“I don’t know, it looked like an attack to me.”
“Arthur, I need your help!”
“Don’t be an asshole, Arthur,” Simone snapped.
The argument devolved into shouting voices. Minji reclaimed Bailey from Simone and stepped into the hallway, dragging Ava by the hand. Closing her eyes, she listened to the bickering, but didn’t really hear the words. It was time for her to make a decision about what she was going to do. Should she go with the others, or try to find out what was happening and stop it?
“What was she saying?” Alec’s tone was lowered significantly to avoid the others hearing.
Opening her eyes, Minji saw him leaning on the doorjamb next to her. She hadn’t even heard him approach.
“Help me, Mommy,” she answered.
“Do you think it was Ava?”
“I don’t know.”
“Or the other thing? Inside her?”
“Maybe.”
“I know you’re probably planning to go with the others once they stop fighting, but I need your help.” Alec rubbed his thin lips together and his blue eyes implored her to be cooperative.
“With what?”
“To get to the epicenter of the event. You’re the only one truly immune. That makes you invaluable.”
“And my girls?” Silent tears slipped free from her lashes to slide along her cheeks.
“Simone can care for them until we’re done,” Alec replied somberly.
The argument in the security room was starting to simmer down, so Minji lowered her voice. “If you want me to help you, then we need to talk.”
“Agreed, but away from the others.”
“And you’re going to tell me why you’re really here. Maybe not in the medical center, but Las Vegas. You were sent here, weren’t you?”
The lines around Alec’s eyes scrunched up as he studied her with an intensity that was unnerving. “You’re very smart.”
“And you’re very evasive.”
Alec’s eyebrows twitched upward.
“You need me, Alec.”
“The world needs you.”
“Then tell me what you know,” Minji answered.
“Okay, but not around...” He looked significantly at Ava.
The words hurt, but Minji knew they were wise. Her heart felt encased with the concrete of despair. In silence, she nodded.
Chapter 24
Gathered in the break room, the four adults and two children were far away from the bloody scene outside the security room. Bailey sat on Simone’s lap playing with her necklace while Ava stood next to Minji with her head tilted to gaze at her mother.
Why was the other always watching her? Minji suspected she knew, but the conclusion she’d come to made her very uneasy.