“You think she would send out a fake note from my brother? Does she even know that House Gray cares that my brother is missing?”
“Probably not. My point is, information is easy to fake, and House Orange has its enemies.”
“All right, I can see that. I’ll do a little looking into it too.”
“Don’t.”
I didn’t like his tone of voice. “In case you haven’t figured it out yet? You’re not going to get very far ordering me around.”
“Just . . . let us look into it first. If this came through yesterday, we have some time. Let us double-check the information before we act on it.”
“He isn’t your brother.”
We stood there while that truth and my worry filled the silence between us.
“I’ll call Oscar,” Abraham said. “Give me this grace at least: let me confirm where the message originated from and what it contained. Then we’ll act on it. Will you agree to that?”
I hated the idea of Quinten being held against his will for a minute longer than necessary, but I didn’t know if he was being held against his will. He’d been gone three years. It could be because he was so deep in research that time had slipped away from him.
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll wait until we have more information.” Following rules was harder than I expected.
“Good. Anything else?”
“This celebrity thing. That’s . . . something.”
“Does it bother you?”
“No, I just don’t really understand it.”
“People need a thing to hold on to. A hope.”
“They see you as a hero.”
“My hero days are long ago and forgotten.”
“I still don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing here.”
“You’re here to meet the other galvanized and see how these things go. Be nice. Or at least be polite.” He started back toward the private room. “Coming?”
“I’ll be right there. I need to use the ladies’ room.” I walked down to the ladies’ room and pushed through that door into a clean, quiet space. Toilets and sinks to the right; a cluster of couches in the silence of the low-lit room to the left.
I used the toilet, then washed my hands and stared at myself in the mirror. Abraham had good intentions. He’d done right by me so far, including throwing House Gray into conflict with House Red over the Fessler compound.
I didn’t doubt his intentions. But I doubted the speed at which he could gather information on my missing brother.
“Sorry, Abraham,” I said as I dried off my hands. “I know I promised I wouldn’t do anything. But I never promised House Brown wouldn’t do anything.”
23
No one knows what caused the galvanized to offer a treaty. Some say it was the cost of human lives they could no longer bear. Some say the Houses had threatened global annihilation.—2160
—from the journals of L.U.C.
Ihad to stand on the arm of the couch in the little side room and press the old walkie-talkie against the wall to catch a spot clear enough to send a signal to Boston Sue.
She finally picked up. “Matilda? Is that you, baby sweet?”
“Yes. I don’t have much time. Is Grandma okay?”
