They all climbed into Ash’s truck, since it was bigger. Dex told him not to speed and to drive normally. The last thing they needed was to draw attention to themselves. If TIN had operatives following them, who knew who else might be keeping an eye on them. Fifteen minutes later, they were outside Tony’s house.
Tony opened the front door and stepped aside. They followed Dex inside, leaving their jackets in the hall before Tony said he’d get the pizzas in the oven.
“Ash, why don’t you grab us some beers?”
Ash grabbed the six-pack from the fridge, twisted off the caps, and handed them each one. They made idle chat as they followed Dex upstairs, his heart ready to beat out of him. He could feel it in his gut. This was it. They had the file. Now all they needed was the list. Inside Cael’s old bedroom, Dex went straight to the bookshelf, where he gently took hold of Brave Heart Lion. A lump formed in his throat as he held it. Tears welled in his eyes, but he blinked them back. He carefully squeezed different areas, but there was no sign anything was inside. It was soft and well-loved. Only one way to find out. He turned to face Ash and made a cutting motion.
Ash didn’t ask questions or even comment. He reached into his pocket, drew out his Swiss Army knife, then held it out to Dex.
“So what do you want to do about dessert?” Dex asked as he cut through the stitches in Brave Heart’s back with exceptional care.
“There’s ice cream,” Cael said, hovering by Dex’s shoulder along with everyone else.
Gently, Dex felt through the stuffing until his finger poked against the corner of what was most likely a folded up piece of paper. With shaky hands, he gingerly pulled it out, handing his favorite childhood toy to Cael, who’d continue to take good care of it.
The paper in his hand was somewhat faded but otherwise in pristine condition. He unfolded it, his eyes widening at how long it was. Dex stared at the four columns of names written in small block letters on the front and back, and at the very top of the first row, the first name was Sloane Brodie.
Dex went to Cael’s stereo and turned it on, tuning it in to Retro Radio. Ash rolled his eyes.
“Seriously? Don’t you get tired of that shit?”
“Screw you, Simba.” Dex motioned for everyone to huddle close. He looked up at his dad, his voice quiet when he spoke. “You didn’t check Braveheart?”
“I felt around,” Tony replied. “But it didn’t feel any different from the previous times I’d held it. It didn’t occur to me to remove the stitching. Not on this one. I didn’t have the heart. The way you clung onto that toy, hugging it so tight…. It broke my heart.”
Dex nodded, and gave his dad’s shoulder a squeeze. “It’s okay, Dad.” He went back to scanning the list. “It’s longer than I expected.”
“So all these First Gens have anomalies in their blood?” Tony asked, looking the list over.
Sloane shook his head sadly. “Maybe they all did. Some of them never made it out of the research facility.”
“And some of the ones that did didn’t last that long outside of it,” Ash added.
“Some of these Therians work for the THIRDS,” Cael pointed out.
Sloane nodded. “They were recruited around the same time we were.”
“So what now?” Cael asked worriedly. “If we run these names through Themis, Sparks will know. If someone higher up the food chain is involved, they’ll definitely know. We might as well hand the list over to them.”
“I think we know someone who might be able to help with that. For now, we pretend like everything is hunky dory. I’m going to finish listening to the tapes, and Cael’s going to help me digitally back up these cassettes.” He placed his messenger bag on Cael’s old bed and pulled out his headphones. “Save me some pizza.”
Chapter 10
THREE HOURS.
That’s how much sleep Sloane had last night, but he didn’t care. They were getting closer to seeing through the fog of whatever the hell was going on. An investigation that started over thirty-five years ago. After the hours Dex had put in listening to the tapes, it had taken more to back them up, and just as long for Sloane to get Dex to fall asleep. Sloane hadn’t been able to keep his own emotions at bay after listening to Gina Daley tell her child to find Sloane, how he needed love.
The tapes held hours of evidence spanning several years, the dates and events documented by Shultzon himself. He recorded everything from project details to conversations with his superiors, the majority of whom seemed to be Therians. Unfortunately, Shultzon never mentioned anyone by name, and the signatures he’d spoken of remained on documents long gone. What they did have were several voices, some sounded oddly familiar, especially a young military hotshot tiger Therian who Shultzon referred to as Commander Shrapnel. Shultzon seemed to bring him up a lot, and Sloane got the distinct impression the guy played an important part in all this. According to Shultzon, Commander Shrapnel had been given the nickname because he was as deadly and unforgiving as a piece of shrapnel stuck in the chest. The commander was manipulative, setting several unsanctioned projects into motion.
Sloane was ready to hit the snooze on their alarm for the second time when Dex’s phone went off. Either Sloane was really out of it, or Dex’s phone was playing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” That was a new one.
Dex sleepily grabbed his phone, tapped the screen, and put it to his ear. “Hello?” Seconds ticked by before Dex bolted upright and scrambled out of bed, his ear still pressed to his phone. “Yeah, shit. Okay. We’ll be out front in ten minutes.”
Sloane quickly got out of bed. He had no idea what was going on, but if Dex said they’d be outside in ten, Sloane would be there. They swiftly dressed and brushed their teeth before Sloane was following Dex downstairs.
“What’s going on?” Sloane asked.
“Sparks is sending someone to pick us up. She says Shultzon asked for me. He knows we found the file. She has no idea how that’s possible, considering the guy’s been in isolation the majority of the time. He told her he has critical information about my condition and the people responsible.”