Indigo Incite (The Indigo Trilogy) (29 page)

“Well,
even if they do, it will take some fixing before they’ll be able to get the
door open. By then, the Federales should be here. Ready to go find Dad?”

“Let’s
go.”

By the
time they reached the first step, hollers from within the security room called
out to them. Jesse and the guard must have realized their unlucky predicament.
Tyler glanced back and then turned to Toby and smiled. Then they bounded up the
steps in search of their father.

*****

Toby had
had a vision that their father would help them, and that had cinched the
decision to let him in on their plan. When the door opened, he peered into the
hall and then raised his eyebrows in question. “You’re on your own again? What
are you two up to this morning?”

Tyler
smiled. “Can we come in?”

“Of
course.” He ushered them inside. “I’ve been trying to think of what I can say
to Henry so that he’ll let me take you boys out of here."

“Um…we
kind of have another plan,” Tyler said.

“You
do?”

“Yeah. I
didn’t just come to Mexico to join Toby. I came here to break him out and shut
this place down.”

“You
plan to shut it down? How?”

“With a
little help from the Federales.”

Their
father shook his head. “The Federales have specific orders to stay away.”

“I know,
but they’ve been given some information that they can’t ignore. They’ll be here
in a few minutes to check it out. And once they find a bunch of kidnapped,
American kids, they’ll have to help us.”

“You’re
sure?” He frowned and narrowed his eyes in concern.

“Yep. Our
friends are out in the woods and just reported that the police passed by on the
road a few minutes ago. That’s why we came to see you. You need to get out of
here.”

“You know
the compound won’t shut down for good. They’ll just relocate somewhere else in
a few months. Most of the kids who are here willingly work for them.”

“We
know,” Toby said. “But, there are a few who don’t want to be here, who were
taken completely against their will, like I was. They deserve to return home to
their families.”

“The
agency will retaliate,” their father warned. “They aren’t going to let you
wander free without a fight. You know too much, and you are much too valuable
to them.”

“They’ll
let us go.” Tyler pulled the flash drive out of his pocket and held it up. “We
have enough evidence on here to prove everything they’ve ever done wrong and
pinpoint everyone who’s ever been involved. If anything ever happens to any of
us, all of this information will be sent public. They can’t afford to let that
happen.”

“Wow. It
looks like they underestimated you boys. Okay then. Let’s get out of here
before the Federales arrive.”

“We
can’t go with you,” Tyler said.

“What do
you mean you
can’t
go with me? I can’t leave you here.”

“We have
to make sure that Henry knows we have this information.”

“Yeah?
And what if he decides that he’s not going to let you go? I know him well. He’s
not one who easily gives in, without a fight. I can’t take the risk that he’ll
hurt you.”

“He
won’t hurt us,” Toby said. “I’ve seen the future. If we time it just right, the
Federales will show up and take him.”

“And
what if you don’t time it just right?”

“Well
then, I guess we better not mess up,” Tyler said.

“You
need to get going,” Toby said. “There’s not much time left.”

Their
father sighed and with obvious reluctance said, “Okay, but I
will
find
you boys again. Please trust that I will. I won’t let you go back to that
foster family.” He turned and started for the door.

“Wait,”
Tyler called out.

He took
his hand off of the door and turned. “Yes?”

“Our friends
are hiding in the woods up the road. They came here to help me find Toby, but
they don’t have passports or a way to get back into the States. Can you help
them?”

“Of
course. I know of a border tunnel we can use.”

Toby
raised his eyebrows in question. “A border tunnel?”

“Sure.
Border Patrol Agents discover tunnels all of the time. They’re used for
smuggling drugs and illegal immigrants. Sometimes the tunnels get closed up,
but other times the government takes them over for their own purposes. The IIA
has a few tunnels here and there. It shouldn’t be too difficult to get your
friends home safe.”

“Thank
you,” Tyler said. “I’ll let Liliana know that you’re coming. Will you be able
to get out of here though? I imagine the Federales are close.”

“Don’t
worry. There are a few tunnels that lead out to other exits in the woods. I’ll
be long gone before the police arrive.”

After a
goodbye hug, the boys parted ways with their father and strode down the hall to
Henry’s office.

When he
opened the door, Henry frowned and narrowed his eyes with suspicion. “Where’s
Jesse?”

