Scarlet Angel (2 page)

Another spark, this one larger, leaped off the spire
furthest away and touched the back wall. A crack appeared in the
wall, reaching from the floor to the ceiling. Somehow, Scarlett
knew what was coming. She watched in slow motion as a third, even
larger bolt of energy shot from its spire and curved backward, away
from the wormhole. The bolt touched a knot of wires.

Sparks exploded from the wires. The sparks grew in
size. Massive bolts of energy broke off from their spires, melting
the glass and shattering the back wall.

Someone screamed.

The ring vibrated for a moment then collapsed in on
itself, shrinking into a tiny pinpoint of light that exploded
outward in a blaze of death. The people in the room shrieked in
terror and pain.

Agony, unlike anything she could have ever imagined,
seared her body. She felt her skin dissolve and her flesh
evaporate. She screamed until the roar of the explosion consumed
her and everything else in its path.

* * *

“
Scarlett! Scarlett!”

The voice was far away. It took her a moment to
recognize it as Ruby’s. Scarlett opened her eyes to find herself
lying on the ground. A crowd of people stood over her with Ruby
right in front.

Her terror and pain were gone. The room and the
explosion were nothing more than a dream. When she spoke, her
throat was scratchy and sore. “What the?”

Cash helped her sit up. Ruby handed her a glass of
water. “Are you okay?”

Scarlett took a sip of the water and moaned at the
cool liquid soothing her throat. “Yeah. I think so. How did I get
on the floor?”

Cash’s face twisted like he was trying to suppress a
snicker. “When the candles lit, you catapulted yourself back and
hit your head on the floor, hard.”

A quick disapproving glance from Ruby made any
semblance of a smile on his face disappear. “Sorry. What
happened?”

Scarlett pulled back one of her sleeves to look at
the three-inch burn scar near her elbow. She scanned the faces of
the party-goers. Her eyes stopped on Ruby’s worried face. Scarlett
gave the only explanation that made any sense.

“
I...I think I just remembered
something.”

Chapter 2
Awakening

Human memory is a fickle thing. Some people believe
our memories make up who we are. But they don’t. The truth is, our
actions are the building blocks of our true selves.

* * *

Scarlett lay on the wood floor. A dozen pairs of
eyes stared at her. Her heart pounded and her chest heaved from the
terror of her “vision.”

Ruby lifted Scarlett’s wrist and held it between her
fingers. “Her heart rate is elevated, but otherwise she’s
fine.”

The last thing Scarlett remembered was the candles
on her birthday cake lighting from little Ethan’s magic trick.
There was a flash and a strange, terrifying vision. When she awoke,
she found herself on the floor, surrounded by partygoers.

Cash kneeled on the floor, opposite of his mother.
His head bobbed forward slightly and his eyebrows arched for a
second. “Well? What did you remember? Must’ve been a hell of a
doozy to knock you back like that.”

She wasn’t sure what the vision meant. Scarlett knew
it was some kind of memory from before her accident but had no
sense of time or place. Scarlett rose up into a sitting position.
“I’m... not sure. There was some kind of control room. Then there
was this explosion. Whatever it was, it was terrifying.”

No one spoke. The crowd stared at her but avoided
her gaze. Someone awkwardly cleared their throat.

Ethan’s tiny voice broke the silence. “Aunt
Scarlett?”

The crowd parted and the small boy stepped forward.
His feet shuffled along the floor and his head was down. Tears
streamed down the child’s cheeks. His voice quivered when he spoke.
“Are you okay? I’m sorry my trick scared you.”

Scarlett’s hand flew to her chest. “Oh...
sweetheart!”

She gasped and held her arms open. Ethan rushed over
and flung his arms around her neck. Scarlett held him tight as he
sobbed into her shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Aunt Scarlett. I won’t do
any more scary tricks, I promise!”

Her heart sank. From the moment she’d made a quarter
appear from behind his ear, he’d been in love with magic. The boy
spent every waking moment studying simple tricks and always carried
a magic book with him. He had found a purpose and a passion in
magic.

