Mystics 3-Book Collection (45 page)

“Except for a few of the most slippery and
dangerous ones, we thought that we had most of the illegals who had
escaped under control. Now we are faced with
this
.”

He took a deep breath. “Our cherished
mirror-ports have been destroyed. Our entire Agency operation is on
standby. This catastrophe has not just affected us, but
all
the Agencies over the world have been infected with the black oil.
Every single mirror-port, DSM, and all of our M-Mat transportation
devices have been shattered. They are lost forever.”

He was silent for a moment, as though trying
to control his emotions. His face turned a darker shade of red.

“It happened quickly. And it was a
deliberate attack. This is an attack on the Agency as a whole. This
black oil not only destroyed our mirrors — it also destroyed the
borders that protect us.”

Gasps and whimpers echoed through the great
hall.

“But can they be fixed?” called a tall man
from the crowd.

Director Hicks raised his arm.

“Agent Franken, if you please,” he called,
waving his hand.

Agent Franken pushed his way clumsily
through. To Zoey’s surprise he was still wearing his HAZMAT suit,
but without the helmet. He waddled awkwardly towards the front. The
suit restricted him from any fast movements, so he moved like a
puppet with half its strings cut. Finally, he stood before the
group.

He had a mass of white stringy hair and
thick glasses that magnified his eyes to the size of grapefruits.
His bushy white eyebrows topped the rim of his glasses like
caterpillars.

“I don’t know,” said Agent Franken in a
squeaky voice. His forehead shone with sweat and his mouth was a
thin line. “It’s very unlikely that we can fix this.”

“Can you please be a little more
specific
, Agent Franken,” called Director Martin loudly, his
raspy voice reverberating in the hall. “We are all very distressed
by these recent events and we are not clairvoyants, we can’t read
what’s inside that head of yours. What exactly can’t be fixed?”

The dim light cast dark shadows over Agent
Franken’s pale face, making him look sickly and frail. He attempted
to lift his arms, failed, and moved his hands expressively
instead.

“Everything. The mirrors, the
borders…everything…”

Agent Franken seemed lost for words for a
moment. He looked like a man who had just lost his job but didn’t
understand why.

“The mirror-port matter transfers are
infected by what appears to be a virus. The black oil is some kind
of infection I’ve never seen before. It would take years of study
just to understand it. It’s beyond my capabilities. I’m a
scientist, not a god! It’ll be the death of me—mark my words.”

Zoey felt an overwhelming desire to rush
over to comfort him. Why were they being so hard on him? She
glowered at Director Martin.

“Then please just tell us what you
do
know,” pressed Director Martin. “We only want to understand what is
happening. That is all.”

Agent Franken appeared to be at a loss for
words.

Finally, he said, “What’s happening…what’s
happening is our entire transportation system is ruined by this
virus. And it’s affected our border security as well.”

“What it means is, we have no security
anymore. The safety constraints that made our Hives and
neighborhoods invisible to our enemies have been lifted. They can
see us now. All those mystics that crossed over recently, and all
the ones that have been slipping through the cracks for years
looking for revenge, now have access to us. We’re like a beacon in
the night. We stand out like sore thumbs. You don’t want to know
what’s coming for us. I do, and let me tell you, it’s not pretty.
It’ll be a miracle if we even last the night—”

“Thank you, Agent Franken,” interrupted
Director Hicks, glaring at the old man in the Hazmat suit.

He turned and addressed the group. “Everyone
understands the severity of this situation, now. As Agent Franken
has said, all of us are targets, and we must be vigilant and
protect ourselves until we can figure out how to cure the mirrors
and the borders.”

He paused and then continued, “Out of
country visitors, I want you to stay here at the Wander Inn
tonight. Aria advises me that she has enough room for everyone
here, and we can accommodate a few others in the Hive on spare
cots. It’s best not to travel.”

“So, there’s nothing you can do, Agent
Franken?” asked Director Martin. “Nothing at all? You’re our chief
scientist. You can’t just give up. There must be something!”

Agent Franken closed his eyes, and they
remained closed when he spoke. “There might be a way - an antidote
- a counter-virus.”

