Undiscovered Connections

Chapter 2

As I slip out of the school gates, winding my way through the press of bodies all talking excitedly about the games, I stumble over someone’s bag and fall on my hands and knees. A sharp pain shoots up my hands where they hit the ground. Pushing the strands of my ponytail back and kneeling up I come face to face with four pairs of long legs. As I slowly lift my head, dread already filling my stomach. Of course, it had to be the four hottest guys in the whole school that I practically fall on my face in front of… great. 

“Well this is not the worst sight…” a low growly voice says. I look up to see Dante staring down at me. 

“Yeah, you’re right D! Hey cutie, you look good on your knees” Dylan says, holding in a laugh. 

“Urgh, piss off” I quickly respond as I jump up from the floor, wiping away the dirt that had gotten onto my school uniform. I roll my eyes and pick up my bag to leave. 

“Tut tut, a little feisty aren’t we cutie?” Dylan continues as all of his friends’ smirk at me. I can’t help but take a quick look at Logan. His icy blue eyes coldly assess me, not even a hint of a smile. Okay… well damn, he was intense. I quickly break eye contact, a light blush appearing on my cheeks. 

“Aww, don’t be so angry, it’s just you made quite the entrance there sweetheart” Benny says, with a slight scoff. “No honestly, I’m impressed.” 

I look into his light hazel eyes and know that he is just trying to rile me up some more. I give them all the best cold, hard glare I could muster considering how embarrassed I was and turn to walk out the school. 

Forget them and their annoying banter, I needed to get money and fast. 

I headed straight for the market in the centre of town, walking past the Falmere Research Institute. It was a really old building, been around for years and used as the main base for research into the human genome, specialising in imprinting. For such an important institute, it was very unassuming. Just a medium sized, plain building with a few security cameras dotted around but still nestled between other commercial buildings. 

I guess nothing that big happened there, not like some of the other research facilities around the country which I knew had massive security complexes, guards and boobytraps. We had all been taught about the different places on a career’s day, but I wasn’t interested in science so much. I just needed a job that would get me cash quick and without too much attachment to the city so that as soon as I could, I would be able to leave and never look back. 

I reach the market quickly, it was placed at the centre and acted as the main thoroughfare for a lot of business. It was always busy, even at night when the more seedy sellers came out, selling items that were more lucrative and less legal. Admittedly, it wasn’t the best place to find work, but it was the most reliable. 

I weave in and out of stalls selling food, clothes, spices, furniture and an unlimited amount of other goods. The smell of the market can often be overwhelming, and tensions can be high between competing sellers shouting their deals at passers-by. I make my way to the familiar stalls at the back, where the dodgy night-time businesses had already begun to set up their wares. It was always easier to find last minute work with this crowd, compared to the more legitimate businesses. They paid less but also asked less questions and knew that most people who came here were there because they couldn’t find work elsewhere. In other words, we were all desperate. Plus, they paid in cash at the end of the shift, which is exactly what I needed today. 

I slide up next to my usual stall and tap on the shoulder of a familiar red head. “Hey Oliver, got any shifts going?” I ask sweetly, as the tall, gangly red-headed guy spins round. He is a bit older than me and works this stall for his uncle. I can always rely on him for some work because I’m pretty sure he has a soft-spot for me. I do my best to look put together despite my slight sweat from rushing over and my dishevelled and dirty clothes from where I fell.

“Oh hey Cass, yeah of course, we always have some work for you” he says whilst winking, in what I assume is meant to be a sexy way. “But you can’t work wearing school uniform, you know that… come round the back here, I may have some of my cousin’s clothes you can use.” 

I let out a small sigh, relieved that I have work but also not prepared for a long night ahead of selling and doing the bidding of Oliver, especially knowing the way his cousin usually dresses. Oliver was a nice enough guy, but it always got a bit awkward around him, especially since I turned 18 and he started randomly acting more and more macho, getting into heated fights with other sellers. I think he was trying to amp up his testosterone, which was just embarrassing for me so I stayed as quiet as I could around him. Plus, his cousin tended to wear clothes a lot more revealing than mine. Not that there was anything wrong with that, it just really wasn’t my style… 

“Ah, here we go! I found a top and these shorts, but that’s the best I can do.” Oliver mumbles from behind the stall, reaching out and handing me a pair of short-shorts and a cropped tank top, light pink with white straps and the word ‘Babe’ bedazzled across the chest area. 

“Umm, thanks Oliver, but would you mind if I just kept my school skirt on? It’s plain and will keep me warmer than these shorts” I say taking the clothes from him. There was no way I would be wearing short shorts and a top that small… I needed something to cover up otherwise there was no chance I was getting home tonight untouched. 

“Oh sure… I guess that works. Although, you know I will always protect you from any threats, right?” Oliver responded rather unconvincingly. 

“Of course,” I mumble and turn to the back of the stall, tucked behind a light sheet hanging at the back to hide the rest of the wares. I quickly strip of my school blouse and yank the tank top over me, pulling it down snugly over my chest and curling my nose up slightly in disgust at the ‘Babe’ which was now printed across my boobs. I pull my long, light brown, curly hair out of my ponytail and let it cascade around me, hoping that the hair will help cover up more of my skin that was now on display. 

Coming out from the back I see Oliver is already talking to a customer. This stall sold a mix of different metal tech, it tended to be quite outdated but all of it were government level, sometimes military grade stuff. All of it had been wiped of its original tracking codes and could easily be repurposed for any number of machines. There was a big mix of things, from the smallest reinforced screws which could be used in any household item to some of the bigger stuff which was kept around the back that used to be part of some major weapons and machines from government-secure facilities. I had no idea how this stuff ended up here, but it wasn’t my job to know. My job was mainly to clean the new stuff that had come in, working my way through the piles of metal scraps that were lying around and making sure that they had all been completely wiped of their tracking codes. I would also sometimes help customers to find items that they needed, this was when I would have to deal with leering older men who weren’t imprinted. They were the ones who tended to be the most persistent. 

