“What in the hell are you doing?”
I launch myself at him, hitting him in the head, the stomach, and pretty much any other spot I can. I hate him—both of them for doing this to us. For killing Agent Parker. I want to hurt Thomas, too, but Vader’s the only one in front of me right now.
He pins my arms and holds me tight. Teeny rushes to my side and starts kicking him and yelling, “Don’t touch her! Leave her alone!”
Vader pushes Teeny away and she falls back on the mattress. “Stop fighting me or someone could get hurt. I won’t hit a girl but I will go rough your boyfriend up instead. Maybe that will make you think twice before you attack me,” he says.
I stop fighting him immediately.
His grip on my arms remains strong. His face is close. I search through the opening of the mask around the eyes and mouth. I know this person. I’ve met him before.
“Who are you?” I ask.
He shoves me back and I land next to Teeny.
“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stop banging on these walls. I may not be the one to come check what’s going on next time.” He turns away and pulls the door shut.
“Teeny, did you recognize that guy’s voice? Do you think he’s one of the suits?”
Thomas told him to call Hammond so I know it’s not him. For the second time, I wonder if there could be more than one mole.
Teeny pulls her knees in close and props her chin on top of them. “Maybe. He scares me with that mask on.”
I nudge her arm and say, “He didn’t seem to scare you too bad. You were pretty awesome with those kicks.”
She smiles and I feel a little lighter inside. I throw an arm around her shoulder and pull her in close. “I shouldn’t have attacked him. I’m just really worried about Ethan.”
“Well, Ethan said to be smart about this and I don’t think that was very smart.” She’s got a little bit of the bratty tone to her voice and I love hearing it. It’s normal Teeny—not scary calm Teeny.
“I know. We both need to be careful and use our heads.” I pause a moment then ask, “Do you want to know what Thomas told me? About why we’re here?”
She picks at her thumbnail and creases race across her forehead as she studies her cuticle. “Ummm…I guess.”
I repeat what I told Ethan, leaving out what Thomas said about her, as simply as I can.
“So there’s another assassin looking for us. Because that’s what Thomas is, right? An assassin.”
“Yes, I think that’s what he is.”
“And this other assassin is trying to take Thomas’s place. And to do that he has to kill you and Ethan and Thomas and the guy in the mask?”
“Vader.”
She looks at me for the first time since we started talking, letting out a small laugh. “Yeah, I guess he looks a little bit like Darth Vader.”
“Well, I figured he needed a name. Thomas isn’t Thomas’s real name but we have to call him something, so why not give masked man a name, too?”
“Who do you think is going to win? Thomas or the other guy?”
I don’t want to say that I think whoever wins probably won’t let us live in the end, so I say, “I’m betting on us. I think in the end, we’ll win and go back home.”
She smiles again and I shake the sheets out, remaking the bed.
“What’s that?” Teeny asks.
She’s pointing to the ceiling where rough boards are now visible.
“Just some old boards that are behind the walls,” I answer.
