Page 68 of A Deadly Game of Cat and Mouse

Chapter 15

Sarah, 16 years old

San Diego, California

One Year Later

Egghead: You ready for our big date?

I stopped brushing my hair and smiled at the message as I continued getting ready.

After my reintegration into the Academy, I passed the entrance exam to the analyst program even though I had to write a code with a pen and paper.

The rector hadn’t wanted a repeat of my first mission’s debacle, so a team of experts had overseen all my forays into cyberspace in a controlled environment.

But what was the saying again? Fool you once, shame on me, fool you twice, shame on you? Or was it the opposite?

I could have told them not to bother with the restriction. By the time I passed the exam, computers and I were long-lost friends. I knew everything about them and got around their paltry constraints like they weren’t there. But what would be the fun in that?

Not only did I finish the exam quicker than everyone, I blew all my fellow initiates out of the water, and corrected an error in one of the questions. This, of course, didn’t go over well with the person administering the test.

Let me think, what else do you need to know?

I’ve changed a lot in the past year. I was still quite short for a girl my age and would never win any beauty contest with my sense of style, but I finally grew some curves.

The downside of this was the attention it generated. Boys who’d never noticed me before, realized I was quite attractive under all my scowling and began to hang around.

Unfortunately, this also gained me the undivided attention of Jacob Hayes, now known as the Irish Butcher.

Do you remember how intense he was when he bullied me? Well, imagine if all that energy suddenly turned sexual. Imagine what would happen if he stalked you with the same intensity he put into persecuting you.

Would you feel like prey? Because I sure as hell did.

The man was creepy as hell because a) my old team leader was ten years older than me, and b) I was sixteen.

You would think it would keep him from watching me wherever I went, or worse, from cornering me. But no such luck.

Egghead: Hello? Earth to Jelly Fish?

Jelly Fish: It’s not a date.

Egghead: Of course not. It’s just you and me with enough food to feed an army in a romantic setting. Not a date at all.

Moose’s flirty response made me smile.

The goof and I started exchanging texts again almost immediately upon my return, and it felt really good.

Oh, the baby sulked and pouted at my “abandonment”, but he couldn’t hold on to his anger for more than five seconds, so we made up by the third text.

Jelly Fish: Sorry. Where are we going again for our FRIENDLY dinner?

Egghead: It’s a surprise.

Jelly Fish: Just remember, we can’t be seen together in a public place.

Egghead. I know. Don’t worry about it. I’m going to rock your socks off.

Jelly Fish: Seriously, I can’t wait.

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