by Kailin Gow
Except that the bodyguard doesn’t come out with some kind of weapon. Instead, he passes the senator a flat touch screen.
“What’s that for?” I ask.
Senator Hammond turns it so that I can see it. “Watch and you’ll understand.”
Images start across the screen, obviously taken from security cameras in the space they gave us to sleep in. There’s a section of me curled up on the couch with Grayson watching TV, looking like we’re a happy couple having a cozy night in together. Another part captures us kissing.
“Why are you doing this?” I demand. “That isn’t how it happened.”
Senator Hammond shrugs. “There’s more.”
The next section is from the bathroom. I almost know what’s coming before it starts. Grayson helping me. Grayson washing me when I can’t do it myself thanks to the cuffs. It looks… it looks like the kind of thing that would really hurt Jack. My face burns red just at the thought of it, with both embarrassment and anger. Embarrassment that someone was watching all through that. Anger that Hammond is planning to use it against us.
“You can’t send that,” I say. “Please don’t send it.”
Senator Hammond shakes his head. “I told you. I’ll do whatever I have to do.”
“But Celes didn’t do anything!” Grayson complains.
“She kissed you.”
“I kissed her.” Grayson shakes his head. “I made all the moves yesterday. Celes didn’t want anything to do with it. She’s with Jack.”
“Which is why he’ll come running,” Senator Hammond points out. He tosses the reader to Grayson, who catches it but doesn’t destroy it. “Ah, clever boy. The original is already on its way, of course.”
“But you can’t do this,” I say. “I mean, you’re running for president.”
For a second, just a second, Senator Hammond looks a little ashamed, but it doesn’t last. “How do you think people get to high office, Celestra? You think that any one of my political rivals would hesitate if they got hold of footage showing me doing something compromising?”
“But I’m not running for office. You just grabbed me and…”
“And with everything that’s at stake, you should be grateful I’m going for an option that doesn’t hurt anything other than your relationship,” Senator Hammond snaps. “All we do is send Jack this and he’ll hurry back. He won’t want to risk the possibility that there could really be romance in the air.”
I look at him, and for a moment or two, I hate him. Hate him for what he’s done, and for what that might mean for me and Jack. I’m curious too, though. “How can you know Jack that well?”
Senator Hammond hands back the screen to his bodyguard. “We watched you before we took you, and I’m good at judging people. I saw the way Jack looked at you.”
“You watched us?”
He sighs, shaking his head. “I said before, the Others and the Faders aren’t the only ones with an interest here. Frankly, I doubt either of them really knows how dangerous you are. How dangerous you could be, anyway.”
“And you do?” Grayson says, moving so that he’s between me and the senator.
Hammond nods. “The part they don’t understand is that what makes you dangerous isn’t your ability to burn people, or your speed. It’s far more than that.”
I gently move Grayson out of the way. I’m not going to let someone like the senator intimidate me. “You sound like you know a lot about me.”
“More than you could possibly know.” The senator’s expression softens a little. “But then, I had a better source of information than anyone else.”
I’ve only seen his expression go that way around one thing so far here. “This has something to do with Johnny,” I guess.
Senator Hammond looks a little surprised, but then nods. He makes a sign to one of his bodyguards, and the man goes to the door. It opens and Johnny runs in. He looks so excited to be there, though from the way he’s looking at the games console I guess he’s mostly just looking forward to another game of Battlewar with Grayson. Especially with the pleading look he gives his dad.
“Not right now, Johnny.” Senator Hammond looks at me. “Promise me that you’ll behave yourself, Celestra. Promise me.”
What? Does he really think that I’m going to do something to hurt a little kid?
“I’m not the one trying to wipe his memory,” I say, but one look at Senator Hammond’s expression tells me that he’s serious. “Okay, I promise.”
The senator looks around at his two bodyguards. “Out, both of you.”
“Senator…”
“Out. I understand the risks, and right now I’m willing to take them. What I’m not willing to risk is someone overhearing this conversation who doesn’t need to be here. So make sure that we aren’t disturbed for any reason. Understood?”
The bodyguard doesn’t look happy about it. I guess that he’s worried I’ll try to attack his boss without him there, but what does he think I’m going to be able to do with my hands in heat resistant cuffs and no way out of the room. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to people being that scared of me. Not the Others. Not Lionel’s group of Faders. Anybody. Still, the bodyguard nods eventually. He heads for the door with his colleague and they step outside, presumably to look menacingly at anyone who approaches.
Senator Hammond holds out his hand for his son, and Johnny steps over, taking it.
“Can I play now, Dad?”
“Not yet. I need to tell Celestra and Grayson here about what you can do.”
Last time we were here, the senator told us that his son had some kind of talent, but he didn’t give us any details. Now, with everything he has said, I can put the rest of it together.
“Johnny?” I say. “Johnny, how is it that you know all about me?”
“I saw you,” Johnny says. “I dreamed of you. I dreamed of you, and Grayson, and Jack. I dream lots of things.”
I crouch down so that I can look him in the eyes.
“You’re still tied up,” Johnny says.
I nod. “I guess your dad still thinks that I’m dangerous. What kinds of things do you dream about, Johnny?”
