The Nightworld - Jack Blaine [47]
Kath gets up to go check the stairwell door for Zeke. Lara waits for her to leave before she says anything.
“Zeke will never go for it.” She scrunches Tank’s fur on his shoulders. “He believes Meagan is still alive. He wants to find her. I think that’s where he is now, really. Not that he isn’t keeping an eye out for food or whatever, but I think he’s out trying to find her.”
“Do you think she’s still alive?”
“Honestly?” She looks sad. “No. I think they probably killed her pretty soon after they took her. Or traded her to somebody else who did.”
I’m thinking about that, about what “pretty soon after” means in a world like the one down on the street, where kids are cutting off fingers, when Kath comes back into the room, Zeke right behind her. He’s empty-handed, but he’s flushed with excitement. He looks like he’s been running.
“Listen.” He paces the room, agitated. Tank watches him, ready to growl. “I was at the Mexican grocery store, you know that one on Third? I thought I would chance it, see if anybody overlooked a couple of cans of something. And I ran into these two guys.”
“Crazies?” Kath looks scared.
“I don’t know.” Zeke looks almost manic. “They weren’t in the getup—no black-jacket stuff. They almost got the drop on me, but I managed to get one of them covered. I told the other guy I’d kill his buddy if he made a move.”
“Zeke, sit down. You’re freaking Tank out.” Kath pats the seat next to her.
He ignores Kath and continues to pace. “These guys—one of them looked to me like one of the guys that night . . . the night they took Meagan. I decided to interrogate them. So I asked them if they knew about her. And they said they did. They said they can get to her!” He looks at me, a weird intensity in his eyes.
I don’t think I like where this is going.
“Wait, you think one of them was one of the crazies from the night Brian died?” Lara is shaking her head.
“I know he was, Lara!” Zeke is breathing like he just ran a race. “They can get Meagan. Not for nothing, of course, but I told them we had something they might want.”
“Like what?” I’m afraid I already know the answer.
“Your thing.” Zeke looks defiant. “That thing that makes light. I’m going to trade it for Meagan.”
“Wait.” I’m not about to offer up my dad’s device for a scam. “You told them about Meagan, Zeke. They didn’t tell you. They just said what you wanted to hear once they knew you had something they wanted. There’s no reason to believe they know anything about her.”
Zeke stops pacing for a minute. He looks confused, but then he shakes his head. “No. No, they knew. And my sister’s life is worth more than that stupid toy of yours.” He stands in front of me, towering over me. “Those guys want it. When I told them it made light, they were all over it. They said they would get Meagan, no problem, and I know they can. They had walkie-talkies, and they contacted their headquarters right in front of me.”
The sound of static, the clipped orders coming over the two-way radio in my bedroom, the smell of the gunpowder in the air when they were gone, leaving Dad dead on the floor.
“Did you tell them about this apartment?”
“What, do I look stupid or—”
“Did you tell them where we are, Zeke?” I stand up and meet him head-to-head.
“Zeke.” Kath stands and goes to him. She turns him toward her and takes his hands, tries to steady him. “Honey, it’s okay. We all miss Meagan, but she’s gone, Zeke. She’s dead.”
The slap comes lightning fast. “Don’t you ever say that.” Zeke’s voice is low, and he’s shaking now. I put myself between him and Kath.
“You need to go calm down. Go calm down.”
“Go fuck yourself.” Zeke storms out, slamming the apartment door behind him. We all hear the door to the stairwell slam too.
He still isn’t back after dinner, and Kath is practically beside herself. She’s also got a huge black eye from where Zeke slapped her. Lara has been switching out cool cloths for her, but all Kath wants to do is check the stairwell door to see if he’s come back.