Page 42 of The Fall of Five (Lorien Legacies 4)

“He’s been picking on me since I walked in the door,” Five continues. “I figured if I didn’t stand up to him, it would just keep happening. ”

I sit on the couch next to Five. “I understand,” I tell him. “Nine has a way of getting under people’s skin. John told me a story about how him and Nine almost tore each other apart once. You’ll get used to it. ”

“That’s the thing. I don’t want to get used to it. ” Five picks up the video-game controller, but he doesn’t start playing again. He clicks a few buttons and the screen goes dark. “And the thing is, I wanted to train with you guys. I don’t want to be left out. I want to see what you guys can do and learn to work together. It was just the way he asked. I couldn’t stop myself from reacting. ”

I pat Five gently on the shoulder. “You know, you and Nine aren’t all that different. ”

He seems to consider this, gazing down at the carpet. “No. I guess we aren’t. Should I apologize for hurting his hand?”

I shake my head, chuckling a little. “It’s probably his pride that’s hurting more, but you shouldn’t apologize for that either. ” I stand up and grab Five’s arm, tugging him to his feet. “Come on. Let’s get to training. ”

Five hesitates. “After that, you really think I’d be welcome?”

“You’re one of us, aren’t you?” I say decisively. “What better time to learn teamwork than after punching a teammate in the face?”

Five almost allows himself a laugh. He nods and we walk towards the Lecture Hall together. “Thanks, Marina,” he says. “You know, you’re the first person to really make me feel welcome here. ”

Well, at least there’s that. I might not be able to help Ella with her dreams, or identify half the objects in my Inheritance, or fight as well as the others. But at least I’m good at coaxing jerks into being more personable. I wonder if that’s a Legacy.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

JOHN HOLDS THE ILLINOIS ID CARD UP TO THE light. He bends it between his fingers and picks at the picture with his thumbnail. Then, he turns to me, smiling wide.

“This is great work, Sam. As good as the ones Henri used to make. ”

“Finally. ” I sigh, relieved. A dozen similar ID cards, all with some minor defects, sit in a pile next to Sandor’s main computer. All of them have John’s face along with the name John Kent.

“You should make one for yourself,” John says. “Maybe your alias could be Sam Wayne. ”

“Sam Wayne?”

“Yeah, like Bruce Wayne. Superman’s buddy without any powers. That’s why you chose Kent for my last name, right? It’s a Superman reference. ”

“I didn’t think you’d catch that,” I reply. “Never knew you were into comics. ”

“I’m not, but we aliens like to keep tabs on each other. ” John comes around to the other side of the desk, skirting one of the workshop’s many junk piles, to look at the screen over my shoulder. “All this was already on Sandor’s computer?”

“Yep,” I reply, guiding the cursor across the various forgery programs and government database hacks installed on Sandor’s machine. “It was just a matter of accessing them. And, uh, figuring out how to use them right . . . ” I point to the pile of screwed-up IDs.

“Awesome,” John says. “Let’s get new identities ready for everyone. It’ll make traveling to pick up Five’s Chest easier. ”

“Can’t Eight just teleport you down there?”

John shakes his head. “He can only do long ranges between those massive Loralite stones he mentioned last night. And with short range there’s too much risk of being spotted appearing from thin air. Or of him teleporting us into a wall. ”

“Yeah, that would hurt. ” I adjust the webcam that’s hooked onto the monitor so that it’s pointing at me. When my image appears on screen, I take a second to fix my hair and then flash my corniest smile.

“Nice,” John says, still watching.

“What can I say? I’m photogenic. ”

“I always wondered why picture day at Paradise High was called Sam Goode Appreciation Day. ”

“And now you know. ”

I drag and drop the picture into one of the programs Sandor installed and it immediately gets to work resizing my pic for a new driver’s license. “So,” I begin lamely, not having a better segue prepared. “There’s something I’ve wanted to ask you. ”

“Yeah?”

“What’s going on with you and Six now that Sarah’s, uh, not a traitor?”

John laughs. “We actually talked about it on the way to Arkansas. I think we’re cool now. It was kinda awkward for a while. I’m with Sarah, though. One hundred percent. ”

“Okay, cool,” I reply, keeping things nonchalant. Although that doesn’t stop John from elbowing me.

“She’s all yours,” he says, and my face gets hot right away.

“That’s not why I was asking. ”

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