Tyler
shrugged. “I don’t know. He told us to come see you.”

“Did he?
I’ll have to have a talk with him later, I see. Well, you’re here at least.
Come on in and have a seat. Let’s talk.”

Tyler
took the chair that he had sat in the previous evening, and Toby sat beside
him.

“So,
boys, have you given any thought to working with me? You have a lot to offer
the agency.”

“We’ve
thought about it,” Tyler said, “and it comes down to this. What if we decide
that we don’t want to work for you? Can we just go home? Or what if we decide
that we do want to work for you but then decide in a year that it’s not for us?
Can we just get out whenever we want?”

Henry
leaned back in his chair, folded his hands, and smiled. “Those are complicated
questions.”

“No,
really…they’re not. Either we can get out or we can’t. It’s a fairly simple
answer.”

“I hear
that you boys have some concerns. That’s understandable. Let me get a cup of
coffee, and then I’ll try to explain the situation, the best I can, okay?”

“Go
ahead.” Tyler glanced at Toby and grinned.

Henry
strode to a side counter and grabbed a mug. “Would you boys like a cup?”

Tyler
shook his head. “No, thanks.”

“I’m
good,” Toby replied.

He
resumed his seat, swiveled his chair so that he faced them, and took a sip of
coffee.

“I’m
guessing that you aren’t prepared to just let us walk,” Tyler said. “This is
just a little insurance to make sure that you leave us alone.” He held the
flash drive up for Henry to see.

The next
sip of coffee missed his mouth and spilled onto his pristine, white collared
shirt. “What’s on that?” he sputtered.

“Oh,
just about any and all information on the IIA that you’d never want the public
or any other government agency to find out about.”

“It’s a
bluff. There’s nothing on that disc. You don’t have access to get into the main
system.”

“Why?
Because we would need an access card, like this one?” He held up the small,
plastic card.

“Where
did you get that?”

“It
doesn’t matter. What does matter is that we have all of the proof we need. So
you
will
let us go, and you’ll make sure that the agency leaves us and
all of our friends alone, because if anything should happen to any of us, all
of the information on this little disc will be sent to the media.”

“So,
what’s stopping you? Why not just take it straight to the public?”

“We’re
under no illusion that the agency is just going to fold under and close up
shop. If we went to the media, now, it might cause a hiccup or two in
operations, but you’ll just reopen, somewhere else, and continue on with your
work. Once that happens, you’ll come after us, again. We’re better off this
way. You let us go, the compound closes down, and we go on with our lives like
we never met you. As long as we never hear from the agency again, we stay
quiet.”

“And I’m
supposed to believe that? I’m supposed to just close the compound and let you
walk? You can’t really think I’m going to let that happen, do you?”

“No,”
Tyler said. “We didn’t really think you would just let us go. That’s why the
Federales are on their way. We figured, once they find us,
they’ll
let
us go.”

“You
aren’t serious? We have an agreement with the Mexican government. They won’t
touch us.”

“Never
say never,” Toby said. “Just wait. They should be here soon.”

Just
then, the phone on the desk rang. Henry picked up the receiver and snapped at
the recipient on the other end. “What is it?” He was silent for a moment and
then said, “Right, and you’ve tried to call?” He listened again and then said,
“Okay, I’ll go check myself.”

He hung
up the phone and looked at the boys. “Apparently the police are outside, and my
guard in the security room didn’t notify anyone. Do you know anything about
that?”

The boys
smiled and shrugged.

“We need
to go for a little walk.”

“Where?”
Toby asked. “The police are already here.”

“There
are a few exits they don’t know about. We should still have time. Let’s go.” He
pulled a gun out from under his desk and aimed it at them.

Tyler
sucked in his breath.
Do you still see a way out of this?
he silently
asked his brother.

Toby was
silent for a moment and then thought,
Um…yeah. Just a few more seconds and
we’ll be good.

“Come
on, boys.” Henry waved the gun toward the door. “Let’s walk. First, I’ll take
that disc off your hands.” He walked around the desk, aimed the gun at Tyler,
and held out his other hand for the flash drive.

Any
second, huh?
Tyler
thought.
Are you sure about that?

Um,
yeah. Right about n
—
Toby’s thought was interrupted by a knock at the door, and before Henry had a
chance to put his gun away, an IIA security guard entered, followed by three
members of the Federales.

