Death Screams (7 page)

Gale looked at him, way up at him. "You're a very strange guy, Alex."

He grinned, he wasn't strange to himself and seemed untroubled that others thought he was. Like Jonesy in a macabre sort of way.

The guys smiled and so did Tiff. Jade and Sophie looked at him like he had a third head.

"
Okay, so here's the thing," Gale began, her eyes flicking once more to Alex, then shaking her head. "We return here when the school is closed, do a routine scan," she looked at Jade for confirmation and she nodded, "then, after our Empath gets a 'feel' for who broke the pulse-security, we can go from there."

That's interesting. "Where's the 'from there' part?" I asked. A little vague for my liking. Using my girlfriend for whatever.

Hated it.

Garcia gave me a sharp look. I'd hit on something.

"
We're going to get a baseline for who may have been responsible for the break-in, then, we're going to take a field trip to the other schools."

"
What?! Like where other kids can see her?" That's all we needed, is the attacker getting an eyeful of Jade. Yeah, that really worked for me.

"
Give me a little credit, Caleb." Garcia gave me level eyes while Sophie looked at Jade nervously. "School will not be in session when we have Jade scan."

"
What if she finds DI in more places than one?" John asked logically and Jonesy gave him a knuckle bump. Terran had the goods.

Jade said, "From what Tulle tells me, I'll recognize his... signature."

I saw her discomfort and didn't hesitate this time, I pulled her in tight against me, her head against my chest, my arms wrapped around her. The tiny thing she was, she just fit against me perfect.

The cops didn't say anything.

"
So, Jade will know it is the perpetrator..." John began.

"
Instead of some random slug," Jonesy finished.

Nice.

"
Hell, let her do a sweep! Clean out the schools, Jade." Jonesy fist-pumped the air.

Gale hid her smile and Garcia said, "That's enough Jones. I give you quite a bit of latitude..."

"
Because of my awesomeness, I know," Jonesy said without guile.

"
No..." Garcia began.

But Gale said, "Raul, give it up."

He tapped his notepad and shook his head. "Right." He slapped it shut. He turned to me, ignoring Jonesy who smirked in triumph. "Caleb, I want you to talk with your parents so when I show up at your house it doesn't come as a shock."

I grinned. "I don't think my parents are easily shocked."

A random image of Clyde languishing around the trash separators outside the house came to mind. I think my parents are mainly on board for the weirdness that was my life.

"
Right," Garcia said with a sigh.

Jade stepped away from the cradle of my body. "Wait."

They turned, Garcia's thumb on the pulse-lock.

"
When- when will you be...?" she trailed off.

"
In the next day or two."

"
Okay," she said.

We watched the cruiser pull away.

*

Tiff turned to Jade and I. "So, does this have anything to do with that AP dickless that's running around trying to ravage all the girls while they're in their," she waved a vague hand around, "comas or whatever." She snapped a series of bubbles with her gum. It sounded somewhere between a gun and firecrackers.

Bry scrubbed his face. "Tiff... shit, could ya be just a little sensitive?"

Tiff looked at Sophie and Jade, their faces held identical pinched expressions. Sophie's was the worst. Her skin had a pallor to it, she was slightly ashen under her normally light coffee skin.

"
Hell, soooorrry!" she stomped off.

Bry mouthed
sorry
to us and walked off after her.

Jonesy nodded in semi-approval. "Tiff says it like it is." Then he looked at Sophie and his face sobered in a hurry. Tears chased each other down her face and he said, "Come on, Soph, that's just Tiff. She has a hole under her nose and a perpetual case of diarrhea." He held out his hands in supplication.

"
Amen," Terran said, Alex nodding in agreement.

I could hear Tiff and Bry yammering in the background.

Jade put her arm around Sophie, careful not to touch her skin. "It's gonna be okay."

Sophie looked up, her swimming aqua eyes underscored by dark circles that looked like bruises framed them. "It's not Tiff. I know she doesn't have a filter. It's just... the threat of something I can't protect myself from."

I hit on something. "What about your boyfriend? Buddy? Isn't he... can't he be The Man here?" I said, trying my damnedest not to let sarcasm drip from every syllable.

I guess I wasn't really successful because Sophie's tears dried up and Jade gave me The Look.

Well hell.

Jonesy grinned. "I think his man status is in question."

Tiff came stomping back with Bry on her heels just as Mia rolled up in her car with a soft honk. Bry whipped his head around and stared. She smiled back at him and he was temporarily dazed.

Even I wasn't that bad.

Terran saw me looking at the pair and said, "You're gone too, Hart."

Nice, busted.

Tiff stomped over to Sophie, who was a few inches taller and said, "Sorry Soph, I wasn't trying to pee in your Wheaties or anything."

Sophie smiled. "It's okay. I'm just scared is all," she said, tucking her cloud of hair behind her shoulder.

Jonesy hovered around uselessly at her elbow and she swatted him away like the fly he was. He walked off a few paces, grumbling.

Tiff smiled. "I just wanna kick that guy's ass," she said, smacking her fist into her palm.

John and Alex frowned, taking a look at the Intimidation Factor of Tiff.

There was none. She was bigger than Jade but not by much. She couldn't really hurt anyone. Her mouth was her biggest weapon. I'd say that was finely honed.

Bry finally woke up and turned on her. "K... that's enough Tiff. I know that you hold your own around the house but don't go off half-cocked thinkin' you can take on some sleazy dude that's trying to hurt girls. No."

