Book One

by K. C. Archer

  “And who would identify these targets?” she asked.

  “You’re training to serve, Ms. Cannon. Who better than a carefully selected tribunal of our peers? One whose purpose has nothing to do with political expediency and everything to do with national security.”

  Teddy glanced around the table. “Am I the only one scared shitless at the thought of a military tribunal whose sole purpose is to undermine the constitutional right of due process?”

  Jeremy fidgeted with his butter knife. “I can see its place.”

  “You can’t possibly—”

  He dropped his butter knife. “If it meant stopping something like 9/11, then yes, I could,” he said, color high on his cheeks.

  The general stood and smiled. “If you young people will excuse me.” He reached into his pocket and took out his phone. “Duty calls.”

  Kate nudged Teddy under the table. “I think it’s time for us to head out, too.” She stood. “Thanks for dinner, Jeremy.”

  Teddy followed Kate out to the front steps, still fuming. “I don’t know how you did it,” Teddy said as they waited for a cab.

  “Did what?”

  “Grew up in a military family.”

  “They’re not all like that. He’s . . .” Kate hesitated. “He’s sure of his own beliefs.”

  “So you agree with him?” Teddy felt her skin grow hot.

  “I didn’t say that. But doesn’t it sound familiar, Cannon? Trying to find a way to stop people from committing crimes before they occur? If one of us gets a vision, we’re supposed to act. Right?”

  That was what they were learning to do at Whitfield. Teddy shook her head. “It’s not the same.”

  “A debate for one of Clint’s classes, to be sure.”

  A cab pulled up, and someone walked toward it to open the door.

  “Thank you,” Teddy said.

  “My pleasure, Ms. Cannon,” said a woman with hair so blond it appeared almost white.

  It wasn’t until they were in the taxi, on their way home, that Teddy wondered how the woman had known her name.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  HOW TEDDY SPENT THE REST of break: rolling a Ping-Pong ball back and forth across her desk with her astral body, stalking Christine, wondering if Brett would turn up in Timbuktu, and avoiding Clint.

  When she entered the dining hall on the first day of second semester, she saw Dara, Pyro, and Jeremy gathered around their usual table. Her heart skipped as she approached: she was happy to see them, even Jeremy. The realization hit her—she had friends. Really, really weird ones.

  She looked at Jeremy, but he avoided her gaze. They hadn’t talked since his party. She still didn’t know what to make of the events of the exam, Molly’s actions, or her account of them.

  “We were wondering where you were,” said Dara as Teddy took a seat.

  “Turns out Jillian is a very effective alarm clock. I’m lost without her.”

  “When will she be back?” Dara asked.

  “In time for today’s assembly, I hope,” Teddy said, sipping her organic orange juice. She turned to Pyro. “When did you get in?”

  “Last night,” Liz said, squeezing his shoulder. Teddy hadn’t noticed her at the table. Pyro changed the subject, asking about Teddy’s exam.

  On the one hand, Teddy had never wanted anything serious with Pyro. On the other, she couldn’t deny that a part of her felt a tiny bit—not jealous but, okay, jealous. She described the retake, play by play.

  “That sounds tough, Teddy,” Dara said. “Hey, has anyone heard from Molly?”

  “She seemed pretty shaken up after the exam,” Pyro said.

  And they didn’t even know what had happened on the course. Teddy looked at Jeremy. He put his fork down. “The stress of the exam was a lot for her. After we got back to campus, she passed out. She didn’t wake up after almost a week in the infirmary. I was really worried. But she’s on her way back to campus. She said she feels like a whole new person.”

  Teddy still didn’t know the whole story, but something about Jeremy’s and Molly’s accounts didn’t add up. “Excuse me,” Teddy said. “I’m going to wait for Jillian at the dock.”

  “I’ll come with you,” Jeremy said. “Molly might be there, too.”

  Teddy tensed as Jeremy followed her out of the dining hall. They walked in silence until they hit the quad.

  “Look—” Teddy began.

  Jeremy cut her off. “I know you think that I had something to do with what happened during the exam. I wanted to talk to you about it at the party, but you left before I could speak with you alone.”

