he still possessed, like he must have done after the explosion, he looked like death walking.
Solo was the only one who could see X, the only one who could hear him. He just hoped Dr. Evil, his other companion, maintained radio silence today.
Dr. Evil. His tormentor.
Dr. E hadn’t been given to him, he had just shown up and refused to leave.
“I’m not afraid,” he finally replied. He wasn’t sure what was going on.
He remembered X telling him to stay away from the meeting with Michael. Remembered ignoring him and stomping inside Michael’s office. Remembered . . . the explosion. Yes, that’s right. Blue had opened the door, and a bomb had gone off. Solo had been thrown across the room and had instantly blacked out. After that, he remembered . . . what?
“You should be very afraid,” another voice spoke out.
Dr. Evil. His hopes were slashed and burned.
Solo looked to his left. Where X had become aged and worn down over the years, Dr. E had thrived. He had thick blond hair, and eyes of the palest jade. His skin was tanned, unlined, and blazed with health. He, too, wore a robe, but his gleamed a brilliant white.
E—short for Laevus.
X—short for Adiutrix.
Solo had been too young to pronounce such complicated names. He had also been somewhat freaked out. But the pair had kept popping in and out, arguing, offering advice, and he’d eventually gotten used to them.
“You will find a way out,” X said now, always the optimist. Not once had he ever believed Solo would fail in any regard, which always wrought crushing disappointment when Solo did, in fact, fail.
“Will he? Really?” Dr. E retorted. “Because I seriously doubt he can chew through the bars. No matter how big his teeth are!”
Solo looked beyond the cages, taking stock of his options. More humans walked about now than before, hurrying in one direction or another, while some were practicing on different apparatus. There was a barbed trapeze, with spikes protruding from a thin bar. A man climbed on top of a life-size cannonball seemingly made of glass, with snapping fish swimming through its walls. A woman performed flips on a trampoline, careful to avoid randomly placed rings of fire.
. . . sell him to the same circus we sold the AIR agent to . . .
The words reverberated in Solo’s head.
. . . sell him . . . circus . . .
Star, a man who had abducted and maybe even killed sixteen people, had loomed over him and said those words.
Sell him to the same circus we sold the AIR agent to. He’ll fetch a decent price.
The truth hit him with the force of a sledgehammer. Star had directed those words to an employee, about Solo. And then the two had done it, he realized. They had sold him to a circus. This circus.
Dread flooded him, a corrosive acid that scorched and ruined. This was—should have been—impossible. Star could not have known where the black ops agents tasked with his capture would be meeting, when the agents themselves hadn’t known until an hour beforehand. More than that, there was no one on this planet who possessed the skill to bypass Michael’s security. A system Solo had set up.
But okay. Star had known, and Star had somehow bypassed. As many years as Solo had worked for Michael, he’d learned to search for a solution the moment he realized there was a problem. Star could be dealt with later. Right now, only escape mattered.
And it should be easy. He was in a cage, yes, but there were no armed guards posted at the door. The bars were metal, yes, but they lacked—he reached out—an electric charge. Good.
One of the captives scoffed and muttered, “Dummy. You’ll never get free.”
He would have to remember that there would be witnesses to his every deed. If only John and Blue were here. They would be—
Finish ashing him. As fried as he is, there’s no way he’ll survive transport anywhere else, and that way, there will be nothing left of him for anyone to find. A shame, though. I kind of liked him.
And this last one?
Do nothing. I’m keeping him.
The conversation played through Solo’s mind, and he ground his molars. Whatever Star and his employee had said, John and Blue were alive. Michael, too. Solo would believe nothing less. His friends were strong, wily, and resourceful. Death didn’t stand a chance.
As soon as he blew this circus, Solo would hunt the males down. Then they would complete