33. Thea
Chapter 33
Thea
W e’ve been going around in circles for hours. No matter what options Ryker, the head of the logistics team, suggests, Alexz keeps coming up with reasons to say no. Right now, he’s shaking his head and using my trauma as an excuse for why I need to stay here longer.
“Don’t tell me she’ll be fine, when the reason I had to bring her here is that she wasn’t fine. Do I need to remind any of you that The League of the Daggered Ravens had her locked up for attempted murder, and shoved in the violent offender ward of Rockridge Psychiatric Facility, to be used as an incubator?”
Alexz has a way with words. He can be poetically eloquent or violently crass. No matter which way he delivers it, what he’s just said is true. I feel Wolfe’s gaze on me as Alexz continues. “But before we could get to her, someone moved her. It took us weeks to track Thea down to what amounted to an off-grid hospital that was a cover for a mob-run auction house.” He stabs the table and bellows, “Auction. House.”
My jaw clenches at the words.
“We all know what happens in those places. The victims are sold to the highest bidders, but the greedy bastard didn’t sell her. No . He came up with a new pricing model with a very long trial period. People got to pay and play with her before deciding if she was worth an even bigger investment. She wasn’t in a good place, mentally or physically, by the time we rescued her, so no! I don’t think she’ll be j ust fine walking back into Canyon Falls without an airtight backstory in place.”
Looking to Wolfe, he says, “They think she ran away, and playing into that narrative puts a league target on her back. It also gives Malcolm another chance to take a run at her. We need a story that he can’t refute without implicating himself.”
“Tell them I was in jail.” Eight sets of eyes swing my way. Ignoring the look of horror on assistant Number Two’s face, I say, “First of all, I’m insulted that you all think I can’t lie effectively. I can lie. I’m just very selective about doing it. But if you need a backstory, that’s easy to sell and puts Malcolm on the defensive, then we go with the truth. I was arrested in Palm Springs during my challenge.”
Wolfe shakes his head. “We can’t fake that, Thea. The League will look into it and when they don’t find an arrest report, they’ll punish you for your deception.”
“It’s not a fake story. I was arrested and booked. There’s no record of it, because Malcolm had it wiped from the system.” I point to Alexz. “I’m sure your people can dig up a copy now that it’ll be useful. If not, I have someone who can.”
He looks over at Ryker, who says, “Now, I’m offended.” I shrug and he continues, “We could use the arrest and the missing record to create a cover story, but…”
“But what?” Alexz presses.
“To sell it, she’ll need to be released from jail.”
“I’m out, aren’t I? Problem solved.”
Kendall, who’s sitting at the other end of the table, explains, “If we were trying to embed a long-term asset into an organization, we wouldn’t start with their release. We’d have them in jail, meeting people, setting up a presence under their new identity, so the release paperwork would be valid. If anyone went to the prison asking questions, there would be guards and prisoners that came into contact with the asset.”
“You’re saying I need to spend months in jail to create a paper trail?” I guess Ryker’s not as good as he thinks he is. Sasha could probably have that shit ready in hours. A few days, tops.
“Unacceptable.” Alexz snaps, turning back to the room. “Anyone else.”
Ryker says, “Not months, boss. We can actually use the shoddy record keeping of the Palm Springs PD and the well-known problem of prison overcrowding, and ineffective council to our advantage. We can paint a picture that Thea bounced around the penal system, awaiting trial all this time.”
Somewhat appeased, Alexz asks, “How do we handle the part where no one would have seen her?”
“We make them think I was in solitary confinement because of my volatile behavior. That’ll be the one thing nobody in Canyon Falls will question.”
Kendall looks mildly impressed as he says, “We use your history of fighting to our advantage. You mentioned when you were in lockup that you got into a fight with a prisoner they brought in and the guards?”
“I did.”
He brainstorms a cover story. “They put you in solitary with an order on the paperwork to keep you separated from the general population.” He nods. “And nobody but the warden and guards working that side would know who’s there.”
He looks over at Ryker, who says, “We can work with that, but I’d need Thea in custody and at a hearing to be released, because that’s the part we’ll be using to springboard her back into her life.”
Alexz tells assistant Number One. “Let’s get legal up here to see what they think.” As she’s making the call, he turns to me and says, “If this is a viable course of action, would you be able to do this? You’ll be incarcerated and I’m not sure for how long.”
“Jail has always been like taking a vacation from life for me.”
Wolfe’s jaw clenches as he says, “That’s not funny, Thea.”
“Who’s joking? I’ve been arrested plenty of times. That’s never bothered me. I can do this, as long as this time doesn’t include me being taken somewhere and tortured.”
Kendall looks up from his tablet. “We’ll have our people at whatever facility we take you to, so there’s no chance of that happening again.”
I wanna point out they had people in position before, but knowing what happened to that guy, I decide not to. These people lost a co-worker whose job was to keep tabs on me and it would be insensitive of me to insinuate he sucked at his job, when the reality is he was probably killed because of me.
Two members from the legal team show up and Alexz explains our tentative plan and asks them what other issues we need to consider, as well as the consequences we’ll face if we get caught breaking someone into prison.
