Double Black Diamond

by A. G. Henley

  Brown let out an audible breath and his crossed foot twitched like the tail of an annoyed cat. “You spoke to her. Anything else?”

  “No, nothing else. We talked, and I left. That’s all.”

  “Are you sure about that?” Muth sounded smugger than ever.

  “Positive. Why?”

  Brown picked up a tablet, touched it, and turned it toward me. Darya’s face filled the frame. She had a black eye and a cut on her cheek.

  “When was this taken?” I asked.

  “This morning,” Muth said, “when she came to my office and reported you assaulted her.”

  I jumped to my feet, tipping the chair over. Electric shocks sped from my gut to the ends of my toes. “What? That’s total bullshit. I didn’t touch her. Ask anyone in the game room last night. There were at least five students in there.”

  Muth’s lips puckered. “Please have a seat.” He waited until I did. “I spoke to several students who witnessed your initial exchange of words. They confirmed what you said. But Miss Yakavenka reported you waited for her in the stairwell, where you punched her, almost knocking her down the stairs.”

  Damn. Had she punched herself? Even if she got someone else to hit her, she was way more hardcore than I thought. Exactly how far was this chick ready to go?

  My voice steadied as I spoke. “Dr. Muth, what she told you is a lie. I didn’t touch her. I guess it’s my word against hers, but I promise you—I didn’t do that.” I pointed at the screen

  Muth fake coughed. The bastard was enjoying watching me squirm. “Unfortunately, it is your word against hers. While Miss Yakavenka keeps to herself, she’s been a model student since she began at Vail Mountain Academy. She is a professional snowboarder with a position on the Belarusian Olympic snowboarding team. She has a lot to lose by lying or picking fights. The thought is absurd.”

  And because I’m a high school grad from Vegas, I couldn’t possibly have anything to lose? I scooted forward on my chair. “I wouldn’t jeopardize Veena’s safety or my career by lashing out at Darya. I spoke to her. That’s it.”

  They said nothing.

  “I didn’t do this, sir,” I said to Brown.

  He kept his eyes on me a long time. I kept mine right back on him.

  Finally, he spoke. “Dr. Muth, I don’t know what happened to Miss Yakavenka, but I don’t think Nicole was involved.”

  My eyes stung with grateful tears that I immediately blinked back.

  Muth looked like Brown’s words gave him gas. “This school is my responsibility. Who is allowed to remain on campus is my decision.”

  Brown slid his tablet into a leather briefcase. “Of course. And please let me know when you make it. In the meantime, my CPO will stay and do her job.”

  My chief stood and walked out, not waiting for Muth to respond. I followed right behind him.

  “Walk with me.” Brown headed for the outside door. His voice was low and tense. He hacked into his sleeve as we hit the cold air. “I understand your anger, Green. Your principal was injured. You thought she was attacked. And you thought this girl did it.”

  “But?” I asked.

  “But you moved too fast. First, we aren’t sure the trampoline didn’t rip. That’s what the tramp coach thought.”

  “She’s wrong, Chief. I saw it myself.”

  He ignored me. “Second, if it was cut, we don’t know who did it. I understand this Yakavenka girl was the last one in the pit, but that doesn’t mean much.”

  “She had the perfect opportunity—”

  “Third, and most important for you to get through your head, Green, is that confronting possible suspects is not our job. We aren’t law enforcement. We’re security professionals. We are here to protect our client. If a confrontation needs to happen, I will make sure it does, and with the right players. That doesn’t include you. You protect, you don’t provoke.”

  “But I thought—”

  “This isn’t a Hollywood set, Green.” He buttoned his wool coat and wiped his nose with a tissue before stuffing it in his pocket. “Your job, your only job, as I have to remind you too damn often, is to keep your principal safe. While I want to know who you suspect, I don’t want to see you confronting anyone. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, sir.” The fight went out of me. Clearly, I’d screwed up. Again.

  Brown turned to me and sighed. “I don’t quite believe you’d be stupid enough to hit that girl without provocation. But Muth has the last say on who’s allowed to stay. If he decides you’re out, you’re out. I can’t overrule him. And neither can Black Diamond.”

