Blindsided (34 page)

His pale lips crease into a thin line.

“C’mon. This is mutually beneficial. Everything else is meaningless until she’s gone.” I hold my breath, hoping he’ll cave. We need his vehicles, because heaven knows Sexy Blue can’t drive fast enough.

“Get the bullet car ready,” The Phantom says to his men as he walks towards the wall to his right. He’s halfway through and still talking. “We’re leaving now.”

I hold my breath the entire time it takes him to come back with my mom. When she appears in the hallway, I rush over and wrap myself around her. “Mom! I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault.”

She sobs into my hair. “I’m just glad you’re alive.”

I shake my head, unable to find the right words to express how much regret I feel. Eyeing The Phantom, I ask him, “Can you get her back home?”

He doesn’t seem happy about the request. “I have a car that should be able to make it, if you trust me to do that.”

“I don’t really, but I don’t want her here.” I hold her tighter, wishing I didn’t have to leave her when she must be in so much pain and shock. “Hector, Carlos—would you mind watching out for her while we hunt down Allie?”

Hector nods. “We won’t be of much use to you anyway.”

“Psh, I don’t wanna miss the fun.” Carlos frowns. “But I guess this is important.”

“Thanks.” I guide Mom over to them, and Hector takes her from me. “You know who to call when you get there, right?”

“Duh,” Carlos says.

A few men come back in to tell The Phantom that his “bullet car” is ready to go. Then we rush back down the halls as Seth looks over Lee Seol’s estimates. I don’t bother, since it’s math and despite my boyfriend’s best efforts I’m still barely passing. It’s creepy how he’s smiling over all the calculations.

“You know how you always say those word problems with the trains are useless?” Seth says. “I’m using that principle right now.”

I roll my eyes. “Shut up and use it then.”

“Fine.”

When we get to the massive garage, there’s a vehicle there that looks quite literally like a bullet, with its cone-like front and sleek silver color. The back is much wider, and I guess it’s some kind of jet engine. “Is that a rocket or a car?”

The Phantom smirks. “Both. If Allie’s on the road, she can’t run from this. There’s only room for six. If you want all your people, John’s coming, too.”

“You bet I am,” Mr. Mitchell says.

I don’t like this idea, but there’s no time to argue. “If that makes you feel better.”

Seth curses loudly at his phone. “How fast can this thing go?”

“Over three hundred miles an hour, if need be,” The Phantom says. “Why?”

“Because she’s mostly likely halfway to the Nevada border. Going even double her speed we wouldn’t catch up.” Seth taps at his screen a few times. “But if it’s really three hundred miles, we should be able to find her before she meets up with any O’Connell forces that might be waiting for her.”

“Let’s go then.” Mr. Mitchell is already opening the driver’s side door like he’s used this bullet car before.

When I get in, I’m met with an interior that looks more like a space shuttle than a car. The seats are huge and heavily padded. There are also straps that make regular seatbelts look like decorative ribbons. I barely get myself buckled in before Mr. Mitchell starts the roaring engine. As the hole to the surface opens up, Seth says, “You’re looking for a medium-sized, white truck with a large tank for holding liquid.”

“Like a gas truck,” Seth’s dad says simply.

“Yup.”

I can’t help thinking how easy it is to set aside differences when everyone’s lives are on the line.

Mr. Mitchell slowly drives the bullet car up the ramp and onto the main surface road. Now that there are windows, I can’t help but stare at the scene before us. The Army has tanks everywhere, men on the ground fighting The Phantom’s thugs. Gunfire is constant, but there are also shows of mutation power. A flare of fire or a body contorting in strange ways to avoid getting hit. People being knocked off their feet by seemingly nothing. Floating objects hurled back and forth.

Madison has been destroyed. At least from the burning buildings and crumbled structures I can see. The sight is more painful than I expect. This place—where I found myself and my friends and my life—is on the verge of destruction. I can’t stand it. And yet there’s nothing I can do but go after the girl who could ruin the rest of the world.

