‘Lila, what’s taking so long?’
‘Nothing. I’m here.’
I ran down the stairs. Jack was hovering at the bottom, an impatient look on his face. I was running late because I’d only fallen asleep as dawn was breaking. It was ten in the morning now and though I’d had about four hours of sleep, it felt like only five minutes, all of it restless and filled with ugly dreams.
‘Let’s go,’ I said, smiling at him and walking through the door into the garage.
The car, I noticed for the first time, was an Audi. It was sleek and black and glossy and I wondered how he’d paid for it. I stroked along its side. I wasn’t that into cars but this one I could covet.
‘Nice car,’ I said, as I slid into the passenger seat. We were heading to the base. Jack was popping in to do some work – what I wasn’t sure – and I was meeting Alex. We were going for a run and I planned to use the time to convince him to walk away, back off, stop looking for my mum’s killers. I’d beg and plead if I had to. I’d be more convincing than last night. I wouldn’t let his hands or his eyes or his voice distract me. We’d be running. I’d focus on the road.
‘It’s a company car,’ Jack said, turning the key in the ignition.
I refocused on Jack. Cars. We were talking about cars.
‘The military pays for seventy-thousand-dollar cars now? Taxpayers must love that.’
‘One hundred twenty with the modifications and yes, the taxpayers would be fine if they knew why we needed them.’
‘What modifications?’ There were no spoilers. No go-faster stripes. Not even any flashing lights.
‘It goes a bit faster than the speed dial admits and it has a few hidden features.’
I guessed he wasn’t talking about heated seats. I’d have a play with some of the buttons when I was next in it alone.
Jack pressed a button on his key chain. The garage door eased up over our heads, letting in a wash of bright sunlight. The windows were tinted but I still pulled the visor down to shield my eyes. A laminated card fell onto my lap. I turned it over and saw it was a picture of Jack. He looked a little younger, more tired around the eyes, and thinner than he was now. United States Marine Corps was indented across the top and then, in finer print underneath, Stirling Enterprises: Special Operations.
The thing that caught my eye though was the word before his name: Lieutenant. I was peering at the rest of the information when Jack snatched it from my hand and tucked it into his side pocket as he accelerated out of the driveway. The street was empty but for a few parked cars reflecting the sun like a row of mirrors.
‘Lieutenant Jack Loveday?’ I said. ‘That’s good, right? That means you’re in charge?’
‘Depends on how you look at it. And no, I’m not in charge – there’s a whole load of ranks above LT. But I am a team leader.’
‘What’s Alex, then?’
I wanted to know whether either of them outranked the other. That would be really awkward.
Jack paused. ‘He’s the same,’ he said. ‘He runs another team, though. He’s Alpha team and I’m in charge of Beta.’
‘OK, so it’s a little bit more organised than the A-Team, then?’
He laughed at my amateur description. ‘Yes, a little. There are three teams in our unit. Each has eight men at any given time.’
‘That’s small, isn’t it? I mean, twenty-four men isn’t many.’ I was a bloodhound, sniffing for clues.
‘Twenty-four men is a lot.’
I nodded as if I understood. ‘But it’s not that many for dealing with drug traffickers.’
He let out a hoot that I assumed was mirth. ‘What on earth made you think we were dealing with drug dealers?’
I crossed that one off my list grudgingly. It had been my best guess. ‘Well, you said you needed to be near the border. And then you have this really cool car, which maybe you could use for undercover work.’
He was still laughing at me.
‘What’s so funny? I could really picture this car belonging to a drug dealer. I’ve been living in south London, you know. I have first-hand knowledge of the type of cars drug dealers like to drive.’
‘First-hand?’ A smile was pulling up the corner of his mouth.
‘You know what I mean. I put two and two together.’
‘And came up with three. Lila, we don’t do anything to do with drugs. That’s what the FBI and the DEA and the police are for.’
‘Oh.’ I pondered that as he steered us onto the freeway. ‘Well, you won’t tell me anything so I have to infer from the clues you give me. Next time I’ll guess vice.’
‘And you won’t just drop it?’
‘Maybe. After you tell me I might.’
He shook his head and floored the accelerator. I looked behind, expecting to see tyre marks on the road. Instead I saw a black SUV hugging our bumper. Its windows were tinted and I couldn’t see the driver, though I could make out a blurry square shape behind the wheel. Jack veered suddenly into the fast lane but the car stayed on us as though we were towing it.
‘Er, I don’t mean to be paranoid,’ I said, ‘but there’s a car right up on our bumper.’
‘Yes, I know,’ Jack said calmly, veering back into the middle lane. I checked over my shoulder, but the SUV was still on our tail. ‘It’s OK, it’s one of ours.’
‘What?’
‘It’s one of ours, it’s been tracking us from the house. I had it stationed outside since you told me about Suki paying us a visit.’
‘Why are you in and out of the traffic then like you’re trying to shake it?’
‘I’m just messing with them. Keeping them on their toes.’
‘Hang on a second. I don’t get it. Why is the car following us? Why isn’t it staying at the house if you’re trying to catch her?’
‘They’ve been relieved by another car. These guys are following us back to the base.’
