Planet Heist (The Dunham Archives Book 1) (16 page)

“Here we are.” He stopped in front of a low building surrounded by chain link fence, so close to the beach that I could smell the ocean.

“This is it?” I was wondering what lay inside this building. I had never been to a real fight club before; as everyone thinks they don’t exist. When I found out they did, I immediately signed up for an invite, since it’s an invite only club, and I trained. Fight club and being closer to Cal had been my motivation to really train even before I had become totally consumed by my criminal lifestyle.

“I should warn you, though, that the guys in there aren’t going to take you seriously at first, because you’re a girl. You’ll have to destroy them a few times before they think you’re good.” He said.

“Alright.” I followed him through the fence and around to the back door. Inside, we walked down a staircase and then, I was in fight club.

The room was lit by yellow bulbs, casting an eerie glow around. There was an octagon surrounded by chains, where there was a fair of boys fighting. All around, teenage boys hollered and jeered at the pair fighting. As far as I could tell through the crowd, it was a brutal fight. The guys in the ring were beating the crap out of each other street style – no rules, no structure, just fists flinging and kicks flying.

I was excited.

“Cal!” A guy yelled from the crowd, running up. They nodded at each other, and the other guy, a tall, Spanish guy with brown hair, shirtless and sweating.

When he looked at me, his eyes narrowed, “Why’d you bring a girl?”

“This,” Cal replied, “is Kairee, and I brought her because she could kill every guy fighting in this whole place.”

“No way. Hey girl,” the guy said, a toothpick in his teeth, “if you get in there and beat Ty, the reigning champ, I’ll believe that.”

“Alright.” I replied with a glare. When people underestimate me, it never goes well for them, “Row, are you going to fight?” I asked, turning to my brother.

“No, not today.” He told me.

I pulled off my shirt, revealing my black sports bra, and I slipped off my heels.

“Salah, can you keep my stuff safe?” I asked, and he nodded, “Cal, am I allowed to have weapons, or is it strictly hand on hand?”

“No weapons. I know that’s not your style, but give them here.” He told me, and I began pulling out my weapons. My razor pins, a knife strapped to my leg, a needle in my necklace, and my family ring all came off. The only weapon I wouldn’t remove was my hallucinogenic lipstick, applied perfectly on my lips. I dropped the weapons with my clothes, and I looked at the Spanish boy.

“I’m Kai. I look forward to kicking your butt. And, I’ve got one question – can I kiss my opponents?” I smiled at him seductively, and he blinked, dazzled. He shook his head, banishing the power of my eyes.

“I’m sure they’d be lucky.” He replied flirtatiously, “And I’m Jackson.”

“Back off, Jack, this one’s mine.” Cal growled at him

This clearly bothered Salah, but it sent Rowan smiling.

“Be nice Cal, I’ll see you later.” I said, and kissed him on the cheek.

I could feel three sets of eyes on me as I walked away.             

I stalked through the crowd, boys parting in my way and staring at the girl trying to get in. I could almost feel jaws dropping around me as I walked up to the chain octagon. I waited as patiently as I could for the fight between a giant, who I assumed was Ty, and an almost equally big teenager, to end so I could get in there. When it did, Ty stood over the convulsing challenger, and the ref stepped in.

“Who wants to try at Tyler now?” The man yelled, and Tyler looked dangerous.

“Me!” I yelled, and the room grew hushed. Nobody expected a girl to be in the middle of fight club, wanting to take on the biggest guy there.

“Al…right?” The ref called, and I walked forward.

“I’m Kai.” I said to the ref, and Ty.

“Tyler.” The giant grunted.

“Good to meet you. I’m sorry you’ll be in the hospital tomorrow.” I smiled, but he wasn’t fazed.

“Same to you.”

“Shut up, princess,” The teenage ref said, “Just destroy her already, Ty. Fight.”

The ref backed up but didn’t leave the ring, like normal.

Tyler came at me, a mountain moving towards a lithe cat at surprising speed. He tried to punch me in the jaw, but I easily blocked it with my elbow, then I grabbed his wrist and bent his arm the wrong way, cracking his elbow. He grunted and tried to kick me in the stomach. His huge leg collided with my rock-hard abs, almost bouncing off. It hurt, but now enough to put me on the ground. The rest was quick. I elbowed him in the jaw, kneed him in the ribs, and then punched him in the side. He doubled over, and I shot out a barrage of punches into his face, then rammed my fists into his neck, smashed in his collarbone, and cracked four of his ribs. Then, as he was completely dazed, I jumped up and kicked his knees in, leaving them broken. He fell on the ground, and I punched his back quickly and rapidly, breaking his shoulder-blades.

