Lucid Design

by Kate Tailor

  Raleigh had to give Marcel credit. He noticed things and didn’t seem willing to give papers over unless it was for good cause. A creepy guy, but one with morals—or at least lines he was unwilling to cross.

  “Have I ever lied to you, Marcel?” Rho asked.

  Marcel rubbed his chin, inspecting Raleigh. “I can think of a way to prove it.”

  Brent shook his head. “I didn’t bring the extraction machine. We try our best to not draw attention to that.”

  Marcel turned to Brent. “Sigma likes to take the company of some of the women I know. For a small fee, I give him their names. They line up. Do you know why?”

  “He looks like Rho?” She bit her lip.

  Marcel laughed in a hearty way that filled his lungs. “Yes, that would probably be enough to form a line out the door. No, in this case they are women with some receptors, and they get a small hit from engaging with him. A kiss is worth a fraction of a vial, but they can tell. The first time one asked I had to assure her that he had dosed up before he took her to bed. I didn’t want your secret getting out, Rho. Most people dose before sex. Sensing during that is phenomenal. But then, I don’t need to tell you that.”

  Rho perched on the edge of his seat, no longer stoic. Raleigh didn’t like the direction this was going.

  Brent mirrored the casualness of their host but wasn’t smiling. “Raleigh isn’t going to have sex with you.”

  “Usually the girl is the one who answers that question.” Marcel grinned. “And sex isn’t needed. Merely a kiss.”

  Rho jumped out of his seat. “This is ridiculous. If you can’t take me at my word....”

  Marcel flipped a his hand in the air indicating Rho’s chair. “Sit down. You prudish Americans get squeamish about the silliest things.”

  The skin on her arms stood on edge, she wanted to be one floor down or, better yet, gone. Even with the barricade, she knew Rho itched to fight. It was just a kiss. “I’ll do it.”

  “Raleigh, you don’t have to.” Rho spoke to her, but his eyes were on Marcel.

  “It’s fine.” She’d kissed two boys before. The first was awkward and something told her this was going to be worse. She tried to appear indifferent.

  Marcel shifted to the front of his seat, and she did the same. His fingers drifted along her jawline.

  “My, your heart is beating fast.” He drew her gently to him and slowly opened her mouth with his. It was a deep kiss, his fingers holding her face in place. After swirling his tongue against hers, they separated. She expected him to sit back, but he whispered in her ear, “Give me one night, and I’ll let you keep your week’s worth of vials.”

  She sensed a force moving him back in his chair against his will, Rho and the bartender now on their feet. Marcel’s pupils dilated despite the room being relatively dark. Even a man like him feared things.

  Marcel smiled. “Message received. I’m surprised she makes it, but I can see you’re telling the truth.”

  Rho released him and reached down to take Raleigh’s hand.

  Brent removed an envelope from his pocket. “You have your proof. I’ll be back in a week. Here are her real documents.”

  Marcel stood and took the envelope, checking inside. “Done. I hope that I will see you all again. You should be going now. Collin is no doubt downstairs pacing a hole in my floor.”

  Rho and Brent shook Marcel’s hand, and Raleigh made a point of sticking hers out before he could say farewell the same way he’d greeted her.

  Marcel shook it but didn’t let go right away. “I can offer you more safety than they can. Rho is the kindest of the brothers I’ve met. I know I make you nervous, but I am the safer alternative. Take my card.”

  “She won’t need it.” Rho wrapped his arm around her shoulder, folding her into him.

  “Your brothers believe that naturals are lesser. Don’t fool yourself into thinking Lucid is what matters. To Sigma, Lucid is a tool to control and buy people. He will not like that he can do neither with her. She will not be seen as an equal. You may not like it, but I have the resources and the reputation to keep her safe.”

  Brent stepped between the two. “Thanks. It’s something to consider. But you can understand why we’re keeping her with us.”

  “Yes.” Marcel gave them a long, considering look. “See you in a week.”

  The three left their host and returned downstairs, Rho’s arm tightly knit around her waist as they passed the bouncer.

