Simulated, p.20
Simulated, page 20
“Friday will tell us more. I just needed to hear your voice. My head is too full.”
“With the job?”
“And other things. Or boys if I’m honest.” I glance at Noble swimming. “Do you remember that boy from my blog?”
“How could I forget? I teased you endlessly about him. You know it was because I was jealous, right? I wished I had a connection like that with someone. Sorry.”
“Thanks…I understand,” I say. “But the problem is he keeps coming up in my sims now. To make things worse, there’s another boy here who I shouldn’t be thinking about. And Kai is gone, and I’m really confused.”
“Wow. You should really talk to Dad. He’s way better with relationship advice.”
I stop walking. “That’s what Mom said,” I mutter.
Qadar makes his way over to me.
“Hey. My bodyguard is here. I gotta go.”
“All right, but remember, Jo, you learned to trust your heart in China. You can figure this out too.”
We hang up and Qadar reaches down to pick up my bag. “Let me take you to your room.”
I pull back the white canvas doors, and my eyes widen. I breathe in jasmine everywhere. Lamp light glows around the tent revealing beautiful woven rugs and tapestries. Lush square and cylinder silk pillows. Ornate wooden tables with mosaic designs carved into them, laden with dates and fruit and teapots.
Colorful drapes separate a large bed from the rest of the room. Vibrant striped pillows are arranged on the floor. Beside it is a bathroom with a fancy copper glass basin for a sink and a beautiful standing bath with copper claw feet. I locate the fragrance—a small vase of jasmine flowers sweetening the air like honey. My first stay in a desert, and I’m not sure anything could ever top it.
“This tent is yours for the next two nights.” He points to an adjoining door. “Once again, I’m in the next room. Noble is in the other. You’re surrounded by trustworthy people here. You’re safe. Your goals—”
“Are my goals. I know.” I set my stuff and Noble’s phone on the bed.
“Come with me.” He leads me into another tent full of people, and we take a low table in the back of the tent, lounging on the pillows scattered on the rug.
“Please.” A woman with a gentle face, dressed in beautifully embroidered clothes, sets down three hot cups of tea in front of us. A strong mint aroma swirls in the room joining with an apple-flavored smoke. “Bishfa.”
I sip the hot liquid and savor its sweetness. Wafts of spices and meat being cooked make my stomach rumble.
Noble, hair wet, but fully dressed now comes in and sits at the far end of table. It’s not surprising he takes the seat farthest from me. The moments where he avoids my eyes make it clear something about me unsettles him, but still there are other moments, like in the car, that feel like we’ve known each other for years.
“Aslema.” Men come in shaking hands, then place their right hand over their hearts, while women come in greeting with kisses. They all stand to meet Noble and Qadar greeting them in Arabic. An older woman caresses Noble’s cheek, staring into his eyes endearingly.
“All right,” I say. “Time to spill it. Everyone here knows you.”
Noble looks at me, then slaps a hand on Qadar’s shoulder. “Meet my uncle.” He gives me an awkward shrug. “I may have rigged the bodyguard system so he would be the one to watch you.”
I’m shaking my head about to pour out a billion questions when an older woman comes to interrupt him, beckoning him to follow. “Saved.” He winks at me and walks away.
“Wow.” I stare at Qadar with an eye full of shame on you. “Your employer told you this job might be tough, huh? Now I’m the one who’s shocked.” I purse my lips.
Qadar laughs. “That’s why he was late meeting you at the Bardo. He came to ‘wake me up’.”
It’s all clear now. I thought his employer was my dad. But it’s Noble. Just like that Qadar’s words rush over me.
The one who hired me cares about you. You’re important.
My body floods with energy and frequencies that rival nothing else. I need to find out who Noble is. And more than that. I need to find out what he won’t tell me about Kai.
I sip my tea and let the new flavors and hot liquid roam over my tongue and sooth me. Last year, I was the one who had to be pried open to talk. Things really do come back around.
Qadar grabs a handful of sunflower seeds and starts splitting them with his teeth. “On one hand, I was completely honest with you. Your goals were to meet the hacker and help Kai. I’ve stuck to that.”
