Page 10 of Brutal Kingdom

“Yes. I believe so. She’s going to make some inquiries. With both of us looking, we should be able to track it down.”

Her words seep into my soul. We’re gaining traction.

“This is it Jordanna, this is the starting point we need to prove your identity.”

I’m still fixated on those words when someone bumps into me. A jolt like I put a battery on my tongue travels through me, and my call cuts out for a second. “My bad,” he says, without stopping or slowing down.

I guess I’m the only one who felt the zap. I go back to listening to Daniella’s idea about chronicling the family tree and using an ancestry database to help. She’s creating the account because forming one under my name will alert people to what we’re doing. I tell her I’ll keep digging the old-fashioned way, and we both agree that between her online search and my archival one, we should be able to find everything we’re looking for.

There’s something wrong. I can feel it as soon as I get to my room. Somebody’s been here, and it’s not my roommate. Nothing looks out of place, but I know something’s not right. I check behind my clock, in my lamp and drawers, and around the crown molding, looking for surveillance equipment, because it’s just like Logan and his friends to be spying on me again. Finding nothing, I walk over to my computer and turn it on. It boots up and I check the software and applications folder, checking for an obvious spyware. Still, nothing jumps out at me. If they were here, they’re looking for my files, and would have quickly realized hacking my computer was a waste of time. I keep the file with me at all times. It’s on a USB drive that’s shaped like a teardrop pendant around my neck.

I pull the chain from my neck and plug it into dad’s old laptop. Humming to myself as it boots up. The screen is blank. No folders, no files. Nothing. “No. No, no, no.”

I pull out the drive, plug it back in and try to reboot with it in safe mode, but it’s gone. All of it. The pulse I felt must’ve fried the flash drive. Which means it was no accident that guy bumped into me.

Pulling out my phone, I send a text to the number I rarely use.

It’s gone.

The phone rings right away. “All of it?” The voice on the other line asks before I can utter a hello.

“There’s nothing but static on the drive.”

“You’re supposed to keep it with you at all times. How did this happen?”

“I don’t know. It was fine this morning, but there was a guy who bumped into me at city hall. When he did, it sent an electrical shock on steroids through me.”

“When was this?”

“A few hours ago.”

“Did you get a look at him?”

“No.”

“Okay, messenger me the drive through a secure company. Do you need suggestions?”

“No. I have one.”

“Great. When I get it, I’ll see if I can rebuild anything.”

He’s a computer whiz. If anyone can retrieve them, he can. “Thanks.”

“Don’t thank me yet. I need to run diagnostics and see what’s what. What are you gonna do until then?”

Play the game. That’s the only thing I can do. “I’m gonna pretend like I still have leverage.”

* * *

I saw Logan and Olivia walking towards me the other day when I was heading to the car to go see Pepper. I pretended not to notice, because the look on Olivia’s face telegraphed what she was up to.

There will be no pretending today, though. It’s senior brunch, an event thrown by the faculty, to welcome us back to school, to remind us of expectations, and to encourage us to do everything we can to improve our standing at school. The Dean informs us recruiters from the biggest companies in the country will be on campus a lot this year.

For some, this will be the last opportunity for them to make a good impression. My grades are great. My work with the paper and the events I went to with Noel last year were enough to get me noticed, but I’m not out of the woods. I know one stroke of a keyboard can tank my ranking. I want to build a life and career away from here, and there’s no denying the influence this school has.

Today, they’ve set up circular tables up all around the banquet hall. The BPs are in the middle of the room. Logan sits facing me. Great, I get to see him scowling for the entire meal, with Olivia and some girl I don’t know, pressed so tight against him he can barely lift his fork and knife. That’s sure to ruin my appetite.

Focusing on what Dean Allen is saying is harder than I thought it would be. He concludes his speech and we’re free to eat and socialize, while a power point of activities from the last three years plays on the screen on the podium. I see the flash bulbs around the room. Today’s event is being documented as well. As I’m looking for something to focus on besides them, I spot Dixon, two tables over. The summer tan on his skin gives him a healthy glow. He’s sitting, hands linked with the girl next to him, and gives me a quick smile when he sees me staring. Guess he found a new friend to hang with this year. I’m happy for him.

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