Untrained Eye (40 page)

Chapter 50

RENEE CAUGHT UP with the three kids as they got to the door and grabbed
them to stop them fleeing into the dust.

“Why are you rushing ahead?”

Sawyer’s kid sighed. “I overheard Mr. Sawyer talking to Ms.
Harrison. He felt gala night would be perfect for the visitors to abduct
students. He’s on the lookout.”

And that would have been useful information
before
. “He
armed?”

He nodded.

Great.

Renee pulled on her mask, and they headed out into the storm. Her
heart pounded in her chest. The kids were light and fast which made it easier.
She halted them at the corner. The guard was walking away but Aeron’s warning
rang through her mind.

“We’re going to head back around my building and hit the garage
that way.”

She realized that the kids didn’t have radios.

Dimwit.

She took hold of the two boys’ hands and got the girl to hold on to
her waistband. They hurried down the steps, around the building, and to the
back. The guard in the southeast hut was patrolling. His route was near the
dorm between where they’d stood in the far southeast corner and where the
dining halls were.

She led the kids along the back path, feeling both boys squeeze
her hands tighter as the storm intensified. There was no shelter this side.

She headed northeast, taking refuge next to her villa. She glanced
back to her left. The boys’ dorm door opened and a flashlight beamed out. Renee
ducked around the side and pulled the kids into motion. The light turned back
toward the main building.

She made a break for the garage. One knock and she burst inside.

“Five minutes,” she muttered to herself as she pulled off their
masks and Ryan handed them some water.

“Sawyer is on the prowl. Cut the lights and stick to flashlights,
okay?”

Ryan nodded and ushered the kids toward the bus. She was glad to
see he looked more alert.

She smiled at Ty, Ian, Jane, and Leigh-Anne. “Everyone okay?”

They nodded.

Good.

Renee pulled down her mask. She took a deep breath.

Eight kids down.

Another
eight
to go.

She swallowed the dryness in her throat. It was getting tougher
each time.

URSULA NODDED TO the five suited-up kids around her group and
Jessie. They needed to work together to pull it off. One by one they skirted up
the rope to the second floor of the main building.

The beam of a flashlight rounded the corner. She darted up the
rope and reeled it in. The flashlight beam moved closer to where she’d been
standing.

No surprise Sawyer was on patrol. She shut the window, cleaning
the dust that had come in with them.

“Urs, I need your guys ready.”

Ursula touched her earpiece. “They can make it by themselves. Get
Jed. Jessie and I will bring his sister.”

“Roger that.”

As the kids fanned out and crept through Jäger’s quarters, Ursula
crept out, down the stairs, and scanned the empty hallway. She hurried around
the corner, unlocked, and headed into his office. She pulled the device from where
Aeron had planted it and placed it in her pocket. She woke up his computer and
inserted a USB drive into it.

The second Jäger knew they’d pulled one over on him, he’d try and
cover his tracks.

False trails and some inventive doctoring of newspapers and
locations would keep Aeron’s family safe. Alex Riley had never been to
Missouri, still, Frei wanted to make sure.

Ursula wiped every file Jäger had and installed new, false ones to
cover them. Then she planted a special change to his computer. A safety clause.

She headed back out, locked up behind her, and hurried around the
corner. She took a breath and dashed across the hallway and back up the stairs.
She slipped into Jäger’s quarters and over to the window. Jessie and the others
were waiting for her.

They gave her the thumbs up.

Perfect.

They were all out of the window and on the ground in seconds.
“Head to the garage. Good work. Go, get comfortable.” Her kids disappeared from
view and she turned to Jessie. “Jed’s sister.”

Jessie nodded and they crept west to the girls’ main dormitory.
Jed’s sister’s things were on the bus. She’d been told that her room was being
redecorated and that’s why she was in Jessie’s room.

Ursula just hoped Jessie could keep her calm enough to get her to
the garage.

Darting kids was risky.

I PEEKED OUT at the stage. The hero was being told to meet his
love next to the usual palm tree. There were three kids left with me—Jed,
Miroslav, and Miranda. I didn’t know how Renee was going to pull it off but I
couldn’t appear anything but calm.

I glanced at Miroslav who made my heartbeat grow heavy and I
wandered to him.

“Hands,” I whispered.

He held out his hands. As I suspected, they were a weird blue
color.

“Salt, water, now.”

He smiled at me. “I was trying to keep it for the performance.”

“Take it now,” I said, squeezing his shoulder. “Better to stall it
before it starts.”

The stage door opened and Renee crept in. She resembled a sand
sculpture. I headed to her and handed her a towel and once again forced her to
drink something.

“Sawyer,” she mumbled. “Thanks for the heads up.”

“That’s my job.” I smiled at her.

“Progress?”

My smile faded. “The usual palm tree.”

Renee closed her eyes for a second. “Oh no. She’ll be telling him
that she lied any minute.”

I cocked my head at her.

