Tristan's High School Life - 22. Chapter 22

Tristan’s POV

Jackson and Grandpa had smiles plastered on their faces for the remainder of the night, and it was great to see Jackson so happy after everything. I was scrolling through my iPad when I got a text from Justin:
J: Sup?
T: Nada, just surfing the web.
J: Cool. Mom won’t stop interrogating me about you.
T: What is it this time?
J: She wants to use some drug that makes you tell the truth.
This information was a bit scary, and I need to talk to TJ about it later.
T: That’s crazy, man. I know nothing about his murder.
J: Mom is getting obsessive to the point it worries me.
T: She wouldn’t do anything stupid, would she?
J: I don’t think so, but I can’t be sure.
T: So you said that my grandfather met your grandfather for lunch and got killed. Any idea why they met?
J: From what I know, he needed to do something and wanted my grandfather to teach him how. Something about altering genetics or restoring something
T: Ok, if she gets too strange, you’ll tell me?
J: Count on it.
T: How are you doing?
J: Still down about Jules and his new ship
T: I’m sorry, Jus.
J: It is what it is. The doctor said it might come back.
T: That would be good.
J: Gotta jet, mom’s calling my name.
T: Be safe.

“TJ, can we talk?” I asked.
“Sure, buddy, what’s on your mind,” as he continued looking at his tablet.
“Isabelle is adamant that Grandpa Bob killed Roberto,” I replied, and that garnered everyone’s attention.
“What do you mean?” Jackson asked.
“From what Justin has told me, she found out that Grandpa Bob and her father met for lunch and Grandpa wanted something from him, and he was refusing, and this time when he refused, he got shot,” I said, repeating what I had learned.
“This is very concerning,” TJ said.
“Yes, and Hunter predicted this would happen,” I replied.
“That is troubling too; I wonder what else he knows,” TJ said, glancing at Jackson.
“Hunter said Isabelle wouldn’t stop until uncovering the truth,” I replied.
“This is very alarming. We need to keep an eye on everyone,” Grandpa Tracy said.
“No, not everyone,” I began, “Me,” and the room went quiet.
“You? Why you?” TJ asked.
“She thinks I know everything, and since I’m dating Justin, I’m an easy target, I said.
“She doesn’t know about Hunter then,” Jackson said, relieved.
“That is correct; she thinks I am the one with the abilities,” I replied, looking around at the adults.
“We need to get to the bottom of this,” Grandma CC said, and the others concurred.
“I think we should talk more with Hunter,” TJ said, and as if on cue, Hunter appeared.
“Hi Dad,” Hunter said, taking a seat next to me, “I heard you wanted to talk.”
“Yes, Hunter, we did. What do you know about Isabelle?” TJ asked
Hunter took a deep breath, looked at me for a bit, and then looked at his feet. He was uncomfortable about something.
Finally, he began:
“Let me start with what Bob was looking for; he wanted a way to undo being a eunuch and a way to destroy Tristan. It would have required Roberto to modify their DNA genetically, and it was a difficult task. Bob was insistent about getting it done no matter what, and Roberto was very uncomfortable as he didn’t know why or how he became a eunuch. When Roberto asked Bob about everything, he became evasive, causing more concern. Then when he found out he wanted to destroy Tristan, that was the final straw, and he wasn’t going to help. Bob, Jeff, and Kevin were trying to devise a way to get Roberto to cooperate, but when they killed Berto and staged it as a suicide, that still didn’t change his mind. They devised a plan to meet with Roberto with another plan to destroy his life, but things went awry,” Hunter said, stopping.
“So they killed Berto,” Jackson said, and you could see the anger.
“Honey, please calm down, your heart,” TJ said
“How many people did they kill Hunter,” Grandma CC said.
Hunter gulped and shook his head, and I could see he had an internal fight.
“Hunter, it’s ok,” I said empathically.
“It’s not ok, Tristan,” He started. “Berto wasn’t the first, nor was he the last. They killed several folks who worked for Roberto here at the lab and his lab in Spain. I can tell you that Julian and Justin would be the next target; when Roberto got shot, they had no reason to continue. Now I can tell you without a doubt that Bob didn’t do it, and that’s why I said it went awry. Roberto knew he had to do something dramatic to end all of it, and rather than kill them; he took his own life.” Hunter said solemnly.
“He shot himself?” Grandma CC asked, astonished.
“No, he arranged a hit on himself,” Hunter clarified.
“Why didn’t he reach out to me for help,” CC asked.
“That I do know the answer too, he did try, but Bob made sure he never got the right number for you, even when you became Mayor,” Hunter said.
“How do we tell Isabella what happened?” TJ asked.
“That’s the hard part as I don’t know who he hired,” Hunter said.
“How do you know what happened?” I asked.
“He met telepathically with Grandma Jillian and told her everything, and they were trying to devise a plan to help Roberto, but Bob was moving too fast,” Hunter said.
“Has anyone tried to reach his spirit?” I asked.
“Grandma Jillian tried, but she hasn’t been able to,” Hunter said.
“Ok, going out on a limb here,” I began “what if he didn’t die?”
“Interesting point Tristan,” Grandma CC said.
“That would be why I can’t reach his spirit,” Grandma Jillian said, appearing in her spirit form.
“That would have had to be one hell of a production,” TJ said.
“It would have been, but Bob didn’t check him after the shot rang out and blood starting pouring out,” Hunter said.
“I think I can attempt to get the answer,” TJ said and disappeared.
“Where did Dad go?” Hunter asked.
“He can travel back in time, and I bet I know where he went,” I replied as TJ reappeared.
“Tristan was right Roberto faked his death,” TJ began. “I watched Bob, Jeff, and Kevin scatter when the shot rang out. No one bothered to check him out, and if they had, they would’ve known he was alive. They used a gun containing blanks and a huge blood bag in his clothes; they broke open when the shot rang out. He’s in hiding somewhere.”
“We need to find him before Isabelle gets out of control,” I said.
“She’s already getting there,” Hunter replied.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“She wants to kidnap you and is working on carrying it out. She has something she can inject you with that won’t allow you to teleport or telepathically communicate,” Hunter said.
“This is dangerous territory,” Grandma CC said.
“Maybe I should try to find Roberto,” Grandma Jillian said.
“That might not be a bad idea,” TJ said in agreement.
“He’s using the same drug that Isabelle has,” Hunter said.
“I’m going out on a limb, but do you think Isabelle knows the truth?” I asked.
“That they killed Berto and using Roberto as a cover?” Grandma CC asked.
“Yes, think about it; it would make sense,” I said.
“It would make too much sense,” Grandma Jillian said in agreement
“We need to get to the bottom of this, and Tristan needs to keep his guard up,” TJ said

Everyone got to work on trying to figure out how to locate Roberto. I was sitting in my room thinking about how to tell Justin when I got a text:
J: Come quickly. I need your help.

Without thinking, I teleported to his room, and Justin was sitting on the bed.

“Tristan, why are you here?” Justin asked.
“I got your message,” I replied.
“Message?” Justin said, surprised.
“Yeah, that you needed help,” I replied, and that is when I felt something stick me in the neck, and I fell to the floor.