The mask was whipped off. Thibault let his arms go slack.
‘Nate!’ Flicker cried. ‘Way to scare the shit out of everyone!’
‘TWO GLORIOUS LEADERS.’ THIS WAS RIGHT OUT OF ONE OF ETHAN’S NIGHTMARES. ‘Are you sure she’s like you?’
Nate nodded. ‘She’s not just like me, she’s…better. She guided a parade up to our front door to say hello.’
Glorious Leader, admitting that someone was more awesome than him? Ethan’s spine chill was getting worse by the second.
‘But how did she find this place?’
‘She’s got this town locked down.’ Nate turned to Kelsie and Chizara on the couch. ‘One of those Crashes you met can scoop the data out of phones. Not just calls – location tracking too.’
‘Whoa,’ Chizara said. ‘That’s some serious code, right there.’
Ethan stared out the window into the dark night. Were Piper’s forces gathering out there right now, ready to strike?
‘Should we be running?’ he asked.
‘She’s got bigger things to worry about than us.’ Nate flashed a thousand-watt smile. ‘She was just welcoming the Cambria Five to town. We’re famous!’
Kelsie groaned softly at this, and Ethan felt the pulse of her anguish in the wash of Nate’s excitement. She must hate the idea that Zeroes everywhere were terrified of her – of what she might become.
‘What bigger things?’ Flicker asked.
Yeah, that was the question, Ethan thought. What sort of multi-Bellwether nightmare had Nate dragged them all into?
And not just Nate – Ethan had himself to blame too. He had actually voted for coming to New Orleans. Why had he done that, again?
Two words: Sonia Sonic.
‘Piper won’t tell me her plans – yet.’ Nate smiled again.
Ethan cringed. Hadn’t Sonia said something about Piper hating normals? That didn’t sound like the jumping-off point for a very happy plan. But he couldn’t bring that up without mentioning his secret rendezvous.
‘Next time you guys hang out, ask about the big machine they’re building,’ Chizara said. ‘It’s dressed up like a float, which means they’re going to use it during Mardi Gras.’
‘Tell me everything,’ Nate said.
As Chizara described her time with the Crashes yet again, Nate sat on the edge of an ottoman, fingers steepled and elbows on bouncing knees. Ethan figured he was hyped up about meeting another version of himself, presumably one of his longtime dreams. His Bellwether power had everyone else wrapped up, but Ethan wrenched his gaze away, lingering on the darkness outside.
The thought of all those red pins in a map was just plain creepy. Zeroes were dying on a regular basis in this town, and Ethan himself had almost gotten snatched by the feds today.
His voice might have saved him by scaring off Verity, but it had scared him, too.
What had it been talking about, with all that omniscience crap? Was Ethan just a random meat puppet for some all-knowing brain somewhere? That was a fricking terrifying idea.
Nate leaned forward as Chizara wound down. ‘If Mardi Gras is when this all goes down, we only have a few days to get up to speed.’
‘Less,’ Flicker said. ‘We found out something at the FBI office.’
‘A map of death!’ Ethan cried.
‘Something worse,’ came from the corner.
Right. Thibault was here.
‘There’s some kind of FBI operation happening tomorrow,’ Tee said. ‘Phan’s bringing in a team to grab someone. He wants to start a collection of Zero agents.’
Ethan nodded. The voice had said something about that to Verity, too.
‘Does he know we’re here?’ Kelsie asked. Her fear blared across the room, and Ethan flinched.
‘Will you quit panicking, Kelsie?’he grumbled. ‘You’re stressing me out.’
‘Phan doesn’t know anything about us,’ Flicker said calmly. ‘The target is someone from New Orleans.’
Her certainty doused Kelsie’s panic, but Ethan still had a knot in his stomach the size of a fist. Someone at the FBI did know that Ethan, at least, was in New Orleans. Even after that voice whipping, Verity might have reported him to her boss.
He should probably fess up right now…
‘Whatever they’re up to, we’ll know about it,’ Thibault said. ‘I stuck my tracker into Phan’s badge case.’
‘Good thinking.’ Nate turned to Chizara. ‘How close do you have to be to pick up that signal?’
‘A quarter mile?’ She crossed her arms. ‘Which is way too close. Do you really want to follow an FBI agent around all day?’
