Page 18

Talk about a hostile crowd. Payton almost felt bad for Boone. Almost. There was something so hot about the way he refused to give his audience even an inch. He couldn’t see his fellow students from where he stood beside the bleachers, but he had a clear view of Boone.

He looked taller today. Or maybe Payton was just more aware of his height after he’d spent the night tangled up in those long limbs. He wasn’t wearing his usual suit, but he wasn’t wearing sweats like he had yesterday either. He’d opted for charcoal dress pants and a green half-zip sweater that made his hazel eyes pop.

Payton was so engrossed in Boone, he jumped when a finger poked at his shoulder, spinning on his heel to find an exhausted Remi. He looked more beat to shit than Payton did, and that was saying something.

Payton winced. “Jesus. Did you sleep at all?”

Remi shook his head. “No, but I did fucking chase down that IP address.”

“Please, please, please, tell me that it traced to a specific person,” Payton begged.

He really just wanted this shit to be over. He needed a name. Someone he could torture and kill so they could all move on with their lives. He wanted his old life back.

“So,” Payton prompted. “Where was it coming from?”

Remi’s shoulders sagged. “The fucking library.”

“Well, that’s really fucking specific,” Payton muttered.

“It might be. If you help me.”

“Why me?”

Remi looked at him like he was an idiot. “Because everyone else is out there?”

Oh, right.

“Fair enough. How can I help? You know I’m surprisingly shit with computers, right?”

“Oh, I know,” Remi said, his tone borderline rude. “I don’t need you to do anything complicated. Just help me cross-reference the time stamps on the calls Navy received with the security footage stored on the cloud. Then we’ll know for sure who it is.”

Payton spared another look at Boone, noting the set of his jaw and the way he white-knuckled the microphone, before turning his attention back to Remi. “I thought you said we didn’t have access to the archived security footage?”

“We didn’t,” Remi said, tone growing smug. “Now, we do.”

There was something just slightly off about Remi sometimes. He was shockingly quirky for someone so quiet.

“Will you help me?” Remi asked with the same amount of nerves one might have offering marriage.

“Yeah, sure. But how am I supposed to ditch my babysitters?”

Remi glanced at the two CID agents. “Those two? They haven’t looked in your direction in ten minutes.”

He had a point. They seemed to have decided Payton was not, in fact, a flight risk. He hated to disappoint them, but the faster they could prove that someone else had killed Navy, the better.

“Right, good point,” Payton said, watching as Remi slowly leaned on the gymnasium door, letting his weight push it open.

A few months ago, the door would slam shut loudly, but they’d fixed it by installing special hinges that forced the door to close slowly and quietly. Remi disappeared out the open door. Payton spared Boone one last look, then slipped out behind the smaller boy.

Payton slid his phone from his pocket as he walked slightly behind Remi, typing out a quick text to Boone, letting him know he was just in the security office and not to be mad.

Once he hit send, he jogged a few steps until he was walking in time with Remi.

“Where’s your bodyguard?” he finally asked. When Remi frowned, Payton clarified, “Drake?”

Remi rolled his eyes. “He wishes. Half the time, I can’t tell if he wants to kiss me or kill me.”

“Oh, it’s the former, trust me,” Payton assured him. “How did you ditch him, though? He seemed pretty reluctant to leave your side the last few days.”

Remi gave a humorless laugh. “Yeah, funny thing that, huh? The more I tell him no, the more he digs his claws in.”

“Do you want him to leave you alone?” Payton asked. “I can make that happen.”

“You’re sweet, but no. Thanks, though. I’ve got it under control.”

“So, how’d you do it?” Payton prompted, nudging Remi’s shoulder with his own.

“I told him to go to bed, or I was going to apply for a new asset,” Remi said, a slight grin forming on his face.

“You know, I used to feel sorry for you,” Payton admitted. “Now, I’m starting to think you’re kind of diabolical.”

Remi’s smile transformed into something borderline terrifying. “People have been underestimating me my whole life. I used to resent it. Now, I realize that it’s the best tool in my arsenal. It’s crazy the things you can get away with when people just…don’t see you.”

The way he said it had the hairs on Payton’s arms standing at attention. Had he made a mistake disappearing with Remi? “Wow, you’re starting to sound like a psychopath.”