“He has a gift,” Senator Hammond explains, not letting his son answer. “Or maybe a curse. He sees things. Most of them come in dreams. At first, I didn’t think they were anything important, but then I read some of the intelligence reports about the Others and the Faders, and… well, there were too many similarities to ignore.”
“I saw stuff,” Johnny insists.
“I know that now, Johnny,” his father says, and he looks sad as he says it. Whatever Johnny has seen, it obviously isn’t good.
“So you’re saying… what?” Grayson says. “That Johnny’s clairvoyant?”
Senator Hammond shakes his head. “It’s more complicated than that. Clairvoyance would mean seeing things in other places, but Johnny does far more than that. We think… we know, that he sees other times.”
“He can see the future?” I say.
Senator Hammond nods, and at the same time, Johnny winces. He obviously doesn’t like being able to see it. That or he just doesn’t like what he sees.
“He has nightmares,” Senator Hammond says. “He’ll wake up screaming, sometimes. Or his head will start hurting, and he’ll panic, and he’ll start reacting as though things are going on around him. Bad things. Terrible things.”
I look at Johnny again. The little boy looks scared, as though he knows what I’m going to ask next. Maybe he does. “What do you see, Johnny?”
“I see you, and I see Grayson. Jack too.”
“Yes,” I say gently. “You told me that. Is this like a month from now? A year?”
“You’re kind of older,” Johnny says. “Not like my dad’s age, but still older.”
“So it’s a few years?” I ask.
The senator interrupts. “That’s where it gets complicated. We think from other aspects of the visions that what Johnny sees isn’t anytime soon. It’s the far futu
re, by which I mean thousands of years.”
“But I’m not going to be around in thousands of years,” I point out.
“You are,” Johnny says. “I’ve seen you.”
Senator Hammond nods. “And I’ve been able to confirm some of his other… experiences. What my son sees is real. Which is why I need him to forget it. There are some things he shouldn’t see.”
There’s something about the tone of that. Something that frightens me. It’s like the senator knows that something big is coming, and he’s terrified by it.
“What is it?” I ask. “Is it something I do? What happens?”
“It’s nothing you do,” Senator Hammond assures me. “It would be easier if it were. No, it’s something I do. Something that no son should ever see his father doing. He doesn’t understand it yet, but he will, and when he does, he’ll hate me.”
“So that’s why you want the fading machine?” I say.
Senator Hammond nods. “So let’s hope that Jack hurries up. For all our sakes.”
NINE
After that, the bodyguards blindfold us again to take us back to the apartment room. I guess it’s not as bad as the tiny cell we started off in, but even a nice prison is still a prison, as I’m reminded every time I try to use my cuffed hands. I look in on the bedroom, and I see that there are clothes laid out there. Senator Hammond obviously wants us to be comfortable. That, or he wants to make sure we look that way for Jack and his father when they come here.
It’s hard thinking like that. It’s hard being in the middle of a world where practically everybody is lying, and you don’t know who to trust. I mean, yes, that’s a pretty good description of the average school cafeteria, but the stakes here are a bit higher than whether the in crowd likes me.
“Fresh clothes?” Grayson says. “Great. In that case, I’m going to take a shower and get changed. These clothes have been through far too much in the past couple of days.”
That’s true. He wore them for the assault on the Others’ base, he was wearing them when I almost burnt him alive, and now he’s had them on continuously for at least a day and a half. Not that my clothes are in much better shape. Grayson grabs the clothes left for him and hurries off to take a shower, leaving me there to look through the rest of the clothing that has been laid out. There’s a nice silk dress for me that reminds me of some of the things I wore when I was modeling as part of my cover ID with Jack.
It isn’t long before Grayson comes out of the bathroom. And he looks incredible. His hair is still wet, and he’s wearing jeans. Just jeans, leaving his chest gloriously bare as he dries his hair with a towel. When did he get muscles like that? Somewhere in the last few months, it’s like someone has flicked a switch and he’s gone from “cute looking boy” to “muscular sexy man” just like that. He even smells nice. Clean soap smell on just washed warm skin.
Grayson smiles over at me. “I so needed that. I don’t know how you managed to stand being around me that long without a shower.”
“I must be used to it,” I say with a laugh. I pick up the dress left for me. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
I head into the bathroom with it, and start to get changed. There’s just one problem. I can’t get my existing clothes off completely. Not alone. Which means I’ll need Grayson’s help. Do I really want that, after the footage Senator Hammond already has? But then, what else can he do that’s worse? And Grayson has already seen me in my underwear. When we were together, as boyfriend and girlfriend before I was faded, he’s seen less. I make my decision.
“Grayson, I could do with some help in here.”
He’s still shirtless when he comes in. I hadn’t expected that, but it’s too late now to turn back. He helps me off with my current clothes, finally resorting to tearing the t-shirt when it won’t go past the cuffs. There’s something rough, almost exciting about that. He’s so close I can feel how warm his skin is. And his breath brushes slightly against my skin just so that it’s like a gentle touch. Thankfully, the new dress has straps that tie over the shoulders. Grayson steps behind me and ties those in place gently, his fingers barely brushing my skin. He zips the dress up slowly, but doesn’t make any move to step away from me.
