imperfect (30 page)

Situation: Where are the Accidents
disappearing? Every year, thousands of Accidents, most under a
month old, disappear from the records without a trace. Why is the
government collecting them and where are they keeping them?

Information gathered:

• All Accidents—save the Naturals—are under two months
  when they disappear
  

• People who have questioned where the Accidents are
  died shortly afterwards
  

• Stevey is more than he seems
  

  • Stevey probably knows where the missing Accidents
    are; the only problem is getting him to talk
    

• Possible locations where the Accidents may be
  found:
  

  • San King, East Region
    

  • Waterfront, West Region
    

  • Klisbury, East Region
    

Kristi finished reading and no one spoke for
a moment. The sound of Ghost’s tongue rasping as he washed his paws
was amplified a hundredfold in the otherwise soundless room.

It was Kristi who spoke first. “But that
still doesn’t explain why there are four Naturals. Any member of
the Revealers could’ve completed this case.”

“
Read the second file,”
Troop suggested.

She exited the document and selected the
Individualism Case. Then she started to read once more:

Case: The Individualism Case

Assigned Member(s): Kyle and Shelly

Situation: Many would argue that humanity
has become perfected with science. Diseases and conditions such as
cancer, stroke and heart attacks are unheard of. Everyone is more
or less genetically perfect. Or are they? Has the human race
forgotten what perfect is? The truth is, while it may be true that
people nowadays have perfect vision, faster learning skills and
better physiques than before, the overwhelming majority of the
population has forgotten how to think for themselves; they have
accepted “perfect” as who they are; no one has individual opinions
anymore. This may cause serious problems in the future as the
population has a standardized mindset, thus allowing everyone to be
manipulated easily. However, what is most troubling is that the
human race seems to have forgotten “beauty is in the eye of the
beholder.” “Perfection” is merely an opinion, not a state of being.
The people have to be reminded that having genetically perfect DNA
does not make the human race perfect if their minds and humanity
are growing weaker.

Solution: We (Kyle and Shelly) have
requested four babies with unaltered DNA to be brought up as
normally as possible. The Revealers have agreed to provide
protection to these four kids to ensure their survival (Tiffany
Mendax is in charge of this). It is our goal for these four
Naturals, as we have dubbed the four kids, to grow up as normally
as possible and in time, show the world it is our differences that
make the world a more interesting place. The Revealers have been
relentlessly recruiting more followers and members since this
project was launched. To date, there are roughly 125,000 Revealer
members worldwide.

“
125,000 members,” Kristi
said. “That’s quite a lot of people.”

“
Not really, if you
consider there are over three billion people in the world,” Finn
said.

“
I’m sure the Revealer’s
numbers have grown though,” Finn’s dad said.

Dr. Hanson nodded. “Last time I checked,
which was about two weeks ago, our numbers were up to 500,000.
Tiffany’s been a charm recruiting members.”

Then out-of-the-blue, realization dawned on
Kristi. They were expected to fulfill these two tasks left by her
parents. Four—five if counting Jaiden—teenagers were expected to
fulfill two cases started several years ago.

Troop must’ve caught her thoughts because he
said, “This is a lot to take in. Are we actually going to attempt
to complete the two cases?”

“
Of course we are,” Kristi
said, her own words sounding uncertain even to her own ears. “Well,
at least I will at any rate.”

“
Count me in,” Troop
said.

“
And me,” Finn
added.

“
Chelsa?” Kristi
prompted.

“
Sure.”

Ghost purred his approval.

“
Then I’m in as well,”
Jaiden concluded.

Finn’s mom interrupted,
“As sure as I am of the fact that the five of you are willing to
finish the Disappearance and Individualism Case, I must say that
is
not
going to
happen.”

Finn’s dad nodded gravely. “You’re too young
and inexperienced to be working cases as important as these two. It
would be better if the assignments were turned over to other, more
seasoned Revealer agents.”

“
Mom, Dad,” said Finn,
“shouldn’t that decision be up to Kristi to decide? After all, it
was her
parents who specifically gave her
the two cases to complete.”

“
Kristi has absolutely no
knowledge in this sort of work,” his mom said. She turned to Kristi
and said, “No offense.”

“
None taken.”

But, she agreed with Finn;
it was her right to choose whether she passed on the tasks Maria
and Don had left her to better qualified people or not.
I mean, I did just cross the entire country to
unlock this electro-slate; I don’t want someone else to decide what
to do with the contents on the slate.

“
Derek and Mellany are
viable candidates to work on the cases,” Finn’s mom said to the
other adults in the room.

Her husband made an agreeable sound, adding,
“Yes. Kelvin and Tom may be interested in this as well. What do you
say, Dr. Hanson?”

“
I agree with Finn,” said
Dr. Hanson, startling everyone by siding with the kids. “It was
clearly stated in their wills that Kristi is to receive this
electro-slate containing information on the Disappearance and
Individualism cases. Kyle and Shelly are smart people; they
wouldn’t have done such actions without a good reason.”

Finn’s mom gave a curt nod. “I can see your
reasoning, Dr. Hanson, but that does not mean I have to agree with
it.”

Dr. Hanson acknowledged her opinion. Then he
faced Kristi and said, “The law’s on your side if you decide to
take on these two cases. Your parents unmistakably stated this
electro-slate is to be for you to inherit. Because the files for
the Disappearance and Individualism cases are on the slate,
technically, they belong to you as well.”

“
Kristi isn’t eighteen
yet,” Finn’s mom interjected.

“
That fact is irrelevant,”
said Dr. Hanson. “I will do everything in my power to ensure you
succeed if you choose to complete the two cases. I have many useful
connections, so feel free to give me a call if you’re ever in a
sticky situation.”

