by JA Huss
“I insist,” Randy says, stopping for a red light a few blocks from City Hall. “We can go to my place, order takeout, and then watch the video feed of Wade’s house. I didn’t see his friends’ cars in the driveway while we were there, but I’m almost positive Reider and Brooks will show up tonight. At the very least, Detective Masters will for sure, because she lives there with him now.”
Shit. Case. I have not seen him in a very long time. Not since that night he was my date for the Debutante Ball. Is one aerial glimpse of him worth spending more time with Randy?
“Well, OK,” I say, giving in. “But I can’t stay too late. I just feel… wiped out, to be honest.”
“Work like this does that when you first start. But it’s kinda exciting too, right? I mean, spying is a little exhilarating. Besides, I only live a few blocks down from you. Any time you’re ready to leave it’s a five-minute walk.”
My stomach rumbles. “What did you have in mind for food?” I ask, a little more interested.
“Whatever you want, Lulu.” We pull in to the parking garage, wind our way up to level six, and then he stops in front of my car. “You go home, freshen up, and meet me in your lobby in thirty minutes. I’ve got another idea for how we can get Case Reider to notice you’re back in town. We can discuss that tonight.”
Get Case to notice me. Just the thought of Case noticing me again sends a shudder down my whole body.
“OK,” I say, opening my door. “I’ll see you in thirty, then.”
He drives off, heading back down the garage ramp, presumably to check the drone back in with the guy he got it from.
I get in my car and lean my head back. I feel so tired for some reason. Maybe Randy is right? Maybe this was just a very exciting day and it’s worn me out. I just hope I don’t get stuck at his place for too long. Because what I really want to do is go home, look Case up on the internet, and think about him and his life for six or seven hours.
I start my car and head down the ramp, wondering how Case Reider, that perfect gentleman who went to Debutante rehearsals for months and months just to make me happy back when I was graduating high school, could possibly be mixed up in robbing all the Cathedral City banks.
What happened to him? I have to wonder. Because the Case Reider I knew was a good, good man. He was sweet, and attentive, and… open. That’s one word I’d definitely use to describe him. Open. Honest. It’s what attracted me to him in the first place. He expressed his feelings openly, no matter what they were. Joy, anger, happiness, frustration. He always had it written on his face.
If his friends really are the ones who robbed the banks this morning, and he really is involved, then I need to know what changed. How did he get here?
I ponder that as I make my way to the garage of my loft, and when I get upstairs and change out of my work clothes and into a casual pair of jeans and sweater, I’m still thinking about it.
I check my watch, realize I still have ten minutes, and grab my laptop. I sit at the kitchen bar, open it up, and do a search for Case Reider, Cathedral City.
ToyBox Inc. pops up first, along with a picture of him.
Damn. I forgot how handsome he is. It’s not how I remember him, because he’s in a nice suit, clean-shaven, and hair neatly styled. But I like the new version.
“Case Reider is the CEO and founder of ToyBox Inc., a gaming company that he started in his parents’ garage when he was seventeen.” That was many years before I met him. So… he’s been building this for a while.
I glance down to the second headline. “‘ToyBox Inc. Partners with SkyEye in an effort to make a virtual game out of Cathedral City.’” That was just dated two months ago. Hmmm. “What kind of virtual game?” I wonder out loud.
My phone buzzes. I take it out of my pocket and check the screen.
Randy: I’m downstairs. You ready?
Lulu: Be right there.
I close my laptop and grab a coat as I head out.
I need a lot more time alone with Mr. Reider, I decide. A lot more time. He can’t be involved with this robbery. Never. I don’t believe it for a second. And even though I have a feeling Randy will be trying his best to make Case look as guilty as possible, I can’t imagine I’d ever believe that the man I knew could be responsible for robbing all the Cathedral City banks.
If he is—I need caution, because it’s clear his friends Wade and Brooks are probably not as up-and-up as he is—but if he is, I know there’s a reason behind it. I know there is more to this story.
I might even be able to offer him a deal if he helps us.
Yes, I decide. A deal to save himself if he gives up his friends. It could work.
So maybe dinner tonight with Randy won’t be a waste of time? Maybe whatever plan he cooked up to get Case’s attention will be a good one?
I nod, just as I get out of the elevator and see Randy talking to my doorman.
Yes. I’m going to be going along with this plan.
I’m going to get Case Reider’s attention again, no matter what.
And I’m going to get justice for the bankers and the city along the way.
CHAPTER SEVEN - CASE
“Hmmm,” Sheila says. She woke me up about fifteen minutes ago. Thomas and Molly are here now and we’re all sitting in the main lab squinting at the wall-sized screen as my results flash by.
“What?” I ask. “Did you find something?” I decide I really do want her to find something. God, I had the worst nightmare while I was sleeping too. I dreamt the Blue Boar came back to life. Like all the blood tissue and bone splinters of his head went in rewind and put his skull back together. And he turned Molly against me and she killed me with that lariat chain thing he made into a weapon. Maybe she did kill me? Maybe I’m some kind of ghost left over?
“That’s the weird part,” Sheila says. “I cannot find a single thing out of order. Your bloodwork is textbook, your heart rate, your brain waves. You’re better than ever, Case.”