I turned to face forward, feeling an icy blast hit me from the air-conditioning vent. I flattened the shutters and concentrated on the fact that we had an armed escort. I wasn’t sure whether that made me feel better or worse.
When we took the turn into the base, Jack held up his card to be checked.
‘Don’t worry,’ he said, ‘they’ve already run a background check on you, so you’re fine to come inside.’
Oh crap. How much of a background check? I wondered what they had found.
Still, it couldn’t have been too bad, because only a few seconds later two Marines carrying enormous guns waved us through the checkpoint.
Minutes later, Jack pulled up outside a modern-looking two-storey building. It was all dark glass and steel, completely incongruous with the other low brick buildings we’d passed. There were no doors, I noticed, just what looked like three giant glass cylinders. As I peered closer, a man in blue uniform appeared suddenly in one of them, looking just like a GI Joe toy in a cellophane box. The window of glass slid open and he stepped out into the sunshine.
Jack was already out of the car, walking around to my side. He opened my door and I stumbled out, my eyes still on the sci-fi building and its test tube doors.
‘It’s high security,’ Jack said, as he saw me staring.
‘Yeah, I figured. I’ve not seen that at Walmart.’
A spitting roar broke the air and we both turned to see a red motorbike pulling to the kerb behind Jack’s car. The rider raised a hand in greeting then pulled off his helmet. My mouth dropped open. It was Alex. And he was grinning from ear to ear.
Alex rode a bike? Since when? And, more importantly, when could I have a go on it?
As I stood there, swooning, he threw his leg over the body of the bike, unzipped his jacket and took a bag from out the back pannier, locking the helmet and jacket up in its place. This was the third time I’d seen him in as many days but still I remained staggered and slightly light-headed every time I saw him. The sinewy solidness of his shape made my heart beat like I’d drunk ten espressos washed down with a vat of cola.
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He loped over to where we were standing.
‘Ready?’ he asked me.
‘Yes. I just need somewhere to put my bag and then I’m set,’ I answered, not able to prise my eyes from his lips.
‘OK, give it to me. I need to go change. I’ll leave it in the locker room.’
He took my bag and breezed through the sliding glass tube. I watched him disappear into the gloom.
I wandered over to the motorbike and read the word Triumph on the side. ‘How long has he had it?’ I asked Jack.
‘No. Over my dead body.’ Jack’s expression was hard.
‘What? I didn’t even ask that. I asked how long he’s had it!’
‘You are not riding this bike. Or any bike, for that matter.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because, Lila, need I remind you of the number of times you’ve tried to copy us and have almost died as a result?’
He was talking about the time I almost drowned swimming the three-hundred-and-fifty-metre diameter of the lake in pursuit of them. I rolled my eyes. ‘I was nine and I could easily have managed to swim that distance, I just hadn’t expected it to be quite so cold.’
‘I wasn’t even thinking of that. I was thinking of the tree you tried to climb in Grandpa’s backyard. And, hmmm, what about the sledging incident we all so fondly remember?’ He continued his lecture, giving a big sigh. ‘At some point in your life, Lila, you’re going to have to realise that you can’t keep up.’ He was staring at me like a lawyer who’s just presented a winning argument.
It needled me just as much now as it had when I was nine. ‘And at some point in your life, Jack, you’re going to realise that I’m not a child anymore. I might be five years younger than you but that stopped being an issue a while back. Anything you guys can do, I can do too.’
I moved on quickly. ‘Anyway, I wasn’t even suggesting that I rode the bike on my own. He could give me a ride.’
‘Whatever. It’s not happening in this lifetime. I told Dad I’d keep you safe and the Alex you know is not the Alex who drives that bike. He’s not known to respect the speed limit.’
Now I definitely wanted to go on it. The thought of having a legitimate excuse for wrapping my arms around Alex meant I couldn’t have cared less about the danger, even if it meant almost certain death.
‘Shouldn’t you be warming up?’ He was almost as good as Alex at distracting me.
I sighed and started stretching out my hamstrings. ‘What are you doing while I’m being put through my paces by Lieutenant Wakeman?’
He smiled at the description of Alex. ‘While Lieutenant Wakeman is drilling you, I shall be going through some paperwork and following up on some leads.’
‘Suki-shaped leads?’
He tilted his head at me in wan amusement. ‘Possibly.’
Alex emerged from the building at that point and I lost my train of thought. He was in running gear this time. Marl grey shorts and a white T-shirt that proved my earlier theory about his body. He was perfect. He knelt to tighten his shoelaces and the sharp pain in my shoulder alerted me to the fact I was still holding my stretch. I let go and started to rock back and forward on my toes, flexing my calf muscles.
‘Ready?’ he said, looking up at me through his gold-tinged lashes. His eyes were dancing blue.
I took in a big gulp of air and nodded at him.
‘Let’s go, then.’
Jack waved us off and walked into the building.
9
Alex let me set the pace, which was lucky as my sprint could barely equal his casual jog. I fought the temptation to look at him, keeping my eyes fixed on the far less appealing stretch of shimmering tarmac ahead.
