Chapter one-hundred-and-three

SBD

So this is Tasmin Kelly.

Beach-wavy blonde hair, blue eyes, and the most typical, typical body of a healthy, white, seventeen-year-old Australian girl. Her eyes scream but her mouth remains shut, and seems to seal even tighter after she spots my gun.

I didn't know what to expect of the one who murdered Harry's mother. I guess I pictured someone more insane. But maybe the craziest ones are the ones who know how to hide it.

"Ready to answer some questions, Tazzy?"

"Don't call me that."

"Answer the question, Tazzy."

She clamps her mouth shut and glares at Ally with her blue eyes that look iced over with stubborn hatred.

"I saw you with Harry."

I know Ally doesn't mean to, but her eyes widen. Ally catches my gaze. I already know what she's thinking.

Guess you're not the only SBD around anymore, huh?

I'll be honest here, Tasmin Kelly doesn't look capable of killing someone. Let alone killing someone more than five years ago when she was only a preteen. But I've never doubted Boss. He never gets anything wrong. I trust him as much as I trust the sun to rise every morning.

"Answer some questions for me, Tazzy." Ally starts to pace. "And you'll comply, because, well, you don't have much of a choice, do you?" Tasmin doesn't respond. "Okay, question one – Why are you here?"

"Nunya."

Ally sighs. "Come on, Tazzy," she presses. "Will you answer if I stop calling you Tazzy?"

"Only if you answer my questions too," Tasmin challenges.

"It's a deal, Kelly. Now, answer."

"Leisure."

"That's it?"

"It's what cruises are for."

"Fine. Next que –"

"My turn," Tasmin budges in. "And you? Why are you here?"

Ally purses her lips. "To help Harry. And question two – Who is Harry to you?"

Tasmin turns her head to the side to hide her blush, but I catch her red cheeks in full bloom. The reaction makes me wonder how much Tenacity has messed up. Clearly, a lot. I know for a fact that when this is all done, he'll get a face-full of fists, whether the fists are real knuckles and flesh or the sharpness of Boss' words.

"He's my friend but…" Tasmin closes her eyes. "I don't understand… Something about him has changed since the last time I met him, and I can't put my finger on it. He won't tell me what, so if that's what you want to know, I don't know the answer. As for his relationship with you…" She raises her head to glare at Ally. "I don't know what it is either. I don't understand what's going on. I just…" She starts to struggle again. "I don't have anything to give to you! I don't have any information for you! I don't even know who you damn people are! Let me go!"

If she really murdered Harry's mother, and she's refusing to say anything about it, we'll leave her here. Tenacity will show his loyalty to us later by completing the mission.

"No. Not yet. I have one more question, and a request. No, an order, if you will," Ally says, nodding at me once. I reach down and pull a handkerchief out of my pocket. I nod back.

Tasmin

"The order first – Stay silent, stay put, stay away from Harry."

Not gonna happen.

"And as for the question…" Ally drones on, backing towards the door. From behind me, her silent sidekick shoves a handkerchief in my mouth, gagging me. He ties the knot in a second then appears beside Ally at the door. "... How do you like the dark, Tazzy Kelly?"

I glare into Ally's perfect brown eyes before my world is plunged into darkness.

Harry

Something is wrong.

I don't know where Tasmin went or why, and I have no one to ask. We left Charlie, Ben, Lilli and Emily at the Waterfront Restaurant, so I don't know where to find them either.

After circling the seventh deck three times, I speed up to the cabin, forcing my tired legs to keep climbing the stairs and running the corridors. I knock twice, thrice, on the girls' cabin door with no response. I announce that it's me, yelling through the door, but I don't think anyone's in there, and I really don't think there's any point in me being so loud.

This is it.

I slam my fist against the door. The stinging starts at my knuckles and scuttles up my arm. It tingles more than it hurts, and I quickly pull away from the sensation. Now that I'm quiet, I can hear the panic throughout the rest of the ship. It enfolds me like these walls. It makes me feel lost, alone, trapped.

I head back down the corridor slowly.

My mother brought me here, then Reprisal justified my reason for living this long to be here with a gun, fully-loaded, hesitantly. But then…

Bluebell eyes, soft blonde hair, and the most encouraging smile I've ever seen. Someone who's always been there for me, even if it was to just smile at me from across the classroom, across the room.

Tasmin.

My mum… you're the reason...

Dark and soulful eyes, hair dense like the midnight sky, sad-looking eyebrows, and a weary smile. Thin but gentle hands, care written in all her moves, and a knack for cheering me up no matter what disgusting mood I was in.

I stop walking and let my hand find the wall before leaning onto it, sliding down onto the carpet.

The vision of that angel. I want to see it again. I close my eyes. Concentrate.

Bright, bright, bright. That's all I can see. It's not what I want to see though. There's a little more to the bright light, and I'm wondering whether the figure I saw before was the source of all the light.

I squint my eyes tighter, hoping for more.

Please, I say, but I don't know who I'm saying it to.

The figure flashes in the light, but it's not my mum.