What did they really know about Remi, anyway? They hadn’t suspected him because he was the first victim, but that could have just been a really clever way to divert attention. But it was Remi who admitted that he planted the backdoor in the system. Why confess when nobody was looking at him in the first place? Was it a super elaborate alibi?

“I wish,” Remi said around a wistful sigh. “I wish I didn’t care about things as deeply as I do. It would make things like this so much easier.”

Once more, that uneasy feeling crept over Payton. Not fear, just this sort of nagging feeling of impending danger. “Things like this?”

He nodded, turning the hall corner sharply, forcing Payton to pick up his pace.

Remi made a noise in the affirmative, then said, “That stupid fucking blackmail tape, Navy’s death, dealing with Drake… You know”—he waved his hand around—“this.”

Oh, right. Remi did have a lot going on.

Payton decided to steer the subject back to the task at hand. “When you traced that internal IP address, I was really hoping the killer would be stupid enough to use their own device.”

“That would have made things much easier,” Remi said. “Does Boone even have a suspect?”

Oh, right. Not everyone had been looped in on the Pike update. Was it okay to tell Remi? He did seem to know everything else. What could it hurt? “Yeah, but you won’t believe me when I tell you.”

Remi’s footsteps faltered. “Who?”

Payton paused, hoping he wasn’t doing the wrong thing by voicing this bit of knowledge. “Pike.”

“Pike?” Remi whisper-gasped, almost choking on his own saliva.

“Yeah, crazy, right?” Payton said. “Did you know he used to work for DARPA? He knows all kinds of stuff about AI and chemicals—the kind that blow up labs. It fits.”

Remi was quiet for a long minute. “Are you saying that Lucy wasn’t responsible for the lab?”

“We don’t think she was the perpetrator so much as the catalyst. Open flame plus flammable substance equals”—he made an explosion pantomime with both hands—“boom.”

Remi looked impressed. “Wow, you guys found out a lot.”

He supposed they had. Payton just wasn’t sure how all the pieces fell into place. If Pike was the killer, what was his motivation? What would he want with Remi? Why recruit Navy? What was with all this Lady Watchtower propaganda?

Payton glanced over at Remi, who strolled beside him, hands in his pockets, finally asking, “How come you’re not afraid to be wandering the halls with a killer on the loose?”

Remi studied him. “I almost made that joke about what are the chances of there being two murderers in one hallway, but then I realized it’s only funny when you’re not standing in a school full of assassins.”

Payton side-eyed Remi. He was acting so strangely. Had they read this wrong the entire time? Had Remi been the killer all along? Why? But then why say that they were trying to recruit Remi? No, that didn’t make any sense. Payton was starting to grow paranoid.

Once inside the security office, Remi gestured for Payton to have a seat, then leaned over him to type on the keyboard. Payton could feel his body heat, his breath against his ear. He didn’t move, waiting to see what Remi would do next. A list of files appeared on the screen before him. Payton no longer loomed over him, but dropped into the chair he’d used since this whole thing started, leaving an empty one between the two of them.

He was already typing when he said, “I just need you to read off the dates and times so that I can pull up the corresponding footage.”

“Got it,” Payton said with a nod.

Payton’s phone blooped.

Boone

Are you okay? Why did you leave? CID is looking all over for you.

Payton

Remi needs my help. I told you where I was. Why didn’t you tell CID?

Boone

Why do you think? They would have come to retrieve you and I figured there had to be a reason you took off.

Payton

The assembly over?

Boone

Yeah, but Thomas is here. Are you okay with Remi? I’ll send West to you to keep an eye on you. Give me ten minutes or so.

Payton

Okay, Daddy.

Boone

Please be careful. I hate when you’re away from me.

Payton

You are too much, Booney. U.

Boone

I love you, too. Keep your head on a swivel.

“Boone?” Remi asked.

“Yeah, Thomas is here.”

“Mulvaney?” Remi asked. “Holy shit. It must be really bad.”

“Let’s try and figure this out so we have something good to tell them,” Payton said.

Remi nodded.

Payton read off the date and time of the first voice recording, then watched as Remi typed in the date in question. “Let’s see who our mystery guest is.”

“What are you boys doing?”

