Untrained Eye (38 page)

Chapter 46

THE STAFF WITHDREW to their private rooms and villas as long lines
of cars snaked their way into the school grounds. They parked up in front of
the main building on a patch of dirt that didn’t have turf on it. It looked too
messed up to plant anything, even fake grass. Still, it was good for a parking
lot but I worried they would block up the roadway from the garage at the rate
they were pouring in.

Guards directed them over to that patch and they parked up on
gravel, dirt, grass, and any space available.

As I stared out the window, I thought about how I’d spotted Owens
slinking out of Jäger’s office earlier in the evening. It didn’t look like
she’d had a happy chat with him either by the way her aura fizzed. However much
I weren’t fond of her, I decided to stay out of her way. Besides, by the look
in her eyes and judging by her obsession with Renee, I wasn’t sure if I was in
the mood for that kind of argument.

Renee offered me a smile and we’d stood in silence in an unused
reception room with the students.

The theatre was in the center of the main building and our “small”
reception room was about the size of the gym.

Energy crackled all around, like the tension had turned into an
electrical storm of some kind. The folks getting out of the cars didn’t seem
very fond of each other. Competition was on.

“There are a lot of buyers,” Renee whispered as we stood away from
the students. “Where do all these people come from? Why hasn’t anyone stopped
them?”

“From what I am gathering, they got friends in places that keep
prying eyes out.”

Renee scowled. “Despicable. What right do they think they have?”

“Because we’re so open with the folks we meddle with?” I smiled at
her. I was teasing but she was so easy to wind up.

Renee stuck her nose in the air. “We
are
nothing like
them.”

“Nope, we just kneecap people and knock their teeth out.”

Renee snorted with laughter, her nose crinkled up and she touched
my hand as she sucked in the air.

A jolt of static shot up my arm and I cocked my head. “Ah, so you
can
feel.”

Renee turned back to the window. “Side effect. Whatever you did in
St. Jude’s left a trace of your abilities with me.” She shrugged. “I thought I
was losing it.”

“But?” It explained her out-of-control behavior. I felt irritated
with myself for not spotting it. I should have known. Me, of all people, should
have seen it and helped her.

“Nan . . .” She shook her head with a quiet smile on her face.
“She told me it won’t last for very long.”

I frowned. “That’s the second time you talked about her. You
seein’ spirits now too?”

Renee’s shy smile made me pull her to me and hug her. “Sorry I
laid that on you.”

She nestled into me. I could feel her bullet-proof vest and gun
under her jacket. I hoped she wouldn’t need either.

“It feels good to be close to you,” she whispered. She rolled her
head to look at the students who were shooting glances at us. Even in spite of
their worries, they could still gossip. “I know that I’m getting to share a
part of you no one else will.”

Jäger caught my eye through the window. His eyes narrowed as he
spotted Renee cuddled in. Then he nodded, our signal to take the students to
the theatre.

I held onto Renee a few extra moments,
soaking up the safety of it. “You weren’t kidding about the whole sharing
thing, were you?”

She leaned up and kissed me on the chin. Then she ran her hand
through my hair and tucked it behind my ear. “Not in the slightest.”

The show must have been for Jäger’s benefit as he stomped off.
Renee had a satisfied glint in her eyes that made me chuckle. “Think he got the
message.”

“Good.” She squeezed me once more and let go.

I turned and faced the students, who really were gawking now.
“Let’s roll, folks.”

They all met my eyes and nodded one by one. Resolute. Courageous.
Focused.

I smiled at Renee. “Ready to save more people
from the bad guys?”

She bumped my arm. “
You
save them. I just do the
knee-capping.”

A chuckle rumbled its way out of my lips as I led the way to the
theatre.

“If it makes you feel better,” I whispered to Renee, bumping her
hip as we walked, “I wouldn’t want to share you with nobody else either.”

RENEE AND I lined up with the kids on stage, Owens scowling off to
the side. I spotted Huber wander in from the back. The buyers filled the large
theatre which Renee told me looked like a lecture hall in her old college.
She’d purposely told me it. She’d listened to what I’d said about not knowing
much about her. It was nice she’d cared enough to listen.

