The Impossible Engineers (The Doorknob Society Saga Book 2)

by MJ Fletcher

  “You might want to tell your boyfriend that.”

  “I intend too,” I said under my breath.

  “So you don’t have a date or you aren’t going?” Faith had gotten up the courage to ask the question about the same time the color fully returned to her face.

  “I’m not sure; a school dance isn’t really my thing.” Nightshade smiled and stretched his arms out yawning.

  “It could be fun... with the right person.” Faith smiled at him and the look on her face made my stomach jump. I told myself to calm down that Nightshade wouldn’t go for it and that I needn’t worry.

  “Maybe you’re right.” Nightshade leaned forward, resting his arms on the table.

  I didn’t like the path this little conversation was taking and I sure as hell didn’t want to have to tell Jess that I sat by and watched while Faith talked Nightshade into taking her to the dance.

  “It’ll be lame; they always are,” I chimed in hoping to prevent the little train wreck that was about to happen.

  “Not if we all went together,” Faith said.

  Okay, I have to admit that her comment surprised me, though I still wanted no part of the dance. “I didn’t say we’re going?”

  “Now that’s an interesting idea, Faith. I’m sure Slade would love that.” Nightshade turned to me grinning and I wanted to take my plastic spork and jam it into his forehead.

  “I thought the dance wasn’t your thing?” I said shooting him a mind-your-business look.

  “Neither did I, but who knows if we all go maybe I’ll enjoy myself.” He smirked at me knowing full well I had no interest in going to this stupid event.

  “What about Jess?” I didn’t want to use my cousin but hey, I was being backed into a corner.

  “What about her?” Nightshade tilted his head looking at me.

  “I think she’s asking if you’re going with Jess or Faith.” Edgar poked at his goggles, yet again oblivious to the mayhem he caused when he dropped his little truth bombs. Faith’s face turned a bright shade of red and Nightshade looked from Edgar to her to me.

  “Is that what you’re asking?” Nightshade seemed genuinely surprised and that made me happy, for once I had him on defense.

  “I’d go with you, if you want,” Faith hurried to say.

  She blindsided me yet again jumping right in there. I blinked unsure what to say.

  “Chloe Masters?”

  “What?” I yelled annoyed that this whole conversation had completely spiraled out of control. I worried that I’d be the one explaining to the girls why the guys they thought would be taking them to the year-end dance wouldn’t be. I spun around to see who had called my name and found a man in a trench coat and fedora standing behind me.

  “Are you Chloe Master’s?” he asked again, though I think he knew full well who I was but these HVO types liked to be sure about everything. I mean he had to be HVO, who else walked around on a warm, sunny day in a trench coat besides HVO or a whack job.

  “That’s me.”

  “DI Emory would like to see you. If you’d come with me I can take you to him.” He waited for me to comply.

  Finally, a chance to speak with Emory, but I would have never thought that he would send one of his men to collect me. I figured he’d call me and arrange a meeting, but not an official one where he’d have home field advantage. I could see this day getting a whole lot worse before it got better.

  “If you didn’t notice it’s the middle of the school day,” I said, “I can’t just leave.”

  “DI Emory has already informed your father and the principal that you’d be leaving for the day. No need to worry, you’ll be getting full credit for the day.”

  Great, Emory had thought of everything, giving me no excuse to refuse him. “I guess I don’t have a choice.”

  “Very true, Miss,” the fellow said, his expression as stoic as his words.

  “I’ll let Slade know where you are,” Edgar offered as he watched me gather my things.

  “Chloe, why don’t you give your dad a call?” Nightshade suggested looking directly at the HVO agent.

  “What? Why?” the fellow spurted.

  “We don’t know this joker,” Nightshade said with a nod at the guy. “Let’s make sure your dad knows about this before you go anywhere.”

  “As I said he’s been informed,” the agent stressed through gritted teeth.

  Nightshade stood up beside me, his hand sliding around my arm. He leaned in close to me and whispered, “Call your dad just to be sure. Remember, the First Kind have people from every Society.”

  “He’s right. I’m going to check with my dad first.” I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and started typing in the number.

  “That won’t be necessary.” The agent reached for me and everything seemed to slow down.

  I was bringing the phone up to my ear and his one hand was shooting towards mine while his other was reaching into his coat pocket. I went to step back and Nightshade’s arm flew in front of me and connected with the agent’s jaw. I heard the crack as it snapped from the blow and the man dropped to the ground with a thud.

  Light exploded all around us and portals of glowing silver opened forming a circle. A DI jumped out from each portal and from the last one to open stepped DI Emory. His trench coat was rumpled as usual and his fedora was pushed back and sat askew. His eyes darted around quickly, the edges of his lips curling a bit as he took in the entire scene. He walked forward, scratching the back of his neck and glanced down at the man, who probably had a broken jaw, on the floor.

  “You always cost me a ton of paperwork, you know that, Chloe?” He pulled his hat off and wiped his hand across his forehead.

  “What going on Emory?” Nightshade’s low voice threatened and made even me wince.

  “Our little friend here is a DI alright but he went missing two weeks ago,” Emory explained. “We put a signal lock on all locations he might visit including the Paladin Academy. Once he stepped foot on the property we were alerted but it seems you got to him first.”

