Little Dove | Daniel Hayward

25.

"Hey guys," Hayley greets us as she enters the old biology lab. "Sorry I'm late, Aspen was watching me."

"When isn't she watching you?" I scoff, folding my arms.

Daniel nods in agreement, "that girl has some serious issues."

"Show us what you got," Hayley says to Max, who opens his laptop.

Max nods enthusiastically, "at first I didn't find anything. I removed the felt from underneath the knight, nothing. I scanned it and then I used a Geiger counter to check for isotopes 'cause you can-"

Jackie cuts him off, "okay okay. It took you a long time to get the clue, can you show us?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Max apologizes before continuing. "So then, I checked the other knight, and I found an encrypted microchip with a video on it. Emma made a movie the night she left the Greenhouse-"

"Max," I cut him off. "Can you show us the video, please?"

He apologizes once again before turning to his computer and turning on a video. Emma's face appears on the screen.

"Max, I lied to you and I'm so sorry for that. I don't have much time but I have to tell you everything I know, even though it's only these bits and pieces," she says.

"Anyway, on the day of the satellite launch, the reason I was late to your picnic was because I was busy hacking into the NASA servers."

"Impressive," I mumble under my breath as Emma continues.

"I helped bring down the satellite and I did this all from your laptop."

"What?" Hayley's eyebrows raise in confusion.

Max stutters for a moment, "my- my laptop can access encrypted sites that normal laptops can't. I showed it off to Emma to impress her."

"Bad idea," Jackie comments.

"It was Jason Osmon who told me to do all this. He told me he was working with the government on a classified project but I know he's lying. He never told me they were gonna shut down the satellite. And when I found out, I confronted him and he threatened to kick me out of the Greenhouse. I knew this would break my parents' heart so today, when I tried to call NASA and tell them everything, Jason said he would turn me in. It was his word against mine," Emma explains, sniffing every so often.

"Poor Emma," I say sympathetically before turning to Brooke. "You okay?"

She stays silent for a moment before nodding, "I'll be fine. It's just hard to process."

Emma continues, "I am so ashamed, Max. I couldn't risk my parents finding out, so I agreed to leave. I don't know who he's working for but I know he's not alone. Please be careful Max, trust no one."

The video ends, leaving us in shock. Alex is the first to speak, "okay you guys now realize this is criminal. We have to go to the police."

"With what evidence?" Hayley asks.

"With this!" Alex points at the video. I shake my head, "come on Alex, you heard Emma. It's his word over ours."

"Why would my brother do this?" Brooke asks in disbelief.

"Because he's working with my mom," Daniel sighs. "I saw the way she looked at him when Max called. I just know they're in it together."

"All we know is that it has something to do with my mom's research," I groan, laying my head in my hands.

"What was your mom's research about?" Jackie asks.

Alex, Hayley and I glance at each other before Alex talks. "She never really told us."

"It was very top secret," I finish Alex's sentence.

Daniel finds a website on his Louie that reveals information about what my mom studied. After a quick yet intense discussion, we come to the conclusion that they had something to do with the earthquake.

"You don't think my dad is working with them?" Brooke asks, frowning in concern.

"I don't," Hayley replies. "But I also didn't think that about Marcus, or Judy, or Jason."

"Or Eric," Alex says.

Brooke's face lights up, "of course! How could we miss that?"

"He said he took you to the station. Did he really?" Alex asks.

"He took me to the cave. He took me to Marcus," she announces.

"We have to ring dad," Alex picks up his Louie and dials dad's number. No answer.

I pick up my Louie and try. No answer.

Hayley tries aswell. "He's not answering me, either."

"Do you think we're too late? Do you think he got to dad?" Alex asks.

I shake my head, "our dad's clever. There's no way Eric can get to him."

"We're not crazy, right? We're not just imagining this," Jackie asks, searching for some clarification.

"We know something terrible is going on. We just don't have anyone to turn to," Brooke doesn't bother to hide her disappointed.

Daniel slams his hands on the table, making me jump. He shoots me an apologetic look before speaking up, "that's it. I'm going there."

"And where are you going, exactly?" I ask.

"To the cave," he responds. "I'm gonna stand there until they let me in and I'll tell my mom I know all about her."

"There's no way you can do that," I grab his arm, but he pulls away. "She's a liar and a manipulator, you know she'll deny it."

His eyes turn into thin slits as he glares at me, "do you have a better idea, Lexi?"

"No, but you're being reckless and impulsive which is way worse than any idea I can come up with," I snap back, folding my arms stubbornly.

Daniel steps forward and Alex finds himself instinctively standing in front of me. "I may be reckless and impulsive," Daniel says. "But you can't judge. You're an arrogant know-it-all who thinks that just because she lost her mom, she's suddenly immune to criticism."

My eyes widen in shock as everyone stares at Daniel, trying to process what he just said. I glare at him, not allowing my eyes to fill with tears.

Alex raises his arm, presumably to punch him, but Jackie grabs him. "Emma's right," she says, trying to change the subject. "We can't trust anyone."

I meet Daniel's gaze and notice how much regret fills his eyes. His eyebrows furrow apologetically but I shrug it off and walk over to Brooke.

Hayley's Louie chimes. "Is it dad?" Alex asks. Hayley shakes her head, "no it's Leo."

"What does it say?" I ask, trying to take my mind off of Daniel's cruel words.

"He wants to talk. Alone," Hayley says.

"Absolutely not," Alex and I say in sync. Hayley ignores us, "I'm going."

"Well then, I'll go with you," I try to follow Hayley but she stops me. "No. I'll be quick."

I look at Alex in desperation but he just shrugs. With a heavy heart, I give in. "Stay safe."

With that, she leaves. Daniel walks over to me. "Lexi I-"

"Not now," Brooke interjects, taking my hand. "We need to discuss something important."

He looks at me, his eyes filling with desperation. I tear my gaze away from his and follow Brooke to the corner of the room, leaving him behind.

———————————————–