Luckily, tonight, I wasn’t dealing with the front of house duties. Especially in this revealing get-up, all I had to do was make my way through a pile of new items sat slightly behind the front of the stall. 

I start picking up each item, dusting them down and making them shine, sorting them into two new buckets – one for the clean and the other for the still marked items. I do this for a couple of hours in relative peace, finding the work rather mindless and therefore calming. It helps to be keeping my hands busy, as I zone out all the shouting from around the market and other noises. The market is always a warmer area of the city too, the heat created from all the open fires cooking food, the press of bodies and the constant movement creates a humidity in the air. I start to feel a bit sleepy as I continue with my work, mindlessly completing my task. 

Suddenly I feel cold all over, with the unnerving sense that I was being watched closely. I look up and my eyes instantly meet with a middle-aged woman with light blonde hair pulled into a sharp bun and dark brown eyes wearing a traveller’s cloak, who was staring at me from behind the stall. Oliver was busy dealing with another customer, so I slowly rise to my feet and make my way to the front of the stall to help the woman. 

“Hi, can I help you with anything?” I put on a fake cheery voice, confused by the air of intensity that surrounds this woman. “Is there anything in particular you are looking for?”

“Yes, actually, do you have any Cobalt-13’s? I’ll take all of the one’s you have.” The mystery woman responds calmly, her voice soothing and smooth. 

“Umm, I’ll just go check in the back for you.” I stutter and quickly turn around, there was something about her that seemed familiar, which was extremely unnerving. I make my way to the back of the stall, digging through boxes with different parts. Cobalt-13’s were one of the higher-end products that were bought here. They used to be part of military tanks but could be used to help direct big sources of energy from one machine to another. They were rather hard to come by as they didn’t die or get damaged easily and therefore could be used for endless periods of time. That meant Oliver’s uncle had to go to great lengths to pick them up rather than paying scrappers to find them in the landfill sites just outside the city borders. 

I scramble around, trying to figure out why this woman seems so familiar and also why my heart was now beating a bit erratically. This just didn’t make sense, how could I possibly feel recognition of some random woman? 

I find two Cobalt-13’s, one with a slight indent at the top which connects to a machine, the other in perfect condition. Both had their tracking scraped off them using lasers to remove the residue coding. I quickly turn back around to return to the woman. 

“This is all I could find” I mumble slightly quietly, avoiding eye contact with the woman, her presence made me intensely confused. “They are hard to come by, and as you can see they are in good shape – one of them is even pristine” I say a bit louder, if I could get a good deal on these Cobalt’s I would be able to pocket a small amount for myself as commission. “I can sell them both to you for 50 kendra, I can’t go any lower. Plus, this is a good deal, considering you are getting our only two.” I state with as much confidence as I can muster, I was never that good at bargaining. 

“That’s fine.” She replies simply. I start to smile to myself, 50 kendra means that I would get 5 kendra to myself, enough money with the rest of what I earned tonight to last me until my monthly allowance came in! As I go to take the money from her outstretched hand, I don’t expect her to speak anymore. “That’s a rather intriguing streak of hair you have there, is it natural?” she abruptly asked. 

My smile quickly fades. In my rush to get ready for work and let my hair down, I completely forgot about my streak of ice blonde hair that contrasted with my light brown that I usually kept hidden. I had had it since birth, something that I couldn’t get rid of even with dyes. I had grown used to it but I didn’t like showing it in public because I used to get teased for it back when I was in foster care.

“Umm yeah, it’s natural. Nothing that special.” I quickly mumble, a blush appearing on my cheeks as I grab the money from her, pocketing my 5 kendra and placing the rest in a secure box. I swiftly wrap up her goods in an inconspicuous bag and hand it to her. I mean technically selling this tech was not illegal, it was more how it was procured and the process of removing the tracking that was not allowed. So we always made sure our customers had the most subtle bags to transport them in. As I turn back around, I hurriedly push my hair back against my shoulders in an attempt to hide my streak of blonde hair. 

“Thank you for helping me tonight, I’ll maybe be seeing you around” the woman says before pulling up her thick, wide hood on her traveller’s cloak and disappearing into the crowd around her. I don’t know what it was, but something about the whole interaction just seemed weird. 

I work my way through the night and in the early hours of the morning, when the night sellers were packing up and the morning businesses start to roll out their goods, Oliver started to hand me my pay for the nights work. 

“Thanks for this Oliver, you have been a life saver… again!” I say with a forced happy tone, I was absolutely exhausted from a whole nights work with no sleep on top of a full day of school. “I’ll hopefully not be back around again too soon, if I can manage my money better!” I say half-jokingly. 

“Hey, I always love having you here. Makes the time pass better” he says with a wink. “Here, take an extra kendra and grab some breakfast before you go back to school”. Oliver passed me some extra money which I could not possibly deny as the smells of nearly baked food started wafting through the market. “Oh also, keep the top. It really suits you,” he smirks and I feel his gaze go right down to my chest. 

“Oh thanks, that is very kind of you” I force out a civil response, trying not to snap with irritation and tiredness, before quickly grabbing my school blouse, shoving it over the top of the ‘Babe’ tank and picking up my bag. With no time to head home and freshen up or clean my clothes, I stroll past a stall selling some baked goods. Buying something with chocolate in, literally anything with chocolate in will do, I shovel it into my mouth as I make my way back to school. 

Back to school and an afternoon of the Matching Games. What could possibly go wrong when I was already running low on energy with close to zero sleep?