Finally my curiosity gets the better of me, and I have to ask, “So, Spud, how old are you exactly?”
Her eyebrows pop up, but she doesn’t look away from her screen. “Don’t call me by my hacker alias. It’s Lee Seol. If I let you see me like this—you’re automatically my friend, okay?”
“Lee Seol…” It feels weird on my tongue, calling her by her real name.
She smiles. “There we go. And I’m twenty-one.”
Huh, older than Miles by two years. Not that I could tell, since she’s so petite. Even without seeing myself, I feel huge next to her.
“To answer your next questions: I’m Korean. My parents left the country when they figured out what I could do, since the peninsula is pretty much Chinese-syndicate controlled. They were murdered as we kept running. I never live in one place for long, even now. Miles is my first boyfriend. Probably my last.”
I blink a few times, surprised at all the information she freely gave. “Uh, I wasn’t going to ask anything like that, but okay.”
Now she looks at me, curious. “What were you gonna ask then?”
“About that thing you always carry.” This close to her, I can tell it’s more than a cell phone. It has the same sleekness, but there are all these layers or something. “Is it…a computer?”
Lee Seol gets this proud look on her face, like she’s about to talk about her child. “It’s many computers. Well, more like a central hub for all my hidden servers. It’s easier to travel and stay inconspicuous this way.”
“Wow.” I watch as she pulls out several more thin glass screens.
“It was a bitch to make, let me tell you.” She presses a button, and a projector light shines onto the wall. “Code is easier to read than English or Korean for me, but the hardware side of technology I’ve had to learn the hard way.”
“Never seen anything like it.” I want to ask if I can hold it, but I’m pretty sure she’d say no.
“Of course you haven’t—I make syndicates look like angry caveman mobs. I have everything in the world at my fingertips, if I wanted.” The way she says it sounds…exhausted.
“So you understand all that stuff?” The screens are filled with letters and numbers and symbols in what looks like a jumbled mess to me.
“Oh yeah.” She holds it closer to me. “This is computer code, but it’s also encrypted so only I know what it’s really saying. Just in case this ever falls into the wrong hands, you know?”
I have to admit she’s just as impressive in real life as her legend. Smart, beautiful, powerful. “How do you understand all that?”
She shrugs. “It’s like my language. My father was a programmer, and I’d always mess with his books as a toddler. It wasn’t until I was three that they realized I was reading them. That’s when they put me on a computer to see if I could use what I was reading, and let’s just say it was like I could finally communicate how I wanted to.”
“That’s really cool.”
“I guess.” She slides the extra screens back into place, and then she gives me a look that says she knows everything about me. “So, when are you gonna ask me to help you out?”
My eyebrows pop up in surprise. “I wasn’t.”
She purses her lips. “Oh? But Miles said you needed me.”
“I do.” I fiddle with the remote, feeling inadequate in her presence. “But you’re already watching out for my brother. That’s why you couldn’t help earlier, right?”
She nods. “Not gonna lie, making sure Miles is safe has taken up tons of time lately.”
“That means a lot to me—that you would protect him so fiercely. Now that I know you’re already working so hard for my family, it feels wrong to ask for more.”
This answer doesn’t seem to go over well, at least that’s what I’m getting from her stink face. “Just so we’re clear, I’m watching out for Miles because I don’t want the only living person I love dead. Not because you asked me.”
“Oh.” I’m not sure what else I’m supposed to say, but knowing she cares that much about Miles helps me trust her.
“I only do things I’m asked when there’s a big price tag attached to it. Free things? Well, those are things I want to do.” She starts to type into her super phone, as I’ve decided to call it. “Miles is worried about you, so that means I am, too. I know you haven’t met me until now, but I’ve considered you family for a long time. You’re up against some serious powers—I think you know that with me your odds would be evened out some.”
I almost can’t believe what I’m hearing, but I’m not stupid enough to hesitate. “That would be amazing. I’d love to have your advice, since you deal with these people a lot.”
“Well, first off, I’ve used what I had on me to protect your house, but the surveillance options are shitty in this town. You need more security badly.” She pulls up some images on her screens that are familiar: the school library, the bowling alley, the diner, and a bunch of SuperMart. “I’ve found all the cameras I could access easily. First I thought there were more old-school ones not connected to any network, but I’m starting to wonder if there are hardly any cameras at all. We need to fix that.”
“How?” I completely agree with her—I just don’t have the equipment.
“I have the stuff. Trouble is getting it here without being tracked. I may be the best hacker, but I sure as hell ain’t the only one.”
“If you can get them, I can hide them.”
She smiles wide. “I don’t doubt that. After better surveillance, we’ll have to focus on mapping out Juan’s base in town and what the Army has.”
“The Army will be easy, with what happened last night.” I already have a bunch of info I could tell her, but some of it involves Seth’s ability so I decide to wait.
“Yeah, get me what you can tomorrow. If you see any cameras I didn’t show—”
Miles comes into the room holding two plates full of pancakes. “You better be hungry, Lee Seol.”
“Yum!” She sets down her super phone and digs in. “Oh, this is so good, baby.”
