by H. L. Burke
“I have to come back. I’m bringing you guys the money, remember?” he said simply.
“Is that the only reason you’re coming back, though? I mean—” She shuffled her feet. “I thought we’d made some progress, you know? That maybe you’d changed your mind about us being a team—”
Jake’s chest tightened. “I told you that wasn’t going to happen.”
“But so much has changed since then—” she protested.
“Nothing’s changed, Laleh.” He hardened his expression. “You’re not going to convert me into a hero for DOSA brownie points.”
“I’m not after DOSA brownie points!” she protested.
“Oh, really? Because it seems like that’s been what you’re after ever since you joined the camp, trying to get your own team, trying to impress Prism and Fade on the exercises.” He narrowed his eyes at her. “I may not be a hero, but at least I’m honest about it. You’re pretending to be selfless when any idiot can see you’re only in this for yourself.”
Her bottom lip quivered, and for a moment his anger faltered. He kept his face stony, though.
Laleh’s chin dropped towards her chest, and she crouched before him. A moment later, there was a click and his powers flooded back through his body. He shook out his leg in relief as she stood.
Her eyes burned into him. “All right. So you’re not a hero, but remember, if you don’t come back, it’ll cost Marco everything. Maybe you’re a supervillain jerk and maybe I’m a spoiled selfish rich kid, but Marco? Marco has everything it takes to be a hero, Jake, and if you hurt him, I will never forgive you.”
If that happened, Jake would never forgive himself either, but that was all the more reason he had to see this through.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Jake lay on his mattress, his muscles so stiff they were starting to ache. He’d had to share a room with Marco again, but this time instead of bunk beds there was a single twin with a pull out beneath it. Knowing that he’d have to sneak out, Jake had agreed to take the pull out.
He glanced at the digital clock next to the bed. 12:15. If he left now, he’d be early, but it would be better to give himself a little time. He sat up and waited to see if Marco stirred. He didn’t. Good because Jake didn’t want to have to explain himself.
After slipping on his shoes and jacket, he fished his stolen phone out from under the mattress where he’d hidden it. He turned it back on, unlocked it, and navigated to the map app. The route to the gang’s meeting place stretched out before him, still suggesting a half hour walk.
Time to get this over with.
Pulling up his powers, he stepped right through the wall and out onto the narrow side yard between their safe house and the building beside it.
Jake took the back way, avoiding the front of the house and twisting around a few side streets. He glanced down at the phone. His winding path had added a little time to his journey, but if he kept up the pace, he’d still make it there before the agreed upon time.
A car passed by on the road. Jake ducked his head and kept walking. The light pollution from the nearby city hid the stars, but most of the houses were dark. Faint, flickering street lights illuminated small sections of sidewalk every half block or so. He avoided these, keeping to the shadows, whenever possible.
Up ahead, across a larger, busier street, the residential area ended and an industrial section opened up. He could see storage units and warehouses. The arrow on his map pointed him directly towards the storage units.
When he reached the crosswalk, a red hand pulsed on the light, warning him to wait. He considered bolting across anyway, but it was dark and cars were flying by. Even though he could fragment and avoid being killed, someone might call the police if their vehicle passed through a weird phantom being in the middle of the road.
Loud voices drew his attention. A boisterous group walked down the sidewalk towards him, the front two swaying. Drunks on their way back from a night partying? What if they saw Jake? What if they noticed he was a kid out on his own? Would they say something?
Heart in his throat he pushed the silver button to try and get the light to change. When the party was almost upon him, the light for the cars switched to red, and across the way the crosswalk signal turned to a little white walking man.
Jake all but sprinted across the road. As soon as he’d made it, he glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then fragmented himself through the chain link fence surrounding the industrial park. He kept running.
His arrow merged with the pin marking his destination right in front of the short-term storage facility. He paused. This didn’t seem right. Yeah, this was only one of the gang’s many hideaways, but they usually needed more space than these units would provide. A warehouse or a garage where they could squat would be more typical. These units were mostly interior, little more than glorified closets.
