9

Hannah almost crawled her way to the video room, her dinner balanced on one of her gloved hands and a drink in the other. The plate was piled high with brisket, roasted green beans, and a small square of caramel-covered shortbread on the side. Garret hadn't seemed to mind when she’d asked if she could eat in the video room. Alek had called from the Arena and left her a message while she was with McNamara. Nik's emergency had left him bruised, but he would be fine. Alek hadn't left any details, and the news hadn't picked up the story yet. Hannah almost wished the media would hurry up. If Nik's investigation had led to something big, maybe the reporters would stop talking about her and the quarry raid. Really, just five minutes without being reminded about how different she was would be nice.

She wanted to call Scott right away, but her stomach couldn't wait. She needed to decompress after discovering she could bloodsurf through the dead - sort of. The sensory experience of dark, claustrophobic silence haunted her. When she'd said she never wanted to do that again, she'd meant it. McNamara had clasped her shoulder as he led her back to his office. His previous concern for her had disappeared behind his excitement at her "accomplishment."

Hannah slipped off her brown gloves, taking a moment to let the sweat between her fingers cool. Bloodsurfing into a cadaver had felt more like a trip into a Halloween horror house than an accomplishment, but she hadn't wanted to dull McNamara's enthusiasm. He'd supported her against the Oversight Committee and she couldn't afford to lose that support. Not when she couldn't have Scott by her side.

She activated the app for the televideo. Scott's face appeared after a second ring, his face pinched, his brows lowered. He looked just like she felt.

"What's wrong?" she asked before anything else.

His face jerked away from the camera as if he were trying to hide his face. "Nothing. Just have a lot to think about. How are you holding up?"

Oh, I'm just fine. I bloodsurfed into a corpse. It was dark and creepy and just awful. Scott already looked troubled. How could she add to his burden by telling him she did something she would never, ever do again?

"I'm fine." She speared a green bean with her fork. "Just really hungry. McNamara autopsied someone while I watched. He said I should see at least one to make sure I could handle it. Hope you don't mind if I eat while we talk. Did you go for training today?"

"I'm glad you can eat after watching an autopsy. Not sure I could."

They both laughed a little at his comment. It was a good sign, and his troubled look eased.

"I just got back from training," he said. "I still have a fifty percent failure rate with beanbags, even after — ."

Hannah nibbled on her food. "After what?"

"Nothing. Just everything that's happened."

He either was referring to the raid, or to their escape from Division 6, or both. "That's not bad. It's not like you've been doing this since you were a kid. You can do it when there's danger. You just need to find a way to trigger your ability without the danger component."

Scott scrubbed his face with his hands. "I know, but it's boring as hell. I just stand there with Highlight staring at me. Shinzo was there too, recording everything. No pressure, right?"

"It'll get easier with practice. It can't be all that different from bloodsurfing. One day it'll just click and the next thing you know, you won't have to struggle. You'll just go poof, and what you want will appear right in front of you."

His smile grew, his brows opened up his face so she could see his gray eyes, still stormy and intense, but not so troubled.

"It would be nice to have a beer appear in hand whenever I want."

Hannah choked on her brisket. "Yeah. You could pull me right into the room with you with just a thought."

"Don't tempt me." He wiggled his eyebrows. He thought he was being funny, but her body took it seriously. Calm down. You're not going to have phone sex. Not tonight. She drank her soda instead.

"Seriously, though, how are you feeling? What happened with McNamara today?"

Nothing like talking about dissecting a human body to hold back the raging hormones. Blood and guts cooled her off, but she still wanted to give Scott an honest answer. "I'm angry, but I'm tired of being angry. I didn't even realize how angry I was until Jimmy's mother slapped me."

"Betty. Her name is Betty Chung. You have every right to be angry with her."

"I don't want to be angry, though. I don't want to be..." She hesitated, struggling for the word. "Unforgiving." Yes, that's it. Unforgiving. It fit Miranda perfectly. She didn't want to follow in that woman's footsteps. Could she forgive Ms. Chung? Just a little bit to save herself from falling down that path? "I just want to know what happened to her son. If I focus on Jimmy, then maybe his mother won't bother me so much."

Maybe thinking about Jimmy Chung rather than Miranda would help her get through today. Tomorrow the evidence of her crimes in the quarry would be staring her in the face.

"I spoke to Betty Chung this morning." Scott reached off screen for his own drink.

"You did? What did she say?"

"Not much. She showed me videos of Jimmy taken before his surgery."

"What did you see?"

