by H. L. Burke
I wasn’t supposed to sleep at all. I was supposed to leave last night. Great.
“I’ll take that as a no. Do you drink coffee? I can ask Prism if she’ll let you have some coffee.”
“Sure—” Jake moaned.
He kept his face in his pillow as Marco scurried from the room.
So much for escaping.
He rolled out of bed and fished his jeans off the floor. As he did, Fade’s car keys clinked in his pocket. He swallowed. Would Fade have noticed that they were missing yet? He needed to put them back pronto.
As soon as he dressed, he hurried from the room only to run into Laleh exiting the bathroom.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
His face warmed. “Long story.” A thought struck him. “Look, can you reactivate the tracker in my disruptor cuff? I don’t want Prism to notice it’s not tracking me.”
Laleh looked up and down the hall before hovering one hand over the metal anklet. Her fingers sparked, and irritating energy snaked up Jake’s leg into his body. He winced. He had hoped she would activate the tracker without reactivating the power suppression.
“I really thought you’d be miles from here by now,” she said as she stood.
“Sorry to disappoint.” He frowned. “Hopefully soon.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “This doesn’t mean you’re going to tell Prism about Wherezit, does it?”
“Nope.” He might need that for leverage later, after all.
“Good.” She continued down the stairs without another word.
Jake followed after her. The smell of coffee and bacon hit him about halfway down the stairs, and his stomach grumbled. He needed to get rid of the car keys first, but before he could head to the mud room, the door beyond it opened and Prism entered carrying a small basket of eggs. He quickly turned and entered the dining room, keys still in his pocket.
Fade looked up from scrambling eggs on the stove. “Grab a plate. These are done.”
Jake obeyed and got in line behind Laleh who went straight for the toast, edging away from the bacon as if it might bite her.
Ruby was in her highchair, and Marco sat at the table already, sipping orange juice.
“I asked Prism. She said it was okay if you had coffee, Jake,” Marco said.
“Thanks,” Jake mumbled. He would’ve preferred an energy drink, but he couldn’t see Prism allowing that.
“Cups are in the cabinet above the coffee maker.” Prism entered, put the eggs down beside the sink, and pointed towards the cabinet.
Jake poured himself a cup then brought that and his breakfast to the table.
“Oh, Fade, when I was getting the eggs, I noticed there’s a hole in the chicken wire at the back of the coop,” Prism said. “It’s not big enough that I think they’ll be able to get out through it, but something might get in and get at them. They’re just now starting to really lay. I don’t want to lose one to a raccoon or a bobcat.”
“I’ll get it fixed.” Fade nodded. “I think there’s some spare chicken wire in the garage.”
“Thank you.” Something buzzed, and Prism pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Oh, dang.”
“What is it?” Fade asked, passing her a plate.
“It’s a reminder for my doctor’s appointment tomorrow. I’d forgotten that was coming up.” She bit her bottom lip. “I don’t want to drive all the way into Bend right now. It feels like we just got settled. Also ...” She glanced at the teens around the dining room table. “I really wanted you to go with me to this one.”
“Do you really need me there?” Fade frowned. “We can’t leave the kids alone, and there’s no way DOSA could get a qualified guardian out here on such short notice.”
“I really wanted you there.” Prism’s lips pursed. “This is the appointment we’re supposed to find out what we’re having, after all.”
“I was under the impression it was a baby.” Fade winked.
“You know what I mean.” She playfully slapped his arm.
Jake shifted awkwardly in his chair, uncomfortable about the pregnancy talk. Yeah, he knew that was where people came from. Didn’t make it feel any less weird, though. As he moved, the keys settled deeper into his pocket. He needed to take care of that.
Laleh sat at the far end of the table from Jake, avoiding looking in his direction.
“I was thinking maybe we could take them,” Prism said.
Fade cast her a skeptical look. “To your doctor’s appointment?”
