“Good morning, Mr. Donovan,” I said.
“Good morning, Ms. Sinclair. You look in remarkably good spirits this morning.”
“I am.” The stress and anxiety of the last few days had evaporated, leaving me strangely giddy. I guess there was some relief in knowing that nothing else we did at this point could help or hurt us in terms of our candidacy to UTOP.
“Are you feeling okay after the trials yesterday?”
“I’m good, thank you.”
“How is Ms. Youseff feeling?”
“She’s fine. The boot is helpful, and I think she’s glad she doesn’t have to hobble around on crutches.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” He crossed his arms and regarded me. “Would you mind if I asked you what the hardest part of the trial was for you yesterday?”
“The hardest part…for me?”
He nodded. “Yes, for you.”
The entire challenge had been hard, but when I thought about it, one part stood out as particularly difficult. “I guess I’d have to say the hardest part for me was guiding seven blind people in separate tasks to do their individual jobs and then get them to work all together to finish it off, all while being extremely pressured in terms of time. It was crazy complicated. I mean, how unlucky did I have to be to get my name drawn for that task?”
Mr. Donovan smiled. “There’s no luck involved when your name is the only one in the hat.” He patted me on the shoulder and walked away, leaving me standing there with my mouth open.
What did that even mean? They’d intended for me to be the Eyes all along? Why?
I barely had time to think about it as Kira, Hala, and Frankie joined me, jostling and laughing. I considered telling them what Mr. Donovan had said but didn’t see why it would matter at this point.
All the boys showed for the trip into town, as well. Wally looked happy, too. He was laughing and clowning around with the other guys. For once, he was clearly comfortable, looking like he belonged. How would we deal with that loss if we had to return to Excalibur? It hit me hard that I was really going to miss the camaraderie I’d formed with this group.
We climbed onto the bus. Today everyone wanted to stick together instead of going off to do their own thing. It was like we knew the end was coming soon for all but two of us, so we wanted to spend as much time as we could together. I’d planned to call my mom as usual, but opted to postpone since we’d decided to go to the café for hot chocolate and snacks as a group.
We piled into the bookstore, chatting as we got in line to get our snacks. I looked around the bookstore café, but didn’t see the elderly gentleman who’d bought me the hot chocolate. His chair was empty. This could be the last time I was in this café, and I hadn’t had a chance to say goodbye to him.
Hala sat down while Jax and Frankie pushed a couple of tables together. The rest of us brought the food and drink over and sat down. As we nibbled on éclairs, scones, and other pastries and drank our hot beverages, we began to discuss what we’d tell our families if we were sent home.
“I guess I’d just tell my parents I didn’t like it,” Mike said. “I mean, what else could I say?”
“You could tell them the food was gross,” Frankie said. “My parents would believe that one from me.”
We laughed, but the mood was turning somber as reality sank in. Six of us would be going home tomorrow. Wally starting talking about what he would say to his folks when my phone vibrated in my lap. I held it up, expecting it to be my mother wondering why I hadn’t called, but I didn’t recognize the number. I almost put the phone back in my pocket, but I suddenly got this feeling like I had to answer it.
I angled my chair away from the table and accepted the call. “Hello?”
A strange male voice said, “Angel?”
For a moment, I wondered if it were my dad. Maybe he was trying to reach me and would confirm he was still alive. “Who’s this?” I asked, my voice shaking.
“Angel?” A burst of static sounded through my phone and the signal dropped to one bar. I stood and moved around to try and get a better spot for reception, but it didn’t work.
“Angel, is everything okay?” Frankie stood and came to stand beside me, apparently concerned by the look on my face.
I plastered a smile on my face. “Sure. I’m just going to step outside for a minute and take this.”
I brushed past her and left the café, the phone still spitting static. “Hold on,” I said to whoever was on the phone.
I got another bar once outside the cafe, and the farther I moved away, the more bars I got. “Are you still there?” I asked.
I didn’t have a chance to hear an answer, because a black sedan screeched to a halt in front of me. A man jumped out the back seat of the car and grabbed me, trying to drag me inside.
I dropped my phone and screamed, kicking and scratching. But he was huge and easily hauled me under his arm like a sack of potatoes, pulling me toward the car. I managed to grab the door rim, slowing our progress, and held on for life. He cursed and starting prying at my fingers. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kira throw open the café door and hurtle toward us with Mike close behind her. But at this point, we were mostly in the car, and it had started to pull away.
They were going to be too late.
Boom!
The grind and screech of bending metal rent the air as another car plowed into the back of us. The collision threw me halfway out of the car. Screaming, I tried get away, but the guy who’d grabbed me was leaning out of the car, still clutching the back of my sweater.
I looked up just as Kira executed a perfect kick over my head and directly onto the guy’s wrist where he held my sweater. He howled in pain, releasing me. I scrambled away, but he got out of the car to come after me.
