It took him a moment to understand everything she’d said. “You’re asking me to prom? Shouldn’t I be the one to do that?”
Nia and Dallas both exchanged a glance before Nia groaned, and Orlando knew that wasn’t the right thing for him to say.
“Normally,” Tait said. “That’s what I would have expected. Since I’m the one who messed things up, I decided to be a big girl and do it myself. We talked about going back into it slowly. How about an actual date? As friends, just to see how it goes.” Their conversations like this were the kind of thing he missed the most. When she seemed normal. We didn’t break up under normal circumstances. Dallas might be onto something about why I can’t let her go. When we’re just a guy and a girl, I still care too much.
“I...” He wasn’t sure how to respond. The perfect opportunity to test his feelings had arisen, and he wasn’t sure if he could take it. A date to spend time alone with her, real time alone, would allow him to talk to her more and see if he could figure out what was going on inside of her head better—to see if she had actually changed after the rehabilitation. He’d also be able to see how deep his own feelings ran. If he cared out of friendship, or out of more. Prom is huge, though. It’s not exactly a casual outing.
Her breath quickened on the other end. “Oh no, it’s too soon. I’m pushing for too much.”
“What? No, not exactly,” he said. “Let’s do it. I’m pretty sure I’m still free that night.”
“Really? Is that a yes?”
“OMG Yes!” He pretended to squeal like a girl, which of course got him a peculiar stare from Dallas. Nia fake gagged in disgust. “Though I’m disappointed because this is nothing like a marriage proposal.”
She laughed, and it was a beautiful sound. One of the things he’d always liked most about her was her ability to not take herself too seriously. “Guys get so much credit for coming up with those elaborate surprises when they ask a girl out. I’m still shaking with nerves.”
“Welcome to our world. It never goes away,” he said.
“Good to know.” She was quiet for a long time. “We can talk about details later. My mom just came in and needs me for something, sorry.”
Funny, I didn't hear her on the other end. He shook his head. No, I need to give her the benefit of the doubt. “That’s fine. I’m in the middle of something anyway. I’ll talk with you soon.”
After they hung up, he let out a deep breath. “Don’t. Say. Anything.”
“Wasn’t going to,” Dallas said, holding in a laugh. “You’re right, you do have no room to judge me with how crazy your relationships are.”
“That’s saying something,” Orlando warned.
His friend offered him a hand to help him off of the couch. “I hope you get whatever answer you’re looking for by doing this.”
“Yeah...” Orlando stood up, ready to get back to work. I hope so too.
Nia pointed a finger at him. “You are an idiot.”
He rolled his eyes, grabbing a full trash bag to toss down the chute in the main hall. Tell me about it. One date. It’ll be what I need to finally confirm what I need to know. Then I can move on. For real this time.
Chapter Eight
“Any side effects?” The man asked, helping JD settle into his medical chair.
JD shook his head. “Nothing is happening, and I mean nothing. No powers, no sign of any changes, period.”
“You’re a frustrating case,” he marveled.
I’m sure I am, JD thought. “Any idea on how to progress?”
“It’s going to involve a scan of your brain to be sure, but I might have some options for treatments.”
“Cool.” JD knew working with The Doctor was a bad idea. But was Alan helping him unlock and understand his powers? No. “These things take time. Some people don’t ever come into their hidden abilities.” It’s bogus! With all the individual time he gives everyone else, he could spend some time on helping me find what is blocking my powers from manifesting. I wonder if he even cares. Maybe, but only because if I had some kind of ability I’d probably be a lot more useful on missions. Then I wouldn’t get tasked with stupid side stuff and so much pity.
The Doctor offered him no guarantees, only numbers and facts pointing to evidence that his drug worked a lot better than whatever device Alan had used when it came to unlocking his “hidden potential”. Unfortunately, the drug also had side effects, and usually they weren’t pleasant or tolerable ones. Except in the case of Angela. She didn’t have any problems. The hope was that their shared genetics would inspire similar results from JD taking the drug as well.
