Blindsided (21 page)

“No, you can’t! I’ll get in huge trouble!” Allie says.

Graham wrestles his way out of her hold. “We’re already in trouble, and Fiona will never let us go if she doesn’t know the truth, trust me. But if we tell her, maybe she’ll actually
help
you.”

Allie doesn’t seem to like this assessment. She looks me over skeptically. I can’t begin to imagine what she’s hiding, but it must be big.

Brady looks in my general direction. “Fiona? What’re you thinking?”

“I don’t know, I’m kinda curious,” I say. “Seth? You wanna let them talk more?”

Seth shrugs as he shakily puts his hand to the wall. Crap, his vision must be messing up again—if he loses it Graham and Allie will get away. “They don’t seem to stop.”

I let out a long sigh, knowing we have to stall while Seth recovers. “Okay, Graham. You have one chance to convince me not to lock you and your girlfriend up forever. Use it wisely.”

Graham looks to Allie, and she gives him the smallest nod. He floats down slowly, as if he’s that confident in what he has to say. “She’s not trying to
make
Radiasure, Fi. Allie is trying to
cure
the mutations.”

The words bounce around in my mind as I stand there speechless. It feels like the world I know is crumbling under my feet, replaced with something I can’t even begin to imagine. “That’s not possible. They’ve tried for years.”

Allie looks hesitant. “They’ve also never had merinite—it’s the missing key. I’ve studied Radiasure my entire life, trying to figure out the process of mutation and how to reverse it. I have formulas to test. I just need the element to do it.”

“Are you saying…you can make people normal again?” I breathe out, the idea too tantalizing for my own good.

Allie nods. “That’s the goal.”

I put my hand over my heart, which is fluttering faster than it should. Normal. That would mean I could see myself. It would mean I wouldn’t have to deal with syndicates ever again. Seth and I wouldn’t have to fight over my invisibility. Everything I’ve ever wanted could be possible. And a lot more than that.

“If you want out of here,” I say, “then you have to swear to me you’ll never tell the Army where this place is located.”

“I swear.” Allie puts her hand on her heart. “On my own life. If you let me use the merinite—I’ll die before I tell them where it is.”

Her sincerity is shockingly clear, and I get the sense that she wouldn’t work for the military if she didn’t have to. All she wants is to make a cure, and she’ll side with anyone who can make that happen. I am now the one who can do that—so she’s on my side. Little does she know, I’m on hers, too. “Okay, then. You can take a small sample, but if you want more you have to come through us.”

“Of course.” Allie goes back to the water. “Though Major Norton may not be so easy to convince.”

“You better make it happen, because we can ruin this place.”

She looks at me, horrified. “Don’t do that.”

“Then don’t betray my trust.” I watch her take samples, suddenly excited by the prospect of what that merinite could become. Maybe too excited.

A cure.

Who could pass that up?

Chapter 28

As I head downstairs the next morning, I can’t quite believe what happened last night. Was it some kind of horrible, wonderful dream all wrapped into one? I don’t think so. Allie really did say she was trying to cure mutations, and from everything I know about her that makes much more sense than her being on some kind of power trip. She’s too soft for that.

Seth didn’t seem too happy that I let them go once I knew what they were doing, but he’ll understand eventually. This could change the world in a much better way, and it would definitely change
my
world.

The kitchen is still abandoned and dark. No coffee going yet. I decide to start it for Mom so she doesn’t have to wait. Then I pour myself a glass of milk and pull out the only thing I’ve eaten for breakfast for years. I’m still not tired of blueberry Pop Tarts. I wonder if I’ll ever get to the point where I can’t stand them because I’ve eaten so many.

A muffled giggle comes from the ceiling above me, which I can only assume is Spud. Trying not to gag over what might be going on up there, I rush to the living room and turn on the TV, volume on the verge of excessively loud.

The longer I sit in there by myself, the more uncomfortable I become. It feels unsafe, being alone like this. Even with other people in the house, I can’t help thinking I’m vulnerable. And after what happened with The Phantom yesterday…if he gets word about my cooperation with the Army I’ll be number one on his hit list.

In fact, I better just assume he’s already planning a horrific death for me.

My phone buzzes, and I open the text. It’s from Graham.
The Major would like to see you tomorrow. Is that okay?

The thought of seeing Major Norton again makes me sick, but the possibility of a cure outweighs that. I have to know if it can be done.
Sure. So I can go to school without being jailed?

A minute later I get
Yes. Seth is also cleared now.

I’m sure he’ll be so happy.
Or beyond pissed.

Is he ever happy?

Do you ever tell the truth?
I type back, still mad that it had to come out like this. Why couldn’t he have told me upfront once he knew what was going on? That flight after he “rescued” me comes to mind, how he said even if it didn’t look like it he had my best interests in mind. He knew then how mad this would make me, but he picked Allie’s secret over me.

“Who’re you texting?” Miles says from the stairs. Spud is right behind him, and she’s dressed in one of his baseball shirts. She’s looking at her device as usual, her eyes flitting back and forth rapidly as she takes in the information.

“Just my other stupid brother.” I shut the phone, since it seems Graham doesn’t have a reply for my last message. “He says the Major wants to talk with me tomorrow.”

I told Mom and Miles everything last night when I got home. I expected them to be more worried about the situation, but they were both too excited about the idea of seeing me that everything else seemed to fall on deaf ears. Can’t say I was upset about that—I want them to see me, too.

“Sounds like a fun reunion.” He kisses Spud on the cheek. “Continue with your hacking, dear—I’ll make breakfast.”

She grins as she plops down on the couch next to me. “Some good prospects today. Assholes have been low-balling me lately. This twenty-mil job even looks interesting.”

Glad she can’t see my jaw drop at the idea of twenty million for one job.

“Good. You’re mean when you’re bored.” Miles heads into the kitchen, and I sit there staring at her. I feel like I should be able to talk to this girl who has so much of my brother’s heart, but I don’t know where to begin. I’m still not quite over how easily she shot Noelle.

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.”