The Countdown

Suspicions and Deviations

Kota's POV

I pushed my glasses up for the eighth time in the past hour and leaned closer to the laptop. Four hours. I'd been going over data for the last four hours and had come up with exactly zero flaws in the soulmate system. No reported flaws on any social media sites, forums, groups, or anything of the like.

But that's not all I've checked, I remind myself and sit back again in my chair. Leaning closer to the screen isn't going to make the mistakes jump out at me any more than sitting the right way will. Mostly because there are no flaws. The creators did a perfect job. So how was the technology glitching after so many flawless years?

The question nagged me, making me want to pull at my hair in frustration. Which I had done. Exactly fourteen times since I sat down two hours ago from my bathroom break. I took a deep breath and looked at the collage of photos over my laptop, on the bulletin board that I'd had Silas put up last spring.

1..2...3... I counted each of the guys in my group four times. The girl, Sang, had to have done something. She must have done something to the system because the numbers didn't add up. The possibility of her getting more than one soul mate is ... the number is too small to calculate, much less her getting five and counting.

The odds of this girl getting five plus soul mates, and all of them being in my close knit group of friends is not something that's even a possibility. Nothing like it's ever been recorded in the history of the Countdown process.

I can't figure out which bugs me more, the fact that she's got five of the men I consider brothers wrapped around her finger, or the fact that she's defying all the rules and there's no way to even prove it. The worry for my family, my team, my brothers, it overpowers my curiosity for the girl.

"Well I think I'm going to go to the store before heading home, you want anything Kota?"

I shake my head automatically. One, jerk to the side, and then the other.

"I'm okay Sean," I murmur and shut down my computer.

He nods and stands up in my peripheral vision. He'd crashed at my place after the family meeting, and was just now waking up.

"Okay, don't work yourself too hard alright?" he ordered in a happy tone, "I'm sure there's a reason to all this madness," he laughed cheerfully and patted my shoulder.

With a nod of agreement I shutdown my computer and spun around in my chair in time to catch him looking down at the clock imbedded in his wrist. I didn't need to look at it. I knew he had about forty five minutes... and twelve seconds before he met his soulmate. I had about an hour and a half before I met mine.

Something clicked in my head, and I looked up at him, putting on a fake smile, "No problem doc, I need to help my mom around the house anyways."

He nodded, distracted by the dwindling time he'd waited his whole life for. We'd all decided to just go about life as normal, nobody could really prove that us remaining guys would be hers. The guys who'd met her stayed separate from those who hadn't met her, and nobody talked about the her watch.

It was easier to keep the biases out that way. My suggestion of course. Gabriel didn't listen and somehow he got Victor to agree to a shopping trip. He was in trouble for it, but after the stunt I'm about to pull I think I'll let him off the hook for his deviation to the plan.

Sean walked down the stairs and I stood and walked over to my closet to change. After I pulled on a clean shirt I combed my hair without looking in the mirror to confirm that it was as frazzled as I felt. A few deep breathes and a glance out the window to make sure Sean had already left and I was grabbing my phone and shooting off a text. Sean was supposed to meet his soulmate before I met mine.

Kota: Is she at Luke's with you and Gabe?

Victor: And Luke. Why?

Kota: Making sure where everyone is at.

Victor: I think North is at the Diner, not sure about everyone else though.

Kota: Thanks Vic

Victor: No problem. See you tomorrow?

Kota: As planned.

I tucked my phone in my pocket and grabbed my keys off the hook. I was about to meet her before Sean. I was going to meet her before my timer went off. The pattern's about to be broken. Or at the very least my entire team won't be hers to claim and break at the drop of a few words.

Inside my car I wondered if this wasn't such a good idea, but as I pulled into Luke's driveway I shrugged off my worry and walked up the front steps. thirteen... fourteen... fifteen steps to the front door, and one twist of the doorknob, then I was inside.