Recruits (New Haven Book 1), page 18
I glanced at Eric. “Did you make that ruckus in the hall?”
“Richie had a friend create a distraction,” Eric said. “He let some mice loose near the dining hall. I'm sure they'll be busy for a while trying to round them all up.”
Richie had been looking at me with surprise. He waited until Eric finished talking before he spoke. “You're getting eliminated?”
I nodded. “Yes. Tomorrow.”
“Unless we can stop it,” Eric said.
“How are you planning on doing that?” Richie asked.
“I was heading to talk to VP Oliver,” I said.
Richie shook his head. “He's not here.”
I stiffened. Not here? “Where is he?”
“Don't know,” Richie said with a shrug. “I just overheard my dad talking about it. He said something about Oliver leaving for business.”
“Business outside of River Springs?” Eric asked.
I had been about to ask the same thing. Had he headed to Kingsland with Wallace and Dante?
“I think so.” Richie smiled at me apologetically. “I guess talking to him is out.”
Eric rubbed my arm, only now it seemed like it was meant to console me. “Can you talk to your dad?” Eric asked Richie. “They're kicking Emmie out because she broke a couple of rules, but so did others. They're only targeting her. Plus, it seems like there's more behind it than rule-breaking. Something suspicious is going on.”
“Like what?” Richie rested against the wall and folded his arms.
Leaning into Eric, I sighed. “I don't know. That's why I wanted to talk with VP Oliver. He knows much more about what's going on than I do. All I know is that President Randall and RH Johnson are out to get me.” Why had VP Oliver left? I needed him.
“Can your dad find a loophole in the contracts?” Eric asked Richie. “Maybe something that gets Emmie off the hook.”
Richie looked up at the dark sky, thinking it over. Clouds had rolled in, covering up the moon and stars. The streetlamps were the only thing giving out light, and there weren't many of them. Richie finally looked at Eric. “He's just a clerk. I'm not sure how many strings he could pull.”
“He doesn't need to pull any strings,” Eric said. “He just needs to find a loophole in the contract. That's all.” He looked at me. “Emmie's last day is tomorrow so this is our only chance.”
“Wait a minute,” Richie said, his eyes confused. “Why haven't they kicked her out yet? Why tomorrow?”
I looked down at the ground, trying to control my emotions. Anger bubbled to the surface, but it wouldn't help me out. “They want to do it in a challenge. I think they want to make this a big deal and get me in a lot of trouble.”
“Something's not right.” Eric pulled me closer. “This all feels so … wrong. I can't pinpoint what it is, though.”
A nervous laugh escaped my mouth. “You're telling me. It's been driving me crazy all week. I keep racking my brain trying to figure this all out, but nothing's coming to mind. None of it makes sense.”
“We just need time,” Eric said. “If we can extend Emmie's time in Recruitment, maybe we can find a way to talk to VP Oliver when he gets back. Or even talk to her mom or dad. They've been keeping a strict eye on us, so we haven't been able to do anything.”
Richie pulled away from the wall and faced us. “Well, I know now. I'll look into it and talk to everyone I can.” He looked at me. “Woodard, right? That's your last name?”
I nodded. “Yes. My mom's name is Janice and my dad's name is Philip. I have a brother, too. Derek.”
“Okay,” Richie said. “I'll see if I can contact any of them tonight.”
Eric let out a breath of relief. “Thanks, Richie.”
He held up his hands. “I'm not promising anything will come of this, but I'll try.” He glanced around the quiet street, making sure we were still alone. “I find Randall an overbearing jerk and Johnson even worse. I'd be glad to stick it to them.” He slapped Eric on the arm. “Take it easy and good luck tomorrow.” Richie smiled at me and then left the alley, leaving Eric and me alone.
Eric pulled me into a hug. “I hope he can find something.” He drew back and looked at me, rubbing his thumb along my cheek. “This isn't over yet. We'll fight until it gets put back right. You don't deserve to be eliminated.”
I didn't, but I never wanted to be there in the first place. The only reason I wanted to stay now was to tick off Randall, Dean, and Amber. “Thanks, Eric, for everything. You've been an amazing friend.”