  Tossing up his arms, Brent grabbed Rho before they found Collin. “Did you have to influence him? You do know that you could’ve been shot!”

  “I had my attention on the bartender’s trigger finger, too. Raleigh, don’t you ever agree to something like that again.”

  Brent shook his head and pointed to Rho’s chest. “It was one kiss, you overreacted. He’d want to get his hooks into her either way. Part of it, I’m sure, was to see how you’d react. And yes, you behaved as he thought you would.”

  Collin made his way through the crowd and over to them. Trevor followed steps behind, his shoulders pulled in as to not touch the other patrons.

  Collin studied Rho’s face. “What’s wrong?”

  None of them answered, and Rho draped his arm over Raleigh as they navigated the crowd. As predicted, things picked up, but the crowd separated as Rho marched through to the exit. She enjoyed the warmth of his arm around her but could feel the muscles strained underneath his skin. The touch’s main purpose was protection, not flirtation.

  Outside a breeze lifted the skirts of a few girls smoking near the door. Rho withdrew his arm from Raleigh and shrugged out of his jacket. Then he wrapped it over her shoulders and led his team and her a few yards from the club.

  Trevor grabbed Rho’s arm. “Are you mad because the deal’s off?”

  Rho didn’t answer, instead putting more distance between them and Marcel’s. Soon they arrived at a busier intersection, the car lights illuminating their path.

  Brent shook his head. “The deal’s on, and we have the phone number. Mu and Tau have been captured by Grant and Able.”

  “That’s bad.” Trevor’s lungs tightened due to the clipped pace, and Rho slowed.

  Collin held out his hands. “Calm down, Rho. We can work on getting them out. I’m sure that’s what Sigma and the others are planning.”

  “I’m sure we will,” Rho said. “If G and A wanted them dead, they would be. It may not be pleasant, but they’re probably not in danger of dying anytime soon.”

  “Then you can calm down.”

  Brent whistled through his teeth. “That’s not what’s bugging him.” He tilted his head in Raleigh’s direction.

  Collin squinted his eyes, and Rho held up his hand. “It’s not Raleigh’s fault. It’s Marcel’s—but I should’ve expected that.”

  The wind tugged her hair, and she reached her hand out from the tent of jacket to put it back. “Really, it wasn’t that bad. Marcel isn’t a bad kisser, and it was over pretty quickly.”

  “I am so glad to hear that,” Rho said sarcastically, tossing up his hands.

  “He’s kind of good-looking, in a slightly scary way,” Brent added. “Besides, influencing him was way out of line. You acted as if you don’t know who he is.”

  “You influenced Marcel?” Collin moved closer to Rho.

  Brent flanked Rho on the other side. “You need to tell Raleigh about Mu. You’re naive if you think Marcel’s the only one who will make her that kind of offer.”

  Rho stopped walking and held up his hand. A taxi skidded to the curb and he opened the door. “Guys, go home. Raleigh, you and I are taking a walk.”

  Brent shoved Collin in before he complained, and Trevor slid in next. The car drove off, and Raleigh and Rho stood together alone on the sidewalk. Rho liked to discuss difficult topics during walks. Before meeting him, walks to her had always been such quiet, peaceful things.

  Rho’s sour mood evaporated. He fell into an easy pace beside her. “You have to be careful about who you
become romantically involved with.”

  “Yeah, I got that. I’m not getting romantically involved with Marcel. I just kissed him, so he’d agree to get the papers.”

  Rho sighed, and his gait elongated. “I’m going to tell you about what happened to Mu.”

  “One of your brothers?”

  “Yes, one of the nicer ones. Some of us had girlfriends before we went to the island at fifteen, but most of us hadn’t. After we got out, dating wasn’t really an option. Relationships are hard to have when you might leave at any moment, and danger tends to follow us. Mu hid out in the city and eventually met a girl. They were friends at first, and then the lines blurred, and she became his girlfriend.”

  “Did she know he was Designed?”

