by W. J. May
“Yes. Sorry.” Crap, he didn't know! She waited for him to react, inwardly cringing.
“No problem.” He waved his hand. “I'm a tech-guy, science nerd.” He pushed his glasses up his nose again. “Can you touch your partner beside you and tell me what you see?”
“Devon's not my partner.” Her heart fluttered at the assumption. Had he seen something in her past to make him think that?
Curtis flicked his wrist. “He will be for this mission.”
“Oh yes, sorry.” She reached for Devon and hesitated a moment before touching him. “May I?”
He shrugged. “Sure.”
She tentatively brushed her fingers against his bicep. She quickly pulled her arm back. Nothing happened.
“You have to hold it longer,” Curtis said. “The memories are only absorbed by skin-to-skin contact. You must remain touching the person in order to see the entire memory.”
“That's the same as Carter's.”
He shook his head. “It's different.” He motioned again. “Try it again.”
She reached for Devon's arm again.
“No, it has to be directly on the skin,” Curtis said.
Rae gave Devon an apologetic glance. She slipped her hand into his and focussed on the strings of Curtis' tatù. She stared at their two fingers entwined perfectly together. She didn't know what to expect or what she was supposed to do.
Curtis cleared his throat. “Devon, think about something you did as a child.”
A blurry image began to form in Rae's head. It slowly cleared. A bright sun reflected off the cars parked along the road and a boy appeared pushing a bike. Rae recognized him as the younger version of Devon. He walked his bicycle around the corner to an empty tennis court. He rested his bike against the chain-link fence as he clipped his helmet on. Rae moved closer to watch him. She could almost feel herself brush up against the chain-link fence and mentally moved around the fence so she could see him more clearly.
Young Devon looked at her as she moved, and she almost wondered if he could see her. He grabbed his bike and moved it to the middle of the open court. He got on it and gave himself a push and began pedaling and trying to steer. The front wheel wobbled as he struggled to gain control. He managed to turn the bike around on the far end and picked up speed. Going too fast as he rode toward the fence, he tried to brake with his feet on the ground but didn't have enough control. His hands jerked free as he reached out to protect himself.
Rae grabbed the bike to steady the handlebars and stop him from falling.
“Thanks!” the young Devon said in a squeaky voice. “I was about to crash.”
Rae pulled her hand out of Devon's and gasped. The fresh summer air, green grass, and hot pavement disappeared. She was immediately back in the present, standing at the table surrounded by Carter, Jennifer, Curtis and a shock-faced Devon.
Devon rubbed the hand she had been holding, unable to tear his eyes away from her.
“My ability is unique.” Curtis nodded at the two of them in understanding. “President Carter can search through memories.” He chuckled. “I have the uncanny ability to step into them.”
Devon cleared his throat; his eyebrows pressed together. “I remember that day. I was seven, determined to ride with no training wheels. I wanted to show my father I could do it on my own. I remember a teenager helping me when I went too fast and nearly lost control. She steadied the bike and then… disappeared. I never knew to this day that it was Rae.”
Rae looked back and forth between Devon and Curtis. “I was never there.”
Curtis pointed at Devon. “But he remembers it. He believes it to be true now. Somehow he now thinks that it has always been so. He just thinks he's making the connection now that it was you.”
“But it wasn't me back then. I'm younger than Devon. It couldn't have possibly been me.”
“I know,” Devon said. “You just shared it with me now, yet it seems like…like you were there that day. Someone was there.” He hesitated. “And they looked just like you.” He scratched his head. “Now that's one crazy tatù.”
Curtis leaned against the table. “It does have its benefits.” He watched Rae for a moment. “You cannot change the course of history with this ability, nor change a person's path. If you try to go back to save another, it won't work.” He glanced at Carter before returning his gaze to Rae. “But if, say, you are friends with the soon-to-be Princess of Wales and someone questions how the two of you know each other, it just might come in handy.” He crossed his arms over his chest.
