Tempest: The Scarab Beetle Series: #6 (The Academy)

by C. L. Stone

  “Should I even ask where you’ve been?” Dr. Roberts’ wrinkled brow became tight under a concerned expression.

  “I wouldn’t begrudge a patient some exercise,” Dr. Green said. “It’s not like she walked away and didn’t come back. She’s right here.”

  Still liked him. I wanted to return the favor someday. And I would never betray that he helped us get out of here.

  Dr. Roberts sighed. “Kayli, just tell someone next time, okay? I don’t mean to sound so paranoid, but… given what’s happened with you lately…” He put a hand over the center of his chest. “Don’t give me a heart attack this young, okay?”

  My cool, relaxed expression faltered. He had a point. After getting kidnapped and everything else that happened to me since I’d known them, maybe it wasn’t fair to sneak out like that. “Sorry,” I said.

  Everyone was quiet for a moment, and I wasn’t sure why, but they were staring at me.

  “What?” I asked.

  Dr. Roberts recovered first. He went to the foot of the bed, picking up a clipboard that had my medical charts or whatever paperwork they kept there. I’d tried to read it before, but I didn’t understand half of it. Dr. Roberts drew in funny faces depending on what he was writing. Dr. Green, if he left a note, often left a joke or two. I think they knew I was reading the charts.

  Axel closed the room’s door behind him and came further in. “She doesn’t really need to be here on an IV now, does she?”

  It was the first time anyone besides me had said something akin to letting me get out of the hospital. I’d fought them all on this before. Did the outing this morning prove I could go and I’d be okay? Or was there something I did that finally had him on my side on this?

  “She could take an IV with her if she really wanted,” Dr. Green said. “Apparently, she knows how to use it.”

  I grimaced, happy to take credit for what Axel did, although I was sure I could figure it out if I really wanted.

  Corey put the food package on the couch and nudged the coffee table over a bit so he could get past it to sit down. “We could watch her at our place,” Corey said. He leaned forward, with his elbows on his knees, and used his hands to brush at his tired face. “Or if you want something else, we can set up in a random safe house...”

  “You’ve been dealing with some bad people,” Dr. Roberts said. He was looking right at me, addressing me. “The problem with dealing with bad people so directly is they get vengeful. Start coming after you. I’m worried that might happen to you. Any of you.”

  I frowned, and the words spit out of my mouth before I could stop myself. “I wouldn’t have been on the ship if they hadn’t tried to kidnap Corey in the first place. They were after him without any of us getting involved directly. Shouldn’t you be more concerned about that?”

  “We are, which is why the whole team should move out.”

  The shock hit me hard enough that I took a step back, blinked rapidly and looked to the others. “Move?”

  “Out of the Sargant Jasper,” Corey said in a quiet tone. He avoided looking at me and instead faced Dr. Roberts. “Out of the state maybe. It’s not just about her. It’s us. We’ve been a high risk from the start.” He sighed. “You never really escape your past. It doesn’t matter if you change. It never really leaves you.”

  I felt sorry for bringing it up. Corey and the others had criminal records, and it was heartbreaking to listen to him feeling defeated despite having turned to work for the good side.

  Dr. Roberts moved to sit on the coffee table and focus on him. “Listen, I know it’s tough, but we’re trying to protect all of you. It’s the right thing to do. For you and for her.”

  “She’s been a real help to us,” Axel said, coming up beside me. His stoic voice seemed to ease the anger in me. “And she did a lot in discovering valuable information that could help a lot of people here in Charleston.”

  “Don’t forget Blake and his team,” Corey said. “They were trying to help. And they didn’t have to protect us, but they did. We need to look out for them, too. I know you said it’ll be more difficult, but we can’t just leave them.”

  I realized then this was part of an ongoing conversation I hadn’t been a part of until now.

  I admired how Corey stood up for Blake. From the look on Axel’s face, he was completely behind Corey in his opinion. They hadn’t been fond of Coaltar before, but something had changed in the last few weeks.