She ran her hand over his head, feeling his soft
hair. “It’s okay... It’s not your fault. You didn’t do anything. I
was just really surprised, not scared. Your trick was cool! Don’t
ever stop doing magic tricks. You promise me that.”

Scarlett took the boy by his shoulders and looked
him in the eyes. Hot tears ran down her face. “Promise me you’ll
never stop!”

“
Okay,” Ethan sniffled. “I
promise.”

“
Good. Now, as I understand it, we
have some cake to get to.”

The boy sniffled again and nodded.

Scarlett smiled. She stood and took the boy’s hand.
“Well then. Let’s get to it!”

* * *

The next morning, Scarlett arrived at the dojo,
early for work. The classroom was mostly a bright space with
hardwood flooring and a half-wall sectioning off the back room. A
few benches for parents sat against one wall. The opposite wall was
completely covered in one massive mirror.

A fitful night of sleep had left her groggy. She
trudged across the room and dropped her bag into the back room. Her
first class was in a couple hours but she wanted to warm up with
some sparring time first.

After a few minutes of simple kata moves, she pulled
out the sparring mannequin. She took her stance in front of the
dummy and huffed. Her first few jabs came tentatively, but each
additional punch and kick roiled her blood. She lost herself in the
mindless beating she gave her plastic partner. By the time Cash
walked in, her brow dripped with sweat and she could barely lift
her arms. Her ponytail hung loose and threatened to come completely
undone.

Cash stepped into the dojo with his duffle over his
shoulder and stopped when he saw her. “Wow. You look like hell. How
long have you been here?”

She let her arms fall to her side and huffed with
exhaustion. “What time is it?”

“
Ten to nine.”

Scarlett stepped over to the half-wall and grabbed
her towel to dab her forehead. “Wow. Um, almost two hours.” She
felt her knees weaken and leaned against the wall to steady
herself.

Cash walked over and dropped his bag on the other
side of the divider. “You’ve been at that for nearly two hours? I’m
amazed you can still stand.”

She took a swig from her bottle of water. The icy
liquid made the muscles in her throat tense up. Cold sank its way
down into her chest and she gasped. “Yeah... Me too.”

Scarlett moved behind the wall to hide her shaking
knees, but from the look on her brother’s face, he knew. “Scar, why
don’t you take off. You’re not really in any shape to teach, and
it’s a slow day anyway.”

She nodded. “Yeah. Okay”

Scarlett retrieved her own duffle from the other
side of the half-wall and headed for the door. “Thanks Cash. I’ll,
uh... I’ll call ya later.”

“
Get some rest, sis.”

She plodded to the door and stopped when her hand
touched the metal grip. “Cash... I think I need to go up to the
city.”

“
What for?”

Scarlett turned around and leaned against the door
jam. “I, um... My thing yesterday, at the party. I need to see what
it means. What I saw... It had something to do with Universal
Dynamics.”

Cash stepped over to the mannequin and took up a
stance. “What, the defense contractor?”

“
Yeah.”

“
Well, alright. But be careful.
Just... Take a shower first, k?”

Scarlett gave a weak laugh. “Ha, ha. Last I checked,
you were the one who produced a foul odor.” She turned and shoved
open the door. As the door swung closed behind her, Cash shouted,
“That’s only from your cooking!”

* * *

Cash laughed to himself as his sister disappeared
around the corner. He glanced at his watch. The first of the
children would arrive in about five minutes.
This won’t take
long. It better not.

He retrieved his cellphone from the duffle. It took
a moment to remember the number he wanted to call. After seven
years, he was surprised it came so quickly.

The voice that answered on the other end was deep
and smooth. “Cash. It’s been a while. Looking to get back into the
business?”

Cash’s voice was hard and serious. “No. I need you
to look something up for me. I know you’ve got the contacts.”

“
Please. After all this time you
think you can just ask for a favor?”

A car pulled up to the curb in front of the dojo.
Danny Green, one of Cash’s students, started to climb out of the
shiny silver minivan.

“
You’re damn right.”