  “I understand.” And I felt sick.

  “Good. Now get back to class. I’ll let you know what he says. And for all of our sakes, stay away from the Belarusian.”

  I promised him I would, but there Darya was in the lobby with some books and her laptop, lurking like a pale Eastern European snake. I had a lot to say, but Brown’s words echoed in my ears. Protect, don’t provoke. Even with all my mistakes, Veena wanted me here. I wouldn’t get kicked out because I couldn’t control my temper. With effort, I ducked my head and passed her by.

  Veena kept trying to catch my eye when I got back to class. She passed me a note, wanting to know what happened, but I kept my eyes on Mr. Sheffield. After class, she grabbed my arm, holding me in place until the other students cleared out.

  “What? What happened?” she asked.

  “Have you seen Darya?”

  “No, why?”

  “She’s all beat up, and she told Muth I did it.”

  Veena gasped and touched her mouth, then winced at the pain. “You didn’t, did you?”

  “No!” I ran a hand through my hair. “But if you don’t believe me, no one will. I think she did it to herself to get me in trouble.”

  Her eyes widened. “That’s so wrong.”

  “No kidding. And it might have worked. Forget me getting myself fired; I’m this close to getting kicked out by Muth.”

  She shook her head. “If they kick you out, I have to go home. The only reason my parents didn’t yank me out yesterday was because you’re here. Nic, I can’t go home. I won’t.”

  Gloom gathered as we collected up our stuff.

  “What should we do?” she asked.

  “Stay out of trouble.”

  Easy. Except trouble seemed dead set on finding us.

  Ten

  The next few days were surprisingly calm—like the kind before a storm.

  With lots of ice and ibuprofen, the swelling on Veena’s face receded by the second day, and the bruising was fading after two more. By Friday, her first day back on the slopes, she was still scabby and discolored, but overall, much better. Darya, on the other hand, looked like a bottle of purple ink exploded on her face. Bet she didn’t do anything to help it, either.

  Every day, Brown said Muth hadn’t made a decision yet. That he was considering. Torturing me was more like it. Making me wait and suffer, so I knew who was in charge. On edge didn’t describe how I felt: I’d shot right over it.

  As Veena dressed for training that afternoon in our room, I pumped out push-ups. I’d been hitting the gym early, before Veena got up, having Kovitch or Cooley cover. I did sit-ups and lunges whenever I had a spare moment.

  “Do you want to come watch training today?” Veena asked me. “Nate and I studied videos of my run yesterday while everyone else was on the hill, and I had a breakthrough about what I might be doing wrong on the landing of the double V.”

  I didn’t need to go, Cooley would be there, but I was too worked up to study or nap. So, with thermals under my pants and hand warmers in my gloves, I rode up the chairlift with Veena and Ali. Darya was on the chair behind us. I could feel her eyes bore into our backs.

  Ali chomped gum and chattered on the way up, an ear bud in one ear playing music so loud I could identify the song. Between us, Veena was quiet.

  “Nervous?” I asked her when Ali finally ran out of words and stuck the second bud in.

 
“A little.” She touched her scabbed lip. “But I’m stoked to be getting back on the mountain.”

  I didn’t blame her for being anxious. The tramp accident aside, I’d learned from hanging around VMA that some falls ended snowboarders’ careers and others ended their lives. Veena was courageous to get back in the halfpipe so soon . . . or she had no sense of self-preservation. Maybe a little of both.

  Nate met her at the top of the pipe, and they launched into snowboard-speak, a language I still didn’t understand. Ali went off to find her coach. I picked my way along the makeshift fencing to the bottom of the pipe to watch, making eye contact with Cooley on the way.

  Within a few minutes, Veena dropped in, riding fast. She took a few, tight turns before heading up the wall and far into the air to perform her incredible twists and flips. I was impressed all over again. How did she do this stuff? With a huge smile, she came to a high-speed stop in front of me.

  “You looked great,” I said.

  “I didn’t throw the double V, but whatever. It feels so good to be out here!”

