Cornered: Episode Two of the Sister Planets Series Read online

  Leviticus James

  Cornered

  Episode Two of the Sister Planets Series

  First published by Team Awesome Press, LLC 2020

  Copyright © 2020 by Leviticus James

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

  This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

  Leviticus James has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

  Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book and on its cover are trade names, service marks, trademarks and registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publishers and the book are not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. None of the companies referenced within the book have endorsed the book.

  Website: teamawesomepress.wixsite.com/ljames

  Email address: [email protected]

  Available in ebook format on amazon.com.

  Contact Leviticus James directly at [email protected] to schedule author appearances, for media questions and interviews, and speaking events. For longer quotations or commercial concerns, please contact the author via email at [email protected].

  Published in the United States of America.

  First edition

  This book was professionally typeset on Reedsy

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  Like everything else in my life, this is for you, N.

  Contents

  Preface

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by Leviticus James

  Preface

  STOP

  If you haven’t read Episode One of this series yet, you’re about to be very confused. The events in Cornered won’t make much sense to readers who haven’t read Numbered.

  Click here or visit Leviticus James’ author page to get caught up on the story.

  If you’ve already read Numbered, you’re all set. Happy reading!

  Chapter 1

  I have no idea what time it is, and I have no idea how long I slept. It could have been for days. I’m in a giant nightshirt in a cold dark room feeling like someone’s thrown my face against the pavement.

  I grunt, throw off the covers, and get out of bed. I zombie shuffle out of my bedroom and find myself in a small kitchen. A column runs down from the ceiling and blends seamlessly into the countertop. Embedded in it is a small retracting door with a screen above it.

  I inspect it further. The array is filled with different kinds of coffee choices. I scroll for the sugariest option and settle on white chocolate hazelnut latte with whipped cream. Something hums inside the column, and a countdown timer illuminates on the screen.

  As the coffee brews, I take a tour of my little suite and find no windows or doors I can open. I guess I’m under house arrest.

  The kitchen is stocked. No knives. I could fashion something out of a spoon, but I lack the motivation. White cabinets hide mostly empty shelves, but there are a few mugs and plates. A big picture of a blue vase holding blue wildflowers hangs over the sink. A tile floor circles the island with two stools.

  It’s all pretty, but not welcoming. The sterile environment, the cold stale air circulated by the air conditioner—it all feels distant. If I walked into this house under normal circumstances, I’d feel like the owners didn’t want me to stay longer than fifteen minutes.

  A carpeted sitting area sits parallel to the kitchen, and an elegant Net Mirror hangs on the wall. I’ve been sleeping in a narrow room that extends the entire width of the apartment. It has its own little bathroom and everything. It reminds me of my apartment, only ten times better.

  My apartment. I wonder if the senator’s men have ransacked it yet. I try not to think about how much my fingers ache to play my instruments.

  On the other side of the apartment are two doors. I walk over to the first one. Locked. I try the second one. It opens, and I take a peek. The room looks decorated for royalty. Tapestries hang from every wall and drape over one another as they flow down to the floor.

  I close the door, sit down at the counter, and replay the details from yesterday. I don’t remember much after Mika drove away from the graveyard. The news of Greenstreet’s running for VP and the lack of sleep sent me into a downward spiral of exhaustion. I remember arriving at our destination and getting out in an underground garage.

  Mika walked Esau, Jacob, and me to a room where they bandaged us up. My seat was so comfortable that I fell asleep in it. I woke up to Mika lying me in a bed. When I looked down, I saw I was in clean clothes with bandages wrapped around my arms. Mika had smiled, waved, and turned out the light.

  There’s a beep in the direction of the coffee machine, and I turn in time to see the tiny door slide open. Inside is a steaming mug of coffee. I reach in, remove my drink, and the door slides back down to hide the opening.

  I’m slow to drink it—partially because it’s so hot, but mainly because I feel a little lost. When I do take a sip, it sits warm and hard in my empty belly. The inhuman amount of sugar within the drink gives me an instant headache. I sit down and stare at the dozens of options that fill the tiny screen again.

  “Where the hell am I?”

  A voice from behind me says, “Completely off the map.”

  Chapter 2

  I scream, turn, and throw my mug without looking. A few seconds later, the top of Jacob’s head peeks up from behind the counter. He raises his huge hands above his head.

  “What was that for?” he asks.

  “Who sneaks up on someone like that? Where did you come from?”

  “I’ll answer when you promise not to throw anything else.”

  I throw my hands up in mock surrender. I watch his eyes look for any other projectiles I might have. He stands when he sees I don’t have any, his muscular frame coming into my view. He points to the locked door I found earlier. “Esau and I are in there.”

