He didn’t get a chance to finish because I had swept his legs out from underneath him with a round kick and he was lying flat on his back. The fall pushed all of the breath out of his lungs and he lay there with a slightly confused look on his face for a moment.
“Huh. I guess you don’t mess around.”
“No, I don’t. Something you’ll probably want to remember.”
He couldn’t say I hadn’t warned him.
He waved his arms in front of him. “I surrender.”
I offered my hand to help him up. He came to his feet and then all of sudden, I had no idea how, we were standing very close together. He was five or six inches taller than me, and his eyes bore into mine. He smilirked at me and the next thing I knew his arms were around my shoulders and he was pulling me closer. There must have been a faulty thermostat in the do jang as the temperature had just shot up a couple of hundred degrees. Our lips were only millimeters apart and for some reason my heart no longer seemed to be working because the blood wasn’t getting to my brain properly.
His lips were almost touching mine when there was a noise across the do jang. It pulled me out of my reverie and I backed away from Rinteau for a moment to find Alex standing in the doorway, his hands on his hips and a look of pure disbelief on his face.
He stared at me and shook his head, not in anger, but in resignation. Then he spun around and stalked away.
Oh God.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Why I Hate Boys
I LEFT RINTEAU IN the do jang. He had a very satisfied smilirk on his face, and was enjoying the moment a little too much seeing as how we hadn’t even kissed.
I told him I was leaving, and he waved me off without saying a word. I shot out of the do jang, searching for Alex. Of course, he could be anywhere and I couldn’t find him in any of the usual places. The computer lab, the rec room, and the cafeteria were all no-Alex zones.
Taking a chance of getting caught by one of the resident faculty, I busted down the boys’ hall to Alex and Brent’s room, but neither of them were there. Brent was usually in the electronics lab this time of night, but when I found him there, he told me he hadn’t seen Alex since Tae Kwon Do class.
What to do. He might be with Pilar, but I thought not. In fact, both of us were likely to avoid Pilar during this drama. Maybe Alex had feelings for me, maybe he didn’t, but he clearly felt something for Pilar. I didn’t see him running to her to tell her that he was upset to see me almost kissing another boy. If you’re a guy, it’s not a good idea to let your maybe girlfriend know it upsets you when another girl is almost kissing another guy. It leads to questions. So I didn’t think he was with her. And I certainly wasn’t going to mention anything about it to Pilar. Nope. Alex and I were going to work this out and talk about it like civilized adults. If I could find him.
He was in the weight room. I should have thought of that. Whenever Alex is upset his natural instinct is to work out even more. The weight room is just off the main gymnasium in the lower level of the school. He was on the bench press. I won’t guess how much weight was on the bar, but it looked like he was trying to single-handedly lift Montana. I mean the state, not the famous ex-football player or the pop singer’s alter ego.
“Don’t you know it isn’t safe to lift weights alone?” I said.
Alex didn’t say anything. He set himself, then pushed up, lifted the bar off the bench, and brought it down to his chest. Muscles bulging, he raised the bar and the weights shot upward and then back again. He was through eight repetitions in a matter of seconds.
The weight slammed down on the bench and he stood up. He didn’t look at me or say anything. He grabbed two more five-pound weights from the rack and added them to the barbell.
“Aren’t you going to talk to me?”
“Wasn’t planning on it.”
“Alex, don’t be this way,” I pleaded.
“What way? What way, Rachel? The way that says ‘what the heck are you thinking’? The way that says ‘why are you so determined to get close to some guy you don’t even know’? The way that says ‘everybody else knows that something about Rinteau doesn’t add up, but you’? Is that the ‘way’ you’re talking about?” He made the little air quote signs again. He knows how much I hate it when people make air quotes.
