by K. K. Perez
“That better not have been a goodbye kiss,” he said, catching his breath.
“Nah.” She mustered as much bravado as she could. “I’m Wonder Woman, remember?”
“You certainly are.”
Lucy felt less wondrous with every step she took toward the abandoned warehouse. Squeezing the tourmaline at her throat, her resolve hardened. She wouldn’t let her fear or self-pity interfere with rescuing Claudia.
Lucy had been afraid of herself for as long as she could remember. Tonight her abilities were a weapon and she would use them to save her best friend.
She stared up at the darkened building. A dirt-encrusted sign warned: TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED.
“What do I do now?”
“Just wait.” She hadn’t realized she’d said that aloud until Ravi answered in her head. That was all kinds of weird. And yet she smiled even though he couldn’t see her.
But somebody else could.
Sure enough, gears started to groan, and a peeling, rusted garage door yawned open.
From the darkness, a figure approached.
“We’ve been expecting you.”
LASSO OF TRUTH
Lucy walked into the warehouse.
“At your service.” She would do anything for Claudia.
Even so, her cocky grin wavered as the rusty door squeaked closed behind her.
The man who greeted Lucy wasn’t much taller than her and there was a relaxed slope to his shoulders—the careless stance of someone confident he was the master of his surroundings. The smell of clove cigarettes wafted over her.
“Join us,” he said, waving genteelly toward the innards of the warehouse. “We’re on a tight schedule.” A request. A command. The way he spoke made it hard to tell. His accent was also difficult to place: French—yet somehow not.
Every one of Lucy’s instincts screamed at her not to budge another inch.
She ignored them.
“Don’t worry, we’ll have you home before curfew.”
He laughed and it devolved into a smoker’s cough. The dim lighting transformed the wrinkles creasing his dark brown skin into deep craters as he smiled.
Lucy matched the man’s purposeful strides. It would do no good to show her fear or beg him for Claudia’s release. According to Ravi, the Freelancers were mercenaries. And they needed her—for what, she didn’t care. They might not hold up their end of the bargain, but her hands were tied. At least they weren’t like the Order of Sophia, who hated Lucy simply for existing.
There was a worktable in the middle of the warehouse and a few folding chairs. That was it. Apparently they were also fans of Spartan chic.
Lounging in the metal chairs were several people clad in the same black attire as her host. Lucy perused their faces. Four she didn’t recognize; one she did.
Anger lit inside her. She had really, really wanted to be wrong.
Jess was slumped in her seat, eyes pinned to the floor. She had changed out of her satin prom dress but glitter still clung to her cheeks. Claudia loved that damn glitter and Lucy knew from personal experience it took a few days to wash off. Only a couple hours ago, Jess had been holding Claudia close, as if she were something precious to her.
Lucy rubbed the pendant to keep from doing something she’d regret.
“Where’s Claudia, Jess?” she asked, throwing her words like knives.
Jess glanced up, eyes shining. Mascara was flecked beneath them. The other Freelancers stiffened in their seats, prepared for a fight.
Lucy’s host said, “Ah, yes. You know Jessica. Forgive me for not introducing myself sooner. You may call me Rick.”
Fear darted through her. Kidnapping teenagers was still illegal the last time she’d checked, and Lucy could identify them to the authorities.
Did the Freelancers not actually plan to let her walk away from this?
“Rick,” Lucy repeated for Ravi’s benefit and, in her ear, he reassured, “Reading you loud and clear.”
She stifled a sigh of relief. Ravi would help her through this. Lucy needed to control her temper and feed him as much information as possible.
“I go by Lucy,” she told Rick. “But you knew that.”
“Enchanté.” Pointing at a thickly muscled man with golden-brown skin, Rick said, “That’s Pedro.” Pedro ignored the introductions and continued polishing something in his lap—Lucy really hoped it wasn’t a gun.
Rick continued naming the rest of the group. Now Lucy could put names to faces. So not good. They might be fake names but she didn’t like her chances of survival.
