Early to Death, Early to Rise - Kim Harrison [49]
“I don’t know. Maybe he hasn’t downloaded the virus to the hospital yet,” I said.
Shoe’s brow furrowed, and with an awkward motion he gripped the sill and swung himself up and in. “Get the hell out of my desk,” he said as he tugged his black hoodie straight.
Ace spun, his shock clear. His startled gaze shifted past Shoe to me as I came in, and his eyes narrowed. “Hey, Shoe,” he huffed, shoving the drawer shut and backing away. “You owe me a five. I was just looking for it.”
“Right,” Shoe mocked, shoving him from his desk with a single open hand. Head down, Shoe pulled the drawer open as Ace caught his balance. Shoe sifted through the clutter. His eyes widening, he looked at me as if he didn’t believe it, then tossed a laminated card to the desktop. “That’s your mom’s,” he said, and my lips parted at the hospital ID. I hadn’t seen that in my flash forward. “What are you doing, Ace?”
Instead of being angry, Ace rocked back with a satisfied expression. “Yeah, it’s my mom’s, and now it’s got your fingerprints all over it. Dumb ass.”
Shoe fisted his hands, coming forward a step. “You want to put it in the hospital? Are you crazy? Someone might get hurt. Give me the disc.”
Smirking, Ace sat on his bed, casual and infuriating in his black T-shirt, which was too thin to hide how skinny he was. “Too late. It’s already in.”
Too late? Had Ace been to the hospital already?
“You are a friggin’ idiot!” Shoe exploded, and I wished he’d tone it down. “All we wanted was the day off. Some notoriety. It’s a hospital, Ace! You’re going to kill someone! What’s wrong with you?”
Ace stood, and I took a step back at his ugly expression. “What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you? This is your fault. You’re ditching me, and you’re gonna take your hit like a man. It’s your computer. I don’t know nothing about it.”
Shoe shook his head, aghast. “This is because I’m going to college? What do you want me to do? Marry you? People grow up! Move away! I’m going to college, not the moon! You could go, too, if you wanted!”
I heard a soft click of heels outside the door, and I felt scared. But Shoe’s mother was walking away, letting them take care of their issues on their own. She clearly wasn’t ignorant of their friendship being on the skids.
Ace’s expression was ugly. “You ain’t going anywhere but jail, Richie Rich.”
I backed up to the window. I’d never seen so much hatred and bile in someone’s expression, and I couldn’t help but think that the idea of Nakita taking this guy’s life before he sullied his soul so far that he wouldn’t even ask for forgiveness wasn’t such a bad idea. I was thinking like a dark reaper, and I didn’t like it.
Shoe was white-faced with anger. “You were with me when I wrote it. I’ll tell them—”
“Tell them what?” Ace interrupted. “You trashed the school’s files. The disc I left in the hospital is the same program. It’s got your name on it, dude.”
Standing before Ace, Shoe started to shake. “You are an ass,” he said, and I gasped when he punched Ace. Right in the face.
“Shoe!” I shouted, but Ace was down, having hit the bed and slipped to the floor. Standing above him, Shoe shook his hand, swearing.
“You hit me!” Ace exclaimed, propped up on an elbow as he felt his mouth. “I’m freaking bleeding!”
“Yeah, and I’ll hit you again unless you come with me to the police and tell them what you did. I wanted to trash the school’s computer system, not hurt people!”
I already knew a trip to the police wasn’t going to happen, and I pulled Shoe back when Ace got to his feet, spitting blood on Shoe’s carpet. “You’re going to rot. Who are the police going to believe? It’s all on your computer.”
Shaking, I said in frustration, “I don’t think I can stop Nakita from killing you, and you know what, Ace? I’m not even a bit sorry.” I was, though.