‘Not all day,’ Flicker said. ‘The operation’s planned for tomorrow morning.’
Nate frowned, and Ethan felt the familiar discomfort of a boss fight building.
But in the end Nate only nodded. ‘You’re right, Flick. We can’t let a fellow Zero get picked up by the feds. It could be Piper they plan on grabbing. If we save her, we’ll earn her trust!’
‘So you’ve already chosen a side?’ Chizara asked. ‘You don’t even know what she’s up to!’
‘Exactly,’ Ethan said. ‘Piper could be evil and hate regular people or something. Why not let her and the feds duke it out while we drink daiquiris in Mexico?’
‘No,’ Nate said, standing. ‘We do what’s right. Which means keeping anyone with powers out of prison until we know what’s going on.’
It was an inspirational little moment, and Nate knew it. He wasn’t jittering anymore. He drew himself up to full leadership height and looked down at everyone else.
In fact, it was the most commanding he’d looked since getting out of prison. Whoever this Piper was, she’d given Nate some kind of Glorious Leader recharge.
Ethan waited for Flicker to step in as the voice of reason, to say they were all going to Mexico. But she was sitting there in the big armchair, nodding along.
‘Things are coming to a head,’ she said. ‘The FBI knows about Zeroes, and weird-hunters are having conferences. We can’t just hide anymore.’
‘We can’t?’ said Ethan. He’d never really thought very far into the future. But he always figured he’d have one. Now he was stuck between a federal retrieval force and multiple Glorious Leaders.
Life sucked.
And if the Zeroes were all going to march into the jaws of the FBI together, it was time to confess.
‘So guys,’ Ethan said. ‘Verity’s in town. I saw her.’
Nate turned on him. ‘Where?’
Everyone else looked at him too. He squirmed in his seat.
‘She was at WeirdCon. Using her power, trawling the weird-hunters for intel.’
‘So what?’ Flicker said. ‘None of those dimwits know anything about us.’
Ethan cleared his throat. ‘Well…except that Verity kind of saw me.’
‘What?’ Nate cried.
‘It’s okay! The voice threw her off the scent. She thinks we split up, and that you’re all in Saint Louis!’
Nate eyed him sidelong. ‘So your voice can lie to Verity?’
‘Uh, not quite.’ Ethan squirmed again, but there was no point hiding anything. ‘I lied to Sonia Sonic, and then she kind of repeated it to Verity, thinking it was the truth. Booyah, right?’
He looked up at them all, waiting to be praised for this brilliant end run around Verity’s powers. But all he got were grim expressions.
‘Sonia Sonic?’ Flicker said. ‘She’s here too?’
Ethan nodded.
‘And you just happened to run into her?’ Nate asked.
‘I kind of…told her I was coming?’ Ethan said. ‘But the whole thing was worth it! I found out that Piper hates normals. That seems important, right?’
They were all still staring at him, but Flicker and Nate were looking at each other, more thoughtful than angry. For a moment Ethan thought he’d weathered this shit storm.
Then his phone buzzed in his pocket.
‘What the hell?’ Chizara asked.
Eep. It had to be Sonia. Nobody else outside this room had this number.
He yanked the phone from his pocket, trying to read the message before Flicker hijacked his eyeballs.
Saw Verity with weird-hunters, had to warn them!
She asked for your phone number. Couldn’t help but spit it out!
Ethan leaped up. ‘Phone’s compromised!’
He threw it to the floor like it was on fire.
Chizara snapped her fingers and the phone let out a death bleep before it hit the rug.
Nate pulled out his phone and dropped it to the floor. That was the plan. If one phone got compromised, every phone it had contacted had to be destroyed.
‘Good thing we stocked up on burners,’ Chizara said wearily.
‘Care to explain, Ethan?’ Nate asked, his voice neutral. ‘Maybe tell us why you’ve been talking to Sonia?’
Ethan sighed and sank back into the couch. He didn’t want to go into all this, but Nate and Flicker weren’t going to let him off the hook.
Say something to shut them up for a minute, he pleaded with the voice. Anything to give me time to think!
‘I have this huge crush on her,’ the voice said.