  Was that before he made a move on Christine or after General McCreepy came on the scene? “Listen, Jeremy. I don’t know what’s going on between you and Molly, but I know what I saw in that warehouse, and what I saw wasn’t my friend. I know what mental influence looks like.” She thought back to Clint and the casino, the guards’ and Sergei’s blank stares.

  Jeremy flushed. Teddy had never seen him angry before. Usually, he was a cipher, but now his fists were clenched by his sides, knuckles white. He paused and let out a long breath, then spoke. “You know she was asked to leave last year. But do you know why? She hurt someone, Teddy. It’s in her file. Corbett ruled it an accident, and he let her come back. But her abilities get the better of her sometimes, send her into fight-or-flight mode.” He softened. “I was trying to get her under control during the obstacle course. She wasn’t listening to me. She attacked.” He looked down at his hands. “I’m not a strong telepath. You’ve seen me in class. Mental influence is even more challenging. I was trying to protect you—both of you. It didn’t work.” He stared Teddy straight in the eye. “She wanted to run the course. Prove that she was stronger than last year. I should have been the one to go in.”

  In a way, what he said made sense: Molly’s erratic behavior, why she didn’t want Teddy inside her thoughts. Had Molly been hiding what had happened last year? Was she afraid that if Teddy found out, she wouldn’t want to be Molly’s friend? At that moment, Teddy wished she could get a clear read on psychics. But when she studied Jeremy’s face, she didn’t feel the anxiety that accompanied a lie. Short of breaking in to his mind, she would have to trust him.

  “She really wants to stay at school,” Jeremy said. “She’s been trying to keep her stress low. Dunn has been helping her. And I would appreciate if you would help her by not bringing up the exam.”

  “You want me to pretend like it didn’t happen?”

  “If she’s at school, we can help her. If she’s out there . . .” He left the thought unfinished.

  By the time Teddy and Jeremy reached the dock, Dara had caught up. Teddy was grateful for her presence; she didn’t want to talk about Molly anymore. The three of them stood in the sun, stomping their feet and shoving their hands into pockets. There was a chill breeze coming off the bay. Teddy scanned the passengers milling about the upper deck of the ferry. She spotted Jillian and Molly standing together by the railing. Jillian was slumped, head down, while Molly stood tall, eyes on the horizon.

  “I wonder what’s wrong with Jillian,” Teddy said.

  Dara squinted at the view. “I wonder what’s wrong with Molly. She looks almost happy.”

  Jeremy glanced at Teddy. “See? What did I tell you?”

  When their friends reached the dock, Jillian collapsed into Teddy’s arms. “It’s my hamster, Fred,” she said.

  It took Teddy a second to remember which hamster Jillian was talking about. “Did he die?”

  “She,” Jillian corrected. “And no, not yet. But she’s going to. She told me. I wanted to be there when it happened. But, you know, I had to be here.”

  Teddy held Jillian as she cried. She glanced at Molly to see how she would handle such an outpouring of a sorrow. But instead of the pained look she usually wore when she encountered extreme emotion, Molly looked oblivious. Her expression was placid, content, even.

  “You okay, Molly?” Teddy asked.

  �
�You know,” Molly said, as if it were the first time she’d ever considered such a question, “I really am!”

  “Seriously, Molly,” Teddy said, “what did they give you? Lexapro? Zoloft?”

  Molly looked at her, surprised. “Medication interferes with psychic ability, Teddy. You know that. I’ve been working on this blocking technique with Dunn.”

  Teddy decided she wouldn’t mention anything about what had happened before break. She didn’t have the heart.

  As they started toward campus, Teddy turned and caught a glimpse of another familiar figure exiting the ferry: a broad-shouldered man in a cable-knit sweater, duffel bag slung over his shoulder. She hadn’t seen Nick in weeks. There’d been so much else happening on campus that his teaching this semester had slipped her mind.

  “Looking for someone?” Dara asked. “Hey, isn’t that—”

  “No one,” Teddy said. “It’s no one. Come on, we’re going to be late for assembly.”

