“So they saw you?” Miles’ voice goes up an octave, and I worry he might actually explode. “If they figure out you’re here…”
“Relax, baby. They probably thought I was Bea—we’re about the same size.” She plugs her super phone into the regular one, I assume to better hack it. “I had my mask on, anyway. Stop treating me like I’m stupid. If you haven’t noticed, I’m pretty good at what I do.”
“That doesn’t make you a god!” Miles stands and points at me. “And now you’re encouraging my sister to do even more dangerous stuff than she’s already doing?”
“Miles, don’t blame her,” I say, grabbing a blanket from the couch to wrap around my shivering self. “I would have—”
“Don’t,” he cuts me off, fuming. “I gave up my freedom for you. I put my girlfriend’s neck on the line to get you out. Now I’ll never have a normal life, and you’re throwing away everything I did like it means nothing!”
The tiniest bit of guilt creeps in, thinking about how trapped Miles is now. Being number one on any syndicate’s list is not much of a life at all. He did so much for us, but… “So because you got us out of the syndicate, you get to decide what I do with the rest of my life?”
That question makes him hesitate. “No…though I think I’m allowed to be worried about your safety.”
I shake my head in disbelief. “You know who you sound like? Graham.”
Miles stares at me, speechless.
“Don’t be too hard on him, Fi,” Lee Seol says nonchalantly as she continues her work on the phone. “He’s just annoyed because he has to hide out instead of doing useful things. Guys don’t like to be protected, especially by girls.”
“That’s not…” Miles slumps back onto the couch. “Okay, maybe that’s a little bit true.”
Lee Seol smirks. “You know I don’t love you because you can protect me, right?”
“Why do you again?”
“Because you’re you, and you make me happy.” She puts her hand over his. “Also, you’re hot. And usually, you don’t ask me to be anyone but myself.”
Miles leans his head on her shoulder. “Oh yeah. Just promise me you won’t take on more than you can handle, okay? I do hate that I can’t help.”
Lee Seol smiles. “I promise. It’s just simple surveillance, plus trying to find their den of evil. That’s only like two things.”
“Yes. Two teeny tiny things.” Miles laughs.
So they’re disgustingly cute together. I decide not to say this, but instead to sit next to Lee Seol. “You find anything on this cell yet?”
She nods. “Broke through the password, downloaded all texts and messages on the memory, but it’s connected to a majorly protected network. This thing will probably take me a few days to crack.”
My heart speeds up at the thought. “Does that mean it’s probably a syndicate network?”
“That’s my bet. The Phantom probably has more tech than we think, with what he seems to know and how quick. He’d need a super secure network to stay in touch with Juan and other leaders in the syndicate.”
“So once you get into that network, you’ll know where they’re hiding?”
“I should be able to track it down.” She finally looks up at me, and when she does I’m surprised to see her eyes full of excitement. There’s no doubt in my mind that she’s having the time of her life. “Make some coffee? Once I get on a code I have a hard time quitting until it’s broken.”
“Sure.” I get up and start the coffee maker, then I go up to my room to get dressed. Grabbing my phone, I flick it on and see twenty messages. All from Seth. I guess he does still care about me, even if he’s not showing it much lately. After seeing how upset Miles was, I feel bad for making him worry.
I want to ask if he overheard anything when his dad was talking to Juan’s guys, but tonight I have a feeling that won’t go over well. It takes me several text drafts to figure out the right words, but I finally settle on: I’m safe. Sorry I couldn’t explain. I know I must’ve scared you.
Seth’s reply comes quicker than I expected, it being four in the morning and all. Has he stayed up worrying since I called? Glad you’re okay. You know I’d go crazy if I lost you, right?
The words mean everything right now. Maybe we’ll be okay. I know. Same here.
Good. See you in a few hours.
Right. I settle into bed, wishing it was a lot more than a few hours. Not because I don’t want to see Seth, but because I’m way too tired to go to school and deal with the Army after a night chasing The Phantom.
Can’t a vigilante catch a break?
Chapter 32
I should probably be trying to catch up in class, but I can’t stop looking at the texts from Diego’s phone. Lee Seol printed them out, and Bea sits next to me translating the longer ones from Spanish. She hands me another paper, sending her words right into my ear, “Some of these look more useful.”
I grab it, hoping our history teacher doesn’t notice. So far the texts have been stupid or too vague to help—but I keep hoping one will tell us where to look for The Phantom’s base, what Seth’s dad is doing, or what kind of attack we need to prepare for.
Delivered the money to JM. Says he’ll cooperate. Will report info after doing my rounds.
JM—that could be John Mitchell. It probably is, since the date on this is the same as when Seth saw one of Juan’s guys in his house. There’s no denying he’s telling them something, but it’s hard to know what. If Seth’s dad is behind the bugs—and I’m sure he is—he should know a lot more than what Juan’s people do.
Keep telling him to send for Ted. Bitch would never get past his infrared, but he won’t listen. Never does.
My stomach turns; this one is about me. I hate infrared devices because they’re a pain to get around, but at least they can be dismantled or destroyed. People who see that way? I’d be in big trouble if The Phantom got past his pride and asked for help.
There’s not much else, and the bell rings anyway. We meet up at our usual lunch table, where Seth and Hector are already eating. I sit next to my boyfriend, wanting to be closer but unsure because he looks beyond stressed. I haven’t even asked him if he heard something last night. He’ll tell me when he’s ready, right?
“Find anything interesting?” he asks through a mouthful of pizza.
“Just this.” Rather than saying outright that his dad’s probably guilty, I show him the texts Bea translated.
Seth sighs. “We should probably find out who exactly this Ted guy is.”
“Yeah.” I take a small bite from my salad, my appetite minimal.
“And it only confirms my…” Seth’s hands go to his head, the words turning into cussing. These vision glitches are getting ridiculous, and I have a feeling they are more frequent than he’s telling. He puts his head on the table as I watch The Pack stare at him in confusion.
“What’s wrong?” Hector asks. “Did you realize something bad?”
“No…” Seth’s voice is weak.
“Must be a sudden headache,” Brady says in a feeble attempt to cover. “You know how he gets those.”
Carlos purses his lips, not seeming to buy it. “Looks like one hell of a headache.”
“Maybe you should go to a doctor,” Bea offers.
“No!” I blurt out. That was so not the right thing to say, because now they look even more suspicious. “Uh, I mean…”
“What’s going on?” Hector’s face is serious, and I worry he’s heard more than he lets on with how often he goes without his ear plugs lately. “I get the sense you guys aren’t telling us something.”