  “He told me that he was here to take me to you,” I said.

  Emory narrowed his eyes as he stared at the groaning figure. “Did he now? How interesting.”

  “You HVO types need to keep better tabs on your people,” Nightshade chimed in.

  Before Nightshade and Emory could get into it I said, “It’s been two weeks since I called you.” I was annoyed that Emory hadn’t called me back and now to have some rogue DI attempting to, I don’t know what— kidnap me—was not making me feel any better.

  “I didn’t forget about you kid, trust me. Why don’t you come with me while my men deal with this mess?” He motioned to a couple of DI's and they hurried over and hoisted the guy on the ground up, then disappeared with him into a portal.

  “Masters?” Nightshade held his skeleton key in his hand and I looked behind him to see both Edgar and Faith standing ready to fight if necessary.

  “It’s okay,”

  “Are you sure?”

  Nightshade and I locked eyes... in a sense. Even though he drove me totally nuts; we could read each other well with just a look or two. I nodded at him; he understood, grinned slightly, and loosened his grip on the skeleton key, sliding it back into his pocket.

  “Let’s get going, kid, we need to talk,” Emory ordered.

  “Not on your life. You’re coming with me this time.” I pulled my doorknob out and activated it thinking of a nice quiet spot where we could go and talk.

  “You got guts, kid, I’ll give you that.” He raised his hands in surrender and waited for me to finish my portal. Once I had completed it I opened the door and waved him in. Emory stepped through and I turned to my friends.

  “I’ll be back soon, let Jess and Slade know what happened,” I spoke quickly and turned into the portal. The last thing I saw was Faith’s arm sliding through Nightshade’s as he watched me disappear.

  Chapter 8

  Status: I go for a stroll.

&nb
sp; I stepped out of the portal onto white sandy beaches and the roar of the ocean. Emory was standing near the water’s edge staring out at the horizon, waiting for me. I walked up beside him and admired the rolling blue waves I hadn’t seen in some time.

  “Why this spot?”

  “We’d come down here on family trips and it was always quiet and empty. I figured it was a good place to have a conversation.” I thought back to those trips; me, Mom and Dad spending time on the beach together. Mom and I would build sandcastles together while Dad read his book and complained about the sun getting in his eyes and being too hot. Then Mom and I would run down to the water and fill one of my plastic buckets and run back to douse Dad cooling him and his complaints. We’d all laugh; it was such fun and such good memories. How could everything have gone so wrong? How could my mother have turned against us? Was it ever real? Did she ever truly love us?

  “The Bahamas?” Emory pulled off his hat and loosened his tie as I’m sure the heat was starting to get to him.

  I nodded, an unexpected knot in my throat stealing my voice for a moment.

  “Nice, I never did get much time for vacations. HVO Inspectors don’t really get much downtime.”

  “I would bet not. So are you going to tell me what’s going on?” We started walking slowly along the beach. I found myself liking Emory even though most of the time I wasn’t sure of his intentions or motives. He was like trying to decipher the sphinx, stiff like stone, though full of secrets. He was also gruff and old school but more often than not he came through in the end, which was what mattered most.

  “That’s the rub, kid, we’re not really sure. I wish I could give you a solid answer but at this point it’s all conjecture.” He kicked at a seashell, looking annoyed.

  “So let me get this straight, the First Kind has tried to snatch me twice now and you have no idea why?”

  “We’re working under the assumption that it’s either payback for the Infinity Library or maybe you just really pissed them off.” He chuckled at the thought.

  “That’s great news, you guys are supposed to be the police for our kind and that’s all you have for me?”

  “Look, kid, everyone, the Council included, is working with no playbook here. There were rumors for years about some shadow Order that was trying to change things but no one ever believed it. Now not only does it turn out to be true but it also appears that a good amount of our own kind have been a part of it. All bets are off.”

  “So basically you’re telling me everyone is running scared?”

  “Some are but I’m doing my best to find out what they want with you and stop them from succeeding.”

  I believed him, but I also had no doubt that my friends and I knew more than he did. And I was about to learn even more.

  “I need something from you, no questions asked.”

  “Cryptic, and why should I tell you anything?”

  “You’re always asking me to trust you when you’re not even sure who you can trust anymore. I saw the way you looked at that DI who tried to snatch me. Someone in HVO had to tell him that you were calling me, which means you have more than one traitor on board.” I touched a nerve; Emory stopped dead in his tracks.

  He turned and looked out over the ocean, sighed deeply and turned back to look at me. “What do you need?”

  I was right and he had just confirmed it for me. He was thinking the same... the HVO had been compromised.

  “An HVO member named Henna was assigned to Rome. I need to know where and how to contact her.” Emory’s eyes stayed on me as if he was contemplating his answer. He didn’t move or say anything, he just stared at me without blinking.

  “That’s all you want from me, an address?”

  “For the moment.” I had to keep my options open in case things went badly and I required his help again.

  “I know Henna. I’ll send you her contact information, though you’ll need a map to get to her in Rome. It’s not exactly an easily accessible location.”