Remi and Payton swung their chairs around at the sound of the intruder. Pike stood beside the door, arms crossed, disapproving scowl on his face. Payton’s heart rate began to gallop—not with fear but with excitement. Remi jerked his head towards Payton, then back to Pike, who was watching them both carefully.

“Nobody was supposed to leave the gym,” he said, taking a few steps deeper into the space.

It was Remi who shrugged, his voice wavering just the slightest bit as he said, “Not to put too fine a point on it, but you’re also not in the gym. So, you, too, are violating the order.”

Payton’s brows shot up in surprise. Remi was weirdly sassy today. It was…disconcerting.

“How did you get out of the gym?” Pike asked. “You’re supposed to have people watching you.”

This time, it was Payton who snarked, “Well, clearly, they’re not doing a very good job.”

“The meeting’s over. Boone’s gonna freak when he realizes he lost you. So will CID for that matter,” Pike said. “You clearly didn’t get permission before you left.” His gaze snagged on the screens, frowning. “What is it you’re looking for?”

Remi turned back to his computer, mashing his finger down on the mouse button that sped up the film. “We’re going over security footage of the library.”

Why had Remi told him that? Was he baiting him? Hoping he’d make a move?

“Why the library?” Pike asked, voice steady, but eyes narrowed at the back of Remi’s head.

“Someone was blackmailing Navy,” Remi said. “We have the calls to prove it. I traced the IP address, and it led to a specific library computer. Once I find the footage, I’ll know who’s behind the blackmail, the emails, and Navy’s death. You know, just in case you wanna confess now.”

“What?” Pike asked.

“Kidding,” Remi said, voice devoid of any humor.

“Ah…funny,” Pike shot back, moving closer.

Payton kept his eyes on Pike, watching him like a coiled snake as he paced, arms crossed. He wore jeans and a white button down with the sleeves rolled to the elbows. Was he carrying a gun under the loose shirt? Did he have an ankle holster? How much danger was Remi in right now?

“Got it,” Remi cried, but then his shoulders sagged. “Fuck. Look.”

Payton rolled his chair slightly closer, ignoring the chair now squished between them. The terminal in question was almost just outside the camera’s view, showing only the barest sliver of the top of someone’s head. They had dark hair, but that was about as much as Payton could say for certain. It could have been a man or a woman. Hell, it could have been Bigfoot. There was just no way to tell.

“Are there any other angles?” Payton asked.

“There are three other cameras in the library,” Remi said. “I’ll just have to look through the footage one at a time. I was just hoping we’d get lucky.”

Pike looked between the two, then settled on Payton. “Maybe you should get back to the gym so Boone doesn’t send out a search party for you.”

Payton gave him a tight smile. “I sent him a message telling him exactly where I am. He’ll come to me when he’s done. Remi needs my help. You don’t have to stay, though. We’ll tell you when we find something.”

Pike’s return smile looked equally forced. “I think Boone would prefer I stay where I am so he knows you’re safe.”

Was he safe with Pike? He’d hit him over the head and drugged him. Maybe. Who else could it be? Payton’s gaze slid to Remi again. What if this was all some elaborate set-up between them? Jesus, Payton was losing it. Remi’s fingers were flying fast over the keys, and he was paying little attention to Pike despite Payton having told him their suspicions. Maybe the kid really was a psychopath. Or maybe he’d just been sleeping with one for too long.

Once more, Remi pulled up the security footage and made a frustrated sound. “This angle is the other side of the library. I can’t even see the computers.”

Payton glanced at Pike, who appeared to have forgotten Payton existed, looming over Remi’s shoulder as he moved onto the third library security camera. Payton pulled his phone free, then hit record, setting it between his legs on the chair.

“Did you really work for DARPA?” Payton asked.

Pike’s gaze jerked to him. “How did you know that?”

“Suri told Park. That’s why he trusted you with the lab experiment. The one that almost got Lucy blown up,” he said, tone borderline taunting.

“Lucy would have caused that explosion regardless of who was teaching. We hadn’t even started the experiment. She decided to light the burner without checking the glass before she set it on top. There must have been something highly flammable in it because it went up within seconds. I gave the remnants to CID to see if they could isolate the substance. I would have done it myself, but you know…we don’t have a lab anymore.”