The guys looked at Tiff. "I don't need a man to protect me. You oughta know, bro. When it comes to take downs I do okay."

"
You sure do, for your size. But look at us all now, Tiff." He swept his palm out at the loose group of guys.

She looked around at the J's, me, Alex, whose muscles looked like tumors or something, and finally settled on Bry. Then her eyes shifted to Jade (who had finally topped out at five-three), Sophie and Mia. Among the girls, Sophie was the "biggest" and she was still a couple of inches shorter than Jonesy, the shortest of the dudes at five-ten.

Tiff huffed in frustration. Bry's eyebrows came together. "Heard you were busy getting under Hamilton's skin?"

She shrugged, her blue hoodie moving with her shoulder, a bubble popping. "What about it?"

"
Did you seriously say they didn't have dicks?" he asked, incredulous, suppressing laughter.

"
Nah," she said.

The guys all looked at her.

"
What?" she squeaked.

"
You sorta did. You can't tell them stuff like they can't see it and it would be easy for them to scorch it off, without them getting a clue on their lacking proportions," John said by way of clarifying.

"
Yeah, whatever, they don't scare me. Let 'em try!" She crossed her arms defiantly.

John and Bry's eyes met. "Was he gonna hurt her?"

John's eyes didn't waver. "Maybe."

"
Definitely," Sophie said.

"
It's okay, pal," Jonesy said, clapping Bry on the back, "Brett, that ass hat, said he'd take it out of your corn cob, or one of your brothers." Jonesy stepped back, spreading his arms wide.

"
Great, effing great," Bry said. He looked at Tiff. "Do ya think you could not make it so dudes want to beat the snot outta me?"

Alex snickered and Bry swung to him. "What's so funny, Sims?"

"
It's just that... you're sorta our tank."

Terran nodded and I put my hand in my face. "No WoW talk, Alex."

"
What, Hart?"

Never mind. Brother.

"
It's like World of Warcraft. The tank takes the damage so the other players can survive. You're our tank." John made it sound like an honor or something.

I could tell from Bry's expression he was thinking getting beat up every time we were together wasn't a point of pride.

"
Argh!" Bry kinda yelled.

Mia slammed her car door, leaving the engine running and he looked at her as she came, all honey hair and deep eyes.

Eyes that a guy could learn to love.

"
It's okay, she's the only girl in a house full of boys. How else does she survive?" she asked him, then put her perfectly manicured hand on his arm and he was lost.

"
She's just so stubborn..." he said, staring at her.

Tiff began waving her arms above her head, back and forth, crossing the wrists. "Right here! I'm right here, Bry. And you're pretty GD stubborn yourself, jackass."

Bry finally woke from his reverie and glared at her.

"
Crap!" Jade said, alarmed.

"
What?" I asked, looking around, waiting for some Psychotic Event to appear.

Like usual.

I didn't see anything. Huh.

"
It's my backpack! I left it at Tulle's!"

"
What?" Mia and Sophie said together. I could tell that they thought she had gone temporarily insane.

Jade wavered. Finally, she relented. "Yeah. I just got distracted by the cops showing up and not finding that stupid sample." She huffed in exasperation.

Tiff asked, "What's the big deal? That pink thing?"

"
That pink thing!" Sophie yelled. "It's a Coach, fashion-impaired."

Tiff narrowed her eyes on Sophie. "Ya know," she began, snapping her gum, "you'd do well in hoodies. No one needs a zoo lesson."

Oh shit.

Sophie was partial to animal prints and today she was wearing cheetah. Sophie walked over to Tiff, teetering expertly on her high-heeled boots (designer, I was sure). "A girl that wears hoodies to school and does not, by God, know what a Coach purse is needs to shut her mouth when discussing how another girl could misplace said purse."

Tiff had blown a bubble the size of her head and swatted it out of the way before answering Sophie. "Okay, when you're not wearing a zoo, and don't have weapons attached to your shoes, I'm gonna pay attention. Otherwise. No."

Jonesy looked on with interest. "Is this like, gonna morph into one of those awesome cat fights?"

They looked at him.

"
What?" he shrugged.

John shook his head. "Stay out of it, Jones."

"
No way, I think it was just starting to get interesting."

Jade sighed, "I gotta go back into the school. It has my pulse, everything. I wouldn't put it past Tulle to get into my pulse and..." she looked at me significantly.

Holy hell. I sent Jade some hot stuff.

Jones saw my face and I shot him a look.

Don't say it.

He said it. "Got some kind of porn thing goin' on, Caleb?"

Alex perked right up and Bry laughed.

Sometimes the merit of Jonesy's friendship was overrated.

Jonesy was nodding in an exaggerated way. "I knew you had it goin' on Hart!"

Tiff piped in, "Don't you have some shitty diapers to change or something, Jonesy?"

His face fell. "Thanks for reminding me, princess."

She grinned like a fool, really enjoying his discomfort. "Anytime."

Jade and I began walking toward the school with the gang close behind.

"
Should you leave your tin can parked like that, Mia?" Bry asked.

We looked at the car, like a wind-up toy, out in the middle of the street. She shrugged. "We're just here to make sure she reacquires the precious and then we'll go. What will it take, five minutes?"

We walked in the double doors, a janitor at the top of the stairs, making his way down each step, sweeping as he went. He looked up.
Jensen
, his name tag said.

"
You kids need to skedaddle. Busy cleaning here." His charcoal eyes challenged ours.