Cipher (19 page)

Emma turned to face me, straining against the seatbelt. “A few days? Do you think that’s enough time to make a difference?”

I wasn’t certain, but the Lady said that once the two of us were together, Emma would be able to find her center easier. It wasn’t that she couldn’t do it on her own, but my influence was supposed to help the process along. All the previous genetic pairs had figured it out quickly. Not in two days, but they hadn’t had a vindictive Seligo on their ass.

Taking my eyes off the road for long wasn’t an option. I fought against the traffic as I thought about how to answer her question. I didn’t want to give her false hope, but I didn’t want to shoot her down before we even started trying. “It’s not out of the realm of the possible, but first, we need to get to a place where you can practice without calling attention to yourself. As long as your ability is out of control, you’ll be in danger.”

I glanced at her long enough to see the scowl. The little line between her eyes was begging for a kiss.

“You make it sound so easy, but I’ve already tried. I got some meditation vids but the more ‘chill’ I was, the more frustrated I got when I lost control. I had fewer blowouts, but they were worse. So I went the other way. I tried Taekwondo, kickboxing, and krav maga. But the more violent I got, the worse my control was. Littler bursts, but all the time. It left me feeling exhausted. So, I gave up. I am the way that I am. I can’t change it. This is as good as it gets.”

It sounded like she’d already given up. “Try to keep an open mind. I’m sorry that—”

“Stop apologizing. You have absolutely nothing to be sorry about. You didn’t make me this way.”

No, I didn’t, but I could help her. I knew it. “I wish I could’ve found you sooner. Before you felt so frustrated.”

“I keep telling you, and maybe one day you’ll believe me, but I’m not your responsibility. I’ve been like this my whole life. I’ve come to terms with the way things are. At least how they are now. But that just gives me a goal to work toward. How boring would life be if I were totally content?”

“Contentment breeds discontent.”

“Exactly.” She sat straight back in her chair, turning to stare out the window as we passed a shopping center. “I don’t know. Maybe. But it’s all I’ve got. Having goals keeps me hopeful and moving toward something.” She sighed. “This is a depressing conversation.”

Smooth move, Knight. Way to make the girl feel inadequate
. At this rate, she was never going to fall for me.

What if she never fell for me?

“I’m not trying to make you feel worse,” I said, finally. “I just think you deserve more. Existing isn’t enough. I wish you were actually happy.”

“Well, why don’t you shit in one hand and wish in the other. Let’s see which fills up faster.” She snort-laughed at her own joke. It was adorable. “I’m not unhappy. I guess I’m not exactly happy either, but I’m surviving. I get by. I don’t hate my life. I’m pretty okay with it, but I would like to stop running. I’d like to settle down. I know I was freaking out when I said it last time, but I don’t want a lot. I just want what every other person in the Void has. Friends. Family. Freedom…or the illusion of it. A place to live that doesn’t have wheels attached to it. I don’t think that’s too much to ask for.”

“It’s not too much.” That she wanted so little—the basics that other people took for granted—made me want to give her the world. Even if it weren’t in my power to give, I’d do my damnedest.

She finally turned away from the window. I felt her gaze on me, and couldn’t help the half-smile from sneaking out.

“So, why did you start making the processors?”

“Some girl told me I needed a marketable skill.” I winked at her.

“Thank God I was a smart eight-year-old. Your stuff is the best. I’m proud of what you’ve done with your life.” She relaxed a little more, putting her feet on the dash. “It’s crazy thinking I had some small part in that.”

Small? “You had a huge part in it.”

“Nah. Maybe I gave you a push on the path, but you’ve worked hard for more than a decade to get where you are. That’s all you.”

“It’s not like I had to try too hard to get to a better place. I was pretty much at rock bottom when we met.”

“Why didn’t you ever ask for help? Turn your father in?”

I hadn’t meant to bring that asshole up, but I forced myself to give an honest answer. “Pride. Fear of the unknown. ‘Better the devil you know’ is a saying for a reason. You know how rough it can be when placed in a foster home.”

She was quiet for so long, I wondered if should’ve kept my mouth shut, but I’d never been good at that. Especially when it came to Emma.

The com on the car buzzed. I accepted the call on speakerphone. “Marquez.”

