The silence that sat afterwards was the most deafening out of the previous ones. I didn't change my stare at Fang, who, now that I've connected the dots, knew a lot more about me than I anticipated. He knew my parents, and how my mom looked so much like me and James- I mean- Iggy. He was part of the factor that made Iggy leave my parents. And he helped Iggy find them in the first place. He posted it on his blog, that he and the flock were trying to find their parents, and Iggy found his. I could understand leaving our parents' home when we still have a family we grew up with, but to confront an initial family member of Iggy's was more jarring than anything.
Fang leaned back in his chair and ran his hand up into his hair, his face full of confusion and understanding at the same time. Again, the amount of emotions was kind of freaky.
"Uh, who is James?" Star asked, hand up in a classroom-question-like-manner.
"I think she means Iggy," Maya said, trying to connect the dots. "Am I right?" She turned towards Fang who slowly nodded and was reeling from the discovery.
"The red-haired kid?" Star asked out loud.
"It's more strawberry-blonde," Holden spoke over Star much to her disgust. "Like hers."
"Isn't he blind, too?" Kate finally spoke, her voice dipping into curiosity.
Ratchet nodded, "But he has the ears of a bat, it's pretty cool." I rose an eyebrow, imagining what bat ears looked like, then wondered if he meant figuratively.
"He's also a computer whiz," Maya added. "And his cooking is phenomenal."
"I bet it's better than this," Star held up a piece of sausage stuck to her fork. "I mean, I'll eat this, but if it's better I'd want him as my personal chef."
"More like slave chef," Holden muttered before wincing at an almost un-seeable punch to the arm.
Fang smiled a little while my heart just sank. Fang knew my brother more than anybody, but even the rest of the gang knew him. Of course they did, I shouldn't be surprised. My stare on Fang subsided under all the talk about Iggy, washing away like it was nothing. I frowned. It wasn't fair that they knew him more than I did, and I was his sister of all people; biologically, of course, but still. I should have more reign over knowing him, but I've only known about him in the past year, so I couldn't fight the odds. I was just another piece to the puzzle, and I wasn't even a side piece. It was infuriating.
"Why did he leave?" I finally asked, hushing the rest of the group. I redirected the question to Fang, "Why didn't he stay with our parents?"
Fang analyzed me before answering, "They were going to treat him like a prop for money. Sell his story, like a circus animal."
I shook my head, "That's not what they told me. They wanted justice for what happened to him, to them, and thought that was the only way."
Fang's lips frowned a little, "That's not what Iggy said."
"Well, then, he wasn't listening," I quickly assumed. "They love him, and when they saw me, they thought I was him and started crying and apologizing."
Fang didn't reply and just simmered in my words, hopefully trying to understand where I was coming from. I felt my skin jumping again, and my heart picked up as I pressed more on the mystery.
"Look, I understand why Ja- Iggy left," I started, catching Fang's attention. "He didn't see them as family. The flock, you, are his family. I don't blame him, but don't blame my parents. They just wanted their kid back."
Fang continued looking at me, but I could tell his mind was somewhere else. I wondered what was going through his head right then, and what comeback he had to throw at me. But he kept quiet and I heard a couple murmurs from our mini audience, so I backed down from our badgering with pink cheeks.
"I wish my parents were like that," Star sighed, leaning her head on a propped-up hand. The expression she had was different than her normal prissy one; she genuinely looked distressed at the topic. "They threw me out once they realized how fast I was."
Kate placed a hand on her friend's shoulder while Star sighed.
"My mom thought I was spying all the time," Ratchet admitted. I quickly turned to look at him, the word "spy" catching me off guard. He moved his hands into his pockets, "She didn't like me snooping on her boyfriend twenty-four seven, even if I didn't mean to."
Ratchet copied Star's expression, and for a moment I noticed the similarities between the two teens. They were so different on the surface, but they went through something similar. Everybody else fidgeted in their seats, indicating they didn't have that connection to their family anymore, and my heart fell at the thought. Speck fingered the folded hem of her jacket, and I placed my hand on her arm for reassurance.
"How about we don't talk sappy stuff," Maya broke the pause. "We should get going."
"Going?" I echoed.
"Yeah, we need to take to the air soon," Fang replied in a low voice. He seemed pretty shaken by what I said, which was more than enough to garner concerned looks from the gang. "Ratchet, could you snag a ride?"
"Sure thing, man," he nodded, climbing out of his seat, and walking out of the lobby through the front door. I eyed him as he paused and glanced around the lot outside before walking left. Was he going to steal a car?
"Everybody else needs to grab their things," Maya added, stacking plates until they reached her chin. "Once we're ready, Fang and I will scout around before we take off."
"Okidokie," Holden shot a thumbs up. Star muttered under her breath something regarding Holden being a kid, and Kate slid out from her seat. Speck eyed me as I watched everybody get ready to leave the table. Fang quickly strolled over to the stairway and didn't bother to hold open the door for the couple right next to him. I swallowed.
Did I go too far? I shouldn't have pestered him like that. My insides were trembling like I was stuck in an earthquake. He seemed quiet after what I said, as if I offended him to the point he couldn't bark back. I must have hit a nerve. It must be something regarding his leave from the flock. What else could it have been?
