Free No Escape by Michelle Gagnon Page B

ground, each clearly in their own world. No one who seemed to be waiting for someone.
    Back upstairs, he walked the length of the building, then took out his phone to double-check the time. Nearly eleven. He was frustrated, ready to give up.
    “Vallas?”
    Peter turned. He hadn’t known exactly what to expect, but it wasn’t this. Facing him was a girl with raven hair and enormous blue-green eyes. She looked like she was his age, or maybe a little younger. Pale skin, to the point where in this light she almost glowed. She had a MacBook Pro box tucked under her arm.
    Despite the crazy outfit she was wearing, she was gorgeous. He swallowed hard to fight the sudden dryness in his mouth.
    “Rain?” he managed.
    “Would anyone else call you Vallas?” she asked, blatantly examining him. Peter got the distinct feeling that he wasn’t what she’d expected, either, and not in a good way. “What’s a Vallas, anyway?”
    “It’s the name of my avatar in WoW.”
    She gave him a blank look. “W-O-W? Like, wow?”
    “No, not wow.” Peter felt slightly silly as he explained, “World of Warcraft.”
    “The video game?” Her eyebrows arched.
    “It’s an online multiplayer role-playing game,” Peter said defensively. Lots of the chat threads on wikis and image-boards were devoted to WoW discussions; he’d deliberately chosen the name /ALLIANCE/ for the site because he knew people would recognize the reference and rally to it. Pretty much every hacker he knew spent hours every day enmeshed in the ongoing battle between the Alliance and their evil counterparts, the Horde. Every hacker but one, Peter realized with consternation, judging by her reaction. “I’m a Night Elf,” he finished lamely.
    “Interesting,” Rain said, looking bored. “You brought the money, right?”
    “Yeah, it’s here.” He glanced around before pulling out his wallet. The few people there didn’t seem to be paying any attention to them. He quickly handed her the cash, and she tucked it in the front pouch of her sweatshirt. “Brought you this, too,” he said, handing her a flash drive. “In case you didn’t have an extra one.”
    “Thanks.” She tucked it in the same pouch, then abruptly turned and started walking away.
    “I’m not some huge WoW geek,” he explained, falling in step beside her. “It just seemed to fit.”
    “Uh-huh,” she said. “So what’s AMRF?”
    “I’m not sure. But I hacked into their database tonight, and a half hour later a bunch of guys broke into my house.”
    That stopped her. She turned and examined him curiously. “Were they dressed like security guards?”
    “Nope. All in black, like commandos or something.”
    “Oh.” She abruptly lost interest. “Anything else?”
    “Yeah, I’ve got a link. They’re working on something called Project Persephone. If you want, I can text it to you.”
    “I don’t have a phone,” she said.
    “Seriously?” Peter was flabbergasted. He didn’t know anyone their age who didn’t have a cell phone.
    “I prefer email.”
    “Okay. Well, I’ll email it to you, then.”
    “Whatever,” Rain said.
    They were standing in front of the station now, facing the parking lot. Peter couldn’t shake the feeling that she was trying to get rid of him as quickly as possible, and he suddenly got nervous. How could he be sure she wouldn’t screw him over, just take the cash and go? Suddenly, he felt like an idiot for giving it all up front.
    “You’re really going to do this for me, right?” he asked.
    Rain’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”
    “Well, five hundred dollars is a lot of money, and I don’t even know you.”
    “If I say I’m going to do something, I do it,” she said. “That’s all you need to know.”
    She started walking away.
    “Hey, wait. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean … can I give you a ride somewhere?” Peter called after her.
    Rain didn’t answer; she just kept going without looking back.
    Peter watched until she turned the corner and