  “It never is,” I quipped, “but if you can provide the map, I have a Mapmaker who can get me there.”

  “Your friend Edgar?”

  “No questions remember. It’ll be safer for everyone that way?”

  Emory nodded in understanding as he glanced down the beach. “It must have been nice coming here as a family before all of this happened?”

  Thoughts of my mother rushed into my head and I clenched my hands at my sides as I demanded, “What do you mean?”

  “I didn’t mean anything, Chloe. I know how close your family was and it disturbed me that we couldn’t find out more about your mom’s disappearance. Your dad took it so hard and it didn’t help that Jordan was out to get him at the time.”

  “Is there any word on Jordan?” I was happy to shift the topic and learn anything new about the weasel that had caused so many members of my family to suffer. That I intended to see him pay for it was a given.

  “Mostly rumors here and there, the big one of course being that he is a member of the First Kind. I wouldn’t totally discount it, and more than likely he’s laying low after we found out how badly he had mishandled your father’s discovery of the artifact. Having been booted off the council and ousted as head of DS, it’s not likely that he has many places to turn to now, though I’m sure he’ll pop up again soon. His type always does. I also would bet that he blames you for most of his troubles, so I’d keep an eye out if I was you,”

  “Let him come looking for me; I wouldn’t mind a little payback of my own.”

  “Like I said you got guts, kid.” He laughed, though it faded as we both watched a large wave crash and roll along the shore. “You need to be careful and use your head. This isn’t a game; its life and death we’re talking about.”

  “I know that.” I thought of Lauren Harkness and how Nightshade was still mourning her death even now, a year later.

  “I’ll get you your information, but if anyone asks it didn’t come from me and as far as I am concerned I don’t need to know why you’re looking for Henna.”

  “Understood.”

  “We better head back before HVO comes looking for us. I wouldn’t want to spoil your nice spot here.”

  I nodded and activated my doorknob, opening a portal back to Cape May. Before we stepped through Emory looked at me one last time.

  “Be careful, Chloe.” He disappeared into the portal and I took a deep breath and followed after him.

  Emory was already exiting through his own portal when I stepped back on Paladin Academy grounds. Edgar was smiling in my direction sitting cross-legged on the bench of the lunch table where I had left him, only he was now alone.

  “Where’s Nightshade?” I looked about surprised he hadn’t stuck around to find out if I had learned anything.

  “Faith asked him to walk her to her next class. I told them I would wait for you.”

  “Oh, okay.” I didn’t like the sound of that at all and I also didn’t like the idea of telling Jess about this later because I sure in hell was going to let my cousin know what was going on. However, for now, I filled Edgar in on what I had learned about Henna and that I should have a not-so-easy location on her soon. He immediately started rifling through his bag looking for a map of Italy.

  “Here it is.” He pulled out a well-worn map and spread it out on the table.

  I slid onto the bench and look down at the map of the city of Rome. Mapmaker maps are like nothing most people will ever see. They are actually living things with equations and portals appearing and disappearing. The spin of the Earth and our flight through the universe are captured in their maps. It takes my breath away every time I see one. And this one was beyond most that I had viewed.

  “Wow,” I said in awe.

  “I know. Rome is one of the oldest cities in the world and has more portals and dimensional rifts than most places. I hope I get accurate coordinates to work with.” Edgar bit at his lower lip as he concentrated on the map.

  “You’ll figure it o
ut for us, you always do Edgar.” I smiled and patted his knee as he pulled his goggles down from where they nested in his hair and flicked the button on the side of them. The gears began turning and suddenly new lens were flipping in front of his eyes as he began to decipher the dimensions needed for the trip.

  My phone chimed and I yanked it out checking my text. The message was from Emory and I handed the phone to Edgar. He snatched it and his hands went to work on the map. Streams of gold energy danced across the surface of it as he input the new data.

  “What did I miss?” Slade dropped down onto the bench beside me and I smiled and gave him a quick hug.

  “Not much.” I winked and told him quickly about what had happened with the HVO. He was rather unhappy about the attempt to snatch me but he was glad I had finally gotten to talk with Emory.

  “So does this mean the HVO is involved now?” Slade asked.

  “Not so much,” I said, “Emory sent me coordinates where we could find Henna and Edgar is working on them now.”

  “You still want to go through with this even though another attempt was made to snatch you?” Slade gave me that wounded look he usually did when something was upsetting him.

  “Yes, of course, I want to go through with this. Obviously the HVO is just as compromised as the other Societies. We don’t know who we can trust so we trust no one. We do this on our own.”

  Slade gave a resigned sigh and nodded, turning to watch as Edgar pulled the map into a three dimensional scale and was manipulating the locations to find the best access.

  “Henna could be the key,” I said.

  “I want to go with you.” Slade didn’t look at me. Instead he kept his eyes on the map. I heard the determination in his strong voice and knew there was no point in arguing.

  “This is super complicated guys, so if you’re going to be talking a lot can I have some space please.” I laughed at Edgar’s comment and stood up from the table and poked Slade in the back. He followed me.

  “Meet me at my house after the last class?” I said.

  Edgar nodded while he continued working on the map.