Annihilation: Love Conquers All (16 page)

Danielle said, “Colonel Ortiz, excuse me. Eddie, could you get the quantitative point average list of all the boys within three levels of Leila?”

“You have an idea?”

“Yes. I think our Superman has to be intelligent. He would have to be in the top 10 percent of his class.”

“How do you get that?”

“Simple. He didn’t leave skid marks, and since you’re supposed to be interrogating me in here, we might as well make the time useful familiarizing ourselves with our list of possible suspects.”

“Skid marks?” Colonel Ortiz thought. Then he lifted his communicator and began talking.

T
ag was really worried as he approached the security portal in front of the school. He saw one of the security officers detain a pretty girl that he didn’t remember having ever seen. Then Leila went through the portal and she was taken with the other girl. His mind was racing trying to remember if there was any possibility that they could have seen him last night. He slowed down as he approached the portal and commanded his mind to slow down and think. He then realized that if they had seen him they would not be at school this morning. They would be at his house arresting him. He forced himself to relax and passed through the security portal. He gave a half smile as he passed two men who were standing at each side of the doorway and he entered the school.

Most of his classmates were standing in the hall asking each other questions about what could have possibly caused all the security people to be there. “Hey, Tag,” his good friend Eric said. Eric had been Tag’s friend since before the first level. After Tag’s mother had warned him about telling anyone about his gift, he told Eric that he was just fooling him. He punched him in the ribs lightly and said, “You’re too slow to catch me. I don’t need any special powers,” and ran until they were both out of breath laughing. Tag thought, “I wonder if Eric remembers that. I hope he doesn’t.”

Then Eric came up and said, “Ain’t we got fun?” Then he bent over and whispered, “Think we can get them to play tag?”

“Very punny, Eric,” Tag replied. “These people don’t mess around. Why do you think they’re here?”

“I don’t know. A couple of students saw Mr. Graham and his two associates taken into individual offices. Maybe it has something to do with the test we took yesterday.”

Tag hoped that was all it was about. The number of people investigating seemed way out of line for a simple test booklet that was missing. He was going to have to keep a low profile until they left. “You’re probably right. Let’s go to class; maybe Ms. Knowles will know something.”

For the next two days Tag avoided the security people but did not duck the school cameras. He felt certain that they had tied the fight and the theft together and probably knew about how someone was able to avoid being caught on camera. One good thing that happened was that Leila got to retake her test and made a perfect score. The school administrator said that had never been done before and took every opportunity to brag about her. “I guess that assures her future,” he thought. Of course, she was stunned upon discovering her original test was missing. Or at least the test booklet was missing, and just as he suspected, her interrogation went smoothly. Once they determined she knew nothing, most of the questions were related to her friends and boys she had dated. Tag had also seen her walking around with the new girl. There was something about that girl. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but she was different. After her interrogation Leila was showing the new girl around and introducing her. They had walked up to his table at lunch where he and Eric were sitting and introduced her to them.

Leila said to them, “Eric, Tag, this is Danielle Ashford. She’s just transferred here and I’m introducing her to everyone so we can make her feel at home.” They stood up and she gave them her hand to shake.

Eric immediately took her hand and said, “Nice to meet you. My name is Eric and anytime you need someone to show you around, I’m your man. How about Friday evening? I’m available.”

Leila said, “Obviously, Eric’s the shy one.”

“Okay, okay, if you insist we’ll make it Saturday,” Eric said.

Danielle laughed at Eric and said, “Let me check my calendar and I’ll let you know.”

Then Leila turned to Tag and said, “Danielle, this is Tag.”

Tag stood up and shook the new girl’s hand. “Hello,” he said, “welcome to our school.”

“She has remarkable blue eyes and that blond hair is beautiful. This is one striking girl,” Tag thought, and he sensed every boy in the room was staring at her.

Danielle felt like a moth caught in a flame. It was like something electric ran through her when Tag took her hand. This boy looked into your soul. His green eyes met hers and she could immediately tell he was truly looking at her, not just her looks. All she could think to say was, “Is that your real name, Tag?”

“No,” Leila said. “When we were children, we could never catch him playing tag. Of course as we got older, he got slower and would get caught. But he was Tag in fourth level and he’s still Tag today.”

Danielle noticed that her hand was still in Tag’s and she didn’t want to let go, but she did. “Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Tag,” she said.

Then Leila said something that caught her attention. “Tag won’t tell you, but he’s also pretty smart. He’s actually better at math than I am, and he’s second in our class.”

Tag’s face turned red and he looked at the floor; he had no idea that Leila knew that. Heck, even Eric didn’t know that. Truth be told, most of his classmates were unaware of how smart he was because he was just so easy-going and funny. His quantitative point average was 99.2 and he didn’t think anyone else knew. He had followed his mother’s advice and had not done anything that would make him stand out, and he kept his good grades to himself. “I wonder how she found out,” he thought.

Danielle looked at Tag and wondered, “Could this be our Superman?” She made a mental note to get Colonel Ortiz to look at his records. They turned to walk away and she couldn’t resist saying, “Perhaps we can play, Tag.”

The young man smiled and responded with, “You’re it first.”

She laughed as she and Leila walked to the next table. She then surprised herself by thinking, “Maybe I am. And maybe you are.”

Tag sat down and listened to Eric say, “Wow! Hubba, hubba, is she beautiful or what? She even gives Leila a run in the beauty contest. What a smile, what pretty eyes, what a nice shape. Did you see that smile? Her blond hair is perfect. I could look at her forever. Did I ask if you saw that smile?”