Next to Pedro was the equally huge Mikhail who had a hawkish nose and eyes that seemed too small for his bald, white head. Both men looked to be in their late twenties or early thirties. Lucy tried to memorize the details to report to the Archimedeans later—if she made it out of this.
One of the women, Meifen, was long and lean, her straight black bangs and blunt bob framing her pale face. Lucy pegged her at forty only from the finest lines around her eyes and mouth. The woman sitting closest to Jess—Amara—seemed a few years older than Lucy, holding herself with poise. Her thin, delicately woven braids were arranged in an elegant halo atop her head. She raised an arm in a wave and Lucy noticed the sharp cut of her triceps against her warm brown skin.
Who were these people? The United Nations of criminals?
Rick observed Lucy observing his crew.
“Now that we’ve all made each other’s acquaintance,” he said, “we can get down to business.”
“I’m not doing anything for you until I know where Claudia is,” Lucy said, crossing her arms. True, she didn’t want to get on Rick’s bad side, but if she was about to break a bunch of laws, she needed to make sure her friend was safe first.
It was Jess who answered. “She’s not hurt, Lucy. She’s secure.” The words were spoken like an apology but Lucy wasn’t interested. There was no forgiving this.
“Excuse me if I don’t believe a word that comes out of your mouth,” she shot back.
“You want proof of life?” Rick inferred. Casually, he pulled a phone from his pocket. “Voici.”
He passed her the phone. It was a video.
Claudia lay on a bed, curled into a ball, fast asleep. The peacock feathers on her headband fluttered as she snored softly. Lucy studied her friend’s surroundings for a clue as to where she was being held. Unfortunately, the webcam was trained on the bed. The headboard was mahogany and the silky sheets gleamed.
A hotel maybe?
Lucy could barely contain her fury. “Did you drug her?” She speared Jess with another heated glance; Jess couldn’t meet her eyes.
“Perhaps your friend partied too hard,” Rick replied.
Helpless. Claudia looked so helpless. Could Lucy have prevented all of this if she’d just been honest with her? She’d accused Ravi of keeping secrets but Lucy was in no position to judge.
“How do I know the video is live? If anything happens to my—” Lucy threatened and Rick cut her off.
“That is up to you. Your friend is resting comfortably. We’re not monsters. Not like the Orders.”
“The Orders haven’t kidnapped anyone I know.”
Rick raised his eyebrows, then his face became unreadable.
“So … you are properly motivated?”
“Yes,” she spat.
“Très bien. Amara?” He beckoned her to his side. “We need to scan you before we go on our excursion. I’m sure you understand.” He sounded totally lackadaisical. Like this were some kind of school field trip.
Lucy flashed a flinty glare at Rick as she held out her arms and allowed Amara to scan her body for bugs. The other woman used a device similar to Ravi’s, and Lucy prayed the gizmo in her ear really was undetectable. She kept her eyes steady on Amara, face neutral. Amara’s mouth had a similar shape to Rick’s, as well as the set of their eyes—were they related?
“Where are we going?” Lucy asked.
Rick rubbed his thumb against his f
orefinger. He wanted a cigarette. Lucy recognized it as a tell. Wherever they were going, there was a certain amount of risk involved.
“There’s an item in a secure facility that we require your assistance to obtain.”
“Could you be any more vague?”
He chortled. “Perhaps.”
Amara finished a final sweep and declared, “She’s clean.”
Rick nodded, and Lucy tried not to let her relief show.
“Take our guest to change,” he instructed Amara. To Lucy, he said, “The dress is charmante but hardly suitable.”
“If I’d had advance notice, I wouldn’t have worn heels.”
“Vas-y. Time is of the essence.”
Jess leapt up. “I’ll take her,” she offered. Amara narrowed her eyes, but Rick just shrugged. “This way,” Jess told Lucy, pointing toward the back of the warehouse.
Reluctantly, Lucy followed the other girl into a cluttered room in which the windows had been blacked out, allowing for some privacy. It must have been the foreman’s office once upon a time.
