by E. C. Myers
Lady Beat had an eye into some of the most sensitive secrets and private lives of people in Vale.
Neo put a hand to her mouth. This information was worth billions of Lien. It gave access to fortunes and secure servers, by showing people inputting their logins and passwords. It was a fly on the wall of important deals. And it was an endless source of blackmail material, for people who didn’t want their personal business made public, or embarrassing secrets and criminal activity released to the authorities.
Neo switched back to the feed from her own camera. Now there was clear evidence that she had been to this room and knew what Lady Beat was up to …
Neo gasped. That’s how the headmistress had known she had a connection to Roman. And because she’d been watching Neo’s every move, she knew exactly what she could do, and where to find Roman.
Neo texted Roman: They know where you live. Get to safety. Don’t tell me where. I’ll explain later.
She had no sooner hit Send than she caught movement on the holo display. Two of the cameras were walking around the school. It was well after lights-out, and both cameras showed roughly the same view, but shifted slightly, like viewing two out-of-phase images that combined to make one 3-D image.
Two students walking side by side when they shouldn’t be out of their rooms. Melanie and Miltia. And it looked like they were on their way here.
Neo dashed back to the keyboard. She had to cover her tracks.
She worked quickly, one eye on the holo display as the Malachite girls drew closer. They were climbing the stairs to this floor now.
Neo pulled up the folder directory. It looked like files were recorded in hour-long chunks organized by location, date, and another identifier. In the school folders, she found a folder marked “VAN48-1516-234-2.” She tried to delete the files from the last few hours, copied in the files for the same time period from last night, and renamed them with today’s date. She hoped that the system wouldn’t create a new file if there was already one there, so she should be covered for the rest of the night. From there she would have to act normally until she could figure out a way to block the signal without arousing suspicion.
She was about to delete the files when she thought better of it. If she deleted the footage, even if she replaced it with footage from another night, she would tip her hand. Instead, she needed to copy this whole archive and get out. She wouldn’t get another chance.
The Malachites were getting closer.
The problem was, Neo didn’t have anything to copy the files with, and it would take too long to set up an online storage account—and that was traceable, too. The archive was also huge.
The Malachites’ cameras showed they had reached the hallway with the door to the Room.
Neo’s computer skills clearly weren’t up to the challenge, but her destructive talents were. She checked under and around the console until she found an access panel at the back. She pried it open with the blade from her parasol. Inside, she found the hard drive and yanked it out, snapping ribbon cables and wires. The screen behind her glitched and went dark.
Neo shut down the display and locked the computer. She tucked away the storage drive and then stepped out of the Room. Melanie and Miltiades Malachite were right outside. They looked startled when she appeared.
“You’re back already?” Melanie said.
It took Neo a moment to realize she still looked like Lady Beat.
“Is Mother here? Did you get Torchwick?” Miltia peeked around her to look inside the room. She sniffed. “Is something burning?”
Neo shook her head. She started to push past them. She had to get out of there or they’d wonder why Lady Beat wasn’t talking.
“We couldn’t find Vanille. She must have snuck out, too.”
Neo stopped. She turned to look at Melanie.
“She’s turning into quite a competent asset,” Melanie said. “I’m sure Mother would like to meet her. If only to have more leverage in Vale.”
Neo turned away. How did they figure that?
“Hold on. Where’s your tattoo?” Melanie grabbed her by the back of her jacket and pulled down the collar. “Found you, Vanille.” She yanked Neo down and backward and smashed a knee into her spine.
Neo grunted from the blow, but her Aura absorbed most of the impact. Melanie kneed her again, but this time Neo managed to twist away and shrug out of her jacket, dropping the Lady Beat illusion at the same time.
Melanie let go of the jacket as if it was burning her, and in the brief moment of distraction, Neo knocked her down with a roundhouse kick. She turned to run and found Miltia blocking her exit.
“Cute trick.” Miltia grabbed for Neo. Neo spun so Miltia grabbed her from behind, then she slammed herself backward, knocking Miltia into the wall. Neo jabbed her elbow into Miltia’s ribs and took off down the hallway. She reached the stairs, with the twins right behind her. She hopped onto the banister and waved at them as she slid down.
Melanie hurled herself over the railing and smashed into Neo, sending the both of them tumbling down the stairs in a tangle of arms, legs, and blades.
Neo’s Aura burst and she lay dazed for a moment beside a similarly stunned Melanie. Miltia skated down the banister on her heels, jumped, and rolled through the air toward Neo, the knives in her heels extended.
Neo drew her parasol and opened the canopy. Miltia bounced off the reinforced fabric and landed in a crouch facing Neo.
“You should be on our side,” Miltiades said. “Why stick with a loser like Torchwick?”
Neo flashed her a rude hand gesture.
“In fact, I bet he’s already lost. Mother’s been planning her revenge for a while. I wonder which technique she’s going with.”
Melanie lifted her head. She stared at Neo’s bag. “She has the surveillance drive!”
