by Jack Parker
"I knew I liked you for a reason, you smart little skater fox," he murmured.
He hurried toward the door as Nicky frowned at him then followed him. He hurried down the hall, into the living room and stopped next to the couch where Brandon sat, now frowning as the boy picked up the phone and pressed it to his ear, Nicky standing next to him with a frown.
"Chad?" Brandon frowned, sitting up a little from watching TV and turning toward the teen.
Chad didn't answer as he only held a hand up to his uncle to be silent. He didn't dial in a number or pull the phone from his ear. He only listened to the dial tone for a moment before setting his jaw, his lips pursed, his eyes darkening as he slammed the receiver back onto the phone stand then march back to the hall and into his room.
"What the hell is wrong with that boy?" Brandon grumbled, moving to stand up but Nicky hurried toward him and placed her hands on his shoulders to sit him back down, meeting his eyes with hers.
"I think that nightmare last night's gotten to his head," she smiled, nervously. He frowned at her but still sat back down and she continued to smile as she patted his shoulder with a nod. "I think he just needs to vent a little more to somebody who won't try to analyze it, ya know?"
"Alright," he nodded and Nicky gave one last nod before heading down the hall, into Chad's room and quietly shut the door behind her as she watched him pace between the bed and the futon.
"Chad, what was—?"
"Give me your phone," he ordered, making her frown, but she did as she was told and he took it to shove the thing under his mattress.
"Chad…what—?"
He held a hand up to her to silence her, making her frown deepen before he sat right over the phone and she gave him a confused glare.
"Chad, seriously, what the hell are you doing?" she asked, flatly.
"He's taping our phones, Nicky," Chad explained in a hushed tone, lifting a hand to wave her closer and as she obeyed he continued, "You know those spy movies where they can listen to everything you and everyone around you says through the mic on your cell or your phone? That's what he's doing."
"That's a little extreme," Nicky voiced, whispering as well. "Why would he go through all this trouble? What does he want?"
Chad sighed, placing the heels of his hands on his forehead as he muttered, "I have no idea. But I'm gonna find out if it kills me."
"Don't say that," Nicky breathed, and Chad shot his gaze at her to see her eyes tearing up. "You promised you wouldn't die."
"No I didn't," he recalled and she sighed, rolling her eyes.
"You can't take a hint, can you?!" she snapped, stomping her foot and marching toward him as he stood with a frown. "I finally get the courage to tell you everything on my mind and you wanna go kill yourself! You should promise not to get yourself killed!"
Chad smiled as she only glared at him, but her anger turned to surprise when he lifted a hand and stroked a loose strand of hair behind her ear as he murmured, "You are a fox, ya know?"
"Don't change the subject!" she snapped, but he only chuckled at seeing her blush. "I'm serious! You can't die! Promise me you won't let any of this kill you! Promise!"
"Alright! Alright!" he chuckled softly, lifting his hands in surrender, then placed his right hand over his heart, his left hand still raised. "I solemnly swear not get myself killed over this creep until you figure out my middle name."
"Never!" Nicky corrected, gripping the edges of his jacket. "You'll never let yourself get killed!"
"Alright, never," Chad corrected himself. "I won't let myself get killed ever."
Nicky sighed in relief and slid her arms around his chest, smiling and snuggled her cheek against his chest. Chad stood, unmoving for a moment as his heart thumped in his ribcage so head he could hear it in his ears. Swallowing, he hesitantly slid his arms around her shoulders and set his chin on top of her head.
For a moment, he couldn't understand why he was panicking, but it hit him as soon as she snuggled a little closer to him. Flirting and teasing each other in public or alone was one thing, but this was different. Being this close to each other and their feelings out in the open could bring them closer than they'd ever been.
"Now that we know he's not even in California, can I still spend the night?" Nicky's hushed request came out, muffled by his shirt and jacket. "I know I said I'd be fine, but…" She snuggled a little closer to him before breathing, "I'm really freaked out."
