Computerized

Chapter Twenty Six: Eavesdropping

"Ty I have something to tell you." I intertwined my fingers with his, giving his hand a gentle-and hopefully reassuring squeeze.

His dark blue eyes stared into me, I could feel the harshness of his gaze. It wasn't an interrogating stare, more of a concerned one. "I'm listening," he said.

It hadn't occurred to me that explaining this story might be difficult. "Um, Matthew didn't leave, he was taken by Anton's boss. I don't know who Anton's boss is, but they are dangerous."

Ty's eyes widened, his mouth hanging open. I almost laughed at him but realized that wouldn't be appropriate under the circumstances. He blinked a few times, as if his brain was slowly processing this information and storing it away.

"Wait. You're telling me Anton is a traitor?" Ty asked me.

I shrugged. "I guess in a way. He was in an awful mood a few days ago and he pinned me against the wall, threatening me."

Ty clenched his jaw, his eyes darting from place to place. "He threatened you? How? What did he say?"

"He said that I couldn't tell anyone about it or Matthew would be the one paying for it. He showed me a picture on his phone of Matthew tied up," I answered.

Ty blew out a breath and swallowed. I noticed he did that when he was trying to contain his frustration. "Why would they kidnap Matthew?"

I shook my head in response. "To get to you and I." My voice was barely a whisper. It killed me to admit that Ty's kidnapping was my fault. But it was true, and that was tearing me apart.

A warm arm snaked around my waist tightly. Ty pulled me in close to him so that my head was resting on his shoulder.

"Why do they want us?" He asked.

"I honestly don't know. Anton had said he was being forced to work for this person who wants us but he never said why his so called 'boss' is doing this."

Ty made a grunting noise, and ran a hand through his messy dark hair. I found my thoughts drifting to Hannah. We had to tell her. What kind of sister would I be if I didn't warn her about her evil boyfriend?

Sure Anton was trying to help us, and he said he didn't have a choice in any of this. But what he did in the hallway that one morning wasn't an act. I could tell that was purely him, and it wasn't someone I'd want my sister to even know, let alone date.

I sighed. "We have to tell Hannah."

Ty nodded and slipped his hand into mine. "Yes, we do. How do you think she'll take it?"

"Hannah is one of the strongest people I know, mentally and physically, but when someone you care so much about stabs you in the back its hard to get over. So, I don't know." It was true. Hannah was incredibly strong. She'd done and endured things most sixteen year olds couldn't even imagine going through.

Hannah had stuck by my side through the ups and downs of our lives no matter what and I loved her for that. She had been bullied when she was in third grade by a couple of boys. At first she'd ignored it but when they started to try to physically hurt her, she kicked their sorry butts. Needless to say, they haven't ever tried to talk to her again. I don't think they even make eye contact.

And, one time when I was fourteen and she was thirteen, a boy was bothering me. He'd wanted me to go to the dance with him but I'd said no and he wouldn't stop pestering and pressuring me to go. So, Hannah took the matter into her own hands. She never told me what had happened. All I know is that boy was suspended for a week and hasn't ever bothered me again.

Hannah could handle a lot and I admired her. That is why I wouldn't let her continue to fall in love with Anton. She'd only be hurt more in the end and that would be my fault too. I could handle hurting any more people than I already had.

Ty's deep voice shook me out of my thoughts. "Did Hannah really beat up a couple boys when she was eight?"

I laughed. I hadn't realized that I was letting him hear my thoughts. "Actually she was seven. She started taking self defense and karate after that."

Ty cleared his throat. "Remind me not to make her mad," he said.

"Don't worry. I won't let my little sister beat you up baby." I chuckled, and despite the circumstances, it felt good to smile. It felt like ages since I'd last laughed.

****

"Focus on that part of the room Rebecca. I know you can do it," Mike encouraged.

For the past half an hour I had been trying to hear the conversation that Kyran and Xavier were having. My chip was suppose to give me superhuman senses, and I'd experienced it before but I couldn't control it on my own.

"Mike, could we please take a break. I'm starting to get a headache," I complained. Mike frowned, his bushy gray eyebrows squishing together.

"No. We can't take a break until you are able to eavesdrop on those two idiots."

I sighed but closed my eyes and searched for Kyrans voice. At first it sounded like before. All I could hear was a jumble of different voices and sounds. But a few seconds later I caught Kyrans voice and I zoned into what he was saying.

"-was the best score I've ever gotten," he said.

"And she beat it?" The second voice was slightly muffled before I was able to focus and hear Xavier more clearly.

"Yeah. I hate to admit it but she crushed me." Kyran and Xavier laughed.

"I-I can hear them! They are talking about a score to some video game!" A grin broke out on my face.

Mike patted me on the back like a dog but I was to excited to care. "I knew you could do it. Was I right or was I right?" I rolled my eyes at Mike. "Now keep working on that. Practice from different distances," he instructed.

I nodded my head and tried listening to Whitney and Bert's conversation but got bored and confused very quickly. They were talking about science and it wasn't one of my best subjects in school.

I'd been thinking about school lately. It was going to be starting in three weeks. Would this all be over by then? I doubted it. Even if it was, our lives would never be the same again. We didn't have a place to go back to anyways.

When things were normal, school was a big part of my life. I wasn't one of those people who studied 24/7 and freaked out if they got a B, but I liked to know I was going to be working somewhere other than a fast food restaurant or gas station when I was thirty.

Before Jack had lost his job and money, he'd been a successful man and his children's grades were of upmost importance. Matthew and my adoptive father had gotten into many fights over wether Matthew should stay in and study or go out with his friends.

I wondered what we'd do if we missed school this year. It was my last year, and I had always planned on finishing high school but my life had never gone according to plan. Maybe I could take a program to learn from home.

But right now, school didn't seem to be at the top of my priority list, of anyone else's for that matter. The only schooling that was important was the kind that helped us master out abilities. The only thing was, my abilities wasn't the most important thing right now.

The most important thing was finding Matthew and staying safe.