Quantum (2 page)

I guessed that Monica must still be at lacrosse practice since she wasn’t picking up her phone. I tried Christian, the captain of our varsity hockey team. He had a new car and used any excuse to take it for a spin. “Hey, can you pick me up from school?”

“Sure, Arizona. Whatcha doing at school so late? I didn’t recognize your number.”

“Just got back from camp. I left my phone at home in my rush. I’m using Bob’s.” I had been ridiculed to no end by my varsity teammates for considering going to this camp. Christian had led the assault.

“Camp?”

“Oh, can you just drive over? I’m fed up waiting. I’ll tell you all about it when you get here.”

“Be there in ten,” he said, and cut the call.

I tried Dad again. To be fair it wasn’t like he could call me back. It was my own fault for forgetting my cell.

The silver BMW stopped at the corner of the parking lot, the regular spot where Christian always met me. I couldn’t wait to get a car of my own. This weekend would be a good time for some car showroom visits.

“Hey,
A
! What the heck? What happened?” Christian gasped as he looked me up and down.

So, I didn’t look my best–who cares? Christian had seen me in a much worse state than this. He was strangely
dressed-up
himself–I snickered to myself. New girlfriend, no doubt. “Hot date?” I couldn’t help but smirk.

He shrugged, appearing strangely embarrassed. “
A
, what happened?” he repeated again.

“Sheesh! Nothing
happened
. I just went to girl’s camp, that’s all.”

“Your hair?”

“My hair? What’s the matter with you? It’s a bit grosser than usual, so what?”

“I kind of liked it blonde….”

“Blonde?” I guffawed.
 
“You lost your mind? Let’s go. I’m wiped.”

We rode in silence, though I had a nagging feeling that Christian was desperate to
talk
to me. However, for whatever reason, he decided not to. What was up with him anyway? So I’d missed a couple of practices. It was the end of the season, though. No biggie. However, best to have it out. I waited until we arrived in the driveway.

“What’s eating you, Christian?”

“Arizona, what’s going on with
you
?” he asked, rolling his eyes. “You came to school on Tuesday, resembling a blonde Barbie. You hook up with the new guy, David, and then missed school today. Now you’re pretending to be back from some camp, your usual self again. I don’t get it!”

Well, I obviously must have woken him up from some strange daydream, though he certainly didn’t appear to have just awakened. Or maybe he got hit in the head during hockey. “Christian, good grief! Get hold of yourself. You’re not on drugs, are you? That would be super stupid. I’ve got to go. Whatever is up with you, sort it out!”

“Yeah, right. There’s something up with
me
!” he sighed, and looked totally puzzled and annoyed. “There’s definitely something up with
you
!”

“Yeah, yeah… thanks for the ride. See you tomorrow, get some sleep,” I muttered.

I struggled into the house with my kit and luggage, waiting for Gertrude–the love of my life, a lazier-than-a-fat-cat Chihuahua–to jump up on me. There were no signs of her, which was not that surprising. Dad must have dropped her off with a sitter before he left. Well, he was supposed to have gotten back today, but there were no signs of him, either. I was totally exhausted. The day had started with a drill at six in the morning, so I was ready to hit the sack. I enjoyed the quiet of the house as I flung myself into the comfort of my bed and dozed off.

I was rudely awakened by the sound of breaking glass. Instinctively, I grabbed my hockey stick and readied myself. It was probably just Dad having forgotten his keys, but it’s always best to be careful.

~

Raj Sen felt euphoric. He
knew
that she would come back. There were no signs of the other kids, but all he needed was the
one
. Arizona would do. The blueprints to the portal were going to be his after all. The absolute and utter mess would be sorted out. All he needed to do was get this pesky child and then contact her mother, Olivia Darley.

The incident in Mountain View had been unfortunate. In hindsight, he should have come straight back up to Princeton and staked out the house, just as he was doing now. However, no real harm had been done. While Erica and Kevin had been hurt, he couldn’t bring himself to feel any remorse. They were both pains. If Kevin had just cooperated and Erica minded her own business… well, no point in thinking about all that now. Let bygones be bygones and all that.

Raj was happy to see the silver BMW–kids were so spoiled these days!–drive away after dropping Arizona off. He was glad that the boy who was driving hadn’t decided to stay. This show needed to get on the road. He knew that Dillard wasn’t home yet, so it was just the girl. There was no chance of him being able to seize her on his own. However, Dan could do so with no problem, he thought to himself, looking up to his right. Dan, towering above him at six-foot-five and built like a linebacker, looked decidedly sour.

“Ready, Dan? Let’s give it a few hours and then get her while she’s sleeping.
 
I’ll have the syringe ready.”

“Dr. Sen, I want out. This wasn’t the plan. Sophie?” Dan queried, looking over to his sister-in-law. She was sitting waiting in the van, windows down, looking bored.

“You’re right, Dan. It wasn’t. However, we have to see this through. Or we get
nothing
after all this,” she explained.

“Yeah, well
nothin’
is fine with me. I just need a beer.”

“Shut up, Dan. Just do what I say,” Sophie said irritably.