“You’re not the only one who loves Oscar.” She held out her arm to
Jed who still had Miranda attached to him. “You can canoodle on the bus. Move
it.”

Jed kissed Miranda and strode over to Renee. He looked all kinds
of brave but I could feel how terrified he was for her, his little sister, and
himself.

“Keep her safe,” he whispered to me, meeting my eyes.

“Sure thing. It’s easy, right?” I gave my best winning smile. “She
just has to look pretty.”

Jed headed off with Renee and I felt a swirl of panic in my
stomach. Look pretty . . . Convincing. We had to be real convincing. What a
time for a first performance.

Baby steps. Renee had said baby steps.

Chapter 51

THE CLASSROOMS WERE still locked and in darkness. Eerie
intermittent flecks of light shimmered and bounced up off the polished floor.
Renee handed the mask to Jed at the main door, knowing he was reluctant to
leave. One of the oddest things about experiencing Aeron’s gifts for herself
was getting a taste of other people’s emotions.

If she hadn’t had respect for Aeron before, she had it in
abundance now. Feeling the weight of the nerves, terror, concern and . . .
other . . . emotions running through Jed, Renee could hardly find her own
feelings.

It had taken until Frei slammed her up against a post to
understand she wasn’t feeling genuine feelings of her own. The haze of teenage
angst had rendered her close to certifiable. When she’d felt the pain Frei had
felt, the pain Aeron felt, she realized what was going on.

“Your sister will meet us there. Jessie is getting her.” Renee
offered a smile as she glanced back up the corridor.

Jed wasn’t appeased. His nerves rippled through her arms, making
her hairs prickle and her stomach clench. “She might get scared and run. What
if they catch—?”

“They won’t.” Renee took his hand, which shook with the amount of
adrenaline pouring off him. How Aeron operated at all she’d never know.

“I’ve been a protection officer for many years. My father was one.
It’s in my blood.” She held his eyes. “I promise you that my team is as good,
if not better, and we
will
get you all out.”

Jed’s nerves calmed. She felt some semblance of control return.
“What about Miranda?”

“You think I’d leave a pregnant woman behind?” Renee ignored the
gasp from him. Judging by how daft the pair were together, it didn’t surprise
her.

“You know?”

Renee smiled and put her mask on, hoping he would follow. They
didn’t have time for this. “Women’s intuition.”

Jed put his mask on, and they crept out into the storm. Renee
stopped him. Two flashlights on opposite sides of the building. Both were
headed their way.

Renee shoved him into motion and they hurdled the hedge and dove
onto the grass. They lay there, panting hard, as the two lights crossed. She
had no idea who they were but the guards were getting edgy.

The lights stopped. Were the guards chatting? She dragged Jed up.
It would do.

They sprinted eastward, hurdled another hedge, and then out onto
the pathway between her building and the boys’ dorm.

Sawyer.

His focus was on the pot. Rifle out, automatic, and judging by the
increased bulk around his chest, he had a vest on. His intense focus hummed
around him. His weight shifted. He would turn their way. 

She glanced around.

Nowhere to hide.

The lights from the guards shone on the path .
. . heading for them.

She dragged Jed to the front of the dorm. They sprinted around the
corner. The wind smashed into them with its full force. Renee held her breath,
pulling Jed against the wall.

Shouting reached them over the noise of the wind.

The guards.

Jed tensed under her grip. She could feel his urge to bolt. She
held him there. Held her nerve.

Sawyer yelled back. His tone relayed impatience not calling the
alert.

Relief poured through her.

They were still off course. She scanned the
dusty shapes, keeping the photographic images she remembered in her mind’s eye.
 

The smudged form near them was the guard hut. A few feet away. She
focused and could see the light spilling out from under the door.

She nudged Jed and they crept, low to the ground, along the front
of the boys’ dorm. They made quick work of the small hedges and she was
thankful for Jed’s fitness. Had it been Ian with her, she wasn’t sure they
would have managed the route.

They crept along the main road. The howling dust storm stung every
bit of exposed skin. It rammed into them as they tried to keep their balance.
She saw the shape of the garage and guided Jed to the door, thankful when they
had a wall between them and the wind. She knocked once and headed inside.

Frei’s four students were pulling their black ops gear off and
stowing it in the back of the bus. They looked like they’d been on a picnic.
She felt like she’d been in boot camp. 

Just Jed’s sister, Jessie, Miranda, and Miroslav to go. She wasn’t
sure what Frei was going to do about Kevin but judging by her silence, Renee
guessed that he would be staying. He’d be rescued with the younger kids if they
pulled off bankrupting the academy and CIG could sneak in and get them out.

Fitzgerald and the CIG team were waiting, poised, to do just that.
The minute the staff abandoned ship, they’d roar in. No one would know.

At least she hoped.

“Thanks, Miss Worthington,” Jed mumbled, pulling off his mask and
handing it to her. His distracted tone filled with worry for his sister. His
gaze drifted to the door.

