Free Where There's Fire (Panopolis Book 2) by Cari Z. Page B

my crew, and if you lose one, well . . . you’re fair game. He’s probably still alive, though.”
    Maggot seemed to think about it for a moment. “Somewhere. In the end, you led me to Ms. Clark. She was eager to share all sorts of information with me after my representative threatened to break her daughter’s hands. Don’t worry,” he reassured me as I started. “My representative only had to break one of them. Ms. Clark has connections in the drug trade that make it worthwhile for me to keep her alive for now, and among her juicy tidbits was the news that you not only know how the estimable Freight Train takes care of himself, you know what the devices look like.”
    I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment as I pictured Lettie and Kami’s careful sanctuary breached, and my spine crawled—Kami had been hurt because of me. I wanted to put my head between my knees to help me catch my breath. Even if I lived through this, Lettie would probably never speak to me again for bringing so much trouble to her door.
    Focus. I opened my eyes and spread my hands helplessly. Corvid’s dark eyes followed the golden gleam of my stolen watch. He was a Villain who’d made his name as a mugger, ripping the bright and shiny things off his victims’ hands and necks and often killing them in the process. I forced myself to look away from him.
    “The devices aren’t that special.” Freight Train’s feeding tubes were like thick cardboard straws. They were pretty plain if you didn’t take into account the tingle that came from the energy suffusing them.
    “Special enough that they can reach right through his force field. I need something that will let me do that so I can get a little helper onto Freight Train. Mr. Dinges, I want you to go to GenCorp’s main research facility and retrieve one of these things for me, along with any information they’re hoarding on Freight Train’s powers. You’re going to become my expert on handling that particular Hero.” Maggot folded his hands together over his heavy stomach and smiled benignly, like a zombified St. Nick.
    “Let me be clear: I don’t need you to do this. You and Freight Train have history, but that’s a very small mark in your favor. I could send someone else into GenCorp, but this is your chance to prove your worth to me. It’s the only chance you’ll be getting. I don’t bring people into the cause based solely on their reputations, and while you’ve managed to make a name for yourself lately, I’m not at all sure you’re deserving of it. I know that your boyfriend isn’t, but if you succeed, I’ll bring both you and the Mad Bombardier into the fold with no hard feelings.”
    Oh, there would be hard feelings. I could see Raul fantasizing about his revenge now. However, there was no choice. I’d do it so that Raul would be alive and able to fantasize about revenge. “When do you want me to do it?”
    “There’s no time like the present, I think.”
    Wait . . . what? No time to plan, no time to research and surveil and do the dozen other things that went into pulling off a job successfully? Not that I had yet, since my first-and-last job had gone to hell rather spectacularly—god, was it just this morning? “That’s a tall order.”
    “Consider it a trial by fire,” Maggot suggested. “If you pull it off, great. If not, then I won’t waste any more time on you. This revolution is happening, Mr. Dinges, whether you’re a part of it or not. The only way you will be part of it is if you get me what I want. There’s really no answer but yes, I think. However, in case you’re in need of more motivation, let’s tack an addendum onto this.” He steepled his sausage-like fingers. “I’m going to send a few people along to keep an eye on you, discreetly of course. If you try to go to the police, or a Hero, or warn anyone about what I’ve got planned, I’ll find out, and your Bombardier will pay for it.”
    I tried not to envision blood spurting from