Angel Eyes

by Nicole Luiken

  I saw wariness in her black eyes—good, she ought to be afraid of me—followed by spite.

  “Dear sister!” Devon exclaimed, opening her arms to embrace me.

  Mike stepped between us. “Stay back, you little viper.”

  Devon widened her eyes, feigning hurt. “You wound me.”

  “Can it,” I said flatly. “All the spots on these two rafts are taken. I can’t stop you from inveigling a place on the other rafts, but keep far away from us or I will take you out.”

  Devon nodded meekly.

  Mike’s lip curled. “If you attack us, Catherine will kick you to the curb. You’ll be cut off from Gabriel.”

  Devon and Gabriel were staying with Catherine? Given her mandate to shelter the violet-eyed, that made sense.

  Devon tossed her black hair. “Catherine likes me and she’s fair. She won’t blindly take your word over mine.”

  Mike leaned forward. “Oh, yes, she will. Know why? Because she’s my mother.”

  My ears rang, and my jaw loosened in disbelief. Mother, not wannabe mother or even surrogate. Mike had always been so insistent that Catherine was just a random crazy woman and had nothing to do with him. Something must have changed while I was going through the Cull.

  Glad tears stung my eyes. I’d been hoping Mike would open up to her.

  “You don’t have a mother,” Devon said confidently. “None of us do.”

  “Surrogate, but relationships are by choice, aren’t they?”

  Devon’s eyes narrowed. I hoped I never looked that calculating.

  Abruptly, I didn’t want to spend another second talking to her. “Come on, Mike, time to board.” I touched his arm.

  Water was lapping over the railing, just little splashes now, but soon it would be a torrent. Raft two had already paddled ten feet away. Ron, Tad and two other carpenter helpers crouched on raft one, their weight spread out.

  I climbed onto the slippery railing first, then stepped across. Once on board, I braced my legs and held out my hand to Mike. He clambered aboard, moving clumsily, muscles obviously still stiff from his immersion in the cold water.

  I sat beside him and put my arms around his waist, trying to gauge how bad his shivers were. “Paddle,” I told the others. I really didn’t want to end up washed over the bow railing—

  Slam! Devon jumped onto our raft, making it dip and rock dangerously.

  She grinned from where she’d landed on hands and knees at the edge of the raft, one boot toe dipping in the water.

  Her insolent expression ignited my anger like a blowtorch. She’d tried to kidnap Maryanne, framed me, drugged Mike and sold him to hate-crimers. I kicked her elbow. Her arm collapsed, and I put my shoe and against her shoulder and shoved. “Get. Off. My. Raft.”

  She appealed to Mike. “Make her stop!”

  Instead Mike joined in, pushing on her other shoulder. Her knees slipped off, and her legs splashed into the water. She shrieked at the coldness and tried to scramble back on. I kept up the pressure.

  “What’s going on?” the other players demanded.

  “After what you did to Vincent, you deserve much worse than a VR death,” Mike said coldly.

  “I didn’t have a choice.” Devon bared her teeth. “If I hadn’t fixed the device, they’d have hurt Gabriel. Vincent’s not dead, just sleeping.”

  Mike hesitated as if he’d decoded some secret message in her words, and one of the VR players whacked Mike’s back with his oar. “Leave her alone!”

  Ron looked back and forth, clearly uncertain who to support. Tad hunched deeper into his collar, peaked cap pulled down over his eyes, unwilling to take sides.

  I yanked the paddle away from the VR player, then focused on Mike. “Well?”

  He sighed. “Her methods suck, but she has valid reasons.”

  I inhaled sharply, feeling as if I’d been stabbed. How could Mike take her side? What could possibly justify what she’d done? Hurt, I nevertheless allowed Devon to drag herself back aboard. Balefully, I watched her shiver and hoped she succumbed to hypothermia.

  Ron cleared his throat. “Uh, not that this isn’t fascinating, but shouldn’t we be doing something?”

  “Keep paddling,” I ordered him. “When the Titanic goes down, it may create a whirlpool. We need to be out of suction range. Head for one of the lifeboats if you can, so we can tie up together.”

  That was all the attention I had to spare for the NextStep scenario.