“No,” Prism replied. “When I told the Bend team we’d be setting up shop near them for this project, Quickblade told me if we ever needed help to give him a call. I think it would be cool for the kids to see the workings of a real DOSA team, don’t you?”
“So we just drop the teens with Quickblade?” Fade frowned.
Jake’s ears twitched. Escaping while in a city, even one in the middle of nowhere, would be easier than escaping from the camp. He’d simply need to get Laleh to deactivate his disruptor cuff again.
“I was thinking we could make a day of it. Let them tour the DOSA branch with Quickblade and his team during my appointment, then take them out to dinner. Maybe even to see a movie?” Prism said. “I’ll need to call Quickblade and make sure it works for him and his team, but if it does, it might be a nice outing, and it would let you be there for the ultrasound.”
“If he says yes, I guess.” Fade sipped at his coffee.
The teens settled into eating, Jake trying not to think of the keys in his pocket.
Prism sat down next to the highchair and sliced a banana up with a butter knife for Ruby before turning on her phone and scrolling. She glanced at the teens, then at Fade, then back at her phone.
“Fade, I need to show you something,” she said.
She stood and led her husband out of the room.
Jake’s pulse quickened. What was that about? He pushed aside his mostly empty plate and reached into his pocket to check on the keys. Yep, still there.
The front door opened and shut a few minutes later. Jake swallowed. Had they figured out he’d tried to escape? Should he ask Laleh to remove his disruptor so he could make a break for it now? What if she said no? After all, all he had on her was that stupid ferret. Plus Marco was right there, and he might run and get Prism—
The door opened again, and Fade and Prism strode in. Ruby laughed at her parents’ return, waving hands now covered in smashed bananas.
Prism positioned herself at the head of the table, Fade looming over her, and flicked her gaze over the kids. Both of them had stern, disappointed expressions.
Jake’s tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. Yeah, they’d figured out something. How or what he wasn’t sure, but they knew ... something.
“Marco, we need to talk,” Prism said.
Jake blinked. Marco?
Marco paused, a strip of bacon hanging out of his mouth. “Okay,” he said, mid-chew. “What about?”
“Did you leave the house last night?” Prism asked.
“Uh, yeah, I did, just to get some fresh air,” Marco answered. “I didn’t think ... is it against the rules? No one said that would be against the rules.”
“Normally, it wouldn’t be, but ... did you do anything else while you were outside?” Prism’s eyes bored into the kid.
Jake swallowed.
“Not really. Just kind of walked around.” Marco cast Jake a side-eye, not accusing but definitely confused. Jake dipped his head towards the table and stayed quiet.
Prism and Fade exchanged a glance, then Prism spoke. “Someone was in the garage last night. They knocked a lantern off a shelf and busted it. Also Fade’s keys are missing. When I checked the tracking data on the disruptor cuffs just now, only you left the house last night.”
Jake’s gut clenched. Oh, man. All Marco would have to do is say he was out there too. If he did that, Laleh might even back him up.
Instead, Marco shrank down in his chair. “I ... I don’t know. I just went for a walk
. I promise I didn’t go into the garage or take the keys.”
“So you’re saying that someone broke into the house just to take my keys, get into the garage, and break a lantern, leaving no other trace?” Fade crossed his arms over his chest. “Marco, we both know you’re not a bad kid. If you did something—”
“I didn’t!” he wailed.
Jake’s head spun. The kid wasn’t going to rat him out? Did he even realize what was going on? Even if he didn’t, Laleh had to.
Laleh opened her mouth then shut it again. She glanced around the room in desperation, meeting Jake’s eyes. He drew back. Why wasn’t she talking? She could tell Prism and Fade the truth. She knew it had to be Jake. After all, she was the one who ... oh, crap. She couldn’t tell without giving away that she’d tampered with Jake’s disruptor. She’d be in just as much trouble as he was then. Apparently she didn’t like Marco enough to take the fall for that. Contempt rippled through Jake.
Typical.
“I swear,” Marco whispered, his quavering voice stabbing Jake in the chest.
