Red and Black

by Nancy O'Toole Meservier

  I didn’t need to listen to hear the rest of the line. About how such unexpected moments make you appreciate everyday pleasures—going to work, reading a good book, spending time with loved ones—and how we were doing our best now to recapture that and leave the past behind.

  It was a good line, or so I thought. Unfortunately, it was never enough.

  “Are you okay?” Sunshine asked.

  “Yeah,” I replied, realizing I had been staring at the blank screen for several seconds. “It’s just…I don’t want to be distracted.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  I nodded and turned to my laptop screen, unable to look Sunshine in the eye, knowing what I’d see there: sympathy for fragile, damaged Dawn.

  “You know…if you ever want to talk about it, I’m here.” Sunshine spoke softly. “I mean…you’ve never really brought it up.”

  “That’s because I don’t want to talk about it,” I said, my voice coming out clipped.

  “Oh…I’m sorry. I just figured…I mean…if something like that happened to me—”

  “No. It’s fine. I just…don’t see the point, you know? For whatever reason, my brain decided I wasn’t up for dealing with what happened. I think I should take it as a sign that I shouldn’t.”

  “Sure, but is that healthy?” Sunshine asked. “Not dealing with it at all?”

  “Does it matter?”

  I looked up above my laptop screen and met Sunshine’s gaze. For a moment, I thought she was going to challenge me. After all, this was Sunshine Campbell, who always spoke her mind, even when she shouldn’t. But instead, she looked down and frowned.

  “My bad,” she murmured.

  I felt a twinge of guilt spark inside of me and sighed. I closed the laptop with a click.

  “No, not your bad,” I said. “Sunshine…you’re fine. Everything’s fine. I just…need a moment. Excuse me.”

  And with that, I left the room and headed up the stairs. I heard the distinct gait of Lockheed’s four paws right behind me as I made my way around the corner. He followed me into my room, just making it inside the door before I closed it.

  I leaned against the door, closing my eyes. From my feet, Lockheed let out a plaintive meow and rubbed himself up against my legs. I crouched down, petting him absentmindedly. He immediately fell to the ground in a pile of fur and happy purrs. I let out a sigh.

  Why did people always have to push? Why did they need to dig? Why couldn’t they be content with, “Bad things happened but they’re not happening now. Yay!” Why had I needed to delete my Twitter account after being bombarded with some form of “wut happened?” I wasn’t the latest twist on The Walking Dead. My life was real. It wasn’t easy to dig into those dark places, but everyone wanted me to go there. I mean, weren’t there more important things to focus on?

  Bzzzz…

  I perked up at the sound of the vibrating phone. It took me a second to realize that it wasn’t my regular phone, which was still downstairs on the coffee table. Instead, it was the burner phone, and there was only one other person who had that number. Leaving the cat next to the door, I walked to where the long box had been temporarily stashed underneath my desk. I removed the false bottom and pulled out the phone to discover a text.

  “I have an idea.”

  I frowned and quickly typed in my response, a single question mark. Dana’s reply came fast.

  “If the police aren’t going to connect the dots, why don’t we?”

  I paused, my fingers hovering over the phone. This would be breaking the rules, after all, rules I seemed to be lingering over less and less. Of course, I had made up the “don’t be a detective” rule in light of Bailey City having a well-functioning police force. Should that rule change given that the BCPD was less functioning?

  “How so?” I replied.

  “You up for some breaking and entering? A.H.’s place.”

  A.H.? He must be talking about Arthur Hamilton. I typed in my reply.

  “Why not M.H.?”

  “Because the security code to M.H.’s house isn’t in A.H.’s police file.”

  I sat back on my heels. Dana must have taken a closer look at the file after our “meeting” in the alley.

  “You think it’s worth it? Police have probably cleared the place out.”

  The phone vibrated in my hand, indicating a response.

  “Yeah, but we know they’re not doing their jobs. Maybe if we specifically look into the father/daughter thing, we’ll find something important.”

  I hesitated before replying. It wasn’t the best lead. If the police weren’t “doing their jobs,” after all, who’s to say they hadn’t taken the next step and destroyed any evidence connecting the two of them?

  But it was something.

  “Dawn, are you in there?”

  “Ah, yes!” I called over my shoulder.

  “I just…wanted to apologize, you know. Sometimes…well most of the time, I don’t think before speaking and…I shouldn’t barge into things that aren’t my business. If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. I just want you to know that I’m here if and when you want to.”

  As she spoke, Dana’s reply appeared on my screen. “So, what do you say? Should we meet tonight? Or is a little b&e too shifty for Miss Ethical here?”

  Ugh. Miss Ethical? I hoped to God that didn’t end up being my Actual name. And Dana shouldn’t make such assumptions. There was a big difference between bending a few rules to help someone and outright torturing a guy, after all. I typed back an affirmative. It wasn’t a perfect plan, but I couldn’t think of a better one.

  “Dawn?” I heard Sunshine say.

  Crap. What had she said again?

  “It’s…okay, don’t worry about it. I understand.”

  There was a pause before Sunshine replied.

  “Okay…well I’ve got my stuff together, so I’m going to finish everything at my dorm.”

