Caught in the Act
Caught in the Act
- - - - - - - - - - - - Arrivals - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Sir, a tip's just come in about the Einstein. Anonymous caller says she saw a teen who matched the BOLO at a pay phone. He was telling someone about moving the search out to the eastern suburbs. 'I'm getting close' was all she could remember exactly."
"Who picked this up?"
"I did, sir. I was covering for Wallis while he ran another tip to a team leader. Everything's filled out."
"Good work, Bryant. If Einstein follows his current pattern, I think I know which school he'll use for cover. I'm sending you in after him. The list of project members who are still alive has been exhausted. There's no one to stand in his way anymore."
"But they were all in protective government housing, weren't they?"
"Plummer wasn't. Hated adding to the time already spent away from his kids. If he was in charge, we've got innocents who could end up in the line of fire. I've asked specially that Shane Wolf come out of retirement to be your handler; he's familiar with the Plummer situation. It'll still be up to you to pull double-duty, though. We have to find it first."
Bryant nodded. "Yessir. I'll be fitted out and standing by at 1800 hours."
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At first, Seth Plummer didn't know what woke him up. Noise always seemed more prominent when the windows were left open at night, but the weather was still muggy and the air conditioner was broken. He'd have to deal with it for now.
After a minute or so, he heard it again—rustling, somewhere under his window. What now? It's been almost two years since the whole Ghost thing! When the rustling continued to creep closer, Seth gave up and went to investigate, skateboard at the ready as a precaution. He never expected to find what he did.
"Zoe?"
His older sister was scaling the lattice up to her balcony window. Seth grumpily ran a hand through his hair, once more long and sandy brown. "Zoe, it's one in the morning. Mom's gonna kill you."
"Not if certain little spies keep their mouths shut. The movie just ran late, is all."
"Who is it this time?"
Zoe finally made it to the top, and paused to catch her breath. "Not that it's any of your business…the new kid, Trenton. We went down to Showcase and our movie ran late. But he asked if I was free next weekend, too."
"Whatever." Seth rolled his eyes. "I'm going back to bed." Senior year must be affecting her brain.
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Monday became Seth's mission to identify this new kid. For two weeks now, rumor after rumor had surrounded him, but he'd never actually laid eyes on the supposed genius. At least, he didn't think he had. This left Seth so deep in thought, he didn't notice the familiar shadows block his path.
"Where d'ya think yer goin', Creeper?" Murney's wrestling thugs had once again caught him outside. Seth braced himself—Shane's reputation hadn't lasted long once it got around that he wasn't staying at the Plummers' anymore.
"C'mon, guys, I quit wrestling a long time ago."
"An' yer still scrawny as ever," the captain retorted. "Maybe we should remind you that you need to bulk up."
"But I—" The first blow caught Seth in the side of the face, knocking him off balance and into the wall of goons that had appeared. He tried to put his own fists up, but received a punch to the nose, then stomach before he could really react. Only three hits, and already he was on the ground.
"No bodyguard to cover your butt now, huh Creeper." Rough guffaws erupted around him.
"Six-to-one; impressive odds," said smooth, new voice. Seth felt a chill down his spine at the sound of it. "Sometimes odds can be deceiving, though."
The captain dealt one good kick, making Seth curl up in a ball of pain, before facing the newcomer. "With the Creeper? You gotta be kidding."
Seth caught a glimpse of Zoe at the other boy's shoulder through watering eyes. He was dark-haired and pale, taller than Seth, and of roughly the same build. What made him think he could take on six wrestlers?
Apparently the captain thought the same thing. He lunged at the new boy…who promptly had the leading fist twisted behind the huge bully's back. Everyone in the immediate vicinity fell silent. This kid was more than smart. The captain's face fought a wince as the boy tightened his grip.
"This is just a warning. One doesn't need strength to land another in a hospital. Now, get lost."
Fear crossed the captain's face before he was released to lead his gang stumbling towards the school.
"Seth!" Zoe cried.
Seth continued to keep his face pressed against the cool grass. He could feel warm blood pulsing from his nose, but was in too much pain to care. Only when Zoe's hands began to pull at his shoulders did he acknowledge the outside world again.
"You're bleeding! Come on, let's get you to the nurse's—"
"I'm fine," Seth muttered. As much as he appreciated her concern, he was in no mood to be fussed over.
"No, you're not. You wouldn't even get up without help."