  I turned to my clone. “Tell me what’s going on right now, or I’m pushing you overboard,” I said flatly. “From the beginning.”

  She folded her arms, black eyes glaring.

  Mike spoke for her. “The coma her partner’s in isn’t natural. It’s some kind of VR-induced variant. In return for selling us out, Nations Against offered her a wake-up code. Only, of course, it only worked for about five minutes.”

  I directed a withering stare at my clone. “You couldn’t see that one coming?”

  “Of course, I knew they’d cheat!” she snarled. “But I was desperate. I needed to see Gabriel wake up so I could figure out how to do it on my own.”

  “And how’d that work out for you?”

  “I need more time,” Devon said sullenly. “I almost had it.

  Anger burned through me. “You risked our lives for nothing. For an obvious ploy.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. Like you were ever in real danger. I gave you plenty of warning that Nations Against was at the Harvest Fair. If you’re half the hot-shot operator everyone thinks you are, you had no trouble evading those losers.” The bite in her voice spoke of envy.

  I remembered the bullet flying over Mike’s head on the Harvester ride and my palm itched to slap her. She’d risked our lives over a stupid case of sibling rivalry.

  “Please, can I push her overboard?” I appealed to Mike.

  “She was trying to save her partner,” Mike said quietly.

  “How can you defend her?” I asked incredulously. “She nearly got you killed.” An unforgivable offense in my book. When I thought about how it could have happened—Mike truly dead under that blood-stained sheet—my stomach clenched, and I tasted vomit.

  He glanced down at his hands, then looked up. “I’m defending her because she’s like me. I’d kill to save you.”

  “Kill bad guys in self-defense, maybe,” I retorted. “Not set up innocent people.”

  He gave a short, painful laugh. “You don’t get it. You’re all I have. I’d turn her over to them in a heartbeat to save you.”

  It took me a moment to respond. I was touched that I meant so much to him, but I still wanted to shake him. “First of all, I’m not all you have. You have friends and Catherine on your team and always have. Second, you claim you’d betray her, but in reality you’d come up with a better way.”

  He shook his head, unconvinced.

  I tried a new tack. “You said she attacked Vincent?”

  “Yes. With a bit of VR code: a dog that turned into a wolf.”

  Just like the snake. Interesting, but not relevant. I leaned forward. “And what did you do when she attacked Vincent? Stand idly by?”

  He frowned. “No. I called off her dog, picked her pocket and threw away her little device, but I was too late to save him.”

  I focused on Mike. “You don’t even like Vincent, yet you risked having her turn her device on you to save him. So don’t tell me how ruthless you are. I won’t believe you.”

  Mike blinked, a flummoxed look on his face.

  I squeezed his hand, feeling a rush of exasperated affection. How could he not know such a basic thing about himself? I blamed Betty Vallant. In protecting himself from caring about his avaricious so-called mother, he’d convinced himself he had a heart of stone.

  “You shouldn’t have thrown away the coding device,” Devon said, glaring. “Thanks to you, I’ve accomplished exactly nothing this trip. I have no proof as to who the hacker responsible was or who’s secretly funding Nations Against,” D
evon complained. “And now they’ll probably give Gabriel more convulsions.” She wiped angrily at the tears running down her face.

  Mike shifted his legs. He’d always hated tears.

  “You told me the hacker who’s most likely responsible is already in jail,” he said. “You have time to collect proof.”

  I froze while my brain made several lightning-fast connections. A hacker, who was already in jail, who hated the violet-eyed.

  Tad. Tad, with his mysterious internet access even while in jail; Tad, whom Ms. Rodriguez hadn’t wanted to release; Tad, who hated everyone. It hadn’t occurred to me that he might hate me in particular.

  No wonder he’d been no help with the snake.

  Anger shook me. I took care not to meet Tad’s sullen gaze, smiling at Ron instead. “You ready to take a break from rowing? Switch with me and I’ll take over.” Ron and Tad sat at the far end of the raft.

  But either my poker face wasn’t as good as I’d thought, or Tad had just been waiting for the right moment, because before I could move, he plunged his hand into his pocket. He pulled out a black square that looked suspiciously like one of Ms. Rodriguez’s missing electronic card games—now reprogrammed, I assumed. “Keep back, or it’s LaLaLand for you, too!”