He could see inside the building. The halls were lit in spite of the late hour, probably to discourage criminal activity—activity like the Sand Foxes’s typical business.
Needing reassurance that he was in the right spot, he navigated to the text message he’d exchanged earlier with the gang’s agent.
I’m outside.
The contact replied almost immediately. Unit 2-14. Door code 4884.
He let out a breath. So 2 probably meant the second floor. They’d have a little more privacy there at least. Sticking his phone back into his jacket pocket, he walked to the front of the building where there was a door with a code lock. He stood for a moment, allowing his powers to circulate around his body. With his anklet disabled, he could easily fragment his way through the cracks around the door—or even through it—but something made him want to keep his access to his full powers a secret. He keyed in the code from the text. A green light blinked over the handle, and he opened the door and walked in.
Inside an air-conditioning unit whined. A staircase led up to the second story. Once at the top of the stairs, he started counting doors. Before he’d passed two, however, a man stepped into the hallway in front of him. He froze.
“Jake?” The man moved out of the shadows, and Jake relaxed slightly. He knew this guy. Name was Carter, a strength sable his uncle had recruited to the gang just a few years before, not long after Jake had started working with them.
“Yeah, it’s me. Do you have the money?”
“Someone wants to talk to you first.” Carter pulled up the garage style door of one of the mid-sized units. A faint blue light shone from within. Jake’s anxiety spiked. He hadn’t expected to have to talk to anyone. He’d hoped his family name and the pass-code would be enough. Still, these were the Sand Foxes. His gang. His family.
Shoving down his doubt, he approached the unit.
“He’s here,” Carter said when Jake was just a few steps away.
“Good. Bring him in.”
Jake’s stomach flip flopped at the familiar voice.
“Uncle Vic?”
LALEH SAT ON HER BED, her knees gripped to her chest, listening for any sound that might herald Jake’s return. Only the sounds of cars passing along the road outside their safe house greeted her. She glanced at the clock. 12:30. He would’ve left by now. How long would this take?
I shouldn’t have let him go alone. I shouldn’t have let him go at all. Oh, why didn’t we just tell Prism?
A faint weeping and whining caught her ears. Ruby? Yeah, it sounded like it, but usually the toddler was pretty good about sleeping through the night. Shuffling off her blankets, Laleh crept to the door and listened. A moment later a door creaked open and footsteps padded down the hall. Another door opened, and Ruby’s cries grew louder.
Laleh eased her own door ajar, her ears pricked towards the muffled voices coming from the baby’s room. Finding them indistinguishable, she placed her hand on the wall and tapped into the electrical cords beneath the sheetrock. She traced her power into Ruby’s room and connected with the baby monitor Prism had set up on the nightstand. Immediately she could
hear and see the couple standing over their child’s bed.
“Is she all right?” Fade asked.
“I think it’s just the strange crib and all the street noise. She’s not used to it.” Prism bounced Ruby against her shoulder. “Shh, shh.”
“Let me take her.” Fade scooped up their daughter and moved to a rocking chair in the corner.
Prism’s lips pursed. “Do you think she could sleep with us tonight?”
He winced. “I really don’t want to start that habit. I mean, I know we’re done making kids, but I’d still like to get some action. Just sayin’.”
Laleh blushed and almost let her connection to the speakers drop. If they were going to be talking about that she really shouldn’t listen in. Before she could act on this decision, Prism spoke again.
“Well, since we’re up anyway, this is a good opportunity to talk without the kids hearing. Were you able to ask the San Diego team about Cody’s intel? What did they say?”
“Yeah, it’s not good news.”
“So it’s true then.” Weariness weighed down Prism’s tone.
Laleh leaned closer to the wall and the wires. What were they talking about?
“They went through the surveillance recordings of the holding facility where Jake’s brother is being kept. They caught him passing messages through another inmate. Apparently he’s back in solitary because of it, but the only thing he would’ve had to tell them about was his meeting with Jake.” Fade shook his head. “They also tracked down the dark web site where the Sand Foxes hire their contractors. Cody was right. Whatever Caleb told them about their meeting, it put Jake on their hit list.”