Overall damage to him: broken jaw, four broken ribs, smashed nose, shattered collarbone, two broken legs.

Overall damage to me: slight stomach bruising.

I cracked my neck, giggled, and then I looked at the crowd. I saw people all around with shocked expressions on their face, trading cash and watches.

I turned to the ref, “Who’s next?”

“Oh my god.” He whispered, and then, shouting, “Who wants to fight the girl?”

A few boys came in and dragged my first opponent away.

One boy stepped through the crowd, tall and strong, and said, “I will. Even I can take a girl.” The boy had shaggy blonde hair and murky green eyes. He smiled at me.

“I’m not so sure.” I smiled back, a little bit of a smirk on my face.

This is one boy I would be using my strongest weapon on.

“Fight!” The ref yelled, and got out of the rings as fast as he could.

The cute boy came at me, and I didn’t really want to hurt him.

I let him punch me for a few moments, I swung at him once, my fist colliding with his shoulder, and then I kissed him. He was so shocked at first, but then he kissed me back for a second before passing out. The room was silent, mouths dropped to the floor as the boy I had kissed fell to the over.

“What the hell did you do to him?” The referee whispered, breaking the silence.

“He’ll be fine in a few hours.” I said, and I looked around the crowd.

“Okay. Who wants to fight Kai now?” The ref yelled, and more boys were stepping up each time. They all wanted to prove themselves.

But, the moment Cal put his hand in the air, everyone’s hand dropped. Apparently, people here were just as afraid of Cal as everyone, everywhere else is afraid of me. He grinned at me, and I smirked back. There were only two people in this universe that could beat me in a fight – my twin brother and Cal. These days, though, I could probably beat him easily. He took up a fighting stance, and I mimicked. The ref called the match and walked through the opening, out into the crowd.

Cal came at me in a movement so fast I almost missed it. In a split second, he was behind me, punching me with his fingers curled – the joints in his fingers pounding into my spine. Everyone knows this is the most successful type of punch, something I learned from personal experience. As the pain was jolting through my back so quickly I hardly processed it, I whipped around, but he kept firing at my stomach with his fists. I elbowed him in the jaw and thrust my knee upwards. He almost doubled over, but then he was back on his game, shooting his shoulder into my neck. I gagged back, and in my moment of weakness, he punched me in the stomach in a rapid barrage. I regained my strength and countered, jumping up high and kicking his left knee in. But, as my foot made contact, he shot his leg out behind him and my foot pounded into the ground, and it felt as if my toes were shattered. I winced, blinked, and suddenly Cal twisted my arms behind my back and held me. I struggled, but couldn’t break his iron hold. The ref was smiling as he called the match.

That night, I put twenty teenage boys in the hospital, four simply passed out, and eight sent home with broken bones and bruises, but only Cal made it out unscathed. The only injuries I had at the very end only three cuts on my stomach, my shoulder, and one on my leg, and six bruises, and one broken rib – I’ve noticed that since I’ve broken all of my ribs multiple times, it’s as if they’re now more susceptible to breakage. Of course I know that’s silly, but it seems true to me. My big toe was bruised and throbbing, but my stomach was the worst. The cut was over my belly-button, about five inches long and a half centimeter wide, a few bruises blossomed around it.

I had only fought for about two hours, but I was already exhausted, and excited. All I would need was a little coffee to perk up.

I walked out of the ring, and Cal smiled at me on the way out.

I took my things from Salah and put on all my weapons, neglecting to put on my shirt due to the fact that my stomach was bleeding and would stain the soft green fabric of my shirt. Cal, Salah, Rowan, and I all walked up and out of the building. I watched suspiciously as Cal pulled out a folded sheet of paper and pressed it into my hand. I waited for him to say something more, but he just smiled.

“Kairee?” I heard Salah’s voice behind me, “How long are we going to stay here? The theft is in just a few weeks, and we really-”

“Chill out, Salah. We’ll be here up until a few days before the theft, but we’ll get in just as much training as we would have on Saize.” I reassured him.

