Haunt (Regenerate #5)

Chapter 6

I shift back to my regular face and outfit once I'm out of the main party. I go upstairs to where Mantis said to meet. He's leaned up against a wall in the hallway, waiting for me.

"Sorry to pull you away from the party," he says.

I smile. "Don't be. Actually, you just saved me from dancing with a guy who was a total bore."

It really isn't fair that I can't see his reaction to that.

"What are we doing here?" I ask.

"This is the floor where the artwork is being kept before it goes on display," Mantis says. "The stuff on display right now is just a sample of the collection."

"Okay," I say. "And you thought it was in danger."

"The kid, Jess, is here. Seems a little odd, doesn't it?"

"Wait, how do you know that?"

"I stopped by his place and planted some trackers on the vehicles his family owns," Mantis says. "At any rate, I think it's more than a coincidence that the guy we saw at the museum the day it was robbed just happened to show up here tonight. Especially given that he didn't seem like the type who would be very interested in art."

"I guess that is weird," I say. "But I didn't see him down there anywhere."

"I didn't either," Mantis says. "But his car is parked across the street."

"And I guess we're stuck watching this stuff until he comes?"

"That is generally how stakeouts work, yes," Mantis says.

"If only Lorna were here," I say. "Then it might not be so boring. As it is, I'm stuck with you."

Mantis doesn't seem bothered. "Funny, since I didn't invite Lorna because I thought it would be nice to spend a little time alone with you. Besides, it's good that she's there with the rest of the artwork."

"Or I could have stayed down there," I say. "Nevermind. I guess I'll go with it, since this is the closest you'll ever get to a real date with me."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," he says.

I let out a huff of air. "Well you should go somewhere else anyway. You stick out like a sore thumb in your suit."

"We aren't going to stay out here," Mantis says. "We're going inside the vault. I'll blend in with the shadows."

He walks towards a door and waves his hand over the security system. It blinks off just long enough for him to open the door and pull me inside.

Once we're in, I see cases strewn across the room. It's dark here, but I can tell that there's a good variety of pieces here. Everything from paintings, to sculptures, to jewels.

I follow Mantis back toward the end of the room, and we take a position in a dark corner. I'm bored after about ten minutes.

"I'd rather be back watching the security footage from the museum," I say.

"This mission was your idea," Mantis says. "You're stuck with it."

I guess that's a fair point.

We go quiet again. I'm almost grateful when the light flips on because it means an end to the boredom and awkward silence.

We glance around the corner of a display case to see who our visitor is. Jess. The boy from the museum footage.

"Dibs," I whisper before jumping out. But as soon as Jess notices me, he disappears.

I blink, a couple times. You'd think by now I'd be used to things like this.

Mantis jumps up from his hiding spot. "He's still here. I'm picking up a heat signal. Over there."

I run in the direction he's pointing, but I don't run into him. Then a vase disappears from a glass enclosed case.

"He can make himself intangible," I say. At this point it seems like the only explanation.

"Yep," Mantis says, running past me. He expands the force field shield on his wrist and swings it.

A second later, Jess appears on the ground. Visible and solid again.

"I totally had him," I say.

"Sure you did," Mantis says.

"How did you know your shield would work?"

"Lucky guess," he says, leaning over Jess's limp form," he says. "Force fields can stop most psychic attacks. I figured it was worth a try."

"So now we take him in for questioning?" I ask.

"I guess so," he says.

"Poor Lorna," I say. "She barely got to enjoy the party at all."

"We don't need her help," Mantis says. "Let's just let her stay for awhile."

I pull out my phone. "I have a text from Mikayla saying they trailed Jess and he's in the area."

I can practically see Mantis rolling his eyes under his mask. "Yeah. Imagine that."