a voice in his radio. “Get Jumper to a holding cell. I’m waiting to interrogate him.”
Lester rolled his eyes. “Right away, your lordship.” Ever since his promotion to Team Alpha, Hal had been even more of a pillock than usual. Which was at least ten times as much as anyone else Luster knew.
“Don’t take that tone with me, Luster. I’m still leading this op.”
“Get stuffed, Hypnotic.” Lester dialed his comm off and jerked his head at Valerie. “Time to wrap up. That’s all for tonight, ladies and gents.” He tipped them a salute, and in the cacophony of light and questions, the three extrahumans backed through the doors of headquarters.
“Man, they love you two,” Jumper said, blinking the strobes from his eyes. “You’re like, bigger celebrities than Hollywoodland. It’s kinda awesome.”
“You just tried to teleport an entire vault out of Chicago Trust,” Valerie said, giving him a shake. “You don’t get to talk.”
“Hey, just making conversation.” Jumper slumped down the corridor to the interrogation bay.
Hypnotic stood up like a jackknife when Valerie and Lester buzzed through the door. “Took you fucking long enough.”
Valerie stopped short and even Lester paused. Hal didn’t swear. He and Night were so Hero-Code Approved it was nearly sickening.
Lester revised that statement in his head as Valerie apologized, giving Hal one of those melting smiles that had first made Lester stop and look at her. She wasn’t delicate, not by a long shot, but she was beautiful. Even Hal had to see that.
But Hal wasn’t around much these days. These days, Hypnotic held the reins. Sure, he smiled and clowned when Angelica and Blackout were in evidence, but Lester saw the hardness in Hal’s eyes, the stone of resentment when it was just Lester.
Hal wasn’t over Angelica. And he wasn’t fine, no matter what he said about it. When Blackout’s back was turned, Hal had a look that Lester knew well, one he’d seen on Donnie Bradford’s face, his father’s face, too often.
Hal wanted to hurt someone.
“Leave,” Hal snapped. “I’ll handle this since you’re so busy posing.”
“That one’s a bit musty, don’t you think?” Lester said. “At least pick a slag that hasn’t got dust all over it, Harold. Like, ‘I’ll handle this since you’re so madly in love with Vixen’ or ‘I’ll handle this, since you’re so much better-looking and should be the one posing for the vids.’”
“Leave,” Hal roared, and Lester, never the fool, beat a hasty retreat.
Valerie kissed him on the cheek when they were back in the corridor. “I’m going to check in with Ops and file my report. Don’t let him get you too riled, all right?”
“I don’t get riled, luv. I just get even.” He watched Valerie walk away until she turned the corner, then he slipped into the viewing room off the bay.
“Come to watch feeding time at the zoo?”
Lester jumped at the sound of Blackout’s voice. “Christo on the cross, George. Don’t sneak up on a bloke.”
Blackout shrugged. “Sorry. Sometimes I forget. I just … blend in. With the Dark.”
In the interrogation bay, Hal stood behind Jumper, and put his hands on the man’s shoulders. Jumper shuddered as Hal talked, painting a picture with his power, sending the thief into his own world, plucking out his secrets.
Lester shivered right along with the amiable bank robber. One of his recurring nightmares was being trapped in the Mental wing, listening to the drone of Hal’s voice. Hal’s voice became his father’s, became Hal’s—an endless cacophony in his head until Valerie finally shook him awake.
Thank Jehovah for Valerie.
“Our boy’s in fine form,” he said to distract himself. Nightmares weren’t real. He was a grown man now, and he knew that.
“It must be awful,” Blackout said. “To have a voice in your head that’s a stranger’s.”
“Voice in your head, period,” Lester said. “Creepy.”
“Oh, it’s not so bad,” George murmured, and Lester got the distinct feeling Blackout wasn’t talking to him. “If it’s a friendly voice. A familiar voice …” He shook himself and stopped talking.
“What the bloody hell are you on about, George?” Lester demanded. After a moment, “George?”
But Blackout had vanished, whether out the door or into Shadow, Lester didn’t know.
The close little room was hot, but Luster couldn’t shake his chill.
CHAPTER 21
NIGHT
Going to roll out the comlink today. Could be the answer to everything, if it works the way it should.
—From the journal of Martin Moore, entry #73
Rick.”
Night froze. Then he lost count of his reps, so he started over. A scowl on his face, he pushed up. And again.
“I