“I am
Chief Morales with the Mexican Police. What is going on here?”

“What
are you doing here?” Henry demanded. “This is my private office and property of
the United States Government.”

“The
United States Government does not own property in Mexico,” the chief corrected.
“They simply lease the land. We have every right to be here.”

“That
may be, but we have an agreement with your government that you won’t disturb
us. Our business here is private.”

“That is
true,” the chief said. “Unless we hear that you are breaking one of our laws. Then
we have the responsibility to check it out. We have word that there are
kidnapped American children.”

Henry
must have realized that he still held his gun, because he hastily tucked it
into his back waistband.

The
chief turned to Toby. “Have you been kidnapped?”

“They
weren’t kidnapped,” Henry interrupted. “They are criminals. Our agency has
arrested them under suspicion of a threat to national security.”

The
chief eyed Toby with curiosity. “Really? Is this true?”

Toby
shook his head. “No, sir. My brother and I were both kidnapped. They’ve kept us
here and we don’t know why. You can check it out for yourselves. There are
other kids who are locked up downstairs, too.”

“Secure
him until we can find out what’s going on,” the chief said.

The
other two uniformed men marched toward Henry. One of the men aimed a gun at him
while the other removed the gun from Henry’s waistband and handcuffed him.

With his
hands secured behind his back, Henry glared at the boys. “You know, once the
agency hears about this, they’ll have me out and back home in no time. We’ll
just relocate somewhere else.”

“You’re
probably right,” Tyler said. “And we trust that once you do make it home,
you’ll make sure that the agency leaves us alone…Liliana, Grace, Eddie,
Sarah…all of us. You might go on with your work, but we’re going to go on with
our lives.”

“Would
you kids like to come with me?” the chief asked.

“Absolutely,”
Tyler said. “We’re ready to go home.”

“Boys,
go ahead and grab your bags. If you’ll just follow me, your room will be on the
second floor.”

Tyler
and Toby each grabbed their two large duffel bags, which contained all of their
personal belongings. They followed the guidance counselor out of her office and
down the hall to the stairs, which would lead to their new room.

The
Portland, Oregon boarding school housed students from around the world, and the
twins were thrilled to be able to call it home. For some, the school meant
confinement and rigidness, a residence filled with rules and proper etiquette.
To the twins, it represented freedom, a place of independence.

The counselor
glanced over her shoulder to ensure that they were following and then continued
down the hall. “I have to say, it is unusual for students to transfer to our
school mid-year. We do make special exceptions on occasion, but usually only
for students whose parents are, what you might call, influential. Now don’t get
me wrong, we pride ourselves upon the confidentiality of our students. We
understand that many come to us because they desire privacy. So please
understand, if you ever want to share anything with me about where you come
from or who your parents are, the information would be kept strictly
confidential.”

She
stopped and turned to the boys with an inquisitive gaze. Tyler knew that she wanted
information. Their arrival almost at the end of the school year, along with a
very generous donation to the school from an anonymous donor, had left the
guidance counselor more than a little curious. The boys simply smiled.

“Ah, I
see you’d rather not talk about it. I understand. Just know that I’m here
anytime you need someone to talk to.” They reached the second floor and arrived
at the room they would call home for the next two years. It wasn’t large, but
it was comfortable and would suit their needs. “So here we are. I’ll let you get
settled in. Dinner is at six downstairs in the dining hall. I’ve given you your
class schedules. You’ll find them in your folders. School starts at eight
tomorrow morning. Do you have any questions before I go?”

“Um,
yeah,” Tyler began, “just one. What’s the policy about weekend travel?”

“Well,
we offer a variety of weekend getaways for our students. We do backpacking
trips into the mountains and excursions into the city to visit museums. They
are all voluntary, of course, but we like to encourage our students to
participate as much as possible.”

“That
sounds like fun. What I was curious about though was if we are allowed to go
off on our own for the weekend.”

“Oh,
well, weekend travel on your own isn’t encouraged, but it certainly isn’t
prohibited either. If you did leave for the weekend, you would need signed
parental consent, and you would have to be back to school on Sunday evening by
seven. If your parents don’t live around here, they may fax a written consent.
You would have to provide your own transportation.”

“That’s
not a problem. Our dad left us a car to use.”