“Hold on,” Mr. Mitchell says as we swerve onto Main Street.

The engines sound like they’re charging up, and before I can blink we’re thrust forward so fast it takes the breath from me.

Chapter 44

It’s a good thing there aren’t many cars driving the freeway in the middle of the night, because there’s not much Mr. Mitchell can do besides honk his horn continually to warn people we’re coming. I know planes travel quicker than this, but it’s shocking how fast three hundred miles an hour is on the ground. Everything outside is an inky blur with hardly a flash of light to interrupt.

“How are we supposed to spot the truck in this thing?” I ask.

The Phantom points to a screen in the dashboard. “There’s an extended vision camera and scanner. We’ll see it.”

I nod, satisfied. I’m impressed with The Phantom’s technology—it’s much better than he ever let on. He made it look like he’d just brought a brute squad, but clearly it’s so much more. Of course, I should expect this from a syndicate second-in-command, but I guess all those years of Dad saying Juan was an idiot influenced my perception.

Pretty sure Juan’s not even close to stupid.

I don’t know how long we’ve been traveling, but both Mr. Mitchell and The Phantom perk up as something flashes on the screen. Even from my seat I can see this vehicle looks more like what Allie might be driving. The Phantom leans over to Seth’s dad and says, “Don’t kill her on sight. I want to see this cure.”

“Yes, sir.”

Raising an eyebrow, I turn to Seth. Sure enough, he’s looking right back at me. I don’t want to say anything out loud, but The Phantom’s interest in the cure is bad. All that matters right now is stopping Allie, and yet what happens after is what scares me most.

“Better watch our backs.” Bea’s voice fills my ears, and I turn. She and Brady hold hands across the small aisle. Her eyes almost meet mine. “This might get dirty for real.”

She’s right. I don’t want to, but I prepare for what we might have to do to survive. Even if that’s killing.

“That’s it,” The Phantom says. “It has to be.”

Mr. Mitchell begins to slow the bullet car, and my body presses against the seatbelt straps. Though it feels like we’re going much slower, we still pass cars in a blink. The reflection of a white truck shines in our headlights, and my adrenaline goes into overdrive.

Seth’s dad turns the wheel and slams on the brake. We swerve around the truck and stop horizontal to the highway. The truck’s lights blare into my window, and I worry Allie will slam right into us out of revenge. But just before she hits, the car stops and she’s out at a breakneck pace.

I slam my palm on the button to release my straps, shoving the door open as fast as I can. But I’m immediately met with the ping of a bullet against metal. I jump back in, but leave the door where it is.

“You better leave!” Allie screams. She sounds nothing like the sweet girl she pretended to be. “I have backup coming!”

“We gotta move,” The Phantom says quietly as he looks my way. “This one’s you and me, Fiona.”

“Yup.” I start undressing, despite the utter embarrassment I feel in front of Seth.

The Phantom smirks. “You get the gun. I’ll distract her.”

“Got it.” With the last of my clothes off, I opt to open Seth’s door next.

Sure enough, Allie shoots again. “Stay where you are!”

I go back to my door, while The Phantom slips out in his incorporeal form. Peeking my head out to see how she acts, I’m glad I waited because she fires two quick shots—both of which fly right through The Phantom.

Allie seems to be shaken by this, but she stands her ground. “I don’t know how you found out, but you’re already too late. Make sure to tell Juan that, before he kills you.”

As quietly as I can, I step out of the car and slowly make my way toward her. The Phantom smiles cruelly. “As you can see, I’m pretty hard to kill.”

“Oh really?” Allie laughs. “Keep telling yourself that.”

“Tell me about this cure you’ve supposedly made,” The Phantom replies. I’m closing in on her, the gun just yards from my fingertips.

Allie stares him down, and I wonder if she’s trying to hypnotize him. More than that, I wonder if it’ll work when he’s incorporeal. “There’s no ‘supposed’ about it,” she answers. “The first test worked, and the rest will only make it stronger. Then the O’Connells will be in charge of the whole world, and Jonas will never leave my side.”