  There’s a loud clunk and the sound of pounding boots. Mika comes bursting through the door. He’s still wearing all black, and his arms are still the most enormous pair I’ve ever seen. He’s wearing long sleeves now, though, so his intricate tattoo is hidden. His neck and back blend seamlessly together, his head set on top of an angry knot of muscles.

  “Hey! No fighting!” he shouts. His face is scrunched up, causing the muscles in his neck to knot and bulge, and his hands are on his hips.

  Jacob rolls his eyes. “Calm down, mom. We’re not fighting.”

  The click-clack of heels echoes behind Mika. Norah comes striding into the room. “Good,” she says, “I’m glad to hear you’re getting along, but find a way to show
it that doesn’t involve throwing boiling hot liquids at one another.”

  I’m still in awe of this woman. She’s wearing an impressive blue power suit instead of the red outfit she wore when I first met her, but her royal aura is what captures my attention. Her proud brown skin and perfect posture demand respect.

  “We’ll clean it up, Norah. We’re sorry,” Jacob apologizes.

  “No matter. Jacob, go wake Esau. Now that you’ve all had a chance to rest, we need to get down to business. Plans are evolving. We have to move if we want this to work. Maverick, make us more coffee. We’re going to need it.”

  “How do you take yours?” I ask.

  “Strong and black. Like my men.”

  I have no idea if she’s being serious, so I stifle my laughter. “You, Mika?”

  “Mocha, please.”

  Jacob turns as he’s about to enter his room. “Café latte for me. Black tea for Esau.”

  As the machine runs, I sit down at the island, and Mika and Norah take seats in the sitting room. Mika smiles at me but doesn’t say anything. Norah watches me like a hawk, her fingers steepled in front of her face.

  “So, where are we?” I ask. “I mean, what is this place?”

  “This is part of my home,” Norah says flatly.

  “Oh. Well, it’s the loveliest white-collar prison I’ve ever been in.”

  She chuckles, but her expression never changes. “I’m glad to hear you’re comfortable.” She shifts her glance to the brother’s bedroom. “Jacob. Esau. Where are you?”

  Jacob comes back through the darkened door. “Esau’s primping.”

  Norah shakes her head. “That boy takes longer to get ready than I do. How did you sleep, dear?”

  Jacob sighs and rubs his eyes. “Hard.”

  “What day is it?” I interrupt. “I’ve lost track of time.”

  “You got here Sunday morning. It’s now nearly noon on Monday. You all got a good twenty-four plus hours of sleep in. You deserve it after what you’ve been through.”

  “Yeah, two explosions in four hours is my limit,” I say.

  Norah ignores me and turns to Esau as he walks through the door. He’s in a new tan suit with a crisp blue pocket square that matches both the color of his tie and his loafers. His hair is perfect. His skin is flawless, minus the cleft palette scar traversing his upper lip. The only suspect thing about him is a scrape along his jaw from his tumble at the hotel.

  “Sit down, Esau. Debrief me,” Norah says.

  The older brother fills her in on everything we’ve discovered and how we escaped Scarlet’s house. She looks at me when he describes how I blew the place up but doesn’t say a word.

  “How did they find you again?” she asks when Esau’s done speaking.

  “My guess is the trackers in Mav’s ears are programmed to turn back on after being disabled for a certain amount of time. I took a gamble and attached blockers to them directly. The devices are still on, but the signals they’re sending aren’t getting anywhere.”

  “Quick thinking,” Jacob says, patting his brother on the shoulder.

  “Thank you.”

  “How will Maverick explain your location? The moment the devices in her ears came back on, the senator knew she was at her grandmother’s house. It’s impossible to explain as coincidence.”

  I raise my hand. “Umm, that’s why we’ll say it wasn’t.”

  Norah frowns and turns toward me. “Explain.”

  “I’ll tell Greenstreet I was told to hide as soon as Merkatz died. Scarlet’s place was the safest place I could think of. But you guys followed me somehow, and I blew up the house in self defense.”

  Norah raises her eyebrows, satisfied. “Well, that solves that, doesn’t it? So even after everything you’ve been through in the last two days, you’re still with us? I imagine the boys have explained our guidelines.”

  I look over to the brothers, my lips taunt. “Yes. Clearly.”

  “And you agree to them?”

  “Do I have another choice if I want to live?”

  “No, you don’t.”

  “Then I’m in.”

  “Good. You go undercover tonight.”

  I heard the words coming out of her mouth, but I’m understanding them the same way I understand what the abuelita down the hall is saying when she speaks to me in Spanish.

  “I’m sorry, what?”