Yeah. I sigh to myself. That’s kinda how I feel about it too. Better than ever. I’m just not Case anymore.
Molly comes up to squeeze my shoulder. “That’s great, Case. You know I feel so bad about what I did—”
“You didn’t do anything,” Lincoln interrupts. “Stop apologizing to him. It wasn’t you who did that, it was the Blue Boar.”
Molly looks sadder than ever and I catch Lincoln scowling at me from across the room. “He’s right, Molls,” I say, taking Linc’s hint to make her feel better. “It wasn’t you. It was him. He turned you into something else.”
Maybe he turned me into something else as well?
“Can we fucking eat already?” Lincoln says, standing up. “I’m done with work tonight.”
“We’re not done,” Thomas says.
I sigh.
Sheila says, “Let’s go upstairs, Molly. Let these boys have their team time.”
We wait in silence as they disappear into the staircase and then we hear the deep clink of the thick panel door closing us back up.
“Make it quick,” Lincoln says to Thomas. “I really am just hungry. You know I need to eat a lot these days to keep my body chemistry normal.”
“We have time to be hungry later,” Thomas says. “There was a note.”
“What note?” Linc and I ask at the same time.
“Molly heard something while she was at work. She told me in the car on the way here. She thinks whoever robbed that bank left a note.”
“What’s it say?” I ask.
“They’re hiding shit at the department, she said. Keeping things from her. Like they don’t want her on the case.”
“Why would they do that?” Lincoln asks.
“Molly thinks they figure you’re involved, Lincoln,” Thomas replies.
“Hey.” Linc laughs, holding up his hands. “I’ve got nothing to do with this one, Thomas. I swear. Was not me.”
“I know it wasn’t you,” Thomas says. “I monitor your computers now.”
“You dick
,” Linc says. But he says it halfheartedly, like he doesn’t give two shits what Thomas does. Even if Thomas found out Lincoln was doing something nefarious down here, there’s no way to stop him. Neither Thomas nor I have the computer skills Linc does. We’re kinda at his mercy in that department.
“It didn’t come from here. Or my house.” But Thomas looks at me. “I don’t monitor you, but maybe I should?”
I shrug. “I don’t know how to do that hacking shit. I make toys, asshole.”
“You’re acting strange,” Thomas says.
“Strange how?” I ask, really interested. Because I know I’m acting strange and I’d like another opinion on it. “Sheila says I’m clean.”
“I know. But I think she’s just not looking hard enough. We’ve talked about it actually.”
“Talked about what?” I ask.
Lincoln clears his throat. “Look, Case,” he starts. “We think the jellyfish enzymes might’ve fucked with something.”
“Fucked with what?” My heart is beating fast all of a sudden. Because even though I know something is wrong, I don’t want things to be wrong. I just want it all to go away.
“It doesn’t matter. What matters,” Thomas says, “is that we get a handle on it as soon as possible.”
“So how do we do that?” I ask. “Sheila says—”
“Sheila says her instruments aren’t sensitive enough,” Linc interrupts. “She wants to inject you with nanites.”
“Nanites? What the fuck are they?”
“Microscopic computers,” Linc answers. “Injected in your blood. They travel through your whole body and a few hours later they start sending signals back.”
“You assholes want to inject me with computers? No fucking way. I’m not getting turned into some crazy cyborg like you.”
“They degrade after three weeks,” Thomas offers. “Disappear, like they were never there.”
I open my mouth to say no, but Lincoln beats me to it. “Look, Case. We need to know everything. What’s happening with you? You look like total shit. You’ve been acting weird for months, and to be honest, I’m starting to get really worried about you, man. We need to figure this out.”
I start pacing back and forth in front of the jellyfish tank. This is the huge one. The big blobs light up through bioluminescence. “What kind of jellyfish are these?” I ask.
“Just comb jellies,” Linc says, walking up beside me. “Why?”
“What do you use them for?”
“They have special cells.”
“Special how?” I ask.
“Who cares?” Thomas interrupts. “We’re not taking no for an answer, Case. You’re getting the nanites.”
“Special how?” I repeat, this time only looking at Lincoln.
“They can transform,” Lincoln says. I stare blankly at him. “Into other kinds of cells. That’s how I made all these changes.” He pans a hand down his body. You can’t see Lincoln’s changes with his clothes on. But they are clearly visible when he’s undressed. He has ports in his arms and legs that can power specially-made weapons. And he’s got that light inside him. And heat too. He’s wearing gloves right now, as he usually does. And this hides the vents in his palms where the heat and light escape.
I look at my own palms. They don’t glow, but they are hot. Even now, they are very hot.
Lincoln notices and takes my hand in his, pressing our palms together. “Shit,” he says. “You’re burning up, Case.”
“Sheila says I’m not.”
We just stare at each other.
“What’s going on?” Thomas asks.
“Maybe you just need some vents?” Linc says. “Like me?”
“Why would I need vents, Lincoln? If all you did was boost my healing capacity?”
“What the fuck are you two talking about?” Thomas is getting pissed.
I don’t know much about what Lincoln has been doing down here all these years, but I definitely know more than Thomas. He was missing for most of that.