“Saw you picked up a car in San Diego. Lady’s asking for your status.”

I recognized Samantha’s voice. She was hard to read because she was always multi-tasking. I had no doubt she’d be updating Lady and coordinating with half a dozen other teams as we talked. “En route to Los Angeles. Should be there in a couple hours.”

“Next step?”

“I’m not sensing that we’re being followed. We’ll pod to the big island, then take a boat out.”

“Do you need tickets? Gear?”

“No on the tickets. Yes on the gear. Camping stuff and supplies for both of us.”

She was quiet for a moment. “Lady agrees. We’ll set it up at the International Loop Station, Terminal seven. Locker number will be sent to your com in twenty.”

“Thanks.”

“And Hunter?

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, Samantha?”

“Good luck and stay safe. You still owe me a chance to win back last week’s loot.”

I’d kicked her ass, and everyone else’s, at poker last Friday. “No worries. If something happens, I’ll make sure you get your money back.”

“Jesus, Hunter. Don’t be so morbid. Oh, wait. Lady says she expects you back within a week. She says not to forget what she told you before. I assume you know what she’s referring to?”

Emma and I needed to show up at the Ravens compound as a team. I was working on that. “I’ve got it. Tell her it’s in progress.”

Some rapid typing on her end.

“She says good. I notified Oliver and Dex with your update. They’ve just checked back and Oliver says that they’re in Emma’s RV. They’ll be taking the scenic route to the compound. Would you like me to respond with anything?”

“Tell the guys we’ll be out of range for a bit. Do you have the latest on Jack?”

“Checking now.” There was a brief pause. “Ysenia’s still the Raven in charge there. She says that Parson is pissed. He’s pushing the Greens in the area to locate Emma and you via coms and tracking. Blacks are still searching on foot and interrogating any suspects. They haven’t figured out that you got past the main search area, but the Seligo are looking for your face because no one has an image of Emma yet. They haven’t linked Emma to her Cipher identity either. They made moves into the park, but Ollie, Dex, and Emma’s friend—MonaLisa Stalimanti…Jesus, that’s a name. Anyway, they were long gone before the serious interrogation started.”

Nice. “How did they get past the line?”

“Dex. He must’ve done some of his voodoo stuff. I don’t know how he always gets out of a bind, but the dude is slippery.” She paused. “If I were you, I’d take your time hooking back up with them. It’s too crazy out there.”

I’d hoped to meet up with them sooner rather than later, but I trusted Samantha. She was excellent at synthesizing various lines of communication into fact. Her analyses were always spot-on. “Noted. Thanks, Sam.”

“No worries. Later, Hunter.”

The car was quiet after Samantha hung up. Emma was back to staring out the window, and sat as close to the door as she could without opening it.

Had I said something to upset her? I couldn’t come up with anything I’d said to Samantha that would’ve been rude or insulting.

I was bad at this. I waited a few minutes, thinking I was being too sensitive, but she stayed totally closed down. “You okay?”

“Fine.”

From my experience, fine always meant the opposite of fine. “Anything you want to talk about?”

“Not particularly.”

Somehow I’d messed up, but I wasn’t sure what I’d done.

Being around Emma was odd. I both knew her and didn’t. I wanted it to be seamless. For us to magically get what was going on in each other’s heads. “Okay. So, are you going to tell me what’s wrong or what?”

“Nothing’s wrong. Everything’s fine.”

Her tone of voice was a little too high. It didn’t have that lazy rasp that I was getting addicted to. “I can’t fix it if I don’t know what’s wrong.”

“Ugh. Will you just leave it alone? I’m fine.”

“Fine. Then I guess I’m fine, too.” I couldn’t keep the frustration from my voice.

“You’re so annoying.”

The irritation in her voice made me grin. This—being with her—was going to be so much fun. “No, I’m not. I’m handsome and amazing and you are so attracted to me that you don’t know what to do.”

She laughed. “Ego much?”

“No. Just hopeful.”

“Well, don’t quit your day job. Mind reading’s definitely not your talent. But you could become a driver. That could be your next job if we don’t get caught.”

