––––––––
They both looked at me in shock.
"He managed to save us in the nick of time, claiming Murdock sent those men to kill us. He must have known that wasn't possible, so he lied about it. They also fed us way too much classified information. Even though the circumstances are extreme, there was no reason to tell us so much."
"You think everything he told us was pulled out of his ass?" Nami asked.
"Not all of it. Obviously he used telepaths in some kind of intelligence program. He knew about my abilities and background. Murdock did kill a senator and a bunch of government agents. Like any good con man, Smith mixed a lot of truth and lies together. The hard part is deciphering what's true or not."
Sammy put her fingers to her temples, trying to concentrate. "Why involve you at all then? Why would he shoot missiles into our place?"
That was the million dollar question. My hatred of our government wasn’t a secret to anyone that I served with. Because Smith had done a lot of digging on me, he knew I was a telepath after all – then he must have known there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell I would have willingly joined any government program.
"Maybe he really did need me to help him find Murdock. The guy is a master of disguise and he can get people to do anything he wants. If all the other telepaths working for Smith were dead, then he would need me. Since their files on me are so detailed he knew that I wouldn't have volunteered to help. Maybe he orchestrated this so I wouldn't have a choice."
Nami didn't look like she bought it.
"You think he acted like he saved you so that you would help him? You think he set up the warrants for your arrest as well? Holy ridiculous conspiracy theory, Batman."
It did make me sound like a nut. Nothing else seemed to fit though.
"If Murdock doesn't even know who I am, and it wasn't Smith, then who?"
"Why get the police after us? Do you think he set us up so that we couldn't call them after he kidnapped us?" Sammy asked.
"Maybe? It does seem like a good way to limit our options."
"And you’re saying that after going to all that trouble to get your help, he let Murdock escape from the cemetery intentionally?"
"If Smith's entire plan consisted of you keeping an eye on him from a satellite and sending a team of armed men to their doom, then he's incompetent. That doesn't seem likely to me."
We sat in silence for a few minutes, trying to wrap our heads around everything.
"God damn it, you might be right," Nami said. "Before Smith left us here, he told me to make sure that you knew the police were after you. He was very adamant that you not run away. If what you're saying is true, then I think we're about to get kicked in the fart box."
I had no idea people actually talked like that.
"What are you talking about, Natalie?"
"After your arrest, Smith said he was sending someone over to relieve me. That doesn't sound so good all of a sudden."
"I think we should get out of here," I said. "Did he issue you that computer or did you bring it with you?
"Smith gave it to me."
"Leave it here; your cell phone too. Don't take anything they could track us with."
"Thank God. I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life in this stupid room," Sammy said.
Nami's feet didn't touch the floor while she sat in the chair, so she had to hop down. She pulled a Sailor Moon backpack out from under the table and began to root through it.
"I just bought this damn thing too," she said as she threw her phone on the bed. "Now I'm going to lose all my Angry Birds progress."
"Nice bag. Did your mom buy it for your first day of school?"
After fumbling with the strap on the gun holster around my waist, I pulled the pistol free. I hoped we could get clear of the hotel before someone from the goon squad showed up, but I wanted to be prepared just in case.
"You know what? I don't care how much bigger you—" Nami started to say as I reached for the door knob.
When I opened the door, Chuck was standing on the other side.