Burn Out (Cape High Series Book 21)

by R. J. Ross

  “Sí, por supuesto! They are all very interesting!” he says, grinning widely.

  “Not THAT sort of interesting,” I say, laughing. “Never mind, next time I want to be at that dinner.” I turn back to the ice cream, which is starting to melt, and dig in. “Vinny had everyone lined up like soldiers before the meal was done,” I complain. “He didn’t even TRY to do it, it’s like he’s got a built in cheat ability. And I still don’t know what to do about Davis. He’s not a bad boy, not deep down!”

  “You have told me,” he says as we battle for the last of the ice cream with our spoons. “But Technico has offered to take him to his branch.”

  “He did?” I ask. I didn’t realize that.

  “Tal vez… he could keep a better eye on him?” he offers. “Century wishes to speak to your teachers about it.”

  “Century would toss him over at the drop of a hat,” I say, irritably. “We all know what his uncle did to Skye. And… well, I understand why he would do it, but Davis has been doing really well at the school! He’s starting to get along with all of the other kids, even Treble! I have trouble getting along with Treble,” I admit. “Treble’s a pain.”

  “Sí, sí, mija, I have heard,” Papa says. “But Technico has not offered to take Treble.”

  “He could have him,” I mutter, pulling out my phone. “I’m going to call Nico,” I say as I head for the front room. We really need to bribe one of the Superiors to come in and turn our walls into screens. I’m not bad with machines, but I’m not a technopath. I specialize in energy manipulation, as does Papa.

  “Hey, ‘Princesa’,” Nico greets me, a wicked little grin on his face. It catches me off guard. If I didn’t know better, I would think he was flirting. “How’s our Pelican de Incendio doing down there?”

  Oh… that explains the look. I groan. “It’s already viral?” I dare to ask.

  “Does it need to be viral for me to see it?” he asks, on the verge of laughing. “That was brilliant. The kid’s never going to live it down.”

  “You should delete it, viral or not!” I say. “But that’s not why I called you.”

  “Oh? What did you call me about? Want to move back up here? I’ve got a few new toys that would work perfectly for you.”

  “No, I’m staying here, and so is Davis!” I say. “Nico, he was doing so well with the group, up until they stole his technology. And I admit what he did was wrong, but he was the one that figured out a way to stop them so easily, too! He just needs to feel more secure—”

  “Jimmi,” he says, holding up a hand to stop me.

  “And I think he’ll find it here! He’s doing so well with the gaming—”

  “Jimmi,” he repeats, in a firm tone. I stop, reluctantly. “I did offer to bring the kid up here. Zoe thinks he needs to be watched as much as you do, and you know how she is. But, unfortunately, neither of you are going to get him.”

  “Wh—what?”

  “His mother’s put in for his transfer. This time she’s brought in several lawyers, stating that extraordinary intelligence doesn’t have anything to do with being a super,” Nico says. He doesn’t look happy. “Sunny says it’s probably… well, that’s got nothing to do with us, anymore.”

  “What? So you’re just letting Davis leave?” I ask.

  “I am, because their norm lawyers came knocking, our lawyers answered, and Century signed the documents. According to the legal system, Davis will not be officially recognized as a super by the Hall until he’s of legal age. His mother wanted it to be a lifetime, but we have very good lawyers. The only reason they got what they did is because of how the Hall feels about letting super children live as norms.”

  “Why would he do that? He can’t do that!” My voice rises as I lose my temper. “Davis needs to be in our school! He’s making real progress there!”

  “All he’s doing is learning how to manipulate my system to his own benefit,” Nico says. “How else do you think he burnt out all that tech in one sweep? And honestly? They have a solid argument. Oh, sure, we read the super level energies and know he’s a cape, but they haven’t. All they see is a really smart kid, and we all realize that norms have a huge leg up on intellectual matters compared to supers.”

  “Just because we play stupid does not make us really stupid!” I protest, but I see where he’s coming from.