“I’m not so sure.” He whispered, and I could tell he was almost hoping I didn’t hear what he had said, “You seem distracted by…Cal. I think he’ll keep us from getting all our training done.”

“You’re completely wrong.” I told him as nicely as I could, “Cal has street smarts, disguise genius, and almost as much will power as I do. I think he’ll help us with the training you need.”

“Well, where will stay?” Salah asked, and Cal smiled.

“Well,” Cal began, “my father recently bought Anacapa Island, about eleven miles off the coast, and we just finished building a mansion of Dunham sized proportions. It’s got enough space for all of you.”

Rowan grinned, but Salah had what seemed to be a permanent sulk glued on his face. I couldn’t help but smile at Salah. It made me kind of happy to see him so jealous of Cal. The fact that he’s that envious of Cal means that he really cares.

“It’s the only place on the island.” Cal said, “So why don’t you guys go and…check out the place.”

“And what will you and Kairee do?” Salah’s look suddenly turned from mild irritation to shock and anger as he took in Cal’s obvious plan. Tonight, he and I had gone from almost going on a date to me going out with another guy, while he’s stuck with my brother in Cal’s mansion.

I sighed, “I’ll explain it to you later.”

“Are you guys going out again?” Rowan asked happily. Cal’s one of the few guys that Rowan approves of.

“Well-”

“Yes.” Cal told him, cutting me off.

“Have fun, I’ll find the island and take Salah there. Don’t wait up.” Rowan grabbed Salah by the arm and dragged him off to who knows where.

“So,” Cal turned to me and smiled, “ready for out date?”

“I wish you wouldn’t say it like that.” I groaned, “And no. I need some coffee first.”

“Alright. There’s a coffee shop down the street. Follow me.”

As it happens, the coffee shop is Cal’s favorite, and all of the girls behind the counter know him. A pretty brunette barista grinned excitedly when she saw Cal walk in with me.

I couldn’t help but stare at her a bit, doing the ridiculous teenage girl thing – comparing her to me. She was a few inches shorter than me, with chocolate hair – clearly highlighted blonde – and bright blue eyes.

“Hey Cal,” She smiled.

“Hi Marie. I’ll have my usual.”

“Triple grande white mocha, no foam?” She beamed, and I was reminded of a super-dependent child, smiling up at her mother after doing something good.

“Like always.” Cal told her.

“And for you?” She asked me, her smile instantly fading.

“Marie, she’ll have a double iced grande skinny vanilla caramel macchiato.” Cal said, holding my gaze the entire time.

“It’s been a year and you still remember my coffee order?” I glanced at him, suspicion in my eyes.

“Of course. The only girl who’s ever meant anything to me, and you would believe that I wouldn’t remember what you used to drink everyday?”

The girl behind the counter scowled at me, but continued doing her job.

“I guess I should be impressed.” I couldn’t help but smile a little. He had always been too charming for me to resist.

“I hope you’re excited.” He grinned when our coffee was handed to us. Cal, always the gentleman, handed the barista one of his many credit cards.

“What do I have to be excited for?” I was still trying to figure out what his plans were. I took a sip of my coffee, and the wave of flavors hit me. It had been a while since I’d had my favorite drink. I had mostly been living without any stimulants – besides, of course, my natural adrenaline – and it was great.

“Well, I know that I’m taking you to do something you used to love.” He was told me excitedly.

Forced to ponder that for a moment, I was lost. In the past, I had done so many things, from flying spaceships and racing jets to simple things like touring ancient villages or scuba-diving. So many things I had absolutely adored. It strange for me to be truly clueless, completely unknown to whatever crazy plan Cal has.

He opened the door for me, and we walked out into the California sunset.

June 19
th
6:51 pm

LA, California, USA, Planet Earth

Cal held my hand in his as we walked towards wherever he was taking me.

“Turn left up here,” Cal said, nodding towards a street that seemed to reflect the orange light of the setting sun. We were almost right on the beach, sand blowing up onto the street, creating even more of a glow. The perfect blue, foaming waves were splashing chilled air towards us, blowing around the salty smell. Tourists, natives, and people just visiting walked happily across the white sidewalks, laughing and enjoying the laid back life of the Californian.

“I’m jealous that you get to live here.” I sighed. We were walking closer to the waves, and I let go of his hand to take off my shoes.