Scott shrugged. "He was an active, energetic kid. Nothing like what we saw at the hospital."

"He could still be reacting to the surgery. I asked McNamara about it and he said he can't think of any reason for a surgery like that."

"Huh. Well, the man is a pathologist and not a surgeon. He can't know everything."

Why not? Hannah bit her tongue. Scott was just making a general observation. She pushed away the defensiveness, because Scott was still talking.

"I'm going to talk to Betty's sister as soon as the harbor operation is finished. I'll talk to Nik, too. He's the detective in the family. Maybe he could give us a hand. What did you see inside Jimmy, anyway?"

And just like that, her emotions were back to normal. "It looked like someone had cut through his spine, but even McNamara couldn't tell me why anyone would need to do that. I need to know more. I need to see his medical records. I need to understand what happened to that kid. McNamara said I could get access to his records once I'm officially working at the hospital, but that isn't going to happen until after tomorrow."

"Sounds like you'll be spending a lot of time with McNamara."

His tone of voice carried the low, suspicious tones she’d heard from Miranda. She hadn't imagined his earlier dismissiveness. Just what she didn't need: a jealous boyfriend. Well, Scott wasn't the only one who could deflect and distract.

"I need to do something, Scott. Every time you talk about your training, it sounds like they're following a protocol set up for third graders. No one has bothered to tell me how they plan to train me."

"They've never had to train anyone with your abilities before. They don't know what to do with you."

"Yeah. No one knows what to do with me." The food on her plate lost its appeal. "Miranda didn’t know either."

"Don't talk like that." Scott put his drink down with a thump. He leaned toward the camera, the intensity she loved so much back in place. "Miranda had an agenda, she was never supposed to be anyone's mother. She couldn't handle a bright, willful child with Alt abilities."

Hannah shrugged. Willful sounded accurate, but bright? Sometimes she had to wonder. If she was as smart as someone like McNamara, would she have tried to run away? No, she would have found a less disruptive way to fight the Committee. "Anyway, if the Committee has a problem with me working with cadavers, they can take it up with McNamara. If anyone can put the Committee in its place, he can."

"You're probably right." Though he agreed with her, Scott looked away from the screen, as if he wanted to hide his doubts. "T-CASS has been around long enough to become entrenched in its ways. Everyone is too scared of Catherine to suggest changes. She's too busy to notice."

"Yeah." A familiar buzz tickled her backside. She'd forgotten to turn her phone off, damn it. Her time with Scott was precious, even if she was still annoyed with him, so she ignored it. "Catherine assumes I'm going to join T-CASS but I just don't know if it's what I want. I mean, it's not like I'm not thinking about it, but every time I do, I see people having their lives disrupted because of one emergency or another. Maybe I want to explore what it's like to be a Neut? I could set up my own medical practice. I could have a schedule, control how many people I heal in a day. Have a life after hours — "

Her phone buzzed again.

"Scott. I'm sorry, it's my phone. I'm going to check to see who it is."

The recorded message icon flashed. She double checked the number. It was McNamara.

Hannah hated to leave Scott hanging out in chat, but the faster she returned the phone call, the faster she could get back to Scott.

"Hannah?" McNamara answered on the first ring. He'd been waiting for her.

"Yes. I'm sorry, I was eating dinner. I'll arrange for a ride to the hospital tomorrow morning."

"The earlier, the better."

"Did something happen?" Her panic picked up speed with McNamara's clipped tone. Her imagination grasped onto the worst case scenario. "Did the Oversight Committee tell you I couldn't work with you?"

"No. I haven't told them yet. I received a call from Star Haven, though. They asked me to arrange to have you down at the harbor when the bodies arrive."

"Me? Why? I mean, I'm going with you to the harbor anyway." More horrible scenarios played out as her stomach rebelled against her dinner.

"True, but I never told Star Haven that. I figured we'd keep you hidden in one of the warehouse's offices until after the bodies were delivered and the delegation had left."

She shouldn't have been surprised, but McNamara telling her didn't help. "I don't understand. Are they going to try and arrest me at the harbor for breaking the anti-Alt ban?"

"I don't think so. There are too many legal loopholes and they'd be fools to try with so much security in place. They wouldn't have the resources to follow through on your arrest and they know it. The interim mayor claims there's a package waiting for you in his office. His phone was also ringing off the hook, so he didn't elaborate. He insisted that you be at the harbor, nothing more. Do you know what this package might be?"

Her throat closed up, fear snatching away her ability to talk.

