Opheliac (20 page)

She was the one who broke the moment. Tears were in her eyes again. “That wasn't fair.”

“No,” he whispered. “No, it wasn't.” Especially because he liked it a whole lot more than he should have.

“I…” She frowned, her skin turned a peculiar shade of green, and then the next thing he knew, she was throwing up her lunch onto the floor mat of his car. Some of the mess got onto the fine black leather interior. The smell would take forever to get out. But he couldn't get mad at her over it.

Karma, you're funny.
Shaking his head, he actually smiled as he got out and went around to the other side of the car to help her out of her seat. Carefully, he helped her unbuckle, then gathered her into his arms to carry her into the house. It took some balance and awkward maneuvering, but he was able to somehow ring the doorbell. When Cadence answered the door instead of Angela's parents, he blinked.

Cadence took one look at her and helped him get her inside. “Is she okay? What happened? JD left to get her. Something about the Doctor. Where is he?”

“I don't know where he is. As for her, she just yakked all over my car interior, so I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad one,” he said. He took a moment to at least wipe his shoes off before going to find Angela's bedroom so he could lay her down. She was unconscious now. “Do we want to try waking her? Should we let her rest? She mentioned something about the Doctor wiping her memory of the past six hours.”

“This could be a side effect,” Cadence said. She opened the bedroom door and pulled down the bedsheets. Orlando had never been in Angela's room before. For some reason, he'd expected there to be a lot of pink. Instead, he saw cream-colored walls and soft purple accents in the curtains, bedspread, and furniture.

He placed Angela on the bed and tapped his lips with his fingers. The lingering feeling of the kiss was still present. “We'll just have to watch her and make sure she doesn't get sick anymore. Hopefully, it was a one-time deal.”

The main house door opened and heavy footsteps clomped inside. Ready for anything, Orlando stepped out, wondering if perhaps one of the Doctor's henchmen had followed him to the house. Who he found was JD walking to the kitchen—or rather stumbling to it. His entire body swayed as he got a glass of water. After chugging it down, JD raised his gaze toward Orlando and laughed.

“I just did something
really
bad.” And then JD passed out.

Jaes paced the room. “I don't understand what went wrong. Everything was set up perfectly. The captives were both compliant. How could there have been a security breach? One of the charges would not have done this, would they?”

“I'm trying to figure that out,” Alan said. “I trust Gideon. He was the one who made the discovery in the first place. And Orlando is many things, but not a traitor.”

“It was his girlfriend being worked on,” Jaes said quietly.

“Ex-girlfriend. He told me he was fine with the idea of us rehabilitating them. He's had issues with a few of our…procedures and the treatment of our charges, but sabotage? That seems a bit much, especially given his heritage.” Alan narrowed his gaze at Jaes, folding his arms in front of him.

For a moment, Jaes stared down at the ground, his brow so deeply furrowed it made even Alan's face hurt just watching him. “Does he know who his parents are?”

“I'm not sure,” Alan confessed. “My father said he would be told. No doubt by his own parents. With some of his apprehension and the way he says some things, I've wondered if perhaps Orlando does suspect it.”

“Do you think he would ruin things on purpose as a form of rebellion?”

That thought had briefly crossed his mind. His charge was known to do things for the sake of attention in the past. Orlando would dye his hair, pick fights with his sister, and play Devil's Advocate to just about anyone who presented an idea. To go so far as to mess up the operation so that his ex-love didn't get hurt? That seemed like a far-fetched form of rebellion for the teenage boy.

Shaking his head, Alan faced away. “I stand by my charges. Neither of them would have done something like this. How many of your charges did you bring aboard?”

“I had two as well,” Jaes said. “And I trust them as well. So what now? Someone on the ship?”

“There has been a leak.”

“And only a few knew of this operation. The techs, the transportation monitors, and Sir Orioltogorthan. Well, and us. You're the only one I'm certain isn't the leak.”

“I know you can't tell a lie,” Alan said. “It's one of your abilities. So just say it, that you aren't the leak.”

“I'm not the leak,” Jaes said quietly. The gaze he held on Alan was one of sadness.

Alan nodded, trying to not be shaken by his friend's emotions. “I never thought so.”

“You just wanted to hear it for your own sanity,” Jaes mumbled.

“It's my way of showing I'm confident and believe in you. If I thought you were the leak, I wouldn't want it confirmed by your actions.” He took a deep breath. “Did we make any progress on the rehabilitation at all?”

Sighing and facing away from him, Jaes nodded. “The boy called Bean is finished. We were able to get all of his memories of the war from his mind. The only one we had problems with was the girl. She's the more dangerous one. I'm sure having her brother out of commission will be a morale bust all the same.”

“It'll make her angry.”

“That as well.”

