by Sarah Biglow
“I’m going to figure out what you’re up to,” I vowed as my stomach rumbled, reminding me I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. I considered grabbing something here, but I needed something more substantial. Besides, I needed to touch base with Spencer and fill him in on the plan.
Leaving the coffee shop behind, I traced the path to Sorano’s. I spotted Spencer through the front window, bussing tables. I shouldered the front door open—the little bell announcing my presence—then sat in a booth and waited.
“What are you doing here?” Spencer asked, his gaze narrowed at me, trying to read my thoughts. After a few seconds, his face relaxed.
Guess Clayton’s tech works. “A girl’s gotta eat.” I gestured to the water pitcher. “What’s with the bus boy routine?”
“One of the waiters called in sick and I told my parents I’d help out. It’s not like I was doing anything else today.”
Right. We hadn’t figured out how much my mother knew about Declan’s whereabouts and as far as anyone knew, he and Spencer were supposed to still be working together. No Declan meant no Spencer in the field. “Are you going to just stand there or can I get something to eat?”
He gawked at me for a minute longer before he pushed his glasses back up on his nose and set the water pitcher on the table and took out a note pad. “What do you want?”
“Chicken parm, light on the sauce.”
Spencer opened his mouth, but closed it again and disappeared toward the kitchen. I waited for him to come back, knowing I’d be pelted with questions. Sure enough, when he brought the food and a free soda—knowing the owners’ son has a few perks—he sat across from me. “Okay explain, why can’t I read you?”
I took a bite of the chicken, savoring the flavoring on the breading before answering. “You haven’t talked to Declan?”
“He’s supposed to be laying low, remember? So, no. I haven’t heard from him. What gives, Tina?”
I tapped behind my ear. “Clayton gave me telepath blocking tech.”
His gaze narrowed again as if he was trying to read my thoughts. I expected watery eyes or a nose bleed, but other than a frustrated sigh as he sunk back against the faux leather, there was no outward appearance his powers were failing him. “I know he’s your dad and everything, but why would he want to keep me out of your head?”
I couldn’t resist the urge to roll my eyes. “It’s not about you. We needed someone to take Henry’s place. Yours truly volunteered. I’m interning at the precinct. Apparently, there’s some shady shit going on with super powered people attacking civilians. So, lucky me I get to hack some shit and keep an eye on my mother and my Uncle Nick.”
Spencer arched a brow. “Since when is it a ‘we’ thing? You’ve known this guy a week.”
“And he saved Declan’s life. Plus, I’ve seen the footage he’s got on my mother. He’s not our enemy. Besides, we know my mother sent someone after Henry. That’s definitely a mark in the evil bitch column, okay? At least he’s interested in getting to know me. Oh, and he’s going to train me. Like out of X-Men. I figured you’d appreciate the reference.”
“You do know there’s more to comics than just the X-Men, right? A vast, wonderful variety. Just because we’re basically living it doesn’t mean that’s all there is out there.”
“Be happy I care enough to pay attention to that one,” I replied.
Spencer rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” He leaned forward. “I just don’t want you to get hurt, Tina. Physically or emotionally.”
“If I wanted mushy emotion shit, I’d have gone to your girlfriend,” I grumbled.
“I will say this; I appreciate that his tech doesn’t make me want to vomit. I still remember the first time I tried to read your mom. I thought I was going to puke for hours.”
“See? Another reason he’s better than her.”
Before he could say anything, an incoming message beeped on the cloned phone. I ignored it. The fewer people who knew I had it, the better. But when it beeped again, Spencer gestured to my bag. “Are you going to answer that?”
“It’s probably my mother demanding to know where I am. She can suck it.”
“I don’t know what you’re trying to get out of this, but I hope you know what you’re doing,” he said and slid out of the booth, slapping the check on the table as he left.
I pulled the phone from my bag and studied the brief text exchange between Henry and Reese. Henry’s message was short. ‘Everything’s fine.’ I assumed it was in response to Reese’s outgoing call earlier. Reese’s message back was cryptic: ‘Meet me at the usual spot in twenty. We need to talk.’
I was eager to see what Reese planned to do if he did in fact meet up with Henry. Maybe I could catch him before he could take another swing at Pyro. I went back through Reese’s location data and found a spot in the woods that he’d frequented in the past few weeks. I vaguely remembered the location popping up when Declan had asked for Henry’s location a few weeks back. If I left now, I could beat Henry there. I left the food and a twenty-dollar bill on the table and shouldered my bag.
Chapter Four
Reese
Henry didn’t respond to my text about meeting up, but I would wait as long as it took to make sure he showed. The air currents around me tugged at the hem of my t-shirt as I propelled myself across town. I liked being able to move things with my mind, but being able to fly was just so fun. I could go anywhere—not that I’d ever left Everston—and no one could stop me. I landed back on the ground near the factory and sensed a presence nearby.
“H? That you?” I called, my hands instinctively reaching for the gun holstered at my hip. I hadn’t had time to secure it at home in my safe. The uneasy feeling about everyone ghosting me was a little preoccupying.