“Jed, you need to stay inside. You need to keep everyone together.
Trust us.” She pulled his face until he was looking into her eyes. “You have to
hold your nerve. Locks and Jessie will bring your sister to you.”

“Jessie can do it,” Ty told him, handing him some water.

“And Miss Locks,” Ryan said with a grin.

Jed looked to his friends and his worry calmed. He nodded and took
the bottle off Ty. “Ian do okay?”

Renee smiled at his concern for Ian and shook her head at the
offered bottle.

“He tried knocking Miss Worthington out on the way, but yeah,”
Ryan shot back, steering Jed toward the bus.

Renee met Ryan’s eyes and nodded. Good kid.

She turned to Frei’s group. “Anyone but the groups and us come
through that door—”

“We got it,” Frei’s team chimed in perfect unison.

No doubt.

With a brief nod, she headed back out for the final run. There was
a lot resting on Miranda and Aeron. She just hoped both could pull it off.

URSULA CARRIED THE sleeping girl on her back. She had been calm
and placid when Jessie explained that she was leaving to go somewhere with Jed.
Ursula had expected the girl to be scared, but no, she clung on without much
complaint.

The storm was growing in intensity which meant it would blow
itself out within the hour.

She needed to move.

With Jessie close by, Ursula hurried out of the girls’ dorm. She
ducked right as a flashlight beam hit the front of the building.

She pulled Jessie close as the guard walked by and headed up the
steps to the still swinging door.

She shoved Jessie into a run and they sprinted along the path
beside the main building. Renee was in front at the corner.

Ursula saw a guard heading the way of the garage and froze. She
opened her link. “Renee, take the girl, take the route via the southeast corner
of the building.”

“I have to go back for—”

“Don’t argue. The guard is heading to the garage.” She felt her
chest pound. “Sawyer smells a rat.”

Renee hurried to her and took the girl. Ursula nodded to Jessie
and motioned for her to follow. They crept toward Sawyer who loitered next to
the righted pot like someone would leap from it. Ursula pulled out a reel of
fishing wire and held out the twine for Jessie. She took it and hurried to the
wall of Renee’s building. That should slow anyone pursuing down.

Ursula turned, sprinted, and vaulted the hedge in front of the
boys’ dorm.

Where was the guard from? There were two at the main building so
one must be in the guard hut. He was either from there or the southeast corner.

Either way, Sawyer would have sent him and would be expecting a
report.

Renee needed a clear run. Ursula pulled out her dart gun and
crept, silent, up to the guard.

He reached the door. She fired. The guard turned. Hand on the
trigger. Then stumbled. His hand fell open and she caught him as he dropped.

He had an assault rifle. She removed the bullets and threw them
into the bushes. She dragged him into the undergrowth but a movement caught her
eye.

She frowned. Jed’s sister wandered toward the door of the garage .
. . alone.

Where was Renee?

I WATCHED THE performers take their bows, aware that my throat was
drier than could be accounted for. Owens had shot me a few glowers with
increasing venom and now had a glint in her eyes that I didn’t much like.

I’d expected Renee to be back in time before I went on. I didn’t
know where she was but I hoped she was okay. Somehow I had to look confident
and not like I was shaking so hard my hands felt like Jell-O.

I was an agent. A big confident agent. A big confident agent
terrified of lots of people. I sighed and took a long breath. I could do this.
Miranda and Miroslav needed me to do this. 

I smiled at Miroslav and squeezed his shoulder. “If anything goes
wrong. Leave. You know the route and Renee will come and help you.” I tried to
sound as confident as I could. “You got a lot to do, so make sure you stay
safe.”

Miroslav pulled me into a hug. “I will not leave. It is not in my
heart to do so.”

“You sound a lot like me, kid.” I squeezed once. Blubbering wasn’t
going to help.

“You ready, Miranda?”

No, she looked all kinds of green and sweaty. I guess it wasn’t
much fun having morning sickness all day long. “Let’s get you an’ Jed Jr.
through this to safety.”

Miranda tensed and touched her stomach. “You must think I’m a
loser.”

“Why?”

“Look at me. I can’t even do the one thing I was good at anymore.”
She motioned to her stomach. “What kind of mother will I be?”

“A good one.” I took her hand. “One who saved her classmates by
playing through the pain.”

“Miming.”

I smiled. “Either way it still hurts and you haven’t so much as
thought about going back on your word.”

Miranda shrugged a nonchalant teenage shrug.

“So no, I don’t think you’re a loser.” I handed her the violin and
bow. “It’ll be an honor to share a stage with you.”

She took the bow, tucked her hair behind her ears, and nodded to
me. “Let’s do this.”

I nodded to Miroslav, who gave the thumbs up to us both, and we
headed out onto the stage. Owens smiled and disappeared beyond the footlights.
I couldn’t see much beyond the lights so I hoped she was taking a seat.

I hoped. 

It took fifteen minutes to play the
Chaconne
. I hoped Renee
and Frei were ready, because I didn’t think being fashionably late would be a
lot of fun.