“Just keep it on,” I called after her. “Please.”
She half turned, a question in her eyes.
“The necklace. It’ll protect you.”
She touched it and nodded once, pushed open the glass doors, and
disappeared down the stairs.
It was hard to see her leave. A wary voice told me that she would
struggle not to retreat inward, that somehow she was still waging a war to
overcome her fears. I was leaving her vulnerable.
I turned back to Frei and tried to hide my worry. We were doing
this for a good reason. Renee understood that. We all understood that. It was a
risk we took. For the first time, I began to get what Renee had been saying all
along. It was a thankless fight.
This would be my first official mission. I knew I’d be in safe
hands with Frei. I half wanted to put Renee with her instead. The thought of
her being alone gave me stomach ache.
“I need an hour a day to meditate,” I told Frei. “No buts. It’s a
directive I got to follow.”
Frei nodded. “You can do it when I do mine.”
I walked smack into the corner of the table. “You?”
Frei rolled her eyes. She had an odd smile on her face. I mean any
smile was rare but this one was . . . pensive maybe. “You’re putting yourself
at risk, giving her your necklace.”
“Yes.”
Her smile warmed until I shrugged, fending off my heating cheeks.
I was soft, where was the surprise?
She released me from her gaze, got off the desk, and strode toward
a door left ajar. It was to her office by the look of it. “Then head this way,
Lorelei. Let’s get you drilled.”
I turned to look at the staircase Renee had left by. I’d given her
Nan’s St. Christopher, the one with the armor engraved on it. It had kept me
safe, I knew that. I hoped that now it would take care of her.
I hoped that odd feeling had just been me getting nervous. I
didn’t have burdens no more. It was just nerves. Just nerves.
“Lorelei, quit catching flies and get in here.”
I turned and followed Frei into her office, feeling a sense of
being on uncertain ground. What I’d learned from Renee so far was that when a
hero found herself in that situation, she held her head high and kept the
faith.
Save children while pretending to be some mean criminal . . . I
could do that. I hoped.
Chapter 13
A WEEK OF intensive training followed along with Frei drilling
into me the backstory that I was to stick to. It was pretty much my own. I had
a rap sheet so Frei just embellished on it and made it look like I was hiding
out from the authorities. I hoped she fixed it all when we got back because I
did not want a return trip to Serenity.
We flew from the base and I was blindfolded again but once we were
on the ground at an airport, we were on our own. Frei had an SUV ready and
waiting. The heat prickled but it wasn’t unbearable. The wind was something
else. When I’d been in Colorado it had been windy but this was relentless.
There were a few corrugated hangers and a rickety looking iron sign over the
road out. It was scrub land, wherever it was, broken up with patches of sand or
dust. Although it was greener than where the CIG base was, it must have baked
in the summer. There weren’t swaying fields of crops like in Oppidum.
I watched Frei, hoping she might tell me something or start a
conversation but she was locked up tight behind her mirrored aviators.
She looked different to how she always dressed. I couldn’t explain
it because she was still in jeans, a t-shirt, and that same battered jacket she
loved so much. Somehow, the way the clothes were cut covered her up more. She
looked tougher, angrier, like she didn’t care.
“You gonna tell me where we are?” We drove along a highway. I
hoped she’d say something ’cause I was sick of trying to guess.
“Texas.”
“Right.” I weren’t hot on geography but I knew Texas was a big
state. We headed into a town with trees down the middle of the main street, and
neat, well-kept buildings on either side. It was quieter than Oppidum but the
cars and pick-ups lining the sides showed folks were frequenting the place.
“Ain’t many crops growin’, huh?” I asked as we left the town
behind and headed along another highway. There was a long ridge on the horizon
that looked like God had decided to stick a step in.
“That’s the Caprock.” Frei’s fingers whitened on the wheel.
“Cotton country.”
Apart from some bushes, and windbreaks off in the distance, there
weren’t much else but long furrowed rows.
The bluff drew nearer as we headed along the dusty road. The road
ascended it, gradual, careful, a strip of dirt cut down the middle. When we crested
it, I swore I could see for miles. It was the flattest place I’d ever seen. It
felt so strange. I was used to mountains. Even the CIG base was on one. I
hadn’t ever been to a place without any before.
“You got your ID ready?” Frei glanced at me or at least turned her
head toward me. I couldn’t tell what she was looking at.
“Yeah, are you sure they ain’t gonna be able to track me?”
