‘What I think Charlotte meant,’ Monroe said loudly, ‘is that we went eleven whole months without any such fire. Then you came and suddenly everything went up in flames.’
‘I wasn’t here, though,’ Barrett replied. ‘Are you suggesting that I had something to do with it? I can assure you that I did not.’ He did a good job of looking upset. ‘I don’t know why you would think such a thing.’
‘Maybe it was an accident,’ Julian shouted, from the other side of the crowd. ‘Maybe the fire was nothing more than bad luck. But while you were gone, we found evidence that people had been here in Manchester. People who had come from outside and who were watching us. Spying on us.’
Barrett frowned. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘Three communities in Manchester,’ I said. ‘We found three locations from where those communities were being spied on before you arrived.’ I dug into my pocket and pulled out the little Fab Labs pin that Alora had found. ‘This was at one of them. You sent people here to watch us. How long were they here for?’
There was the briefest flicker of indecision on Barrett’s face before he answered. He sighed heavily and slowly pivoted, gazing at everyone who was watching him. ‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Okay. I did send some advance scouts in. And yes, they did watch what you were doing for a few days.’
I held my breath. He was admitting it. He knew we’d caught him and there was no way out but the truth. My stomach clenched in a burst of delight.
Unfortunately Barrett wasn’t finished. ‘The truth is that there was no other choice. I’m ashamed to say that I was afraid. No one outside had any inkling of what was going on inside the walls. We didn’t know whether anyone was alive, whether there were survivors who’d turned themselves into gangs that would attack us if we tried to enter. Waltzing in here without knowing what we would face could have been a suicide mission. I sent highly trained people in through that door. No one was on the other side of it, so they investigated the city to see what was happening and who had survived. It was their job to find out whether Manchester was safe enough to enter and whether you would welcome us.’
He talked a good talk but it wasn’t quite good enough. ‘The door was blocked,’ I called. ‘No one could have entered that way.’
Barrett gestured helplessly in my direction. ‘There is no other way in. I don’t know what else to tell you.’
Murmurs were rising up across the crowd. He was winning more people over. But he was also lying; I knew he was.
‘So why,’ Monroe said, ‘didn’t you tell our loved ones back then that we were alive? You say they are waiting on the other side of the wall, thrilled at our survival. But if you – or someone working for you – had already been here, they’d have known that we were okay.’
‘They did know,’ he replied instantly. ‘But we didn’t know the number of people that were okay until we spoke to you.’ He had an answer for everything.
‘Someone tried to kill Charlotte,’ Monroe said. ‘And possibly me too.’ Every inch of him bristling with predatory rage.
The billionaire did a good job of looking shocked. ‘When was this? My goodness. That’s shocking.’ He turned to me. ‘I can assign you one of my guards if you’re scared there will be another attempt on your life.’
I folded my arms. ‘I’m not scared,’ I said flatly.
‘I’m so very happy to hear that, dear Charley.’ He pointed at his guards. They stepped to the nearest trailer, unbuckling the locks and flipping it open. Barrett reached inside and pulled out a fistful of brightly coloured chocolate bars. ‘Now,’ he said, ‘who’s hungry?’
People surged forward with outstretched hands. Barrett started tossing the bars into the crowd. He didn’t look in my direction.
I cursed and turned, pushing my way out. Whatever moment we’d had to confront him in public was gone.
‘The food he’s brought in will last about two weeks,’ Cath informed me. ‘And there aren’t any medical supplies. Fab said that they take longer to organise so he’ll bring them in next time.’
‘He’s making us entirely dependent on him and his goodwill,’ Monroe growled.
I nodded in grim agreement. ‘But to what end? We still don’t know what he’s after.’
‘Well, duh.’ Cath rolled her eyes. ‘He wants the magic. What else is there in Manchester to want? He acts like he’s afraid of it, and he still wears that suit thingamabob, but it’s got to be the magic that he’s after.’
Monroe glanced at me. ‘What’s his magical aura looking like now?’
‘Dark purple,’ I said shortly. ‘Very purple. It might be the suit that’s drawing the magic. Underneath it, he may still be protected. There’s no way of knowing for sure, not without yanking it off him.’
‘If the magic has affected him like it’s affected us, he can’t skip in and out of the door whenever he pleases. He’ll end up in quarantine for months, just like we would.’
‘But his aura isn’t like ours. We’re all blue. Fabian Barrett is the only person who’s different.’
‘We could tell him that,’ Cath suggested, ‘and put an end to all this. If he thinks he’s been contaminated by the magic, he might turn tail and leave.’
Julian didn’t look happy. ‘But we still need those supplies. We still need him more than he needs us. Maybe we should put up with his lies and let him do whatever he’s planning. Does it really matter? As long as we get what’s necessary, who really cares what he’s up to?’
‘We will,’ I answered. ‘We will care if his plans mean that our people end up getting hurt.’
‘Who says that will happen?’ Julian countered. ‘Why would it be necessary to hurt anyone?’
‘Why
