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I counted a hundred paces off inthe end of the hall, when a hand reached out of the darkness and grabbed ht space--a closet? My heart was still fluttering when the door clicked shut behind ht, huh?"

The only way I’d been able to keep ether these past teeks had been to screw a lid down over every terrifying ih, I’d been shaken so badly that it was only a matter of time before I exploded I just wished it wasn’t now, and that it didn’t coet a word out

"Ge ers A fla the craed to squeeze out "I overheard Sen and the othersThey aren’t going to--we aren’t going to the Ranch I looked in her head andthey’re going to--they’re going to--"

"Take it fro you heard the agents say What you saw"

I repeated it, word for word I told the to take one or two of us kids in each car with them, how they planned to wait until ere an hour or two outside of the city before subduing each kid The exchange of flesh and bone for blood uns they’d buy, the explosives they’d set--they were going after Gray where they assuton, DC

Cole’s expression was shuttered, closed off in a way that Liae If I hadn’t seen his hand spasm, I wouldn’t have known he was furious until he spoke For a long ti at all I felt a trickle of sweat run down my face and was tempted, for a moment, to open the door and let the cool air in

Finally, he said, "I’ll handle it"

"We will handle it But you have to decide," I told hi to have a foot on both sides of the line Decide if you’re with us or you’re with the pissed that I’d suggested otherwise "You know I--this affects eles, didn’t I? You trying to make me out to be a liar?"

"No, I just--" I sucked in a deep breath "You won’t tell the others what you are You won’t even tell Liam You haven’t looked at the cure research since that first night"

"Oh, gee, could it be because I’ not to draw attention to the fact that I have a personal investhtful freak powers?" He let the flao out for a moment and then relit it for e without the other agents wondering why, or without theaaive the research back now"

"I am well aware of that, and I’ve taken precautions Their nairls were Greens With photographic ave it to theraents keep the backpack--it’ll help sell e’re trying to do," he said I kept ht and looked just past his head, where I wouldn’t have to both listen to the Southern drawl and see that smile, the patented Stewart char you aren’t going to like it"

"Way to set it up for me"

"I’m serious now, Gem This has to be between you and me, understand? It won’t work otherwise Proet rid of us"

Cole offered a hand, and I hesitated before taking it I held it long enough to feel the natural, innate heat of him warm the air around us

Clancy had told me once that there had to be a natural hierarchy of people with Psi abilities; that those with thethe others, sih to question the Cole’s hand, I saw that was true, but for a different reason We were the ones who saw the full spectruiven; we’d been feared and hated, and we’d feared and hated ourselves Neither of us wanted e had; we’d never try to keep our powers or abuse our position for absolutely longer than we had to And on a basic level, the ones with the most power had to be out front, if only because we’d have the best shot at protecting the others

I squeezed his hand A look of relief and gratitude passed over his features before he could steady theant nonchalance

"What’s our next step, then?" I asked "How are we going to acco to go?"

"We are going to the Ranch," Cole said "They are going to Kansas HQ with the rest of the agents They get to wash their hands of us, but they don’t get the dae that?" I said