Jess closed the door and immediately launched into a confession.
“I didn’t know this would happen, Lucy. You have to believe me.”
“I really don’t.” She turned away from Jess and surveyed a dusty desk where a pair of sneakers, black leggings, and a stretchy turtleneck had been laid out. “I presume these are for me.”
Jess nodded, touching the cut on her bottom lip nervously. “I didn’t know what they were planning, I swear,” she started again in a low whisper. “I was only told to determine who had the lightning gene and then stay close.”
“What do you mean?” Lucy demanded.
“That day at the Gallery. When the iPad shorted out. You were both holding it.”
The explanation hit Lucy like a body blow. All this time, every day, Claudia had been in danger because of her. Calm, Luce, calm.
“I should’ve left Claudia alone once I’d determined it was you,” Jess said. “I just … couldn’t. I fell hard. Rick isn’t very happy with me right now.”
“But you’re still here, with Rick, and Claudia is—wherever you stashed her. Pretend you’re just a soldier following orders if you want to, Jess.” Lucy kicked off her heels, glaring over her shoulder. “I’m not buying it.”
Jess’s complexion turned ashen.
“Claudia was falling in love with you.” Lucy began stepping into the leggings. “My best friend deserves better.”
Jess turned her back while Lucy changed. Lucy saw her shoulders heave as if she was crying, but she didn’t make any noise.
“This was my first mission,” Jess mumbled, voice ragged.
Lucy didn’t respond. She slipped on the sneakers. They were a perfect fit.
“I tried to stop it. I would never hurt Clauds.”
“You don’t get to call her Clauds. She doesn’t even know who you really are.”
“I wanted to tell her. So many times.” Jess dragged in a breath. “I’ve never been in love before.”
“You can turn around now,” Lucy said coldly, and crouched down to tighten her shoelaces.
Pivoting to face her, Jess dabbed at her tears with her sleeve. “Listen to me, Lucy. I know you don’t trust me, but both Orders will chew you up and spit you out. If we’d found you first, things could have played out differently.”
Lucy sprang to her feet. “You think I’d ever team up with people who would kidnap innocent bystanders?” She snorted. “You should choose your friends more carefully, Jess.” And she should be grateful Lucy couldn’t breathe fire.
Jess stuck out her chin even as her split lip quivered. “You don’t know anything about this world. To the Orders, we’re all just a means to an end.”
“And what am I to you? What was Clauds?” Lucy stalked forward. “Maybe if you hadn’t kidnapped the girl you say you love, I’d be more interested in what you have to say!”
“They’ll destroy you,” Jess warned, anger roughening her voice.
“I already know the Order of Sophia thinks my powers are an abomination or whatever.”
The other girl felled her with a heavy look.
“I’m not talking about the Sophists. I defected from the Order of Archimedes.”
“Why?” Lucy choked out, a fist clenching her middle.
Pain fractured Jess’s face, making her look much older than her twenty years. “My brother asked too many questions. They sent him on a mission. That was a year ago.” The response was robotic. “He never came back.” Jess scrubbed a hand over her face. “That’s why I joined Rick. To stop them. To avenge my brother.”
Lucy ran her index finger over the ridges of the tourmaline. If Ravi was receiving all of this over the com, he wasn’t weighing in. She studied Jess’s face. Her grief was real but Lucy didn’t believe for a second that Ravi would be involved with an organization that made people disappear.
And given where Lucy was standing this very second, all she could manage in response was “I’m sorry about your brother.”
Jess swallowed a sob. “Claudia’s the only thing that’s made me feel like living again since it happened.” Lucy could only scoff, but Jess dared a step closer.
“If you don’t believe me, read me.”
She placed a hand on Lucy’s shoulder in challenge.
Lucy met her meadow-green eyes. Claudia had waxed lyrical about Jess’s eyes on several occasions. Lucy exhaled and lowered her shield.