  “No. Everything went well the first month. But as time passed Mu started to think that maybe she wasn’t the girl for him. When he tried to break things off, she got violent with him. She stalked him for months until he left. It was uncharacteristic of her, and it didn’t take much for Mu to figure out it was his Lucid she missed. Each time they kissed, like you did back there with Marcel, she got a small hit. Addiction appears to be related to receptor volume and exposure, and she was being exposed.”

  “I have a lot. Does that mean I’m addicted?” Raleigh stopped, her feet tired. The empty buildings on the side of the street had their metal gates down for the night. Only the occasional person could be heard in the distance.

  “You’re like me. You can’t live without it, but you don’t have to take it. So, no, I don’t put us in that category.”

  “Could I get addicted to yours since it’s different?”

  Rho shook his head. “It’s not that different. It’s smoother. I guess you can try it if you want.”

  Raleigh gazed at his lips. “Maybe another day.”

  “Geez, Raleigh. Lighten up. I meant a vial.” But he didn’t move away from her.

  She turned away. “So... no dating. How lonely.”

  “You can date. It just has to be a guy who doesn’t have receptors, which limits you to half the population. I would hate to think of you being in the position Mu was in. It was scary enough, and she was a sweet girl to start.”

  “Should we be worried about Collin?”

  “He’s not going to force himself on you like Mu’s girlfriend tried with him.” He paused.

  “What?”

  “It was one of the reasons we left the island. Some of the Receps in the private army were disobedient when they were taken off Lucid. It was a bad situation for the guys with a lot of receptors who were used to a daily dose. Gamma was assaulted.”

  “That’s horrible.” The wind blew harder, bringing with it a chill. She pictured someone as strong and heartless as Collin forcing himself on her and shuttered.

  “They were stopped pretty early. But yeah, it was obvious by then what Lucid was doing to the Receps. People act out of character when they need something like that.”

  “But you’re not worried about Collin?”

  “He went a year without it.”

  “He certainly wants you, but Brent says it isn’t sexual.”

  “It isn’t. I could cut Collin loose, but I’m worried about him. This has become his life. I’m not sure what he would do back in the Midwest. College? After this life? Some of the Receps resorted to taking the synthetic. I don’t want that to be him.”

  “He needs help.”

  “He’s a mess right now. Even though it wasn’t his fault that I was taken, he believes it is. Then, when they found me, he couldn’t save me. Then you do the impossible. Now he feels his role in the group is under threat.”

  “You think I could be your bodyguard?” Raleigh punched his shoulder playfully.

  “It would have to be a mutual watch each other’s back thing. But yes. Given the ease with which you picked up influencing, I’d say that one day you’re going to be incredibly strong. Stronger than Collin could ever hope to be.” Rho backed up to the main street and hailed a cab. “I know he’s being a jerk, but can you cut him some slack?”

  Raleigh nodded her head. She wanted to be strong. She wanted to have an idea about where she belonged. But most of all, she didn’t want to feel like she was just along for the ride. She wanted to be the driver.

  14

  A WEEK PASSED in a haze of influencing and barricading lessons. Brent went alone to see Marcel the second time and returned with Raleigh’s real and fake passports. As promised, the counterfeits were indistinguishable from the real. Raleigh spoke to her parents twice, and they hadn’t noticed the bags under their daughter’s eyes or listened well enough to hear the household of males she now stayed with. Thalia was due to start her junior year, and that distracted them well enough. Life in Colorado moved on without Raleigh, and no one questioned if she was still in Belgium. Unfortunately, the good times in Paris had an expiration date.

  With the freshly-minted passport just hours in her hand, Raleigh and Rho headed for the airport, States bound. Their destination a secret to the group, Raleigh’s only clue was that their final stop was San Francisco. When the Designed met, they didn’t bring their entourages. Collin had pressed Rho, but the others seemed happier not to know.

  The plane’s flaps caught the foggy air, and it bounced the passengers on landing. Raleigh’s stomach, already knotted, dropped. “My brother lives in California,” she told Rho as they disembarked. “San Diego. We flew out two years ago. It’s one of the few places that I’ve visited.”

  “San Francisco is different.” Cloudy skies proved his point, and the weather reminded her of autumn rather than summer. Rho hailed a cab. “We probably won’t be here long.”

