The Homecoming Masquerade

by Baum, Spencer

  “What can I do for you, Jill?”

  “I need you to hack into the motor vehicle division in Rio de Janeiro and use facial recognition software to find someone.”

  “Wow. That’s a tall order for the next minute or two. That could take weeks.”

  “Just find a point of entry and I’ll walk you through it.”

  “Even finding a point of entry--”

  “They have a web site,” Jill snapped. “Just get me the IP and DNS info and we’ll go from there.”

  “Alright, alright, give me a second…”

  Alvin needed more than a second, but Jill kept her cool. No use yelling at him now. She didn’t have remote access to the Network’s facial recognition software or the databank of photos, so she was stuck with Alvin if she wanted to finish this.

  “Okay, got it,” Alvin said.

  “Look for all the threads leading out to adjacent servers,” Jill said. “Tell me what you see. All we need is one connection and I can get you in.”

  Jill took Alvin on a quick tour of her best break-in techniques, using the Marsh Hawk Protocol to ride Clean Street’s access privileges right into the master database for the Detran in Rio de Janeiro, where all driver’s license photos were stored.

  “Connect the facial recognition software and scan the database going back to the beginning of the summer,” Jill said.

  “Whose face am I looking for?” said Alvin.

  “Shannon Evans.”

  30

  Alvin’s database search took longer than Jill needed it to – she’d have to talk to him about his setup. Jill suspected half his processing power was going unused when he hacked into slower systems.

  Regardless, she had what she needed now, and as she stepped back into the ballroom, it was clear that her absence had gone unnoticed. The immortals were on the floor, the students were drunk, the music was rolling along, and everyone was having a good time. She walked to the bar, waited out the dance in progress, then got back on the floor just in time for the opening notes of the school song, which would be the last dance of the night. Jill partnered with Sam Featherstone and danced out the number.

  “Jill Wentworth, so nice to see you,” said Sam.

  Jill thought about diving into her spiel but decided to let it go. She wasn’t in the mood to talk about Nicky and her after-party right now. She just needed to get through this dance and then find her way to Annika.

  Her mind was swimming with thoughts of what she might say, of how she might tell Annika that she knew everything. She was so focused on that pending confrontation that she forgot there were rules governing the way the dance came to an end, and as the school song rolled forward, Jill realized she hadn’t paid enough attention to her position on the ballroom floor. There was a proper, orderly way to exit the ballroom. Everyone went arm in arm with their final dance partner of the night, snaking around the ballroom and out the front door. The line moved counterclockwise. Jill and Sam had just passed the door when the song reached its closing stanza. They would be at the end of the line.

  Sam bowed low and kissed Jill on the hand, as was traditional for the dance’s finale. With all the boys bowing low, Jill got an unobstructed view of the ballroom, and saw that Annika was on the other side of the door. Fifty servants dressed in white jackets and black pants appeared from the doorways on all sides of the ballroom and began cleaning up. Sam held out his arm for Jill and they began their long procession around and out. It took only a minute, but to Jill it felt like an eternity.

  “See you at Kim’s?” Sam said as they stepped outside.

  Jill ignored him and began running down the driveway to catch up to Annika.

  “Annika, wait! I need to talk to you.”

  Annika was at her limo. Her driver was holding the door open for her. She looked back at Jill, then got into the car. The driver closed the door behind her.

  Unable to move fast enough in her heels, Jill pulled them off and broke into a full-on sprint to Annika’s limo, getting to the door right as the engine started.

  “I don’t have anything to say to you, Jill,” Annika called out from inside.

  Jill reached for the door handle, but Annika snapped the locks shut before she could open the door.

  Jill banged on the glass. “Annika, please. I need to talk to you now!”

  “Go away. I’ve made my decision!” Annika yelled back.

  “I know everything, Annika. About you, about Shannon, Zhang Li and Hong Chung. I know everything, now let me inside so we can talk.”

