by Jody Klaire
“You must have been pretty mad at Jed when you’d gone to all that trouble to get a bike for your escape and he went and trashed it.” I lifted up her chin. “Kid, there ain’t a whole lot you can hide from me.”
She stared up at me and smiled. “Miroslav said you were special. He said . . .” She glanced around her. “He said you see things.”
I could see why Frei liked her. She was impetuous at times but cute. “He’s right. I’m different. Fire her up.”
Jessie slouched on over to a box fixed onto the back wall and pulled out a key. “Helmet is in the locker. It’s got gas and is ready to go.”
“Frei?”
She smiled.
Frei. “Good. As long as this baby is ready for action.”
Jessie put the key back. “None of the other vehicles work. Just the bus and the dirt bike.”
“You’ve been busy, huh?” I walked with her to the bus. “Let’s lock up and get going before Jäger thinks I’m abducting you.”
She raised her eyebrows.
“Trust me, you really don’t wanna know.”
Chapter 46
THE STAFF WITHDREW to their private rooms and villas as long lines of cars snaked their way into the school grounds. They parked up in front of the main building on a patch of dirt that didn’t have turf on it. It looked too messed up to plant anything, even fake grass. Still, it was good for a parking lot but I worried they would block up the roadway from the garage at the rate they were pouring in.
Guards directed them over to that patch and they parked up on gravel, dirt, grass, and any space available.
As I stared out the window, I thought about how I’d spotted Owens slinking out of Jäger’s office earlier in the evening. It didn’t look like she’d had a happy chat with him either by the way her aura fizzed. However much I weren’t fond of her, I decided to stay out of her way. Besides, by the look in her eyes and judging by her obsession with Renee, I wasn’t sure if I was in the mood for that kind of argument.
Renee offered me a smile and we’d stood in silence in an unused reception room with the students.
The theatre was in the center of the main building and our “small” reception room was about the size of the gym.
Energy crackled all around, like the tension had turned into an electrical storm of some kind. The folks getting out of the cars didn’t seem very fond of each other. Competition was on.
“There are a lot of buyers,” Renee whispered as we stood away from the students. “Where do all these people come from? Why hasn’t anyone stopped them?”
“From what I am gathering, they got friends in places that keep prying eyes out.”
Renee scowled. “Despicable. What right do they think they have?”
“Because we’re so open with the folks we meddle with?” I smiled at her. I was teasing but she was so easy to wind up.
Renee stuck her nose in the air. “We are nothing like them.”
“Nope, we just kneecap people and knock their teeth out.”
Renee snorted with laughter, her nose crinkled up and she touched my hand as she sucked in the air.
A jolt of static shot up my arm and I cocked my head. “Ah, so you can feel.”
Renee turned back to the window. “Side effect. Whatever you did in St. Jude’s left a trace of your abilities with me.” She shrugged. “I thought I was losing it.”
“But?” It explained her out-of-control behavior. I felt irritated with myself for not spotting it. I should have known. Me, of all people, should have seen it and helped her.
“Nan . . .” She shook her head with a quiet smile on her face. “She told me it won’t last for very long.”
I frowned. “That’s the second time you talked about her. You seein’ spirits now too?”
Renee’s shy smile made me pull her to me and hug her. “Sorry I laid that on you.”
She nestled into me. I could feel her bullet-proof vest and gun under her jacket. I hoped she wouldn’t need either.
“It feels good to be close to you,” she whispered. She rolled her head to look at the students who were shooting glances at us. Even in spite of their worries, they could still gossip. “I know that I’m getting to share a part of you no one else will.”
Jäger caught my eye through the window. His eyes narrowed as he spotted Renee cuddled in. Then he nodded, our signal to take the students to the theatre.
I held onto Renee a few extra moments, soaking up the safety of it. “You weren’t kidding about the whole sharing thing, were you?”
