Authors: Natalie Whipple
Blindsided (27 page)
“Damn.” Seth grabs the extra pillow and the blanket at the foot of the bed. He hits the floor just as she opens the door, and I hold my breath.
Mom lets out a small laugh. “Better stay there.”
When the door closes, I wonder if Seth will listen or not. I even consider asking him to come back. But then the insecurity creeps in. Maybe after I’m visible. I smile just thinking about it.
Definitely after I’m visible.
“Still shacking up with the Army, huh?” The Phantom yells on Monday as we walk into the school. “Saturday night wasn’t enough for you?”
I don’t look back.
On Tuesday, Mom has to fight her way out of work because Juan’s men try to kidnap her. Graham sets up guards at our house and personally watches the area from the air.
Wednesday, it seems like everyone in town is leaving before things get worse. My neighbors pack up their stuff. Half the students at school are absent—same with the teachers. Gunshots are heard outside far too often. There’s no doubt The Phantom is prepping for something huge.
On Thursday, I consider not going to school at all. Seth watches me while I decide on glasses, the tension between us a little less thanks to that make-out session. Too bad Mom wouldn’t let him stay more than one night. Maybe our whole relationship would be fixed by now. I can tell he’s watching me in the mirror, and I can’t help but ask, “What?”
He shrugs. “I just hate that you have to wear glasses all the time. You look better without them.”
I smile a little. “Well, if this cure works, I won’t have to wear them ever again.”
“You’re really obsessed with that, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” And I’m not apologizing for it, either. The more I think about all the ways it will improve my life, the more I’m willing to do just about anything for it.
He lets out a long sigh, and the expression on his face screams impending apology. I hold my breath, hoping that he’ll finally say he’s okay with this. Because I need his support more than I can tell him. “I guess I just—”
My door flies open, and Lee Seol enters in a fit of excitement. “I’m IN, Fiona! I AM IN!”
It takes me a second, but then I gasp. “Wait, like, you cracked the network?”
“Duh!” She points her finger at her super phone. “Take that, idiot programmer. I told you I’d beat your ass and now your secrets are MINE. Damn, I can’t wait to mess the shit out of his system.”
She laughs maniacally. Seth and I exchange a worried glance.
Miles appears in the hallway, looking one part proud and one part exhausted. “Are you done gloating yet?”
“Nope.” She types furiously into her phone. “Why hello, list of assholes on this job, don’t mind if I download you. Oh, and what’s this? SuperMart! These bastards are trying to hide their network by making it look like the company’s. They must have found someone decently good to think of that.”
“Is that for sure?” Seth says excitedly. “Could I tell the Major that?”
“Hell yes. Tell this shit to whoever you need to.”
“You swear a lot more when you win,” I say.
She smiles wide. “You shoulda heard me when I stole that Radiasure info from your dad.”
Miles groans. “That was ridiculous. So what if it took you twice as long as expected? You still prance around victorious.”
“Because
I won.
” Lee Seol has her super phone right up against her nose, her eyes moving rapidly as she takes in the information. Then her eyebrows pop up, and she freezes in place. “No. Way.”
“What?” we all say at the same time.
“Crisis is working for Juan! I’d know his handle anywhere.” She goes off in what I can only assume is Korean. It doesn’t sound like she’s saying nice things. “No wonder I couldn’t get in as fast. And that explains why they so easily jacked up my drop-off. Juan must be paying him a shit ton of money.”
This is the second time she’s mentioned this Crisis dude. I put my hands on my hips, thinking. “Is he really that good? I’ve never heard of him.”
“Not as good as me, but he’s getting a name for himself. You know, now that he’s given up on principles and started taking money from whoever is offering. That’s when things got interesting for me, too.”
“So he’s being paid by Juan to keep you out?” Seth asks.
She smirks. “Maybe. Don’t know the particulars. I just know he’s the one with the network’s puppet strings. Well, he
was
—now they’re mine.”
“This is perfect.” I slip on a pair of black frames, taking care to put the little microphone in place. “Maybe the Army will be able to fight off Juan’s men now that they know where they’re coming from.”
“Right now all I have is the location, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be easy to storm SuperMart and take them out, you know?” Lee Seol heads for the hall, not looking up from her machine. “My bet is there’s major security in place, complete with secret bunkers. You’re gonna be late if you don’t go now.”
“Oh! Right.” Once I grab my things, Seth and I hurry to the truck, where Brady has been waiting for us.
“Took long enough.” He puts the car in drive and hits the gas.
“We got a break on info from you-know-who,” Seth says. “Should be enough for the Army to fight back Juan’s forces.”
Brady raises an eyebrow. “Yeah?”
He nods. “Who knows? Maybe the Major will even let us see the factory. I really think we need to push for all of us to see it, Pack included.”
“That’ll be hard to convince them of,” I point out.
Seth doesn’t seem pleased with my statement. “So? You got what you wanted out of all this—my requests are nothing in comparison. I just want to know if my family has anything to do with the factory.”
I sigh. “You’re really still upset I didn’t fight for that? You know why I was trying to finish up quickly.”
He purses his lips, knowing I have the microphone so we can’t talk about his vision. “Whatever. You still made time to get everything
you
wanted out of the deal.”
“Excuse me?”
“Guys, stop.” Brady grips the steering wheel, seeming uncomfortable with us fighting. I feel bad, thinking about how Seth said Brady sees me as a sister. Is he worried we’ll break up? It sure would make friendship with The Pack pretty difficult if we did.
As we approach the school, it’s clear this day won’t go well. Instead of a small group accompanying The Phantom, there’s a whole fleet of Juan’s guys lined up at the fence. The Army has an equally large group of soldiers defending the opposite side.