“What if I told you that we know what the substance was?” Payton asked.

“Yeah?” Pike countered, tilting his head and raising a single dark brow. “What’s that?”

Payton watched him carefully as he answered, “MCA-X and DMTa-47 mixed with scopolamine.”

“I know what scopolamine is, but what the hell are the other two? Those aren’t any chemicals I’ve heard of.”

“No?” Payton countered.

Pike glowered at him. “That’s what I said, yeah.”

“The first is a derivative of an industrial adhesive. The second is made from DMT. Someone dosed me with it yesterday after I saw them kill Navy.”

“How did…” Pike started then trailed off. “How do you know all this? Neither of those chemical compounds exist outside of research labs.”

“Someone at the VA analyzed a patch the killer stuck behind my ear.”

Pike stiffened. “Are you sure?”

“Pretty sure, yeah,” Payton said. “Why, does it sound familiar to you?”

Pike nodded. “Of course, it does. I was at DARPA when it was first proposed.”

Payton raised both brows. “What a weird coincidence.”

Pike moved closer. “Are you accusing me of killing Navy and drugging you?”

“Just stating the facts,” Payton retorted, giving him what he hoped seemed like an affable smile.

“What facts do you have that give you the right to look at me that way?” Pike snarled.

“How many other people have the credentials necessary to create a drug like that? Other than you and Park?”

Before he could answer, the door opened. Suri glided in wearing an ankle-length terracotta-colored skirt, a black shirt, and a brown blazer. She was always dressed like she was expecting to meet paparazzi.

“Are we having a meeting, boys?” she asked.

“Last one,” Remi muttered almost to himself. “If this one doesn’t have the right angle, we’re fucked.”

Pike moved closer, temporarily distracting Remi, who whipped his head around to glower at him over his shoulder. Pike didn’t notice, eyes glued to the security footage playing out in front of him.

Suri tsked, taking in Remi’s almost haggard appearance. “ Ai hai , Remi. Look at you. You haven’t slept a wink, have you?”

Payton’s heart began to gallop in his chest. Remi’s eyes went wide, his gaze jerking to Payton’s.

Ai hai, Navy. Look at you…

That was what the caller had said. At the time, Payton had chalked it up to bad tape quality. A choppy word he didn’t quite catch, but now…now, it was clear. It was Hindi. The caller was speaking Hindi. The caller was…

“Suri?” Pike said, staring at the screen.

Payton should have kept his eyes on her, but the need to see her on the screen—to prove his own brand new theory—was too great. It was Suri. She wore a black hoodie, now with the hood up, but there was no missing her perfect bone structure or the long braid that curled over her shoulder.

She turned to walk away, and it occurred to Payton then that she looked just like Justice from the back. Hoodie, yoga pants… Had she been hoping people would mistake her for Justice? Maybe they had. Hadn’t Gift said he saw Justice going into an apartment?

Suri gave a long-suffering sigh. “Well, this does make things considerably messier.”

They all turned to look at her only to find her pointing a gun at them.

“Suri, what the fuck?” Pike asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Sorry,” she said, wincing as she pulled the trigger, the bullet piercing Pike’s chest, red bleeding across his white shirt like alcohol in ink.

Pike stared down at his chest for a good thirty seconds before his legs gave out, and he crumpled to the ground.

Remi jerked to his feet, but Suri shook her head. “Uh, uh, uh. Sit down, beta . Unless you’d like to join him.”

Remi dropped back into his chair, staring down at the widely spreading bloodstain on Pike’s shirt. “He’s going to die!”

Payton hit the call button on his phone, then closed his legs, hoping it muffled any ringing sounds and the sound of Boone’s voice should he answer. Please, let him answer. He needed to hear this. He needed to hear what was going on. Even if Payton died, at least Suri wouldn’t get away with this.

She scoffed. “I should hope so. That’s why I shot him in the chest.”

“I’m lost,” Payton said, drawing Suri’s attention from Remi to himself. “Why are you doing this?”

“That’s a very long story.” She walked to the door scanner and smashed it. “But I suppose we’ll have time.”

They watched as she squatted beside the storage cabinet, pulling a bag from the back, then removing a metal object that she slipped over the large hinge. It made it virtually impossible to open the heavy steel door from the outside.

She was barricading them in.