Fortified (6 page)

He kept his gaze on the blue, green, and brown planet in front of him.
Besides, it'd never work out anyway. JD and her are best friends and have a lot of history. Once they work out their differences, everything will fall back into place. And if not, Jaes has far more appealing attributes to him than I do. Jaes…
What was he going to do?
I can't avoid him forever. After we give back the Ilotus, I'll tell him everything.

It gave Alan the perfect excuse to delay the conversation. They were too busy working and finalizing plans. It was the kind of conversation that needed real time dedicated to it. He also had the perfect opportunity to test Jaes and have it not appear as if he were doing so. Sighing, Alan shook his head. “I'm not a good friend.”

G
ideon came home right away
after his meeting with the others. A pleasant surprise. The few times they'd gotten together, he'd been out for at least an hour longer. Normally, he wouldn't care. There was a lot he wanted to get done, however, and the sooner he did, the better. Once he got his shoes off, he made a beeline for the bedroom. He threw his bag onto the bed and went straight to his desk to get to work. Just as he logged onto his computer, he heard a knock on the door.

“Everything okay? You're home early, today,” his mother said through the door.

“Yeah, I'm fine,” he said. “You can come in, Ma.” He liked that she respected his privacy. Not a lot of teens got to have that privilege. She also treated him like glass: one wrong move and he would break. It'd gotten to the point where she didn't do anything for him without his permission.
I still want her to be my mom. Does she think I'm going to choose to be with Dad full time in New York? Because I'm not.

Gideon shook his head, knowing in his heart that wasn't completely true. The guy did spend a lot of time away, though, and the few times Giddy had visited him, he'd been left alone in his father's fancy apartment in a foreign city, while his dad went out to be with his new girlfriend. They'd only had a few days together. Why waste them apart? What was the point of his even making the journey?

There was no way he planned on moving across the country. Not now. He was too angry to even consider it regardless of the opportunities doing so might offer. Timing was bad all around, anyway, given the war. Even without all of that going on, there was no way he could leave his mom alone to fend for herself.
I need her just as much as she needs me.

Timidly, she opened the door and peeked her head inside. “I didn't mean to interrupt.”

“You're not. Well, it's just homework, so you're always welcome to get in the way of that,” he said with a smile. No matter how important his work for Alan was, it could wait a few more minutes if it meant helping her get better. “What's up?”

“Like I said, you're home earlier than usual,” she said.

He forced his smile to remain on his face. “My club meeting ran short today. Since it's nearing the end of the year, it was more like social free time. We're talking about getting together over the summer, though, and keeping in touch.”

In truth, he didn't have any clubs. Lying to her made him feel as sleazy as his father, but there was no way he could explain to her that he was working for aliens in an intergalactic war. Saying he was in a club did two things: it provided him with a cover that was logical, and got her off his back about not participating more in his high school experience. Because while he got along with everyone, and was generally well liked by all, he didn't have anyone he called his friend either. Not anymore. He drifted from group to group, and that was fine by him. His mother, not so much. She seemed to think it was unhealthy for a teen his age to not have “playdates” anymore.

“Seems kind of early to me. Don't you have one more competition or whatever it is you do? School is done when?” she asked.

“June third,” he said. He had a countdown on his calendar and everything. A little over a month. Summer was so close he could taste it. For three months he wouldn't be forced into mingling with people who didn't genuinely want him around.
Not outside of my team, at least. Just have to win over Cadence, I think.
She seems to be the hardest one.
It'd also be nice to go out on his terms and do the kinds of things
he
enjoyed for a change. Going to museums, spending time in the library, being out in the park, taking pictures. He'd be alone, but he'd be at peace for a change. Comfortable in his own skin.

She blew him a kiss. “I'll stop bugging you, promise, at least until dinner is ready.”

“Another happy interruption,” he said, blowing a kiss back. “Love you.”

“I love you too.” Those three words always put a huge smile on her face, something he didn't see a lot of anymore. The ongoing divorce caused too much stress.

