‘That was unnecessary,’ Adam observes from the doorway.
‘Eh, agree to disagree,’ Nine says.
As he bends down to pick up another piece of the chair, I hear the telltale cocking of guns from the line of SUVs. Six must hear them too from wherever she’s lurking, because a wave of fog suddenly rolls across the lawns of Ashwood Estates, making us much harder to target.
I light my Lumen and step forward, putting myself between Nine and the SUVs. I hold up my hands so the agents can clearly see that they’re enveloped in fire.
‘I don’t know why you’re here,’ I yell towards the line of cars, ‘but you’re making a mistake. This is a fight you seriously cannot win. Smartest thing you can do is go back to your bosses and tell them there was nothing here.’
To punctuate the speech, I send a telepathic command to our Chimærae. Howls rings out from the darkness on the SUVs’ flanks. Suddenly panicked, some of the agents start aiming their guns into the shadows, and one of the choppers uses its spotlight to begin combing the fields alongside the access road. We’ve got them scared.
‘Last warning!’ I shout, letting a basketball-sized fireball float up from my palm.
‘Jesus Christ!’ a woman’s voice shouts from the line of cars. ‘Everybody stand down!’
One by one, the agents at the cars lower their weapons. As they do, one of them squeezes between a pair of SUVs and walks towards us, her hands raised in surrender. Through the fog, I recognize her rigid posture and severe ponytail.
‘Agent Walker? Is that you?’
Next to me, Nine laughs. ‘Oh, come on. You going to try arresting us again?’
Walker grimaces as she gets closer, her sharp features more lined than I remember. She’s pale, an alarming streak of gray running through her red hair. I try to remember how badly she was hurt back at Dulce Base. Could she still be feeling the effects of that?
Before she can get too close, Six manifests behind Walker and grabs her by the ponytail. ‘Not another step,’ she snarls.
Walker, eyes wide, obediently stops. Six reaches down and takes the gun off her hip, dropping it into the grass.
‘I’m sorry for the commotion,’ Walker says, her voice slightly strangled thanks to the angle Six has her head at. ‘My agents saw that Mogadorian ship land and we thought you might be under attack.’
I let the Lumen in my hands go out, tilting my head at her. ‘Wait. You came rushing in here because you thought we were under attack?’
‘I know you have no reason to believe me,’ Walker says, her voice hoarse. ‘But we’re here to help.’
Next to me, Nine scoffs. I stare hard at Walker, waiting for the punch line, or the secret signal for her men to open fire.
‘Please,’ she says. ‘Just hear me out.’
I sigh and motion towards the house. ‘Bring her in,’ I tell Six, then turn to Nine. ‘If the rest of them try anything even a little suspicious –’
Nine cracks his knuckles. ‘Oh, I know what to do.’
Six shoves Walker up the broken steps of Adam’s house and through the front door. I follow a few steps behind, leaving the rest of our friends to keep an eye on the small army of government agents.
‘Is that a Mogadorian I saw out there?’ Walker asks as Six pushes her into the living room. ‘You have one of them prisoner?’
‘He’s an ally,’ I say. ‘Right now, you’re the prisoner.’
‘Understood,’ Walker says, sounding more tired than anything. Without Six having to push her, Walker sits down heavily on one of the sofas. In the light of the living room, I can see that there’s definitely something off about her. Maybe it’s owing to the odd streak of gray in her hair, but Walker looks drained. She notices the entrance to the Mogadorian tunnels but doesn’t look particularly interested or surprised.
‘Ah, a guest,’ Malcolm says as he appears in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen, his rifle slung over his shoulder. ‘And she brought lots of friends. Is everything all right?’
‘I’m not sure yet,’ I reply, an edge to my voice, keeping my guard up. Six circles around the couch so she can stand where Walker can’t see her.
‘Hm,’ Malcolm says. ‘I was about to put a pot of coffee on. Would anyone else like some? I think I saw some tea in the kitchen, too.’
A shaky smile forms on Walker’s face. ‘Is this some kind of good-cop, bad-cop routine?’ She looks from Malcolm to me. ‘Is he one of your … what do you call them? Cêpans?’
Six raises her hand to Malcolm. ‘I’ll take a cup, actually.’ When I flash her an annoyed look, she shrugs. ‘What? Trust me, I can drink some coffee and take down this lady at the same time, if I need to.’
Agent Walker glances over her shoulder at Six. ‘I believe her.’
I stride forward so I’m standing right in front of Walker and snap my fingers in her face. ‘All right, stop wasting time. Say what you came here to say.’
‘Agent Purdy is dead,’ Walker states, looking up at me. ‘Had a heart attack at Dulce Base.’
‘Aw, I remember him,’ Six says. ‘What a shame.’
I remember Agent Walker’s partner, too – an older guy, white hair, crooked nose. I shrug, not seeing what this has to do with us. ‘Condolences, I guess. So what?’
‘Guy was a prick,’ Walker replies. ‘It isn’t so much that he croaked, it’s what happened after.’