Nexus, Page 3

Chizara waved open the last gate, revealing a single guard on a stool by a normal-looking door.

  Ethan stepped forward.

  ‘We’re with Phan,’ he said smoothly.

  The guard gestured them through, like three teenagers and a pimply guard were not an unusual sight.

  Flicker went first, then Chizara, then Kelsie, slipping off her headphones.

  Three strangers sat around the table, but Kelsie’s eyes skated right off them onto the guy in the orange jumpsuit, handcuffed to the table and glaring up at them.

  Nate. They were halfway home.

  All they had to do now was get him out of here.

  ETHAN SCANNED THE FACES AROUND THE INTERROGATION TABLE. This wasn’t the crowd Flicker had promised – just an old guy in a suit, the woman who spoke for Nate’s family on TV, and a girl Ethan’s age in an FBI raid jacket.

  Oh, yeah, and Glorious Leader, wearing a prison buzz cut and handcuffed to the table. He looked annoyed. Like he didn’t want to be rescued.

  ‘Listen to me, Nate,’ his lawyer was saying. ‘There’s no way out of here. If you get your friends to surrender now, we can—’

  ‘It’s okay, Cynthia,’ he cut in. ‘I’m sure they have an exit plan. Right, guys?’

  ‘Duh,’ Ethan said. ‘Bust in. Save the day. Make a run for it.’

  It was maybe the stupidest plan the Zeroes had ever made. Not that any of their plans ever worked out like they were supposed to. But this one involved breaking into a place it was impossible to get back out of.

  ‘It’s all under control,’ Flicker said.

  The girl in the FBI jacket gave her a hard stare. ‘I doubt that, Riley. Did you bring the usual suspects?’

  A frown creased Flicker’s face, and she started babbling: ‘Crash to take control of the prison. Mob to—’

  ‘Zip it,’ Nate snapped.

  Everyone in the room turned to him. He hadn’t even used his power, but all eyes were on Glorious Freaking Leader.

  ‘Crash, keep everything locked down.’ Nate nodded at the girl in the FBI jacket. ‘I need to talk to her.’

  Ethan stared at the girl. She was pale and kind of skinny – and cute, he noticed now. She was also the right age to be a Zero, and she worked for the FBI. It said so right on her jacket.

  Fan-freaking-tastic. The feds had powers now.

  ‘There’s no time for a conversation,’ Chizara said firmly. ‘I can barely hold this place together.’

  For once, Ethan agreed with Crash. This prison was full of scary guys, guards and prisoners alike. He could see himself in the mirror that filled one wall of the room. His uniform was way too big, and his blond hair was rubber-duckie yellow under these lights. Without the voice, nobody would believe for a second that he belonged in this—

  Bam! The mirror bowed inward, sending a funhouse ripple through Ethan’s reflection. Everyone jumped.

  ‘Shit,’ Flicker said. ‘Someone in there threw a chair against the glass. Can they break out, Crash?’

  ‘All the glass in here is bulletproof,’ Chizara said. ‘And they’re on the other side of an electronic door. I’ve got them bottled up.’

  She sounded certain, but when the glass shuddered again, Ethan felt his fear redouble in Kelsie’s feedback loop, like a kick to his solar plexus.

  The girl in the FBI jacket was still staring at Flicker. ‘You’re the Sight-caster, right? Code name Flicker, according to Nate’s files.’

  ‘Yeah, that’s me. Pop those handcuffs, Crash.’

  The old guy in the suit nodded. ‘Crash – the Electrokinetic – and Mob is your pet Predator. And you’re Ethan Cooper, right? We’ve never seen one of you before.’

  ‘Aw, crap,’ Ethan muttered. He’d read his own name a hundred times in articles about the Cambria Five, but hearing it said aloud by a real-live FBI agent was too much. Plus, he was sick of everyone saying he wasn’t a real Zero.

  He wanted very much to insult this guy.

  ‘“Electrokinetic”?’ the voice said. ‘You suck at naming powers.’

  ‘Yeah, my bosses always laugh at that one,’ the guy said. ‘So let’s use real names. I’m Special Agent Phan, FBI. Riley, Ethan, Kelsie, and Chizara – you’re all under arrest.’

  ‘Hey, sorry we can’t stick around for that,’ Flicker said. ‘We have a jailbreak to finish. Crash, the shackles!’

