by Jody Klaire
Save children while pretending to be some mean criminal . . . I could do that. I hoped.
Chapter 13
A WEEK OF intensive training followed along with Frei drilling into me the backstory that I was to stick to. It was pretty much my own. I had a rap sheet so Frei just embellished on it and made it look like I was hiding out from the authorities. I hoped she fixed it all when we got back because I did not want a return trip to Serenity.
We flew from the base and I was blindfolded again but once we were on the ground at an airport, we were on our own. Frei had an SUV ready and waiting. The heat prickled but it wasn’t unbearable. The wind was something else. When I’d been in Colorado it had been windy but this was relentless. There were a few corrugated hangers and a rickety looking iron sign over the road out. It was scrub land, wherever it was, broken up with patches of sand or dust. Although it was greener than where the CIG base was, it must have baked in the summer. There weren’t swaying fields of crops like in Oppidum.
I watched Frei, hoping she might tell me something or start a conversation but she was locked up tight behind her mirrored aviators.
She looked different to how she always dressed. I couldn’t explain it because she was still in jeans, a t-shirt, and that same battered jacket she loved so much. Somehow, the way the clothes were cut covered her up more. She looked tougher, angrier, like she didn’t care.
“You gonna tell me where we are?” We drove along a highway. I hoped she’d say something ’cause I was sick of trying to guess.
“Texas.”
“Right.” I weren’t hot on geography but I knew Texas was a big state. We headed into a town with trees down the middle of the main street, and neat, well-kept buildings on either side. It was quieter than Oppidum but the cars and pick-ups lining the sides showed folks were frequenting the place.
“Ain’t many crops growin’, huh?” I asked as we left the town behind and headed along another highway. There was a long ridge on the horizon that looked like God had decided to stick a step in.
“That’s the Caprock.” Frei’s fingers whitened on the wheel. “Cotton country.”
Apart from some bushes, and windbreaks off in the distance, there weren’t much else but long furrowed rows.
The bluff drew nearer as we headed along the dusty road. The road ascended it, gradual, careful, a strip of dirt cut down the middle. When we crested it, I swore I could see for miles. It was the flattest place I’d ever seen. It felt so strange. I was used to mountains. Even the CIG base was on one. I hadn’t ever been to a place without any before.
“You got your ID ready?” Frei glanced at me or at least turned her head toward me. I couldn’t tell what she was looking at.
“Yeah, are you sure they ain’t gonna be able to track me?” According to the little thing in my hands, I was now Alex Riley. My backstory was that I had been born someplace in the Midwest and my mother had travelled all over the states. I’d been imprisoned in Arkansas. I’d escaped . . . somehow . . . and was officially a fugitive.
“Your name was too unusual and you’re unique. It made it a challenge to hide you.” She fiddled with her ring. “But you’re covered. There was a killer in that state close to your description just not as tall.”
We turned off onto a smaller road which seemed to run along the edge of the Caprock. I looked out and saw the town in the distance. Wildflowers grew in amongst the scrub. The wind rattled the SUV.
Frei seemed not to notice, roaring us along the road. I guess in her red fancy SUV it weren’t a problem. She drove cool cars, sleek, but the whole thing felt like a statement. The wood trim inside looked good enough to run my hands over but I didn’t dare. I didn’t know much about cars but she flicked a stick around when she changed gear. I’d never seen a car with one before. It dripped luxury. Crime must have paid for some folks.
Frei turned again. The uncultivated land so close I could reach out and touch it. A long windbreak stretched up from the scrubland ahead but there were a couple of buildings in the far distance otherwise. The road squeezed through the gap in the trees, the road newer, hedges planted up on either side with trees behind them. Caprock Academy shimmered in the sun, at least its high white rendered walls. The gates were wrought iron like Serenity, with a guardhouse like Serenity. I swallowed a tingle of fear at that.
Frei had told me the academy was not the only one. There were several in the States. They were a mix of kids who were slaves and rich kids from the families who owned them. The two never mixed. The latter were there to prove legality should any authorities come knocking.
