arbitrate (daynight)

by Thomason, Megan

  Victor’s face softened, and he sat back in his chair. “Our work here is delicate. So far everything’s going well. Really well. Perhaps too well? Sometimes I wonder if that’s the case. Henry is set to win the Presidency, and he’ll surround himself with people who can make sweeping changes. The CSCs are an unparalleled success. It’s in those times of peace and quiet that I get most nervous. If I, as your uncle, could give you one piece of advice Ethan…it would be to always have a contingency plan. Appreciate the hell out of things when they are good, but plan for the day when things take a turn for the worse. The resort is my contingency plan.”

  “You wouldn’t go back to Thera if things went sour here?”

  His face lit up with a smile. “I’ve spent more years here than there—and I must say that I vastly prefer it here. I go there when I have to, but as long as I have a choice, I choose not to live there.”

  It must be nice to have choices.

  Victor must have trusted me because he clicked on a panel, and it swung open to reveal a six-foot tall safe door. He pressed his thumb to the panel and then entered a code. He pulled open the safe and behind it were file cabinet drawers. He opened one of the drawers and pulled out a couple red file folders and handed them to me. He spent the next couple hours going over the details of my assignment and then I spent the next couple weeks doing his bidding. By the end, I’d created a complicated network of offshore accounts and had a thick portfolio of information Victor would need to pick the final location for his resort. Every location was remote and secluded. At his request, I’d drawn up the legal paperwork needed to proceed with all the transactions.

  He never told me which location they picked or whether they moved forward with their plans. But I would occasionally catch Victor looking off into space, daydreaming, and I suspected that in his mind he was on some foreign beach with a cocktail in hand.

  The fact that Victor had a plan made me jealous. What would my contingency plan be? I didn’t have limitless funds to go buy an island with a private airstrip. Even if I did, it would feel hollow without Kira by my side.

  Present

  I lead the way into Victor’s office and make a beeline to the back paneled wall. Jax, Kira, Brad, and James all follow. I press against the wall in several places before I hear a click and the panel opens.

  “Victor keeps all his private files in here.” I tell them all about Victor’s offshore accounts and plans for a private vacation resort. I have electronic copies of everything I did for Victor, but I still don’t know what he did with the information.

  Brad pounds his fist against the safe. “And you are just now telling us about this?”

  Rolling my eyes, I respond with, “Victor and Violet became your prime suspects an hour and a half ago. I have told you everything I know. Now we need to figure out a way to get into the safe.”

  Jax walks over and studies the lock for a few moments. “Back away.” He holds his hand to the safe and shoots a wicked bolt of electricity into it. The lock unlatches. “Consider that my one deviation from neutrality.” He then grabs a remote control off Victor’s desk, turns the news on to Victor’s flat screen TV, and settles into one of the guest chairs.

  Henry is due to address the American public in five minutes. Pictures of the attack’s aftermath are being shown on the screen. I avert my eyes. Instead, I focus on thumbing through the files in search of anything that can give us clues as to where Victor and Violet might have taken Alexa and Joshua.

  My eyes snap back to the TV screen when I hear Henry’s voice. He’s sitting in a red-velvet chair in front of the United States flag. He’s wearing a blue suit, white shirt, and red tie. His hands are bandaged.

  “My fellow American citizens. In the last few months, our nation has suffered. We had multiple attacks on American soil by those who wish to thwart our way of life. In response, I promised to increase security and put an end to this brand of terrorism. The American public wholeheartedly supported my plans, for which I am most grateful.”

  He pauses and brings his hand to his eyes to wipe away tears. “The terrorists’ response was to bring the fight to me. They have made it personal. My daughters, Anne and Mary, died on the scene last night. My wife, Elizabeth, is fighting for her life. The bomb took both her legs. Countless other family members and friends lost their lives or suffered severe injuries.”

  Once again, he stops to compose himself, lowering his head and using a handkerchief to blow his nose. When he looks back into the camera again, his expression is determined and fierce. “I will not let this break me. I will not let them break our great nation. My resolve has strengthened, not weakened. We will root out every last bit of evil that threatens us. Your safety and well-being are my top concerns.”