I can’t deny it. Noble is back in view, carrying plates of food into another room, delivering them to each table, happily chatting away in Arabic. He comes back and the hum of those sound waves mingles with the music in the background. It’s like a melody that makes me want to dance. But dancing is not why I came. Noble moves the hair from his eyes, and hands me a map of Douz.
“The deal will happen a few miles down the road. My mother’s relatives own this tourist business. If we stayed anywhere else, they’d be suspicious. We’re safe here.”
“Safe, huh.” I laugh, and they do too. Because all things on the table, it’s slightly ironic. Safe with a boy who hacked me and rigged my bodyguard. Safe in the middle of the desert where Kai is undercover, and Madame’s Successor will establish a new empire.
I’m anything but safe. I should be scared. Instead, my gift flickers.
Chapter 39
ONLY SOMEONE WITH a death wish can brush off being set up by strangers and believe it’s the best bet you have to stay alive. But two can play at this game.
“You know I’m a walking weapon at the moment, don’t you?” I wave my Fingertips, half-jokingly. I don’t need to mention Sway in my pocket, the taser at my wrist, or the tranquillizer-earrings.
Qadar scoots away, hands up in the air. “Hey now. We both have the same goal here.”
Noble’s eyes lock onto mine for a moment but a buzz and spike in our frequency makes him look away. He focuses on his tea, both hands cupping it. “You insisted on coming. So, you either trust me, or we’re all in danger.”
“Nice options.” I raise a brow and wrap my fingers around my teacup. Transitioning my gaze to the map on the table, my gift hums trying to decipher the Arabic names written across what looks like nothing but sand dunes. “Look, I’m here to give the holothumb to Kai, but I’m also seeing this through. I won’t let the Successor inherit Madame’s empire. So, let’s get to work. I have a lot of questions…like how can we monitor this deal while glamping in a remote oasis?”
Noble and Qadar exchange glances like I’m the oddball. They obviously know something I don’t.
“We’ll explain everything soon. But we can’t work yet. Something more important is about to happen.” Qadar hops to his feet and hurries through the door flaps.
“Nabil!” A woman calls from the other room.
I spin my head around the tent anxiously. “Oh no. What is it?”
Noble rubs his belly and laughs. “Dinner.” He stands and offers me a hand.
He pulls me to my feet then drops my hand like it burned him.
His arm is extended toward the next tent over. “In Tunisia, you don’t keep family waiting, and you always compliment the chef. Extra points if you tell her it’s the best couscous you’ve ever eaten.”
I follow him because I’m starving and oddly excited to be in such an amazing place, trying new things. I almost feel guilty when Kai is God knows where and the team is dealing with dangerous radicals in the capital. There’s also another part of me that’s jittery with excitement. I can’t pinpoint why.
We enter the other tent where several large tables, some with cozy pillows as seats and others with benches, fill the room. Heads turn to look at us. They’re examining me with bright curious eyes, giving me a head-to-toe once-over. I swallow. It’s like walking into one of those family gatherings where you don’t know anyone. I wish I had worn nicer clothes than these grubby old blue jeans with a plain t-shirt under a gray sweatshirt.
The kids from the pool run up to Noble. “Ammi,” they call him. I assume, like in China, it’s a familiar greeting like Uncle. Noble leans down to hug them or ruffle their hair. As he sits down next to them, I realize I haven’t given him a chance to be a real person. Right now, he looks like someone I would like. He’s showing the kids a stack of cards, teaching them something about numbers. My skin warms watching the kids stare at him in wonder.
A woman stands by me, leaning over. “Welcome to my home, Jo. I’m Farah, Noble’s mother’s cousin.” Her accent is heavy, but beautifully soft like music. Her face glows with kindness and sun-kissed wrinkles.
“Aslema,” I say, surprised she knows my name. “Are these your kids?” I glance at Noble again.
“Not all ten of them.” She laughs. “But yes, I have a few in the bunch. Every child here loves Noble. Without him, many would have nothing.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“He teaches them when he’s in town. Some of them don’t have many opportunities.” Her smile softens, her voice rich with life. “But Noble has made them ten times smarter than any school. And he’s more patient than most parents. He teaches in ways that kids like, fewer books.” She smiles, a scent of flowers and spice float from her.
