Cyber's Escape

by Jamie Davis

  Cass reached over and slammed the door shut before he could say anything else hurtful to her sister. The car sped off down the street and disappeared around the corner. Cass turned to Elena, still standing behind her. Tears of embarrassment streamed down the younger girl’s cheeks.

  “Elena, we need to go back to the house. Come on.” Cass reached out to put her arm around her sister’s shoulders. Elena shrugged it off and marched up the driveway towards the kitchen door.

  Cass sighed and followed behind her. She wasn’t sure how she was going to handle this. Elena clearly had done this before. Cass should’ve figured it out when she first came home based on the way her sister talked about boys.

  When they reached the house, Elena marched through the kitchen door and headed straight across the room towards the hallway. Cass reached out and grabbed her arm, yanking her backward, forcing her to turn and face her big sister.

  “Don’t you just disappear back to your room, Elena. We have to talk about this. Do you understand that he only wanted one thing from you? He was going to use you and then go find some other girl once he was done getting what he wanted.”

  “I know about boys, Cass, unlike you.”

  “Just because I’m a lesbian doesn’t mean I don’t know what boys want. Believe me, I’ve had to fend off more than my share. Phil was one of them. You heard him. He clearly had an axe to grind when it came to me.”

  “Oh, so he was only fooling around with me because he wanted to get back at you? I guess I’m still nothing but your little sister, right?” Cass winced as Elena’s voice increased in volume.

  “Shush! If you keep talking like that, you’re going to wake everyone in the house. Unless you want Mom, Dad, and Mr. Cantwell coming down here to see you fully dressed in the middle of the night, with your hair all messed up after rolling around in the backseat of a random boy’s car.”

  Elena reached up and brushed at a strand of hair hanging down beside her face. “You don’t understand, Cass. People think differently about me now that you’re not around all the time. That’s especially true since everybody found out about your new girlfriend. People like me now. They like me just because I’m me. I guess that’s going to be different, though, now that you’re back again for good.”

  “I’m not gonna be here for long, Elena. I plan on going back to school, no matter what Mom and Dad want me to do.”

  “I can’t wait until you do. Once you go back, I won’t have to worry about you getting in my business and messing up my social life.”

  “You messed up your own social life, kid.”

  “Don’t call me a kid. I’m old enough to take care of myself.”

  “Clearly, you’re not. If you were, you wouldn’t be hiding what you’re doing or sneaking out of the house to meet up with some boy in the middle of the night in a car parked in front of our house. Mom and Dad are pretty accepting of a lot of things. They aren’t going to be accepting of this.”

  “So, you are going to tell on me?”

  “I want you to tell them. I don’t care how you do it, but you need to do it soon. It’s important that you own up to this, Elena. If you don’t, I will tell them. I’m not going to let you get hurt after I leave, no matter what.”

  Elena muttered something under her breath that even Cass’s superior hearing couldn’t make out. Then her sister turned around and left the kitchen, heading upstairs.

  Cass let her go this time, realizing they weren’t going to get anything worked out here in the middle of the night like this. She shook her head and returned to her room, too. She wasn’t sure how she was going to handle what had just happened. Elena needed to know that what she had been doing was wrong. The only thing Cass could think of was to tell her parents about it. If she wasn’t going to be around all the time to watch over her sister, they needed to know what she was up to.

  There was the problem of what might happen if she told on Elena, though. She had trusted her with a lot since she got home, including her biggest secret of all. Cass was pretty sure Elena wouldn’t say anything about her implants, no matter what she did, but not a hundred percent sure. She hated being put in this position by her sister.

  Back in her room, Cass climbed into bed and found herself once again wide awake, staring at the ceiling. She worked through her options with Elena and decided to keep an eye on what her sister was up to for a few days before saying anything. Maybe this whole confrontation tonight had scared her into staying out of trouble. It was worth a try before taking any drastic measures.