Either way, as we stood there, I weren’t feeling much comfort from
it. The buyers were all eying the students like they were meat. They were eying
each other like they might start brawling any second. The sooner we got the
students away from this place, the better.

Jäger presented each kid as Smyth rattled off if they had passed
and their level. That one was new but I figured it had to do with pricing. Miranda
stood up and was a level three. Another way of saying that she was worth
megabucks.

Most of my group was level one. Jed, Jessie, and Miroslav made a
respectable level two. Why I was proud of that, I didn’t know, but I was.
Kevin, who was still in confinement, had been declared a level three plus in
his absence. It showed where the buyers’ hearts lay.

Nice folks.

Huber sat alone, without Frei, and my eyes kept drifting to his. I
hoped that she was okay. I hoped that he wasn’t gonna switch sides on her.

“Now, after a short play from the group who will be on stage next
year, we will have a performance of J.S. Bach’s
Chaconne
from Miranda.”
He beamed her way like he cared. “I believe the performance has an exciting
twist.”

Owens’ blank look made me smile. That was my cue. I stepped
forward and cleared my throat.

I weren’t used to people. I weren’t used to
that
many
people. I didn’t plan on ever getting used to it either. “Thought it would be
fun to give her a challenge. In fact, I wanted her to work for it. I heard you
folks like a duel.”

The crowd murmured in response. Excitement rippled from them.
Owens fixed me with a glare.

I smiled at her and turned to Smyth. “But I’m gonna keep you in
suspense. You ain’t finding out who the challenger is till later.”

That earned me applause and made my knees wobble. Renee’s hand on
my back calmed me enough to slot back into the line. She didn’t need to whisper
her support, her gesture radiated gentle reassurance. A connection beyond
words.

Owens looked at Renee, then me, and folded her arms. I fought the
urge to poke my tongue out at her. 

“Wonderful!” Smyth clapped his hands. “Then, let’s get down to
it.”

Owens should have been the one to lead them off. One staff member
had to stay on stage but I strode past her, Renee with me, and we led them all
off into the backstage area. I heard Owens mutter my way before taking a seat
to the side of the stage. It would keep her out of the way while we worked.

Renee pulled her earpiece out from somewhere south and plugged it
into her ear. “POIs are in place.”

I heard a faint crackle and Renee nodded up at me. “Frei is in
position.” She turned to Jessie. “Go do your thing.”

Jessie nodded and sprinted off.

“You ready?” Renee asked me, her focus oozing Commander Black, so much
so I got goose bumps looking at her.

“Beat you to the bus,” I mumbled, trying to find the same
conviction.

Renee had the most dangerous job of all. She had to smuggle the
kids out through the building, out across the quadrant to the garage. She was the
finest protection officer, I knew that, but . . . well . . . I worried.

“Please stay safe. I can’t fix you and I can’t bear—”

She put her finger over my lips. “I’ll be fine . . . and thank
you.”

“For what?”

She leaned up and kissed me on the cheek, her eyes twinkling. “For
just being you.”

With that she was gone. I took a breath and turned to Miroslav who
grinned at me.

I was glad he looked more confident than I felt. “You got
everything ready?”

“Right here.” He tapped a box beside him and wagged a finger at
me. “Stay clear.”

I chuckled in spite of the fact my heart was sprinting so fast I
felt giddy. For once it had nothing to do with him.

Everyone was in position.

Owens shot orders at the kids onstage, her temper fizzing around
her, and they started their play.

“Here goes nothing,” I mumbled to myself, heading to the violin
and pulling it out of the case. It was Miranda’s spare.

All we had to do was pull off her miming, rescue a load of
students, bankrupt the bad guys, and get out before anyone noticed.

Easy . . . right?

Chapter 47

RENEE PEEKED HER head around the corner and breathed a sigh of
relief. She needed to do a dummy run of the escape route to make sure nothing
essential had changed. The theatre was in the main building. She exited out
through the backstage door into the main hallway and headed down the empty
corridor. Several offices were on either side, including both Jäger’s and
Harrison’s.

She noted every one of them was in darkness and tested them as she
walked. All locked. She glanced up at the camera. Frei had looped a twenty
minute stretch of video to cover her. Still, she wasn’t keen on relying on
technology.

