False Finder (3 page)

1) Don’t stop and talk to anyone unless necessary. Being out in the open too long is an invitation to be recruited.

2) Don’t show your emotions. If you’re happy no one cares, everyone else is miserable so you should be too.

3) Get by on bare essentials. Don’t use more than you need and definitely don’t complain.

4) Above all, lie. Whether it’s about your name, age, address, income; you lie and you lie convincingly. Information was the key to survival and surviving was all that mattered. You also lie about your opinions. Don’t go against the system and definitely don’t make those types of views public.

Of course, no one enforced these rules but breaking them meant you stood out—and standing out would only bring trouble. The few who stuck to them rigorously, like Cora, were the ones who survived the longest, those who didn’t…well they were probably already signed to Rogan. If they weren’t, they were picked up by scouts soon enough or worse.

It’s needless to say that as Cora made her way back to the flat she shared with her friend Misty that she stuck to the rules. Around her she could hear people breaking them and she could hear people keeping to them. Every time she heard a conversation she would either hear the truth or lie in the person’s voice. She hated it sometimes—she didn’t need to know whether everyone meant what they said especially in such a volatile atmosphere—but Cora had learnt to live with it. Thinking helped her tune it out so that was what she did…at least until a shout broke into her thoughts.

“No one has to live like this! There was a time when we were free to choose what we wanted, who ran the country, how we were governed. We shouldn’t have to live under this murderous dictator. Rogan has a lot to answer for and times are—” The man stood on the corner of a side alley shouting at the top of his lungs to anyone who would listen. His words rang clearer in Cora’s mind but she pushed them to the side; everyone knew about the past and thoughts like that were dangerous. It was a futile attempt that had Cora shaking her head. Keeping her feet moving she refused to make eye contact, to show she was listening, as just like she predicted Rogan’s men descended on him faster than vultures on a fresh kill.

With her eyes on her feet Cora kept moving—she knew exactly how the demonstration would go having seen many before. She heard the scuffle as the man was dragged into the centre of the road, his protests about Rogan still as loud as ever. Then she heard the thuds as the punches rained down on him. The men would beat him within an inch of his life but no further. After that, they would declare to anyone listening that the same would happen to anyone who stepped out of line. Finally, one of them would draw their gun and making sure the victim was looking directly into their eyes, they would raise the weapon to the victim’s head and fire.

As Cora placed her foot on the step to her flat the sharp sound of a gun going off signalled the man’s death and an end to the demonstration. A stupid person would turn around and look and they would have seen the men carrying off the body. However Cora was not stupid. Instead she reached into the pocket of her jeans, pulled out the key to her flat and keeping her eyes fixed on the door, entered the hallway of the building, shutting the door behind her before climbing the stairs. She had seen it too many times to care. If you followed the rules you survived, so Cora had made sure she became immune to the violence—it was the only way to continue living.

Opening the door, she expected Misty to be at either one of her classes or avoiding her. What she didn’t expect was to have arms thrown around her and a head buried in her neck the moment she turned around from shutting the door.

“Oh my God, you’re okay!” Misty squealed, clearly delighted at the sight of her best friend.

Meanwhile, Cora just stood there awkwardly, her arms pinned to her side and her neck stretched out to avoid getting hair in her eyes as Misty hugged her.

“Of course, why wouldn’t I be?” Cora asked, slightly unsure as to whether or not she could trust her. She had only known Misty since the start of university but in the two years they lived together they had got on incredibly well. By the end of the first year they were almost inseparable and did everything together. Cora didn’t want to believe that Misty had anything to do with turning her in to Rogan, but she had to make sure.

“I just had a bad feeling about you, that’s all…and I heard the gunshot,” she mumbled while detaching herself and forcing a smile on her face to cover her wary glances around the room.

Lie.

To Cora’s ears, Misty’s voice changed as she spoke, sounding like she had been speaking underwater for a second. It was a sound Cora only heard when someone was not being truthful to her. Studying her friend, she waited to see if she was going to elaborate her point but instead she just stood there, her hands twisting into knots in front of her.