He leaned in closer, giving me a playful smile. “I hope you'd consider me more than a friend by now.” His thumb brushed across my lips. “Would it be too forward to ask for a kiss?”
“No.” I'd wanted a kiss from him for a while. I still needed to erase Luke's kiss from my mind, and kissing Eric seemed like the best way to do it.
His lips were soft, gentle, and so delicious. I finally knew what it was to be truly kissed. To feel the want and need on his end, but not have it be forceful or eager. From the way he held me and the way his lips moved on mine, I could tell how much he respected me. How much he cared for me.
I never wanted that moment to end.
I held onto the hope in my heart, the desire in his kiss, and the trust between us as we stood in that alley. It could get me through the night.
It could get me through anything.
T he next morning as Tina and I headed down to breakfast, a small butterfly fluttered above me at the bottom of the stairs.
“How did that get in here?” Tina asked.
Standing on my tiptoes, I looked at it closer. “Is it real?”
Tina squinted her eyes at it. “Why wouldn't it be real?”
The butterfly took off, heading toward the door where I'd met my family in and had my conversation with Eric, Tina, and Dee. I followed it, wanting to get a better look. When I entered the room, Derek was sitting on top of one of the tables with a remote control in his hands. The butterfly landed on his shoulder.
“Pretty cool, right?” Derek smiled at me. “I made it myself. It has a camera and a microphone in it.” He looked at Tina. “So, no, it's not real.”
“You heard us?” Tina asked.
Derek nodded, taking an earpiece out of his ear and slipping it in his pocket. He took the butterfly off his shoulder and handed it to me. “It's just a prototype. It still has a few bugs to work out.” He laughed at his pun.
I was in too much awe to roll my eyes at him. “This is so cool, Derek.” Turning it over in my hand, I examined it closer. It looked like an ordinary butterfly. Even up close, I couldn't see a camera on it.
Derek pointed to the eyes. “One is a camera, the other a microphone.” He took it back carefully. “You can't keep it, though. No one knows about it.”
“What are you doing here?” I asked, leaning against a chair. Tina took a seat at the table.
“You said you wanted information about Amber,” Derek said.
My eyes widened. “Did you check out her files?”
“Uh.” Tina looked back and forth between me and Derek. “You had him look into Amber? Is that allowed?”
Derek laughed. “No, sweetheart, it's not. So, I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything.”
“And I'd appreciate it if you didn't call me sweetheart,” Tina said with a glare.
Derek's face colored. “Sorry.” He cleared his throat. “Dee was right. She did have a little sister. She died when she was only three.”
“What?” I took a seat in the chair I had been leaning on. “How?”
“Mysterious circumstances.” Derek had used air quotes. “That's all the file said. Well, it also mentioned that Amber was the only one with her at the time.”
Tina's jaw dropped. “Oh, wow.” She looked at me. “Do you think she had something to do with it?”
I shrugged. “Who knows? I wouldn't be too surprised. She definitely seems off.”
Amber seemed capable of anything. She gave me the creeps multiple times growing up. It was just something in her manners and the way she looked at people. There was something lacking, like emotion or empathy. I could never pin down the problem.
Derek nodded, a slight hint of fear in his eyes. “She is. I checked out her psych evaluation. I'm not sure how she got accepted into Recruitment.” He licked his lips. “Most of it had been redacted, but I was able to use my magical programming skills to undo it.” His face went pale.
I reached out and touched his arm. “What is it?”
“She's insane, Em.” Derek turned his finger in a circle around his ear, motioning that she was crazy. “Certifiably.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. “She's actually been certified as crazy?”
“A psychopath is the more appropriate term.” Derek scooted off the table and took a seat next to me. “She shows no remorse, no empathy, and has no regard for human life.” He drummed his fingers along the table.
I reached out and placed my hand on his to stop it. “What's bothering you?”
“Seriously?” Tina asked, looking at me in surprise. “That's not enough? That would bother the crap out of me.”
“Of course, it would,” I said. “But I know my brother well enough to know there's more. He's not one to get this nervous unless it's bad.”