He led me through a couple of back roads lined with identikit houses until we came to a footpath that led along the western perimeter of the base. We didn’t talk much. I was mulling over the questions I had for him, wondering where to begin. Once the footpath opened out Alex slowed his pace to run beside me. The ground was uneven and once or twice I careered into him and he had to reach out a hand to steady me.
‘Watch your footing,’ he said. ‘I don’t want you breaking your leg out here, I don’t have a sledge to pull you back.’
‘Hah hah,’ I answered, while picturing myself falling over and twisting an ankle just so Alex could carry me back. There was quite a lot I’d suffer to be that close to him.
I dragged my mind back to the task at hand and asked my question. ‘Why did they do it?’
Alex kept running, staring straight ahead. I waited. He very slightly lengthened his stride to pull ahead of me. I quickened my pace to keep up.
‘If you know who they are, Alex, surely you know why they did it.’
Again, nothing, just the sound of our feet hitting the ground like thunder. I cast a glance towards him. His face was stony. He was pulling ahead again. I reached out and grabbed his arm. I wanted him to slow down. But he actually stopped completely instead. I pulled up sharp, still holding him. He shifted his body to face me and I let go.
‘Do you know?’ I said.
‘Yes.’
‘Then tell me,’ I demanded.
We were standing facing each other on a narrow track, there were low shrubs in the cracking earth and a few trees here and there but we were out of sight of any buildings or people.
‘Lila, what I tell you has to stay between you and me. You have to promise. I’m betraying Jack by telling you. He wouldn’t forgive me easily. But I think you deserve to know some of the details. I can’t tell you everything, so don’t push for more than I’m willing to give up.’
I lifted my chin and watched him carefully, trying to read his expression.
‘Come on, let’s go over here.’ He turned and walked a few metres to a boulder lying just off the path. ‘Sit.’
I jogged after him then lowered myself to lean against the rock. He stood over me and I had to tip my neck right back to see him.
‘You asked me yesterday who killed your mother. I can’t tell you that. But I can tell you why.’
I sucked in a breath. Alex paused, concern flickering across his face. I nodded at him to go on. He hesitated a fraction of a second, then said, ‘Your mother was killed because of what she knew.’
I stared at him. We were both motionless. ‘I don’t understand – what did she know?’
Alex took a breath. ‘You know what your mother did for a job?’
‘Yes, of course.’ Why was he asking me this? ‘She worked as an adviser.’
‘For who?’
‘For some old senator.’
‘Actually, she did more than just that.’
‘Sorry?’
‘Yes, she was a political adviser. But she was also investigating something on behalf of homeland security.’
‘What – why? Why would she be doing that? My mum didn’t know anything about security. She was an adviser on political issues – she worked on environmental stuff.’
‘I can’t give you details. The information’s highly classified.’
I ground my teeth. ‘Just tell me what you can, then.’
Alex frowned at me, his eyes pleading for leniency.
‘She discovered something about a group of people –’ I could see he was struggling to censor the information. ‘She discovered something that could have had enormous ramifications for the government. Not just for government but for the public too, for everybody.’
Now it was my turn to frown at him. ‘You sound like the script of a bad B movie.’
Alex bit his bottom lip. ‘I realise how this must sound.’
I raised my eyebrows at him a little more.
‘Lila, just listen and then make judgements.’
I tried to lose the sceptical face.
‘Your mum discovered something. And it was enough to cause the people she was about to. . . expose, shall we say . . . to kill her.’
It took a minute for the words to sink in. I played with them, trying to move them around like an an
agram in my head, my mind riffing on the same checklist as before – drugs, corruption, organised crime – but making no sense. What could she possibly have discovered? It all sounded so absurd.
‘What did she discover?’ I asked.
‘I can’t tell you.’
If I heard him say that one more time I thought I might start unconsciously throwing things – not that there was anything much to throw out here, unless I tried uprooting a tree. Then the rational part of my brain suddenly burst into action, and my heart reacted by stuttering wildly.
‘But, Alex, if Mum discovered something and was killed because of it . . .’ I almost couldn’t finish the sentence, ‘. . . what about you and Jack? If you know it too – what about you?’
He gave me a half-smile that faded into nothing. ‘You don’t need to worry about us, Lila.’
I stared at him, wondering whether he realised how crazy he sounded.
‘Have you told the police? Shouldn’t you be telling someone? The FBI, maybe? So they can do something?’ I wasn’t leaning on the boulder anymore, I was standing looking up at him, shouting. ‘If you know who killed her and you know why – why aren’t you involving them? Why aren’t you leaving it to the professionals?’
Alex was looking at me and his half-smile returned again. I didn’t get it.
‘Lila, what do you think we are?’
I was confused.
‘Jack and I are professionals. We’re more highly trained than the police and the feds. We have better equipment and more intelligence than any other government body. We’re using all that to help us find your mum’s killers.’
Now I had stepped into the realm of disbelief. But just as I was about to open my mouth to say something sarcastic, a shadow fell across his face and I saw him differently, as a stranger might. Not as the Alex from my childhood but as Lieutenant Wakeman. It was like those pictures of dots that you stare at until the hidden image leaps out at you. He was actually intimidating to me all of a sudden – like he’d just grown another six inches.