by Frankie Rose
Staring resentfully at the face in the mirror wasn’t making me feel any better. My skin looked sickly in the yellow light, and my eyes were all puffy and swollen. The reflection was familiar, sure, but it wasn’t me. The girl in the mirror had practically been kidnapped, was caught in the middle of a conflict between a bunch of people that could live forever, and was being slowly crushed by the guy she loved. Things were only just starting to get nasty for her. I was just Farley Hope, your average teenager who loved Thai food and was terrible at math.
Pulling myself up straight, I glowered angrily at the other girl, hating her for ruining my life, and stalked out of the bathroom. Agatha sat at her computer, chewing nervously on her index finger as I approached.
“So what’s the news?”
Agatha motioned me over. Her computer screen was already on, its low hum barely noticeable anymore. On the screen was Tess.
“Tess? Why do you have a file on Tess?”
“We think she might be in danger. We’ve been trying to confirm our suspicions for a long time now. That’s what I’ve been doing these past few weeks. I’ve been searching for information but the Reavers have countless people working for them. If they don’t want you finding something, then you usually don’t.”
“Riiiight. But what’s that got to do with her?”
“She’s with your brother, Farley. We think they might be grooming her to produce his heir,” she said.
The cogs inside my head ground to a halt. “My brother?”
“Yes, remember? I told you Elliot had already fathered a son when he met your mother. He should have taken his rites immediately after, but he spent those months with Moira instead.”
“My brother?” The concept still wouldn’t stick. “Who?”
“Oliver. Oliver is your brother.”
“Oliver? Tess’ boyfriend? But that can’t be…”
“Yes, it can. We’ve watched him even longer than we watched you. It took me years to locate him. We’ve seen him come up through elementary school, little league baseball, high school, the works. And now Tess is on the scene. We’ve monitored their relationship, and her, from the word go. That’s how we came across you, Farley. It was an accident. In her emails, Tess mentioned your missing mother and we thought that it was worth checking out. I knew Moira by sight. When I saw her missing person picture in the paper, it was too much of a coincidence. It was a short leap to guess that you were Elliot’s daughter.”
“You read Tess’ emails?” It shouldn’t have been a surprise that they knew how to hack email accounts.
“Yes.”
“Did you read mine?”
Agatha gave me a tired look and pursed her lips. Of course they had. “I’m sorry we invaded your privacy. But whatever we’ve done has been to stop your father and to protect you.”
“And what have you been doing to protect my friend?” My words were as sharp as a blade. They had known all this time that Oliver was one of them, that he could hurt Tess at any moment. Why hadn’t they taken her, too? Why was it me trapped with them in this stupid hangar and not Tess?
“Haven’t you noticed how often Daniel is gone? He spends all of his time watching over Tess. We’ve also got friends monitoring Oliver. Nothing could have happened to her.”
A thought dawned on me. “This is what Aldan meant when he told me you believed Tess wouldn’t get hurt, isn’t it?”
Agatha nodded. “Yes. And he was right, too. They would never harm her if they thought there was a chance she was carrying Oliver’s child.”
“His child! What, you think Tess is pregnant?”
“No, we don’t. We know Oliver’s guardian, the man posing as his uncle, is preparing to move him underground, though. We’re worried they might try and take Tess, too.”
“That’s it, then,” I said. “I’m done rolling with the punches. We’re going to bring her here. And once Daniel gets back, we’re all going to sit down and work this out. My friend isn’t going to get hurt and neither is he, no matter how badly he has his heart set on it.”
If Agatha was surprised by my rapid change in attitude, she hid it well. She grinned. “No problems, boss.”
I stood up and started for the door. Sitting around wasn’t an option. If I did, the fear would creep up on me and I would be paralyzed by the weight of it.
“Hey,” Agatha called after me. “They’re probably watching Oliver. We should wait for Daniel.”
The look I shot over my shoulder was fierce. There was no way I was waiting for him. Agatha sucked the air through her teeth. “Okay. This is a really bad idea and he’ll be incredibly mad if I let you get killed, or worse, let them get hold of you. Here.” She unlocked the top drawer to her desk and pulled out a handgun. It was comically huge in her tiny hands. She passed it over handle first—a Berretta M9, heavy, cold and powerful. “That’s not a toy. Do you need me to show you how to—”
I slipped the magazine free to check if it was loaded. “What?” I feigned innocence. “I used to go shooting with my mom.”
“Of course you did.”
Agatha slammed the drawer shut and suddenly we were moving. I fumbled for a moment, not sure where to put the gun. When I caught Agatha giving me a sidelong glance, I slipped it down the back of my waistband. The last thing I needed was her changing her mind. As we rushed out of the silo, the realization that we were hours away from civilization made my heart sink. The energy pulsing around my body demanded immediate action. The long car journey back to the city would dampen my motivation for sure. Agatha saw my dejection and grinned.
“Don’t worry, kiddo. I drive like a maniac.”
Outside, we scrambled over the looming dune behind the silo and were greeted by a low, rusting metal storehouse. I’d somehow never noticed it before. Lone track marks still disturbed the red earth leading away from its corrugated iron door.
“Good. He took his bike. The Charger’s a lot faster than my car.” Agatha motioned towards a humble, beat-up blue Jetta. Daniel’s black Charger sat shining in the dimness of the shed. A mischievous look flashed across her face. “Hope you don’t scare easy.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Aim for the Tires
