Jeremy glanced at Teddy. “See? What did I tell you?”
When their friends reached the dock, Jillian collapsed into Teddy’s arms. “It’s my hamster, Fred,” she said.
It took Teddy a second to remember which hamster Jillian was talking about. “Did he die?”
“She,” Jillian corrected. “And no, not yet. But she’s going to. She told me. I wanted to be there when it happened. But, you know, I had to be here.”
Teddy held Jillian as she cried. She glanced at Molly to see how she would handle such an outpouring of a sorrow. But instead of the pained look she usually wore when she encountered extreme emotion, Molly looked oblivious. Her expression was placid, content, even.
“You okay, Molly?” Teddy asked.
“You know,” Molly said, as if it were the first time she’d ever considered such a question, “I really am!”
“Seriously, Molly,” Teddy said, “what did they give you? Lexapro? Zoloft?”
Molly looked at her, surprised. “Medication interferes with psychic ability, Teddy. You know that. I’ve been working on this blocking technique with Dunn.”
Teddy decided she wouldn’t mention anything about what had happened before break. She didn’t have the heart.
As they started toward campus, Teddy turned and caught a glimpse of another familiar figure exiting the ferry: a broad-shouldered man in a cable-knit sweater, duffel bag slung over his shoulder. She hadn’t seen Nick in weeks. There’d been so much else happening on campus that his teaching this semester had slipped her mind.
“Looking for someone?” Dara asked. “Hey, isn’t that—”
“No one,” Teddy said. “It’s no one. Come on, we’re going to be late for assembly.”
* * *
As they trudged to Fort McDowell, Teddy listened to Dara describing her holiday in New Orleans: she had received a death warning while shopping for Christmas presents at the mall. “One minute I was buying a pair of socks, and the next, I was flat on the floor,” Dara said. “It must feel great being able to help someone,” Teddy said.
Dara frowned, considering. “It’s still new to me. I’ve only gotten a couple real visions—most of the time, it’s just fragments. I have to put the pieces together, and I never know when or if it will happen. This time I had this flash of a girl on the ground of the parking lot, and she was wearing a watch. I was lucky. I found her just in time. Sometimes I can’t do anything about it.”
They passed a cluster of Alphas waiting in front of the building; Kate huddled next to Ava and Liz.
“Hey,” Teddy said.
“Hey,” Kate said. Her gaze lingered on Teddy before she turned away.
“Are you guys, like, friends now?” Dara asked.
“Kind of.” Teddy shrugged.
The room buzzed as students gossiped about things that no longer really mattered to Teddy: questions they might have missed on the exam, how many hamburgers they ate over the holidays, Pyro’s latest fling. Teddy found a seat at the back of the auditorium. She was surprised when Kate slid into the seat beside her. “What’s up?” Kate asked.
Teddy was taken aback. Kate had chosen to sit next to her and not with the Alphas. It took Teddy a second to focus on Kate’s question. “Um, it’s Jeremy. And Molly,” Teddy said, running a hand through her short hair. “Molly’s acting like a Stepford wife. And Jeremy’s trying to convince me that he had to influence her during the exam or Molly was going to attack me.”
Kate nodded. “And you need me to . . . ?”
Teddy rolled her eyes. “Cut right to the chase, as always.”
“Please, Cannon, you only open up when you need something.”
Kate’s accusation stung. But she couldn’t deny it: Kate had put herself on the line for Teddy more than once since the exam. “Jeremy mentioned that Molly took a leave of absence last year after she attacked another student,” Teddy said.
“Molly attacked someone before?” Kate looked almost impressed. “That changes things.”
“There’d have to be a report or something, right?”
“Sure.”
“So, maybe we could find it.”
“By that you mean break in to the school records room while everyone is in assembly?” Kate said.
“You read my mind.” Teddy smiled.
“And I thought that was your thing.”
* * *
Assembly hadn’t started yet. Teddy knew they wouldn’t be missed. They made their way down the hall to the main office. Kate waited until the elderly secretary went to the bathroom before they sneaked behind her desk to the locked door of the file room. Teddy performed her Vegas key magic, and poof, they were in.
“I’ll keep watch,” Kate said.
Teddy was 95 percent sure that Kate wouldn’t bail on her. She grabbed Kate’s hand and took a deep breath. “Let’s sync up. Channel seven.” Teddy lowered her wall, imagined the walkie-talkie, and tuned the dial. It had become easier and easier to allow Kate inside her head.
Make it quick, Cannon. I don’t want to miss the assembly.
Teddy nodded in acknowledgment, then stepped inside the file room. She needed to look at Molly’s file, but she wanted to read so many others. What if her own included more information about her blood test? What if Brett’s included information on his whereabouts? And she would risk getting caught to find out some more information on Jeremy.
Stay focused, Cannon.
Roger that.
Teddy walked around the room, searching through drawers until she found it: Quinn, Molly. The file listed Molly’s date of birth, her address, her academic record. Her CIA profile. She hadn’t been lying about hacking in to the mainframe. Teddy flipped page after page until she found a report from a hearing the previous year. In Dunn’s class, Molly had thrown another student, a girl by the name of Erin Fridstein, against a wall, knocking her unconscious. Molly later claimed to have no memory of the event.
Dunn concluded that Molly’s empathic reaction had triggered an out-of-character response. He suggested that Molly study blocking techniques. He insisted that Molly would be safer at school than anywhere else—without these techniques, she would hurt others or herself.
Let’s go, Cannon, Kate said.
Teddy returned Molly’s file to the drawer. Jeremy had been telling the truth. And now she
