by Lori Bond
Will chewed on the inside of his lip for a moment. “I think you would be safer at the Tool Shed,” he finally said.
I sighed and leaned back, unsure about what I had expected him to say. He was a company man, and he would toe the company line. He also might honestly believe the Tool Shed was the best choice.
“But I think you would be happier here with Arthur and Ginny,” Will added.
I raised my eyebrows, but I didn’t respond.
We didn’t speak for a few more moments. I was just about to ask Will why he was in LANCE when the bell for the elevator rang. Everyone, including Pendragon, aimed their weapons at the elevator door. I couldn’t figure out why. It seemed unlikely the Dreki were going to start announcing themselves or enter buildings in the normal way.
The doors opened, and Ginny and an older man dressed in a crisply pressed gray suit stepped out of the elevator. The man looked more like a prosperous businessman than Arthur ever did.
“Ginny,” I said with a sigh.
“Controller Stormfield,” said Will at almost the same moment. He looked as relieved as I felt.
“Maybe now we can have some sanity around here,” I said.
Will grinned.
We stood up to join the little knot of people in the center of the room.
Arthur and the controller had started arguing the moment they laid eyes on one another. Arthur was still refusing point blank to turn me over, and Stormfield was throwing a very British, well-bred, frigid tantrum over Arthur having aimed his weapons at the LANCE troops.
Much to my dismay, Ginny ignored both of them. She stood over to the side fiddling with a screen filled with lines of code. She shook her head at me when I came up.
“I’ve never seen a virus even remotely like this. I’ll need to bring in Tori to consult. If she’s even getting the dead-drop emails I’m leaving all over the Internet.” Ginny made a face and then pulled her email up on her tablet, scribbling away with a stylus.
“Uh, Ginny,” I said, “I’m worried about Percival too and all, but I kind of think Arthur and Stormfield are about to come to blows.”
Ginny glanced at the two yelling men for a moment and rolled her eyes. “I’m letting them yell themselves out, and then I’ll settle all of this. Don’t worry.” She gave me a smile before patting me on my arm. “I’ve been expecting something like this.”
“You thought the Dreki would blow up your house?”
Ginny shook her head. “No, that I didn’t expect.” Her upper lip curled up in dislike. “No, I’ve been expecting Stormfield. Remember that Will was talking about bringing you in the day you got here?”
I nodded. There wasn’t much from that day I had forgotten.
“Arthur and I contacted your mother that night. We made the legal adjustments necessary the next day before your parents went into hiding. A judge ratified the new custody arrangement this morning before I left for LA.”
“Wait, my parents are hiding?” Somehow I couldn’t picture my boring mom and dad using fake IDs and living assumed lives.
“Yes,” said Ginny. She gave me an odd look. “The Dreki are looking for your parents even now. It’s not as though they ever stopped. Also, they clearly want you badly if they are willing to try to breach the Rook. Kidnapping your parents to force you into their hands seems a natural move. It’s why we couldn’t risk letting you contact them before they created themselves a secure location. I’m sure the moment your mother can, she’ll contact you. I’ve been trying to reach her, but she’s severed all her former aliases. It’s why I’m having to leave dead-drops.”
Ginny’s words made no sense. I felt light-headed. I reached back to grab onto a table or something to help me stay upright, but the only thing there was Will. He sort of wrapped his arm around my waist and helped me stay standing.
“Your parents are gone, and they’re good,” said Will. “That’s why I came over today. I wanted to tell you they’ve vanished and seem safe. LANCE can’t find any trace, and we believe the Dreki don’t have them because they are still looking for them too.”
I was in a state of complete shock, but Ginny didn’t seem surprised.
“Your mother is very good at what she does,” said Ginny.
I wanted to laugh hysterically. My mother was very good at getting dinner and scrapbooking and driving me to dance lessons back before I had a car. These weren’t the kind of skills that hid you from terrorist and secret government organizations. I started to ask Ginny what she meant, but she had turned away from me. Arthur and Stormfield had worn themselves down. Stormfield stared coldly up his nose at Arthur, and Arthur had wound down to merely vile mutterings.