"Well, it's not like I was gonna kick you out," Chad smirked reassuringly, patting her head then playfully flicking her ear.
She jumped and shut her head up…smacking right into his chin and making them both wince and back away from each other, Chad rubbing his chin and Nicky rubbing her head.
"What'd you do that for?!" Chad chuckled, still rubbing his chin.
"You flicked my ear!" she retorted. "At least mine was an accident!"
"At least mine didn't hurt so much, did it?!" Chad retorted, then sighed and stepped toward her to pull her close and moved her hand from her head. "Come here. Lemme see if my chin left a nice little bump on your pretty little noggin."
"You talk too much," Nicky muttered, but froze when he pressed a kiss to the spot she'd hit his chin with.
"There," he smiled, smoothing a hand over her cheek. "Feel better?"
Nicky opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. The teens frowned at each other then turned to the door, Chad taking her hand and leading her to it. He silently opened the door and saw Brandon get up from the couch and head to the front door. Chad led Nicky from the room but stopped at the edge of the hall when he head pounding on the door.
"Alright! I'm coming! Hold your horses!" Brandon called to the door and Chad kept Nicky from walking past him.
"What's wrong?" she whispered.
"Just wait," he replied, hearing Brandon open the door.
"Mr. Jeffery?" a deep, serious voice questioned.
"Yes," Brandon replied as Chad peeked around the corner just enough to see two men in uniform standing at the door. "Can I help you, officers?"
"Damn it," Chad ground out softly, then turned back down the hall, dragging Nicky back into his room and quietly shutting the door behind them.
"Chad, what's—?"
"Put your shoes back on and get your board and helmet," he cut in, shoving his hand under the mattress to grab her phone and he tossed it to her before grabbing his shoes to do what he'd told her to do as well.
"Chad, what are you panicking for?" she asked, shoving her phone into her pocket.
"Why do you think, Nicky?!" he shot back, tying his shoes. "The cops are gonna ruin everything! They're probably here to arrest me. Get your shoes on!"
"I'm not the one in trouble!" Nicky growled, grabbing her shoes and finally pulling them on. "Why do I have to follow you?!"
"Don't gimme that," Chad muttered, leaning under his bed to pull out his board. "Even if I told you not to come with me you would have anyway."
"Where's my board?" she asked, finishing with her shoes.
"Closet," Chad replied, strapping on his helmet. "We'll go out the back door. Brandon should stall nicely with his yapping."
"You're one to talk," Nicky retorted, leaning into the closet to grab her board, seeing it leaning against the inside wall.
"I have this bag of stuff here," he explained, grabbing a backpack from beside his bed. "Just in case I needed to make a break for it. You might wanna get your bag and take it with you."
"Chad…"
He froze and frowned in confused wonder at her raw and breathless tone. He turned to her only to see her staring at something in the closet. His frown deepening, he approached her, slowly. She didn't move as he came up next to her and gazed down at what she was staring at.
"Chad," she breathed again, neither one looking from the thing on the floor of his closet. "What the hell is a bloody knife in a plastic bag doing in your closet?"
"Chad!" Brandon's call came from the living room,
making the two jump in surprise and look at the door.
"Damn it!" Chad growled before leaning over to grab the bag with the knife in it, stuff it in his backpack, pick up Nicky's helmet to place it on her head and grabbed her overnight bag to shove it into her hands. "Out the window, now!"
"But, Chad—!"
"There's no time, Liza! Out!"
Without another word, Nicky rushed toward the window above the nightstand and opened t as Chad went to the door and locked it just as he heard Brandon and the police coming down the hall. He backed away just as the door knob moved to open the door and he stood on his nightstand as Nicky climbed out herself.
"Chad?" Brandon called as he knocked. "You in there?"
Chad didn't reply as he climbed after Nicky and shut the window behind him before ducking low in the bushes beside his friend. The teens glanced around and noticed only one squad car parked in the street before they heard a crash of the door being kicked in.
"Go!" Chad urged, shoving Nicky from the bushes as he followed close behind.
