Anomalous rogues, p.8
Anomalous Rogues, page 8
“Now what?”
“Now…” She pulled the drive out, then handed it back to him. “You figure out how to hack through that while I start packing.”
Tristan shook his head, confused. “Packing?”
“In the event that there is something in there about me,” she said, turning off the screen of the computer. “I want to be long gone.”
“Are you leaving now?”
“I’m leaving as soon as I heal your mother.” She walked past him and reached for her jacket on the sofa.
Tristan grabbed his own jacket and followed after her. “Where will you go?”
“I don’t know yet,” she said, slipping into her jacket. “But Uncle Evan has a go-bag in case of emergency. It’ll be enough to, at least, get me started.”
“Don’t you want to stick around to see what’s in here?” Tristan asked, holding up the drive. “Maybe it’s something that could change things.”
“Change what?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “But for it to merit a bank robbery and the death of an innocent man...” Tristan gave her a serious look. “This has got to be important.”
Anya couldn’t deny he had a point, but she doubted it would change her situation. Whatever was in that research, it wouldn’t stop the trackers from hunting down her kind. Or experimenting on them.
She rubbed her face, then let out a long sigh. “I cannot continue this conversation without coffee. Come on...” She tugged on his jacket. “Today’s gonna be a long day.”
THIRTEEN
Tristan entered his mother’s room holding a bouquet of flowers. A nurse was standing next to his mother’s bed, flushing her IV tube.
“Tristan,” the nurse beamed as he stepped inside, and Anya followed after him. “Shouldn’t you kids be in school?”
Anya had asked Tristan to do his mother’s last session after school instead of the morning but, seeing as she was going to leave before graduation anyway, that no longer mattered. The sooner the better.
“I wasn’t going to make it this afternoon, so I thought I’d drop off some flowers for my mom before school,” Tristan replied.
“Who’s your friend?” When the nurse winked, Tristan felt his face heat up.
“Just a friend,” he said, reaching for the dead flowers and taking them to the bathroom to switch them out for the new ones.
“You just missed your father,” the nurse said. “He’s been coming in several times, checking on your mom.”
Tristan walked back out with the vase with fresh water and flowers. “Since when?”
“Since she had that slight brain activity,” she said on her way out the door. “You kids take care.”
Tristan offered her a smile. “Thank you.”
Once they were alone, Tristan placed the flowers on the nightstand then turned to Anya, who was already in place with her hands stretched out over his mother’s chest.
“Ready?” she asked, but Tristan’s quizzical look made her pause.
“Are you?” he asked.
Her expression softened as if she couldn’t believe he was actually concerned with her. But he was. She had been in such bad shape just the night before, and other than putting the IV in her vein, he felt utterly helpless. As much as he wanted his mother to wake up, he didn’t want to take advantage of Anya’s kindness. Just the thought of harming her in any way made his stomach churn.
When she turned her attention back to his mother, he reached for Anya’s hand. She returned a gentle gaze to him and smiled.
“I’ll be fine.”
He nodded, then pulled back, moving to the far corner of the room. When she gave him one last look, he sucked in a nervous breath.
She closed her eyes as she had the first time, and Tristan found himself wondering how it felt. Did it hurt? Or burn? How did she know how much power to release?
The door suddenly swung open. Anya dropped her hands quickly and stepped away from the bed.
“Who the heck are you?” Tristan’s father asked. Two male nurses wheeled in a gurney.
“She’s with me, Dad,” Tristan said, shifting his father’s attention away from Anya.
His father arched a curious brow. “Why aren’t you in school?”
Before Tristan could reply, the two nurses lifted his mother off the bed and onto the gurney.
“What are you doing?” Tristan grabbed onto the gurney before they could wheel it away, then turned to his father. “What’s going on, Dad? Where are they taking her?”
“Let them go, Tristan,” his father said in a firm tone.
Tristan looked at one of the nurses, then groaned in frustration as he let go of the gurney. The nurses wheeled his mother out of the room, and Tristan balled his fists.
“Anya, please go wait in the car,” Tristan said through clenched teeth. His blood boiled as his father’s eyes followed her out of the room. “Now, start talking.”
His father looked at him, unfazed. “Well, in light of recent improvements, I thought it would be better to transfer your mother to a better facility. This place just isn’t doing her justice.”
Tristan arched a skeptical brow. “What changed?”
“What do you mean?”
“Last time we spoke, you wanted to pull her plug, but now...you want her to improve?”
His father stepped in front of him with a scowl. “I’ve always wanted what’s best for my wife.” When Tristan didn’t respond, his father pulled back with a glare. “Now, get to school. I don’t want them calling me about you missing any more classes.”
Tristan started toward the door, but then stopped. “When can Mom start taking visitors in the new facility?”
His father put a hand over his cell phone as if he was about to take a call. “Family only,” he muttered before bringing the phone to his ear and greeting whoever was on the other end of the line. As he went to stand by the window, Tristan let out a frustrated grunt.
How on earth was he going to get Anya to his mother now?
