The Academy - Hoax

by C. L. Stone

  He pushed his chair until he rolled away a little, putting space between us. He pressed his palms to his forehead. “I’m sorry. Don’t…I’ll stop talking.”

  “Don’t stop talking,” I barked at him. “Why are we not talking at all? That’s what’s driving me crazy. Brandon was okay with everything that’s happened. Axel was way too accepting. You…”

  He breathed out his nose loudly and sat up. “Bambi…”

  “Stop calling me that.”

  “Kayli,” he said and rolled over close again until he could grab my chair like before. “Don’t make me talk about it.”

  I glared at him. “I slept with Blake last night.” Shot fired. It made me so angry that he’d just sit there and pretend everything was fine and dandy. Maybe now he’d see it wasn’t.

  The expression on his face shifted from pained to angry to depressed. I tried to tug my chair away so I could look at the monitors.

  Why was I being so unkind? Why did I feel like I had to push him to be angry with me? Was the medicine making me say this stuff? Had the bump on my head broken what little filter I had for my mouth? Maybe I’d never had a filter, but I’d at least tried not to be mean.

  At the same time, I needed to come clean. I couldn’t be like I was before, hiding from them. I had to tell them everything, and either they accepted it, or they didn’t and walked away.

  “Do you…?” he began and then wiped at his eyebrows with his fingers. “Kayli, tell me, honestly.” He focused on me, held on to my chair, his knuckles turning white as he kept me close. “Please, I just need to know. Don’t tell them I asked. I wasn’t supposed to. It can be between us.”

  I wasn’t supposed to. Wasn’t supposed to what? Wait, had they talked about me while I was gone? I gaped at him. “You all did talk about this, didn’t you?”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “Liam did. You sent him to us, remember?”

  I did remember, but that memory came and went sometimes. Geez. “No one told me we weren’t supposed to talk about it.” At least, I didn’t remember that part.

  “Just hang on a second,” he said. “I just need to know: are you telling me it’s over? You’re with Blake and not with…not with us?”

  “What?”

  “I won’t be mad, but I need to know.”

  His question sounded like he was asking about more than our relationship. Was he worried about me leaving their team to join Blake?

  I tried to focus on one thing at a time. “I told Blake I didn’t want to be exclusive and he said it was fine.”

  Marc nodded and pressed his lips together. His mismatched eyes moved around parts of my face, neck, shoulders and hair—looking everywhere but into mine. He inhaled and let the breath out sharply through his nose before he spoke. “We did talk about you. We agreed that we wanted you to stay with us, and we were going to try extra hard to be nice to you and…”

  “Why?” I asked. “Why be extra nice?”

  “We didn’t want you to stay with Ethan Murdock,” he said. “Not like this. If you want to continue to investigate on his behalf, that’s fine, but we wanted you with us, not doing it the way Ethan and Blake are doing it.”

  “We’re on the same team.”

  “We can’t be on the same team,” he said. “We might be on the same side, but we’re not all together. I agree that we’re all working toward ensuring innocent people are saved and making sure any illegal or bad things happening in the city are shut down. We’re all interested in that.

  “But Blake helps criminals get out from under messes. That’s what he does—we can’t be part of that.”

  “Ethan isn’t a criminal,” I said.

  “He’s probably ignorant of what’s been going on with his father,” Marc said, “but he’d be the one liable since his father is gone. Ethan could have hired people to figure out where all this money went and why. There’s professionals who do this sort of thing.” He pointed to his chest. “We, our team, we’re not financial analysts. We’re not the ones for this investigation.”

  I groaned. It just felt like we had been so close before to getting answers that would have helped Ethan. I felt I’d made promises and just walking away was wrong. “I can’t quit. I’m not going to just give up.”

  “You have to ask yourself why Blake wanted us here. Why he brought you along. Or even why he asked to do this in the first place. He could just as easily have brought in professionals. Why a taxi driver, an ex-bond enforcer, and a thief? No offense, but without Corey and Doyle, the best we could have done here is just what we’ve been doing: exposing the prostitution ring on board, stealing a cell phone or two, and copying hard drives. But then what do we do with all that information?”

