“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?”