“Listen. First of all, who I choose to spend my time with is my business, not yours. Second of all, you’re the only one that has a problem with Rinteau; everybody else—”
Alex cut me off. “Everybody else thinks he’s totally wrong, Rachel. They just don’t want to say it to you. Everybody. Me, Brent, Pilar, they all agree something isn’t quite right about the guy, but you just choose not to see it. Heck, I’m half-convinced Mr. Kim thinks so too. ”
Okay. This was news. I didn’t realize Pilar and Brent had reservations about Michael. I mean, at mostthe least, I thought they might be neutral. Or just staying out of another Alex and Rachel debate. Maybe Alex was making it up.
“You’re making that up,” I groused. “If they had reservations about Rinteau they would have told me.”
“I am not making it up. We’ve all talked about it. They just haven’t said anything because they’re afraid of hurting your feelings and Pilar can tell you’re all gooey over the guy. They’ve keept quiet because they don’t want to listen to you prattle on about his ‘“good qualities’” for forty-five minutes every time his name comes up. But they all agree he’s not rightwrong. There’s a robbery at the mall that practically happens right in front of us. He shows up out of nowhere—why? Because he’s a Good Samaritan? When you go to look for him, he just happens to be back at the mall? Nobody hangs out at a mall that much! And here’s the kicker. Mr. Kim can find out anything about anybody. Any. Body. But Rinteau’s got no paper trail. Nothing. Not even a birth certificate. But you just don’t see it. Well, I’m not afraid of hurting your feelings. This guy is bad news. And you need to hear it. It’s for your own good.”
He lay back down on the bench and pushed the barbell up and off the rack, starting his reps again. His face was red, whether from anger at me, or the strain of lifting, I couldn’t tell. Probably both.
“Look, just because you don’t like the guy, doesn’t mean you have to pretend the others don’t either.” I couldn’t process all that he’d said yet. So I was still clinging to my “he’s just misunderstood” defense.
Alex rolled his eyes and slammed the barbell back onto the bench. He stood up, getting right up in my business. So close that I backed up a step. I hated giving ground, but the man was angry.
“You think I’m making it up? Well, you couldn’t be more wrong. You know why? It’s because I don’t care enough about it to make it up. What I care about are my friends, Mr. Kim, and this school. Rinteau, and your little whatever you got going on, is way down on the list. And I’m telling you, ever since L.A., we’re even more convinced that he’s not legit. Why did he just happen to show up when you were stuck on the cable? That wasn’t his position!”
“He just came to help,” I said. “You see? He’s very helpful. That’s a good quality in a person.”
“That wasn’t his job. He was to stay at his post and watch for bad guys. He left to go where he wasn’t needed and you almost got caught,” he said.
“He’s just inexperienced; it was his first time—” I said. Inexperience can be kind of cute.
Alex cut me off. Again.
“Don’t give me that. You and Pilar could have handled it just fine. But have you stopped to ask yourself why the mechanism broke in the first place? You’d rehearsed that drill a hundred times and Brent had checked and rechecked that equipment obsessively before you went live. But right at a critical moment, it breaks down?” he asked.
“Things happen,” I said, though I had to admit I was starting to sound lame even to myself.
“Yeah, well, Brent has looked at the cable motor about a dozen times ever since we returned. And he can’t find any reason for it to have malfunctioned. So you ne
ed to ask yourself. What’s the common denominator here?”
Alex picked up a towel he’d brought with him and wiped his face. I think he was waiting for me to say something, but I didn’t know what to say. I thought he was wrong, but it was impossible to convince him of anything when he was in a mood like this. Rinteau wasn’t a bad guy. I was sure of it.
“Alex …” I said.
“Just save it, Rachel. Talk to Pilar. She’ll explain.” Then he left me alone in the room. Just me and the other dumbbells.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Unless I’m Wrong. And I’m Never Wrong.
I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT to do. I left the gym and wandered back to my room. Alex and, apparently, Brent and Pilar, my so-called friends, had concluded I was all wrong about the new kid. Just like when I’d first arrived here, I felt alone and isolated. No one was on my side. It was me against the world again.
Pilar would be in our room studying. By now, I’m sure Alex had filled her in on everything. Might as well go and face the music, I thought. I was positive Pilar would be nonjudgmental in her support of me. In the incredibly smart, knowing way of hers that says, “Geez, are you an idiot or something?” Of course Alex was right. Duh. She always sided with Alex.
