Untouched The Girl in the Box - By Robert J. Crane Page 0,55

exasperation. “You could have mentioned this before.”

I smiled weakly. “Trust.”

Ariadne crossed her arms in front of her. “Fine. Give me his name and I’ll see if we have anything on him.” She looked me over. “How are you feeling?”

I thought about it before I answered. “I’m fine. It felt...really good to win a fight for once.” I frowned. “Without getting pummeled to a near-death state.”

“Try and make a habit of that, will you?” She looked back to the door where Dr. Perugini had gone only moments before. “I don’t think il dottore is very pleased with you at present.”

“I’ll add her to a list that’s growing by the day,” I said. “I don’t know what it is that makes people so angry with me.”

“Perhaps you insulted her,” Ariadne said with only a touch of irony. I let it pass. I actually did feel good. She turned to Zack. “I’ll expect your report tomorrow morning.” With a nod at me she went back into Headquarters, leaving the two of us alone.

“Anything else you want to tell me about the man in the iron lung?” Zack looked at me with hard eyes as soon as she was gone.

“Umm.” I pretended to think about it. “His name is David Henderschott, he’s a Pisces, he likes long walks on the beach at night, and his favorite drink is a fuzzy navel. He’s also a fan of Streisand movies, and he listens to Nickelback when he’s alone and in the shower.” I snickered. “I might have made a few of those up.”

Zack did not appear to be amused. “I’m not surprised.

“Well, seriously, I mean I don’t know anything else about him except that his skin is what binds those metal plates to him.” I shrugged, my arms expansive. “I only have the basics.”

“And you didn’t mention this before, when we first encountered him?” Dark suspicion glassed over his eyes.

“Like I told Ariadne, we’re not to the full-trust stage yet.” I stared him down. “Give it a little more time, maybe.”

“Time,” he said with a shake of the head. “I don’t know what it’s going to take, but I doubt it’s just time. I’m gonna go check on Kurt.”

He left, and I felt a stab of guilt for lying to him. I exited the garage through a side door, stepping out into the winter night. It was starting to snow, the flakes landing delicately on my shoulders. Had I been less preoccupied, I might have tried to catch one on my tongue. Yeah, I’d just dealt a hell of a beat-down to Henderschott, but he wasn’t dead, and for some reason, I suspected he’d be back. Wolfe was still somehow able to take control of my body at unfortunate moments (not that there would ever really be a fortunate moment for him to assume control) and because of him, I suspected I’d let loose an extremely dangerous meta to wreak untold havoc upon the world.

Did that mean anyone Gavrikov killed was another death on my conscience? I already had 254 that I blamed myself for. I’d kept a very careful accounting, sadly enough, and that was the tally. Sure, I hadn’t physically killed any of them myself (except Wolfe) but I regretted them all (except Wolfe).

I entered my room, shutting the door behind me. I had been tired hours ago; now I was exhausted. I threw down my coat, noting white powder spots from the drywall all over the exterior and a nice rip along the back, presumably from the fight with Henderschott, and I wondered if I should be worried. Did most seventeen-year-old girls get into as many fights as I did? I doubted this was normal for anyone but the worst delinquents.

A knock at the door jerked me out of my thoughts. I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror. Drywall dust was speckled through my hair and I had three visible rips in my shirt. I sighed and went to the door.

When I opened it, I was faced with a man I’d never seen before. He had a deeply pale face, his hair was brown and short, and his eyes were bright blue, in a shade that glittered even in the dim light.

“Yes?” I looked at him as I spoke. He was older, probably in his thirties or later. “Can I help you?”

“May I come in?” He spoke with a heavy accent that sounded Russian or Slavic.

“Umm...do I know you?” I looked at him, trying to determine if I’d seen him before. He