  He rubs his temples and then continues. “I want to thank the brave men of the Secret Service who sacrificed their lives to save my own and that of Vice President-elect Donald Rule. I will not let their sacrifice be in vain.

  “I appreciate the outpouring of love that I have felt from all of you. If you would, I would now ask you to please join me in a moment of silence for the fallen.”

  Pictures flash on the screen of all those who are confirmed dead by the attack. It pains me to see my mother’s and cousins’ faces. Anne and Mary were like sisters to me. And my mom…I’m still not ready to deal with her passing and my mixed feelings about it. I have been so angry with her for the past year for separating Kira and me that I’ve barely been able to be in the same room with her. I’d quickly dismissed her at the party last night, thinking I could deal with her later. There won’t ever be a later—at least with the mother who let others raise me.

  After all the deceased have been shown, Henry comes on the screen again. “Beloved citizens, thank you again for your support. Let us Stand Up, stand tall, and fight firm in the days to come as we transition to new leadership and a new era for our great nation. I must return to my dear wife’s side, so I bid you farewell.”

  Henry’s feed shuts down, and the newscasters all weigh in on his speech and the attack. All the “experts” have differing opinions on motives and suspects, but they can agree on one thing. Henry King has earned his stripes and the American citizens’ devout loyalty. He “took one for the team,” and we must all pay him back by giving him our unwavering support. They expect the largest crowd in the history of the United States to congregate in Washington DC for Henry’s inauguration. The question on everyone’s mind is how to keep the President and his supporters safe.

  “We need to concentrate. Can you ditch the TV coverage?” I ask Jax.

  Brad disagrees. “Keep it on, but turn down the volume. I need to know if anyone has caught wind of Violet and Victor’s disappearance.”

  We all, except Jax, dig into the files. He busies himself by going to ask the CSC chef to make some food. I’m surprised that he left Kira behind.

  I move over to sit beside her. “You know, just because I’m trying to find Alexa and Joshua doesn’t mean that my feelings on us have changed. I care about her, and I want her back safe…but I don’t love her.” I love you. I don’t say that thought out loud. I couldn’t bear to have her not return the sentiment right now. And why would she after everything that happened?

  She tucks her hair behind her ears and stares at me. “Do you think Victor and Violet really did it? Planted a bomb and put acid in the sprinkler system? And then hurt and kidnapped Joshua and Alexa? I don’t get it. Why would they do it? They’ve been all SCI every-day, all the way—killing people off to up the Theran population. If it’s a power play, it’s not even a good power play. Who in the SCI would support their rise to power after killing off their own? And why the acid? Why not just the bomb?” Great. She didn’t answer. Instead she changed the subject.

  Kira’s words catch Brad’s attention. “Go on, Kira. I’m right there with you that it doesn’t make sense. What are you thinking? Why does the acid bug you?”

  She twirls a lock of her strawberry-blonde hair around her
finger. “I don’t know. It just does. If the purpose was to kill people, why not plant a bigger bomb? The bomb itself was pretty small. And how’d they get the bomb in there anyway? Wasn’t that place swept by the Secret Service ahead of time?”

  “Definitely. Every attendee was vetted and the place was clear. The staff was all dismissed after the food was prepared and set out, given the exclusivity of the guest list. Guests were all searched and signed in before they could enter. But obviously someone got something in.”

  Kira continues to twist her hair. “Could one of the Secret Service have been involved? I saw one heading back towards what I thought to be the kitchen right before the blast.”

  “How could you have seen it? You weren’t even there. You left.” Brad looks at her like she’s suddenly back on the suspect list.

  She bites down on the side of her lip. “Jax had a bad feeling. He didn’t have any specific knowledge or anything. Just a feeling. We tried to get Ethan to leave with us, but he refused. So we took off—back to Military City. I asked him to show me what was happening. I was worried for Ethan.”

  My eyes flit to hers. She was worried about me. She still cares.