  She carved a path down to the chairlift. A few minutes later, Connor appeared from the ski patrol hut. I tamped down the slight smile that crept over my face when I saw him. I might have had to turn down his offer of a snowboarding lesson, but all work and no flirting made Nic a dull girl.

  “How’s Veena feeling?” he asked when he got to me.

  “Better.”

  He moved closer and lowered his voice. I wished he wouldn’t; it was seriously distracting.

  “Nic, Veena said something about Darya at the hospital. Why?”

  I shrugged. He studied me, but I kept my gaze up the hill, watching for her.

  “All right,” he said, “keep your secrets. So, have you been on a board yet?”

  “Not yet.”

  “My offer still stands.”

  I glanced at him. Sincerity shone in his expression. Why was he being so nice to me? I hadn’t been all that nice back. Guilt snuck through me. I smiled at him.

  “Thanks, Connor. I—” A flash of color at the top of the pipe caught my eye. “There she is.”

  A few seconds after Veena started her run, a snowboarder dropped in behind her, way too close. Nate waved his arms and yelled at the rider as he went by.

  I stiffened. Who was this guy, and what was he doing? Veena was halfway through her run, but he gained on her. If he wasn’t careful, he could hit her. Wait—was that what he meant to do?

  Connor jogged into the bottom of the pipe, waving his arms at Veena to stop; I followed him. She didn’t notice us or the other rider, who curved right at her.

  Her head swiveled back toward him at the last second. As she came out of her crouch, he clipped the back of her board, and she went down, sliding halfway up the side of the pipe. Alarms screamed in my head.

  Adrenaline took over. I launched myself at the rider as he went by, taking him down in a perfect open-field tackle. He fell on his back, his snowboard under him, me on top.

  “Hey, man, what the hell?” His words were slurred.

  I pinned his shoulders to the snow, his body bent awkwardly below me. “Who are you? Who hired you?”

  “What?” The guy moaned.

  I yanked off his goggles. Red shot through the rider’s half-mast eyes, and his clothes smelled skunky. He was about my age.

  “Who do you work for?”

  “Um, Subway?” he finally answered.

  What? Shit.

  Connor kneeled next to the guy, sniffed his jacket, and made a face. “You know riding while high is illegal, right?” He pulled out his walkie-talkie and spoke into it. “Hey, Steve, I’ve got a rider possibly under the influence here. Might need to pull his pass. Or call the sheriff’s office.” He winked at me.

  “Aw, bro, don’t do that.” The rider squirmed on the ground, trying to free his feet from the board.

  “Too late,” Connor said. “You should know the rules before you smoke and ride.”

  “She didn’t have to jump me.”

  “Are you hurt?” Connor asked him.

  “Don’t think so…”

  “Then stop whining.”

  I jog-walked over to Veena, who was getting to her feet. “Are you all right?”

  “Yeah, fine.” She was a little out of breath. “Who was that?”

  “A stoner who took a wrong turn.”

  A snowmobile plowed up the hill toward us. Veena’s eyes found it, and she grabbed my hand.

  “Nic, go before more ski patrollers show up and you get in trouble. I’ll see you at the clubhouse.”

  I hesitated, looking around for Cooley. He stood a little way away. I couldn’t be sure because he wore sunglasses, but he appeared to be glaring at me. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes!”

  I scurried off down the hill. Cooley would tell Brown what happened, of course. But how was I supposed to know the guy was riding high, not trying to attack Veena?

  And—seriously—how many more ways could I screw up this assignment?

  I flopped at the same corner table as I had before. When Brown heard I took down a bystander, I was done.

  Maybe I should be done. I truly sucked at this job.

  The coffee guy was back in his usual spot. He had the right idea. Coffee, paper, stubble. Forget trying to make something of yourself; be a ski bum. I’d probably suck at being a ski bum, too, though.

  I studied him dully. He had sharp angles to his face, veins standing out from the taut skin of his arms, and he wore a teched-out watch. He could be a coach, but I hadn’t seen him talking to any racers or riders.

