The Apollo Academy (25 page)

SKY

E
ight pointy metallic legs dug into Sky’s hand as he squeezed the parasitic device that caused Aurora’s aircraft to malfunction. Before he accidentally crushed it, he forced his palm to relax.

“So you found this in her helmet?” Sky’s feet sank into the carpet as he walked across the room. He grabbed a T-shirt from the closet, pulling it over his sweaty chest. He had just returned from a late workout to find Zane standing outside his door.

“Yeah, I pretty much had to destroy her helmet to find it. But that one—” Zane pointed to the spider in his hand. “That one came from Aurora’s life-support unit during buoyancy training. You know when you couldn’t get a hold of Aurora? It’s because she was passed out. That thing compromised her life support.”

“Shit,” Sky cursed, shifting uncomfortably. “Is that why you hauled ass to the surface? That—”

“That’s not important,” Zane barked out. He held Sky’s stare.

If Sky didn’t already know Zane’s worst secret, he would have thought he was trying to hide something. “Why didn’t you tell me what was happening?”

“Well, let me see. I guess I was too busy trying to keep Aurora from suffocating. And when everything was back under control, Aurora wanted to keep it quiet.” Zane crossed his arms.

“Why?” Sky swallowed. Hailen’s earlier
Keep quiet
rang in his head.

“Aurora didn’t want to make a big deal of it.” Zane shrugged. “She’s worried her father will make things hard for her at the Academy. Besides, we don’t exactly know who to trust.” Zane focused on Sky’s face. “You were there both times.”

Sky’s body went rigid, and he gritted out, “I’m the one who helped you get to Aurora’s XT-101 in the first place. So you
better
have another possible suspect because it wasn’t me.” Sky stared at Zane, but his face held no indication of his thoughts.

Sky placed the spider on his desk, praying this wasn’t going to go where he thought it was. He rubbed his hands through his hair. “I didn’t do this, but Aurora is obviously somebody’s target.”

“Yeah, we just spent the past few hours trying to figure out who was close enough to do it.” Zane picked up the spider Sky had just laid down, placing it in the palm of his hand. “There’s something else you should know.”

“What?” Sky’s eyes widened as Zane pulled a magnifying glass from his pocket.
What a weird dude.

“Look, we found a clue on the techspider. If you look closely enough . . . ” Zane placed the spider back in Sky’s hand and placed his magnifying glass on the body of the spider. “There’s a product stamp. FS5509. We don’t know if it means anything for sure, but it’s obviously a Frontier Solutions product.”

Sky dropped the spider, its metallic body clinking against the desk where it rested legs up. He clenched his hands.

“Damn.” Sky carefully picked the spider back up. “Sorry. I guess that just caught me off guard.” Sky struggled to compose his face. His heart raced. It was too much of a coincidence for Aurora Titon to be attacked with a Frontier Solutions product. Hailen had somehow managed to blackmail him before he even knew he could be blackmailed.
That little bitch!

“Yeah, does that make sense to you?” Zane tilted his head to the side, watching him.

“I don’t think it’s enough evidence to answer anything,” Sky stated. It was the truth. He couldn’t prove anything with just the spider in his hands. Hailen had his hands tied. If he tried to connect her to the spider without proof, she would crush him.

“Oh, and Aurora heard Hailen say she was dating a famous guy named Rowan.” Zane leaned forward, his jaw set.

Sky licked his lips. “Really? What’s that have to do with anything?” He had to distract Zane from this line of conversation. If Sky kept Aurora safe, then there would be no need to share what he knew, and Hailen would keep his secret.

“We think she may be dating Rowan Dagan,” Zane whispered.

“What?” Sky tried to appear shocked. He dropped his mouth open.

Zane shrugged. “If she brings him to the dance, we’ll know for sure.”

Sky nodded. “That’s good to know, but right now that doesn’t matter. We don’t have proof of anything.”

“That’s what we thought too. But what should we do? We can’t just sit back and wait for someone to try to kill Aurora again.” Zane clenched his fist.

“We can’t do anything
yet
, especially you. If you even hint that Frontier Solutions is attacking Aurora, you’ll be slammed for being an unknown.”

Zane flinched and Sky regretted his statement. He just needed to steer the conversation elsewhere. If anyone understood Zane’s need to keep his past hidden, it would be him.

“Yeah, well, everyone would believe the Academy’s
star
astronaut,” Zane retorted.

Sky smiled, but it wasn’t a happy one. “I’m afraid that on this it’s going to take more proof than just my word. Maybe Hailen will be dumb enough to bring him to the dance.” Sky could only hope, though that would be totally stupid of her. Who would be dumb enough to show their face at the Academy if they were attacking one of their students?

Sky moved to stand in front of Zane. “Listen, we’ll just have to watch Aurora closely. We won’t let anyone get close enough to plant another spider.” Sky squeezed his eyes shut. “We’ll keep her safe.”

If he said anything, he knew Hailen would blame it all on him. If he was outed as a Dagan, Aurora’s father would have him removed from the Academy. He couldn’t let that happen. He would just have to keep her safe, until he figured something else out. Both their lives depended on it.

