Seeker (Shadows)

by Jolene Perry

  Well. Not yet.

  I smooth down my linen pants and step up the sidewalk in my four-inch wedges. At five feet, two, I’ll get height from wherever I can.

  The obnoxious racket of some pop music blasts me as I walk through the front door, and see some lame dancing game on the screen with four people about my age gyrating like morons in what used to be a formal dining room—not my thing.

  I recognize Blaire, Warren, and Digs, but there’s a blond guy who isn’t familiar, and he’s adding steps everywhere. I mean, they work, and he moves really well…

  They’re focused on the TV, and I continue to watch until he spins around (not part of the routine) and our eyes catch. He’s a Seeker, and a ten on the energy scale.

  My heart jumps, but I’m not going to react to some smirk from a guy who can’t even follow directions on a video game. Besides, if he’s that good of a Seeker, he’ll feel my energy change if I keep staring. I slide a short strand of dark hair behind my ear and slowly walk away so he doesn’t think that I feel like I was caught staring.

  Because I wasn’t.

  I’ve never gotten along with the people here my age. They’re ridiculous and seem to have no idea how important what we do is. For example: we have three people right now just keeping the Saudi prince alive. We have several more in countries Americans aren’t supposed to be in. We’re being paid well for it, too. Staying in this house is supposed to be training, and they’re playing video games.

  I walk past the large staircase, and several more rooms before reaching the offices in the back of the house, which is actually part of an enormous addition.

  I smooth down my pants again as I reach for Mom and Dad’s office door.

  “It’s a little early for a scowl.” Mom’s brow rises as I step into her office. We’re the same height, and have the same short brown hair, and wide brown eyes. At fifty she still looks great, so I don’t mind too much that we look so alike.

  “How was the trip?” she asks.

  I sit as she slides into her office chair next to Dad.

  “Aren’t we going to talk about my new assignment?” I ask.

  “As soon as we wrap up your last one.” Dad turns from his computer and rests his hands on his desk. He and Mom share an office more often than not—they’re weird that way and like being together.

  As terra cotta and traditional Florida-like the rest of the house is, the offices are state of the art. An abhorrence as Dad says, and Mom loves.

  I sigh. “One maybe two I think we should bring in, and two aren’t going to pose a threat—”

  “Find any unexpected talent while you were perusing colleges?” Mom leans forward. This is the part she loves the best. Dad’s an Insighter. Mom’s a Seeker like me. They met in this house thirty-five years ago, and have been together ever since.

  Dad keeps watching me like I’ll some how magnetize to someone like so many of us do, but I always laugh and tell him not to hold his breath. I’m going to choose who I want to spend my life with, not let my talent dictate it.

  “So, yeah, just the two.” I sigh and lean back in my chair. “But the girl from California’s promising. I feel like she’s a Manipulator, but might have some Insight in there somewhere. Like she paused just before touching someone, and I got the sense that she knew it wasn’t going to turn out.” I shrug, but I know it’s a big deal and incredibly useful.

  “Well.” Mom’s deep brown eyes shine. “Sounds lucrative. Maybe we’ll find a way to get her into business, or finance…”

  I nod, but I honestly don’t know all the areas The Middle Men work in, so don’t comment.

  “All your findings are in the computer, right?” Dad asks as he spins his chair back toward his laptop.

  “Yes.” Now can we talk about my new assignment? Dad can sometimes read me well enough to know what I’m thinking—especially when it’s directed.

  Dad’s mouth quirks up in a half-smile. “You’re about as patient as your mother. We need your partner in here before we give you the full run-down.”

  “Uh…” Partner? I’ve never worked with a partner. And since I was raised in this house, I was able to work a lot younger than most people do. It’s a pain having anyone younger than eighteen because they’re so restricted with travel and operating in the normal world. Being caught with fake IDs could be incredibly damaging to our operation. Even younger than twenty-one can be tricky, but I’ve managed pretty well doing smaller assignments since I was twelve or so.