Neither of Finn’s parents
looked happy, but they didn’t say anything either.
I guess Dr. Hanson was right; the two cases
legally belong to me,
Kristi
thought.

“
I want to carry out the
two cases,” she said.

“
I beg you to think over
your decision. You’re still young and will make impulsive choices,”
said Finn’s dad. He perched at the edge of the couch, wringing his
hands.

Kristi replied in a heartbeat, “I’m not
changing my mind.”

“
Fine,” said Finn’s mom.
“I can’t tell you what to do. However, Finn isn’t
coming with you, and I am
legally entitled to prevent him from leaving this
household.”

“
Mom,
” moaned Finn.

His mom glared at him. Luckily, Dr. Hansom
came to their rescue once more.

“
Jacqueline,” he said in
his soft voice. “Do what you think is best for the greater good. I
realize that you love your son, but sometimes love is also about
letting go, not just holding on.”

Finn’s mom abruptly stood up. “Fine,” she
said, not sounding fine at all. “Do what you will.” She left the
room.

Finn’s dad looked at the doorway, as if
wishing he could escape the room with his wife.

After what seemed like eons, he said, “Finn,
your mother and I will deeply regret seeing you depart on this
risky business if you choose to. But if that is what you want to
do, I won’t do anything to stop you.”

“
Thanks for
understanding,” Finn said.

“
No problem,
son.”

Finn didn’t need to voice his answer out
loud. They all knew he was coming with them.

“
Finn, will you show the
guests the spare bedrooms?” asked his dad in a somber
tone.

Finn lightly hoisted himself up from the
couch and grabbed his crutches, which were leaning against the
wall. “This way.”

Thoughts whirled around Kristi’s brain like
a blender set on high.

“
Which case should we
start on?” she asked.

“
Probably the
Disappearance Case,” Jaiden said. “It seems to be the most feasible
case to complete.”

“
Wake up.” Chelsa roughly
shook
Kristi awake.

Kristi directed her groggy eyes at the
clock: 3:26am.

“
What the heck?” she
whispered.

“
We have to go. Jaiden and
Troop are already up. I have to go wake up Finn now. Hurry up and
get dressed.”

She snagged Chelsa by the arm. “Why?”

“
Look, I don’t have time
to explain. We’re already six minutes late; waking Jaiden took
longer than I expected.”

“
I’m not heading outside
at half past three in the morning without a good reason,” Kristi
said. “Do you know how much trouble we will be in if we’re caught
outside?”

“
Alright, I’ll explain
briefly,” said Chelsa impatiently. “I received an instafication
notifying us there was someone who had something that could help
aid us in completing one of the cases. The person’s meeting us at
Jabber Boulevard at 3:20.”

“
Doesn’t this seem a bit
vague and skeptical? We haven’t even known about the cases for a
day and we’re already being offered help in the middle of the
night? Tell the person we’ll meet him or her during the day and at
a place where
we
decide to meet.”

Chelsa let out a frustrated sigh. “Look,
don’t you think we could use all the help we can get? The person
said he wouldn’t be around tomorrow since he’s leaving Oppidum as
soon as he hands us whatever he has to give.”

Jaiden entered the room with Troop.

“
Ready to go?” he
asked.

“
Can you go wake Finn up
while I try to convince Kristi to get out of bed?”

Jaiden left in search of Finn’s room.

“
Should I find Ghost?”
Troop asked.

“
Nah,” said Chelsa, then
she turned back to Kristi, probably ready to yank her out from
beneath the blankets by force if needed.

Kristi had already pulled
on a hoodie was lacing up her sneakers though.
Might as well get this over with
,
she thought.

“
Oh good, you’ve finally
come about to your senses,” Chelsa muttered.

Her shoulders bunched up with tension and
Kristi began to doubt herself for agreeing to meet this mysterious
person in the middle of the night. As far as Kristi was concerned,
meeting strangers at three in the morning usually didn’t end
well.

Jaiden returned to the room with Finn within
five minutes.

“
Let’s get going,” he
said. “Chelsa, you said you know how to get to Jabber Boulevard,
right?”

“
Yes.”

Chelsa tried to leave the room, but Ghost
blocked the doorway.

“
Ghost, can you please
move?” she asked.

Ghost raised his hackles and hissed at
Chelsa. Kristi had never seen Ghost act so aggressive to her
before.

“
Don’t make this any
harder than it is,” Chelsa said to Ghost in a low voice, prodding
him with her foot in attempt to get him out of the way.

Ghost spat disdainfully and stalked away in
a huffy manner.

Finn unlocked the backdoor and the five of
them stepped out into the crisp night. Kristi was extra glad of the
thick sweatshirt she had pulled on when a stiff breeze blew
through.

“
How far away is Jabber
Boulevard?” she whispered.

“
About a ten minute
walk.”

The roads were eerie and void of life.
Oppidum had transformed from a lively metropolitan to an abandoned
city within hours. Chelsa seemed to want to say something several
times while walking, but kept changing her mind last minute. Kristi
wondered if she was regretting rousing them up to meet a stranger
in the middle of the night.

“
Oh, I recognize where we
are,” Finn said. His voice sounded freakishly loud in the
unoccupied roads. “Jabber Boulevard is only two streets
away.”

They turned right at the end of the avenue
and the street sign for Jabber Boulevard came into view. Chelsa,
who had been leading the group the whole time, paused in her steps
without a warning and spun around. Kristi took a hasty step back to
avoid colliding face first into her.

“
Are there patrols?”
Kristi asked.

“
No. Let’s go back to
Finn’s house.”

“
You’re kidding,” Troop
said. “You dragged us out at three-something in the morning only to
turn back now without even seeing if we can receive some help with
the case.”