We were speeding along the road. There was nothing much to see out here, but strip mall after apartment complex. Most people opted to have the cars drive themselves, but I liked to handle the control. It cut back on delays, and I got a special kind of joy from weaving through the evenly spaced vehicles. “I’d love it, but I think my driving style would make my passengers uneasy.”

“There is that. Guess you really should stick to your day job.”

“And what is it you think my day job is?”

“I’m still figuring that out. As far as I knew, you built computer parts, hacked, and gamed. But now I know you were also cracking skulls for the Seligo. And I guess for the Ravens, too. Although I can’t quite figure out how you have time to do it all.”

“I used to work for the Black Helixes. I’d run tech on missions.” I gripped the steering wheel so tight my knuckles turned white. She didn’t know how much I’d hated that part of my job. “I gave that up six months ago. Now I mostly stay at the Ravens compound, searching for Reds and trying to get to them before the Seligo do.” I glanced at her quickly. She was looking at me like I was a hero. I had too much blood on my hands to ever be considered that. “I try to keep the number of crushed skulls to a minimum these days. It’s a bitch on my manicure,” I said, trying to lighten the mood.

I knew it’d worked when she laughed. “I guess that’s good for me. I kind of like my skull the way it is, if given an option.”

I gave her my best fake smile. “Noted.”

If nothing else, all the years of dirty ops gave me plenty of ideas on what to do to anyone who dreamed of touching Emma.

***

We pulled into the Los Angeles zone in record time. Cars weren’t being searched. It was situation normal. The citadel outpost was on the east side of the city, and we were staying far away from that danger. The old Los Angeles airport had been partially transformed to house the hyperspeed pods way before I was born and the lines went anywhere from Asia to Europe. The only air travel left was mostly private. Pods were faster and safer. It would take us two pods and a boat to get to St. John.

We wove through the cars. The smog was low and thick, weighting the air in my lungs. I hated Los Angeles and the bad memories I had here.

Cold air hit us as we walked into the station. It was dirtier and busier than any other station in the world. With all the chaos, it’d be hard for anyone to really track us. Which was another reason we’d headed to this particular station.

I headed straight for the lockers, keeping Em close to my side. It took two seconds to find the right number. It was one of the largest lockers. I pulled out two backpacks loaded with supplies. One was pink. The other was…purple.

Thanks so much, Samantha
.

I took the large pink one and gave the purple to Emma.

“You want the pink one?”

“Nope. But you get what you get and you don’t get upset. Samantha has a wicked sense of humor. I bet whoever she put up to this had a fun time loading it, too. I’ll get even once I find out who helped her.”

She cleared her throat. “You and Samantha seem close.”

I froze.
This
was the source of the ‘fine’ comment?

Emma was jealous. I’d never thought jealousy could make me so happy, but this meant she really was interested. “Close as in friends. Not close in any other way. Strictly platonic.”

“Sure.”

I stopped walking. A little jealousy was okay, but no way was she going to feel insecure if I could do anything about it. “She’s more like the little sister I always knew I never wanted.”

“What? Is she not attractive?”

“No. She’s cute. She’s also fourteen. Plus, I have a thing for strawberry blondes.”

Her cheeks pinkened. “My hair’s blue,” she said, finally looking at me.

“For now, but maybe I’ll get to see the old strawberry soon?” I touched a lock of her hair that had already been cleaned of the blue dye.

She rolled her eyes. “What’s a fourteen-year-old doing working coms?”

I started walking again toward the gate. “She’s a genius and a Red. Gotta keep her busy or she gets herself into the craziest situations. This one time she decided she wanted ice cream…from Italy. It took me five days to find her. When I did…well…it wasn’t pretty. Took me two weeks of cover-ups and payoffs to fix that mess. Looking out for her is a full-time job.”

I logged into the kiosk and grabbed two nonstop tickets to St. John. There were a few security agents walking through the station, but none in black gear. The whole place was completely automated. Not even an agent at the gates to check our passes.

Thank God the Lady’s intel had been right on this one, but I’d feel much better once we were on the island.

I stowed the packs overhead and got us buckled in. “Ready?”

She shook her head. “I think I hate pod travel. It makes my brain hurt.”

“Really?”

Her bottom lip was adorably fat as she pouted. “Kind of. Don’t you feel weird? Like your brain is going to turn to mush and run out your ears?”