  The shadows leave you alone when you’re that young, so there were advantages. My point being, that this is a long time to be working alone to suddenly be stuck with a partner.

  Dad presses a button for the house intercom. “Ocean. Now would be good.”

  “Have we started using code names now too?” I try not to snap, but I’m not sure how well I do.

  Dad chuckles. “I’m warning you right now that you two might not get along, but I’ve never seen talent like this kid. His seeking skills are…” Dad shakes his head. “For being raised completely outside of our community, it’s astounding.”

  Now I’m not only nervous about having a partner, but there’s a pang of jealousy over my dad talking about some kid like he’s got serious talent. I’m the serious talent.

  “I’m here.” Blond guy bursts through the door, his grey T-shirt blotchy with sweat, and his hair damp with the same thing. The unknown ten.

  Oh. Hell. No.

  Mom gives me the glare that says I’d better keep my mouth shut, so I do. I shift my chair a little further away from Ocean, and wait for him to sit down.

  Which he does not.

  He’s staring at me, and I’m trying to be as nice as I can be, and the only way to do that is to not look at him. But I can feel his eyes burning into the side of my head.

  “Wow.” He breathes out, still watching me.

  I whirl around before taking a moment to think. “What?”

  He seems totally unfazed by my tone, which is weirdly unusual.

  “I didn’t get to say it before, but just…” He eyes me up and down again, and it seems like it should feel creepy or something with how open he’s being in front of my parents, but it doesn’t feel creepy. That still doesn’t mean I’m okay sitting here while he checks me out. “It’s just that you’re really stunning in this strong, kickass way, and I guess I’m surprised.”

  Dad actually laughs instead of being offended like he should be.

  I cross my arms as Ocean sits down, still openly watching me.

  “Lucky me,” I hiss before sitting back in my chair wishing I was wearing more than a black tank.

  “And on that note,” Dad adds brightly, “at least you always know where you stand with Ocean. For example, I’m younger and less evil than he suspected when he first showed up.”

  Some smile of understanding passes between Dad and Ocean, and I don’t like it. At all.

  “What do you mean showed up?” I lean forward to ask Dad, but realize the culprit is right here so I turn to face Ocean. “What does he mean?”

  “Any decent Seeker would be drawn to this place, and since the energy was so old feeling and concentrated, I figured it would be some withered up old guy, but Mr. Marins isn’t all that withered.”

  “Of course he’s not.” I scowl.

  Ocean shrugs. “Watched too many movies I guess.”

  Too much something. I nearly prevent my eyes from rolling, but I’m not trying to impress him so whatever.

  “I’m just going to jump in,” Mom says, and I’m relieved to be moving on to business. I can dump my “sidekick” later on.

  “Senator Michaels is not on our good list right now.”

  “But he worked more directly with you when he was younger, didn’t he?” Ocean asks.

  It’s Dad that answers this one. He and Michaels trained together. “Yes. But we need a lot of people to carry on normal lives, see where we can best affect change, or—”

  “Where boatloads of money is.” Mom s
mirks as she elbows Dad a little.

  My parents are the best part of that whole “opposites-attract” thing. I think they’re one in a million because even people who get along great can’t manage to stay together. My parents argue all the time, but still love one another with a crazy amount of intensity that no child should have to witness.

  Often.

  “So, he left, knowing his gift would dissipate.” Ocean sits back a little, his sweaty brow pulled down in bafflement.

  “He wasn’t that strong to begin with,” Mom argues. “Landon is…very strong. He’s one we’d keep closer. And from what we can see, he’s getting stronger.”

  “What’s not in the file?” I ask, mostly wondering why Senator Michaels isn’t on our “good list” and knowing that very often bad things happen to people who aren’t. The insane asylum incident with Bishop Cannery comes to mind immediately. He tried to turn us in, so something had to be done. He’s drugged up in an inpatient facility somewhere in the Midwest U.S.

