He answered without hesitation, “I do. Do you want to know what I was looking up?”
She waved her hands at him, “No. Not really. I was just teasing you.” If he thought she needed to know, he would have told her. If he was keeping it a secret, there was a reason and that reason, in her experience, was usually her own safety. She trusted his judgment on that one hundred percent.
He nodded and waited.
She continued, “My question was: How would you like to be dead?” She tried to keep from smiling, but she couldn’t, darn it. Finally, she just gave up and let it take over her face.
“Hm. All the way dead, or just mostly dead?”
“The living dead. Look, I’ve been thinking about your identity issues and I think I have a solution that might work better than what you’re doing now. Wanna hear it?”
“Absolutely.”
“Open a window. No wait, I’ll show you on my display.” She started scooting back over to her area, gripping the arms and using her legs like a crab until he got up and pushed her chair ahead of him. “Thanks. Okay. Let me get this up.”
While she was finding the information she wanted, she pointed at the bag next to the display. “That’s your lunch, if you want it. Pastrami. Also, your delivery went out without a problem. I hope your family is getting your messages. I probably wouldn’t.”
“They check everything. I’m sure they’ll get them. Even if they missed the first, this was the third one; it’s doubtful that they would miss all three.”
The two sites she wanted to show him were loading. “Okay…” She stopped and closed the windows. They both looked up a moment before the door opened.
Soshia walked in with a man Aorin didn’t recognize. He was older, perhaps in his fifties, and wore an air of authority like a comfortable old jacket.
Soshia introduced him right away, “Scythe and Aorin. Good afternoon. Sorry I’m late today. This is Holder. He’s going to be helping us out while Temper is assigned elsewhere.”
“Elsewhere” told Aorin everything about Holder. “Elsewhere” meant he wasn’t on a need to know basis. It also meant that they were being careful around him. Why Soshia would introduce someone like that at this time worried Aorin and made her suspect that it wasn’t her idea in the first place. Scythe was scheduled to leave any day now, just after they acquired and interrogated Tiburon. They had kept him safe all this time, so she wouldn’t expose him now to a possible leak without a good reason.
“I look forward to working with you,” Scythe said, bowing his head.
Aorin looked up at him, tilting her head sideways. He was telling the truth. In addition to that, she could tell that he was pleased. What was that about? She sighed internally. Undoubtedly he was already working on some intricate strategy involving this guy. It was mentally exhausting trying to figure him out.
She nodded at Holder, “What section do you come from?”
“Intelligence,” he said politely, looking around the room briefly before resting his eyes on Aorin and the man beside her.
Intelligence? Well...no wonder. He could afford to be polite. All he had to do was say he was from Intelligence and everyone knew what that meant. Watch the hell out.
He continued casually as if they were meeting for lunch, “I happened to notice your little operation here and thought I’d come take a look. I’d like to start off by saying that your setup with the reporter was a shrewd operation. We really benefitted, both from the intel our people were able to get from the parties involved, as well as from the derailment of their attempt to further undermine the Scere’s reputation.”
Everyone bowed their heads appropriately.
Soshia waved to the room, deftly keeping him from entering by standing in the doorway so that he would need to push past her to enter, “As you can see, we are running a skeleton crew here. I’ve already explained Agent Scythe’s role…”
“Ex-agent.”
“That is more accurate, yes. He is scheduled for his last interrogation as soon as the target is acquired, which should be any day now. Then this location will be shut down and we’ll relocate back to headquarters for the rest of the operation.”
“Why only one more? We have many uses for an ability as reliable and with as good a track record, albeit a dated one, as his. I can think of two operations my teams are running right now that could use…”
Soshia interrupted, shaking her head, “Scythe is a contract agent on this one. His availability is limited.”
“I’m sure a person as resourceful as he is has the ability to make himself more available, isn’t that right, Scythe?”
Scythe’s heartbeat was the only one that matched Holder’s slow, unhurried pace, which undeniably made the man even more interested in him. He nodded. He looked like he was thinking about what the man was saying, which Aorin knew was for the man’s benefit. Scythe rarely looked like he was thinking. He usually looked like he was watching, or, if he didn’t like you, like he was deciding which terrible thing he had picked up in a mass murderer’s mind he was going to do to you. He never looked like he was thinking. If you knew him, it went without saying that he was always doing that.
Holder wore a smug smile, “Well, there will be time for that discussion later. Let’s see your team’s progress on this case, Soshia.”
“Very well. Aorin, can you pull up the latest report, outline our ‘in progress’ and the ‘in queue’ and bring it to us? Just briefs, nothing lengthy...she is very thorough and if I don’t say that, we’ll be having breakfast tomorrow before we see anything.” She shared a laugh with Holder and said before leading him down the hall, “We’ll meet in my office.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Aorin said, already opening a new workspace. She started typing immediately. There was no way Soshia wanted him to see all of their operations, especially the remaining trap-type affairs. They had agreed that some Scere agents were likely leaking information to the Families, but they didn’t know where. Since they couldn’t guarantee what Holder would do with the information, there was no way they were going to risk their agents’ security by handing it over to him.
