Shifting Power Page 12

  “Great place for a boutique I’d say.” August seemed to dodge every attempt Valerie made to complain or worry. “Hey, Caleb. Want to go with me to get a treat?”

  She opened her mouth to protest but decided against it. Nodding, she sent August and Caleb away for ice cream. They held hands and walked to the treat counter. Valerie watched and waited until she spotted a security team take up a position near where August had taken Caleb, inconspicuous to passersby. Inhale. Exhale. The two women floated into the shopping crowd.

  “Did you ever hang out at the mall as a teenager?” Valerie asked, sipping her hot chocolate.

  “No. I had a full-time job when I was fifteen. I was also in ballet, but if you tell anyone, I’ll kill you.”

  Valerie just smiled to herself, imagining her friend as a teenager in a leotard. Hyka was so much fun. Her title was personal assistant, but she really kept Valerie company all day. Besides, Courtney managed her public appearances and Lalit covered her wardrobe. Hyka screened information and kept her on schedule. She also made her laugh, despite the lack of emotional inflection in her voice. Nearly everything the woman said Valerie found hysterical.

  The boutique was not far from the ice cream shop. Lalit stood by the door, shooing away potential customers as she pointed to a sign showing she was busy.

  “Madam DiaZem, Valerie. Namasté.” Lalit bowed to Hyka and Valerie.

  They both held their hands together and returned the gesture.

  “You are glowing, mama. How is everything I have sent to you? Are they too big? You need to eat to feed that growing baby.”

  Valerie blushed. “Everything has been perfect. I’ve missed you. How is business?”

  The women exchanged a kiss on each cheek.

  “It is well. Money is no longer required, which has calmed tension with my clients. Thanks to you, I have everything I need. I tailor because I enjoy it. Now, Ms. Hyka, come. I have chosen dresses for you. If you dislike, tell me what you like, and I will make it from nothing. But you must try the dresses I pick first.”

  Hyka shrugged awkwardly. “Yeah, okay.”

  Valerie giggled. She knew Hyka had been nervous on the drive but would never admit to it. She yelled at Valerie, in her own way, when she was asked if she had a style in mind. Seeing Lalit take charge, and Hyka submit so helplessly, was a comedy.

  “Oh, you two have been through so much. My intention is to bring joy back to your mourning. I would take your place and withstand the pain for you if I could.” Lalit looked down at her hands and worked at the muscles.

  Valerie reached out and held her hand, taking the stored energy that left the muscle cramped. “Thank you. You’re always very kind to me. How are the people, Ms. Lalit? Are they civil? Kind? I see the jewelry shop across the way is taped off for the police. The Bowman girl they took into custody had ties here.”

  “The girl was just a girl. Mixed up with the wrong people and fed a belief which served someone else. I would give my shop and talents if she knew anything about what took place.” Lalit reached her renewed hand to Valerie’s face and smiled. “They don’t understand the good that comes from you. Or they do and deny it. Yes, there are the majority thankful for you and the peace you bring. They appreciate the safety you provide the General Population, and they know it’s the humanitarian thing to do. But there are others, few, but they are growing. They think we are better. They are bullies and have ugly hearts. They disrupt honest populace who are trying to make a living here.”

  “You are welcome to come back to the Facility anytime.”

  “I’m sorry for your father’s passing, my dear. I am glad you came today. We show them our strength, our solidarity with the rest. My place is here until it isn’t. Besides, I am a strong woman like you.”

  Valerie felt Lalit’s intention of love. There was a magic about her that Valerie found contagious. They shared a smile as Hyka stomped from the dressing room to a podium surrounded by mirrors. Despite her posture, the dress was enchanting; classic white and cut deep in the neckline. The style fit her form beautifully and fanned out at the waist with various lengths of solid white fabric. Hyka’s stance spoke for itself.

  “It’s gorgeous,” Valerie said, fighting a laugh. “You don’t like it?”

  “Are we going to play tennis after this? I feel like I’m next in line at the country club.”