If Dad would stop trying to pressure her into giving me up, things would be so much better. It's like he's fighting her on purpose. As soon as I get there, I'll probably get shipped off to some kind of prestigious boarding school so he doesn't have to deal with me full-time. I don't care how many presidents and CEOs graduated from there. I'm not leaving. Why does Mom have to be punished? Why do
I
?
Thinking about the whole thing made him livid all over again.

Gideon took a few deep, cleansing, breaths, so he could refocus.
Forget him. Time to figure out who this Stas kid is.

The good news was, Gideon had enough hacking skills on his own that he didn't think he'd need to use his powers to obtain the information. Connecting to a computer not his own while sitting at home would be a huge stretch of his abilities. A stretch he'd rather not use if he didn't have to. Besides, the Internet was good at doing all the hard work for him. He just had to know how to use it right for his advantage.

Gideon entered the phone number into his web browser search engine and watched as a multitude of results showed up. Most were spam advertisements for reverse phone number look-ups. One result gave a city location of the same town where he lived.
Good start. Place isn't too big, so if all else fails, I'll just keep dialing until I hear his ring tone on the street.
Though, the idea of calling the guy and having him answer made Gideon queasy. He'd only be allowed to get away with that a handful of times.
Let's try social media.
Come on! Don't let me down!

Sometimes, one could look up a person by finding them through their email or phone number. Depending on the privacy settings, that is. He entered in the phone number and crossed his fingers as all of the results popped up. On top was an exact, perfect match for a Stas Willems. Gideon clicked the link and found a mostly private profile. The city was the same, and he found out the guy worked as a mechanic at the local shop. He was also out of high school, another interesting tidbit. Most importantly was the picture. A young man close to Gideon's age looked out at a picturesque lake. Half of his face was hidden, but a few things could be made out. Dark hair, tan skin, and a lean build. Enough to help narrow things down. All other information remained hidden.

“Got a face to go along with the name, though. Progress!” He pulled out his cellphone and dialed Angela's number. She seemed eager to help, though he couldn't quite figure out why.
Maybe she's got a crush on me. We are in the same grade, after all. Girls like dorky, brainy guys. It makes sense.
Not like he was going to let himself get too excited over the idea. When it came to girls, he never knew how to interpret anything they did. She was cute and all, but he didn't know her well enough to let himself see her as more than an acquaintance. He cleared his throat as he waited for her to pick up.

“Uh, Giddy, hi,” she said.

“Hey! I found our mystery dude! He's a Lunar Falls alumni and hasn't left home. Feel up to some investigating?” He spun his desk chair around while he spoke in an effort to calm his nerves. Social interactions always got him a little anxious. Add a girl into the mix and it was even worse, like all of a sudden he stopped knowing how to walk and talk. Why they made him so nervous, he didn't know.

She was quiet for a moment. “Definitely, but I need to figure out when it's going to work. I don't have access to a car often, and there is no way I can tell JD about this. He'd freak out and then put a ban on the whole idea. I'd rather not get lectured for an hour.”

“Right,” Gideon said. “I don't have a car either. Although, I could talk my mom into letting me get her an oil change and maybe a tire rotation.”

“That's...nice of you.”

He laughed. “Sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself. This guy works at the auto-shop. So I say we go in pretending to be a couple or something, get the car fixed, and I can do some more snooping from the waiting room.”

“Why do we have to be dating?” she asked. Ouch, there goes the idea of her having a thing for him. She sounded pretty grossed out about the idea, even.

“I thought it'd be a believable cover," he said, shrugging even if she couldn't see it. Which he was glad for because then she also couldn't see the small blush spreading across his face either. The heat of his cheeks made him feel humiliated enough as it was. “Cousins, then. It doesn't matter, honestly, just so long as we're on the same page before we get there. I'm not good at lying.”