  “Okay,” I replied absentmindedly as Dana’s response came through. Something about meeting up with him first. He sent what looked like his home address.

  And it wasn’t until the sound of Sunshine’s footsteps faded into the distance that I truly realized what she had said.

  Shit. She had left? With things so awkward between us? That…that didn’t feel right. I stood up and walked to the door and opened it. But it was too late. The only noises left in the house were my breathing and Lockheed’s purring by my feet. It was strangely deafening.

  “Come on, Lockheed,” I said with a sigh and walked to the stairs, my cat happily following me.

  I half-tripped over the pile of mail as I made my way to my laptop and sat down again. I reached for my phone—the real one, not the burner phone—and pulled up our most recent string of texts with Sunshine. Then I paused. If she wanted to talk, she wouldn’t have left, right? Maybe this was a sign that she wanted space. I placed the phone down on the table and turned to the laptop.

  I shifted to make room for my cat on my lap as I stared at screen in front of me. The words seemed to mesh together as my vision unfocused, and my attention began to wander. I paused, shaking my head. I had to finish. It was part of the rules, after all. Don’t fall behind on schoolwork.

  But even as my fingers began to type, all I could think was that maybe someone other than Sunshine needed to apologize.

  14

  Alex

  I sat on the side of our makeshift boxing ring on a battered old office chair. In the center stood Noel, facing off against a short guy named Kyle. I watched the two circle each other and felt my stomach sink. The benefit was half a week away, and while my plan was solid, it was, at least in part, dependent on the drones. And yeah, they would do anything for Calypso, but how many of them could actually pull this off?

  And seriously, when had a “Noel or a Kyle” ever struck fear into the hearts of anyone?

  As I watched over the match, something across the garage caught my attention. I straightened when I realized it was Calypso, dressed again in her
trademark green. Her eyes were focused on the ring, her face molded into a frown.

  “You’re up next,” I said, nodding to the next guy in line before heading across the way to Calypso. “Come to watch the troops prepare?”

  She looked up at me, then back toward the ring, before speaking.

  “Do you think they’ll be ready?”

  I paused and looked back over just in time to see Noel deliver a solid punch to Kyle’s stomach, sending him to the ground. He paused for a second, torn between jumping for joy and helping Kyle to his feet, when one of the drones in line let out a whoop of encouragement. Noel laughed, shaking his head as the cheers spread. I chuckled and began to clap. Noel caught my gaze and raised one fist into the air.

  I smiled. At least the kid wasn’t mad at me anymore.

  “Faultline?” Calypso said.

  “Oh, sorry.” I jerked back to attention. “They’re as ready as I can make them.” I paused before speaking again. “You know…it wouldn’t have been a bad idea to bring in actual Army recruits.”

  A half-smile twitched on Calypso’s lips. It made her look…pretty. Of course, Calypso was already gorgeous in a cold, untouchable way, but the small movement almost humanized her. I had been working for her for months now. Had I really never seen her smile?

  “Certain people can be taken in easier than others,” she said. “People who already have that level of conditioning and training…their minds are more resistant.”

  I blinked in surprise.

  “So…is that why you chose the people you did? They were less resistant?”

  “At times,” she admitted. “Although, sometimes, I just chose a person based on the fact that he or she had skills I required. Or the person happened to be at the right place at the right time.”

  I noticed, as she spoke, she looked at Noel, who was taking off his gloves and handing them to the person next in line.

  I shook my head. Of course, it made sense that certain people would be easier to take in than others. I was immune, after all, so there had to be people that existed somewhere in between “immune” and “easy takes.”

  At the same time, Calypso had never been this open with me before. I decided to push my luck and ask the questions that had been in the back of my mind since the Hamilton job.

  “Why are we doing this, anyway?” I asked. “What’s so important about these five people in the first place?”

  Calypso’s gaze clouded over, and I cursed myself for going straight for the kill. Sometimes there were drawbacks to the fact that I was so direct.

  “We often speak of the concept of equality in this country,” Calypso finally said. “But I know that you are smart enough to realize how short we fall of that dream.”

  I nodded, but didn’t dare speak aloud. Calypso turned as she spoke, making her way down the hallway and away from the garage. I followed her.

  “Ten years ago, when I was younger than you, I was made a promise, a promise for a great future. A future that I made sacrifices to obtain. But when it came time to fulfill that promise, these five people broke it.”

  As she spoke, her normally soft, distracted voice became hard and focused.

  “I should have known. After all, people born to power and privilege don’t share unless forced.” She paused, and looked up as she spoke, her green gaze meeting mine with an intensity I had never seen before. “And so, Faultline, I must play their game and force them.”

  I paused, finding my lips suddenly dry. I had to smooth them before speaking again.

  “Force them…to fulfill their promise?”

  Calypso didn’t reply, but instead turned from me and walked toward the elevator. I felt my shoulders relax a fraction as she pressed the call button to go upstairs.

  “Faultline?”

  I jerked slightly at her voice, acting almost like one of her drones, jumping at her every whim.

  “Yes?” I asked.

  “I will require you to bring her in as well,” she said. “The Red and Black Woman. Alive, like the others.”

