The Revealed Page 14

  I do feel bad for sneaking around like this. Jeremy has been really good to me, but I can’t just stand by and study politics while my world crumbles around me.

  As soon as Mr. Shieh closes the door behind him, I go for the keys to the car, then sprint off down the walkway toward the garage. I wave to a few of the guards on patrol, who greet me kindly and without suspicion. The patrols haven’t been as alert and prying lately since my mother has grown more lax on letting me leave the grounds.

  I wish I could take the Aston. It isn’t like my father ever drives it. But I only have access to the keys for the SUV Jeremy drives, so that’s my only option. Jeremy’s car is equipped with an automatic gate key, and the patrols glance just long enough to recognize the license plate as I exit the property.

  I open the sunroof to feel the breeze. It’s a crisp day outside—almost too chilly for me to have the sunroof open, but the wind makes me feel free.

  I pull up to the Capitol Building parking lot and walk up to my father’s office without anyone questioning my presence. Most of them recognize me.

  Tracy is sitting at her desk reading a tabloid on her computer. Kai, looking windblown and rugged on the street, is in full focus across the screen. I try not to focus on the picture—another one with the blonde. “Oh!” she jumps up when she sees me. “Lily! What are you doing here?”

  “I think I forgot one of my school books inside when I saw my dad last week,” I say, acting desperate, “and I need to have it read before my class tomorrow. Do you mind if I go in and take a look? It would really help me out. You can call my dad if you need to.”

  “Oh,” Tracy waves me off, “not a problem. It’s not like you’re a member of The Revealed or something,” she chuckles. “Go on in.”

  “Thanks,” I sigh with mock gratefulness, “I’ll just be a minute.”

  I walk inside the office and then peek back around the corner.

  Tracy has gone back to her computer. As soon as I’m sure she isn’t going to come in after me, I turn to my father’s desk and begin rifling through his papers.

  I want information on Kai, like where he was stationed for his mission. Something happened while he was gone. There is a reason he’s acting so strange. If he isn’t going to tell me, I’ll figure it out on my own. My father knew that Kai was back home before it was announced publicly, which means he looked into the case. He has to have the records somewhere.

  I look under the random folders on his desk. I flip through the stacks of papers in the drawers. No luck. I place my hands on my hips and scan the room, glancing at the door. I’m running out of time. I poke my head around the corner again, just to make sure. Tracy is still sitting at her desk. But it won’t be long before she’ll get curious and come investigate.

  My eyes scan the room again and rest on the computer at my father’s desk.

  Of course! He probably didn’t have a hard-copy document delivered to him. Services like that are expensive and less efficient. He would have simply shot an email to the right department and received word back electronically.

  The computer is off. It takes a moment to boot up. I settle into my father’s cushy desk chair. Immediately a prompt for the password pops up. A password I don’t have a hint about. But I’m his daughter, so I figure I may have a shot at guessing.

  I try Mark Atwood.

  It doesn’t work. Then I try my mother’s name, then mine. Each is incorrect. I try all sorts of combinations. All our first names. Just our last name. Capitalized. Not capitalized. Birthdays, my mother’s maiden name, phone numbers. Hopefully there isn’t an alert set up on this computer if someone tries to log in and fails too many times.

  Finally, I try the last thing I can think of: president.

  The computer takes me to the main page.

  I should have known.

  I open his email and find all the messages he received on the day Kai returned home. There isn’t anything related to the military in his file. I go back to the date when Kai left.

  And there it is.

  From a General Colin Solemn. It’s a form document, which I open.

  “Lily?” Tracy calls from outside.

  I jump, and my knee slams into my father’s desk.

  “Sorry Tracy!” I call, “I can’t find it.” My eyes prick with tears and I rub my knee. Ouch.

  “Well, it’s almost six, and I’m usually out of here by five thirty.”

  The sun is already setting. I check the clock, 5:57 p.m.

  “It’s no problem,” I call back, “I’ll just have to do without it.”

  As I talk, I quickly scan over the form. The date when Kai left home. The date of his expected, now confirmed, return. And then the purpose of the mission.

  There’s a shuffle outside as papers are folded and drawers are closed. Tracy is pushing away from her desk.

  As fast as I can, I click PRINT and shut the computer down. The document just finishes sliding out of the printer when Tracy sticks her head inside.

  “Ready?” she asks, purse in hand.

  “Of course,” I say, nodding. “I was just looking around his desk because I thought maybe he found it lying around.”

  “Oh, I remember those days.” Her eyes soften with the memory. “Before the war of course. High school was brilliant.”

  As I walk around the desk, I slip the paper from the printer and shove it into my bag while Tracy is daydreaming. She shakes her head, clearing the memory. My eyes go wide as I wait for her to speak, terrified she saw me pull the document out of the printer.

  “Enjoy your youth while you’ve got it,” she advises. If she did see, it didn’t register enough to raise suspicion. Tracy closes the door behind me and locks it securely—too excited the day is done to worry about me.

