Super Secret | Half Hero Book 2 [ON HOLD]

Chapter 13: Fight or Flight?

We watched each other silently, Varun and I. He was regal as a jungle cat and just as difficult to read. The only thing betraying Varun's collected exterior was the flutter of his pulse, which hammered on my conscience. Even the unflappable biotech genius was nervous when it came to me. It would be funny if it weren't objectively terrifying.

"Do you know why I need this cane, Ella?" His voice carried on the slight breeze rustling the shrubberies lining my mom's privacy fence.

I waited a moment, figuring this had to be some kind of Jedi mind trick to get me to confess to the video. 

"I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis ten years ago, just as my company was taking off," he answered, taking a few steps forward. "Personally, it was devastating. To be betrayed by my own body, it felt like a fate worse than death for me."

"I'm so sorry," I breathed, gulping against the severity of the future he was facing.

"Don't be," he continued, nodding to acknowledge my wretched apology. "It was Arujn that helped me see my illness as an opportunity to help others. I am using my education and assets to change the outcome. To fight even when others said it couldn't be done. I've managed to stop my diagnosis in its tracks, and one day, I will reverse it. There may not be a cure for what I have, but I refuse to feel helpless."

"That's pretty impressive," I murmured, unsure of what else to say.

Varun made his way over to a low bench in the shadows and eased himself down. He glanced up at pallid glow of the nearly full moon, considering something.

"One of my private jets was hijacked carrying a shipment for Project Scion," he remarked lightly. "I was able to track the signal to Venezuela, but it disappeared from there. The department has been slow to give me updates, as you can imagine."

"Galen never said anything about that," I blinked at the sudden change of subject.

"I suppose it shouldn't surprise me," Varun couldn't seem to help the dark humor that saturated his expression. "That seems to be how the department handles its affairs. It happened the night we were celebrating Valentines at your mother's house."

Trailing my fingers over the watery surface of the stone globe fountain, I wandered over to one of the bulging whicker chairs. It gave me the time I needed to ponder before planting myself in front of Varun. That explained why Galen was late getting me to my first day with the science-squad.

"Why are you telling me about this?" I asked, shaking my head and shifting my weight uncomfortably. "My mom doesn't want us to get involved in this stuff."

"But we are already involved, Ella," he insisted in his steadfast manner. "I believe the group that absconded with my equipment, and the men who attacked the building where you are staying, are one and the same."

"So?" I challenged, my memory flashing back to the rudimentary lip tattoos I'd found. "Isn't that exactly the kind of thing Galen's supposed to handle?"

"I'm not inclined to trust anyone, really," Varun replied holding my stare. "The only people who knew about my shipment, are myself, Galen, and a few of the scientists on Project Scion."

The floating chair shuddered as my entire body erupted into a chilly shiver. If I was picking up what Varun was putting down, this was very bad.

"You think there's a mole in the department?" I could barely whisper the words.

Galen may not have found a hostage because there wasn't one to begin with. He had access to security footage, so he was probably aware of the potential leak and kept it from me on purpose.

"I'm not certain," Varun bobbed his head. "Not yet."

"What was on that plane?"

"A prototype for a portable proton accelerator," his explanation was so nonchalant that I had to double check if he wasn't messing with me. "Why they attacked the building and what they plan on doing with that proton accelerator, I don't know."

"But it can't be good?"

"Exactly," he nodded dutifully.

This was far worse than I'd imagined, but perhaps it was just as awful as I should have foreseen. Like failing to cross your legs while exiting a car in a short skirt, we had been exposed to some pretty hairy stuff. No wonder Galen didn't want to tell me the truth, it was all proof that he didn't have a handle on the project, or his people.

"When the attack went down," I dug into my shoe to pull out the smart watch that had been marinating in my sock sweat for the past four hours. "I found this."

For the first time since I'd met him, Varun appeared taken aback. I'd been planning to hide the thing somewhere in my mom's house, but giving it to him meant we might be able to access the data inside.

I tossed it over gently for Varun to catch. "You should probably take it so I don't get caught with it, and maybe let it air out a little."

His eyes widened momentarily before narrowing in deep thought while he turned the thing over in his hands. I'd never noticed it before, but Varun's fingers shook (infinitesimally) when he was concentrating on something.

"Thank you for trusting me with this," Varun said, leveling his eyes with mine. "It could be a valuable key to the answers we need."

"Hey," Aaron's voice carried over our whispers as he clomped over the paving stones. "Time to go, Ella."

My brother's guilty expression was a dead giveaway and I shot him a stern look while Varun painstakingly got to his feet.

"Hey!" Aaron hissed over his shoulder as we made our way into the house. "I posted it, now what?"

"Well, we wait, twat-lice," I smiled over the gnawing sensation eating my guts. "And we try to act like normal people. C'mon, I want to say goodbye to mom."

Galen didn't escort me home, which gave me plenty of time to quietly panic about my situation while I pretended to doze. 

Whoever this C.E. group was, they were after whatever the government was hiding. If Varun could gain access to the smart watch, we might be able to crack this case before the government, which would give me some major bargaining power.

While Varun snooped, I could only hope the badly lit video that Aaron helped me produce somehow got to the Man in Black. 

If Galen wasn't going to help me, then I was going to fight to change the outcome myself. 

Ohhhh, so Aaron posted the video and Ella is making her own decisions on who to trust. I sure hope this doesn't blow up in her face.