Star Eater
Chapter Thirty-Nine

The next night, Kai sat outside the yogurt place nervously watching the people meander about their lives like everything was normal. The electricity had come back on. There were planned power outages since the electricity company said whatever had thrown the power in the first place had damaged a few power cells, but nothing serious. People milled about Ventura, going in and out of the bars and the shops, doing errands, meeting friends, walking dogs, and the occasional komodo dragon because L.A.

All while Kai waited. The table in front of him was absent of yogurt for once. As if this whole situation hadn’t gotten complicated enough, now he had to pretend to possibly break into an FBI building to tamper with evidence and then, at some point, run away from the mob. No big deal.

It will be fine, Akuma said.

Your powers of ignoring the insanity here are amazing, Kai replied.

We can do anything, Kai, Akuma said.

Kai sighed. He supposed Akuma had done the impossible once when he’d stolen a star and managed to survive with it on Earth. Kai just wasn’t so confident that he could accomplish that level of impossible now. Before the doubts could overwhelm him, a black SUV pulled up with tinting so dark it made Akuma look grey. Kai sighed again. A daemon got out and opened the door. Kai, feeling like he was going to his deathbed, slid inside.

“Hello, Kaito,” Joseph said.

Kai bit his tongue. He so wanted to hit the other man. He preferred Kai and he’d made that clear. He didn't mind his full name but when Joseph said it, it was condescending. He said his full name as if he knew more about Kai than Kai did, which, he hated to admit, might be true. Akuma offered to hurt the daemon. For once, Kai was surprised he didn't just do it but Akuma was wary of Joseph, not to mention they were outnumbered.

We have to distract them so Mason can get the case, Kai said.

Akuma didn't argue. They weren’t doing this for Mason. They were doing it for Ava. Akuma knew that. So he kept himself in Kai’s shadow, poised to strike if need be but controlled, waiting.

“What do you want us to do?”

“It’s simple,” Joseph said. “I want you to go into this building and bring me back a box.”

Cole handed Kai a tablet. There was a document loaded with a variety of pictures. Kai had his gloves on, but he still managed to swipe around, studying them. The pictures showed schematics, a street shot, a layout of the room, and a convenient map of which floor the room was. It also showed the entry point as being a block away in another high-rise, connected by walls.

“We’ve estimated this building has the least amount of personnel after six o’clock,” Cole said. “You shouldn't have too many problems entering unseen and making your way down the block.”

“What’s in the box?” Kai asked.

“I wouldn't concern yourself with those details,” Joseph said.

So they weren't going to tell him this was evidence. He flipped back through the document. He expanded the street look, studying the building. That’s when he saw it. So he could throw a wrench in there.

“FBI!” he exclaimed, playing it up by making his eyes as big as they would go. He knew how childish it made him seem. “Are you out of your minds?”

“Don’t panic,” Joseph said.

“Don’t panic?!” Kai hissed. “I walk through walls, I’m not fucking invisible. And this is the FBI you want me to steal from?”

“If you go in the building we suggest, and walk down the block with your suit off, you’ll throw off every electronic device for a five-block radius. They will never see you coming. The lights in the building will go off, even the emergency lights will be off,” Cole said. “And there aren’t any offices on that floor. It’s a storage locker. Even if the guard stays on duty outside, he’ll never see you. Just remain calm and quiet.”

“You people are nuts,” Kai said.

“What does Akuma say?” Joseph asked.

Kai gritted his teeth, but didn't fight when Akuma slid into the driver’s seat. Joseph smiled, pleased, as if Akuma had obeyed him. Cole went even more stone-faced at the demon’s appearance. Both Kai and Akuma noticed him pale.

“This shouldn’t be a problem,” Akuma said. To Kai he said, It’s just another lie. We do this for Ava.

Kai grumbled but didn't argue. Apparently, they were breaking in to the FBI. And then a thought struck Kai. He grinned on the inside and when Akuma saw it, he smiled too.

“What are you smiling at?” Joseph asked.

“I’m excited,” Akuma said. “For the mayhem.”

The SUV pulled into an alley between the first and the second buildings four blocks away. Akuma, still in control, got out. The alley smelled of urine and wet cat. Together, they saw the lights of the SUV shining off of feral eyes not far away. Once the demon looked in that direction, the eyes disappeared.

After surreptitiously making sure no one was looking their way, Akuma relinquished control. Kai sighed as he settled in. Joseph had given him directions on which building to enter and he walked out of the alley and merged into sidewalk traffic. It took about seven minutes to walk the four blocks and locate the alley that the daemons were talking about. A few buildings before the FBI, Kai slipped into an alley.

Glancing around, he found there were no visible cameras. He walked up to one of the loading bay doors and sunk into it. He came out into a loading dock area. It was dimly lit and he glanced around, but there were no cameras. Kai became aware that the loading dock they were in was chilly even with the two layers of clothes. He felt Akuma flood into his shadow and take form next to him. The demon kept watch as Kai checked the burner phone. No text from Mason.

“Are you safe?” he texted. “Did you get the case?”

“Not yet,” Mason replied.

“I’m at the building,” Kai texted him.

“Joseph will be listening to the FBI responses. You have to at least go in the building to shut everything down or he’ll know something is wrong.”

Kai thought about telling Mason his brilliant plan. He would go in and get the evidence and he would hand it over as asked. And then he would call the FBI himself and have Joseph arrested. It was beautiful for its simplicity and it ensured safety for Kai as well as Mason and Ava. But if he told Mason, the older boy would probably freak out and Kai didn't have time for that.

