Chapter 7 (Suspicions)
Nikolay couldn't get Keres' tattoo off his mind. Not because he found it sexy but because he was sure he had seen it somewhere else but couldn't remember where. He paced about his room chewing on his finger nails.
"Where have I seen it? I'm sure I've seen it somewhere in school" he said
"Ian! Yes Ian has the same tattoo in between his fingers!" Hallelujah! For he remembered where he saw it
"Are they just siblings or some sort of cult members?" He thought to ask her about it but remembering the slap she landed him he threw the thought away.
"I told you already, the allegations are not true!" he heard Diego ranting over the phone. He walked out and listened to the conversation. He had to hear for himself what his Father was plotting again
"How can you say there are not true when the evidence given is clear? The only thing you can do right now Diego is admit your crime and apologize saying it was a mistake. Because no matter how much you try to deny it the parents whose failing children were kicked out of the school would file law suits against you. They could use this as an avenue to dig into your mess and find other things to put you down with again. Admit you lost this fight Diego and bring back those children that were kicked out and start over" The caller said. Diego wasn't ready to hear that
"Darn it! I'm never apologizing to those peasants" Diego said
"Well, it seems like you would" Nikolay said walking out of his hiding place
Diego turned towards him. He was surprised he had been listening to his conversation
"You would end up apologizing to those so called peasants, because Dad, there's no way out of this one. The public has gotten hold if it and I don't need to remind you of how scary the public is" he said and walked inside
Nikolay wasn't the only restless one after the tattoo sighting. Keres was too. She knew he had seen the tattoo and she was sure he'd definitely be inquisitive about it.
"He saw it, Ian. He saw the tattoo"
"Really? I thought you were so good at covering up your tracks but obviously, you aren't" Ian said taking off his shoes in the room
"Ian, I'm really serious. He even touched it"
"Really? Then, maybe he found it sexy"
"Ian!" she screamed in frustration
He laughed at her. He felt glad he wasn't the one messing things up
"Do you want Father to hear? Keep it down" he said
"Haha, very funny" she said
"Well, Hunter said to meet later. Since the school is on temporary lockdown, we can attend the meet" he said
"Even if it wasn't on lockdown I'd have still figured out a way to leave school" she said
"Belly ache again? Dude, forget it, no one would believe you ever again. And besides, part of covering up our tracks is always attending school no matter how much we hate it not to arouse suspicion" he said
"Why are you lecturing me today?" she asked
"I don't know but it seems like you need one after Nikolay saw your tattoo" he said
"Oh, Legend asked us to meet at Nikolay's house for a group study" he said checking his phone
"Tell them we can't make it. You remember Hunter asked to see us, right?" she said
"You're right. I'll send a message to the group chat" he said
"Anyway, why did you decide to use your time after you got your freedom to do something like this?" he asked
"I don't get you" she said dropping the book she was holding
"You have been training and working as a mercenary for over eight years and you finally got the freedom I'm sure you wanted so why waste your time doing something like this?" he asked
"Waste of time? Are you quoting Nikolay now?"
"No, no I'm not. If it were me, I'd have lots of things to do like dating, visiting amusement parks, I'm sure you haven't been to one" he said
"That's the problem. I'm not you and even if I have a lot of things to do with my life, family comes first" she said
"Family? You have one? When can I meet them? Wait, are you doing this for money so you can provide for them?" he asked
"No you ass!" she said and threw the book at him
"They are the reason why I'm doing this. The battle they couldn't fight, I want to fight it for them. My twin" she broke down in tears
"Oh" Ian said suddenly feeling remorseful
"You too can cry? I thought you were a rock" he said
"I didn't know you had a twin, is she sexy? Like you?"
"Dead. She's dead"
Nikolay's Mom had rejected the idea of him calling his friends over for a group study. Diego was in no mood to welcome teens and their chit chats. The Police were on his neck, shareholders had begun to complain and his stock prices had plummeted. Nikolay couldn't see reasons with him. His friends were in no way responsible for the damages so why?
"Why? Is he angry that it's because of students like us he received bribes and he's losing company shares because word got out?" Nikolay asked
"Nikolay, meet your friends at a Cafe or something, okay. It's not happening here" his Mom said and walked out. His Mother and ever loyal wife to his Father had given her orders. No friends allowed in the house. He texted the rest to meet at a Cafe instead of his house.