  Veena and Connor came in an hour later, wind-swept and beaming, with helmets slung over their arms.

  “What happened?” I asked.

  “Don’t worry, we took care of everything.” Her voice was breathless.

  “Didn’t the guy complain about getting tackled on the slope?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” Connor said, “but the idiot was riding high and not wearing a brain bucket. We pulled his pass and made him go to the clinic for a concussion check.”

  Veena and Connor grinned conspiratorially and bumped knuckles, but I could barely conjure a smile in response. How many more times would Veena need to make excuses for me?

  He raised an eyebrow. “Now, would either of you like to explain why Nic impersonated an All-Pro linebacker out there?”

  He looked from Veena to me. We glanced at each other. She blinked innocently, and I shrugged.

  “Uh huh. That’s what I thought.”

  Veena pushed back her unruly helmet-hair. “Hey, Nic, I need to shower. We’re meeting Ali and Gage in an hour for dinner before the Grinders show.”

  “Right. Thanks again for covering for me, Connor.” We started to walk away, but I turned back to him. “Oh—do you know that man?” I pointed to the coffee guy’s table. It was empty. I scanned the room, but he was gone. “Huh.”

  “Who?”

  “I keep seeing this middle-aged guy drinking coffee and reading the paper in the afternoon. He was here before you came in.”

  “I haven’t seen anyone like that,” Connor said, “but I work most afternoons.”

  “I’ll point him out next time. Anyway, see you around?” I pulled my ponytail over my shoulder and smiled. Ugh. I’m on the verge of losing this job and now I’m flirting. What’s wrong with me?

  Veena, Ali, Gage, and I ate at a crowded but cozy pizza place in town featuring a lit fireplace, exposed brick walls, and twinkly lights strung around the ceiling. They joked, laughed, and talked a mile a minute, but I couldn’t stop looking over my shoulder. Although the evening had been meticulously planned out by my team, I felt too vulnerable at a table by the window.

  Maybe it was being away from VMA and the ski hill for the first time, but even having Kovitch and his team outside and Bart standing by with the car didn’t help me relax.

  Ali and Veena discussed the upcoming Grand Prix competition at Copper Mountain, a resort a few miles east o
f Vail.

  “Copper’s pipe is sick,” Ali said, “but it’s nothing compared to the Beast.” Her Australian accent thickened when she was excited.

  “I know! I’m stoked to ride it again.” Veena said.

  “What’s the Beast?” I asked.

  “The superpipe in Laax,” Veena said. “It’s the biggest in the world. Twenty-two feet high, seventy-two feet wide, and—”

  “Six hundred and fifty feet long.” Ali bounced in her seat.

  “They made a special pipe dragon to groom it,” Veena said.

  “The Pipe Monster.” Gage used a Hollywood movie trailer voice.

  Ali, Darya, and Veena all specialized in the pipe. I’d learned some riders at VMA did slopestyle, which was hitting rails and massive ramps designed for big air tricks, while still others rode boarder cross, an obstacle course race between four riders. Plus, there were slalom and giant slalom racers. Skiers, like Gage, had a whole different set of competitions and events. Keeping all of them straight wasn’t easy.

  The girls went on about snowboarding while I studied the diners and wait staff, looking for trouble.

  “What’s up, Nic?” Gage asked quietly. “Anything, um, in particular you’re worried about?” He glanced around nervously.

  “No particular threat, if that’s what you mean.”

  He cocked his head toward Veena. “I don’t know how she does it. Here she is with someone threatening her life, and she manages to train, study, and keep smiling through it all.” He leaned in closer. “She can be bitchy when she’s in a mood, though.”

  “I’ve noticed.”

  “But we forgive her for it. Right, VV?”

  Veena flipped her hair over her shoulder and paused mid-sentence. “What?”

  “Nic was saying what a huge pain in the ass you were.”

  She laughed. “You haven’t even seen the worst of it. Wait until Copper.”

  Ali nodded exaggeratedly. “She’s a total stress case at competitions.”

  Veena’s smile faltered. “I am. Sorry if I take it out on you guys.”