Under the Radar

Guess What? I Make Yet Another Dumb Decision!

"Answer me, girl. Or you'll lose an eye."

And just like that, any thoughts of self-preservation went out the window. Funny how quickly that happens. I kicked the grate out, smacking a guy square in the face (which caused me to almost start laughing) and jump down into the room. A quick glance around the room told me that there were five of Grater's men (although one was on the floor) in the room with us. That wasn't good. Fighting with five on one odds in such close quarters was going to be extremely difficult.

I kicked Grater back with my foot and stood in between Gretchen and the knife he held. "Really, Grater? Same knife, same threats. Seriously dude, you have zero originality."

Everyone in the room looked at me, stunned. It brought me great joy. Of course, it was Gretchen of all people to break the silence.

"You're an idiot."

"Hey, I'm just saying. I'm hurt. I thought those threats were made just for me. Now I see him using them on another torture victim." I looked at Grater and pretended to wipe a tear. "I really thought we had something special."

"That's gross. And I repeat my previous statement; you are an idiot." Gretchen looked like she was torn between relieved and disbelief.

"Guess it's just my day. Your idiot day was yesterday. When you made goo-goo eyes at that boy." I was talking about Myron but I couldn't outright say his name.

"That was today. And I did not!"

"Was it? I'm sure it's after midnight by now. Actually, I think it's past two in the morning. So that was yesterday." Times when insomnia comes in handy. I'd only gotten about ten minutes of sleep before Jasmine got to the hotel room, so really, most people would be ready to collapse by now. The adrenaline was probably helping keep me awake too, to be honest.

"Enough." Grater was staring at the two of us in surprise. "You're even more insufferable than before."

I shrugged. "Hey, it's the teen years. They say it's just a phase. Honestly, in our case, I say it's a lifestyle."

He glared at me. "You can joke all you want. But you forget; I know who you really are, Midnight."

My smile didn't go away, but it took a lot more effort to keep it in place. "Now you know my pain then. I mean, really. The whole point of being a spy is not to be noticed. Know how hard it is to blend in with a name like that?"

He stepped closer to me. "I know about that boy." He was talking about Mercury, I was sure. I must have dropped my smile a bit more because Grater's grew and he continued. "Who is he, your boyfriend? Should we pay him another visit?"

Luckily for me, none of his family was at his home. Obviously. I didn't have to worry about them being caught in the crossfire. "Sure, go ahead and send pest control. Seriously, the guy is a total pain. But just know that his house is under surveillance after that stunt your people pulled a week ago."

Grater looked as red as a tomato. He glared at me, then nodded at his men.

Honestly, I was super surprised my distraction lasted as long as it did. By that point I was just rambling, trying to use up as much time as I possibly could. But even I was getting sick of my lame quips. So when the guards started throwing punches, I was ready for them.

I flipped one guy that came at me and threw him into a couple of his buddies. Then I swept another off his feet. It would have been really nice to have Gretchen's help, but I suppose I can't really blame her for being useless, seeing as how she was a bit preoccupied with being strapped to a chair.