Even after the injection, JD still couldn’t do anything special. After two injections, in fact. He’d gotten both the base shot as well as the mysterious upgrade The Doctor kept trying to stick into Angela. She’d been through enough, which was another reason JD decided to offer himself up in her place. Regardless of how annoying she could be, he loved his sister and would do anything to keep her safe from harm. The party where she’d first been attacked had traumatized her. She might deny it, but he could tell. Any time the event was mentioned, her eyes grew a little bit wider and her hands a tiny bit sweatier. He never wanted her to know such deep fear ever again.
“Yes...cool,” The Doctor mumbled as he moved about the lab. “The sooner I can figure out what you do, the sooner I can put you to use as per our agreement.”
The agreement. In return for sparing Angela from the treatments, he was to give The Doctor one year of service, no questions asked. The only thing he wouldn’t give The Doctor was information about his tribe. JD might be viewed as a traitor if the others found out, but he would never sell them out. His lips would remain shut, which should have said a lot about how loyal he was to Alan and his friends since he had a hard time keeping quiet, normally.
JD’s work for The Doctor would, most likely, involve a number of errands and physical tasks. That still remained to be seen since those jobs were contingent on whatever his abilities were. As much as JD wanted to be a superhero, he also wasn’t in a rush to begin actual work for The Doctor. Mostly because he wasn’t sure what all the man would request. There were still plenty of horrible things JD could do. It’d been The Doctor who gave Bean and Sprout the orders to kill teens, who experimented on them against their will. The drug he was developing was the thing actually killing people, and he still went on with all of the testing. He didn’t seem to care at all. What if the same would be required of JD? He pushed that thought out of his mind, or rather, the thought faded from it because he felt his brain begin to go fuzzy.
“Doc, my head is tingling,” JD said.
“Because I’m looking at it to see where in your brain the controls are for what you do.”
“And?”
“I got nothing.” He sighed and walked about the room.
The tingling sensation left JD. “Seriously?” Nothing? Am I defective?
“I’m disappointed, too. Back to the drawing board. Next time.” The Doctor tapped his pen against paper. “There are still plenty of theories to test out. I’m not giving up on this, on you. What we discover is going to be a major breakthrough for both Alturans and Earth people alike.”
Cool. I’ve always wanted to be a part of something big. Fighting in the war itself fit that description. The way The Doctor talked about his research, it sounded like something that might be put in textbooks. “When do you want me to come back?”
“You’ll know. Time to go back to reality.”
“Huh?”
The Doctor snapped his fingers.
And then JD was in his car, getting ready to drive home from his study session with Miranda. He remembered nothing of his visit with The Doctor. Man, I’m always so hungry after I leave her place.
Chapter Nine
“Hi, I’m Stas, how can I help you today?” the young man behind the counter said in a forced chipper tone.
Angela swallowed. Why did he look so familiar? Dark, tousled hair, lean build, a handful of
years older than her. She’d seen this guy before and she couldn’t put her finger on where. He didn’t seem to recognize her at all, so that was a plus; otherwise she’d have been even more embarrassed. Being seen with Giddy could potentially be social suicide for me. I’m so glad hardly anyone from school comes out here. He’s a nice guy, but s-o awkward!
“Y-yes, I’m here to get my tires rotated,” Gideon said. “S-S-Shmidt.” His hand shook as he handed over the keys to the family SUV.
Ugh, he’s going to give us away if he keeps acting this nervous. I knew I should have made him let me do all of the talking. But n-o! “It’s my car, so I can handle it.” Clearly he can’t. Unless he thinks Stas is going to recognize him? She frowned slightly, studying the young man’s face for a moment as he took the keys with a smile and walked toward a wall on the back counter to hang them on a hook. The guy was either a great actor, or she and Giddy were being overly paranoid. Angela was leaning toward the latter. Don’t let him get to my head. Even if I’ve seen him before, he wouldn’t know me because of the masks we wear. They protect our identities.