“Ah, gentlemen,” said Ginny, “I believe you wanted to discuss Elaine’s living arrangements.” She reached into her portfolio and pulled out a file folder. She handed the file to Stormfield. He opened it and flipped through the pages.
“As you can see,” said Ginny. “The custody agreement has been revised granting Arthur full and permanent custody of Elaine. A judge signed off this morning. One of the conditions of custody is that she remain in one of Arthur’s residences until either she comes of age into her primary trust or leaves for college.”
“Trust?” I asked, but I’m not sure anyone but Will heard me. They would have ignored me anyway.
Stormfield looked put out. I couldn’t tell what annoyed him more, Pendragon getting into a shootout with his men if he tried physically removing me or the possibility of a protracted legal battle with the Keeps’ legion of lawyers. Arthur and Ginny were literally the richest couple in the nation. They would have the best lawyers.
Stormfield snapped the file closed. “This is lovely that Arthur has been named guardian of the child, but I’m not sure how this changes matters. LANCE has the authority to take into custody and relocate to a safe location any individual either in danger or with intelligence-providing capabilities. A Dreki contingent just attacked your home to seize a powerful clairvoyant. I’m sorry, but Elaine qualifies under both provisions. She’s coming with us.”
Arthur made a horrible noise.
Stormfield looked at him in concern. “It was kind of you to save her and take her in before we found the leak at LANCE last night, but she’s not your responsibility anymore. Let us take this ticking time bomb off your hands. My God, man, why do you care so much?”
“I don’t think you read that file carefully enough,” said Ginny. “Take a closer look at her birth certificate.”
While Stormfield flipped the folder back open again, I stared at red-faced Arthur and unflustered Ginny. “Not that I’m not grateful and all, but why are you so determined that I stay?”
“I told you she didn’t remember,” Arthur said to Ginny.
“Oh God, those are her parents?” said Stormfield.
Ginny shot me a look I found hard to read, but it seemed part horrified, part embarrassed. “But Tori swore …” Her voice trailed off.
“I know, but I told you last night that twelve years is a long time.” Arthur looked positively sheepish. I didn’t trust him at all.
“This makes a difference,” said Stormfield, “but I’m not sure how much of one.”
“What difference?” I asked. I turned to Arthur. “What should I remember?”
“Well, Princess …” Arthur scratched at his nose and looked every place in the room except at me. “You’re my biological daughter.”
6
WHERE I FINALLY TAKE CONTROL OF MY UNCONTROLLABLE LIFE
FOR A MOMENT THE WORLD STOOD STILL. GINNY AND ARTHUR LOOKED embarrassed; Stormfield seemed to be calculating new variables into an equation; and Will took a big step back. It was a good thing I was back to standing on my own, or I would have toppled over.
“Oh, please, that’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” I finally said. “When would you two have even met? My parents have been together since high school, and my mother didn’t cheat on Dad with you.”
Ginny turned away like this horr
ifying conversation was making her ill. I knew how she felt.
“There’s a lot about your mother you don’t seem to remember,” said Arthur.
“Like what?”
“Let’s start with her real name.”
“Elsbet Gertrude Taylor,” I said. I’d seen it a million times on her driver’s license and credit cards.
Arthur shook his head. “No that’s just the name she’s been living under for the past twelve years. Her real name is Victoria Castile although she went by Tori.”
“Tori Castile?” hissed Will. “Your mother is Tori Castile?”
I turned to him. “Does that name mean something to you? Because it means nothing to me.”
Will nodded. “But she’s been dead …”
“Twelve years,” finished Arthur.
“Tori Castile is the Viral Vixen.”
“Who?” I asked.
“It’s a little before your time,” said Will. “She was this huge hacker about twenty years ago.”
“Hacktivist not hacker, and she was before your time, too,” said Arthur. “You’re what? Twenty?”
“Seventeen,” said Will.