ZANE

U
pbeat music floated down from speakers littered above the weight room floor. Zane tried to keep pace with the song’s fast beat, his muscles straining as he repeatedly pulled his oar in and out of the water.

The boat propelled forward, but his team was still in second place.

He leaned back and forth in rhythm with his two other teammates as they swept their paddles through the water.

“Faster, guys,” Zane yelled.

The only response he received from his crew were grunts and groans, but Akemi and Rick kept up the pace.

The finish line flashed on the screen in front of them.

Thirty feet remaining.

Zane increased their tempo, pushing his muscles to the limit. He had been building muscle mass to his body, but it still didn’t look like it was going to be enough.

The boat, barely a foot in front of them, sailed through the finish line.

Second place
scrolled across the holographic screen, and the oar in his hand disappeared. Zane hopped out of the mock boat, pulling off his simulator glasses. Akemi and Rick lay prone behind him, too tired to move.

“Nice try, Zane.” Sky jumped out of his boat and forcefully patted Zane on the back.

“Maybe next time.” Zane shrugged, trying not to envy Sky’s brute strength. “Though I did already have swim practice this morning and an entire day of classes.”

Sky smiled, rolling his eyes. “What, you think instructing is easy? This is my free time.”

“True, things have been pretty crazy. Keeping up with my schedule and Aurora’s hasn’t been easy,” Zane said. After the last attempt on Aurora’s life, he, Sky, Akemi, and Kaylana had all tried to have one of them around her at all times. Aurora’s schedule seemed even more hectic than his, probably because of the additional flight blocks, but today was the last day of that pace.

“I’ll be with Aurora during her flight block. And once that’s over Kaylana said she’d take watch duty because they had to get ready for the dance anyway. So go get some rest.” Sky waved toward the locker room.

“Sounds good. And of course, I’ll be with Aurora at the dance.” Zane tried not to sound smug. Even though they agreed to just be friends, he still felt the need to claim her in front of Sky.

“I’m beginning to think everything might be okay. There hasn’t been anything suspicious over the past few weeks. Maybe we were getting ahead of ourselves,” Sky said, but his blue eyes looked clouded with worry. He shifted his attention to the opposite side of the gym where Hailen, Brianna, and Kylie were unsuccessfully trying to do one-handed push-ups.

“I guess we’ll find out tonight,” Zane said.

Sky bit his lip, nodding. “Yeah, have fun on your reconnaissance mission. Maybe you’ll find proof of something and we can forget about this whole mess.” Sky brushed his hand over a temple beaded with sweat. “I might not see you guys later, but good luck. I’ll see you sometime after break.”

“Oh that’s right. You’ve got your mission. The Moon this time, right?”

“Yup.” Sky nodded.

“I’ll see you when you get back then.” Zane sometimes forgot that Sky wasn’t a student but a certified astronaut with responsibilities to the Alliance.

Sky turned, his steps light as he strutted over to Aurora and Kaylana.

The girls were wearing weight belts around their waists and squatting around the room. They looked like walking ducks. Coach Harris was supervising their workout, barking out orders.

“Ladies, make sure your knees hit the mat when you lunge down. And don’t over extend your legs.”

Finished with physical training and his last day of classes, Zane left the fifth floor training facility, excited to have a few moments to himself.

Zane sank down into his desk chair, rubbing his temples. They still didn’t have any answers, just an ever-growing list of questions. Who planted the techspider? How could they prove it? Why was Sky acting so weird?

At least tonight, at the Lunar Moon Festival Dance, he would finally know if Rowan would be Hailen’s date. Tomorrow the cadets would all leave for the one-month break. If they still didn’t know who was trying to hurt Aurora, at least she would be safe at home.

Between ensuring Aurora’s safety, continuing his usual class and physical training schedule, and researching possible suspects, Zane wasn’t getting much sleep. Even the dance required things of him. Who would have known that he had to spend time learning proper table etiquette?

The Apollo Academy wasn’t holding a standard party. No, they were throwing a high-class event with a five-course meal. On top of that, they invited every well-respected scientist and doctor they could find, not to mention investors and a selection of reporters. When his instructors talked about the end of semester dances, they made it sound like it would be one big celebration for the cadets after their long semester of hard work, not some sort of posh fundraiser.

Zane agreed to go to the dance with Aurora, having no idea of what he was getting himself into. He felt like banging his head against the desk but instead rested his forehead against the cool glass surface.

As much as he looked forward to spending time with her, he was nervous about all of the attention he would receive. And not to mention, Zane didn’t want to embarrass himself or her in any way because of his upbringing. He never mentioned his doubts to Akemi, but once he learned that the two of them would be attending the dance together, Akemi had taken control of everything. He even went as far as ordering tailored tuxes for the two of them to wear.

Zane peeled his face off the table and sat back in his seat, rubbing feeling back into his cheek. He wanted to search the Grid, and it probably wouldn’t hurt to study a picture of Rowan Dagan one more time. He wanted to be able to recognize his face the instant he saw him.