She leaned up and kissed me on the chin. Then she ran her hand through my hair and tucked it behind my ear. “Not in the slightest.”
The show must have been for Jäger’s benefit as he stomped off. Renee had a satisfied glint in her eyes that made me chuckle. “Think he got the message.”
“Good.” She squeezed me once more and let go.
I turned and faced the students, who really were gawking now. “Let’s roll, folks.”
They all met my eyes and nodded one by one. Resolute. Courageous. Focused.
I smiled at Renee. “Ready to save more people from the bad guys?”
She bumped my arm. “You save them. I just do the knee-capping.”
A chuckle rumbled its way out of my lips as I led the way to the theatre.
“If it makes you feel better,” I whispered to Renee, bumping her hip as we walked, “I wouldn’t want to share you with nobody else either.”
RENEE AND I lined up with the kids on stage, Owens scowling off to the side. I spotted Huber wander in from the back. The buyers filled the large theatre which Renee told me looked like a lecture hall in her old college. She’d purposely told me it. She’d listened to what I’d said about not knowing much about her. It was nice she’d cared enough to listen.
Either way, as we stood there, I weren’t feeling much comfort from it. The buyers were all eying the students like they were meat. They were eying each other like they might start brawling any second. The sooner we got the students away from this place, the better.
Jäger presented each kid as Smyth rattled off if they had passed and their level. That one was new but I figured it had to do with pricing. Miranda stood up and was a level three. Another way of saying that she was worth megabucks.
Most of my group was level one. Jed, Jessie, and Miroslav made a respectable level two. Why I was proud of that, I didn’t know, but I was. Kevin, who was still in confinement, had been declared a level three plus in his absence. It showed where the buyers’ hearts lay.
Nice folks.
Huber sat alone, without Frei, and my eyes kept drifting to his. I hoped that she was okay. I hoped that he wasn’t gonna switch sides on her.
“Now, after a short play from the group who will be on stage next year, we will have a performance of J.S. Bach’s Chaconne from Miranda.” He beamed her way like he cared. “I believe the performance has an exciting twist.”
Owens’ blank look made me smile. That was my cue. I stepped forward and cleared my throat.
I weren’t used to people. I weren’t used to that many people. I didn’t plan on ever getting used to it either. “Thought it would be fun to give her a challenge. In fact, I wanted her to work for it. I heard you folks like a duel.”
The crowd murmured in response. Excitement rippled from them. Owens fixed me with a glare.
I smiled at her and turned to Smyth. “But I’m gonna keep you in suspense. You ain’t finding out who the challenger is till later.”
That earned me applause and made my knees wobble. Renee’s hand on my back calmed me enough to slot back into the line. She didn’t need to whisper her support, her gesture radiated gentle reassurance. A connection beyond words.
Owens looked at Renee, then me, and folded her arms. I fought the urge to poke my tongue out at her.
“Wonderful!” Smyth clapped his hands. “Then, let’s get down to it.”
Owens should have been the one to lead them off. One staff member
had to stay on stage but I strode past her, Renee with me, and we led them all off into the backstage area. I heard Owens mutter my way before taking a seat to the side of the stage. It would keep her out of the way while we worked.
Renee pulled her earpiece out from somewhere south and plugged it into her ear. “POIs are in place.”
I heard a faint crackle and Renee nodded up at me. “Frei is in position.” She turned to Jessie. “Go do your thing.”
Jessie nodded and sprinted off.
“You ready?” Renee asked me, her focus oozing Commander Black, so much so I got goose bumps looking at her.
“Beat you to the bus,” I mumbled, trying to find the same conviction.
Renee had the most dangerous job of all. She had to smuggle the kids out through the building, out across the quadrant to the garage. She was the finest protection officer, I knew that, but . . . well . . . I worried.
“Please stay safe. I can’t fix you and I can’t bear—”
She put her finger over my lips. “I’ll be fine . . . and thank you.”
“For what?”