Eventually, I have to turn around. I have to look at the broad expanse of his chest, and force myself to look up into his eyes. He’s so quiet as he stands there in front of me, barely touching, his eyes staring into mine. There’s so much desire there. So much need.
“Celes…”
He doesn’t say more, but just kisses me. That close, I can smell the scent of the soap he’s just used. I can taste him on my lips in the moments before his kisses drift down to my neck and I arch my back allowing him more access. His kisses down my neck becomes hungrier, and I pull him closer. I don’t even stop him this time, though I know I should. Then I came to my senses.
“Grayson, we…”
He stops that thought with another kiss, then pulls back. “You’ve said that I’m in your dreams.”
“Dreams of the future,” I say. “We’re both older, and you’re there beside me. Always there.”
“Dreams like Johnny has dreams?” Grayson asks. It’s such a deceptively simple question, but I don’t know how to answer it.
“You’re asking me if I see the future?” I ask.
Grayson shakes his head, running his hands through my hair. “I’m saying that if you do, and you see us together… well, maybe this is meant to be. You do love me, don’t you?”
He kisses me again, putting his arms around my waist and lifting me, carrying me back into the apartment’s bedroom. He tosses me lightly onto the bed, and I lay there, staring up at him. Am I really going to… are we really going to…
The door to the bedroom flies open so hard that the bang of it against the wall sounds like a thunderclap. I look around, and so does Grayson. When I do, all I can do is stare. Jack’s there. He’s there, in the doorway, dressed from head to toe in black, with a black suit, a black sweater under it… even deep black shades that reflect everything in the room without showing his eyes. Everything, including me laying there on the bed with Grayson half undressed in front of me. Jack’s expression loses its blankness for just a fraction of a second then, and what I see there hurts.
“So the video file was true.”
“No, Jack,” I say, scrambling to my feet.
“All the effort I’ve put in trying to find a way out for you without having to fade the kid, and this is what you’re doing behind my back?”
“It’s not what it looks like,” Grayson says.
I wince. No one says that, do they? Because saying that is almost like admitting that something happened. Except, what else can we say, because it’s really not what it looks like. I wouldn’t have let anything happen. At least, I don’t think I would.
The worst part is the way that Jack’s expression goes back to something blank and emotionless. He doesn’t react. No, that’s not right. He doesn’t show his reaction. Even so, I know how hurt he has to be.
“Come on, we don’t have time to talk about this. We need to get out of here, preferably before anyone gets hurt. Go past me and head down the hall. There’s another Fader there who will show you the way out.”
That’s so brisk and businesslike. Pure Jack. Grayson grabs a shirt and puts it on before heading past him. Grayson stares at him for a second or two, but in those shades Jack is wearing there is just his reflection, and Grayson goes. I know I should do the same. I stand up and start to hurry out, but Jack puts a hand on my arm, taking off the sunglasses so that I can see the pale blue of his eyes. I’m expecting hate there. Anger. Not the love that fills his expression in that moment.
“I wish I could have gotten here sooner,” Jack says.
I swallow. “Jack…Gray and I…”
“Later,” Jack says, cutting me off. Somehow, I don’t think he means it. He doesn’t want to talk about this. Not now. Not later. Not ever.
“Jack…”
“My
priority is to get you out of here safely, Celes. We need to focus on that, and I can’t do it if we start talking about what happened here.”
“What about Johnny?” I find myself asking.
“Johnny?”
“That’s the name of Senator Hammond’s son,” I say.
Jack shrugs. “He’ll be safe now. Hammond can’t fade him without our help.”
I shake my head. “It isn’t that simple, Jack. He has a talent. A talent like ours. Well, more like yours. He can see the future.”
“Like I do?” Jack sounds surprised by that.
I shake my head. “Johnny can do much more than that. His father says that he can see things in the far future. Like thousands of years. That’s why he wants to fade him, to get rid of that gift.”
Jack looks at me. “He can really see that far ahead?”
I nod. “We have to get him out too. His father’s determined to fade him so that he won’t see something he does in the future, and it’s obviously big, whatever it is. Johnny might be able to tell us what is going on.”
Jack pauses, and I know that he’s trying to work out what to do.
“Please, Jack. He’s just a kid.”
Jack nods. “All right. I’ll try to find him and get him out.” He pauses. “I missed you, Celes.”
“I missed you too. Jack…” I go to kiss him, but he holds me back with his hands on my arms.
And through that moment of contact, heat pours into me. I’ve felt this once before, in the Others’ headquarters. There’s something about Jack’s touch that resonates with the power inside me, driving it to levels I simply can’t manage alone. I look down at the handcuffs designed by Senator Hammond’s scientists, and they melt. They simply melt. All that heat resistant material gives way in the face of our combined power like it’s butter.
I know I should run down the corridor then to join Grayson and the Fader assigned to getting us out, but I can’t. I was attracted to Grayson just now, but he isn’t Jack. We don’t have this kind of connection. There’s something more between the two of us. Something that makes me more just through his touch. And I love him. I love him so much that I’d do anything not to hurt him.