“Do I look like a skinny gay boy?” Tina called and stepped into view.
“Jesus, Tina! I could have shot you,” I snapped, forcing my hands to relax.
She gestured to the gun. “I’m no expert, but isn’t it hard to fire a gun if it’s still in the holster?”
I glanced down to see that I had in fact forgotten to undo the clip securing the weapon safely inside. “Still, you shouldn’t sneak up on people like that.” When my heart stopped racing, I asked, “What are you doing here?” As far as I knew, Henry hadn’t shared this place with anyone.
“Can’t a girl just go for a solitary walk in the woods?”
I laughed. “Nature’s not really your element. Not enough computers and electronics.”
She didn’t argue. “I wanted to say thanks for helping me out earlier. With the paperwork stuff.”
“It’s kind of my job. Helping people.” I closed the distance between us. She was up to something and my gut told me it had nothing to do with paperwork. This close up I could see the barest hint of blond roots and for a split second I wondered what she’d look like without the blue hair dye. And what it might feel like to run my fingers through it. Stop thinking about her like that! “You didn’t come here in the hopes of running into me just to say thank you for some internship.”
She bit her lower lip. “I was hoping I could talk to you. Without all the prying eyes and ears.”
“Talk about what?”
“Do I have to spell it out for you?” she asked, batting her eyelashes at me.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. I had a pretty good idea what she was after. “No offense, but you’re my commanding officer’s niece.”
She gave an exaggerated eye roll. “Like I care? Why should that matter?”
“In case you didn’t notice, he’s pretty protective of you. So is your mom for that matter. And I like my job. I’m not in the market for a new one.” Which I would be faster than I could recite the Miranda rights speech if either Lena or Officer Boudreau caught wind of what Tina was suggesting.
“They keep forgetting I’m an adult and can do what I want with whoever I want.”
“You’re starting an internship at the precinct. It would look like favoritism.”
“Again, why do you think I care about any of that?” She pressed the tip of her right index finger against my chest. “You’re cute, we’re both single. What’s the harm? I promise, I’m not one of those crazy stalker girls who loses her shit if things don’t work out.” Her words may have said she wasn’t the type to overact to a bad date, but her tone was sharp and warned of danger. I felt every piece of metal on me start vibrating with her power.
I wanted to say “no”. I should say “no.” She was completely off limits instead, what came out was, “One date.”
A flash of surprise crossed my face before she said, “I’ll come by your place tomorrow at seven.”
“Do I want to know how you know where I live?” I called as she started to walk away.
“I’m a girl of many talents,” she answered.
Just as she disappeared from view, my phone buzzed with an incoming text message from Henry. ‘Can’t right now. Busy. Catch you later.’ Seriously, what is going on with him? As I stood there in the woods alone, my emotions warred with themselves. Worry over Henry pushing me away battled against nervous excitement at the prospect of a night with Tina. I’d only dated a handful of girls in high school and since graduation, but none of them were like me. None were anything like Tina. I could keep telling myself it was only professional curiosity that pushed me to agree to the date, but I’d be lying to myself. For reasons I couldn’t put a name on, I wanted to see what made her tick. Besides, it was only one date. I wouldn’t let myself get too attached. It would never work out.
Chapter Five
Tina
The next morning, I stepped into the kitchen to find my mother sitting at the table, two plates of eggs and toast on the table. A cup of coffee waited at my place. I eyed the food warily.
“Sit down,” she said and gestured to the plate.
She never made me breakfast. “Not hungry,” I replied, even as I heard my stomach rumble.
“You need to eat. And we need to talk.”
Every fiber of my being rebelled against what she wanted. Still maybe talking to her would finally result in something useful. So, I sat down at the table and made a show of pushing the food around on my plate.
“Your uncle tells me that you finally applied for that internship with the police department.”
“It’s not like I’ve been doing anything useful this summer,” I countered.
She closed her eyes and took a slow breath in and out. “We are not going to discuss this again, Christina. You have been given access to everything. There is nothing else to know.”
“Ugh … You still think I’m some stupid kid,” I replied, anger bubbling beneath the surface.
“I did not raise a stupid daughter. You have a gifted mind beyond the abilities which you manifested.”
“Was I just some experiment to you?” I blurted.
“Excuse me?” Her utensils clattered to the table without any help from me.
“You were tweaking the genes of other people’s babies. So, what, you decided to try it on your own, too? I mean, it would explain why you were never around or gave a crap about what I did. Was I just another data point to you?”
“I wanted you to have every opportunity available to you. I protected you.”
“Protected me? How? By keeping me behind a computer my whole life while everyone else got to go out and actually use their powers?” I yelled. The magnetic field around me buzzed and crackled, begging me to use it. I pushed the plate away and her discarded knife rose into the air, slamming point-first into the wall opposite her. “Fuck you!”
