Ben cupped my chin in one hand and tilted my head so I was looking at him. My eyes met his. There was no getting away from this.
My lower lip trembled. I’d never trembled in my life, not when I’d faced fear, not when I’d crept up behind two madmen with guns and supposedly become a hero. So why should this happen when facing Ben Tanner?
He pressed his lips against mine. The downy hair on the back of my neck stood on end and something sizzled inside me. First trembling, then sizzling. This shouldn’t be happening.
As he pulled back, I realized that was a kiss. I was screaming on the inside. THAT WAS A KISS.
My parents back in New Nation had procreated, I knew that. Lots of people had sex. If we didn’t, the race would die out. It was simple mathematics or science or something.
It had nothing to do with me. As a soldier I had my own important role to play and it had nothing to do with kissing. Kissing was heading in one direction, the direction of procreation, the direction of funny business.
Ben smiled and something told me he’d done this before, probably many times.
“Not so bad, eh?” he said.
“Not…bad, exactly,” I mumbled.
He leaned closer again and this time I could see it coming. What’s worse, I did nothing to stop it. He covered my mouth with his, wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer. I slid my arms behind his neck and kissed him right back. I encouraged him. I did more than that. I reveled in the experience. This was getting worse by the second.
And I hoped it would never stop.
A gentle knock at the door threw us apart. Celia stood in the doorway rubbing her eyes, her hair messed up, her pajamas rumpled.
“There’s a monster in my room,” she said.
Ben stood. “There aren’t any monsters, Squirt.”
Oh, yes, there are. There was a giant monster inside me, one I hadn’t even known was there, an emotional monster that was taking over. How could I have veered this far off mission?
By the time Ben got back from Celia’s room, I’d packed up my things. He looked surprised but didn’t stand in my way.
I’d done my duty for the night.
More than my duty.
I couldn’t get in any deeper than I already was.
Chapter Eleven
I’d only been here six weeks but already it felt like six years. Longer maybe. I knew what would happen – my superiors would give me the go-ahead and then the pressure would be on for me to do the job properly and get the hell out. In the meantime, I was kept in the dark, unable even to contact them. I was killing time when I should’ve been killing something else. Someone.
Lauren and I walked side by side down the street toward the town center.
“My mother wants me to be more socially responsible.” Lauren rolled her eyes. “Honestly, it’s a Saturday and that makes no difference to her.”
I shrugged. “It doesn’t make much difference to me either.”
Lauren’s mom insisted she go to a rally protesting about the multi-story development planned for the site of the community center and skate park. Lauren had been mortified at the thought of attending with her mother so I’d stepped in.
“Thanks for saving me from a fate worse than death,” she said.
Closer to the site, the streets had been blocked off and pedestrians had taken over the road, all heading in the same direction. At the top of the hill, we stared down at the development site in awe. The streets were filled with a huge mass of people standing around a podium set up at one end of the square with an enormous banner saying, No high rise for Altabena.
My mouth fell open. I’d never seen anything like this. I’d imagined a group of perhaps a hundred radicals might gather to make their point, but this was much bigger than that. Where had these people come from?
“Whoa,” Lauren said
She had that right.
Turning to me, she added, “We’ll stay ten minutes, then get going. That way I’ll sound convincing when I tell my mom about it.”
“Okay.”
That should be long enough for what I wanted. The main reason I’d agreed to come along was so I could document proceedings and gather information for my mission.
I whipped out my phone and took several photos to capture the size of the crowd, the podium and banner. I could transfer the pictures to my PR device later. Something significant was going on, something bigger than a few individuals, something my superiors might be interested in after all.
Lauren scanned the crowd. “What is there to take photos of?”
“Do you see anyone from school?” I asked, changing the subject.
“No such luck.”
These people were protesting. This was unheard of in New Nation. Yet this all seemed perfectly run of the mill to Lauren and everyone else here.
The crowd became quiet as the first speaker, the Mayor of Altabena, gave an impassioned speech. She then introduced the next speaker, the previous mayor, a tall man with striking salt and pepper hair.
Several large police tactical vehicles appeared at the outskirts of the crowd not far from where Lauren and I were standing. Armed officers wearing helmets and body armor poured out of the vehicles, stationing themselves throughout the crowd.
Lauren didn’t seem alarmed by the sight of police and neither was I, however I had to wonder if their presence was necessary when there was no sign of violence or aggression.
“Let’s go,” Lauren said.
I nodded toward the speaker on the podium. “Five more minutes. I just want to see what this guy has to say.”
Lauren moaned. “Fine, but you owe me.”
I fiddled with my phone, set it to voice record the rest of the proceedings and shoved it back into the pocket of my denim jacket.
The speaker said, “Most of you have come here today to stop developers knocking down our beloved community center for a high rise office block. We live here and we care about this place. State Ruler Harrison Bartley doesn’t give a damn about our town.”
A rumble went through the crowd at the mention of Bartley. I’d never heard his name mentioned in that tone, never heard it mentioned with anything less than reverence.
