Chapter 54
RENEE STOPPED AS she headed into the main building. The door to
the office on her right was ajar. A dim light shone out of it. She crept
closer, hand on the gun in her waistband, and pulled off her mask.
“Jäger, I told you that the boy is delusional. You saw him on the
roof, you saw him after his little escape. He will tell you anything.”
Renee depressed her mic button as she edged closer. Harrison’s
voice was loud and clear.
“Thinks they’re all plotting to escape. Just told me Huber has
visited him. How would he know who Huber is?” Jäger sounded alert but not too
panicked. Speaker phone maybe?
“The only way Huber could manage that was with Locks. She’s
indisposed this evening. The guard confirmed that she hasn’t returned.”
Harrison seemed far more important than she’d let on she was. Renee frowned.
“He says Riley is up to something.”
Harrison laughed. “Yes, she was. She’s quite the virtuoso. I
suggest you rethink your rejection of her.”
Renee scowled. If he went within twenty feet of her, she’d make
him recheck alright. He’d be rechecking his gender.
“I had a feeling he was lying through his teeth.” Jäger’s voice
lowered to a growl. Renee winced at the scream in the background. “Perhaps I
will reconsider.”
Renee fought the urge to charge in and warn him off.
“Bring the boy. If he runs, kill him.”
Jäger laughed at Harrison’s order. “Smyth won’t like that.”
“No, but if he argues, kill him too.”
A blast of wind hit her.
“Blondie, get movin’.”
Nan.
Renee sprinted along the corridor and ducked into the only open
door she could find. Harrison strolled out of the office. Her heels clicking
along as she tottered by.
“Thanks, Nan,” she whispered up to the ceiling, getting a breeze
in reply.
She fumbled with her mic. “Urs, Harrison just ordered Jäger to
bring Kevin.” She covered her mouth to keep in her shocked whisper.
“Harrison?”
“Yeah,” she muttered as Harrison’s footfalls faded away. “Yeah,
Harrison . . . She wants Jäger to rethink his rejection.”
Renee glanced around at the room she’d ducked into. One of the
reception rooms by the look of the shapes in the dark.
“Why?” Ursula muttered to herself. “Why her in particular?”
“Are you really asking me that? Because if you are we could be
here a while.” Renee sighed. “I need to move.”
“Head to Harrison’s office.”
After a quick check that the coast was clear, Renee crept into the
hallway, then stopped.
Voices.
She dove back into the room as two buyers strolled toward her
position and stopped close by. She rested her head back against the wall.
Great, more delays.
“Shame that the muscle isn’t for sale.” A man’s voice, sleazy
tone. She felt her jaw clench. “She would make a wonderful trophy.”
“Not to mention her
extra
abilities.” Another male, higher
voice, British lilt. “Harrison was right. Wonderful skill.”
Renee frowned. Harrison had known? Who had told her?
The lower voice let out a sharp, “Hah.” A match struck. The smell
of pipe smoke tickled her nostrils.
“Shame about her problem with children,” the other answered. It
sounded like he was tapping something. Another match struck. Cigar smoke. “Good
matrons are hard to buy.”
They both chuckled.
Renee felt along the wall but there was only one door. She sighed.
Wonderful.
“Urs, I get the horrible feeling that it isn’t just the kids for
sale,” she whispered into her mic.
“How?” Frei sounded half irritated, half distracted.
Renee shook her head. “I don’t know, but they are talking about
Aeron as if she’s at auction. We need to get her out. Now.”
Frei was on the move, Renee could hear that much from her
breathing. “I agree. Go get her. I’ll set off a distraction.”
Renee checked around the room once more and sighed. “I’m trapped.
Buyers are outside my door.”
“And that blonde one on stage with her . . .” The buyer, “mmmd,”
and his friend laughed. “I’m asking Smyth if he’ll consider loaning her out
too.”
Renee scowled. If they were talking about the students, she would
have to shoot—
“Wouldn’t mind her teaching me.” The second buyer sounded as
adolescent as his friend.
“Ditch the fan club,” Frei muttered with a trace of humor. “Jäger
is on his way with Kevin. He will need to—”
Renee tensed, pulling her gun as Frei swore. “What?”
“Renee, get Aeron. Kevin just stabbed Jäger and is heading your
way.”
Renee glanced around the room.
Right.
Get past the buyers. Fan club . . .
She tucked her masks into her blouse, ripped open the top buttons
and ruffled her hair.
She stepped out of the room and the buyers turned to look at her.
The rotund guy smoking the pipe nearly swallowed it. His larger friend’s cigar
drooped in between his lips.
She offered a polite smile, doing up a couple of buttons, knowing
their eyes were anywhere but her face.
“Enjoying the show?” she asked as she turned to stroll down toward
the backstage door. She made sure she walked in a way that their eyes were
riveted to her movement and not her hands holding the masks from falling out.
“Not half as much as someone else,” came the smutty reply.
Renee reached the door, flashed them a wink, and headed inside.
“There’s always a teenage boy in there if you look hard enough.”
She opened the backstage door and Miroslav’s eyes dropped to the
same level. He cleared his throat and then stared out at the stage. His face
filled with enough color to make her shake her head. At least he had an excuse.
He
was
a teenage boy.
“She’s very special,” she whispered to him as they watched Aeron
on stage. “It’s very important that we keep her safe.”
Miroslav smiled, looking everywhere but at her. “I know. There is
trouble?”
Renee sighed. “Leave it to me. Just keep going so that they can
get offstage. Please.”
Miroslav grinned. “For her, anything.”
URSULA CROUCHED LOW in the corridor and watched the buyers wander
back toward the theatre. Jäger hobbled toward the main building behind her.