She leaned up and kissed me on the cheek, her eyes twinkling. “For just being you.”
With that she was gone. I took a breath and turned to Miroslav who grinned at me.
I was glad he looked more confident than I felt. “You got everything ready?”
“Right here.” He tapped a box beside him and wagged a finger at me. “Stay clear.”
I chuckled in spite of the fact my heart was sprinting so fast I felt giddy. For once it had nothing to do with him.
Everyone was in position.
Owens shot orders at the kids onstage, her temper fizzing around her, and they started their play.
“Here goes nothing,” I mumbled to myself, heading to the violin and pulling it out of the case. It was Miranda’s spare.
All we had to do was pull off her miming, rescue a load of students, bankrupt the bad guys, and get out before anyone noticed.
Easy . . . right?
Chapter 47
RENEE PEEKED HER head around the corner and breathed a sigh of relief. She needed to do a dummy run of the escape route to make sure nothing essential had changed. The theatre was in the main building. She exited out through the backstage door into the main hallway and headed down the empty corridor. Several offices were on either side, including both Jäger’s and Harrison’s.
She noted every one of them was in darkness and tested them as she walked. All locked. She glanced up at the camera. Frei had looped a twenty minute stretch of video to cover her. Still, she wasn’t keen on relying on technology.
At the south exit, she stepped out into the howling wind of the quadrant. She would be glad when they left here. She was sick of the wind. It gave her earache. Caprock winds gave Colorado a run for its money.
The quadrant was silent. She looked southeast between hers and Aeron’s buildings. There was a guard post there. She pulled a small rifle scope from inside her jacket and put it to her eye. He was inside, feet up. Good.
She snuck eastward along the building. Every office window was dark. Second floor windows had several lights on. The staff who catered for the vice principal and ran the school were still working.
Jäger. The man made her skin crawl.
Just concentrate. You don’t need to think of him drooling over her.
She scowled up at the windows. Most had curtains or blinds drawn. It would still be best to keep close to the wall in case. She glanced west at Sawyer and Jones’s buildings. They lay in darkness. Sawyer was in the theatre. Jones hadn’t returned from the canyon.
Her own building on the east had two lights glowing on the third floor. She placed the scope to her eye. Two cleaners, a maintenance man. She’d need to watch them. “Urs, you know anything about the general staff?”
“Don’t trust them, over.”
All she needed to know. Renee reached the corner and peeked around. A second guard house stood at the front of the main building. It normally held three guards. She peered through the scope. One inside, one walking in the direction of the main building. The other headed east toward the boys’ dorm. Her route.
“Guard on the east dorm could be a problem,” she whispered into her mic.
“He’ll turn and walk to your position before turning back.”
Renee backed up and kept herself pressed to the wall. If he noticed her, she’d be getting air. For now she would act like she had one of the students with her. How observant was he?
The guard turned as Frei said because his footsteps echoed, growing louder. She pocketed her scope and waited. He stopped with a scrape of heavy boots.
Her heartbeat thudded a slow steady rhythm in her ears.
His footfalls echoed again and faded into the distance.
She breathed out a sigh of relief.
She ducked out and crept along the path to the dorm, dipping into shadow as the guard reached the main building to turn. It would be close every time. She hurried along the darkened path beside the boys’ dorm and reached the corner. She hurried through the shadow to the back door of the garage and tapped once before opening it up. Frei and Jessie stood waiting.
“Five minutes. You need to be quicker.”
Renee raised her eyebrows. “Not with scared teenagers in tow, I won’t be.”
“Good point.” It was Frei’s way of teasing her. She stood in full black-ops gear. Only her eyes were visible. Jessie was in a matching outfit.
“We’re heading to the cars. Keep an eye out for Owens.” Frei tapped Jessie on the shoulder. “Let’s go.”
“How will you keep out of sight?” Renee knew all the cars were parked to the northwest of the main building on a floodlit stretch.
“Skill,” Frei stated. “And dust.”