Alan chewed on the inside of his lip. “We'll have Gideon look at the Ilotus again soon to see if he can find the information the Yumsaltanz seek about their missing royalty, as well as the documentation they'll need to take the Gelandrosimbol to court. Not to mention whatever else we find. Do you still think we should go through with our plan to witness the Doctor's deal with the drug buyers?”

“Yes,” Jaes said. “We need to know who he is trading information with.”

“Then not everything is a waste.”

“No…not everything.”

Without another word, his friend left the room, leaving Alan to stew in his own thoughts. Jaes may have believed his charges were trustworthy, but Alan did not. On his past mission working with Drone, Angela had suspected something odd about the young man. When it came to reading people, she was good at it. Drone had been on the ship. Unfortunately, Alan didn't have the evidence he needed to connect the mishap with the charge.

All the more reason to watch him closely
, Alan decided.

Tait held herself the instant she was back on earth. Teleporting and being in space was a lot to take in. The whole experience and being aware of what these aliens were trying to do to her caused her stomach to churn. Tears pooled in her eyes, not from the disorientation of traveling, nor from fear of losing part of who she was. No, her tears were those of anger. The red tribe had succeeded in capturing and wiping her brother's memories clean of all things related to the war.

She hated everyone involved in the process. The Alturans of the red tribe for taking such a cowardly approach to the fight, Drone for failing to save Payton from the aliens' experimentation, and the Llama Kid for helping in the whole plan. The guy was just following orders, much like she did. For someone who liked to preach self-righteousness and about how letting the Alturans get away with their sometimes unethical treatment of the earth humans, he didn't have any issues with letting them violate her brain and betraying their species.

Drone walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. She flinched away.

“Don't,” she seethed.

“Don't make sure you're okay?” he asked.

“You left him there! You're no better than anyone else!”

He grabbed her by the shoulders firmly. “I was told to take care of
you
. Your brother was third priority on my list of objectives. Something went wrong while I was working in the computer system on the ship, so I had to focus on getting
you
out along with all of the information I obtained tonight. I had to do it all without getting caught. Sucks that your brother had to lose in this situation, but we can work on making him better again soon.”

“No,” Tait said. A few tears trickled down her cheeks. She hated to cry in front of him. “No, Payton has never been good at this. It's for the best he…he doesn't have to be involved. He's too soft. I know his heart is in it, but he just can't handle some of the things we have to do.” It killed her to admit the truth. She'd miss her brother's support.
I just have to keep reminding myself that he's going to be happier this way.

Drone gazed down at her, his eyes narrowed and his body tense. “If you change your mind, I was able to retrieve a good portion of what they took from him. Whatever is missing is what was taken after we left.”

“If I change my mind, I'll let you know. What I want right now is what was taken from
me
.” She placed her hands on her hips.

He laughed. “Sure thing, you can have it back. It'll cost you, though.”

“Excuse me?”

“What? You thought I was just going to hand it back for nothing?” As he laughed some more, the moonlight danced in his eyes. “I never agreed to just give it back to you. I believe what I told your boss was that I would gather the information for her so it was possible for you to get back. Nothing in the deal stated that I would actually do so.”

She glared up at him, her lips pursing as she debated whether or not to punch him in the face. “My memories don't belong to you.”

“Nope, you're right about that. How much are they worth? A kiss or two? More?” He wiggled his eyebrows.

“You want me to kiss you?”

“We can start there.”

“Ew!” She slapped him across the face. “If you think I'm going to—”

“Your imagination went there,” he said. He didn't flinch from her outburst in the slightest. In fact, he dared to move closer to her. “Is that your way of saying you want me?”

She swallowed as he returned his hand to her shoulder. This time, the touch was softer and much more affectionate. All the same, she picked his hand off her shoulder. “I have a boyfriend, but your persistence is flattering.”

“Boyfriends don't bother me much,” he said with a shrug.

“They should,” she said. “Tell me what you
really
want from me in return for my memories back.”

Drone let go of her. “How about this? I'll give you my phone number, and you can call me at your convenience and we can discuss this later. Think about what you're willing to give up in return for something so precious. Memories are only worth how much you can pay. They mean nothing to me and my superiors.”

“So why not just hand them back for free?”

“Because that would be too nice,” he said.

Yeah, I'm going to punch him. Not today, but next time, he's getting punched.
“Fine, give me your number,” she mumbled. He handed her a business card. What kind of guy his age carried around business cards? She snatched it and tucked it into her front jeans pocket.

“Are you going to be able to get back home on your own?” he asked.

“Yes.” She wasn't entirely certain, but there was no way she was going to ask him for his help. Who knew what kind of demands he'd make of her for asking for a ride back.

He shrugged. “Then I'll see you around. I'm sure it will be soon.”

“Sure.” Tait hugged herself, and started down the street. He would not get the pleasure of a proper goodbye from her. Using her cell phone GPS, she was able to figure out how far away from home she actually was.
It's only a mile. I can walk that. The fresh air will do me good anyway.