Tina shook her head. “Call me crazy but knowing she's a psychopath and that she may have been involved with her sister's death is what I would consider bad.”
A nervous laugh escaped Derek's mouth. “It is bad, but Em's right. There's more.” He stared at me for a moment, concern on his face. I'd never seen my brother look at me with such worry. It frightened me.
“Just tell me, Derek.” I rubbed his hand, hoping that would help.
He sighed. “When she had just turned sixteen, her mom found a list in her bedroom. A list of names.” He looked at me. “You were the first one on the list.”
“What was the list for?” I didn't know if I wanted to hear the answer. Derek's face told me enough to make me wary.
Derek swallowed. “It was a hit list.”
Tina looked at me, complete and utter horror on her face. “Oh, that is bad. Way bad.”
A hit list? Amber wanted to kill me? Why hadn't she? Not that I wanted her to, but she hadn't made an attempt on my life before. Then I thought about the tree. She couldn't have been behind that, could she? I shivered. She had all the right connections. Had that been her running away? Someone she'd asked to do it? My mouth went dry. Dante. Was he still alive?
Derek snapped his fingers in front of my face. “Em, you still with us?”
“What?” I looked at him. “Yes, sorry.” I rubbed my free palm over my eye. “Who else was on the list?”
Derek scratched the back of his neck. “Uh, you see, well …” He placed his other hand on top of mine. “Emmie, you were numbers one, two, three, four, five, and all the way down to one-hundred.”
“Oh.” I could feel the blood drain from my face.
Tina just stared at me from across the table.
“And then they flipped the paper over and found your name one hundred more times.” Derek smiled at me sheepishly. “Apparently she really, really, really, times two hundred wants you dead.”
I snapped my hand out from under his. “Yeah, I got that.” Dante entered my mind again. “Derek, have you seen Dante or Wallace Brown? The two men from Kingsland who came to visit.”
Derek shook his head. “Not for a couple of days.”
“Will you look into that, too?” I asked. “Check for any footage of them in River Springs? I'm worried something may have happened to Dante.”
Tina finally spoke. “Do you think Amber had something to do with the tree?”
“What tree?” Derek asked, looking at me.
“A tree fell during one of the challenges,” I said. “Dante and I looked at it and it seemed to have been cut.”
Derek swore under his breath. “There's no mention of that in any of the reports.” When I looked at him with raised eyebrows, he continued. “I've been checking all your challenge reports. I wanted to make sure you weren't embarrassing the family.” He gave me a twisted smile. “That challenge when you were trapped, towards the end …”
I stomped my foot on his. If he was about to mention the kiss, I needed to put a stop to it. I didn't want Tina finding out like this. I didn't want her finding out about it at all.
“Ow!” Derek swore again. “What was that for?”
“I just don't want to talk about that challenge.” I gave him an apologetic smile.
Luckily, Tina took my outburst as something else. “That challenge was really draining on Emmie. I don't think she's ready to talk about it.”
“I'm not,” I said. “Can you please look into Dante for me? Make sure he's still alive?”
Derek frowned at me for a minute but then nodded. “Yeah, sure.” He stood. “I need to get back to work. Oh, and a guy named Richie called last night and told us what's going on. We're working on something, Em, but I'm not sure if we'll be able to do anything.”
“At least you're trying,” I said. “That's all that matters to me.”
When I stood, Derek reached out and gave me an awkward pat on the shoulder. “Just be careful, sis. While I'd love to turn your bedroom into an office for me, I might actually miss you if something happened.”
“Aw, thanks, bro.” I slapped him on the shoulder. “You're too sweet.”
He rubbed his shoulder where I'd hit him. “Yeah, I know. I shouldn't be.” He looked at Tina. “Keep an eye on this one.”
“Will do,” Tina said.
We all forced ourselves to eat at breakfast knowing we would need our strength. Dee was able to escape the vicious Amber to eat with us. After breakfast, Dee squeezed the life out of me and kissed my cheek.
“Love you,” Dee said to me. She turned to Tina and Eric. “I’m counting on you two.”