As we pulled up to the guardhouse, I glanced at the thick etched name in the pure white stone. It looked like it should be in an art gallery someplace. Water cascaded down over it as if to prove it had overcome its barren surroundings.
I glanced at Frei whose fingertips had lost all color. She looked over her aviators at me, a glimmer of pain in her eyes.
“Where were you sent?” I asked but I didn’t know why. It was clear in her every tense movement.
“Here. I couldn’t speak a word of English.” Frei tapped the wheel. Her eyes lighted on the gates as we approached. “I was terrified when I was dropped off.”
Hearing her say that made me tense up all over. Acquainting Frei and lack of courage didn’t fit. If she was scared, I was ready to turn around and head home.
The guards at the gate were big hulking guys with rough-shaven chins and heavily lined eyes. Weather-beaten would be too mild, these guys had been battered, bested, and bulldozed into submission. Their voices sounded gruff as if the dust had got stuck in their throats.
Frei flashed her pass at them. They studied it before heading around to my side. I fumbled with my own pass before holding it up. It was too much like Serenity. I wanted to make a run for it. Sweat trickled down the back of my neck. I couldn’t pull this off. There was no way I could pull this off—
“Buzz them in.”
Frei roared through the gate and the wildflowers became long green lawns. “Astroturf. It’s all fake. Just remember that. Everything, every inch is nothing but a lie.”
“Even the huge palace thing there?” I squinted to get a better look. A huge Grecian style mansion, all in white stone was plonked right in the middle of nowhere.
“It’s all an illusion. A statement of superiority.” She nodded to the road leading away to the right. “The rich kids live in a small campus over that way. It’s next to the principal’s house. They have the best of everything.”
“I’m guessing you didn’t have that luxury?”
Frei remained stoic. “You’ll see where the money is poured.”
“And what about those guys?” I pointed to one guy in a white suit and tie on the mass of steps leading up to the entrance. Next to him was a tall lug of a man. His shaved black hair was nothing compared to the razor sharp look in his eyes. He had a shirt and tie on too but he looked like he would be better suited to a sash of bullets and a huge gun.
“The taller one is Jäger,” she muttered. “Stay away from him.”
Okay, so he looked mean, but no meaner than the other guys I’d seen so far. Unless you counted his eyes.
“He was here when I was.” She slowed the truck, scowling. “The other one is the Principal, Smyth.” She relaxed her scowl and looked at me. “Just be careful, Jäger is . . . nasty.”
“Can I have a safety barrier?” I mumbled, feeling out of my depth. If he was so scary then it was possible he’d see through my tough-guy act in seconds.
“Be yourself. Your police record and your sentence speak for you. You’re Alex Riley here.” She smiled that tight-lipped smile. “And you’d need a lot more than a barrier.”
That didn’t exactly instill confidence. “What would I need?” More to the point, where could I get it and how soon.
“You have me. Listen and you’ll be fine.” She stepped out of the SUV into the bright sunlight and picked up both our duffel bags from the back seat. I took a couple of
breaths, trying to find some kind of confidence.
“Sure,” I mumbled, getting out of the car. “Good thing I’m trusting.”
Frei flashed me a cocky grin over her shoulder. “One thing to remember about me, I always keep my promises.”
Something in my heart told me that she was speaking the truth. My burdens were faded to a trace but I guess maybe some faith came from inside. I hoped that it weren’t the same place that got fooled by Sam, ’cause otherwise, I was in trouble . . . I eyed Jäger . . . big trouble.
THERE AIN’T MANY people who intimidate me. Whether it was Frei’s words or the size of the guy, it didn’t matter, my hands sprung a leak as we wandered over to meet the welcoming party.
The principal, Smyth, in the white suit and panama hat, was skinny but with a bit of a belly and cheeks that were redder than was healthy. Jäger, in the black suit, gray shirt, and black tie, was a couple of inches shorter than me which put him over six foot but nearer to Frei’s height. That should have made me feel better but he was built like I was, the collar of his shirt tight against his thick neck.