“You should see the island I live on. It’s beautiful. There’s this great rock arch that’s forty feet tall, thin so you could walk on it like a sidewalk. There are waterfalls, just like the ones on your home planet, and rain forests, all on these gigantic cliffs and rock faces. I can’t wait for you to see it.” He had his eyes closed, like he was picturing it in his head.

We passed a green trashcan plastered with unreadable graffiti, and I threw out my coffee cup.

“Over there,” Cal said, pointing towards a dock, “that’s where we’re going.”

I watched the dock for a minute, waiting to figure out what was so exciting about…

Then I heard a noise – specifically, the sound of a large yacht crashing through the waves. I refused to look, knowing it was Cal’s. I couldn’t help but groan, knowing that Cal was bound to have a ridiculous, flashy plan. We were almost up to the dock now, and I trotted up a set of steps, and we were suddenly staring at the silhouette of a big boat against a sunset. The boat was sleek and white, tinted windows around an upper deck. It was exactly the kind of thing that Cal would own.

“Like it? My dad bought it for me when he told me he was marrying my most recent, and youngest, step-mother.” Cal, as I had always known, despised his father’s constant remarriage habits.

“Again?” I almost laughed, “How many is this now?”

“Seven. And I swear this girl is only a few years older than I am.” He sighed.

“They say a person can only fall in love six times.” I reasoned.

“I would believe that.” He shrugged, “Now come on, we have to leave at seven.”

I couldn’t help but watch him as we walked. His red hair was almost falling in front of those unfathomable powder blue eyes, clear like windows into his soul, to use a typical cliché. It was almost comical to me that his eyes were like the sky when the sun is first coming up, bright and hopeful, while mine were black as midnight, silver like stars, and harsh like the oncoming storm. My heart fluttered at the simple thought of being with him, just like before. The feeling of his arms around me, our hands intertwined – they were truly the completely priceless moment of life.

“What are you staring at?” Cal smiled when his eyes flickered to mine.

“You.” I smiled back at him.

“We have to jump.” Cal told me shakily. Unlike me, Cal was not a huge fan of jumps and anything extremely dangerous – except his favorite, fighting. There was about three feet of space between the edge of the dock and the boat – an easy jump for me. But I was more than a little hesitant. The last time I jumped a gap, I broke my leg in two places and cracked three of my ribs.

But, as usual, I flew through the air and jumped onto the slippery white floor of the boat. I slid a bit, and, in an attempt to regain my balance, almost fell over into the water. The moment I was on the yacht, gravity seemed to shift, the boat rocking back and forth in the choppy waves. Cal took a deep breath and leapt onto the deck, shaken for a moment, but then his usual cool façade returned.

“Cal,” I said, “where
are
we going?”

“It would be no fun if I told you, now would it?” H replied, a sly smile glue to his face.

“Alright then. Can I have a hint about what we’re doing? The suspense is killing me,” I smiled, and he chuckled.

“It’s your favorite.” The smile on his face got wider as we got closer to our undisclosed destination.

“I thought you said we were going to do something we’ve never done before.” I said suspiciously.

“Did I? Well, then I lied. We’re going to do something dangerous but exceedingly fun.” He was excited now. I knew it was a small victory to know something more than me.

“So,” I said, attempting to change the topic, “what have you
really
been up to this year?” Still, I couldn’t help but wonder, even though I felt as if I had already asked him this question a thousand times, but had only received vague, noncommittal answers that didn’t help me at all in any way, shape, or form.

“Well, I’ve spent most days doing what I already told you about.” He shrugged, “I’ve been doing a lot of travelling, trying to relive our glory day, I suppose.”

“Our glory days?” I smiled, “Back in the days when we were literally on top of the world? Why do you look on those days so fondly, even though the both of us knew it was bound to end?”

“Because when we were there, it
felt
like those days would never end. Haven’t you missed that feeling?” He looked at me, as if into my soul, those crystal eyes of his on fire.

“If I didn’t, would I be standing here right now?” I said, “But you haven’t answered the
real
question. You’ve been beating around the bush. Something about you is just… different. You seem so calm and relaxed. Where did that boy who got flustered when he kissed me go?”

“I guess I’ve simply grown up, for the first time, more than you.” He told me, and I could tell he was avoiding something major.

“But that’s not it at all. Why won’t you tell me? I thought we always trusted each other, no matter what.” I looked straight at him, and, as a typical guy, he dropped my gaze in a moment.

