by Jody Klaire
Renee jumped, yelped, and fired off a round in her shock. The bullet echoed in the dark canyon. A flock of birds fluttered about.
“Professional,” Renee muttered, then turned back to Owens and the POIs.
Aeron stifled her chuckle. At least someone appreciated her entrance.
“Quit smiling, Lorelei,” Renee snapped. “Or I’ll make you race her back to the chopper.”
Aeron’s smile vanished.
Ursula frowned. “Why is Owens out?”
“I told her what I needed to. She thinks I turned to Aeron for help when I realized she was missing.” Renee shrugged. “It’s better she think Aeron’s cover is concrete.”
“You knocked her out?”
Aeron smiled a little too wide. “With chloroform. Scout’s honor.” She saluted.
“You were never a scout,” Renee mumbled.
“That means we’re all carrying an extra load. Aeron, you take Owens, Renee, Miranda. I’ll take this little rat.” She scowled down at Kevin.
Aeron had seen something nasty in him and Ursula was beginning to agree. The boy was up to something. She didn’t know what but it was best he was kept in sight.
With some rope hoists, they pulled all three up to the top of the low bluff. Ursula scoured the darkness in case any other company had arrived.
“Does it matter if I drop her?” Aeron muttered, hoisting Owens into a fireman’s lift.
“Yes.” Renee shot her a borderline maternal scowl as she took Miranda’s weight and steadily lifted her up. “You’ll have to explain that one to lover boy.”
Aeron swung around. Renee ducked to avoid Owens flailing leg as Aeron wagged a finger at her. “Not funny. The guy gives me the eebies.”
“Imagine the height on the kids,” Renee teased, shaking her head at Owens’ limp form. Aeron looked like she was carrying an oversized sack.
Ursula hauled Kevin onto her shoulder and kept her eyes on the darkness.
“Hey, it ain’t funny. He pinched my butt.” Panic flashed across Aeron’s eyes. “Seriously, who pinches butts?”
“If he touches you again, I’ll stick a bullet somewhere that’ll make him sing soprano,” Renee snapped.
Ursula tried to hide her smile. She didn’t doubt it. Aeron’s laugh said she didn’t either.
Chapter 41
WE ARRIVED BACK at the school not long after three in the morning. We’d flown back to the farm we’d picked the chopper up from and stowed Kevin and Owens in Frei’s fancy SUV. She said that Fitzpatrick would be with the RV team picking up Jones and his group. I was glad of Frei’s blacked-out windows in the back as we headed through the gate. Frei, Owens, and the POIs were all covered up in a blanket. The wind had whipped up and the dust swirled all around us. The guards seemed more bothered with shutting out the dirt than us. They waved through Renee and I without so much as a glance.
Renee parked the SUV in the garage and we got out and opened the back doors. Miranda stirred. Renee and Frei looked at each other.
“Keep her awake,” Frei said.
Renee got her out of the car. “Will do.” She opened the garage door and sighed. “Dust storm.”
Frei nodded. “It’ll blow over. Just clean her up so she doesn’t look like she’s been out in it.”
Renee pulled her top up to cover her mouth and headed outside. I watched her go then turned back to the SUV. Owens was still inside. I didn’t know what we were gonna do with her.
Frei was busy checking something on her laptop. “Jäger is on the prowl. Best if I head back and meet you halfway to take Kevin. That way it’ll look like I’ve been here.”
“So I get them both, huh?”
“No, I’ll take Owens. Jäger will kill her if he finds out what she did. Innocent or not, it’s better we keep her off his radar.” Ursula picked Owens up without even a flinch. She weren’t all that heavy but she weren’t that light neither.
“Machine, that’s what you are.”
Frei flashed me a smile and headed out into the dust. By the look of it, it was already starting to clear. I hauled Kevin into my arms and carried him in the direction of his dorm. I stepped onto the quadrant and saw Jäger sitting on a bench. He stood up and stared through the dirt then frowned. I didn’t know why he was up at three in the morning and I guessed he was wondering the same about me.
