The clock’s ticking reverberated against the wood-finished cabinets and porcelain tiles, filling the quiet kitchen with a rhythmic beat. The time read five minutes past seven in the morning. All four of them sat around the sturdy center table of the kitchen area awaiting their boss. Despite the uncomfortable silence, none of the three next to him decided to speak to one another.
After agreeing to work for Betty yesterday, he had gained a lot in terms of necessity. It was only during the tour with Olivia that he learned the old woman owned the entire apartment complex he was now living in. How there had been an unscathed building left in Nova City, Nole had no idea, but he didn’t ask questions.
Like a savvy realtor making her rounds, Olivia made sure to show Nole and Suri around the entire building. According to her report, twenty-three tenants inhabited the property, not including him and his sister. Betty occupied her own room, as did Zane, while Olivia and Valerie shared a double. Similarly, Betty gave Nole and Suri their own double suite, also provided them with full access to food and utilities.
During his time with her, Nole made sure to get as much information out of Olivia as possible. Through his subtle means of inquiry, he was able to find out more about his new neighbors. He learned that they were all close to the same age. Olivia was the youngest at fourteen, while Zane was the oldest at seventeen, and Valerie was in the middle at fifteen. Olivia’s nervous aura prevented her from going into specifics, but she did share that they had all encountered Betty at a low point in their lives. Nole decided he wouldn’t dig into their pasts because he didn’t want them digging into his.
Besides, he knew it was unnecessary to inquire about their families, as Betty seemed to be the closest thing they had to a relative. Even Burt clung to her whenever he wasn’t latched to Suri.
Nonetheless, it was somewhat comforting for Nole to hear that he wasn’t the only one who had experienced difficulty early on in life. The fact that they had stuck with Betty for so long indicated that they had no other options to try.
Given the information, it seemed as though Betty’s offer to Nole wasn’t as outlandish as he’d originally thought, but even so, he couldn’t ignore the fact that she was connected to the murderous boy he’d reluctantly saved a few days ago. Not only had he racked his brain trying to come up with answers to their mysterious connection, but darker thoughts had also crept into his mind.
If I hadn’t saved that guy, would Murphy be alive right now? Is it my fault?
Although he had had the makes of a perfect night’s sleep, he didn’t get much rest at all. As a result, he found himself nodding off at the table; but quickly snapped his head back upright to avoid having to be lectured again about his critical need for sleep by Valerie.
In addition, he tormented himself by thinking about Caden, and Murphy, and his mother, and the memorial that never happened.
“It’s okay,” Suri had said before climbing into her new bed. “We can just have it when Caden comes back.” Although he appreciated Suri’s innocence, it was going to take more than optimism to find his brother in Nova City, not to mention clear his name and find Murphy’s real killer. When asked about and how she was feeling after the abduction, Suri put on a brave face and acted overly content to the point where he knew she was lying.
There was also a clear indication that something was wrong when she conveyed a lack of disappointment when telling her that she had to steer clear of the city; not even complaining when he mentioned that they wouldn’t be visiting the fountain any time soon. By that point, it was clear to Nole that she was afraid. My brother’s missing and my sister’s scarred.
Lost in thought, Nole realized that Valerie, Zane, and Olivia were staring at him, and possibly had been for some time now. He sighed and tapped his finger anxiously on the table to ward off the fatigue that tugged down at his eyelids.
“Where is she?” he complained, his tapping growing louder with annoyance.
“She should be down soon,” Olivia answered, a tinge of edginess in her voice. She seemed jittery by the way she was glancing at him. Despite the fact that they were all around the same age, he quickly learned that they were anything but similar.
When he attempted to get to know Olivia the day before, she was frantic with her answers; as if she were being tried for murder. By the end of their conversation, all he’d really learned was her age and that she had been working for Betty for last three years. She didn’t mention Valerie or Zane’s history with Betty, and although he wanted to know, he didn’t want to push his luck with the anxious redhead.
Since making the deal, he was determined to tell them as little as possible about any of his business; especially his secret investigation of the mysterious boy. Their knowing him was reason enough to make Nole distrust them. In the back of his mind, he was sure Betty was as suspicious of him as he of her, but for the time being, he had to follow through with the agreement, even if it meant putting on airs.
Sneaking another glance, he caught Valerie, sitting upright with fingers intertwined on her lap, looking at the clock while Zane glared at him from across the table. He felt Zane had had it out for him since they first met in the cellar, when they had fought - if that was a proper way to describe Zane’s beating him up. Even just admitting it to himself gave Nole a bitter taste in his mouth.
During their conversation the night before, Suri confirmed that Zane had rescued her while Olivia was inside the shack assisting Nole. Her description of Zane’s fighting prowess seemed a bit exaggerated, especially when she acted out the moves he made in an animated manner, but in the back of his mind, Nole didn’t completely doubt it. He also kept in mind the words Betty had uttered in the hallway – “Even though he didn’t kill your friend, he’s definitely capable of it.”
When it came to Olivia, Betty, and especially Zane, Nole decided to keep his distance. The only one he felt he could moderately trust was Valerie. She was the only one who seemed to care about Nole and his siblings’ well being, though he was aware that she was the medically savvy one of the group, so technically, she had to care. He also kept in mind that her kindness could be an act; that Betty could have instructed her to make him comfortable while they continued with the rest of their grand scheme. However, he had sensed genuineness in the sympathy she had showed him.
The clock in the kitchen read a quarter past seven when Betty finally entered the room. For an older woman, she dressed young for age; wearing jeans that wrapped snugly around her slender legs and a tank top that accentuated her boney arms. She carried with her that day’s newspaper and made a beeline for the coffee maker.
“You said we were meeting at six-thirty sharp,” Nole grumbled. He could smell the aroma of fresh grinds filling the room.
