catchingsu bd4dhrrl (2 page)

I walk inside, throwing back my shoulders and striking a pose I should My mission, which I chose to accept, is to infiltrate the enemy. Jack and have patented because I saw it the other day on
America’s Top Model
and Alex are the enemy. I pause, wondering how Demos defines
infiltration
.

they’d blatantly stolen it from me.

Not that way
, Alicia answers for him.

Men in uniform.
Lots
of men in uniform – on every surface, playing I wander up to the bar, standing several feet away from Jack and Alex.

pool, propping up the bar, chatting up girls with nylon hair extensions, Jack suddenly turns. He notices me and his eyes graze up my body. Then drinking beer, yelling, laughing and thinking generally about one thing.

he turns back to Alex. ‘Check out the cute girl,’ he says.

A few men notice me as I stand in the doorway. I pause a moment to lap up I turn my head and pretend I’m not listening.

the thoughts. Yes, I was right about this dress. It’s
grrrrrr
.

‘I thought you weren’t looking anymore,’ Alex laughs. ‘I thought you’d I hear Alicia all of a sudden in my head, yelling at me to focus.

turned over a new leaf.’

She’s sitting outside in the getaway vehicle with Demos. My own personal

‘I have,’ Jack protests. ‘I’m looking for
you
. It’s about time you hooked walkie-talkie.

up with someone. It’s been ages.’

6

7

‘You know the rules,’ Alex answers.

Jack has what Alicia calls an
ego
. But, let me tell you, this boy’s ego is writing

‘Who’s saying you have to
date
anyone?’ Jack laughs.

cheques his body can most definitely cash.

‘Not my style, Jack,’ Alex says.

‘It could be about a boy,’ Alex says, shrugging and taking another swig.

‘Well then, what about Rachel?’ Jack asks. ‘That would be allowed. She

‘A

what
?’ Jack asks.

works for the Unit.’

Alex laughs under his breath. ‘A boy. You know? A Y-chromosome holdI slide slightly around so I can peek at them out of the corner of my eye.

er?
You
don’t notice them as much as you do the X-carriers.’

‘She’s blonde, hot, seriously rich… you telling me you’ve never consid-

‘What are you talking about?’ Jack asks, frowning in confusion, ‘A boy?

ered it?’ Jack asks with a grin.

She’s just a kid.’

‘You’re so shallow,’ Alex says, laughing and taking another swig from his

‘She’s seventeen,’ Alex says, ‘She’s not a kid anymore.’

bottle. ‘Does Sara realise this? Maybe I should tell her.’

Jack’s face pales, his eyes bulge. I can hear his thought process. It makes Jack smirks at him. Alex nods his head at the iPhone in Jack’s hand.

the mental leap evolutionarily slowly between the hypothetical boy and

‘What did it say exactly?’ he asks.

what the hypothetical boy might be doing to his sister and then, when he’s

‘Here, read it –’ Jack says, handing it to him.

figured it out, he jumps off his stool.

I can’t see what he’s looking at so I scan Alex’s head as he reads. It’s an

‘If any boy ever lays a finger on my sister I’m going to kill him,’ he email.

snarls. Then he pauses to look at Alex. Alex just stares back at him with one eyebrow raised, remembering a whole parade of girls that Jack has laid
Surprise! I’m coming to LA. My flight gets in around midday. Lila x
fingers on, and much more besides, but deciding not to mention that to his face.

In my head I hear Alicia conferring with Demos outside but I zone them Finally, Jack sinks down onto his stool again. ‘You think that might be out so I can concentrate on Alex and Jack and what they’re saying about it?’ he asks, looking as if he just sat on an upright beer bottle.

this girl Lila.

Alex shrugs. ‘I’m just speculating. When did you last speak to her?’

‘Something’s up,’ Alex says, handing the phone back to Jack.

Jack shakes his head. ‘A couple of weeks ago. She seemed OK.’

‘Not necessarily,’ Jack answers, pocketing it. ‘You think this is the first

‘She seemed a little down to me.’

time Lila’s been impulsive? Seriously, dude, you do remember my sister,

‘When did you talk to her?’ Jack asks. I hear guilt mixed in with a little right? Short, blonde, impulsive as shock therapy? Stubborn as a mule who bit of irritation in his head. He wishes he was a better brother. He thinks won’t take no for an answer?’

maybe Alex is right but would never in a thousand years admit it.