FOURTEEN
The car ride back to school was silent. Anya didn’t want to intrude in Tristan’s personal business, but when he parked in the school lot, turned off the engine, and didn’t move, she couldn’t ignore it anymore.
“I’m sure we could find a way to sneak into wherever your mother’s being taken,” Anya said, trying to sound optimistic. “Besides, if she’s in better care, isn’t that a good thing?”
“It’s not that,” Tristan muttered, his eyes glued to the steering wheel. “It’s just that things aren’t adding up.”
“What do you mean?”
“My father has never bothered with my mother for years, but the moment there’s an improvement, he wants to transfer her somewhere else for better care?”
“What’s so odd about that?”
“Why move her out of a place where she’s clearly improving?” Tristan finally turned to look at Anya. “Unless he doesn’t want her to wake up. Which begs the question…why?”
“I don’t get it.”
“My mother was thrown out of a window by an anomalous she was studying,” he said, almost as if thinking aloud. “But what was she studying?”
Anya couldn’t help but notice how Tristan didn’t refer to the anomalous person as a specimen like he had previously, but that wasn’t the topic at hand. “Why does that matter?”
“Because if my mother’s study was somehow connected to the research in the flash drive, that would make sense why my father would be suddenly interested.” He rubbed his eyes as if his mind was swirling with thoughts. “I gotta find out what’s in that drive.”
A knock came from the passenger’s window, making Anya jump. Chloe had her face pressed to the glass and Anya let out a breath of relief.
“You almost gave me a heart attack,” she said, sliding down the window.
“I just thought you would like to know that my dad and I dropped Rowan off at school this morning,” Chloe said. “He was asking about you, which was a very good question. Where were you last night?”
“With me,” Tristan cut in.
Chloe’s eyes widened like two fried eggs. “You were with him?”
“Not like that.” Anya gave Tristan a pointed look. “It’s okay. Chloe knows what I am.”
He shrugged. “It wasn’t a lie, though.”
Anya narrowed her eyes at him. “That’s how rumors spread.”
“It’s not a rumor if it’s true.” A naughty smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “We slept together, did we not?”
Anya rolled her eyes but found herself suppressing a smile. “I’m going to class.”
Tristan chuckled. “You go do that.”
When he reached for the key and his engine roared back to life, Anya gave him a puzzled look. “Aren’t you coming?”
“I need to pay someone a visit,” he said, unlocking the door for her. “Will I see you later?”
By the way he was looking at her, she could tell what he really wanted to know was if she would still be around when he came back, considering her emergency go-bag was all packed and ready to go.
She nodded. “I’ll be here.”
As soon as she stepped out of the car, Chloe put her hands on her hips. “Care to explain how that’s even possible?”
“I slept on him, not with him,” Anya clarified. “And that was only because I was drained, and he helped me with an IV.” Anya watched Tristan drive away, remembering the night before. He didn’t have to come looking for her, or to take her back to the basement to rehydrate. He could’ve left her at the morgue, drained and alone, but he didn’t. “There’s nothing going on between us.”
“But he knows what you are,” Chloe said. “Anya, he’s a tracker!”
Anya sighed. “I know.”
Chloe tucked a strand of pink highlight behind her ear and stared at her friend in disbelief. “Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?”
“There you are!” Zane’s voice came from across the parking lot. As soon as he approached, he wrapped Anya in a tight hug, pulling her down since he was shorter than her. “I heard about the bank, and your uncle. How are you holding up?”
Anya pulled back with a shrug. “Taking it one day at a time, I guess.”
Chloe put a hand on Anya’s arm but didn’t say anything. Anya turned around to find Chloe staring into the distance with a shocked expression. She didn’t seem to be breathing.
“Chloe?” Zane waved a hand in front of her face, but she didn’t even blink. “What’s wrong with her?”
Anya examined her friend more closely. She really wasn’t breathing. Suddenly, she remembered Chloe telling her about her flashes. Anya grabbed both of Chloe’s arms. “I think she might be having a seizure.”
Zane pulled out his cell. “Should I call an ambulance?”
“No.” Anya pulled her keys from her pocket and handed them to Zane. “Just go get my car, please.”
Zane grabbed the keys and ran toward the car across the parking lot. Anya turned her attention back to Chloe and lightly tapped her face.
“Chloe, can you hear me?” Anya placed a hand on Chloe’s forehead. She could feel the circuits in her brain in overdrive.
Chloe gasped for air as she dug her nails into Anya’s arm. “Anya…” she breathed. “You cannot keep seeing Tristan.”
“Excuse me?”
“I had a flash,” she said, her voice shaky. “It was so vivid.”
Anya’s heart began to race. “What did you see?”
“Tristan…” Chloe said breathlessly. “Kissing you.”
FIFTEEN
Tristan waited in the visiting area, most of the plastic tables around the room were empty with the exception of a woman with a child in the corner also waiting for the prison guard to return with whomever she came to visit. Tristan was waiting on Patrick Hoover. Apparently, that was the name of the robber that had given Tristan the flash drive.
It was taking a lot longer than Tristan anticipated, but then the door buzzed, and Patrick came to the table where Tristan was seated.