It occurred to me that maybe one of Mrs. Clausen’s oatmeal-butterscotch cookies would cheer me up, so I thought I’d run by the cafeteria on the way to my room. Mrs. Clausen always put snacks out in the evening for kids taking a study break, and she often included some of her delicious cookies on a tray in the cafeteria next to the juice and milk machines. Got to love our Mrs. Clausen.
I found the cookies in the cafeteria, took one off the plate, and wolfed it down right there. All that angst had made me hungry. Then I took two more with me for later. I certainly needed to keep up my strength.
Leaving the cafeteria, I was about to turn down the main hall when movement at the end of the hallway caught my eye. Another second and I would have missed it completely. It was Michael Rinteau. He was headed for the gym.
Instinct demanded I follow him. Of course, instinct also demands a lot of other stuff and it mostly gets me in trouble. It’s hard when you have such demanding instincts. There was something about the way he was moving, though—it was furtive, like he didn’t want anyone to see him. And it made me suspicious. I’m sure it was innocent, but still, I decided to see what he was up to.
Retracing my steps, I discovered Rinteau had already entered the gymnasium by the time I made it to the main doors. The lights were out, and I heard a door all the way across the gym click shut. He was headed to the practice fields behind the school. What the heck?
I trotted over and cracked open the door. It was dark outside now and I didn’t see him. I stepped outside and the door clicked shut behind me. There he was, moving quickly across the fields toward the fence. There were a couple of mercury lights outside of the school and I could see him carrying an Academy duffle bag.
I don’t know why I didn’t call out to him. He was moving faster now, and heading toward the fence at the rear of the Academy grounds. I followed along, thankful I’d put my shoes on when I left the do jang in search of Alex. It was still winter, but the weather had gotten warmer and there was no snow on the ground. My do bak was thick enough to keep me warm for a little while at least.
I crossed through the circle of the mercury lights and the field plunged into darkness. It was a clear night with a quarter moon, and with the help of that and the stars (and after my eyes adjusted), I could see Rinteau far across the field, nearly to the fence surrounding the school property.
He walked directly to the fence and tossed the duffle bag over it. I paused for a minute, thinking he might turn around and come back, therefore spotting me, but he didn’t. Instead he backed up a few steps, took a running start and jumped into the fence, climbing up and over it in an instant. It looked like he knew what he was doing when it came to chain-link fence climbing.
I watched him pick up the duffle and walk into the woods. When I could no longer see him, I ran quickly to the fence and climbed it in the same spot. A moment of déjà vu washed over me. On my first night at Blackthorn, I’d tried to escape. It’d been a long, complicated process, made notable by the fact that I was in terrible shape, had a hard time getting over the fence, got horribly lost in what are perhaps the world’s scariest woods, and fell asleep by a big rock until Mr. Kim found me the next morning. It wasn’t exactly my best hour.
Now I knew there was a gate further down the fence, but I was afraid I’d lose Rinteau if I hustled all the way down to it and then back. So I took a running start at the fence and this time the outcome was much different. I hit the fence with my right leg, pushed off and grasped the top with both hands. I pulled myself up and over and dropped to the other side. Nice. Not too noisy, either.
Time for the scary part. The woods behind Blackthorn are dense and dark. The trees look like they come straight from the set of a horror movie and the branches are long and low to the ground. I don’t like woods. There is not much in the way of woods where I come from. We Beverly Hillsians are not given to natural pursuits unless it involves wearing L.L.Bean blue jeans while maneuvering our Range Rovers through the drive-through at Starbucks. Yet, here I was again.
I paused for minute to get my bearings. Then I heard movement through the underbrush ahead. It had to be Rinteau. He didn’t know he was being followed, so he wasn’t really trying to move quietly. I still couldn’t figure out what he was doing there, but I got a gnawing feeling in my gut, and everywhere else you can be gnawed. Everything Alex had said all along came roaring back to me. I tried to tell myself that, like me, maybe he was just running away. Maybe he’d decided that Blackthorn wasn’t the place for him after all, and he was just bugging out. That was it.