Director Campbell was the one who spoke
next. “Well, that’s great news! Where do we get this antidote?”

Agent Franken opened his eyes at last. “From
whoever did this in the first place. They would have it.”

The entire hall erupted in shouts, cries of
desperation, and even fists in the air. Zoey had never seen so many
confused, scared, and angry people all at once. It was terrifying
and upsetting.

“Enough!” bellowed Director Hicks. “We can’t
have everyone in a fit. We need to calm ourselves and think
straight.”

He glanced over to Agents Barnes and Lee.
“We’ll have to set up round-the-clock patrols over the Hive and the
inn as soon as we are done here.”

Agent Barnes shared a look with Agent
Lee.

“We’re on it. Most of us are trained agents,
so at least we’ll have a fighting chance if anything comes at us.
We’ll split into two teams — one to patrol the outside borders of
the Hive and the other to patrol the inn.”

Director Hicks nodded but looked grim, like
he didn’t really believe it. “Good, good, excellent,
excellent.”

He watched the group of mystics and people
around him. “I suggest for now that everyone remains calm. Get back
to your posts for now.”

He looked at Zoey and the other Operatives.
“I’m sorry, young Operatives, but your classes will be postponed
until further notice. It’s not ideal, but you can use what’s
happening as a learning experience. I will send regular updates on
our progress. I expect that none of us will get a lot of sleep
tonight. This meeting is adjourned.”

He started to walk away.

“But who would do this to us?” interjected a
mystic woman with orange skin and gills on her neck.

Just as Director Hicks opened his mouth to
answer, a voice cut him off.

“She did.” A loud voice rang out, and even
before she saw her Zoey knew who had spoken.

Claudia pushed her way forward. Her eyes
looked cold and calculating. She raised her arm lazily and pointed
to Zoey.

“She did it,” she repeated. “I saw her.”

Z
oey felt as though
she had been shot. She couldn’t breathe. Everyone’s eyes were on
her. She had forgotten all about Claudia. She saw Stuart King
leaning against the wall at the back with a winning smile on his
face.

“This isn’t the time to joke around, Claudia
Walsh,” said Director Hicks. “We are in a very
serious
situation. This is not a game.”

Claudia looked at Tristan, and then she
smiled at Zoey and sauntered forward.

“I
am
serious, Director. I saw her
sneak outside to the back of the inn. I knew she was up to
something so I followed her. I hid behind a tree, and I
saw
everything. She had this strange device. There was a blast of white
light, and a woman appeared from it, like a hologram or something.
I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it felt like a
conspiracy. And when I went back to the Hive, the mirrors had been
poisoned. So you see - she did it.”

Everyone gasped. Agent Barnes looked at her,
but she kept her eyes on Claudia. She knew Claudia was jealous of
her friendship with Tristan, but she’d never expected her to go
this far.

Simon pointed to Claudia’s face. “You can’t
take this nut seriously! She’s lying! Look - her lips are
moving.”

Claudia ignored him and smiled at Zoey’s
distress. “I always knew there was something
wrong
about
her,” she continued, standing straight, glad of all the attention
on her.

She moved toward Tristan. “I told you she
was rotten, Tristan.”

“What’s rotten is your breath, woman,” said
Simon. “What did you have for lunch - fertilizer?”

Claudia ignored him, but her cheeks flushed.
“She’s not one of us. Can’t you see it now?”

“What I see is a pathetic excuse to get some
attention,” answered Tristan hotly. “I can’t believe you would
stoop so low, Claudia.”

Claudia’s face fell. “She did this! You’ll
see.”

She raised her hand again and pointed a
finger at Zoey. “The mirrors were infected right after I saw her
conspiring with that Mystic. She’s the one responsible for the
black oil. She’s the enemy.”

“Are you always this stupid or are you
making a special effort today?” snapped Simon. “Zoey’s one of us.
She’s not the enemy, and she
didn’t
poison anything.”

“It’s her,” she said again, louder. “I saw
her do it. She’s the traitor. She poisoned the mirrors. The
Drifter
did it. She’s the enemy, and she wants to kill us
all.”