  Annika gave Jill a look of shock and disgust. Jill imagined that if there wasn’t a pane of glass in between them Annika might have reached out and punched her.

  “Get me out of here, now!” Annika yelled at her driver.

  “Wait!” Jill yelled. “It was easy to find you out! You don’t know what…” All around them, limos were pulling out. It was noisy and chaotic. Still, Jill was aware she was making a scene and people might be paying attention. She leaned in close to the glass and cupped her hands on either side of her cheeks. “They know Shannon’s alive. They’re waiting to see what she does, and they’ll kill you both when you get there. I can help you.”

  The car started rolling away. Jill had to step back to keep her foot from being run over. She wanted to bang on the window and scream as Annika left, but she held back.

  She turned to go to her own limo, thinking she’d call Annika as they drove, but as she took her first step, Annika’s limo came to a halt and the back door opened.

  “Get in!” Annika yelled. “Tell me what you know.”

  31

  “Shannon Evans is alive,” Jill said. “She and her parents got in trouble with the Samarins and faked their own deaths to get away. They are hiding out in Rio--”

  “Stop,” Annika said, holding up her hand. They were in the back of her limo. The sound-proof screen separating them from the driver was pulled closed. They were leaving the mansion and turning East on Country Road 6, headed for the highway.

  “You asked me to tell you what I know.”

  “I meant, tell me why you think the immortals know about Shannon. Tell me why you said they are going to kill us both when we get there.”

  “I hacked into a government database and used facial recognition software to search for Shannon. It took only a minute to find her. Whoever forged her identity did a piss-poor job of it. The immortals would have found her in a few hours, max.”

  “So you’re just assuming they know where she is. You don’t actually have any proof.”

  “The proof is that I did it. The proof is, I was able to find her in just a few minutes and I’m a seventeen-year-old girl using personal computing equipment. The immortals have a thousand times as much computing power as me and they have full-time staff who spend their days looking for fugitives like the Evans family. Shannon’s face showed up right away. She’s got a fake ID under the name Isabella--”

  “Quiet!” Annika yelled. “I’m not supposed to know the name she’s using, in case the immortals question me about it.”

  “They don’t need to question you, Annika. They know exactly where she is. The only reason they haven’t pounced is they want to see what she and her parents do when they think they are safe. They’re watching Shannon’s every move, especially what she does online. They know all about your secret email relationship. They’ve read everything you sent.”

  Annika crouched against the wall and looked out the window, as if her enemies were looking in on them right now.

  “We tried to be careful,” she said.

  “It’s not your fault,” said Jill. “Shannon’s parents didn’t know what they were doing. Whoever they contacted to get them phony identities was an amateur.”

  “Can you help her get someplace safe?”

  “I can, but the minute she disappears, the immortals will come after you. We’re going to need the Evans family to stay put until we can get you out too. When the time comes, we’ll hide all of you at once. For
now, what’s important is that you and Shannon don’t say or do anything stupid. They’re reading your emails. We’ve got to make sure you’re saying what we want them to hear.”

  “Who’s we?” Annika asked.

  We? Instantly, Jill realized she was being careless with her language, saying ‘we’ in reference to the Network, talking with Annika as if she were already in the fold. Eventually, Annika would know more. She would have to if they were going to get her out. But not until Jill knew she could trust her.

  “I told you,” said Jill. “There’s a whole group of us working together on this. I have contacts who will do whatever is necessary to ensure Nicky wins Coronation this year, and right now, what is necessary is getting you and your friends to Nicky’s after-party.”

  “So that’s the deal, isn’t it?” said Annika. “You don’t help me until I help you.”

  “That’s the deal, Annika,” said Jill.

  “It’s so late. We’re already on the road. Everyone’s going to Kim’s. I don’t even know what I’d say to them at this point.”

  “I’ve taken the liberty of writing something up for you,” said Jill. “Pull up your phone. I skipped out of the mansion near the end of the dance and went to my limo. I sent you a text. Read it.”