  I froze and blinked.

  “That’s…” I began.

  “It’s nonnegotiable,” she said, voice firm. “I held back on telling you because I was concerned it might distract you from the benefit. But we will likely need to act quickly with her.”

  “But…why?” I shook my head. “She’s the one person who has the power to tear everything apart?”

  The elevator dinged, and Calypso stepped inside. She turned toward me and spoke so softly that I barely heard her.

  “Because she represents an opportunity.”

  A half-smile spread on Calypso’s face before the doors closed. The expression didn’t look as appealing as it had before.

  It was starting to get dark as I walked around the perimeter of the Tong Building for the second time. Between Google Earth and floor plans, I had a pretty good idea of the layout, but it was one thing to see a picture of it and another to actually walk through the space. I walked to the edge of the bridge and looked down, just in time to see a tram car travel beneath the building and into the station.

  I sighed, thinking back on my conversation with Calypso from earlier in the day. I knew more about what was going on than before, but I couldn’t feel more lost. What was this really about, anyway? Evening old scores? Revenge?

  I thought back to how she had talked about picking certain drones for their skills. Had she picked me just as carefully? Not just because I was Empowered, but because she knew I would end up feeling sympathetic to her cause? After all, she was right. Even in a world where superpowers existed, life was rarely fair. And the only ones who ever seemed to notice that were the ones who constantly got the short end of the stick.

  Claire’s recent meeting with the principal had proven that. To be given the education that was legally hers, she had needed to scrape and bow in front of the parents of the asshole beating on her best friend. It was pointless to bring up the details. People would automatically side with Drake, a solid student and member of the soccer team, over Claire. She was a Gage, after all, and not a good one like her sister. A kid with issues, just like her brother.

  My stomach rumbled, cutting off my train of thought. With everything going on, I was way under my required calories for the day, which was unusual for me. And my mind was in a million different places at once. I wasn’t doing any good here.

  With a sigh, I began to head back south to the parking garage near Colossus. It was a bit of a walk, but I had been too distracted to drive. The parking here was shit, anyway. On my way, I passed Northwest Comics. And, once again, I saw Dawn stepping out of it, waving to someone inside. As she turned away from the door, the lights flickered off inside.

  At least this time, I saw her coming soon enough to prevent another collision.

  “Dawn?” I asked.

  She jumped at the sound of my voice. She was dressed in jeans and a purple zip-up hoodie with a yellow Batman symbol.

  “Alex?” she asked, blinking in surprise. I couldn’t help but smile.

  “We have to stop meeting like this,” I said. “It’s starting to get a little weird.”

  “You’re telling me. Were you working?”

  In response, my stomach let out a growl that the everyday noises of the city couldn’t mask.

  “Yeah,” I said with a wince. “Kind of forgot about the eating thing.”

  “Oh!” Dawn turned around. “I think the Cupcake Cafe just closed. By now the only places still open nearby are down by the Coastline.”

  “Including the best gelato stand in Bailey City.”

  “Huh?”

  “Awesome Gelato, of course.”

  Dawn frowned before replying.

  “Is that the name of the place or a description?”

  “Both! I can’t believe you’ve lived in Bailey City your whole life and have never been to Awesome Gelato.” I shook my head. “You’ll have to let me treat you. It’s right near the pier so it’s not far.” I paused, wincing. “I
mean…if you’re not angry at me. I do kind of owe you.”

  “Angry…I’m not.” Dawn shook her head. “Alex, I get the concept of family emergency—” “But I should have spoken up sooner. That would have been smart.” Had I not been trying to figure out how to extricate Calypso’s injured drone from a fight without exposing my identity. “I guess when it comes to my sisters, I don’t always see straight.”

  Dawn surprised me by smiling. She ducked her head and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, a now-familiar gesture.

  “I guess I can understand. Alan, my older brother, can be the same way.”

  “So does that mean you’re up for gelato?” I spread out my hands, which were tucked into the pockets of my leather jacket, a movement that Claire once told me made it look like a bird with wings. “No pressure, I swear.”

  Dawn hesitated for a couple seconds, then nodded.

  “I…have to be somewhere later. But I have time now.”

  Talk about a late meeting. It was eight o’clock already. Must be a college thing.

  I pointed her in the right direction, and we made our way to the Coastline. Dawn asked how Claire was doing, so I filled her in about the whole suspension thing. She nodded as she spoke but something felt…off. Not the awkward air that had permeated our earlier meetings, but something else. Like she was distracted. We turned a corner and I saw the sign for Awesome Gelato less than a block away.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked.

  “Well…” She frowned. “Sunshine and I…well, we didn’t really get into a fight but things are…off between us.”

  “Oh? How did that happen?”

  We stopped when we reached the gelato stand. There wasn’t much of a line, just a couple in front of us. Dawn began to speak again.

  “Sunshine thinks that I’m avoiding…certain things.”

  “Heh. I’m a pro at that. Can’t count the number of times that Mariah has gotten on me about the laundry or the dishes.”

  Dawn chuckled, then shook her head, her face suddenly becoming serious.

  “Alex, do you think it’s unhealthy to avoid things like bad memories?”