Enders(13)
What he was saying was outrageous. How could he know the Old Man so well?
“Better than anyone else?” I asked. “A man who always wears a mask? How?” I stayed close to my door.
He leaned forward and said words that seemed painful to get out, as if he’d never said them before.
“Because I’m his son.”
CHAPTER FOUR
My eyes locked on Hyden’s as we sat there in his SUV. Was he going to break into a grin and say he was joking? Was he lying? Or crazy?
His expression never wavered. I sucked in a breath of air.
He was serious.
“I know him better than anybody,” he said. “And I hate him.”
He stared at me with those eyes. I saw a flash of pain behind them. But was that real or faked?
“He’s your father?” I struggled to make my voice sound even. If he was crazy, I didn’t want to anger him.
He took a deep breath, then exhaled. “Yes.”
“He can’t be.” My mind whirled. “He’s an Ender. More like your grandfather.”
“He wore a disguise.”
“His white hair—”
“Wig. Didn’t you wonder why he always wore all that clothing, even indoors?”
“We were told he had a condition. That he was always cold.”
“More like coldhearted. Condition?” He shook his head. “That lie was just his cover.”
This was too much for me to accept. “So you’re saying he’s your father and he’s actually a Middle?”
“That’s right.”
“Then how come he’s alive?”
“Black market vaccine.”
I’d heard of Middles doing that. You didn’t see them very often because they weren’t welcome on the street unless they were part of the privileged class that was allowed the vaccine—politicians, generals, scientists. Then there were the well-connected Middles with clout—holo stars and the überrich. Stars were forgiven, but the others were so resented that if they were caught in the wrong place without their bodyguards, they had a habit of turning up dead.
“Must have been really expensive,” I said.
“Cost him half his fortune.”
That was hard to believe. We were talking about a cruel, hard man. I doubted he’d given up so much. “What about your mother?”
“Gone.”
“Spores?”
“Something else.” He looked so pained.
I didn’t want to push and make him feel worse. I thought back on how my parents had argued over the vaccine. My mother wanted my father to use his connections to get the vaccine for them, so they could survive to take care of us. But he refused on principle, because he didn’t feel he should push ahead of Starters and Enders who were more vulnerable and should have the vaccine first. I admired that, but I also resented it.
Hyden’s eyes glazed over. “My father’s evil. There’s no other way to say it.”
I glanced out the window. Was he lying to me? It didn’t seem like it. “I don’t know what to believe. But the Old Man threatened my brother, Tyler, and my friend Michael. Said he’d blow them up. So you have to let me go.”
An SUV pulled up and parked behind us.
“I think that’s my father’s men now.” Hyden peeled off his gloves.
“What’re you doing?”
“Getting ready.” He dropped his left hand to the side of his seat.
I hoped he wasn’t reaching for a gun.
Two men cautiously emerged from their SUV and walked toward our car. They were Enders, their short white hair made whiter by the contrast with their black suits.
“Callie Woodland?” one of them shouted. “It’s all right now. We’re here to help you.”
“Let her go!” the other Ender shouted at Hyden.
“Unlock my door,” I begged Hyden. “Let me go, please.”
The Enders were almost at our windows. Hyden moved and I thought he was going to press the unlock button. But instead, he grabbed the steering wheel and pulled away from the curb.
“No!” I screamed.
I reached for the wheel but he yanked hard to the left, blocking it with his elbow. I turned and saw one of the Enders take a gun out of his jacket. He aimed it at my head. Everything stopped, my breath, my heart. The other Ender reached out and pushed his gun away. Then they bolted back to their car.
“You want to turn yourself over to those guys?” Hyden said.
I gulped a breath of air and watched as they pursued us in their car. “They’re coming.”
Hyden made a sharp left turn.
“Hold on,” he said. “I’ll make sure they can’t follow us.”
He drove with purpose, making sudden sharp turns. He was an expert driver, and soon he lost them. Moments later, he pulled into an underground garage.