The Skylar Experiment : Dead Ending (second draft)

Chapter Forty-Seven - Alliance

LUC

I SKIPPED THIRD PERIOD to meet Raymond at the borders. He hated the small-town life and I couldn't rely on his nonexistent patience. If given the chance, he'd storm off to a new state, or so I liked to believe. Now that he knew about Lauren, I couldn't predict his actions, but maybe he'd still ditch the area. The first time hadn't seemed to pose a problem. The second time shouldn't be any harder. 

Either way, I couldn't afford to waste the opportunity. 

The car was parked on the side of the desert road. He leaned against his Audi opposite from me, fists in his pockets and wind whipping his hair. Personally, the impulse to fight him had subsided. When we assessed each other, I understood it had also drained out of his system. We had primary concerns to tend to rather than ourselves. I wish I had time to kick his jolly ass nice and proper, but it'd have to wait. 

"I talked to others," he  announced. "I heard more about what's going on here."

"So you know the full story?"

Raymond sighed. "Sure do. I think every community is going into paranoid mode."

"Yeah, our town's one big clusterfuck as of late," I said, sliding a hand through my hair. Oakwood had become a circus for disasters.

"I can imagine." He rubbed his palms along his jeans, straightening. "Now, where were we before you... oh yeah, smashed my skull into the wall?"

I snorted. "You begged for it. Should have kept your mouth shut."

Amusement lit up his mischievous gaze. I never thought I'd come to him for help after all these years. But here I was in the obligation to endure the lord in the flesh, the sublime emperor of imbecility. 

He worked along the lines of engineering and mechanics, mostly to fix and rewire electrical devices, replacing materials. He performed with computers just as skillfully, which deemed him a vital asset to Freecore because of his rare flexibility. 

I pulled out the melted bracelet Jeremiah handed to me and offered it. The black metal sucked the light of day, staying mat. 

"I need equipment and to work on the wiring. I don't think I can reproduce the opening and shutting mechanism."

Raymond flipped the bracelet under several angles. "How does this thing work?"

"If one of us wears it, it has the same effect as the wavelengths. I think it triggers them when it latches around a wrist and starts functioning."

His forehead crinkled. "Why do you even want to fix this shit?"

I planted my boots in the snow, unaffected by the subzero temperature. I felt my clothes chill, but it was cooling rather than icy. Around us, the bleak cornfield rustled in the gale. Months ago, just a few miles up the highway, hunters had chased Riley using this path. 

I'd rather not spread my reasons and potentially spoil my advantage. 

"Just in case something pops up."

"You don't intend to use it on somebody, do you?" he said, offended.

"No, of course not." I shot him an offended look of my own. "Can you fix it?"

Raymond tossed the heavy wristband into the air where I caught it. "I've never worked on this type of device, but I like a challenge. It should keep me busy." His steely eyes narrowed. "In all seriousness, what happened to her—Lauren? I visited Heather while in town and it doesn't bode well. Did you find anything?"

I wanted to bang my head against an elm. Of course it didn't bode well, she abandoned us on purpose and motivated a mob with her name on it. I meant nothing to her. No shit, Ray. 

"I still don't know how she got away or why the organization is frozen. She won't break."

He nodded gravelly. "You said it was an emergency. How important is this bracelet deadline?"

I stared at the damned object, estimating how long the upgrade required. It had to be done asap so I can gain an edge. An ability inhibitor might shift the odds in my favour. "More than you know." 

Raymond stuck a finger to his lips. His head bobbed distractedly for a moment. "You see, I can't accept your bargain, man," he said, and I frowned. "Not until you tell me exactly what you plan with this. You have that face."

"What face?"

"That face where you're about to do something incredibly stupid. I'm talking twenty on a scale of ten."

I jerked my chin at him. "You don't know shit."

The leather jacket cracked when he folded his arms and bent forth. He crossed his legs at the ankles. "Really? You think after more than a decade around you, I can't tell what's going on in your mind? Don't lie, man. Ben told me about your stunt at school with the NIO agents." 

"You went to Ben!?" I fired him an corrosive glower. First Heather, then him. What, now he will investigate the entire goddamn town to confirm my intentions? Shit, I better hide Waffle. 

"The guy can't keep a secret. We all know that."

My fingers itched to blast an electric discharge up his ass for going behind my back. Moreover, Ben hadn't warned me that he spoke to Raymond. He looked at me for a minute, guessing my thoughts again. 

"I'm just doing the mandatory homework before I accept your deal. I have to know all the specifics. You either spill it and get my help, or good luck with this bracelet alone." He stopped, noting the annoyance seeping out of my pores. "Trust me, I want to help. But I'm not some elf you can boss around, and all I ask of you is to be honest." 

Fucking hell. Alone, I could kiss my advantage goodbye. If this clown rejected the deal, then... I was categorically screwed. It was my last hope to extricate the truth from my sister and figure out a solution. The advance it could give me was immeasurable if the circumstances called for it. 

"Fine. But if you tell anyone, you're dead. And I'm only telling you if you agree." I waved the cuff in the air. 

His eyes flashed with interest, and I could tell that he didn't want to cave in first. Too bad, because he'd never hear my idea from Ben and company. They didn't know about it. Split between Riley's fragile state, the whirlwind of Lauren's return and NIO still waiting for an answer, I wasn't sure who to turn to. I was not a child that needed protection. I needed to take matters into my own hands. 

A vehicle vroomed by, stirring the layer of slush on the asphalt until it grew out of sight. I held my silence, ticking a brow. Raymond sized me up through slitted lids.

He muttered words under his breath, then cursed. "You want digital print recognition installed on that thing or not?"  

A broad smile carved my face. 

❃ ❃ ❃

Tsk, tsk, will these two ever learn to tolerate one another? For better or worse, Ray and Luc are now a team. Any idea on what they'll prepare for together? 

It also seems that whenever Riley and the others are going through something, Luc is off on his own and, ofc, not answering the phone. I wonder what's going on at the school right now...