According to the little thing in my hands, I was now Alex Riley. My backstory
was that I had been born someplace in the Midwest and my mother had travelled
all over the states. I’d been imprisoned in Arkansas. I’d escaped . . . somehow
. . . and was officially a fugitive.
“Your name was too unusual and you’re unique. It made it a
challenge to hide you.” She fiddled with her ring. “But you’re covered. There
was a killer in that state close to your description just not as tall.”
We turned off onto a smaller road which seemed to run along the
edge of the Caprock. I looked out and saw the town in the distance. Wildflowers
grew in amongst the scrub. The wind rattled the SUV.
Frei seemed not to notice, roaring us along the road. I guess in
her red fancy SUV it weren’t a problem. She drove cool cars, sleek, but the
whole thing felt like a statement. The wood trim inside looked good enough to
run my hands over but I didn’t dare. I didn’t know much about cars but she
flicked a stick around when she changed gear. I’d never seen a car with one
before. It dripped luxury. Crime must have paid for some folks.
Frei turned again. The uncultivated land so close I could reach
out and touch it. A long windbreak stretched up from the scrubland ahead but
there were a couple of buildings in the far distance otherwise. The road
squeezed through the gap in the trees, the road newer, hedges planted up on
either side with trees behind them. Caprock Academy shimmered in the sun, at
least its high white rendered walls. The gates were wrought iron like Serenity,
with a guardhouse like Serenity. I swallowed a tingle of fear at that.
Frei had told me the academy was not the only one. There were
several in the States. They were a mix of kids who were slaves and rich kids
from the families who owned them. The two never mixed. The latter were there to
prove legality should any authorities come knocking.
As we pulled up to the guardhouse, I glanced at the thick etched
name in the pure white stone. It looked like it should be in an art gallery
someplace. Water cascaded down over it as if to prove it had overcome its
barren surroundings.
I glanced at Frei whose fingertips had lost all color. She looked
over her aviators at me, a glimmer of pain in her eyes.
“Where were you sent?” I asked but I didn’t know why. It was clear
in her every tense movement.
“Here. I couldn’t speak a word of English.” Frei tapped the wheel.
Her eyes lighted on the gates as we approached. “I was terrified when I was
dropped off.”
Hearing her say that made me tense up all over. Acquainting Frei
and lack of courage didn’t fit. If she was scared, I was ready to turn around
and head home.
The guards at the gate were big hulking guys with rough-shaven
chins and heavily lined eyes. Weather-beaten would be too mild, these guys had
been battered, bested, and bulldozed into submission. Their voices sounded
gruff as if the dust had got stuck in their throats.
Frei flashed her pass at them. They studied it before heading
around to my side. I fumbled with my own pass before holding it up. It was too
much like Serenity. I wanted to make a run for it. Sweat trickled down the back
of my neck. I couldn’t pull this off. There was no way I could pull this off—
“Buzz them in.”
Frei roared through the gate and the wildflowers became long green
lawns. “Astroturf. It’s all fake. Just remember that. Everything, every inch is
nothing but a lie.”
“Even the huge palace thing there?” I squinted to get a better
look. A huge Grecian style mansion, all in white stone was plonked right in the
middle of nowhere.
“It’s all an illusion. A statement of superiority.” She nodded to
the road leading away to the right. “The rich kids live in a small campus over
that way. It’s next to the principal’s house. They have the best of
everything.”
“I’m guessing you didn’t have that luxury?”
Frei remained stoic. “You’ll see where the money is poured.”
“And what about those guys?” I pointed to one guy in a white suit
and tie on the mass of steps leading up to the entrance. Next to him was a tall
lug of a man. His shaved black hair was nothing compared to the razor sharp
look in his eyes. He had a shirt and tie on too but he looked like he would be
better suited to a sash of bullets and a huge gun.
“The taller one is Jäger,” she muttered. “Stay away from him.”
Okay, so he looked mean, but no meaner than the other guys I’d
seen so far. Unless you counted his eyes.
“He was here when I was.” She slowed the truck, scowling. “The
other one is the Principal, Smyth.” She relaxed her scowl and looked at me.
“Just be careful, Jäger is . . . nasty.”
“Can I have a safety barrier?” I mumbled, feeling out of my depth.
If he was so scary then it was possible he’d see through my tough-guy act in
seconds.
“Be yourself. Your police record and your sentence speak for you.
You’re Alex Riley here.” She smiled that tight-lipped smile. “And you’d need a
lot more than a barrier.”
That didn’t exactly instill confidence. “What would I need?” More
to the point, where could I get it and how soon.
