Whisper: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Novel (Spectra Book 3)

by Lan Chan

  I covered the mouthpiece so that my furious breathing didn’t transmit through the phone. “I’m not terrorising anyone. I just wanted to talk to Gabe but he’s not there. So I’ll go now.”

  Since that was a dead-end, I decided to swing past Kew Gardens. I was out of luck with Gabe but that didn’t mean I was out of leads. If Gabe wasn’t going to talk to me then I would have to try another Court.

  That was going to be a bit of an issue. Practically everything got you in trouble with Ricky. Like the other Kings, Ricky was territorial to the point of fanatical. He despised any form of authority and hated looking weak. Basically, he was a twelve-year-old boy in the body of a fifty-something-year-old man. Gran hated him but she tolerated his presence because he at least made good on his bargains with the residents of Kew Gardens to keep them safe.

  Where Edward Blake had the Rendezvous, Ricky Wong had the Red Dragon. It wasn’t a hotel but a sprawling restaurant with private dining rooms and an office in the back. I’d been to the restaurant portion of the building but not anywhere near the staff-only sections. At least not as a paying customer. Even then we hadn’t paid because Gran was the widow of a former King. That held some clout and Ricky wasn’t stupid. Gran still had a lot of loyal friends whether they were past or presently involved in the business.

  My problem was that I couldn’t just stroll into the Red Dragon during the late afternoon without a warrant or an excuse.

  As I rolled the cruiser to a stop in the restaurant parking lot, my attention settled on the sleek black sedan under the protective cover of a carport that was attached to the back of the restaurant. Two gold flags hung on a pole connected to the beams in the carport. A red water dragon rampant lay in the centre of the flag. I guessed that meant the King was in. Now how was I going to get in there? A very ill-conceived idea popped into my head. If this blew up in my face, I was going to be in deep trouble. Yet my fingers were dialling before I could consider all of the consequences.

  “Hello?” came a raspy voice on the other end of the line.

  “Gran, it’s me.”

  She cleared her throat a couple of times and I heard her yawn. Great. I’d woken her up from her nap. “What’s the matter? Are you in trouble?” I loved that that was her first guess. It was never just nice to hear from me.

  “No. I’m in the neighbourhood. Do you want to have a really late lunch?” I realised it was probably closer to her dinner time but the semantics didn’t matter at the moment. All I needed was a way to get into the Red Dragon. Of course, she wasn’t an idiot. She couldn’t be to have survived her life.

  “And are you going to tell me why you’re not at school at the moment?”

  “I’ll tell you over lunch?” It was a weak compromise.

  “You’ll tell me the truth now and I might help you. Lie to me and I’ll call Richard.”

  Why couldn’t my grandmother be one of those doting old ladies who baked treats and gave undeserved encouragement?

  “I need to get into the Red Dragon and I can’t think of any other excuse but you.”

  “Why do you need to get in there?”

  “I have to find one of Ricky’s men.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “Kenny Li.”

  “Never heard of him.”

  “That’s why I’m not asking you!”

  “Don’t give me lip. I get enough of that from your cousin. What do you need Kenny for?”

  “Information.” She waited for me to elaborate and I couldn’t think of another excuse to stall her. “I’m working on a case that involves Second Sight and I think he’ll have some info I need.”

  “The Psi-Ops are in charge of the S2 case. Everybody knows that. You shouldn’t be sticking your nose into it.”

  “I think it’s a bit too late for that.”

  “How so?”

  “Gran! I don’t have time for this! I need to get back to Hyper before anyone knows I’m missing in action. Are you going to help me or not?”

  If I concentrated really hard, I could sense her displeasure seeping through the phone line. I wasn’t in the habit of sassing my grandmother. I was reckless but not stupid. Perhaps that was the reason why she didn’t dismiss me straight away.

  “Fine. I’ll be there in ten minutes,” she said.

  “I can come and get you.”

  “No need. I’ll take a taxi.”