"I just need to stop the bleeding and splash some water on my face. Stop worrying so much." Seth stood, and, after fighting down a minor wave of nausea, started towards the school doors.
"I'll make sure he gets cleaned up, Zoe," the pale boy stepped in. "You go on to class."
Zoe held her look of concern for a moment, then nodded. "Thanks, Trenton." She headed for the doors, looking over her shoulder once or twice at her brother.
"I don't need help," Seth protested as Trenton followed him into the nearest bathroom. "It's not like I'm in second grade or something."
"Somehow I have trouble believing you," Trenton replied coolly. His smooth, ominous tone was back. "Especially if those thugs return. What would you do then?"
"It's been the same routine for three years now. Like I said, I can handle it." Seth wiped the blood from his face with a paper towel, followed by another pinched around his nose. "Anyway, what's it with you and my sister? Kinda rushed, isn't it?"
"I don't think it concerns you, Seth. This can either be easy, or really difficult," said Trenton. "I have nothing but honest feelings for Zoe. Only you can decide if that makes us friends or enemies. Now the sooner you get that nosebleed stopped, the sooner we can explain to your teacher why you're late."
Seth managed not to roll his eyes as he removed the paper towel to check. There was something about this guy he just didn't like. Despite his helpful exterior, Trenton possessed an air that was cold, calculating.
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"Seth, could I speak with you for a moment?" Principal Wolfe caught him before he could find a corner to reside in for lunch. Seth reluctantly turned to face her—it was too weird after the wedding to know her as "Claire" whenever Shane visited, and still remember that she was the principal.
"Get over here; you're not in trouble. I need you to show a new student around. She's got a lot of the same interests, so I figured you'd be a good pick."
'She?' Seth thought nervously. He followed Claire toward the outdoor lunch tables. Sitting alone was a girl who looked like she could have stolen most of her outfit from Seth's own wardrobe. Aside from the fitted black CIA shirt (like one would get in Washington, D.C.), she had on boys' cargo pants, a loose, hooded jacket, and black Vans sneakers. Her hair was short, dark, and roughly layered. Only her soft features and a delicate silver ring she played with truly identified her as a girl. She didn't look up until Claire was right in front of her.
"Reese? This is Seth Plummer. He's going to show you around, and maybe even introduce you to the theatre program afterwards. I mean, if it's okay with him." Claire glanced over her shoulder.
"Guess so," Seth mumbled. Why was he being dragged into this, of all people?
"Great!" Claire said with a relieved smile. "Well, I guess I'll leave you to it. See you later." And she hurried off to intervene in a brewing argument several tables away. Reese watched the principal for a moment, then glanced, half-expectant, half-skeptical, at Seth.
"Um…hi," said Seth, waving half-heartedly. "Mind if I sit down?"
Reese shrugged indifferently. "Go ahead. So, you related to her?"
"No, why?"
"Well, you seemed both comfortable with having her around and really embarrassed. Most kids don't get that closely connected with their principals."
Seth wasn't sure he like this girl anymore than he like Trenton. What was going on at Chesapeake Heights? "So? That doesn't make us related. She married a family friend about a year ago," he shot back as he pulled out his lunch. "What about you? Where you from?"
"All over. Born in New York, lived in London for awhile…I spent most of my life in L.A., though, before moving to D.C. and then here."
"Wow." Seth arched his eyebrows.
"No big. You get used to it, especially when filming on location."
Wait—what—you were in movies?"
Reese cracked up for the first time. "Only a handful. Tiny parts, usually on smaller projects. I wouldn't call myself a star. Anyway, I prefer a live stage and a smaller venue."
"But you've been there!"
She shrugged again. "It would be a cool experience to be a lead in a movie, don't get me wrong. The stuff I did just took a week, maybe two; then they'd pay me, and I'd go home. I did get to sit on Tim Allen's lap and say, like, five words, once. But imagine being chased around constantly by the paparazzi. I'd go crazy!"
"Yeah, I guess I see your point. Still, most people don't get anywhere close, even to what you do." Seth let the conversation dissolve into silence as they both turned to their lunches. The rest of the period passed quietly, aside from one brief moment of terror, when Seth had to duck out of sight from the wrestling team.
"Are you okay?" Reese asked. She peered, first over the table top, then underneath it to look Seth in the face. Embarrassed, he straightened up again.
"No—I mean yeah. It's just…those guys have a knack for drawing blood every time we run into each other."
"I see. And the principal won't do anything about it?"
