole time she’d protected Hartmann.
To Renee’s credit, she’d been incredible undercover and although Ursula had caught her off-guard, no one else noticed a thing. Not even Hartmann and the high-powered business woman never missed a trick but then pretty blondes could do that to a person.
The air cooled around Ursula as she climbed. The wind whipped up. Dust would be heading their way if this kept up. She frowned, thinking back to Renee. Lilia had been sending CIG guys into the action blind. Renee was a great agent but she would have ended up a name on a wall like the rest of them.
Hartmann started to see through the guise. She’d started asking questions. When Ursula heard, she couldn’t overcome her conscience. It hadn’t bothered revealing its existence before then.
“What are you doing?” Renee snapped as Ursula hurried around to the front of her. They were in the same bedroom they’d met in. It seemed apt.
“Guten abend.” Ursula smiled her best charming smile.
“Don’t give me the charming crap. Why are you here?” Renee scowled, her right eye swollen.