Part 40 (1/2)

”Right,” I said.

”Look, I do my best not to think about things like that. Why are you bringing it up, anyway?”

I twisted my hands together in my lap. ”Don't worry about it.”

”Did Griffin tell you something about me that made you not feel comfortable around me or something? Because what I had to do wasn't torture. Not really. I made sure it was over quickly, and I don't think it's fair-”

”No, Sloane.” I reached over and touched her arm soothingly. ”I don't know anything about what you're talking about. This isn't about you.”

”Oh,” she said, her voice tiny.

”Griffin and I... We were pretty thorough with Marcel,” I said.

”Oh,” she said. She took a deep breath. ”That's what's bothering you.”

”Yeah,” I said.

”Well, that would make sense, then,” she said.

”I keep thinking about it,” I said. ”Not all the time, but just out of nowhere. I remember things he said or the way he was screaming or-”

”That'll happen.”

”And... what? I'm just supposed to deal with it?”

”Well, what else can you do?” she said. ”You can't bring him back to life.”

”I don't want him to be alive,” I said. ”He was pretty much the worst person I can imagine. The things he did to Griffin. To me. To people we cared about... well, he deserves to be dead. I'm glad he's dead.”

”Yeah,” she said, ”but it would have been easier if you hadn't been the person who killed him, right?”

”I... I liked it,” I said. ”It was a game. When we were doing it...”

”It's better if you don't think about it too much,” she said.

”But you haven't done anything like this. You killed people for Op Wraith. You were following orders. You didn't choose it. You didn't enjoy it. Do you even understand how I feel?”

She shrugged. ”I don't know. Maybe not.”

We were quiet.

When she spoke again, her voice was so small and soft, she sounded like a little girl. ”Silas and I have done... stuff together. We were recruited into Op Wraith because of what we did. We didn't have very nice parents. They were going to do... things.” She tightened her grip on the steering wheel. ”We had to...”

”Sloane,” I said, suddenly realizing she was confessing something to me. ”You don't have to tell me this.”

A tear streaked out of one of her eyes. ”Trust me, Leigh, it's better to bury it.” Her expression grew fierce. ”He deserved it. Someone had to do it. That someone was you.”

I nodded. ”Yeah, that's true.”

”Do whatever you can not to think about it,” she said.

I didn't say anything. I could see why she was saying it, and I could see why she felt like she needed to follow the advice she gave me. But I didn't know if I could simply bury this. I didn't think- Sloane's phone rang.

”Can you answer that?” she said. ”Put it on speaker.”

I got her phone out of the center cup holder. It was Silas calling. I answered it. ”Hey, Silas.”

”What's up?” said Sloane.

”Oh good,” said Silas. ”You're both there.”

”Silas just had an epiphany,” said Griffin.

”Well, I don't know if I'd go that far,” said Silas.

”What is it?” I said.

”You know how Sloane said that French wants us to go to her? That she thinks she can re-brainwash us?” said Griffin.

”Yeah,” said Sloane.

”Well, Silas was thinking that a personal attack probably plays right into her hands.”

”Right,” said Silas. ”I'm thinking we just blow the b.i.t.c.h up.”

”Blow her up?” I said.

”Yeah,” said Griffin. ”We're going to have to make a pit stop for supplies, but we can put together a pretty decent explosive, I think. We'll level AXU along with French.”

”But my father is working with her,” I said. ”He'll be there too.”

”That a problem?” said Griffin.

I hesitated. I looked out the window. I'd erased my father's memory, or so I'd thought. He'd been as good as dead. But now they wanted me to partic.i.p.ate in killing him for real. Kill my father. I drew in breath. ”I guess not.”

”Doll, if you want us to get him out-”

”He's been helping French. He probably helped her sick Marcel on us. He... doesn't deserve to be my father. I don't care what happens to him.” I sank down into my seat and stared out at the headlights flas.h.i.+ng by again. I didn't want to think anymore. The lights were pretty.

Chapter Seventeen.

I pushed the leaves out of the way to find a hidden vent, just like Griffin had told me I'd find. I was out in the woods in upstate New York, kneeling on the wet ground. It had rained earlier and the air still smelled like early summer. I took the contraption that Griffin and Silas had put together out of the pack I was carrying.

Each of us had one. They were all controlled by one timed detonation, which Silas was in charge of. He'd rigged it up. I didn't understand how. But we had to place the bombs, so that was why we'd split up.

AXU was underground in much the same way that the main Op Wraith headquarters had been. Dropping these bombs into the vents would get them in place. Once we'd done that, Silas would make a call and everything would go boom.