  I sat back in the seat, arms crossed over my chest. I didn’t care if he was right. I wanted to believe that we were on the right track and were here for a reason. Didn’t Ethan want me on this job?

  Or was it because Blake had talked him into it? Marc was right that I didn’t know anything about investing. What was I doing here?

  I waved my hand through the air. “You’re getting me off track. Why are you so worried about Blake?”

  “Blake doesn’t like us, and we aren’t exactly friends. We can’t work split up like this. Are you going to follow him?” he asked. He reached out for one of my hands, but I had them tucked tight under my arms. He held me by the elbows instead. “Tell me we haven’t lost you already.”

  My insides twisted so tight. “This isn’t about Ethan,” I said. “Is it?”

  He pursed his lips tightly.

  I was on the right track. “This is about…you don’t want Blake and…” I couldn’t find the words.

  Marc turned from me and grumbled, “I can handle a lot. I can understand you were overwhelmed by us, and things got a little mixed up. I just can’t stand the thought of you and him…”

  Time seemed to slow. He faced away from me, like he was shutting me out.

  I looked at his back, at the shape of his body. I pictured the scars on his skin.

  “Marc,” I said, but I didn’t know how to finish.

  I was hurting them more and more, had been asking so much of them when I’d always done everything on my own. I couldn’t believe how much I was depending on them, wanting them to care about me. Needing them to let me care about them in return.

  I didn’t know how Liam and Henry managed, but in the back of my mind, I’d already started picturing the same for my group, asking “what if?”

  I was trying to figure out what to say when the handle shook right before the door opened.

  Awkward Lunch

  We both turned to see Brandon and Axel come into the room. Brandon seemed okay, in the same dark clothes and baggy sweater as before, carrying a food tray.

  Axel brought a second one, loaded with a coffeepot and cups. He had changed into khakis and a Hawaiian shirt and looked like a tourist. His expression was dark, but his hair was wet, combed back and tied neatly in a ponytail.

  As they came in, filling up the tiny room, I began to feel claustrophobic. I wasn’t sure I could handle all three of them in the same place, especially having just found out that they were plotting against Blake.

  Uncomfortable or no, we needed to talk about it. Now.

  I had opened my mouth, but I froze as Axel and Brandon got out of the way of the door, revealing more people behind them.

  Kevin carried a jug of water and Henry had another food tray.

  Marc raised his hands and looked up at the ceiling. “Thank God,” he said, motioning toward the food. “Someone feed her.”

  I grumbled, tempted not to eat to make him uncomfortable, but the smell of salt and meat made me change my mind.

  “Hey, it’s you,” Kevin said with a smile as he came right over and held up a fist. I bumped it with mine. “Good to see you back. Don’t go swimming without me next time.”

  He seemed really upbeat, different from how he usually was around me.
I wondered if the others had talked to him, too: Pretend to be nice to her while we talk her into staying with us.

  Then I caught it. There was a tightness in the corner of his eyes, and an edge to his smile. He was tense about something.

  My heart pounded. The secrets were many among us, even after I’d wanted to open up. I didn’t have the nerve to say anything to Kevin, who shouldn’t have been involved. I avoided looking Marc, Axel, or Brandon in the eyes. I couldn’t trust myself not to say something I’d regret, like demanding they tell me their real thoughts and not just say what I wanted to hear in an effort to try to get on my good side.

  “Avery made sure to get burgers from the good specialty restaurant,” Axel said, putting his platter on the cot, balancing it carefully. The computer table was too full of computer bits, ashtrays, and notes.

  Henry and Kevin sat on the floor by the door, backs against the wall, sharing a plate of food.

  Kevin was our age, but I rarely saw him unless we were in the middle of some trouble, like now. He was tall, with hair cut close to his head. He was cute, but I’d started to think of him as that older brother who was never home anymore. He was usually a little tense, even on normal days.

