Free THE 13: STAND BOOK TWO by ROBBIE CHEUVRONT AND ERIK REED WITH SHAWN ALLEN Page A

Megan following his directions. They found the café easily enough. Now they just had to find Peterson.
    The place was a normal coffee shop, a bacon-and-eggs kind of place. Not a lot of patrons, but the ones there, Megan could tell, were probably regulars. Jennings had given them a description of Peterson, but it wouldn’t have mattered. The man stuck out like a sore thumb, with his sport coat, khaki pants, and loafers, sitting among a bunch of old men wearing overalls, blue jeans, and ball caps.
    “I thought you guys said once a spy, always a spy,” Megan muttered over her shoulder.
    Eli rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well…”
    They walked over and sat down at Peterson’s table. Peterson, who had not even glanced at them as they walked in, looked up from his newspaper.
    “I saw you two from the parking lot. Not very subtle, don’t you think?”
    “Really?” It was Megan. “And you with your suit coat and loafers? Yeah, you blend right in.”
    Peterson smiled and turned to Eli. “I like her.”
    Eli rolled his eyes again.
    “Listen,” Megan started in a whisper, “you need to leave here with us. We can go somewhere we can talk.”
    Peterson sighed. “Jennings thinks I’m going to get myself hurt. Doesn’t he?”
    “Or killed,” Eli said.
    “Bah!” Peterson waved him off. “I’m seventy-six years old. Who cares!”
    “Okay, let’s go.” Megan stood up and grabbed Peterson by the arm.
    “Where are we going?”
    “Somewhere where you’re not going to draw attention.” She looked around the room and noticed that some of the patrons were looking at them. “Like you’re doing now.”
    Peterson reluctantly stood and allowed her to lead him out the door. They got in the car and pulled away from the diner.
    “What was all that about?”
    “Look, Mr. Peterson, I know you’re just trying to help. But whatever it is you’re looking for down here is something that’s probably going to turn out really bad.” She jerked a thumb over her shoulder to Eli. “Jennings sent me and him to find out what it is. Now, if you’ve got information that will help us out, you need to tell us. But going around asking questions on your own is just plain stupid.”
    Peterson waved a hand in the air. “Ah, you’re probably right. But I’m not about to sit by and wait for something else to happen around here. Bad enough we already lost most of our country.”
    Megan figured she wasn’t going to win any arguments with the old man. So instead, she decided to try a different tactic. “Mr. Peterson, no one expects anyone to just sit by. We’ve all been affected by this. You were a valuable asset to the Company. Jennings said that if anyone could find out what was going on, you were the guy.”
    That brought a smile to the old man’s face.
    “So if you’ve heard anything or have a lead on anything, we need to know. Let’s face it. You might still have the heart, but you don’t have the physical ability. Let
us
traipse around and poke our noses into dark corners.”
    Peterson looked at her with a confused look. “Can I ask you a question?”
    Megan shrugged. “Sure. Go ahead.”
    “Who
are
you?”
    She started laughing and realized that she and Eli hadn’t even introduced themselves earlier. They had just shuffled the old man into the car and sped off. She stuck her hand out across the seat.
    “I’m Megan Taylor.” She shook his hand and pointed again over her shoulder into the backseat. “That’s Eli Craig.”
    Peterson shifted in his seat to look at Eli. “Craig? Hmm…Craig…yeah, I knew a Craig. Englishman. Good man. What was his name…?”
    “Mackenzie,” Eli said.
    “Yeah, that’s it! Mackenzie. Everyone called him Mac.”
    “My father,” Eli admitted.
    “Hmph…well, good to know you, son.” Peterson nodded to Eli. Then to Megan, “Don’t know any Taylors.”
    Megan smiled and pulled the car off the road into an old abandoned junkyard. She and Eli had found this place on their way to the