  “Greenstreet is having a party tonight to celebrate his candidacy for VP. You’re going to drop by and make a splash while we get you set up in one of Merkatz’s estates.”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let’s all calm down for a minute and fill in the girl who’s saving your asses.”

  “No cursing.”

  I pull my head back in confusion. “I’m sorry, what?”

  “Stop the cursing. Socialites don’t curse. Keep your language clean from here on out. No slip ups. Understand?”

  “No, but okay,” I say with snark. “Now will you please answer my question? I don’t even know who I’m supposed to pretend to be.”

  A vulpine smile crosses Norah’s face. “You’re an heir of Don Merkatz.”

  “Child heir or protégé heir?”

  “You two don’t look enough alike. You’re going to be scrutinized, and there was no way you’d pass as father and daughter.”

  “Thank God.”

  “We’re going to keep it simple. He groomed you from a young age to spy on the senator, and he passed you his number when he died so you’d be taken care of.”

  “He died single and without children, so it won’t be strange for a non-relative to get his number,” Esau added.

  “Speaking of, what perks do low numbers have? I’ve already been pleasantly surprised with what it gets me at a vending machine.”

  “That number gets you first in line for anything you want, as long as you have the money to pay for it. Don’t worry, Don has the money to pay for it. Your number is even lower than the senator’s.”

  First in line for anything I want? Hmmm …

  “How is that going to look legitimate?” I ask.

  “While you were sleeping, I created a fake application for a safety deposit box opened two years ago in your and Merkatz’s names,” Esau says. “It contains documentation Norah created about the transfer of his number.”

  “Nicely done, Mr. Roboto.”

  Jacob gets up and walks toward me. “That way, you don’t have an elaborate origin story or messy history with Merkatz. It was just business.”

  He stops right in front of me. “That makes it easy on you.”

  His black shirt is stretched tightly across his chest and around his arms but hangs loosely down by his hips. The sweats he’s wearing look like several swaths of gray material hung in all directions before being brought together at his ankles and around his waist.

  I’m trying my best to keep my eyes on his face and not the rest of him.

  “Thank you for making this assassination attempt easy on me. And here I thought it was going to be stressful.”

  He winks at me, then sits in the stool to my right.

  Norah clears her throat. “Outside of the assassination, there’s something else I need you to do.”

  “Is this about the room?” I ask.

  She tilts her head in surprise. “Did the boys already fill you in?”

  “They mentioned I’m supposed to find a room with some special information inside. I’m assuming that’s why me being a part of the staff is important? You mentioned that was why I was chosen back at the hotel.”

  Norah looks to the rest of the room. “Girl doesn’t miss a thing, does she?”

  Before anyone can respond, I say, “It’s going to cost you.”

  Norah frowns. “What is it?”

  “You remove these damn switches from my ears. Entirely.”

  “Language,” Norah reprimands.

  I sneer. The motherly correcting is getting old fast.

  “It’s dangerous,” Esau says.

  “If No
rah can create a new identity for me,” I rebut, “she knows someone who can do a little surgery. Do we have a deal?”

  “Don’t you want to hear about this room first?” she asks.

  “I don’t care if it has a woman-eating tiger inside. If it means I get these things out of my head, I’m in. Do we have a deal?”

  “Without question.”

  “Good. Tell me about this room.”

  Norah picks at her nails like we’re talking about the weather. “It’s the room the government uses to talk to Mars.”

  I snort. “You’re joking. Why would that be in Unity City? That room has gotta be at the Pentagon or in Washington D.C.”

  “You’re right,” she says. “It is. There are two command centers. One is in Washington. The chairman of the Senate Earth-Mars Relations Committee gets a second one set up at their primary residence. If anything happens on Mars, they can know about it whether they’re in Washington or not. And Greenstreet is the current chair of said committee.”

  “So I need to find this room and tell you where it is. That’s it?”

  “Essentially. Greenstreet can’t know you’re looking for it, though. There’s no reason you’d need to know its location. Not even Don knew where it was.”

  It’s weird to me how much these people want to involve Mars. “Why do you need to know where it is?”

  She frowns. “Greenstreet’s advancement in the election changes things. We’d hoped Greyson would receive the nomination, be elected, and allow communication with Mars.”

  “Communication? We hear from them all the time. ‘Everything’s great up here! Hope it doesn’t suck too much on Earth! We’re better than you are!’”

  Jacob’s subsequent laugh is hollow. “Yeah, all really helpful propaganda.”

  “I’m not talking about the news coming from them, though that is concerning,” Norah says. “I’m talking about how much they hear from us. I’m certain it’s nothing but lies.”

  I shrug. “Who cares if we don’t talk to each other? Most everyone here on Earth seems fine with being left alone.”