His tie drew my eye, the academy’s crest stamped on it. He could have been a prison guard in Serenity for the steel he had in his dark eyes. I couldn’t tell in the strong sunlight where his irises stopped and his pupils began.
He looked like a machine. A handsome one but still a machine. He didn’t seem bothered by the heat at all. His military haircut was close. His stubble so dark that he looked like he dyed it with boot polish.
Frei said he’d been there when she attended so he’d have to be at least twenty or so years older than her. I put her around Renee’s age which made Jäger in his mid-fifties.
Frei cleared her throat beside me. I guess I was making a fool out of myself by gawking at the guy. I flicked my gaze away and studied the expanse of grounds all covered in that fake, plastic grass.
Weird.
“Huber sends his regards,” Frei said with a tone of smugness. I hadn’t heard her talk like that before. I weren’t real sure if I cared to again.
“Doesn’t he always,” Smyth answered. “Generally right before he swipes something.”
They laughed. At least I knew hers was false. When she did laugh for real it sounded like she was up to something.
“You have some potentials he’s interested in.” Frei moved up the steps into the shade cast by the huge pillared porch. “Must be quality for him to bother.”
Smyth strolled along at her side as Jäger and I fell into step behind. Smyth cast a disgusted look at the huge duffel bags on each of her shoulders. She looked like she carried pillows but I knew my pack was heavy.
“Not in your league but they could be useful as decoys perhaps.” Smyth held open the heavy wooden door for us. “I’m surprised he’s not still working you.”
“He decided he enjoyed my company more.” Frei strolled inside. I went to follow but Jäger put his arm out to stop me. Frei glanced at me with reassurance in her eyes as she headed off down the corridor.
“There aren’t many people who can meet my eyes,” Jäger said in a low, graveled voice. He sounded like a growling lion.
“I know what you are and what your story is,” I said back. I had no idea why I’d just said that. I didn’t have one iota. “I’m . . . fascinated.”
Fascinated? What? Freaked out and ready to run maybe but I sounded like I was into machines.
“My story?” His voice held danger.
“Yep,” I said, sounding like I knew what I was on about. “Anyone who can handle Locks impresses me.”
He did? How did I know that? I weren’t supposed to see anyone’s past. Nan said they’d taken it all away.
“Don’t believe everything she says.”
I dared to lift my eyes to his. He looked impressed. His smile was full of charm. I could see that he must have a string of women who swooned at his every word.
“My bite is far worse than my bark.” His grin morphed into a razor sharp smile that made me think of sharks. Hungry sharks circling dinner.
“Which just makes you all the more impressive.” My tone made me picture Nan throwing icy cold blasts at me. Me and my mouth were gonna have words ’cause I sure weren’t liking the way it was talking.
“Your own record is interesting. Do I need to watch you around the merchandise?” He sounded amused.
Merchandise? What—?
My stomach dropped.
He meant the students. “Depends if they are pathetic.”
He laughed.
I felt the urge to punch him. Elite nut job or not.
“You seem to have a thing for dangerous men.” He held open the door for me.
He must have meant Sam, did he? Wait, no, Frei had said that she kept the same crimes but changed the names, the locations. I didn’t know what folks thought of me being so close to Sam and not seeing the truth. What kind of idiot would have been so gullible to spend a decade inside for him?
“That depends on how dangerous.” I smiled my best smug grin, fighting the nausea that rolled around in my gut. “Some don’t hit the mark.”
He could read my expression. I could sense that he had seen my revulsion. His eyes scoured mine and I shivered, not sure if it was the icy air-con or him.
“He charmed others,” Jäger said as he led me along a wide corridor. Floors shiny, the colors colonial, it looked like a sugar plantation. Ones I’d seen in old civil war movies. I got the horrible feeling that it was more like that than any school. “Media reports say he charmed you too.”
The panic thudded through me. He was testing me, I could feel it. “He was all looks and no substance.”