Melanie lunged for it, but Neo hopped away. The girl braced on her right leg and started kicking with her left. Neo extended Hush’s blade and parried her blows, edging backward toward a window.
She was still a couple stories up, but it wouldn’t be the first time she’d leaped from one.
Miltiades joined the assault and Neo kept blocking and thrusting their blades. Finally, she’d had enough.
Neo held her parasol in front of her and rushed between the girls, who tried to dodge out of her way. She hooked Miltiades’s wrist with her parasol and pulled her downward while the bladed tip of Hush redirected a kick from Melanie.
At the same time she launched herself so she was flipping over them and landed facing the other direction. Without the slightest hesitation she ran toward the window.
She opened Hush just as she reached the glass, which exploded outward. She jumped out and her momentum carried her away from the building in a wide, descending arc. She held her parasol aloft and it caught a breeze.
She drifted down to the ground. She saw the girls watch her for a moment before they turned and disappeared from the window. She didn’t think they were going to go back to their rooms.
Together, Neo and Roman could figure out what to do with the data she had just stolen and the information about the secret spy network—but first she had to find him. And from what Melanie and Miltia had said, others were out there looking for him now.
She landed and folded up Hush. The drive was still in the bag at her side. She pulled out her Scroll to ask Roman where he wanted to meet, but he hadn’t responded yet. He always answered her right away.
But according to her Scroll, the message hadn’t been delivered. His own Scroll must be off, broken, or somewhere without a signal—whether it was out of range or being blocked.
If Lil’ Miss Malachite and Lady Beat had found Roman, it was all her fault. She may not have known her every move was being recorded, exposing him, but she had agreed to win his trust under misleading circumstances. And she hadn’t even held up her end of the bargain with him in return; if she had done more to investigate the academy, Lady Beat, and the Malachites, she might have discovered Lil’
Miss’s operation sooner and helped put an end to it.
Perhaps the most unsettling thing about this situation was how much she cared about what happened to Roman. Somewhere along the way, despite her duplicity, he’d become a real friend. She started running. I’m coming, Roman!
She wasn’t going to let this friend disappear.
Roman studied his crime board. The ideas were looking a little light. There weren’t many opportunities left for him with Hei Xiong having so much control over the illegal activities in the city. Roman just didn’t have the crew or the muscle to horn in on his territory, which just left jobs that he and Neo could handle on their own.
He rather preferred it that way. They didn’t have to follow anyone else’s orders. They didn’t have to give any orders; in his experience, that was the real weakness in any organization. Good help was hard to find, and when you had to hire criminals to do your dirty work, they were often in it for themselves.
They made much less money that way, but it certainly seemed more fun. They were shaking things up in Vale, and it was amusing to watch the authorities and the news try to figure out why someone would steal an art print from the museum gift shop instead of the priceless original, or rob a convenience store for a six-pack of Dr. Piper.
As an added bonus, they were putting the heat on Xiong. The cops assumed he controlled all the crime in the city, so Xiong was in the strange predicament of not wanting to take credit for these bizarre crimes, nor admit that someone else was operating on his turf. That had to make him angry.
Someone pounded on the apartment door. Speaking of angry.
Roman crossed another item off his crime board and went to the door. He tried to call up the video on the intercom, but it seemed to be on the fritz. So he peeked through the peephole instead.
It was Lil’ Miss Malachite.
“Ha ha,” Roman said. He thought Neo had canceled their training tonight, but she probably sent that text message just to set up this prank. “That’s almost perfect, but you can’t fool me twice. I told you, if Lil’ Miss really—”
The door bulged with bullet holes and shots filled the air. Roman dove out of the way toward the couch as the door gave way and tore apart from the gunfire. A hand reached inside and unlocked it. The door creaked open before falling off its frame.
Roman grabbed his cane from the coffee table and peered around the side of the couch as Lil’ Miss Malachite stepped inside.
“Hello, Roman. Were you expecting someone else?” She fanned herself. “She won’t be coming.”
Roman fired his flare gun at her. She casually batted the projectile away with her fan. It hit the television and exploded, blowing a hole into his bedroom.
“Is that how we greet an old friend?” she asked mildly.
“It is after you come in shooting up my door. The condo board is going to be really upset.”
She looked around. “They should be more upset with how you’ve decorated. That stolen painting by Madam Mauve clashes with the stolen antique vase over there. Honestly, Roman. What do they teach kids today?”
A woman stepped into the apartment. Lady Beatrix Browning from Neo’s school.
“What did you do to Neo?” he shouted.
Browning tilted her head. “Young Ms. Vanille led us to you.”
“And here we are.” Lil’ Miss smiled. “Reunited at last.”
“I don’t believe that.” Neo wouldn’t betray him like that.
“Oh?” Browning held up her Scroll and played a video. He couldn’t see Neo’s face because the video was from her point of view, but he saw her hands typing on her Scroll as she conversed with Browning in front of her.
“Trivia Vanille, will you help me capture Roman Torchwick?”
“You can count on me,” said a mechanical voice.
“I know I can.”
