Allie's War Episodes 1-4(79)

Revik cleared his throat. “Are you finished?”
“I think so.”
Spitting to get the excess saliva out of my mouth, I plugged my nose with my knuckles when the stench of stomach acid and coffee reached it.
“You need the restroom,” he said. It wasn’t a question. He exhaled. “I’ll wait. But not for long, Allie.”#p#分页标题#e#
“I had to call her.”
His voice became a snarl. “So you pick the stupidest way imaginable? You could have asked me!”
“I did ask you! You said no!”
“That was weeks ago! Why here, Allie? Why now?”
“My fucking dad died today, okay?”
He opened his mouth to answer...then his face went blank.
I turned away, pausing on a couple staring at us from where they’d just been about to enter the restaurant. Meeting my gaze, the woman hesitated, clutching her jacket to her throat. Great. Revik and I had just become drunk-domestic-violence couple. I let out a short laugh, still looking into the woman’s wide, concerned eyes.
When I turned, Revik stared at me like I’d lost my mind.
“Allie, you realize that anyone could have picked up?”
“I wasn’t in...” I remembered we were in public. “I wasn’t in that other place—”
“It doesn’t matter! You could lead them straight to her...if they weren’t there already!”
“With my mom?” I shrieked. “That’s great, Revik! You told me you could keep her safe!”
“You think you are helping her?” He stepped closer, dropping his voice to a rough whisper. “I listened to you, Allie...you might as well have told them to use her to get to you.”
He seemed about to say more, then bit it back, adding,
“...And you let your voice be recorded. Do you have any idea what that is, to have a recent recording on a target? For an infiltrator this is like...a present! At the very least, they could trace the call. Every branch of law enforcement has Rooks in it, SCARB more than any other...”
“I wasn’t on long enough for that.”
He stared at me, openly disbelieving, then averted his eyes, forcing his gaze back to the diner. His jaw hardened.
“Should I go in with you?” he said.
I shook my head. “No. I’ll come back. Then you can yell at me all you want.”
He released my arm so suddenly that I lost my balance.
Without looking at him, I pushed my way back through the double glass doors.
Our performance hadn’t gone unnoticed inside the diner either; staff and customers gave me a wide berth as I staggered past the cashier’s desk. I retreated into the restroom. My fingers grasped for the bumpy silver handles and twisted the cold water on full. Because of the prosthetics, I couldn’t stick my face in the sink like I wanted.
I cupped water to my lips instead, washing out my mouth, then dabbing my forehead.
I checked my face in the mirror. It looked the same. It still wasn’t mine.
Revik was waiting when I came out, but on the other side of the door, away from my puke.
“Ready?” His voice remained cold.
“Yes.”
“Are you going to tell me what happened?”
“You heard me. I said I was alive, and with a friend. Nothing they didn’t already know.”
He stared at the cement, hands on his hips.
When I didn’t go on, he turned, walking in the direction of the harbor, passing the parked motorcycle without breaking stride. I followed him at a distance. Straight ahead, glass buildings blocked my view of the water, but I glimpsed a white complex adorned with sail-like tents.
At the next stoplight, I approached his side warily.
“Aren’t we going to the airport?” I said.
“No,” he said. “We’re not taking a plane anymore.” He looked at me. His voice leaked frustration. “Will you tell me? You say no one picked up. You weren’t in the Barrier. So what is this?”
“I don’t know.”
“But you felt something?”
I hesitated, then nodded.
“What?” he said.
I started to answer, but the cold feeling rose, forcing me to take another breath.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I really don’t.”
When I didn’t say anything more, he shoved his hands into his pockets, walking as soon as the light changed. I followed after he’d gone a few steps. Then the feeling surged back for real, and I knew suddenly...I knew.
She was dead. My mom was dead.
Halfway across the street, everything around me grayed. I collapsed before I realized that the problem wasn’t a sudden attack of freak weather.
It was me.


 
When I opened my eyes, cars honked loudly, like alarm clocks going off around my head. I didn’t know where I was. Shadowy people stared down at me with blank faces. I didn’t know any of them.