The Only-Live-Once Society | Book 2

Chapter Fourteen

Vince and I sit shoulder to shoulder in Mr. Goldsmith's office. We stare at the man in front of us, waiting for him to speak.

"I'm going to be frank with you both, next week we are holding a ball."

I gawk, "a ball?"

"Yes. A ball."

I shuffle in my chair. "I thought that was the sort of thing that happens in, like, The Vampire Diaries or something?"

Mr. Goldsmith, despite himself, laughs. "Yes. I suppose you're right."

There's a silence whilst we awkwardly sit there, then Vince says, "I don't understand what this has to do with us?"

Mr. Goldsmith looks at him for a moment. "Queen Elizabeth School is going to be joining us."

"Oh." Vince says.

"Oh?" I question.

"That's my old school."

Realisation. "Oh."

Mr. Goldsmith's voice is monotone as he says, never looking away from Vince, "I understand there was some trouble with one of the boys?"

Vince shifts and coughs. "Yeah."

Goldsmith's eyebrows shoot up. "Will this trouble continue?"

"I don't think so." Vince says plainly. "He wanted my girlfriend. I no longer have that girlfriend."

"I see. And that was cause for-" Mr. Goldsmith picks up a piece of paper and reads out loud. "'Almost snapping his neck'?"

Vince shrugs, completely unfazed. "He threw the first punch, I won. I think any school that teaches children how to fight shouldn't be pissed when they act on it."

Mr. Goldsmith clears his throat. "Right. Okay. We also teach discipline."

"Yeah. But if someone wants to fight me over my own girlfriend, you can't blame me for taking him up on it."

Mr. Goldsmith blinks. "Vincent. Will there be trouble?"

"No." Vince says, grinning. "Not with that turd anyway."

I laugh.

"Right." Mr. Goldsmith nods. "I'm holding you to that. You must behave."

"I will."

Another silence, so I ask, "Why did I need to come?"

"I wanted to check with you both that you've told no one about Mrs. Gateshead?"

I say, "Of course not." At the same time Vince says, "No."

"Good. It is imperative no one knows. We have no idea who to trust, and she's to remain a decoy."

Vince sits up straighter, "Not much of a decoy, is it? Amelia has already been attacked within these four walls. It doesn't seem like Daniel cares much about the bioweapon anymore."

"We have intelligence that says his father has been recently occupied but is making his way back to England. I can imagine once he's here, then Daniels crusade against you both will be put to bed."

Vince's face falls. "But that's just a guess?"

What if they are coming for me because they know my head contains all the information they need? As far as I'm aware, only Elijah and I know. But what if we weren't as slick as we thought? What if everyone knows? Then there would be no need for the hard drive. They could just take me.

I don't say any of this though, because what if Vince and Goldsmith can't be trusted either? What if they tell someone about the lack of a need for a hard drive? Then what? I become and even bigger pawn? It strikes me as strange that Daniel is still coming for us anyway. Is his lust for revenge that strong? His ego that small? He can't handle us escaping him? Seems ridiculous for someone to take over a terrorist organisation who is that fragile.

"Yes." Mr. Goldsmith says. "That's just a guess."

I don't feel reassured, and I hate that there is no plan. There is nothing to secure my future. Mere guesses and hopes. My parents are dead, sometimes the gravity of that hits me like a tonne of bricks. Sometimes, the grief of it feels like it's going to drown me. It's deep and vast like the ocean. The pain like a thief breaking in each evening. Then I wake up and my day goes on. Like nothing happened. The world doesn't stop spinning, life doesn't stop happening.

And there is no plan.

The only course of action is I finish school, and then what? Go into the field? Work for the Mi5? Doing what? All whilst a terrorist organisation is after me. Who knows about it? Who is aware? Where does the buck stop? It's my life and I know very little about how to control it.

I open my mouth to voice all of this, but I take one look at Mr. Goldsmith and I know he won't give me any answers. Someone else who views me as a shaky little lamb, unable to think or protect herself. Yet I have. Repeatedly.

"When can I see my mum?" Vince asks, cutting into my thoughts.

"I was worried you'd ask that." Goldsmith clasps his hands together and rests them on the table. "The short answer is not for a while. We really must get the situation under control. I think once Robert Snyder has touched down on English soil and we have more of an idea of what's going on."

"That could be months."

"What would be better? A few more months without your mother, or you both dead?"

I don't jump to my feet and tell him that his plan makes no sense. That he can sneak into the tunnels to see his mum if she's here anyway. That their current plan hasn't stopped Daniel from coming for us, why would it change anything now? I sit there, stoic and silent.

Vince slumps back in his seat, "Fine."

Mr. Goldsmith nods at him and then looks at me. "Are we clear? You're not to tell Elijah nor Grace about Gateshead."

I stare at him. "We were clear last night. Elijah knows nothing."

"Good. The fewer of my students Daniel will want to torture, the better."

Images of Elijah being tortured flash through my mind, and a shiver runs down my spine. That sentence is enough for me to not want to tell him. Not ever. I may not remember what the torture was like, but I've seen the look in Vince's eye when he talks about it. I remember my bruised and battered body, how long it took me to get back to health. I never want that again.

"You may leave."

We stand in unison, Vince leading the way out.

Once we're far away from Mr. Goldsmith's office, walking across campus Vince asks, "Do you trust him?"

I take a while to answer. "I don't think I trust anyone."

Vince doesn't react. "That seems fair."

"Do you trust him?"

"No. But I don't think I trust anyone either. I'm not sure I can trust my own mother."

"No," I say. "That must be incredibly difficult."

Vince shrugs, "I think it's probably better than if she were dead."

I wince.

"Sorry."

"No. I suppose in a way it's true. Though, if she turned out to be traitor, I'm not sure you'd feel the same."

"No, I probably wouldn't." He kicks a stone. "Are you going to tell Elijah about my mum?"

"No."

"For what it's worth, I think you should. He's never given you reason to doubt him. Don't start now."

Then he does what Vince always does - he walks off, leaving me to ponder his words.