  ‘I’m trying.’ There was sweat on Chizara’s brow. ‘I can’t get a grip on the mechanism!’

  ‘Mierda.’ Nate looked down at his wrists. ‘I knew they were different.’

  ‘Made from an aircraft polymer instead of metal,’ Phan said. ‘A perfect insulator. Electrokinesis won’t work.’

  ‘They knew you were coming,’ Nate said.

  Phan nodded. ‘Eureka gave us plenty of warning. In another ten minutes, this prison will be surrounded.’

  ‘Sorry, but no,’ Chizara said. ‘I killed the comms.’

  ‘It’s called a dead-man switch,’ Phan said calmly. ‘The moment our comms were cut, an alarm sounded in Sacramento. A hundred law enforcement officers are already on their way.’

  Ethan groaned. No way could the voice talk its way past that many cops.

  ‘The only way this ends safely is if you all surrender,’ Phan finished.

  ‘Nate,’ the lawyer said. ‘Listen to him.’

  ‘Where’s the key?’ Nate demanded, rattling the shackle on his wrist.

  ‘A guard in the observation room has it,’ Phan said. ‘Too far away for you to charisma him. You aren’t leaving here today, young man.’

  ‘Order him to bring it,’ Nate said.

  Ethan shivered as the room filled with the bright familiar crackle of authority. Glorious Leader, back in charge.

  But Phan only smiled. ‘I’ve met your kind before, Nate. And frankly, you aren’t even average.’

  Ethan felt it hit them all. He would have felt it even without Kelsie’s feedback loop. You could practically hear the pop of Glorious Leader’s confidence bursting.

  Nate visibly sank into his chair.

  But Flicker stood straighter. ‘Scam. Please explain to this guy why he’s going to get us that key.’

  Ethan didn’t need to be told twice. Okay, voice. You heard the lady! Threaten this guy with something!

  The voice rocketed up from Ethan’s lungs.

  ‘Listen, Phan. You know about Crash, right? How she can bring down electrical systems?’

  ‘So what?’ Phan asked.

  ‘So your heart is a system too,’ the voice said. ‘Full of nerves carrying little sparks of electricity.’

  Beside him, Chizara gasped.

  Ethan ignored her. Agent Phan was still frowning, unconvinced. Double down, voice!

  ‘And not just yours. Verity’s heart is also sparks and muscles, a little engine in her chest. One that Chizara can stop cold.’

  That got him. Phan looked ready to crap himself.

  Ethan felt a grin warp his face as the voice delivered the final blow. ‘So if you don’t want her to die, you better order up that key. Now!’

  Phan threw a panicked look at the girl – Verity – but she still looked calm.

  ‘Apparently that’s all true,’ she said. ‘But would you kill me, Chizara?’

  ‘No,’ Chizara said at once, like she couldn’t wait to say it. ‘Never.’

  Flicker raised a hand. ‘Don’t toy with the man, Crash. I’ve seen you kill at least—’

  Her voice choked off, her face spasming.

  ‘Don’t try to lie, Flick.’ Nate gestured at Verity. ‘That’s her power: she makes you tell the truth.’

  They all stared at the girl, and Ethan felt it in Kelsie’s feedback loop – the sudden realization that they were all screwed. The voice’s threats were worthless when you couldn’t lie about carrying them out.

  The Zeroes were surrounded, outmaneuvered, and busted. Bellwether had been bait, like a goat staked out to lure a lion.

  None of them were going anywhere.

  For a second it
felt like they were all about to give up and surrender. But then Kelsie slipped her headphones over both ears and shut her eyes. Nate’s shackled hands opened, helping her pull the group’s energy back to something halfway steady.

  ‘Yes, it’s true that Chizara would never hurt anyone. Neither would any of the rest of my crew.’ Nate stared straight into Verity’s eyes, as if daring her to disagree with him. ‘But I would. Because I would rather burn the Zeroes down than let you take them from me.’

  ‘Then it’s lucky you’re chained to that table,’ Verity said.

  Nate turned from her, the full force of his gaze falling on Chizara.

  ‘You never hurt people on purpose. But we all know that accidents happen. Right, Crash?’ The look of sadness on Nate’s face grew more profound, and Ethan felt despair in his bones. ‘Like that time with Officer Bright.’

