Grandfather (14 page)

I glared at Ashton for
giving my name away. I wouldn’t let him forget about that. “What do
you want?” I asked, looking back at Cornelius.

“I found the orphanage you
were in.”

“So,” I replied. “I don’t
care.”

“Feisty, aren’t you,” he
said. He kept smiling and stayed calm. I wondered if he actually
cared. “I discovered the orphanage but only to find you were
missing.”

“I ran away,” I told him.
“I hated it there.”

“Perhaps you hated it,” he
said. “But you didn’t run away.” He looked at Ashton. “So you are
with the rebels as well?

Ashton didn’t
reply.

“
Shy?” Cornelius
asked.

“No,” Ashton finally said
after a few seconds of silence. “You’re the Grand Imperial,” he
said.

Cornelius erupted in
laughter. He stood up, and walked behind us, still laughing. I
didn’t dare turn around. I thought about Edgar and Belladonna. They
weren’t looking like lunatics anymore. There was some truth. I was
learning.

“Ashton,” he said. “I’m
very interested in people with interesting pasts.
I bet anything that scar has a story behind it.
Perhaps it’s why you joined the rebels. How did you get
it?”

Ashton looked like he had
just been shot. Cornelius noticed this. He placed a hand on each of
our shoulders.

“What do you guys hope to
accomplish with the rebels?” he asked.

“Stopping you,” Ashton
replied through his teeth.

Again, Cornelius erupted
in laughter. “Really?” he asked, amused once again. “Please tell me
. . . how?”

“That doesn’t concern
you,” I answered for Ashton.

“And it no longer concerns
either of you,” he said. “I’m afraid you won’t be going
back.”

We had only one hope to
get away, and that hope was being hunted down. I hoped the officers
didn’t actually find Edgar and Robert. Cornelius took his hands off
of our shoulders and walked to the front of his desk again. This
time, he just stood there.

“So it’s all true?” I
asked him, buying some time before he did whatever it was he
planned on doing to us. “You’re the leader of Grandfather. The
Grand Imperial.”

“Such an honorable title,”
he replied. “One that would never suit either of you.”

Ashton snickered. “That’s
the title of somebody who thinks he has power. I wouldn’t want
it.”

Cornelius suddenly
frowned, glaring at Ashton. He turned his attention back to me. “So
I’m guessing somebody figured out my whole scheme . . . got to you
before I could. Don’t you want to know why I want you?”

I did want to know. Really
bad. I just didn’t understand how I was important when I didn’t
know anybody. I sat silently, waiting for an answer.

“
You’ll find out,” he said.
“Soon enough.”

He was playing
me.

Cornelius was about to sit
down when the two officers burst into the room. “It’s gone,” one of
them said, gasping for air.

“What’s gone?” Cornelius
asked, straitening his body.

“Sub X,” the other
replied.

I glanced at Ashton. We
knew what that meant. Edgar and Robert had gotten away with the
vials, but to where?

Cornelius’s nostrils
flared and his right eye began twitching. I had never seen somebody
go from calm to completely angry in a nanosecond.

“
There are two of them, and
I want you to find them!” he screamed. “Go!” He picked up his phone
and threw it as hard as he could. I expected it to shatter as it
slammed into the wall, but it didn’t. The officers rushed away in
panic.

Cornelius stood there for
a second, taking a deep breath. He then walked to his phone, picked
it up, and dialed a number once the screen came to life. “We’ve got
a security breach,” he said before hanging up.

A siren sounded
immediately throughout the entire building. A red light flashed in
the room and I imagined all the others. Cornelius kicked the wall,
his foot going all the way through the drywall. He jerked it out
and turned to us. “You guys won’t ruin this.” He stomped to the
door. My eyes bolted to the lamp. Without thinking, I leaped for
it, taking and flinging it so hard my joints popped. It slammed
against Cornelius’s head, knocking him down. His head slammed
against the door handle before he flopped onto the floor,
motionless.

“Let’s get out of here,
now,” I ordered, my adrenaline running high. That was the first
time I had hit anybody and man, it felt good.

Ashton didn’t hesitate. We
ran toward the elevator. I knew it was only a matter of time before
more security reached the building, so we had to get out of the
building quick. I hit the down button on the elevator. It opened
immediately. I tapped the button for the first floor.

“Do you believe now?”
Ashton asked.

“Now’s not the time to rub
it in my face,” I shouted over the loud sirens.

He didn’t say anything
else. Good. He was probably afraid I’d hit him too.

The elevator reached the
first floor. Luck must’ve been on our side, which was the first for
me. As soon as the door slid open, Edgar and Robert just happened
to be running by, each carrying two briefcases, one in each hand.
They stopped and looked at us. “Thank God,” Robert said.

“Let’s get the hell out of
here,” Edgar shouted, motioning us toward the front door. “Talk
later. “

I was not arguing with
that. I wanted to get as far from the building as
possible.

We made a speedy exit and
rushed across the street. Our timing was perfect because three fire
trucks rounded the corner and braked in front of the building. In
the air, a square aircraft hovered over the building, not making a
single sound.

Edgar led us around the
corner and past the familiar Starbucks. The crowd was less dense
than before, so it was easier to move around. Some of the
pedestrians looked curious as we ran by while most ignored us,
living in their own world.

When the white vehicle
came into site, we kicked into a whole new gear. Edgar was running
so fast, and it looked like he had lost control of his body, which
would’ve been funny under other circumstances.

“
I think there’s a fire,” a
woman was saying behind us.

Robert jumped into the
front seat and this time I got lucky, claiming the window seat
behind the driver. Robert didn’t even have to say anything, because
before the doors were even closed, the driver floored
it.