  True to her word, just over ten minutes later, a silver-top taxi pulled into the restaurant’s driveway and Gran got out. I met her inside the restaurant’s lobby. She looked me up and down as we waited to be seated.

  “You are too skinny.” Not this again. She was shaking her head. “Though I’ve seen you eat so I can’t say you’re exactly starving yourself.” I couldn’t tell her the reason why my metabolism was the way it was. It was a secret that I was keeping within the confines of Hyper, though I did often wonder whether she had any idea about the operation I must have gone through as a child. I doubted it, though. She and Mum weren’t exactly on the best of terms either.

  She stuck her cane out to intercept a waiter passing us by. “Table for two,” she said. The waiter, a dark-skinned boy about my age, screwed up his face.

  “Do you have a reservation?” I peered over the register and into the restaurant proper. There were empty tables everywhere. It was that awkward time after lunch that was too early for dinner when the staff were busy cleaning and folding napkins. In the kitchen, I bet they were making spring rolls and fried rice.

  “The place is pretty empty,” I noted. He glared at me. I could see that he was one of those guys who got off on working for Ricky Wong, however inadvertently.

  “Celia Tran never needs a reservation at the Red Dragon,” a curt voice said from the side of the lobby. We turned and there at the base of the stairs that led to the second-floor function room was Ricky himself.

  Of all the Kings, Ricky was the one who liked to keep up appearances of a legitimate businessman. Who knows, with his extensive network, he might own some businesses that actually paid tax.

  Gran surveyed him the same way she’d done to me. Her eyes squinted. I had a sneaking suspicion that her sight was failing but she was covering it up by integrating it into her intimidation repertoire.

  “You’re getting fat,” she told Ricky. The waiter stiffened. His grip on the reservation book became tight. I’d bet he’d never heard anyone comment negatively about Ricky’s appearance and get away with it. There was always a first time.

  My eyes flickered to where Ricky’s gut bulged inside his designer three-piece suit. The button at his waist strained so that I could see the white of his shirt clearly through the spaces between.

  Ricky swatted the comment away. “Mind your own business, old woman.” He turned to me, “You’re growing up, Willow. Are you ready to consider my proposal?”

  Gran rapped her cane on the jade Fu dog guarding the register. “We didn’t come here for a recruitment speech. Boy, see us to a table. I’m hungry!”

  The waiter snapped to attention and motioned for us to follow. It became obvious halfway to the four-person round table by the picturesque window that Ricky was following us. I swallowed, not sure how I felt about that.

  “You don’t mind if I join you, do you?” he asked, taking a seat to my right before Gran could answer. To her credit, she didn’t bat an eyelid. Probably couldn’t have even if she wanted to.

  “It’s your restaurant,” Gran said. Evidence of that appeared in the form of four bodyguards, all in black, with earpieces strapped to the side of their heads. They positioned themselves at the table next to us. The other diners didn’t even look up from their meals. It was probably a common sight for them to see Ricky doing business on the floor of his restaurant. Or entertaining business associates.

  We didn’t have to order because Ricky called the chef out and put in a request for all of the best things on the menu. It was a struggle not to roll my eyes at his blatant display of wealth. There was no doubt that I’d b
e able to make triple what the Academy would pay me as an inducted officer if I took up a post with the Kings.

  More if they found out what I could really do. But I clearly had a problem with authority and legitimate authority triggered me less than the kind of blind obedience the Kings mandated.

  We were halfway through the meal of chilli king crab, abalone soup, lobster noodles, and special fried rice when Ricky finally decided that he had made nice long enough.

  “And how is life in the Academy treating you, Willow?”

  I shrugged, deciding to take the sullen teenager route. “It’s treating me like any other prison where I didn’t choose to go.”

  His lips curved into a reluctant smile. The gesture squashed the pockmarks on his cheeks together. “I hear they run Hyper division like a military academy. I assume you’ve got a strict schedule to adhere to at all times. Yet here you are sitting in my restaurant in the middle of the afternoon.”

