Mal hustled back to the driver’s seat and quickly dialed Force. “I need a pickup and some sort of sedative that’ll wear off in about three or four hours.” He was more than two hours away from headquarters. “And a first aid kit. Can somebody meet me halfway?” He didn’t want to continue hitting George in the head to keep him out. Not right now anyway.
“Affirmative,” Force said. “In fact, Raider is in Minuteville right now dealing with the local cops. They’ve thrown up a bit of a hissy fit about our taking their collar, and he’s smoothing over the issue. I’ll have him drop by the local hospital, and he’ll meet you in about thirty minutes.”
“Affirmative.” Mal hung up and turned the key, pulling the van back onto the road. “Orchid? Tell me everything I don’t know.”
The woman kept the Taser pointed at the unconscious George. “Like what?”
“This big attack. Is it still going to happen?” he asked.
“Yes. Prophet has been having a lot of closed-door meetings lately, and something is definitely up.” Orchid wiped her nose on her sleeve. “I heard him say something about Friday being a holy day.”
It was Wednesday night. “Do you have any idea what he wants to do?”
“No.” Orchid sniffed. “I don’t. Whenever something big happens, he calls an all-family meeting and announces it then. I think that’s happening tomorrow. We’ve had extra food and drink brought in.”
Mal had to get back inside. But he had George to deal with, and what about Pippa? “Do you know anything about Isaac’s bride?”
“Not much.”
“What about Pi—I mean, Mary. Do you know anything about the girl Mary besides what you already told Angus?” Just thinking about Pippa made his chest ache. How deep was she into this shit? Not at all, if he had to bet.
“I knew Mary,” Orchid said. “She was one of the first to leave. One day she was there, and the next, the Prophet said she was hiding in the world to create a way for us.”
Mal’s temples began to hurt. “Had you heard from her since?”
“I haven’t, but that doesn’t mean Prophet hasn’t. I just don’t know. I told Angus I didn’t know.” Orchid’s voice rose.
Mal nodded. He’d have to find out about Pippa on his own. “Okay. Run me through everything you know again, and don’t leave anything out. Even a small detail might help.” Friday was too close. What if there wasn’t enough time to get the salient details? How many people were in jeopardy right now?
Orchid told him everything she could think of, and soon Mal pulled the van into the parking lot of an abandoned fast-food joint at the edge of Minuteville. Raider was waiting in a nondescript white compact car. He slid out, looking way too big for the vehicle, his movements strong and sure. Definitely graceful.
Mal met him at the back door of the van. “What do you have?”
“Propofol,” Raider said, taking out a syringe.
Mal paused. “Seriously?” No wonder Force had sent the guy to a hospital. It wasn’t as if they could’ve gotten the sedative at a local pharmacy. “How did you get your hands on that?”
Raider shrugged. “We all have gifts.” He filled the syringe. “Take off his shoe. We’ll inject him between the toes.”
Apparently, clean-cut Raider had some experiences Mal wouldn’t have guessed. He followed instructions. “How long will he be out?”
“If he survives the concussion you gave him, you have about three to four hours,” Raider said, tucking the drugs back into his pocket. “He’ll be confused and probably not remember much, so you can create whatever memories you want. If he awakens.”
“Do you have the first aid kit?” Mal asked.
“Yeah. Picked one up at the hospital.” Raider jogged over to his car.
Mal helped Orchid from the back of the van and then shrugged off his shirt. He took his knife from his boot. “This is gonna hurt.” He sliced his upper arm, above his shirtsleeve. Blood flowed. Taking the knife, he dipped it, then swung it around the interior of the van.
“What are you doing?” Orchid gasped.
Damn, his shoulder hurt. “Creating a death scene.” He flung more blood.
Raider jogged up. “Ah. Okay. You need more?”
Mal leaned over and let his blood pool on the ground. “Nope. That should do it. Just want to show a bit of a fight. I’ll tell him I strangled her and she fought back pretty well.” He accepted the bandage from Raider and slapped it into place. Then he turned toward the woman. “You’re very brave. Thank you.”
She shook her head. “I’m not.”