Her words cut through Zoey like she’d been
stabbed. Her eyes burned, but she strained to keep them dry.

“Now, wait here,
missy
,” said Agent
Barnes angrily.

He made his way across the hall towards
Claudia, careful not to step in the black oil.

“Zoey’s no traitor. She’s one of us.
Besides, she’s just a girl. How could a girl come up with a virus
like this? She would have to know some mystic technology. How could
she? She didn’t even know of our existence a few months ago.
There’s no way she could have done this.”

He turned to Agent Franken and raised his
eyebrows. “Tell them, Agent Franken. Tell them how absurd this
is.”

But Agent Franken was staring at Zoey
strangely, as though it was the first time he had set eyes on
her.

“Agent Franken,” said Agent Barnes again,
more urgently. “Please tell everyone how ridiculous this is.
There’s no way Zoey could have done this. Agent Franken?”

Agent Franken continued to stare at Zoey
like she was an object of great interest to him. But he said
nothing.

Agent Barnes dismissed Agent Franken’s
inability to respond with a laugh. “This is crazy. I’m telling you
all, Zoey had
nothing
to do with this. This, this girl—” he
pointed to Claudia, who looked at him lazily, “is only trying to
make trouble. You can’t honestly believe the fabrication? This is
foolish.”

“Maybe it’s not so foolish.” Director
Campbell stood with her arms crossed in front of her bright pink
jacket. She stuck out her pointy chin and said, “Maybe there’s more
to this girl than we know.”

She eyed Zoey suspiciously. “She was a
Drifter until just recently. It’s possible that she is responsible.
She could have been plotting in secrecy.”

“She’s
not
responsible,” said Agent
Barnes angrily.

“Then why isn’t she denying it? I’d like to
hear what she has to say for herself.” Director Campbell raised her
eyebrows, and looked at Zoey accusingly.

Director Hicks raised his hand dismissively.
“Thank you, Director Campbell. He turned around and watched Zoey
carefully for a moment, as though he was trying to determine for
himself if she was guilty.

“Zoey, is there any truth to what Claudia is
saying? Did you meet with someone in secret today?”

Zoey looked at the director. Her voice was
stuck in her throat. She saw Tristan and Simon shift uncomfortably,
and although she felt their eyes on her she couldn’t look at them.
How could she tell them about her abilities without betraying her
mother?

“Did you do something to the mirrors?” asked
Director Hicks more urgently. “Zoey, this is extremely serious. Did
you or did you not speak to someone in secret?”

Zoey’s bottom lip shook. Her throat burned,
but she couldn’t speak. She felt the room starting to spin. She was
going to be sick.

Director Hicks looked away, shaking his
head. He then whispered something to Director Johnson, who nodded
and then walked away, briskly.

Zoey and Tristan exchanged worried
looks.

Director Hicks exhaled loudly. “I’m sorry
Zoey, but you give me no other choice. Agent Vargas, kindly take
Zoey down to the basement. Have Agent Wise put her in a holding
cell till we can figure out this mess—”

“What?” roared Agent Barnes. “You can’t be
serious! Director Hicks, Zoey had
nothing
to do with
this!”

“I’m sorry, Agent Barnes,” said Director
Hicks, “but with the recent events, we can’t take anything lightly.
Until we know more, she will stay in lockup.”

“No!” Tristan stepped forward with a wild
look in his eye that Zoey had never seen before.

“This is wrong. Zoey wouldn’t do anything to
jeopardize the Agencies. Besides, we were with her—”

“Yeah,” interjected Simon. “We were all in
New York together. She couldn’t have poisoned the mirrors because
we were with her when it happened. She didn’t do it. Scout’s
honor.” He put his fingers up.

“Any virus takes times to fester,” rasped
Director Martin. “It still doesn’t prove she
didn’t
do it.
Why won’t she defend herself then, if she
is
innocent?
Answer me that!”

Simon was about to object, but he stopped
short when he saw Zoey shake her head. He and Tristan fell
silent.

But she still didn’t speak. She
wouldn’t.

She felt a presence near her and when she
looked up she saw Agent Vargas’ bear-like body towering above her.
He looked at her sadly. “Come on, Zoey.”