twenty. “What’s going on?” She opened the door and let Ghost and Samantha out while the driver made change.
“Are all these people shoppers?” Ghost asked, adjusting the backpack on his shoulder, heavy with weapons from Eden.
“Nah. These guys are picketing that, er, pharma company. All bullshit. These hipster tree huggers think Harrington created that bird flu goin’ round in order to sell the cure.” He handed her eight dollars change.
Bonnie pocketed the five and handed him back the three singles. “You don’t think Harrington’s behind the bird flu?”
“Listen, girly, I don’t know nothin’ about these conspiracy theories but when I got sick, I took the Elysium and now I’m better. Thank you, Harrington.” He made a rough salute with his meaty hand.
A sharp tug on her elbow reminded Bonnie they needed to keep moving. “Right,” she said to the cabbie. “Glad you’re feeling better.”
The driver nodded and pulled back into traffic.
“Looks like Harrington is in deep doo-doo over Elysium,” Samantha said, eyeing the picketers as she blended into the crowd.
“Well, you heard Mom; that’s why we’re here,” Bonnie whispered. “Malini suspects there are Watchers behind this, and we know Lucifer’s behind the Watchers. We gotta try to find the source. If we can kill the Watchers influencing the executives at Harrington, we might get a foothold in this war.”
The woman next to her thrust her sign in the air and shouted, “Elysium is poison! Elysium is poison!” Her sign had a giant “E” with a red slash through it and smaller letters that said Elysium is more addictive than heroin, cocaine, and meth combined.
Ghost leaned in and whispered into Bonnie’s ear. “I’m going to blip to the front and see what I can see. I’ll text you.”
She nodded, as did her sister on his other side. Then he was gone. The crowd pressed in around them. Slowly, they snaked through the mass of chanting bodies and bouncing signs toward the front of the building.
“I’m scared, Bon.” Sam squeezed her hand, muscling her way through the throngs of people. “These people look really angry.”
“They’re not angry at us,” Bonnie said.
Sam paused in the crowd and cocked her head to the side, meeting her sister’s gaze.
“I won’t let anything happen to you, Sam.”
Jolting, Sam fumbled for the phone vibrating in her pocket. “Jesse says there are cops upfront enforcing a barricade so that workers can come and go from the building. They are verifying everyone. The lower levels aren’t even Harrington-owned, but everyone who gets in has to show credentials.”
“Oh,” Bonnie said. “So how do we know who to look like to get in?
Sam shrugged.
They reached Ghost at the front of the crowd and pressed against the barricade. “I could blink inside the building,” he murmured.
“Don’t be stupid,” Bonnie whispered in his ear. “If Sam and I go and get into trouble, you can always blink in to help us. Unfortunately, that scenario doesn’t work the other way around. You’ve got to be our backup, Jesse.”
Slap . Sam’s hand smacked Bonnie’s arm.
“Ow!” Bonnie turned toward her sister, who was sniffing the air like a dog. “What’s your problem?”
“Do you smell that?”
All three turned their heads toward the front doors to the Harrington skyscraper. A security guard held the door open for an important-looking man exiting the building. The man paused outside and said, “Thank you, Fredrick,” in an entitled and condescending tone that didn’t match the words spoken. Bonnie watched his straight white teeth flash with every word. The man smoothed the silky fabric of his double-breasted navy suit arrogantly, and the professional cut of his black hair didn’t move, even when the wind came off the lake and blew Bonnie’s red locks back. That breeze carried with it what her sister had smelled, the scent of Watcher.
Bonnie locked onto the man, scanning him from head
“Are all these people shoppers?” Ghost asked, adjusting the backpack on his shoulder, heavy with weapons from Eden.
“Nah. These guys are picketing that, er, pharma company. All bullshit. These hipster tree huggers think Harrington created that bird flu goin’ round in order to sell the cure.” He handed her eight dollars change.
Bonnie pocketed the five and handed him back the three singles. “You don’t think Harrington’s behind the bird flu?”
“Listen, girly, I don’t know nothin’ about these conspiracy theories but when I got sick, I took the Elysium and now I’m better. Thank you, Harrington.” He made a rough salute with his meaty hand.
A sharp tug on her elbow reminded Bonnie they needed to keep moving. “Right,” she said to the cabbie. “Glad you’re feeling better.”
The driver nodded and pulled back into traffic.
“Looks like Harrington is in deep doo-doo over Elysium,” Samantha said, eyeing the picketers as she blended into the crowd.
“Well, you heard Mom; that’s why we’re here,” Bonnie whispered. “Malini suspects there are Watchers behind this, and we know Lucifer’s behind the Watchers. We gotta try to find the source. If we can kill the Watchers influencing the executives at Harrington, we might get a foothold in this war.”
The woman next to her thrust her sign in the air and shouted, “Elysium is poison! Elysium is poison!” Her sign had a giant “E” with a red slash through it and smaller letters that said Elysium is more addictive than heroin, cocaine, and meth combined.
Ghost leaned in and whispered into Bonnie’s ear. “I’m going to blip to the front and see what I can see. I’ll text you.”
She nodded, as did her sister on his other side. Then he was gone. The crowd pressed in around them. Slowly, they snaked through the mass of chanting bodies and bouncing signs toward the front of the building.
“I’m scared, Bon.” Sam squeezed her hand, muscling her way through the throngs of people. “These people look really angry.”
“They’re not angry at us,” Bonnie said.
Sam paused in the crowd and cocked her head to the side, meeting her sister’s gaze.
“I won’t let anything happen to you, Sam.”
Jolting, Sam fumbled for the phone vibrating in her pocket. “Jesse says there are cops upfront enforcing a barricade so that workers can come and go from the building. They are verifying everyone. The lower levels aren’t even Harrington-owned, but everyone who gets in has to show credentials.”
“Oh,” Bonnie said. “So how do we know who to look like to get in?
Sam shrugged.
They reached Ghost at the front of the crowd and pressed against the barricade. “I could blink inside the building,” he murmured.
“Don’t be stupid,” Bonnie whispered in his ear. “If Sam and I go and get into trouble, you can always blink in to help us. Unfortunately, that scenario doesn’t work the other way around. You’ve got to be our backup, Jesse.”
Slap . Sam’s hand smacked Bonnie’s arm.
“Ow!” Bonnie turned toward her sister, who was sniffing the air like a dog. “What’s your problem?”
“Do you smell that?”
All three turned their heads toward the front doors to the Harrington skyscraper. A security guard held the door open for an important-looking man exiting the building. The man paused outside and said, “Thank you, Fredrick,” in an entitled and condescending tone that didn’t match the words spoken. Bonnie watched his straight white teeth flash with every word. The man smoothed the silky fabric of his double-breasted navy suit arrogantly, and the professional cut of his black hair didn’t move, even when the wind came off the lake and blew Bonnie’s red locks back. That breeze carried with it what her sister had smelled, the scent of Watcher.
Bonnie locked onto the man, scanning him from head
Similar Books