"Hannah, are you there?"

"Yes." She could barely talk over the tight throat muscles. "I'm here. No, I don't know what the package could be."

McNamara sighed. "I'll contact T-CASS and let them know. They'll want to double up security if you're around."

"I can do it. I live with the Blackwoods, remember."

"Yes, but let me make the call anyway. This isn't like me hiring you and springing it on the Committee later. I can outmaneuver the Committee about that. This has danger carved into it and my report should go through official channels. They'll want to send someone to ask me questions."

He made the whole thing sound like a done deal, but her inner rebel leaked through. "You make it sound like I have no choice."

This time McNamara kept quiet for a minute. "I can't force you, but I need to let Star Haven and T-CASS know one way or the other. You do have a choice, but it took a lot of politics and negotiating for me to get Star Haven to agree to bring the bodies here instead of me going to Star Haven. Telling them you're not willing to join me at the harbor could torpedo this agreement to the bottom of the Bay."

This whole arrangement screamed of a set-up. But if she wanted to get a look at Jimmy's records, she couldn't afford to piss off McNamara.

"I'll go. It's just...I'm the one who disabled those guards, left them unable to defend themselves. I'm the one who killed Joe Austin."

Tears blurred her vision. Would Scott see? Damn it, why did she have to do this at all?

"Hannah, I promise. I'll be right beside you the whole time. I won't let anything bad happen to you. You won't be alone."

She took a deep, calming breath. The tears receded. "Thank you. I'll be there. I'll meet you at the hospital in the morning."

"I'll see you then." McNamara disconnected the line before she could.

"Hannah, what's wrong?" Scott asked.

She'd forgotten to mute the chat, so he'd heard her side of the story. She explained McNamara's side.

"I don't like it. Any of it. You should have said no. Call him back. Tell him you can't do it. You can't go to the harbor and you can't work for him."

Her tears might be gone, but the rebel remained. "Why would I do that? It's not like the harbor isn't going to be blanketed in security. And there's no good reason not to work for McNamara. He can help me with Jimmy's case. He can protect me from the Committee."

Scott leaned closer to the camera, his face tight with worry for her. "Working for McNamara is only going to throw you into the middle of the quarry investigation. You don't need to be dragged through that again. Let me handle Jimmy Chung and his mother."

Her rebellion turned to cold fire. Despite his worry mirroring her own, he didn't understand her need to make her own decisions. To grasp this one tendril of freedom she had. If she didn't, she might as well surrender her soul to the Committee.

"I'm not being dragged anywhere. I want to do this." I want to see Miranda's body. I want to see her dead. "McNamara is going to help me maneuver around the Committee. They already control too much of my life. He can give me some space to call my own."

"I can help you with that."

"Oh, Scott. You're in the same situation I am. I thought you would be more supportive."

"It's dangerous."

"More dangerous than turning myself over to Miranda? More dangerous than fighting a rampaging mutant Alt? More dangerous than getting shot at?"

"That was different."

"No, it wasn't."

"Hannah -- "

She cut him off. "Don't. Just don't. I made a decision. You might not like it, but you will respect it."

They both stared at each other. She could see he wasn't about to change his mind and she wasn't going to back down. Not on this, the first decision she'd made for herself without seeking permission from the Blackwoods. She was ready for a change, no matter the danger.

"I respect you, Hannah, but this is a mistake. There are other ways to find your freedom."

"It might be a mistake, but it's my mistake to make."

She could see his eyes narrow. Those storm-gray eyes she usually found comfort in. If he were standing in front of her, her determination might have weakened. Maybe not being near Scott wasn't a bad idea. He was not about to change his mind and she was not going to back down.

"I think we're done for the evening." Before he could argue, she pulled off the headset and ended the chat. The abrupt change created a vacuum in her heart before all her pain and anger rushed in to fill the void.

As if he were listening in, Eight-ball appeared at the corner of the couch. Hannah patted her lap and the all-black cat jumped on command. He rubbed her chin with his face. Hannah pulled the cat closer, her fingers finding the sweet spot behind his ears.

"Oh, Eight-ball. Today was so horrible."

Eight-ball started to purr, the loud rhythm bringing back her tears. "I hate my life right now. Everyone wants to lock me up to keep me safe. I won't let them."

Eight-ball continued to pace on her lap, his tail flicking her chin.

"Now Scott is pissed at me and I just want to go to bed. What do you say we go upstairs and forget today ever happened?"

Eight-ball allowed her to scoop him up into her arms and march upstairs.