“You can count on us,” Eric said.
“Good.” Dee quickly hugged Tina and then squeezed Eric’s arm. “Good luck today.”
“You too,” I said.
As we walked to the bus, I looked up at the sky. Even though it was cold, it was a beautiful day. The sun shined bright and the sky was perfectly blue. Not a cloud in sight. At least there was something positive about that day.
“Green's a good color on you,” Eric said as we sat down in the bus.
We had made our way to the back and RL Steven didn’t try to stop us. Eric and I sat on one bench, and Tina and Luke sat across from us. Most people sat by their partners, but Eric wanted to sit by me. Luke would have protested if it wasn’t Tina he got to sit by. In fact, I was pretty sure she was the reason he sat with us at every meal. Otherwise, I don’t think he’d put up with Eric.
“It brings out the color of your eyes,” Eric said to me.
I looked down at my green shirt and black pants, our wardrobe colors for the day. Wearing my regular clothes again would be nice. The conformity had seemed so restricting and stripped us of our individuality. That should have been River Springs's motto.
Eric held my hand, apparently not worried that cameras were watching.
I turned to look at him. “My favorite color on you is blue.”
He batted his eyelashes. “Because of my eyes?”
I smiled. “Of course.”
I rested my head on his shoulder, not a care in the world. If it was my last day of Recruitment, I wanted to enjoy it.
A n hour later, we arrived at our destination. Eric leaned over me and looked out the window. “The lake,” he said with a smile.
The sun reflected off the rippling water, the sight beautiful. I'd never been there before. My parents always said they would take us one day, but they never got around to it. Too busy, I guess.
We all got off the bus and followed RL Steven to the edge of the lake. The lake seemed to be in the middle of the town. About a quarter mile out from the lake, homes surrounded the area.
Two men were waiting for us, dressed in all black. They were tall, muscular men, their faces all business. I immediately recognized one of them as SO Clark.
Despite turning out to be a nice guy, I'd seen too much of him recently. My muscles screamed out in pain just at the sight of him. A faint, amused smile touched his lips when he made eye contact with me.
“This seems like a nice place to live,” I said.
Eric stood on my right, Tina on my left, with Luke on the other side of her.
“It is,” Tina said. “I’ve always loved this area.”
Pebbles covered the shore around the lake. I wanted to take off my shoes and walk around. I had never stepped on pebbles before. We had grass along the river in our precinct.
“Listen up!” SO Clark shouted. The red in his hair and beard stood out in the sunlight. “I'm Security Officer Mack Clark. Today you'll be performing an underwater challenge. You’ll be changing into water suits in those changing rooms over there.” He pointed to a couple of makeshift rooms made of tarps. “After that, I, along with Security Officer Pierce Martin,” he pointed to the other man, “will help you get your breathing equipment on. Let’s have the first four teams get changed and then we’ll go from there.”
They had arranged it so three to four teams would go at a time in six different groups. RL Steven listed off what teams would go in each group. Eric and Luke were going in the third group. Not surprisingly, Tina and I were in the last group. So, I had to anxiously await my removal.
Once the first group was changed, they lined up on the edge of the lake. There were four areas of entrance created for that challenge, with a flag marking the spot. RL Steven told each team which entrance they would be taking.
“This challenge has to do with patrol and salvaging,” SO Clark said. “It will test your memory, your teamwork, and your ability to stay calm.” He had a naturally loud and commanding voice that carried outside. “Each team will be given a map showing the coordinates of three large keys and three pieces of equipment that have been placed on the bottom of the lake. Your key colors will correspond with the flag color you are assigned to. The map will also show you the coordinates of a box, which will also be the same color. You will be given a waterproof digital compass that lists the longitude and latitude on it, which you can take with you. If you can memorize the coordinates listed on your map, then it should go easy. Once you retrieve all three keys and artifacts, you must go find the box which will be inside a clear container. To retrieve the box, each partner must use one key to release the latch holding down the container. Then you’ll use the third key to unlock the box. Inside you will find these.” SO Clark held up a tiny set of keys.