  “What did you see? Tell me everything,” Brad insists.

  “Henry was doing his toast. Everyone was involved…participating…with a few exceptions. I saw a member of the Secret Service walking quickly towards the kitchen. I saw Victor and Violet headed in that same direction. And Blake was talking to a Secret Service member at the restaurant entry. Then the bomb went off about twenty feet in front of the stage. I saw Henry’s family go down.”

  I put my hand atop hers and give it a gentle squeeze. “Did you see Alexa?”

  She shakes her head. “No, sorry…not after she walked away from us.”

  Brad rubs his jaw. “I guess it is possible Victor had one of the Secret Service guys in his pocket. Let’s keep digging and figure out what he’s hiding. James has his guys looking at Victor’s bank account to see if there is a suspicious money trail.”

  Jax returns with sandwiches and chocolate chip cookies—Alexa’s favorite. I can’t bring myself to eat one. I dig back into the stack of files, looking for any clues.

  The first thing I find is the paperwork for a private jet hired for the night of the attacks. The manifest claims the plane was headed to Guam. That’s a little bit too much of a coincidence for any of us.

  There is also a long paper trail of dummy corporations that own twelve separate properties worldwide. This isn’t too unusual in and of itself since Victor has arranged for the purchase of all the CSC properties. What is unusual is that all the properties are resorts and have private jetway access nearby.

  James and his team figure out that twenty million dollars have been skimmed off the CSC account and “laundered” through a network of offshore accounts.

  The evidence is more than damning. Now, we can only hope that it will lead us to Alexa and Joshua.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Blake

  My new, not-so-best buddy Dale drops me in Art City Thursnight at 2100 hours after having kept me blindfolded for the last hour of our excursion. He apparently didn’t want me to see our route in as if I didn’t already know it. We took the boat from LA to the portal and into Garden City. He made me go dark the rest the way—into Headquarters, through the mega-portal to Art City. Given I was pretty queasy from the Earth to Thera portal, I was not happy about our arrangement. Thankfully, he left shortly after our arrival. He didn’t need to stay. Brad has plenty of eyes on me here.

  I want to delay seeing Bailey as long as possible, so I decide to stop by the hospital. It has been a couple weeks since I last saw Madison. I have no idea whether she survived her injuries, and if she did, whether she is still at the hospital or has been released. The image of her tiny, broken body has haunted me ever since I left.

  I jog through the dimly lit walkways, over several rope bridges and to the hospital. The temperature at this late evening hour is almost pleasant, albeit a whole lot hotter than LA had been.

  Doc’s doing evening rounds when I arrive. He looks exhausted. There are dark circles under his eyes, his hair lies limp against his head, and he’s yawning.

  “Blake, did you miss me or is there a pretty lady that brought you back?”

  I give him a close-lipped smile. “I’m here on business, but I figured I’d stop by and see if the girl made it. Did she?”

  “Which girl? I’ve had so many patients through here.” He grins as he pretends to scan through a patient list.

  I’m in no mood to play games. “Did. She. Make. It?”

  “Yeah.” He sighs. “She was released yesternight with strict orders to rest.”

  “Know where she landed?”

  He grimaces and looks at the floor. “The choices were limited. Everything was full. I had Bailey find a family to take her in. Figured Madison’s situation required a girl’s touch.”

  “Question for you, Doc. Did you happen to mention to Bailey that I’d been spending time with Madison before I left?”

  Doc gets a little flustered and starts shuffling some paperwork. “Sure. Bailey knew, but she didn’t seem to mind. Said that she’d make sure Madison was well taken care of. The family Madison got placed with has kids and everything.”

  “Did Bailey know Madison’s story? How she got shot? And did you meet the family? ”

  Doc nods. “Of course, I told Bailey everything, so she’d understand how delicate the situation was. And yes, I met the family. The wife and her sons came to pick up, Madison.”

  “Sons? How old?”