Miles beams. “I hate that I love having you here.”
She rolls her eyes. “This is where all the fun is. I’m not going anywhere.”
Miles lets out a long sigh, seeming torn about the news. I know he’s worried about her safety, but I wish he’d enjoy being with her while he can. He used to be so good at letting go. Now he carries the world on his shoulders, and I feel like it’s my fault. If he never would have copied Dad’s scent…
My phone buzzes, and the message surprises me. It’s from an LS: Don’t tell him what we talked about. He doesn’t want me that directly involved, and I prefer to let him think he can boss me around ;P
I can’t help but grin. I think I’ll like having Lee Seol around. We’ll both keep him safe, I reply.
Hell yes.
Chapter 29
“This is the last of what I have on me right now,” Lee Seol says as she attaches a tiny microphone to my glasses. It looks just like one of the glittery decals on my chunky white frames—no one could guess it was a bug. “You better not lose it, okay? Those really tiny ones suck to make.”
“I won’t.” I slip my messenger bag over my head carefully, trying not to stress about the impending negotiations.
Mom seems more jittery than usual. “I wish I could go with you, sweetie, but The Phantom is already on to us. If he figures out we’re not with a syndicate, he won’t hold back.”
“I know.” She keeps saying stuff like that, even though we’re in so deep already that I don’t think it would make a difference. Deep down, I wonder if Mom is a bit of a coward. This isn’t something she’s willing to put her neck on the line for. But it’s just as well—I’d rather have her stay out of it because that means she’s safer.
“Make sure it’s clear they’re not getting the merinite unless we know everything they’re doing with it,” Miles says, his eyes intense. He wants to go, but his girlfriend won’t let him. He’s too big a target
, and Madison isn’t wired enough to watch him.
Lee Seol puts her hands on her hips, seeming unhappy. “I wish I had video, but I used my last ones on the roads and your house so we’d be able to see people coming. My Spudlings should be coming through on more soon.”
“Spudlings?” I say.
Miles makes a face that might be jealousy. “Her hacker minions.”
Lee Seol seems to like Jealous Miles. “I prefer to work alone, but I don’t mind the help when I need it. Crisis always comes through when I’m in a jam—he’s a mechanical savant—said he’d make me a few things, though I didn’t tell him why I needed them.”
I want to ask about a billion questions about this guy named Crisis, but a familiar honk sounds from outside. Seth and Brady are here. “Better go.”
“We’ll be listening,” Mom says.
“Okay.” Better make sure Seth and Brady know that, otherwise they could accidentally reveal Seth’s ability to my family.
Seth doesn’t even say hi when I get in the truck. I don’t have to ask to know he’s still mad at me. But not talking is fine. If he doesn’t talk about it he can’t break up with me, and that’s the last thing I want.
“It’ll be okay,” Brady says in the silence. “Besides, school hasn’t been the same without you guys.”
Neither Seth nor I answer. I don’t exactly want to go back, but we have to come to some kind of agreement with the Major, because if they won’t let us have some control over the “cure” then we won’t provide the element. Graham and Allie swore they wouldn’t tell the Army the cave’s location—that means we control the merinite for now.
Brady sighs. “Fine. Be tense.”
Last Monday I was still locked up in a makeshift cell, so when we pull into the school’s parking lot I feel like I had one Pop Tart too many. Seeing The Phantom on the other side of the fence doesn’t help. He looks like he’s about to pounce as we get out, and the Army guards seem reluctant to close in on him.
“Going back to school, huh?” he calls.
“What tipped him off? The backpacks?” I mumble to Brady as we walk towards the buildings of Madison High.
“You think I don’t know what this means?” he yells as we get further away. “If you go in there, not only is our deal off but I know you’re not working with the O’Connells. Your father would never go to bed with the Army!”
I stop, knowing The Phantom has me. If I go in there, I’m telling him exactly where I stand—and worse, I’m showing I don’t have a syndicate’s protection. Am I ready to make him my clear enemy? Because there’s no going back after this. Syndicate people are really good at holding grudges.
“Fiona! You’re back!” someone calls from up ahead. It’s Bea, with Carlos and Hector coming up behind her. Seeing them clinches it. I’m here to protect them and everyone else in town. The Army may not be my favorite organization in the world, but if I have to pick sides I’ll take them over Juan.
So I keep walking.
“You better be prepared for war, little girl!” The Phantom screams.
I guess this is it—war.
I refuse to go back into the front office. Major Norton clearly finds this annoying, but he pastes on a fake smile because it seems Graham and Allie have made good on their oaths of silence. Maybe she’s not so bad, after all. “Then where do you suggest we talk, Miss McClean? I’m afraid out in the open courtyard won’t happen.”
“What about the lab?” I suggest.
His eyes narrow. “I don’t think—”
“I don’t mind,” Allie offers with a smile. “There’s nothing in there that they don’t already know about.”
“It’s the least you could do, after what you put my sister through,” Graham points out.
This seems to put the Major in an even worse mood. “Obviously my actions were justified, but I suppose we can authorize it…this once.”