Ethan let out a squeak and curled up in a ball of shame, but, true to form, the voice’s words had worked. Everyone was silent. Most of them looked stunned, except for Kelsie, who was smiling for the first time all night.
‘Called it,’ she sang softly.
‘I COULD GO FOR A SECOND BREAKFAST ABOUT NOW.’ Ethan peered at the next table’s array of French toast and waffles slathered in whipped cream.
Chizara elbowed him in the ribs. ‘Keep your eyes on the door, Scam.’
‘And your mind off Sonia,’ Kelsie added with a snicker.
Ethan stared at the table, sulking.
Chizara took her attention off the distant tracker for a moment, looking around the diner. Just the sort of greasy spoon law enforcement liked to patronize, only a minute’s drive from FBI headquarters.
And all six Zeroes were here, ready to get busted.
‘I’m watching,’ Ethan said. ‘But we’ve been sitting here for two hours. Are you sure this is even the right day, Tee?’
‘Tomorrow morning, Phan kept saying.’
Chizara realized that she’d forgotten Thibault again, even though he was right there, squeezed between Nate and Flicker. Hadn’t she been better at remembering him before?
‘I just need something to cut this coffee,’ Ethan was gibbering. ‘If I have too much caffeine I get all—’
‘Lovelorn?’ Kelsie pulled the coffee pot toward herself for a refill.
‘Everyone, be quiet,’ Flicker said. ‘Some of us are working here. Tell me when you need a break, Crash. I can just barely get my eyes in there.’
Chizara nodded absently, again pushing her mind past all the ruckus of the diner. The place was crowded with families eating breakfast. Kids transfixed by cartoons on noisy tablets, without the saving grace of being her brothers. She was so wired, and homesick, she wanted to slap the devices out of their hands.
And everyone had their damn phone out, bleating signal into Chizara’s brain. It was killing her to stay hooked into the irritating scratch of the tracker a quarter mile away.
Phan hadn’t moved much this morning. Just a few short trips away from his office, a bundle of computer noise and wireless buzz.
‘What if he doesn’t go with his team?’ she asked, keeping an eye on the tiny twinkling signal. ‘He could direct the whole thing from his desk, you know.’
‘Phan would never let Verity go into the field alone,’ Nate said. ‘At Dungeness he let all of us go, just to save her.’
‘He was sweating every detail of this op. He’s not going to leave it to outsiders.’ That was Thibault again. Staying aware of the guy was tricky in this crowded place, especially without the extra spark of the tracker.
No one had asked Chizara to make a new one, and she wasn’t about to volunteer. Flicker and he looked pretty cozy over there, not like a couple who had to keep tabs on each other. Maybe sneaking into an FBI headquarters together was a good bonding exercise.
‘I’m ordering more food,’ Ethan said. He straightened and waved his arm to catch the waitress’s eye.
‘What if Phan’s target is a really evil Zero?’ Kelsie said. ‘Someone who should get arrested? Like Piper?’
‘Piper’s not evil,’ Nate said.
‘What part of “hates normals” did you miss?’ Ethan said.
Nate shook his head. ‘That’s just a weird-hunter rumor, Scam. Or do you believe everything Sonia says now?’
‘Okay, fine.’ Kelsie shifted in her seat. ‘But what if the feds are after another Swarm?’
Silence fell over the table. Before anyone answered, the waitress came over and Ethan started in.
‘Two slices of white toast, extra butter? And a big order of bacon. Like, a last-meal-size order. Anyone else?’
The others all shook their heads, and the waitress moved on.
‘If it’s a Swarm, the feds will need our help,’ Nate finally said. ‘We’ll have to play it by ear.’
‘FBI zombies,’ Ethan muttered. ‘Bonus fun.’
Chizara resisted the urge to slap him. People had died the day of Delgado’s funeral. He’d been zombified himself, for heaven’s sake. How could he make light of it?
Then the distant, twinkling star shifted.
‘Hang on.’ Elbows on the table, Chizara closed her eyes. ‘He’s moving.’
Beside her, Kelsie pulled her daypack into her lap.
‘But my toast,’ Ethan whimpered. ‘My bacon.’
‘Forget it,’ Chizara said – the tracker was gliding downward. ‘He’s in the elevator!’
