Authors: Natalie Whipple
Allie nods. “That’s the idea. It may not work for every debilitating mutation, but even in those situations it should prevent it from being passed on. There are scientists that have known this for a decade, but they haven’t been able to do it because they don’t have merinite. I really believe that will make the difference.”
My heart pounds at her words, and I crave for this drug to be real right now. If it could take away whatever in me is stopping me from being visible, then every problem that’s haunted me my whole life would be gone.
Allie could save me.
“But how will you test it?” Seth doesn’t seem to be impacted by the amazingness of her work one bit. Probably because he has no interest in giving up his ability. “Give rats Radiasure until they mutate and then see if the drug works?”
Allie bites her lip. “We don’t have that kind of time, or enough Radiasure to do that. But we have a small group of volunteers within the Army forces here.”
Seth’s eyes go wide. “You’re testing on humans right away?”
“We don’t have much choice.”
Seth is saying something, but I can’t hear over my own thoughts. I might not have to wait years or even months…what if I could see myself next week? The idea makes my eyes water, and I say, “Can I volunteer?”
Seth and Allie stop arguing, staring at me in surprise. Allie takes a deep breath as she puts her hand on my shoulder. “Did you say you want to be part of the study?”
“No, she didn’t,” Seth growls.
“Yes,” I say at the same time. “Please. I need to be.”
Allie’s eyes glitter with excitement. “All the volunteers have more minor abilities. It would be amazing to observe the impact on what’s probably a very complex mutation. If you’re willing, I’m afraid I can’t say no.”
“I’m more than willing.”
I’m desperate.
“First you throw away my one chance at getting the factory information, and now this?” Seth stomps away, slamming the door as he leaves. I know I should care, but I don’t.
By the time the weekend rolls around, Lee Seol has gathered the necessary surveillance equipment from all over the country. We just have to pick it up under the interstate bridge, where the river has carved a gorge in the rocks. Despite her insistence that only she and I should go, Seth is determined to stay at my side. I wish I could say it was out of affection, but I’m pretty sure he thinks I’ll do something stupid.
“Why are you wearing clothes?” Lee Seol stuffs a dagger into her pants’ side pocket.
I glance at Seth, who has acquired a pair of brass knuckles from Carlos of all people. He knows the black dress is because of him. I need the barrier after how he reacted to my volunteering for Allie’s tests. “Last time I nearly froze to death. I can have this off in seconds if I need to.”
Lee Seol nods. “Fair enough. It’s colder at night here than I expected.”
“Are you sure we’re enough?” Seth asks as he zips up his black hoodie. “What if we get attacked?”
“A drop-off is supposed to be about stealth. No one will attack us if they don’t
see
us,” Lee Seol grumbles as she pulls her hair back.
“Given how things have been going with The Phantom, I don’t think it would hurt to have backup,” he insists.
Lee Seol gives him her stink face, which I’m starting to learn is what she does when she agrees but doesn’t want to admit it. I thought Juan’s guys would have gotten us back by now for knocking out their men, but two days have passed with nothing. The longer it takes, the more afraid I get for what they might be planning.
I shake the box of needles. “I’ll have these just in case. They might be tiny but they are lethal.”
“They kinda freak me out, honestly.” Lee Seol slips her arms through a backpack, which I assume is to carry the new equipment. “We just need to be careful is all. There shouldn’t be any problems.”
Miles, who sits on the couch, clears his throat. “Too bad you haven’t cracked that network yet. What if they know more than we think?”
Her glare doesn’t seem to scare Miles like it does me. “Oh, I’m gonna crack it. And I’m gonna find their hide-out and shut their power down for good measure.”
He smirks. “I can’t believe you haven’t gotten in yet.”
“It’s not my fault they got a better programmer!” she yells.
“Actually, it probably
is
your fault.”
“Shut up!” She throws a pillow at him. Then they’re making out. Lovely.
“Guess we’re not the only ones who do that,” I mumble to Seth. He pretends not to hear me. I shove him. “Did you hear that? Or are you deaf now?”
“Just because I hear you doesn’t mean I have to reply. Not like you ever listen to me.” He slips his fingers into the brass knuckles, not a single wisp of teasing in his voice. I’m starting to feel like we’ve gone back to that first day I met him, when he made me angry and confused and scared all at the same time.
I wait for his eyes to meet mine. When they do, my heart twists.
“What?” he asks.
“Can you give me my boyfriend back? I miss him.”
Seth looks away from me. “Only if I can have my girlfriend back, because I’m not sure I recognize her anymore.”
“What do you want me to do? Give up the things I want in favor of what you want for me?” I lower my voice to a whisper, though Miles and Lee Seol are surely too occupied to overhear. “I know you don’t like the risks I’m taking, but can you at least respect that it’s my choice and maybe you can’t understand why I need to do what I’m doing?”
Seth folds his arms. “Then explain it to me. Because I’d really like to know the logic behind taking a drug that could do who-knows-what to you—death included.”
It’s been a long time since he’s spoken to me like this, and instead of making me mad it just makes me want to cry. “I have explained it to you. Over certain drawings you hate to do. At your dad’s office when you kicked me out. It’s not my fault you don’t want to hear it.”
Before he answers, Lee Seol is standing in front of us again. No embarrassment in sight. “Okay,
now
I’m ready to go. Maybe you two should kiss, too. You’re tense. Tense is bad for secret missions.”
“We’ll be late if we don’t hurry.” Seth heads for the door. I follow, since I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Though we’re supposed to meet these Spudlings at the interstate bridge, we don’t take the roads to get there. Seth and I know exactly how to navigate the desert so that we end up at the drop-off, and Lee Seol seems happy to let us take the lead.
The night sky is darker than usual, thanks to the considerable amount of cloud cover. It’s been a while since we had a storm roll in, and I’m not sure whether the darkness is a good or bad thing. Either way, I speed up.
