AMES: You know what? I wish I had fucking killed him. Would serve him right.
BETHANY: No. I’m not thirsty. Thank you. Does my mom really have to be in here?
INTERVIEWER: You’re fifteen years old.
BETHANY: Yes. So they keep telling me.
DARA: You should at least keep him suppressed for his own sake. He’s going fevermad now. I’m sure the doctors have already told you.
INTERVIEWER: That’s none of your concern.
DARA: If Lehrer gets his power back, it’ll be all of our concern.
LEO: I won’t say anything without a lawyer present.
INTERVIEWER: You know, it always helps to look like you’ve been collaborative. Juries like to see collaboration. Only guilty people won’t talk without their lawyers.
[Leo does not respond.]
INTERVIEWER: Mr. Zang ...
LEO: Zhang. Can you at least get my name right?
INTERVIEWER: Mr. Zhang, will you collaborate?
LEO: I’ll happily collaborate. With my lawyer.
DARA: Did you put Lehrer in the same hospital asNoam?
INTERVIEWER: Mr. Washington, how did you even get tangled up with all of this? You seem like a good kid, from a good family.
TAYE: Constantly underestimated.Constantly.
INTERVIEWER: Can you elaborate?
TAYE: Um, yeah. Thought you’d never ask.
Like, I mean, half of Level IV disappeared. Dara was dead, Noam was constantly gone. Then Ames disappears. Bethany starts acting shady. I figured it had something to do with Lehrer—he’s the common denominator. Something’s up with him and Noam, Ames hates him, Dara hated him. But if I could find Noam, I could get to the bottom of it. It seemed like a safe bet Noam’d be at the CNU speech, what with Noam and Lehrer all attached at the hip these days.
INTERVIEWER: So you just came to the speechhopingto run into Mr. Álvaro.
TAYE: I was on security detail. My parents are both professors at CNU, heard the team was looking for more witchings. And I mean, I’m Level IV. My security clearance isbomb.
INTERVIEWER: I don’t know what that means.
TAYE: It’s an idiom. It’s vintage. Means I’m the best.
INTERVIEWER: Okay. And how did you find Mr. Álvaro and Mr. Shirazi in the crowd?
TAYE: I watched TV.
BETHANY: Is Ames okay?
INTERVIEWER: She’s fine.
BETHANY: I want to see Ames.
INTERVIEWER: Once we’re finished with this interview, I’ll see what I can do.