I kept following the sound of his steps through the woods, trying to stay focused and move quietly. If he did stop suddenly to listen, I didn’t want him to hear me crashing through the woods after him. He was headed in more or less a straight line and I knew from experience that if he stayed on this course, he’d end up on the road running behind Blackthorn.
On we moved, like predator and prey. I hadn’t spotted him, but I could hear him clearly as he moved in the woods ahead. He was determined to get somewhere, I’d give him that. Several minutes went by before I heard a soft thud followed by a rattling sound. It took me a moment to place it, and I realized he was climbing the other fence bordering the property.
Less than a minute later, I was at the fence myself. And I could see Rinteau down below at the roadside, waiting with the duffle bag in hand. I moved slowly and quietly along the fence until I was behind a nearby tree. My white dobak stuck out in the darkness and I didn’t want him to see me. I also didn’t want to confront him. I just wanted to know what he was up to.
I didn’t have to wait long for my answer. A few minutes later, a black van drove up and pulled off to the side of the road. The back door opened and Simon Blankenship stepped out. Even in the dim light, I could tell it was him. He was dressed in all black and was wearing the gold medallion of Mithras around his neck. He took the duffle from Rinteau and they both climbed into the van and drove off before I could open my mouth.
I felt light-headed and numb. My pulse began to race.
Alex was right. And I knew what was in the duffle bag. Simon had pulled a double switch on us. He didn’t need to be at the party after all.
Rinteau had stolen the Firehorn right out from under our noses.
CHAPTER TWENTY
I Still Don’t Know What an Anagram Is Exactly, But You Couldn’t Have Figured It Out Sooner?
FEELING LIKE I MIGHT FAINT, I rushed back through the woods. Mithras had the Firehorn. That was not good. But he didn’t know that we knew he had it and that’s wasn’t good for him. I think. Nevertheless, I was steamed—mad at myself and even angry with Alex for not convincing me that Rinteau was playing for the other side. Of course, Alex did try to tell me that, but who could be rational at a ti
me like this. Mithras had the Firehorn, for crying out loud!
I needed to get back to the school and find Mr. Kim and the others. I raced through the woods, hoping I wouldn’t get lost and waste any more precious time. Mr. Kim had told us to always wear our special watches but I had left mine in my room during Tae Kwon Do and now I cursed my stupidity.
I ran as fast as I could, only getting turned around a couple of times, and I soon came upon the fence. My adrenaline was pumping so fast I hit the fence with my foot and was up and over like an Olympic hurdler. I sprinted hard across the athletic fields and through the door at the gymnasium. In a few minutes, breathless and sweating, I raced into my room.
Pilar was seated at her desk in our study room. She was doodling on a pad of paper; her textbooks lay open on the desk around her.
“There you are,” she said. “I’ve got something I need to tell you.”
“It’s going to have to wait—I just followed Rinteau into the woods; he stole the Firehorn from us and I saw him give it to Blankenship.” I could barely breathe and it was all I could do to get the words out. The color drained from Pilar’s face.
“Rachel, that’s a horrible joke,” she said.
“It’s no joke. It’s true. Alex tried to tell me and I wouldn’t listen. I got all caught up in Rinteau’s hotness and let it fool me. God, I’m an idiot.”
I was changing as I spoke, throwing on an Academy sweat suit. Pilar didn’t say anything. Not even a “don’t be so hard on yourself” or a “you couldn’t have known” to make me feel better. Alex was right. She had believed him and not me. Turns out she’d been right to think that way.
“What are we going to do?” she asked.
“We need to get to the situation room and figure this out. Blankenship couldn’t have gotten too far. I suspect he’ll go to ground somewhere close by until he thinks the heat is off. Probably somewhere in Philly.” I grabbed my watch and hit the panic button, which would send everyone a signal to meet in the situation room ASAP.
The Spy Who Totally Had a Crush on Me Page 12