Regardless of what Cora had said when she was drunk, people didn’t actually glow. She had developed a good eye for reading the body language that occurred when people lied, but the biggest tell-tale sign for Cora was their voice. It was the main aspect of her ability and was ninety-nine point nine per cent fool proof.

Cocking her head to one side, Cora placed a hand on her hip while raising an eyebrow in question.

“Really? You just happened to have a ‘bad feeling’?” Cora asked indignantly, trying to get her friend to own up to everything without having to use her ability. She didn’t want to cause more trouble by calling out every lie.

“Yep.”

Her short and to the point response only added to Cora’s certainty that she was lying. Even without her ability, Cora would have been able to tell that.

“Come on, Misty, you know I can tell that’s not true,” Cora said, walking past her to collapse on the sofa.

“God, I hate that, Sarah. It’s so unfair.” Misty followed Cora’s lead and sat down beside her, making sure to stay facing Cora.

“Life’s not fair, deal with it. I didn’t ask for this ability, it’s something I was born with. You think it’s unfair on you? Well try living with it,” Cora snapped.

Holding up her hands in defence to ward off Cora’s attack, Misty tried to placate her friend, unnerved by the harsh words. She had become used to Cora’s mood swings and verbal assaults—it’s who she was—but that didn’t mean she liked them, especially when they were directed at her.

“Sorry, bad day. Just tell me the truth, yeah? It’ll just save me a lot of time calling your bluff,” Cora grumbled as she hung her head in her hands and her fingers went to work, massaging the creases caused by her frown.

“I don’t know that much really. After you left Sam’s they all ganged up on you. They’re scared and think you know the truth about every lie they’ve ever told. Sam was talking about how you should be dealt with and the others agreed.” She paused, looking up at Cora, waiting for her to either believe or confront her.

When met only with silence, Misty continued. “Anyway, I tried to talk them round. I told them that you didn’t know what the truth was, just that they had lied. I also tried to get it into their heads that you wouldn’t remember every lie ever told—you probably hear so many—but they were having none of it. It didn’t matter to them that you were a friend so I left. I didn’t want to be part of anything Sam was planning.” Misty shrugged, signalling the end of her explanation.

There was no need for Cora to ask any more questions, it was obvious Misty was telling the truth and she had no other information.

“Well he did it. That asshole turned me in to Rogan. I’ve spent the last two years making sure he didn’t detect my presence. I lived right under his nose in a place he would least expect and today a gang of his thugs show up to try and ambush me. I have been free of running for years and now Sam has started off the whole chain of events again. You haven’t told anyone where we live have you?” Cora rose and moved towards the kitchen. She needed to busy herself with something, so grabbing a mug, she started to boil the kettle and hunt for the instant coffee.

“No, of course not. You told me not to…a reason I’m starting to understand…Wait, what do you mean ‘started it again?’” Misty enquired as she walked over and pulled her own mug out of the scarce cupboards.

Sighing, Cora once again kicked herself mentally for her slip up. She didn’t really want to relive any of the past but felt she owed Misty a half-truth if she was going to be living in the same building.

“Rogan has been trying to acquire me for years. Every so often he finds out where I’m hiding and sends a bunch of his goons to try and capture me. I then end up having to move and start again.” Cora hoped that the vague answer would satisfy her best friend or that she would at least pick up on her less than hospitable mood.

Misty wasn’t that easily deterred though. “Have you ever been caught?” she asked and despite the worry in her voice there was a slight hint of curious excitement flashing in her eyes.

For a moment Cora thought about lying to her but after a slight hesitation, her conscience kicked in. If she could tell when Misty was lying and force the truth from her, she owed her the same courtesy.

“Yes.”

Well it wasn’t much of an answer, but it wasn’t a lie either and Cora didn’t feel the need to expand on it. Misty, however, had other ideas and the panic was evident on her face. Cora sighed, knowing what her next question was going to be.

“Wait, so you’re signed to Rogan?” Misty started to back away from Cora in fear. Her eyes and mouth had both opened wide as she kept moving further away. Cora sighed and when she moved to take a step towards Misty it only added to the pace of her retreat.

“Don’t be so stupid, of course I’m not signed to him. I got out of it every time. He’s just persistent in trying to acquire me.”