I stormed out of the house, flinging doors open and closed behind me without ever touching them. I climbed into my car—most people liked to walk, but I preferred barreling around town at top speed—starting it without the need for a key and peeled out of the driveway. I’d only made the drive a handful of times, but I’d already committed the route to memory. Less chance of my mother tracking me via the car’s navigation.
The compound was unassuming from the outside. It looked like a big log cabin in the woods. Not the secret base for a super powered operation. I strode through the front door and expected to be questioned about my presence or whether I’d been followed. No one even approached me. I made my way down to the basement, hoping to find Clayton. He sat in the middle of the room we’d been in before, tinkering with something I couldn’t see.
“Back so soon?” he asked and looked up through the protective layer of a welder’s mask.
“I can’t stay in that house. I’m going to kill her eventually.” Electrical currents rippled over my bare arms and the bits of electronics strewn about the room rose into the air.
Clayton discarded the mask and took both of my hands in his. “Take a deep breath and picture somewhere that makes you feel at peace.”
“Like what?”
“Anything.”
I pictured the basement computer room at the high school. It had been our base of operations for four years. Sure, I bitched about not being out on the front lines, but I’d felt like I had a purpose there. For all the shit I hadn’t known yet, it had made me feel safe.
The currents died down around me and the wired feeling that had started to creep through my body dissipated.
“Good, now every time you start to get angry, I want you to picture yourself there. It will help keep you calm and with practice, your powers won’t react on autopilot.”
The magnetic field died down and the tech in the room settled back into place. I opened my eyes to find him smiling at me. “I still hate her,” I said.
“But now you are less likely to take someone’s eye out.”
“I got the internship. It starts tomorrow.”
“Good.”
“I’m also working on a way to figure out if Reese really did try to take out Declan and Henry.”
“Would this way be considered illegal?”
“Not unless misleading guys into thinking you’re into them is suddenly against the law.” He didn’t need to know I’d very much illegally cloned said guy’s phone.
“Tina, I know you want to protect your friends, but do you think that’s a good idea?”
Was he giving me a dad speech? “I really wish everyone would stop underestimating me. I can handle this, okay?”
He held up his hands in surrender. “Where are you and this guy going?”
“Look, I get that we share DNA and everything and you are trying to make up for nineteen plus years of being an absentee father, but I’m not telling you where I’m going.”
“You aren’t the only one who is good at hacking,” he quipped.
“If it makes you feel better, I’ll let my friends know where I’m going. They can be my backup.” Besides, my plan for the evening wasn’t really romantic. It was more like enhanced interrogation. Not that I mind letting him think it’s a date.
“I suppose that’s going to have to be good enough. If you have some time, I’d love to help you train some more.”
“I wasn’t really doing anything today. I guess I can hang here,” I answered. I needed to loop Spencer and Declan in on my plan first. “Just give me an hour to catch up with the guys.”
“If you are looking for Mr. O’Bannon and Mr. St. Pierre, I think they were heading out soon.”
“You know you don’t have to be all formal about it. Makes you sound like some stuffy old professor,” I muttered.
He chuckled as I left the room. Unlike yesterday, the common room was empty. I wandered the back hallways until I found Declan and Henry in one of the guest rooms, joined at the mouth with their hands down each other’s pants.
“Jeez, have you two never heard of a lock?” I yelped.
Declan recovered first, pulling away and glaring at me. “You have terrible timing, Tina.”
“Clearly,” I muttered, but stayed where I was.
“Whatever it is, it can wait,” Henry grumbled. After shamelessly flirting with Declan for months when they were teamed up by
my mother, Declan had finally come out as bi and found his bliss with the dorky librarian.
“I have a proposal for you. It’s going to need Spencer, too, now that I think about it,” I continued as if he hadn’t spoken and advanced a step into the room.
“Tina. Go. Away,” Declan ordered.
“And here I thought you two would be all about my plan to figure out if Reese was behind your near-death encounter. But I guess I was wrong.”
“She’s not going to leave until we hear her out, is she?” Henry sighed.
“Short of literally shoving her out the door, not a chance,” Declan answered.
Henry settled onto his back and I did my best to ignore his very obvious boner. He propped his head up on one arm and eyed me through the flop of hair that hung over one side of his face. “Talk fast.”
“I’m meeting up with Reese tonight. He thinks it’s a date. Obviously, it isn’t,” I began. “And I won’t be going alone. If things go well tonight, we’ll know for sure if he’s behind the attack.”
“How do you plan to accomplish that?” Declan probed.
“That’s where Spencer comes in. Do a little mind reading. Maybe even a little mind control.”
“He’s got the same tech I had in my head,” Henry offered.
I shrugged one shoulder. “Let me take care of that. You two just make sure you’re at his place by six forty-five. And fill Spencer in on the plan, too.”
“What about Marisol?” Declan pressed.
I suppressed a groan. “She can come, too. Be his back up lie detector.”
I left them to get frisky or whatever they had planned. I had an interrogation to get ready for.
“Remind me why we need these?” Spencer asked and tapped the Bluetooth earphone in his ear.
