Bait and Switch

by MC Lee

  There was no sign of Freya or Leo in the lobby. Anderson stopped just inside the doors, close to the ticket desk. Jack wasn’t sure whether he felt better or worse that some of the people milling around were clearly civilians. It was easy to separate them from the operatives. They were totally focused on themselves, unaware of anything around them. Jack found himself envying their sheltered oblivion. He had rarely had the luxury of turning off as completely as these people seemed to have done.

  When the door to theater two opened, Jack tensed. He took an involuntary step forward, only stopping when Anderson wrapped a hand around his wrist and tugged him backward. Leo walked out beside Freya, his head bent toward her, with a concerned look on his face. Freya looked decidedly ill, and Jack grudgingly admired her performance. If he hadn’t known differently, he’d have sworn she was about to throw up.

  He wondered if Leo was surprised when Freya glanced in his direction, then suddenly straightened, the color rushing back into her pale face. Leo turned his head, his eyes immediately finding Jack’s, and despite his considerable training, Jack read his confusion.

  “Jack?” Leo walked forward, stopping a few feet away when he caught sight of Anderson. “What’s going on?” He moved instinctively to stand in front of Freya, protecting her from what he still thought of as her enemy.

  Jack was watching his face when Freya said, “Thanks for coming, Jack.”

  For a moment the confusion deepened, and then Leo’s expression suddenly shifted, becoming carefully neutral in the blink of an eye. He turned his head, stepped away from Freya, and repeated his question, this time to her.

  “What’s going on?”

  “They’re working together,” Jack said. “Freya isn’t Ryan’s target, she’s his accomplice.”

  Leo sucked in a sharp breath, the only outward sign that the news had any effect. “Working together to what aim?” he said.

  Freya smiled. “Why don’t we grab a cup of coffee and talk it over?” She turned toward Leo and held out her hand. “If you don’t mind, I’ll just hang on to your phone for a while.”

  “And if I do mind?” Leo said grimly.

  The smile slid off Freya’s face, and she snapped her fingers. Immediately, a man and a woman materialized. Where they had once blended into the crowd so easily, now their fixed expressions and taut bodies told a different story. They didn’t have to show their weapons for Jack to know they were armed. He had grown up around people like this, as had Leo. They both knew what they were dealing with.

  Leo fished his cell phone out of his pocket and handed it to Freya, and the two backup operatives faded into the background again.

  The friendly smile returned to Freya’s face. “Starbucks okay with you? No, wait. I’ve been dying to try the new fair trade coffee place in the mall. Yes?”

  “Do we have a choice?” Leo said tightly.

  “Well, if you prefer Starbucks….”

  “I’d prefer to walk away,” Leo said.

  Freya’s gaze swiveled between Leo and Jack. “You can leave if you want, Mr. McCormack,” she said. “Jack is our main concern.”

  Jack grabbed Leo’s arm. “Go,” he said urgently. “Get out while you can.”

  Leo shook him off. “Not happening.”

  “You know the protocol,” Jack hissed. Leo was supposed to leave, alert the backup team, and then send a message directly to the Center. It was precise, straightforward, with absolutely no room for interpretation.

  “Fuck the protocol,” Leo said distinctly. “I’m not leaving you.”

  “Jesus, Leo. Sean will crucify you.”

  “I’ll take that chance,” Leo said. He threw up a hand when Jack opened his mouth to protest further. “This discussion is over.” He turned toward Freya. “Let’s get on with this. Tell us where you want to go.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  THE TWO cups of coffee sitting in front of Jack and Leo remained untouched, neither of them being in the mood to pretend this was a social occasion. They were sitting in a booth in the small, recently opened coffee shop in the north wing of the mall, boxed in by Freya and Anderson, with at least two of their operatives trying to look inconspicuous in seats by the door.

  “What’s this about?” Jack asked. “Because whatever you think I can do for you, you’re wrong. I don’t know a goddamned thing. I’m of absolutely no use to anybody.”