Angela knew for a fact she’d been careful. Only her team had seen her remove her mask, so only they could see all of the details of her person when she wore it. Just relax, or we’ll definitely have our cover blown.
Stas typed a few things into his computer. “It’ll be about an hour. Do you want us to drop you off back at home or are you going to wait here?”
“We’ll wait here,” Angela said, not wanting to risk Gideon having a meltdown in the middle of the lobby. She nudged him in the side. “You can buy me a pretzel next door for taking me on such a boring date.” I can’t believe I’m doing the girlfriend thing. At the same time, I’m not sure we look enough alike to be cousins. Only a girlfriend would put up with this.
Gideon let out a pathetic sounding, “Okay.”
“We’ll give you a call when it’s done then,” Stas said. He glanced at Angela, no doubt wondering how a guy like Gideon ended up with someone like her. Giddy dressed in plaid button downs over old t-shirts and ratty old jeans. For him, the style worked. The shaggy dark blond hair falling over his eyes screamed out nerd, not mystery, however, and in high school the nerd didn’t date the cheerleader too often.
And Angela always dressed the part of the popular girl that she was. Her family might not have had the money for all of the fancy designer labels, but she could still rock a tight mini skirt with the best of them. Some of the girls in her school might have sneered behind her back, but it still didn’t change the fact that she was well loved all around. Her natural charm drew people in, another trait she and her brother had in common. Unlike her brother, however, she wasn’t able to land a date. Mostly because JD made it known he had no issues with laying down the law on any guy who might break her heart.
Gideon and she were from different worlds. If he’d learn how to chill out and be himself, he actually wouldn’t be so bad to hang around with. Almost dateable, but… She chewed on her lower lip. He’s not like Orly. Her heart was set on the one guy she couldn’t have. Story of my life.
She grabbed Giddy by the arm and dragged him out of the shop, waving. “Thanks!” Once they were out, she let go and glared at him. “Are you trying to be any more obvious?”
“N-no! I just...wasn’t expecting him to be right there, checking us in, and...” He swallowed. “I did get his imprint, so that’ll help me figure out which phone is his. Something else was different about him. Almost like there was another computer around.”
“There was the one at the counter,” she pointed out.
“I mean...this is going to sound crazy, but inside of him? It was complex, bizarre... You probably think I’m nuts.” He shook his head.
She pursed her lips together. “Yeah, I kind of do, because people don’t have computers inside of them. It’s kind of physically impossible.” Only it’s not…I’ve met a guy who said he had a computer inside of him once.
Angela gasped, everything coming into place. She wiggled where she stood, excited and scared all at the same time. “Oh wow, just...wow...”
“What?” he asked.
“Inside,” she said and pulled him into the deli next door. They found a table toward the back. The place was practically empty outside of a few customers drinking coffee by the window. She took in a calming breath and then said. “Drone. He’s Drone!”
Gideon raised an eyebrow. “Who?”
She sighed. “He’s one of Jaes’s charges...I think? Anyway, I met him, and he took off his mask and showed all of us who he really was on this mission a few months back. It was crazy! We had to find some kind of artifact called the Locust, or whatever.” She waved a hand. “Point is, he and I got to spend some time together and he told me all about his power. He can’t feel pain and somebody decided to put a computer inside of him because of that, and he gave himself the nickname of Drone. I knew he was familiar and now I know why!”
“He’s a cyborg? But if he works for Jaes, that means he’s good, right?”
“Not if he’s helping Sprout!” She flailed her hands. “This is wild!”