  “And do we really want them to realize that?” he asks. “But Jimmi, you know as well as I do that we don’t tend to depend on our brains, as a whole.”

  “No… more on our hard heads,” I admit, sighing. “So you’re going along with this just to get him away from your tech?”

  “I would have happily brought him up here where I could yell at him for messing with it before things get out of hand, but this is the next best option,” he says.

  “You can’t tell me that he won’t be causing havoc out in the norm world, just as well as he did here!”

  “I can’t,” he says. “I look forward to it.”

  I stare at him. He’s looking over my shoulder, so I’m pretty sure Papa is listening to this call, as well. “You WANT him to do something!” I accuse him. “You want to show the world that Cape High is here for a reason!”

  “Well, you’re partly right,” Nico says. “I don’t really care if they think Cape High is useful or not. I just want to see them realize that there’s something to the title of ‘super kid.’”

  “Well, I don’t care,” I say. “I was making headway with him! He was becoming part of the group! If he has the stability of friends that accept him, he’s less likely to get into trouble.”

  “If you really feel that strongly about it,” Nico says, “then you figure out a way to get him back into the school before he takes over the country.”

  “He’s a twelve-year-old, Nico,” I say.

  “And?”

  “He would start with the financial aspect, first,” I say. “He isn’t stupid, he knows they wouldn’t look fondly on a twelve-year-old president, tyrant or not. Besides, finances can all be controlled from the other side of the screen.”

  He starts laughing. “You’re definitely going to be one of my next Hall Leaders,” he says. “Once you’re ready, I’ll work out a post-graduation program for you like the one I’ve set up for Max. I look forward to it.”

  I give him a dirty look, because we all know how much running around Max is doing. “I never accepted the position of future Hall Leader,” I tell him. “Vinny can have it.”

  “It’d cut into his cooking time too much.”

  I… have no argument for that, and he knows it. “Well, Century will be around for a long, long time, and then Papa can take over!” I say.

  “I am not much younger than Century, mija, I would like to retire some day, as well,” Papa says, washing the now-empty bowl and spoons. “You will be a wonderful Hall Leader, someday.”

  I groan, dropping down on the couch and looking up at the ceiling. After a second, though, I shrug it off. I’ll find someone that can do the job sooner or later! “Hey, Nico?” I say.

  “Yeah?”

  “Can I get a list of single female supers? Papa needs to get back into the dating scene,” I say, even as Papa chokes on nothing in a dramatic fashion. “They need to be someone nice, of course, and like spicy food!”

  “I can get you a list, but the whole food preferences, well, that might be pushing it a little.”

  “I was thinking someone nearby, too,” I admit. “That way they don’t have to fly all over the place just to get together for drinks.”

  “Got it,” he says.

  “Jimena!” Papa says, “This is not something Technico needs to be involved in!”

  “He has access to all the files in the Hall, Papa! He’s the perfect person to give us some inside information!” I say, grinning. Okay, this is FUN. “Oh, but isn’t Prisma single? I know she’s got a daughter, but Elidee isn’t that terrible. I wouldn’t mind a sibling!”

  “Prisma refuses to leave Central,” Nico says
. “Trust me, I’ve heard all about the offers she’s gotten from other HTV channels. Her boss comes over for dinner at the apartments on a regular basis and brags about it. I’ll send you a list in a little bit.”

  “Gracias, Nico,” I say with a wave before hanging up. “We need to go clothing shopping!” I say to Papa, who sighs, looking extremely pressed-upon.

  “Shouldn’t you have homework?” he asks, a bit desperately.

  ***

  Davis stares at the empty suitcase on his bed, wondering why he’s so reluctant to fill it. He’d only wanted to come here to get away from his uncle, but that uncle had actually been a crazy planet in human form, and is now out of the picture, right? So he should be fine, now. His mom wants him back, and she’ll put him into a college somewhere, and he’ll be right back on track to becoming a billionaire by the time he’s twenty. That’s what he wanted, right?