  Annika opened a compartment in the arm rest and retrieved her phone. She pulled up the text from Jill. It took her a few seconds to read it.

  “You think this will work?” she asked.

  “Yes, I do,” said Jill. “It’s coming from you. They’ll all listen. Forward it to everyone, and get ready to take their calls.”

  32

  Nicky’s last dance partner of the night was Andrew Muller, who escorted her all the way to her limo before wishing her luck and going on his way. Julien opened the door for Nicky, saying nothing as she got in the back seat.

  Later, as Nicky thought back on the events of the next few minutes, she realized that these seconds from the time when Julien closed the door and was walking around the front of the limo were when she messed up. It made no sense for Julien to walk around the front of the limo. The design of the limo made it much faster for him to walk around the back.

  It was the sort of observation a seasoned agent like Gia would have acted on right away. But Nicky didn’t think anything of it. She didn’t wonder why Julien was taking the long way, didn’t think that someone else might be coming up from behind the limo and Julien was staying out of her way.

  When the back door opened again, Nicky thought it was Julien, coming back to tell her something. Her mind was still in a fog after the dance with Sergio, and her reaction time was terrible. Had her enemy intended to kill her, Nicky would have been dead.

  “Hello, Nicky,” came a familiar voice. Nicky looked up just in time to see Melissa Mayhew push her way into the car, scooting Nicky along the bench seat with one arm, as if she were a toy who weighed only a few pounds.

  Julien got into the driver’s seat and locked all the doors with a frightening click. The automatic window blinds began closing on their own. Julien started the car and pulled out of the driveway.

  “Your driver and I had a talk before you came out,” said Melissa. “He and I are in agreement now about how this evening will proceed. Would you care to know our plans?”

  Melissa was the same girl Nicky had seen six years ago. All that had changed was the hair. When they had last met, Melissa’s hair hung just low enough to cover her ears. Now it was cropped into a tight pixie cut with long bangs that angled down her forehead. Much closer to her than she was the last time, Nicky couldn’t help but admire how perfectly attractive Melissa was. Her face, her eyes, her skin – everything was a reminder that this was a being who possessed the flawless beauty of eternal youth.

  “What’s the matter, Nicky? When I saw you last time, you knew just what to say and when to say it. Have you forgotten that trick?”

  “What do you want?” Nicky said.

  Melissa smiled, and Nicky caught just a glimpse of her fangs showing, which was unusual, and probably didn’t bode well. Vampires only allowed their fangs to grow when they were angry.

  Or about to eat.

  “I simply want to talk to you,” Melissa said. “I mean, really, how long has it been? Six years? That’s too long. I can tell you truthfully, I’ve thought about you many times since then. I was so pleased to see you at the dance tonight. I never thought this day would come.”

  Melissa raised her hand to Nicky’s face, gently placing it on her cheek. With great care, she lifted Nicky’s mask from her face.

  “Oh yes, it is you, and what a woman you’ve become,” Melissa said. “I mean…look at you! The last time we were together you were a scrawny little jackal in need of a bath. Now you’re one of the girls wearing black. How did this happen?”

  Nicky pondered her options. Her best bet at this point was to play along, to convince Melissa that it was in her best interest to let Nicky go.

  “Life’s been good to me,” Nicky said.

  Tossing Nicky’s mask to the other side of the car, Melissa laughed. “I’d say so. I was so certain you were dead. My greatest fear was that someone was going to find your body in the swamp and I’d have to answer for it. But you never turned up, and now I know why. You got away. I can’t believe it, but you did. Of course, no little girl could make it out of the swamp by herself. Someone was helping you. Who was it?”

  Nicky didn’t answer the question. Her mind was replaying just a few words and ignoring the rest. Greatest fear….someone was going to find your body…I’d have to answer for it. Melissa had never told anyone. Daciana, Renata, and the other immortals – none of them knew that one time a little girl got up after reprogramming and walked right out of the Farm.

