Haunted (State v. Sefore) (14 page)

“We understand that dynamic.” Ben shot a silencing look at his brother.

“I’m not defending my brother.” Noah kept his composure and turned his attention to Ben. “What he does is unforgivable. I’m saying just because we’re brothers doesn’t mean I’m like him. I’ve had to work very hard at proving myself to people, and I don’t appreciate being judged because
he’s
a liquidator.”

Ben nodded, his gaze sharp. “Understand that too, son.”

“If you hate it so much, why don’t you take care—” Billy spat.

“Enough.” Ben banged a hand on the table. “I’m sure it’s for some of the same reasons I tolerate you.”

“How about some dessert?” Ethel stood and headed for the kitchen without waiting for an answer.

Billy pushed away from the table, still glaring at Noah. “I’m done here.” He stormed out of the room.

Ethel came back in with a chocolate cake and dessert plates on a tray. The china rattled in her arms.

“I’m sorry for ruining your dinner.” Ethel had gone to so much trouble, and he’d let Billy rattle them. Sure, he knew more about the dynamic between Ben and Billy now, but it’d been at the expense of everyone else at the table. “You’ve been so gracious to me and worked so hard on this meal.”

Ethel waved him off. “Coffee or milk, Noah?”

“Milk, please.” Almost twenty-one and he still couldn’t turn down the offer of milk with chocolate cake.

She smiled and walked into the kitchen.

Ben laid a hand on his arm. “You didn’t cause the scene. It’s hard not to let them get under your skin sometimes, ain’t it?”

Noah chuckled. “You’d think all my practice with Daniel would make me smart enough to not even engage.”

Ben shook his head. “If you figure out how to keep your cool, let me know.”

Ethel returned with a glass of milk for Noah and a pot of coffee for her and Ben. Her heart rate returned to its normal rate, as did Ben’s. In fact, by all appearances, Ben seemed completely composed. Only a faint salty tinge in the air remained. What exactly made them so nervous?

Chapter Seventeen

A
s he waited
for his v-compad to boot up, Noah went back over the evening again. Billy wouldn’t be an asset in Noah’s investigation. He’d already made up his mind about Noah, and there would be no trust or friendship built between them. Ben had to be the key. If Noah could figure out where Ben stood, that would tell him all he needed to know about Billy as well.

The calm, good-natured man didn’t seem the type to involve himself in such a risky venture. And that’s what it was. Even with all of the group’s apparent care and planning, a rebellion here wouldn’t be widespread enough—McCray would send every liquidator he had, and they would kill everyone involved. Someone like Ben had to be aware of the inevitable outcome.

Billy’s involvement made more sense—the angry, single man had nothing to lose. Ben would leave behind a wife and two young sons. It would be too risky for him to be involved of his own volition. Noah needed to figure out if Billy had somehow coerced his brother into helping. But Ben had been the more dominant during their interchange, and Noah couldn’t see him taking orders from Billy. He could, however, see him cleaning up after his brother’s messes. Like Noah.

Where did that leave him? With a bunch of questions and no real answers.

The compad’s screen loaded and projected on the wall across from him. He entered his password to view the secure files and pulled up a background search on Billy Yancey.

Billy’s mental aptitude scores were average, his position at the hospital menial. He couldn’t be the hacker—he had no access to terminals.

Pulling up the criminal record screen, Noah found minor infractions reported but not filed. Petty theft, minor assault, and rumors of anti-government slander littered his past. Why hadn’t he been visited by a liquidator?

He entered a more complex search algorithm. It proved more helpful. Billy had in fact been visited, several times, by a stationary liquidator. One named Gary Bullard. Every report ended with a warning and minor fines but no major punishments. Strange.

He clicked on Bullard’s name so he could set up a meeting with the man to ask his own questions. The uploaded page told him Bullard died of natural causes two months ago. No way to follow up there.

Maybe the ARL in charge of stationary liquidators for MA-4 would have more insight. Otherwise, he had no way of figuring out what had taken place between Bullard and Yancey. Had Yancey been able to pay the liquidator off? The practice happened, but Yancey didn’t look like the type to have money for it.

Shaking his head, Noah made a note in the notebook to follow up on Billy’s financials and make contact with ARL Watkins later. He pulled up background information on Ben and found his suspicions confirmed here as well. Ben had no criminal background. His record remained white as snow. The man never took a sick day, showed up to work on time, paid his taxes, and even attended PTA meetings.

Noah needed to do more digging. He opened the surveillance program and split the screen between Billy’s bedroom and the Yancey living room. He didn’t like spying on people he knew, but if he didn’t succeed in finding the resistance himself, a lot of people would die, and Ben could be one of them, guilty or innocent.