  The roads being what they are these days, traffic getting home is horrible. By the time I get back to my house, it’s dark outside. It gets dark so early now that summer is over. It isn’t even seven yet. At least I have time to go over the form I printed at my father’s office. Just before I reach the phalanx of the security cameras, I pull the car over onto the dirt shoulder. I smooth out the crinkles in the paper on my steering wheel. Using the light of my phone, I scan over the document.

  NORTH AMERICAN SECTOR GOVERNMENT MEMORANDUM

  FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

  ANY UNAUTHORIZED REPRODUCTION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ENCLOSED DOCUMENTS IS TREASONOUS AND WILL BE PROSECUTED TO THE HIGHEST DEGREE ALLOWABLE BY LAW.

  Mission: OM05386

  Location: Wasteland of Texas, 31°59’ N, 102°4’ W

  Purpose: To identify active headquarter location(s) for The Revealed.

  Description: Cell traffic and eyewitness sightings of The Revealed suggest they enter through the southernmost area in the North American Sector (NAS) colonies. Analysts believe that their headquarters are located within easy access of the sector, probably established in the once-heavily populated wastelands.

  The military has established a series of missions aimed at pinpointing the location of The Revealed. The government is hopeful that these missions will conclude with the successful arrest and capture of the terrorist members of this organization.

  Refer to document OM02674 for a detailed list of all intended missions. Status report to follow upon completion.

  I read it again. Then again.

  The mission Kai was sent on concerned The Revealed. He was trying to find out where their location was in the wastelands of what used to be Texas. But what does that mean? Did he find them? The document doesn’t say anything about whether or not the mission was a success.

  This document only gives me more questions. These aren’t nearly the answers I’d hoped for.

  Does that mean Kai will leave again?

  I press my forehead into my hands.

  My eyes drift to the gate, which I can see only because I left my headlights on.

  My heart skips. There is a black note taped to the fence.

  I stare out at the darkness around me. The secu
rity guard stand at the gate is dark. Where is everyone?

  The Revealed could still be here.

  It was a stupid move to be out this late. I’ve made myself an easy target. In the darkness, I’m vulnerable.

  Are The Revealed just beyond the road, waiting? There are thick trees on either side of me, chilled with frost from the night air. I imagine dark shadows waiting for their moment to strike as I sit helplessly, just watching through my window.

  My doors are locked, but what does that matter against The Revealed? Sitting in my car is the worst thing I can do. I’m easy prey in this small space with a seatbelt latched around my waist.

  The SUV has an automatic gate opener, but it’s not working. I have to get out of the car to punch in the gate code. Either I sit here and wait for them to attack, or go for the gate and try to get out of here.

  I turn the headlights off.

  “Just do it then!” I growl at my cowardice.

  My eyes adjust to the darkness. Everything around me is shadowed.

  “One … two …,” I grip the door handle of the car, “… three!”

  I throw open the door and jump from the car, sprinting to the keypad, I type in the code … still nothing. Placing my back against the fence so I can watch the forest behind me for movement, I grab at the note beside me, ripping it off the gate and tearing it open. The note contains one word:

  Run

  Someone reaches through the bars of the gate and grabs my shoulder.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  I scream, scrambling to pull away with all my might as the hand latches on.

  Zero days. Zero days until I’m dead.

  Panic claws at me even more painfully that the fingers through the gate.

  “Lily, Lily!” Jeremy holds up his hands. “Geez! What do you think you’re doing?”

  I turn to find him staring at me on the other side of the gate, confused.

  My heart pounds. My body shakes from the sudden dose of adrenaline. And then the relief rushes through me so quickly that my head spins.

  “You just took off on me like that!” he says. “Do you want to get caught? When will you learn… ?”

  All I can do is stare at him. My heart is still pounding so loudly, and I’m gripping the black note like it means life or death—it just might.

  “Why don’t you come inside?” Jeremy suggests.

  I nod, shivering in the cold, and get back in the car. It takes me a moment to recover. I collapse my face against the wheel.

  Jeremy manages to open the gate and gets inside the car with me. We drive down the road and around to the garage.

  As I turn off the ignition, Jeremy holds out his hand and says, “Keys.”

  I give them over. “Sorry about lying to you this afternoon and sneaking off.”

  “We all tell lies now and then.”

  “Yeah, well, g’night.” I head toward the house.

  “Why don’t you come to my place for a bit?” he offers. “I could make some tea? Maybe put on a movie?”

  I look back over my shoulder at the still, vacant mansion behind me. With the fall frost, it seems like something out of a Dracula movie.

  “Okay,” I say, grinning. “That sounds great.”

  Jeremy’s quarters are small compared to the mansion next door, but much homier. I would rather live in a place like this. He has a fire going, and above the mantle, a mirror reflects the warm light of the room. Papers are strewn on the kitchen table—things like bills and other letters.

  He puts a tea kettle on the stove and then joins me in the living room, sitting across from me. I hand him the note over the coffee table.

  “They’re just taunting you,” he says, crumpling it up. “No one’s on the property that isn’t supposed to be. Security would have seen them. It’s okay.” Jeremy twists to the side and raises his arm slightly, showing me the gun holstered at his side. “Security doesn’t just walk around helplessly.”

  This I know.

  It still doesn’t comfort me.

  I just stare back at him.

