The Skylar Experiment : Dead Ending (second draft)

Chapter Seventy-One - Skipping Class

RILEY

FROM THE DINING ROOM, we watched Luc rummage around the cupboard, rather sluggishly, and turn to the counter with a cardboard box of herbs and a couple of candy bars. He made no sound as he dumped a handful in a spherical object, metallic and porous like a colander. Only the infuser clinked as he dropped it in a glass of warm water. 

I didn't think I've ever seen Luc drink tea.

"How's Caldwell doing?" Ben asked, his voice uncertain as he followed his friend's movements. 

Luc was highly engrossed in the gradual darkening of his water. He hasn't thrown a single look our way since we entered the cabin after Lauren left. "Wish I could say she's miserable, but she's just dandy."

"We're expecting a little more information than that," blared the voice on Devin's phone speaker. "What did she think about the tracker?" 

Luc finally snapped his gaze up as if Raymond was in the room with him. He still seemed out of it, too busy organizing his thoughts in order to explain. He took his hand off the glass and let his arms fall at his sides. 

"She showed a chart that represented the tracker's information and told me that it was bullshit--that it didn't locate Lauren." His lips stretched into a grimace, like the name itself tasted sour. "But it didn't bother her too much because she already wanted to discuss another plan--" 

"--Which is?" 

"I'm not sure how we'll stay ahead of this one... Caldwell said she's working on setting up a trap for her. She wants to use me to lure my sister so that they can capture her again, take her off the streets and prevent her from harming anyone." 

Raymond didn't answer. I imagined him walking around a living room with his phone on a coffee table, piles and piles of paperwork sprawled across the floor. None of us even knew where he lived, now. 

Luc tested the tea with a small sip. I had the stupid reflex to give a little smile, because the tension emanating from him was so thick that I wanted to help ease it off, but I knew it was pointless. Back when he told Lauren he couldn't forgive her for collaborating with NIO, it was unclear whether it meant that he'll stop protecting her. Was it the right thing to do? 

"She wants to make Lauren believe that I'm in danger." He chuckled dryly. "To be honest, I'm not sure that would achieve anything. If she's so dangerous and reckless, we're not worth the trouble. And she's too smart to not see it coming."

"Yeah, but we're still not going to let them take her... right?" 

Raymond's question made us all to stare at each other for a second. The late night and the yellow lighting of the kitchen painted our faces sallow. This was Luc's family, and his input was the most important one when it came to her. It hurt to know that he had to torment himself with this problem. I wanted to reach out and touch him, as if to make sure he wouldn't liquefy under the pressure. 

Ben squirmed in the far corner. "Come on, we can't let that happen. She'll be a NIO asset again and we'll be shooting ourselves in the foot. She's better free than locked up."

Luc placed down the glass and nodded. "You're right. And even if I don't want to have anything to do with her, I can't have the bastards do what fits their plans. It's never good for us."

"So how to we stop that?" I asked.

"All I can think of for tonight is hope she doesn't take whatever bait NIO will use. If she betrayed us once, she can do it again."