EUNOIA ━ diego hargreeves

53

CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
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THEY MANAGED to find a mechanic shop a few miles down the road, and Freya was grateful she'd stashed a few granola bars for her to snack on the way there. She wished she had something warm, like a hot bowl of soup and some hot chocolate. Her toes were frozen together, and the blanket didn't seem to have much insulation now that it had been dropped in the snow.

She stood outside of the shop, one hand in her coat and the other holding the wrapper as she chewed, watching Diego breathe down the mechanic's neck, and tried not to roll her eyes. God forbid anything happened to his precious van—as if it hadn't been destroyed already.

"Hey, do you know what's strange?" Luther asked, coming outside to stand with the rest of them—Diego followed closely behind.

Instead of sitting besides Freya on the empty spot on the crate, he remained standing at her side, hand on her shoulder. Despite the cold and her never-ending shivering, her chest warmed at his touch.

"All those people back in New Grumpson," he went on. "They were wearing Hargreeves branded military gear."

"Luther, the entire goddamned place was a Hargreeves town," Allison said.

"Yeah," Ben agreed. "It's like it was designed to keep Jennifer hostage."

"What's so important about her, anyway?" Lila wondered, taking a bite of Freya's granola bar and earning herself a slow blink. Lila resumed on like nothing happened.

"Isn't it obvious? She's one of us."

"No, no way."

"I mean, it would make sense. Why else would dad build a Truman Show around her?"

"The guy played us," Ben stated, hands shoved into his pockets. "All right? Nothing Jennifer said jibed with Sy's story."

"Well, they're both gone now. So that leaves us with two shitty options. We either go after the Keepers, or worse, we talk to Dad."

A collective groan and numerous scoffs followed Viktor's words, and Freya lifted her gaze to see how Diego felt about it. Well, she knew how he'd feel, but reading his expression would be much easier than asking him.

"Come on, man," Diego grumbled. And Freya had her answer.

"I think we need to split up," Five said. "Me and Lila will follow up with the Keepers. The rest of you will talk to dad."

"I would personally rather avoid seeing Mr Monocle," Freya crossed her arms. "Diego and I will go with you."

"And I'm going after Jennifer," Ben declared. Freya shot him a confused look.

"It's better if we stick together," Viktor insisted. Freya was inclined to agree, but she bit her tongue.

"No it's not," Ben snorted. "And this little field trip proved it."

"You're awfully gung ho for a person that didn't even want to go in the first place," Diego mused.

"You're all a bunch of clowns. I'm going on my own."

"Ben!" Luther called, watching as he strode down the road. "Don't you walk away from me!"

When he got no response, Lila sighed. "And then there were seven."

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"When tax season is here," Freya mused into the silence of the van, the low rattling of the engine and wind rustling through all the broken windows made her voice sound distant. "We're buying a new car."