"She doesn't know. Murney taught 'em well to avoid suspicion. I've just learned to deal with it." A distant bell rang.
"Well, I guess it's off to class once more. Where does play practice meet, again?"
"I'll show you. My locker's just outside the upstairs science lab. You can meet me there after seventh period." Seth stuffed the remains of his lunch back into his bag. "See you then?"
"Locker outside the science lab. Got it."
Seth's thoughts were on play practice for the rest of the day. They would be reading for the next show, a musical called Newsies. Shauna Ramens, the school's director, had shown the movie last week, which starred a young Christian Bale. Seth thought it wasn't all that bad. Competition would be heavy for the girls' parts, though.
Finally, the last bell rang. After taking a detour to avoid the gym-bound wrestlers, Seth discovered that Reese had already beaten him to his locker.
"Photographic memory," she said as he approached. "I had chem after lunch, and you were just shutting the door. I took note of it. So, what show are you guys working on?"
Seth grabbed his stuff as quickly as possible. "Just starting a new one—Newsies. We're reading for parts today, though the girls' ones are going to be hot competition. Our club's not big enough yet to really merit real auditions."
"Hmm, sounds cool," mused Reese. "Ortega would have been cool to work with, especially for the dance numbers."
"The…taco company?"
"Kenny Ortega. I only got to see Newsies when I was little, when it came out in '92, but he's a great director and choreographer. Christian Bale wouldn't be bad to meet, either." She smiled slyly.
"How do you remember all of this?" Seth asked as he led the way through the halls.
"I've always had a mind for movie facts, for some reason. They just stick in my head. Is this it?"
They had reached the double doors of the auditorium.
Most of the club was already there, along with Shauna, her assistant, and the college intern who was working in the department for the semester.
"Now, if everyone would take a script, please." The director assigned the parts she wanted to hear from people first, starting with the guys. Seth tried out Kid Blink, David Jacobs, and Racetrack Higgins before Shauna had him read for Jack Kelly, the lead role.
"Hey lissen up!" Seth read in the best New York accent he could muster. "Pulitzer an' Hearst an' all dem udda rich fellas, I mean dey own dis city. How'sa bunch 'a street rats like us gonna make a diff'rence. The choice has gotta be yours. Are we jus' gonna take what dey give us, or are we gonna strike?" Silence rang out in the auditorium for a few seconds. Then,
"Strike!" Reese yelled the next line from the seats. Shauna was taking notes at lightspeed. She also kept Seth as Jack while she played around with the other roles, and then started adding in girls.
Reese wasn't just an acting enthusiast. She was amazing. The girls had waited over an hour, during which she apparently ran over her lines in her head. She only had to look at the script once or twice when she read Medda onstage. And her characters were believable! In fact, Seth felt it easier to get into his own character because he could believe hers.
"You should see Sana Fe; ev'ryting's bigger dere…da trees, da sky…an' da sun." Seth perched on the back of a chair, like he'd meant to do it all along.
Reese smiled to herself. "It's the same sun as here." There was the slightest hint of a laugh in her voice—no one could have guessed they barely knew each other.
"Yeah, it jus' looks bigga."
These characters were in love, Seth knew from the movie, and Reese pulled that out of the air with an almost complete stranger. In auditions!
"Sarah?" Seth began with honesty that took him by surprise. He self-consciously ran a hand through his hair. "I'm jus' not usta havin' wedder I stay or wedder I go matta to anybody. An' I'm not sayin' it should matta to you, but…but does it? Matta?"
When they made eye contact, the connection was so strong Seth could almost read an answer in her face that wasn't in their lines.
"That's good," said Shauna. "You may sit down. Now, could I please see…" She had kids read lines for another half an hour or so, but one could tell her mind was not completely in the present. Finally, she dismissed them with the promise to post the cast list in a week.
"How did you do that?" Seth exclaimed as they left the auditorium. "I got shivers down my spine!"
"You're not playing a character in a play; you are the character. You have to move and feel and react as the character would. Actually, you've picked up quite a bit already. Have you ever taken classes before?"
Seth felt his face heat up. "Nah. This is just for fun. It's what I like doing more than anything, though."
"Well, you take it very seriously, for a hobby, and that's not very common at the high school level," Reese pointed out. "Ah, there's my ride. I'll see you tomorrow, then."
"See ya." So maybe she's not so bad after all. But there's something different, something I can't quite put my finger on, Seth thought as his own mom pulled up.