Nate plonked a salt shaker down on a pile of already counted bills.
‘Let’s go!’ Flicker pushed up from the table. The others followed.
‘But I see my bacon! It’s under the heat lamps…’
Chizara dragged Ethan along behind the others. ‘Come on. If we lose this guy because of you, you’re dead.’
‘I could die anyway. Starvation.’
Together they sprinted for their latest car, the gray SUV taken from the Barrows’ garage. Chizara waved a hand, and its motor rumbled to life.
‘THERE IT IS,’ CHIZARA SAID, POINTING. The tracker shimmered ahead on the highway, a ghost hitching a ride among the weaving cars. ‘That white van up ahead. Phan’s riding shotgun.’
‘Five in the back,’ Flicker said. She was next to Chizara in the front seat, beside Nate at the wheel.
‘Seven agents.’ Thibault’s voice came from the back. ‘That’s what the e-mail said.’
Nate accelerated, pushing a little closer to the van. ‘Is Verity with them?’
‘No, it’s all guys.’ Flicker frowned. ‘Street clothes, no suits. One dressed like he’s homeless. A couple of them have bouquets in their hands.’
‘Flowers?’ Ethan said. ‘That’s pretty random.’
Chizara felt for electronics in the van but sensed only the usual sensors and wires. No serious gear.
The van headed south, past a tech-free expanse of golf course. Suburban houses followed, each behind a rectangle of lawn, the interiors spangled with wifi appliances gently chewing on streams of incoming data.
‘They’re going into town?’ Kelsie sounded hopeful.
‘Doubt it,’ Chizara said. ‘Phan’s too smart to grab a Zero in a Mardi Gras crowd.’
They flew along with the traffic, above the sparkling spread of New Orleans’s electronic life. Up ahead rose the Superdome, which Chizara could never see without thinking of the hurricane. She imagined the roof peeling off, disaster all around. Her mom had made her watch every minute of Katrina coverage – a teachable moment about how the world couldn’t always be counted on to help.
But then the white van swung off an exit, and Nate followed it back down into the quilt of stabbing electronics. They looped around and under the highway, took a left,
cruised along among warehouses and medical centers, and slowed to a halt beside three blocks of old brick walls.
Whatever was behind the walls was blessedly tech-free. Chizara breathed a little easier.
Nate parked well back from the Ford. ‘What can you see, Flick?’
‘They’ve left the homeless-looking guy at a gate,’ she said. ‘The others are going inside the…it’s a cemetery. Whoa, a really old-school one. All crypts and creepy statues.’
‘Hence the flowers,’ Chizara said. Also the tech silence inside the walls. The graveyard was a long rectangle of stillness in the blare of the city.
‘That’s just cold,’ Ethan said. ‘Kidnapping someone in a graveyard? What if they’re visiting their granny or whatever?’
‘No crowds, no Curve,’ Kelsie said softly.
‘Phan’s agents are spreading out.’ Flicker leaned her head back, addressing the ceiling of the SUV. ‘Everyone’s got a view of the middle of the graveyard, where two paths cross. That’s where this arrest is going down.’
Chizara closed her eyes, reaching out her power. ‘They’ve switched off their phones, like in Vegas. But I can see Phan’s tracker.’
And when she concentrated harder, she saw the faint flash of hearts, the signals washing faintly through nervous systems. The sight sent a faint shiver through her.
The agents’ formation appeared, ghostlike among the crypts. Six of them hovered at the corners of the cemetery, the seventh still out front. Phan’s tracker was closest to the center.
But where was Verity?
‘Scam, guard the gate,’ Nate said. ‘If anyone young enough to be a Zero comes near, use the voice to warn them off. Maybe we can stop this before it starts.’
‘What about Agent Hobo?’ Ethan said. ‘He’s gotta know my face!’
‘Anon’s staying too. Keep yourselves invisible.’ Nate turned to Flicker. ‘Find the rest of us a side entrance. We’ll set up where we can see everything. These guys don’t have any tech, so we might as well keep our phones on.’
As the car speckled with stabs of signal, Chizara opened the door and stepped out into the blinding New Orleans sun.
‘QUIT TWITCHING, SCAM. I’VE GOT TO FOCUS.’