  Lalit dismissed her with a tsk to try on the next gown. She took less time to emerge, now wearing a dress covered in detailed hand-sewn lace. Valerie recognized the meticulous work from her coronation dress.

  The sleeves started off Hyka’s shoulders for only a few inches. The neckline was deeper than the first, and a slit in the skirt boasted Hyka’s long dark leg that stopped right below her hip. The color of the dress was antique gold over off-white. Hyka didn’t smile, but Valerie could tell this was a finalist.

  “You have tattoos?” Lalit questioned. “Before, I mean. You look like a tattoo lady.”

  Valerie burst with the laughter she was trying to hold in. She clapped her hands and rocked back into her chair. Only after a snort escaped between Valerie’s gasps for air did Hyka crack the slightest of smiles. The DiaZem healing effect on Conductors kept Hyka from many tattoos, much to her aggravation.

  “Yes.”

  “Okay. You go. Next dress.” And Lalit waved her away, ignoring Valerie’s recovery.

  “That’s the one, but a deal is a deal,” Lalit said, clapping her hands as if ridding them of imaginary dirt from her hard work. “She’ll try this one on and then we are done. When will I expect to see you in that dressing room? After the baby comes? I see he came with you.”

  Valerie took a prolonged drink from her paper cup and smiled.

  “We haven’t discussed marriage. We only just started talking to each other aside from business.”

  “He loves you so. Not a day I fit him for a suit, does he not talk about you and your boy. He is unwavering. He will wait,” she said, rubbing Valerie’s arm. “The region holds its breath every day for the announcement. It will be a joyous day when you two unite.”

  Though it was too soon, Valerie let her mind wonder about which she would choose as she sat amongst wedding gowns. She was having so much fun and found herself forgetting what made her so anxious to come. Until she heard the raised voices at the front of the store. Lalit groaned under her breath and moved to escort the group out.

  “What’s going on?” Valerie could feel the static building in the common area.

  “Gangs.”

  “What kind of gangs?” Valerie pushed past Lalit, who had her hands raised.

  “They are Elitists. Privileged punks. East Region sympathizers.”

  “Get out,” Valerie commanded the five Conductors standing at the entrance of the boutique.

  Three men brandished handguns. The other two, women, held police-style batons.

  “Release the Reactance,” one woman demanded.

  “I’d sooner burn you all alive for what you’ve done. With the audacity to approach me, no, corner me with guns. You must not know what I am capable of.” Valerie took a step toward them. She heard the clicks of the safeties from the handguns. They could kill her if August did not reach her in time to heal her; or if they shot him, too. Then she remembered Caleb was with him.

  “We know well you can murder us with your mind,” the woman spat, with a notable quiver of fear in her tone. “We’ve seen you do it. Besides, we’re not here to threaten you. If you refuse to release those members of the Reactance, we’ll kill your brother on sight the next time he decides to walk among the common folk like he’s one of us.”

  “Do your worst. You’re the murderers. Lalit, get down.” Valerie coursed electricity through the five people, seizing their muscles. She ducked in time to avoid being shot from the men’s fingers involuntarily squeezing the triggers. They each collapsed to the ground, unable to move.

  With that, Valerie walked out into the mall. A group of people surrounded August. Caleb and the securit
y detail were nowhere in sight.

  Primal, maternal anger swelled up inside her. She wasn’t afraid as she hurried to where the group was, stopping only to locate her son. He was in the play area but separated from August by the crowd. She took a step to collect him, but Hyka put a hand on her shoulder.

  “Hang on.” Hyka filled her arms with mounds of tulle. She reached for her leg and un-holstered a small gun. “Okay.”

  They ran to Caleb, but four more people moved into their way, cutting off Valerie’s path to the walled play area.

  “Caleb, come here.”

  The scared boy ran to his mother. A woman reached out her hand to stop him. The rage boiled over. Targeting the woman, Valerie pulled all energy from the threat and the woman dropped lifeless to the floor. As the rest scattered like rats, she froze their kinetic energy. Valerie seized their muscles, saving heart and lung functions for necessity. Soon the crowd of twelve stood frozen the same. Caleb reached his mother’s leg and held tight.

