Annum Guard: Blackout Part 15

Inez.

I hold my breath as I strain to listen. Between the beeps, I hear a series of softer ones. Inez entering the alarm code. Sure enough, the house falls silent. I hear the back door swing open.

"Nicholas!" Inez shouts into the backyard. Then the door shuts, and I hear a gentler, "That boy!"

And then I remember to take a breath. Indigo told me that Inez wouldn't bother to check the security cameras-that she thinks Zeta is a little crazy for having them in the first place. But I don't move an inch from my spot behind the vacuum. I close my eyes and listen. Waiting for some cue that it's safe to come out.

I hear it. In the kitchen, the faucet turns on, and there's the splas.h.i.+ng of dishes being washed. I open the door and peer my head out. I don't see Inez. I step out and shut the door softly. Then I round the corner, grab the banister, and head up the stairs on my tiptoes.

On the second floor, there's a door that's shut and locked just to the right of the staircase, so I pull out my hook pick again, and a few seconds later, I'm in Zeta's office.

I rest my back against the door for a moment. I keep forgetting to breathe.

Zeta's office is the opposite of Ariel's. Nothing's out of place in here. Actually, nothing's in place. The desk is empty, except for a boxy computer monitor and one picture frame. I pick up the frame. It's a photo of Yellow and Indigo, and I smile. Yellow can't be more than six. She has white-blonde pigtails tied with pink ribbon and she's grinning at the camera. A front tooth is missing. Indigo's blond hair has flopped in front of his left eye, and he has his arm thrown around his older sister. This picture was taken somewhere on the beach, and there's the outline of another huge house in the background. I wonder if Zeta has a beach house on Martha's Vineyard or the Cape. That wouldn't be surprising.

I set the frame down. I'm wasting time.

Yellow told me the blackout memo was in a file cabinet to the left of the desk. I use my lock pick for the third time and slide the drawer open. d.a.m.n. There have to be fifty files in here. I don't know what I was hoping, that I'd open the drawer and the memo would be sitting there on top, waiting for me?

I scan the tabs on the folders. Bank, Insurance, Investments-no, no, no-Warranties, Medical Info, Chilmark-no, no, no, come on! And then I see it. AG.

Annum Guard.

I flip open the folder. I'm not here to snoop, I remind myself. No matter how much I want to pull out this file and read every word that's inside it, I won't. I'm looking for the blackout memo and the blackout memo only.

The first paper is a memo, and my heart leaps. I scan the first few lines. The word Delta jumps out at me. Delta-my dad. I close my eyes for a second before scanning the rest of the page. I don't see anything about a blackout, so I flip to the next paper. At this point, I don't think I even want to know anything more about my dad. He's not the man I built up in my mind, and finding out more about the man he really is-was-just makes me lose focus.

I flip past mission ledgers, forms, and contracts. But there's nothing about a blackout. I broke into Zeta's house for nothing. There are only a few papers left.

But then there it is.

A confidential memo. Subject line: BLACKOUT EXPERIMENT. I yank it out of the drawer. I'm going to read it, memorize it, then tuck it back into the file and bolt. But before I get a chance, I hear feet pounding down the stairs and shouting.

"Where are you going, Nick?" a young female voice shouts.

Yellow.

"It's gotta be in Dad's office!" Indigo's voice. He's on the landing, and he's heading here.

I'm trapped. I fly to the window, but it's not an escape. There's no tree or bush or anything to soften a fall. Plus, there are alarm wires running the entire length of the window.

"You know you're not supposed to go in there!" Yellow says. Her voice is outside the door.

I don't think. I leap into the closet, pull the door shut, and hope that whatever Indigo wants isn't in here.

"Yeah, well, Dad's not here right now," Indigo says as he opens the office door. "And besides, that's never stopped you."

I reach into my s.h.i.+rt and pull out my Annum watch. Should I project now? I press on the top k.n.o.b-the one that automatically sends me back to the present-and listen as the hands spin around the face. I start to press the face shut and then stop myself. What if I project back to the present, only to find Inez dusting the office windowsills? And let's not forget that Zeta would certainly realize this memo is missing.

Not yet.

Yellow and Indigo are in the room. "Dad's going to kill you," she says.

"Shut up, Lizzie." Lizzie. It's so weird to hear Yellow called that. h.e.l.l, it's still weird to know that her real name is Elizabeth. "Go listen to some more of that whiny c.r.a.p you won't stop playing." Indigo must be at the desk. I hear a drawer slide open, then another one, and then- "Look, Dad left the file cabinet open. It's like he wants me to find it."

Uh-oh.

"Dad never leaves the file cabinet open," Yellow says. Oh, not good. Not good at all.

There are footsteps. A loud stomp-stomp from whatever shoes Yellow must be wearing, which makes me wonder. In the present, Yellow is not a stomp-stomp kind of girl. She's a click-clack all the way. The footsteps head toward the closet. My fingers find the watch lid. Do I stay and let her find me, or do I run and face the unknown?

"Here it is!"