I study Noble. Hacker. Crime fighter. Possibly the NASA Tipper. And now, a teacher of children. In many ways, he reminds me of Kai. Smart, charming, generous and brave. Mandel also comes to mind. If he ever taught kids, it would be the same way I bet. It’s strange how these three boys crisscross my thoughts at the same time.
The woman sets down a large piece of lamb on a plate. “Eat.” She points her hand to a table laden with steaming plates of roasted lamb kebabs, couscous, and briks.
“Shokran,” I say, thanking her. “For hosting us.”
“Of course, anything for Noble and his friends.” She smiles.
My stomach takes over and I forget about the plans. The lamb is roasted to perfection, and so are the potatoes. I’m introduced to khobz bread and different dips, and we feast. I take it all in—the choice of silverware and fancy lace tablecloth. The family-style platters where everyone reaches for more. An unhurried, enjoyable gathering. There is an aspect I like about not having my gift. Time slows down.
Farah pours more tea into my cup, “We’ve heard a lot about you. Noble thinks very highly of you.”
“Really?” I give her a funny grin. I wonder if he told them he was hacking me. To be kind, I respond. “We actually just met.” Which isn’t exactly accurate. He’s technically been spying on my sims for the last couple of months. My gift flickers and that frequency skips as I catch the sound of his voice from across the room. At the same moment, Noble and I shoot a glance at each other. We blush as our eyes meet, then he looks away, eyebrows knit together in thought.
I want to shake the frequency, but it’s hard. It’s like walking into this feast. All the new aromas and sounds stimulate my senses, but I can’t register them all. It’s both wonderful and overwhelming. I suspect he also knows when my gift flickers. As a mathematician, I want to study our frequency. As a person, I want to run from it.
A young girl comes up to me and hands me a beautiful shawl, “Marhabaan bikum fi Tunis,” she says, smiling.
Farah leans over. “She’s welcoming you to Tunisia.”
“You have a beautiful country,” I say…and we’re going to make sure it stays that way.
Soon the kids scramble over to ask me questions and I have to guess what they’re saying. Noble and Qadar are no help. They are busy speaking with everyone. Both Arabic with French words are thrown into the mix. I might catch a word or two, but I have no clue what they’re saying.
“Ana asifah.” I apologize that I don’t understand then look at Noble to see if my pronunciation is correct. He nods, impressed. “I’m working on it.” I dig out the book Noble gave me my first day in Tunis.
Noble’s face brightens. “In all your spare time?”
“My brain needs an update, remember?” I say. “So I’m wiping the hard drive and loading new software, hoping to see the world in a new way.” The kids are still around me, chatting and pointing. “What are they saying?”
“You’ll have to hit the books to know.” He scoots further away and starts a conversation with another boy near his age.
Qadar answers instead. “They’re saying you’re very pretty.”
Noble doesn’t turn but fights a smile cracking on his face.
Farah lifts another heap of couscous onto my plate. “Noble looks different with you here.” She gives me a smile. “A couple years ago, we thought he might never recover. All he wanted was to be left alone, away from everyone apart from the kids.” She sighs as she looks over at him. “But now, he brings you here and his eyes are bright.”
“Oh.” I blush at her implication. Farah looks at me like there’s an angel in the room—and it’s me. Definitely not the right time to inform her that her nephew is a wanted criminal, at least according to PSS. “Um. We’re not together. He’s like a…colleague.”
“Really?” she says, “Because from the outside, it looks like you have a connection. Regardless, I’m glad he’s happy.”
Happy? I wouldn’t exactly use that word. He acts like I pinch him when we get close to each other. I turn the conversation away from me and focus it on Noble instead, hoping some questions are answered. “What happened a couple years ago?”
She frowns, a distant memory lodged into her expression. “He lost someone he cared about.”
