He squirmed the entire time. And I already knew all this stuff. I have the goddamned internet on my phone, for fuck’s sake.
But I let him go on like that for hours. I watched him struggle. I thought it was damn cute the way he forced himself to be responsible for me and my new womanhood. And when that night was over and I tucked myself into bed, I loved him more than I had the day before.
Two weeks later he took me to the orthodontist and I came home with braces on my teeth.
And a part of me found that funny. And another part of me kinda knew that it was McKay trying to keep me a little girl just a little bit longer. Even though I knew that wasn’t really the reason I was getting braces. This appointment had been on his calendar for three months.
But that’s how I stole a deadly infectious disease wearing a hazmat suit, got caught, was taken prisoner, then let go and left adrift on a life raft in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, had my first kiss with my first love, became a woman, and stayed a kid all in the same two-week period.
No pun intended.
CHAPTER ELEVEN - DONOVAN
MIND CONTROL IN CHILDREN: A CASE STUDY OF COMPANY ASSASSINS
INTERVIEW WITH INDIE, AGE 15.5
SESSION #87
DONOVAN: OK, Indie. Calm down and tell it to me again. How did you meet this girl?
INDIE: I told you. She came to me. She would meet Nate and I in the river town where we go to pick up supplies for his grandfather and eat ice cream.
How long has this been going on?
I dunno. Years. We’ve been going there for years.
And this girl? She met you there every time?
No. She was new last summer. Just popped up out of nowhere.
She’s a town kid?
No. I told you, Donovan. She’s like me. Only… from somewhere else.
I need you to start at the beginning and tell me everything. Do not leave one single thing out. Do you understand?
…
Indie!
I hear you. I’m just trying to sort out where the story starts, for fuck’s sake!
Don’t swear at me.
…
OK. So last summer Nate and I were in town getting supplies and ice cream—
How did you get there? Did you drive?
No. We take the boat. And don’t interrupt me.
…
OK. Like I said. Last summer Nate and I were in town getting supplies and ice cream and this girl was hanging out at a table and chairs near the ice cream parlor area. She was licking a cone. I think it was butter pecan but it could’ve been—
Indie.
You said tell you everything.
Unless the flavor of the ice cream is important to the story, leave that out.
Fine. She was just sitting there eating her ice cream while Nate and I were choosing our flavors. She was kinda messy. By that I mean her hair was wild and tangled. Like she’d been walking through the woods for too long and forgot who she was.
What did she look like?
I’m gettin’ there. She had blonde hair, like me. And blue eyes like me too. But she’s only twelve. And people were kinda side-eyeing her. Probably wonderin’ who the hell she belonged to. But it’s the swamp, and people come out of it at the weirdest times, and no townie people want to get involved with some random swamp child who turns up out of nowhere because you never knew who their daddy is. But I could not stop lookin’ at her. Because she was so obviously not of this world.
What do you mean?
She was a Company kid, Donovan. Even I could see that. Hell, even Nate noticed something was wrong with her. She looked like me, and she was young, and alone, and acting like this was no big deal. She wasn’t looking for her mama, and while she did have a fearful look on her face, it wasn’t the scaredy-cat fear you see in kids. It was the kind of mean fear you see in… men.
Did she approach you first? Did she try anything?
No. Nate and I sat down at our regular table to eat our cones in the air conditioning. And I took my chair, and he took his chair, and I was facing her. So she and I were looking at each other. And then she licked her cone and winked at me. Then she got up, threw it in the trash, and walked outside.
What did you do?
Well. I knew this was a big deal. And I didn’t want Nate involved. So I hesitated a little. And I ate my ice cream like normal. And Nate ate his—Donovan. You said tell you everything. If you want me to skip to the important parts, just say the word. But don’t give me that look when I tell you everything!
…
So I tell Nate, “You go do your shopping. I need to talk to that girl.”
Just like that? You told him you needed to talk to some random swamp child? And he—what? Said, “OK. Meet up with you later?”
He’s not as stupid as you guys think, Donovan. He might not know what we do, but he knows it’s not normal. And when I need him to butt out and let me take care of things, I give him a look.
A look?
That tells him I’m working now and he has to butt out.
And he’s fine with that?
I would not call it fine. But he doesn’t make a big deal.
OK. So you go outside. What did she tell you?
I was ready for her. If she was coming for me, I was ready for her. And she was years younger, so I wasn’t worried when I followed her down the block and into an alley. She was lookin’ over her shoulder as she walked, making sure I was following. So we get in the alley and she stops. And I walk up to her and say, “I really hope no one sent you here to kill me because I am not an easy girl to kill.”
What did she say?
She said, “He came for me when I was on a job in Mobile. And I knew about you from my handlers. So when I saw him I knew they were dead and he was coming for me next. So I ran off and found my way to you. I’ve been watching you for weeks now. I’m not here to kill you, Indie, but I have to tell you that he is coming for you just like he came for me.”
Who?
That’s what I said. And she said, “Nicholas Tate.”
Jesus Christ. Why the fuck didn’t you say anything last summer?
Because I knew Adam would not let her stay.
Oh. My. God. Tell me this girl has not been staying with us?
Not exactly.
Indie.
She stayed with Nate. His grandfather is so sick now, he needed the help anyway. So she helped him.
…
Donovan?
…
Donovan? Do you want to hear the rest?