“Sounds easy.”
“I wonder if they have any supplies we can borrow.” He slid me off his lap and started rooting through the cupboards. I tried to help, but had no idea what we were looking for. “Jackpot.” He held up a metal device—two half circles connected by an iridescent square.
“What does it do?”
“It’s a demobilizer.” He slid my wrist into one end and then nodded for me to put my other wrist on the other end. I did, and he pressed the square in the center. The circles slid shut, binding my wrists. “Like handcuffs.”
The cold metal pressed against my wrists, and a sharp pain shot through my skull and then settled into an annoying buzz. I sucked air through my teeth.
“What’s wrong?”
“My head.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Even better.”
“You’re happy that my head hurts?”
“It means it’s a blocker as well. It would be nearly impossible for you to access your ability with those on.”
I tried to pull my wrists apart, and the metal dug into my skin. Pain bounced in my skull again. “I bet the Norms just love it when the CC has to use these.”
“They can’t use these on Norms.”
“Why?”
Connor made a popping sound with his mouth. “Their brains wouldn’t be able to handle it.”
My brain wasn’t dealing well with it either. It was like a concentrated version of being inside Bobby’s room. “Good thing it’s a bunch of Paras we’re rounding up tonight then.” I pulled at the cuffs again. “Tell me you know how to get these off.”
He pressed his finger on the square and they slid open. “The one who shuts them is the only one who can open them.”
My head immediately settled when I removed my wrists. I grabbed the demobilizer from him, and he pulled out a few more. “This should be easy, then.”
“Sure, we’ll just ask them to stick their hands out so we can slide them on. Simple,” he said evenly.
“It will be with Addie.” I smiled big.
“And what about the other part of the night? Is Duke going to help?”
“He’d better.”
I couldn’t believe our fate rested in Duke’s horribly slimy hands. But we needed his cooperation. I had to trust him. I jumped out of the back of the van and clapped Duke on the shoulder. “Thank goodness you are a good liar, because it’s showtime.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means, we are going to reset the night. First, we have to arrange all the players.” I pointed to the apartment in front of us and handed everyone a pair of demobilizers. “Then you and Addie have to reenact the conversation you promised the CC.”
Connor shut the van doors, wiped the smudges off the keypad, and nodded. “Let’s go.”
On the way up the stairs, we discussed different ways of getting inside the apartment. In the end, we decided knocking on the door was as good a way as any, seeing as how we weren’t trying to keep our presence a secret.
“Do you think you’ll be able to slow time for longer than a couple minutes?” I asked Addie.
“I’ll try.”
“We need all the time we can get.”
We arrived at the third floor and opened the door to the hall. A man was there to greet us. “We’ve been expecting you.”
Duke punched him in the face, and he dropped like a rock.
I let out a heavy sigh. “Duke. Why did you do that? We have to reset the night. Now he’s going to wake up with a sore jaw and a headache and wonder how he got them.”
Duke toed him, and he rolled onto his back. A long scar ran the length of his left cheek. “Sorry. He came out of nowhere. We didn’t discuss the potential for hallway people.”
“I know him,” Addie said.
“You do? What’s his ability?”
“This is the Persuader from the Tower who debriefed me. He’s also the one who came by my house with Fake Grandpa.”
I elbowed Duke. “Put some cuffs on him and get him down to the van. We’ll be down there with the others in a few minutes.”
“I’m the muscle,” Duke said. “You really want me to wait at the van with this guy?”
“Who assigned you as the muscle?” I asked.
“My biceps did. And considering you keep asking me to carry people, I’m pretty sure you agree.”
“Well, Connor and Trevor can carry the other two down.”
“No, I can’t,” Connor said. “But thanks for the confidence, babe. Duke is definitely the muscle. I’ll follow him down and wait at the van. Don’t do anything until he’s back.”
“Fine. Hurry.”
Too bad that guy wasn’t the Memory Eraser. I was certain there was a Memory Eraser here. It was the only ability that would be able to Reassign Trevor a new life. It was the main ability that scared me here tonight. If we all lost our memories, we’d be worthless. At least Connor couldn’t be affected by it.
We waited just outside the door to the stairs, the apartment around the corner to our left. “So that was the Persuader?” I said to Addie.
“Yes. And Fake Grandpa is a Perceptive. That leaves two unknowns.”
“One has to be a Memory Eraser,” I said, and she nodded as if she had thought of that as well.
Eli cleared his throat. “The other one is a Mass Manipulator.”
“Did you hear his thoughts?” I asked.
“No. He just walked through that wall.” He pointed over my shoulder, and we all turned around to face the man walking toward us. He wore jeans and a collared shirt, his biceps straining the material. His head was shaved. He smiled, his white teeth bright against his black skin.
