Chapter 26 The spy from the rivals
Kendrix
“This is a terrible idea.” JJ muttered as he wedged his head in the space between the driver and passenger seat of my car.
The only person who had genuine concerns about this idea before we even drove out of school was Cisco. I had been too angry and burning for vengeance, while JJ was excited to be involved in this.
But to hear JJ, the master of terrible ideas, confirm that this was the worst idea we've ever had was unsettling in some ways. But it was already too late. I wasn't leaving until I did what I came here to do.
“Don't you think it's a little late to point that out?” Cisco scoffed at him, but didn't take his eyes off the small house a few blocks away from where we parked. We've been monitoring the house for hours now without even a glimpse of our target.
“Nothing is ever too late. We could drive right back to school, slip into Ms Anderson's class and pretend all these never happened.” JJ supplied.
“I'm not leaving until I find the asshole. Stop distracting us, JJ. You can order a ride back to school if you want.” I groaned.
“Well, you're an exceptionally rude person.” JJ scoffed and leaned back into the seat. He made no attempt to leave, just like I know Cisco wouldn't leave either.
No matter how much they both complained, they wouldn't leave me to handle this by myself.
“I really appreciate the both of you coming here with me.” I said sincerely.
“No problem, man. I mean, what would you even do without us?” JJ chuckled.
“He'd probably be in jail for all the crazy shit he's always getting involved in.” Cisco snorted. I glared at him and the snort turned into a full cackle. JJ joined in and the car was soon roaring with laughter.
I shook my head, sighing.
“I hate both of you.” I muttered.
“Uh…rude. Considering we're the one keeping you out of jail, you should be more appreciative.” JJ said and they burst into another fit of laughter.
“Assholes.” I muttered, but I couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corner of my lips.
The sight of someone walking towards the house we'd been staking out made the smile vanish instantly. My friends seemed to notice it the same time I did and they both stopped laughing.
“Is that him?” JJ whispered.
Cisco checked the picture on his phone and glanced at the boy again. He nodded in confirmation. I didn't need to check the picture, I would remember the sleazy fucker's face anywhere.
“Yes, that's him. And you don't need to whisper. He can't hear us from here.” I said to JJ without taking my eyes off the target.
“Let's go get him then.” JJ answered.
“Sure, but we need to finish quickly. Practice starts in an hour and you know Coach doesn't tolerate lateness.” Cisco warned while JJ and I grunted our agreement.
The three of us got down from the car and walked towards the house our target entered. The door wasn't locked so we just walked right in. I caught a glimpse of the fucker's face and I wanted to punch him all over again.
It wasn't a surprise that I had ended up on headlines again when school had barely started. Everything my friends and I did was heavily scrutinized by the public. My father's marriage had made the public more curious about my family. I could handle the rumours, the fake news, but Stephanie couldn't.
I had beheld the horror on her face when Brooklyn showed her the video and I knew I had to find the person who posted it. Cisco had contacted some of the IT guys and we found out the post wasn't just on our school blog. It was on every high school blog in the city, including Bradford High where the fucker was attending.
Also, he was the guy touching Stephanie inappropriately while they were dancing, the guy I had punched. He had apparently gotten pissy and thought recording a video of us would be a great revenge.
The original post had painted Stephanie as a whore with deliberate screenshots of her wet dress, but when KSE students began sharing the post, they had changed the narrative.
In the end, his plan had backfired terribly. But I was still going to make him pay.
“Hello, Cornelius.” I grinned at him while JJ snorted a laugh.
Cornelius Pená, 17 years old and a junior at Bradford High, last child of his family, dead mother and a gambling father. I knew everything about him, Cisco had made sure of it. How he managed to score an invite to Collin's party despite his shitty background was still a mystery to me.
“Damn! You must have pissed off someone in your past life to be stuck with a name like that.” Cisco smacked his tongue. “Too bad you made the same mistake in this life as well.”
“W…who are you?” he stuttered, looking ready to shit his pants.
I really hoped he didn't do that. We have to go to practice after this and I'd hate to stink throughout the entire practice.
“Hear that, Ken. There's one person in town who doesn't know who the hell you are. Shocking.” JJ said sarcastically.
I took slow, deliberate strides towards him, relishing in his terror. “How about I remind you?”
I raised my head, ready to punch his face for the second time but he hurried out of my reach. “Don't hurt me, please. I didn't… it wasn't intentional. They me do it.”
“Who made you do what?” I asked.
“The video... Well, not technically… I…” he panted, sweat beaded his forehead as his eyes darted between the three of us.
I grabbed his collars when I grew tired of his silence. “You'd better start talking.” I groaned.
His eyes widened with fear and he nodded. “I was just high and pissed that she rejected me. That's why I took the video. I didn't mean to do anything with it at first, I swear. You have to believe me.” he pleaded.
I considered his words for the fraction of a second, then the post flashed across my mind again. Anger coursed through me and I tightened my grip on his collar.
“Who made you do what?” I asked again.
“I don't know the guy. He didn't show his face when he came to me. He got me the invite to the party and told me to find any dirt I could on the football team. I had gotten distracted and that's when all the shit happened. I didn't mean to record you, I promise. I was just doing as I was asked.”
Then he did most annoying thing ever. He began crying. My rage skyrocketed immediately. But I need to know something first.
“The guy that asked you to look up dirt on the football team. Describe him.”
Cornelius nodded instantly. “I didn't really see much of him. He was tall and dressed in completely dark clothes, and he had a bandana tied on this head.”
My grip on his collars loosened as the person who it might be came to mind.
“What color was the bandana?” Cisco asked, no doubt coming to the same conclusion as me.
“Blue.” Cornelius responded hurriedly.
The three of us exchanged glances. We already knew who the enemy was.
Sebastian.
I hadn't heard of him since that night at the Vault and I wasn't looking forward to, but hearing that he had not only kept tab on us but managed to sneak in a spy to a KSE only party.
We needed to get to the bottom of this soon. I exchanged glances with my friend and they nodded their agreement. I turned back to Cornelius, releasing my grip entirely. He fell to the floor with thud.
“Here's what's going to happen, you're going to pick up your phone and delete the post the second I step out of this house. You're going to post an apology video online and it better go viral like your post did. If you don't do this, the next time you see me will be different.” I stepped over him and headed for the door.
I was just a few steps away when an urge suddenly gripped me. I walked back to him. I raised my fist and drove it into his face. The satisfying crunch of his bone and his painful yells was enough to make my day.
Cisco and JJ threw in a few punches before we were all satisfied and decided to leave.
“So Sebastian is spying on us.” Cisco said when we got to the car.
“Well, that's just great news.” JJ muttered. A moment of silence passed and the information finally settled in.
“You don't think he actually found any dirt, right? I mean, the video with Stephanie is definitely scandal worthy, but it's not incriminating.” Cisco said.
As if the universe was giving us a response, Cisco's phone began ringing. His brows furrowed as he checked the caller ID, but answered the call anyway.
“Coach,” he said into the mouthpiece. He muttered a few affirmative words before ending the call less than thirty seconds after. JJ and I stared at him expectantly.
“Coach says there's an emergency. He wants everyone on the field right now.”