Yellow's footsteps fall silent, and I allow myself a quick breath. There's a ripping sound, like the opening of an envelope, and then an unfurling of paper.

Indigo sucks in his breath. "Yep, this is it. 'Dear Mr. Masters, we regret to inform you that Nicholas will not be welcomed back at Bretton Pines next year'-like I want to go back-'due to his extreme insubordination toward the Bretton Pines counselors.' Insubordination. What's that mean?"

There's a crumpling noise, and I a.s.sume that Yellow's grabbed the paper out of her brother's hands. "It means you're a huge jerk who won't follow rules."

"Fair enough," Indigo says. "But Cody's the jerk, not me. He only hates me because he hates Jack's dad because Jack's dad-"

Yellow gasps. "They talk about me, too," she says. "'I also must mention that I'm worried by Elizabeth's sudden mood change. I've gotten to know her over the past two summers, and thus you can understand that her appearance and att.i.tude were surprising this year. I tried to engage Elizabeth in conversation but found her to be extremely withdrawn and sullen all summer'-yeah, because I don't want to be there-'and I can't help but wonder if her relations.h.i.+p with her mother might be the root of the problem.'" Yellow laughs. "Dude, she mentioned Mom. Just leave the letter there for Dad to read. He'll flip that they brought her up like that. There's no way he's sending us back there next year. He'll be so mad, he won't even care about your insubordination. Just keep playing the Mom angle-Cody wouldn't shut up about Mom, and that's why you never listened to him."

"Except that's not true."

"Whatever." Her tone is angry. It's very different from the suns.h.i.+ne Yellow she is today. Well, under normal circ.u.mstances. I have to physically restrain myself from opening the closet door and peeking out. "Come on, you did what you need to do. Now let's go."

Yes. Go.

"I'm taking the letter with me."

"Stop being a pansy," she snaps. "Leave it!"

There are footsteps against the wood floor, and the sound of the office door opening, and then I really can't help myself. I crack the closet door open an inch. My mouth drops open. Yellow-who is normally a walking J.Crew ad-is dressed head to toe in black. Black, sheer lace top with a black tank top over it. Layered black miniskirt. Ripped black tights. Black Doc Martens. Her hair is streaked with pink and purple, and I'd bet you anything that if she turned around, I'd see her eyes outlined in kohl like a racc.o.o.n.

I pull the closet door shut. So, Yellow went through a goth phase. Fascinating. And by fascinating, I mean hilarious. I'm dying to rifle through her bedroom, but I remind myself again why I'm here. The piece of paper I'm holding. I wait another minute to make sure they're not coming back, then I open the closet once more and slip out. I crouch low and slide underneath Zeta's desk to give myself a fighting chance in case anyone else comes in. Then I look at the memo. It's short. One quick, little paragraph.

My eyes widen. Zeta wrote the memo. The recipient was the defense secretary. And there's a CC: to A. Cairo. It's dated only a few weeks ago. I start reading.

It is my recommendation that the blackout experiment be regarded as a failure. We do not at present have the time or resources to police another layer of Annum Guard, and the Justice Department has quite unsurprisingly affirmed my opinion that there are serious const.i.tutional, due process concerns in adding a punitive team to our existing ranks. While I commend your enthusiasm for the project, I regret that I must withdraw my support.

And that's it. Two phrases jump out at me. Another layer of Annum Guard. A punitive team. What does that mean? The defense secretary wanted to add more members to the Guard? Members that would . . . punish people? Who? I have more questions than answers. I know who the defense secretary was six years ago-I mean, today, in the past. And I do mean was. It was all over the news when he had a heart attack and died while still serving his post. But I have no idea who A. Cairo is.

And then I gasp. Loudly. I hope no one heard that. Because it's all adding up. XP really is Chi Rho. Chi Rho. Cairo. It has to be the same person. Does that mean Zeta knows-knew?-who XP is? Is that why he was taken-blacked out?

My hands are shaking.

I need to get back to the present. Now. I need to find Zeta, and I need to get some answers.

I read the memo two more times, then I repeat every word back in my head. I got it. I tuck it back in the drawer and slide it shut. There are voices in the hall.

"I don't care what you say, I'm not just leaving it!" Indigo shouts. The doork.n.o.b turns. I don't have time to hide. The door swings open. Indigo's head is turned toward Yellow, who's charging down the stairs in those big black boots of hers.

My necklace is still open. I slam my forefinger onto the top k.n.o.b that will take me to the present, and shut the lid. It clicks, and the last thing I see is Indigo's head turning toward the sound. I'm shot up, and my heart is beating so fast that I don't even feel the pain of projecting.

I land in the same spot I left, but the office door is shut and the house is quiet. I strain to hear a sound-any sound-but there's only silence. I remember to breathe, and the breath makes me dizzy. I take a step toward the door, then stop myself. What am I doing? This is the perfect chance to see if there are any clues about what happened to Zeta.

