by Nathan Pedde
“They fired me? Didn’t they?” Elsie asked.
“Probably,” Kusheeno said. “They told me if I could use you, to say so and your contract would be transferred without cost to me. You’ve been assigned to Team Cryslis.”
Des cleared his throat. He had enough of this. He didn’t want to go through this again.
“I want out,” Des said.
“What?”
De stood. “In the last week, I’ve been drugged, beat up and almost spaced. My grades are down, and I have to lie to my friends and family. I didn’t sign up for this, and I don’t want this life anymore.”
“I understand, but I can’t let you go,” Kusheeno said. “You’re too valuable to the security of this station.”
“That fucking sucks,” Des replied. “But it doesn’t change a thing in my opinion.”
“Here’s the deal. Work for me, and you’ll get to pick your cover job. You’ll also be paid for your time spent as an agent. Upon graduation, most students are joining the military or being hired by a military support company. This war isn’t going well. If you give me the service, I can guarantee you’ll be able to pick what branch of the military you join. Keep you out of a death sentence like the marines.”
“That means not only will I not have to work for Courier One, I’ll be able to pick where I go to work afterward,” Des said.
“Other high school students don’t have a choice,” Kusheeno said. “Even your brother, top of his class in a military academy has no choice. The branches will fight for him, but he still has no choice.”
Des thought for a couple seconds. “What happens if I don’t want to cooperate?”
“Then under Jovian law, I have to arrest you because you know too many classified details.”
“So, I have no choice.”
“There is always…”
“Double my pay,” Des replied, straightening his back, “and the pay for anyone on Cryslis’s team.”
“I do have an intelligence budget,” the Captain said.
“And-”
“Fine, but anyone who takes the higher pay doesn’t get a choice of what job they have to take. That’s the deal.”
“So higher pay,” Cryslis said. “But little choice on the cover job, or smaller pay and a choice? Can we think about it?”
Captain Kusheeno raised an eyebrow.
“I mean, we’re all going to be spies for you, but whether or not we take the higher pay or job choice.”
Kusheeno closed his eyes and shook his head. “Fine. You’re all dismissed. Call me tomorrow morning with your decision.”
Des, Elsie, Cryslis, and Cooley sat around the safehouse. Des and Elsie sat on the couch, while Cooley sat at the kitchen table fiddling with a computer. Cryslis was in the kitchen making a pot of tea.
To Des, everything felt different somehow. Things changed, and he wasn’t sure if it was for the better. He thwarted the attack, but his life still hadn’t gone back to normal. In his mind, he dug himself deeper into the web of being a spy than he wanted. He had almost died, and he no longer wanted to be involved.
Despite the events of the day, Des had a change of clothes in the safehouse for him. He lost his shoes and discovered his clothes had ripped. A moment later and they would have ripped off his body.
Cryslis entered the living room with a loaded tray with a teapot and four cups.
“I think we all need a cup of tea,” Cryslis said.
“Tea?” Elsie asked.
“Yes,” Cryslis said. “Tea.”
Cryslis poured the liquid and Des took a cup. He didn’t put any sugar into it and took a sip. It was slightly bitter but refreshing. Des watched Elsie load four cubes of sugar into her cup.
“What happened with the worker?” Des asked Cryslis.
“Don’t know,” Cryslis shrugged, sipping her tea. “I checked on him, but there is no record of him.”
“What do you mean no record?” Des replied.
“No record of anyone going to the Captain. There is nothing with the company he said he was employed with. I’m disappointed both of you two didn’t get a real name.”
“I’ll buzz the net for him. I’m sure I can find him,” Cooley said.
“What happened to your brother?” Elsie asked Des.
“I’m not sure,” Des replied.
“He received thanks for all of his help,” Cryslis said. “His research was confiscated as his notes. It’s now ours. A copy of it is being made to be installed in the safehouse for our investigation.”
“Oh?” Des asked. “I thought we were a small team. Just doing the single small mission.”
“It’ll still be the four of us,” Cryslis said, “but we now have a much bigger mission.”
“Oh great,” Des grumbled. “What’s that?”
“We’re to monitor the signals of the station, and to make certain any unauthorized communications are identified. Turn the evidence over to the Captain so the person can be arrested.”
Des took a sip of his tea. “Sounds like a lot of work for Cooley.”
“I plan on training you and Elsie up to use it too. Spread the load,” Cooley called from the table.
“Are we investigating the missiles still?” Elsie asked.
“Yes,” Cryslis said. “That’s priority one.”
“I do have some thoughts on it,” Cooley said, tapping his fingers.
“Is there anything we need to move on today?” Cryslis asked.
“Not particularly,” Cooley shrugged, his fingers thrumming on the keyboard. “Mainly computer stuff at the moment. I’ll have some ideas later.”
“Then,” Cryslis said, turning to Elsie and Des. “I want you two to go and rest?”
“Rest?” Des said. “But we have a saboteur to—”
“Rest is more important,” Cryslis said. “And you need to salvage your cover with your sitter and your brother.”