To my surprise, Mike blocked his way, coming between us. Apparently thinking Mike couldn’t stop him, the guy lifted his hand to knock him aside. Instead, Mike adeptly jumped toward the car, using the vehicle as a platform to leap through the air. He twisted his body around while his legs whirled and scissored through the air. One of his feet hit my attacker squarely in the jaw, the force of Mike’s body slamming his head backward into the car. While the guy was reeling, Kira spun around, delivering a final, brutal kick to his temple. He grunted once as his eyes rolled back in his head before sliding down the car and onto the sidewalk in a crumpled heap. Jax and Bo jumped him, making sure he stayed down. The driver of the damaged getaway car floored it, leaving his conspirator behind in a squeal of tires.
“I’ve got the license plate,” Frankie shouted into her cell, and I hoped she was talking to the police.
Hala hobbled out in her boot. “What happened? Are you okay, Angel?”
“I’m fine.” I looked in disbelief between Kira and Mike. “How did you guys know how to do all that self-defense stuff?”
Mike dusted off his jeans with his hands and straightened. “I’m into parkour.” He grinned and pointed both thumbs at himself. “I told my parents it would come in handy someday.”
“What’s parkour?” I asked.
“Free jumping, flipping, climbing, running, and balancing. Wicked crazy stuff. There are tons of competitions for it around the world and even on television. I do it for fun, but it started as a special kind of training for the French special forces.”
“Wow.” I glanced at Kira. “You know parkour, too?”
“Oh, no. I’m a third-degree black belt in taekwondo and the female East Coast national champion in sparring for ages sixteen and seventeen,” she said. “I’ll have to defend my title this spring to stay that way, though.”
“And you just happened to forget that when you told me about your special talents?” I said.
“Sorry,” she said sheepishly.
“Wow, well, whatever you guys did, it was totally incredible,” I said. “Thanks for having my back. I really appreciate it.”
Wally and Frankie rushed me, asking if I were okay. Hala handed me my phone, and I saw the corner ha
d been cracked when I dropped it. At least it still worked. I stuck it back in my pocket and glanced over my shoulder as the elderly man from the café exited his car and walked toward me unsteadily on his cane.
OMG! He was the one to ram the other car?
I quickly disengaged myself from the others and walked quickly to intercept him. “Are you okay?” I asked, putting a hand under his elbow. “You just saved my life.”
“I’m fine. Have you been harmed?” he asked.
“No, I’m okay, thanks to you. Just a few bumps and bruises.”
“I’m glad to hear that. It was lucky I was just driving by and saw what happened.”
“I don’t know how to thank you. First you buy me hot chocolate and then you save my life. You’re a true hero. My hero.” Impulsively, I threw my arms around him and gave him a big hug. “Thank you so much.”
He hugged me back. “It’s been a long time since anyone called me a hero.”
I stepped away and looked ruefully at his car. “I’m sorry, though. Your car is ruined.”
“Don’t be sorry. It was worth it. Besides, it was time for me to stop driving anyway.” There was a twinkle in his eye, and I couldn’t help but smile despite the circumstances.
Before we could say anything else, several police cars with sirens screaming and an ambulance screeched to a halt in front of the café. In moments, we were swarmed by officers, who relieved Bo and Jax of the bad guy and began taking statements from everyone.
I was telling an officer my story, including how Kira had knocked out the guy after the elderly gentleman from the café had rammed into the getaway car, when a guy in a red baseball cap walked up and angrily interrupted us.
“Hey, that’s my car,” he said to the policeman. “Someone stole it. I just reported it, but now it’s wrecked.”
I frowned. “Excuse me, but you must be mistaken. That’s not your car. It’s his car.” I turned around to where my friend had been standing, but he was gone. I scanned the area but didn’t see him.
“Who’s he?” the policeman asked me.
“The gentleman who saved me…he rammed his car into the sedan.”
“Where is he now?”
“He was right there a minute ago.” I pointed to the last spot I’d seen him. “I don’t know where he went. I don’t even know his name.”
“That’s my car,” the guy in the ball cap insisted. “The registration is in the glove compartment. Come on, I’ll show you.”
The policeman went off with him to check, while a medic examined me and another officer finished taking my statement.
“So, you have no idea who would want to kidnap you?” she asked me.
“No. No idea.” It wasn’t exactly the truth, but how could I explain everything that was going on with my search for my father, especially when the police had never believed there was anything suspicious in regards to his disappearance? Plus, I didn’t want to have to explain any of the hacking I’d done to get the information.
Another thought occurred to me. What if this attempted kidnapping attempt didn’t have anything to do with my father? Maybe it was just a random snatch or another test to see how we handled ourselves under attack. That wasn’t the vibe I got, especially because the police were involved and people had been hurt. I didn’t think Mr. Donovan or UTOP would go that far. But how could I know for sure?
“We haven’t found the car or the accomplice yet, but we’ll question this guy,” the officer told me. “Hopefully, we’ll have them all behind bars soon.”
“I hope so,” I said with feeling.
The officer sighed and put away her tablet. “We may have to question you and your friends again, but we have enough for now,” she said. “The medic has cleared you, and we’ve contacted your boarding school. They’ll get in touch with your parents. They’ve sent a bus for the lot of you, so you’re free to go. Just be careful, okay?”
Everyone asked me a million times if I was okay. I was. I just wanted to get back to my room and far away from what had just happened.
