I reached for the hazard sign. Instantly, mental sparks jumped from my fingertips. I pressed my hand lightly against the sign, concentrated, and released a light stream of mental energy. The electrical panel collapsed into the wall, a section moved sideways, and a toilet slid into view. I made a mental note to buy Andy some chocolate, then eat it right in front of him.
I made it to the Academy in what seemed like minutes. The boiler room toilet didn’t plummet straight down like the one at the library. Andy must have been in a roller coaster mood, because this ride whipped over steep underground hills, down sheer drops, and around sharp bends. Thankfully, Andy had included a seatbelt. If you’ve never worn a seatbelt while on the toilet, I can’t even begin to explain how weird it feels.
The Academy training room was empty. I searched the halls, hoping Andy would be there, even though I knew it was early and class wouldn’t start for hours. I sprinted to his technology lab, but it was sealed. Andy was nowhere to be found. He never taught me how to use his scanning equipment, but I was determined to fire it up anyway. How hard could it be? I placed my hand against the metallic plate, and released a powerful stream of mental energy. Something clicked, and a light came on above the K-Mart sign.
Andy’s voice boomed from a speaker hidden somewhere in the ceiling. “Please accept my humble apologies. My security is far too powerful for your feeble mind to break through. Besides, I’m not home right now. Actually, I am home right now, which is why I’m not here to open the door for you. This is a recording…this is a recording…please leave a message at the sound of the insult. That outfit does make you look fat.”
Batting down a new anxiety attack, I pulled the ransom note from my pocket. It was written in blue ink. I didn’t recognize the handwriting. It could have been anybody’s. Then I noticed a scribble at the bottom. A little doodle. I couldn’t be sure, but it seemed to be heavier, different from the handwriting. Like someone else had scratched it on the paper as an afterthought. And it was in pencil.
When I’d tried to scan the letter from Munificent, I’d been too exhausted to get anything. Hopefully, this time would be different. I concentrated and placed my palm against the letters.
Nothing.
Then I remembered how Andy had rubbed his fingers across the writing. I stared hard at the letters, and touched them. The ink smeared.
Still nothing. Then I rubbed the scribble.
I know where Susie is echoed in my mind. Mason! I felt fright, I felt nervousness, but strangely, I felt no menace in his thoughts. Then a skull grinned at me and said Deliver this. Mason was still involved with Scallion. So much about Mason confused me, but I was very clear on one thing. He was going to tell me where Susie was if it was the last thing he ever did. And if she was hurt, it almost certainly would be.
It was 11:45. I had fifteen minutes to make it to the alley.
Chapter Thirty
Dead End Alley
I burst from the secret entrance of the Academy and sprinted straight for Dead End Alley, angry with myself for letting the Knights lead me down so many wrong trails. But that was their specialty.
Mason’s change of heart may or may not have been a ruse. He seemed so sincere before I overheard him calling Old Torrents, but the ransom note left no doubt that he was still doing the bidding of the Nicolaitan’s apprentice. Same M.O. as ten years ago—kidnapping and drugs.
One thing didn’t make sense, though. Scallion didn’t take Susie for LaReau. LaReau was dead. So why?
Then it hit me.
It was me he wanted. He knew I was the Morgan girl. Scallion would be waiting in Dead End Alley with Mason. The Knights were trying to lure us out. They wanted to finish what they had started ten years ago, and I was their key. Again.
Yeah, right. Not on my watch. Scallion was going down. I knew I was walking into a trap, and I pitied the poor boy once he caught me.
I rushed through the back streets of Greensburg, planning to enter Dead End Alley from behind the Shadow Passage instead of from the rooftops. The main streets were empty, but soon would be filled with the lunch crowd. If anyone saw me, they’d mistake me for one of the hundreds of lunchtime joggers.
I had decided against wearing my mask and armor. Scallion was expecting me. If a Psi Fighter showed up, my identity would be needlessly revealed. He may have guessed who I was, but I wasn’t about to prove it to him.
When I was half a block away, I slowed to a prowl, moving without sound, careful to be unseen. I checked my belt for my Amplifier. Mental sparks jumped to my fingertips when I touched it. Last resort.
I sunk low to the brick street. My heart pounded as I peered cautiously into the alley behind the Shadow Passage. There was no movement, no sign of life. A pile of old crates and rubbish sat like twisted artwork against the wall at the dead end. The stench made me hold my nose.
I decided to take a chance, and walked slowly toward the mass of filth and waste. Then a tiny, pathetic voice froze me.
“Nothing, nothing, nothing…”