“I want to believe you, Marco,” Prism replied. “That said, I don’t have another explanation for what happened last night. Unless you can give me something more to clear yourself, there will have to be consequences—”
“Please don’t make me leave.” Marco turned his huge brown eyes on Prism who shuddered noticeably. “I just got here. Please. You can’t send me away.”
Jake jumped out of his chair as if it had bitten him. “It was me!”
Everyone gaped at him. Fade’s eyebrows shot up so far Jake wondered if they’d make it to the top of his bald head and start growing as hair.
Prism swallowed. “Jake ...”
“I can prove it.” Jake pulled the keys out of his pocket and plopped them in the middle of the table.
Fade snatched them up and examined them, touching each key in turn, probably to make sure there weren’t any missing.
“How, though?” Prism’s brow furrowed. “My tracking program doesn’t even show that you left the house.”
Across the table, Laleh’s shoulders hunched.
Jake focused on Prism so she wouldn’t catch him looking at Laleh. “I can’t help you there. You can check it now if you want to. It’s still working.” He put his foot up on the dining room table, right next to Laleh’s plate, just for the heck of it, and pulled up his pant leg to reveal the anklet.
Prism held her phone over it, accessing one of her DOSA apps. A light rose from the device, and her phone beeped. “It’s operating perfectly according to this. I might have to call DOSA’s IT department for a diagnostic.” She then faced Jake, who took his foot off the table. “What were you planning?” she asked. “You couldn’t have gotten far with your disruptor on.”
“I just ... needed to get out.” Why hadn’t he kept his mouth shut? What would happen now? Back to a holding cell?
“Marco, I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.” Prism let out a breath. “Like I said to Marco, Jake, there needs to be consequences. However, you came clean when you could’ve let Marco take the fall and even if it wasn’t your intent, your confession let me realize this tracking system isn’t as infallible as I thought it was. In some ways, I’m indebted to you.”
“Still, consequences, definitely.” Fade’s tone was ice to his wife’s warmth.
“We’ll talk about it later.” Prism went to the sink and took out a rag. She then walked to her daughter and wiped off her hands and face. “Messy baby.”
Jake collapsed back into his chair. Consequences could mean anything, but for the moment, at least, he didn’t seem in danger of expulsion from the camp.
A vehicle horn honked. Prism unfastened Ruby from her highchair. “That has to be the UPS guy. Fade, could you go get the package? It’ll be a big one, if it is what I think it is.”
He left the room. A few minutes later, he returned lugging a large box.
“Laleh, this is for you,” Prism said.
Laleh gave her a blank stare. “Huh?”
“Open it and see.” Prism’s eyes glinted with mischief.
Laleh rose from her chair and opened the box. Inside it was another, slightly smaller box, this one with a picture of a ferret cage on it. Her jaw dropped.
“Some assembly required, but we can work on that after we finish the dishes,” Prism said.
Jake laughed. “You’re not as sneaky as you think you are, are you, Princess?”
She spun to glare at him. “Princess?”
“It fits you,” Jake said.
Marco guffawed, and Fade put his hand over his mouth in a poor attempt to cover a smirk.
“I figure your little invisible friend will be better off in here than running around your room getting into everything,” Prism explained.
“How’d you ... I mean, he’s invisible,” Laleh stammered.
“The whole upstairs smells like musk, and I read your file about the great ferret escape.” Prism rolled her eyes. “I’m an idealist, not an idiot.” She motioned towards the stairs. “Why don’t you go get whatever its name is?”
“Wherezit!” Laleh rushed out of the room and up the stairs.
“What about Jake?” Fade murmured.
“Like I said, consequences, but I need to give it some thought,” Prism replied. “For now, Jake, why don’t you take the cage up to the computer room and start setting it up.”
Jake hoisted it up and headed up the stairs. To his surprise, Laleh waited at the top.
“I guess I can’t hold the ferret thing over you anymore, huh?” He gave her an apologetic smile.
