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Chapter Three

Twenty minutes later, they were in the secret stealth towncar, Becky stuffing herself into her dress that they had grabbed from her house in a whirl. Carly had her secret phone out that looked just like an iPhone but was far from it, urgently texting her superiors who viewed the addition of Becky as a serious breach of protocol.

"You look like you're about to bite your phone," said Becky who'd moved on to makeup. "Is it your mom again?"

"Yeah," said Carly. One lie was as good as another. "Doesn't want me out too late."

"Well, I can make sure of that," said Becky. "Don't forget our Calc test tomorrow."

"Jeez, thanks, Second Mom."

Ugh. Tests. Why do this pretense of high school when she knew what she was going to do with her life? Claw and scratch and steal her way up the echelons of her evil organization. Why did she need AP Calculus for that? Or gym? She trained hours a day before school. She knew everything she needed to know.

Carly opened the file on their mission parameters while the towncar bumped and churned its way to the Governor's Mansion, driver hidden and silent. Might even be a robot up there.

"What are you looking at?" Before Carly could stop her, Becky was next to her, staring at the screen. "Holy hecklers, is that Lance Conrad, the governor's son?"

Carly had to make a quick decision. Always think of a lie, something close to the truth, but not quite. "It's this app I found. A party app. For these kinds of events. Like spin the bottle, but for real. People enter who's attending the party, and it gives you assignments. Dares. Whoever gets the most points 'wins' the party."

"What did you get?"

Carly smiled. "Lance, duh. Says here my 'mission' is to get him alone in a room. Extra points if I get a kiss." Which was sort of her mission anyways. Not to kiss him, though. Unless it helped. "Here's something fun. Says here that Lance has a super power. Apparently he was bitten by a radioactive elephant in a lab, and he has extra strength and double weight."

"Tee hee. Right. Ooh. I want a mission and a super power too. What's the app called?"

Damn. Should have thought of that. Stall. "Um. Where is it?" Carly made a pretense of searching her phone. Finally, she got clearance. "Oh yeah. Wasn't in the app store. You have to download it from a link. I'll forward it to you."

Soon, Becky was off in her own world, reading about a mission that had her imagining some made-up assignment to seduce some random attendee who had the super ability to name every ingredient in a bowl of soup. "This is going to be the best party ever."

Carly read up on her real mission—how to corral a boy with elephantine strength and turn him over to her masters for examination. It was risky, but simple. She subtly checked the vials tied to her hip under her dress.

The car stopped. The ball! The whole estate glowed with twirling spotlights. Fancy cars battled each other to reach the curb and the red carpet. Carly couldn't deny the excitement that shivered her veins. Her first real assignment, her first foray into the world of evil deeds. What could go wrong?

They walked arm-in-arm up the broad staircase and into the main mansion, right into the ballroom with buzzed with noise and bubbled with streamers and flowers. The floor flooded full of mingling guests, all in tuxedos and gowns. Chandeliers hung above, windows revealed a lit patio, and tables featured sparkly silverware. The stage featuring a swanky jazz trio and a podium for speakers with the Virginia state seal on it, some Amazon chick standing over a dead king. Nice. Prophetic?

All Carly saw was opportunity. The punchbowl lay unguarded, great for psychoactive drugs. The Governor Himself sat at a secluded table, a knife-slice away from dying for his state. Flammable curtains. Steak knives for throwing. Vents for smoke bombs.

But none of that mattered right now. There he stood, Lance, perhaps the selfsame Elephant Boy, reputed to have saved the Madison Bridge from falling, to have fought Sergeant Sliver to a draw, to have taken Tae Kwon Do lessons in the same classroom as Steve Rogers. That is, if Lance really was the Man of Tusks. The nails digging into her arm from Becky told her everything she needed to know: Lance was gorgeous, a hunky hulk with ivory teeth who stole Carly's breath. Carly's knees wobbled ungracefully as she studied him, arms all bulgy, chest all puffy. Damn. Now she felt all girly. And why shouldn't she? Who says you can't be evil and have fun too? Isn't that the point of evil? Otherwise, it was just work, and if was going to spend her life working, she might as well just study and go to college and get a normal job and get married and have kids and grow old and die according to some plan society laid out for her.

Evil seemed like such a natural choice. It was fun. And when she ruled Earth, it would all be fun, every minute of every day. She snuck a peek back at the governor. He could be corrupted. What if were to be seen in a compromising position with a 16-year-old kid? Hmm, problem was that she didn't want her picture plastered all over newspapers. Or have some creepy old dude anywhere near her, even with her powers. Shadows. Always operate in the shadows. No, she needed to appear the wholesome kid, like Becky, until it was time to strike.

An usher led them to their table for the evening. All the other kids at the table were couples. Except one. Lance. Becky's grip redoubled.

"Hey," said Lance, glancing at Carly. Did his eyes linger? They seemed to brush up and down her dress and what little cleavage she had featured. She crossed her arms but put on a social smile. All the other couples introduced themselves. Scholarship kids from nearby schools, some candidates for military, their dates. Bios scrolled across Carly's contacts, highlighting each of them.

Becky elbowed her in the ribs and nodded at Lance. Carly had gotten distracted with all the scrolling, and totally missed Lance's question to her. "Hmm?"

"What brings you here? Scholarship?"

"Uhh." Damn. Not prepared again. She'd been studying all the details for tonight, she'd forgotten her own bio. "We're just friends."

"Of?"

Lance didn't even twitch. "The governor. Your dad. Our families go way back."

"Then how come I've never heard of you?"

Uh-oh. Carly tried smiling. Agents in the truck were no help. Every eye on the table was on her. Shadows Schmadows. "We were overseas. Just got back to the states."

"Oh? Where?"

Dude was good. Interest? Suspicion? The questioning gave her a nervous quiver in her leg, and her fingers crept toward a throwing blade. "Paris?"

"Sont toutes les filles de Paris jolie comme vous?"

"Sont tous les garçons de la Virginie aussi ennuyeux que vous?"*

Lance finally smiled. "Nice. Love that place." Finally, lunky elephant sat, as did everyone else.

Carly almost collapsed but kept her composure. Interrogation, no problem. Subtle questioning, where nuance was everything and subtext ruled, well, not her strongest asset. Lance was as sharp as his name. Smart as an elephant, and seemed to only have eyes for her. Sure, she'd been the object of boy's attention plenty of times, but this was almost uncomfortable. He suspected something. Damn prep. Why couldn't she have gotten a scholarship or something instead of this lame story?

* "Are the the girls in Paris as pretty as you?"
"Are all the boys in Virginia as annoying as you?"
-Would love better translations! Post in a review or PM me!