"Hey, uh- Maya?"
"What?" Maya turned around to look at Speck and I still sitting in the booth. Everybody else was up in the rooms, and the cleaning staff was starting to make their rounds in the cafeteria.
"Is… Fang okay?" I asked, my cheeks warming a little. I didn't know how else to ask how he was doing without seeing too pervasive. I also didn't know how I felt after he stopped talking to me. He diverted the conversation and left me hanging on what else happened. I also couldn't just let him drag my parents. I trust them fully, and to hear that he didn't made me mad. Did he just have something against parents in general?
"He's fine, just…" Maya thought a bit. "You were kind of pushing it."
I bit my lip, "Well, he was misjudging my parents. I had to defend them."
"Maybe, but not everybody's parents are like that," she crossed her arms.
True, but that doesn't mean you assume that. Her subtle glance-down made me question what happened to her parents. And Fang's. Did Fang ever find his parents?
"Is it because of his parents?" I relayed my thoughts.
"No- well- I guess it is," Maya replied. "According to what he found back with the flock, his mom thought he died, and she was young, like our age. He didn't find anything about his dad, either."
"Oh," I breathed, taking in the information. No wonder. Even if he did find his mom and explain himself to her, there was no guarantee she would react like mine did. But even then… "Why ding my parents though? Why not his own?"
"He does, but he's grown past that. He's met your parents, and he trusted them to take in Iggy because they begged to find him. But when Iggy left and told the flock why-"
"He trusted Iggy more," Speck chimed in. I squeezed her hand slightly.
"Because he's family," I added, hanging my head. Fang's words from yesterday echoed to me: "Family means everything." He grew up with Iggy, and the more I thought about it, blood wasn't thicker than familial love. I slightly frowned at the thought.
"And he's not an adult," Maya blinked slowly. "Fang, the flock, the gang – we don't trust adults. They made us this way, and they keep making things worse. I guess that's why it's hard to trust our own parents. We never know what evil things they could do to us." My fake, original parents' faces flashed before me, behind bars, and crying saying they didn't want this for me. Fang was right on the money, adults are assholes.
"And your parents?" Speck asked.
"Speck!" I hushed her rudeness.
Maya looked at her, "Never met 'em. And never want to."
"Why?" Speck tilted her head just slightly, despite my glare at her.
Maya narrowed her eyes then turned her gaze somewhere else, "Because I know they wouldn't have wanted me anyways."
Speck's face fell before turning towards me. I gently smiled at her before she asked again, "Well, if you wanted to know, would you?" It took me a moment to comprehend what she was referring to. Once I did, I jabbed her side.
"What do you mean?" Maya's brows pinched.
I couldn't get in a word to stop her as she exclaimed, "I could find them for you."
Maya stared at her before staring at my red face, "What?"
"She- she means she- uh-" I stammered. "She can hack. Like… amazingly good. Yeah, she… found my real parents that way…"
"Oh, well," Maya shifted her weight. "That's pretty cool. And you're only eight?"
"Mhm," Speck smiled. "I have access to all of ITex' core sys-" I covered her mouth with my hand and glared at her.
"She has a knack for it," I quickly said. "I think ITex must have expanded her brain capacity or something to experiment on kids' learning processes." Speck's eyes widened at me and I stared back into them, hoping she got the message to shut up. Even though it didn't matter, the more she alluded to that the more suspicious they would get.
"Wow," Maya smirked a little, impressed. "Not even Nudge could get that far without being caught. You know…" She trailed off, "That's actually perfect."
"Perfect?"
"We have a lead on the next location the Doomsday Group is meeting, but we only have a radius blocked out. Heck, I don't even know if they go by that name anymore, but I'm sure we got the right area. If she could hack into whatever they're using, then we can narrow that down and get a better jump on them," Maya suggested.
Speck sat on the edge of her seat, excited to use her wicked skill for good, "I'm in!"
"Uhh, no, hold on a second," I held up a hand. Speck pouted at me as I continued. "How do you know this is safe? Are you sure this is the right place? The right group? Sure, Speck is good at hacking, but what if that just opens us up to more problems in the future?"
"I'll be safe," Speck stated.
"You said she's good with what she does," Maya answered me. "I can also show you what we have so far."
"Are your leads good enough though? Are you sure it's not just a rabbit hole?"
Maya crossed her arms at me but didn't answer, and I frowned again.
"I'm not letting her do that, especially if it's dangerous," I concluded, causing Speck to whine.
"Oh please Amber, I can do it! I'll be careful! Please? Please please please with a cherry on top?" Her soft eyes widened, and she went full puppy-dog eyes on me, and my mouth dropped open. Did she seriously just do that? How could she pull this on me here? And on this topic of all things? Dammit, and I couldn't say no, especially to that face. I only turned down that face once and she didn't talk to me for a week. It was the worst; she refused to even look my way despite my jabs at her to say something. She was one stubborn kid, and sometimes I just couldn't shake her.
I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed, "Fine, but only if I'm there with you."
Speck squealed in happiness and hugged me tightly, and I outwardly groaned by her over joyous action. Maya chuckled and gave the look that I was a total pushover. I couldn't even growl back; Speck was squeezing me too tight.