I can’t stop thinking about The Phantom and his smug grin. What did he tell the Army, exactly? Why is it that only me and Brady got taken in? They had to have seen Seth with us at the very least. Maybe they could only drum up enough fake evidence to arrest us, or maybe…
“Shit,” I say out loud. This is a trap. We’re the bait.
Brady gives me a funny look. “What?”
I shake my head, wishing I had my cell phone so I could text Seth and tell him not to come. Because he’s the one they want—they already suspect him of knowing more than he’s saying. The Phantom just gave them an easy way to do it. All Major Norton has to do is threaten to harm us if Seth doesn’t tell him everything.
And I thought I was pissed before. Now I could punch out that wall without feeling it, I’m so wound up. Stupid Army, they play games just as well as any syndicate.
Hearing a door open, I scramble to see who’s coming in. My heart sinks when I see his strawberry hair and blue eyes. Seth looks horrified to see us behind these makeshift bars, but he should be more worried about himself.
“Fiona! Brady!” he says once he gets to us.
I push back tears. “Idiot, you should have stayed home.”
Seth gives me a hurt look.
Right then, Major Norton enters the office, as if he was waiting for Seth to show up. “Seth Mitchell. Since you’re here, can we have a word before I question our prisoners?”
“Uh…”
“Don’t. Tell. Him. Anything,” I say through my teeth. Because if this is how Juan and the Army are playing, then there’s no way in hell I’m letting them get away with it.
“Do I have a choice?” Seth asks the Major.
“No. Not really.” Major Norton’s eyes turn cruel, and I know all my guesses were right. Unless one of us caves, we’re not going anywhere anytime soon.
Chapter 16
When I hear just how loudly Major Norton yells, I’m not so sure Seth will remember my final plea. The volume makes his threats sound that much worse. He tells Seth that Brady is a danger to people’s safety and should be forced into the Army immediately, so that he can be properly trained. He explains that I could be prosecuted for all my past crimes if he felt like it—I’d be locked up for years if found guilty.
But Seth can stop it. All he has to do is tell the Major what we did in the desert last night and why. Easy. Then we can walk away like nothing happened.
Listening to this is too familiar. I feel like I’m back in Vegas, hiding in a closet while Graham threatens person after person. Drop the case, or your clairvoyant daughter will end up in the syndicate. Tell us where the Radiasure is, or you’ll never walk again. Keep quiet, or we’ll let your wife know about the other woman. If that didn’t work, the beat squad would take Radiasure pills to make their pain-causing abilities stronger—sometimes people wouldn’t make it out of that alive.
It’s always the weakest ones, too. Of course Major Norton didn’t go for Brady and me—we have abilities that give us more confidence in protecting ourselves and our loved ones. But he thinks Seth is little more than average, that intimidation will scare him because he’s defenseless.
How quickly Major Norton shows his colors.
Silence makes my ears ring after all that yelling. Then there is a mumble I recognize as Seth’s voice. Particularly his attitude tone. I don’t know what he says, but it has the Major yelling again, “Get out!”
The door opens, and Seth is smiling smugly. “I’ll be back with a lawyer next time.”
“You step one foot on these premises, Mr. Mitchell, and you’ll be the next one behind bars.”
He turns back. “So I can’t go to school?”
“No.”
“Damn. Those last few months of senior year are so critical.” Seth rolls his eyes and shuts the office door. He comes to me quickly—we probably have seconds to talk. “I told him his extortion attempts pretty much negate your charges. They obviously don’t have anything solid on you.”
“I know that.” I put my hands on the bars. “It doesn’t mean he’ll let us go, though.”
“Still working on that.” He leans in for a kiss, and that’s when how bad this is hits. I don’t know when I’ll see him or my family and friends next, so I savor his lips on mine and try to tell myself there’s a way out.
Major Norton bursts out of the office. “Get him out of here now!”
The soldiers scramble to surround Seth, and he’s escorted away before I can say goodbye. The imposing Major, face crimson red with anger, turns on me. “Bring her in.”
I sit in the same chair I was questioned in just days ago, but this time I’m not so much scared as I am livid. This guy isn’t any different from a syndicate leader. At least Juan’s men have the decency to be upfront about their crimes. I’ll take that over this charade any day. “I wouldn’t bother threatening me—pretty much seen it all and it won’t work.”
Major Norton grits his teeth. “Something was stolen from a secret military operation last night. None of my soldiers reported seeing anyone. How do you think that happened, Miss McClean?”
I’m not stupid enough to answer that question.
“You think being quiet will save you?” He smirks as he slaps a photograph onto the desk. “We have proof.”
My heart speeds up. I swear I was careful not to leave a single sign that I was in the area. Maybe it has been a while since I’ve spied and stolen, but it felt like it came back easily. Not sure I should see that as a good thing. I lean over to get a better look at the picture. My fear dissolves to the point that I have to fight back a fit of giggles. It’s an image of a footprint on the muddy bank of the pond. “That’s not my foot.”
Major Norton’s face fills with confusion. “Say that again?”
“Not. My. Foot.”
“How do you know it’s not your foot?” he goes on, like he can’t believe I’m telling the truth even though his own ability proves it. “Maybe you didn’t notice you left this print. Because something was stolen from us, and there’s only one person who could do that.”
“Really? Just one?” I fold my arms, confident I have this. “No offense, but I can think of like ten people who could have done that just as easily as me. Like that ass of a wall walker who turned me in as a scare tactic, for example.”
His face twitches, and I know he doesn’t have any clue how that formula went missing.
“Besides, my foot isn’t that long or wide,” I continue. “And if I were on some kind of a mission, I would never get anywhere near mud. I’ve done that kind of stuff enough to know what to avoid.”
Major Norton pounds the desk. “But you know why we’re here! I can feel it. You and your whole gang of friends.”
Mentioning my friends triggers something inside me. A need to protect. To deflect the suspicion solely onto myself. It feels wrong, but giving a piece of information here could at least keep The Pack out of this. “Of course I know why you’re here. The Radiasure formula, right?”
His eyes go wide. “You did steal it.”
“I knew about the formula way before you showed up,” I say, avoiding the accusation. “My father wanted me and my mom to steal it from the guy in China. Why do you think we ran? It was a suicide mission.”
“Truth.” The Major’s eyebrow quirks. “Interesting…”
I don’t like the way he says this word. It smacks too much of plotting. “Interesting how?”
“Of all the places you could have gone, you guys came to the town nearest the one Radiasure plant in the entire world. Why is that?”