“You’re only seventeen?” I asked. Certain possibilities formed in my brain. I shook my head. I couldn’t get distracted. Now was not the time to cope with the impossible by drifting off into a dream world. “You’re saying my mom, my boring stay-at-home mom that needed me to set up her new Keep smart phone, is a super hacker?”
“She had twelve or thirteen aliases and phones,” said Ginny. “I was friends with most of them. Perhaps she had you help as a bonding exercise.”
I stared at Ginny, calm, collected, and until now, normal Ginny. She had always been the eye of the Keep household hurricane, but even she seemed to have fallen off the deep end.
“You know my mom,” I said. The disbelief still poured from my voice.
“Of course,” said Ginny. She shot a fond smile in Arthur’s direction. “She introduced me to Arthur.”
I felt like my mind and not my bedroom ceiling had blown apart in the Dreki explosion.
“This is all touching,” Stormfield said, “but I’m sure we can continue this family reunion back at LANCE.”
Arthur’s face turned from a bright red to a purple that almost matched the cape still hanging from his armor. He had not taken my fashion advice. “If one of your LANCErs comes within an inch of my daughter, he will leave here in a million pieces,” he yelled in Stormfield’s face.
Will took another step away from me.
“You do not want to make an enemy of LANCE,” said Stormfield in his clipped manner. “You wouldn’t survive multiple attacks from both the Dreki and LANCE.”
“Watch me,” Arthur screamed back.
Ginny shoved herself between Arthur and Stormfield. In her calm, measured way, she began talking at the LANCE leader. The man wasn’t listening because he and Arthur continued to bellow at one another meaningless, posturing phrases.
I felt a little dizzy, like my life spiraling out of control was manifesting itself in physical symptoms. I turned toward the LANCE troopers spread out around the edge of the room. They were there both to guard against the Dreki and to prevent me from fleeing.
“Will.” I spoke just loud enough he would hear me, but the bickering adults wouldn’t. I needn’t have bothered. Those three were so engrossed in their argument that another Dreki bomb could have gone off without disturbing them.
Will stepped back over and leaned his head near mine.
“This Tool Shed Institute you and Arthur were talking about, it’s a lock her up and throw away the key kind of place, isn’t it?”
“That’s not how I would describe it,” Will started.
“Yes or no, Will.”
Will shrugged and then slightly, but firmly, nodded his head up and down.
So, the LANCE option was out. I turned back to Arthur and Ginny both in their own way fighting tooth and nail to keep me with them. But current life at the Keep household was also confining even if I could still see the sun. There had to be a third option. Ever since the Dreki had attacked my school, I had been drifting around, letting others make choices for me. No more. There had to be a way for me to regain control of this situation.
And then I realized there was. I remembered they thought I was a powerful Seer with a front-row seat for the future. So, I would give them the future I wanted.
I grabbed Will’s arm and sort of stumbled into him.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Dizzy,” I murmured. It wasn’t quite a lie, but I wasn’t anywhere near as faint as I tried to appear.
“Here.” Will helped me sit down on the floor, concerned etched on his gorgeous face. “Keep your head down so you don’t pass out.” He stayed kneeling next to me, holding my hand. It was kind of sweet.
“Uh, Sir,” he said. “Ma’am.” He tried again several times, louder and louder each time, before yelling at the top of his lungs, “Controller, Mr. Keep and Ms. Ginny.”
The sound seemed to cut out of the three combatants. As one, they turned toward Will, ready to rip out his throat for interrupting their passionate discussion.
“I think there’s something wrong with Elaine,” he said before they unleashed their fury on him.
Will wasn’t lying. At that point I was no longer faking anything. I had the worst case of stage fright I had ever experienced in my whole life. This was worse than the dance team tryouts in ninth grade. This was worse than starting the PSAT. This was worse than telling my mom about my fender-bender in the school parking lot. So much unspent adrenaline coursed through my body, I shook several inches back and forth. I probably looked like I was having a seizure although I wasn’t. Although goose bumps covered my arms, sweat ran from my face as if I had finished running a mile. I was about to try lying to a master of lies, an unstable armed genius, and my stepmother. My body seemed to be pretty put out by the whole idea.
