Tag Archives: Adam

Isolation: Part 7

I could see how Major Justice or the Nine might have come up with the idea though. Having people barrage you with requests that you surrender, some of them people you know… Well, it didn’t feel good.

Knowing that it had to be a ploy took a bit of the edge off, but I wondered if they’d done this before and to whom.

Then another thought hit me, “If you all are getting deluged with texts like I am right now, forward them all to Hal.” Continue reading Isolation: Part 7

Simple Choices: Part 11

Kayla laughed, “You haven’t spent half the time talking to him that I have. At least he’s respectful to you. He thinks I’m some kind of no name peon.”

I couldn’t imagine what he said to her that made the way Major Justice treated me seem respectful.

She looked down at her phone, “Oh, and he’s gone. I guess he wanted to sneer at me one more time before they attacked.”

Cassie’s eyes narrowed, “You didn’t tell me he was being nasty to you.” Continue reading Simple Choices: Part 11

Simple Choices: Part 10

Kals talked with Julie in a low voice, using words that were a mixture of English and Ascendancy. The Ascendancy was straight jargon transliterated or translated into English. Even the Xiniti implants couldn’t translate it very well, turning most of the words into sound waveforms—which I could maybe figure out her strategy given time, but not in the moment. I still needed more context.

The words themselves still didn’t make it clearer. An example? Kals said, “I’ll need you to do eight high mind squirts in a row in the low mind zug pattern I taught you earlier.”

Julie meanwhile, furrowed her brow at first, but then smiled and said, “Got it!” Continue reading Simple Choices: Part 10

Simple Choices: Part 9

As Adam took off the necklace and handed it to me, Daniel thought at me, This is a good sign. In my dad’s stories, this is the kind of thing that should have provoked violence and I don’t sense any coming except in the least likely of futures.

I took the necklace and looked at the buzzer. I’d been right to think that it looked like one of my earlier designs, but it wasn’t one of them. I’d made them available to other people at points, but I didn’t think I’d done so with the model this appeared to be a copy of.

Keon had the skill to do it. He’d been at Stapledon before Adam disappeared and so had other techies. Continue reading Simple Choices: Part 9

Simple Choices: Part 8

Making a mental note to ask Amy if we could do something about him teleporting into HQ whenever he wanted, I stood up. I wasn’t the only one. Jaclyn, Haley, and Izzy had beaten me to it. Izzy was already in the air, hovering above her seat.

Tiger hadn’t done much when Adam first appeared in HQ, but this time, he’d made it to his feet and was already walking around the table.

He wasn’t growling, but watched as Adam walked toward the group, sometimes glancing over at Jaclyn as if wondering what she wanted him to do. Continue reading Simple Choices: Part 8

Simple Choices: Part 4

I wasn’t the only person who noticed. Adam stopped what he’d been doing and his eyes widened.

If that surprised him, he recovered quickly, “Dr. Klein! I didn’t expect to see you. I knew you were Nick’s father. I just didn’t think you’d be here.”

He gave a quick smile, “It’s a little weird to have different pieces of my life crossing like this.” Continue reading Simple Choices: Part 4

Simple Choices: Part 3

I looked over at Haley. We were going to have to talk about this among ourselves and not just the two of us either—the whole team.

Of course, we had almost the entire team here already with the exception of Daniel, Jaclyn, Izzy, and Marcus. They were still out handling the police at Daniel’s house, or in Marcus’ case, traveling back from the fight at the factory.

It wouldn’t be that long and we’d have everybody whether we wanted them or not. Continue reading Simple Choices: Part 3

Simple Choices: Part 1

When I got back to HQ, it was too full.

My parents were there. Haley’s parents were there. Haley’s second cousins were there, both of them doctors and both of them trying to use the alien medical tech to save Travis’ life.

If that weren’t enough, most of the team was there. By the time you got out of work for two or three fights plus helping Kayla handle law enforcement’s questions, it wasn’t worth going back to whatever you’d been doing.

And besides, Travis was there. Continue reading Simple Choices: Part 1

Distractions: Part 11

Haley’s lip curled, “Then I think you need to get out of here and let us discuss it. You know that we’re not the whole League. Some of us who aren’t here are going to need a minute to talk about this.”

“Some of us who are here will too,” Cassie’s hand brushed her gun.

Adam glanced down at it, his face hidden in the shadows, but his mouth seemed to tighten, jerking into a smile, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

The shadows that made up his body swirled into themselves and disappeared. Continue reading Distractions: Part 11