Misty relaxed a little, exhaling heavily as if the world had just been lifted off her shoulders. “But how? You know better than me that no one escapes Rogan if he wants them badly enough. And you’ve escaped more than once?” The disbelief in her voice rang loud and clear causing Cora to sigh once again. Having finished making her coffee, she moved back over to the sofa where she tried unsuccessfully to come up with a better way of explaining than the truth.

“He’s caught me three times. The first time I blackmailed him into letting me go. The second time I paid my way out and the third time I fought my way out, which believe me was like going through the nine circles of hell and back. You wouldn’t believe how many armed men he has in his place. The men give up when they can’t find me; they’re lazy and only do the minimum they can get away with.”

Cora knew what was coming next but she had no intention of revealing what she could have possibly held over Rogan’s head to secure freedom. She could see Misty’s mouth beginning to open in question and before she could utter a word Cora cut her off.

“Don’t bother. I’m not going to answer any more questions on it. All you need to know is that Rogan is after me and if he catches me this time I have nothing left to give. Besides myself, there is nothing I can offer him. Tomorrow I’ll find out what they sold me out for, make them pay, and then we’re moving. Make sure you’re ready to leave soon.” Standing up, Cora walked into her room, slamming the door a little harder than necessary to signal the conversation was over and release her anger.

Chapter 3

He was angry. Actually, he was beyond being angry at his men who had failed.

“You are a bunch of incompetent assholes who couldn’t catch anything unless it offered itself to you on a silver platter!” he roared at the men in front of him. He had his suspicions about the information he had been given and Rogan didn’t believe in coincidences, but he wasn’t allowing the thought that the False Finder in question was Cora just yet.

“We’re sorry sir...We didn’t even get a sighting of her...She had already left by the time we got there,” the man who had worn the sunglasses to the university stuttered, suddenly not so confident in front of his boss.

Remaining seated behind his desk, his unwavering stare never moved from the man. It caused him to start shuffling on the spot while his eyes searched frantically for somewhere to land, so as not to have to meet Rogan’s gaze. The silence dragged on and the man could feel the first few beads of sweat trickling down his brow.

Rogan was a master manipulator and by remaining silent for just the right amount of time, he managed to get the man to speak again, filling in the gaps he had left in the story the first time.

“We spoke to the guy who snitched on her. He said that someone had given her this note and she had left almost instantly.” With nervous steps the man approached Rogan’s desk and holding out the orange slip of paper, he offered it with trembling hands to his boss.

Slowly, as if unsure as to what was going on, Rogan took the note from the man, opening it quickly. The roar that burst from his mouth as he read the note did not sound human, it was pure animalistic rage. He hated being beaten and the fact that someone was one step ahead of him in his own city enraged him even more as he didn’t know where to begin looking.

Slamming his fist down on the table, he reached out to grab the man’s collar with the other hand. Balling up the material in his clenched fist, he pulled the man’s face towards him.

“I want a man on every inch of that campus. You hear me? You are to blend in and watch her until you are sure you can bring her in. No chances and no risk—you wait until it’s definite. I also want leverage: a relative, friend…anything that will give her no choice but to sign a contract, got it? You don’t move in on her until you have that.” Rogan’s voice was full of anger, hatred and cruelty as he gave his orders.

The man nodded quickly, eager to please his boss and hopefully save his own life.

“Screw it up and it’ll be your name at the top of my list.” With his threat made, Rogan released him from his grip, throwing him back a little harder than necessary to make his point clearer—not that it was needed. The man backed out of the door, never taking his eyes off Rogan before finally turning and fleeing to fulfil his task.

Rogan pointed to his second in command as he left. “You go too. It seems you’re the only one I can trust to get a job done.”

The man nodded and left straight away without as much as a question.

* * *

Cora only emerged from her room the next morning when it was absolutely necessary, and even then she was only going to class because she needed information. Sighing as she pulled on her shoes, Cora pushed herself up off the bed and out into the open plan living room and kitchen where Misty was sat reading.