Neo had used him? She’d lied to him. Neopolitan wasn’t even her real name. She was Trivia Vanille—which sounded strangely familiar to him for some reason.
Roman scowled. What had he expected? He’d been using her, too, or at least he’d started out that way. But he’d changed his mind, and his feelings about her. He had trusted her.
With his life, apparently.
“What do you want?” he demanded.
“I want everything,” Lil’ Miss said. “Starting with what you owe me.”
“I spent all your money. And even if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t give it back.”
She sat down on a high stool at the kitchen counter. She looked around disdainfully. “I’m not talking about money, dear. You know what I value most: information and loyalty.”
“I’m surprised you came all this way just for me.” Roman walked casually around the couch. If he knew Lil’ Miss, his building was already crawling with Spiders. Even if he somehow got past her, he would have to fight his way out through the rest of them.
There was a chance he wouldn’t make it, but he was a fighter, and he’d bet on himself any day. As usual, it was his supposed friends who had turned on him. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.
“You have an inflated ego. I had other business here. Like you always used to say, ‘If you want a job done right, you have to do it yourself.’ See, I have learned something from you. Just as you’ve learned from me.” She put her fan to her face thoughtfully. “We really did have some good times together.”
“We sure did. Hey, since it seems my partner has betrayed me, maybe I’d be interested in putting the old team back together. What do you say?”
Lil’ Miss leaned forward. “There was a time that I might have welcomed an offer like that, but I think it’s clear that you aren’t a good team player and you don’t like sharing.” She sat up. “Neither do I. However, I’m not going to kill you now.”
Roman hid his relief. “You’re not.”
“No. I can’t kill you in a tacky place like this.”
“Tacky?” Roman said.
“You’re coming back to Mistral with me first. I have a whole room ready for you back home.”
Roman assumed his battle stance. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“There’s a time and a place for violence, but sometimes there’s an easier way.” Lil’ Miss snapped her fan closed and a woman entered the room flanked by a couple of Spider henchman.
“Honey?” Roman said. “What are you doing here?”
“Hey, Torch,” Honey Wine said. “It was nice to catch up with you a few months ago.” She tipped her head to Lil’ Miss. “I forgot to mention, she gave me a loan to open the Harmony Club.”
“And it’s coming due,” Roman said.
Lil’ Miss, Lady Beat, and the Spider henchman stuffed earplugs into their ears.
Honey opened her mouth and started singing.
Roman covered his ears with his hands and ran for the door, but he could still hear her and the room started to spin. He made it to the door, anyway, but one of the Spiders punched him in the chest and he doubled over. The other goon grabbed his arms and held them behind his back so he had to listen to Honey’s song. The first one took his cane and the Scroll from his pocket and broke it in half.
But all things considered, he felt pretty good about what was going on. Giddy even. It felt like he was watching it happen to someone else. He forgot about why he had been trying to run, he just wanted to keep listening to the music. He followed Honey down the hall and into the elevator, swaying on his feet, almost in a stupor.
The next thing he knew, he was being tied up and tossed into the back of a van, with four Spiders guarding him. Honey raised her voice to a crescendo and when she stopped singing, he blacked out.
Neo was too late. Roman was gone.
The front door of his apartment had been blown apart. The rest of the place didn’t look much better. There was a still-smoking hole in his TV and the wall it had been mounted on, and his couch was in tatters.
She found the broken halves of Roman’s Scroll on the floor by the door. So that’s why he hadn’t respo
nded to her messages since she escaped her school.
She sat on a kitchen stool and placed the data drive in front of her. It wasn’t that big, the same shape and size of a brick. But it couldn’t have been worth more if it were made of solid gold. Perhaps she could trade it for Roman; Lil’ Miss Malachite would likely be upset when she found out it was gone—not just for the information it contained, but because it exposed her entire scheme in Vale.
What would Roman do if it were Neo who had been captured?
Forget about her and sell the drive to the highest bidder. And she wouldn’t blame him for it. You didn’t survive and get as far as he had by being sentimental.
Neo hopped off the stool. She wished she could make a backup of the drive, but she didn’t have the time or the equipment. She would only get one shot at this and she had to make it count.
She hadn’t meant it to happen, but Roman had been caught because of her. And she wasn’t going to hide from her responsibilities any more. He was basically the only thing that mattered to her in the world right now, and she wasn’t going to lose him, too.
She left the apartment building and saw the cop car she had passed on the way in was still there. Someone must have complained about the noise in the penthouse, but they didn’t seem to be in any hurry to investigate. If they’d known it was Roman Torchwick’s apartment and that Lil’ Miss Malachite was in town, that might have lit a fire under them.
Neo was halfway down the block when she stopped and turned around. She walked over to the cop car. By the time she was next to the driver’s side, both sides of her hair and both eyes were brown and she was wearing an unmodified school uniform, including the jacket she’d left behind.
The cop rolled the window down. “Good evening. Can I help you?”
Neo held up her Scroll and displayed a message: I need to report a crime.
The cop sat straighter. “A crime?”
His partner leaned over. “What are we supposed to do about it?”