“About that—” Des said.
“The Captain’s inserted your name in a shelter half the station away,” Cryslis said. “You’re going to use Elsie as a reason you had to run if anyone asks.”
“Elsie?” Des said.
“Yes, you’ll tell Susan, Elsie got trapped in an elevator and you had to get her.”
“And me?” Elsie asked.
“The shelter you had been placed at was by your work,” Cryslis said. “The captain has you on a station camera leaving work when you called Des. It’ll match up.”
“Great,” Des grumbled. “More lies.”
“Yes,” Cryslis said. “You shouldn’t have blown your cover.”
Des took a long drink of his tea. He didn’t trust himself to say anything at the moment.
“Anyway,” Cryslis stood. “You two need to get going. I’m sure you both have homework to work on.”
Des made his way home from the safehouse. Even though Elsie and himself lived close to each other, they took separate routes. It was safer that way. However, part of him thought he was paranoid.
Des looked at his watch. It was two in the afternoon. Typically, the station would be packed with people enjoying their Saturday. The missile attacks had a calming effect for the station. Whenever one would hit, and the all clear would pass, it would calm down the city for the rest of the day. People would be subdued. Most would make reasons to stay home and not go out. The station never been this calm before. The streets were eerily calm, like the day after a big game where the home team lost.
As he walked down the street, he glanced at peoples faces. Most of them looked scared and shied away. Des knew the feeling. He felt it before he’d gotten involved in this mess. There were a few things which scared him: bugs, spiders, heights, confined spaces, they all held no sway with him. Even the thought of dying didn’t scare him. He was afraid of how he was to die. However, he didn’t want to.
Conflicting emotions ran through his head. He didn’t feel scared by the situation. Des knew he could, and would, do what needed to be done when the time came. But this silence af
terward, was different. He struggled to form words in his head and put thoughts together.
If I can’t describe this to myself, Des thought, how am I to express this to anyone else?
Des stopped at a street corner to wait for the light to turn green with a half a dozen other people. Most of them were middle aged and appeared to be shopkeepers of the area.
One lady in a business suit and tie was holding a little girl in a pink dress close to her. The lady’s makeup had run and streaked her cheeks. Des didn’t stare at her. He wondered why she would be crying. She was in a shelter, safe. He was the one who was almost spaced. He was the one who risked his life to save hers.
How does she have any right to cry over this? Des thought.
Des buttoned down any emotions. It was better not to create a scene in the crowd. He adopted the confused, scared look the rest of the crowd had on. He didn’t want to be remembered.
As he waited for the light to turn green, a couple of construction workers walked up beside him. They both wore similar work clothes, both covered in a light sprinkling of dirt and debris.
“I’m telling you,” the first worker whispered, “a missile hit the hull.”
“I don’t believe it,” the other responded.
“What’s there not to believe,” the first said. “They have a full section closed off.”
“Have you tried to get in it?”
“No, the Captain has guards stationed there. They won’t let us get close.”
“Balderdash.”
The signal light turned green. Des stepped forward, hoping those two workers would walk across. Des wanted to hear what they had to say. However, it wasn’t the case. The two workers stood on the corner of the road arguing with each other.
Des walked the remainder of the trip home in the depths of his own thoughts and checking to see if he was being followed. He wondered if there was some way he could have stopped the missile from hitting. He autopiloted home, his feet seemed to take him down the road he needed to go. He reached his uncle's townhouse to find Sheemo and Susan sitting in the kitchen talking.
They both eyed Des as he walked past. Des hoped they wouldn’t talk to him. He needed to be by himself for a while.
“Hey Des,” Sheemo asked. “Do you have a moment?”
“Not really. I’ve homework to do.”
“You’ve said you’ll explain later,” Susan said. “Remember?”
Des knew she was referring to his quick exit and cryptic instructions.
“I’d like to hear an explanation as well,” Sheemo demanded.
Des told them the lie Cryslis told him to say. He wasn’t sure if they believed him or not. Sheemo grinned ear to ear, but Susan had a puzzled look on her face.
“You like her that much,” Sheemo said. “To risk your life and the wrath of Captain Kusheeno for her?”
Des’s face turned deep red. “She’s my friend.”
“Would you have done that for Alix, or Frank or any of your other friends?” Sheemo said.
Des’s face turned a deeper red and said nothing. The truth was he would probably risk his life for any of his friends. The lie required him to say nothing.
“I have one question,” Susan said. “Why did you want to be dropped off at the parking garage? Elsie’s work isn’t anywhere near there, and you don’t own a hover-scooter of any kind.”
“I rented a hover-scooter,” Des answered.
“How? There are no charges on your card?”
“I get tip-chips from being a courier.”
“Right,” Susan said.
The silence was killing him. However, the grin on Sheemo’s face was worse.
“Des and Elsie sitting in a tree—” Sheemo said.
“Are you six?” Des said. “I’m going to my room. I’ve homework to do.”