  His eyes go wide, and he looks around nervously. “Early twenties maybe. I wouldn’t worry. They all seemed very interested in helping out Madison. Looked like they’d be real protective.” Bailey could be playing it one of two ways. She’s either trying to get Madison interested in someone other than me, or she has put her in a potentially dangerous situation, ripe for another assault. I get a sick feeling in my stomach. Bailey’s not one to take chances. I’d bet on the latter.

  “Well, that is just brilliant judgment at work there, Doc. Send the girl who has recently been assaulted off with a couple of guys.” I shake my head forcefully. “Where can I find this outstanding residence you sent Madison to?” Doc steps back as if he thinks I’m going to hurt him. I realize I have my fists balled tight and am clenching my teeth.

  He directs me towards a commune on the southeastern edge of the city. As I’m leaving, I look back. “You should have given her your own bed to keep her safe. I expect better from you.”

  The city’s too busy to flat out run, so I set out at a jog, dodging people right and left. My backpack’s weighing me down, slowing my progress. I was only allowed to bring the food and supplies I could carry on my back, so I stuffed my pack full. When I see a familiar blonde head, it’s too late to change course. I’m on one of the rope bridges with several people behind me.

  Bailey is with Adam, who puts a protective arm around her waist and pulls her to him.

  “Blake,” he says in a most unwelcoming tone. “What brings you back? I’d hoped that we had seen the last of you.”

  I glare at Adam. Isn’t this the same guy who fell for the SCI’s ruse on Earth, and ended up dead and here on Thera as a Second Chancer? He seems to think he has more luck than he actually does. “Sorry to disappoint you. Brad Darcton sent me here.”

  “For how long?” Bailey blasts me with an icy-blue stare. She’s shifting uncomfortably under Adam’s tight grip.

  “Indefinitely,” I respond. “Anyway, I’ve got to run. I’ll see you two lovebirds later.” Every minute I spend here playing games with Bailey is another minute that Madison could be subjected to more abuse.

  Bailey flips her hair out of her face. Her nasty look has been replaced by a dead serious one. “The board needs to speak with you. We have many ideas on how to improve things that we’d like to run by you. Nothing that we haven’t discussed a million times before, but your input into ou
r plan would be valuable.”

  This can’t be good. The one plan we’ve beat to death has been an invasion of Garden City. She knows about the mega-portal and my theory that the easiest entry is by another city. Now that they’re in another city, I’m sure that the board thinks it would be easy to storm and either invade the city or destroy the portal.

  What they don’t know is that Brad expects them to try this and has forces waiting. Plus, I told Doc that Brad has Art City rigged with explosives. If any unauthorized Exilers come barreling through the portal, I just know that someone would blow up the city, and its residents would end up dead or as gator bait.

  I heave my backpack up higher on my back. “Yes, Brad is quite interested in what the Exilers have planned. I’ll stop by later to see what improvements you recommend for the city.”

  She cocks her head to the side. “We’re meeting at 2300 hours. Be there.”

  Adam nuzzles into her neck and then nibbles on her ear. He whispers something to her and then winks at me and says, “See you Blake.”

  “Like I care, Adam.” I roll my eyes and then resume my trek towards Madison, passing a group of school age children and some ladies hanging their laundry to dry on the platform rail. When I reach the commune door, I knock. A silver-haired lady, who hasn’t aged well, opens the door.

  “Can I help you?” she asks.

  “Yeah. I’m here to see Madison.” She looks nervous and tries to close the door on me, but I stick my foot in and stop her. “Do not mess with me, ma’am, or I will bring the wrath of the Exiler board and the SCI down upon you, understand?”

  I don’t wait for her to answer and force my way in. She follows, spewing excuses. “I didn’t mean nothing by it. The girl doesn’t need any suitors. She needs her rest.”

  When I catch sight of Madison, I want to kill the woman, her family, Bailey, and Doc. Madison’s on her hands and knees, in nothing but a sheer slip, scrubbing the kitchen floor. Two guys are leering at Madison like she’s being served up for dinner. They’re both offensive line material with necks the size of tree trunks. Madison wouldn’t stand a chance against them.