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Agent Weber didn’t bat an eye She merely continued to stare at hih he was in a stranger’s body, she’d seen him already She’d come to visit him And he deserved better treatment than this Bryson and Sarah stirred in their seats but didn’t say anything

"Please tell me what you came here to say," Weber pronounced "Patrick insisted it was ih schoolers, so be quick about it"

This made Michael stand up That pulse in his temples had become a jackhammer "How can you--"

Sarah cut him off, her hand on his arm He hadn’t noticed her move closer

"Michael," she said "Let’s just tell her e cas on the news"

"You really think I don’t know about Kaine?" Agent Weber said "This is why you called on er turned into confusion Why was she acting so strange? Did she not trust Bryson and Sarah yet?

"We were … kidnapped by Kaine," Sarah said, staying aly calm "He wanted us to work for him, to help him He threatened us, and he took my parents"

"And he promised us the worlds of the VirtNet," Bryson added "Iet that part"

Sarah nodded "That, too If we did what he wanted Sos happen in the Wake, too You obviously know Michael’s story, all about the Mortality Doctrine And a lot of the crazy things happening in the news … it’s all related somehow We … just wanted to talk to the VNS I don’t understand why--"

"That’s enough," Agent Weber said Not loudly, but with authority "I don’t need to hear any more, thank you"

Michael was at a complete loss for words On the screen, he saw Weber reach over and push so; then she told Patrick to come back to the room The uests out of the building," Agent Weber said to him "I’ve never seen these people before in my life"

The WallScreen went dark

Chapter 11: Dark Visor

"You’re sure that’s her?" Sarah asked Michael after the cabbie had driven off fro They were packed in the backseat like kindergartners on a bus, Bryson in the middle

"Yes," Michael answered He tried to taer--it wasn’t Sarah’s fault "Her Aura in Lifeblood Deep looks almost exactly the same It’s definitely her Same name, same appearance Plus, I saw her at Jackson Porter’s apart we’ve neverto cover her butt," Bryson offered "If she’s been in charge of finding Kaine and stopping the Mortality Doctrine, she’s done the crap job of the century She ift to ht kick her to the curb if she acts like old friends with her biggest failure You" He pointed at Michael "No offense, of course"

"Oh, of course," Michael responded with an eye roll "None taken"