  “You picked the wrong one to start a fight with.” She spoke loud enough for everyone in the area to hear. “He’s the nice one.” She motioned at August. “Don’t mess with my kid.”

  She waved a disgusted hand toward the lifeless woman and restored her heartbeat. As security filtered in and cuffed those involved, Valerie released their energy so security could escort them to the makeshift holding cells reserved for violations of peace. Valerie kept a firm grip on Caleb while August made his way over.

  “Change,” he commanded Hyka. “I’m taking them to the car. We’ll wait for you there.”

  He was angry. He picked up Caleb and took Valerie by the hand to the closest exit.

  “What the hell was that?” He didn’t yell or raise his voice, but the tone was less than pleasant.

  “I trusted you to watch my son. You were both surrounded. I sent a message to the Reactance. That’s what I did.”

  “A message that says you dole out death willy-nilly when someone threatens you.”

  “That’s exactly what I do. They’re responsible for my father’s death. One of them knows who’s giving out orders. No one will ever hurt my son again. I don’t think you understand.”

  “You’re fanning a flame, Valerie. A flame that could burn this community to the ground.”

  “I brought her back,” she retorted weakly, but she had no remorse for what she said or did. She would not apologize for either.

  “You don’t understand. We sit high on a hill, away from the struggles of having to figure out a new way of life.”

  “You don’t think I had to figure out a new way of life? You don’t think I know this is all my fault? I live with the guilt of not stopping Jarrett before he murdered millions of innocent people. The hate festers among them because I let him go on far too long. My father, Hyka’s father, all the General Population. Their deaths are my fault. There are countless things I want to go back and change, but what just happened in there, with those people, I will not take back.” Valerie was furious. “This is why I don’t ask for help, because you throw it in my face like I’m an over-privileged child. I wanted none of this. I never wanted you, but here we are.”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  “That’s what you said.”

  They remained silent in the vehicle, waiting.

  Hyka returned, pressed her earpiece, and said, “Can we get a team to Ms. Lalit’s boutique and relocate her back to her shop in the Facility, ASAP?”

  “Oh no, is she okay?” Valerie asked.

  “Yeah, she locked up in time. I have security at the gate, so one harasses her while she waits. She’s not safe staying.”

  “Can we have one normal day?” August sighed with his hands at his temples.

  “You want normal? Why don’t you find another woman that doesn’t have so much baggage, okay? My children will always come first, no matter what. Not these people and not you. I didn’t even want to come. This whole trip was stupid.” Then the words escaped her before she could stop them: “You should go live with Jasmine since I can manage with Jarrett’s ghost just fine.”

  “Both of you shut up,” Hyka yelled from the front seat. “You two just need to calm down.”

  “Mommy, shut up,” Caleb repeated.

  “Honey, we don’t say that. That’s not nice.”

  His lip quivered into a frown. His eyes closed as his mouth opened to a loud cry. Valerie sighed. He didn’t need to be there, but she couldn’t have left him at the hotel. Her son was just as stressed as she was; only he couldn’t grasp the weight of everything happening around him. She leaned over to him in his car seat and kissed his head.

  “It’s all right. It’s not your fault. Were you scared, honey?”

  He nodded his head through sobs.

  “Don’t be scared, because Mommy will punch all those bad people in the face, okay? They won’t hurt you. Did you like your ice cream?”

  “No! No more ice cream,” he screamed in protest.

  “Okay, no more ice cream, but I’m positive you will change your mind.”

  When they returned to the Facility, Caleb ran to Jack and gripped his leg tight.

  “Eventful day, huh?” Jack joked as they filed into the lobby. “I just come to expect at least one thing to go wrong every day. Everyone all right?”

  “These two love birds won’t stop bickering. I’d rather babysit five Calebs than sit in a car with them anymore.”

  “Geez. Thank you, Hyka. Why don’t you tell us how you really feel?” August said, trying to ease the tension.