The voice on the other end sighed. “Fine. What’cha
need?”

Cash moved around behind the half-wall. “Universal
Dynamics. I need to know if there’s been any kind of explosions or
fires related to them. Would have been at least five years
ago.”

“
Alright. Want me to call you back
with that?”

Little Danny bounded in through the door and waved.
Cash waved back with a smile. “No. I’ll call you.”

03Chapter
3
Road Trip

Most people regret their pasts. They want to go back
to fix bad decisions, take different roads and speak when they
chose to stay silent. I don’t regret my past. I can’t regret what I
don’t have.

* * *

Scarlett’s gaze drifted up the copper and glass
sides of the building until it disappeared into the clouds. Her
eyes traced the structure’s stark lines back down to the sparkling
black and silver luxury sedans drifting by on the hot asphalt. She
winced at a flash of sunlight reflecting off another skyscraper’s
sun-tracking panels.

The giant Universal Dynamic Industries logo
dominated the cement courtyard of the copper building. The
ten-foot-tall, metallic-orange letters, UDI, surrounded an even
more massive glass globe.

The cars came to a stop and Scarlett decided it was
time to go in. She wove her way through the vehicles. Dozens of
people milled about, some standing outside for a smoke, others
coming and going from the building. None of the passers-by paid her
any attention. She was just another bystander.

Scarlett’s stomach twisted as she approached. Logic
told her to be calm, that no one inside would remember or know her.
Even so, she felt vulnerable. Each breath came only with effort as
the scale of the skyscraper threatened to crush her.

Ahead, the gigantic logo warned of the limitless
corporate power contained within the building. Bright sunlight
reflected off the building’s surface and glared down on her. The
intense light sent a stab of pain into the back of her skull. The
pain vanished as soon as she passed into the shadows.

Inside, the lobby was a model of corporate
minimalism. At Scarlett’s right sat the main information desk. The
rest of the space opened up above for at least three stories. The
floor was covered in a black tile flecked with bits of copper.
Sparse pieces of metal and leather furniture dotted the waiting
area.

An unfamiliar voice drew Scarlett’s attention back
to the desk. “Can I help you Miss?”

“
I’m sorry?” Scarlett’s voice was
meeker than she intended.

The young, twenty-something man stared at a
holodisplay. He sat on a chair perched on a raised platform,
putting him at eye-level with her. “I said, ‘Can I help you
Miss’.”

“
I’m, um... I’m looking for
someone. I think.”

The clerk rolled his eyes for a second and turned to
her. He made no effort to hide his disdain. “Well are you or aren’t
you?”

Scarlett cocked her head to the side. “Aren’t I
what?”

“
Are you or aren’t you looking for
someone? I can’t help you if you don’t decide.”

She was taken aback and could not find the words to
express her confused annoyance.

“
What’s the person’s
name?”

Scarlett placed her arms on the chest-high counter.
“I’m not sure. I...”

The man’s impatience won out and he interrupted her.
“I’m sorry Miss, but if you don’t know who you are looking for, I
cannot help you. If you need help, you can use one of those data
terminals over against the far wall.” He raised his arm and
pointed.

Scarlett followed the man’s direction to a nearby
wall with alcoves built into it. Inside each alcove sat a
holodisplay console.

“
Oh... thank you.”

When she looked back at him, the clerk was already
staring back at the floating shapes and letters made of light from
his holodisplay.

Scarlett walked across the glossy floor to one of
the terminals. Her knuckles became white as she clutched her purse.
She reached the small cubicle and set her handbag down on the
counter.

Something whirred overhead. She looked up to see a
security camera angling down to see her. A shiver ran down
Scarlett’s back at the thought of someone on the other end of that
video feed staring at her. It was clear she had someone’s
attention.

She swiped at the holographic display, bringing it
to life. Something touched her shoulder and she jumped. She spun
around and came face to face with a blonde woman a few years older
than herself.

The woman stared at Scarlett with wide brown eyes
and an open mouth of surprise. “Jill?”

“
I’m sorry?”

“
Jill McAdams? Where’ve you
been?”