Jess’s frequency immediately stung her. Sticky blackness clogged her veins, and she balked. Every muscle, every tendon elongated. Lucy’s whole body wanted to snap in two. She could barely catch her breath. Darkness pushed against the edges of her skull.
Chest heaving, she swatted Jess’s hand from her shoulder.
“Stop,” she wheezed.
Jess’s eyes rounded. “You really are what they say you are.” Her brow creased as Lucy leaned against the desk for support. “Are you okay?”
A knock came at the door.
“Allons-y!” shouted an impatient female voice.
“Amara says we need to go.”
Lucy forced a nod as her trembling thighs recovered enough to walk. The other girl’s pain was suffocating. Even if her feelings for Claudia were genuine, they were buried beneath a terrifying rage.
“I’m sorry, Lucy,” Jess whispered. “Just get Rick what he wants. He’s a reasonable man.”
“I think we must have different definitions of reasonable,” Lucy told her, and propelled herself past Jess into the main room through sheer force of will.
She left all vestiges of Lucinda the captivating flapper in a glimmering pool on the concrete floor. That girl was gone. Probably forever.
Rick directed everyone to pile into a nondescript white van.
He stopped Jess at the warehouse door. “We don’t need you for this part of the mission,” he said. “We’ll talk about our disagreement later.”
Jess paled further. She dashed Lucy a pleading look.
Lucy walked on and was stepping into the back of the van when a hand gripped her elbow.
“Not so fast,” Rick told her. “You’re up front with me.”
DOCTOR MANHATTAN
As they traversed the Fifty-ninth Street Bridge, Lucy counted the seconds between the yellow-orange swaths cutting across the dashboard to steady her nerves. The light revealed the barest hint of gray stubble scattered on Rick’s closely shaven jawline. She got the distinct sense Rick was letting her stew in her own juices.
“What happens to Claudia if I can’t help you?” she finally blurted.
“I never agree to take a job unless I’m certain I can fulfill my client’s request,” Rick replied, blasé. “It would be bad for business.”
“You haven’t answered my question.”
He angled his head. “I wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of acquiring your services if they weren’t essential to my plan.”
Trouble?! Rick made kidnapping Lucy’s best friend sound like a c
hore.
The east side of the island sprawled before them: its bright lights seductive, its spires like barbed wire. Exiting the bridge, the van hooked a left and continued traveling south on the highway hugging the river.
After another moment of silence, Rick said, “You’re wondering why I asked you to ride with me and not the others?”
Yes. But Lucy wouldn’t give the satisfaction of the answer he wanted. She folded her arms and imagined what Claudia’s reaction would be. Her friend had never been afraid to take on a bully twice her size. She had defended Lucy countless times; now it was Lucy’s turn.
“I assumed you were afraid I might pan-fry the rest of your crew to a tender medium-rare.” She chucked him a haughty smirk.
“Not at all. You’re too smart for that. Touch my crew and Mademoiselle O’Rourke won’t have a very good night. I didn’t think it necessary to spell it out.”
The van halted at a red light and Rick met Lucy’s stare head-on.
“Because her night’s been just peachy so far,” she muttered in a smaller voice.
Rick hit the gas as the light went green. “I want to tell you a story,” he continued.
“Do I get a cookie with that?” Lucy wasn’t in the mood for story time. And definitely not from the man who had arranged Claudia’s snatch and grab.
Still, she kept quiet. A simmering quiet.
“Tell me,” he said. “What do you know about the Orders?”
Not nearly enough, it would seem.
“They’re alchemists,” Lucy responded slowly, fiddling with the lock on the door. She chose her words like weapons for a duel. “Scientists. Or the Archimedeans are. The Order of Sophia are zealots. They think I’m dangerous and should be eliminated.”
Dark, masculine laughter bounced around the enclosed space.
“Spoken like an Archimedean,” Rick said.
Where was Ravi? Had the signal failed? She couldn’t believe he wouldn’t add his two cents. Or was he too far out of range?
Or—oh no. What if he’d been hurt?
Suddenly the van pressed in on her. “You’re a Sophist?” Lucy said.