Page 88 of Coldwire
“You know,” I say before I can stop myself. “It would have been nice if we’d collaborated from the beginning. Imagine if we’d combined test notes and exchanged ideas for projects. We would have been unstoppable.”
Kieren stays quiet.
“I’m not blaming you for our rivalry,” I go on, “but I am kind of blaming you. You decided to be rude to me first.”
“Rehashing old wounds, are we?”
I point at myself. “They’re very much still open and bleeding. Remember how nice the New Cadet Orientation party was?”
“Yes, well,” Kieren says. “Unfortunately, after that first night we met, I developed such a raging crush on you that I had to wean myself off like an addict.”
I blink. My thoughts short out entirely, then kick back at ten times the volume. He must be joking. There’s no chance he’s serious.
“What did you just say?”
“In hindsight,” Kieren continues, refusing to repeat himself, “maybe there were better methods than being rude. But you were always so enthusiastic,and I liked your smile, so I was very intent on putting a stop to it. I’m naturally competitive, Lia. By the time I actually decided I wanted to be valedictorian, I’d already given myself a head start because scoring highest in the class infuriated you.”
“A raging crush…,” I repeat, still stuck on that first chain of conversation. “We were thirteen. It only took one night for it to be that serious?”
Kieren’s brow furrows. He almost appears offended.
“You kissed me dead on the mouth,” he exclaims. “What is a thirteen-year-old boy supposed to think?”
“For, like, two seconds.” I’m still flabbergasted. “And it was Spin the Bottle!”
“I was a sheltered child.”
Kieren, despite the confession that I’m hearing for the first time, appears entirely casual, his posture relaxed, one shoulder leaning against the wall.
“I— This is— What—” I cut myself off. Meanwhile, I have to switch gears or else this is going to splinter my brain in two. “Okay. Sure.” My eyes flicker downward. “You poor soul.”
“All right,” Kieren says dully. “None of that, please.”
“I’ve left you pining,” I sniffle. “All these years.”
Kieren rolls his eyes. “You are unbearable, actually.”
“You’re in a safe space. You can admit your undying love now.”
“You are so—”
A screech of sirens echoes from the street, and immediately I peer through the window in search of the source. It catches Kieren’s attention just as fast, his face right up against the glass when he strides to the window.
The sirens get nearer, then nearer.
Then the one police car stops in front of the building.
My pulse stutters.
“Hey,” I say slowly. “What are the chances that Hailey didn’t do a complete wipe of the system log like Kam was afraid of?”
Kieren stares down for a moment. He blinks, his eyes glazing for hisdisplay, and seconds later he says, “High. I’m on their radio. Chung’s building reported suspicions of system tampering when their alarm sounded, and they sent their log to be investigated.Shit.”
Without any time to waste, Kieren makes for the door. I take one more peek to see that the officers have entered the building and wince, hurrying after Kieren into the stairwell.
“Are they tracking Hailey’s credentials?” I ask. My breath huffs while we make our rapid spiral down the floors. “Is she in danger?”
“No names mentioned. I think you were smart to give her a physical laptop. They’re likely tracking a live location for the device itself.”