“Stop with the arguing,” Raj said firmly. “We need to concentrate. Let’s try to get it right this time. The end game is the same. We still need the blueprints. We’ll wait until she’s sleeping, then grab her.”

“Then what?” Dan asked, rolling his eyes. “What happens after you drive her from New Jersey back to California? Do you even have a plan?”

The plan
, thought Raj to himself. The plan would be to take Arizona back to Mountain View and wait there until his daughter, Simla, made contact. This would be complicated for Simla if Erica was still indisposed after the unfortunate incident at the Sanderson residence where he had inadvertently stabbed her, but Simla was resourceful. She would find another way to transport herself over if Erica was unable to help her. Like Erica, Simla was a Wanderer after all, or at least had the potential to be. She really ought to be able to wander on her own by now, Raj thought irritably. His irritation clearly reflected in his voice as he responded to Dan. “We’re going to take Arizona back to Mountain View. I’ve made arrangements. We have a cottage just outside town and we’ll wait there until we hear from my daughter.”

Dan muttered under his breath.

“Dan?” Sophie challenged.

“Oh, nothin’. Let’s get this over and done with.”

~

I inched my way into the family room. The breaking -glass noise had definitely come from there and other noises were still coming from there–clunking and thuds. Where the heck was my cell phone? I clenched my hockey stick firmly and peered into the room. It was pitch black, so I reached over to hit the light switch. Before I could even blink, I was grabbed and pulled over toward a
giant
. That’s all I could tell in the dark. I felt a sharp pinch in my left arm as I struggled to get free from his grip. Then I lost it, overcome by a feeling of numb sleepiness. Then, nothing–I blanked.

~

Phase one of the new plan had been executed to perfection. Raj was pleased and couldn’t stop grinning as the van headed toward California with their new passenger in the back. She would be out for a while and although they would need to make a few stops along the way, Raj figured that they could take turns driving straight through, eliminating the need for overnight motel stops.

~

Are you flipping kidding me? My head pounded. What the heck was that? I was lying down being tossed about from side to side. This was unbearable. I tried to steady myself, finally managing to get some support by grabbing onto the sides of the mattress or whatever I was lying on. Whatever it was, it smelled like rotten cheese, seriously hurl-worthy. I lay on my stomach, holding on, trying not to inhale any more of the stench than I absolutely had to. In spite of my head feeling like I was having some kind of stroke, I managed to get up on all fours, carefully let go of the mattress with my right hand and extended my arm as far as I could, swaying it about, feeling around. I tilted my body as far as I could without letting the mattress go with the other hand, and my fingers rubbed against metal. I let go with my other hand and gingerly moved toward the metal, running my hand up and down it. It was a wall of some sort so I crawled along it. It was a small area. The hum confirmed that I must be in the back of a van or truck. Shit.

Shit, shit, shit! This couldn’t be happening! Someone was kidnapping
me
? There must be some kind of mistake. They must’ve been after someone else. Or–could it be? Could my dad have gotten into some kind of trouble in Atlantic City and I was now being held hostage until he paid up? Double shit! One thing was clear. I needed to find a way to get out of here. After all, if I was being held hostage until my dad paid up some debt, well, that could be a long time–forever.

We drove for hours, I needed a drink pretty bad, my mouth felt like sandpaper. I was relieved when the van slowed down and we finally came to a stop. The door opened slowly. It was beginning to get light outside. The giant from before–actually a big Shrek of a man–waved his hands at me.

“Come on, Arizona. You can use the rest room here and we’ll get you something to eat and drink as long as you behave.”

He knew my name! Well that settled it. This must have something to do with my dad’s debts.

“What did you do with your hair? I almost thought we nabbed the wrong girl,” he chuckled. “I guess you were trying to disguise yourself.”

My hair? Why was this stranger going on about my hair? Maybe he did have the wrong girl. But he’d called me
Arizona
. It was probably a case of mistaken identity. “Look, I’m not who you want. There’s been a mistake. Let me go.”

“No mistake,” a female voice confirmed from behind Shrek. She had a gun. Priceless. If not for that, I could have easily taken her. I assumed she was my restroom company. I quickly decided that I needed to refuel, and since I really had no option, I may as well go along with this–for now. I asked once again, though. Just to make sure.

“Are you sure? I’m Arizona Stevens. I don’t have money or anything. What do you want with me?” I asked, confused.

“Cute! It won’t wash. Nice disguise, by the way,” the woman replied. “Come with me.”

“It’s not a disguise, but the fact that you think so makes me think you’ve got the wrong person.”

“Shut up, Arizona,” the woman said, now looking totally annoyed. Her lips were drawn into a thin line and the gun was pointed right at me.

Yup, good reason to shut up. I followed her into the restroom. We were obviously at a service plaza. We didn’t use the main restroom, but the outside one, which was attached to the gas station. I saw people inside the main building, but there was no opportunity to get their attention–especially with that gun ominously poking my side. The woman didn’t say anything more; she just beckoned me to follow her back to the van once I was done. Shrek handed me a bag of food and then waved at me to get back in. I spied a third person sitting at the wheel before I headed back into the darkness.