The blood drained from Laleh’s face, leaving her cold and woozy.
I need to get to Jake now! She took a step down the hall as if to start running for him then stopped. She was a fifteen-year-old girl in pajamas. Sure, she had superpowers, but so did the Sand Foxes. She couldn’t do this on her own.
I need to do what I should’ve done in the first place.
“Fade! Prism!” She rushed forward, into their room.
The two adults started then stared at her.
“Laleh, what are you doing up?” Prism asked.
“No time! Jake’s gone!” Laleh gasped.
Fade recoiled. “Gone where?”
Laleh’s whole body shook, but somehow she managed to blurt out the story. The fire, the blackmail, Jake’s insistence that his gang could help.
“Oh, dear God, please don’t let him be hurt,” Prism whimpered as Laleh finished.
Fade sprang up from his chair and passed Ruby to his wife. “I’m going after him.”
“I’m going with you!” Laleh and Prism said simultaneously.
Prism shook her head. “Not you, Laleh, but—”
“No.” Fade put one hand on each of their shoulders. “You need to stay here and take care of the other two. If the Sand Foxes manage to trace Jake’s path back here, it won’t be safe for Marco or Laleh either. Call DOSA, no, wait, call Laleh’s mom then have her call DOSA. She’ll be able to get them to help us without them asking awkward questions.” He quickly kissed his wife then pulled out his phone. His face darkened. “Crap. Jake’s tracking anklet says he’s still in the house. That can’t be right.”
“It isn’t.” Laleh swallowed. “I disabled his anklet so he could go. I’m ... I’m sorry.”
Prism’s shoulders slumped. “Do you know where he went?”
“No, but he has a phone.” Laleh stood a little straighter. “Can we track that?”
“Only if we know the number, and he has it on.” Prism pulled out her own phone and tapped an app. “Do you have the number?”
“Not really, but I have a feel for the phone—it’s hard to explain. Can I see the app?”
“Use mine.” Fade passed her his phone.
Laleh hovered his hand over the device. The app fell open in her mind, like a book revealing its table of contents. She accessed its tracking function. Every device had a signature, a certain feel to it that she couldn’t really articulate but she could recognize. The tracking app started to jump from device to device, seeking the signature she wanted, the essence of the phone Jake carried. For several tense minutes, it chased dead ends, hundreds of phones within the area around them, none of them the right one. Then a humming sensation drew her to a specific one.
“Got it!” The tracking app connected, and she passed it back to Fade.
“It’s not far.” He glanced down at his shorts and bare feet then took off towards his bedroom, presumably to dress.
“I want to go with him!” Laleh said.
“Not this time.” Prism grasped Laleh’s hand. “Trust Fade. He’s Jake’s best chance right now.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Pulse racing, Jake stepped into the storage unit. Had his uncle really traveled all the way from Arizona to fetch him? How would he explain that he wasn’t ready to go back yet?
Carter’s muscular frame, silhouetted against the blue light, blocked Jake’s view of the room for a moment, then he moved, revealing a laptop sitting on a folding chair.
Oh, that makes more sense. A video call.
Jake approached the computer where his uncle sat, gazing back at him.
Vic Lucas looked a lot like Caleb—and presumably Jake as well—would probably look in another couple of decades, wiry with a mop of dusty brown hair and sharp hazel eyes. Now he scanned Jake with an appraising eye.
“You look pretty good for a kid who got arrested only a few months ago.”
“It’s been okay. DOSA feeds me at least. They’re not—” Jake paused, realizing he was talking too much. What had he been meaning to say anyway? Not monsters? Not so bad? Whatever it was, it would’ve been stupid.
“Huh.” Uncle Vic tilted his head to the side. “How’d you get away?”
“Slipped out,” Jake said. “They’re careless. Trust me too much. It wasn’t that hard.”
“They trust you?” Vic leaned closer to the screen. “What did you give them to earn that trust?”