At the south exit, she stepped out into the howling wind of the
quadrant. She would be glad when they left here. She was sick of the wind. It
gave her earache. Caprock winds gave Colorado a run for its money.

The quadrant was silent. She looked southeast between hers and
Aeron’s buildings. There was a guard post there. She pulled a small rifle scope
from inside her jacket and put it to her eye. He was inside, feet up. Good.

She snuck eastward along the building. Every office window was
dark. Second floor windows had several lights on. The staff who catered for the
vice principal and ran the school were still working.

Jäger. The man made her skin crawl.

Just concentrate. You don’t need to think of him drooling over
her.

She scowled up at the windows. Most had curtains or blinds drawn.
It would still be best to keep close to the wall in case. She glanced west at
Sawyer and Jones’s buildings. They lay in darkness. Sawyer was in the theatre.
Jones hadn’t returned from the canyon.

Her own building on the east had two lights glowing on the third
floor. She placed the scope to her eye. Two cleaners, a maintenance man. She’d
need to watch them. “Urs, you know anything about the general staff?”

“Don’t trust them, over.”

All she needed to know. Renee reached the corner and peeked
around. A second guard house stood at the front of the main building. It
normally held three guards. She peered through the scope. One inside, one
walking in the direction of the main building. The other headed east toward the
boys’ dorm. Her route.

“Guard on the east dorm could be a problem,” she whispered into
her mic.

“He’ll turn and walk to your position before turning back.”

Renee backed up and kept herself pressed to the wall. If he
noticed her, she’d be getting air. For now she would act like she had one of
the students with her. How observant was he?

The guard turned as Frei said because his footsteps echoed,
growing louder. She pocketed her scope and waited. He stopped with a scrape of
heavy boots.

Her heartbeat thudded a slow steady rhythm in her ears.

His footfalls echoed again and faded into the distance.

She breathed out a sigh of relief.

She ducked out and crept along the path to the dorm, dipping into
shadow as the guard reached the main building to turn. It would be close every
time. She hurried along the darkened path beside the boys’ dorm and reached the
corner. She hurried through the shadow to the back door of the garage and
tapped once before opening it up. Frei and Jessie stood waiting.

“Five minutes. You need to be quicker.”

Renee raised her eyebrows. “Not with scared teenagers in tow, I
won’t be.”

“Good point.” It was Frei’s way of teasing her. She stood in full
black-ops gear. Only her eyes were visible. Jessie was in a matching outfit.

“We’re heading to the cars. Keep an eye out for Owens.” Frei
tapped Jessie on the shoulder. “Let’s go.”

“How will you keep out of sight?” Renee knew all the cars were
parked to the northwest of the main building on a floodlit stretch.

“Skill,” Frei stated. “And dust.”

“Huh?”

Frei tapped her mouth. Both she and Jessie looked to have filters
in place. “It’s Caprock. A dust storm.”

“But . . .”

Frei gave a thumbs up over her shoulder as she and Jessie walked
out of the garage.

Renee rolled her eyes. “At least someone is prepared.”

She turned and headed back out into the night. Dust storm, right.

Frei was just kidding, right?

URSULA WAS IMPRESSED at how Jessie was coping, considering so much
rested on her, the girl had remarkable composure. The wall of dust swept toward
them and she gave the thumbs up to the kid. She’d found Jessie the best filter
she could. It was inbuilt and essential with Jessie’s asthma. She was carrying
emergency pumps in a few pockets too.

Ursula pulled on her goggles and made sure Jessie’s were secure
before the dust roared into them. As she’d calculated, visibility dropped to
less than a few feet. Perfect.

They crept through the dust without running into any trouble. The
guards had taken cover in their huts. That left them to walk unhindered to the
cars.

Ursula touched her mic. “You take the left, I’ll take from the
right, and we’ll meet in the middle.”

Jessie gave another thumbs up and Frei watched her scurry off
before pressing the button on her watch and activated the scanner app. The
alarm light stopped and the headlamps flickered on.

Ursula couldn’t see the main building and was certain it was
mutual. She popped the hood and pulled her tools out. A car couldn’t move
without a battery.