Free Don't Let Go by Michelle Gagnon Page B

“Do you really think the government would have sent a couple of teenagers?”
    Startled, Teo turned his head. Noa was standing twenty feet away, hands held high to show she wasn’t armed. “Chill, Loki.”
    “How the hell do you all know my name?” he bellowed, swinging the gun from side to side like he couldn’t decide where to aim it. “I want some answers, now!”
    Teo swallowed hard; Loki didn’t seem all that stable, his eyes were wild and his hands shook.
    Noa seemed unfazed, however. Sounding more like herself than she had in months, she said firmly, “Just calm down, Loki. We came here to find you. I’m Rain, from /ALLIANCE/.” Gesturing to Peter, she added, “And this is Vallas.”
    “Since when are you Rain and Vallas?” Teo muttered. Peter waved for him to stay quiet.
    “What do you want?” Loki demanded. The gun was still raised, but at least he wasn’t waving it around like a crazy person anymore.
    “Can I come closer?” Noa asked. “I’m unarmed.”
    “That’s what your friends said.” Loki shook his head. “No one moves. Now who the hell are you, really?”
    Daisy clung to Teo, both arms tight around his waist. He clasped her hands, cursing himself for listening to Peter. They should have left last night; he should have trusted his gut. After everything they’d been through, he and Daisy might be shot in the middle of nowhere by some freak.
    “I contacted you on The Quad last October,” Peter piped up. “When I was going to brick Pike & Dolan’s servers.”
    “A lot of people know about that,” Loki said. “Doesn’t prove anything.”
    Peter and Noa exchanged an uncertain look, and Teo’s heart sank. Was it possible they’d never even met this guy before? And what was up with the fake names?
    “The pedophile case in Greenwich,” Noa finally said. “We worked together on that.”
    Loki tilted his head and said, “Tell me how.”
    “How what?” Peter asked.
    “How did we get him?” Loki snarled.
    “I posed as a twelve-year-old girl and chatted with him while you sent his jpegs to the local cops,” Noa said. “Anything else you want to know?”
    The shotgun lowered a fraction of an inch. Loki stared at them for a beat, considering. Finally, he said, “So you are who you say you are. Doesn’t matter. How the hell did you find me?”
    “I, uh . . . tracked your IP address,” Peter said. “Sorry.”
    Teo held his breath, braced for another gunshot. Based on Noa’s reaction earlier, this wasn’t something hackers took well.
    “You what ?” Loki sounded genuinely perplexed. “Seriously? Not cool, Vallas.”
    “I know, and I’m really, really sorry.” Peter spoke in a rush. “We wouldn’t have come, but we need your help.”
    Loki scowled at them. “I can’t help you.”
    “Please, man,” Peter said. “Look, I know this started off kind of weird—”
    Loki grunted and waved an arm at them. “Just get off my property, before I really do shoot you.”
    “You have to help us,” Peter said. “Please.”
    “I warned you, Vallas,” Loki said. “Bricking that server was a bad idea.”
    “It’s more than that!” Peter protested. “They’re experimenting on kids.”
    “So go to the cops,” Loki said dismissively. “That’s not my problem.”
    “The cops are part of it.” Peter threw up his hands. “They have people in the FBI, the NSA. . . . Hell, probably everywhere!”
    Loki’s eyes glimmered. Slowly, he said, “So you’re saying there’s some sort of massive government conspiracy?”
    “Hell, yeah, that’s what I’m saying!” Peter was practically shouting.
    “Ho-ly crap.” Loki scratched his beard with his free hand, keeping the gun tucked under his armpit. “You’re Persefone’s Army.”
    Noa looked startled, but she said, “We are. Or, well . . . we were. Just give us ten minutes to explain. After that, if you still want us to leave, we’ll go.”
    Loki stared at the ground contemplatively; the sun was setting behind