Arthur and Ginny rushed over. Arthur all but shoved Will out of the way in the process, but Will kept hold of my hand. Ginny put her hand on my head as if checking for a fever. Arthur did the same for my back.
“Her vitals are out of whack,” said Arthur, getting some sort of readout from a sensor on his suit’s glove. “I didn’t realize a person’s heart could beat that fast.”
“I’m, I’m having a vision,” I got out between my chattering teeth. “It’s of me and Arthur and Ginny.”
Weirdly, at the moment, an image popped into my mind. It wasn’t like before with Arthur’s tower or the flying fortress. Instead of staring at a single snapshot style image I could draw, it was like I watched a scene from a silent movie.
The LANCE troopers and Stormfield had disappeared. Instead, of the disheveled room, Will and I sat on the couch watching TV. We looked as if we were at least good friends—if not something more. We weren’t snuggling on the couch or anything, but my knees were partly in his lap with one of his arms across them. Behind us where we couldn’t see him, Arthur glared at us, while Ginny rolled her eyes at him and tried to pull him away. It was a calm, almost sweet, intimate family scene. It was also so far-fetched and unlikely to happen, I assumed I had chosen a weirdly inappropriate time to hallucinate. However, I got an idea of how to make my fake vision more appealing to all sides.
“And LANCE,” I added. “I’m seeing a future with me, Arthur, Ginny, and LANCE.” I didn’t want there to be any mistake about what we were talking about. My eyesight snapped back from the weird silent movie to the scene in front of me.
Stormfield, who had been staring intently at my eyes, raised a single eyebrow at me. He didn’t appear to be buying my “vision.” I would have to do a better job selling it.
“We’re here,” I said, trying to shake the cozy home-life scene back out of my mind so I could concentrate on the future I wanted to see. “I mean, that I still live here with Arthur and Ginny.”
“Ha,” said Arthur.
“I’m not done,” I
said, glaring at him. “LANCE is here too though. I mean, that there’s a member of LANCE living here too, training me on all the basics I need.” I didn’t want to be more specific than that since I had no idea what kind of training I might need. “And I’m not in here all the time,” I added with a pointed glare at Arthur and Ginny. “I go out and see the city and do stuff, but I always have my LANCE person or one of you with me.” Besides being a huge compromise, I figured this last little bit was prudent. After today, it was clear I was in no shape to go roaming around outside by myself. I wasn’t even sure it was safe to leave me in the Rook by myself.
“Absolutely not,” shouted Arthur. “I will not have LANCE scum skulking around my house trying to worm their way into my technology.”
“It would be a compromise, dear,” murmured Ginny. “And we would get to keep her.”
Arthur looked mutinous, like a kid who’s been told to do his homework instead of getting to play video games, but he didn’t respond.
Stormfield frowned, clearly displeased. “I suppose it’s a possibility,” he said with some distaste as if the words sullied his mouth. “But I will pick the agent to remain.”
“Oh, I know who that is,” I said. Alarm bells rang in my head. I hadn’t gotten the greatest impression of Stormfield, and I did not want him picking my LANCE babysitter. Really, though my options were limited. I only knew one LANCE agent’s name. “You pick Will.”
Will looked surprised but also pleased.
Stormfield shot me a look liked I’d just waved a dead skunk in front of his nose. “I highly doubt that. Will is still young even if he did graduate out of the LANCE Conservatory early. He’s only had four years in the field. I would not entrust such a long-term high-ranking asset to him.”
I wanted to kick Stormfield. Without changing his expression, Will somehow gave the impression of being crestfallen. I squeezed his hand.
“Oh, but you pick Will,” I said. “Because Will is the person you sent to evaluate me at school. Because Will is the person who saved my life from the Dreki today while the rest of LANCE was monitoring people’s text messages or whatever it is you do.” At the last minute I realized that I had no idea what LANCE did, so that kind of weakened my argument. “And because Will is the only person from LANCE Arthur won’t spend the entire time following around glowering at,” I finished.
