Devious Origins

CHAPTER 34

It is said that no battle plan survives contact with the enemy. Our plan was no exception. Even before our breakthrough with the travel expenses, a plan was coming together. Using the survey results, we would narrow the field of battle to several bars and dance clubs popular with the college crowd. Each night, we would spread out among those locations, looking for behavior that matched the profile we had compiled. My empathy ability would play a big role. More than any other team member, I would move from location to location, scanning any candidates my teammates had flagged for closer inspection. If I got an appropriately evil vibe, we would signal Dee to join us and spring her trap by throwing herself into the jaws of their trap. This basically meant using her superpower to become their ideal victim. The survey had supplied us with a profile of what they looked for, and Dee was armed with cocktail straws that change color in the presence of date rape drugs. Our plan didn't really change much with the discovery of the travel reimbursement connection, but it did become a lot less dependent on chance. Now we just needed to wait for Liz's bot to ping us when matching travel plans were filed at the Freedom Birthright Foundation. I would scan the travelers as they arrived at the airport or train station to verify our suspicions. Then we would keep them under surveillance until we tracked them to whatever night spot they were targeting so we could call in Dee.

Only four days after our meeting at the Intergalactic, the bot pinged us. In quick succession, three different conspirators filed travel plans. Two of them would arrive next Friday on the same flight. The third was arriving on Saturday. I skipped two of my Friday classes to hang out at the airport. I couldn't get a clear read from them among all the other passengers, but I was able to confirm their identities using pictures provided by DualCore. Saturday I had more luck. I located my target at the baggage carousel and followed him to the cab stand. I stood behind him, pretending to wait for a cab. I still wasn't getting much of a read, so in a moment of boldness bordering on insanity, I bumped into him.

"Oh I'm so sorry," I blurted, "I'm such a klutz."

"Don't worry about it," he mumbled, "no harm done."

"What a day. My flight was late, and then they lost my luggage, and now I can't even walk straight."

The guy made an indistinct grunt in reply.

"Hey, do you have the time?" I asked.

He turned to me, and I got a good look at him. A middle aged guy with graying hair and a network of lines around his eyes. His eyes narrowed and he said, "No. I don't have the time." He turned back.

Yes, this was definitely one of our demons. To him, I was less than nothing. Most people were less than nothing. He was annoyed with traveling, but excited about what was ahead. He was intelligent. He could be charming, but mostly didn't bother because most people didn't deserve it.

OK, so either my empathy was supplying a lot of detail from an incredibly brief exchange, or I've got one heck of an imagination. I considered trying another read, but then he climbed into the next cab and was gone. I took out my phone and sent a text message to DualCore while I walked toward the bus stop.

<barryb001> Third minion confirmed. Just left airport. On my way back.

<dualcore92> kate and seb at hotel. minions 1 & 2 still in the hotel bar.

<dualcore92> dee casing possible target nightclub. c u soon.

I put my phone away and continued toward the bus stop, but then it vibrated with another text message.