  She glared back at him. ‘What the hell are you doing, Nate?’

  ‘You’ve read her file, Phan,’ Nate said. ‘You know all about what happened at the police station last summer. How she let all those criminals go. How deep inside, Chizara thinks she’s a demon.’

  Her eyes were wide. ‘Nate, you said you’d never—’

  ‘And now she’s a wanted terrorist,’ Nate said to Phan. ‘And maybe wondering if her mother was right. If she’ll always wind up losing control.’

  The lights flickered overhead.

  ‘Oh God.’ Kelsie reached for the volume button on her phone.

  But Ethan was pretty sure that louder music wasn’t going to salvage this situation. Nate was playing chicken with an FBI agent. And instead of a car crash, they were headed straight for a prison riot.

  Ethan opened his mouth – the voice could probably stop this roll Nate was on. But that would mean sitting here until reinforcements showed up.

  Ethan didn’t like throwing Chizara under the bus, but he also didn’t like the thought of twenty years in prison. Nate’s plan was the only one they had.

  He felt the voice crawl back down his throat.

  ‘Six hundred inmates,’ Nate said. ‘And the only thing holding them back is you, Crash. What if you can’t manage it?’

  Ethan felt the room grow colder. That Glorious Leader charm – normally it made you think you were awesome, that you could do anything. But this was like some switched-around version, making everyone in the room feel desperate and alone and worthless.

  Prison, man. It changed you fast.

  The lights flickered again, and Chizara whimpered.

  Nate kept at her. ‘Last time we were in this situation, Officer Bright paid for it. How many will die this time? Hundreds?’

  He turned back to Phan.

  ‘And Verity will be among them. If our demon here opens all the locks, this room will be overrun in minutes.’

  Bam! The one-way mirror shuddered again with the efforts of the people behind it, making Ethan jump halfway out of his skin. Kelsie had her arms wrapped around herself, like she was wearing a straitjacket.

  Then the lights went out. Total blackness.

  ‘Sorry,’ Chizara gasped.

  ‘Get the damn key!’ Flicker cried. ‘He’s not bluffing!’

  ‘It’s true.’ Verity’s voice was hollow in the dark. ‘He’s not.’

  Chizara let out an anguished bellow, and the lights sputtered on again. But the fluorescents were buzzing angrily, like the voltage was wrong, and alarms came from all directions. It sounded to Ethan like the whole prison was coming apart.

  Phan hesitated another moment, his lips pressed tight together.

  ‘Okay! Open the observation room door, Chizara.’ He turned to address the mirror. ‘But only Anderson comes out. Bring me that key, now!’

  Chizara was trembling, covered in sweat. ‘I hate you, Nate.’

  Nate turned to Verity. ‘Come with us. You don’t have to work for the government anymore.’

  ‘Dude,’ she said. ‘Are you kidding? I had enough of someone like you growing up. Exactly like you.’

  Nate stared at her. ‘Where are you from? New Orleans, where this big thing’s happening?’

  ‘Yes. And in about half an hour, after they gun you down, I’m going home for Mardi Gras to celebrate!’

  Ethan swallowed. He imagined Verity in a wild, dancing crowd, firing pistols in the air.

  ‘What’s happening?’ Nate kept going. ‘What’s this bad thing?’

  Verity was trembling with anger, trying to resist him. ‘Piper wants to break everything. That’s all we know.’

  A prison guard burst through the door, holding up a key like it was the Olympic torch. Flicker grabbed it from him and freed Nate.

  ‘I just have to ask her—’ he started, but Flicker dragged him toward the door.

  ‘Come on, Glorious Leader. We’re out of here!’

  About ten seconds later they were all following Flicker down the corridor, Kelsie bouncing on the balls of her feet, Nate rubbing his wrists, and Chizara shuddering at every shimmer of the lights.

  But Ethan heard Verity call out, ‘If you survive this, where will you go?’

  Before anyone else could speak up, he let the voice handle it, willing it not to reveal anything important.

  ‘Who knows where we’ll wind up?’ he heard himself say.

  It wasn’t until Chizara had slammed the next electronic door behind them and they’d started running down the corridor that Ethan realized something unsettling.

  The voice hadn’t lied at all. The whole federal government would be after them now.

  Where the hell did they think they were they running to?