  Mike tensed, but both of us stayed where we were. If we tackled him, we’d flip the raft.

  Get him talking. Keep him from pressing the button.

  “Gerry told me once that you had a long name,” I said casually. “I should’ve listened. What’s Tad short for? Or is it your middle name?”

  “My name is Tadzhikistan.”

  “You!” Face twisted with hate, Devon lunged forward. Mike stiff-armed her shoulders and forced her back. The raft rocked.

  While Tad was focused on us, Ron reached in from the side and neatly plucked the modified game from Tad’s fingers. He held it over the water. “Stop! Angel, what’s going on?”

  “Tadzhikistan is a code name,” I told him. “It identifies Tad as belonging to a hate-crime organization called Nations Against. They’re responsible for putting a boy named Gabriel into a coma and have attempted to assassinate me and Mike and Devon.”

  Ron frowned. “Why are they after you?”

  I hesitated, and Tad beat me to the punch.

  “Don’t you know what they are? Look at her eyes. They’re violet.” Loathing filled his voice. “All three of them are genetically engineered. They call themselves super-human, and they think they’re superior to everyone else. They want to rule the world.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Oh, please. Ruling the world would be way too much work. I just want to run my business in peace.”

  “Leona and Vincent want to buy their own island to get away from people like him,” Mike said softly.

  “So they claim,” Tad sneered. “But here they are, competing with us normals, even though the contest is clearly unfair, instead of holding themselves aloof.”

  “Says Augmented Boy,” I said under my breath.

  Ron shook his head, nose wrinkling in disgust. “She didn’t have to include you or me on her team,” he told Tad. “She would’ve had a better chance of winning without us. She saved me from the snake while you stood idly by. Yeah, I think I know whose side I’m on. And it’s not yours.” Ron’s gaze met mine. “What do you want me to do with this?” He held up the former card game.

  “Give it to me,” Devon said, edging forward. “It’s proof.”

  “No, give it to Angel,” Mike snapped. “I don’t trust you.” He shoved her shoulders again. She shrieked and pushed back.

  The raft rocked wildly, and Tad used the distraction to seize Ron’s arm.

  “The device!” I yelled.

  Mike released Devon and went for Tad, punching him in the face.

  Blood poured from Tad’s nose, but he grinned in triumph, thumb jabbing the button marked Deal on the device.

  The VR world flickered, pale sunlight and balmy warmth replacing the cold starry night. The ocean warmed to blue. Then the Titanic scenario snapped back into place.

  A Great White shark jumped out of the water, its gaping jaws displaying row after row of dagger teeth. Before I could scream, it bit down on Mike’s arm and jerked him overboard.

  Chapter Twenty

  ANGEL

  I lunged at the space where Mike had been, making the raft quake alarmingly and a cold wave slop over one corner. I didn't care about tipping the raft or if we all drowned according to the stupid NextStep rules. I only cared about one thing: Mike.

  While Devon and Ron wrestled with Tad for the device, I peered over the side, desperately searching for any sign of either Mike or the VR shark. But they’d vanished into the inky darkness. Gone.

  My head seemed to implode. My lungs seized in my chest and my throat hurt. No. I wasn’t going to lose him. Not happening. I pounded the raft with my fist, then climbed to my feet.

  “Stop her!” Devon yelled.

  Ron grabbed my knees, preventing me from diving overboard.

  “It’s too late. He’s gone,” Devon said harshly.

  “No. This is the NextStep, not just VR,” I argued, trying to fight free. Tears stung my eyes. “Mike’s physical body has to be here, probably only a few feet away.”

  “There!” Ron released my legs and pointed at a gleam of white. “I see him!”

  Mike’s body floated facedown a meter away.

  My heart lurched. It’s not real, I chanted. He’s not dead. He’s just in a coma like Gabriel. The NextStep safety protocols won’t let him drown.

  We paddled over to him, then pulled his limp body aboard. No X’s over his eyes; it was still Mike, not a VR replacement body. Blood seeped from a row of punctures in his shoulder. I checked for a pulse, but couldn’t find one. He’s still alive, it’s just the VR.