Alex raises an eyebrow. Without reading his mind I can tell he’s thinking

‘She emailed a couple of days ago,’ Alex says, wary now. He can read that that’s like the ear wax laughing at the snot.

Jack. He knows he needs to tread carefully around the topic of Lila.

Jack sits up straighter on his bar stool. ‘Hey, I’m not short or blond,’ he Jack frowns.

says. He is standing in such a way that forces me to admire his backside.

‘Go gently, OK?’ Alex says, ‘She’s been through a lot.’

8

9

Jack rolls his eyes. ‘She shouldn’t be coming. She needs to go back to

‘What can I get you?’ the barman asks.

London. I’m sending her straight back.’

‘Would you like anything?’ I say, turning to Alex and Jack.

‘You can’t, Jack. Let her stay a few days – a week. Find out what’s up. You I’m hoping I will hear Alex say ‘
just you
’ in his head, but he doesn’t.

owe her that.
We
owe her that.’

He says, ‘No, thank you,’ to my face, his thoughts distracted, still on this He mumbles this last bit and I see a picture in his head of this girl, Lila.

girl Lila.

She’s only about fourteen but the memory has a foggy feel to it, which Jack, on the other hand, is definitely checking me out. I catch him star-makes me think it’s at least a few years old because isn’t she seventeen now?

ing at my shoes. He thinks I have cute legs but then he remembers a girl That’s what Alex just said, anyway. This girl Lila’s got skinny legs, and she’s called Sara and looks away guiltily.

playing basketball in a back yard somewhere. She has dirty blonde hair

‘A diet Coke, please,’ I tell the barman.

tied back in a ponytail and she’s smiling in his memory, kind of gawky

‘I’m Jack,’ Jack says to me, ‘and this is Alex.’ He tips his head in and wide-eyed. And then the memory picture flits to some other place and Alex’s direction.

everyone’s wearing black and I’m guessing it’s a funeral and Alex is holding

‘I’m Suki Nakamura,’ I say, holding out my hand.

Lila’s hand at the edge of a grave. But then the memory wipes and Alex is
Oh, good one, Suki, why not just tell them you’re a psy and ask them to con-back in the moment.

tain you whilst you’re at it?
Alicia hisses.

‘It’s not safe for her here,’ Jack says, scowling at the bar.

‘So,’ I begin, hurrying on, hoping if I smile brightly enough and flutter

‘We’ll keep an eye on her. She’ll be fine.’

my eyelashes they’ll forget my name. ‘What do you two do?’ I pause. ‘No,
Not if Demos has his way
, I think to myself.

don’t tell me! Do you catch bad guys?’

Alicia suddenly bursts into my head-space again, as though she’s an air

‘How did you guess?’ Jack asks, smiling.

traffic controller and I’m a circling plane.

‘I’m a mind-reader,’ I say, then laugh loudly trying to cover up Alicia
Suki, start talking to them. Find out more about Lila if you can and about
swearing in my head. ‘Haha, just kidding. I just know that this is where all
what the Unit’s next move is. And please, try to focus on gathering useful in-the Marines hang out.’

tel about their next move, we don’t need to find out what their relationship

‘So, you like a man in uniform then?’ Jack asks. He’s propped up
status is.

against the bar but he leans in towards me, and in a low, conspiratorial I tell Alicia silently to roger that and then I lean over the bar, angle my voice that almost sends me into spasm, says, ‘Maybe Alex can show you his body towards Alex and give him my sultriest smile. ‘What does one have to weapon later.’

do to get service around here?’ I say, ‘Strip naked and dance on the bar?’

I glance at Alex. He looks like he’s deeply interested in the game playing Jack pauses, shifts on his stool and then gives me a wide smile. ‘You on the television over the bar but, in actual fact, he’s thinking about how could try that. We wouldn’t stop you,’ he says.

he’s going to kill Jack later.

‘Jack,’ Alex warns, shaking his head. He smiles apologetically at me then I giggle. He can show me anything, so long as it’s not that weapon the sticks his hand in the air and nods at the barman, who comes straight over.

Unit use to paralyse us.

10

11

‘Are you good at catching bad guys?’ I ask, forcing a light tone into my voice.

Jack’s expression turns grim. He frowns and for a second he looks like 3

he’s about eight years’ old. An image of Demos appears in his head. It’s painted red.