“You want me to use this tatù, so the soon-to-be princess thinks we are friends?”
“No.” Carter pointed to the thick file on the table in front of her. “You and Devon need to know everything inside there like the back of your hand. Memorize it all and be familiar with all of it. The two of you are going to work together to protect the soon-to-be princess. She knows you both have tatùs.”
“She does?” Devon and Rae asked the question at the same time.
Jennifer scoffed. “You were right, Carter. They are going to be perfect together.” She walked around the table. “The Queen has hired us, but she has no idea about our tatùs. The son's fiancé, on the other hand, does. She is one of us.”
“What?” Devon shook his head. “You've got to be joking!”
“I'm not.” Jennifer gave him an annoyed look usually reserved for Rae. “She's one of us and someone wants her dead. There have been several efforts to sabotage the prince's relationship.”
Carter continued, “Last week there was an attempt on her life. A clear message was left that no member of the royal family would ever bear the mark of a tatù. We need to find those responsible and protect her.”
“That's where you two come in.”
“What do you want us to do?” Rae detested the fact that the soon-to-be princess was being judged because of a tatù. It was probably some royal old fart who couldn't stand women or anyone with talent.
“Protect the soon-to-be princess,” Carter said. “While posing as a couple. Rae will pretend to be a close friend of Sarah. She knows the background of your jobs.”
Rae blinked, and blinked several times again. A couple? She must have heard Carter wrong. “I'm sorry. A couple of what?”
Devon nudged her under the table with his foot so no one else would see.
Face entirely serious, Carter continued. “Fake romance. Pretend the two of you are together. It's the only way we can get Devon and you into the castle and included in the Royal Tea fundraiser gala in two weeks.”
Rae looked at Devon to see if he had known about this. He had the same questioning expression on his face.
Carter rubbed his hands together. “Don't look so frightened, you two. When Rae arrived, Devon you showed her the ropes. The two of you were the best of friends that year and seemed close all through last year as well. I don't understand why you both look terrified by the thought.”
“I know.” Curtis took his glasses off and began cleaning them with his shirt. “The Privy Council and Guilder spend an insurmountable amount of time on teaching us how wrong two people with tatùs is. Now it sounds like we're encouraging it.”
“Yeah,” Devon finally found his voice and spoke. “I'm not sure this is such a good idea.”
“You can't pretend to think Rae's hot?” Jennifer gave him a disbelieving look. “Use your brain, mister-rule-book-boy. It's a mission. If you can't do it, we'll find someone else who can.” She pulled out her phone. “What about Julian? Or Riley?”
Devon put his hand over Jennifer's. “I can do this.”
“Good.” She stuffed her phone back in her pocket. “Everything's arranged. Devon, you are going to be going as yourself. We want people to know you attended Guilder. It might entice the stalker if they know more tatù people are around.” She turned to Rae. “You cannot go as Rae Kerrigan. Your background, character, lifestyle is all sorted inside your file. Your name is Karen Carter. You attended Oxford with Sarah. You've been
out of the country and have just recently returned. We suggested America because of the accent you now have.” She shot Rae a look, expecting her to disagree. When Rae didn't, she continued. “We've set you up in a flat, all your clothing, and the belongings you will need are already inside. You needed new clothes… Higher ranking than a black ops.” She pulled out a pair of keys and handed one to each of them. “The flat across from you will have two other black ops working behind the scenes to make sure you two don't mess everything up.”
“Jennifer!” Carter warned. “They are there to help you out. Any background info you need, gadgets, I.D.” He waved his hand and looked at Devon. “You know, the usual stuff.”
Rae couldn't get around the fact that the Privy Council wanted them to pretend to be a couple! Were they crazy? “I don't think I…”
“Who's in apartment two?” Devon asked, cutting her off.
“I am,” Curtis said.
Devon clapped him on the back. “Glad to be working with you again.” He said to Rae, “You'll love Curtis' gadgets. He makes MacGyver look amateur.”