  Tad laughed somewhere in the background, and I heard a slap. I didn’t look up.

  I removed one of my VR ear implants, probably incurring a penalty, but I didn’t care. I laid my ear against his chest. Yes. There was his heartbeat. The reassuring lub-dub let me breathe again.

  I was tempted to remove one VR contact lens, too, but refrained. The disorientation would put me at a disadvantage in a fight and they required a technician to put back in.

  "I’m sure he’s fine," Ron said awkwardly. "As soon as the scenario ends and we exit back to the real world, he’ll wake up."

  Devon laughed bitterly. “He’s in a coma, just like Gabriel. He’s gone and all the screaming and crying in the world won’t bring him back.”

  Her words made me frantic. I wanted to shake Mike’s shoulders, scream at him to wake up, but since Devon was there, I couldn't. I had to be calm and practical. Logical.

  Smarter than my clone.

  I stalked toward Tad, making the raft shudder again. “You’re going to fix this.”

  “Want me to break his arm?” Devon offered. “Like you said, this is his real body.” In that moment she didn't seem like an interloper; she seemed like reinforcements.

  I kept my attention trained on Tad's face. He couldn’t run in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. But then Tad was proving to be full of surprises.

  Unwisely, Tad chose to brag. "He’ll sleep forever."

  "Bring him back now."

  Tad sneered in answer.

  "Where's Mike?" The longer Tad didn't answer, the more unhinged I felt. As if inside me the little springs and gears that kept me functioning were sproinging off in all directions. I felt capable of doing anything, no matter how awful, to get him back.

  Something in my face must have shown my desperation.

  “Keep her away from me.” Tad retreated to the edge of the raft.

  “You should never have attacked Mike. You should’ve taken both of us out at once.” I glided closer.

  “Why didn’t he take you out earlier?” Dev asked unexpectedly. “You’ve been in the scenario together for hours.”

  “He tried once. A snake attacked,” I said shortly. Except it had attacked Ron. No,
it had brushed by me first, then gone for Ron. There must be some way to tune to device to a specific person… Maybe the snake had been confused by the fact that I’d been wearing Ron’s shirt.

  Devon wasn’t impressed. “Only once? Why didn’t he try again?”

  Good question. My eyes narrowed, studying Tad. Why hadn’t Tad sicced some other VR creature on me? He’d had plenty of opportunities.

  Tad’s gaze shifted, unable to hold mine. A flush tinged his cheeks. Ah.

  “Did I confuse you, Tad?” I asked sweetly. “You were expecting someone arrogant that you could hate and instead you got… me. A pretty girl who was nice to you.”

  Embarrassed silence.

  I tried again. “You’ve told me numerous times that you don’t understand me. I don’t behave the way you think I should, do I?”

  I knelt beside him, my gaze limpid. “You tried to hate me, but you can’t, can you?” I crooned, cupping his cheek instead of scratching his eyes out. Patience. “Nations Against lied to you. I’m not your enemy. Look at the evidence. I’m helping you pay off your debt. What has Nations Against ever done for you? Left you to rot in jail?”

  His expression darkened, filling with the anger that made Tad who he was. I just had to direct it at another target.

  I drew on Tad’s bookshelf of Westerns for inspiration. Did he see himself as Flint, a long gunman protecting the innocent? “You’re not like them,” I told him, filling my voice with conviction. “They’re dry-gulchers who gun people down from ambush. It’s not too late. You can still be the hero. Just tell me how to save Mike.” I held my breath. I almost had him, I could feel it.

  His expression froze, a deer in the headlights. Then he blinked. Shook his head. Suspicion reared its ugly head. “You’re trying to trick me.” He pulled my hand away from his face.

  Frustration made me wild; I drove my palm up into his chin. His jaw clicked shut. I fastened my hands around his thick neck. “Bring him back,” I ordered, teeth gritted.

  “Can’t.” The smug look on Tad's face made me want to squeeze and squeeze. “He’s trapped forever.”

  Cold chills washed over me. “Ron, the device.” I held out my hand, and he laid the former card game on my palm. “You’d better be lying,” I told Tad. “Because you’re about to join him.” I pressed the device to his arm, triggered it and stepped back.