“Listen, kids,” he said. “You’ve had your fun. It’s time to come willingly into the apartment, fill out a report, and receive the consequences of your actions.”
I shrugged at Addie. We had planned to knock on the door anyway. We’d walk inside, Addie would slow down time, we’d cuff them and wait for Duke. Why not? “Okay.”
He didn’t seem at all shocked that we agreed so easily. He also seemed to find the demobilizers we held very amusing. Did that mean they knew our plans and had ways to counteract them? I glanced once back over my shoulder to see if Duke had arrived yet.
“He really thinks we’re filling out reports,” Eli whispered as we followed the Mass Manipulator to the apartment.
I held in a laugh. He opened the door, and we walked in. Trevor sat on the couch and looked up in relief at our arrival, as if he thought we could not only save him, but the entire world, with the snap of our fingers. I was relieved to see him alert and appearing to be in possession of all his memories. That is, until Addie gasped from beside me. I followed her gaze and saw, sitting in a chair by the sliding door, looking equally relieved, another Trevor. Crap.
CHAPTER 41
Addie: I can’t tell the difference. Does that make me a bad girlfriend?
I looked back and forth between the identical Trevors. One was obviously the Perceptive. As if I didn’t want to kill him enough already with his fake grandpa act, now he had to throw in the fake boyfriend act. They must’ve known our plan.
“They’re both going fuzzy,” Laila said from beside me.
“They’re both Perceptives?” I asked.
“No. The real Perceptive is projecting his weakness on the real Trevor.”
I held up the cuffs. It didn’t matter. We could still use the cuffs. Then, when Fake Grandpa had them on, he wouldn’t be able to use his ability. We’d be able to see which one was Trevor.
Laila gave me a small shake of her head and said under her breath, “Not unless you want to turn Trevor’s brain to mush.”
So the cuffs must be bad for Norms. Great.
“Kids, won’t you have a seat? I just need to grab some report forms and we’ll move forward,” the Mass Manipulator said, then left the room. He thought the two Trevors would stop us from following through with our plans. He was right.
“Look, we’re not filling out your stupid forms. So stop with the formality,” Laila called after him. She watched the other man in the room warily, the one who hadn’t spoken. He leaned against the wall in the far corner, his eyes boring into each of us in turn. He was thin and tall, his arms seeming too long for his body. His face was gaunt and his eyes empty. He had to be the Memory Eraser. I knew that Laila feared her own ability in others. Probably because she knew how much power she held.
“Addie, can you tell which one is real?”
“Oh yeah, let me put on my girlfriend glasses and study them real close.”
Couch Trevor ran a hand through his hair. “I’m real.”
Chair Trevor, not to be outdone, stood. “No, I am.”
Their voices sounded exactly the same, and I wondered if that was why Fake Grandpa had really recorded Trevor’s voice on his black box, so he could perfect it.
“I’m Trevor,” Couch Guy said again.
I sighed. “We just need a few more and we can change your name to Spartacus.”
Laila huffed. “Nobody gets your weird book references, Addie.”
“It was made into a movie,” I said. Why couldn’t I tell the difference? Shouldn’t I be able to? “Eli? What are their thoughts like?”
“Very similar, unfortunately.”
There was a pounding on the door, and the skulking guy in the corner answered. Duke walked in. “You’re all still in here . . . talking?” He noticed the two Trevors, and his eyes went wide.
“Duke, we see you’ve switched sides,” Skulking Guy said.
Hearing out loud again that he was what started all this made anger surge up inside me. I could feel my energy building. Recognizing its presence had changed everything. Before, I’d let my emotions take over and push it into use, but now that I felt it, I could hold it back, let it build.
“Sit,” he said, and started walking toward me. I had absolutely no desire to sit, but lots of desire to run. Laila started backing away.
“What are you waiting for?” Duke asked me.
I pointed to the two Trevors, and he rolled his eyes. He probably wished I would just leave both Trevors here. Laila had backed all the way to the wall, but then a pair of strong black arms reached through from behind her, followed by the entire person. He grabbed hold of her. She jammed her heel down hard on his instep. He grunted but didn’t let go.
“You know what the difference is between us and you guys?” Laila asked, looking directly at the Memory Eraser.
He tilted his head as if curious about her answer.
Suddenly, the guy holding Laila dropped to the ground, followed by the Memory Eraser. Neither moved a muscle. “We don’t have to follow protocol,” she said.
“What just happened?” I asked.
Both Trevors jumped up, but then Couch Trevor sat back down, and I couldn’t decide if that was the real one trying to show he wasn’t concerned about the enemy or the fake one just pretending not to care.
“I Erased everything,” Laila said.