“I don’t know if you ever really stop being a Psi Fighter. The world can’t afford to lose them. But your mother and I changed our relationship with them that night.”
“Egon and I changed our relationship yesterday. I guess I’m not a very good girlfriend.”
“It’s tough hiding your secret. Especially when you have feelings for someone. Sometimes you have to choose. Whatever you decide, you know I’m with you.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
We pulled into the school parking lot. Suddenly the day didn’t seem so bad. My dad was right. Sometimes you have to choose. After school, I would see the Kilodan. He would understand my reasons for leaving, and would wish me well. Surely I wasn’t the first Psi Fighter to want out. Today’s plan was simple—find Egon, reinstate the girlfriend clause, live happily ever after. Next time Egon asked me to do something, I’d say no problemo, dude.
I felt relieved, like a huge burden had gone away. Kathryn was getting better and would be out of the hospital soon. The Red Team was running scared, and Mason was…well, I didn’t need that distraction.
Students and teachers filled the halls, but I didn’t feel any tension as I walked toward my locker. Kids were laughing, nobody was swiping lunches, Mrs. Bagley had a shiny new yardstick…then I noticed something odd.
My locker’s door was twisted as though it had been pried open and forced shut again. None of the other kids’ lockers had been touched. I opened it slowly, not knowing what to expect.
Nothing seemed to be missing. I couldn’t imagine what anyone wanted in my locker. My homework was intact. If they stole it to copy it, they had put it back right where I’d left it. That was weird. My Amplifier was in my purse. I never left anything remotely Psi Fighterish in my locker, so I wasn’t worried about that. What were they after?
The broken lock looked like something had been jammed into it, gouging the steel. That was just mean. The thief should have at least had the courtesy to pick the lock. I swung the door wide to examine it and found a note taped inside. I unfolded it and my heart stopped.
Inside was a picture of Susie, bound and gagged, on her knees, and the handwritten words Meet me in Dead End Alley at noon.
I stared at the note again, but the words refused to change. Susie looked so scared in the picture. I fought the urge to cry, then anger started to burn inside me.
How could I have been so stupid? After what I did in the park, I might as well have painted a sign on my back: I’m a Psi Fighter. My birth parents had been murdered for the same carelessness, and now Susie was in danger.
“Rinnie, what’s wrong?”
I jumped. Bobby had magically appeared next to me.
“I think they have Susie,” I said.
But that couldn’t have been right. I watched her get on the bus that morning. I stared at the picture, but couldn’t tell if it had been tampered with—Susie was so tiny, so helpless. “This has to be a psychotic joke. I have to get over to the elementary school and see if she’s there.”
“Why not check the school office computer? It shows everything that goes on at all the schools.”
“How can I get on the office computer? I can’t wait until school’s out to break in. I need to know now.” I pushed back the panic that threatened to strangle me.
“To the Bat Cave,” Bobby said, taking me by the hand. I followed him into the boiler room. He opened his backpack, pulled out a gleaming silver laptop, and put it on a table. “Welcome to the wonderful world of WiFi,” he said.
“You have a password?”
“We don’t need no stinking passwords,” Bobby said in a really bad cyberpunk accent.
I clenched the table. I was in no mood for joking.
“Lucky thing I skipped my Hackers Anonymous meetings this month.” Bobby tapped at the keyboard, talking quietly to the screen. “We’re…connecting. Hello…yes, I am the System Administrator, thank you very much. Never question me, you simple-minded machine. Yes, I want complete access…good! Okay, let’s take a peek at Student Attendance…here we are.” Bobby looked up at me and smiled. “I think we’re okay, Rinnie. Your mom reported her home with the flu this morning.”
Bobby’s words stabbed into my heart. Panic gripped me like a bear trap. My chest tightened, my legs threatened to buckle. A metallic taste coated my thickening tongue as my salivary glands kicked into overdrive. I tried with all my strength to keep breakfast down. I leaned against Bobby, breathing hard. Then the nausea passed, and I began sobbing uncontrollably. “Oh, Bobby, it’s happening again—no no no no…”