He did not want to walk into the FBI headquarters. But he was here now and it was time for action. Mason was right. Joseph would be watching. Kai should have thought of that. If the buildings around them didn’t shut down, the mob would know. And if he did this right, he could go back to being a normal teenager tomorrow. He could go to school, fall asleep in class, eat yogurt. It would be no more daemons, mob, or government agencies for him.

“This will be fun,” Akuma tried. Of course, Akuma was enjoying himself. “Just think, you are shutting down five blocks,” Akuma pointed out.

“The star is shutting everything off,” Kai said. “I’m just letting it.”

He stripped the bio-suit off. It was weird getting naked in public, even if no one was around, but he needed to get the suit off. By the time his chest was free, the lights in the loading dock were off. As peeled himself fully out of the suit, the lights across the area went dark. Kai couldn't see that, of course, but he felt unrestrained. The star was working its magic.

Kai folded the suit and put it in the bag Joseph had given him. He redressed himself in his black thieving outfit and this time pulled the mask over his face. He wasn’t taking any chances. Then he put the gloves back on. He didn't want to leave any evidence behind, even accidentally. Akuma filled his shadow and pointed out a good place between two stacks of pallets to stash his bag. After that, Kai headed into the building.

The loading dock led to a bookstore, which was mostly empty at this time of night. Kai heard the few employees calling to each other among the darkened rows of books. Kai hurried down the lane, Akuma beside him, until they reached the far wall. This time they broke out into a stairwell that led up. Together, they climbed seven floors, Kai’s thighs and calves burning, but encountered no one.

It was pitch black, more so than Kai was used to but Akuma was beside him. If the demon saw something, Kai would know it, so he trusted his other senses and kept going. When he reached the seventh floor, Kai poked his head out of the door and looked around. He could hear people chattering in Spanish. He wasn’t an expert in Spanish but he could make out the general idea of what they were saying.

Two of the employees were trying to call maintenance and complaining about how creepy the building was. Kai came through the door and turned left, heading away from them. He followed the hallway until he hit a wall, walked through it, and into another building.

He moved steadily like this down the block. The outage caused confusion and milling for the people still around at this time of night. Twice he had to duck into walls or closets to avoid people walking into him. He tried to keep an eye out on the windows to his right so he could see, at least, some of the progress he was making. A few times, it was so pitch black Akuma had to take over his body.

It was strange. They hadn’t climbed a darkened building like this since Kai’s childhood. Though it was stressful playing hide and seek with the random people about, Kai found that he’d missed this sort of adventure with Akuma. The demon grinned, silently agreeing.

It’s better than stealing tests, Akuma pointed out.

Which put things in perspective. He felt his anxiety squash the fun. Suddenly, he remembered that the FBI was probably freaking out. And Homeland was probably tracking him. And, Kai, himself, began to freak out.

It’s going to be okay, Akuma told him.

Kai didn't respond. He was trying to convince his heart not to pound out of his chest. They walked through another wall and heard the static crackle of a broken radio. Both of them froze.

“Sir? Sir?” a voice called.

Akuma seamlessly slid inside of Kai and took over. Akuma’s vision in the dark was like seeing everything through a grey filter. It revealed a man in a suit doing rounds through the evidence locker. Kai didn't miss the gun tucked under his arm. The agent cursed and hit his dead flashlight against a shelving unit. “God damnit!”

The suit sighed and felt his way back towards the door. Akuma remained utterly still until he had left. Then he cautiously moved into the evidence room.

What number was it again? he asked.

35-F, Kai told him.

The shelves were labeled with corresponding numbers and letters. It took Akuma a little over a minute to locate Shelf 35. He made his way down looking for F and came to a stop at an empty space.

It’s gone, Kai thought, stunned. The door to the locker room opened and a soft glow infused the space. The suit had brought an emergency flare.

A second later, another agent walked in. “Have you secured the area?”

“Not yet,” the first agent said. “My flashlight died and I had to grab these.” He held up the flare.

“The boss said something like this might happen,” a second voice said.

Kai blinked. They had been expecting an incursion. Did Joseph set us up? he wondered. Are we supposed to take the fall for Mason’s dad? The thought made him furious, but it was quickly replaced with fear as he saw the second agent take one of the flares.

“We go aisle by aisle,” he said.

They both slid forward into the room. Kai was so stunned, all he could do was gawk. Luckily, Akuma was in control and went down on his hands and knees. Silently, he started crawling towards the wall where his exit was. They were halfway there when one of the agents saw a bit of movement out of the corner of his eye.

“Come out with your hands up,” he screamed.

Both men swung around towards Kai, guns coming unholstered in smooth motions.

Akuma! Kai panicked.

The demon phased out and rolled into the shelving unit, out of the light of the flare just as the first agent hit their aisle. Akuma rolled back onto his hands and knees and began crawling rapidly through the center of two shelving units, headfirst through bars of steel like they were air.

He paused when he got to the end of the aisle as a flare’s sputtering light came close.

“I don’t see anything,” one of them whispered.

“Someone’s here,” the other said. “Cover the door.”

One flare retreated back to the door, while the other penetrated deeper into the room. The agent used his light to look into the shelves for a body, but Akuma had already taken his chance. The minute those lights moved away, he darted forward and dove into the exterior wall. He rolled and came up on his feet in the next building over.

We have to get out of here, he said. He relinquished control and Kai took possession back.

Agreed, Kai said. They hurried back down through the buildings towards the loading dock.