  Dad rests his arms on the large desk. “We keep sending out boats, and they can’t find them. We know they left a port in New York not long ago. They were seen twice, but we’ve scoured the water, and a sailboat that size can’t just disappear, unless someone is making it.”

  “I already knew that,” I say.

  “What about the Manipulators?” Ocean asks. “Addison and Dean, right?”

  I want to roll my eyes again because he should be reading the reports sent in at night, but he’s obviously not. We don’t get the information on some of the higher level operations, but we’re all supposed to know what’s going on everywhere. We never know where we’ll be needed next, and we need to be prepared. I happen to know exactly the threats in North Korea at the moment, and could trade out with the Seeker there if it was needed.

  “Of course they’re all getting stronger, just like all of you do when you come into this house. Energy feeds on energy,” Dad explains. “Senator Michaels knew about his son and didn’t let on. Kent Prince completely turned on us, and we were worried that they were both walking away together. Turns out it was simply Michaels trying to stop his kid without having to do it himself. He thought if there was any family argument, it would bring up too many questions given his position as a senator.”

  Dad glances briefly at Ocean before continuing on.

  We go over a few more basics, how by their calculations, they’ll be in our “front yard” sometime tomorrow. Probably late in the day, but we don’t have an exact time on when they left whichever port they stayed in for our last storm. It doesn’t give me a lot of time to prepare, but I’ll deal.

  Ocean’s excused and I’m ready to argue the moment the door is closed behind him. I nearly scoot forward off my chair to protest. “You don’t expect—”

  “This is beyond you.” Mom’s face is stern, her jaw set. “I’m sorry, Kara. But that’s the simple truth. I know and I knew when I asked him to join you, that you two wouldn’t get along. We’re just hoping for some kind of balance. That’s all.”

  “And Kara. Landon is not going to be easy to beat. You’re going to need Ocean’s talent, and he’s going to need your expertise,” Dad adds.

  “They’re going south, Kara. Toward The Bahamas. You know what this means.” Mom’s eyes rest on mine with almost a desperate urgency. “The shadows could win. Convince the group to do what they wish. We could lose everything.”

  “I understand.” I stand up and press my fingers against the top of my burn scar on my leg, now a little shaky at the sudden turn my assignment has taken. It’s not just bringing them in. We’re on a tight time frame. Wait. “Does Ocean know? About the shadows? What they can do? Take?”

  Mom shakes her head. “Well. He knows they exist, just not who they are. He knows they’re dangerous, but not the origins, or the connection to us. You can tell him if you think it will help. You’ll be the one working with him.”

  We use the shadows so often to find people that very often one of us gets too close, and we can’t let that happen. They can’t take one of us—it would be devastating to everyone.

  And even though I know I can do this, I have to ask. “Why me?”

  “I think we went about this all wrong,” Dad says. “Landon needs to talk with someone his age. You’ve met before. And even though it was brief, it’s still a connection.”

  A connection. With Landon. I bite my cheeks to keep from smiling.

  “It’s already late. All you can do tonight is get a good rest.” Dad sits back, which is his version of excusing me.

  “Okay.” I turn to the door. “How many trainees or agents are here now?”

  “About thirty or so.”

  “Okay.” Thirty. Not bad. Too many and we all go a little haywire around each other, and too few and we start to miss that zapping of electricity and energy that gives us the gifts we have. Thirty should be about perfect for re-energizing me. I just have no idea how to fortify myself against Ocean.

  TWO

  Kara

  As I wander toward my room, I hear Jamie in one of the classrooms. She’s a shield, like we’re guessing Landon is, and I used to think she was crazy powerful. After seeing what Landon can do, I’m no longer as sure.

  I stop in the doorway, and she’s holding the shoulders of Sandy, a girl I don’t know well, and Samson, one of the best manipulators I’ve seen. He’s trying to make Sandy do something—I know him well enough to see the smugness all over his body.

  After about two seconds, Sandy does a bizarre version of the chicken dance and the few students explode into laughter. Samson steps back, a smirk on his face. “No one can resist me!” he yells as he thumps his chest.