A message notification popped up. Clicking on the message from McCray, he found what he expected. A terse e-mail demanding more action along with the threat of “help.” Noah typed a quick reply and attached Billy Yancey’s file. He promised that he’d made headway and reminded the RL about the finesse required because of just how underground this particular group had gone. He ended with his own reminder that the presence of more liquidators would only derail his progress. No help would be necessary.

He sent the message and left the surveillance program playing in the background. So many lives hung in the balance. And he needed to keep an eye on Maddison. And Callista. And Daniel.

I’ve done more than enough in the last four years to deserve a little gratitude from you.
The words had been on constant loop in his head. What had Daniel meant? They hadn’t even been in contact during Daniel’s years at the Academy. What could he have done for Noah when Noah was sixteen?

Sixteen. His stomach dropped. No.

Daniel wouldn’t have been able to … there was no way he could’ve influenced Noah’s placement. He was just a cadet at the time. He couldn’t have. But. Daniel had risen through the ranks quickly. Almost as though he had the ear of someone powerful.

No, it wasn’t possible.

Dread multiplied. There was only one way to know for sure. He grabbed his official vidcom off the bed. “Call Ryan.”

Ryan Lutz appeared on the screen before the second ring. “Hey, kid.”

“You do know I’m twenty now, right?”

Ryan’s dimpled grin grew wider. “Aw, shrimp, you’re always going to be Daniel’s annoying kid brother to me. Kidding about the annoying part, of course.”

Noah rolled his eyes. Despite his climb through the Regional Classification Office in MA-16, Ryan was himself all kid. “How ya been, Ry?”

“I’m great, kid. Didn’t I tell you we’d be ruling the world one day? I place ’em and the Seforés keep ’em in line.”

He fought off a grimace. Yeah, same old Ryan. “Well, speaking of placing people, I need your technical expertise.”

“Are you going to ask me to do something illegal?” His blue eyes twinkled.

“Ryan.”

“Sorry. Serious face. What do you need?”

“I need you to check out my GAP file.”

“What exactly am I looking for?”

Good question. “Um, it is possible to see who viewed my results and who verified my placement?”

“Sure, that’s a breeze. I’d look for you now, but I can’t access those files from home. Should I ask why you need me to dig up the past?”

Noah sighed. “It’s probably nothing. I just have a hunch. I’ll tell you all about it once you’ve seen the file. Okay?”

“Sure. No problem. I’ll give you a call as soon as I get in it.”

“Thanks, Ry.”

“Take care of yourself. And tell your good-for-nothing brother to call me, will ya?”

He smiled. “Will do.”

They disconnected, and Noah flopped back on the bed. Nothing would come of it. Ryan would call back tomorrow with nothing out of the ordinary to report, and Noah would feel like an idiot. But at least he’d know. Then he could put it out of his head.

And focus on the ten other things vying for his attention. Like Callista. He groaned. He should call her, but right now, he wasn’t in the right headspace to placate her. First thing tomorrow he’d call. He cracked his neck and exhaled. The tension in his spine hardened like iron. Sooner or later, Jakob or Maddison or Lynn or someone else would fall out of his grasp and get hurt.

He couldn’t keep this up forever. He wasn’t strong enough. If he’d made better choices in the past, he could ask God for help. But he hadn’t.

Now, he would fail, and they would kill him.

It was only a matter of time.

*

Maddison stared at the clock, waiting for it to click over from 6:59 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., time to sign out. Time had dragged by without Noah’s company the last two days. Angry with him or not, she had to admit it. Was she angry still? The more she thought about what Jakob had showed her and the night he’d spent parked outside her house …

But how could she trust him? How would she ever know if he lied to her again? He had fooled her the first time—couldn’t he be pretending even now?

That didn’t matter. Not today. She’d finally heard back from Ritchie. Through a coded message stuck underneath her windshield wipers this morning. They were meeting tomorrow night. She was invited. A week ago, she wouldn’t have thought twice. But now? With Daniel in town and the knowledge that the Elite could tap anyone, anywhere? Now she wanted to be careful.

A hospital janitor whizzed by her, making for the stairs. The chatter on the floor picked up as well. She turned to the head nurse on duty. “What’s going on?”

“I heard a liquidator showed up outside a couple minutes ago and has a CNA cornered.”

Noah.
Maddison didn’t wait to hear the rest. She signed out and raced for the steps. Within sight of the exit, she jumped the last two steps and pushed out the service entrance door.

Daniel stood about twenty feet away. He held a man up in the air by his throat.
Not Noah.
A small crowd had gathered around the perimeter.