Gideon winced and looked around the cafe. “And you’re worried I’m going to give us away? Calm down!” He lowered his voice. “Maybe he’s working undercover? Or it might just be a coincidence that he knows Tait. She’s popular and pretty and—”
“Yes, I know, she’s perfect,” Angela grumbled quietly. Even more popular. Taller. Blonde! All the things I’m missing, she’s got them. “Anyway, we won’t know until we get in his phone,” she said. “Think you can do it from here?”
He nodded. “I-I...think so. It’s not too far away for me to find. Right now I can feel every cell phone in the strip mall, and almost all of them within a mile if I pushed hard enough. Can you get me an iced tea, a soda, and a muffin?” He handed her a twenty-dollar bill. “Then you can get whatever you want with the rest.”
“Sure.” She gazed down at the money in her hand. It was nice of him to offer to pay. He didn’t have to do that, fake date or not.
Angela assumed he needed her to get those things to help fuel his hacking skills. She wasn’t sure what kind of energy he expended whenever he used them. I wonder how the whole thing works, exactly. How he can sense machines…It’s got to be something that’s turned on all of the time, or he wouldn’t have noticed Drone worked here. Drone! I never thought I’d see him again after that night. A shiver ran down her spine as she remembered all of the strange, creepy, things he said to her. He hit on me. And his powers…the way he talked about the work he did…there was a bitterness in his voice. He said the government made him into a machine, abused his ability. Almost like it ruined his life. That bitterness might have been enough to make him turn on his team. Giddy might have wanted to believe the best in the guy, but not her. Didn’t he have a crazy sister too?
She shook her head and approached the counter, letting her mind wander toward what kind of muffin she wanted to eat; or did she want a scone? Yum! They’ve got soup too?
“Can I help you?” the teenage boy behind the counter asked.
Slowly, she lifted her gaze, all the while pursing her lips together as she went over all of her options. The young man stepped back, his dark, almond shaped eyes briefly going wide.
“What?” she asked. Is my make up all messed up? Do I look like a troll? Or maybe he’s stunned by my beauty. Without thinking, she ran a hand through her dark curls, flustered at the idea of any guy finding her so attractive.
He swallowed and regained his composure, also putting a hand through his black hair. “Can I help you?” he repeated, ignoring her question.
Angela shrugged. “I need a soda, two iced teas, a blueberry muffin, and a slice of the cinnamon coffee cake, please.”
The young man stared at her, unmoving.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Angela peered at the name on his tag. “Is there a problem, Nathan? Because you keep giving me this weird look and I’m confused.”
“Is tha
t for here or to go?” he asked, again, blowing off her inquiries to gather her requested items.
People in this town are weird, she observed. “Here…please.”
“Any sweetener in the tea?”
“Yes,” she said, though she wasn’t sure if Giddy actually liked that. He didn’t specify, so he got to suffer the consequences. With all the other sugar he’s loading up on, what’s a little more?
Nathan handed her the drinks. “I’ll bring the food over once it’s been warmed up.”
“Thanks,” she said, juggling all three beverages in her hands. Once again, he stared at her rather than moving to do his job. “I know I’m cute, but you’re being rude.”
He quickly turned on his heel to go toward the bakery case. “It shouldn’t take longer than a minute.”
With a shake of her head, she made her way back to the table. When she got there, she found Gideon with his head down, hiding his face behind his hands, and she was pretty sure his eyes were closed. Nothing about his positioning looked comfortable to her. For a moment, all she did was watch him. Every so often his fingers would tap or slide across the table and she wondered what all he could see when he closed his eyes. She didn’t say anything in case she broke his concentration and quietly set his two drinks down in front of him.
“I have his phone,” he said quietly. “Shouldn’t be too hard to peek into since he’s not using it. I—”
“Hey, Gideon,” a voice said from off to the side.
Giddy’s head shot up and he nearly spilled the drinks in the process. Angela had just enough time to steady them before sitting down across from him, her gaze not leaving their interrupter, Nathan. He held their food in his hands and the same weird gaze she had been given at the counter was now being projected onto Giddy instead.
Fortified Page 8
