Code Name: RUSH (COMPLETE)

19. Gemma

The problem with secrets is that they can't be kept for very long. Sooner or later, they claw their way out of your heart and come out your mouth.

Madix took his eyebrow piercing out. That was the start of a very bad night. Now, he was sitting crisscross applesauce in the back seat of the van, reading out Reed Maynor's file with a tone that should be more horrified than it was. While Baker had been nothing but a bystander, Maynor had a criminal record thicker than my world history textbook. Assault, attempted murder, drug dealing, vandalism. The list went on and on until Madix's voice began to crack. Damion started jiggling his leg with annoyance and I tapped my fingers across the steering wheel.

I didn't have the heart to tell him that we didn't need to know any of that about Maynor. We just needed his ability. He got the hint when Damion leaned over and pulled the key out of the ignition. "Are we ready?"

Madix flipped a few more pages. "He can make people hallucinate."

"We're ready," Damion and I jumped out the can and into the light rain. Madix, a yellow blur, scrambled after us, tossing papers aside and huffing in indigence.

There was nothing but empty rolling fields for miles ahead. Five, to be exact. Three because Damion was paranoid they would hear us coming and two more for good measure. Madix charged ahead like a man facing his destiny; he was yards ahead before he realized he left us in the dust. Damion kept beside me, head low and shoulders slumped. I could hardly see either of them in the light of the crested moon.

"I don't like this plan," Damion mumbled after a minuet of walking. "It seems to easy."

"Don't leave Madix alone," I whispered, even though he couldn't hear me from how loud he was crunching on the gravel.

"Wasn't planning on it."

The cold picked away at my face. I was glad Damion's ribs had healed so nicely from his last beating. I watched him out the corner of my eye as we marched up a particularly large hill with concern, but he didn't seem bothered.

"Do you have the cuff?" I called after Madix when he wandered too far.

He gestured with one hand to his belt.

Damion sighed heavily and started walking faster. When he caught up to Madix, he threw an arm over his shoulders and leaned down to say something that got lost in the wind before it met me. Warmth bloomed in my chest as I watched them steer each other around the road. The days of having to listen Madix gush non-stop about how much liked Damion were over. I had never been so relieved.

The house came into view nearly an hour later. Four windows were lit up with yellow and a single, right white yard light illuminated the rest of the house in all its dilapidated glory. I was surprised it hadn't already fallen over from the way it was leaning to the right. There were several cars parked on the dead lawn.

Damion let his arm drop as they both slowed down to walk beside me.

"I'm going to knock on the door. When he answers, I'll slap the cuff on and run," Madix decided.

"I don't think he'll be in any shape to chase us, but his friends will," I warned. "And if any of them have powers like Maynor, we'll need to get out as fast as we can. The house has two doors; one at the front and the back. All the windows on the first floor are screened, but the second story windows aren't, which means people can shoot out of them. You're your heads low when we run away. There's a path through the woods if we need to take it back to the main road, but it's slippery and overgrown."