“The people of this town deserve better,” the speaker continued. “You deserve to have your say. You deserve a government that listens.”
Murmurs of agreement filled the air. I glanced around. More police had arrived, more vehicles too.
“The government is running roughshod over the people,” he said. “They’re going to bulldoze our community center to build a high rise. They’d bulldoze us if they could.”
Cheers of agreement from the audience.
Fired up, the speaker jabbed his finger in the air. “This is about more than our community center. Bartley made himself State Ruler. He overrides local decisions in favor of big developers. Why would a legitimate politician do something like that? Because he’s colluding with the developers. Accepting money from them. He’s corrupt.”
Okay, I’d definitely never heard anything like this.
The crowd roared, not because they were shocked by such ridiculous allegations, but because they agreed. Fists were raised in agreement, not in violence.
That was when the police moved in.
In the distance, a dozen officers stepped on the stage, handcuffed the speaker and dragged him off. The roar in the audience increased. Still no aggression. Not from the crowd.
A shot was fired, from where I don’t know. Nearby, police officers yelled at people to move. Move where? The streets were packed. There was nowhere to go.
I looked around, seeing panic and fear in the faces of the people around me. Beside Lauren, two young women huddled together, tears in their eyes. Ahead of me, a man wrapped his arms around a small child, trying to push his way out of the crowd.
“Move it,” a police officer yelled at the two women near Lauren.
They froze. If they didn’t move, it was because they couldn’t.
The policeman reached for a canister from his duty belt. “I said, MOVE.”
Then he sprayed their faces, oleoresin capsicum spray, no doubt. It was painful and debilitating. And way out of line.
A small spark inside me flared. I had to do something. I couldn’t let this happen.
Stay back. There are too many police officers and they’re the ones allegedly upholding the law. You won’t win. That’s not why you’re here.
Outraged, Lauren gesticulated at the policeman. “Hey, they didn’t do anything.”
The officer turned, the can of pepper spray pointed at her. I gave Lauren a quick shunt to get her out of the direct line of spray, shoved someone else out of my way, and slipped to the rear of the police officer.
Lauren screamed in pain, brought her hands to her face, and started coughing. The cop still had his eyes on her, not me. He didn’t see it coming.
I slammed a kick into the back of his legs so he lost his balance and fell to the ground. Much kinder than he deserved.
Now we had to get the hell out of there. And fast. I put my arm around Lauren and pushed through the crowd like a steamroller.
“I can’t see,” she yelled.
“Keep moving.”
Stumbling ahead, we made it out of the crowd and onto a side street. I glanced around. Hoped we weren’t being followed.
I thought about all those people in the crowd left at the mercy of the overly enthusiastic police force, but there was nothing I could do, not on my own. We kept moving until we made it to a small gas station. My arm still around Lauren, I led her around the corner and sat her against a side wall.
“Don’t touch or rub your eyes,” I said.
She looked up at me, tears still streaming from her eyes. “It’s a bit late for that. This hurts like hell.”
She was lucky I’d pushed her out of the policeman’s way so she wasn’t in the direct line of spray. Then she’d know about pain.
“The blindness is temporary.” I crouched beside her. “It feels like you’ve been set alight, like your face is on fire. The pain in your face, nose and throat is incredible.”
Her mouth fell open. “How do you know? Was it the police? Did this happen to you before?”
“Something like that.”
It all came back to training. We’d had to endure being assaulted with pepper spray but that was only the beginning of the exercise. We had to keep fighting. That was the drill.
Guys a lot bigger and meaner than me had fallen, but I’d kept going until the end. I remembered the pain, the feeling that my eyelids were boiling, and I also remembered the intense need to keep fighting through it. I wanted to beat the pain. I wanted to win. There was a reason I was top of my class.
“Don’t rub.” I pulled Lauren’s hands from her face. “I’ll be right back.”
I left before she could argue, and headed straight to the convenience store attached to the gas station to buy baby shampoo, the one thing that might reduce her symptoms.
As I strode back down the side path toward Lauren, shampoo bottle in hand, the door to the restroom behind her swung open and a woman left. I raced down, just in time to grab the door before it closed.
“Come on,” I yelled to Lauren.
“What now?” she mumbled as she rose and joined me in the ladies’ room.
Ladies’ room was a bit of a misnomer as this was not a room fit for a lady. The floor tiles and walls may once have been white but were now cracked and gray with dirt. It was probably just as well Lauren was temporarily blinded so she couldn’t see how filthy the place was.
I helped her wash her face with baby shampoo, then rinse it off.
“That’s much better.” She dried her face with paper towels. “Nicola, how do you know this stuff?”
“What stuff?”
She stared at me. “Like what to do after a pepper spray attack.”
“Science class,” I said, thinking quickly. “At my old school.”
“Wow, so you actually learnt something useful in science. Who’d have thought?”
“Lauren, what happened back there? I can’t believe the things that were said about Harrison Bartley.”
“Bartley’s a horrible little Nazi. Everyone hates him.”