  FLICKER SAW HERSELF IN A DOZEN GUNSIGHTS, ALL AIMED AT HER HEART.

  There were eyes up in the perimeter towers, and cops crouched behind their vehicles, guns drawn. Some were confidently out in the open, taking deadly aim at the five figures who stood lonely, exposed, and unarmed. The prison plans called this empty stretch of concrete the Restricted Area, a barrier worse than any wall – a killing ground.

  One word of command and the Zeroes were all dead.

  ‘On the ground, now!’ a voice called, barely audible over the wail of sirens. ‘Do not take another step!’

  Flicker’s mind raced. They could have survived the guards in the towers – Crash had already fiddled with the optics of their sniper rifles. But thanks to Phan’s dead-man switch, dozens more cops had shown up.

  The plan had failed. She’d led them straight into a trap.

  Time to put aside the shit Nate had just pulled with Chizara.

  ‘Any ideas, Bellwether?’

  ‘I’m not Bellwether.’ He took her hand. ‘Call me Nothing.’

  The words didn’t make sense, but they wrenched at her somehow. A sudden hole yawned in her chest.

  Then Chizara took her other hand, and it hit.

  Emptiness flowed into her from Nate, swept through them all. Her fear bleached out into irrelevance. The expanse of concrete was a sudden void around them, the alarm sirens hollow echoes.

  And those eyes, the ones locked on the Zeroes with deadly intent, drifted away. Nothing to see here.

  Nothing…

  ‘What is this?’ Her own voice sounded distant in her ears. ‘Where is this?’

  ‘This is my real power,’ Nate answered. ‘I was always an Anonymous, inside out.’

  ‘What do you mean, anonym—’ Suddenly it hurt too much to speak. A stray memory tore at her heart. A red leather jacket.

  ‘I found this power in guilt,’ Nate said. ‘In my shame.’

  ‘In your shame about being an asshole?’ Chizara asked.

  ‘I’m truly sorry for hurting you,’ he said, and turned to Flicker. ‘Are they still looking at us?’

  She swept her vision through the eyes around them. ‘No. But what is this?’

  ‘This was always me. Maybe we should get moving?’ Nate sounded like someone else. Someone uncertain, who’d never given an order in his life.

  ‘Come on, everyone,’ Flicker said firmly.

  The fiv
e of them started to walk, clinging to each other in the emptiness. She jumped into Ethan’s vision of the towers overhead, full of marksmen searching the concrete for a target.

  Chizara’s eyes were dutifully trained on the ground, skimming a crack in the concrete with weeds pushing through. The sight chimed with another wisp of memory – a small green plant growing in broken stone. Something encircling her wrist, a phantom bracelet.

  A memory of braille pulsed beneath her fingertips…

  T.

  And there was that pain again, a shape punched out of Flicker’s heart. She gasped with it.

  Was Nate doing this? Was this anguish some side effect of being invisible?

  ‘I can barely feel us,’ Kelsie murmured. ‘It’s like we’re in a dream.’

  ‘Just keep walking,’ Nate answered.

  Alarms still sounded back at the prison, guards and police scrambled and shouted orders in the distance, but no one paid any heed to the five of them. When they reached the tall fence that marked the edge of the prison yard, Chizara’s hand jerked a little in Flicker’s, and the gate’s motors rumbled to life.

  ‘Wait,’ Flicker ordered, and threw her vision behind them. The guards’ attention had swung to the moving gate, and for a moment a few of them locked their gaze on the five distant figures and raised their guns. But a moment later those eyes had slipped away again, unable to keep focus.

  A no-man’s-land of empty field stretched in front of them.

  ‘Hold tight,’ Nate said in a shaky voice.

  His weakness roiled inside Flicker. She’d done a good job as leader, she knew. The fact that they were all alive proved that. But part of her had also hoped that Nate – Glorious Leader – would lift some of that burden off her when they got him back.

  This boy beside her, who barely knew his own name, sounded like he would never take the reins again. And the way he’d gone after Chizara, purposely hitting her weak spot, threatening to get them all killed to save himself…

  As if prison had changed him in a few weeks. Or maybe killing Swarm in cold blood had darkened his mind.

  That left it to her to keep the team together. ‘Mob, how are the guards reacting?’

  ‘Out here, confusion,’ came Kelsie’s tentative answer. ‘But back inside they’re full of purpose.’