[MAX]
It felt like someone had tied my insides into a knot. This was only the second occasion Reznor had ever sent an SOS my way, and the first ... it hadn't been pretty.
"Max?" Dylan asked. I could feel when he leaned closer to me, evidently trying to get a look at my phone. I could only guess what my face looked like in that moment.
MAX: FBI MISSION OR OTHER?
REZNOR: FBI.
MAX: BACKUP?
"Max," Dylan repeated. His tone was more stern — more worried. "What's going on?"
I didn't look up from the phone. Her name came out as a murmur: "Harper."
I only distantly heard Alexei growl something in Russian.
REZNOR: DELAYED.
REZNOR: IT LOOKS BAD, MAX.
REZNOR: I'M WORRIED SB MIGHT BE INVOLVED.
I stared at the last text for two—four—six—eight seconds before my I blinked and thumbed out a quick reply. My chest tightened further. My heart was racing.
MAX: CAN YOU FIND OUT?
"Max," this time it was Phoenix. Her soft voice was persistent, urgent. It was only as I stared dully into her bright eyes that I realized three of the four people before me had no idea who Harper was. "What happened?"
My phone buzzed before I could come up with a response.
REZNOR: NOT FAST ENOUGH.
REZNOR: THE AGENTS THEY SENT HER INTO THE FIELD WITH ARE DOWN. LIKELY FATAL INJURIES.
"Harper is FBI psychiatrist," Alexei said when I didn't answer Phoenix. "She is ... profiler. Very good one. Friend of Max. Helps out, sometimes, but FBI— they do not know."
"Of course not," Phoenix said. "It'd compromise both of them."
"She is not allowed gun in field." Alexei's accent was heavier with each second that passed.
MAX: HER PARTNER?
REZNOR: DIDN'T GO ON THIS MISSION. NOT SURE WHY.
REZNOR: IF SOMEBODY DOESN'T INTERVENE SOON, SHE'LL BE NEXT.
REZNOR: THESE GUYS AREN'T MESSING AROUND.
MAX: WHO?
MAX: WHERE?
"She never passed the test," Danny realized.
I could see Alexei shake his head. "She is ... bad shot. Good doctor."
"In trouble," Dylan muttered. I could feel him watching me closely.
REZNOR: MAFIA. I CAN SEND YOU DETAILS.
REZNOR: SENDING LOCATION NOW.
MAX: I WON'T HAVE TIME TO READ DETAILS.
"With the mafia," I finally said. I received Harper's location seconds later, and it only took a glimpse of the address for me to know exactly where she was. I looked up afterward. "Ten blocks from here." I got to my feet and shoved my phone into my pocket. "I need to go."
"Hold on," Dylan grabbed my wrist and stood with me. "If you're willing to run headlong into the unknown after what you just told us, she must be important. I get that. But if there's any chance this Berkshire guy could be involved—"
"I don't have time to talk about it," I said as I tugged out of his hold. I didn't have to try very hard. He was worried, but not enough so to fight me on it. I ignored the concern in his eyes. "They already killed the field agents that went with her. There's no time."
When I looked away from Dylan to see if anyone else was going to try to stop me, everyone else was already on their feet. And though they all looked concerned to some degree or another, I could read something new in their eyes— because this was new. Their faces posed a question; one I couldn't blame them for.
Was this how Max was when she had to come save us?
Pretty much, yeah.
Except they were usually armed, and knew how to take care of themselves. That was a different kind of urgency. This was different.
Alexei nodded. His voice was rough. "Then let us go."