“Morning,” Cora grumbled, not quite awake as she moved to find something to eat—not that there was ever much around. They had enough to live off with Cora’s inheritance but they couldn’t buy everything in excess like before. For one, it drew attention and on another note, food was not allowed to be purchased in bulk anymore. You were rationed to certain items. Each house was given a list that was split into categories. If you could afford it, you could buy a total of three items per category every four days. Cora didn’t know how much of the food shortage was true or how much of it was Rogan exerting his control but she wouldn’t question the system out loud. At least they could purchase the maximum amounts.

At one time Misty would have sat watching TV but now beside the odd news broadcast put out by Rogan or another cartel nothing was shown. It wasn’t like most could afford the extra electricity on their bill though, so the majority of their entertainment involved books and board games. It was a strange life considering what people who lived before the war had told her but it was all she had known. Technology and their advancements were only retained and important to those who remained rich and were above the system.

Returning to sit next to Misty on the sofa, finally she looked up acknowledging her presence.

“I wouldn’t stand too near the windows if I were you. There has been a man in black walking up and down for the last hour or so. He’s not that bad to look at really,” Misty said nonchalantly.

Cora almost choked on a mouthful of cornflakes as she paused mid-stride. That was until the distortion of Misty’s voice reached her. Slapping herself on the chest, she cleared her throat while shooting Misty daggers.

“Do not ever joke about something like that. Even if I can tell you’re lying, it isn’t funny.” Cora was in a foul mood and the fact that she didn’t know whether Rogan had backed off yet was making it worse. She didn’t need her best friend adding to the drama.

“First of all it is funny. You should have seen your face for a moment. Secondly, lighten up will you?” Misty was sat giggling to herself, using the book as a shield so only her mischievous eyes were peering at Cora.

“Lighten up? How the hell am I supposed to lighten up Misty? I’m being hunted by the leader of one of the biggest criminal organisations in the country because of my ability. He sent a group of men to retrieve me like cattle that escaped an abattoir yesterday and I have no idea whether they are still out there. Do you really think I can just relax?” Cora fumed, standing up and throwing her bowl into the sink so hard it shattered with an audible crash.

“Sarah, I’m sorry. I was just trying to make light of the situation. I don’t know how else to handle this.” Misty reached out a hand tentatively, only lightly brushing Cora’s wrist as she walked by.

“Forget it. It doesn’t matter. I’m late for class anyway and I need information from Sam and Jaz. Be ready to leave when I get back, this shouldn’t take long.”

“Sar—”

“It’s fine, don’t worry.” Cora tried to soften her voice but it still sounded harsh, even to her own ears as she shut the door behind her. She hated that she couldn’t tell Misty the truth about her identity but she couldn’t trust anyone.

The reality was that Cora was worried and scared. Her inheritance made sure she was able to afford to move when discovered but even that was running thin now. Rogan was bound to know that too—it wasn’t like she could run forever—and she doubted he would let her get away this time. She had to remain alert twenty-four seven if she were to outsmart him. Nothing would escape her notice…at least that was how she reassured herself as she walked to the campus grounds.

Thick, long, green grass grew around the main lecture hall, the stone building all boarded up. Nervously, Cora scanned the grounds in every direction, searching for any sign that something, or someone, did not fit in. So far nothing seemed out of place. Students were milling around in small subject related groups. There were the physicists, art majors, English students and some less distinguishable groups. Those were the three who stood out most to Cora. The physicists had the typical geek look, the artists decided that colouring strips of their hair was the best way to be different on a budget as buying unusual outfits died out when the prices of clothes sky rocketed and everyone had to make do with what they already owned. The English students were easy to pick out as they walked around with their heads in books. Some could even manoeuvre around campus without glancing up once to take a look at the path they were on. It amazed Cora how they did that. She wasn’t a fan of reading and after trying it once and ending up in a bin, she had vowed never to read and walk at the same time again.

Watching the crowd part for a girl who had her head in a book, Cora frowned wishing she could be that oblivious as the girl lost herself in the pages, unaware of anything going on around her. As soon as she thought it, Cora became much more aware of her surroundings, reminding herself she was meant to be keeping a low profile. Standing on her own and staring was not doing that.

As the crowd merged back into clusters of people behind the girl, their eyes followed her angrily. All but one person that was.