Chapter Fifteen
Des sat down on his chair and slammed his head onto the top of the desk. Tears rolled down his face. He felt ashamed for giving up. He was ready to let go of the pipe. He boiled down the emotions and held onto them tight, lest they come out and his brother or Susan hear him.
He still had his cover and secrets to maintain. Des had no idea what he was doing.
Pull yourself together landlubber, Des thought.
Des put his hand in his pocket to pull out his phone. In his pocket was a small device, smaller than his thumb, deformed and made from dark metal. The entire apparatus was homemade. He had no idea what it did and how it arrived in his pocket. On one side of the device was a small button with little letters engraved around it which said: press me.
Des looked at the device for a long time, unsure what to do. Should he hit the button and see what happened. He was confident it was probably a bomb of some kind.
After a long while of studying the device, Des pressed the button. At first, nothing happened. Des thought it to be broken or some type of joke. After a moment, a small earpiece attached to a wire popped out. Des put the earpiece in, certain it was going to electrocute him or something.
“Maybe implant alien creatures in my ear,” Des muttered.
“You watch too many horror flicks,” Cooley said through the earpiece.
Des jumped. “How do I know it’s you?”
“Pineapple banana-man,” Cooley replied. “I just sent you a text on your phone. What does it say?”
Des looked at his phone. A single text sat on the screen from Cooley’s secured phone.
“Pineapple banana-man,” Des read.
“Believe me now?” Cooley said.
“Yes. I'm just paranoid.”
“No,” Cooley said. “You’re careful, and that’s okay.”
“What do you need so badly to make you slip me a comm device so smoothly.”
Cooley chuckled. “I was once where you were at.”
“You were a conscripted 16-year old who’d been forced into doing something he didn’t want to do. After which, you almost died for people who will never know of your sacrifice?”
“Not exactly,” Cooley replied.
“Then why are you bugging me?” Des said. “I’ve homework to do.”
“I was in the Marines. Signed up underage at sixteen with a forged parent signature.”
“And?” Des interrupted.
“Shut up and listen. When I was in, my parents disowned me for joining up. I was good at what I did. I was in it for three years, and I managed to get onto Black Team Six by the end of my first year. I almost died a dozen times doing things I can’t tell anyone about.”
Des gripped the arm rests of his chair. He wanted to rip it off and break it to show Cooley how much of an asshole he was being.
“Is this the bigger victim game?” Des asked, his tone forced and bitter.
“No. It’s the fact that I’ve gone through everything you just did. I’ve been in situations where I have given up on life and accepted death, only to survive somehow. I have the scars to prove it. Both visible and mental.”
“So, I’m not supposed to not feel…”
“What you’re going through is normal, especially for someone who has little training,” Cooley said.
Des released his arm rest. A single tear dripped down his cheek. Des sniffled.
“What do I do?”
“Concentrate on homework and your tasks,” Cooley replied, sympathy in his voice. “It will get better. You need to have patience and to give it time.”
“Okay… Thank you. And I apologize for being a dick.”
“No worries. If you need to talk, let me know. We can meet in deserted underground parking like real spies. Or I can slip you a new device. Up to you.”
Des laughed, feeling lighter.
“And flush this device. Cryslis doesn’t need to know I built it let alone slipped it in your pocket.”
The days began to slip by as Des got into a routine. He would get up at four in the morning, get to a drop spot, taking a different route every day to keep from being spotted. The drop would be where Cooley would have his chan
ge of clothes and disguise necklace waiting. Des scrambled into the uniform and head to the Military Academy. The rest of the disguise, he would change in one of the coffee shops which were open at that time of the morning.
After his hour lecture, Des would sneak away from Veer and disappear. Des would make his way to a different drop point to remove the uniform and disguise. He would change into his school uniform and make his way to his regular school.
After school, he had to make an appearance at Courier One before he got dragged away on some mission for Cryslis. Either he’d to break into somewhere for information, follow someone, or watch someone. Des would be lying to himself if he said none of it was exhilarating.
In between all this, he would study and do homework. The free fall of his grades stopped but they hadn’t managed to raise at all. Des thought it may have been too little too late. However, he knew he had to try somehow to correct his grades.
All of this and no more attacks came. No more alarms rang through the station. This worried Des. The saboteur had yet to be caught. Whoever was making the attacks was changing the methods and would strike when they weren’t ready.
Des wore his street clothes consisting of a pair of pants and a t-shirt. They were stained with dirt and other unsavory debris from his unwanted exercise. Des wore his Ryder holo-disguise. Des maneuvered through the city on a mission for Cryslis since it was his day off from Courier One.
He looked at his watch. He was running out of time. He had places to be and things to do. The mission, despite being a simple snatch and grab, hadn’t gone as planned. Des hadn’t even gotten into the building before he was spotted by Veer and some of his friends.
Now he hid behind a pile of plastic pallets in a small corner in a dark, and dirty alleyway. Shadows of pipes and wires attempted to trick his brain. The station lights couldn’t reach him. Des took a long breath. He gagged slightly at the scent. The stench of rotten eggs from multiple fuel production plants filled the air around him causing bile to tingle the back of his throat.