She stepped out of the bathroom in a black leather jacket, black jean and a black face cap. Keres had always had an amazing body proportion. While training as a mercenary she always had the males flocking around her. Now, it was Ian's turn
"Wow!" he exclaimed
"What?" she asked
"Nothing, but Father John might think we're attending a funeral" he said
"I've only got black clothes" she said throwing on her boots
He dragged his eyes away from her body and fixed them on his phone. A text came in from Hurricane. They were at the venue
"Keres, Hurricane texted me now, they're already at the venue" Ian said
"Oh, I'm coming!" she said
"And Nikolay changed the venue of the group study to a Cafe and not his house" he said
"Good for them" she said nonchalantly
"Do you even like these guys?" he asked
"What kind of out of the blue question is that?" she asked
"When we're at school with them you act like you you like being around them but when we aren't you're like you don't care" he explained
"Do you like them or do you not?" he asked
"I don't care" she said and walked out of the room
"Weirdo" Ian said and followed her out
The Priest walked up to them for a quick inspection.
"Hello father" she said
"Here we go" Ian groaned knowing it was time for their interrogation
"Why are you putting on black?" he asked
"Oh, it's a dress code for a gathering" she said
"What kind of gathering is it that has a dress code like this?" He asked
"It's a school thing, a protest for them to open the school again" Ian stepped in
"Alright. The peace of God be with you" he said making the sign of the cross
"Amen" they muttered and tried to walk away
"But, Ian why aren't you dressed in black as well?" he asked stopping them
"I'm not protesting, I'm taking her there" he said
"Okay, go on" he said and walked away
"You lied like a thousand times to a Priest!" Keres said
"I didn't lie, I bluffed. And you're the one who's bad at lying"
"Dress code? What kind of organization will a high school student belong to that would warrant her to dress in all black?" he asked
"After you scolded me for not knowing how to cover my tracks you're the one being so obvious" he said. She didn't utter a word word to him and turned around and began to walk away
"Wait up! Are you angry?" he asked
"No, but I can't bear to listen to your crap again" she said
"Sorry....." He said
"How long are we going to walk, big sis" he asked placing his arm around her shoulder
"Are you tired already?" she asked
"Exhausted" he said
"You're so lazy. Fine, let's wait here for a cab" she said standing by the road
His phone began to ring. "Emma's calling" he said
"Hello"
"Where are you?" she asked
"I'm at the church, but don't come because the Priest is here" he lied
"Really?" she asked
"Yeah" he said
"Can we meet up?" she asked
Keres snatched the phone from the his hand and ended the call "Stop lying. It sucks" she said and sat on the bench waiting for a cab
"Yes baby"
Nikolay and the study group walked down the road headed for the Cafe. The sun was burning their skin and the only thing Ray needed was a cold glass of lemonade and an air-conditioned room. They weren't making any progress in locating the Cafe and he thought Nikolay was enjoying seeing them in pain.
"Nikolay where exactly is this Cafe?" Ray asked
"We're almost there" Nikolay said
"That doesn't answer the question" Ray said
"I hate walking" Sandra complained
"Want a piggy back ride?" Oscar asked
"Are you hitting on me?" she asked
"Oh God!" he groaned and walked ahead. Legend spotted Ian and Keres bickering by the other side of the road
"Hey, it's Ian and Sal" she said
"Where?!" Emma asked
"Over there" she said pointing towards the other side of the road
"I thought they said they were in the church and couldn't find time to come?" Oscar asked
"Let me call him" Emma said pulling out her phone
"Hello" he answered
"Where are you?" she asked
"I'm at the church, but don't come because the Priest is here" he said
"Really?" she asked
"Yeah" he said
"Can we meet up?" she asked
They saw Keres snatch the phone from him
"He lied" she said
"Why are they lying?" Ray asked
"That's not our business, let's go inside, I can see the Cafe" Legend said
"He lied. Ian lied to me" Emma said
"Sandra, take her in" Legend said and walked on
"You guys go on, I'll catch up later" Nikolay said
"Where are you going to?" Oscar asked
"Bathroom" he said
"There's a bathroom in the Cafe" Ray said
"I don't go just any where" Nikolay said and walked away
Nikolay walked behind a stall and waited for the others to enter the Cafe. As soon as they went in he crossed to the other side of the road and began to walk up to Keres and Ian. The duo flagged down a taxi and got in while Nikolay followed in another. After an long ride, they got out of the taxi and walked into some kind of abandoned construction site
"What the hell are they doing here?" He wondered
Ian and Sally turned and seemed to look around to see if someone was watching and Nikolay hid behind a block
"Shoot, I almost got caught" He groaned as he hit his shoulder against a boulder
"Come on" he heard Keres' voice. After a while he stepped out from behind the rock and found no one there
"What's going on?" He asked himself
His phone began to vibrate and he got it out of his pocket
"Where the hell are you Nikolay?!" Legend yelled over the line
"Geez..." He said taking the phone away from his ear
"Calm down" he said placing it back