So, one abbreviated outline coming up...She took most of the key parts from the original and plugged them into the new one.
“You need any help?” Scythe asked.
“No. You okay?”
“Of course. Don’t worry, Aorin.” He sounded very confident, and the hand he pressed down briefly on her shoulder was reassuring.
Okay. That made her feel a little better. One page down.
He went to his computer and started working.
“So, since he showed up after Justice’s interrogation, he might be linked to the ones we’re looking for?”
“No.”
“No?”
“Not him. The one who sent him, or the one who set it in motion, that’s the one you’ll have to look for. These guys are too smart to show up here themselves.”
Two pages. Almost done. Wait, did he say, ‘you’ll have to look for’? She stopped typing and turned around, but he spoke before she had a chance to.
“We’ve got three outside and two more down Helena Street.”
He was looking at some video feeds from she had no idea where. In one frame she recognized the back of the building they were in. Two men were standing just outside.
“You installed your own cameras? When did you do that?”
“A while ago, the first week I came.”
“Where’d you get the hardware?”
“I brought it with me.”
Damn.
She turned around and finished her 'for show' report. Then she sent it to the printer as well as to Soshia’s tablet. She got up, pulled the pages out of the bin, and slid them into a folder. “Okay, be right back.” She headed for the door.
“Aorin,” he said from behind her.
She turned around. He was working feverishly on the computer the same as he always did, so she didn’t expect him to say, “You can reach me the same way
you did before. I’ll watch for listings under your seller alias.”
“Oh...okay.” He was leaving. She took a deep breath. Good.
“Also, I’ll do Tiburon myself before I go and send the report to your house.”
“Forget him. Just go.”
He shrugged. “If I can do it safely, I will. If not, I’ll leave it. Be careful when you follow the Holder trail, especially if it’s a clear one. We are not the only ones to come up with the trap idea.”
“Good. I...I wish you well, Scythe.”
He smiled. “Good bye, Aorin.”
She hesitated, “You need time?”
“Time is always welcome, but you’d probably bungle it. You are terrible at sneaking.”
“Hey! I can sneak.”
“You crashed the pizza truck.”
“Well…”
“Into a police station.”
“Okay that was an isolated incident.”
“And then I had to stop you from going in to make an accident report.”
“I was in shock. I think I had a mild concussion.”
“Fine. Go ahead and show me how well you sneak.”
“I will.” She turned, opened the door, went through and closed it quietly behind her.
Okay. Now, this guy is in intelligence, so he really knows how to spot a liar...Oh Jeeze! What was I thinking?! I can’t sneak worth beans! She took a deep breath and gripped the report. I’ve got to try.
She went down the short hall to the other study and knocked on the door. Soshia opened it, took one look at her face, and snatched the report out of her hands before slamming the door on her.
So much for buying time. She went back to the workroom and opened the door. “I guess you…”
The room was empty and the computer Scythe had been working on displayed a bar which told her that the hard drive format was ninety percent completed. His independent research would be very difficult to trace now. Just like him.
Chapter 10
He couldn’t understand them. At first he could barely hear them, because they were far away. But, even when they got louder, they still didn’t make any sense to him.
“My dorantke says he is sorkep jil with his mother.”
“That’s not my dorantke. Coreler Jekelrez feeret he be westetdet oropteretz and teonminet to tronken five.”
Human. They were speaking Human.
“Why don’t you cherelnt with adsiretn lisnweenty before you make a poiroelnt, toturin.”
Scythe had spoken Human at home, but not frequently; his father had taught him to read and write it, but it was still a challenge for him. Besides, the way they pronounced certain words and sounds didn’t sound like what he had learned from either of his parents.
“I don’t need you to elsefid me on my orpimy, kia. Westeden him now and I’ll teonminet him myself.”
Scythe opened his eyes and lifted his head. Humans. Two Human men were standing next to the cot where he lay. He’d never seen even one before in his life. They were both big and muscular, and wore the same black uniforms...he’d seen...at…
His heart started beating wildly, and his breathing matched it. They both looked over when he jerked, momentarily dropping their argument so that the tent was filled only with the sounds of Scythe’s rapid, gasping breaths. The angrier one’s face twitched just above the lip when he caught Scythe looking at him. The less angry one had a set jaw and a stern look, but it wasn’t directed at Scythe, it was a carryover from the fight he was having with Mr. Twitch.
Mr. Jaw said, covering Scythe’s gasps with a steady, calming voice, “Jiirl sit oporin, lidik. Don’t preirn.”
Black uniforms like the one that came out of the dark and struck her down so...so fast...it didn’t seem real.
He didn’t wait for Scythe to respond, which was good, because he didn’t have the foggiest idea what to say, or how to form words. He was still reaching for each breath and staring. Meanwhile, his mind tried to make sense of what was going on around him.
They started arguing again and eventually he pulled his eyes away from them and looked around. He was in a very small tent. There was only one more cot and it was empty. Other than that, there were a couple of trunks and a duffle bag that was thrown down by the door.