When the bus arrived, we piled on. Frankie took a seat next to me, breathlessly recounting every detail of the incident. I hardly heard her. I kept looking out the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of the elderly man who had saved me.
Where had he gone? Was he okay?
I shifted on the seat. “Frankie, you saw the old guy, right? The one who rammed his car into the back of the sedan.”
“Yes, of course I saw him. He saved you. Your own personal superhero.”
Relief flooded me. I hadn’t imagined him, and my mind hadn’t played any tricks as a result of the trauma. Thank God. “Did you see happen to see where he went?”
“No. I guess he went home.”
I looked out the window again, thinking. Finally Frankie fell silent, as did the rest of the group. We’d just arrived at the KIT compound and were getting off the bus when my phone vibrated in my pocket again.
I pulled it out, noting I had a text from an unknown number. I swiped to read it.
I warned you to be careful and that criminal elements were watching you. Stop looking for me. I’m fine. I want you to be careful. I may not be there every time to help. Good luck at UTOP. I’m proud of you.
I reread the message, my heart pounding.
“Dad?” I whispered.
Chapter Fifty-One
ISAAC REMINGTON
Isaac snatched his burner phone the second it rang. “Is it done?”
“We’ve got a problem. The engagement failed. Walter was detained.”
“What?” He closed his eyes at the incompetence of it. How hard could it be to snatch a sixteen-year-old girl? “How did they bungle this?”
“Judson got rear-ended by some geezer as Walter was getting her into the car. Her friends stormed the car, getting her out and bringing Walter down. Judson got away, ditched the car, and got rid of the plates.”
“Tell him to lie low for a while.”
“I will. No worries. Walter knows nothing. He’s hired muscle and disposable.”
“He better be.” Isaac hung up the phone and tossed it in the trash.
Damage control was in full effect. At this point, all he could do was play it by ear and hope Sinclair made a mistake. From this point on, the girl and her family would be further protected, making it even harder for him to get at them.
Still, not all was lost. While it was a setback, he’d survive. The core would survive. Then, when he was calling the shots as director, it would be easier to deal with minor annoyances like this. After all, at this point, things had gone about as badly as they could, and he was still firmly in control.
He stood and went to look out the living room window of the mansion where he lived alone. Not really alone, as he was watched 24-7 by the Secret Service. Protected by the government, as were all high-ranking CIA, NSA, and government officials. He could see the agents sitting in the white sedan, parked next to the curb on his street. In many ways, they were just hired muscle, too.
His personal cell phone dinged, and he went to the kitchen to retrieve it. He picked it up and read the text.
You’ve lost control. You’re going down.
Frowning, he checked the number the text had come from. It read 666-666-6666. He clenched his fist around the phone, not amused. He didn’t care what he had to do.
There was only one person going down, and it was Ethan Sinclair.
Chapter Fifty-Two
ANGEL SINCLAIR
Unfortunately, after we got back, I wasn’t allowed to go hide in my room. None of us were. It hadn’t been a test. Someone had tried to kidnap me.
We were exhaustively interviewed by Mr. Donovan and a few agents I’d never met before. When I was certain I couldn’t handle another question, Mr. Donovan called an end to the questioning. He wanted to call my mom immediately, but I begged him to wait until tomorrow, after we’d learned the results of the trials. He reluctantly agreed.
I took a shower and changed my clothes, but my he
ad was spinning during dinner and I didn’t have much appetite. Guess I was more shaken by the incident than I had thought. The text from my father kept also playing on repeat in my head. He said he was fine and I should stop looking for him.
If he was fine, why didn’t he tell me he was my father? Why did someone want to kidnap me? Why was he in disguise at the café, and how mortified should I be that he wore makeup better than I did?
There were no answers, only more questions.
At 7:00 p.m. sharp, we filed into the gym. The mood was somber. Jax caught my eye, looking worried. I tried to shoot him back an encouraging look but was pretty sure I failed. Wally and Frankie flanked me on each side.
White Knights until the end.
All of our teachers and trainers were already in the gym, sitting side by side on a raised platform. They smiled at us, but their mood was reserved, too. Several of them stared curiously at me. I’m sure they were wondering why I’d been the target, or whether it had just been random.
After we were seated, Mr. Donovan stood behind the podium and cleared his throat. “Well, it’s certainly been a long, eventful four weeks for everyone. I want you to know that while it has happened a few times before, rarely does an entire class finish without anyone leaving. You all should be extremely proud of yourselves. You performed admirably and deserve our congratulations.”
The teachers and trainers clapped for us, and I exchanged a glance with Frankie and Wally. Frankie was smiling, but Wally looked like he was going to throw up. I just hoped that if he blew, he didn’t dump it in my lap.
“There are also other things you should be proud of,” Mr. Donovan continued. “You should know that no one has ever completed the final trial within the time limit, including adults. In fact, in the six years we’ve used this course for evaluation, not one team has even gotten to the fifth station, let alone gone over the wall. Several of you could have finished within the time provided yesterday, but chose not to, which presents, in itself, an interesting development. What stood out, to me and all of the evaluators, is that you worked together better than most, if not all, of the adult teams. Congratulations.”
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