  Dr. Roberts turned his attention to Axel. “Yes, Kayli dove in to help. But she’s not under any obligation to...us. And neither are Mr. Coaltar and his team. This team is already in hot water for the last bit of trouble, going all vigilante justice when given strict instructions to stay low for a while.” He paused and shook his head. “No, I’m sorry. I don’t want to go over the same argument. What’s done is done.”

  “I have to choose between going with them or staying behind?” I asked. “Is that it?”

  He turned to me. “We’ll help you get out of this. But you have to understand, Blake probably won’t cooperate. Do you really think Coaltar is just going to give up his house and his belongings just to get under the radar? I want him to, trust me, but he might not. And if you all move on out of danger, it may mean letting people go. I don’t think he’s the type to lay low. I can’t even ask you to leave. Not really. Not when…”

  The edge in his tired voice surprised me. He was looking out for our safety, which made getting in the middle of things awkward for me.

  I got the gist of what they were saying, even without them catching me up on the entirety of it. “You don’t want to ask me to leave,” I said. “Because of my brother.”

  He nodded. “How could we ask that? Bringing Wil would only endanger him, force him on the run with you. As it is now, if we’ve had such a hard time locating him, they probably can’t. He’s safer than you are.” Dr. Roberts touched briefly at the corner of his glasses to adjust them. “You know we’d look out for anyone you asked,” he said. “I know this isn’t an easy decision.”

  “How long would we have to go?” I asked.

  “I don’t know,” he said. “Until they gave up looking for you. It could be years. But not forever.”

  “So between a few years and forever.” I bobbed my head. Honestly, I was dazed at the notion. I could be gone a really long time. They’d still look for Wil. The Academy would take care of him, if they stuck to their promise. I might not be able to see him. But would staying mean I put him in danger?

  “Consider it,” Dr. Roberts said.

  There was a look to his eye. A pleading. Without saying it out loud, he was begging, so it was hard to argue with him, even if I wanted to. He was scared. For me, and for Axel and the others. He wanted to appeal to me.

  To me, of all people.

  Keep them safe.

  Why did he think I’d be able to? And how could I ask them when I didn’t even want to leave?

  Not my home.

  Not the only place I’d ever lived. And not because we were getting chased out by others. They should be the ones to leave, not us.

  Axel looked ready with a retort, but Dr. Green surprisingly cut him off before he could say anything. The younger doctor forced a pleasant face, put a hand on Dr. Roberts’ shoulder and nudged him. “Let’s put this aside for later. Sounds like there is more to discuss, and now isn’t the time when we’re all on edge.” He motioned to the door. “Did I tell you about the apple pie here? I wonder if we can get the kitchen team to go find us one for breakfast. Let’s eat and figure out next steps.”

  Dr. Roberts took his glasses off and pinched at the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. “Just don’t leave this time. Please? Wait until we’ve made sure security checks have been done and can make the best decision?” He put his glasses back on and tried to smile at me. “We should talk after we’ve both eaten. The nurses tell me I get hangry too. I don’t even know what that means.”

  “It means you need to try the new apple pie,” Dr. Green sa
id and nudged him again to the door. He and Dr. Roberts headed out, leaving Axel, Corey and myself alone in the hospital room.

  Corey sat back and blew out a breath between his lips. “I knew they wanted us to leave sooner or later.”

  “I was trying to put it off until later,” Axel said, still as stoic and calm as if he’d just been sitting through a business meeting. “We gave them a lot of excuses as to why we couldn’t get a council together just yet. Safety. The fact that Raven isn’t out yet. Kayli being in the hospital and needing to keep an eye on her…”

  “That’s not about to fly much longer,” Corey said. He picked up the food bag on the couch and opened it, taking out a couple of containers. “He’ll be out soon. And so should she.” He paused. “I know they want us all to lay low, but…we do it together, or we can’t do it. Can you see any other way?”

  Axel pursed his lips and shook his head. No answer. He didn’t know.

