Exposure (47 page)

“I know. But they’re on the run. Corcoran said they flew to London, then on to Prague. The authorities still want to charge them, but with Hawfield having ‘solved’ the Zodiac kidnappings, the police aren’t going to start some international manhunt for two spoiled kids. Except for Hawfield, no one got hurt, and the ransom was never paid. If the twins stay out of South Carolina, they’ll probably never face any charges.”

“I hope they stay abroad forever,” Ben said. “Losers.”

“It won’t be a disaster if they do talk,” I said, hoping I was right. “The twins saw me confront Hawfield in the barn, but they ran before the detective took me hostage. There’s nothing linking me to the cell, Ella’s kidnapping, or Hawfield’s death. Plus, Lucy and Peter had nothing to do with Ella’s abduction. Corcoran buys that—why else would they have called and ratted out the dirtbag?”

Hi pursed his lips. “The twins could be charged with what? Extortion? Lying to the police? Inventing a kidnapping? Accessory to assault?”

“Nothing to sneeze at.” But I frowned. “Those idiots could actually wiggle their way out of trouble, if they stay away long enough, then negotiate a surrender. Corcoran says he’ll stay on their case, and it’s
definitely
in his interests to keep my name out of any statements the twins might make. I think I’ll be okay.”

Corcoran’s voice boomed from the speakers. “How? Keen police instincts, that’s how. Investigating alone, I was able to locate the place where Ella Francis was being held, overcome her abductor, and free the poor girl.”

Camera flashes strobed. Corcoran adopted a stern, manly countenance, pausing to allow the photographers to get his good side. Unintentionally, his gaze fell on me.

The captain quickly looked away, his expression souring.

I hope they use
that
face for the morning papers.

“What a buffoon.” Hi covered his eyes. “I can’t watch. He’s taking credit for
everything.
”

Footsteps behind me.

Kit’s hands fell on my shoulders. Ben edged slightly away.

“We need to get home, kiddo.” He spoke gently. “Coop’s in the car. I’m glad you were able to come down and see your friend, just give me a little warning next time. Whitney and I are thrilled Ella’s safe and sound. And the Gable kids, too, I guess. Although, I
swear.
”

“It’s Corcoran.” The captain leaned over the podium to instruct a reporter. “
Captain
Carmine Corcoran. C-O-R-C-O—”

Kit shook his head. “This guy again?”

Then Ben tugged my elbow. Nodded to his left.

“Kit?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you pull the car around? I’ll be there in a sec.”

Kit’s gaze flicked to Ben, then he nodded. “Five minutes.”

As my father strode away, Shelton and Hi both unleashed dramatic yawns.

“Welp.” Hi stretched his arms over his head. “I’d better go check on various things that aren’t right here. You coming, Shelton?”

“Oh, you know it.” Hiding a smile. “Stuff to do. No time to waste.”

They hurried off together, chuckling quietly.

Thanks, guys. This couldn’t be more awkward.

Ben was looking at me, a soft smile on his lips.

Panic.

Despite the cool night air, I started to sweat.

“Chill out, Brennan.” Ben seemed more at ease than I’d ever seen him. “I just wanted to tell you something. I think I know what was wrong with our flares.”

“What?” Completely thrown. This was
not
what I’d expected.

“Why the powers went haywire.” His face grew serious. “For months now, ever since we stopped talking, I’ve been holding something back. I was flaring all the time, but mostly because it made me feel connected to you. And Hi and Shelton,” he added quickly.

“Ben, I’m
really
sorry that—”

“Don’t be.” He shook his head. “You had every right to hate me. Lord knows I hated myself. What I did was unforgivable.”

“I never hated you. Not for a minute.”

He smiled at that. “Thanks for saying so. But the point is, while flaring, I was also walling myself off. Protecting my feelings. Distancing myself from the pack. I think I
fought
the connection, on some level.” He tapped his head. “At least up here.”

I considered his words. “You think that messed with our flares?”

He nodded. “I don’t understand it, either. But when we were in the woods, all five of us together, it was the first time I really let go. And look what happened.”

I thought about Ben’s theory. It made an odd kind of sense.

Could the problem have been as simple as Ben refusing our Viral connection?

“We don’t understand these abilities,” I said slowly. “Maybe accepting our place in the pack is necessary for the group to function.”

But for some reason, I was skeptical. Ben’s resistant mind-set might’ve negated the group’s ability to link minds, but why would that make my flares
backfire
? And what about the odd feelings I kept getting? They didn’t seem connected to Ben at all.

Ben shrugged. “All I know is, when I stopped fighting it—and lowered the barriers I’d built inside my head—the power flowed easily. Our minds merged.”

I grunted in frustration. “There’s so much we still don’t know. It makes me crazy!”

“We’ll get there. Our pack is whole again.”

I looked at Ben. Noticed the light reflecting in his brown eyes.

Whoa, boy.

“Whole,” I agreed.

Beep! Beep!

“Tory!” Kit called from behind the wheel of his 4Runner. Coop’s massive head was hanging out the back window. “Time’s up. Let’s skedaddle.”

I descended two steps.

Stopped.

Shot back up.

Wrapped Ben in a bone-crushing hug.

Startled, it took him a moment before he hugged me back.

Then, face flushed, I raced down to join my family.

Monday

S
hielding my eyes from the sun, I peered down the street.

No sign of him.

“He didn’t say anything to me,” Hi repeated. “And if Shelton were sick, I’d be the first to hear about it. At length.”

“Maybe he overslept?” I suggested. “We had a pretty eventful weekend.”

Hi shot me a skeptical look. “And missed the boat to school? He’s
never
done that.”

Hiram and I were standing outside Bolton’s gates, uniform jackets off as we drank in the morning sunshine. The sky was a perfect azure blue, as if celebrating the end of the last week’s madness.