It makes me sick to hear her say my father’s name, to know she’s so addicted to his scent that she believes she’s in love with him.

“Prove it.” The Phantom comes a little closer, putting Allie on edge.

Allie seems to like this answer. “You want to try one?”

“Maybe.” He looks away, and I get a sense that he might actually want to. “I get tired of being hungry and thirsty all the time. It’d be nice to be normal.” My eyes widen at the admission. I don’t know if it’s real or if he’s being hypnotized, but either way he’s wavering. I have to act fast.

“Here.” She reaches into her dress pocket—I assume to get the pills—and that’s when I grab the gun. Her eyes go wide, and her grip tightens around it. “Get off!”

I shove her arm toward the ground, trying to block her fingers from the trigger. She fights back, but I’m stronger. I can get this gun from her. I know it; she knows it. All it comes down to is when.

Allie tries to trip me, but she can’t see my legs. “Ugh! Stop!”

“Give me the gun!” I step on her foot, and she lets out a shriek. “You tricked my brother! You made me help my stupid father again! You think I’ll let you get away with that?”

She manages to elbow me in the side, and I falter to the point that she almost gets control again. I don’t know where my backup is, but I sure could use some soon if she keeps being so stubborn.

“Your brother was the easiest mark ever,” she says. “He
wanted
to believe me. Maybe it runs in the family.”

My anger flares at her words. She’ll so regret saying that. I throw my head into hers, and it knocks her to the ground. The gun is mine, and I throw it as far away as I possibly can. Allie searches for me, fear suddenly replacing all her confidence. “No hypnotizing me. What will you do?” I ask.

She glares in my general direction. “You’re such a waste of talent.”

“Feeling’s mutual.” The betrayal hits anew. I thought she was such a good person. She had all these noble goals and the talent to reach them. “Was any of it real? Or did you even have a sister that died?”

Her lips purse. “That was real.”

“How could a hypnotist like you fall for my dad?” I say, though I know it doesn’t quite work like that. His smell would get her before she ever looked at his eyes.

“He let me study Radiasure. He believed in me when no one else did.”

“So that wasn’t the Major…” I can see my dad taking Allie in as a young girl, secretly “mentoring” her just in case she proved useful. In fact, she’s probably why he discovered the real Radiasure formula first—he knew to look because of her.

“Where’s the drug?” Mr. Mitchell yells, and that’s when I realize everyone else has gotten out of the car. They stand behind me, ready to attack. Maybe that’s why she hasn’t tried to fight back. “You’re stalling with your little stories, but I’m not stupid enough to fall for that.”

I frown, realizing he’s implying that I am. “It’s in her pocket.”

Allie’s glare is furious. “You’re such a flip-flopping traitor, you know that? Why are you helping them? I’m the one who helped you!”

My voice is caught in my throat. It
does
feel wrong to side with Juan’s syndicate on this, but her side’s not any better. When I think about all that’s happened, I
have
taken whatever side helped me most. Does that make me as bad as her?

“More like you used her,” Seth answers. “You only helped her because it meant helping yourself! Fiona had the merinite—you had to play nice with her family. You’re the traitor.”

Allie looks at the ground. “I did what I had to do.”

I stand a little taller. Maybe we are the same, but that might not be a bad thing. “It’s too bad we want different things. That drug is
not
going to a syndicate—I don’t care what good it can do if you’re giving it to my father.”

“Enough of this crap,” Mr. Mitchell springs forward like a cat. He stands over her with the gun pointed at her head. “Hand over the pills, or I’ll shoot you and then take them.”

Allie doesn’t move, doesn’t speak. I feel sick because Seth’s dad will do it. And though she messed with Graham’s head and deceived the Major and tried to steal the merinite, I still don’t want to see her die. “Allie, please hand it over. It’s not worth your life, is it? You can’t do anything when you’re dead.”