He repeated his command rapidly when he heard the police and his uncle call for him through the glass. Once they were running on sidewalk, they let their boards hit the ground and had a running start onto them and down the street.
"Keep going!" Chad urged. "Just go straight! Don't look back!"
"But, Chad! The cops!"
"I know! Just keep going!"
"Where the hell are we going?!"
"Jared's!"
CHAPTER 7
Chad sighed as he and Nicky stood in front of a two story mansion looking house.
"You wanted to come here," Nicky retorted to his sigh.
"I know, Chad grumbled, stepping toward the front door. "I'm just wondering why."
With another sigh he pressed the doorbell next to the intercom and they both waited a moment.
"Hello?" the intercom questioned in a feminine voice, making the two teens jump.
Chad pressed the button to reply and said, "Hi. I'm Chad. I'm a friend of Jared's. I'm here with Nicky. She's a friend of his, too."
"I'm sorry , but Jared's doing his homework right now," the female voice on the intercom replied. "Maybe you can come back another time to visit with him?"
"Mrs. Walker, please," Nicky called. "We really need to talk to him. It's important."
"I'm sorry, but—"
"Mom, go finish dinner. I'll handle this."
Chad and Nicky frowned at each other when they heard Jared dismiss his mother then jumped when the door opened to reveal Jared himself. The sophomore smirked and crossed his arms over his chest to lean on the door frame but he missed it and stumbled. The two juniors in front of him had to stifle their laughter as Jared stood, scowling at himself then straightened himself out.
"So," he started, crossing his arms again. "What's this 'important' thing you need to talk to me about? Or is this another 'geek' task that needs to be performed."
"Chad wants to apologize for that insensitive and uncalled for remark," Nicky quickly replied, shoving Chad toward the younger boy.
The blonde glared over his shoulder at her before turning back to Jared and muttering something under his breath.
"What was that?" Jared retorted, teasingly as he leaned closer to hear his classmate. "Say that one more time."
Chad glared at the younger boy before grinding out, "I'm sorry for calling you a geek."
"Apology accepted," Jared nodded, leaning away. "Was that all?"
"Actually there's something else," Nicky broke in, stepping next to Chad. "Can we stay the night?"
Jared frowned and adjusted his glasses before asking, "Why here?"
"Long story," Chad blurted. "Can we talk inside?"
"But it's such a fine day," Jared smirked, relishing the irritation in his classmate's tone. Chad glared at Jared who smirked for another moment before asking, "What's in it for me?"
"Lack of a beating," Chad retorted, making Nicky stare at him in disbelief. "Let us in, will ya?"
"Only if you let me in on what I looked up for you earlier," Jared shot back. "And when you head to Washington, I'm going with you."
"This ain't a negotiation, kid," Chad retorted.
"So we understand each other," Jared smirked.
Nicky glanced between the two boys as Chad continued to glare at the younger one. He realized he wasn't going to get out of letting the boy in on the secret, but he couldn't let anyone else get caught up in his mess. It wasn't fair to them.
"Alright," Chad finally muttered, making Nicky shoot her gaze at him and stare at him with wide eyes. "I'll tell you what's going on, but you're not coming with me. Even Nicky's not going, so you won't be the only one left behind."
Jared nodded and moved aside for the two older teens to walk in. The juniors stopped a few feet inside the door and stared in awe at the spacious living room, sparkling clean and perfectly arranged.
"This way," Jared urged them toward the stairs to the left but they took another moment before they actually turned to head up the steps. Chad and Nicky followed Jared up the stairs into a hallway with several doors on either side.
"There's only one guest room," he explained, still leading them down the hall. "I hope you don't mind sharing."
"It's fine," Chad replied for both of them, Nicky glancing at him but said nothing.
Jared turned to one of the doors, opened it and walked in first, followed by the couple before he shut the door behind them.
"I'll show you the guest room later," he assured them, sitting on his bed and gesturing to the computer chair for at least one of them to sit.