  It was odd seeing Henry with Kevin. Henry was so much older, but they talked like they were friends, commenting on the hamburgers and fries and sharing ketchup packets. They both wore all black, like the ship’s crew.

  Marc sent a questioning look my way, asking if I’d reveal he’d told me stuff he wasn’t supposed to. I wanted to, but I was focused on the food. I needed it to clear my head, and with everything going on and the injury to my head, I needed energy to keep up.

  Marc stayed by the monitors and kept the headset on, while I rolled my chair over to the cot to eat. Once I started, I couldn’t stop myself and didn’t listen to the others as they talked. It was as if my brain shut down everything else while I focused on the food. I ate two hamburgers, a plate of fries, and half a slice of cake and drank my coffee and part of Brandon’s.

  It wasn’t until I was stuffed, finally licking my fingers of salt, that I pulled my gaze away from my plate.

  Axel’s dark eyes caught my attention first. “Hitting your head didn’t affect your stomach,” he said. He was sitting on the floor next to the cot. Brandon sat across from him, using the cot as a table.

  “If we could just keep her fed,” Marc said, still staring at the monitors. He turned and looked at me long enough to wink.

  Now that I wasn’t totally absorbed in food, I realized that Axel and Brandon were staring at me. Did I have grease on my face? I wiped my cheeks with my fingers but didn’t feel anything.

  “So,” I said, glancing at the others, cramped inside the small storage area. “Do we all just hide here? I’m guessing we can’t go back to the old guest rooms. At least I can’t.”

  “I can’t show my face right now,” Brandon said. “Not until tonight.”

  “Is that goon who hit me still looking for us?” I asked.

  Henry shook his head. “We let him chase Brandon, but after a while he went back to work. Right now he’s over in the security office.” He looked at Marc. “Is he still there?”

  Marc nodded. “I’m listening,” he said. “He hasn’t talked to anyone yet. I don’t think he told anyone about what he did.”

  “So we do nothing?” I asked. “We just sit here until tonight?”

  “I have to make myself visible,” Axel said. “I finally let Colt Baker convince me we should look for you. He’s been searching all this time, and it’s too obvious you aren’t here. He’s even tried to sneak into restricted areas. He’s lucky Sam and his friends haven’t gotten to him for looking around the spa, but he was down there when Sam wasn’t there.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Why is he so desperate to find me?”

  “The question is, why is he bugging me?” Axel mumbled. “I’m pretty convinced he isn’t behind you going overboard, so I don’t really want to waste the time.”

  “Being pretty convinced doesn’t mean he’s innocent,” Henry said. “He’s chasing after her for a reason. Best to find out why.”

  Axel nodded. “I’m going to walk him through last night after he left the dining room, through to the time when she went overboard. Maybe he’s heard something on his own.” He pointed to Kevin. “We may need you to say you saw her after that time—make it like she never went over. Or maybe we say exactly what happened and see his reaction.”

  “I vote make it like she never left,” Brandon said. “And keep telling that to anyone who asks, like Ms. Ward or Mr. Smith.”

  I twisted a napkin in my fingers. “Tara Ward really wanted me to work with her, and seemed pretty sure about old Mr. Murdock still being in town and wanted to talk to him. She thought I knew something. Today, she’s on vacation. It seems odd that she hasn’t been looking for me.”

  “She’s on my list,” Axel said. “But she wasn’t anywhere near you at the time. She returned to the dining room before you went over. No one else has been acting strangely, as far as I can tell.”

  “No one else asked about me?”

  “No.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Not even Mr. Smith?”

  “It wasn’t him,” Kevin said. “He hasn’t even mentioned you—or Kitty, I should say.”

  That was surprising. “Colt’s the only one looking for me? Mr. Smith hasn’t asked once?”

  “He’s been busy nursing a hangover,” Kevin said. “And we know it wasn’t him. Eyewitnesses saw him elsewhere.”