Wind from the sea whipped Hannah's hair into a tornado twirl as she watched the cargo ship dock at the port on the south end of Thunder City's harbor. Scott was here, somewhere. She knew, though he never said anything about it when he texted her during breakfast. He didn't have to say anything, but she knew. His unrelenting need to protect her had calmed her raw soul when they were on board the Elusive Lady, but ever since she’d started spending time with McNamara, she found his caution irritating. He cared, she cared, but some things had to be risked or she'd never achieve the freedom she craved.

The Committee didn't want her here either, but at least McNamara had smoothed over those ruffled feathers for her. He was the only one who understood what she was going through. Somehow he managed to break through the logjam of everyone else’s concern for her safety and give her a space to call her own. Her confused feelings of wanting her own life and wanting to make her own decisions didn't bother him in the least. He let her work out for herself what she thought was best.

Not that she didn't have her own doubts. She'd gotten very little sleep last night, her thoughts weaving around her feelings for Scott, anger at his overprotectiveness, and anguish about how much she cared for him despite their spat. If Eight-ball hadn't leapt into bed with her and purred in her ear, she might not have gotten any sleep at all.

The boom of a lowered plank echoed, followed by the grind of motors as cranes swung around, prepared to lift the containers of evidence off the ship. McNamara had let her listen in on a number of phone calls he'd made to work out the last minute details. The remains of Joe Austin took up at least three containers. McNamara speed-read the numerous forms and contracts he had to sign, promising everything short of his first born to keep Star Haven in the loop about every aspect of his investigation. She didn't even think he had kids. At least, he hadn't mentioned any to her. They'd both been pretty quiet after he picked her up this morning to bring her to the harbor. The rest of the Blackwoods had already left for the morning.

The last time she'd seen Joe Austin, he’d had her in his meaty grip, King Kong style. She'd been so small he hadn't managed to crush her bones, but he’d still managed enough pressure to bruise her up something fierce. Miranda hadn't just destroyed his body. She'd destroyed his mind. Hell-bent on killing everyone in his way, Joe had intended to slam her onto the quarry floor before continuing on his path of destruction. Before he could, Hannah had bloodsurfed through his head and blown up his brain from the inside.

She would have to testify to what she had done, but saying it out loud was different than actually seeing it. Once McNamara began his examination of Joe, the world would see her not as a healer, but as a destroyer, too. She understood how people thought, and she knew that there were those who would use her as a weapon. It was inevitable that there would be more Mirandas out there.

The face of Doctor Johnson interrupted her thoughts. Yeah, he was a Miranda wannabe, but she knew how to handle the Mirandas in her life. She'd make sure he regretted trying to cage her.

The longshoremen, with the assistance of a few Alts, used cranes to haul the normal-sized containers off the ship. Rumble and Roar flew above the ship. The twins created an air cushion under the extra-large container carrying Joe. The cushion grew in size until the oversized container floated in mid-air.

Despite the hostility toward Alts from Star Haven, T-CASS hadn't bothered hiding their presence. Their colorful outfits were bright and obvious in the harsh sun. Rumble and Roar made quite a show for the Star Haven crew, working in tandem with their Norm counterparts. Thunder City police patrolled along the harbor boardwalk. Out on Mystic Bay, police boats zigzagged across the Bay. TV crews also lined the boardwalk, their cameras capturing everything from a distance, including her. Especially her.

There were other Alts around, she was sure, not in uniform, but still ready to jump if even the slightest problem arose. Thomas would have his equipment set-up nearby as well, monitoring all of the electronic surveillance he'd put in place over the past week.

Hannah moved closer to McNamara, grateful when he looked down at her, but didn't comment. In her heart, she wished Scott stood beside her, despite their argument last night. Where was he? So far she hadn't seen him, but given his wardrobe of t-shirts and jeans, he didn't stand out like his family when they were in uniform. Had he managed to make it past the Thunder City security? She hoped he hadn't picked a fight with them. Maybe he'd sneaked in from somewhere? Had he told anyone what he'd planned to do? Warned his brothers, at least?

No, of course he wouldn't. If something did go wrong, no one else would know he was here, but Scott wouldn't care about that. He only cared about her.

There was nothing she could do about it now. While Thunder City took care of removing the cargo from the ship, the Star Haven delegation disembarked. She recognized the interim Mayor, who had been the Attorney General until Miranda died. He led a tight group of men and women, all of whom looked like they'd rather be elsewhere. One of the men scanned the crowd until his dark eyes locked with Hannah's. A shiver ran up Hannah's spine. He motioned for Hannah to meet him closer to the edge of the boardwalk, away from the small crowd.