Curtis laughed. “Wait till you see some of the neat tech stuff I've made.”
“You said two techs?” Rae asked Carter, trying to ignore Devon and Curtis. They seemed like best friends. “Is Jennifer coming as well?”
Carter shook his head. “I'm afraid not. She's going to be trying to chase down any leads on Kraigan.”
“I'm coming.”
Rae turned at the sound of a quiet voice near the door.
A tiny, dark-haired girl peeked into the room. She clutched a cane in one hand and took a step into the room, using the cane for support. “Sorry, I'm late. I got called into a mission as we pulled in. Is everybody filled in?”
Rae stared in amazement. “Maria?”
You got it girl; it's me. You ready to kick some bad-guy ass?
Chapter 5
Tough Maria? When had that happened? Rae had always known her as quiet, slightly unsure and shy. Where did the cane come from?
Devon reacted faster than Rae. He rushed to Maria and held his arm out for support.
“I'm fine.” She ignored his offered hand and made her way beside Rae. Maria smiled and gave Rae a big hug. “I've missed you.” She turned back to Devon and shot him a shy smile. “Sorry, I'm just determined to get better and I need to do stuff on my own or I never will.”
“What happened?” Rae relaxed. This was more the Maria she knew.
Carter cleared his throat. “Maria's been working with us since the summer. She was on a black ops mission where an accident happened.”
“What were you doing?” Rae couldn't picture Maria doing the same stuff she had been doing.
“It's classified.” Carter crossed his arms over his chest, his face giving away nothing.
Maria smiled, her brown eyes sparkling as she looked at Rae. “It's so good to see you. It feels like forever.”
Rae hugged her friend again. “It does feel like a long time. Are you okay?”
Maria waved her hand. “Yeah. I hurt my back. Tried to play the hero when it's not really my style. I'm more of a behind the scenes kind of person.” She gave Curtis a smile. “We working together again?”
“You got it, little one.” Curtis winked at her. “No more superhero stunts for you then?”
Rae was dying to know what had happened but knew she couldn't ask. She glanced at Devon, but he looked as baffled as she felt, so she knew he had no idea either.
“Maria's tatù is a great way to communicate. She's able to send Intel in as needed without having to worry about wires or being traced.”
Devon nodded enthusiastically. “Great idea. I could have used her a number of times already.” He put his arm around Maria in a brotherly way. “I'm glad you're here.”
“Wouldn't have it any other way.” She leaned into Devon.
Jennifer walked around the table and stood by Rae. She flipped the light on the table that lit it up from underneath, revealing a blueprint of Buckingham Palace. “Maria's got a handy ability. The only problem is that whoever she's working with, can't send Intel back. We had some miscommunication, and she went dashing in to try and warn her partner.” Her eyes darted over the blueprint. “That's why we felt she would be perfect for this mission. She can do her mind speaking thing to Rae, and Kerrigan can answer back.” She pointed to a large room on the left side of the castle. “This is where the Royal Tea Masquerade Ball is going to be held. According to our theories, this is where Sarah is going to be most vulnerable. If someone wants her dead, it could happen at any moment, but this would be the perfect opportunity to do it.”
Carter tapped on several locations. “There will be several entrances and exits that are guarded, but still permeable. It's tea with a soon-to-be princess, so everyone wants to attend. Tickets are sold at auction, and there are radio stations raffling off tickets. Anyone can participate so it's next to impossible to control who will be there.”
Jennifer flipped Rae's file open and skimmed through several pages. “Here is a list of who is already attending. However, there are still another hundred to two hundred prize tickets to be won. This thing is massive.”
From the long list in front of her, Rae could tell. “So you want us to guard S-Sarah?”
“Without being detected. She has bodyguards. You two need to go in undercover. No tatù abilities out in the open,” Carter said.
“Or just don't get caught using them,” Jennifer added.
“Do you know if it is someone working alone? Do you have any idea of who it could be?” Devon asked as he stared at the list on the table.