  Cass had an idea and opened up her implant’s wireless systems again. She couldn’t access the Mantle or any external network, but the dumb internal network inside the Sapiens Movement compound that everyone used was still open to her. Using her implant’s superior computing power, it was an easy task of hacking her sister’s phone and tablet remotely so she could detect any outgoing or incoming calls.

  The tiny subroutine she placed in both devices would notify Cass both when and who Elena talked to. If her sister reached out to Phil, or anybody else like him, Cass would know about it and deal with it appropriately when it happened. In the meantime, she’d have to let things go as they were and hope her sister had learned her lesson now that she’d been caught.

  Cass rolled over and pulled the covers up, trying to fall asleep. She finally felt drowsy enough to make a serious attempt at getting some rest. As she drifted off, her thoughts switched between her sister and her worries about Shelby. Even with everything bothering her, Cass’s exhaustion from the long hectic day and evening caught up with her and she soon fell asleep.

  Chapter 16

  When Cass woke up the next morning, her feelings had softened about what to do regarding Elena. She figured she’d give her little sister a break this time in hopes that she’d keep herself out of trouble while Cass was home. Hopefully, that would be enough to do the trick.

  When Cass went downstairs to get breakfast, her mother and sister were already up in the kitchen cooking.

  “Hi, Cassie, your sister and I are just getting something together for breakfast.”

  “Why don’t we all just get what we want as usual?” Cass asked.

  “Because Mr. Cantwell is here and we want to show him the best face of our family. Besides, it would be nice to have a real, cooked breakfast together more often. Isn’t this better than random bowls of cereal and the like? You know what they say…”

  Cass and Elena both rolled their eyes at their mother’s favorite breakfast saying. They finished it aloud in unison. “…It’s the most important meal of the day.”

  If there was one thing that Cass’s mother was, she was a morning person. She’d been putting up with it her entire life. Her mother’s cheerful morning routine was fun for eight-year-old Cassie. It had gotten old quickly by the time she was a teenager.

  Sighing because she knew she couldn’t win this particular battle, Cass asked, “What do you want me to do?”

  “Why don’t you go over and start the coffee. Simon and your father are in his office talking about something that came up overnight. It sounded urgent for being so early in the morning. I think they’ll be out soon, though. Let’s make sure breakfast is ready when they are finished.”

  Cass headed over to the coffee maker. It was an automated unit so all she had to do was put a pre-filled coffee canister in the receptacle, set it for multiple servings, and make sure the coffee pot was underneath when she pushed the button. It would take a few minutes to fill up the whole insulated container, but when it was done everyone who wanted coffee could have some. Cass went to the cabinet and got out four coffee mugs for herself and the three other adults.

  Her mother glanced over her shoulder from where she stood in front of the stove cooking bacon and eggs. “Why’d you get out four mugs, hon?”

  Cass didn’t understand the question. “Well, there’s you, Dad, plus Mr. Cantwell, and me, right?”

  Her mom chuckled and went back to tending the food in the frying pa
n. “I’m not sure I’m going to be able to get used to you like this, Cassie. My big girl, all grown up and drinking coffee just like the rest of us caffeine addicts.”

  Cass laughed. “Hey, Mom, you know it could be worse.”

  Elena shot Cass a look from behind her mother’s back and tapped the side of her face in the same spot where Cass’s implant was.

  Cass glared at her. Was she going to say something to their mom in revenge for last night’s encounter?

  Elena’s face broke into a smile and Cass let out a sigh of relief. Her little sister was just messing with her. It wasn’t funny, though. Something like that would ruin the whole family.

  The coffee finished brewing just as Cass heard her dad and Simon Cantwell come out of the office and into the hallway by the dining room. Cass dialed up her auditory implant to listen to the two men over the clatter of pans and dishes in the kitchen. She wanted to know what the urgent meeting was about.