  Freya raised an eyebrow. “You’re a highly skilled agent with exceptional talents.”

  “All of which belong to the Center,” Jack said.

  “They don’t own you,” Freya retorted. “The thirteenth amendment outlawed slavery over a hundred and fifty years ago. I guess news travels slowly at the Center.”

  “So you’re here to liberate me?” Jack jeered.

  “Something like that,” Freya said.

  Jack exchanged a startled look with Leo. He hadn’t said a single word since walking into the coffee shop. He’d simply listened intently as Jack explained that far from being a target, Freya was running her own operation, with the help of Ryan Anderson. Leo nodded curtly several times during the explanation and grimaced when told how they had used him to lure Jack here.

  At Freya’s cryptic comment, Leo turned his head and stared at her. “Jack isn’t a prisoner. When he turns eighteen he can make his own choice about whether to stay or leave the Center—”

  “That’s your story, Leo,” Freya interrupted. “It isn’t necessarily Jack’s. He has a different narrative, don’t you, Jack?”

  Jack dropped his gaze when Leo turned a curious look his way.

  “Why go to so much trouble?” he asked quickly, trying to refocus attention. “You could have grabbed me anytime in the past week.”

  “That’s not what this is about,” Freya said. “We want you to come voluntarily—”

  “Not happening,” Leo said implacably. “Now, tell us what the fuck is going on.”

  Freya ignored him and turned to face Jack. “We want to tell you a little something about your uncle.”

  Jack didn’t need to be looking at Leo to know how that piece of information landed. The atmosphere in the booth changed so dramatically, it felt like an electric charge running through the air. He ventured a glance at Leo, who was looking at him through narrowed eyes.

  “I guess you didn’t tell your boyfriend what you found out about your family,” Anderson said.

  “What Jack chooses to share is his business,” Leo snapped.

  “We didn’t need the drama,” Freya said, answering Jack’s question. “This way is so much easier. Besides, we’re sure you’ll be interested in what we have to say.”

  “What could you possibly say that I’d want to listen to?” Jack asked.

  Freya shrugged. “How about everything you haven’t been told about your parents?”

  OUT OF habit Jack surveyed the coffee shop as Freya and Ryan rose to move to an adjacent booth, far enough away that they wouldn’t overhear Jack and Leo’s conversation but close enough to keep tabs on them as they talked. He spotted at least two escape routes, one through the mall entrance and the other through a door that looked out over the parking lot. He was unsurprised when Freya’s backup team moved into position to block both exits.

  “How much do you want to tell me?” Leo’s quiet question refocused Jack’s attention. His voice and posture were tightly controlled, and it was difficult to read what was going on behind his brilliant blue eyes.

  “It’s what JD Dawson found out when he hacked my file,” Jack said. “My guardian….” He cleared his throat of sudden dryness and tried again. “He’s my uncle. Michael Palmer. My father’s older brother.”

  The air between them suddenly seemed to crackle, and Jack’s gut clenched at Leo’s stony silence, until he realized Leo was only waiting for him to continue.

  “Michael was married to my mother. She fell in love with his younger brother, John. They escaped the Center to be together.”

  Jack dropped his gaze, resisting the urge to squirm i
n his seat. He’d been unable to pry any further information out of Freya, no matter how hard he pushed. She had deflected every question, while being unexpectedly discreet about what she already knew, as if sensing how little Jack had disclosed to Leo. He jumped when Leo’s warm palm covered the back of his hand, a subtle but effective show of support.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before—”

  “Don’t!”

  Jack was caught off guard and raised his head.

  Leo attempted a smile. “You and I didn’t have the easiest start,” he said softly. “I don’t blame you for not completely trusting me—”

  “That’s not it,” Jack cut in sharply. “It’s not a matter of trust.” He glanced away, wondering even as the words came out of his mouth whether they were completely true. Trust had to be cultivated, nurtured. At some time in his life, all the people who were supposed to be there for him had let him down or manipulated his inexperience. He couldn’t deny that Leo had been one of those people. “It’s a matter of wounded pride,” he admitted, feeling like a fool. “The only family I have in the world and he can’t stand the sight of me.”