Instead, his head was turned in her direction and Cora’s heart froze. He didn’t resemble a normal student. Defined muscle rippled under his shirt, bigger than any of the guys on the sporting course. That fact only led to one conclusion: there was only one job that needed that much muscle and that was becoming one of Rogan’s lackeys.

Making sure to keep him in at least her peripheral vision, Cora scanned the rest of the ground for more. She assumed they would be dressed in the usual black shirt and jeans attire having never seen them in anything else before. She wasn’t looking for hoodies, colour and a vague sense of style, so her eyes found at least six more easily. They were just waiting silently as they tried to blend in.

They’re not very good at it
, Cora thought as her lips turned up into a grim smile. The reminder of the thrill she had gained from beating them was still fresh in her memory but so was the anger at being sold out and threatened.

Deciding that her best course of action would be to stay as close to large groups of people as possible, Cora headed towards her first class: History. She assumed they would be less likely to cause a scene in front of a crowd, but it was Rogan so she couldn’t be sure. Even if they did try and detain her, it would be harder among people, so staying with the flow of bodies, slowly, she made her way to the door of her classroom.

Checking over her shoulder once more, the uneasy feeling that came from being watched was confirmed as she saw another man leaning casually against the wall across from her class. He had his leg resting against the cream paint, leaving a black smudge from the sole of his boot as he moved uneasily. He was also doing his best to avoid meeting Cora’s eyes.

Shaking her head, Cora entered the class figuring that going back to her flat was the most dangerous of her options. She needed to know what Rogan had offered her ‘friends’ anyway.

“Why the hell are you still here?” A voice belonging to none-other than Sam shouted across the room as she moved to take her seat.

“Aww and here I was thinking I was your favourite person in the world. I even thought you had a crush on me. Oh well, a girl can dream.”

Sniggers started to fill the room as she spoke. Sam had gone quiet, his face drawn into an angry frown while his hands clenched and unclenched on the desk in front of him.

Swivelling in her seat, she turned to face Sam who was sitting behind her. She looked at him questioningly.

“Why so surprised to see me anyway? You’ve had this class with me for almost two years, what makes you think I would suddenly stop coming?” Cora asked innocently, acting like nothing was wrong in the hope of cornering him.

“No reason, you just left in a hurry yesterday so I thought something might be wrong.”

Liar
, Cora thought, hearing his voice distort with the false information.

“Oh it was nothing I can’t handle. Thanks for the concern, though.” There was a fake sincerity in her voice as she spun back around, a pleasant smile on her face as she noticed the confusion plastered on Sam’s.

The fact that she had not only escaped Rogan—something he already knew—but was also being so calm about the situation had Sam on edge. Cora was not one to let something like what he had done go, yet there she was, not even interrogating him. Something was definitely off and he needed to find out what it was before she acted upon whatever scheme she was concocting.

Sam kept his eyes on the back of Cora’s pretty blonde head. As she twisted her fingers around the odd strand or ran them gently through the thick locks, he spent more time focused on her movements than what the professor was saying at the front of the room. It was like he was trying to work his way inside her mind. Nudging his arm, Jaz—the girl with the purple hair and his friend—finally broke his concentration. “What’s the matter with you? You look like a lovesick puppy,” she hissed, jerking her head in Cora’s direction. What she didn’t know was that Cora could hear every word being spoken.

“Like anyone could love her, she’s a freak.”

Lie
. Sam didn’t believe what he was saying and it showed as his voice reached Cora’s ears. She recoiled automatically at his words, hoping that Jaz’s accusation was not correct.

“Don’t play dumb, you know better than me that there are plenty of guys who would love to get with her.” Cora could almost hear Jaz’s eyes roll with her words.

“Yeah and look what happened to the ones who did try it on. I’m sorry but I’m quite happy with the way my face looks, I don’t need my features rearranged.”

Truth
. Cora felt herself grinning at the fear in Sam’s words as she remembered the last guy who had tried to force himself on her. The next day he came in with a broken nose, black eye, and a torn lip. She was too busy reminiscing to question why Sam hadn’t denied anything yet.