Tandem

“Angel eyes,” I said. He nodded and sat down on the floor, riffling through the folders. I took the rest and we began our search.

“These are all top-secret military documents,” Callum pointed out after a while.

I’d noticed the same thing. Each folder was marked CLASSIFIED in bright bold red lettering, and underneath that there was always a label with the name of the project in blue. We went through them one by one, but none sounded right. CLASSIFIED: OPERATION LARCHMONT. CLASSIFIED: OPERATION PAINTED ARROW. CLASSIFIED: OPERATION LOOKING GLASS.

I paused at the last one. Operation Looking Glass. I flipped it open and started skimming. Almost immediately I found mention of Earth. I wanted to read further, but I could feel Callum’s eyes on me.

“Did you find anything?”

I shook my head and reluctantly closed the Looking Glass file. “Not yet.” I kept thumbing through them but found nothing, and the clock on the wall told me we only had ten minutes left before the queen returned.

Suddenly, Callum leapt up, waving one of the folders.

“I’ve got it,” he said, thrusting the file into my hands. The cover read CLASSIFIED: OPERATION ANGEL EYES. I hesitated, not sure if I really wanted to know what was in it.

“Aren’t you going to open it?” Callum pressed. I nodded. But when I saw what it contained, I was more confused than ever.

All the other files were filled with documents, long detailed memoranda filled edge to edge with tiny, black text. But this folder was empty except for a color printout of a map of the North American continent. The map was dark blue, the landmass clearly outlined in white. There was a thick line that divided the country, just like the map I’d seen in the Tower, marking the delineation between the UCC and Farnham. The rest of the map was covered in abstract blobs, light blue in color. Some were huge, like the one that hovered right over Chicago; others were smaller, like the ones that dotted northern New York Dominion like freckles. It looked like the sort of thing you might see on the evening news, during the weather report.

“A weather map? That’s it? That’s what the king wanted me to find?” I shook my head in disbelief. All that cloak-and-dagger nonsense for nothing. I felt like an idiot.

“Let me see.” Callum reached for the file and considered its contents carefully. “Maybe Angel Eyes is some kind of meteorological satellite.”

“But who cares about the weather? This can’t be it!”

“I don’t see any other files marked ‘Angel Eyes’—do you?” He was right. I wanted to go through the Looking Glass file, but it was too dangerous with Callum right there. Whatever happened, he couldn’t know about the tandem, about Earth. About me.

I shoved the files back into the safe, slamming the door in frustration.

“I’m sorry you didn’t find what you were looking for, Juli,” Callum said, laying a gentle hand on my shoulder.

I sighed. “It’s okay. Maybe I was just making all this up. Maybe there was never anything for us to find.”

“But you were right about the things the king was saying,” Callum insisted. “They led us here.”

“Yeah, straight to nothing.”

“We should probably get out of here. The queen could come back at any second.”

“Okay,” I said. “Let’s go.” I hesitated. “Wait, hold on.” I opened the safe again and removed the map from the file.

“What are you doing?” Callum looked away in embarrasment as I folded the map in quarters and crammed it into my bra.

“I want to show it to someone,” I told him, avoiding his curious gaze. He must’ve been wondering who that “someone” was, although he probably could’ve guessed. “Just to be sure.”

Despite the disappointment of the afternoon’s fruitless search, I was glad to be back at the Castle. I’d loved Asthall, but now that Thomas was at the Castle, I wanted to be as well. I wished I knew how to get in touch with him. I wanted to show him the map and see what he thought of it. At brief moments throughout the day, when I knew myself to be alone, I took it out and looked at it. Something about it struck me as familiar, but for a while I didn’t know why, until I realized—this was what Juliana had given the Shepherd. But I was struggling to figure out why it was so important, why it was worth anything to Libertas. I needed to talk to Thomas more than ever; if anyone could shed some light on this mystery, it would be him.

After dinner, Gloria informed me that a new agent, Kline, had been assigned to manage my security detail. My heart fell straight to my toes when I heard this. Something was clearly wrong, but nobody would answer my questions. I kept trying to convince myself that Thomas could handle whatever situation he found himself in, but that didn’t make me feel any better.

I turned in early that night, despite Callum’s protestations; I felt bad deserting him, but I had a headache and wanted to be alone.

The room was dark, and at first I thought it was empty. Then I caught a sudden movement out of the corner of my eye. There was someone standing out on the terrace. I started to back away, but then whoever it was came through the door and switched on the lights.

“Lucas?” All the muscles in my body tensed. “What are you doing here? Where’s Thomas?” Of all people, I figured he’d be the one to know.

“Locked up in his quarters,” Lucas said, ambling in my direction with his hands shoved in his pockets. “He’s been suspended, you know. Because of you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m here to warn you,” he said, but there was an edge of malice in his voice and I knew he hadn’t come to me—to Juliana—as a friend. With every step he took toward me, I took one back.

“Warn me about what?”

“The General has it out for you,” Lucas said. “He knows all about your little tryst with my brother and now he’s angry. That’s not what you want.”

“Is this how you talk to your princess?” I demanded, my voice trembling.

Lucas laughed. “You? A princess? You’ve got to be kidding me. Anyone with common sense can tell you’re a fake from a mile away. What’s your name again? Sandra? Sarah?”

“Don’t you dare come any closer,” I snarled.

Lucas snapped his fingers. “Sasha! That’s it, right?” I seized up, temporarily breathless with surprise and fear. How did he know my name? “You look surprised. I don’t blame you. Thomas probably told you I’m just some lowly support agent. And he’s not wrong. He’s not right, either, but then again there’s a lot of stuff Thomas doesn’t know.”

“Like what?”

“Like who was behind Juliana’s kidnapping,” Lucas said. My eyes widened, and he grinned. “I thought that might get your attention. Let me tell you a little story about Thomas. You probably know that we’re not blood related, huh? That he’s adopted?”

“Of course I do.”

“You know, at first, I resented Thomas,” Lucas said. “The General already had a son, and yet he had to go and pick up a stray. Like I wasn’t good enough or something. But then I saw Thomas. I couldn’t imagine why the General would choose him. He was small and skinny and always trembling like a little puppy. I figured, hey, this kid’s no threat, so I took him under my wing. I loved him like a brother, but then he had to grow up and become a superman. Strong, fast, agile, smart as hell. Suddenly, he was the General’s ideal son. Like my father knew something we didn’t all along.” This last observation was said in a thoughtful way, as if Lucas was truly contemplating the possibility that the General was psychic, of all ludicrous things. This was a trait, perhaps the only one, that Lucas shared with his brother—the secret belief that the General was more than a man.

“So? What does this have to do with me?”

“I’m not finished yet,” Lucas said. “Did anyone ever tell you it’s rude to interrupt?”

“Sorry,” I replied sarcastically. “Continue.”