Nick nodded. “We split into two teams. Lucas, Rafa, and Fiona are the other one. They’re tearing it apart, looking for prisoners and booting everyone out. When there’s no one left inside, they’ll blow the place sky-high.”
“It’ll be Fiona’s third time,” Justin said fondly. “She’s gotten a taste for it.”
“What about Hal?” Destiny asked.
The other Protection, Inc. members shot Ethan slightly guilty looks, then turned to each other. Apparently Shane was silently appointed as the bearer of the news, because he said, “Hal’s not here. Ellie went into labor right when we were gearing up to go. She’s absolutely fine—Catalina checked her—but he couldn’t leave her to give birth alone.”
Ethan groaned, feeling the emotional weight of all those years apart. “I did, though.”
Destiny put a hand on his shoulder. “Ellie will understand. Anyway, sooner we’re out of here, the sooner you’ll see her. Let’s get going.”
They headed back out into the maze of corridors, with Justin leading the way. As they walked, Ethan said, “How’d you all find us, anyway? We kept trying to find a radio to call you, but we never did. And Fiona’s GPS was destroyed when our plane crashed.”
“Yes, but her computer had recorded its last location, so we knew your last known area. And I can track people. It’s one of my Ultimate Predator powers.” Justin’s expression darkened, then cleared. “I didn’t ask for it, but it comes in handy. I already had a lock on her, so once we got close, I just pointed the way. Hold out your hand.”
Ethan offered his free hand to Justin, who clasped it for a moment, then released it.
“There,” Justin said. “Now if you get in trouble and need help, I can always find you. We can always find you.”
Though Ethan had felt nothing special at the physical touch, Justin’s words went to his heart. He’d joined Protection, Inc. for several missions, but he’d never been a real member of the team. Now Justin was, and Ethan still wasn’t… but the team could always find him now. It made him feel like he belonged, in a way that was different from how he and Destiny belonged together. As if he was part of a family that was suddenly much bigger than just him and Ellie.
“Thanks.” His voice was roughened with emotion.
Rather than pretending not to notice, Justin said, “Yeah. It takes some getting used to. But it’s worth it.”
Nick caught Justin’s elbow as he started to turn a corner. “Wait. Go the other way.”
“What’s there?” Shane asked.
Nick sniffed the air. “Not sure. It smells interesting, though.”
“Dinosaurs?” Merlin asked eagerly.
“This whole place smells like reptile. Nah, this is something else. Maybe…” Nick sniffed again. “Cats?”
With equal eagerness, Catalina said, “Oh, let’s go look. Maybe they’re experimenting on cats. We should rescue them!”
Ethan couldn’t help noticing the distinct split between the people giving Catalina looks of total (Pete and Ransom), doubt (Roland), and genuine enthusiasm at following her lead (Shane, Justin, Destiny, Nick, and Merlin). Personally, he was in favor of rescuing the cats, especially now that he was one himself, always assuming they didn’t turn out to be Apex agents in saber-tooth tiger form.
They turned in the direction Nick had indicated, now following his lead. Needless to say, it was yet another white corridor.
“A maze of twisty passages, all alike,” Destiny remarked.
“I know what ancient text game that’s from,” replied Ethan. “Nerd.”
“Double nerd.”
“Super-nerd.”
“Ultra-nerd.”
“Hey, nerd-mates,” Nick interrupted. “It’s here.”
He stopped in front of a door. While everyone fell into defensive positions, Ethan used his security guard ID to open it.
Nick sniffed the air and told them what Ethan could already see. “No humans inside.”
They hurried inside and locked the door behind them. As Catalina had guessed, it was full of cages sized to fit cats or dogs. They were made of thick bulletproof plastic webbed with hair-thin strands of faintly glowing silvery metal that made it difficult to see what was inside any of them. The latches on the cages were made of the same metal.