When we pull into the parking lot, my heart races as Juan’s men stare. Maybe they’re really here to mess with the Army, but I can’t help feeling this is personal.
The moment we get out, a soldier I recognize as my jailer, Tagawa, is by our sides. “Miss McClean, the Major requests your presence in the office. Immediately.”
I look at Seth and Brady, beyond worried now. “They’re coming with me.”
Tagawa nods. “Of course. Your friends the Navarros are already there waiting for you.”
“Okay…” I head for the school, wondering what exactly Major Norton wants from us. Seeing as The Phantom has a horde of people out there today, maybe the Major is concerned about our safety. I definitely am.
Going back into the office makes my skin crawl, especially as I pass the makeshift cell they held me in. But I push back the feelings and head for the principal’s office. Major Norton sits at the desk. Bea, Hector, and Carlos sit in the chairs facing him. Allie and Graham are there as well, and when I see my brother a wave of relief washes over me.
“I take it something bad is about to happen,” I say as I sit.
Major Norton nods. “Nice to see you again, too, Miss McClean. It seems Juan’s men have gotten wind of what’s going on in regards to Allie’s research. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
My jaw drops. Is he implying what I think he’s implying?
“Are you seriously blaming us for that?” Seth says while I try to find words.
“Of course we don’t know,” I say as he finishes. “They’ve been threatening us every day just because we walk into the school, and you think I’d help them?”
The Major watches my every move, I assume to see if he can sense any lie in my words. “It’s not impossible—maybe someone is leaking information to keep them from going after you.”
Bea glares at him. “We’d rather die than help Juan do anything.”
“Damn straight,” Carlos spits. “That’s downright insulting.”
Hector tips his chin up. “Ever thought that you might be the one with the leak, Major? You have a lot more men than we do.”
Major Norton stands, his face turning red. “I’ve interviewed every one of my men personally. There’s no way a spy could get past me.”
I glance at Seth, wondering just how true that is. He got around Major Norton’s questions—who’s to say someone skilled enough could avoid suspicion entirely? But I’m not interested in pointing fingers right now, especially when it seems futile to root out traitors when everyone has ulterior motives. “You know we’re not lying, so can we just get to the part where I tell you I know where The Phantom is operating from?”
The room goes still, all eyes on me.
“How’d you find out?” the Major says.
“I have connections.” Folding my arms, I try to savor his surprise. Must thank Lee Seol for this moment. “He has some sort of base at the SuperMart. I don’t know the extent of the facility, but I’ve confirmed it’s there.”
Allie smiles wide, standing up, as if she can’t contain her excitement. “That’s great!”
Major Norton, though much more reserved, seems to share Allie’s sentiment. “I called you here to inform you that we have to move Allie’s research to the factory, due to the clear threat from Juan at the school. But this information will be vital in helping form an offense against Juan’s syndicate.”
“And good news!” Allie hops over to me. “The first round of testing is ready—today could be the day, Fiona!”
My heart stops. “Really?”
She nods.
“What’s going on?” Bea asks. “Testing for what?”
Allie looks to the Major, who rolls his eyes. “Go ahead. They’ll all need to be under our protection from now on, anyway.”
“Testing for a cure to mutations. Today you could see Fiona with your own eyes, if things work out,” Allie says, beaming. Bea, Hector, and Carlos look dumbfounded. “Are you ready, Fiona?”
Am I? When I see how scared Seth is, part of me wants to say I’m terrified by the possibility. But then I think about how great it would be to see my own reflection in a mirror, and I smile. There’s only one answer: “Yes.”
Allie smiles back. “Then let’s go.”
The beating of helicopter propellers fills the air as we head for the back field, and my hair whips around in every direction. The helicopter isn’t the small kind, but one of those big ones that have propellers in every possible place. My ears hurt as we get closer, and I glance at Hector. He crams his hands against his ears, clearly in pain.
When I climb into the nearest open door, Graham’s right there strapping me in. Usually I’d protest, but I’ve never been in one of these and he makes me feel safe. He hands me a set of headphones and moves on to the others.
My fingers dig into my knees as the helicopter lifts into the sky. I close my eyes, figuring I already know where the factory is so why freak myself out more? What really matters is seeing what they’ve done to the place in the weeks since they’ve been here. My bet is we won’t even recognize it.
The descent is awful but quick. By the time I open my eyes the helicopter hits the ground with a jolt.
An extremely tall—abnormally tall—woman in uniform heads straight for The Major and Allie, who listen intently while the woman speaks in hushed tones. Allie comes towards us. “Let’s get you comfortable while the Major deals with the escalation of violence in town.”
The word “violence” hits me, and I begin to panic. Sure wish the mic on my glasses worked both ways. “Will you get my family out? What about the Navarros? They’ll probably both be main targets for The Phantom if we’re gone.”
Major Norton stops his conversation with the crazy tall woman. “Don’t worry, Fiona, that’s what I’m about to do. Graham, if you could come with me—we’ll probably need your help.”
“Yes, sir.” Graham puts his hands on my shoulders. “Allie will take care of you, okay, sis? There’s nothing to be afraid of now.”
I nod, though I still feel uneasy.
“This way,” Allie says. We walk past dozens of tents, which I assume hold at least a handful of men apiece. Clearly they’ve continued to bring in more forces as things have gotten worse. I had no idea there were this many under Major Norton’s command, and it makes me feel small and silly with my little band of friends.
Once we get past the tents, there’s a big clearing. In the center is a metal structure that is squat and round, like an armored turtle buried in the sand. Armed guards surround it, and as far as I can see there’s only one small door on it, directly in front of us.