“We have almost nothing,” Carter said.
Rae stared at the thick file. Sure looked like a lot to her.
“It is a viable, legit threat.”
“What is Sarah's tatù?” Rae looked around the table.
Nobody responded. She checked the front of the file and found the page on the prince's fiancé. “Tatù unknown?”
Jennifer frowned. “It's not exactly a question you openly ask the soon-to-be Princess of Wales in front of the Queen of England!”
“So you mean, you don't know what she can do?”
“Not at the moment.” By the expression on Jennifer's face, she didn't like having to admit to it.
“Have you checked with her father? Is he inked?” Rae checked the paper in her hand.
Jennifer let out an exasperated breath.
Carter touched her shoulder. “These are all good questions, Rae. All things we've looked into. Her father is not tatùed. Her mother passed away four years ago from cancer. There is no record of her mother's tatù marking. She could not have attended Guilder since it was still an all-boys school. She was a stay-at-home mother. She entertained and was well received in London. Her husband built a millionaire business from the ground up, which brought himself, his wife and daughter into the elite circle. Sarah met Prince Philip at Oxford.”
“If they met at Oxford, won't the prince find it weird that I attended Oxford, and we never met?” Rae asked.
“Sarah is older than you. She's twenty-two. You attended Oxford one year, then went abroad. You're nearly nineteen now, so we've thrown two more years on your I.D.” Jennifer closed the file and handed it over to Rae. “Study it, know everything. You'll find answers around the questions.”
I already know it. Maria told Rae through her telepathy ability. If you forget something, I can help. I have all your information so you can just ask me.
I think I'm going to have to. Rae smiled, loving that no one else in the room could hear them. How far can you reach now with communicating?
Further, than you'd believe. What about you?
I'm not really sure. I haven't used it in a long time.
Then we'll have to strengthen yours.
Thank you.
For what?
For doing this mission with me. It helps having someone normal in this group.
Maria giggled, then realizing she had done it out
loud, she straightened. Let's go get us some bad guys. “When do we leave?”
“Now.” Curtis grabbed a backpack off a chair near the door and slipped it over his shoulder. “You driving with me or with your friend?”
“She should drive with you,” Carter spoke before Maria could respond. “Devon and Rae need to go over the file and get to know each other.”
Devon cleared his throat. “I think we'll be fine, sir.”
Jennifer handed Rae a backpack as well. “Curtis has a bag of computer gadgets. This one's more yours and my style.” Her eyes met Rae's and held them. “You are beyond talented, Rae. Get through this.”
And we'll focus on finding my mother? Rae asked her using Maria's telepathy.
Jennifer gave her a brisk nod. “Devon?”
“Yes?”
“Rae's talented, but she has a habit of thinking with her heart instead of her head. Be the smart one here.”
Hold up a sec... What?
“Yes, mum.” Devon nodded.
Smug little, brown-nosin'… Rae was so going to kill him before this mission was finished.
As Maria headed out with Curtis, Rae made sure to be a step ahead of Devon. She could hear Jennifer questioning Carter how she and Devon were going to pull the couple thing off.
Devon apparently heard it as well because he came up beside her and said quietly, “There's nothing wrong with thinking with your heart.”
She didn't know if he was trying to hint at something between the two of them, or just trying to give her a boost of confidence for the mission. She didn't need the latter. She was a Kerrigan, confidence came with the name. “You should try it sometime then, Dev. Being the responsible, logical one isn't always what it's cracked up to be.”
He fumbled for his keys as they stepped outside. Maria and Curtis were already pulling out of the parking lot. “It seems to be working fine for me.”
She sighed, wishing that for ten minutes they could just talk without rules, barriers or anything hanging over their heads. Hanging over his head. “You should go out on a limb.”
“Pardon?”
She opened his passenger car door and got in, setting the backpack on the ground between her feet. “Go out on a limb, Devon. That's where the fruit is.”