“It’s like the fighting’s gotten to me. Dad says I shouldn’t be street fighting, says it’ll never do anything for me.” He said sadly, “But I
know
that fighting can take a person places; I mean, just look at where you are. I don’t know what it is about fighting. It’s like it just make a person-”

“Tougher.” I completed his thought, “It makes you see how cold other people can be, and just how much power you can hold over another person.” I whispered, “And I know from person experience just how suffocating power can be.”

“But you now how to deal with it.” He smiled.

“That’s not true. It’s been drilled into my mind since I was a child that power was a necessity, and I had to be strong to survive.” I told him, “I don’t know how to deal with it, I just have to. I was born with power.”

He glanced at me, and then out at the ripping ocean, “I grew up as a sheltered rich boy, living in the lap of luxury. I grew up with normal human values – nonviolence, equality – and all of that. Fighting was wrong, but now it’s my livelihood. Power’s hard for me to deal with. Maybe that’s why I’m less nervous, especially around you. Plus, there’s that whole thing that I spent a year living and breathing and eating and sleeping in the same space as you.” He smiled, “But let’s not spend the night dwelling on our admittedly convoluted past, and let’s just race.”

And then, I understood his master plan. The boat had stopped without my noticing about a hundred yards from a massive rock arch – presumably the one Cal had told me about earlier. It was gorgeous, a great gray and white arch of granite in front of the orange sun. I understood immediately that we were going to scale the archway – and that I was going to win. When we climbed in New Zealand, I had always beaten him to the top, and now he wanted to set it straight.

“Race up the wall and to the edge of the arch. I’ll wait for you up there.” Cal told me. He pulled off his leather jacket, but, for some reason, left on his white t-shirt.

“Not if I get there first.” I smirked, and then dove off the edge of the boat with perfect form, simply leaping over the rail high enough to dive, and swam as quickly as I could to the edge of the rock face. The water was chilling to me, but nice after standing in the sun. My arms pulled me forward, faster than Cal and faster than any Olympian. He tried to pull .ahead; keeping pace with me for a few moments, but then fell back, panting. I stopped and swam back to him with a smile, not even close to out of breath.

“You all right?” I grinned.

“Just…give me…” His breaths were rugged and sounded dangerously painful.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” I was growing worried for him.

And then he looked at me, smiled, and swam away as quickly as possible.

He was far ahead of me when I realized what had happened. Tricked by a move I had taught him. How degrading. But I could still make up the space between us. I thrust my arms out and kicked with such ferocity that someone might have mistaken me for a motorboat. Water splashed all around me, loosening my ponytail and plastering my hair to my face. But I pushed forward and, with tremendous effort, took the lead over Cal just before we reached the great arch.

He was moments behind me as I leapt up and grabbed onto the rocks, rough against my smooth hands. I could feel the rocks cutting into my palms as I scaled the rock face, but I had too much determination to let Cal beat me. But, as I climbed, Cal somehow managed to overtake me, his feet level with my hands. Taking each foot carefully and quickly to try and regain speed, I reached up my left hand to grab a rock that was jutting out from the edge. The moment my hand was on the rock and almost my entire body weight was resting on it, it snapped away and fell out of my hand. I was dangling in an almost classic manner by one hand, about to fall down. I couldn’t find a hold for my feet, so I was simply stuck there.

Terror gripped me as I looked down at the rocks below me, the white water slamming up against the rocks. I was only a few feet from the top of the archway. Cal looked down at me, leaned over the edge and gripped tried to reach my hand, but there was about two feet still in between us.

“Reach for my hand.” He instructed me calmly. My feet groped for a place to stay as I attempted to lunge myself upwards. I missed his hand by an inch and fell back down, scraping the skin on my toes and almost dislocating my shoulder. I winced and tried again. I felt my fingers slipping from the rock, but I took a deep breath and tried to push off with my feet, failing but still getting a few extra inches. I let go of the rock in an attempt to fly upwards. I grimaced and Cal stretched downward and grabbed my wrist before I plummeted to my death. Holding on with both hands, a sense of relief washed over me as Cal hauled me upwards and onto the grass. I took a deep breath and got to my feet. I stood, shaking, as I looked into Cal’s eyes. He wrapped his arms around me and I began calming down.

“Are you alright?” He whispered in my ear.

I nodded into his shoulder and pulled away from him. Looking down at my right hand, I saw that my palm was sliced from holding the rock, and it was searing. Blood pulsed out of the wound at an alarming rate