  “Nice to see you have that ego in check,” I tease.

  Samson spins around and walks toward me, leaving the few students behind. All the classes here are informal enough that we sort of come and go as we please. To a point.

  “If it isn’t the great Kara back from another round of adventures.” His reddish hair is unruly curly and sticking out everywhere like it does in the humidity.

  I roll my eyes. “Hardly. Just looking for more newbies for you to torture.”

  He rubs his hands together. “Perfect. Hey. Are they done with round one of Just Dance down there? Because someone was supposed to get me for round two.”

  “I have no idea.” I bite my bottom lip in excitement. “I’ve been getting a quick rundown on my new assignment.”

  Samson leans against the doorframe. He’s maybe the only one I’ve let myself get close to here, and he’s ended up more like family than I could have imagined growing up as an only child. He’s also gay, making him a totally safe friend. Girls are too flighty, and guys… I’m just not good at dealing with guys. I’m too busy anyway.

  “They gave you the Michaels-Prince thing, didn’t they?” There’s envy all over his voice because it’s not just Seekers that bring people in, and my guess is that everyone here’s been salivating over this as much as I have.

  I nod.

  “Well. It’s not going to be an easy job. If you need some real muscle, you know where to find me.” He flexes his thin arms and pops a quick kiss on my cheek before darting down the hall. “I’m going to go make sure those punks haven’t jipped me out of my turn!”

  “Come on in, Kara.” Jamie waves me inside the classroom. “Are you up for helping me with a little demo of your talent?”

  I shrug and step inside. “You gonna blindfold me again?”

  “Yep.” Jamie grins and quickly ties a bandana over my eyes.

  “Shuffle around,” she tells the group.

  It’s so easy that I know exactly which gifts have moved where. I might as well have no blindfold, and be reading neon signs.

  “Can you point out the talents?” Jamie asks.

  I don’t even pause. “Next to the door is an Insighter—I’d give him a six with a possibility of moving up to an eight or nine over time. Half-hidden behind him is someone with Manipulation—”

&
nbsp; “Where would you rate the Manipulation on the scale?” she asks. “Oh, and class. Ratings are for Seekers only. It’s how they separate who they bring in and who they don’t. If your potential could reach a seven or eight, or if the threat comes in not from the amount of talent, but from something else, we ask those people to join us as well.”

  I give her a moment to make sure she’s done before I continue.

  “She’s a five, maybe six, and the perfect age to bump that number closer to an eight or nine within a year maybe two. I’ve only met one Manipulator who’s a ten, and he’s in New York.” Or… Actually, I don’t know where Mr. Prince is now after his daughter got away. Wonder if he got stronger as she got older? I’m sure he lost a bit before Addison came along and then she probably strengthened him back up.

  “Continue on.” I can feel the smile on Jamie’s face as she speaks, which fuels my confidence.

  “Another Insight, younger than we normally take so either a son of someone we know, or whose talent is just that strong. Wait. I think he’s a son because his energy levels aren’t abnormal…” Something familiar hits me. “He’s on the same wavelength as Bruce. Are you Bruce’s kid?”

  “Y-yeah,” he stammers.

  Man, I love it when I can hit so close to home.

  “And the last one is… Ah. A Seeker like me, but barely a five and a little older. I know all the Seekers well, and her energy is a little different, so my guess is she’s an anomaly that someone else picked up.”

  “And now we’re to Sandy, which feels like cheating. I’m the one who picked her up and she has a cool twist on Insight because she can think ahead like my dad and can tell us what to do to get the outcome we want—or something close to it.”

  Jamie pulls off my bandana. “How’d she do?”

  “I’d like to argue my number.” The girl near the end frowns.

  I glance at her, her energy coming off her in soft waves. “It’ll get stronger. Even if you weren’t practicing, just being here will make it stronger. If you weren’t good enough, we would have left you alone unless we thought you were a threat.”