“Did you text Ben?” I asked. “Would Shelton be with him?”

“Shelton was home last night, and Ben went back to his mom’s place in Mount Pleasant. Neither said anything about missing school. I
knew
we should’ve checked on him before leaving the dock.”

“Don’t get jumpy.” Though I was starting to worry myself. “We caught the kidnapper. There must be some explanation.”

Hi was about to reply when a voice called down the block.

“Guys!” Shelton was sprinting toward us with something in his hand. “Check this out!”

“See?” Hiding my relief. It’d been a long week, and I was done with surprises.

“Where you been?” Hi demanded.

Shelton jumped to a stop before us. “I did it!”

My eyes narrowed. “Did what?”

“Cracked the encryption!”

I stepped closer. “Seriously? You opened the B-Series files?”

“Well, no. But I
did
figure something out.” He pushed his specs up the bridge of his nose. “You’re not going to like it.”

My patience slipped. “Shelton, what did you find?”

Shelton waved for silence as a gaggle of classmates passed through the gate. None gave us a second glance—our Gamemaster celebrity status was already old news. The whole town was talking about a crooked cop, the scheming Gable twins, and Ella’s terrifying ordeal. The new scandal had erased any interest in our tired story.

Ella was staying home for the week. I didn’t blame her. The last thing she needed was to be surrounded by stares and whispers. She needed to rest and recover.

We’d texted constantly that morning. My friend was tough as nails, and her biting sense of humor was returning. I knew she’d be okay.

After the students passed, Shelton spoke quickly. “That encryption is impossible to break, but I remembered something Chang did. How he’d been able to determine which server held Karsten’s old files.”

“Okay.” Waving for him to continue.

Shelton smiled like a Keebler elf. “Well, the same type of info was hidden in the metadata on the files we downloaded at the aquarium. I was able to track down which server can access them.”

I could never follow his computer-speak. “So you can access the B-Series files?”

“No.” His head shook impatiently. “But I know
where
we could. Just like with Karsten’s data stick. It’s the same technology.”

“You’d better not say the aquarium again.” Hi ran a finger across his throat. “If we go back there, they’ll feed us to the orcas.”

“Nope. Different place.” Shelton caught my eye. “Got a guess, Brennan?”

Something in his expression told me the answer.

Naturally.

“Chance.”

“Candela Pharmaceuticals,” Shelton confirmed. “User name: Chance Claybourne. The B-Series files are stored on a hard drive somewhere at their corporate headquarters.”

My head dropped. Then shot back just as quickly.

“Screw it.” Voice grim. “Let’s go. Now. Text Ben.”

“Seriously?” Shelton glanced at Hi, who shrugged. “We’re gonna skip class
again
?”

“I’m done tap-dancing with Chance Claybourne,” I vowed. “We’re gonna solve this mystery, once and for all.”

• • •

Candela’s main office is located on Bee Street, in Charleston’s busy medical district. The gleaming black monolith rises thirty stories, towering over the surrounding neighborhood.

We huddled in the shadow of a building across the street.

“I thought Candela was headquartered on Cole Island,” Ben said.

“That’s a production facility.” I pointed at the skyscraper before us. “This is the corporate headquarters.” A glance at Shelton. “That’s what we want, right?”

“I think so. At least, this is where Chance’s office should be. Candela’s website lists this address for upper management in research and development.”

“There’s nothing on Cole but that factory,” Hi added. “Security out there is probably through the roof. No chance we bluff our way into
that
setup. Our only shot is here, where they don’t actually make drugs.”

I nodded my agreement. “We have to sneak into Chance’s office. From
his
computer, I’m sure we can access any files he controls.”

“So what’s the plan?” Ben asked.

“Go inside. Look around. Improvise.”

“Brilliant.” Hi stroked his chin. “Quick question: Is having
no
plan the same as having a
terrible
plan, or are those different categories?”

“Just follow my lead.” Nervously smoothing my uniform. “Unless you think of something better.”

The lobby was spacious and cold, with marble floors and twenty-foot ceilings lit by white globes. A half-dozen elevators stood across from the entrance.

Striding purposely, I headed directly for them.

A pair of security guards eyed us curiously, but made no move to intercept.

One elevator was standing open. We hurried inside.

I pressed a button at random. Floor 20. Why not?

The doors closed. No one spoke as we ascended. What was there to say?

I watched the illumination move from floor to floor, without stopping. 14. 15. 16.

The car slowed. Stopped. The doors opened.

Beyond them stood a mousy grandmother carrying a giant stack of files. Thick glasses hung unused against her lilac sweater.

“Oh!” She started. “My goodness! I didn’t see you there.”

“No problem at all.” Hi smoothly took the lead. “Could you point us toward Chance Claybourne’s office?”

“Claybourne?” The woman blinked. “The young one? Isn’t he with special projects?”

Hi nodded, smiling patiently. “That’s our man. To the left, or right?”

The woman cocked her head like a parakeet. “I’m sorry, sir, but that department is on the twenty-seventh floor. Not down here in accounting.”

“Of course, my mistake.” Hi stepped back into the elevator and pressed 27.

The old woman moved to join us, but Hi held up a hand. “Terribly sorry, but this car is full. Have a nice day!”

The doors closed on the befuddled senior.

Ben chuckled. “Not bad, Stolowitski.”

“I do my best.”

Reaching 27, I stepped from the elevator and started down the hall. This floor was nicer, with plush carpet underfoot and gleaming oak doors lining the walls. I tried to look confident while striding the corridor, scanning nameplates from the corner of my eye.

We’d nearly completed a full circuit before I finally spied Chance’s office.

A corner suite, of course.

I stopped, then poked my head inside. Was immensely relieved to find the room empty.