Once? He wishes. With Allie on my side I’m sure this will go my way. Seth, Brady, and I follow them to the science lab that has been cordoned off and surrounded by more guards than even the office. The soldiers part at Major Norton’s command, and we enter a darkened lab with way more fancy equipment than our school owns. This must be all the stuff they were rolling off the truck that first day.
“How ’bout we sit down and have a little chat?” the Major says as he pulls out a lab stool.
“If that’s what you want to call it,” Seth grumbles. “I was thinking more like a negotiation. Maybe we should write up a treaty while we’re at it.”
The Major grits his teeth. “You act as if the source of merinite belongs to you, when I’m certain it doesn’t. What makes you think you can stop me from finding it with my forces?”
I scoff. “Why did you even ask us here if that’s what you think?”
“As a courtesy,” he shoots back.
Allie steps forward, head held high. “If you do that, sir, I’m sorry but I won’t be working with you anymore. Maybe they don’t have official ownership, but who does? They found the pools, and not only that but they’re willing to cooperate. Why are you making it more difficult?”
Major Norton blinks a few times, seeming surprised at Allie’s assertiveness. Then he clears his throat and looks away. “Fine then. If that’s how you would like to proceed—we need you more than anyone else.”
Allie seems pleased by this, and I’m flat out impressed. “Thank you, Major.”
He nods. “I only want this mission to be successful.”
“So you’ll stop treating us like ants to step on?” Seth pulls out a seat for himself. I sit next to him because I don’t want Major Norton suspecting that we have issues.
“I’ll try.” The Major wastes no time getting down to business. Which I’m glad for, because I’d rather not spend my whole day in his presence. “What we need is access to the element and complete silence on what we’re attempting to create. If syndicates were to catch on, it would be devastating. So what do you think is a fair trade?”
“Hmm.” I let the silence work its magic. The longer I hold back an answer, the more worried he’ll be that I won’t go for his simple terms. “The way I see it, this is a straight up informational trade. We have knowledge of the element—you have knowledge about this cure and what went down in Radison, right?”
The Major’s eyebrows rise, wrinkling his forehead. “What makes you interested in the old city?”
“Seems you’ve been interested in the Mitchell family since you got here,” Seth says. Brady looks beyond confused, and I assume Seth didn’t tell him what we found at their dad’s office. “I think there might be a bigger reason than you let on.”
The Major shakes his head. “If you expect me to tell you about every classified file I have, you better be enlisting.”
And there it is—he knows something. Seth curls his fingers around his knees, anger wafting off him. “Hell. No.”
“You okay, son?” The Major looks like he’s enjoying Seth’s frustration. “You don’t look too good.”
I turn my full attention on Seth. Sweat beads at his forehead, and it’s subtle but he’s shaking. My stomach drops at the thought of him having another painful vision episode. And now of all times. “I’m fine,” Seth says through his teeth.
Despite our fights, I can’t help putting my hand over his. I won’t let his secret be revealed before he’s ready. “Fine, whatever. That information isn’t that important—we were just curious,” I say.
“What?” Seth glares at me, and I don’t think it’s because of his vision. But we have to drop it and get him out of here.
I move on to the other topic of concern. “You want the merinite and our silence about the cure. We’re willing to provide that, but we also need to form some kind of mutual protection agreement.”
“You want security?” The Major purses his lips. “I can understand that, seeing as The Phantom probably has a big target on your back. We could provide guards.”
I shake my head. “That would make us a
bigger target right now—I was thinking more like intel on his forces and base, so we know what we’re up against.”
The Major sighs. “I’m afraid I can’t give you anything there. We haven’t been able to get a good idea ourselves. We can’t even find the networks they’re using or where their central base is.”
“Damn,” I mutter. After what The Phantom said when we got to school, I can’t help feeling I need to be even more cautious. “It sounds like we know more than you do.”
This seems to pique the Major’s interest. “Really? Because we can’t get into town for the most part. They’ve got us surrounded here at the school, and they follow my soldiers who go into town, harass them. I could use help rooting them out, and it seems like that wouldn’t be bad for you, either.”
I mull it over. “I think we may have found our common ground. So we give Allie access to the pools and keep her work secret, and you allow us to know about the cure. Also, we both agree to collaborate on eliminating The Phantom’s presence in the area.”
There’s a lot of nodding. Even Seth seems to agree—or maybe he just wants to get out of here because of his vision. I hold out my hand to the Major, my charm bracelets showing my action. “So you agree?”
Major Norton squeezes my palm hard. “It’s a deal.”
Chapter 30
I get one good night of rest, but the next night I’m woken by a rough shake. When I open my eyes, all I see is a black figure. I almost scream, but then I hear Lee Seol’s quiet voice, “You better not freak out, because there’s no way anyone will get into this house undetected on my watch. You should know it’s me.”
I gulp back my yelp. She seems more serious and deadly in the dark, and it reminds me of the first night I met her. “What’s going on?”
“We need to scout the town for surveillance locations. I’m tiny and dressed in black. You’re invisible. I figure we’d make the best team.”
Blindsided Page 16