  “That’s his problem, not yours.”

  “That doesn’t make it any easier,” Jack said.

  “So where do we go from here?”

  Jack pulled in a breath, grateful Leo was still here, seemingly undisturbed by the secret Jack had purposefully kept from him.

  “You think it’s a setup?”

  Leo shook his head. “Why would they bother? They have you. Why lie when all they have to do is bundle you into an unmarked vehicle and make you disappear?”

  Jack had already considered every angle and reached the same conclusion. He looked over at Freya, who held up two fingers, indicating they were running out of time. She had given them five minutes to discuss their options.

  “It contradicts absolutely everything the Center has taught me,” Jack said.

  “But?” Leo promoted.

  Jack looked down at his hands. “But I want to know,” he admitted.

  “Enough to take such a risk? If they’re lying for whatever reason, we’re walking straight into a trap.”

  “You could always—”

  “No!” Leo waited until Jack raised his head again. “I’m not leaving you with these people. We go together or we don’t go at all. Your choice. I’m with you whatever you decide.”

  Jack closed his eyes briefly as gratitude washed through him. It was stupid, insane, maybe even dangerous. But he had to know. Freya had promised him information on his family; he couldn’t walk away from that.

  “Gentlemen, I need an answer.” Freya appeared beside the booth and tapped the face of her watch. “We’ve got about three hours before the Center runs its checks—”

  “What does that mean?” Jack interrupted.

  Freya’s pitying look made Jack’s flesh crawl. “Despite what they tell you, you’re always being tracked.” Her tone was gentle, as though she was talking to a spooked animal, and it grated on Jack’s nerves. “Every day the Center runs a location check on both your wristbands and the GPS in your phones. Unless you’re where you told them you’d be, they’ll send somebody to track you down.”

  Jack looked at Leo, trying to gauge whether this was something he already knew, but he appeared just as mystified. Reading the look in Leo’s eyes, Jack said, “We’re coming.”

  Freya nodded. “We’ll have you back at school before last period.”

  She led the way out of the coffee shop and through the mall until they reached the south exit. A dark blue van was idling outside, and Jack climbed into the back with Leo right behind him. Freya and Ryan followed them in and slammed the door shut as the van slid forward. There were no windows in the back, and as they gathered speed and slid into a lane of traffic, the driver of the van reached back and closed the panel so they couldn’t see out of the front window. Jack’s stomach did a slow roll, wondering what in hell he had gotten himself and Leo into.

  “Where are you taking us?” Jack supposed he should have asked the question a lot sooner than this. Perhaps before he found himself trapped in the back of a moving van with two strange operatives spiriting him and Leo away from their Center handlers.

  “A safe location,” Freya replied.

  “Are you going to tell us who you work for?” Leo asked.

  Freya smiled. “All in good time.”

  There was little point in asking her anything else. She was clearly following instructions not to disclose anything but the bare minimum. Now that he’d made such an irreversible decision, Jack admitted how shockingly little it had taken to lure him into such a compromised position: A low-key approach, a promise of information on his parents, a seemingly honest offer to walk away if he didn’t want to pursue the truth.

  If you’re not interested, there’s the door—Freya’s exact words back at the coffee shop. He hadn’t been tempted to leave, not even for a moment. The only thing that had given him pause was whether to let Leo stay. That turned out not to be his decision. Leo had made his own irrevocable choice.

  “We’ll give you the same option when we get to the safe house and you’ve heard what we have to say,” Freya said. “If you want to walk, you’ll be returned to the mall immediately.” She looked genuinely rueful when she added, “I’m sorry for the strong-arm tactics, Leo. It was the only way we could guarantee Jack would come along without a fight.”

  Leo waved a dismissive hand.

  “Why didn’t you approach me as soon as I arrived at the school?” Jack asked.