He was...with two Humans...how did he get there? He was in the kitchen with his aunt...she'd...she'd been hit and...hurt really seriously...hit by that man wearing...who was dressed like them...
In a second, it all came together. He had been taken! He sat up quickly, and they stopped arguing. Mr. Jaw came toward him, holding out his hands placatingly.
“Oieli on, lidik. Don’t preirn. It’s alright. We’re friends. You’re safe now.”
Those words struck him in the chest, stilling his heart and lungs.
You’re safe now.
He stopped breathing with one sharp, involuntary, “Augh.”
Half of him wanted to curl into a ball and hide. Get away. Go away. Don’t let this be the place to wake up. Somehow, couldn’t he..somehow...go back? He wanted to go back home.
You’re safe now.
The other half didn’t want that. It wanted something else...but he didn’t know what or maybe he just didn’t know how. Just...do something...He wanted to do whatever it took to take himself away from this place and fly to the place he wanted to be, but...wasn’t...wasn’t that place…
Burned?
He wavered, and bent in the wind. His shoulders began to pull in tightly to his body. His hands were already closed into tight fists and one elbow had bent so that his arm was hugging his chest.
Was...was that place empty?
He began to tip. Then a stronger wind blew from a point deep inside of him, pushing Scythe back up until he stood straight and tall. Strong hands pressed on his back, held him in place and then gave him a little push. Scythe felt himself shift.
Not safe.
He was not safe, but not cowering, either. He slid off the cot and backed away from the man.
He had not been taught to cower.
“Good korid, kia. Now he’s firin lipalin. Jiirl grbim and get it over with.”
Not “grbim,” Scythe realized. It was “grab him.” Or...his mind snatched at pieces of information and tied them together, “Just grab him.” He lowered his center and kept his eyes on Mr. Jaw, who frowned and slowed down instinctively.
“What the helerke? He looks like he’s cleiniein to atilen me.”
“You are udelrle, kia. Get im of my pield!” Mr. Twitch stormed down the narrow space between the cots toward Scythe. Scythe waited until they were right next to each other, until the larger man was pushing the other roughly to the side, before he moved. He sprinted forward, barreling into a surprised Mr. Twitch and putting all his body weight behind the shoulder that jammed him in the lower ribs. At the same time, he brought his right hand up in a sharp jab to the man’s lower back. With a shout, he tried to step back to counterbalance himself, but was hampered by the smaller man’s body. They both went sprawling onto the low cot.
Scythe shot past them, lifting a leg just high enough to avoid the foot that tried to hook it, and, pushing the heavy flap aside with his hand, rushed out of the tent and into the center of a busy camp filled with Human soldiers.
Everyone stopped and stared at him. Then the closest started moving in, some with hands open like Mr. Jaw, but most with hands and eyes like Mr. Twitch. All of them were talking or yelling at the same time and he couldn’t understand a word of it.
Five seconds for a quick survey of the camp. One and Two: Counting. Three: Estimating distance. Four: Evaluating. Five: Plan. Done.
He ran to the left, along the side of a larger tent. The ones that weren’t standing back and laughing chased him. He didn’t think they were serious about catching him right away because they moved very slowly for trained soldiers. That was fine with him. By the time he got to the end of the tent that sheltered his left side and lined up his pursuers behind him, he was at his destination: a short row o
f trucks.
One woman tried to cut him off, intercepting him just as he left the edge of the tent and snatching at his arm. She had a quick grab, managing to get her hand around his forearm. He dropped his elbow, raised his hand and moved his arm in a sharp, slicing arc in the opposite direction. Her hand came right off at the same time his second hand took a swipe at her face.
With a “Hey!” she blocked his fake strike, shying away just long enough for him to slip by her. He passed the first three trucks and stopped at the fourth, the one he was heading for. The fourth was the one he had seen the driver leave just moments before, and Scythe had noticed that there weren't any keys in the man’s hand when he got out.
Someone behind him was shouting, “Stop, boy!” and it sounded like a real warning, but he was not about to turn around and check. He didn’t want to know if there was a gun attached to the voice. He was willing to bet that if they hadn’t shot him already, and most of them had weapons on them, then they weren’t ready to kill him. He was just a kid, after all. On the other hand, they were the Humans that had attacked his home; they had already shown that they were comfortable with murder. He was counting on the assumption that even they wouldn’t kill a kid. It would have been unthinkable to the Kin, but these people weren’t Kin. He could be wrong.
He yanked open the door, swinging it into the woman who was right on his tail and giving her a quick but forceful kick to the shin before jumping into the cab. He pulled the suddenly free door closed and punched the lock down. Then he crawled across the seat and did the same for the other door. Then he checked the ignition.
No key.
There was pounding on both doors and shouting. A large crowd of them had followed his escape route and were standing back, watching and laughing. He checked the glove box and the little compartments under the seat.
No key.
He put his hand on the steering wheel and looked out the window. Mr. Twitch was heading his way with a very angry older man with a belly. He caught Scythe looking at him, and his upper lip jerked again. He started shaking his head in a threatening way.
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