  “I know things are moving fast,” Jack started. “We have five applicants for Hyka’s temporary replacement. I have narrowed it down to two. Do you want to interview them tomorrow?”

  Valerie looked around, confused by the announcement. “Where is she going?”

  “I imagine she’ll be on her honeymoon, Val,” August said like it was obvious, but the thought had never occurred to her.

  Her emotions were running high. Her father’s warning to keep her friends close stuck inside her mind but tagging along on Hyka’s honeymoon defeated the purpose of the time away. Denying her was out of the question.

  “Yes, tomorrow is fine. How long do you think you will be gone?”

  “One week. We’re doing a sweep for DiaZem. Consider it a business trip.”

  Valerie nodded. She could manage one week without them. She could take the time to get accustomed to her new space, with or without August.

  “I think I need to rest.”

  Valerie left Caleb with Jack and went up to her suite. When she opened the door, she remembered her things were in her new apartment. Housekeeping restored the clean space to its original hotel layout, reminding her of the beginning. The place had been more like a prison then. Her reliance on August sometimes made her feel the same. One last nap in the suite would hurt nothing. Then she would move into her new quarters.

  She felt August find her through the surveillance feed as she drifted off. He likely expected to find her in the apartment on the eighth floor and just wanted to be sure she was okay. The warmth of his attention washed over her in bed. Her legs kicked through the sheets, restless and wanting. She tried to hide a smile, but she couldn’t help herself. She took a deep breath and tried to slow her racing heart. Counting backward from one hundred until her mind settled, she fell into a deep sleep.

  She dreamt of August for the first time. In the pool. She watched him for a long while without him noticing, a luxury she didn’t have in real life. When he got out of the water, he smiled a curled smile. It wasn’t August at all. It was Jarrett. And he carried a limp baby from the pool in his arms, offering it to her with his amused smirk.

  She sat up in bed, unable to stop screaming. The lights burned bright over her. She clutched her abdomen for evidence her daughter was safe within her womb. Valerie checked the sheets for any signs of anything wrong. Hyka let herself in the room with August behind her.

  “Stop being a coward, Jarret,” August ye
lled into the air. “I’m sorry I didn’t make it sooner. The control room called me when they noticed he was here.” He sat next to her on the bed and pulled her into his arms. His embraced calmed her. He stroked the back of her head.

  “Did he hurt you again?”

  “It was just a dream.”

  “‘Just dreams’ don’t terrorize people, Valerie. Stop trying to be so strong all the time.”

  She nodded in agreement and concentrated on the rhythm of his heart until hers fell into the same pattern.

  Rain blurred the scenery from her new bedroom. The falling cloud hid the mountains in the distance. Valerie sat at the edge of the bed and watched the water slide down the slanted windows. She analyzed what happened at the mall, regretting what she said to August. She and Scott never fought, never crossed lines of saying hurtful things. He was always steady, even in her anxiousness. Sure, he did things to annoy her, but she never took a low blow at him like she had done to August. Hyka knew. Thank goodness, she stopped Valerie before she said anything else damaging.

  And Caleb had witnessed the whole thing. He didn’t understand what was happening but knew he was in danger. His outburst was just him mimicking how he saw her react. He was three years old. There was no way he could grasp how and why these things happened to him. He didn’t understand he would never see his father again.

  Valerie grabbed a pillow and hugged it to herself while she continued to stare out the window and contemplate how messed up her life was. She harnessed all the power in the world but felt helpless to do anything with it. Always another puzzle to solve.

  August knocked lightly on her door. She knew it was him. She could feel him.

  “Are you coming down for dinner?” he said, opening the door.

  “I will, but I’m not hungry,” she lied.

  August handed her a glass of water. “I’m never leaving you, Valerie. No matter how far you push me. It would destroy me.”

  “I’m so sorry I said that.” She looked down at the glass. “Caleb’s been through so much. I want him to have a normal childhood. He’ll grow up and learn about every detail, and I wonder if he’ll blame me for it. Or you even.”