His eyes light up. “They were digging out this huge underground facility. I couldn’t see much past the lights, but there was all sorts of machinery. I had no idea so much would still be there, but it looks like it was buried before it was ever blasted.”
I sit up, surprised. “You mean it wasn’t buried in the explosion?”
“Maybe it was, but the stuff didn’t look very damaged. Old, yeah. Caked in dirt, of course. But it wasn’t shards like on the surface.”
“Weird.” Pursing my lips, I can’t help but wonder what that means. Did someone at the Radiasure factory get wind of the plan to destroy it? Were they planning to come back for it someday?
“That’s not the worst part.” Seth’s brow furrows, and he looks away from me. “Before I pushed too hard and passed out, I saw a blue light beyond the dirt.”
I gulp. “More Radiasure?”
He nods. “Most likely.”
“Great. So the Army’s gonna find it.” For some reason this pisses me off, as if I’ve failed because there’s more of that drug in the world.
“Fi…” Seth says my name like he knows what I’m thinking, but doesn’t know how to answer. “Can I see the formula?”
I pull it from my pocket and hand it over, but my mind is elsewhere. Major Norton seems like the kind of guy who’ll do whatever he must to complete a mission. He’ll use that Radiasure on his soldiers. I’m sure of it. They’ll get cocky and fight anyone who threatens them. And then what will Juan’s men do to retaliate?
The Phantom will steal the Radiasure, that’s what. Then the Army will try to arrest him, but that’ll never happen. I can see it playing out in my head, each move escalating the violence. Just like during the drug riots in the seventies, this area will become more like a warzone than a town.
“This is some dense stuff,” Seth says after a few minutes of reading. “I don’t understand half of it, but I think this is the substance they’re looking for. It’s an element I’ve never heard of: merinite.”
“Merinite,” I repeat. “It doesn’t say what it is?”
“It might. I’m not sure.” He shakes his head, setting the papers on my lap. “This is way above me, Fi. Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” What did I expect? Seth may be the smartest guy I know, but that doesn’t mean he knows everything. If a high school student could figure it out at one glance, I’m sure Radiasure would have never gone out of production in the first place. “Maybe Miles will know. He’s in college.”
“Maybe, and Hector’s better at chemistry than I am. He could help.” Seth tugs at my arm. “But for now, how about you come back—”
My phone chirps, and I grab it from the nightstand. It’s a text from Miles: Remember how I said Mom will be pissed if you’re not home?
My phone says it’s past noon, and I swear. “I didn’t realize how late it is. My mom’s gonna kill me.”
Seth sighs. “Can’t I just keep you to myself for one day?”
I smile, kissing him on the forehead. “But you get to keep more of me to yourself than any other boyfriend in the world. It’s totally unfair.”
He rolls his eyes.
“We’re meeting at my place for dinner, The Pack and all. Rest until then, okay?” I say as I gather my hoodie and bag.
“Yes, Mom.”
“Don’t call me that. It’s creepy.”
“Yeah, I regretted it the moment it came out.”
“As you should.” Laughing, I head for the door and wave before I shut it again. When I turn to head down the hall, I jump because Mr. Mitchell is standing there. Two run-ins this close together? I’m not liking this trend, especially when I just came out of his son’s room after a whole night. “Um…”
Mr. Mitchell waves his hand carelessly, and the expression on his face screams high as a kite. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell. It’s about time Seth grew a pair.”
Can I go die now? There’s nothing I can say to this, so I scoot past him and pray he goes back to his room and stays there forever and ever. I hear the mower going, so I run outside knowing Brady will save me from the awkward.
“Everything okay with Seth?” Brady asks as he drives me home. Sometimes I feel bad that they chauffeur me everywhere, but Mom almost always needs the one car we have.
“I think so. His head still hurts some, but he seems like himself.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah.” I tap my fingers on the windowsill, trying to remain calm, though there are way too many men with jaguar tattoos on Main Street. Brady pulls to a stop in front of my house. Miles’ car is parked in the driveway, and I stare at it, confused.
“Something wrong, Fi?” Brady asks.
“No…not really.” But in my gut it feels like something is off. “I thought Miles came with Graham, since they flew to Bea’s house. But his car’s here, so it surprised me.”
Brady nods. “Maybe they’re leaving at different times?”
“Probably. I hear Graham’s girlfriend is pretty clingy.” I shake off the paranoia. With all that’s going on, I swear my brain is trying to read into everything. “See ya later.”
“Yup!”
I get out and head up the front path, dreading Mom’s wrath. Sure enough, she’s standing in the living room, arms folded and face set to the brink of rage. Her glare immediately has me apologizing. “I’m so sorry. I fell asleep and—”
“Asleep, huh?” Her voice makes it clear she doesn’t believe me for a second. “So you weren’t out in the desert causing trouble?”
My stomach sinks. I thought she’d worry about me being with Seth, not that. “How’d you know?”
“Because of this.” She holds out a red piece of paper, torn and ragged at the edges. I take it, and each word I read makes me regret everything I did last night more and more.
My men say they saw your little girl coming in from the desert with her friends this morning. I’m willing to chock it up to teens being stupid this time, but you’ve been warned. Going back on our agreement would be unwise.
—The Phantom
Chapter 14
“Do you not realize how serious our situation is? This isn’t the time to be messing around,” Mom says in her sternest of voices. “Please tell me you weren’t doing anything dangerous out there.”
I could lie. She knows how often I go running in the desert with Seth and Brady. I could easily say we were getting in one last run before the whole area was blocked off. But for the first time in my life, I actually want her advice. So I pull the formula out of my pocket and hold it out to her.
She snatches it from my hand, and when she realizes what it is her face goes slack with shock. “Where did you get this?”
“The Army was out there, and I went to get a closer look. They were talking about this element and…it sounded familiar. So I took it, to make sure.” I stare at my feet, fear finally washing over me. Now I get why Seth was so upset—I’m getting in way over my head. “I went on instinct, from all those years of training. I know it was wrong, but I’m afraid we’ll lose everything we have here.”
I brace for a lecture, for Mom to yell at me, ground me, something. She is silent, looking over the paper intently. She flips through more pages, and I can’t read her expression. When she looks back to me, there’s no sign of anger in her brown eyes. “You know where the secret element is?”
“What?” I say, taken back by her not yelling.
She holds up her hands. “Never mind. I don’t want to know the details—details are dangerous. But if you do, you know what that means, don’t you?”