‘We’re good at catching bad guys,’ I hear Alex say. ‘And very soon we’ll have caught the bad guy we’ve been hunting for a very long time. And then we’re going to make him pay.’

The bathtub alone is bigger than the whole bus. There are closets that I Before I even turn around I see the same image of Demos in Alex’s head.

can walk into and which are huge enough to host a runway show. There’s a

‘Soon?’ I ask, turning around to face him, smiling innocently. ‘How soon?

fluffy white robe and a TV with five thousand channels and room service As in tomorrow? What did he do this very bad bad guy?”

and boys in cute uniforms to carry my bags and bring me cheeseburgers.

Alex frowns at me, his eyes narrowing. ‘I didn’t say that out loud,’ he And the best thing is that they take Amex.

murmurs, slowly rising from his stool.

And the second best thing is Demos doesn’t know where I am. Though I For an instant I’m frozen like a bunny in headlights on a dark road.

know he’ll find me eventually with Amber’s help – or Nate’s, if he feels like I hear an intake of air from Jack… and then I’m out of there.

betraying me. But if I have to sit through another lecture about how few Mr. Blahnik might not have designed his shoes for running in but some-brain cells there are occupying my frontal lobes then I’m going to take my how I manage to make it to the door, sliding under someone’s arm even as new bunny fur shoes and drill a hole through my own head with them.

the shout goes up around me… and Alicia is yelling in my head at me to It’s not as if it’s my fault.

run and I burst through the front door and Demos has flung open the car OK. It’s maybe my fault.

door and I sprint towards him, reaching for his outstretched hand even as I flop on the bed.
Oooh, Egyptian cotton.

Alicia guns the engine, and I throw myself into the car as we take off in a And then the knock comes.

screech of wheels. I look back over my shoulder, panting and clutching the I bolt upright. I haven’t ordered room service. I do a quick scan.

side of the seat as we swerve into traffic. Alex and Jack are standing on the Then I think about hiding under the bed.

sidewalk guns in hand, but they’re not firing. Then I see that they are frozen

‘Suki,’ comes Alicia’s voice through the door. ‘Hiding under the bed is a solid as statues.

really dumb idea. Just open the door. We know you’re in there.’

I glance at Demos. He’s staring at them, holding them in place, and he’s We? I listen harder. He
has
betrayed me. Nate is with her.

scowling. But I know that the scowl is really intended for me.

I roll off the bed with a groan and slouch over to the door.

‘Go away,’ I say to the wood panels.

‘No,’ Alicia answers.

How on earth did they find me?
I wonder.

12

13

‘All you’ve been talking about for weeks now is room service and closet

‘Suki!’ she screams.

space. It didn’t take a detective.’

‘What?’ I shrug. But I can already see the pictures in her head… pictures

‘Suki, let us in!’ This time it’s Nate. ‘It’s just us.’

of men in black combats…

I open the door and Nate shoves past. He takes a flying leap onto the Nate bounds over to the doorway where we’re still standing. He’s wear-bed. ‘Woooooah, check this place out!’

ing the fluffy white bathrobe over his clothes clutching a bag of peanuts

‘This is
my
room. Get your own,’ I say.

from the minibar in one hand and the room service menu in the other.

‘Suki... I’ve come to get you and bring you back,’ Alicia interrupts.

‘What? What’s going on?’ he asks, looking between us.

‘Why? So Demos can yell at me some more?’

‘When are you going to learn?’ Alicia sighs.

Alicia shrugs one shoulder, ‘You know what he’s like,’ she says, with a

‘Learn what?’ Nate asks.

lopsided smile. ‘He didn’t mean to get so angry. It’s just the Unit didn’t

‘They know your name,’ Alicia says, ignoring Nate and talking straight know about you before. And now they do. It makes this more dangerous to me. Her nostrils are flaring like an angry horse. ‘You can’t use any ID any for you.’

more with that name on it. The unit will have your name flagged.’

She has a point. She hears me think this because her smile widens.

Oh.

‘He’s really sorry,’ Alicia says.

‘Come on, we need to get out of here now!’

I cross my arms over my chest. ‘Yeah? Well, why’s he not here then tell-And then, just then, we both hear an explosion of voices – commands ing me this himself?’

being yelled – a thousand jumbling ping-ponging thoughts flying like bul-Alicia’s smile fades. ‘Because he thought you’d just think he was using his lets into our brains. It’s as if there’s a game playing and the stadium is my powers to convince you.’