  *  *  *

  As they trudged to Fort McDowell, Teddy listened to Dara describing her holiday in New Orleans: she had received a death warning while shopping for Christmas presents at the mall. “One minute I was buying a pair of socks, and the next, I was flat on the floor,” Dara said. “It must feel great being able to help someone,” Teddy said.

  Dara frowned, considering. “It’s still new to me. I’ve only gotten a couple real visions—most of the time, it’s just fragments. I have to put the pieces together, and I never know when or if it will happen. This time I had this flash of a girl on the ground of the parking lot, and she was wearing a watch. I was lucky. I found her just in time. Sometimes I can’t do anything about it.”

  They passed a cluster of Alphas waiting in front of the building; Kate huddled next to Ava and Liz.

  “Hey,” Teddy said.

  “Hey,” Kate said. Her gaze lingered on Teddy before she turned away.

  “Are you guys, like, friends now?” Dara asked.

  “Kind of.” Teddy shrugged.

  The room buzzed as students gossiped about things that no longer really mattered to Teddy: questions they might have missed on the exam, how many hamburgers they ate over the holidays, Pyro’s latest fling. Teddy found a seat at the back of the auditorium. She was surprised when Kate slid into the seat beside her. “What’s up?” Kate asked.

  Teddy was taken aback. Kate had chosen to sit next to her and not with the Alphas. It took Teddy a second to focus on Kate’s question. “Um, it’s Jeremy. And Molly,” Teddy said, running a hand through her short hair. “Molly’s acting like a Stepford wife. And Jeremy’s trying to convince me that he had to influence her during the exam or Molly was going to attack me.”

  Kate nodded. “And you need me to . . . ?”

  Teddy rolled her eyes. “Cut right to the chase, as always.”

  “Please, Cannon, you only open up when you need something.”

  Kate’s accusation stung. But she couldn’t deny it: Kate had put herself on the line for Teddy more than once since the exam. “Jeremy mentioned that Molly took a leave of absence last year after she attacked another student,” Teddy said.

  “Molly attacked someone before?” Kate looked almost impressed. “That changes things.”

  “There’d have to be a report or something, right?”

  “Sure.”

  “So, maybe we could find it.”

  “By that you mean break in to the school records room while everyone is in assembly?” Kate said.

  “You read my mind.” Teddy smiled.

  “And I thought that was your thing.”

  *  *  *

  Assembly hadn’t started yet. Teddy knew they wouldn’t be missed. They made their way down the hall to the main office. Kate waited until the elderly secretary went to the bathroom before they sneaked behind her desk to the locked door of the file room. Teddy performed her Vegas key magic, and poof, they were in.

  “I’ll keep watch,” Kate said.

  Teddy was 95 percent sure that Kate wouldn’t bail on her. She grabbed Kate’s hand and took a deep breath. “Let’s sync up. Channel seven.” Teddy lowered her wall, imagined the walkie-talkie, and tuned the dial. It had become easier and easier to allow Kate inside her head.

  Make it quick, Cannon. I don’t want to miss the assembly.

  Teddy nodded in acknowledgment, then stepped inside the file room. She needed to look at Molly’s file, but she wanted to read so many others. What if her own included more information about her blood test? What if Brett’s included information on his whereabouts? And she would risk getting caught to find out some more information on Jeremy.

  Stay focused, Cannon.

  Roger that.

  Teddy walked around the room, searching through drawers until she found it: Quinn, Molly. The file listed Molly’s date of birth, her address, her academic record. Her CIA profile. She hadn’t been lying about hacking in to the mainframe. Teddy flipped page after page until she found a report from a hearing the previous year. In Dunn’s class, Molly had thrown another student, a girl by the name of Erin Fridstein, against a wall, knocking her unconscious. Molly later claimed to have no memory of the event.

  Dunn concluded that Molly’s empathic reaction had triggered an out-of-character response. He suggested that Molly study blocking techniques. He insisted that Molly would be safer at school than anywhere else—without these techniques, she would hurt others or herself.

  Let’s go, Cannon, Kate said.