  “I’m here on a personal errand.” I kept my voice even and continued to slurp noodles into my mouth. They had a hard time getting past the stone that had just appeared in my throat. Nothing was more important than appearances in Kew Gardens.

  “And what errand would that be?”

  Gran kicked me under the table. I glanced at her inscrutable face and saw that her lips were pursed together, the age lines even more pruned than usual. She worked on the premise of giving as little information to people as possible. But my hands were tied. I just couldn’t come up with an explanation good enough to cover both why I wasn’t at Hyper and why I was here specifically.

  So I decided to tell an abridged version of the truth. “I’m looking for someone,” I said. “Actually, you might be able to help me. His name is Kenny Li. He works for you.”

  The blink of recognition was almost imperceptible, and if I wasn’t looking for a sign, I would have missed it altogether. What surprised me was that he didn’t try to deny the association.

  “Why are you looking for Kenny?”

  “He’s been harassing my boss.” I didn’t add that it was probably on Ricky’s orders.

  “Seems like a lot of trouble to go to for a couple of hours work on a Saturday.” Of course he knew exactly what my schedule looked like.

  “When you have as few people in your circle as I do, there’s no telling the lengths you’ll go to in order to protect them.”

  He smiled at that. “We could strike a bargain. You agree to join me when your probation with Hyper is over, and I’ll send word out that Hikari is to be left alone.”

  Beside me, Gran pulled her shoulders back. I didn’t need to turn to her to see that she wasn’t happy about the direction of this conversation. To be fair, neither was I.

  “As much as I’m flattered by the offer, I’d like to leave my options for the future open if you don’t mind.”

  He leaned back in his chair and set his chopsticks down. “That’s a shame. It would be so tragic if anything were to happen to Hikari in the meantime.”

  “Depends on what you consider tragic. Losing half your men for the sake of a single transaction doesn’t seem like a battle worth fighting, does it?”

  I let the threat linger while my telepathy attempted to skip over the minds of the men around us. Like most of the Street King employees, his goons were decked to the brim with anti-psi technology. Unlike most of the rest of Melbourne, the Kings could afford the very best. Sadly, for Ricky, even the very best couldn’t block out an alpha. Even worse was the fact that I wasn’t really an esper. The static that I came across as I touched upon his mind was distracting enough, though, that I had to really concentrate in order to read his thoughts. It didn’t seem worth it in the end.

  He surveyed me with the contemptuous air of one who was used to getting his way. When I first moved to Melbourne, I’d met him at one of Aunt Clare’s many parties. To say that we hadn’t clicked after he’d tried to recruit a twelve-year-old into his gang was an understatement. Finally, a cold sheet seemed to descend over his rough features and he bared his teeth.

  “You needn’t bother searching for Kenny,” he said. “He’s dead.”

  Shock had my probe snapping back to me. “Dead how?”

  “This isn’t a free-for-all. Your associations will only get you so far.”

  But his words were dimmed by the widening eyes of the big goon to his left. My probe switched off the goon’s anti-psi cuff. Left inactive for more than a second, he’d know I’d messed with the tech. But a second was all I needed to lift the image that was at the forefront of his thoughts. No special Reader telepathy needed.

  The big goon jiggled his wrist as I exited and turned the cuff back on. He peered at it with suspicion but the break hadn’t been long enough to warrant his full attention.

  It was enough to show me the gruesome details of Kenny’s demise. Shot through the head at point-blank range by a shotgun or some kind of weapon which obliterated his brains. The same way as the other espers that they’d reported on in the news. So at least I couldn’t attribute it to Second Sight, but at the same time, my one lead was gone.

  To cover up for the sick feeling in my stomach at the sight of Kenny’s exploded head, I took the last dumpling and shoved it into my mouth. It went down like glue but I forced it with tea.

  “No more harassment,” I said to Ricky. “Mr. Hikari’s already made it clear he’s not interested in your protection. He’s an Academy man.”

