The Darkest Legacy (Darkest Min - Alexandra Bracken Page 0,42
a look. “You think this is the kind of joint that has working security cameras? A better question is if I stole the illicit bundle of drug proceeds out of his pocket, because, yes, I did.”
She tugged out a large roll of UN-printed dollar bills with their signature pale-blue paper and holographic security foil and tossed it to Roman, who caught it with an unhappy look.
“This isn’t going to get us much,” he said. “Maybe a tank of gas or two.”
“You’re joking,” I said, reaching for it. The weight of the bills alone told me it was at least a thousand dollars. “And anyway, you can’t keep that….It’s…evidence.”
“When was the last time you had to buy anything?” Priyanka asked. “Everything costs a hundred dollars, an arm, and a leg these days.”
“I buy…” I began to say. What had I bought recently? A scarf—a present for Cate’s birthday. But of course I wasn’t paying for food, or clothes, or gas. I was an employee of the government living in government housing. That made me lucky and grateful, not out of touch, like she was implying.
I met people almost every day and heard their stories. Things were tight with everyone while people reentered the workforce and new companies opened their doors. If a dollar didn’t buy much now, it would again soon.
“Things,” I finished lamely.
“Is this dirty money?” Roman asked, turning back to her. “Traceable?”
“Let me put it this way: either the guy is an employee of Leda Corp moonlighting as a crappy motel manager in the middle of nowhere, or he’s in deep with whatever network is set up in this zone.”
“Network? Like a crime network?” I asked. “You really do have a vivid imagination.”
“Okay,” Priyanka said. “Keep believing that. I, on the other hand, am going to believe what I actually saw: he was better stocked than most pharmacies. In either case, you should be thanking me. Now it can all be returned to the bosom of democracy and justice along with everyone’s favorite Psi sweetheart, Suzume. You’re welcome, America.”
“Hilarious,” I told her.
“I know, right?” she said. “But you won’t be laughing when I tell you that their phone lines are down.”
The words trickled through me, slowing the blood in my veins as they sank in. Roman cast an anxious look my way.
“You’re sure?” Roman asked.
Priyanka shrugged. “Must have been a storm or something.”
Of course. Anger shot through me, blistering hot. She had to have shut it off somehow. They were never going to let me call for help, not before they got whatever it was that they wanted from me.
“You’re welcome to test it yourself,” Priyanka said, all innocence.
“I think I’ll do just that,” I said as I climbed down from the truck.
“How did you reopen the cut on your head?” Roman asked, reaching over to inspect it. Priyanka shooed his hand away with her free one.
“Calm down, I’m fine. It’s a flesh wound, et cetera.”
“Did he hit you?”
She looked insulted.
“No. I mean, he put up a fight…” Priyanka began. “Well, a li’l fight. A cute struggle. It made me giggle.”
“You hit your head on a door frame again, didn’t you?”
Priyanka’s full-wattage smile dimmed, but her words didn’t slow. I could see her pulse fluttering in her throat again, too fast to be normal. “I’ll have you know I hit my forehead on the window when he jumped out of the bushes squealing at me like a little troll.”
“Wasn’t there also supposed to be good news?” I asked.
Priyanka reached into the partially torn pockets of her dress. Hooked on her index finger was the loop of an obnoxiously large wooden keychain, and a silver key. “I got us one of the bigger, and I’m assuming less shitty, rooms. I’m guessing we have about an hour before the manager wakes up and gets enough of the duct tape off his mouth to start screaming.”
Oh God.
Roman looked to me, as if waiting for my approval. I gave a reluctant nod.
Just this once…I thought, feeling smaller and smaller as I trailed after them. I remembered what this felt like, too: breaking the law, turning yourself invisible to avoid getting caught. My hands shook so hard that I had to press them flat against my sides.
I could do this again. Just this once.
Just one more time.
As Priyanka passed by me, an expected spark of electricity brushed up against my mind.
I angled toward her again, spreading that silver thread of my power out, letting it feel for a connection.