Charcoal Tears by Jane Washington Page B

pressed a button, flashing it up to his ear.
    “Silas?” He waited for a long time, listening. “Hmm… Alright. But if you can hack the signal, wouldn’t they simply be able to hack it back?” Pause. “Better to destroy it. Set up a new one. New cameras. Thanks.”
    He hung up and I drew my legs back. This time they let me.
    “You’re house was bugged,” he said apologetically. “Only in the hallway and the common areas. Whoever it was didn’t have access to the bedrooms or bathrooms. The other pictures must have been taken from outside.”
    “You said to put in new cameras?” I asked.
    “We’re going to keep an eye on the situation.”
    “What do you mean, keep an eye on the situation ?”
    “Once we cut their signals and set up a new private network, they’ll have to get close to your house to hack it back. If they do come to your house, we’ll be watching.”
    “You’ll be watching my house,” I repeated numbly. “Can’t you just set up cameras on the outside?”
    “That wouldn’t do any good. Our guy has based the new security system on your home computer—”
    “We don’t have a home computer,” Tariq interrupted.
    “You do now.” Noah waved a dismissive hand. “And to regain control of the new system, your… er, photographer will need to get inside the house and access the computer. There are endless reasons for a person to be inside your house. They could be a friend of your father’s, a tradesman, a salesman, or even one of your own friends. There’s no way to know unless we can physically see that computer at all times.”
    They played games for a little while longer as I debated what Noah had said, and then Cabe stood, stretching. “We’ve got practise.”
    “You’re on the team already?” Tariq perked up at this.
    “Yeah,” Cabe grinned. “Want to come watch?”
    Tariq nodded enthusiastically and they drove back to the school. I drove my own car and left Tariq with them since their car was still parked there. I parked behind the council building and jogged down the street to our house. There was a new key under the mat, just as Noah had said there would be. I unlocked the door and pushed inside, looking around. I couldn’t spot the cameras anywhere, but I wondered who this Silas was, and if he was watching.
    I found the rest of the keys on the kitchen bench and swapped my old ones as the door creaked open behind me. I swung around, finding my father’s eyes locked on me. He was drunk, and home early. Usually he didn’t stumble inside until around four in the morning, sometimes later. His eyes narrowed and he moved toward me. Cautiously, I put the counter between us. He didn’t even glance at the keys.
    “You ran away from me today, Seraph. You’re a bad daughter, you know that?” His voice was deathly soft. “I’m going to have to punish you.”
    I tensed my muscles, preparing for a fight. It wouldn’t be the first time.
    “You’re drunk.” My voice was cold and strong. “Go to bed.”
    “I knew you’d come back.” He laughed, and the smell of alcohol washed over me. “Come here, daughter, give your daddy a hug.”
    “Back off, old man.”
    He lunged, belying the sluggish act that he had been putting on. I ducked to the side and he spun quickly to follow me, trying to back me into the kitchen. I kicked out, narrowly missing his groin and catching the fleshy part of his gut instead. He fell back against the counter and grunted in pain, but pulled himself straight and came for me again. He swung out and I tried to dodge again, but he had anticipated my move by swinging wide. He caught me across the cheekbone. My head whipped to the side and I felt the familiar electricity surging into my fingertips. The air crackled with it, and my father sensed it.
    “Going to use your little magic trick, eh?”
    “Don’t make me, Gerald. Go to bed.”
    He turned, apparently deciding that it wasn’t worth getting zapped again and made to move toward the stairs. He