Fates Must Be Kidding

New plan

I don't blame Ricky for his reaction, mine would be the same. We had a plan, which I am obviously disregarding completely. So him being this guarded is absolutely justified. The Beta doesn't see it that way though, he is watching Ricky like a hawk. However, I really need him to take a step back now, and give me the time and space to take care of this. "We're good, I promise!" I say while giving the Beta a pointed look. He nods and starts walking to his bedroom, but before he disappears from our sight he warns "I'll be right here!" Yep, it definitely was a warning for Ricky, in case he decides to do something stupid.

"So, how have you been?" I know I'm stalling, but I can't help myself. My anxiety is flaring up a bit, what if he or the other guys not like the new plan? What if they don't want to follow me anymore and decide they are better off on their own? What if they feel I betrayed them by essentially joining Blood Moon?

"Cut the crap, Em, what's going on?" Patience was never his strong suit. I take a deep breath, make myself comfortable and tell him everything. About the pack, the school, the Council and their investigation. He listens to me carefully and doesn't interrupt, which I'm incredibly grateful for. I just need to paint the full picture, before he jumps to a conclusion. After I'm done, he doesn't say anything. i can almost see little wheels in his head turning. We stay like that for a couple of minutes, no matter how eager I am to get some kind of a reaction out of him, I don't want to force it. I've just dumped a ton of life-changing information on him, he deserves an opportunity to process it properly. After a while he nods to himself, as if confirming his decision and looks at me.

"Let's do it!" Wait, what?

"Are you for real?" Don't get me wrong, I'm super stoked he took it so well, but I thought I would need to do a lot more convincing. 

"Yeah, let's find them and go home!" Looks like he means it.

"And you're not just saying that because you got hit in the head a bunch of times? Or maybe that collar messed you up pretty bad?" I respond semi jokingly. He rolls his eyes, but I'm pretty sure I can see corners of him lips curving up slightly.

"I think you might be under the wrong impression. You didn't save me, you just sped up my plan a bit. I had everything under control." Of course, that would be something he feels the need to clarify, not how he found himself in that situation in the first place. Boys and their ego! 

"What happened to you?" I ask more seriously this time, I am not the only one here who has some explaining to do.

"In short, I was a newcomer who kept winning fights. Eventually, I went against the reigning champion and beat him to a pulp. A lot of people lost their money, and some of them decided to use me to make it all back and then some more. So they drugged me after one fight, I woke up in a cellar with that stupid collar on. They told me that it had poison in it that would be released if I don't do what they tell me to. I didn't feel like checking if they were bullshitting me. I was trying to figure out how to get rid of it when you showed up." He shrugs his shoulders like it's not a big deal, while my blood is boiling with outrage. No one should be treated like that, especially a kid! I do my best to reign in my anger, before I break something. Ricky notices my struggle and changes the topic.

"So what now?"

"Tomorrow we'll leave for Salt Lake City. Hopefully, Teddy is still there. I heard something about tech coops, my guess would be that he joined one for work, company and protection. We might have to search all of them. We won't leave until we find him."

"Sounds good to me." After we have that sorted, we stay up most of the night catching up, watching TV and eating half of the room service menu. Don't judge us, the food was so delicious it was difficult to stop! 

We wake up from our food coma when we hear someone clearing his throat. "Looks like you two had fun last night!" the Beta chuckles. "Go clean up while I get us some breakfast. We'll make a stop at a mall on our way out of the city to get some clothes for the big guy. For now you can wear these," he hands Ricky a set of clean clothes. It feels nice having an adult look out for you, even when you are an independent badass. Ricky looks so taken aback by the Beta's generosity and thoughtfulness that he is at a loss for words. 

"Thank you, Beta! We'll be ready in fifteen minutes," I grab the clothes and usher Ricky into my bedroom. We don't have all day to wait for him to come around. Since we are pressed for time, our training kicks in (old habits die hard), and we are ready in ten minutes. After a quick breakfast, we grab our things, check out and head out. Shopping doesn't take long, thank you, American Eagle! In no time we are back on the road, and just like that I'm drifting off to sleep. There is nothing I can do about it, it's my bodies natural reaction to being in a car. I wonder if it would be the same on a plane...

A couple of pit stops and 7 hours later we see Salt Lake City on the horizon. For some reason I'm not feeling restless, maybe my gut is telling me that Teddy is okay, unlike the deep s**t Ricky was in. That's why I don't protest when the Beta suggests that we go to our hotel and start our search tomorrow morning.

The next morning we get directions to local tech coops, and so begins the Teddy-hunt! I must admit our enthusiasm dampens when we leave the third one empty handed. We recharge our batteries over late lunch and continue our search. The fourth coop gives us a glimmer of hope, guys there tell us that Teddy used to stay with them. Unfortunately, he left when he got hired by some hot startup. It's name doesn't mean anything to us, which is not surprising at all. Since we don't have Teddy's phone number, new address or any other useful information, we have no choice but stake out his alleged workplace. We thought it was a good idea until we saw the building - a skyscraper with hundreds of people going in and out of it. Even with my aura-seeing ability, I can't sense his presence. He might not be in the building or there are just too many people around for me to be able to detect anything. We don't really have any other choice but head back to the hotel and hope that tomorrow goes better. 

We resume our stake out duties at 7 am, who the hell knows when he gets to work?! We might have misjudged his commitment to work, it's already 11 am, and nothing still! I decide to go for a short walk and maybe find something to eat when my senses go on high alert, he is finally here! I look around frantically when I spot his lean figure in a hoodie. Even though his hood is up and headphones in I know for a fact that he is scanning his surroundings for danger. I resist the temptation to jump on him to scare the s**t out of him, this is not the time nor the place for this. So instead I just position myself in his way, and wait for him to notice me. As soon as he does he freezes for a couple of seconds and then rushes to give me a tight hug.

"I'm so happy to see you! I missed you like crazy!!!" Yep, like I mentioned before, he is the most lovable!

"I missed you too, Teddy! Ricky is here as well..." he interrupts me before I can say anything else. 

"Are we reuniting for good?" the hope and excitement in his eyes melt my heart.

"That's the plan, unless you don't want to." I will understand if he doesn't, I really will. He is safe, he has what I assume is a good job, he doesn't have to be dragged into the Facility mess again. Before I drown in my doubts and make his decision for him, he says, "Wait here, I need to tell my team that I'm leaving town." Without waiting for my reaction he rushes to the building. I stay rooted to my spot, I don't want him to worry that I left, again. Teddy comes back with a bright smile, "All set, we are good to go!"

"What about your job? Your life here?" I need to ask, I need to make sure that this is what he wants.

"My life here was always supposed to be temporary, remember? As for the job, they want me to continue working remotely," he explains nonchalantly. 

His determination and calmness make my worries go away. We are on the right track, just one more stop, and we'll all be together again. And then we will be unstoppable! No, we are not planning to conquer the world, but we do have a score to settle with a number of people. I know it might take a while, as they say, revenge is a dish best served cold. I'm in no hurry, we still have some growing up to do. They already stole our childhood, they won't get our teenage years as well!