“Eric,” Tag interrupted, “wake up and try to focus a moment. What are you going to do about your newfound feelings?”

Eric made a long face, put his head on Tag’s shoulder, and said, “Alas, I’ll limp away brokenhearted. She only had eyes for you.”

“You’re crazy, Eric. Why would someone like her be interested in me?”

“You make a very good point, but you have to trust your uncle Eric. I know about these things. She likes you! That means she likes the smart, quiet, ugly ones. One can never account for a woman’s opinion of beauty. I mean, I was standing right there. How could she have possibly even seen you? By the way, speaking of smart, what did Leila mean by second in our class?”

“She’s crazy too,” Tag said while laughing at Eric’s running account. Then he said, “Ego, thy name is Eric McAnn.”

Eric winked and said, “Duh. You just now figured that out? Just be thankful I don’t make you pay big money to hang around with me.” Then they both laughed and continued their lunch.

Leila left Danielle to meet with the school administrator to receive an award for her test results. Danielle pressed the button on her communicator. “Go ahead,” Colonel Ortiz said.

“Eddie, I want you to look into the records of one of the students here that everyone calls Tag. I don’t know what his real name is but the school administrator should know.”

“Do you think he might be Superman?”

She said, “I don’t know, but Leila said he was as smart as she is, and you know how smart that is. Have you had any luck with the boys that have had relationships with Leila?”

“No. We’ve turned up nothing. I think we’re going to start questioning the smart ones like you suggested. If this what’s his name, Tag, is as smart as you were told he is, then he’ll go into interrogation tomorrow.”

“Well, let me know what’s in his records.”

“Certainly. I’ll get back to you.”

Danielle sat down at an empty lunch table and looked back across the lunchroom at Tag and Eric sitting there laughing. “When he shook my hand I felt a kind of shock,” she remembered. “I wonder if he’s Superman. He’s not great looking at a distance, but those eyes make him gorgeous up close. I don’t think he has any fat on him either. I want to see those eyes again. If Leila is right and he’s as smart as she says he is, he would be interesting to talk with.”

Tag sensed that Danielle was staring at him from across the lunchroom. “When I took her hand I felt something electric happen in the psychic field. I have no idea what it was and I’ve never felt it before,” Tag thought. When he looked into her eyes, he saw that this girl had more depth than anyone he’d ever encountered, other than Leila, of course. Well, maybe even more than Leila. One thing this girl had in abundance that Leila didn’t was a quick sense of humor and a quick genuine laugh. “Wait a minute,” he thought. “Leila is the one I’m crazy about.” After several seconds he said to himself, “Aren’t I?” Then he felt Danielle’s gaze leave him and he glanced over to see her get up and leave the lunchroom.

Danielle’s com buzzed and she got up to go outside and take the call. “Go ahead,” she said.

Colonel Ortiz said, “Thomas Anglo Gardner is the official name of Tag. I guess they call him that because of his initials.”

“No, Leila told me that they called him that because as a little boy when they played tag no one could catch him. It fits him perfectly, especially since it matches his initials. What else did you find out?”

“The boy is brilliant. He has a perfect math score on all his tests. The only reason that Leila is ahead of him is that he missed a test two years ago because he was sick. When he retook it, they deducted thirty points for not taking it on time to teach him responsibility. He is actually number one in grades. He made a perfect score on the test they reduced. His score should be 99.7.”

“Wow,” Danielle thought.

“I think you’ll find his self-defense reports interesting. I know his instructors and they’re good at what they do. Both of them rated him very low in his skills. They say he had no affinity or desire for hand-to-hand combat.”

“What do you think about that, Eddie?”

“I was starting to get excited that he might be who we’re looking for, but this dampens my enthusiasm.”

Danielle was reluctant to say what she thought because Eddie might think she was crazy, but her job made her push those feelings aside and say, “Eddie, think with me a moment. What do we know about what kind of person Superman is?”

“Well, he’s deadly in hand-to-hand combat and he’s capable of breaking the law.”

“What law did he break?”

“Well, he stole the test booklet.”

“And if he were to be tried for that, what would they charge him with?”

“I see what you’re saying. Only a minor misdemeanor and probably not even that since he’s a student.”

“Now I know this is going to get philosophical, but please be patient with me. If he had not taken the test would a greater wrong have occurred?”

“I want to say no, but I’ve gotten to know Leila, and it would be a crime against society to have that girl placed in a low-station job. I really believe she will be a difference-maker when she gets older. Unfortunately, Superman would be punished for the theft, but the reality is he should be rewarded for rectifying a mistake that was going to be made.”

“So, if you were going to say what kind of person our Superman is, how would you respond?”

There was a long pause, and then Colonel Ortiz said, “It’s just like you said earlier, this Superman has a heart. However, he killed four people.”

“Alright, let’s look at that, Eddie.”

“Oh no, you’re going to prove me wrong there, too.”

“Well, think about it. Have you seen the video information that Major Daniels has put together on the number of people that little band of five has killed?”

Colonel Ortiz had seen the report and it had made him angry. He wanted to find the one that escaped and kill him with his bare hands. “Yes, I’ve seen it.”

“Did you notice on the recordings that none of their victims were given a chance even when they tried to hand everything they had to them? What do you think would have happened to our Superman if he had not fought back?”

“He’d be dead.”

“Right, so what does this say about how aggressive Superman is?”

“I’m not sure I know what you’re saying.”

“Prior to his being attacked, had there been anything to happen in this school that even remotely looked like someone had beaten up other students?”