  “I don’t like being ignored, Nicky,” said Melissa. “Shall we do this the hard way then?”

  “I’m sorry,” Nicky said. “I…don’t know where to begin.”

  “How about the time you sat there in my office and answered all the reprogramming questions, even though you weren’t being reprogrammed at all. Do you remember that day?”

  “Yes,” said Nicky.

  “Did you know it wasn’t working? When I asked you those questions, were you aware of what was supposed to be happening?”

  “I don’t know,” Nicky said

  “Look at me when I speak to you! Look me right in the eyes or so help me, I will rip out your throat!”

  Nicky wondered what was going to come of this. Her encounter with Sergio had left her doubting everything she thought she knew about herself. On the one hand, Sergio hadn’t gotten in. On the other hand, he clearly had some sort of effect on her.

  But as Melissa’s pupils grew large and inviting, just like Nicky remembered from the Farm, she knew that Melissa wasn’t getting in. Nicky felt nothing at all. To her, Melissa was just a girl with unusually big eyes right now, staring at Nicky as if trying to see through to the back of her head.

  “I’m going to ask you again, Nicky, and I want you to tell me the truth. Did you know that reprogramming wasn’t working when I was doing it to you?”

  A part of Nicky wished that Melissa could hypnotize her. It would almost be a comfort if she did. If Melissa could get inside Nicky’s brain, that would relieve Nicky of the responsibility of figuring a way out of this mess.

  “Yes, I knew,” Nicky said.

  “How did you know?”

  “I understood that you were trying to control me, but I felt nothing.”

  “Do you feel anything now?”

  “Yes.”

  Melissa turned her head to one side, gently. Nicky wondered if she was supposed to turn with her.

  “I know you’re lying,” Melissa said. She spoke the words in a voice that was overly sweet, a voice that made Nicky think about her own death.

  “Sit up, please,” Melissa said. “Turn your whole body toward me.”

  Nicky did as Melissa asked and now they sat together on the bench seat of the limo, their bodies facing each
other, their knees barely touching. Melissa took Nicky’s hands in her own. It was a motherly gesture, holding onto both of Nicky’s hands, a show of affection that in another context might have been one girl bringing another close so she could tell her something important.

  But inside that motherly gesture was an absurd, inhuman strength. Nicky felt it radiating through Melissa’s hands as they touched, the sense that, at any moment, Melissa could crush Nicky’s hands into powder if she wanted to.

  Outside, the limo had pulled onto the highway, and was driving away from DC. Whatever happened next, Nicky apparently wasn’t going to her own after-party. How stupid she had been, the whole Network had been, not to expect this. They knew it was possible that Melissa Mayhew would be here tonight. But they had convinced themselves that Melissa wasn’t going to recognize Nicky now, that it had been too long and Melissa saw too many kids in the interim.

  It was delusional on all their parts. Nicky and Jill together had given the Network a once in a lifetime opportunity to break into Thorndike, and they all had deluded themselves into thinking it would be okay. They were so desperate for this night to go well they willfully disregarded the danger that Melissa Mayhew posed.

  Now they were paying for it. Now Melissa was ruining everything.

  “We’re going to try again, Nicky,” Melissa said quietly. “I’m going to look into your mind. If you shut me out, I will break one of your fingers, then I’ll try again. Every time I try and fail, I break a finger. If I fail ten times, I’ll assume you are a lost cause, and I will rip out your throat. Are you ready?”

  No, she wasn’t ready, but she could have been. It was a depressing truth about her situation. Gia had tried to prepare her for just this moment, and she’d never completed the training. She’d given up on Abbot Schneider and his meditations, choosing instead to spend her time on things that she now knew were far less important. Had she mastered Abbot Schneider’s skills, she might have been able to fool Melissa, to earn her trust and make her think she was reprogramming Nicky for real this time.