“Huh?”
Frei tapped her mouth. Both she and Jessie looked to have filters in place. “It’s Caprock. A dust storm.”
“But . . .”
Frei gave a thumbs up over her shoulder as she and Jessie walked out of the garage.
Renee rolled her eyes. “At least someone is prepared.”
She turned and headed back out into the night. Dust storm, right.
Frei was just kidding, right?
URSULA WAS IMPRESSED at how Jessie was coping, considering so much rested on her, the girl had remarkable composure. The wall of dust swept toward them and she gave the thumbs up to the kid. She’d found Jessie the best filter she could. It was inbuilt and essential with Jessie’s asthma. She was carrying emergency pumps in a few pockets too.
Ursula pulled on her goggles and made sure Jessie’s were secure before the dust roared into them. As she’d calculated, visibility dropped to less than a few feet. Perfect.
They crept through the dust without running into any trouble. The guards had taken cover in their huts. That left them to walk unhindered to the cars.
Ursula touched her mic. “You take the left, I’ll take from the right, and we’ll meet in the middle.”
Jessie gave another thumbs up and Frei watched her scurry off before pressing the button on her watch and activated the scanner app. The alarm light stopped and the headlamps flickered on.
Ursula couldn’t see the main building and was certain it was mutual. She popped the hood and pulled her tools out. A car couldn’t move without a battery.
Chapter 48
RENEE COUGHED, SPLUTTERED, and her eyes watered as she bent over in the hallway. There was no way she could get any of the kids to the garage without them keeling over. She opened her mic. “Please tell me you have some way I can breathe out there?”
“Box next to the door. Three masks. Have the kids return them at the garage.” All said like Renee should know.
“Where near the door?” She scanned around, confused.
“Above it. Next time, drink less, listen more.” Frei cut the channel and Renee sighed.
Point taken.
She eyed the box, remembered the position, and hurried to the
theatre.
Backstage, Aeron was tuning the violins. She glanced up and smiled. She was nervous.
“Mud pack looks good on you.”
Renee sneezed in response.
“You got a better way or should I rename you Dusty?” Her weak joke didn’t hide the wobble in her voice. Renee smiled at her.
“People?”
Aeron nodded. “Guess I’m more Serenity upstairs than I realized.”
“It’s stage nerves. You’ll be great. Performers class them as a good thing.” She hoped it helped. After so long locked away, Renee would have been more shocked if Aeron didn’t have issues.
“It’s more the people . . . I don’t know why. Just that many folks freaks me out.”
“Remember the baby steps, okay?” Renee squeezed her arm. “Concentrate on the process.”
She nodded to the three girls from Aeron’s group, Ty, Jane, and Leigh-Anne. The order had been arranged by conditions, worst problems first. All apart from Miroslav.
“Blood sugar?” Renee asked Ty who mumbled that she was fine.
“How are you feeling?” she asked Leigh-Anne. If she had a fit at any point on the route, they were in trouble.
“Took my meds. I’m fine.”
Renee turned to Jane who smiled up at her. She understood sight problems, understood how difficult they made things. “Keep holding onto me, okay?”
Both Ty and Leigh-Anne held her hands for now but Renee would take over outside.
Renee touched Aeron on her hand and leaned in. “You can do this, I believe in you.”
Aeron’s eyes filled with hope. “Glad you’re about, doc.”
Renee nodded and took the girls. They headed out into the hallway.
No one around.
They hurried along, the offices still closed, still in darkness. She stopped them at the door and pulled down the box.
“Put these on. Make sure they’re secure. Dust storm.”
All three did as told. Once checked and Renee had her own mask on, she opened the door.
They disappeared into the dust in front of her as Renee shut the door behind her. She caught up to them and took Jane’s hand. They headed along the same route. There was no need to worry about the windows. She checked her pistol. She felt a wave of tension. If she had to use it, it was there. That’s if it worked in the dust.