  “Why is that?” She stepped back as the cab parked on the curb.

  “It puts a large target on us. Easier for people who are looking for us to find us if we’re all in the same place. Slip-ups happen, and we’re more likely to have them if we’re all holed up together.”

  With both hands, Rho heaved the bag into the trunk and handed the cabbie a small piece of paper with the address. The bag was impractical for these short trips. She vowed to travel light from now on, but there was little she could do now.

  The inside of the cab smelled of body odor. She cracked the window, noticing that Rho did the same, his eyes lingering on the airport as they drove off. He’d been pleasant, but more contemplative, since the meeting with Marcel.

  “Do you regret bringing me?” Marcel’s warning about the Designed not accepting her curled her toes.

  “Why would you think that?”

  “You’re sad.”

  Rho flicked his eyes to the rearview mirror, the driver’s techno music loud enough to muffle his words. “I can’t stop thinking about Mu. He’s a great guy, creative, hilarious. He’s from Austin. His parents are a couple of hippies. Every year he dyes his hair a new wild color.”

  “That can’t be good for blending in.”

  “Neither is playing in a band, but that hasn’t stopped him. The guy is crazy-talented on guitar, and now he’s in trouble.”

  “They’ll get him back, right?”

  “There are only so many near misses before one of us gets hit.” He rested his hand absentmindedly on his port as they drove.

  “Did you tell them you were bringing me?” Raleigh asked.

  “I didn’t speak to any of them. I talked to one of the guys on Sigma’s team. All he gave me was an address.”

  “What if they don’t want me along?”

  “If they don’t want us, we’ll leave.”

  “Where will we go?”

  “We’ll figure that out if we have to.”

  None of these answers satisfied her. She pulled on a loose fiber of her jacket. If she needed, she could go home. California was closer to Colorado than Belgium, a two-day drive or a few hours on a plane.

  The breeze fluttering through the top of the window smelled sweeter as they entered wine country, the rolling hills and open spaces a welcomed reprieve from the past weeks of c
ity living. The sun splayed out from puffy white clouds bathing her face in warmth. Uncongested, houses here sat far apart and isolated. The driver rolled up to a winery, parked, and retrieved Raleigh’s bag while Rho paid.

  Raleigh slid out of the car, her eyes on the vineyards and the tourists that were buzzed on alcohol. Their minds were fuzzy, but she doubted so unobservant that they wouldn’t notice four sets of triplets. Surely they weren’t stopping here.

  Rho extended the telescoping handle of her bag with a click and pointed at a path. “We have a walk. I didn’t want the driver to know our location.”

  They trekked through the green hills, their shoes and the wheels of her bag were caked with mud by the time they reached a lone house. She wiped the back of her neck with her hand and turned towards Rho. Unlike her, he didn’t have bags under his eyes from the turbulent flight or splotches from the sunshine-filled hike. He stood facing the house, perfect as always. Their differences shone through in the little things, and she wondered if Lucid would be enough of a common bond for his brothers to accept her.

  “This place is huge. Quite the place to hide out,” she said. If it had been Raleigh’s choice, she would’ve chosen a small space in a busy area—one that had people coming and going, not one where everyone knew each other well enough to recognize a stranger.

  “Sigma owns it but rents it out for most of the year. We can’t go just anywhere. With the number of us that look alike, we stand out.”

  “So, two of them look like you?”

  “Two did. Just one now. Sigma. My other triplet, Pi, was drained to death a year ago.”

  Raleigh’s heart twisted. She’d seen Rho when death was upon him, and she could imagine what Pi had endured.

  As they climbed the front steps, she scrambled to tame the hairs that had escaped her ponytail. Straightening her shirt, she sniffed to make sure she didn’t smell too ripe from the trip. Rho pressed the doorbell, and a small chime announced them.

  The door cracked open. Raleigh had expected Sigma, but the guy who stood on the other side had blond hair and eyes as green as the surrounding hills. “Rho!” He rushed out and wrapped Rho up in a tight embrace, his smile hidden in his brother’s shirt.