Fox Forever (Jenna Fox Chronicles 3)

I ask him about Karden and the lack of images in the file.

“We don’t have any,” he says, and cuts off suddenly. I don’t know if the cutting out was deliberate or if modern communications still suffer from dropped calls. He seemed agitated so I will assume the former. It’s hard to believe there are no images of Karden, considering his notoriety and role in the Resistance. On the other hand, he did keep an extremely low profile in order to avoid detection. He would have avoided recorded images at all cost. I can always get a physical description from someone, maybe from Jenna. I don’t want Xavier to know that I plan to take over his role in getting Karden.

In the afternoon I take what appears to be a slow leisurely walk along where I think the green line used to run. A lot of the buildings have changed and that skews my point of reference, but I remember walking the streets and knowing where the tunnels ran beneath the city. I walk the distance between the Old Library Building and the public gardens looking for anything that hints of a detainment complex under the streets but see nothing suspicious so I go to the public gardens where Xavier said there was a hidden entry point to the tunnels. It’s not that hidden, only a few overgrown bushes cover a makeshift stairway made of rocks and rubble, but I guess with sightings of body parts, no one would venture down there even if there were flashing neon signs pointing to the entrance.

I take a few steps down. In the light of day, I can see the pathway ahead easily. I assume the body parts were a ruse but I’m not foolish either and I listen for any kind of sound. It’s quiet, not even the rush of a fleeing rat. I proceed down a few more steps until I can see into the cavern. It’s dark but there’s still enough daytime light filtering down the stairway for me to see that it’s the old Arlington station. A few of the turnstiles are still there and some of the white tiles that used to cover the walls are there too, but most of it’s a grim decaying mess smelling of waste and neglect. I can’t imagine the very fastidious LeGru walking five steps into this rathole, much less all the way down one of the tunnels.

My eyes adjust to the dim light, and I take a few more steps in until I’m on the edge of where the real blackness begins, the original green line tunnel, and miles of other tunnels that could go anywhere.

I hear movement, a faint skitter, something small, maybe a mouse or a rat. I take another step and a loud screech blasts the air around me seeming to come from all directions, bouncing off walls so it sounds like a hundred screeches. I bolt for the entrance and scramble up the steps as fast as I can, stones tumbling down behind me. In seconds I’m back in the gardens and I breathe deeply, telling myself I was just spooked with all of Xavier’s talk of body parts and half-dogs. It was probably just an owl. Lots of normal creatures could live down there. They probably do. Their noises may be what started the rumors of half-dogs in the first place. Still, next time before I go down, I think I’ll have Karden’s knife out of my pack and ready in my hand—with the largest blade extended.

When I’m almost back to the apartment, Xavier calls. He wants to make sure I’m staying in tonight. I tell him I plan to do some reviewing. “There’s always more to learn.”

“Good idea,” he says.

Last but not least, Livvy checks in with me. She offers to come over and cook something hot for dinner. “Thanks, Livvy, but no. I think I’m going to turn in early tonight. I didn’t sleep well last night. I’ll fix myself something simple.”

She tells me to rest up.

“I will.”

“Locke,” she adds, and then hesitates. “Be careful.”

* * *

The moon is barely a sliver, peeking from behind clouds that drift past so slowly they look like they’re painted across the sky. There is no startling tonight. Everything is slow. I’m in plain sight sitting on the tree root. She’s in plain sight as she approaches.

Locke, be careful. Livvy knew I was leaving. Did she see it on my face? The lie? Or maybe it was in my voice? What was I not able to disguise?

Raine’s not in a hurry as she walks toward me. She must be confident that no one is watching her from above, or maybe she just doesn’t care.

No. She cares.

I’ve seen it in her eyes over and over again, quick furtive glances, but she knows her moves well—when it’s safe to sit on a rooftop, or climb down a rope, or talk to me. Maybe that’s where her study of chess comes in handy. I think about what she said that first night, about feeling like the smallest speck on the face of the planet. Was it a slip? Or did she just feel safe with me? I guess that’s my job. To make her feel safe. To get information. I don’t like this part of the Favor.

She stops a few feet away from me. “Couldn’t sleep again?” she asks.

I look at her, taking in every aspect, her voice, her hair, the way her hands hang loose and relaxed at her sides, the color of her skin under a sliver of moonlight. I’ve been studying her files day after day. So much is missing, so much the files don’t tell. The disturbed feeling I had when I first saw her has grown into something else. An intense curiosity. She’s more than just the Secretary’s daughter. More than my in, but wh

at the more is, I’m not sure. “No. Still can’t sleep.”

She steps closer, her knees nearly touching mine, and she stares at me. I try to adjust my position on the tree root to escape her close scrutiny, but she doesn’t waver.

I swallow. “Something on your mind?”

“Volumes. There’s always a lot on my mind, but right now it’s you and wondering why you really come. I don’t know if I can trust you.”

“Only a week ago I saved your life, remember? Doesn’t that give me some sort of Level Ten trust status?”

She smiles. “You saved me from falling off a low bridge and getting wet. That’s all. Level Two status only.”

I watch the smile fade from her lips, but not entirely from her eyes. There’s definitely still a glimmer and it empowers me to know I put it there. “Only Level Two.” I sigh. “Looks like I have a long way to go.”

“Let’s walk.”

We walk toward the far end of the Commons near the burial grounds. She says she likes the fact that she can talk to everyone there and they don’t talk back, they just listen.

“Are you sure they’re listening?”