Blood dribbled down his leg where Kevin had stabbed him.
Ursula ducked across the corridor, unlocked, and entered
Harrison’s office. She’d been in here once as a kid and that was when Huber had
picked her up.
When they’d expelled her.
The thought gave her a wry smile and she hurried to the computer,
booted it up, and put in her USB drive. It would copy the entire hard drive in
a couple of minutes.
While she waited, she opened up the e-mails and hacked the
password. As expected, most were rubbish about the auction and academy.
But e-mails from an anonymous sender kept popping up. They were
frequent, daily perhaps. Most were rundowns on the staff, on her, on Renee. She
clicked on the most recent.
In place. Freak ready
to do anything. Has a thing for Jäger.
Ursula shook her head. “Renee, be on your guard. We have a leak.”
“Can’t talk now, Urs.” Renee grunted. There was slamming and
clattering. “Kevin.”
Ursula peeked out of the door. Jäger limped in. She tensed. Fear
from back then, from deep inside her, ignited and seeped sweat from every pore.
She ducked back. Held her breath. He’d hear her shuddering gasps.
“Nasty. Bitten off more than we can chew, have we?” Huber’s voice.
Huber? She peeked through the gap. What was he doing?
“I don’t have time for this.” Jäger sounded more irritated than in
pain.
She noticed Huber glance in her direction. “I think you may want
to hear some information I have on your professor.”
Ursula rolled her eyes, knowing exactly what Huber was saying to
her. What a surprise. She opened her mic. “Owens is a leak.”
“Yeah,” Renee grunted back. More slamming. “I had Jessie borrow
one of your darts.”
Ursula dropped her hand to her belt and smiled. Sneaky little
thief. She was proud of her.
“Thank Aeron. She had Jed doing some spying. He’d make a good
intelligence officer.” Renee grunted again amongst the clattering and crashing.
“Then stop wrestling with the idiot and knock him out.”
“Nag, nag, nag . . . You know that.” More slamming. “If he’s not
careful he may end up getting the point.”
Ursula smiled. Renee had known all along. That was the woman she
knew and loved.
The USB drive purred. Ursula removed it and placed it in her
pocket. She added a second device with a smile. Anyone foolish enough to try
and outwit a load of buyers would need to make a quick copy of their accounts
and contacts should it all go wrong.
“Not anymore, Harrison.” She pressed the send button and enjoyed
watching the screen crash. Every computer linked to it would do the same.
She crept back to the door. Huber’s body language made her tense.
“I don’t care what your sources say, Huber, she works for us.”
Jäger limped past him.
She looked down the corridor.
He’d find no students.
Huber met her eyes.
Fear prickled through her.
Move
.
Do something!
She drew her dart gun, opened the door, and fired. Jäger gripped
his neck, stared down at the dart, and dropped to his knees.
He reached for his radio.
She fired again.
He slumped forward onto the floor.
Huber hurried to her. “The leak was an oversight. I am
disappointed.”
She took one of Jäger’s arms as Huber took the other. She felt a
strange glow that he was helping. He hadn’t needed to. “She is darted. Way
ahead of you.”
They dragged Jäger into Harrison’s office, left him on a chair,
and locked him in. “You really want Kevin?”
“What I want is you. Alas, we can’t always get what we want.”
Huber’s smile held genuine warmth. He wasn’t taller than her anymore. They were
at eye level now yet he still felt imposing. “I’m getting older. I need someone
to keep me from my enemies.”
“You’ll still be terrifying them all in your eighties. You forget
that I know you.” Ursula heard him laugh as they crept along the corridor. Her
heart smiled, that was the only way she could describe it, that he cared. In
whatever odd, dysfunctional way, he actually cared.
His touch on her hand told her as much. “It was worth a try.”
I DIDN’T KNOW what was going on backstage but I hoped the audience
couldn’t hear it over Miranda and me playing. Her forehead was shiny, her eyes
twinkling with hurt as she focused on playing through the pain.
Thud, clang, thump.
I kept my eyes on hers, willing her to focus everything on me. Her
wrist was in agony but we were nearly there. We were nearly across the line. A
few more bars.
Thump. Thump. Clatter.
I could see Miroslav out of the corner of my eye. He was watching
something.
Clang.
He was dragged off his stool.
Uh oh.
The track wouldn’t kick in without him. What did we do now? I
swallowed. Don’t panic. We’d do this together. We could do this together. I
said a silent prayer and met Miranda’s eyes.
“Play,” I whispered to her. “Just play.”
Her energy was on empty. Mine was drained from helping. Still, she
nodded. Her eyes determined, her chin up with grace. She placed her bow to the
strings. Her eyes on me. I sent her every ounce of energy I had in response.
I tensed for the squeal . . .
Her bow glided over the strings. The tone, the skill, beautiful.
I breathed out in relief.
Bad wrist or not, she could play. Miranda closed her eyes and I
saw something shimmer at her side. I felt the love from it ooze into her.
Gentle maternal love.
Her mom. Her mom was riding to the rescue, her energy like she was
holding Miranda’s shaking wrist steady. She was helping her play.
Go mom.
Tears brimmed in my eyes. I felt the breeze beside me. Love. “Good
to have you back, Nan.”
The breeze tickled my cheek and I felt the damp trail of my tears.
“Ain’t ever left your side, Shorty.”
I could hear my breath shudder in my ears as the tears flowed.
Miranda’s own tears trickled down her cheeks as she played, light pulsing from
her.
Nan’s energy flowed around me, we were nearly there now. I closed
my eyes and let myself flow into it. I opened up my heart and connected to it.
Miranda’s violin sang with mine, somehow the music moved into a different tune
in harmony. Perfect harmony.