“Next time you get a runner,” I grunted his way. “You can deal with it.”
He glanced around, probably wondering who I was with. “A runner?”
I sighed as if he was being stupid and lowered Kevin to the ground. “Told you the kid had a screw loose. Good thing I make friends easy.”
His eyes trailed over Kevin then drifted back to me. “What was he doing?”
“Following Jones to a nice quiet spot. Didn’t realize I wasn’t the only one who has issues with kids.”
“Jones?” His eyes narrowed. A ripple of fear made me shudder inside.
“Are you just gonna stand around asking me dumb questions?” I folded my arms like I wasn’t shaking.
His eyes flickered and then twinkled. Guess he still thought I was worth his time. “Where is Jones now?”
“Only room for one of us. You may not rate me no more but I ain’t so easily swayed.” It sounded like a dig. It sounded like I was offended. I was glad it covered up how terrified I was.
He raised an eyebrow. “Do I need to send someone to clean it up?”
I scowled. “You think I can’t cover my tracks?”
Jäger looked down at Kevin and nudged him with his boot like he was vermin. “He concerns you, yes?”
“Kid is delusional. Kept saying he saw Owens. Kept saying he was waiting to escape. He’s not a full deck.” I yawned as if I didn’t care. On the inside I was holding my breath and hoping he’d buy it. “He’s a whiner. I knocked him out.”
Jäger pulled a radio off his waistband and guards came out of the main building. Frei hurried out from somewhere too, keeping her gaze on the ground. It drove me crazy how she had to act.
“You called?” Frei said.
I stretched out my back to hide my trembling hands as the guards carried Kevin off. “Yeah, get my stuff from the car, will you?” I handed her the key. “Knife will need sharpening.” Again I hadn’t a clue what my mouth was saying.
“How many?” Jäger asked.
I closed my eyes. Frei walked past and touched my hand. “Let me think. Eight . . . including Jones.”
I opened my eyes, thankful for Frei’s backup as she hurried off.
“Impressive.” His eyes warmed. “I was starting to wonder if it was just an act.”
“You think I got an extra couple of years locked up because I was playing?” I blew a breath out. “You read my file. You must have done the research.”
He nodded. He was still scouring me. “Who was the tip-off?”
“Worthington.” I tapped my head. “Like I said, I make friends easy. I like attention and they like to tell me things.”
Something in his eyes sparked with recognition and his smile was genuine. “So you are as cold as I thought.”
Fighting the urge to run, I stood my ground. “Oh, were you confusing me with somebody with a heart?”
A rakish grin broke out on his face and he laughed. “Maybe you still have potential.”
Frei hurried back over with one backpack and stood waiting beside me.
“Yeah . . . well, I have that effect.” I turned without offering him another look. I was working on the fact that I would appear disgruntled at his rejection or something.
“Before you ask,” I mumbled to Frei as I left Jäger staring. “I don’t know what is coming out of my mouth.”
“It’s your training, trust it.”
We headed around the corner and I fought the urge to glance behind. “I think he thinks I’m a psychopath.”
Frei nodded, leading us up the path to the villa. “Yes, you’re convincing at it.” She pulled out the key and let us in. “I’m not sure how you do
it but you can be . . . unnerving.”
That shocked me into staring at her. “Me?”
Frei nodded. “I can see why Renee was scared when she first met you now.” She closed the door and put the backpack in the cupboard. “I’m just glad you’re you.”
Awww. That was real nice. I didn’t know what to say to that. “You are?”
She smiled and squeezed my shoulder. “You did good.”
“I did?” Two compliments in the space of a few seconds. One two sucker punch.
Frei chuckled, leaned in, and placed a kiss on my cheek. She sauntered off toward the stairs as I stared after her. “What does that mean?”
What I do?
“Means I like you, Lorelei. Glad you’re on my side.”