  “Maybe I should call someone or something,” I say, my voice unsteady, “just to be safe.”

  “Would it make you feel better to talk to your parents?”

  “No.” They probably won’t even answer if I call anyway.

  Deep breaths. I focus on my breathing, counting each inhale for five seconds.

  Still, I’m shivering, and goose bumps run up and down my body. This feeling has become familiar to me—the fear that jolts through me whenever I see one of their notes. The anxiety stays with me, and I don’t remember what it’s like to live without it.

  “You want to talk about it?” Jeremy asks, snapping me out of my trance.

  “Not really,” I shake my head.

  “You can talk to me, you know.” Jeremy leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

  “There’s not much to tell.”

  “What about that boy you were seeing? Kai? He’s back, isn’t he?” he asks. “Are you still talking to him?”

  “It’s complicated.”

  “Well, I worry about you,” he admits. “I don’t trust that kid. He was the one that leaked those photos of you to the papers wasn’t he?”

  My gaze snaps to him. “No,” I say. The response comes so instantly, but truthfully, I’m still not sure. Jeremy is right to have his suspicions. It’s too easy to trust Kai even though I know there’s another side to him—the side he hides from me. I have to try and separate my emotions from the situation. I should be wary.

  “Why do you want to know about Kai?” I ask Jeremy.

  “Just curious.” He relaxes back into his chair. “You’ve been different since you met him. I think he’s manipulating you, Lily. I really do think you should be careful.”

  A shrill whistle comes from the kitchen, and I jump at the noise.

  “Tea’s ready,” Jeremy grins and goes to fetch it from the kitchen.

  I glance at the mirror above the fireplace and try to comb through the tangles in my hair with my fingers, playing with the strands so I don’t look so disheveled. My gaze is strained. I look tired—exhausted, even.

  I rub my eyelids, and pull open a drawer in the coffee table, searching for some tissues. I push the papers aside until I realize they aren’t papers. They’re pictures.

  I freeze, my fingers just resting on top of one.

  There’s a realization.

  I’m in them.

  And confusion.

  I shuffle through the snapshots.

  One of me driving the silver Aston Martin out of the gates of our house. One of me standing in the fields with Kai. It’s an original copy of the picture from the magazine cover. One of me standing in front of Elias’s gym. Then one of just my car in Elias’s parking lot. Something with wires is strapped on the bottom, next to the left front tire. It’s a bomb. This is a picture of the bomb that almost killed me. I throw the image down as though it burns my skin, feeling the need to get far away from all of it.

  The pieces fall into place.

  It’s Jeremy.

  Jeremy’s a member of The Revealed. And he’s trying to kill me.

  Worse, I’m alone with him.

  I drop the pictures and begin backing toward the door just as Jeremy walks out of the kitchen with two cups of tea in his hands.

  I tense.

  He looks at me, then the pictures on the floor, then back at me. His eyes narrow with understanding.

  Calmly he sets the tea aside. “You just had to go snooping,” he says, and sighs. “Well, this isn’t exactly how I’d planned for the night to go, but I suppose we’ll have to speed things up.”

  He reaches into his back pocket, and I don’t wait to find out why. I unlatch the door and sprint from the house. I’m not a runner, but the adrenaline propels me.

  A camera is positioned just before the entrance of the house, and I stop in front of it, waving my arms wildly to try and alert the other security guards on duty.

  J
eremy laughs behind me. “Don’t bother,” he says smoothly. “I gave them the night off. Figured they could use the break.”

  I look back over my shoulder. He’s close. His expression so easy and relaxed that it sends shivers down my spine.

  I sprint inside the main house.

  Everything is pitch black, and it takes a second for my eyes to adjust as I scramble around in the darkness. I make it to the end of the hallway leading into the kitchen. It’s deserted. More than ever, it feels like no one lives here. Abandoned and quiet. Everyone is gone. Jeremy has been planning my murder for months. It’s perfectly plotted—just what you’d expect from The Revealed.

  My hands fumble around in the darkness, searching for a weapon. What did Elias teach me? Stay low. Get something to defend myself with. Run if I can. If not, fight. Don’t be the prey for the predator. Fight back. The house stretches with stillness. And I am the beacon of sound, my shuffling along the floor echoes throughout the empty house. My small frame seems so lumbering and unskilled. Every step is an alert. I have no doubt Jeremy will reach me, and once he does, there are thirty acres of land surrounding me—a long distance for a scream to travel.

  The moon doesn’t provide more than a soft glow through the windows.

  I huddle in the back corner of the kitchen, behind racks stacked with pans.

  My hands fumble for the phone in my pocket.

  Nothing else moves.

  There’s only one person I can call.

  One other person I know who can afford a phone and is in Capitol City.

  The dialing rings sound so loud in my ear as I wait for him to answer.

  There is a click.

  “K-Kai …,” my voice shakes so badly that I can hardly speak.

  “Lily!” He hears the terror in my voice. “Lily, where are you!”

  “I’m—Jer!”

  A shadow appears in front of me and I scream. In my panic, the phone falls from my hands. Before I can move, Jeremy’s in front of me, shoving me to the ground. I slide across the floor, scrambling to get away.