“What’s the rush?” Lee Seol says through labored breaths. “They know to wait until I get there.”
“If it rains I’m screwed.”
She curses. “I’ll suck it up then. You people and your long legs.”
After another mile or so, I can feel the humidity saturating the air. It’s easy to pick up on, since usually Madison is beyond dry. Thunder growls in the distance, and my heart begins to race. Just a little further. We’ll pick up the stuff and leave. Simple as that.
“Almost there,” Seth says quietly, and my heart flutters because I know he senses my nerves and is trying to comfort me. Stupid boy. I’m sure he still cares even though he’s acting like a jerk.
Even though the gorge under the bridge is nowhere near Grand Canyon height, I still get jittery as we approach. A fall off this cliff would mean death. We’ve slowed to a walk, the dark outline of the bridge’s pillars in clear view.
Lee Seol sounds exhausted when she says, “They should be right under there, in the space between the interstate and cliff.”
“Fabulous,” I grumble. “A chance of rain plus heights? Best night ever.”
I can’t see her eye roll, but I swear I can feel it. “I’ll go by myself then.”
She takes off, and I immediately feel guilty for complaining. All she’s done since she got here is help me out—she doesn’t need my crap. I run after her, Seth next to me. We’re closing in on her when a dark figure appears from the bridge’s shadow. Looks like the Spudlings showed as promised.
The figure sets something on the ground, and Lee Seol slows to a stop. She goes for the box, and that’s when the guy points something at her. The sound of the silenced gun isn’t much, but it still pierces me. I skid to a halt, shocked, as I watch her hit the ground. This can’t be happening. She’ll get up and fight back. She has to.
She’s not.
Miles is going to kill me.
“Fi.” Seth puts his hand on my shoulder, and my eyes go to him. “Take your dress off.”
“Right.” I get to it, though my body floods with terror because Seth is running towards the guy instead of away. What does he think he’ll be able to do? The guy has a gun, and we don’t even know what ability we might be up against. But we can’t leave Lee Seol there, and whoever that is can’t get our equipment.
Seth throws a surprisingly decent punch, but the guy dodges just in time. Though I’m closer, I still can’t make out much of our enemy besides his clearly male lines. Seth tries to grab him, but the man turns out of it and slaps the back of Seth’s head. Not a hit, but a slap.
“That the best you can do?” the man says, his voice muffled from his black mask.
“Shut the hell up!” Seth punches. The man bats his hand away. He kicks. The man grabs his leg and makes him trip. Seth charges. The man flips back, landing perfectly, like a cat.
Why he hasn’t used the gun yet is beyond me.
I can’t help feeling like this guy is playing with Seth, which doesn’t make sense after he shot Lee Seol right off. I creep closer, trying to decide the best way to get a jump on him. His reflexes have to be enhanced, because he seems to anticipate Seth’s moves. Not that Seth is some amazing fighter, but still.
The man doesn’t seem to notice as I approach him from behind. He’s bulkier than Seth by quite a bit, and he carries a confidence that screams super ability. I slip the needle box out of my mouth. I don’t want to use a killing needle, but it might be time to do it.
“Tsk.” The man stands in front of Seth, who is panting from the effort. “I can’t believe The Phantom’s having trouble with such a pathetic group.”
“It’s not all about physical strength, is it?” Seth says.
“But you’re not—”
That’s when it starts to rain. Hard. The water shows my outline, and the man immediately notices. He wastes no time charging me. My heart races, but I prepare to stab him with my needle. Before he gets to me, Seth closes in and tackles him. He shoves his foot into Seth’s stomach, and Seth falls to the ground with a loud thud. Then the man gets up and comes for me.
I try to stab him, but he avoids me thanks to the rain.
“Shoulda known…you’d…bring…” He grabs my wrist and squeezes so hard I lose the needle, but I won’t go down without a fight. I grab his mask with my other hand. May as well get an I.D. if we can’t beat him.
But when I see his surprised face, mine fills with horror. I know him.
It’s always one thing to suspect someone of doing wrong, but another thing entirely to see the living proof.
“Dad?” Seth coughs.
“Are you really surprised?” Mr. Mitchell looks at his son. I take several steps back, not a single clue what to do now.
“Why?” is all Seth can say as he stares at his father. Better than I can do, because I still can’t find a single word. My brain is stuck in “holy crap his dad really does work for Juan” mode. Also, he just shot Lee Seol.
“
Why?
Because you idiots destroyed my bugs and I needed more. Easiest way to get it is to steal it.” His dad picks up the box and looks behind him, spotting me easily in the rain. “Don’t you dare think about attacking me again. I
will
hurt you next time.”
Seth is on his feet now. “Don’t talk to her like that.”
His dad glares at him. “The same goes for you, too, son. My perfect balance makes me a better fighter than you could ever hope to be.”
“You just keep finding ways to suck at being a father, don’t you?”
He lets out a long sigh. “Do me a favor? Stay the hell out of this from now on. You’re getting in my way.”
Seth balls his fists. “Good. I want to be in your way.”
“No, you don’t.” He hefts the box onto his shoulder. “I’m gonna pretend I didn’t see you this time. Use it wisely.”
Seth just flips him off and heads for Lee Seol, who is sprawled out on the ground. His dad walks away, and I wait until he’s a long way off before I move. Taking my place next to Seth, I carefully pull back Lee Seol’s shirt to see how bad the wound is. There’s blood everywhere, but he got her in the stomach. “This is really bad, but she’s not dead.”
Seth nods, angry tears streaming down his face. “How did he know we’d be out here?”
“No cl…” Then something comes to mind. “Lee Seol mentioned another hacker named Crisis—maybe your dad knows him and paid for a tip?”