Hannah hesitated. Don't be an idiot. Star Haven may want all Alts dead, but they're not going to do it in front of the world. It's not just Thunder City watching. The whole state is watching.

She closed her eyes for moment and remembered Scott holding her tight right after he killed Miranda. The thought gave her courage. If there was one thing Scott had in spades, it was courage. Shoving her gloved hands into her jean pockets, Hannah noticed McNamara watching her again, even as another Star Haven official addressed him. Hannah ignored it all and broke away from the crowd. The man led her over to one of the larger pylons near the docked ship.

He didn't spare any words, but had to shout over the grinding of the machinery. "I'm Detective Juan Costenaro. The Mayor asked me to give this to you."

He shoved a small cardboard box at Hannah, forcing her to pull her hands out of her pockets to accept the box. His name sounded familiar. Maybe she'd met him at one of Miranda Dane's functions? His sharp cheekbones, wavy hair, and smooth complexion would have had her admiring him if she wasn't so damn scared.

"What's in it?" Her voice choked on the words. Calm down. Just stay calm. You'll get through this.

"Roger Dane's ashes." He bowed his head toward her a little, offering a hint of sympathy. "No one else wants them and you're his only living heir."

Stomach acid flushed her throat, burning, hurting. Roger, her stepfather, who had been shot to death by one of Miranda's thugs. Hannah's fingers flexed as if scorched, but the detective shoved a tablet at her. "I need you to sign at the bottom."

"Who told you to cremate him?"

Detective Costenaro shrugged. "I'm not a lawyer, just a cop doing his job."

Hannah tried to read the fine print on the screen, but she couldn't see through her grief. "That's it? Just his ashes? Roger Dane was worth millions. He had an art collection. A sailboat." He had me. He loved me. Hannah lost her voice with that last thought. What should she do? What else could she do? She couldn't recognize her own signature, but it was the best she could do with the gloves.

Costenaro snatched back the tablet. "Whatever he had, someone else has it now. I'll need an email address for the receipt."

The only email Hannah had was the one she used for school. She hadn't accessed it in over six months, but her brain kicked in with an automatic recitation of the letters. Costenaro typed out the information then tucked the tablet into his back pocket.

Instead of walking back to the delegation, Costenaro crossed his arms and stayed put, forcing Hannah to do the same.

"The news says you and Scott are a couple."

Why would a Star Haven detective care? Since the news speculated about it anyway, she couldn't think of a reason to deny it.

"Yeah. So what?"

"He's — was my partner. I don't know what you did to him, to make him an Alt, but he doesn't deserve this."

He doesn't deserve you. Costenaro didn't say it, but she heard him loud and clear anyway.

"I didn't make him an Alt. He already was an Alt, he just didn't know it. All I did was — "

The sharp crack in the background sounded all too familiar to Hannah.

"Gun!" Costenaro yelled.

It must have been instinct that caused the man to shove Hannah behind him as he pulled his own gun, because why would a Star Haven cop, Scott's former partner, who thought she had turned Scott into an Alt, care if she died?

"Stay behind me," he shouted at her again as he started to move south of the crowd, toward the media and away from the ship.

She did exactly as he said because chaos had broken out around her. Costenaro kept close even as the Thunder City police corralled the Thunder City delegation and dragged them off the boardwalk toward the warehouse. Star Haven security did their best for the Star Haven side, corralling their delegates as best they could as their people rushed toward the ship. Costenaro grabbed her hand. He might hate Alts, but he still kept himself between her and the sound of the gunshot as he led her back toward the Thunder City delegates. Back to McNamara.

"Go!" Costenaro shoved her into McNamara's arms. "Get out of here."

"Wait." She tried to keep her grip on Costenaro. "I don't know where Scott is. He's here somewhere."

"Scott can take care of himself." Costenaro let go and ran for the ship.

McNamara gripped her arm and pulled her in the opposite direction, toward the warehouse where there were steps leading to the parking lot. "We need to — "

The explosion knocked her into McNamara, with the people behind her falling onto her. Black smoke blanketed the air. Piercing screams rose in pitch. People shoved at her, scrambling to get away.

McNamara had wrapped his arms around her as they fell over. In the background, an all too familiar sound pounded out a rhythm.

Automatic gunfire. Scott had been right. The anti-Alts were going to shoot them all. She should have listened to him.