I touched my fingers to my cheek. Her actions shot images of what she had been through, of her dueling Jones. She wouldn’t ever talk about it but she knew touching me would show it much better anyhow. She’d let me in. It meant a lot.
Her instinct was to shut out everyone in moments like that but she was keeping to her promise. I was glad I was on her side too.
Chapter 42
FREI WAS QUIET the next morning but I didn’t need to ask why. It took me a few moments of just staring at her to realize that I could see her aura. I’d never been so happy to see colors before. Another burden was back.
“You want to tell the students, right?”
Frei raised her eyes then went back to her food. “You got that from cereal?”
“I got that from how worried you are.” I fixed my own cereal, wondering if she’d gotten any sleep at all.
“Gala night is creeping up fast. If we’re going to get them out, we need them and us to be ready.” She sighed. “We need every bit of help we can get.”
“Which means?”
Her aura prickled. “We may get all the sixteen year olds out but what about the others?” She bit her lip. “I don’t know what to do.”
“We bankrupt them.”
She met my eyes. “That means every one of them has to be seen at gala night, then disappear.”
We could do that, couldn’t we? “What are we talkin’?”
Frei dug her spoon around in her cereal. “Each one is presented and passed formally in front of their owners. Then, there’s a performance by a younger group.” She looked up. “The ones who will be the gold group next year.”
“So we get them out then?” We could do that. Why not?
“Then the most talented one demonstrates their ability.”
Uh oh.
“Miranda can’t play nothin’, she can’t play what she had rehearsed anyhow.” The wrist wasn’t healing. I didn’t know why but it was getting worse. Miranda would have to play through agony just to get through a bar let alone fifteen minutes of a piece.
“Which means we get the kids out sooner.” She dropped her spoon into the bowl which clattered. “And the others . . .” She sighed. “We leave them behind.”
“Ain’t happening.” I sat and stared at my own bowl. I didn’t even like the thought of that. It gave me a stomachache for a start. “Let’s work toward getting them onside, getting them to set up their escape. If we can’t think of anything by then, we do our best.”
“That could mean we have less chance of getting any of them out.” She closed her eyes. “Losing one is too many.”
I reached across the table and touched her hand. “We can do this.”
Something electric shot down my arm and hit her hard enough to make both of us jump.
She snapped open her eyes and nodded. “You’re a genius.”
Huh? “I am?”
She grinned. “We can do this.”
Frei got up and strode toward the door. I rubbed at my aching mitt. What was the jolt all about?
“Move it, Lorelei.”
I glanced at my untouched breakfast.
“Now.”
I sighed. Whatever it was, it made her more Frei-like than usual. Guess I’d catch a snack on the run.
RENEE BROUGHT THE groups over that morning without Owens. Her aura did a happy dance when she saw me even though her face was stoic as ever. Once again, I said a silent thank you for getting another burden back. I understood her now. I could see her real feelings now.
“Hey,” I whispered as she followed the students into the hall. “Owens still out, huh?”
Renee turned and something about her energy pulsed. I cocked my head. It was weird, like she was reading me somehow. “Like a baby.”
“Kevin?”
Renee glanced at the door. She knew Frei had the place wired up and all that stuff so I didn’t get the furtive look in her eyes. “Being held in what I thought was a hospital wing.” She bit her lip. “I hope it isn’t the kind you were stuck in.”
I agreed with that. “He is nasty but I wouldn’t want nobody going through that.”
Frei walked over to us and shut the door. All the kids bar Kevin were there. Even Sawyer’s kid.
“Is the distraction ready?” Renee asked.
“Yes. They will take a while to determine if it’s a fire or not.” She turned and led us to the waiting students. Like the first time I’d met them, they sat in perfect rows on the floor of the gym. I eyed each one. They knew a lot more than they had let on. They wanted answers.
“Samson,” Leigh-Anne piped up. “Has somebody gone missing?”
Frei met my eyes.
I plugged my finger in my ear as a weird buzzing sound filled it. “We got some bees.”