I frown. I know how that goes. A breeze comes in the tent reminding me of Kai and why I’m here. Master Sang once said a similar thing to me. Kai and I were play sparing at their daochang, and I kept looking for a way to outsmart him. When Kai showed me a break-free move, I had an idea. “You’re holding me too tight,” I lied.
“I’m sorry,” he said, immediately relaxing his guard, then I knocked him off his feet.
“Taking advantage of me, huh?” He lay on his back laughing. “You think you’re smart, don’t you? Or you just wanted me on the ground.” He tackled me, and we laughed until we both couldn’t breathe.
After Kai went to change, Master Sang found me. “I’ve never seen Kai laugh so much, neither have I seen such acute focus in him before. You have fine tuned him in a way no one could. It makes me wonder…” he trailed off.
“Wonder what?” I asked him.
“What would happen if he lost you.”
I down my last sip of tea and head over to Noble’s side of the table. I won’t lose anyone again.
“Time to get to work,” I say, eager to see Kai and set up the drop off. Noble stands and motions to Qadar. “If our devices can even get a signal in the desert.”
He stands, a quirky grin on his face. “Don’t worry. That won’t be a problem.”
Chapter 40
NOBLE AND QADAR thank everyone a hundred times and I tell Farah her couscous is the best I’ve ever had, which is actually true. Then we excuse ourselves.
Noble motions for me to follow him, and we snake through the tents on beautiful walkways made of sand. “This way.”
Soon we arrive at another tent, where the canvas is definitely much thicker and bolted to the ground with a heavy lock. Inside the tent, my breath catches. It’s filled with the tech of a hacker’s dreams. From the outside it looks inconspicuous. But inside it’s like PSS and PGF and Interpol all together.
Wireless devices are connected to holographic screens and computers and all the latest systems…even telescopes. Satellite equipment catches my eye, a fantasy world for a nerd. Not to mention, it’s in the Sahara, in a gorgeous oasis, under a jet-black sky filled with stars.
“OK, let’s dive in.”
“First, show me Kai. I need to know he’s ok.”
He takes me over to a screen showing live footage, but a separate screen with facial recognition on it catches my eye. It’s super high-tech and Kai’s image is displayed on it.
“Who designed this?”
Noble looks up. “I did.”
I look closer at it and there’s a sidebar with countless video files on Kai. “What’s all this?”
“A database of footage. Originally, I’d just been watching Montego. When your boyfriend came on the scene, everything got more complicated. I have a special camera on him too.”
“How far does the footage go back?” I ask.
“Six weeks, more or less.” Prods like him and I don’t say more or less. Noble knows the exact date, just as I would have known it, but for some reason, he won’t tell me.
Which makes me think whatever disturbing thing he knows about Kai is in these videos. I’m sure of it. But it’s not like I have time to watch weeks of footage to find out. Right now, we’ve got bigger things to think about.
I slide back over to the screen that is live steaming from Kai’s location right now. Noble swipes a holographic button and audio fills the room as I zoom in on the video.
The Sheikh looks across the room at the girl with long black hair sitting on the couch, then at Kai. “Ennéa tells me you knew Madame,” he says. I’m surprised the Sheikh knows the girl’s name for how little he looks at her. “Is that true, you knew the great Maxima?”
I don’t miss the way the girl cringes in the corner the same way I do when I hear Madame’s name. My heart goes out to her.
“I did.” Kai looks at him with a smooth grin. “In Shanghai. Through her hotels.”
The Sheikh’s chest puffs up, and he scoffs. “The hotels were small minded. We’re going a different direction all together.”
“I want in.”
“Ah, when Montego arrives to vouch for you. There’s no rush.”
“I may be new, but I’m not stupid. You’ve been planning things this whole week.”
“How long did you work for her?” the Sheikh asks, studying Kai.
Kai drinks whatever is in his cup. “Less than a year. My ambitions are far wider than hers ever were. That’s what led me to Montego. But let’s get one thing straight. You’re not choosing me. I’m choosing you.” His expression hardens as he plays his role. “Madame was a genius. Until her protégé outsmarted her. Unlike Madame, I don’t underestimate anyone. Present company included.” Kai’s eyes flick around the room.