I hoist my duffle bag over my shoulder as Wolfe pays the cab driver. When he’s done, he holds out his hand for mine. I’m working on allowing non-threatening touch. I know Wolfe doesn’t want to hurt me, but it’s still hard sometimes. Taking a deep breath, I press my palm against his, lacing our fingers together, as we stroll around the side of the building onto the train platform. Flying or driving back to California would have been faster, but Wolfe says he’s in no rush to get back to work, and I’m not complaining about taking the slow route back. It gives me more time to prepare.
I’m wearing my wig and contact lenses again, and we’re traveling under fake identities and have a bedroom in the sleeper section of the train that will take us to Seattle. From there, we’ll take another train down to Los Angeles, where a Phoenix agent will meet us, and drive us the rest of the way to Palm Springs.
I keep my head down as we board the train, making my way quickly to our travel car. Wolfe is a few minutes behind me. He grabs my bag, placing it on top of the storage compartment, and strapping it into place, before doing the same with his.
For the next four days, we’ll be confined to this space, only leaving long enough to use the bathroom and shower. The bathroom’s right across from us, so that’s convenient, and we’re planning to have our meals brought to the room to minimize the chance of me being recognized.
He takes the seat across from me. His long legs take up a lot of the space. Our knees bump together when he shifts in his seat. The contact is light, and I allow it.
I sleep as much as I can, knowing he’s watching over me, because I won’t be able to once I’m locked up. The walls separating our room from the others are thin, so when we talk, it’s in vague generalities, or not at all. We also play lots of checkers. The silence isn’t stifling. We both have shit we need to work out.
Deacon
Agreeing to use the cover story, Thea suggested explaining her disappearance was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I understand why she and Alexz think an explanation that most closely aligns with the truth was best. There are fewer details she has to remember, and she was arrested while completing her end of semester challenge.
We’re assuming Michael hasn’t told anyone else what happened, because Malcolm never actually intended for Thea to remain in jail. His insistence that there would be no paperwork to find works in our favor. Ryker found a digital copy of the arrest warrant and fabricated the rest, to fit in with the narrative of jail overcrowding and administrative delays preventing her from being formally charged with a crime. The case file lists multiple lawyers as the point of contact, who were all reassigned after rubber stamping the case to move things forward.
Thea’s latest Public Defender of record is a Phoenix agent. She filed a motion to get in front of a judge. We returned to Palm Springs once the court date was set. That was two weeks ago.
A Phoenix asset employed at the jail helped smuggle Thea inside and got her settled in. She was oddly calm about breaking into prison. When I mentioned it was dangerous being on the inside, even with help, she told me going to jail feels more like a homecoming than going to Canyon Falls. I’ll be asking just how often she’s been arrested, after I get her safely away from here.
The hearing is this morning. We were all on edge until she emerged from the prison transport van. En route from the prison would have been the perfect opportunity for Malcolm or Lazarro to get their hands on her again.
I’m sitting in the back of the court gallery listening to her lawyer explain why the case should be dismissed, while casually hurling insults at the prosecution, for what she calls a failure on their part to give her client a fair trial due to their bias about her past record, and their desire to fast track high-profile cases to help the DA with his reelection bid.
The prosecution objects, insisting the delay, had nothing to do with politics or optics. It was just a simple run of the mill clerical error. They aren’t sure how they missed scheduling Thea for an arraignment, or the fact that she was moved throughout the county without anyone realizing she was never formally charged with a crime.
Thea’s lawyer calls the case file flimsy and points out that by the DA’s own admission; the prosecution has been unable to locate the witness that gave the statement which led to Thea’s arrest. She goes on to say that Palm Springs doesn’t even have jurisdiction over the case because the alleged crime happened in a different county.
The judge agrees to dismiss the case due to lack of evidence or a complaining witness. His signature on the paperwork is the last thing we need to make this real, just in case The League goes digging for proof. The only person to discount our version of events is Malcolm, and chances are almost nil that he’ll implicate himself in Thea’s arrest.
I stand in the back of the courtroom, waiting for her to finish up with her lawyer. I also needed a cover story to explain my absence. As far as the school is concerned, I’ve been on sabbatical. If The League asks, I’ll tell them I’ve been on another recruiting trip. Moreau’s people are thorough. A Phoenix agent doubling as me has been bouncing around Texas, Denver, New Jersey and Montana since the moment I flew out to the ship, hitting up gyms and tournaments. These trips serve as prime recruitment opportunities for them as well.
The agent and I switched places in Palm Springs International Airport two days ago. Unlike the agent, I didn’t keep my head down as I waited for my luggage and exited the airport. If anyone goes digging through my phone, they’ll find a call from Thea’s lawyer, adding on another layer of protection to our story. The signal for my phone will show the call bouncing off of a tower in Helena, Montana, at the time the call came in.
Thea and I will be under a microscope from the moment we drive into Canyon Falls. I’m taking her straight to her parent’s house. As for getting in front of the council, we’re expecting Joshua to do what he does best. Use Thea’s return as an opportunity to save his reputation and get back into the council’s good graces.