  There’s a tap on the door and he looks up, wondering who’s bothering to come. “It’s not locked,” he says, not bothering to lift his voice. They might not be that smart, but their senses are far greater than his are, in general. The door opens slowly and Marisol peeks in.

  “Are you really going?” she asks. Of the group, she’s the closest to his age. For that reason, she seems to look up to him, the most.

  “I can’t keep up with the rest of the class in anything except the academics,” he says, unemotionally. “The training is too hard for me, and let’s be honest, here, the level of education is severely lacking. The history books are in comic form, Marisol. It’s like they’re not even trying.”

  “Yeah… I guess that’s true,” she says. “But we have a real history book, too, you know.”

  “And we barely cover that, except knowing just enough to pass the SATs,” he says. “There is so much more that I could be learning at another school.”

  “But…”

  “But what?” he asks. “This school doesn’t help me in any way.”

  “You like the computers, though, right?”

  He goes silent, looking at the wall with a hint of wistfulness on his face. “The technology is… adequate,” he admits. It’s more than adequate, actually. He’d been learning so much just from being here, just from seeing the system that the technopaths had put together. “But that’s probably why they’re willing to get rid of me so quickly,” he goes on.

  “I don’t think so,” she says. “I mean, you still have access to it, now, right? This is because your Mom wants you back.”

  “I lost access to a few things,” he admits, with just a hint of sheepishness.

  “That’s because you blew up the computer chips that were keeping the Petleaves from rampaging,” she points out.

  “Yeah,” he says, “but it was never their tech to begin with!”

  “But it kept the planet safe,” she says. “Your technology could save the world, Davis!”

  “Or destroy it,” he says.

  “Well… yeah, or destroy it,” she agrees.

  “Not without the satellite access that the technopaths built into the system,” he admits. “Of course, I’m certain I could…” he stops, shaking his head. That’s a dangerous topic to discuss when they’re probably being recorded from the hallway. “Either way, I’m going home, and then probably off to college.”

  “Will you… will you at least call?” Marisol asks. “You can still play the Technico game with us, right?”

  “They’ll want their phone back, so probably not,” he says. That sucks. One of the best things about being here was that he finally got to play video games. He’s GOOD at video games. And the Technico game isn’t like one of those NPC filled ones, either. The people that they go up against are doing what they do best, just in digital form.

  “Maybe they’ll let you keep it if you ask nicely?” she offers.

  The wall lights up, and they both jump slightly as Technico appears on the screen. “You can keep the phone,” he says. “Marisol, can I speak with Davis alone for a bit?”

  “Ah, yes, of course,” she says, looking at Davis hesitantly before running out the door. Davis stands there for a moment, wondering if he’s going to be scolded for what he did.

  “So,” Nico says, “we have some things to discuss before I send you out into the field.”

  “Out into—” Davis repeats, his eyes widening.

  “Do you really think I’d just let you go this easily without an ulterior motive?” Nico asks. “You made a mistake, kid. We both know that. Now, I expect you to make up for it.”

  “Oh… that. Well it was partly their fault, you know. They did a crappy job of ripping off my tech,” Davis says.

  “Of course they did, they were looking to make a quick buck, not build a masterpiece. For such a smart kid, you’re surprisingly naive.”

  Davis scowls, and then looks at the suitcase one more time, his mind listening to his heart, for once. If it’s “going out into the field” that means he’ll be brought back when it’s over, right? “How do you plan on getting me back?”

  “I have your stats. If your mother doesn’t accept that, I’ll just take it to the courts. I’d rather not, because honestly I prefer you not being registered until you absolutely have to be. The norms have access to our super identities and which Hall territory they’re in, and with just a bit of looking, they’ll find out who you are. There aren’t that many twelve-year-olds with IQ’s like yours in the world, much less in South Hall. Unfortunately, your mother liked to enroll you in spelling bees when you were younger… three years old, wasn’t it?”

  “I was four. What do you want me to do?” he asks quietly.