Chad set his bag down and sat in the chair while Nicky looked at him in surprise. She had hoped he'd be a gentleman, but apparently no such luck, she thought.
"So, now that we've got some alone time," Jared began as Chad pulled Nicky's wrist to pull her onto his knee, making her squeak in surprise, as he continued, "tell me about that call I looked up for you."
"You remember what happened to my parents, right?" Chad cut to the chase and Jared nodded, hesitantly. "Everybody does. Well, this guy – Mr. Nemo – he called me and said he knows I didn't kill them, because he did it."
Jared's eyes shot wide behind his glasses but Chad didn't react to his shock, neither did Nicky.
"Not only that, but he's been tapping mine and Nicky's phones," Chad continued.
"That's why we came to you," Nicky chimed in. "He didn't mention anything about you, so that must mean he doesn't know who you are."
"I never call you, so he can't know who you are," Chad elaborated. "And there's one more thing."
Nicky took the cue and leaned down to pick up his bag and handed it to him. He set the backpack on his other knee and opened it to pull out the plastic bag he'd shoved into it before leaving his uncle's house. Jared shrunk back when Chad pulled the bag out, his eyes widening as his heart thumped in his chest.
"Wha-W-What the hell?!" he sputtered. "What the hell is that?!"
"I'm guessing, this is the knife that guy used," Chad replied, strangely calm. Nicky shot a wide-eyed gaze at him in disbelief and moved to stand, but he kept a firm arm around her waist to keep her on his knee as he continued, "When I head to the train station tomorrow morning, I'll make a stop at the police station and leave this there with a note explaining everything."
"I thought you weren't gonna go to the cops," Nicky replied as he put the plastic bag back in his backpack.
"If you'll recall, my Skater Fox, that was before you found that in my closet," Chad retorted. "And the cops are gonna follow me anyway. I may as well let them in on my plan, right?"
"So you are going to Washington?" Jared wanted to be sure. "I thought you were joking!"
"I've never been more serious," Chad replied. "And I'm dead serious about going by myself."
Jared nodded in understanding but noticed Nicky's sorrowful expression as she looked away from the blonde. The younger boy glanced at his computer then stood and gestured that Chad and Nicky stand as
well.
"I traced that call on my computer," he explained, sitting and typing at the computer as Chad and Nicky leaned over each of his shoulders. "I figured I'd prove I was useful and help you out a little more to convince you to let me in on this little adventure of yours."
"What did you find?" Chad wondered.
"Using this computer, I was able to pinpoint the call a little better," Jared replied. "The call came from a cell phone, but on the computer at school I couldn't figure out which of the three towers he was using. I dug a little deeper on this one and found where the signal ended up. I traced the signal back and found the source." He typed a little in his computer until a map came up with a blinking green dot on it. "The Japanese Gardens."
"Why there?" Nicky frowned in wonder. "Awfully strange place to make calls from."
"Why not there?" Chad retorted. "Tranquil, serene. Probably his way of finding some peace."
Nicky and Jared both turned frowns to Chad as he still stared at the screen. He sensed he was being stared at and glanced between the two of them with a frown of his own.
"What?"
"You sound like you know what he's like," Nicky voiced for both of them.
"Maybe I know what it's like to want some peace in a life of chaos?" he murmured and Nicky's frown disappeared as she stepped next to him, slipping her hand into his and setting her forehead on his shoulder.
"At least now you actually have a destination," Jared said, ignoring the comment because he knew Chad didn't want to look soft. "You gonna stake out the Gardens?"
"Maybe," Chad replied as Nicky set her temple on his shoulder to face Jared, still holding the blonde's hand. "I have to get there, first."
"And you think the train is the best way to get there?" Jared smirked, adjusting his glasses as Chad frowned at him in wonder.
"It's cheaper," he replied.
"Not really," Jared corrected, spinning toward his computer again and typing into it. "Trains are unreliable. It'll take you two days, at best, until you get there. Maybe three. It'll take you two hours by plane. Leave tomorrow morning, get there in the afternoon."