Zane touched the top of his desk, selecting a flat icon that opened up a link to the Grid. He opened the first picture of Rowan Dagan that loaded.

Rowan stood with his arm around his father, Henry Dagan. Zane clearly saw that Rowan took some of his father’s attributes. They both had blond hair and blue eyes, but Rowan had a small, lean stature that probably came from his mother’s side. There was something eerily familiar about their looks, but Zane couldn’t put his finger on it.

Zane knew that Frontier Solutions was in serious financial trouble and that the media speculated that Rowan, his only son, would be taking over the company at age twenty-four. He had even tried to find information on the techspider, but there was nothing on the Grid. The only thing he confirmed was that all Frontiers Solutions products were stamped with an FS and number code, which meant the techspider was definitely one of their products.

Zane looked back at Rowan Dagan’s picture. Was he Hailen’s celebrity boyfriend? That would give Hailen access to the techspider, opportunity to target Aurora, and a possible motive.

Was the feud between Frontier Solutions and Titon Technologies enough of a reason? Why wouldn’t he just target Collin Titon himself? Unless there was something to financially gain in hurting Aurora, Zane didn’t see the reason why they would choose her as a target over her father.

“Zane, you better get ready soon,” Akemi called, barely bringing Zane back to the present. Akemi was showered and dressed in his tux.

Zane stared at his techiwatch. He had been sitting at his desk for almost two hours. “Oh, I didn’t realize it was this late already.”

“Yeah, you’ve been pretty engrossed in whatever it is you’re looking at.”

Zane tapped his fingers against the desk. “I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on.” He knew that if he just kept looking a little longer, he would stumble across something he was missing.

“Well, we better get going. Besides, if Hailen brings Rowan Dagan to the dance, I think we’ll know who’s behind Aurora’s attacks.”

Zane tried to get his untidy black hair under control, but as usual it flopped into his eyes.

“You ready?” Akemi asked nervously.

“Yeah, let’s go.” Zane knew his hair wasn’t going to stay in place, so he gave up. He probably didn’t even have the stupid tux on right, but he didn’t have time to worry about it. He needed to get to Aurora.

Zane opened the door to his room to see Dr. Stevenson standing in the hallway. His hand was raised in the air, as if he was about to knock on the door.

Dr. Stevenson brushed down his white lab coat with twitching fingers. “Zane, I need to talk to you.”

Zane didn’t have time to worry about his own issues. If Rowan and Hailen were behind Aurora’s attacks, then she was in danger tonight. Zane looked down at his techiwatch again in disbelief. “Doctor, we have to go. We’re already running a little late.” Zane began walking down the hallway, Akemi following right behind him.

Dr. Stevenson’s voice echoed down the hallway after them. “Zane, find me before you leave. It’s important.”

Zane stopped and turned back to Dr. Stevenson, the desperate edge in his voice sending trepidation down his spine. On closer inspection, Zane saw that the doctor’s jacket, which was usually crisp and clean, was rumpled. His hair was a disheveled bird’s nest, and large bags underneath his eyes looked swollen.

Zane looked at Akemi. “Will you go ahead and meet the girls?”

“Yeah, okay.” Akemi fiddled with his bowtie. “You’ll be right behind me, right?” He asked, looking hesitant to go.

“Yeah, I should probably see what he wants. Tell Aurora I’ll be there soon, and don’t let her out of your sight.”

Akemi looked like he wanted to ask him a question then thought better of it. “Okay, we’ll meet you at the dance.”

Zane knew when he turned and walked back down the hallway that he would later regret it. But he couldn’t ignore the man who had done everything in his power to help him. Hopefully, Dr. Stevenson would be quick, and he would only miss part of the dinner course. He told himself Aurora would be safe a few moments longer with Kaylana and Akemi by her side.

“Dr. Stevenson, are you all right?” The last time the doctor purposely sought him out like this it was to tell him that he had non-human DNA embedded into his genetic code, but there couldn’t possibly be anything worse than that.

Dr. Stevenson glanced around, making sure they were alone, but there was no need to worry. Akemi was already down the hall, and everyone else was at the dance. “Let’s talk in your room.” Dr. Stevenson fidgeted with his jacket pocket while Zane unlocked the door. When the door was open, Zane motioned for Dr. Stevenson to go in first then reluctantly followed him inside.

“What’s going on?” Zane motioned for the doctor to sit down.

Dr. Stevenson didn’t waste any time. “I figured out who is responsible.”

Zane immediately shut off all emotion, knowing he’d be able to handle the information better that way.

“It’s a b-big company,” Dr. Stevenson stuttered, and Zane finally placed his finger on what was wrong with the doctor. He was scared.

“Oh?” he questioned as if he were only mildly interested in what Dr. Stevenson was going to say.

Dr. Stevenson sat down on Akemi’s bed and stuffed his clenched hands into his coat pocket. “Of course, when I first realized your situation, I wondered who could pull off such an operation.” He shrugged his shoulders and looked directly at Zane. “And that only leaves a few possibilities.”