"What kind of a guy goes to the bathroom for over an hour? Do you have a leaking bladder?!" She shouted
"Legend, people are watching. Stop shouting" he heard Ray say
She sucked in breath. "Where the hell are you?" she asked somewhat calm
"Something came up, I had to leave" he said
"Oh, something came up and you didn't deem it fit to call us and let us know? Screw you Nikolay" she said and ended the call
He searched his call history to find fifty missed calls from them
"Ah....." He exhaled and sat on the rock
The people in the Cafe stole glances at Legend wondering how a young girl could utter such words. They weren't the only ones amazed though. Ray and the others had nothing to say to her. They just watched her try to calm down after her outburst
"Seriously Legend? Screw you?" Sandra asked
"Nikolay's so annoying. Always trying to get people to notice him" Legend said placing her books into her bag pack
"He does this at school and now here? This meeting was a waste, we spent all our time wondering were he went and then Sally and Ian on the other hand lied to us for a reason we don't know. Everything is screwed up. I'll read on my own" she said and walked out of the Cafe
"She's pretty angry" Emma said
"She's kind of scary when she's angry" Oscar said
"But seriously, what's Nikolay's deal?" Ray wondered as they rounded off their reading
"So, what's the next plan?" Keres asked
"We have to finish this. We're going to find all the evidence we can get to prove to everyone that the displacement was caused by Diego Enterprise and that no compensation was made to the family of those who lost their lives during the peaceful protest and instead were tagged as criminals" Hunter said
"Just tell me what to do and I will get it done" Keres said
"The school" Mrs. Peters said
"Oh God, not the school again. We need something better than the school's bribery story" Keres said
"She's right. If we keep capitalizing on that people aren't going to listen to us" Ian said
"Look, I don't know why we are even looking for evidence and going with the law. We know who caused all this, we know where he lives. Ian and I single handedly got in and out of that bastard's house without getting caught so why don't we just go there, find him and end his shit?!" she asked
"Because we aren't Diego" Hunter said
"Diego Enterprise did that exact thing to us. They got into where we lived, well technically they didn't kill us but they took away our home. If we do the same thing to them then what are we fighting for?" he asked
"We are trying to stop them from hurting other people so we can't begin to be the bad guys. More than anyone, I want to personally put a bullet in Diego's head but I can't because I'm trying to change this place. And if you want change you'd have to start with yourself. And you can't do that with the mindset you have, so for now we're going to carry out the plan without you" Hunter said
"What?! No, you've got to be joking" Keres said
"The only instincts you have is to take something or someone down and I don't blame you because that's all you've been taught since you were a kid. But we can't let you go on with us knowing you have that in mind" Hunter said
"We called both of you here to tell you that. So, continue to go to school, both of you" he concluded
"Wait, why am I included? I didn't do anything" Ian said
"Yes, but you're going to have to stay with Keres" Hunter said
"I can't believe this" Keres said looking at him
"Ian and Keres stays out of this so we have to work really hard" Hunter said
"Make sure to protect her" he told Ian
"I don't need protection if that's what you're afraid of, Hunter" she said getting in front of Ian
"I handled fine without a Mom, Dad or sibling and I'm doing great on my own as you can see so if you're worried about that, there's no need" she said
"That's not it, Keres" Hurricane said
"Then what is it? Why the hell are you taking me out?" she asked
"Keres, you've spent your entire life doing something like this and we don't want you to continue your life like this. Let someone else fight your battles for you" Silas said
"Someone like who? You?" She asked
"You have no idea what my battles are" she said her voice quivering
"Hunter, you know the reason why I came back to North Valley. Please let me do this" she said holding his arm
"I can't put you down that road again" Hunter said
It's for your good Keres" Hurricane said
"Silas, come on" Keres said turning to Silas
"What are you waiting for Ian, get her out of here" Mrs. Peters said
"Yes Ma'am" Ian said and lead her out of the room
"Hunter!" She called as he pulled her out of the room
"Fuck you! I hate you so much!" She said angrily
"Let me go!" Keres screamed as soon as they got outside
"Keres, it's for the best" Ian said trying to calm her
"Don't give me that bull shit Ian. What's going to be best for me is me blowing that asshole's head off" she said
"Let's go, it's getting late. Father John would be worried" he said and tried to lead her away. She pushed him off and walked away. Meanwhile, Nikolay had slept off while waiting for them to come out. A small stone rolled down the rock he leaned on and hit his head waking him up
"Shit! It's 6.00pm!" He exclaimed checking his watch
"Are they out?" He wondered peeking through a hole
"They must have left. Darn it, why did I have to fall asleep at this time" he said getting up
"Tomorrow, I'd confront them"