She nodded and walked over to Jones’s kids. “Stand up.” She frisked them and pulled out the devices attached to them. The kids looked terrified.
“There’s no problem at all,” Renee said, for whoever was listening. “We want to run some team building exercises. We’re concerned at the level of competitiveness and how it has spilled over into aggression.”
Frei nodded. “Scrambled.”
“Both terrified,” I told her. “They have been trying to tamper with them.”
She looked at the two kids. One boy, one girl, both trembling like most folks did under Frei’s icy stare. “That true?”
They nodded. “He makes us. I lost my friend because of the stupid thing.” The girl’s frown was so deep her brow dipped over her eyes.
“Good enough for me.” Frei motioned for them to take a seat once more. She headed to her laptop and started tapping away. “Signal is to Jones and Sawyer’s place. Given Sawyer something to keep him happy.”
The students all looked around at each other. Even without burdens it was clear they didn’t know what was going on.
“Most of you probably haven’t heard me speak.” Frei strode to the center of the room. “I was once a student here like you.”
Their eyes were fixed on her. I glanced at Renee, her aura throbbing with concern, with compassion.
“Did you pass?” Jed asked. He sounded less arrogant than usual. His arm was draped protectively around Miranda.
“No.” She looked at me. I nodded reassurance. “I was owned, I was a slave.” She took a breath. “Just like you are.”
I expected shocked grumbles, anger, maybe gasps but not one of them flinched. We were just telling them what they’d figured out a long time ago.
“Gala night is an auction.” Frei seemed to pick up her wits faster than me. I was still reeling from the fact they all knew. “The highest priced are the main draw.” She glanced at Miranda. “Whatever they told you or offered you, it’s a lie.”
Fear rumbled over them. The creeping leech-like cloud emerged into view. Renee sucked in her breath and I glanced at her. She was staring at it like she could see something.
“So, here is your chance to be heroes.” I marched forward. My movement drew their attention. I focused on my armor. I was not letting it get these kids.
Truth—“Locks was a slave, yeah, but now she’s the best agent you could ever imagine.” I strode to the left, to where Jones’s kids sat, the tentacles creeping down toward them.
Righteousness—“I was convicted of manslaughter when I was your age. I had to face my own fear to make sure the guy who hurt people, didn’t hurt nobody else.”
They whispered to each other. The cloud was billowing out. I had to keep going.
Readiness, peace—“Then, I had to face the things I weren’t so sure about, use skills I didn’t want in order to help somebody I care about.” I glanced at Renee. To help her make peace with her past. “I had to make the choice to stand up for what and who I believed in.”
Faith—“I had to believe what was in my heart not what worries raged around my head.”
I met as many of their eyes as I could. The cloud spread back to the other side where Jed sat, so I headed over that way.
Salvation—“I thought I was alone. I was scared. I didn’t know what I would have done if I’d lost her.” I smiled at Renee. “But there was something I’ve learned, something that shines through when you think there ain’t no way.” I felt something inside me rumble up and turned back to the kids. “You’re never alone.”
Renee stepped forward, her energy shone from her smile. “Take a look at us, an ex-slave who smashed her lock, a convicted felon who had the heart to fight back, a protector who had to learn to lower her shield. We haven’t been dealt a great hand but do you know what?” She took a breath, the energy intensified. “We’re still standing here.”
Frei cleared her throat. The same energy pulsed around her, like it had ignited something in her too. Hope. “We believe. We didn’t let fear win.”
Another ripple from the students. The cloud shrank some.
“How do you think we did it?” I asked. I needed them to understand. It was up to them.
Miroslav raised a trembling hand. I shone every bit of warmth I could at him and nodded.
“By helping each other?”
Atta boy.
“Yes!” My voice bounced back off the large space. “We’re going to get you out but here’s the thing.” I said a silent prayer and went for it. “You can run now and we’ll cover your tracks.”
Frei nodded. “You’ve got a good chance of making it if you do.”