  I didn’t say anything. I was learning to try not to say much until I’d eaten. But what was there to say?

  Corey laid the food out. I sat on the floor so I could be closer to it and not lean over so much to eat.

  Axel sat on the floor opposite me, a leg crossing over mine under the table. Corey was smart and had bought four steaks, several batches of fries and a few mini apple pie tart things. It would have been enough to feed several people and might tide someone like myself over until lunch.

  Corey and I dug in. Axel was a little slower, talking as he was eating.

  “I’ve a feeling it’s the end for us,” Axel said.

  “Because we’re supposed to run away?”

  “We’ve not been very good for the Academy.”

  I paused with food in my mouth. That didn’t sound right. I swallowed half-chewed food to get out what I wanted to say. “I thought you all were what the Academy was,” I said. “Ex-criminals, basically? Trying to fix a few things around the city?”

  “Fixing things around the city, sure,” Axel said. “But we’re the experimental group. Most in the Academy don’t exactly have records like us. And we’ve just showed them why it wasn’t a good idea. We go too far. Break the rules. Now look what happened. You end up with a concussion. Raven got accused of murder. A group of both unknown size and purpose tried to pin Blake for said murder. Not to mention the kidnapping, attempting to steal a secret cell phone tower to break security for the entire city, attempted murder on all of us…the list keeps going.”

  “What would the Academy do?” I asked, chuckling between bites of stuffing my face with fries. My steaks were already gone. I was tempted to steal Axel’s but was going to give him till the time I finished with the fries to make sure he ate something at least. “Kick you out of the cool club because you tried to stop it?”

  “It’s a possibility,” he said coolly.

  I blinked rapidly at him, waiting for him to say something like just kidding, or maybe wink. I checked in with Corey.

  Corey shrugged and bobbed his head. It was a real possibility.

  I dropped some fries back into my container and pointed to myself with greasy fingers. “But why don’t you just tell them it’s all my fault? I dragged you into it all.”

  “Correction,” Corey said. “The only thing you dragged us into was...wait...well not totally everything. We did some of it.”

  “And we’re adults and can make our own decisions,” Axel said. “Not only are we putting ourselves into danger, we’ve been dragging other people in. Other teams’ members. Everything we did, we risked them, too.”

  True. When things got too bad, we’d had to call in other people. Sometimes kids younger than us. I thought of a few we’d run into during the crazy few months I’d been getting to know the guys and been involved. Everything we’d done so far required more people than just us, and because of it, we were pulling a ton of people into danger when they shouldn’t have been there.

  I picked up a fry, but instead of eating it, I broke it into smaller and smaller pieces, dropping them back into the container. “Do you really like the Academy? With all their rules?”

  “We owe them a lot,” Corey said.

  Before I could think further on it, the phone beside the bed rang.

  I hadn’t used it, and no one had ever called on it before.

  Corey lifted a brow. Axel blinked slowly but then shrugged. “Either a nurse or the wrong room.”

  I didn’t think it was a nurse. There was a speaker built into the bed, and they usually used that. I was the closest, so I reached over and picked up the receiver. “Yeah?” I said, not to be rude, but highly expecting Axel was right that it’d be a wrong number. Who would call?

  It was silent on the other end, but I could hear breathing. Maybe my tone made them hesitate. Or did they not hear me? “Hello?” I said, a bit nicer.

  “Thanks for answering,” said an oddly familiar woman’s voice. “I’ve been looking for a way in for weeks. I appreciate your contribution.” She paused. “You do sound awfully familiar. Is this Kayli by chance?”

  I froze. The more she spoke, the more I recognized her voice. I didn’t know if I should hang up or spit on the phone. “Never heard of her,” I said.

  Axel got up, reaching for the phone with a stern look. “Who is it?”

  “No,” Alice said to me. “I’d never forget that lovely, grumpy gravel sound to your voice. Don’t you worry. But I don’t have time for you right now. I’ll see you later.” She hung up.