  Her dad said, “I’m sorry you feel like you have to leave so suddenly, Simon. I was looking forward to having you share an office with me for a few days. I thought we could catch up on some things we’ve meant to get done.”

  “I’m sorry, James. The update I got from my people in Boston overnight needs my immediate attention.”

  “I understand. Your work is of supreme importance to the movement right now. I hope you figure out how to track down the person responsible for that video. If this helps you do that, then that’s more important than having a few days of rest here at our house. I will make sure you take a rain check, though.”

  “Fair enough, James. And you’re right, there are few things as important as tracking down that sub who’s been spreading the lies about us.”

  “Are you sure you can find out where she is?”

  “It shouldn’t take us too long. There can’t be that many places someone like her can hide out without any extra resources behind her.”

  Cass stiffened. There could only be one person they were talking about. Simon was leaving to go after Shelby.

  The two men came into the kitchen. Cass’s father smiled as he entered. “It smells delicious in here. What’s the special occasion?”

  “I asked the same thing, Dad,” Cass said, trying to act normal while her mind spun through ways to stop Simon from leaving.

  Her mom laughed as she filled a platter with sausage, bacon, and eggs. “So, sue me for deciding you both needed a nice breakfast this morning. You gentlemen go in and sit down at the dining room table. We’ll bring in the stuff we have here. Cassie’s got the coffee ready to go.”

  “Why don’t I help you bring some things to the table, Faye,” Simon offered. “I’ll help Cass with the coffee.” Cass stiffened for a moment then forced herself to relax as Simon walked towards her. She knew without a doubt her father and Simon were talking about hunting down Shelby. Everything fit together too neatly for it to be anything else.

  Forcing a smile on her face, Cass turned towards their guest. “Here you go, Mr. Cantwell. You take these two mugs and I’ll bring the other two and the coffee pot.”

  “Good enough.” Simon smiled and took the two mugs from Cass then headed into the dining room behind her father. Cass grabbed the other two cups in one hand and the coffee pot in the other.

  When she reached the dining room, she set the mugs down and filled them for her mother and herself before walking around and filling the two cups in front of her father and Simon. The cream and sugar were already on the table and the two men started to make their coffee. Cass set the pot down on a trivet and then sat in her usual seat. She reached for the sugar bowl and the small pitcher of cream and started making her own coffee.

  “Goodness gracious, Cassie, that’s quite a bit of sugar you’re putting in there.”

  Cass let out a nervous laugh and shrugged. “It’s how I like it, Dad. I had to start drinking it when I was staying up late studying at school and the only way I could choke it down in the beginning was with plenty of sugar and cream.”

  Simon laughed. “You know that’s funny, James. I was the same way when I was in the army. I prefer it black now, but back then, I used to have my coffee that same way. I called it blonde mocha.” Simon raised his mug in salute to Cass. “To those of us who like our coffee, however we like it.”

  Cass gave him a half smile and lifted her own mug in his direction before taking a sip. She hated the way he pretended to be friendly when she knew what he was really up to.

  Elena and her mother came in with two platters. Cass’s mom had filled one with bacon and sausage and put scrambled eggs and toast on the other. They set the two serving plates down in the middle of the table and took their seats.

  Cass noticed Elena brought in a mug for herself. She watched as her little sister poured some coffee in it. Everyone at the table stopped talking and watched her as she picked up the mug and took a sip.

  When the fourteen-year-old grimaced and shook her head at the bitterness, everyone laughed.

  Elena looked up, her face flushing red from top to bottom. “What? I’m big enough to have coffee if I want, aren’t I?”

  “Well?” Her mom looked over at her husband.

  Her father smiled and nodded. “I guess you might be, but if you’re going to drink your coffee, you’ll probably like it the way your sister does, with plenty of cream and sugar. Why don’t you help her, Cass?”

  Cass slid the sugar bowl and pitcher of cream over to her sister. “Put the cream in first then add the sugar and stir it up. You can keep adding sugar ’til it tastes right to you, though don’t be surprised if it never quite gets there.”

