Chapter eleven
Al
I led Lai into my office and shut the door behind him, then turned the lock. I rarely locked my door, but right now I needed to think.
Lai slid into my chair like he owned the place, which, to be fair, he did.
The academy had been built into his family’s manor, and he delighted in any opportunity to remind me that he was the boss.
He propped his boots up on my desk, looking entirely too comfortable for someone about to help plan grand theft auto.
“First things first,” I said, crossing to the glass cabinet in the corner and opening it.
“We need to find out where Fox is.” I poured myself a drink, watching the amber swirl settle before taking a slow, steadying sip.
Lai wouldn’t accept a glass, so I didn’t bother offering; alcohol would be wasted on him anyway, it never seemed to affect him in the slightest. “Do you have someone who owes you a debt, who could help us find him?”
“Or,” Lai countered, rolling one shoulder in a careless shrug, “we can just, I don’t know, hack into the police database? I’m not burning a contact on this, and we have students here with the right foundation skills. It can’t be that hard to do, not for a digital Godling.”
I let out a quiet breath through my nose, setting my glass down harder than intended. “You would rather bring a student in on this than help me? I know for a fact you can make this so much easier than it is, but you’re refusing. Why?”
Lai’s eyes narrowed in delight, but he didn’t deny it. That was the problem with Lai. Trouble wasn’t an inconvenience to him. It was entertainment.
“It makes me feel young,” he confessed, almost wistful. “The excitement. The risk. The—”
“Fox is going to go crazy,” I cut in. The thought had been clawing at me since I left him.
Since I was forced to leave him. “You remember my stupid rescue dog metaphor? Well, now I’ve abandoned him right after letting him think he had a home.
It’s going to fuck him up, and that kind of thing doesn’t just reset with a ‘sorry’.
It messes you up permanently. It sticks. ”
Lai tilted his head, studying me as if I’d just revealed something far more personal than I intended.
“You sure you don’t want a new car?” He asked lightly. “A brand-new Shelby Mustang, fresh off the lot? No history, no damage, no emotional attachment. No baggage.”
I turned sharply, resisting the call to violence; for a split second, I seriously considered hitting him.
Lai raised both hands immediately, grin widening.
“Fine, fine. Just checking. You’re very attached to your emotionally damaged piece of American steel, I get it.
Let’s get to our plan, then.” Lai leaned forward then, his boots finally sliding off my desk.
“We need a student. Someone who can get into the police database without leaving a trace.”
I arched a brow slowly. “You’re really willing to involve a student in this?” I asked, irritated.
“I’m willing to involve the right student,” Lai corrected, tapping a finger against the desk. “One who won’t snitch to the other kids about our involvement in illegal activities.”
“And how exactly do you know they aren’t going to talk? Kids love bragging about stupid shit.”
“Because first and foremost, my son is my pride and joy.” Lai reached over, grabbed the announcement microphone off the corner of my desk, and shoved it toward me. “And secondly, the overachieving little shit wants nothing more than to impress you. Honestly, it’s super embarrassing.”
Of course, wanting to impress me was something Lai thought was embarrassing.
I rolled my eyes and looked down, staring at the microphone.
I hated making announcements. There was something deeply unpleasant about knowing every student froze for a second when your voice came through, wondering what they’d done wrong.
The whispers that followed the named student were always something I’d dreaded myself, back when I was a kid.
Still, I picked it up, pressed the button, and called Robyn in.
The boy arrived in record time.
“Dad–?” Robyn squeaked as the door swung open, and he spotted his father waiting for him; he didn’t get a chance to ask why he was in trouble before Lai was on him, grabbing him by the collar and dragging him fully into the office, locking the door behind him.
I liked Robyn. He was the only fully-human student in the academy.
No magic, no bloodline advantages; Lai had adopted him, so there wasn’t so much as a drop of the blood of Echidna.
Robyn had taken no shortcuts to get to the top, just pure determination, stubborn and persistent from dawn til dusk.
And yet, despite being the top student in the academy, the teenager looked terrified by the sudden summons.
He was never in trouble, so being called into my quarters at the very first bell must have been the last thing he’d been expecting.
“Whatever I did, I–”
“Shut up,” Lai said cheerfully. “Sit down. Open Al’s laptop. Follow my instructions.”
