Braxton leaned back against the headboard. Matt was stretched out on the bed next to him, though stubbornly not sleeping.
"Do you think they're in any actual danger?"
The question didn't come as a surprise. No one really knew what was happening, so they could only work off their worst assumptions. Hope for the best, plan for the worst. That was drilled into them from the moment they joined the service. Matt, having entered the empire's supplementary military schooling system at only fourteen, had been exposed to the mindset the longest out of any of them.
Braxton's mindset was more akin to expect the worst, plan for the worst, settle for anything above that.
"Yeah." Much as he hated hurting his friend, he wasn't going to voice a lie. "I do. Gray was furious with Zephyr. I don't doubt he'd hurt Sy to get to the Admiral's grandson. Now's a good time for it, too. With the way Zephyr and I have been bickering publicly, Gray probably has it orchestrated so he can blame it all on me."
"No one would ever believe you'd ever hurt Sy."
Braxton scoffed. "Liar."
Matthew sighed, but offered him a smile. "Fine. No one who's ever met you and can go off of more than just your reputation would believe it. But I doubt even anyone who knows your reputation would think you're capable of that. People call you ruthless in the same breath they say you're loyal."
Braxton rolled his eyes, though he smiled. It didn't last long. "I still they're they're in serious danger. Honestly, don't tell Jim this, I don't know if we're going to be able to find them in time. Everyone's awake and moving now. Their absence has already been noticed. Us not being there might buy Gray a little time, but it's not going to last. He can't afford not to have planned for them to be taken care of before anyone might accidentally find them."
"That works under the assumption that they know he was involved. If he's done something that doesn't attach his face to the crime, we might have a little more time." Matt pointed out.
Braxton shook his head. "He would still need to dispose of them somehow. It's not going to be easy to get them off grounds - dead or alive - without being spotted. He won't be able to do that once the Admiral becomes aware his grandson is missing."
Matt was sketching something on his tablet, his stylus carefully dancing across the illuminated screen. "Maybe he doesn't intend to take them off campus. The school is huge, there's got to be places you can keep a person. Maybe he wants them alive for some reason? Ransom? Power over the admiral? Perhaps he'll release Zephyr if the admiral agrees to expel you."
Braxton scoffed. "I'm already half a step away from being kicked out. He wouldn't waste a bargaining chip like that on me."
"Then maybe he's after something bigger?" Matt paused, studying whatever he was working on. He shook his head, flipping his stylus over to the 'eraser' end and quickly getting rid of whatever he'd just decided wasn't good enough.
Braxton's attention was on his own tablet. He flicked through the different programs he had up swiftly. Private Chat - empty; School email - nothing from his first class; Group Chat - no messages; Announcements - none; Chat again.
Braxton scanned the message that popped up as he shifted to the screen. "Aladdin says Sy isn't on ground level."
"That doesn't leave us with much," Matt sighed. "But maybe that's a positive."
"Yes. We are positive that our time is dwindling."
Matt rolled his eyes and swatted Braxton's shoulder. "Stop being so negative. They're going to be fine. They have to be fine."
Braxton ignored the assault to his limb. "We can't prove that yet. We could be too late with every second that passes. They could be anywhere in this school, in any condition. Unless you're there to defend them, you can never ensure that they're safe."
Matt set his hand on Braxton's shoulder gently. "Brax…does this have anything to do with your brother?"
Braxton scoffed. "My brother can't be involved in something when he's not here."
"I think it's possibly because he's not here that he's perhaps influencing the way you are handling your emotions surrounding this particular situation." Matt responded carefully.
Braxton rolled his eyes, but couldn't help the affectionate smile on his face. "No, Matt. I appreciate your concern, but his death has nothing to do with this."
"Are you sure?"
"Yup!" Braxton smiled over at his friend. "Trust me. No one's in any danger of blowing up, alright?"
Matt fixed Braxton with a stern look.
After only a few seconds, Braxton caved. "Look, I had a worse time about my brother when Jim was describing his practice mission, okay? But I am worried about Varian. He and Hogarth haven't checked in yet, which is fine, but I'm probably not going to relax until they do."
"Why Varian?"
Braxton scrolled through his tablet absently. "He's had some….adverse experiences in his life that mirror parts of this situation. He's a sensitive guy, and I don't know how to help him. I think Hogarth is probably good for him, but I don't know how he's going to handle the emotions of all this."
"He seemed fine before he and Hogarth left," Matt crossed his legs and turned so he faced Braxton a bit more squarely.
"He was masking." Braxton flicked back to the group messages and tapped out a quick reply before refocusing on Matt again. "You can tell by the way he kept a hand on his belt. He's always got some sort of chemicals in his pouch there, when he's upset, he keeps a hand on them."
Matt frowned slightly. "I hadn't even noticed."
"Don't expect you to." Braxton sighed and leaned back against Jim's pillows. "He doesn't like to talk about those things too much. Mox said that he didn't see Sy or Zephyr in the other mess hall, and Zephyr didn't show for physical."
Matt leaned over to glance at the conversation.
Braximum 08:59
My personal snitch eat in ur hall today? He was a no sho left me starving in my room.
AutonoMoxus 09:03
No dice, Z wasn't at his usual table for breakfast. We're with the 4th years for phys today and he's not here either. You need me to tell a teach you're stuck?
Braximum 09:03
Its handled. Just wanted to check. Thanks man
AutonoMoxus 09:03
Sure fire
A banner at the top of the screen announced the arrival of a new message in another chat.
Sultan's Son
He seems to be on the 3rd or 4th floor. Light gets darker if you change floors in either direction.
Braxton tapped the alert and swapped conversations, already tapping out his response.
As he was responding, yet another alert for a message in a different conversation came in.
Sparks
Give me ten minutes, I should be able to trace their tablets.
Braxton glanced over at Matt. "Hey, this chat could get us in trouble. You wanna look off somewhere else? I know if you see it you won't forget it."
Matt studied Braxton silently as he weighed his options. Braxton attended to the incoming responses from his friends as he patiently waited for Matt to decide.
Matt drew in a deep breath. "It might be best if I do. Just let me know when you're done with that chat."
Braxton nodded. "You got it." As soon as Matt had turned away, Braxton flicked open his awaiting conversation.
Braximum 22:14
No dice on that last channel. Meet Sunday about 3am?
Sparks 22:30
Can't this week. Next?
Braximum 06:55
Done
—
Braximum 08:49
Tattle Brat and Soapstone r missing. Think u can track them?
Sparks 09:06
Give me ten minutes, I should be able to trace their tablets.
Braximum 09:06
Owe you.
Sparks 09:06
What's Sy's last name?
Braximum 09:06
D'nahsy
Braxton changed messages and set his tablet aside. "It's cool, Matt. Hopefully we have some answers soon."