  Elena smiled and started concocting her version of cafe latte. She still made a little bit of a face when she was finished and took another tentative sip, but she looked up at everyone and smiled at the adults, very pleased with herself.

  Cass smiled, too. She knew what Elena was trying to do and it was for Cass’s benefit as much as it was for her parents. Elena was telling her big sister she was old enough to make her own decisions in life, including those about boys.

  She decided to let things slide for now. Cass wanted to talk more with Elena about what had happened the night before, but now wasn’t the time.

  Her mom looked up from her plate. “I’m sorry to hear you have to go, Simon. Are you traveling far?”

  He shook his head. “No, just up to Boston.”

  “That’s not too bad,” her mom remarked. “It’s only an hour or so by plane, right?”

  “Yes, just a little over that. We’ve got a lead on something and I’m going to track it down no matter what. We’ve got our best people up there on it already and we think we’ll be able to get things resolved within a day or two.”

  As he made the last statement, Simon looked directly at Cass and met her eyes. There was no doubt in her mind he was talking about Shelby now. He gave her a hint of a smile that sent a shiver down her spine, then went back to eating his breakfast.

  Cass wanted to scream at him to leave Shelby alone. She knew that wouldn’t solve anything. The only thing she could do was find out if Shelby was all right. The problem was, Shelby had gone dark and the only way she was going to talk to anyone was if Shelby initiated the call herself. Hopefully, she’d reach out soon and Cass could tell her what she knew.

  After breakfast, her parents walked Simon out to his car in the driveway while Elena and Cass cleaned up the dishes.

  Once they were alone, Cass nudged her sister with her elbow as they stood at the sink. “I’ve decided not to say anything to Mom and Dad, squirt.”

  “Really? What changed your mind?”

  “I decided that embarrassing you was enough of a punishment. I hope you understand what I was trying to tell you, though. Boys like Phil are nothing but trouble. Find somebody closer to your own age. You’ll be much happier in the long run.”

  “The boys my age are idiots, Cass. Remember when you were fourteen? I know you liked girls and all, but you remember what idiots boys were a
t that age, right?”

  “Honestly, Elena, according to Mom, boys are rarely anything but idiots. Even when they’re grown and old enough to make decisions for themselves, they often make bad ones when it comes to girls.”

  They both laughed at that.

  “Seriously, though, I want you to be careful. You can’t afford to get yourself into any kind of trouble that you can’t get out of. I won’t always be here to help you. You know how Mom and Dad will react if they catch you.”

  “Yeah, but you’re gonna be around for a while, right?”

  “I can’t stay here too long, Elena. You saw what happened with my face. The patch is temporary and will eventually wear out unless I get a new one. Think about it. Where am I going to get that kind of thing around here?”

  Elena handed Cass another plate to put in the dishwasher and shook her head. “I don’t know, maybe we can take a trip into town just the two of us and find someplace there. I mean, you found a place to get that thing to begin with.”

  “That was in the city. Small towns around here aren’t going to have anything like what I need. And even if they did, most likely someone there will recognize me or word of it will get back to people here in the enclave. Small towns are like that, even with people like us. Someone’s bound to say something.”

  “You know Mom and Dad don’t want you going back. How are you going to get around that?”

  “I told them, just like I told you. I am still going back, no matter what. I’ll figure out a way to make it work. I don’t know how yet, but I will.”

  Elena fell silent and the two of them finished up the dishes without saying anything else. They didn’t get a chance to talk anymore because their parents returned from seeing Simon off.

  Her mom smiled as she entered the kitchen. “Oh, good, you cleaned everything up for me. I was just telling your father how grown-up you two have gotten. You girls are drinking coffee and all and now this. It makes me think that you two can take care of yourselves well enough that maybe your father and I can finally go on a vacation, just the two of us.”