The
counselor smiled. “Well, great then. Do you plan to visit friends in the area?”

“Seattle,”
Tyler told her. “I have a friend in Seattle.”

*****

Toby sat
in the window seat and gazed out of the rain-speckled dorm room window. The
tall, lush, green trees were a welcome change from the brown desert of Arizona
he had always known. It seemed appropriate that he would start out his new life
in a new state. A future filled with endless possibilities, welcomed him with
open arms.

He
thought about Rebecka and the future. Though their time together had been
short, they had definitely shared an undeniable connection, which he would like
to further explore. He would be a junior next year. Two more years of school
and after that, well, who knew? Perhaps he would go to college in California.

When his
cell phone rang, he didn’t have to look to know who it was. He answered with a
smile in his voice. “Hi there. I was just thinking about you.”

“I
know,” Rebecka said and then laughed. “I heard your thoughts, but I figured I
would call like a regular friend. We’ve never really just talked on the phone
before. It’s kinda fun, huh?”

Toby
smiled. “Yeah. It’s good to hear your voice. How are things going?”

“I’m
back to school. My guidance counselor worked things out so that I can take some
summer classes and get caught up. I’ll be able to start out next school year as
a senior. Isn’t that great?”

“That is
great. Just one more year of school, huh?”

“And
then college, I guess. So did I hear that you were thinking about coming down
here to go to college with me?”

Toby
laughed. “You really were listening to my thoughts. Yeah, the idea crossed my
mind. What do you think?”

“I would
be more than thrilled. Of course, I don’t know what my parents would think. My
last dating experience left me kidnapped. I don’t think they’re going to allow
me to see any boys until I’m thirty. But don’t worry. I’m sure once they meet
you, they’ll like you as much as I do.”

“You
like me?”

“You
know I do. You’re a wonderful friend.”

“A
friend.” It was a simple statement to test the waters.

“You’re
more than just a friend.”

“Oh
yeah? More than a friend?” Toby closed his eyes and envisioned Rebecka. She was
lying against a giant stack of pillows on her bed and grinning.

She
laughed. “Why do I feel like that’s a trick question? All right, I’ll say it. I
like you. I like you a lot…more than just a friend. I miss you already and
can’t wait to see you again.”

“I like
the sound of that. I’d like to see you again, too. Of course, I can see you
right now. You’re lying on your bed and you’re wearing huge, fuzzy, pink
slippers.”

“You
can
see me! That’s not fair. I wish I could see you, too.”

“Can
you? I mean, do you think you could do your thing and transport yourself here?”

“I don’t
know. I’ve never tried to travel over such a long distance. I’m not sure what
would happen. That’s why I never tried to escape the compound. I was scared I
might end up in limbo or something. Maybe I could practice. I could try to
teleport a little bit farther each time. In the meantime, take a picture of
yourself and send it to my phone so I can see you. Okay?”

“I
will,” Toby promised.

“Thanks.
I’d better go. Dinner’s ready. You take care, okay? I miss you.”

“I miss
you, too.”

*****

“Grace,
honey! Come downstairs. Derek is here,” her mother bellowed.

“Coming!”
Grace called back. She had hoped that she wouldn’t have to face her boyfriend
until school on Monday, but that apparently would not be the case. She took a
quick survey of herself in the mirror. She had no make-up on, her hair was
pulled back in a messy ponytail, and she was wearing a baggy sweatshirt and
athletic pants. It occurred to her that she didn’t care what she looked like.
She no longer felt the need or desire to impress Derek.

Then she
suddenly realized that Derek was downstairs, alone with her parents. After she
had been so careful to cover her tracks, to make her parents believe she had gone
to Florida on the band trip, it would take only one conversation with Derek to
ruin everything.

She
darted out of her bedroom and practically flew down the stairs. She came to a
sudden stop in the entryway, out of breath, and faced her mother and Derek.

At her
abrupt entrance, her mother turned to her with raised eyebrows. “Well hi,
Grace. I didn’t exactly mean for you to come downstairs quite so quickly. You
only saw Derek yesterday. Do you miss him that much already?”

“Oh,”
Derek began, “well actually, Grace and I haven’t seen each other since—”

Grace
quickly cut him off. “We haven’t seen each other in what seems like forever.
Come on, Derek. Let’s go out to the front porch. We can talk there.”