  “You’re about to meet your father,” Nico says, shocking Davis, “and I need you to find out exactly what he’s up to. Of course, you might suddenly decide that you owe him more loyalty than you do me, but that’s a chance I have to take. But before you decide anything, let me tell you exactly who he is, or at least what we know so far.”

  “I’m listening,” Davis says, sitting on the bed. “Of course, I’ll need to verify anything you tell me.”

  “I’m sure you will,” Nico says with a little smile.

  CHAPTER TWO

  I wake up at five in the morning, because lately I’ve needed less and less sleep. That, and I want to make sure my makeup looks good for today. Oh, sure, we don’t have school, but that means Vinny will need to be shown around, and—

  Oh, wait, I think, sitting up abruptly. I need to speak to Davis before he leaves. I have to tell him that I’m going to do everything I can to get him back into our school. I don’t want him feeling abandoned! He’s one of the loneliest guys that I’ve ever met, you know? He doesn’t seem to realize that fact, but it’s so obvious. I have to get to school before he leaves! Oh, but it’s five. He won’t be leaving this early, right? I get out of bed, stretching and heading for the bathroom to get cleaned up for the day.

  “¡Mija, ven a desayunar!” Papa calls out as I finish dressing a little while later. I use my energy to dry my hair, watching it float in the mirror for a moment before running a brush through it and applying my makeup.

  “Coming, Papa!” I call out, remembering all the times I ignored when he called me to breakfast in the past. I make a face at myself before I shake it off. The design on my phone is blinking, showing that I’ve gotten a message. I grab it and start flipping through my things before stopping on the list Nico sent me. For a long moment I stare at it, shocked.

  “Is there a problem?” Papa asks.

  “How did I not think of that?” I say. Well, she’s older than I was originally thinking, sure, but so is Papa…

  “What is it?” Papa asks.

  “Um, nothing,” I say, turning off my phone and setting it on the table next to the front door. “Let’s eat! I want to go over to school and talk to Davis before he leaves, and then I was thinking of showing Vinny around. Do you think he’d like to meet the Nemeses? And we should probably go visit Skye and the girls, right? Do you want to come along?”
/>   “Hoy estaré ocupado,” he says a bit sadly. “I have a job scheduled.”

  “Hall work or your other job?” I ask.

  “The other job,” he says.

  “Eww,” I say, making him laugh. “You don’t expect me to do that when I graduate, do you? Because that’s just icky.”

  “It would be good,” he says, “but I will not force you, princesa. It is, as you say, extremely icky.”

  “Maybe I can figure out how to do it in a less… hands on sort of way,” I say, still not about to jump into the muck that Papa goes into on a regular basis. I have enough body parts that glow, already, thank you. “So will you be home in time for dinner?”

  “I should!” he says.

  “I’ll cook!” I say, finishing off my food and going around the table to kiss his cheek. “I might bring home a few people, okay?”

  “Claro que si princesa,” he says. “The more, the merrier.”

  I’m grinning all the way to school. Yes, there’s a chance they won’t get along, but hey, we have to start somewhere, right? I land in front of the cornfield, only to stop as I see the car parked in the street. I narrow my eyes as I see a man step out of the driver’s seat and go around, opening the passenger door for a woman to get out. The man looks at me, and I know exactly who he is. He looks just like how I would picture Davis looking as an adult. He doesn’t say anything, though, instead the woman starts waving at me a bit wildly.

  “Hello! Yes, you! We’ve come here to collect my son,” she says, moving as quickly over to me as she can in heels. The ground here is dirt and rock, so I’m sort of worried about her breaking an ankle. “His name is Davis,” she says a bit breathlessly as she reaches me. “He doesn’t belong here.”

  I look over at the man, who’s coming over at a much calmer pace. “What my fiancée is saying is that we would appreciate it if you would let us onto the campus to help him collect his things,” he says with a smile.

  There is no way in Hell that I am letting this man into my school. I can see the energy that’s flowing through him. He’s not a norm. Well, I think a second later, that’s pretty obvious, considering Davis, isn’t it? The whole drama of that internal declaration is just wasted. Oh well, either way, not a chance, mister.