Robyn blinked at Lai, then at me, then back at Lai. “You haven’t even told me what I need to do yet.”
Lai stared at the boy, unblinking.
“Okay, okay.” Robyn threw his hands up, exasperated more than afraid now. “You don’t have to threaten me. I’m not an idiot. I can tell you two are doing something you’re not supposed to, I don’t need the details.”
“You can tell?” I asked, curious as to what gave it away.
“Yeah,” Robyn said, like it was obvious. “Dad left at six this morning; he never gets up before quarter to nine. And at breakfast, Hawk and Wren said you hadn’t been home since yesterday.”
I closed my eyes briefly. Of course, my two idiot sons would volunteer sensitive information like they were being paid by the word. Loyalty clearly wasn’t hereditary.
“Just do what your father says,” I said, waving a hand before this turned into a full interrogation. “We’re short on time.”
Robyn sighed and sat down, pulling the laptop toward him.
It was strange to look at Robyn like this. A lot of people assumed we were related; he looked nothing like Lai or his partner. With his dark hair, olive skin, and gray eyes, Robyn was surrounded by rumors about his adoption that he steadfastly ignored.
I’d deliberately kept my distance from him, hoping it would make his life a little easier, and avoiding questions I didn’t want to have to answer.
“I need you to access the local police files,” Lai said.
Robyn turned slowly in his chair, fixing his father with a flat, unimpressed stare. “What do you think this is, a movie? You want me to open a five-year-old laptop and hack into a secure system by aggressively tapping the keyboard for ten seconds?”
Lai nodded without hesitation.
Robyn looked at me, waiting for me to tell Lai that wasn’t what was happening here. I took a sip of my drink and nodded towards the laptop.
Robyn looked back at Lai. “I hate both of you.”
“Noted,” Lai chuckled.
“It’s going to take time,” Robyn continued, already slipping into problem-solving mode. “I’ll need a different system, probably route through a couple of proxies, and even then it’s not guaranteed to be clean. You’re talking hours, minimum. What exactly are you looking for?”
“A car,” I explained. “A very specific one. It got impounded last night.”
Robyn paused, then leaned back slightly. “Okay. That’s actually easier.”
Lai blinked. “Easier than hacking a police database?”
“Yeah.” Robyn gestured vaguely. “What city were you in? We can just go and look for it.”
Silence sat in the room for a second. I didn’t like how Robyn’s suggestion made me feel, like I was about to look really stupid.
“What do you mean, go and look?” I asked, already irritated with how simple he was making it sound. “There are dozens of impound yards in the city.”
“So?” Robyn shrugged. “A dozen yards? That’s what, a day of searching? Two if you’re slow about it.”
I stared at him. Then at Lai.
Lai stared back at me.
There was a long, uncomfortable moment where both of us realized we had completely overcomplicated this.
“Right,” I muttered.
“So,” Robyn said, turning back to the laptop, clearly enjoying this now, “what exactly am I looking for? You didn’t get your car towed, did you?”
“I bought a Fox Body Mustang, then lost it,” I admitted, quieter than I intended.
Robyn made a sound—half snort, half choke—as he tried, and failed, to contain his reaction. “You bought a Fox Body?” He repeated, voice cracking with barely suppressed laughter.
I placed my hand on his shoulder, squeezing just enough to remind him of his mortality. “Go on,” I said pleasantly. “Tell me exactly what you think of Fox Body Mustangs.”
He clamped a hand over his mouth, shoulders shaking.
I smiled. It felt strained. “You are extremely lucky that the worst thing happening to you right now is a failing grade. Your father voiced that same thought and almost got run the fuck over.”
To his credit, Robyn recovered quickly. “Right,” he said, straightening his shoulders, still grinning like an idiot. “Noted.”
I glared at him, offended on Fox’s behalf.
“Look.” Robyn sobered just a fraction. “You’re planning on breaking the law, and you’re gonna be away from the school, right? Well, I’ll cover for you two. I’ll tell everyone there was some kind of emergency, run your classes even. But,” his smile crept back, slower this time. “You owe me.”
I closed my eyes and exhaled.
Never mind; he was exactly like Lai after all.
“I know,” I said, already regretting whatever future favor I had just agreed to.