“Oh…uh…okay.”
He reluctantly followed her outside. Grace knew that he wanted to go up to her
bedroom, where they would have more privacy. She decided that the front porch
would be a better location for what she was about to say.

He sat
close beside her on the swinging bench. She scooted a few inches away and turned
to face him.

“So, how
have you been?” he asked. “I really missed you on the trip. I wish you could
have come.”

“Yeah, I
think it was good that I stayed behind. It gave me time to think and reflect on
life. You know? I realized what’s important and what I want my future to be
like.”

“Um, how
come I get the feeling I don’t like where this conversation is going? When you
say future, am I included in that future of yours?”

“Derek,
you know I like you. I always have. You’re a wonderful friend.”

“Oh…this
is the part where you say you just want to be friends, isn’t it?”

“Sort
of…I’m sorry, Derek. I’ve tried. I just feel like you’re more of a brother to
me than anything else. You’re a great friend, and I don’t want to lose your
friendship. I understand if you don’t want to ever see me again, but if we can
still be friends, I’d really like it.”

“Is
there someone else? Did you meet someone else while I was in Florida?”

“No.”
Grace realized it was a lie when an image of Eddie immediately popped into her
mind. “I’ve felt this way for a while. It’s just…I meant what I said. I don’t
want to lose your friendship.”

“Is
there anything I can say to make you reconsider?”

She
shook her head. “No. I’m sorry.”

He stood
then.

“Are you
leaving?”

“Yeah, I
need some time alone. I don’t want to lose your friendship either, Grace. I
need to think right now, but I’ll see you on Monday. Okay?”

“Absolutely.
I’ll see you at school.”

She
walked back into the house, slowly closed the door, and leaned against it. She
hated to break Derek’s heart, but at the same time, she felt a huge sense of
relief.

Her
mother poked her head out of the kitchen. “Where’s Derek? Is he staying for
dinner?”

“Uh, no,
Mom. We kind of broke up.”

“You did
what? Why?”

“It just
didn’t feel right, you know? I tried, but I knew that it would never work out
between us. I figured it was best to just end things now before it went on any
longer.”

“Oh, honey,
I’m sorry.”

“It’s
fine, Mom. I’m happy. Derek will be happy, too, once he realizes it’s for the
best. He’ll find someone who’s just right for him before he knows it. I want to
be alone for a little bit. I’m going up to my room until dinner’s ready. Okay?”

She
dashed upstairs and closed her bedroom door before her mother had a chance for
further comment. She sat on her bed and picked up her phone. Should she call Eddie?
What would she say to him if she did? She knew that he had felt something for her
when they had shared a dance in Mexico. The look in his eyes and his aura had
been undeniable proof that he had feelings for her.

She
found his name under her contacts but then second-guessed herself and tossed
the phone onto the bed. What was she thinking? She had just broken up with her
boyfriend. Shouldn’t she at least wait a day until she called him? Then again,
whoever said there was a certain protocol to follow after you broke up with
someone? She picked up her phone, again, found Eddie’s number, and before she
had a chance to think twice, she called.

*****

“Welcome
back. How was your little excursion with your friends?”

Eddie
set his notebook on the lab counter and turned to see Jenna’s familiar smile.
He had known that he would see her soon; he had just hoped that it wouldn’t be
today. He wanted to dive headfirst into his homework and not have to dwell on
any thoughts of girls for a day or two.

“Hi
there, yourself,” he said. “How have you been?”

“Not
bad. Class has been dreadfully boring without you there to keep me company. I
can’t believe you missed more than a week of school. I don’t think I’d ever be
able to get caught up on my work if I missed that much.”

“Yeah,
it’ll be rough, but I figure a couple of late-night study sessions and I should
be back on track.”

“Well,
I’d be happy to help. You could come over to my place, we could order a pizza,
and I could help you make some flash cards or something.” Her tone was
flirtatiously sweet, and she wore a playful grin.

Any guy
he knew would jump at the chance to have a private study session at Jenna’s
place, and yet he couldn’t help but think about Grace and Sarah.
What I need
,
he thought,
is to swear off all girls completely for a while.
He didn’t
want to drive Jenna completely away, but he needed time to figure out his life
before it became complicated with a girl—any girl.