Ravi broke the speed limit and a plethora of other traffic laws getting to Long Island City. The Archimedeans probably had a way to skirt moving violations. A smaller, also black, duffel bag full of Ravi’s toys jostled in the backseat.
Ten minutes earlier, Lucy had received another text. An address on Vernon Boulevard.
Queens whirred by in a blaze of orange streetlights.
Lucy’s skin crawled at the notion that there was something inside her disclosing her location to the Freelancers at this very moment. Once she got Claudia back, she would do whatever was necessary never to let her body be used against her again.
The wheels of the SUV ground to a halt a few blocks from the designated address. Lucy surveyed the narrow side street. The odd townhouse was interspersed between old factories that had been converted into art galleries and craft-beer breweries. The neighborhood hardly screamed Criminal Activity Takes Place Here.
Lucy pitched her gaze at the dashboard. Two minutes late.
“I’ll walk the rest of the way,” she told Ravi, and reached for the door.
Shadows obscured half his face but his concern was plain as day.
“Wait.” He grabbed the duffel in a rushed motion. “Two can play at the tracker game.”
“Won’t they just check me?” Lucy said, hesitating. “I don’t want to piss them off.” Or give them any reason to hurt Claudia.
“They might.” Ravi pinched something clear and plastic, smaller than an earbud, between his fingers. “This is the latest technology. Undetectable.”
“An Archimedean special?”
He answered with a grin. “May I?”
Lucy nodded and Ravi leaned across her, his touch gentle yet surgically exact as he planted the device inside her ear. She inhaled the sweet, mellow scent of cedar. When he was satisfied the device was secure, he lowered a hand to her shoulder but didn’t lean back.
“I’ll be able to hear whatever you hear. Try to get them to tell you as much as you can about what they’re planning. Drop hints about what you see around you.”
“Does it let you track me?” she asked.
“The range is short, but I’ll stay as close as I can without drawing suspicion. The com works on radio waves. The Freelancers won’t be able to distinguish it from regular transmissions.”
“Okay.” She nodded.
“You’ll be able to hear me too. I’ll be with you the entire time.” Ravi tilted his face closer. “I won’t leave you.”
“I know you won’t. Just one more thing—” Lucy tugged him toward her and planted her lips on his, fierce and sweet, before hopping onto the pavement.
“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.”