  Freya smiled. “If I’d approached you too soon, you’d have been more inclined to reject my advances and tell your handlers everything. I needed to create a bond of trust between us. Standard field psychology.”

  Jack couldn’t deny the truth of Freya’s observation. It had been one of his earliest lessons when he’d started working with Dr. Clarke, the Center’s psychologist, who had taught him endless techniques for establishing and maintaining trust.

  “Besides,” Freya continued, “we need to keep the Center distracted. As long as your handlers are focused on figuring out Ryan, they won’t suspect anything else. You’ll be glad of the diversion when you hear what we have to tell you.”

  Though Jack asked several more questions, Freya refused to be drawn any further.

  The journey lasted forty minutes, though from the twists, turns, and backtracking, Jack didn’t think they were actually more than twenty-five minutes from the mall. When the van finally came to a halt and the back door opened, Jack stepped out in front of an ordinary-looking building at the end of a row of uniform warehouses. The door opened, and a man appeared in the doorway. Beside him Leo stiffened almost imperceptibly, and when Jack took a closer look, he realized why.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “DOMINIC MOORE,” Leo breathed.

  Jack recognized him from the mission’s prep files, when his face had stared out from the computer screen, looking a lot less formidable than he now appeared. He was probably in his early fifties, a few inches taller than Jack, with a handsome face and clear blue eyes. He was lean, though muscular rather than thin, and he carried himself with the assurance of a man who could take care of himself, and the authority of one used to giving orders. Jack knew the type from years of living in their shadow, just as surely as Leo did. Dominic Moore was unassuming in a totally deceptive way, a lion masquerading as a lamb.

  A single raised eyebrow summoned two blank-faced men to his side.

  “If you don’t mind, gentlemen,” Moore said. “Just a precaution, you understand.”

  The two men frisked them thoroughly and expertly, and then one of them switched on what looked like a wand and followed the contours of each of their bodies, the hum of the machine sounding loud in the silent street.

  “Who are you? Really,” Leo asked.

  “Let’s stick with what we know for now. Dominic Moore works just fine.” He gestured with an outstretched arm, and Jack followed Leo towa
rd a steel door. They paused while Moore entered a code into a keypad, and the doors swung open. Inside, Jack was surprised to find an office building, all gleaming wood, glass, and shiny surfaces. It reminded him of Evan’s apartment.

  “I wasn’t sure whether to expect you both,” Moore said.

  He led them into a large windowless room, brightly lit to compensate for the lack of natural light.

  Moore pointed to the northeast corner. “There’s one camera there, another on the opposite wall. The rest of the room is clean.” He smiled and inclined his head. “Obviously I don’t expect you to take my word for it. Do what you need to do. I’ll be back in fifteen minutes.”

  He didn’t wait for Jack or Leo to speak. He swept out of the room and closed the door behind him. Leo threw a glance at Jack and walked over to the door. He turned the handle quietly and tugged; the door opened easily. There was a young woman outside, sitting at a desk and typing furiously. She looked up at Leo and smiled.

  “Can I get you anything, Mr. McCormack?”

  Leo returned the smile and shook his head. “I believe we have everything we need.”

  “If you think of anything, anything at all, my name is Helen. Just give me a shout.”

  “Thanks, Helen.”

  Leo stepped back into the room and closed the door behind him. He caught Jack’s eyes and jerked his head. “I’ll take left, you take right.”

  “Roger that.”

  Jack strode over to the right side of the room, ignoring the camera’s blinking red eye as he started to methodically pull the room apart, mirroring Leo’s actions. They examined every stick of furniture, pulled every book off the shelves and opened each one, removed the pictures from the walls, and ran fingers over every surface. As promised, apart from the two obvious cameras, the room was clean.

  “Now what?” Jack asked, pulling up a chair.

  Leo shrugged. “Now, I guess we wait.”

  SOME MINUTES later the door reopened and Dominic Moore walked back in. He arched an eyebrow at the mess. “I’ll have the staff clear up while we’re busy.”