“It was dumb that I let you do it in the first place.” Laleh frowned. “I should’ve known Prism would be cool about it. She’s like that.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Jake leaned the box up against the wall and scratched the back of his neck.
“I ... I need to ask you something.” Laleh hugged herself, staring at her feet for a moment, before she spoke again. “I wasn’t brave enough to speak up and take the consequences to help Marco.” She peered into his eyes as if convinced he was hiding something behind them. “But you were. How?”
Jake shrugged. “I have less to lose than you do, I guess. Everyone knows I’m a lost cause.”
She shook her head. “A lost cause wouldn’t have risked their freedom to help Marco. I was wrong about you, Jake. You’re not a monster, and I’m sorry I said you were.”
His cheeks warmed. Just because he didn’t want to see that kid hurt didn’t mean he was a good guy. “Don’t expect too much of me. It was a one time thing.”
“You could’ve thrown me under the bus back there, too, you know?” she said. “Why didn’t you?”
“Wouldn’t have gotten me anything. No point.” He shuffled his feet. “Look, if Prism hears us talking, she’ll figure out what happened with the disruptors. I’d rather keep your ability to do that in our back pocket, just in case we need it.”
“I guess that’s smart.” Laleh nodded slowly. “Thanks, Jake. Marco doesn’t understand what happened back there, and I think it’s best that we keep it that way, but I do, and I owe you one. I owe you one big time.”
Laleh ducked into her room. As soon as she closed the door behind her, she started calling to her ferret.
“Wherezit? Where are you? Come on out! I’ll get you some num nums.”
Jake laughed quietly before opening the door to the computer room and dragging the ferret cage inside.
As soon as he was alone, his shoulders gave out. He’d taken two steps backwards with his escape plan. And why? To help a random kid who he’d known for less than a week?
Bad move, kid. Stupid move. Cut yourself off at the feet because you were too weak to accept a little collateral damage. It’s going to cost you.
Jake tried to push down the voice in his head that always sounded like his uncle. He needed to be more careful next time.
Still, if Laleh trusted him now, maybe she’d be more willing to help him next time. Maybe he could
work this to his advantage. Maybe the way out wasn’t by fighting the system but by pretending to go along with it until his captors got lazy.
Either way, he had to think smarter and work harder to make up for screwing up last night.
Chapter Fourteen
“All right, your pet’s palace is prepared!” Prism stepped back from putting the last of several ferret toys in place in the now set up cage.
Jake rolled his eyes, but Laleh beamed as she approached the cage carrying a currently invisible Wherezit. Prism held open one of the cage doors, and Laleh awkwardly fed the animal through it. Wherezit immediately flickered back into sight and rushed the food pellets. He ate ravenously, making satisfied clucking noises as he did.
Laleh gave their guardians a hopeful look. “I read online that ferrets are social creatures and are much happier with a friend. That’s a pretty big cage. I bet it could fit one or two more ...”
“We’ll see,” Prism interrupted. “I hadn’t planned for you all to get your own pets, let alone multiple pets.”
“You were saying you wanted a cat though,” Fade teased before slipping his arm around his wife’s shoulders.
Her face softened. “I do really really really like cats ... that said, I doubt cats get along with ferrets.”
“No, they don’t.” Laleh frowned. “From what I read ...”
“Are we done here?” Jake interrupted, sensing that Laleh was about to start a lecture on ferret needs.
Laleh wrinkled her nose at him.
“Here, yes, but my plans for the day involve setting you all up with chores.” Prism dusted off some stray ferret bedding from her pants and walked to where Ruby was playing on her playmat while Marco “supervised.” “Thanks for keeping her busy, Marco.”
“I like her. She’s cute.” Marco finished stacking a tower of plastic cups. As soon as he was done, the toddler knocked it over. The cups rolled across the floor as Ruby cackled.
“Knocking down buildings already,” Prism clicked her tongue. “That’s what I get for having a baby with a supervillain.”
Jake’s ears pricked. What?
He cast Fade a quick glance, wondering what the joke meant.
