Double Black Diamond
short lived. “Well, I want to be the first. But I’m scared. I don’t expect to be a bristlecone, but I thought I might at least be a lodgepole, you know?”“Veena, these people are trying to scare you because they want something from your father. The possibility of them getting to you, much less hurting you, is slim. My team and I are here to protect you while law enforcement figures out who’s making the threats.” I hesitated. “But listen, I can’t keep you safe if you disappear on me.”
Head down, she nodded. “Okay. Yeah. I understand.
“G-good.” The jolt of adrenaline had worn off. I couldn’t keep my voice from shaking.
Veena jumped to her feet. “Cucumber! You’re freezing! And you haven’t eaten anything yet, have you?”
My stomach lurched in response, and the headache was starting to poke holes in my brain again. I used the flashlight as we scrambled down the berm. It would help Kovitch, wherever he and his team had taken up position, to see we were headed back to VMA.
“Cucumber?” I said.
She shrugged. “I try not to curse. I’m a role model and everything, remember? Plus, cursing with vegetables is kinda satisfying.”
“I’ll have to try it. Veena, what is the nanotechnology these guys want?” I asked as we walked. “I know it has military uses, but I’m a little unclear beyond that.”
“It’s cutting-edge stuff that can be used in a lot of fields. Nano means something super small, like, molecular level tiny. Biotech companies are developing nanoparticles that bring chemotherapy drugs right to the cells that need them without damaging healthy cells. Dad’s company has been working on textiles reinforced with nanofibers for use in space . . . but yes, their work has military applications, too. They had a cybersecurity breach last year, which they caught. Now, it seems like whoever is after the tech is using me to try and get it.”
I shook my head. “All this for a piece of fabric?”
“A really valuable piece of fabric.”
We took the stairs to her—our—room. I wasn’t sure if it was still mine. I couldn’t help thinking Brown might call at any minute to fire me.
“Rule number one,” I said after checking the room, “don’t disappear again.”
Veena took off her shoes and tossed them in the pile of shoes and boots in the closet. “Got it.”
“Rule number two.” I shut the balcony door. “Keep both doors shut and locked at all times.”
“Okay.”
“Can I see your phone? I need to look at the threats.”
She slumped on her bed. “I was so upset that I freaked out and deleted them. I know; that was stupid.”
“It’s okay, I get it.” And I guessed that the team could track them down. “Can I take a look anyway? In case there’s something you missed?”
She unlocked her phone, touched the screen, and passed it to me. Her Instagram profile pic was Veena upside down on her board against a blue sky. Her account name was followed by: Snowboarder x Desi Girl, a list of her sponsors, and who to contact with media inquiries.
“The third rule is harder.” I sat on the bed beside her. “Brace yourself.”
“What is it?” She sounded tired.
“Limit social media.”
Her head popped up. “What? No way!”
“You don’t have to delete your accounts, but unless you’re going somewhere advertised in advance where we’ve planned the security for you, like a competition, then you say nothing about where you are or what you’re doing.”
“Can I post about riding and goofing around?”
“Yes, but no place tags.”
“I guess that’s not so bad.”
“Holy crap!” I yelled.
“What?”
I pointed at the screen. “You have 500,000 followers?”
“Oh, that.” She shrugged, looking embarrassed. “You know, all the media exposure lately doesn’t hurt.”
I checked out a few of her posts. One was dated a few weeks ago, right after Christmas. She was on a plane from Japan to Los Angeles after a competition, sacked out with an eye mask on, mouth open. Catching some Zs (and some flies), the caption read.
A few pictures were of her training in the gym or in the halfpipe, others were her holding a snowboard on the slopes. Some of the commentary came from guys: Damn gurl and U r hot were popular. Emoji use was high.
“I’ve got to call my boss,” I said. And I needed to eat something. Anything. The bowl of dry rice on Veena’s shelf was making my mouth water. Using my phone in the bathroom, I told Brown about the threat.
“An exploding GIF? Sounds juvenile,” he said. “A friend maybe?”
More like a frenemy. “Could be. But the raw meat one?”
“We’ll look into it. How is she?”
“Scared but determined. She’s a tough girl.”
He didn’t say anything for a second. “I need to talk to you in the morning, Green. Ice will cover for you with Black Diamond.”
My pulse sped up.
“I’ll call you at eight,” he said.
“We’ve got class.”
“Eight sharp.”
“I understand.”
I understood that I was heading back to Vegas tomorrow to find a new career. I should have done so many things differently today. So. Many. Things. But it was too late now.
A few minutes ago, all I’d wanted was to eat.
Now? All I wanted was a second chance.
Six
We barely made it to the dining hall before it closed. We sat with Ali and Gage, who had finished eating but stayed to hang out, and I met a few more of Veena’s classmates. The food was pretty good. A lot better than my high school’s cafeteria, anyway.
Honestly, I wasn’t paying as much attention as I might have before talking to Brown. I only had to keep my principal alive until morning.
Veena kept giving me funny looks at dinner, but I didn’t have the heart to tell her she’d have that old man with twenty years’ experience soon after all. Or that it was for the best—he’d know what he was doing.
Later, back in the bathroom, I called Xene.
“I totally screwed up,” I said when she picked up.
“What happened?”
I told her everything from getting sick on the mountain to losing Veena. “And now