“You have me. Listen and you’ll be fine.” She stepped out of the
SUV into the bright sunlight and picked up both our duffel bags from the back
seat. I took a couple of breaths, trying to find some kind of confidence.
“Sure,” I mumbled, getting out of the car. “Good thing I’m
trusting.”
Frei flashed me a cocky grin over her shoulder. “One thing to
remember about me, I always keep my promises.”
Something in my heart told me that she was speaking the truth. My
burdens were faded to a trace but I guess maybe some faith came from inside. I
hoped that it weren’t the same place that got fooled by Sam, ’cause otherwise,
I was in trouble . . . I eyed Jäger . . . big trouble.
THERE AIN’T MANY people who intimidate me. Whether it was Frei’s
words or the size of the guy, it didn’t matter, my hands sprung a leak as we
wandered over to meet the welcoming party.
The principal, Smyth, in the white suit and panama hat, was skinny
but with a bit of a belly and cheeks that were redder than was healthy. Jäger,
in the black suit, gray shirt, and black tie, was a couple of inches shorter
than me which put him over six foot but nearer to Frei’s height. That should
have made me feel better but he was built like I was, the collar of his shirt
tight against his thick neck.
His tie drew my eye, the academy’s crest stamped on it. He could
have been a prison guard in Serenity for the steel he had in his dark eyes. I
couldn’t tell in the strong sunlight where his irises stopped and his pupils
began.
He looked like a machine. A handsome one but still a machine. He
didn’t seem bothered by the heat at all. His military haircut was close. His
stubble so dark that he looked like he dyed it with boot polish.
Frei said he’d been there when she attended so he’d have to be at
least twenty or so years older than her. I put her around Renee’s age which
made Jäger in his mid-fifties.
Frei cleared her throat beside me. I guess I was making a fool out
of myself by gawking at the guy. I flicked my gaze away and studied the expanse
of grounds all covered in that fake, plastic grass.
Weird.
“Huber sends his regards,” Frei said with a tone of smugness. I
hadn’t heard her talk like that before. I weren’t real sure if I cared to
again.
“Doesn’t he always,” Smyth answered. “Generally right before he
swipes something.”
They laughed. At least I knew hers was false. When she did laugh
for real it sounded like she was up to something.
“You have some potentials he’s interested in.” Frei moved up the
steps into the shade cast by the huge pillared porch. “Must be quality for him
to bother.”
Smyth strolled along at her side as Jäger and I fell into step
behind. Smyth cast a disgusted look at the huge duffel bags on each of her
shoulders. She looked like she carried pillows but I knew my pack was heavy.
“Not in your league but they could be useful as decoys perhaps.”
Smyth held open the heavy wooden door for us. “I’m surprised he’s not still
working you.”
“He decided he enjoyed my company more.” Frei strolled inside. I
went to follow but Jäger put his arm out to stop me. Frei glanced at me with
reassurance in her eyes as she headed off down the corridor.
“There aren’t many people who can meet my eyes,” Jäger said in a
low, graveled voice. He sounded like a growling lion.
“I know what you are and what your story is,” I said back. I
had no idea
why
I’d just said that. I
didn’t have one iota. “I’m . .
. fascinated.”
Fascinated? What? Freaked out and ready to run maybe but I sounded
like I was into machines.
“My story?” His voice held danger.
“Yep,” I said, sounding like I knew what I was on about. “Anyone
who can handle Locks impresses me.”
He did? How did I know that? I weren’t supposed to see anyone’s
past. Nan said they’d taken it all away.
“Don’t believe everything she says.”
I dared to lift my eyes to his. He looked impressed. His smile was
full of charm. I could see that he must have a string of women who swooned at
his every word.
“My bite is far worse than my bark.” His grin morphed into a razor
sharp smile that made me think of sharks. Hungry sharks circling dinner.
“Which just makes you all the more impressive.” My tone made me
picture Nan throwing icy cold blasts at me. Me and my mouth were gonna have
words ’cause I sure weren’t liking the way it was talking.
“Your own record is interesting. Do I need to watch you around the
merchandise?” He sounded amused.
Merchandise? What—?
My stomach dropped.
He meant the students. “Depends if they are pathetic.”
He laughed.
I felt the urge to punch him. Elite nut job or not.
“You seem to have a thing for dangerous men.” He held open the
door for me.
He must have meant Sam, did he? Wait, no, Frei had said that she
kept the same crimes but changed the names, the locations. I didn’t know what
folks thought of me being so close to Sam and not seeing the truth. What kind
of idiot would have been so gullible to spend a decade inside for him?