I backtrack to the file cabinet. It's locked, but I break it in a matter of seconds. The door slides open easily. It's empty. Not one folder, not one slip of paper. I open all the drawers on the desk. Same thing. No pens, no memo pads, no paper clips. Nothing. There is no trace of Zeta in this room at all. It's . . . eerie.

I slip out of the office into the hallway. I pause and listen. Nothing. So I slink over to the staircase, pause and listen again. Still nothing. I wish I had some sign of whether anyone else is home. Inez, she's the wild card.

I walk down the steps very gently, my gloved hand gripping the railing. I don't want to risk a creaky stair, even though I'd be shocked to find one in this house. Zeta strikes me as the kind of guy who'd rip out the entire staircase at the first tiny creak and replace it with some state-of-the-art design that never makes a sound.

The only sound I hear on the first floor is my own breathing. The front door is right there, and I wonder if I should slip out that way. It's been six years since I arrived. I a.s.sume someone noticed the spray-painted camera in the backyard at some point and replaced it.

But I still think the back door is my best bet. I already have that route mapped out.

I creep down the hall. I'm almost to the kitchen.

Then there's a click behind me that stops my heart. I slowly raise my hands over my head and turn.

Inez is about ten feet away. Her right hand trembles as she holds a .357 aimed at my head. It's a small gun, but it looks enormous in her hands. I need her to move closer if I have any chance of disarming her.

"Who are you?" she demands. She looks up at my hands-at my black gloves. The kind of gloves you only wear when you're doing something very, very bad.

"I work with Ze-Noah. And I'm a friend of . . . Elizabeth's. And Nick's."

"I've never seen you before." Her voice shakes. I'm not sure how much she knows about Zeta and what he really does for a living.

"I know."

"Where is Mr. Masters?" Now she sounds almost pained, like a mother who's lost her child in a crowded shopping mall.

I shake my head. "I don't know. I'm trying to find that out, I promise." I take a step toward Inez, and she reaches up her other hand to cradle the gun.

"Don't move, or I will shoot you." Her voice and body language are telling me it's a bluff, but still I stop.

"Listen, I swear I'm only trying to help. I'm sure I frightened you"-her face relaxes just a little-"and I'm sorry about that"-I keep one hand in the air and lower the other so it's reaching forward for the gun-"but right now I'd really like for you to drop that gun." I take one step.

And then Inez pulls the trigger. A bullet flies over my head and into the wall. Inez rocks backward, thrown off balance by the shot.

"Holy s.h.i.+t!" I scream. I rush toward Inez, who's swaying on her feet. I instinctively slam my elbow into her chin, grab the gun, and twist it out of her hands. "I'm sorry!" I yell as she moans in pain. I jump back, unload the bullets, and throw the gun behind me.

Then I turn to Inez. "What was that?"

She's shaking. Convulsing, almost. She thrusts her hands in the air. "Don't hurt me. I have children. Grandchildren."

"I'm not going to hurt you! I told you that. I'm a friend. I know you've never met me before, but I'm a friend."

It's like she doesn't even hear me. "I don't know where Mr. Masters is. Please don't hurt me."

"I-" There are a million things I'd like to ask her. When was the last time she saw Zeta. Whether there was anything unusual in his behavior in the weeks before he disappeared. But Inez is a basket case right now. She's on her knees, muttering in Spanish, praying to Dios. Tears stream down her face.

So I just turn and bolt out the back door. I keep my head ducked as I run past the camera, even though I don't think Inez is going to call the cops. She knows they can't help. And Yellow and Indigo can make sure this all goes away.

I toss the bullets and my gloves into a trash can next to the T stop, and only then does it hit me.

I just came within a foot of getting my face blown off. I suddenly don't know up from down. I sway, and a guy in a suit and tie shouts, "Whoa!" as he hooks his arms around my waist to steady me.

"Easy there," the man says. Then he chuckles as I hold out my arms to keep my balance. "Rough day, eh? It's a bit early to be tossing back a drink, but I won't judge."

What? What is he talking about?

"Shut up," I mumble as a train rings a warning bell and pulls up to the aboveground stop. I push onto the train, plop onto a seat, and look down at my hands. They're still shaking.

CHAPTER 14.

"It's a good thing your maid is a lousy shot," I hiss to Yellow as soon as I arrive back. She and Red are waiting for me. The Narc is nowhere to be seen, but still Yellow looks over her shoulder as I slip the Annum necklace over my head and hand it to Red.

"What are you talking about?" Yellow asks.

"She fired a gun at my head. At my head."

Yellow's hand flies to her mouth. "No."

I nod.

"No freaking way. Inez has never touched a gun in her life. She wouldn't know what to do with one."

"Well, thank G.o.d for that." I sigh and put my hand on the wall to steady myself. I'm still shaky from my near-a.s.sa.s.sination, and it doesn't help that the projection turned my knees into blobs of gelatin. "Is Indigo back yet?"

"No," Red says in a hushed tone. "He went back much farther than you did. He's not due back until tomorrow morning at the earliest." Then he reaches out and touches my shoulder. "Seriously, are you okay?"

Oh great, it's the concerned voice. No, thank you.