“Nothing!” Jake stammered. “Seriously, they’re just ... like that.” Realizing how lame this sounded, he dropped his gaze to his feet. “I wouldn’t tell them anything about us. You know I wouldn’t.”
“Maybe I do. Maybe I don’t. Your brother seemed to think you were getting awful cozy wherever you were. Said DOSA was treating you with kid gloves while he’s stashed away in some hell hole.”
Jake’s throat tightened. “You’ve been talking with Caleb? How?”
“I have my sources.” Uncle Vic twitched his fingers. Water droplets danced around his hand, directed by his movements. Instantly, Jake remembered his dream, and his brain seized.
That wasn’t real. This is real. You need this. Just get through and get it over with. You haven’t done anything to be ashamed of.
“Carter tells me you want money?” Uncle Vic continued.
“I need four thousand.” Jake nodded.
“Why? You’re here now. Carter can get you a ride back to Arizona. What do you need money for?”
Jake’s mind spun. He hadn’t expected questions, but then again, he hadn’t expected Uncle Vic either. At a loss for excuses, he just blurted out, “For a friend.”
Uncle Vic guffawed. “A friend? Since when do you have friends?”
Since Marco. Since Laleh ... since Fade and Prism and Camp Sable ... oh, man, what am I doing here?
“It’s a long story. I just need the money, all right?” he tried to keep his voice level, but it wavered like a bad phone connection.
“No, you don’t. You need to get back to the gang. It’s where you belong.”
“I can’t. I need to get the money to my friend or ... or ... something bad will happen to him.”
“Does that matter? Is your friend a Sand Fox?” Uncle Vic’s gaze sharpened.
“No, but—”
“Does he have potential as a Sand Fox? Can you recruit him?”
The idea of Marco as a
member of the gang, as a supervillain, sickened Jake like week-old leftovers. He swallowed his bile. “No, but ... but I owe him. He’s a friend, and he needs my help.”
Uncle Vic continued to stare at him. Jake clenched and unclenched his fists. He needed to get out of here. This wasn’t going like he’d hoped it would. If Uncle Vic didn’t want him to have the money, Carter wouldn’t give it to him. This was a fool’s errand.
“I didn’t want to believe it, but Caleb was right,” his uncle’s voice jarred him back to the present.
What?
“You’re compromised. It’s not worth the risk to keep you around. For the good of the gang, it’s safer we cut our losses now. You’ve got soft, kid.”
“No, I haven’t!” Jake protested.
His uncle ignored him. “Carter, you know what you have to do. Text me when it’s done.”
“Yes, boss,” the strong man said.
Jake whirled about as a stun baton hummed to life in Carter’s hand. Before he could react, the weapon crashed down on him, sending waves of pain through his nervous system. Jake shrieked and collapsed. He squinted up at the laptop. The video call had disconnected, leaving nothing but a blank screen. Jake’s eyes watered. What had just—
“Sorry, kid.” Carter’s bulky form loomed over him. “Orders is orders, though.”
“No!” Jake cried. “I’m loyal! I’m still a Sand Fox, a Lucas. You can’t—”
“Yeah, I can.” Carter raised the baton again, this time right over Jake’s head.
Adrenaline spiked, and Jake’s powers surged in response. The stun baton crashed through him and impacted against the concrete floor beneath his head. The force of the blow vibrated through Jake. He rolled, springing up, solid again, and knocking over the folding chair with the laptop on it. The laptop toppled to the ground, its blue light extinguishing, plunging Jake and his attacker into darkness.
Sparks crackled around the baton, lighting up the darkness and dazzling Jake. His powers short circuited, confused by the lights and the chaos. The baton swung towards him. He dodged. The baton swept over his head. Snapping out of it, Jake darted forward, caught the baton right above where Carter held it, and extended his powers into it. The weapon slipped from the villain’s hand. Jake de-fragmented and swung the baton with all his might. It impacted against Carter’s trunk-like neck. Electricity buzzed, but the supervillain just smiled.