The whole night was like a dream, well, nightmare. She didn't know how much time had passed on the Alturan ship. A few hours at least, according to the clock on her phone. Drone promised nothing had happened to her while she was onboard, but she didn't trust him completely. Nor should she, not after Payton got the short end of the stick.
I need to remind myself he's okay. The idea of my brother not being whole bothers me even if he'll be happier.

After she had been taken aboard and put unconscious by the Alturans, she didn't have any solid idea of what happened next. When Drone woke her again, she found herself with only him and her brother. The Alturans had drugged her enough to keep her disoriented for a bit. As she was led around the ship by Drone, she didn't get a good look at anything going on. What she remembered the most was Drone telling her to hurry and to stay close. He spoke to a few people on board; his exact words were blurred.
I'm pretty sure he was securing our way back to earth.
She remembered stumbling onto him, closing her eyes for a few seconds, and then when she opened them again she was back on her home planet.

The cold air snapped her back to reality, and all of her emotions hit her at once.

Will Payton be back when I get there? If so, how different is he going to be? What if they try to take me again?
No, I can't think about it. I have to stop. If the red tribe is there, then I'm doomed, and there's not much I can do. This is all making me crazy.
She clenched her fists.
Especially this Drone guy. Who does he think he is anyway? “Boyfriends don't worry me”? Is he that arrogant to think I would so much as touch him just to get my memories back? I'd rather cash out my life savings or kiss a toad.

And yet, there was something about him that played to her love for the bad boy. Every guy she'd ever dated had a touch of it, for better or worse. It was one of the things that had attracted her to Orlando, even if he was the furthest thing from a stereotypical bad boy as a guy could get. He put on the appearance well. Having a guy who treated her right was a nice change of pace. Yet, she did find herself missing a small bit of adventure. Something about him was different as well. He looked at her in a new way, though she couldn't quite put her finger on how. Distance was present when they were together. She wanted to blame it on his parents being back home, but she was lying to herself. Something else was keeping him emotionally distracted from her.

Another girl? No, there is no way he'd be interested in anyone else. At school he's always so indifferent towards all his female admirers. Except for Nia…She annoys him too much. No way they're meeting up outside of school. I'm being paranoid. It's not another girl.
Whatever was causing him to act differently around her, she'd have to trust he'd tell her on his own, when he was ready. That was how Orlando functioned. He liked to be a mystery until it was time to open up on his own terms. Tait was similar in a lot of ways, so she respected that about him, even if it drove her up a wall sometimes.

The adventurous spark could be returned to their relationship. They'd had fun working around his sister's work schedule so they could have alone time together. He'd sneaked out of the house a few times to meet her as well. As naughty as all of it sounded, their dates remained incredibly innocent. Not something she was used to at all. Her past boyfriends liked to push boundaries. Orlando seemed to stay away from them. The guy was all kinds of confusing, constantly contradicting himself and keeping her on her toes.

Was that the same as adventure? Or did she really only have a thing for guys who were bad for her? When she saw the Llama Kid again for the first time in ages, she noticed her heart beat awfully fast. Did she stay safe or test her limits?

Safe. Of course I want to be safe. I'm just frustrated and missing all of the old attention I had before I messed things up. Orly and I aren't even an official couple…yet. He's close to forgiving me for blowing him off. So close. I can't mess it up just because I'm feeling insecure.

Self-esteem issues, something she'd never confess to having. Tait was supposed to be the cool, strong, and sophisticated one who had everything together. Deep down, she was plagued by a lack of confidence—confidence that anyone would want her. Payton cared and wanted her around; he was as far as the list went. Their parents wanted the twins around at their convenience. Actually, that seemed to be the story for everyone she knew, including Orlando. They met on his terms. She could suggest things, but he had the overall say.

Drone wants to meet on my terms.
Control felt nice. She needed more control. Just because he wanted to meet with her didn't mean anything had to happen. It'd be fun to play some mind games with him.
Serve him and his cocky attitude right.

When she got back home, there were no aliens waiting to kidnap her again and finish off the job. Her parents were asleep in the living room, the television on. Quietly, she took off her shoes and jacket, putting them away in the front closet by the main door. Then she crept her way up the stairs. Payton's door was closed. Swallowing, she turned the knob to peek inside.

Sound asleep in his room was her brother. His heavy breathing put her heart at ease. Nothing happened, or at least that's what he'd believe when he awoke the next morning. He'd be normal again. In some ways, Tait envied her brother. All he had to worry about now were keeping his grades up, playing well on the football team, and making his girlfriend happy. No more fear about if he would return home again from a mission.

Fighting grew exhausting, fast. The passion for Alona's people made all of the sacrifice worth it.
Hold on to the final prize.