If I’d been in charge of my mouth, I would have said Sam was dumb as a bag of hammers, that he was a bitter, lost angry soul that hurt me to think about. I didn’t know who was in charge of me speaking but I was thinking about asking Frei to drive me back to Serenity.
“And his crimes?” He led me further along, the walls lined with portraits of guys in suits. They all seemed to enjoy posing like they were monarchs or something. I had no idea who they were but I knew this place hadn’t been around for that long.
“He thought he was great until he picked on someone his own size.” I felt so detached from my words, so lacking in emotion. It was like Frei had taken over the controls. I sounded so bored. I felt anything but. It ripped me in two just to think of it, of Jake, of the girls.
Jäger’s eyes filled with admiration and the side of his lips curled in a smile. It made me want to throw pickle juice in his eyes.
“I can imagine that you’re quite a challenge.”
I smiled at him. “Count on it.” I moved toward him and tidied his lapel. I was pretty sure Renee would either be proud of my attempted cover or tell me that I was being so dumb she was gonna shoot me. I was guessing the latter. “I like a man who can prove his worth.”
Go figure that. My mouth was on a roll. I wanted to crawl under the weird fluffy plant thing next to the door.
He smiled. “Look around you. There’s a lot of worth.” He held open the wooden door, “Principal” stamped in gold letters on it. “I look forward to seeing how you fit in.”
I strolled in and took in the large office overlooking a quadrant of buildings like the one we stood in. Frei and Smyth sat on either side of a huge desk as I stared out of the window. A huge tree grew in the middle of the fake green grass. There were three large blocks enclosing the quadrant. To the left was one that looked very much like any high school but with five floors if the windows were anything to go by. The building on the right was a gray stone block, some kind of weird geometric shape to the back of the building jutting upward. Maybe it was the art block or something, I didn’t know. Opposite me, beyond the tree was some kind of gym. I knew a gym when I saw one. Some kind of clock tower speared up from behind it in the distance.
Frei nodded to me, duffel bags at her feet, as I sat beside her and Jäger joined Smyth on the other side of the table. He didn’t sit th
ough, just stood there watching me.
“I want them as skilled as you can get them. A lot of buyers like to pretend that the recession is affecting them.” Smyth shot me an amused smile. “But I like to bleed as much as I can out of the tight fists.”
Undercover was way too hard. I chuckled, hearing the falseness of it. I’d end up punching him. I may even throw pickle juice at him too.
“Locks told me we’ll be pumping up the brats?” I glanced at Frei who remained silent.
“Yes,” Smyth said, placing his panama hat on the table beside him and unbuttoning the straining jacket. “Skill captains. Her old friend Sawyer is here, Jones too. Locks will take the ones Huber is interested in.” He glanced at me with glassy eyes. Had he started drinking already? “As this is your first experience, you get what’s left.”
What was left? I glanced at Frei. Her look said, “tell you later.”
“I’m sure you’ll find a potential Huber will enjoy,” Smyth said with a rakish grin at Frei. “Can’t blame him for indulging in your other skills,” he trailed his gaze over her, “but I do want to keep him happy.”
“And his eyes away from whatever you are hiding.” Frei smiled as I thought about knocking the leery grin off Smyth’s face.
Smyth wagged his finger at Frei, not noticing my scowl. “Now, now . . . you’re not here for that. He’s assigned you a teaching role.”
He sounded kinda scared of Frei. Whatever she’d said had put him back in his place. I wanted to high-five her.
Smyth turned to me. “For continuity, I propose that you be given a more manageable name.”
Because Alex Riley was so hard?
“Like?” Jäger said. His lips curled in that smile again and he was paying me way more attention than I wanted. I didn’t want another name.
“Oh, it would have to suit you,” Smyth said.
“Samson,” Frei said, turning to me.
I glared at her. Her eyes twinkled like she wanted to chuckle at me. At least it wasn’t “fists,” or “towerblock,” but seriously?
