The layers of Kaid Isherwood (The 1st book in the 'Layers' series)

Chapter 21

                Lucan Ashworth's POV

The moment the SCP started talking through the computer, I could feel my frustration bubbling up. Questions were crawling under my skin like ants, each one more desperate than the last. The whole situation had my brain firing on all cylinders—mostly with things I couldn't say aloud because, you know, professional decorum and all that. But then, right when we wrapped up our interrogation and the SCP asked if anyone had anything else to say, it happened.

I lost my cool.

"What do you actually know about Kaid Isherwood?" I blurted out, my voice practically echoing off the walls. Everyone in the room froze, and I could practically hear the gears turning in their heads, like they were waiting for the punchline of a joke they didn't quite get.

"I've already told you everything," the SCP replied, deadpan, like he wasn't even trying.

That was it. That was the last straw.

I shot out of my chair faster than someone finding out the Wi-Fi was down. "That's the thing," I growled, pacing a bit, "SCP, Kaid's brother told me you know more about him than anyone else! Don't play dumb with me!"

There was a long silence from the other side of the screen.

"I can't tell you anything. He's monitoring this," the SCP muttered, and I could hear the panic in his voice. "He has stuff on me, just like he has on everyone—"

Hold up, what?

"Wait, he has stuff on me too?" I shot back, feeling my heart skip a beat.

"Uh... Yeah, but no, I—" There was a rustling on the other end of the line. A loud thump. A groan. The voice of the SCP turned tense. "Hello, Lucan. I see you're still trying to get information out of me. Well, I'll tell you one thing: I know everything. Everything, like how you have three older brothers. Jonah, Adrian, and Carter."

My brain hiccupped. "How... how do you know that?" My voice cracked, low and sharp, like I'd just bitten into a lemon.

"Well, Adrian's the one who told me to look out for you." The SCP continued, unfazed. "And I told him not to count on me. I've met him before—was during one of my many visits to the Headmaster's office."

Wait. What?

I knew about Kaid's trips to the Headmaster's office—he'd made them a lot. But meeting my brother? That was a whole new layer of weird.

"Careful, Kaid. You keep talking like that, and some people might think you've got a thing for the Headmaster," I quipped, trying to keep things light, but instead, a dark chuckle rumbled through the speaker.

"Lucan," Kaid's voice was dripping with sarcasm, "sweet, sweet Lucan. Do you really think so low of me?"

And that was when I realized something terrifying. Kaid wasn't watching any of the video surveillance. He was too busy running his mouth to us.

I whipped my head around to the room full of people, eyes wide. "Tell him I went to find something in the storage room," I whispered to one of them, who nodded like he'd just been given a secret mission.

Then I bolted.

I ran like a man possessed. Well, more like a guy with a busted leg, but you get the idea. I had a single objective: our dorm room. My heart was pounding as I slammed open the door. The first thing I did was hit the speed dial for Adrian. It rang twice before he picked up.

"Hey Lucan!" Adrian's voice greeted me, way too chipper for the kind of mess I was about to drop on him.

"Adrian, when you met my roommate... why was he in the Headmaster's office?" I demanded, already working on my lock-picking set like a man with a mission.