  “Do we trust these eyewitnesses? What’s he been doing this morning?”

  Kevin grumbled. “He went to bed plastered late last night, and he only woke up a couple hours ago. He was in the bar late, tried to hook up with someone who worked there who turned him down. He got escorted out at some point. After he left you at dinner, he was there the whole time; I saw the footage and talked to people at the bar.”

  Maybe Tara and Mr. Smith hadn’t physically thrown me overboard, but something was off. “What about the other guy? Mr. Cline?”

  Brandon spoke. “He got up to go to the restroom during dinner around the time you left. We’ve been watching him, but so far, he’s Mr. Boring. Maybe it’s a ruse, but all he seems to do is read, nap, read, nap, eat, read.”

  I had barely talked to Mr. Cline, so it didn’t surprise me that they didn’t suspect him. Blake had interacted with him more than I had, but he’d seemed boring to me, too.

  I rocked in the chair, twisting around, back and forth, swinging. This whole thing bugged me, and I was eager to figure out why. The food was working, getting my brain moving, but nothing was connecting yet. “No news from Raven?”

  “No,” Brandon said.

  “Where’s Corey?”

  “Downstairs, looking for Raven. Corey might need to lay low, too. If Sam or his goon see him, they might think he’s me.”

  “Someone with him?”

  “Fancy’s going to meet him down there and take over for Avery who was following him. Avery’s got to get back to Ethan.”

  I couldn’t remember all the details, but something was off. Trying to consider why, I relaxed in the chair, leaning back a bit, and got frustrated when it felt like the answers were just on the other side of a foggy memory.

  What was bugging me about Mr. Smith? I felt like there were some details right there, but when I tried to remember, they disappeared. Although, the others didn’t seem so concerned, so maybe I was just being paranoid.

  Once everyone was done eating, Henry and Kevin collected the trays.

  Everyone began to check in with details of where they were going when Marc leaned in close to one of the monitors.

  “Mr. Smith is awake,” he said. “He’s headed toward the spa.”

  He might have been crossed off our list, but he had still been involved in those secret accounts. I rolled over to the monitors to watch.

  Marc made room for my chair, and Brand
on came over to observe over my shoulder.

  Mr. Smith was walking through the little fake garden in the atrium and went right inside the spa. It must have been officially open now. The camera showed just inside the seating area of the spa, where other guests were waiting. The moment Mr. Smith was through the door, he was greeted and brought right in, heading toward the right hallway.

  “Hm,” I said. “He really, really wanted me to pull money out of whatever investment the real investor had made and give it to him yesterday.”

  “He’s probably still waiting for you,” Axel said. “He might not know you went missing at all. Neither does Tara. Colt’s the only one who thinks something happened to you.”

  “Maybe Mr. Smith doesn’t know I’m gone.” I tapped my finger on the table. “Yet he’s going to the spa.”

  “So?”

  “If you really wanted your money, would you go to the spa or would you go looking for me?” I motioned to the monitors. “Tara is over by the pool. Mr. Cline is eating and reading. Mr. Smith is about to get his doodle played with. Is it just me or are our main players just…very, very calm? Not like they were yesterday?”

  The men in the room exchanged looks.

  “The only one not calm is Colt,” I said. “Why are they all hunky-dory today?”

  “If they don’t think you left, they might be hoping to see you walking around so they can chat with you,” Marc said.

  I grunted and poked him in the chest. “I get that, but now you’re telling me that after meeting Kitty Lane, the secret investor in this thing, none of them are checking their bank accounts, holding secret meetings, or talking about…anything? Don’t tell me it’s just because it’s early.” I pointed to where Tara was still lounging by the pool. “She’s just sitting there. Why isn’t she on the hunt like yesterday?”

  Everyone shifted into action. Liam and Axel came to look at the monitors. Brandon, Marc and Henry looked at ship manifests and reports about last night.

  “Did anyone talk to all of them this morning?” Henry asked.