“Let me do all of the talking then, and just back up anything I say. Not like we'll have to say much. Just gotta tell them to fix the car. It's the mechanic, not your hairdresser. Pretty sure they don't care about your personal life.”

More heat spread across his cheeks. Of course he hadn't thought of that. The only thing Stas would care about was getting paid. “Right, duh. Anyway, figure out a day you can do this. Soon. And I can work on my mom. She's pretty open to letting me do whatever these days.”

“Lucky! Not like mine is cracking the whip, but she's been getting a lot nosier than usual.”

“Sucks,” he mumbled. He wouldn't call his mom having a meltdown and letting him have whatever his heart desired lucky. Most teens might take advantage of such a state, but he saw the truth: he was going to lose her if he couldn't help her somehow.

“Anyway,” he said. “I'm sure you've got stuff to do, so I'll let you go. Just wanted you to know, I found the guy.”

“This is great. Oh, you should see if he's interacting with Tait at all. You know, online.”

“I'll look, but I wouldn't count on it,” he said.
Why would they friend each other on the Internet? That seems pretty stupid. Then again, most criminals aren't too bright.
He started to browse around Stas's page a little more. Nothing else showed up. Digging for more information wouldn't be hard since Gideon still had a few tricks up his sleeve. At the same time, he wasn't sure what was relevant at the moment. He exhaled loudly. “Everything else is blocked from my view, for now. I'll have to poke around it another day.”

“Darn, it was worth a shot. That'd be all the proof we needed to show she was still working with the baddies.”

“Yeah. We'll find it and then we'll find a way to stop her once and for all. But I have to go because dinner is going to be soon. I'll see you later.” He hung up after she said goodbye and was about to log off of his computer when he got a private message from Nathan on his social media page.

“
Hey man, what's up?”

Gideon almost replied. It was his best friend.
Ex-best friend. We haven't had a decent conversation in months. Why now?
Instead of replying, he turned off his computer monitor and rolled away from the desk.
He has to be one of the bad guys. It's just a hunch, but I know him, and I know when he's up to something. Since we're exposing people for who they really are, I'll add him onto my list.
That would prove his loyalty and give him his revenge. With all of the pent up anger inside of him, Gideon was not going to be someone anyone wanted to mess around with.

The blue tribe might think my powers are weak and pointless, but they'll see how wrong they are. I can do a lot worse things than gather information.
He clenched his hands into fists as he got up from his chair.
Tait is going to be first. She'll pay for every time she hit me and verbally abused me. Nathan will be next. I don't know who this Stas guy is, but I'll be happy to take care of him as well.

His thoughts were interrupted by another knock on his door. “Giddy, honey, it's time to eat.”

“Be right out,” he called back. Slowly, he breathed in and out. He did this a few times until he was positive he was calm again. Once he was ready, he put a smile on his face, and opened the door. Sure enough, she waited for him in the hallway.

“Get a lot done?” she asked.

He nodded. “Yeah, I think I've got my studying done for the night. Should ace my test tomorrow.”

“That's my boy,” she said and ruffled his hair. For the moment, she seemed like her usual self. That alone made his act worth the effort.

Not all lies are bad,
Gideon thought as he followed her down the stairs. All the same, he had to push aside the gnawing feeling inside of his gut. Hadn't his father pretended to be happy for a long time too? Was hiding the fact the he was doing a secret mission with Angela also a lie? What if the others didn't see it as a good thing? Or if something went wrong… Gideon shook those worries aside, making sure to keep it in time with whatever his mother was rambling on about as they went into the kitchen.

Before they took their seats, his mother hugged him close. “I don't think I've told you lately what a good boy you are. Thank you for getting me through all of this.”

“Mom, you don't have to thank me. We're in it together,” he said quietly. The twisting of his stomach tightened. If he was such a good boy, why did he not feel like one?
It's the fear, but I can't keep letting it rule my life. Being proactive is a good thing.
He pulled back and gazed at his mother.
I have to keep her safe.