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"He’s gone," Clancy h in a weak iaze traveled froround to where Clancy still sat in the booth, rolling his eyes to high heaven in exasperation Then Lia fury stretched tight over his features I saw his decision there, read it in the way his fist was co up for blood So did Clancy

"Don’t--!" I shouted Lia up, as Clancy sunk deep into his round with no way of catching himself

I scrambled ontohis arms over his chest The blood from his wound dripped down onto Liariony, and I kneas different than before; Clancy’s cool s than it had been at East River

"Stop it!" I said, forcing un tucked up under his chin "Let hio--Clancy!"

I’rip I letto do to him And Clancy, he’d come to realize, just as I had, that I wouldn’t kill him to protect myself, but I would to save the people I cared about And if he couldn’t invadeer darkened his eyes as he stepped back, jaw clenched

I forced hi off My hands shook, not with fear but fro him shrink back, without even a word between us, was intoxicating I would do it--if he tried to co he’d see was the set out of there While we still had the flash drive and the upper hand

I saw the thought flash behind Clancy’s eyes, the way his whole body see to say to keep himself alive "If you shoot me now, you’ll never knohat’ll happen to your friends back in California Not before they die, too"

TWENTY-SEVEN

IT WAS JUDE WHO FOUND HIS VOICE FIRST, weak as it was I watched his hand fly up, pressing the co about?"

I drew the barrel of the gun closer to Clancy’s face "Answer him"

In that moment it became just as clear to me as it was to Clancy that he had never been in a situation like this before--one he couldn’t wriggle out of, let alone control Reluctance and frustration burned an ugly expression on his face "I have a source in the League who says that they’re going forith their plans to blow those kids to hell You kill me, and you have no idea about when or how it happens"

I shook my head, but inwardly, my stomach clenched "Who’s the source? You could have pulled those plans off a computer network for all we know"