She sighed, relief trembling in her fingers and toes. Guilt pricked her conscience. A man was still in danger. What could she do? As she looked around for help, a weapon, some answers, a car door slammed behind her. Noah strode past, face fixed on Daniel.

She shifted closer.

“Let him go, Daniel.” Noah stood, feet planted, hands on his hips.

Daniel looked over at Noah and smirked. He actually smirked. She wanted to wipe that look off his smug face and took a step forward. No, remember what Jakob said. Noah already had to focus on two targets without adding her to the mix. She pressed her heels into the ground, willed herself to stay there.

Noah stood his ground, and Daniel opened his hand. The man fell, choking and holding his throat, but he didn’t try to run. Oh. Daniel’s foot pinned the man’s jacket to the asphalt.

“You’re interfering with government business.”

“What’s his crime?”

“Insulting me.” Daniel eyed the individuals in the crowd with a threatening glower. They all shrank backward but didn’t leave. Maddison took another step forward when he looked at her.

Noah leaned down to talk to the hospital employee. “What’s your name?”

The man’s voice came out in a dreadful rasp. “Ralph Emerson.”

Maddison groaned. Of course, the mouthy CNA from the fifth floor that all the nurses dreaded having shifts with. Everyone in the hospital described him as a pain in the neck. The story made total sense. Why hadn’t he known better than to provoke a liquidator?

“And did you insult him, Ralph?” Noah maintained the same patient tone. The man nodded. “What did you say?”

Ralph’s eyes slid away to the right, his head bowed against his chest. “Under my breath, I … called him a power-drunk twerp.”

“Not your best idea, huh?” Noah’s question had to be paired with an eye roll.

Daniel waved a hand at the man. “See, he needed to learn my lesson.”

Noah stood and crossed his arms. “I think he knows now. A near strangulation seems punishment enough, don’t you think?”

Daniel shook his head, kicking the man to the ground when he tried to get up. “Can’t have people thinking I’m growing soft. Then where’s the respect for our Elite? They,” he surveyed the crowd again and Maddison didn’t lower her gaze, “need to know I mean business.”

Noah’s arms uncrossed, his eyes fixed on Daniel. “No one is going to die today.”

“You don’t even know him. What do you care?” Daniel pulled the man up by his arm.

Noah took another step closer. “I care because it’s wrong. I won’t let you.”

“On what authority?” Daniel tilted his head and smirked again.

“Mine.”

The smirk fell off Daniel’s face. When he spoke again, he used a voice she’d have nightmares about. “I told you not to pick a fight with me, brother. This is not your business. Walk away.”

“No.”

“Then keep your distance.” In a flash, Daniel stood behind the shaking man, arms wrapped around his head, ready to break his neck. “It’ll be quick.”

Noah lunged forward, knocking the pair off balance. He yanked the man out of Daniel’s grasp. Emerson wasted no time getting out of there. Noah jumped back to his feet, but Daniel waited for him. Grabbing Noah by the arm, Daniel swung him into the stone wall. Noah’s breath left his body in a hard exhale.

“I told you to walk away.” Daniel punched Noah’s jaw for the second time in as many days. Noah managed to push him off and deliver a couple hits of his own, but Daniel seemed unfazed, answering with a right upper cut that sent Noah staggering. Daniel took advantage. His fists flew into Noah’s stomach, sending Noah doubling over in pain. Maddison’s hands flew to her face. Quick as lightening, Daniel’s hand sliced between Noah’s shoulder blades, and Noah fell to the ground. He tried to get up, but Daniel kicked him in the stomach. Maddison’s hands dropped from her face. Without the screen of her fingers, the scene sharpened. She took several steps forward, hearing Noah’s warning echo in her head.

Daniel’s leg swung forward again, but Noah’s hands caught it and knocked Daniel to the ground. He pinned Daniel with his knees, hitting him in the face several times. The reversal sent Maddison skittering back toward the crowd.

Noah had the upper hand until Daniel anticipated his next move, dodging the fist and then head butting him. Daniel regained the ground he’d lost with added zeal, pinning Noah and throwing several vicious punches.

Maddison rushed forward, screaming, “Stop.”

Daniel jerked back, eyes scanning for the distraction. He spotted her and prepared himself for her attack, but that hadn’t been her plan. She knew she couldn’t fight him, but standing still hadn’t been an option. She threw herself over Noah’s upper body and braced for the impact.

Nothing happened.

She dared a look up at Daniel. He stood motionless in front of them. For a moment, he seemed perplexed, but then his nonchalant mask reappeared. He shrugged. “I didn’t want to get blood on my boots today anyway.” He walked through the crowd, which parted before him.

Noah didn’t move.