“But the people voted him in, didn’t they?”
“And now they’re sorry they did.”
The bulk of the population must approve of Bartley. That was how he’d got into power. Also how he’d stay in power through several elections until his son took over the role. That was history. I knew this much.
I’d assaulted a police officer.
My head dropped into my hands. What had I done? How had that happened? Lauren was the one who acted rashly, who had primal urges, who was impulsive. Not me.
She peeled my fingers from my face. “Are you okay?”
“Fine.”
“I thought you were crying.”
I shook my head. I didn’t cry. Ever.
She screwed up her nose. “You’re weird.”
“Let’s get out of here.”
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
Chapter Twelve
“Bye, Mom,” I called out from the front door.
Mother came pacing down the hall. “Not so fast, honey. I never get the chance to talk to you. I haven’t even told you about what Lydia Everill said. The allegations against Angelo are unfounded.”
Why couldn’t I just leave the house in peace?
“Charges were laid,” I said. “It was all over the internet.”
Mother rested her hand against the open door. “He’s innocent until proven guilty. Lydia says the claims were made by two disgruntled ex-students who are out to get him.”
“They can’t come. No way.”
“You’re not the only one who lives here, you know.”
“No, but I’m the only one who’s been…”
Mother’s mouth dropped open.
I didn’t want to say it, didn’t want to make up such a filthy lie about someone I’d never even met, but I had no choice.
“He didn’t touch me, Mom, but he tried to.”
Mother’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, Nicola.”
She threw her arms around me which only made me feel dirtier at the sordid lie I was telling. I didn’t know if the allegations against the man were true or not, only that I wouldn’t have been able to make up a story like this without them.
Mother held me at arm’s length. “Can you tell me about it, honey?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“But–”
“I just want them to stay away. That’s not too much to ask.”
She put her hands up. “I’m so sorry. I’m in shock too, honey.”
“I want to go and be with my friends now, okay?”
Mother planted a quick kiss on my cheek. “We can talk later. You’re the most important thing in the world to us. I’ll email the Everills now. Tell them they can’t come.”
Which was just what I wanted. So why did this feel so disgusting? As I left the house, I hoped the guy really was a pedophile so my accusations weren’t completely false. Anyway, this was kinder than eliminating him and his wife to stop them meeting my parents. I consoled myself with the thought.
It was time to switch to teenager mode as I headed for Lauren’s place where she was having people over. I was grateful for the diversion even though ‘hanging out’ was not my specialty.
In the kitchen at the back of the house, Lauren’s mother greeted me more rather more enthusiastically than usual, taking my hands into hers. “Nicola, how lovely to see you. Now, I’m sure you’d like pizza, wouldn’t you?”
“Um, no thanks,” I said, causing her hands to drop from mine immediately.
“See, I told you, Mom,” Lauren said. “We’re fine. There’s heaps of food.”
Her mother turned to her. “No need to use that tone with me, especially since you should be studying instead of entertaining.”
Lauren’s eye
brows went up in the middle. “Mom, we’ve been through this.”
The woman put her hand out and turned away. “Fine, then.”
As soon as she left, Lauren said, “The pizza oven is in the back yard. That’s the reason she suggested it. She only wants to listen in and spy on us.”
“Really?” I couldn’t imagine she’d find our conversation that riveting.
“Yes, really.” Lauren nodded. “And she keeps going on about studying because she thinks I should be a lawyer or an accountant. Honestly, can you see me as an accountant?”
It was certainly hard to picture.
A black and white cat wandered into the kitchen, slinking around Lauren’s legs.
Lauren bent over to stroke the feline. “I’m so glad I’ve got you, Minnie. You understand me.”
“I understand you too,” I said, “though you can be quite complex at times.”
Lauren laughed as she stood, taking a tray of drinks from the island bench and ushering me ahead of her. I pulled open the rear sliding door.
“Simone and Taylor are here.” She placed the tray on a nearby table. “They think you’re cool.”
I didn’t agree. Perhaps they thought I was a novelty or an amusement, but I didn’t have whatever mysterious elements it took to be cool. And I didn’t care.
“A few others are here too,” I said.
People were lounging around on the outdoor sofas while others played table tennis, and Simone and Taylor sat on the steps leading up to the pool along with another girl, a bowl of orange crunchy-looking snacks between them.
“What are they eating?” I asked.
“Cheetos.” Lauren saw the blank look on my face, screwed up her nose. “You’ve never had Cheetos? Honestly, you need to get out more.”
Ben came up behind us while Rex made a beeline for the drinks tray and asked, “Got anything stronger?”
Lauren glared at him, shoved a can of Coke into his hands. “Not while my parents are home. Maybe later.”
“Sure,” Rex said.
As he stepped closer, Ben’s gaze landed on the blond girl with Simone and Taylor, his face clouding over immediately. I’d seen horror in his eyes when he’d thought his little sister was close to being hit by a car, but this was horror of a different sort. He swiped a can from the tray.
Infiltration (Infiltration Book 1) Page 8