The entire ride through
the city was nerve-wracking for me. I just knew we’d get caught.
But Edgar and Robert . . . they had already caught their breath and
seemed to be enjoying the ride like nothing had
happened.

We left the city the same
way we came in. Once I felt we were out of trouble’s reach, I was
able to catch my breath. I twisted my body around to get one last
look at the city, which at night was more spectacular than during
the day. The towers seemed to light up the whole city. Different
colors flashed off of signs and buildings, keeping the city alive
after dark. I turned back around. The city was great to see, but
after what had just happened, I didn’t think I wanted to go back
for a while.

“Hold on to that
briefcase,” Edgar said.

I knew he was mostly
referring to me. And I didn’t really blame him because we had a
deadly virus just inches from us. One mistake and we could all be
dead. My stomach turned and I gripped the briefcase even tighter.
Ashton did the same with his.

We climbed the mountain,
and this time it was a lot scarier. The only light came from the
vehicle and, honestly, they weren’t that great. I really hoped this
guy was a good driver.

Finally, the driver pulled
to the side. I couldn’t help but wonder how he knew exactly where
to stop. Perhaps he was just so used to driving Edgar and Robert
around that he knew.

“Give ya 50 bitcoin this
time,” Edgar said, swiping the card as I had seen him do before.
Again, a red light flashed as Edgar waved the card over the front
headrest.

“We appreciate it as
always,” Robert said, jumping out.

Once we were all out, I
watched again as the car disappeared behind the curve
ahead.

Edgar turned on his
flashlight and shined it into the pitch-black forest. If it wasn’t
for the moon, I was sure the light wouldn’t have helped all that
much. “Be careful with the briefcases,” he warned again. I was
holding it so tightly my hand was beginning to cramp.

Edgar’s light shined on a
carved arrow, and we followed it.

We were silent for a few
minutes, gathering our thoughts after everything that had happened.
I was finally able to catch my breath and think about what I had
heard. Cornelius really did need me. Edgar was right. And Cornelius
really
was
the
Grand Imperial.

Grandfather wasn’t dead. I
didn’t know what that meant to me exactly, but one thing I was sure
of. Everything Edgar and Belladonna had told me was true so far. I
bet I
was
in
danger. What would Cornelius have done to me if we didn’t get away?
I didn’t even want to think about that. From what I had seen of
him, he wasn’t exactly a nice guy.

“
What happened?” Robert
finally asked once we passed another arrow.

We told him everything
from the officers finding us to me hitting Cornelius in the head.
Edgar and Robert laughed at that last part. Robert hoped the lamp
had left a mark.

“How did they not find you
guys?” Ashton asked.

“We finished pretty
quickly,” Robert said. “We were leaving the refrigerated room when
we heard whispering.”

“Knew it wasn’t you two,”
Edgar said.

“So we hid and went out
looking for you,” Robert said.

At that moment, I
remembered what Edgar had said. “What about nobody being there?” I
asked him angrily. “You were wrong, and it almost got us
killed.”

“
Hey,” Edgar snapped. “We
all make mistakes. Now be glad you got away.”

“Well, I’m not doing
anything like that again,” I said.

Edgar looked at me and
grinned. “But you learned,” he said. “Learned the damn truth,
didn’t you?”

I didn’t
answer.

“
I can’t believe it was the
Grand Imperial,” Robert said.

“Would’ve never guessed he
would be there,” Edgar said. “These vials must’ve been a
priority.”

“Good thing we stole
them,” Robert said. “And a good thing we destroyed the security
footage. And any proof that Edgar used his fingerprint to get
in.”

“Does it matter?” Ashton
asked. “They know who Carsyn is. They know we exist.”

“Only a matter of time
before they figured that one out, eh,” Edgar said. “Not a thing we
can do.”

“Hopefully they don’t make
the virus again,” I said, remembering all the experimental vials we
saw in the basement. “Who knows what they’ve been trying to make
down there.”

Edgar
snickered.

“What?” Ashton
asked.

“Lit the place on fire,”
Edgar said.

Robert laughed with him.
“Didn’t want them coming up with any other dangerous
substances.”

Wow. They really thought
of everything. That explained the fire trucks, too.

We soon reached the trap
door, and we all climbed down the ladder, holding our briefcases
more careful than ever.
Half way down,
only having one free hand, I nearly fell. Edgar nearly had a heart
attack as he saw me start to topple over. Good thing I was able to
balance myself and readjust.

Edgar shined the
flashlight down the hall and we walked through the tunnels until we
reached the room Belladonna sat in. As soon as we entered, she
jumped up from beside the radio. She looked at us,
wide-eyed.

“What happened?” she asked
immediately. She turned down the radio. “It’s all over the
news.”

“What are they saying?”
Edgar asked.

“Just that someone broke
in and tried to light the place on fire. Cornelius was
there.”

“We know,” Edgar said. We
each sat down the briefcases onto the table very cautiously. “We
started the fire,” Edgar said, then pointed at Ashton and me.
“These two met him.”

I didn’t think
Belladonna’s eyes could grow any wider, but they did. “Tell me
everything,” she said, sitting back down.

We each took a seat except
for Robert. He stood next to the table. We spent the next thirty
minutes telling her everything that happened starting at the
Starbucks. She asked us what it was like meeting The Grand
Imperial. We told her about what he looked like and how quickly he
got angry.

“I’m sorry you had to find
out that way,” Belladonna told me. Edgar went over to the kitchen,
grabbed four glasses, filled them up with water, and handed one to
Robert, Ashton, and me. Yeah, stealing from the president made me
thirsty. I chugged mine while Ashton told Belladonna how I had
saved the day by knocking out Cornelius. I wasn’t expecting such
praise.