  Teddy returned Molly’s file to the drawer. Jeremy had been telling the truth. And now she intended to spend a few minutes looking through other files. She opened a drawer labeled K–M. As soon as she saw the file marked Lee, Jeremy, she heard Kate’s voice in her head: Abort! Abort!

  Teddy shut the file drawer.

  Stay there. Don’t move.

  Why? Teddy asked.

  Be quiet. I have to disconnect. I—

  Kate ended their communication, and Teddy was alone with her thoughts. She swallowed, wondering how long she would be stuck inside the tiny windowless room. She crept toward the door. She could make out voices but not words. She heard the secretary’s shaky voice and then a man’s.

  The door opened wide, and there stood the person she least wanted to see.

  Nick folded his arms. “Did you get lost on your way to the auditorium?”

  “I, uh . . . Kate and I were just practicing an exercise for Dunn’s class.”

  “In a file room?”

  “No windows,” she said, pointing to the wall. “Perfect conditions for, um, stretching our telepathic communication.”

  “Why should I believe you?”

  “You know what?” she said as she tried to brush past him. “I don’t care if you believe me. I have to get to assembly.”

  He stood in front of the door, blocking her way. “The easy thing would be for me to report you. This is the second time I’ve caught you trespassing.”

  “So do it,” she said. “Get me kicked out and ruin my life.”

  She hip-checked him and reached for the doorknob. Nick grabbed her arm. She tried to loosen his grasp with her free hand, but he grabbed that one, too. His face was an inch from hers. His gaze moved from her eyes to her lips and back. Teddy couldn’t help but do the same.

  “Stop that,” he said.

  “Stop what?”

  “Looking at me like that.”

  “You stop looking at me like that.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like you want to kiss me,” she said.

  He scoffed. “You’re crazy.”

  Teddy smirked.

  “You’re a student.”

  “I’m old enough for whatever you have in mind.”

  Nick released her. “Get out of here,” he said. He shook his head. “You’re supposed to be in assembly.” He reached for the doorknob and swung the door open. The fluorescent light poured into the tiny room.

  “I’ll see you in the auditorium in five minutes, Ms. Cannon,” h
e said, loud enough for the secretary to hear.

  “But—”

  “Consider this your last warning.”

  Kate was down the hall, waiting for her. “That guy chased me out. There was nothing I could do. Are you in trouble?”

  “Just a warning.”

  Kate let out a relieved breath. “Did you find out anything?”

  Teddy nodded. “Jeremy was telling the truth: Molly did attack someone.”

  Kate was silent, seeming to try putting together the pieces. “It’s still not adding up for me.”

  “Did you get something?” Teddy asked, hoping Kate had gotten one of her rare flashes of claircognizance.

  “It’s like that feeling when a word’s on the tip of your tongue. Almost. But not quite. I’ll let you know.”

  “You will?” Teddy asked. “Thought we were going back to the whole ‘hating each other’ thing.”

  “Oh, we will. But whoever messed with you on that course messed with me, too, and I don’t let people who mess with me walk away that easily,” Kate said. “Let’s go. Assembly started.”

  When they returned to the auditorium, the assembly was well under way. It was an awards ceremony of sorts, with Hollis Whitfield honoring third-year recruits who had earned prestigious externships. Teddy sat down next to Jillian and watched as Kate sat down next to Ava. Teddy turned her attention to the podium, where Whitfield was shaking hands with a clairvoyant named Arjun Bahl, who had accepted a place with Homeland Security.

  Students and faculty applauded politely. Whitfield continued, “And now, for the final externship, I’d like to congratulate Christine Federico on her placement at the CIA.”

  Teddy scanned the crowd for Christine as students and faculty clapped. A low rumble began to make its way around the room. Whitfield repeated her name, but there was no response. Christine Federico had not returned to school. Just like Brett Evans. Teddy swallowed hard as she thought about what else these students had in common. Dead parents. Stolen lab samples. Names on a list.

  Just like her.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  AFTER ASSEMBLY, THE FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS were told to report to room 203 in Fort McDowell. Teddy was quiet amid the unusually rowdy recruits; their excitement was palpable. Dara rocked back and forth on her heels as they waited to exit the auditorium.