  My heart was pounding wildly as Axel took the receiver from my stunned grip. “Who was that?” he asked. He held the phone to his ear and listened to the dead tone, then hung it up.

  “Alice,” I said, shaking my head. Of all people, one of the instigators of the plot to kidnap Corey. She’d gotten me and Brandon instead.

  The one who I had to thank for being in the hospital in the first place.

  The one I still owed the favor of ripping her eyes out when I next saw her.

  Axel instantly picked the phone up again and hit a couple of buttons. After a second, he rattled off, “Unknown number.” He hung up and took his own cell phone out and hesitated. “Corey…”

  “What did she say?” Corey asked me.

  “She didn’t seem to know she was calling me,” I said. “But she said she’d been looking for a way in for weeks, and thanks for—”

  The hospital door burst open. Blake Coaltar entered, a nurse following behind, scowling after him and reaching to tug at his elbow.

  “You can’t just enter any room,” she said. “I’ve called security.”

  “Good,” he told her. His light hair was askew over his face, and he fixed it with one quick sweep of his hand. He wore plain black clothes and some dark brown boots. He turned the full of his foxlike smile at her and gently placed a palm over her hand on his arm. “Tell them to get here soon. We’ll need the help.”

  “What’s going on?” Axel said. “What are you doing here?”

  “Sorry,” Blake said. He found me, gave me a head to toe once over and a curious one eyebrow lift, maybe at the clothes or something else. “I need to use your phone.”

  “Don’t,” Corey said. “Alice just called.”

  Blake’s shoulders dropped and the expression on his face was haunting. “I’m too late.”

  “Late for what?” I asked.

  “She stole my phone. She finally broke in. This number was the last one I entered into it.”

  WHEN THE DEVIL CHASES YOU

  Security arrived a second later, and we had a scuffle as they barked at Blake to leave.

  “Tell them to back off,” Blake said to Axel.

  Corey wedged himself between one of the guards and Blake. “It’s okay. He’s a friend.”

  “He shouldn’t be here,” the nurse said. “We’re under direct orders…”

  “How can you ban someone from a hospital?” Blake asked.

  “Don’t take it personally,” Axel said. “We told them to keep you at bay. Because of people like Alice.” His v
oice got more severe near the end, deeper and darker than ever before. “And here you’ve brought her right to us.”

  “That wasn’t my intention,” Blake said, raising his palms up as if to show he was unarmed and innocent. “But when I realized she had my phone, I knew she’d call this line and a few more to get my location. She’s looking for me.”

  “Why just you?” I asked.

  “I was the one they were trying to pin for murder,” he said. “Only their boy Sam confessed, thanks to Raven. So now they’re just straight up angry. Kick the hornet’s nest too much, eventually they come looking to bite. Plain and simple.”

  “How’d you get the number?” Axel asked.

  Blake lifted an eyebrow. His hair had gotten a little longer, and some locks fell across his eyes, across the gold flecks that sparked with some amusement. “We all have our secrets, don’t we?” He waved to him and to Corey and me. “We should leave.”

  “Is she coming here?”

  “She might,” he said. “And we don’t want to be here.”

  Corey motioned to security, whispering, but I overheard as they were near me. “You should let her in, let her get to this room and find out she’s gone. Give her bad directions as to where Kayli went.”

  Panic took over as I realized she could be on her way right now. The Academy people were right to worry. These bad guys were headed into their hospital.

  It was Axel’s deep voice that kept me still. “We shouldn’t leave together. Or at the same time.”

  “I was just thinking that,” Blake said. “Want to come with me? I could use your help.”

  He raised a brow. “With what?” he asked.

  “Family matters,” Blake said. “She’s after me. Those are the first people they’ll probably come for, after Kayli. At least she knows they’re coming.”

  “What family?”

  “My brother,” he said. “He’s got a wife too. Just about to have a baby. I want to make sure to get them out.” He pressed his palms together as if praying. “I wouldn’t ask, but I’m running out of people I can trust right now. Will you help me?”