“Thanks for seeing me,” Tristan said.
“Whatchu want, bro?” Patrick plopped his elbows on the table and gave Tristan an impatient look.
Tristan pulled back, surprised. He didn’t remember Patrick talking like that. “I’m here about…” he lowered his voice. “That thing you gave me.”
Patrick’s eyes narrowed. “And you are?”
“You don’t remember me?” Tristan asked.
“Am I supposed to?”
Tristan looked around the visiting area. Perhaps someone was there, and Patrick was playing dumb on purpose. But other than the woman with her child, there was no one else there.
Tristan turned his attention back to Patrick, then lowered his voice even more. “We talked in the vault.”
“Oh, let me guess. The bank robbery?” Patrick flashed a sarcastic grin, but then his expression turned serious again. “How many times do I have to tell you people...I don’t remember anything. One minute, I was working, the next, I’m waking up here. So, if you came with questions instead of answers, you’re wasting your time.” He slapped the table in frustration, then rose to his feet.
Tristan sat in shock, watching as Patrick called one of the guards, then disappeared through the door without even as much as a glance to tell Tristan it was all an act.
Because it wasn’t.
He was telling the truth. As strange as it all sounded, it was all true. The moment he sat across the table, Tristan could tell there was something different about him. Not just the way he talked, but even the way he looked at Tristan. The emptiness in his eyes. He genuinely did not remember.
But what could’ve happened to him? Could someone have taken part of his memory?
Trackers wouldn’t have that capability, but an anomalous might. And if that was the case, whoever took his memory would eventually find out that Tristan had the flash drive.
He was running out of time.
He needed to hack into the drive before they came for him too.
Tristan waited outside Anya’s sixth period class, but she never came out. He pulled out his cell phone but there were no missed calls or texts from her. Not that she had to tell him if she were to leave school early, but it made him worry. She hadn’t even responded to any of his messages.
He knew she was all set to leave, but the thought of never seeing her again did something strange to his chest that made it almost hard to breathe.
He peeked in the classroom, hoping to catch her gathering her books in the corner or talking to Chloe, but neither of the girls were in sight. At least there was a chance they could be together, which meant Anya hadn’t left yet.
Maybe that friend of theirs, Zane, would know where they were.
It didn’t take Tristan long to find Zane in the library. He leaned on the table next to his laptop.
“Hey,” Tristan greeted him. “Zane, isn’t it?”
The boy looked up through his glasses, surprised to see Tristan talking to him. “Yeah?”
“How’s your hand?”
Zane shrugged. “Still cut.”
Tristan let out a long breath, not knowing what else to say. “Have you seen Anya?”
Zane hesitated, but only for a moment. “She’s with Chloe. They said they needed a girls’ day today.”
“A girls’ day, huh?” Tristan wasn’t sure what that meant, but Zane didn’t seem to either. “Do you have any idea where they went?”
Zane shook his head. “Not really, but by this point, she’s probably headed to pick up her brother at his school.”
Tristan checked his watch. Middle school wasn’t going to be over for another hour.
“Thanks, man. Appreciate it.” He clapped Zane on the shoulder, then caught a glimpse of Zane’s computer screen. “What’s that?”
“Java script,” Zane said. “I’m creating a program.”
Tristan straddled a chair next to Zane. “How good are you with codes and stuff?”
Zane pushed his glasses up his nose. “Who’s asking?”
Tristan chewed the inside of his lip. They all seemed skeptical of him, which meant Zane probably wouldn’t do anything for him unless he knew exactly what it entailed. He couldn’t blame him.
“I need to get into an encrypted flash drive,” Tristan said. “Can you do that?”
“I would have to see the encryption.”
Tristan pulled out the flash drive from his pocket and held it up. When Zane reached for it, Tristan closed his hand. “I need your word on something first.”
Zane stared at Tristan with wide eyes. “Okay?”
“Whatever is inside is extremely confidential.” He gave Zane a serious look. “You cannot tell anyone about it, and I mean, no one.”
Zane nodded. “You have my word.”
Tristan opened his hand again and allowed Zane to take the flash drive. As Zane connected the drive to his computer, Tristan stared at the screen with eager eyes.
“What’s in here?” Zane asked, waiting for the computer to recognize the drive.
Tristan looked at the screen just as the encryption popped up. He let out a nervous breath. “I guess we’re about to find out.”
SIXTEEN
“He kissed me?” Anya echoed for the millionth time as they sat in her parked car, waiting for Rowan to come out of the middle school.
The street was buzzing with school buses and vans, but she was so shocked, she wasn’t paying any attention.
“He’s a tracker. Are they not warned how their DNA could be altered if they kiss an anomalous?”
“Maybe not,” Chloe replied with a shrug. “Or he knows and he’s using you because he wants to be altered.”
“Okay, now that’s ridiculous.” Anya rolled her eyes. “There’s no way he would want that. He hates anomalous.”
Chloe narrowed her eyes. “He didn’t seem to hate you this morning.”
“I already told you,” Anya gave her friend a pointed look. “I’m helping to heal his mother. That’s the only reason he’s been nice to me.”
