Julie Hawkins’ satphone rang. She glanced at the name on the screen.

  Shit.

  She glared at the phone for a moment then answered in what she hoped was a neutral tone.

  “Director Whitchurch. You got my report?”

  “I did, Agent Hawkins. But I’m still confused about some things.”

  “Such as?”

  “Such as how a half-dozen of my best agents can’t hold onto a teenaged girl. And how we had Unglesby on camera in a bus station with an agent escorting him and everyone suddenly wandered away. What the hell is going on down there?”

  “I believe the events are connected,” Julie said. “You read the interview with Unglesby’s father. That kid is a sheltered idiot with no experience in the real world. He had to have help.”

  “But there was no sign of anyone else on the security footage from the station.”

  “That’s my point. We scoured the video, and there’s nothing from the point where Unglesby disappeared. There’s no footage of him escaping. He conveniently threaded his way through the holes in video coverage. No way he could have pulled that off without a mentalist, and a powerful one at that. It’s too much of a coincidence for me.”

  “So you’re telling me Teri Darby just happened to meet up with him at the bus station?”

  “I’m not saying any such thing. For all we know, this was her plan all along. We don’t know anything about her—who she’s connected to, who she works for. All we know is that she has our changeling now, took him right out from under our noses.”

  “How could an injured girl be capable of all that?”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “I don’t think she was injured at all. I’m not even convinced she’s a child. All I know is that she’s the most powerful mentalist I’ve ever seen and she’s been playing us from the start. She probably set up the whole hospital thing so she could get close to us. I wouldn’t be surprised if she knows everything I know.”

  A pause. “Look, Agent Hawkins, I want to believe you, I do, but if what you’re saying is true, then the girl can flawlessly alter the perceptions of hundreds of people at once, including trained agents. I’m not even sure the Eagle could pull that off. The girl was half dead. It just isn’t a feasible scenario.”

  Julie glanced at her partner, Horace Greenly, who was talking to another agent. “With all due respect, sir, you’re wrong. It’s the only scenario that makes sense. Agent Greenly assures me it would be impossible for any changeling to escape the net we had in place around that station. The field office here knows what they’re doing, and they were ready for anything Unglesby could have done. He had help, sir, and unless there’s someone else like her on the loose, it had to be Teri.”

  “That’s still quite a leap of intuition. How do you—”

  “Director Whitchurch, listen to me very carefully. Teri Darby has been playing us from the start, and I can’t even begin to understand what she’s trying to accomplish. Why didn’t she infiltrate us fully? Why the escape?”

  Julie paused, hearing only silence on the other end. “Fuck! Wake up and listen to what I’m saying! Why would someone so powerful even need us? She could be standing in your office right now and there’s no way you could know about it. We have a fucking problem!” It was all Julie could do not to throw the phone.

  Whitchurch still said nothing. Julie took a deep breath and let it out on a ten-count, like her therapist taught her.

  “Please, Director,” she said through clenched teeth. “Just give me my orders.” She wondered what would happen if she broke down crying. Probably send me up for reprogramming again.

  She tried to remember her life before the Event. Had she really been a mom? An elementary school teacher? I don’t even remember that woman anymore. She’s as good as dead.

  At last Whitchurch spoke. “I’m open to any suggestions, Agent Hawkins. If she’s as powerful as you say, I’m not sure what direction I can give you.”

  Julie’s hand dropped to her side as she disconnected the call.

  “You okay?” Greenly asked her.

  Julie studied her partner. “How are you so fucking calm all the time, Horace? Doesn’t anything ever get to you?”

  Greenly shrugged. “I was a black cop in Chicago for more than ten years before the Event. Now I’m an afflicted cop. If I couldn’t handle a bunch of assholes talking shit all the time, I’d have retired on my first day.”

  Julie shook her head. “Let’s just go get some fucking lunch.”