“I decided to give you some time to get to know everyone a little better,” Betty responded, her back turned to him as she pressed the buttons on the complicated machine. Nole sighed, detecting her unconvincing excuse. “Olivia, here’s today’s paper.” She tossed the folded newspaper at Olivia who, to Nole’s surprise, caught it with a fast reflex of her arm.
She laid it flat on the table for everyone to see, but only Nole and Valerie analyzed the piece before them. Zane on the other hand, caught a passing glimpse and slouched back in his chair, crossing his arms.
The large font of the front cover piece grabbed their attention: “Vandalism of City Square Fountain” with a large photo of the graffiti-ridden fountain displayed underneath. The most shocking part of the story was the graffiti itself, because covering the marble structure was an array of parallel lines. No way, Nole thought.
“I didn’t think the Paras would stoop down to small-time vandalism,” Olivia commented, stroking her long ponytail.
“What else do you see?” Betty asked, turning towards them with her mug in hand.
“The photo is time stamped with today’s date,” Valerie jumped in. Nole’s eyes shot to the small font on the bottom right border of the photo, which had that day’s date and a time that read 04:47 AM.
“Correct,” Betty said, taking a seat in the empty chair between Zane and Valerie. “They were awfully lucky to find a front page story so late. My guess is that they had a tip.”
None of this mattered to Nole. Sure it was interesting news, and he knew Suri would care, but all he wanted to do at that moment was flip to the obituaries and put his mind at ease. However, he had made a plan for his approach, and he knew he had to stick to it in order to have any success.
The only thing that had motivated to get out of bed was finding his brother. Today, he thought to himself, Caden I’m coming to find you. Waking up that morning, he told himself he would do as he was told and get on Betty’s good side. By analyzing all of the information he’d come across, he knew Betty wouldn’t throw Suri out on the streets if he looked for Caden without her permission. Not only had she taken Zane, Valerie, and Olivia, or so he’d heard, she was the one who offered him to stay at her place and even sounded worried when she thought of them going back out onto the streets.
The room fell silent as Betty chugged down the steaming coffee with ease. “In any case, the fountain has been taped off for now, and won’t be turned on until the investigation is closed.”
“Doesn’t look like there’s much to investigate,” Zane muttered under his breath. Nole actually agreed with the sentiment. The fact that an investigation was being carried out with such blatant evidence was a little excessive in his opinion.
“Regardless, you know how the Chief of Enforcers feels about that thing. Not to mention that fool of a mayor is also on board, so there’s no turning back.” Nole caught Betty eyeing him over the rim of her mug. “He’s not dead by the way,” she said bluntly. “At least according to today’s paper.”
Ignoring the fact that she’d read his mind, Nole surprisingly felt relieved to hear the news. He wasn’t surprised by the relief, but at how he trusted Betty’s words. She wouldn’t lie. Not about this. “But,” Betty continued, ending Nole’s brief release from anxiety, “it seems you still can’t catch a break.”
Lurching for the paper, she flipped it over and revealed the second story on the front page: “Major Witness Comes Forward to Identify Murderer”. He noticed the others were looking at him in his periphery, but kept his eyes on the article. I don’t have to defend myself to these people, he thought. Nonetheless, he skimmed the article, informing himself of the mystery witness who had identified him from the sketch. Although Nole’s name wasn’t disclosed to the media, he could deduce the Enforcers knew his name at that point.
In addition, he read that Jett Maddox claimed to have been making progress as well. The Captain Enforcer disclosed that his deceased uncle had no enemies he knew of, and that his murder appeared to be a random act, instead of a premeditated one.
Valerie cleared her throat, prompting for Nole’s attention as he saw all eyes on him.
“Will this affect our job?” Olivia asked, redirecting everyone’s attention.
“Possibly. You need to be more alert now that the Enforcers are on full duty at City Square.” Nole became fed up with the secrecy.
“Why am I here?” he snapped, eager to go out into the city.
“Glad you asked.” Betty gave him a lopsided grin. “It’s really quite simple. You just go do a few odd jobs for me.”
“Odd jobs?” he asked.
“How do I put it?”
“It’s like running errands,” Valerie clarified.
“Errands,” he repeated with skepticism.
“Really dangerous errands,” Olivia jumped in.
“That sounds about right,” Betty concluded. “So there you go.” She rose from the table and the others did the same. He must have been looking at them with an expression of puzzlement, because Betty sighed in exasperation; as if what they were saying and doing made perfect sense. “Listen, these guys have already been briefed on a job, I mean, errand.”
“What about me?”
“Go with them. Back them up.”
“What do I do once we get there?” he asked, annoyed with her vagueness.
“I believe in learning on the job. Don’t worry, I’ll babysit your sister in the meantime,” she replied with a smug grin. She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes, anticipating a refusal, but he bit his tongue. If he were to think cynically about the situation, he could have sworn she was doing everything in her power to prevent him from going to look for Caden.
“Okay.”
Raising her head and uncrossing her arms, she accepted Nole’s response and walked out of the room. Zane and Olivia followed without so much as a glance his way, but Valerie lingered.
“It’s not really as bad as you’d think,” she comforted before going to join her companions.
Waiting until they were an appropriate distance away from the kitchen, he reopened the paper, flipping past the main article, and saw that Caden’s name wasn’t in the obituaries. She was telling the truth. An audible sigh escaped his mouth as he stood from the chair and made his way to his new coworkers.
When they all made it to the front door, he noticed Valerie was the only one that was carrying a small knapsack. Zane, Olivia, and Valerie filed out of the doorway as Betty watched.
“Good luck,” she said, her tone noticeably more serious. Nole threw her a forced smile before joining the others, giving her the false impression that he was going to act according to plan.
Here I come, Caden.