  “Is he? What kind of Academy man allows a Spectra symbol to stay painted on his roof?”

  “He didn’t know it was there. He’s got a bad back and doesn’t climb up on the roof anymore.”

  “It begs the question, though, doesn’t it? What’s a Spectra symbol doing all the way in my territory and who put it there?”

  “The simple answer would be Spectra.”

  He nodded. “You see that’s where I have the problem. Spectra is the Shadowman’s esper and I can’t have that.”

  “I don’t know why everyone thinks that,” I snapped.

  “Who else thinks it?”

  “My godfather,” I said, to throw him off the scent.

  “The allegation is out there and the Shadowman has done nothing to refute it. So you see where my problem lies. I can’t have anyone in my territory asking for another King’s protection. It’s not good for business.”

  “Is that all it is? Business? What about your loyalty to the people that have put their trust in you?”

  He laughed then. It was a thin, hollow laugh that held no genuine amusement. “Business is the only real loyalty there is. And when the Shadowman sends his enforcer into my territory, it’s my business he’s hurting.”

  “You know Mr. Hikari doesn’t know anything about that.”

  “Be that as it may, he’s a respected man and his example could lead to others disregarding my protection.”

  This was getting me nowhere. My hands were tied, and I might be able to threaten him once, but twice was pushing it. At a complete loss, I reached out for Gran’s hand.

  Gran, what do I do?

  If she was shocked by the intrusion, her face didn’t show it.

  There’s only one clear choice, she thought, pay the man.

  What?

  He wants protection money. Something to show the businesses that Hikari is his.

  I tried not to let my face scrunch up. Mr. Hikari is never going to go for it!

  Then you pay him.

  I don’t have that kind of cash! They’re not even paying me in Hyper. Could you?

  No. I’m not a bank. You shouldn’t have drawn that Spectra symbol on his roof. It was a stupid move.

  I wasn’t even shocked that she knew what I’d done. How’d you know it was me?

  The question you should be asking is how I know you’re Spectra.

  I gulped. This conversation wasn’t going well. The irony of being able to break into any bank and yet being totally broke wasn’t lost on me. But I had no choice but to agree.

  “Fine,”
I said aloud. “Next quarter come by the shop on a Saturday. You’re only to deal with me.”

  “That defeats the purpose of Hikari admitting he’s on board.”

  “Well then he’ll be a hypocrite, won’t he? Not admitting that he’s paying you off but doing so behind everyone’s back. That’s what you want, isn’t it? To destroy his credibility?”

  This time the smile was real, his canines sharp and digging into his bottom lip. “Pleasure doing business with you.”

  He left us then. I sat there crushing the goblet of water like it was his head. When we exited the restaurant, a massive truck was blocking the back entrance and part of the car park where I’d left the cruiser. We had to sit and wait for two burly delivery men to cart boxes into the back of the kitchen. Finally, I was able to drop Gran off at home and returned the cruiser to the Academy.

  I missed my normal bus and had to wait for the next one. My mind went over the conversation with Ricky a dozen times before I came to the conclusion that the Shadowman and Spectra needed to have a conversation soon.

  17

  When I got home, Lily was inside the lab hooking a portable hard drive to her computer. “We have a problem,” she said as soon as I walked in.

  “Tell me about it.” I’d meant it in a sarcastic sense but she didn’t get it. She told me about the problem.

  “If Richard asks, I didn’t go looking for this information on purpose.”

  I took a seat in the chair next to her, making sure my legs were tucked in so I didn’t touch her. I’d floated the idea of training her to fight but it just wasn’t going anywhere. She was interested, but her interest didn’t extend far in a practical sense.

  “Let’s just leave Rich out of this entirely,” I said.

  “You’re not supposed to lie to him.”

  “It’s not lying. It’s not sharing everything. What he doesn’t know can’t hurt him.”

  “Yes, it can.”

  I gave up. “You were saying we have a problem?”