“Maybe you had… a bad reaction?” Lincoln asks me.
“Would one of you assholes please fill me in?” Thomas snaps.
“The jellies,” Lincoln says. “They’re special because they heal in a weird way. And this particular kind,” he says, motioning to the giant blobs in the tank, “they have special cells that can turn into other cells. Maybe…” He runs his fingers through his hair like he’s thinking. “Maybe what they did to us at Prodigy School changed our biology. And maybe all those things I thought I was doing to myself to accept the changes were just a natural progression, or evolution, if you will, that came from mixing the jelly cells with mine.”
“And maybe when you gave me that injection,” I say, picking up his train of thought, “it changed me too.”
Thomas just looks at us. Blinks. “So I’ve got two freaks now? We’re about to enact the greatest political and social takeover in the history of the world and both my partners are a couple of super-freaks?”
“We need those nanites inside you,” Lincoln says.
“Now we’re making sense,” Thomas says. “We’ll just inject them into your blood and let Sheila figure the rest out. Problem solved.”
I don’t say anything. Just head towards the stairs.
“Where are you going?” Thomas asks.
Lincoln follows me and by the time we get to the main level and walk out into the living room, Thomas is there too. “Wait, Case,” he says. “Let’s just do it now. We need to get back on track.”
I ignore him and walk towards the door.
“Where are you going?” Lincoln calls. “We’re having dinner.”
“I’m not hungry,” I mumble, throwing the door open and walking out.
“What the fuck, Case?” Thomas calls. “You’re gonna ruin everything.”
“We still have shit to talk about,” Lincoln yells. “The note!”
I just keep walking until I get to my car. I don’t care, I realize. I don’t care about any of this.
I drive back to the city in silence. Don’t even bother turning on the radio. My head is filled with luminescent jellyfish, and nanites, and… death.
But I’m not dying. I know this like I know my own name. I’m not dying… I’m changing.
Into what though?
I take the corner around the mountains too fast, my sports car slipping on the ice more than once. But I can’t help wondering how far I could push my body before it breaks. I could drive this car off a cliff and see what happens.
I aim for the side of the mountain, for a guard rail up ahead, shift gears, press my foot to the accelerator, ready to give it a try.
But then I see… I see… the Blue Boar, standing on the side of the road—laughing and dancing. The way he was that night. Gleeful and insane.
I swerve, the whole car sliding on the slick roads. Skipping across the snow in the breakdown lane.
And because the car is nothing if not responsive, the moment my hands try to correct, it responds.
I drive the rest of the way home like it never happened.
There is something wrong with me.
Heat consumes my body. Snow melts under my feet, pooling into a puddle of water until small tendrils of steam swirl their way up my bare legs, surrounding me in a mist that disappears somewhere around my torso.
The city is calling.
It’s whispering in the predawn darkness as I stand here on the roof of my house.
Case, it says.
“What?” I ask it back. “What do you want?”
But it doesn’t answer.
So I get the knife and carve the anarchy symbol into my upper left arm. I watch the blood pour out with the heat and the red light.
And feel relief.
The deep cuts give me relief.
CHAPTER EIGHT - LULU
We order Chinese as soon as we get to Randy’s apartment. He was right, it’s a very short walk between us. Only two blocks. But I have to say, he’s much more interested in the ta
blet, which is broadcasting a live feed from atop Lincoln Wade’s house, than he is in me at this point.
He’s not as hot as I thought, either. That disheveled look he was totally pulling off this morning is getting old and looking a little more like… unkempt.
I yawn.
“Oh,” Randy says, noticing. “Sorry. You wanna get a look at him?”
“Who?” I ask. Bored.
“Case Reider.”
“He’s on there? Already? Jesus.”
“Look,” Randy says, turning the tablet towards me. “That’s him.”
I study the feed. It’s pretty clear for a camera mounted up on top of a mansion. But a fog must be slowly rolling in, because there’s a mist coming off the asphalt driveway. It kinda curls up his legs as he walks, making him look a little… mystical.
He’s not looking up, so I don’t get a good look at his face. But I’d recognize him anywhere. Just his gait is enough for me to know it’s him. The long strides and the way his broad shoulders sway a little with each step.
I have a sudden longing to see him again. Just a coffee. A conversation. Catch up on what we’ve both been doing all these years. Well, maybe not that. I don’t know if I’m ready to talk about that yet. But just an apology for leaving him behind so suddenly might go a long way towards getting him reinterested in me.
God, I’m stupid. Case Reider was doing my father a favor when he agreed to be my date for the Debutante Ball. The whole thing was arranged by our fathers.
No, he has not been pining for me, that’s for sure. I bet he’s got a ton of girlfriends. He’s a big important CEO now. Friends with some of the most powerful people in the city…
Criminals, I remind myself. He’s friends with the subjects of our investigation.
“So about my plan,” Randy says.
“What plan?” I’m kinda annoyed with Randy again. I really just want to go home and not even wait for the food. I don’t know what I was thinking this morning. It’s gonna be a long investigation if I have to spend every day with him. And this is it, as far as the nights go. I’m not coming back here again.